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hours which, it is to be feared, are at present not employed to any advantage.

The Directors will require, at the very least, an annual income of 250l. to enable them to accomplish these objects on the lowest scale; only 981. 7s. 2d. of that sum at present appears on their subscription list. The Society is likewise in debt for the outfit of the chapel, to the amount of 100%.; and the Archbishop of Dublin requires that a sum of money shall be raised to form a permanent fund to maintain the chaplain. The Directors of this institution, therefore, feel themselves constrained to appeal to the public in England for their kind assistance. They state, that previously to this appeal to the sister island, they have made every effort to obtain sufficient funds in Ireland, but without success, owing to the impoverished state of Irish affairs; and they trust that, when it is considered that the seamen who attend are the seamen of the empire, almost exclusively English and Scotch, and that this is the first and only Floating Chapel in the Established Church, they shall meet in England with that support which in the pressure of bodily distress was so liberally

afforded.

The Rev. Thomas Gregg has been appointed Chaplain, with the Archbishop's approval.

One of the secretaries writes, 1st July, 1823; "Our congregation of course fluctuates, according to the state of wind and tide; but most frequently we have a full attendance of seamen. The school prospers— forty-three sailors, besides children of pilots and fishermen-in all about fifty. The school has been open only four weeks; and I send you the number which attended on two successive Sundays."

A correspondent writes: "I am confident our English brethren would assist us if they had witnessed, as I have, that truly delightful sight of those who have been 'roaming the wild blue waste of waters o'er,' and exposed to every danger of that treacherous element, tranquilly and peaceably assembled on the Sabbath-day, kneeling in devout adoration to Almighty God, singing their Redeemer's praise, or listening with attentive ear to the word of God, which is able to save their souls; and whilst the preacher is pointing to HIM who, when lifted up, would draw all men unto him, to observe trickling down the hardfeatured, weather-beaten countenance which never wept before a tear of penitence or joy, as he faithfully pourtrays to the trembling sinner his past vicious and profligate life, or proclaims to his astonish

ed ear the glad tidings of a gracious pardon through the Redeemer's blood for the chief of sinners. We meet some who, for the first time, now hear even the history of Him whose name they profess."

For a list of officers and receivers of subscriptions, see Advertisement on the Cover.

NATIONAL SOCIETY FOR
EDUCATION.

It is with much pleasure we communicate to our readers the King's Letter to the Archbishop of Canterbury, authorising a collection throughout England and Wales, in aid of the funds of the National Society. We shall never cease most deeply to deplore that no legislative provision has yet been made for the Christian education of the poor throughout the country; but, in the mean time, we rejoice to know that a considerable portion of the evil is in a course of cure, by the voluntary efforts of benevolent individuals and institutions, at the head of which stands the incorporated National Society. Most earnestly and respectfully do we recommend to our readers, both lay and clerical, to respond to the royal mandate, not in a mere official routine, but with the promptitude and zeal which the cause demands and deserves. The Society has an ample field for disposing, with great public utility, of the largest sums which are likely to be collected; and we trust its operations will not cease, or be shackled for want of resources, till every village in the kingdom shall possess the means of educating every individual within its precincts. The opposition at one time made to the instruction of the poor has died away; and let us beware lest the absence of this stimulus should cause the effort to languish also; especially now that our towns and villages are beginning to bear the most unequivocal proofs of the good effects of the instructions already so widely communicated. We might cite many encouraging facts in illustration of this remark.

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GEORGE R.

"Most Reverend Father in God, our right trusty and right entirely beloved Councillor, we greet you well. Whereas the incorporated National Society, for promoting the education of the poor in the principles of the Established Church throughout England and Wales, have by their petition humbly represented unto us, that the president and governors of the said Society have pursued, with their best endeavours, the design adopted for extending more effectually the benefit of religious education

:

whose benevolence towards carrying on
the said charitable work shall be collected
the week following at their respective
dwellings by the churchwardens or over-
seers of the poor in each parish; and the
ministers of the several parishes are to
cause the sums so collected to be paid im-
mediately to the treasurer for the time
being of the said Society, to be accounted
for by him to the said Society, and applied
to the furtherance of the above-mentioned
good designs-and so we bid you very
heartily farewell.

"Given at our Court at Carlton House
the second day of July, 1823, in the
fourth year of our reign.
"By his Majesty's command,

(Countersigned) R. PEEL.'

MORALS.

to the growing population of our realm: that they are duly sensible that in no case can the great end of public happiness be so essentially promoted as by cultivating the principles of religious faith and moral duty that the means for accomplishing their purpose have been supplied already to a considerable extent by the National Society, in the grants for erecting schools upon the model of the Central School; the charge of building rooms of suitable dimensions forming the chief burden of expense in these provisions: that the returns of the last year have presented the welcome spectacle of the near and distant operation of this comprehensive scheme of education exhibited in 1867 united schools affording religious culture with every beneficial influence on the minds and manners, the habits and appearance of more than three PARIS SOCIETY FOR CHRISTIAN hundred and fifty thousand children: that the sums contributed by royal munificence and individual bounty in former benefactions have been thus expended, whilst a bare sufficiency remains in annual subscriptions for the maintenance of the Central School from which so much benefit is derived to all parts of the country: that the call to be excited under favour of our mandate, for which the Society make their humble suit, will be wholly applied, should the prayer of their address be crowned with a successful issue, to the furtherance of the same object in all parts of our realm, by multiplying schools, and by lending aids for procuring sites and for building public seminaries: and so much of good having already ben accomplished, the said Society, in order to enable the labourers in this prolific field to persevere with increasing vigour, have therefore most humbly implored us that collections may be made in the churches and chapels through out England and Wales in furtherance of this important object: we, taking the premises into our royal consideration, and being always ready to give the best encouragement and countenance to undertakings which tend so much to the promotion of true piety and of our holy religion, are graciously pleased to condescend to their request, and do hereby direct you that these our letters be communicated to the several suffragan bishops within your province, expressly requiring you and them to take care that publication be made hereof on such Sunday and in such places, within your and their respective dioceses, as you and the said bishops shall appoint; and that upon this occasion the ministers in each parish do effectually excite their parishioners to a liberal contribution,

Amidst the moral gloom that hangs over France, and the struggle which appears to be daily increasing between sceptical principles on the one hand, and religious superstition and fanaticism on the other, it is with pleasure we notice the rise and progress of several institutions, founded on Christian principles and directed to Christian objects. We lately announced the formation of the "Paris Society for Christian Morals,” and shall now translate the substance of a Report lately presented at its general meeting. The benevolent plans of this Society, though not strictly religious, are so allied to the cause of religion and religious institutions, as well as to the general welfare of humanity, that we are persuaded our readers will be interested in the rising prosperity of the institution.

"The love of our neighbour, applied to the various social relations, is, in effect, the object of this Society.

"The first labours of the Society were confined to the publication of a periodical work, explanatory of its spirit and intentions. Faithful to the rules of its formation, it will not cease continuing to remove every thing that may lead to strife or division in the great Christian family.

"The Society, foreseeing the advantages to be derived from a connexion with other philanthropic Societies in France, and in foreign countries, has entered into correspondence with many of them. The communications it receives through this channel are truly valuable, and will enable it, at some future day, to draw up a general inventory, and to publish, as it were, the statistics of all that has been achieved in the cause of humanity.

"Assigning the first place to the moral improvement of our species, the operations of the Society have been principally directed to that object. On this principle, the Society was irresistibly led to embrace the cause of the unhappy Africans, and of humanity, in assisting, as far as possible, the noble efforts of a neighbouring nation for the Abolition of the Slave Trade, that shameful traffic, evincing, at once, among the nations which have so long tolerated it, the most vile selfishness, and an utter disregard of Christian precepts.

"Viewing the instruction of African youth as a grand instrument of success, the Society will increase its efforts to promote their progressive civilization, and trusts that the essay for which a prize has been instituted by one of its members will awaken attention to the subject, and hasten the happy period, when the inherent rights of humanity will be acknowledged and respected, under whatever clime, and by men of whatever colour, they are invoked.

"The Society's views have also been directed, with particular anxiety, to the moral improvement of prisoners. Can we witness a crowd of individuals, for the most part young, gifted perhaps with the finest talents, imprisoned on charges more or less heinous, mingled with veterans in iniquity; left to the contagion of the most shocking vices, as well by precept and example, as by the state of careless idleness to which they are consigned; and at length, at the expiration of their confinement, entering into society worse than when they left it; and not earnestly entreat of our government and legislature, that measures should be taken for separating the young and less guilty prisoners from condemned and infamous criminals; and that the period of confinement should be advantageously employed in labour, and in the moral instruction suited to their situation? Then, and not till then, will the proper object of prisons be attained; and then will they become, in reality, houses of correction, and not of destruction, to the unfortunate individuals immured in them. Through the zeal of the Committee of young men, appointed by the Society, a knowledge will gradually be gained of the various improvements in the prison discipline of our own and foreign countries, as well as intelligence respecting all benevolent societies in the capital and elsewhere. The increased information thus attained, will be studiously devoted to the introduction into these establishments of whatever appears worthy of imitation.

"In contemplating the case of prisoners,

the Society too clearly saw, that lotteries and gaming-houses, those fertile sources of vice and misery, had a principal share in the ruin of many of these unhappy individuals. A Commission has been formed for hastening, by its labours and entreaties, supported by those of all good men, the suppression of these hot-beds of iniquity. Two pamphlets have been published on the subject, intended by the Commission to apprize government of the injury to public morals inflicted by lotteries and gaming houses, and to warn the working classes against the evils that follow in their train.

"Still more attentive to unmerited suffering, the Society has manifested a very lively interest in those unfortunate Christians, who, in vast numbers, of all ages, and of both sexes, have been forced to flee their native country, and all that was dear to them, to escape the vengeance of the fanatical Turks, and, destitute of every thing, to seek an asylum on the shores of the Mediterranean. The Society, happy in such a cause to have the means of affording some relief, have opened a subscription expressly in aid of the refugee families of the Greeks in France; and already many, of all classes, have hastened to enrol themselves as subscribers to this fund in union with the Society's members. The subscription for the Greek refugees in France already amounts to 174., which will be religiously devoted to its object. At a meeting of several of the most respectable Greeks in Paris and Marseilles, assistance was afforded, in the first instance, to the most needy of their countrymen; and there is every prospect that, in a short time, the number of subscribers and donors to the Society will be such as to enable it to dry up the tears, and brighten the future prospects, of many an unfortunate family among these miserable exiles. This circumstance is a fresh proof of that elevated principle, that spirit of Christian charity, and of moral improvement, advancing with the progress of education, which seems to be characteristic of the present era. Relying on this happy tendency of the public mind, the Society will embrace every opportunity of directing attention to, and exciting interest in, the various demands of humanity, and well-constituted society; and if, through the paucity of means, or other hindrances, the institution should be unable, of itself, to carry its plans of mercy or of usefulness into effect, it will at least have the satisfaction of submitting them for public consideration, to be car

ried into execution by abler hands, or at a more favourable period.

"The success which has been experienced, and the numerous expressions of interest and good will which have been received, impart a conviction that the Society's labours will not be in vain. The pecuniary resources of the Society have been hitherto confined to the subscriptions and donations of its members, and of various anonymous philan thropic individuals. The amount received since its commencement, including the

profits from the sale of the Journal, and the sum of 411. for the two best essays on the suppression of lotteries and gaming houses, is 3931. With these moderate means, the Society, by prudent management, has met the various expenses attending its establishment.

"Independently of the fund for the general expenses of the Society, another, arising from individual subscriptions, is entirely devoted to the Slave-trade Commission, for defraying the expense of its various publications."

VIEW OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

FOREIGN.

SPAIN. The campaign in the peninsula still continues, with very little interruption hitherto to the progress of the French arms. The Cortes, at the approach of the invaders, removed the king to Cadiz. His majesty, refusing voluntarily to accede to the measure, was pronounced to be in a state of insanity, and incapable of conducting the affairs of government. A Regency was in consequence formed by the Cortes, previously to leaving Seville, but was abolished on the king's arrival at Cadiz. The Madrid regency has written to the various courts of Europe, stating its appointment, aud urging its claims to be officially recognised. The British Government has peremptorily refused this acknowledginent, and returned the dispatch unopened. The aspect of the campaign is as follows:-Mina continues unsubdued in Catalonia. Morillo has withdrawn himself from the Constitutionalists; and a large part of his troops are said to have deserted to General Quiroga, who has issued a strong appeal to Spaniards of all parties, to rise and join in expelling the invaders, without pledging themselves to any ulterior measures. Barcelona, Pampeluna, and St. Sebastian's, with some other important fortresses, still hold out. Count Bourmont continues at Seville; and Bourdesoult is in the vicinity of Cadiz. The French troops are reported to have captured Ferrol, and to have commenced the siege of Corunna, after two or three battles with the Constitutionalists under Quiroga and Sir R. Wilson, in one of which the latter' claim a considerable victory. This action before Corunna, if the accounts

prove correct, is the first formidable resistance which the French have met with. Hitherto a large proportion of the people would seem to have remained almost indifferent spectators of the contest,waiting only to submit to whatever party might prove victorious. The poorer classes are but too well prepared by their ignorance and superstition to join with the priests in crying out, The absolute King and the Inquisition!" These greatly swell the numerical estimate; but there must doubtless be a mass of property, and stillmore of intellect andmental energy, ranged on the other side, especially in thecommercial towns andcities, which, though kept under by force or terror for a time, may serve as a focus to collect the scattered rays of patriotism, till, in the issue, we trust, though not perhaps till after many a long and anxious struggle, Spain shall enjoy the blessings of a free and well-poised government. Even should the presentConstitution be speedily put down, there seems to be no immediate prospect of a general pacification. The Madrid regency has not hitherto adopted even the politic measure of offering a liberal amnesty, much less of planning a free constitution.

PORTUGAL.-The downfal of the Constitution has been as rapid as its rise. With scarcely a struggle, the king has been permitted to re-assume irresponsible authority, and to declare the new political institutions rescinded. His majesty, however, pledges himself that he does not desire absolute power, and that he intends speedily to frame such a system as shall benefit and conciliate every class of his subjects. Our hopes are not sanguine in this quarter; and even should

a reasonably good model be adopted, itis obvious that a machine that works tolerably well in theory may be easily converted into an engine of state very foreign to its avowed purpose, unless kept in order by the counteracting force of patriotic virtue and public spirit in an enlightened and well educated people. The Portuguese nation have much to learn, and much to unlearn, before they will know how to enjoy and perpetuate the blessings of genuine liberty. It is easy to vote a new constitution on paper: but much more is necessary to qualify the bulk of a nation properly to discharge the just functions of members of a free government; and especially a strength and elevation of moral principle, and a range of enlightened information, which, we fear, are not at present possessed by the majority of the Portuguese. We are persuaded that the best instrument for facilitating the real and permanent liberty and happiness of this country, and of all other countries similarly circumstanced, is the diffusion of early education conducted on Scriptural principles. The people will thus rapidly outgrow their prejudices and their superstitions, and at length shake off the chains both of civil and religious despotism.

TURKEY.-The Turks are making extraordinary exertions, both by sea and land, to commence a new campaign against the Greeks, who, on their part, are exerting themselves with great spirit, to be in a condition to repel their oppressors. Since the formation of the constitutional government, the Greek cause has gained a considerable accession of strength and concentration; and the national representatives seem fully determined to risk every thing for their religion and liberty. The sympathy exhibited towards them by the public in this country, though not of an official kind, is stated to have greatly encouraged them in their arduous struggle.

DOMESTIC.

Parliament was prorogued on the 19th of July. The speech presents, with the exception of Irish affairs, a cheering view of the public interests; but discloses no new information.

The chancellor of the exchequer has presented a very hopeful exposition of the financial condition of the country. Within two years, seven millions and a half of annual taxes have been repealed; three millions of the public debt have been cancelled in the course

of the last year; and the consolidated fund presents a surplus at the winding up of the year's account. Government holds out the prospect of yet further reductions in successive years.

Several questions of Irish policy have again occurred, calling forth numerous discussions and debates; but the session has passed away without the appointment of a committee, in either house, to examine into the real causes of the grievances of that afflicted country, and the best plans for redressing them. These incidental investigations must, however, be beneficial, by summoning attention to the subject; though we fear they have not tended at the time to abate either the religious or political feuds of that country. We are much gratified to find that the Orange lodges have recommended the disuse of some anniversary celebrations, which tend to irritate the Catholics, without any benefit whatever to the cause of Protestantism. Let us hope that this is but the commencement of a system, the motto of which shall be the general welfare of the public, and the union of all hearts and hands to promote it, without strife or party predilections.

The Irish tithe bill has passed, but without being compulsatory on any party.-The marriage amendment bill lies over till next session. Marriages continue, for the present, subject to the forms and provisions in use before the passing of the Act of 1822; with the exception of the nullity clause, which was repealed by that Act, and is not restored in the short provisional Act of the present session.

The expediency of prosecutions for blasphemous publications has been discussed in the House of Commons, in consequence of a petition, signed by two thousand Dissenters, we believe chiefly Unitarians, praying Parliament to abolish all penal laws in matters of religion. We are not disposed to be intolerant as respects free discussion on this or any other subject, believing that truth will, in the end, survive every ordeal; but we are firmly convinced, from having painfully inspected some of the publications which would be sheltered under the abused plea of "free discussion," that the morals and general welfare of the public, even setting Christianity aside, demand their prompt suppression. If men never wrote but for the sake of honest discussion, however free, the press might be safely

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