by Little & Brown, will contain the lives of James Otis and Gen. Oglethorpe.

We ought not to omit to mention the establishment in this city of a weekly publication, which we should be glad to see supplant the miserable stuff that our "periodical depots” furnish to the mass of readers. We refer to "Littell's Living Age," published every Saturday, at 12 1-2 cents for each number of 64 pages large octavo, well printed. It is composed of selections from the best foreign periodical literature, and resembles in its plan the "Museum of Foreign Literature," issued for many years by Littell in Philadelphia. As it will contain solid articles from the prominent English Reviews, as well as lighter selections, we hope it will receive encouragement.

Massachusetts Board of Education.-One of the most surprising examples of religious bigotry which have of late appeared among us has been given in the columns of an Episcopalian paper, issued in this city, the editor of which has lent his journal to an attack upon the Board of Education and the gentleman who fills the office of Secretary to the Board, and who in this capacity has done so much for the Common Schools of the State. The scrupulous care which Mr. Mann and the Board have taken to exclude sectarian instruction from the schools is made the ground of a charge too ridiculous to be noticed, if it were not for its gross injustice and mischievous design. This charge is nothing less than the imputation of a purpose to convert our schools into institutions for the propagation of infidelity. Mr. Mann in a series of communications to the public press has triumphantly vindicated himself and the Board, and driven his assailant to an acknowledgment that the exclusion of sectarian teaching from the schools was the sole ground of his hostility. He, forsooth! would make our common schools nurseries of theological dogmatism. The calm contempt which such a proposal deserves, however covertly insinuated or boldly advanced, is the fittest rebuke which it can receive, Still let the people of the Commonwealth, having discovered that such a scheme has supporters in one of the prominent religious sects, be watchful in guarding their own and their children's inheritance.

OBITUARY.

CHARLES BULFINCH Esq. died at Boston, Mass., April 15, 1844, aged 81 years. Mr. Bulfinch was a native of this city, where he spent the greater part of his life. He here filled various municipal offices, and enjoyed the respect and confidence of all his fellowcitizens. Soon after the last war with Great Britain, he removed to Washington, D. C., where he was employed as architect of the public buildings, and where he became a most valuable member of the Unitarian society in that place. About ten years since he returned to his native city, and resumed his attendance upon the King's Chapel, of which he had formerly been a prominent member. His life though active, was peaceful, and he has left a name that will be remembered with tender respect.

G.

JAMES TAYLOR Esq. died at Philadelphia, Penn., April 30, 1844, aged 76 years. Mr. Taylor was a native of Scotland, but had long

resided in Philadelphia, where he was widely known and universally esteemed. For a considerable period after the formation of the Unitarian society in that city, Mr. Taylor conducted the services of the church on the Lord's day, in connexion with the late Ralph Eddowes and John Vaughan-honored names! For a time, the whole charge of the pulpit rested with him. Mr. Taylor was, as a Unitarian Christian, equally decided and intelligent. His erect form and courteous dignity seemed to indicate the integrity of the spirit to which cowardice and equivocation, hatred and malice, were alike unknown. He enjoyed a green old age.

G.

JAMES THACHER, M. D. died at Plymouth, Mass., May 23, 1844, aged 90 years. Dr. Thacher was distinguished in his profession both as a practitioner and writer. His fondness for antiquarian inquiries, with his veneration for the Pilgrim Fathers, made him familiar with the early history of Plymouth, and of the fruits of his historical zeal the public, as well as the citizens of that place, enjoyed the benefit. But he was, perhaps, best known beyond the circle of immediate friends by his "Journal" of the revolutionary war, during which he held the appointment of surgeon in the army under Washington. He was distinguished by simplicity of character, an activity of mind which extreme age could not abate, and an anxious desire to make himself useful to his fellow-men. He was a sincere and exemplary Christian, and both the church and the town to which he belonged lost by his death one whom they delighted to honor.

LETTER FROM W. B. CARPENTER, M. D.

G.

We omit our usual department of Miscellaneous Intelligence and give place to the following letter, from an English friend, addressed to one of the editors of this journal, because it is, with perhaps the exception of the concluding sentence, written in a courteous style and kind spirit. The author makes a direct request for its publication, which we are not disposed to deny, but with which we should have more cheerfully complied, if he had not committed the indecorum, as we view it, of printing in an English journal a communication privately sent to us, before he could know our decision upon its appearance in the Examiner. Though we have no objection to inserting articles presenting different views of subjects, we should, as a general rule, decline the publication of direct replies to articles that may have appeared in our pages; but in this instance, our regard for the writer and the character of the letter induce us to give it the earliest insertion in our power. - [Eds. Christ. Exam. and Rel. Misc.]

Bristol, April 3, 1844.

MY DEAR SIR: -- - In common with very many others on this side of the Atlantic, I have read with much interest the eloquent article in defence of " American Morals and Manners" in a late number of the Christian Examiner, and I hope that it will contribute to diffuse in this country juster views on the great questions it discusses. It is because I am most anxious that the authority of its distinguished author, and of your most valuable journal, should not be lent to what I deem a serious and most pernicious error, that I venture to address

you in reference to one sentence in the portion of the article which relates to the much-vexed question of Slavery. That this is a most difficult question, I fully admit. That we, on this side of the water, are but very imperfectly acquainted with the number and extent of the difficulties which environ it, I am very well aware. And on this account I forbear any comments upon the mode in which the general subject is handled; and confine myself to a single point on which I feel entitled to speak with something like confidence, - in the hope of doing somewhat to clear away one, at least, of the difficulties, which (as it appears to me) have been unnecessarily raised up.

The point to which I allude is comprised in the following sentence; in which the colored population is said to be "scattered among us, and yet separated from us by impassable physical if not mental barriers; refused intermarriage, refused intercourse as equals, be it ever so unjustly; ". to which the writer adds," how are they ever to rise?" Now I shall endeavor to demonstrate, that this statement is neither scientifically nor historically true; and I shall endeavor to answer the question, “how are they ever to rise," by reference to certain well-known facts of recent occurrence in the British West India islands. In regard to my competence to speak on this subject I may simply say, that I believe my name to be now well-known in the United States as a physiologist, and that I have therefore some right to offer an opinion upon the scientific part of the question; and that I feel qualified, by a residence in the West Indies previously to the Emancipation Act, and by frequent opportunities I have since enjoyed, of knowing the subsequent progress of society in those colonies, to speak with some confidence as to the practical portion of the subject. I may further say, that I am not ignorant of what is urged in the United States on these matters; having conversed with many benevolent and enlightened Americans on the questions I am now to discuss, and become fully acquainted with their feelings, and with what I must call their prejudices. Among these I may mention, as one of the first, the universally respected Tuckerman; and as one of the last, the author of the article now under consideration. The former candidly admitted, on leaving England, that his feelings on the subject of the colored races had been very much changed by his residence here; and I had hoped that the views of the latter might have been in some degree modified by the statements which were made to him by myself and others.

The colored races cannot be separated from the white, by "impassable physical and mental barriers," if their origin is the same, and if one is capable of exhibiting the characters of the other. You must be well aware that the question of the unity of the species of the different races of man has been most ably treated by my learned fellow-townsman, Dr. Prichard; who is now engaged upon the continuation of a new edition of his celebrated work on the "Physical History of Mankind;" after having digressed for a time, to produce a smaller work entitled the "Natural History of Mankind," which contains a general summary of his arguments and results. These I have frequently and attentively considered; and I cannot entertain a shade of doubt as to the correctness of the position he takes; which is simply this, that there are no definite and constant anatomical or physiological differences between the different races of man, which can justify the belief that they are to be regarded as distinct species; that

we are therefore to refer them all to a common stock; and to look to various external circumstances (such as those which have produced the various breeds of our domesticated races) as the cause of the diversities. As a physiologist and a naturalist, I do not hesitate to say, that the unprejudiced application of the principles which are fully recognized in other branches of Natural History, to this question, can lead to no other conclusion. It is well known that, among the various tribes of animals, there are some whose constitutions have not the power of adapting themselves to external circumstances; and whose distribution on the surface of the earth is consequently limited, their zoological characters being extremely constant; whilst there are others, (in which category rank all our domesticated races, and many more that might be domesticated,) which possess this power of adaptation in a remarkable degree, and are consequently diffused widely over the globe, their zoological characters at the same time exhibiting great variations. Now of this last class, man unquestionably stands first, the dog probably next, and then our horses, sheep, and cattle. Will any one affirm that there is more difference between a Negro and a Caucasian, than between a greyhound and a mastiff; or that the education which, continued through a succession of generations, developes certain faculties and habits in the dog, shall be less effectual in man? It is perfectly true that, on looking at a Guinea-Coast Negro and an intelligent Englishman or American, side by side, the distinctions do appear definite enough; but let any one candidly read Dr. Prichard's account of the nations inhabiting Africa, and see how closely those of undoubted Caucasian descent approximate to the highest of the Negro stock (being often indeed surpassed by them), and I am much mistaken if he will then affirm that such impassable barriers exist. The fact appears to me to be, that whilst the Caucasian races as a whole have vastly improved upon the original type, the Negro races have, taken as a whole, retrograded from it; but I cannot see the least valid reason for supposing that time and favorable external circumstances would fail to do that for them, which it has done for other races. Similar instances of degradation, though not to the same extent, are quoted by Dr. Prichard as having presented themselves among the Caucasian races, and are obviously attributable to the influence of external conditions, operating from generation to generation. I recollect being asked by Dr. Tuckerman, whether I thought that twelve black children, taken from their parents at a year old, and brought up with twelve white children of the same age, would show an equality of mental power with the latter; to which I answered, "Certainly not; but if the descendants of those black children were treated in the same manner for several generations, I have no doubt that this equality would result." A difference at least equal would be found, I am confident, between twelve children of uneducated European parents, and twelve children of families whose minds had been progressively improved by centuries of instruction. For I do not think that there is a physiological fact better established, than the transmissibility, from parent to offspring, of acquired peculiarities, whether physical or mental, within certain limitations. I may appear to dogmatize on this subject; but the evidence in support of my statements would be too long to adduce in this letter; and it is accessible to those who wish to go into the question, in the works I have mentioned. I may

also refer to two most valuable papers by the late Mr. Knight (the President of the Horticultural Society) containing the result of his observations on the transmission of acquired peculiarities in animals and vegetables, prolonged through nearly three quarters of a century; these are contained in the "Philosophical Transactions" for 1813 and 1837.

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But what are these "impassable physical barriers"? I have heard of but two strongly insisted on; and these I shall try to remove. There can be no indelicacy, it seems to me, in speaking plainly on subjects which concern the welfare of millions of our fellow-creatures; and I shall therefore enter upon them without reserve. The first is, the odor exhaled from the skin of the Negro, which renders his contiguity unpleasant. This is given as a reason for excluding him (even if otherwise well qualified) from society; for assigning to him a separate place in the house of prayer; and for keeping him in a position of continued degradation. Now it is very well known, that the secretion from the skin of all dark races (for it is not confined to the Negro, -the Hindoo, of Caucasian stock, being similar in this respect) is more abundant than that of the white; but that it is necessarily more odoriferous, is not the fact, nothing but habits of cleanliness being required to prevent its being so. From my experience in the West Indies I can safely say, that I would as soon sit in a room-full of negroes, as in the midst of an equal number of the great unwashed" of our own country; and it is obvious that the evil, if it has a real existence, must be greater in a tropical than in a temperate climate. I shall presently show what experience, on a more extended scale, has proved on this subject. Moreover, is the offence confined to the black race? Do the mulattoes share it? Do the quadroons? Is it propagated, with the minutest shade of black, to all the intermediate races, which at present lie under this ban in the United States? I can scarcely imagine this to be the case; at any rate I have known individuals of these classes in our own country, who do not share in the penalty, and who no more deserve to do so on this ground, than the average of those of pure European descent. The other supposed "barrier" to which I allude, is the instinctive repugnance which is said to be felt in America to the union of two individuals of different races in marriage. I am quite at a loss to account for the feelings with which this subject is regarded in the United States, except by considering them as prejudices induced by the particular social condition in which the colored races are there placed. Even Dr. Tuckerman expressed a horror at the idea of the marriage of a white woman with a black man, -as if it were an altogether unnatural union. And yet such marriages are not uncommon in this country; it being notorious that the black stewards and servants who come over in our West India ships, very commonly marry white women (often very handsome ones) in our seaport towns; so that by far the larger proportion of the mulatto children which such towns contain, are the produce of these unions. But the best answer to this objection is furnished by the facts of continual occurrence in your own country; for it is notorious that, though marriages are prevented by law or by the force of public opinion, illicit connections are common enough, between white men, and women of all shades of color. And yet even fair-complexioned, well-portioned, well-educated, and virtuous young women, would be thought