book presents itself; and it is, as such a book ought to be, nicely got up and nicely bound.

We have the usual display of useful Almanacks from the Christian Knowledge Society, got up with much taste, and fit for the cottage or the vestry, with Pocket Books of various kinds, all worthy of commendation. Nor would we overlook those of the Religious Tract Society, which in their way are also very good. The Leisure Hour, and The Sunday at Home, maintain their character, and continue to deserve support: so does The British Workman; and we have been told that these books are especially welcome to English workmen and labourers in all our colonies, where they are now to be counted by tens of thousands. How much good may be done by sending abroad works such as these, of cheerful simple piety, not overlooking others more doctrinal, and of a graver cast.

Messrs. T. & T. Clark, of Edinburgh, continue to issue their translations of foreign theology; and Mr. J. Nichol, his English series of the Puritan period; both extremely valuable, though, like all theology, to be read with profound submission to the higher teaching of the written word itself. Amongst the issues of the former, are A Life of Calvin, in one volume, with a new translation of his Institutes, in two volumes. The life is interesting; the preface to the Institutes, addressed to the king of France, is said to have produced a greater effect than any treatise of the Reformation; and the Institutes, once read in both our universities, is a work which, with all its faults,-and we are not disposed to hide them,-no student who aspires to be a theologian will speak of without respect. It is a new translation, and if anything too literal.

Mr. Nichol's reprints of Sibbs and Goodwin, and of Adams on St. Peter, are all valuable. Here are materials for sermonizing for the clergy, and for pious meditation both for clergy and laity; only we would venture to give both a hint to reflect much, though they read, in consequence, but slowly. It was a sensible remark of Robert Hall on a learned friend of his, though quaintly given, that "he had laid so many books upon his head, that his brains could not move."

The Church Missionary Atlas. Maps of the various Stations, with illustrative Letter-press, and a Register of the Society's Agents. Third Edition. 1862. Seeleys.-The Church Missionary Society has just published a new edition of its Atlas, which is in many ways a great improvement on those which preceded it. Missionary interest must be supported by missionary information, and those who would give such information feel the need of a firm footing and a clear prospect. This book goes far to furnish both. The maps on one side, and the statistics on the other, will make a man feel at home in regard to any mission which he would illustrate, and will enable him to put his details in their proper places and their due relations. That is much to be desired. We have an imperfect satisfaction in the scattered incidents which seem to occur in cloudland, the pious labourers who have no local habitation, and the churches and schools seen through the dubious atmosphere of fair Utopia. It is a great thing to know where one is; for till then one seems sure of nothing. this account, most English people have an innate love of maps. This

On

volume contains four and twenty beautifully executed, distinct, and accurate. It is a pleasure to look at them for themselves-how much more for the suggestions which they offer! These regions are here depicted for higher than political, commercial, or scientific reasons,because Christian charity has reached them in its longings and labours. These red marks note the spots where fountains of holy influence have been opened in surrounding deserts, and where those "who were not a people, are now the people of God."

The letter-press fulfils its part no less successfully, containing an amount of information which shows a singular skill in selection and condensation. After looking through it, we can only express surprise that so much can have been set distinctly before us in so few pages; for there is only one, or at most two, to each map. We have the mission work in each locality presented in its several departments, its gradual progress, its salient incidents, and its chief statistics; but we have in addition effective touches of topographical description, ethnological and historical notices, statistics of population, accounts of religions, of languages, of customs, of national peculiarities; together with records of great principles of action, weighty testimonies (as that of bishop Selwyn on his arrival in New Zealand), and pregnant sayings like those of Sir Herbert Edwardes on the relations of government and missions.

This new edition is a monument of progress, showing in its maps new colonies founded in the name of Christ, and new provinces claimed for His kingdom; and discovering in its records the important questions with which mission work, as it advances, comes more and more into contact. What are its relations to government and politics? and what to ecclesiastical authorities? How soon are missions to be dealt with as mature churches, and by what steps is the change to be perfected? In what measure are the institutions and ideas which exist in an old church and nation to be transferred to new and half-civilised communities? How much of the various heritage which time has placed in our hands, can we profitably bestow on our spiritual descendants? Traces of increasing contact with such questions as these appear as we turn these pages; and on the whole, we bless God for the wisdom in dealing with them which He has given to the counsels of the Society, and for the proofs of that wisdom in the results before us.

The Evangelists, who have done, or are doing, the work, have also their record in this volume. The Appendix, containing a tabular register of the Society's agents, constitutes two-thirds of its bulk. Perhaps it was scarcely desirable to increase its size so greatly by tables of information which will be used seldom and by few. Yet in this list of 568 European missionaries and 95 native clergy, we hear the roll-call of a littl army which well deserves a record among us, and all the honour we can give. The Lord increase their numbers, and bless their work!

First Steps in Life: Tales for the Young. By Mrs. Geldart. Seeley, Jackson, and Co. London. 1863.-Consists of fourteen or fifteen stories, written with much delicacy and tenderness of feeling, combined with a vein of innocent humour, which can scarcely fail to

render it attractive to the fair young readers for whom it is intended. At the same time, the Christian principles which each narrative evinces will, we hope, in many instances prove Mrs. Geldart's book to be a friendly guide in the "First Steps in Life."

"Was he a Hero?" or, Roger Milbrook's Battle in Life. London : Wertheim, Macintosh, and Co. 1862.-Is a forcible and well-written tale, illustrating that real heroism and nobleness of soul which is frequently exhibited by individuals of the humblest rank, not by some adventurous deed of bloodshed, but by a patient and self-denying continuance in well-doing. This little work is peculiarly suitable as a present to Sunday-school children, and we have pleasure in commending it; and at this season of the year many of our friends will thank us for aiding them in the selection of things otherwise trifling to grave men, but suited for such purposes. Nothing, indeed, is trifling which helps us to do our work well.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

THE opening of a year is at once a joyous and a solemn period. Gratitude should fill us for the past, and hopefulness for the future. But with this there will mingle a more than usual feeling of the uncertainty of all that lies before us on this side the grave; and this will be the state of mind of a Christian nation, as well as of Christians individually. Surrounded by dangers, we have been kept in peace; with much suffering, we have had, for the first time perhaps in English history, no discontent; weighted with the heaviest pressure, we have not lost our elasticity. So much for the past. Looking forward, we have full confidence that, with the blessing of God, we shall surmount every difficulty and outride the storms we may have to encounter. But still it is wise to be prepared for whatever may betide us; for nations seem to know as little as individuals what a day may bring forth.

We congratulate the Church of England on the appointment to her two archbishoprics; both of which are filled again with prelates whose moderation, prudence, and ability have been tried, and who have gained the confidence of their clergy; the primate during a long episcopate, and the archbishop of York during a much shorter one, no doubt, at Gloucester. The Church will soon have to deal with some painful questions. Our Colonial episcopate, it is evident, must be brought into order, for as it now stands it is a source of constant anxiety to the Church of England; and there are other subjects looming in the distance which will demand all the wisdom of our prelates, and all the assistance of our pious laity, whether in parliament or in their private circles. Dr. Lushington has now pronounced judgment on two of the seven essayists, Dr. Williams and Mr. Wilson. They are sentenced to one year's suspension from

their duties and emoluments of office, and condemned in costs; but have given notice of appeal to the privy council. This is perhaps more satisfactory than a heavier sentence which (such is the fickleness of public feeling where the matter does not directly concern its own secular or immediate interests) would probably have been followed by a reaction; and the sufferers would have been made the idols of that large body who always pride themselves on such cheap generosity. The voice of the Church has been pronounced; and if after this they can retain their position amongst us, the state of their consciences is by no means to be envied. As to bishop Colenso, it remains to be seen what steps will be taken; we cannot bring ourselves to believe that he will ever be permitted to resume the oversight of a diocese. The patronage or right of appointment to the colonial and foreign bishoprics is at present in a very unsatisfactory state. Who is responsible for our rifle-gun prelate, and for that of some others who amuse themselves by insulting their archdeacons, or quarrelling with a whole diocese at once? We hope the time is not distant when each colonial diocese may be entrusted with the choice of its own bishop, subject to the approbation of the Crown; and when the duties of the foreign bishops shall be more accurately defined, their powers legally marked out, and their periods of absence, as in all the Indian bishoprics, not excepting that of the metropolitan himself, prescribed. If a bishop of Madras or Bombay cannot return home for fifteen years without leave of absence, it is in vain to tell us simple folk in England that the concerns of other colonial dioceses demand the presence of their bishops in England for several months every year or two. We are not insensible to the great worth and piety of some of our colonial bishops; but in an order consisting of so few members, it is the misconduct of some, not the redeeming virtues of the rest, which are noticed by the world; and there is no doubt that at present episcopacy itself is injured by such examples as these; and what is only less an evil, it has brought colonial missions in many quarters into great disfavour.

The increase of crime at home creates anxiety, if not alarm. Robbery, accompanied with violence, has become so frequent, as to cause a general sense of insecurity; and garotting, a new form of brutal and cowardly assault, is practised almost with impunity even in the streets of London. The attention of Parliament will, no doubt, be directed to this subject, and in connection with it, to our penal laws and secondary punishments. It appears doubtful whether the ticket-ofleave system is not altogether wrong. The old school of criminal jurists held that the certainty of the punishment was more important than its severity; and recent experience seems to show that they were right. At least, the question requires to be thoroughly sifted. But upon another point we must express ourselves with less hesitation. A false principle, and an unchristian one, has been gaining ground amongst us for many years; and has again and again been maintained, even in our courts of justice. It is, that the end of punishment is the reformation of the offender; and it is high time we began to unlearn the dangerous lesson. If, indeed, with the execution of justice, we can at the same time reform the criminal, so much the better; but the great end of punishment is the protection

of society, and the vindication of the law. Our magistrates are God's ministers. The common law of England is based on the law of God. Christianity, as Blackstone teaches, is part and parcel of our Constitution; and therefore it is that the magistrate becomes an avenger to execute justice upon evil doers; not an official philanthropist, but a judge. The further we have receded from these principles, the further have we departed from the true philanthropy; for the more widely has crime increased. Indeed, the uncertainty of the punishment is now so well understood, that the most formidable sentence is heard with indifference by the hardened culprit in the dock. But crimes still more frightful, suicide and murder on the slightest provocation, are on the increase too. During the last few weeks, we have had many instances of the former, and several of the latter. Jealousy, or some attachment not requited on the other side, are openly assigned as the only reason for self-murder in some instances, and for assassination in others. Two instances of murder out of motives of jealousy during the year, have ended on the gallows; one in penal servitude, one lies under sentence of death, and one awaits his trial. Young women and mere children drown or poison themselves on the merest pretext of this kind; or their suitors shoot or stab them with as little hesitation. We have not space to enter upon a discussion of the subject here, but we believe it may be traced to the pernicious influence of those immoral and disgusting love stories, either copied or imitated from the French, which form the chief literature of some portions of the cheap press, and, as we have learned with sorrow, are the only reading of whole classes of society, especially amongst the lads, and even the young women.;

The distress of the Lancashire operatives still contiuues, but there has been an outburst of generosity during the month, equally grateful to the poor sufferers and honourable to our country. We hope that we have seen the worst; for cotton begins to arrive from India and other parts in large quantities, and it is said by those who seem well informed that by the month of March the mills will be able to resume working, at least for three or four days a-week. It gives us the greatest pleasure to acknowledge the kindly feelings of the merchants of New York, who have raised a noble subscription of 100,000 dollars on behalf of our famishing countrymen in Lancashire; besides a fine ship placed at their disposal by a mercantile firm, to convey their bounty, if sent in grain or flour, to Liverpool. We have here a proof of what we have all along maintained, that the government of America does not represent the true feeling of the best part of American society; nor has it done so at any period of this wretched war. But until the late elections, which have turned the scales, the minority were afraid to speak, almost to breathe. The tyranny of President Lincoln and his cabinet has broken down, and they themselves are evidently preparing to make good a safe retreat. Of the civil war we have really nothing to relate, and are happy to pass over a subject which harrows our feelings, and is now viewed by all classes in England with utter loathing and disgust. We wait with some curiosity to learn how the visits of the tax-gatherer will be received on the 1st of January; and what the effect of Mr. Chase's astonishing array of figures, indicating millions already spent, and