arbitrarily fixed according to the caprice or particular views of each individual proprietor, but (as your governor proposes) by the fair inquiries of a committee chosen partly by the government and partly by the proprietors. The period at which a slave may be manumitted must necessarily be that at which he, or some one on his behalf, may tender to the proprietors the amount of the valuation. Freedom may then be safely granted, and must not be withheld; for whether the means of redemption may have been obtained through personal industry in hours of leisure sanctioned by his master, or through the good opinion of benevolent individuals,; it may with reason be expected that the slave is deserving of the blessing which he seeks to possess.

"The whole of a slave's time, excepting Sundays, belongs to his master; and thus it is obvious, that unless the master allow a small portion of time, the slave will not be enabled to earn the price of his redemption. We trust, and, from their conduct hitherto, we have reason to believe, that the masters generally will not hesitate to concede some indulgence in this respect. A very limited period might accomplish the object; for a great deal may be effected in a little time by a slave when he knows that freedom will be the result of industry. The savings' bank which we lately sanctioned will enable the slaves to deposit their earnings at interest. "We are aware that, even supposing these arrangements to be carried into effect to the utmost extent which can be reasonably contemplated, there will still remain cases of slaves without any fair prospect of becoming free by their own exertions. In such cases, when you are

satisfied of the good character of the slave, we authorize you, for the purposes of reward to him, and of example to others, to pay the valuation, as a loan (without interest) from the Company to the slave, upon his undertaking to reimburse it gradually out of his earnings. We further authorize you in all cases in which for the like purposes you may deem it expedient to accelerate the period of manumission of slaves who may be making deposits out of their earnings, to advance, as a loan, the difference between such deposits and the valuation.

"We are not ignorant that the acts of grace and favour which we have now authorized will eventually entail expense on the Company. Where the slave falls sick, or becomes old and infirm, we cannot expect to be repaid what has been lent. But this is a loss to which we are content to be subjected, as the cost of effecting great good.

"It has been urged in objection to the emancipation of slaves at St. Helena, that it would be difficult to supply their place by free labour. Some such inconvenience might probably be sustained if the emancipation were general, but not so long as it is limited to those slaves who shall give solid proof of their industry and good character. The labour which these slaves would perform when free men, would, we think, be greater than that which they yielded in a state of servitude.”

We need offer no remark upon a document so honourable both to the Court of Directors and to the local authorities of St. Helena. Would that measures conceived in a similar spirit were extended to our West-India colonies and the Mauritius.

THEOLOGY.

Morning Thoughts, in Prose and Verse on Portions of the successive Chapters in the Gospel of St. Mark. By the Rev. J. W. Cunningham, Vicar of Harrow. 12mo. 2s. 6d.

Sermons. By the Rev. T. Sims, M. A. 10s. 6d.

Liber Sapientiæ, translated from the Latin Vulgate. By Luke Howard, F. R.S. A Sermon. By Rev. T. S. Hughes, B.D. Four Sermons on the Priesthood of Christ. By T. Lessey. 4s.

An English Harmony of the Four Gospels. 8s.

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of Richmond, Surrey. By the Hon. and Rev. G. T. Noel. 8vo. 10s. 6d.

A Popular Commentary on the Bible, in a Series of Sermons, following in the Old Testament the Course of the First Lessons at Morning and Evening Service. By the Rev. J. Plumptre, B.D. 2 vols. 8vo. 11. 6s.

Recollection of Sermons preached by the Rev. Dr. Malan, in Edinburgh. 18mo. 1s.

Leighton's (Archbishop) on the Lord's Prayer. 32mo. Is.

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MISCELLANEOUS.

Memoirs of a West-India Planter, published from an original MS. With a Preface and original Details. By the Rev. John Riland, Curate of Yoxall, Staffordshire. 5s.

Heraldic Notices of Canterbury Cathedral. By T. Willement. Post 4to. 17. 5s. Royal 4to. 11. 18s.

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History of the Transmission of Ancient Books to Modern Times. By I. Taylor, jun. 1 vol. 8vo. 8s.

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The Subordinate Magistracy and Parish System considered in their Connexion with the Causes and Remedies of Modern Pauperism. By the Rev. C. D. Brereton.

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Catholicism in Austria; or, an Epitome of the Austrian Ecclesiastical Law. By Count Dal Pozzo. 8vo. 9s. 6d.

SOCIETY FOR THE PROPAGATION OF THE GOSPEL. WE laid before our readers, in our last Number, some extracts from a most judicious and pious "Invitation" lately issued, "addressed to all Christians, and most especially to members of the Church of England, in behalf of the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts." Those extracts referred only to the claims of the former of these societies; and we feel much pleasure in now adding those of the latter. Our extracts will be long; but much of the information it contains will be novel, as well as interesting to many of our readers.

"The Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, claims our attention next. The first connexion of this country with America, was at the beginning of the reign of James I. Certain sermons, preached about 1609, speak largely of the godly endeavours of some persons for the great and glorious work of gathering in the Gentiles.' Lord Bacon, in 1619, brought the subject before Parliament, and renewed attention was given to it in 1622. The unhappy events which followed put a stop to all missionary designs. But in 1695, the eminently pious Dr. Bray, devoting himself to the cause, especially as connected with the West Indies, revived the Christian spirit which,

under the Divine blessing, led to the establishment of the two societies whose cause is now pleaded. The Society for propagating the Gospel in Foreign Parts, received its charter from King William in 1701. Its views extended. to all places, whether in Europe, Asia, Africa, or America, with which the trade of this country gave us connexion. But as its annual income was not much more than 1000., such a sphere of exertion was too large for its means, and the colonies of America merited and received the first attention.-At this time, thousands of our colonists in America were living without public worship, without the administration of the sacraments, without spiritual instruction of any kind, - in short, both speculatively, and practically, almost without God in the world;' and others, though retaining the form of godliness,' were abandoned to all those manifold corruptions of Christianity, which are the natural consequence of the want of a regular and duly qualified ministry. To bring back these unhappy wanderers to the fold from which they had strayed, was the primary object which the Society proposed to itself; the conversion of the Negroes, who were intermixed with them, and of the Indians with whom they had intercourse, completed its benevolent designs.

"An abstract from an appeal made to the Society from Salem, in New Jersey,

in 1722, may serve to illustrate the truth of this statement, and shew the value in which these endeavours were held. A poor unhappy people-make bold to apply ourselves to God, through this pious society-that as his goodness has vouchsafed us a moderate support for our bodies, his Holy Spirit may influence you to provide us with spiritual food for our souls.-Our indigence is excessive, and our destitution deplorable, having never been so blessed as to have a person settled among us, to dispense the blessings of religion.-How should they know, having learned so little of God, and how can they learn without a teacher ?-Our case is truly lamentable, and deserving Christian compassion.-The Lord in mercy look upon us, and excite you, according to your wonted piety, to have a compassionate regard to our case; and we pray the great God to prosper all your pious undertakings to promote his glory and the good of his church, especially in this destitute place of the pilgrimage, of your most dutiful servants, &c.'

"Such pathetic appeals were not unfrequent. But, alas! to many of them, the society, from want of funds, was compelled to refuse or postpone the desired aid. So far as its means extended, it provided missionaries, catechists, and schoolmasters, built churches, and established missions, directly for the heathen, among the five nations of the Iroquois, Mohawk, and other Indians: while, in regard to the colonies nominally Christian, its effects may be judged of by a single fact. At the commencement of its labours it found five churches, which in a few years, under its care and assistance, were multiplied to two hundred and fifty!-Nor would it be just to omit the tribute of praise which is due to an individual connected with this society. Clement Hall, a magistrate of North Carolina, emulating its zealous and pious spirit, about the year 1732, devoted his life to the missionary cause,-visited England to be ordained,—and returned to his country to a course of unremitting exertions. In the first nine months he baptised 780 children and thirty-six adults, of whom ten were Negroes. In the course of eight years he travelled about 14,000 miles, constantly officiating, during which time he baptised nearly 6000 white, 243 black children-fifty-seven white, and twelve black adults, well instructed and prepared,-besides visiting the sick, and administering the communion and other ordinances of religion to two or three

hundred persons in every journey which he made. He was called to his reward, on the scene of his labours, after fifteen years of unremitting exertion.'

"The separation of the United States of America unhappily put an end to their connexion with this society. But the flourishing condition and increase of their Episcopal Church, the books of piety which its press is continually sending forth, and the eminent examples of Christian life which it has given, may be fairly traced, and, under God, attributed, to the early and truly Christian efforts of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel. This church is one in doctrine and discipline with ourselves, and acknowledges with gratitude and pious affection, the debt which she owes to her spiritual parent!

"Debarred from the scene of its earliest labours, the society's attention, for a time, was wholly given to the vast provinces of Upper and Lower Canada, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, Prince Edward's Island, and the Bermudas. The actual number of missionaries at present supported in these parts alone, is 103, in addition to which, 113 schoolmasters are assisted from its funds. With a view to the formation of a body of native clergy, large annual grants have been made to King's College, Windsor, Nova Scotia, and scholarships permanently endowed. Frequent grants are made in aid of churches, and the National System of education is introduced in the capitals of Nova Scotia, Canada, and New Brunswick, and is rapidly extending throughout every part of the North-American colonies. For proofs of the happy effects which are daily arising from these measures, an appeal is confidently made to the testimonies of the public authorities, and to all who have had opportunity of witnessing the course of its operations, and the results of its influence. And yet, amidst all its success, the society is constantly under the painful necessity of refusing or delaying to comply with the most urgent applications for additional ministers, by a deficiency of funds!

"At the same time, another source of expenditure has been opened to the society by the extended colonization of the southern parts of Africa, and the interior of New Holland, where the same course of labour and expense demands and awaits with anxious impatience, its Christian sympathy and interference. In recent years the average annual expenditure has exceeded the society's income 60007.

-an excess which, if not met by a liberal increase of contributions, must inevitably bring ruin on its funds.

"It was found to be advisable, and almost necessary, to appropriate the collections made under the Royal Letter, in 1819, to the exclusive uses of Bishop's College, Calcutta ;-for a new, a wider, and still more important field of exertion has opened before the society in the East. In India, a population of eighty millions is subject to the British Crown. In 1812, an estimate of the Christian subjects of the British government in Asia amounted to above 675,000 (including Protestant half-casts, but not including Roman Catholics, or Syrian Christians). Little provision had been made for the instruction of these immense multitudes, and still less, or rather none, for the conversion of the heathen, until, in 1814, a bishop of the Church of England was placed in the capital of Hindostan. This auspicious event has changed the whole aspect of religious affairs in the Eastern peninsula. The clergy of that country are now members of a united body, and subject to legitimate superintendence. An increased energy is infused into the body of the Eastern Church, and all fears are obviated, lest individual zeal without knowledge,' should enforce Christianity under such a form, or by such methods, as might pervert its holy tendency, and make it the source of discord and evil. Bishop's College, at Calcutta, is one of the first happy fruits of this change in the religious government of India. It is designed to afford education to native or European youths, who may be willing to devote themselves to the Christian ministry, and supply a succession of pious men to do the work of evangelists.' The formation of a college library has been cominenced at a considerable expense; and in March 1822, it was resolved to endow twenty scholarships for the purpose of forming a body of missionaries, catechists, and schoolmasters; in addition to which, a printing-press, with all its appurtenances, is established. The college is conducted by a principal and two professors, (the bishop being the visitor,) and at the present time, students are deriving the benefit of their instructions. This foundation may be regarded as an event in the annals of Christianity, the importance of which it is impossible to calculate. The plan, indeed, has no splendid or popular pretensions, but has every essential for utility and success. The eminent

prelate, whose loss the Christian church has recently been called on to deplore, has borne the most warm and gratifying testimonies to the characters of the missionaries employed by the society, in Northern India; and his dying breath was spent in eulogizing the state of the native Christians around Madras, declaring, the strength of the Christian cause in India is there,' and commending them to the watchful care of this society, which has recently received them under its protection. Five European missionaries and six native teachers were added to this society's establishment, by the transfer of its missionary department in India, made in 1825, by the Society for propagating Christian Knowledge. And now there is a most urgent demand for more labourers in the same extensive field.-In a word, if our endeavours in India be 'so to establish Christanity as may serve to demonstrate the religious character of the British nation, to provide for the exigencies of our beloved brethren, when far severed from their friends and connexions, and at the same time to induce the natives, by the silent, but persuasive pattern of religious fellowship, and the sober invitations of a settled ministry, to lift up their eyes to the truth,'-it cannot but be felt, that the character, the history, and the actual services of this great society, justify us in thinking it admirably adapted to the purpose. The society is prepared to go forward, with zeal tempered by discretion, and, in imitation of the patterns of Holy Writ, relying humbly upon the grace of God. It has propagated the Gospel in all its integrity. It can point to large communities, nurtured by its care in the pure doctrines of Christianity, and evincing by their practice the sincerity of their profession. With confidence does it appeal to the good sense and liberality of the British nation. It is occupied in a work of prodigious extent, aud of incalculable importance, to which its own resources are utterly inadequate. No sincere Christian, who feels the blessings of his religion, and prays in spirit,' that the kingdom of God may come, can be indifferent to its success; while, on every member of the church, it has a most solemn and peculiar claim. Freely they have received, freely let them give,' and testify their thankfulness to God, for the spiritual blessings with which he has blessed them in Christ Jesus, by endeavouring to impart to others, that form of sound words,' and those means of saving grace, the pos

session of which is their own glorious and inestimable privilege.”

BATH COMMITTEE OF THE SOCIETY FOR PROMOTING CHRISTIAN KNOWLEDGE.

The Bath District Committee have transmitted to the Board in London an address, the substance of which we feel much pleasure in transcribing, with a zealous concurrence in its object, and an earnest desire that it may be carried into full effect. "We have long contemplated with pleasure the progressive extension of this society both at home and abroad; we have beheld, with unalloyed satisfaction, the adoption of measures which have connected its operations with the British colonies and dependencies in every part of the world; and in particular, we have been forcibly struck with that comprehensive wisdom which has recently dictated the translation of several of our books and tracts (including various extracts from the Holy Scriptures), into the French and Spanish languages for the use of our colonies. But, whilst we sincerely congratulate your Board on these liberal and judicious measures, as relative to foreigners, we most respectfully submit, that it is a duty still more incumbent on this society to provide for the religious wants of all the home-born subjects of the United Kingdom, and more especially, to afford every facility by which the Holy Scriptures and the Liturgy of the Established Church may be read by all classes of our fellow countrymen in their native and vernacular tongues.

"As friends of this society, we deem it quite unnecessary to dwell on the importance of a principle which has so long been sanctioned and recognized by our rules and regulations, and which has been practically adopted by admitting versions of the Scriptures and Book of Common Prayer in the Welsh, Gaelic, and French languages on the list of the society. But we feel it our duty on the present occasion to urge its application to the wants of Ireland; where a large number of the poor, as we are credibly informed, are still attached to their native language, and are either unwilling or unable to read the Scriptures in any other form. We submit this measure to your consideration, simply on the grounds of remedying an important defect in the society's operations, and without the most distant allusion to any party or political feelings. If it be a fact, that there are many thousands of native Irish who would accept the Scriptures in

their own tongue in preference to that of any other translation, we feel it our duty, as members of this society, to declare, that we are bound to supply them with such a version of the Scriptures. We therefore earnestly entreat you to take immediate measures for placing Irish Bibles, Testaments, and Prayer-books, on the permanent list of this society; and we respectfully suggest that such versions be printed in the cheapest form, and be interpaged with our standard English text. Should this important and national measure be carried into effect, we confidently hope that it may eventually lead to a far more general connexion of our society with the sister kingdom. And it is our hearty and earnest prayer, that a society which has conferred the most inestimable benefits on the English Church, may yet be reserved to disseminate its blessings in the Church of Ireland; that it may prove the bond of a more efficient ecclesiastical union; and that the period may not be far distant, when associations for promoting Christian knowledge may be extended to every diocese and district of the United Kingdom."

HIBERNIAN BIBLE SOCIETY.

At a late meeting of this society, the Archbishop of Tuam expressed the following sentiments, truly worthy of a Protestant bishop, anxious for the spiritual welfare of his fellow-creatures.

"When we call to mind, that, in the year 1806, some half-dozen pious men met in a corner to consider the practicability of establishing a Bible Society in Ireland, at a time when there were many parishes which did not possess that number of copies of the Scriptures, and that, since that time, no less than 163,628 Bibles and 275,556 Testaments have been circulated, and the society then formed has been joined by 416 Auxiliary Branches, must we not say, that this is the work of God, and that it has prospered by his blessing?

"To what are we to attribute the many conversions which have of late taken place? Other means, no doubt, may and have been blessed; but, after all, to the wide spread of the knowledge of the Gospel is to be attributed the work now going forward.

"But whatever has been the extent of our success, let us remember that to God alone belongs all the glory; and to Him ought we address our praises and thanksgivings, that we have been made His humble instruments in this work of mercy.

"We have been called a proselyting society; we have been branded with the opprobrious name of Proselyters. We