long-borne sin and reproach. As in all or in most mundane matters, selfishness is the impulse obeyed, and questions of relative advantage, not the dictates of religion and humanity, confessedly followed. But from whatever source, we are grateful for the boon, or thus far, perhaps, it were more correct to say, for the prospect. Nor can we contemplate this important matter, without being reminded of the wonderful connection that may possibly exist between different events in widely-separated countries, and of the strange relation between cause and effect. The famine in Ireland is said to have caused this good work; and in this way :-It appears that a number of Irish emigrants, who had made a timely flight from their own land ere the famine and fever which had descended on it had withered their sinews and prostrated their strength-it appears, we say, that a considerable number of these wanderers have found their way into the State of Louisiana, and have procured employment as labourers in the vicinity of New Orleans. The acute men there, whose vocation it is to make wealth at the cheapest cost, have watched the newly-imported system of labour, and they have come to this conclusion-that free labour, by men equal to their task, is more profitable to the employer, even when wages are unusually high, than the forced and unsatisfactory work of reluctant slaves. Many of them have accordingly adopted the resolution to manumit three or four of their slaves annually, and to supply their places with Irish emigrant labourers, at moderate wages. In several families and firms this gradual emancipation has commenced; and if continued, of which we are assured there is little or no doubt, in a few years there will not breathe a bondsman on the American soil.

mily by a Colporteur, we spent a delightful day (the 17th of September last.)

An evangelical pastor has been established in this commune, at whose house we were located, and with whom we visited all whom we could meet with at their respective homes. To my great joy, I found the Bible or the New Testament in every house we called at, and I am convinced that these copies of the sacred volume are not kept shut, for they all bore marks of frequent use. I was also assured that this was everywhere the case, with the exception of a few solitary families, where the curé still exercises a little influence. Thus nearly the whole of an extensive commune is to be seen, in which, thanks to the colportage, the Holy Scriptures are in the hands of the inhabitants, and nearly of all of them; and where, scarcely two years ago, none of them, without exception, knew what the Bible was. Such a result will doubtless fill you with gratitude and wonder, and will yield some amends to your Society for the heavy sacrifices which it makes in behalf of France; and when you gather, from what I now write, that the fruits of reading the sacred volume are rich and numerous in this locality, you will unite with me in blessing the Lord for the encouragements which he is pleased to grant us. A young woman, the daughter of an affluent farmer, addressed us to the following effect:-"O gentlemen, how sweet is the Gospel! The more I read in the New Testament, and the more I understand it, and the more I hear of it, the more consolation and comfort does it yield to my heart." Persons of both sexes, and nearly of every age, thanked us, in the most affecting manner, for having sent to them, in the first instance, a colporteur, and afterwards evangelists. The elders of the village conducted us to a plot of ground which they had just purchased for the erection of a chapel; and pointing it out to us as a centre from which the country for several leagues might be seen around, "There," cried they, we hope to plant the standard of the Gospel-a

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In continuing our journey, our colporteur related a fact which afforded me particular pleasure. Do you see that pretty spot a little lower down?" asked he. "Well," he continued, ". we have a number of good friends there; but the manner in which we acquired them is well worth noticing. When I first visited the village, I met with but a cold reception. I succeeded, however, in selling one New Testament to a female, and the following are the adventures which I was afterwards told my little volume experienced. The woman who had bought it of me showed it to the cure, who forbade her reading it, telling her, at the same time, that it was only fit for being cut up. On this assurance she gave it into the hands of her little girl, together with a pair of scissors, to be cut to pieces for her amusement. The child immediately fell to work, and in a very short time destroyed seven or eight pages, when she became tired of the monotonous employment. The following day, having occasion to visit a sick neighbour, who was confined to her bed, the child took with her the mutilated Testament, intending to cut out some new devices during her stay. The invalid happened carelessly to take up the book of her little visitor, cast her eyes on the first page that presented itself to her, and was perfectly astonished at what she found there. In short, the more she read, the more she became interested in its contents; so that at last she determined, if possible, to obtain possession of what still remained of the volume. This was soon effected, to the satisfaction of both parties, by her making the child a more agreeable present. From that moment she could find no pleasure but in reading the New Testament. The Lord was pleased to touch her heart; the truths of salvation were revealed to her; and she became a missionary among the neighbours around her. A quick search was made after the colporteur, who was soon found, and a goodly

number of perfect copies of the sacred volume were purchased of him; and from this small beginning has resulted a movement which is obtaining daily more consistency, and by which many souls are being led to the foot of the Saviour's Cross."

PROGRESS OF THE GOSPEL IN
TURKEY.

Our consolation in these parts, where the arch-enemy is doing his utmost to thwart the circulation of the Scriptures, is the increasing of the Arminian Protestants, and their healthy spiritual state. They were formerly the Evangelical, or Bible Arminians, but now go by the name of Protestants. A funeral of one of their children, which took place latterly at Constantinople, was attended by at least a thousand individuals of different persuasions, and the greatest order and decorum reigned. The solemn, unostentatious procession commanded respect, though stripped of the usual pageantry of crosses, candles, and gaudy priests' dresses of other Christian burials; and we must hope that it proved also edifying to many present. We are expecting here soon, the Rev. Mr. Van Lennep, of the American Board of Missions, who has been visiting the Arminian Protestants of Aïntab, of whom I spoke to you in a former letter. These interesting Christians, who became enlightened by the simple reading of the Scriptures, were visited, not long since, by a false prophet, who took advantage of their confiding tempers, and their eagerness to acquire a knowledge of the truth, to cause great confusion amongst them. Mr. Van Lennep will be able to give us detailed accounts of these people; and we hope to hear also that he has been enabled to counteract the evil done by the wolf in sheep's clothing, who introduced himself amongst them. The Armi

nian Church endeavours, as much as lies in its power, to persecute this rising nation; but I am happy to say that they have a friend in our present minister at Constantinople, as heretofore in Sir Stratford Canning.

MISSIONARY OPERATIONS OF THE

CHURCH OF ROME.

From the change about to be effected in her arrangements in this country, we may infer her general policy as to all her other missionary stations. Italy and France have, for three centuries, been the headquarters of Catholic missions. More than forty independent societies are centralised in the two institutes of the Propaganda at Rome, (founded in 1622, and extended by Urban VIII.) and the Foreign Missions in Paris. These missionary societiesthose in France, at least-are sustained entirely by voluntary contributions. Besides these, there has been formed within the last two years, an Oceanic Society, founded by M. Marzion, and designed to operate in the South Sea isles, by combining commerce with proselytism. society's first vessel, named L'Arche d'Alliance, (as if in defiance of the Evangelical Alliance, while in evident imitation of our Missionary ships, and of the late Sir Fowell Buxton's scheme for African civilization,) some time since took its departure for the South Seas; and the institution already boasts the possession of four vessels. This Society has a branch in Italy, comprising three auxiliary

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committees at Genoa, Turin, and Rome. This branch, which was established in 1845, and was formed for a period of thirty years, has issued shares of five hundred francs each, on which it guarantees five per cent. interest. The dividends are added to the capital. The king of Sardinia, with the nobility and superior clergy, are said to take great interest in this enterprise. The Genoa committee have bought a vessel, which was to sail about the beginning of last month, with a rich cargo, and as many as forty missionaries on board. Her route is Valparaiso, Tahiti, New Caledonia, Macao, Hong Kong, and the north of China. The Rome committee his holiness has taken under his special protection. From these and other facts, it is quite evident that Tahiti is but "the beginning of sorrows." Under these circumstances, it is some consolation to feel persuaded that the Jesuits, who are both the projectors and effectuators of all Romish schemes of aggression and aggrandisement, will, ere long, make themselves intolerable to the head of their own church, and to all the powers with whom he is or may be in alliance.-Christian Record.

BURNING SMOKE.

THE authorities in Liverpool have come to the determination rigidly to enforce the universal burning of smoke throughout the town and neighbourhood, resolving to levy the penalty of £5 per day in every case of refusal. In travelling by the railway from Manchester to Leeds, the other day, through an almost continuous manufacturing population, we could not but be struck with the immense advantage which would accrue to health and enjoyment if the same wholesome system were universally adopted. We do hope that in these days in which the sanatory condition of the people is gaining such

increasing attention, this important object will not be lost sight of. Baths and wash-houses are excellent as far as they go, but it is equally essential that the mass of the working-classes should be put in as pure and wholesome an atmosphere as possible. If individual manufacturers are not themselves alive to the due consideration owing to their neighbours, there may frequently exist local difficulties in the way of effecting this object. We have government inspectors and commissioners of all descriptions, why not one to carry this wholesome regulation into effect throughout the country? In the absence of this, is there no philanthropist who will step forward to traverse the country, and

act as a sanatory friend to the people, trying, in the first instance, the powers of argument and persuasion with the manufacturers, and in the failure of these having recourse to the law?

ROMISH TENDENCIES.

IF several movements in the commercial world and money market, tell of a downward tendency, and excite increasing apprehension, most assuredly everything in the religious world bears the same aspect. We refer not to positive perversions to Rome; after all, they are trifling, compared with the conversions from Rome to Protestantism. But we refer to the unaccountable indifference, with which our civil and ecclesiastical superiors are lending their influence in all directions to the interests of the Papacy. What shall we say to the appointment of Roman Catholics to the governorship in Malta, and the judgeship in Newfoundland? The former we regard with peculiar apprehension at this moment, when there is such a remarkable stir amongst the Popish priests in Malta, and the Protestant College there is developing so auspiciously its operations for extensive usefulness.

And what shall we say to the Bishop of London identifying himself with all the Tractarian mummeries of Kilndown church; and the Bishop of Ripon selecting Dr. Hook to preach the ordination sermon in Ripon Minster, and looking out his 20 rural deans so largely in Tractarian quarters? It is here that we discover the fearful extensiveness of the mischief of the day, the onward progress towards Rome. It is not in the numbers now going over to Rome-matters are not ripe for any large departure at present-but it is in the strange encouragement to these nurseries and hotbeds of Tractarianism which are to all intents and purposes leavening our Church with Popish principles and practices, and preparing the way for a tremendous crisis perhaps at no distant period. It is here that we may weep over our Church's danger, and fear the worst.

MONDAY MARKETS.

WE hail with great thankfulness every symptom of public opinion being called to the consideration of this most fruitful source of Sabbath desecration.

The following is an extract from the Morning Herald:

Mr. Anderton presented a petition from the farmers, graziers, and others of Oundle, Northamptonshire, for altering the cattle market at Smithfield, from Monday to Tuesday; also a petition from the farmers, graziers, and others of Wisbeach; also a petition from the farmers, graziers, and others of the county of Rutland, and elsewhere, for the like alteration.

The petitioners spoke in very pathetic terms of the desecration committed in Smithfield on the seventh day, in the fixing of the stalls and pens for the cattle, and the noise and filthy language of the vagabonds necessarily collected by the immense business, for which the Sunday was used in preparation.

Mr. Richard Taylor, Mr. Lawrence, and other members, denounced the language of the petitioners as touching the highest point of cant, fanaticism, and humbug; and Mr. Barnes, Mr. De Jersey, and others, considered them as exhibiting a truly religious spirit, and of course reflecting honour upon those who looked upon the desecration as deeply revolting.

The petitions were referred to the markets committee.

SUNDAY TRADING IN THE
METROPOLIS.

The select committee appointed to inquire into the prevalence of Sunday trading in the metropolis have agreed to the following report:

Your committee have examined many witnesses, of a great variety of opinions, who nearly all agree that Sunday trading is carried on to a great extent in the metropolis, and that in many parts it has been on the increase for several years past. Evidence has also been given which goes to prove that it is not confined to articles of a perishable nature, or of necessity, but extends to many

things that may be purchased on any other day of the week, as boots and shoes, hats, clothes, drapery, toys, furniture, crockery, ironmongery, grocery, &c.

The districts in which Sunday trading is most extensively carried on are those principally inhabited by the poor, and it is chiefly this class who resort to the shops open on a Sunday.

Yet your committee find, however, that shops are also kept open for the convenience of the rich, owing to which a considerable number of men and boys are employed in carrying out various articles during the greatest part of the Sunday.

A considerable difference exists in different parishes in the mode of carrying on trade on Sunday. In some an appearance of decency is observed, the shutters of the shops being wholly, or at least partially closed; whereas in others, the most open marketing prevails, goods being exposed to sale not only in the shops and warehouses, but also on the pavement and roads, which are partially obstructed during a part of the day.

Considerable difference of opinion has existed amongst the witnesses as to the cause of the continued existence and increase of Sunday trading; one party maintaining that it is unavoidable, in consequence of the labourer being paid at a very late hour on Saturday night, or even in some instances on Sunday morning, while the other declares that though this may be the case in some instances, the more frequent cause is the fact that the workman, knowing that he can purchase his provisions upon the Sunday morning, spends the Saturday evening at the public-house; his wife, consequently, does not receive the money devoted to domestic purposes till the Sunday morning, and is obliged to make her purchases upon that day.

Your committee cannot but remark that whichever of the assigned causes be the true one, injustice is done to one or other of the two classes engaged in Sunday trading. If the labourer does not receive his wages in proper time on the Saturday

to allow him Sunday as a day of rest or recreation, he is manifestly injured by being deprived of that portion of time which it has been the design of laws, both human and divine, to secure to him. If, on the other hand, he receives his wages in sufficient time to enable him to make his purchases on the Saturday evening, he is committing an injustice on the shopkeeper by causing him to sacrifice his day of rest by delaying his purchases to the Sunday.

Your committee have no hesitation in expressing their conviction of the injurious effects of Sunday trading. They have reason to believe that more than 5,000 tradesmen in the metropolis, with probably three times that number of journeymen and boys, are almost entirely deprived of the benefits derivable from one day of rest out of the seven days of the week.

It is in evidence before your committee that in some places from 10 to 20 per cent. more is charged on Sunday than on any other day, and where this is not done, the article sold is generally of an inferior quality.

Your committee find that the majority of the traders who carry on Sunday trading earnestly desire to discontinue the practice, but all their attempts to do so by voluntary agreement have proved abortive, in consequence of a minority of their fellow-tradesmen refusing to close their shops. On the other hand, those traders who observe the law themselves feel aggrieved by the illegal practice of their competitors who carry on their business on Sunday.

It is not possible, under the present law, to give that protection to the tradesmen observing it which they require.

The fine at present imposed, 58., can only be levied for one offence; and the courts of law have held that those things can only appear in evidence as shewed forth for sale which the witness can prove to have been actually sold. By this decision the keeping open of a shop for the purpose of sale is no offence against the statute. The magistrates have also refused in some places to grant warrants except as against the identical