back upon our neglect with reference to seamen, we may well be greatly humbled. It has been set before you clearly enough that we have depended for our liberties on our wooden walls. But I care not to dwell much upon such topics as these. I question whether our moral feelings are greatly indebted to the fact that our youth must dwell so frequently on the exploits of Alexander and the deeds of the Cæsars and other heroes of antiquity who turned the world upside down. I question if we are benefited by dwelling on such scenes as the retirement of Xenophon with his 10,000 Greeks, or the defence of the straits of Thermopyla by 300 Spartans against the inroads of Asia. I question if our hearts are much improved by thinking of the battle of St. Vincent, or Trafalgar. As we profess to be followers of the Prince of Peace, we should rather delight to awaken our minds and our energies, by thinking of the peaceful, the bloodless victories, of the word of God. I do not say that any country has exceeded our own in deeds of arms, though some have equalled her; but I know not that any country has been raised up that can be compared to her in her exertions for the promotion of the glory of God, and the salvation of mankind. It is not, when I see my country grasping in her strong and powerful arm, the bloodstained sword of victory; it is not when I see her standing upon a rock and looking with triumph across the sea, over which her navies and fleets float triumphantly in every direction, and that I see her noble, great, and truly glorious. It is when I see her laying aside the bloodstained robes, in which she has so long wrapped herself, standing and looking east, west, north and south, passing, as you are doing this evening, solemn resolutions, to send the Gospel to every ship, and the Bible to every shore. It is then that we may cherish a hope of the continuance of England's liberties—it is then that we shall secure the benediction of that gracious Being who has raised us already to such eminence among the nations. I trust that in these remarks it will not be considered that I am reflecting upon that excellent American friend who visited us some time ago, and delighted us with his eloquence. I turn to him and say, 'Very dear art thou to me, my brother Jonathan.' I admire the patience with which he sits, the heroic fortitude with which he listens to the praises of ourselves. But as Dr. Cox, of the United States, said some years ago, America and England not against the world, but for the world:' and as we can now write, America and England in what they are doing for seamen, may we not encourage the hope that their moral and religious improvement will be greatly promoted? When we think of our seamen who have gone forth to demoralize the nations of the earth, we think of the language of the poet Coleridge, when he said,

"We have offended very grievously;

And been most tyrannous. From east to west
A groan of accusation pierces heaven.
The wretched plead against us. Multitudes
Countless and vehement-the sons of God-
Our brethren. Like a cloud that travels on,

Steamed up from Cairo's swamps of pestilence,
Even so, my countrymen, have we gone forth,
Bearing to distant tribes slavery and pangs;
And deadlier far our vices, whose deep taint
With slow perdition, murders the whole man-
His body and his soul."

It is time that we should arise and counteract this unhallowed influence, that has proceeded from England in so many directions. Then may we expect liberty, and peace, and joy to prevail at home; and that our own three kingdoms will form a threefold cord that shall not easily be broken; that the shamrock shall no longer disdain the rose and the thistle, but they will unite in forming a chaplet for the brow of surpassing loveliness, over which we shall behold, smiling from day to day, the prospects of celestial hope. If we saw England moving from one end of it to the other, in this work, I should have higher hopes of its improvement. I should like to see the Sailors' Society second to no other institution. I suggest to my esteemed fathers and brethren, that they should move a little more vigorously in their respective spheres. In the spot where I labour, we have a few female friends, who collect about £60 a year for this Society, and none of the contributors feel that they are a penny the poorer for it. I am sure that the best feelings of Englishmen are kept in the most active exercise when the cause of seamen engages their attention. I look forward to that happy time when, after we have learned to exert ourselves sufficiently for so good a cause, Britannia shall stand upon her lofty cliffs, and behold her fleets bearing home the wealth and the glory of the nations into our midst; and going forth as messengers of kindness and love-every seaman a missionary-every captain bearing a Bethel flag nailed to his mast-head. I look forward with holy joy to that period, when the Tahitan on his coral shore, and the African on his sunny slope, shall behold on the mountain wave the meteor flag of England, with the dove inscribed on it, and the crown of glory over it, and then each shall exclaim to his fellow-How beautiful on the mountain wave, is the signal of him that beareth good tidings, that bringeth salvation, that saith to Africa, to Asia, and to America, thy God reigneth.'"

The Rev. E. E. ADAMS, A. M., Seamen's Chaplain for Cronstadt, Russia, (in seconding the resolution)-said, "The cause which has convened us, suggests all that is vast in its relation, noble in its nature, and grand in its results. Vast-for it is allied to every branch of society, every kind of enterprise, every species of character. Noble for it is based upon the broadest benevolence, supported by the good of two great nations, and blessed by the favour of heaven. Grandfor its object is nothing less than the universal elevation and purity of The same may perhaps be said of some other christian associations of the day; but that which cannot be said of others, and yet is the characteristic of this, is, it embodies the principles and efforts of all. It is a Foreign Missionary Society-for it bears to the sailor and

man.

the native of distant shores, the blessings of divine truth, at the same time training efficient pioneers to break up the path before the missionary. It is a Domestic Missionary Society-for it aims to forestall and destroy those influences which operate to the ruin of our home population. It is a Bible Society-for its agents and missionaries distribute the scriptures in many languages to the destitute. It is a Tract Society -dispensing, through the agency of our chaplains, missionaries, and converted seamen, thousands upon thousands of those silent heralds every year. It is a Humane Society-seeking out the suffering sailor, at home and abroad, to place him in the hospital, to watch over him there, soothing his sorrows, administering medicine and consolation, and, above all, pointing him to the great Physician. It is an Education Society-for it trains hundreds of the children and orphans of seamen in the week-day and sabbath-schools. It is a Temperance Society-for by its efforts numbers of the dissolute and debauched have been reclaimed. It is a Peace Society-for it would lead every sailor to become a subject of the peaceful kingdom of Christ, and then there would be but few provocations to war. It is a Catholic Society -inviting to its principles and its efforts all who love truth and God. It is an Evangelical Society-not exclusively Irish, or European, but universal. And last, but not least, it is an Anti-slavery Society-for, when its object shall be accomplished in the piety of seamen, the slave trade must cease-there will be no crew to man a slaver. Yes, I believe, that had the seamen of the 15th, 16th, and 17th, centuries, been the objects of more explicit religious interest, that unhallowed and cruel traffic would long ago have been amongst the things that were; and I believe, that through the moral purity of our seamen, as an important instrumentality, that monster, whose breath has poisoned the institutions of so many nations, and which still breathes its malaria over millions of men-in whose iron hand innocence, beauty, and worth writhe, and languish, and expire-shall relax his grasp, release his victims, and sink into annihilation. Do not suppose that I would, on any account, depreciate the above-mentioned societies. I could wish their means were increased, and their operations extended a thousandfold-for I hail intelligence, peace, liberty, piety. Immortal train from the skies may they come and bless us, by their presence and their reign! and, with greater emphasis on my heart than can be upon my tongue, would I add, as an introduction to so blessed a season, Hail the renovation of seamen on every shore, on every sea! It is possible that I address some who consider the safety of property on the ocean, a matter of vital importance. Society has no isolated branch. causes operating upon it, whether they spring from the system, or its accidents, have no defined distinctive sphere of influence, although they may of agency. Their effects are limited only by the bounds of society itself. Trade is an essential in artificial society, at once the medium and the spring of industry and wealth. The regulation and stability of trade on land, depend, to a great degree, upon equitable laws; but the traffic of the seas, although, as a whole, resting upon national compact and interests, yet, in its detail, owes its safety to the

The

character of those by whom trade is carried on. In the years 1836, 1837, and 1838, £20,000,000 sterling, were lost in vessels and cargoes of England and America alone, mainly through the dissipation and consequent incompetency of masters and crews. This is not a trifling sum, when we think of the supplies it might have furnished to our dying poor, and of the want of means for the support of our benevolent institutions. Why, give us that, and we will ask no more, for all the purposes of our association. Give us that, and, with the favour of heaven, we will set up the banner of the gospel in every port, on every continent; we will commission to every quarter of the globe the heralds of everlasting mercy. No vessel shall plough the seas which does not carry intelligence, and peace, and piety, by which to bless the millions in distant lands. But, as a loss to merchants and ship-owners, it is not devoid of interest; and they feel it. Ah! yes, sir, there are anxieties and sympathies for the ships and cargoes floating on the seas; there are sleepless nights, pale cheeks, and tremblings of distress. The Merchant of Venice" is not a mere creature of imagination. His feelings are often realised by many a merchant of the present day :

"Whose breath, cooling his broth,

Would blow him to an ague, when he thought
What harm a wind too great might do at sea.
He could not see the sandy hour-glass run,
But he would think of shallows and of flats;
And see his wealthy Andrew, deck'd in sand,
Vailing her topmast lower than her ribs,

To kiss her burial. Could he go to church

And see the holy edifice of stone,

And not bethink him straight of dangerous rocks,

Which, if his gentle vessel should but touch,

"T would scatter all his spices on the stream,
Enrobe the waters with his flowing silks;
And, in a word, but now worth this,

And now worth nothing."

Ah, there are sympathies; but not for him who clings to the helm, until the waves sweep him from it;-not for him who expires at the mast-head from the peltings of the storm! Not for him, whose last cry comes up from the foam, to be lost in the shrieks of the tempest ! Not for him, whose heart will be cheered no more by the sight of homefaces and the sound of home-voices ! Not for him, whose passage to the spirit-land is so sudden, so terrific, and, withal, so hopeless?No, not for him! It concerns every merchant and ship-owner to secure pious masters. They will seek for piety in their mates, and the mates will choose a pious crew; and thus their property, and the life that guards it, will go out under the securities of holy principle. My resolution mentions one topic which we are too slow to contemplate. It is, That commerce is a principal medium through which the blessings of science, freedom, and piety, are to be extended and preserved on

earth.' This has been the theme of the eloquence with which your souls have thrilled, as mine was, by my brother who moved this resolution. I shall, therefore, not presume to dwell upon this ground, but will only call your attention to commerce, as a medium through which these blessings may be conveyed to the Holy Land. There was a period when commerce characterised the Eastern world, when the cities of Palestine were filled with the luxuries and riches of foreign trade when the flags of David and Solomon floated over the Mediterranean and Indian seas. Where is that commerce? She has moved onward to our shores. Her fleets throng our rivers and harbours, lifting her towering masts and shaking her sails in our sunlight. And why is she here? but to be sanctified, and borne back again with the blessings of science, and liberty, and religion? Yes, here she is— the genius of the world-opening her resources, pouring out her treasures, and inviting us to be rich, and to make rich. She speaks to us, Patriots, Christians, lovers of man! here you may put forth your efforts. If I have guarded England by my wooden walls, and extended her conquests over nature, I will render her more glorious, by giving her dominion over mind.' We talk of England's glory, and England's thunder; and long may her glory live, though I care not how soon her thunders are hushed. I love England; and can say, although an American, let her banner wave onward to the latest generation, and never be struck until it is struck by the hand of God. But I would have hers to be a moral glory; her flag the flag of holiness, and written upon it in gold, "life and love;" and let it float over the world, cheering every heart, inviting the gaze of every eye. I would have her soldiers and her sailors moral warriors, moving forth embattled against sin. That would be greatness. I would have them follow as their leader, not him who glitters in plumes, and epaulets, and swords, but Him who wept in Gethsemane, and died upon Calvary, and conquered death and hell when he arose.-Man is ever above his circumstances, but below his duty. He is ever struggling after that which he cannot reach, and sighing to perform that which he is neither able nor commanded to effect. You have sometimes wished that the winds and the waves were in your power, that you might rescue sinking cargoes and crews; but you can do more, you may give the sailor that which will enable him to resign his life as calmly and as sweetly in the storm, as when the spirit leaves its clay in the still solitary chamber of love. Could you start out for the skies, to reinstate the lost Pleiad with its sisters in the coronet of night, how would your hearts beat for the trial, how would your frames shake for the errand. But you can do more. You can bring souls to be spiritual stars - you can scatter from their path-way the glooms which sin has thrown around them, and place them, glowing and immortal, in the diadem of Jesus! We invite you then to act-to pray-to sympathise-to give. The age demands it. If there was ever a time when the Christian should appear in the grandeur of his principles, it is now. The world invites God gives the pledges of his favour! The prediction of the bard is now realised in relation to England and America,