too, was a type of the principles they respectively represented,that of appealing and trusting to the sword is past its vigour, and is falling into decay; while that of uniting by mutual benefits and of superseding the arguments of brute force by those of reason and love is in its prime and manhood, and has before it a long period of service. There are a few specimens of cannon in the Exhibition, but there are far more of agricultural instruments. The time will come when none of the former will find their place in any collection of the works of "Industry;" except, it may be, those that shall be preserved as curious, though sad and humiliating relics of a former age. Weapons of War are destined to disappear, and to give place to the engine and the compass, the press and the tool chest, the plough and the pruning-hook."-The Royal Exchange and the Palace of Industry. Review. The Industrial Exhibition of 1851 being a few observations upon the General Advantages which may be expected to arise from it. By LOUIS ALEXIS CHAMEROVZow. London: T. C. NEWBY, 30, Wellbeck Street, Cavendish Square; and of all booksellers. In this pamphlet, the industrious author presents the public with a calm, philosophic, and able survey of the causes, character, and probable results of the Great Exhibition which is now attracting the attention of the world. He travels back into the past in tracing the causes that have led to a development, so wonderful, of the arts of peace and the productions of industry; and after an eloquent description of the Exhibition itself in its general aspects, he pierces into the distant future, and describes in glowing terms its improving and pacific tendencies. From the well-known character and ability of the author, we were prepared to meet with expansive as well as correct views of any subject to which he might turn his attention, nor in this production of his fertile pen have we been disappointed. It breathes the spirit of a man who is imbued with the love of his entire species, and who is ever on the watch for opportunities to redress their grievances or to advocate their claims; and it proves with what promptness and skill the practised energies of such a man can turn to account the events of the passing day. We cordially recommend the production to the perusal of our readers, not only on the ground of literary excellence, but on that of the service which it is adapted to render to the cause of universal peace. Proofs of this abound in almost every page, and we do a simple act of justice, both to the author and the cause, by advising our friends to purchase and circulate this excellent pamphlet. Poetry. ADDRESS TO ENGLAND. Oн, isle of isles! for martial feats far-famed, Wouldst thou in brighter characters enroll Thy children's worth on Fame's emblazoned scroll!- Most loud to doom strife's murder-form to ban,— SUBSCRIPTIONS TO THE PEACE SOCIETY. Received from May 25th, to June 26th, 1851. Maine, Mr. R. W. G. E. Marsden, Mr. Isaac 0 10 0 0 26 M. E. & C. J., collected by Milner, Mr. John P. 1 00 Plant, Mr. W. C. 1 0 0 0 10 0 0 10 0 Routh, Mr. Samuel 0 10 6 0 10 0 1 0 10 0 Hawkins, Mr. John. 1 10 Post, Mr. Jacob 1 1 0 0 10 0 Wilton, Mr. Matthew 0 10 0 Satterthwaite, Mr. Michael 1 00 (Less expenses, £4 17 0) Smith, Mr. Samuel 0 10 0 . 1 0 0 Raven, Mr. John C. (three Hanley, by Mr. T. Lindop. Wilcockson, Mr. David. 050 . Firth, Mrs. Mary Small contributions Richardson, Mrs. Sarah. 0 10 0 Wilson, Mr. Charles Fletcher, Rev. Dr. 1 0 0 Froud, Mr. James Gallaway, Rev. J. C. Giles, Mrs Sarah Jackson, Mr. Jonathan . Katterns, Rev. Dr. King, Mr. Henry 26 Turnbull, Mr. Joseph BUILDING FUND. PEACE PUBLICATIONS IN FOREIGN LANGUAGES. Amount reported in the Herald for June Ackworth and Pontefract, Friends at Jesup, Mr. James Leeds, (additional) 2 100 1 001 0 50 0 10 0 Kemp, Mr. Grover Abraham, Mrs. Ann 050 Neave, Mr. Samuel Rice, J. and W. 1814/2 1 1 0 0 10 0 Lucas, Mr. Edward 0 10 6 Portlock, Mr. Samuel 0 10 6 Clark, Mr. Joseph 1 00 Potts, Miss C. E. Prier, Miss Mary Clark, Mr. John Clark, Mr. Richard E. Camberwell and Peckham, by Mr. Edward Paull. Collins, Mr. Richard (three Dent, Mr. William Harrison, Mr. Timothy, 1 00 0 10 0 1 10 0 Harrison, Mrs. Rachel Marrett, Mr. William Denmark Hill, collected in small sums at Devizes, by M. A. Fox Fallowes, Mrs. Elizabeth Harrison, Mr. G. W. Hickson, Mr. James Hunt, Mr. John Newton Plymouth, by Mr. W. Bryant (additional) Sharp, Mr. John. FORM OF A BEQUEST TO THE SOCIETY. Pounds I give unto the Treasurer or Treasurers for the time being of The Society for the Promotion of Permanent and Universal Peace," established in London in the year 1816, the sum of Sterling, to be raised and Paid for the purposes of the said Society, out of such part only of my Personal Estate as shall not consist of Chattels real, or money secured on Mortgage of Lands or Tenements, or in any manner affecting Lands or Tenements; and for which the receipt of such Treasurer or Treasurers shall be a sufficient Discharge. other £10 10 0 500 Christy, Mr. W. M. 0 10 0 0 16 0 0 10 0 1 10 THE HERALD OF PEACE. "Put up thy sword into his place: for all they that take the sword shall perish with the sword."- MATT. xxvi. 52. They shall beat their swords into plough-shares, and their spears into pruning-hooks: nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more."-ISAIAH ii. 4. No. XIV. NEW SERIES. THE PEACE CONGRESS. AUGUST, 1851. THE fourth, or, (reckoning that in 1843 as one of the series, we might say the fifth) Peace Congress has come and gone; months of anxiety and toil, on the part of the few engaged in its preparation, have been rewarded by a degree of success, which must have satisfied the expectations of the most sanguine. We must restrain for the present the full utterance of many thoughts and feelings, which crowd upon us in the retrospect of these memorable meetings. Of no public movement ever originated in this country, could it be said with more emphatic truth, Vires acquiret eundo. Greeted at its outset by many an explosion of scorn, and many a dismal prophecy of speedy and ignominous failure, it has nevertheless gained every successive year, not only accessions of number, but great increase of influence, earnestness, and power. So far as the British part of the delegation was concerned, it may be safely said, that there was never gathered in this metropolis an assembly, which embodied so large an amount of the highest elements of English society, its intelligence, its moral and religious worth, and that resolute fixedness of purpose, which has enabled the same classes as were represented on this occasion, to achieve so many triumphs before in the cause of liberty, philanthropy, and religion. More than a thousand men, from every district of the United Kingdom, representing all the large towns and cities of the Empire, and selected for the most part, on account of the honourable distinction they had locally acquired among their fellow citizens, including official delegates from important municipal and religious bodies, the chief magistrates of many towns, the parliamentary representatives of not a few influential constituencies, more than 200 ministers of the gospel of various denominations, appointed by their respective congregations; eminent professors in our collegiate establishments, and a considerable body of men inferior to none in this country, for their scientific, literary, and theological attainments. It was a noble array, not unworthy of the great cause, which they came forward to espouse. The very circumstance, which caused the only serious perplexity to those who had to conduct the proceedings-the extraordinary affluence of persons willing and competent to address so vast and imposing an audience,was of itself the most gratifying proof that could be adduced of the large amount of moral and intellectual power, which the assembly comprised. It is impossible not to feel some pain. and regret, that so many distinguished and eloquent men, so well qualified to shed the light of superior intellect on the great questions which the Congress discussed, had no opportunity of expressing their thoughts. But we confess, that even now, we do not see how the selection of speakers that was actually made, could be much amended, however strongly we might desire that the time could have admitted of its being enlarged. We cannot disguise our exultation at having secured such a President. We verily believe that the three kingdoms could have hardly supplied another so eminently qualified for the position. His high moral and religious character, his world-wide and brilliant scientific reputation, his eloquence and power as a writer, and the lofty moral courage, which he has so often displayed, all combine to render Sir David Brewster, one of the most illustrious and venerable names which our country can produce. The following brief biographical sketch for which we are indebted to Hogg's Instructor, for June, 1849, will, we are sure, be peculiarly acceptable to our readers, under present circumstances, and will afford them an imperfect glimpse of the bright and honourable career which this distinguished man has run. "Sir David Brewster is a native of the town of Jedburgh, in Roxburghshire; where he was born on the 11th of December, 1781. The family of the illustrious savant is distinguished for vigour and originality of mind, and in his earliest years he exhibited these family characteristics. He early acquired the ordinary branches of a Scottish education; and, having shown himself to be possessed of great aptitude for learning, he was sent to complete his studies for the ministry of the Church of Scotland at the University of Edinburgh. At the University the same rapidity of comprehension and masculine depth of thought (grown more acute and stronger by exercise) which had distinguished his boyhood's career distinguished his adolescence, and indicated the future destiny of the man. While scarcely recognised as a young man by those coeval with him, he was admitted to the intimate fellowship and friendship of the then distinguished professor of natural philosophy, Robison; of the famous Playfair, professor of mathematics; and the great Dugald Stewart, who filled the chair of moral philosophy. At the age of nineteen he had won from the university the honorary title of M.A., and subsequently he obtained a license to preach the gospel as a minister of the Scottish Established Church. The genius of the young licentiate had, prior to this period, however, been moving in its own spontaneous course; and had now attained a force which no circumstances were able to counteract, and a direction which no prospects of professional preferment could subvert. He had become wedded to the study of the physical sciences, and absorbed in the observation of God's power, and wisdom, and glory, as exemplified in nature. In the year 1801 he devoted himself with singular zeal to the study of optics, and during twelve years continued his beautiful and interesting experiments. The results of these elaborate and long-continued researches were presented to the public, in 1813, in a Treatise upon New Philosophical Instruments. "In 1807, while prosecuting his optical and other studies, the University of Aberdeen conferred upon the young philosopher the title of LL.D., the highest literary distinction in the gift of any Scottish senatus academicus, and one which is seldom accorded to a young man of twenty-six years of age. In 1808 Dr. Brewster was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh; and in the same year he became editor of the Edinburgh Encyclopædia, whose publication he continued to supervise, and to the pages of which he contributed, till its close in 1830, a period of twenty-two years. "While engaged, in 1811, in writing an article upon Burning Instruments' for the Edinburgh Encyclopædia, Dr. Brewster was led to consider the proposal of Buffon to construct a lens of great diameter, out of a single piece of glass, by cutting out the central parts in successive ridges, like the steps of a stair. This proposal Dr. Brewster declared to be practically impossible, but it induced his suggestion for constructing a lens by building it up of several circular segments; and thus forming an apparatus for the illumination of lighthouses, of unequalled power. In 1815 the Copley medal was conferred upon Dr. Brewster for one of his optical discoveries; and shortly after obtaining this distinguished mark of merit, he was admitted a Fellow of the Royal Society of London. In 1816 the Institute of France adjudged to him the half of the physical prize of 3000 francs, awarded for the two most important scientific discoveries which had been made, during the two previous years, in Europe; and in the same year he invented the kalcidoscope. This instrument, so valuable and important to the printer of cloth (whose inventive powers would, but for its assistance, be immensely inadequate to sustain the variety of patterns demanded by the fashionable appetite), was patented, and ought to have remunerated its inventor; but the commercial spirit of Great Britain prompted its adherents to evade the patent, and to seek their own aggrandisement at the expense of the philosopher. Everybody knew and acknowledged the inventor, and consequently he obtained what is called fame; but, for the tens of thousands of kaleidoscopes which were sold both for use and amusement, he obtained not one penny of remuneration. "In 1819 the indefatigable and indomitable savant obtained the gold and silver Rumford medal from the Royal Society of London, for his discoveries on the polarisation of light; and in the same year he established, in conjunction with Professor Jamieson, the Edinburgh Philosophical Journal, which attained to its sixteenth volume. "In 1825 the Institute of France elected Dr. Brewster a corresponding member of that distinguished body; and the Royal Academies of Russia, Prussia, Sweden, and Denmark, vied with each other in investing him with the highest distinctions which they could confer upon a foreigner. These honorary titles, although they conferred no real lustre on the man to whom they were given, nevertheless opened up to him a correspondence with the greatest intellects and celebrities in the world. They brought him nearer to Biot, and Cuvier, and Arago-those great French discoverers of new worlds of science. They introduced him intimately and personally to the many-knowledged Humboldt, and to all the other distinguished men of Germany. "In 1831 Dr. Brewster proposed a meeting of all those persons in Britain most distinguished in the peculiar paths of research which he had himself pursued and adorned; and this re-union of savants led to the formation of the British Association for the Advancement of Science.' "Perhaps the circumstance is attributable to a twist in human nature, perhaps to the catalogue of perverted and debused justice; but still it is a fact, that men are far more promptly rewarded and distinguished for the execution of feats of destruction, than for the graceful and untiring exercise of that benign genius which seeks only to do good. "In 1831 this grand-master of science received the decoration of the Hanoverian Guelphic Order; and in 1832 William IV. graciously pleased to knight him. was "Sir David Brewster is one of the editors of the London and Edinburgh Philosophical Magazine; and the pages of the Edinburgh and North British Reviews are opulent with illustrations of his genius and energy. He has been a constant and cloquent contributor to almost all the scientific works of note in Great Britain: and his prelections are as familiar to the French and Germans as to his own countrymen. Like M. François Arago, Sir David Brewster has popularised science. He has placed its instruments in the hands of laughing childhood; and he has rendered its language intelligible to the least educated inquirer. His treatise upon optics in the Cabinet Cyclopædia has largely conduced to familiarise the popular mind with the nature and utility of scientific research. To Sir David Brewster most honourably belongs the title of the people's philosopher; he who has raised himself into the highest and brightest constellation of scientific glory has not disdained to illumine the home of the lowly mechanician with the lustre of his discoveries, and the excellence of his Christian beneficence. His treatise on the kaleidoscope, and his letters on ' Natural Magic' will long preserve his memory amongst the humbler dabblers in the sciences. "His life of Sir Isaac Newton in the Family Library, is one of his most excellent and valuable works; it is glowing with brilliant eulogy and graceful criticism. To M. Arago has been universally conceded the character of a most generous critic and an elegant panegyrist. From the tribune of the Academy of Sciences at Paris he has delivered some of the most beautiful and profound eloges that ever living genius poured over the coffined clay of departed eminence. To Sir David Brewster belongs, in an equal degree, the generous and sympathetic attributes which distinguish the famous Frenchman. "His style is as rich and ornate as his highly cultivated intellect ; it is as powerful as his earnestness, and as ardent as his enthusiasm. His criticism of men of science in the Edinburgh Review, and the other literary vehicles open to his pen, are all characterised by that clearness and eloquence which are always associated with knowledge and allied to generosity. "Humboldt has casually declared, in the most celebrated of his works, that he has no aptitude for speculative philosophy, and he therefore refrains from adventuring into the regions of metaphysics and theology. Like Newton, however, Sir David Brewster preserves, amidst the triumphs of his scientific career, the faith and humility of a Christian; as the unseen things of this life have been laid open before the importunities of his inquiry, he has been strengthened more and more in that faith and sense which bear the soul above the glories of this mundane world, into that brighter and more glorious universe which God has prepared for the soul's exigencies, and the Redeemer has purchased for ransomed man. "The last and crowning circumstance of Sir David Brewster's celebrity was his election, on the 2nd of January, 1849, as one of the eight foreign associate members of the National Institute of France, which was vacant by the death of M. Berzelius, the celebrated chemist. This distinction-coveted by the most illustrious philosophers of Europe, and of the whole world-is conferred by this academy only after a rigorous examination of the scientific claims of the candidates, who are proposed to the Institute by a commission of five members; of which M. Arago, on the admission of Sir D. Brewster, as on former occasions, was the reporter. The elevation of Sir David to this distinguished position was no act of judicial disputation; the friends of the other candidates immediately withdrew their claims, and bent respectfully in approval of the election of the Scottish philosopher. The eight associate members of the Institute are generally regarded as the greatest celebrities in the learned world; and to none of his celebrated compeers does the inventor of the kaleidoscope, the discoverer of the physical laws of metallic reflection, of the optical properties of crystals, and the law of the angle of polarisation, yield in originality of conception and vigour of soul." Among the foreign delegates, the place of honour is due to our American friends, inasmuch as their presence involved an amount of sacrifice and self-denial, in travelling so vast a distance at so great an expense, in the highest degree honourable to their zeal and devotedness to the cause. We believe that the American members of the Congress exceeded sixty, representing sixteen different States. Some of these had crossed the Atlantic expressly for this one purpose, having travelled more than 1000 miles, even before they embarked. All honour and admiration to the men, who could testify their zeal at so great a sacrifice. They were well and worthily represented in the tribune by Dr. Beckwith, Mr. Burritt, and Mr. Greeley. The speech of the former gentleman was particularly valuable, on account of the many cheering facts it recorded, respecting the triumph of our cause in the United States. We do not at present know the exact number of French members of the Congress; but it was very considerable, and we need hardly say, that in intellectual power and influence, it was second to that of no country represented in the Congress. To have gained the hearty sympathy and devotion of such a man as M. de Cormenin to our cause, was worth all the trouble and expense of the Paris Congress, and when we look at the goodly array of names, who have identified themselves with the movement in France, and who by their presence, or their letters, have renewed their adhesion in the present instance, including Victor Hugo, Girardin, Say, Garnier, Coquerel, Bouvet, Molinari, St. Hilaire, Carnot, de Tracy, and others of scarcely inferior mark, we feel convinced that it requires only a little better organization of their forces, (which we believe M. de Cormenin intends soon to attempt) to enable our French allies to accomplish great things. Hail to the German fatherland! We confess that we turn with special affection and hope to our Teutonic brethren. Despite the present unfavourable circumstances of their country, they have in them the true stamina and stuff. There were but comparatively few of them at the Congress, but they were emphatically of the right sort. Dr. Creizenach's speech, was one of the most telling and successful delivered during the three days. The English portion of the audience were taken by surprise to find a foreigner, expressing himself so admirably, both as regards style and pronunciation in their own language, and they testified their delight accordingly, by very cordial applause. Some German friends, unhappily not with us in person, were present to the minds of numbers in that vast auditory, and the hearty cheers with which the names of Dr. Varrentrapp and Dr. Spiess, and others of the Frankfort Committee, were greeted, when mentioned by Dr. Creizenach, testified how lively a recollection was cherished by many, of the eminent services rendered by those gentlemen to the friends of Peace, during their visit last year to Germany. The few words uttered by Dr. Scherer, of Vienna, with so much simplicity and gentleness, fell on the audience like a shower of dew. M. Visschers, ever foremost of our continental associates, headed a respectable number of Belgian members and adherents, whose allegiance to the cause has been mainly secured by his own indefatagible exertions. This gentleman is entitled to the most conspicuous and honourable place among the friends of Peace, for nothing can exceed the simple hearted devotion with which he has attached himself to the enterprise, ever since our visit to Brussels. His speech at the Congress was every way excellent, as our report will testify. His allusion to the suppression of the Peace Society at Koenigsberg, as well as the reference made by Dr. Creizenach to the same event, drew from the audience an expression of spontaneous and ardent sympathy, which would have been we doubt not, very gratifying to those of our German brethren, who are suffering from that tyrannical act. Italy and Spain, Holland, Sweden and Norway, had also their fitting representatives. It was a noble spectacle to see all these nations, accustomed in the evil times that are past to meet on the battle-field, for purposes of mutual hatred and destruction, now mingling their sympathies and voices in the hallowed work of universal concord. "A holy gathering!-peaceful all, For vengeance on an erring brother; To love and reverence one another- FIRST DAY'S SITTING. Ir was with a beating and anxious heart, that those who had been concerned in the preparations for the Congress, looked forward to the morning of the 22nd. A noble band of the old and true friends of the cause had indeed mustered in the Committeeroom an hour before the proceedings, and by their presence served greatly to assure and strengthen their hopes. Still it was not without apprehension that they anticipated the hour when they were to appear on the platform of Exeter Hall. But whatever feelings of that nature they had experienced, were quickly dissipated by the spectacle which met their gaze on first entering the room. The middle block of seats on the platform, together with the whole central area of the hall, and a considerable number of the raised seats, had been reserved for the delegates or members Since the above was written, we have learnt that they were 38! of the Congress. When the Committee and their friends ascended the platform, they found nearly the whole of this space already occupied by a dense sea of countenances, flushed with intelligent and eager expectation. The other portion of the hall that had been allotted to visitors, was also well filled in every part. On the appearance of some well-known members of the Congress, the whole of this vast assembly became stirred with emotion, "as the trees of the forest are stirred with the wind." Peal after peal of applause testified the delight of the audience at recognizing in succession the leaders of this great enterprise. When this agitation had subsided, The Rev. HENRY RICHARD, Secretary of the Peace Congress Committee, stepped forward to the front of the platform, and said, Gentlemen of the Congress,-The first thing necessary to the orderly arrangement of our business is, that the Congress should constitute its own bureau, in other words, should elect the officers by whom the proceedings are to be conducted. I have it in charge from the Committee to recommend to you certain gentlemen as President, Vice-Presidents, and Secretaries for this Assembly. I feel convinced that most of the names I have to mention, are such that you will not require me to put each of them separately and formally to the vote, but that you will signify your approval by acclamation. The Committee count themselves singularly happy in having secured the services, as President, of a gentleman in whom all qualifications they could desire are combined in a rare and remarkable degree; a gentleman who, in addition to his high moral and religious character, possesses a reputation as a philosophic and scientific man, that is co-extensive with civilization; and who is, moreover, free from all political bias, inasmuch as the pursuits to which he has devoted his life and great talents, are such as belong not to party, but to all mankind. I refer to Sir David Brewster (loud and long continued cheering.) I have to propose as Vice-Presidents for England, two gentlemen, the bare mention of whose names will, I am sure, be sufficient, namely, Mr. Richard Cobden, M.P., and Mr. Charles Hindley, M.P. (loud applause.) I have the happiness to nominate as Vice-Presidents for France, two gentlemen of great and merited distinction in their own country; one equally distinguished for his profound learning as a jurist and his eminent talents as a popular writer-M. de Cormenin (cheers.) The other, the worthy son of an illustrious father-Mr. Horace Say (cheers.) I have to propose, as Vice-President for Germany, an eminent Professor in the University of Heidelberg-Professor Rau (cheers;) and for Belgium, who so fit as our long-tried and unfailing friend, M. Visschers? (great cheering.) For America, I propose Hon. É. Jackson and Mr. Judge Niles (cheers.) The following are the gentlemen recommended as Secretaries of the Congress :-for France, M. Joseph Garnier and Rev. Athanase Coquerel, jun. ; for Germany, Dr. Creizenach and Dr. Marquardsen; for America, Mr. Elihu Burritt and Rev. Dr. Beckwith; for Italy, M. Jules Avigdor, of Nice; and for England, Rev. Henry Richard and Rev. William Stokes. (The assembly signified its approval of all these nominations by loud cheering.) The names of the foreign delegates were then read by M. Garnier for France, by M. Visschers for Belgium, by Dr. Creizenach for Germany, by Mr. Burritt for America, by M. Jules Avigdor for Italy. Mr. Richard then stated as the English delegates comprised upwards of one thousand names, he would not take up their valuable time by going through so long a muster rol, but would simply mention a few of the more eminent. After a short pause for silent prayer, Sir DAVID BREWSTER (the President), amidst loud and general cheers, rose to deliver his inaugural address. He said : I should have shrunk from occupying the chair in which your kindness has placed me, were I required to address to you any formal and lengthened argument in favour of the grand object which the Congress of Peace has been organized to accomplish. I shall consider this part of my duty discharged by a brief reference to the nature and the justice of the cause which we are this day met to plead. The principle for which we claim your sympathy, and ask your support, is, that war undertaken to settle differences between nations is the relic of a barbarous age, equally condemned by religion, by reason, and by justice. The question, "What is war ?" has been more frequently asked than answered; and I hope that there may be in this assembly some eloquent individual who has seen it in its realities, and who is willing to tell us what he has seen. Most of you, like myself, know it only in poetry and romance. We have wept over the epics and the ballads which celebrate the tragedies of war. We have followed the warrior in his career of glory without tracing the line of blood along which he has marched. We have worshipped the demigod in the Temple of Fame in ignorance of the cruelties and crimes by which he climbed its steep. It is only from the soldier himself, and in the language of the eye that has seen its agonies, and of the ear that has heard its shrieks, that we can obtain a correct idea of the miseries of war. Though far from our happy shores, many of us may have seen it in its ravages and in its results, in the green mound which marks the recent battle-field, in the shattered forest, in the razed and desolate village, and, perchance, in the widows and the orphans which it made! And yet this is but the memory of war-the faint shadow of its dread realities-the reflection but of its blood, and the echoes but of its thunders.(Hear, hear.) I shudder when imagination carries me to the sanguinary field, to the deathstruggles between men who are husbands and fathers, to the horrors of the siege and the sack, to the deeds of rapine and violence and murder, in which neither age nor sex is spared. In acts like these the soldier is converted into a fiend, and his humanity even disappears under the ferocious mask of the demon or the brute. To men who reason, and who feel while they reason, nothing in the history of their species appears more inexplicable than that war, the child of barbarism, should exist in an age enlightened and civilized, when the arts of peace have attained the highest perfection, and when science has brought into personal communion nations the most distant, and races the most unfriendly.-(Cheers.) But it is more inexplicable still that war should exist where Christianity has for nearly 2000 years been shedding its gentle light, and that it should be defended by arguments drawn from the Scriptures themselves. (Hear, hear.) When the pillar of fire conducted the Israelites to their promised home, their Divine Leader no more justified war than he justified murder by giving skill to the artist who forges the stiletto, or nerve to the arm that wields it. If the sure word of prophecy has told us that the time must come when men shall learn the art of war no more, it is doubtless our duty, and it shall be our work, to hasten its fulfilment, and upon the anvil of Christian truth, and with the brawny arm of indignant reason, to beat the sword into the ploughshare, and the spear into the pruning hook.--(Loud applause.) I am ashamed in a Christian community to defend on Christian principles the cause of universal peace. He who proclaimed peace on earth and goodwill to man, who commands us to love our enemies, and to do good to them who despitefully use us and persecute us; he who counsels us to hold up the left cheek when the right is smitten, will never acknowledge as disciples, or admit into his immortal family, the sovereign or the minister who shall send the fiery cross over tranquil Europe, and summon the bloodhounds of war to settle the disputes and gratify the animosities of nations.-(Cheers.) I see in the list of our members the venerable name of the Archbishop of Paris, who, but for ill health, would have presided over the Congress in 1849. I trust there are many bishops of our National Church who, like their Catholic brother, are intolerant of war, and who are ready to give their sanction and support to the cause of peace. I have seen a bishop, and some of you may have personally known him, who characterised war by a sentiment which might well be inscribed upon our banner-a sentiment powerful from its arithmetical logic, and more powerful still from its brevity and truth. "One murder makes a villain, millions a hero." (Hear, hear.) Had Bishop Porteus been alive, he, doubtless, would have presided in his own diocese over a congress of peace. When revelation is discredited, or its decision questioned, reason is summoned as the arbiter, and reason has been appealed to by the friends of war. To its deliberate verdict we shall cheerfully yield. If reason is not for us, revelation is against us.- (Hear, hear.) War is, by its friends, deemed a condition of man in his state of trial. It has, they allege, been part of the Divine government for six thousand years, and it will, therefore, continue till that government has ceased. It is, consequently, as they argue, wholly Utopian to attempt to subvert what is a law of Providence, and what seems part and parcel of our fallen nature. If the combativeness of man, as evinced in his history, is thus a necessary condition of his humanity, and is for ever to have its issue in war, his superstition, his credulity, his ignorance, his lust for power, must also be perpetuated in the institutions to which they have given birth. Where, then, are the orgies, the saturnalia of ancient times, the gods who were invoked, and the temples where they were worshipped? Like war, they were the condition of an infant race, and have disappeared in the blaze of advancing civilization.(Hear, hear.) The game of credulity, the condition of early science, and the sphere of the magician, the conjurer, and the alchemist, has, like that of superstition, been played, and the truths which once administered to imposture have become the sources of wealth and the means of happiness. The game of ignorance, also, has been played, and the schoolmaster has buckled on his armour to replace it with knowledge and virtue.-(Cheers.) The game of slavery, too, has nearly been played-that monstrous condition of humanity which statesmen still living hold to be inseparable from social life, and which men, still called Christians, defend from Scripture. The game of duelling-the game of personal war, in which false honour and morbid feeling make their appeal to arms, and which was not only defended but practised by Christians-has likewise been played; and even the soldier, who was supposed to have a prescriptive title to its use, has willingly surrendered his right of homicide and manslaughter.-(Hear, hear.) The game of revolution and of despotism which is now playing before our eyes will, in its turn, be played, and with it the game of war will terminate. Is it Utopian, then, to attempt to put an end to war? If personal and local feuds have been made amenable to law-if the border wars of once hostile kingdoms have been abolished by their union-if nations have successfully combined to maintain the balance of European power by their armies-if, in our own day, an alliance called holy has been organized to put down revolution in individual states, and maintain the principle of order-why may not the same great powers again combine to enforce peace as well as order, and to chastise the first audacious nation that ventures to disturb the tranquillity of Europe?(Cheers.) The principle of this Congress, to settle national disputes by arbitration, has, to a certain extent, been adopted by existing powers, both monarchical and republican; and it is surely neither chimerical nor officious to make such a system universal among the very nations that have themselves partially adopted it. If these views have reason and justice on their side, their final triumph cannot be distant. The cause of peace has made, and is making, rapid progress. The most distinguished men of all nations are lending it their aid. The illustrious Humboldt, the chief of the republic of letters, whom I am proud to call my friend, has addressed to the Congress of Frankfort a letter of sympathy and adhesion. He tells us that our institution is a step in the life of nations, and that under the protection of a superior power, it will at length find its consummation. He recalls to us the noble expression of a statesman long departed, "that the idea of humanity is becoming more and more prominent, and is everywhere proclaiming its animating power." Other glorious names sanction our cause. Several French statesmen, and many of the most distinguished members of the Institute, have joined our alliance. The Catholic and the Protestant clergy of Paris are animated in the sacred cause, and the most illustrious of its poets have brought to us the willing tribute of their genius. Since I entered this assembly I have received from France an olive branch, the symbol of peace, with a request that I should wear it on this occasion.-(Cheers) It has lost, unfortunately, its perishable verdure-an indication, I trust, of its perennial existence. The philosophers and divines of Germany, too, have given us their sympathy and support; and, in America, every man that thinks is a friend of universal peace. In pleading for a cause in which every rank of citizens has a greater or less interest, I would fain bespeak the support of a class who have the deepest stake in the prosperity of the country, and in the permanence of its institutions. The holders of the nation's wealth, whether it is invested in trade or in land, have a peculiar interest in the question of peace. (Hear, hear.) Upon them war makes its first and its heaviest demand; and upon them, too, war, in its reverses, makes its first appropriating inroad. In our insular stronghold, we have ever felt secure from foreign aggression; but when alarmists are raising the cry of insecurity on our shores, they proclaim the insecurity of property by their very arrangements to defend it. In the reign of peace, wealth will flow into new channels, and science will guide the plough in its fructifying path; and, having nothing to fear from foreign invasion, or internal discontent, we shall sit under our vine and our fig-tree, to use the gifts and enjoy the life which Providence has given to discharge the duties which these blessings impose, and prepare for that higher life to which duty discharged is the safest passport.-(Cheers.) But it is not merely to property that our principles will bring security and amelioration. With war will cease its expenditure. National prosperity will follow national security. The arts of peace will flourish as the arts of war decay. The talent and skill which have been squandered on the works and on the instruments of destruction will be directed into nobler channels. Science and the arts, in thus acquiring new intellectual strength, will make new conquests over matter, and give new powers to mind. The minister, who now refuses to science its inalienable rights, and grudges even the crumbs which fall from his niggardly board, will then open the nation's purse to advance the nation's glory; and the decorations which now justly shine on the breast of the warrior, and those which hide themselves for shame under the drapery of the party adherent, will fall to the lot of the sage who enlightens, and of the patriot who serves, his country. Science will no longer bend a suppliant at the foot of power, and the intriguer will no longer dare to approach it. Education, too, will then dispense its blessings through a wider range, and Religion, within its own hallowed sphere, will pursue its labours of love and truth, in imitation of its blessed Master.-(Cheers.) If we have not yet reached this epoch of peace and happiness, we are doubtless rapidly nearing it; and among the surest harbingers of its approach is the Exhibition of the World's Industry, and the reunion of the world's genius, which now adorn and honour our metropolis. As one of its daily visitors since it was opened by our beloved Queen, I may be permitted to call your especial attention to it as the first Temple of Peace that modern hands have reared.(Cheers.) You have, doubtless, all seen its magnificent exterior and its internal splendour-its lofty transept raising its glittering roof to the skies-its lengthening nave vanishing in distance and misty perspective-its countless avenues and aisles-its iron corridors-its crystal labyrinths. On the outline of its walls, and from its balconies within, wave the banners of nations--those bloody symbols of war under which our fathers, and even our brothers, have fought and bled. They are now the symbols of peace. Woven and reared by the hands of Industry, they hang in unruffled unity, untorn by violence, and unstained with blood, the emblems, indeed of strife, but of that noble strife in which nations shall contend for victory in the fields of science, in the schemes of philanthropy, and in the arts of life.-(Cheers.) The trophies of such conquests, and the triumphs of such arts are displayed within. Who can describe them without "thoughts that breathe, and words that burn ?" There are the materials gathered from the surface, or torn |