GENESEE EVANGELIST.—WhoIe No. 791. THE WORLD HARVEST. Thev ... gowlng their seed In the daylight fair. The? Bowing their seed in the noonday s glare, Thev are sowing their seed in the soft twilight, Thev are sowing their seed in the solemn night? They are «o™S ( (helr harvest be i Thev are sowing their seed of pleasant thought, T.V lL Snring’s green light they have blithely wrought! Thev have brought their fancies from wood and dell, Where the mosses creep and the flower-buds swell: w Bare shall the harvest he 1 Thev are sowing the seed of word and deed, Which the cold know not, nor the careless heed! Of the gentle word and the kindest deed, That have blest the heart in its sorest need; Sweet shall the harvest be! And some are sowing the seeds of pain, Of late remorse and in maddened brain, And the stars shall fall and the sun shall wane, Kre they root the weeds from the soil again; Dark will the harvest be i And some ate standing with idle Hand, Yet they scatter seed on their native land) And some are sowing the seeds of we, Which their soil has borne and still must bear | Sad will the harvest be 1 They are sowing the seed of noble deed, With a sleepless watch and an earnest heed i With a ceaseless hand o’er the earth they sow, And the fields are whitening where’er they go j Rich will the harvest he! Sown In darkness or sown in light, Sown in weakness or sown in might, Sown in meekness or sown in wrath, In the broad work-field or the shadowy path, Sure will the harvest be i For the American Presbyterian. thoughts for the prayer meeting. THE TOP OF PISQAH. The soul that prays should get near heaven. It is easy to be quiet and calm In voice and feel ings, and have the semblance of peace where exists no holy quiet. How peacefully the dead lie, where the moon, on a winter’s night, shows yon cold tombs 1 But God is the God of the living. Ah 1 here is the agony I Her? is the straggle to wrest my living, thinking, active soul from amidst the earnestness of earth, from my study and oares, and business, from my pleasures, and perhaps some joys, new-born to-day, and say; “peace, be still";—come; disrobe yourself of earth, and enter into the secret place.” To go from the excite ments of the street, from the calls <)f home, the demands of rest after a day of toil, to torn from the suspense, the mortification, perhaps, of busi ness defeats to the antagonisms of thoughts, seri ous thoughts which I shall have in the prayer meeting-room 1 Perhaps the Pastor may say no thing of the war, and of this day’s sad news; nothing of the national tumult of cares and pro phecies, and then my distracted spirit shall he restless, my thoughts wander and the light of truth shall shine upon my body, though living,— as that winter’s moonlight, upon those marble tombs—my body at the meeting, hut my soul away. But I must go. Yes I will go I Perhaps I may get a little nearer heaven in my feelings by going. I shall make one step upward?. Who knows what may follow? Moses saw not the promised land, even from the ridges of Abarim. Why would God send him higher? It was, at any rate, a miracle, for no mountain peak could possibly afford the traveller the vision Moses had, except God gave it to him 1 Why would not God perform the miraole from any top of Abarim’s ridge ? I know not! But the vision was not had by Moses until from Abarim to Nebo, and from Nebo to Pisgab, Moses had obeyed the call, and so far as earth was concerned, had reached a height, the highest that oountry afforded. Now, nearer heaven, in that he was farther from earth} the vision was attained. Ah 1 how little the armies even of Israel below him seemed, and how grand was the dim prospeot of the promised land 1 Now, if my soul could likewise rise-—if I could . . . “climb where Moses stood “ And view the landscape o’er,” how should the struggles of my spirit cease to be those which now make prayer so much a form— so much a mere entreaty of God for blessings temporal—for comforts and success and conditions which, in their influences entwined with the pre sent world, must vanish when this world shall cense to be. j Men often pray from half a height. God says “Get thee up into the top of Pisgah.” “Ah! Lord,’’ saya the half-hearted Christian, “may I not pray at home as well as in meeting? Will not'Aba rim be near enough heaven ? If I pray in my heart as I walk, as I sit in my office or COubt ing room, as t am in the parlor, sitting room or in the kitchen, will, it not be prayer as much as though I kneeled down in the family circle or in my closet, or with my child? Ganst thou not hear and answer prayer from any place?” Yes, half hearted one, God can hear prayer, if ’tis but the “swearers’ proper. lie Can give Moses the vis ion from Abariui, or from Nebo. But alas! for you he will not. Therefore up-*-" Get thee up into the top of Pisgafh” God is there, and the vision too. It is a struggle, often, but ’tis worth the toil tO get so near heaven that one’s heart overflows with the glory of the vision, and from an abundant heart be sure the mouth will speak, and God will heats that heart which prays “when God appoints to hear.’’ ' , * Betvldere, jf. 3. REMINISCENCE OF THE EATE HEY. JAMES PATTERSON. A* the “ memory df the jnst is blessed,’’ I send you the following.incident, whioh was fcold'mc a few weeks since by ft mother in Israel, who-was a witness of the scene. It was daring the first years of Mr. Patterson’s ministry that he was invited to spend a week at Amboy, N, J. Whilst enjoying the hospitalities of the p] B oe, he was not forgetful of his high call -IDB* He visited with the pastor from house to house, pressing the subject of personal responsi bly on all with whom he oatne in cgntaot. He c *lled on a gentleman who filled- a plaoe of trust, a b was well known and respcoted in that eommu "“f* As Mr, Patterson entered the ,hall where 1 r - S. and his family were seated, enjoying the ! ea vie w and breeze,-he kindly took his.band>and glaired, “ Are you the priest of this large family ? oyou minister morningand evening at this altar ?'’ ‘ r * S. answered with emotion, “I have never prayed with my family." Mr. Patterson replied, in ® u a ’ e neglecting a solemn duty. If yon persist e s * n i jour wife, who-is a professor of religion, i . U,t ea< l the devotions Sf*bhe family—you thust Ve * family altar," ;sr.. left,.—- but the £ood seed fell in good ground, and brought forth abundantly. The following morning in peni tence and tears, Mr. S; erected the'faMly altar, and offered upon it" the sacrifice of a broken and contrite spirit. “ God had respect to the offering.” Mr. S, soon after expressed a hope in Christ,, and his life evidenced its sincerity. Both these ser vants of Jobus have gone to their reward. When a faithful minister is daily with hia people,'labor ing for their.good,’tis the flood-tide of his useful ness; we look at the aggregate, and the effect is lessened.—But the reffluent tide of life leaves me morials of the departed. We walk the shores of time and gather them up for the benefit of the Church. And, as in the natural world, the wave may throw upon the shore the refuse of the sea, or bear on its bosom a rich treasure, so the wave of life when it breaks on its fixed, eternal state, carries with it joys or woes unutterable. Happy that minister wbMe work is aocepted, and blessed by .bis Master. :'i ■, ?,*,*; June SO, 1861. ; . ..... t ■ ... THE PRESBYTERY OE ERIE ON SYS TEMATIC BENEVOLENCE. Belle Valley, Pa., June 27th,,1861. Key. John W. Mears, Editor American Presbyterian. Dear Brother: —By an order of the. Presbytery of Erie at their late sessions in Edinboro’, I respectfully request of you the pub lication of the following extract from- their mi nutes. The business indicated came up on the report of a committee appointed at our stated meeting in April lagt. The report as adopted was asfollows:— • :u , , “That while the Presbytery duly respect the right of every man to give of that which is his own to such objects .and at such times as -his own judgment may dictate, and would lay no restric tions upon individuals, or. churohes,* limiting their gifts to any specific objects of Christian benevo lence, they are, notwithstanding, of the opinion that there are certain . objects of benevolence So related to our churches ; as to give them a claim of precedence upon our benevolent actionand it ■ is , their belief also, that periodical times of giving to these objects have advantages over irregular or occasional contributions such as to commend them to the adoption of all onr churches. In accordance with these views, Presbytery re commend to the churches under their care the following objects of general benevolence, as claim ing their eminent practical regard:—• Ist. The eause of Home Missions as now con ducted-by the Generali Assembly through its Committee on Home Missions, 2d. The cause of Foreign Missions, including specially the objects of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions and the Ame rican Foreign. Christian. IJnion. - A 3d. The Education of young men for the Gospe Ministry. . / - • ' 4th. The General Assembly’s Publication eause, . b These four objects of Christian .benevolence, Presbytery deem specially worthy of the prominent regard of all our churches,, the feeble as well as the strong. And;while we would hinder no one from charitable, co-operation with other agencies of general , benevolence;, we would hope that these maybe regarded as now having a claim of pri ority upon those in our ecclesiastical connexion. -Believing in the importance of having a system and Christian principle in casting our mites into the treasury of the-Lord, Presbytery would re commend that every church should make its con tributions to the objects designated at such stated times as each church shall deem most convenient. It is recommended, unless objected to, that the pastor, together with the members of the session, be a committee to receive the moneys contributed by the respective churches, and apportion the dis tribution of said moneys in accordance with the supposed views of the donors touching- the rela tive importance of the claims of .the aforesaid benevolent objects. It shall, however, be the duty of tho committee to appropriate all moneys given With specific designations, to the objects specified by the donors. The committee shall report an nually to the church the amount received, and the appropriations made during the year.” A true extract from the minutes. J. Vance, Staled Cleric. SINCERITY OF A HINDOO CONVERT; TESTED. The Rev. H. Wilkinson, late of Orissa, of the General Baptist Missionary Society, in the course of an interesting speech, related the following nar rative : —“ I was in the tent of a ’British officer, who said to me, .‘ I believe your coming to India is a regular forlorn hope,’ ‘ I should believe the same,' was my reply, ‘ only God has promised to accompany all Ido in His name.’ ‘But,’ he added, ‘the Hindus won’t make Christians; they are so cunning, they are downright liars. I would not believe a Hindu, was a Christian if I saw him.’ I told him I had some good native converts that, I should like him to See. ‘ Well,’ he replied, ‘I should like to See them, and I would chow them up to you.* Just then our missionary, Gonga, who had been a Brahmin, was coming up the walk to the tent, and I said to the officer, ‘Here is one of our native preachers coming; perhaps you would like to show him up.’ ‘ Well,’ he said, ‘ I should like to ask him a few questions.’ I said to Gonga in the native tongue, ‘ This gentleman don't be lieve in your Christianity.’ ‘ Well, I can't help that,’ said Gonga,—the lordliness of his Brahmin ieal character breaking out, ‘He wants to ask you a few questions.’ ‘ What is it hewfcnts to ask me questions for? Does he want to .know the reasbn of the hope there is in me, or to find fault?’ Softening, he added, ‘Let the gentleman ask me any questions, and I am prepared to answer them/ The first question the officer put was,/ How did you get your living before you were a Christian ?’ Gonga Sid not quite understand this, and he Said, ‘ Sir, I Was an Officiating Brahmin.’ ‘But how did you get your living; tell me that?' Now just Suppose that somebody were to stop the carriage of a gentleman with lawn sleeves, as it,was ; gaßsing along the streets of London, r and to say to- him, ‘How do you get your living?’ It might be a very awkward question for him to answer,'but it would be known very well that he did have agood living. And, the Officer ought to have understood the ease of the Brahmin in the same way. When he did understand that brother Gonga had had the temple revenues and the offerings of the people, ' and that he bad given them up to become a Chris tian, be said, * Well, I did not expect that, anyhow.’ He wanted to show that this man had become: a Christian .jest to gets living. Old Gonga then related the history of his conversion. He was first impres|£d with the statements he had found in a religious tract, which led him to put Jugger naut to the. test,. whether he were a God or not. l& v-swi +m~- ■ H. S. > PHILADELPHIA, THL|SDAT, JULY 11,1861 to Kim, and then,he spent the same length of time in cursing him. ‘ Nothing came of it,’ said Gonga, and I did not believe he was a God; but to make it more certain, still, I went and poked him with a spear, and my, arm was not withered.’ Then he told of the happy change which had come over his own feelings, and how, by faith in Christ, he had a good hope through grace. The tears stood in the officer’s eyes, and he seized Gobga’s-black hand, saying, ‘ God bless yon! I am'glad to.bave met with you.’ Then it;was Gonga’s turn. ‘ You have claimed the right,’ said he to the officer, ‘to examine me; and now, perhaps, you will allow me to examine you a little. You conic from a Chris tian country-—you will call yourself a; Christian; now I want to ask if, you-are really a Christian?’ The officer,got up, and walked into an inner, room. Gonga followed hint, saying in a gentle voice, *T did bot mean to offend you; and I would only ask yon, as a Christian, to pray to God that I may be found- faithful until death.’. ■ Lain happy to tell you that officer dated his conversion to God. from that time.” SLAVERY AMONG THE ANTS. We copythe .'following interesting account- of what very-closely resembles tbe institution of-bu man slavery among ants, from the July number of the, Student and. Schoolmate, , an; excellent .little monthly for young persons, published by Galen James and Co., Boston., If any one desires to see what use oan be made of tbis curious practice by the defenders of slavery among men, they can re fer to Dr. Seabury’s recent book, American Sla very Justified, pp. 113,120, &c. That davery exists among various species of ants, is a fact , established beyond question, bit does, not, however,, appear Jo be generally known, else the advocates of human slavery would not fail to introduce it into their arguments; and we should have heard plenty of sermons preached from {he words of Solomon:—“ Go to the ant,-thou slug gard, consider her ways and be wise.” It is 'in deed surprising that this .illustration from insect life, strengthened by so good a text, has never been made use of to demonstrate that slavery—the “di vine institution;” the “patriarchalinstitution”- is sanctioned both by;nature and inspiration.'. • True, it may be answered that Solomon meant to recommend the ant’s usual habit of iiving by her own industry,-and nbfthatof living by the in dustry brothers. And it is fair to "admit tbit the facliof slavery among ants proves no more in fa vor of human slavery, than the fact that big fishes devour little ones proves in favor of cannibalism and murder. Huber, the younger, an aecuratd'obseryer of in sect life, noticed this astonishing “institution” of the ants early in the present century. Remarking, one day, in a field near Geneva, an army of large red ants on the march, he resolved to follow them; and presently saw them approach a habitation of small black ants, when a pitched battle ensued. A number of the negroes fought desperately in de fence of their city, while others, fled from the op posite gates with their children. These were the prizes which the invaders had come to seize, and the wretched blacks judged rightly that it was an army of kidnappers. • The brave little band of defenders was soon over come. The entrance to ; the city was: forced. In rrusbed the invaders, reappearing shortly, each dragging an infant captive from its home. . Huber left the sacked and'*l}cS'olktfed city, to follow the army on its return home. '■ At the gates of their own.city;i the victoribus red warriors were met by black slaves, who came out to relieve them of their burden, and to. take .charge of the captives of their own race—very much as the slaves of Cuba may receive a cargo of Africans landed by a slaver on their coast. ' Huber soon perceived the.nature of this slavery. The large red ants were the gentlemen, the pro prietors, the cavaliers'of the community. Their most arduous task was to wage war, kidnap their neighbors, and make servants of them. These were the workers, .the faithful providers of food for the community, the nurses of their master’s children, and of their own. The masters lived a. a life of laziness; the slaves a life of perpetual la bor;—and no doubt the latter were very grateful to the former for having taken them away from their native .country, and given them the benefits of the “patriarchal institution.” ■Huber proved by experiments that,, whatever advantage slavery might possess for the slaves, it could not, all things considered, be regarded as beneficial to; the masters. By compelling others to do their work,.they lost the power of doing any thing for themselves. They seemed to be degraded by laziness and luxury. Several of them, placed in a box along with their grubs, without slaves, made some attempt to move the young ones about in the manner necessary to.deyelop them into,ants; but soon gave over the task; abandoned not only their children but themselves also; lost their ap petites; gave way to despondency; and lay down to die. At this point Huber introduced a single black among them. The effect was electric. The miserable .slaveholders took' courage at the sight of their attendant, and began to eat; while, the latter,' faithful old servant, set briskly to work to attend the grubs, which had been deserted by their own parents; and to feed the.parehts; who had be come too grossly indolent and imbecile to feed themselves. He then went away, and brought back with him more slaves, r who. assisted eagerly to save the lives and nurse the children of their masters. A touching spectacle. What is still more curious, Huber observed that the blacks, from being slaves, virtually became the masters of their masters. They forcibly kept the warriors at home when they were setting off on any enterprise which the more sagacious blacks did not approve. While at other times, when' the weather ...was favorable, and the blacks considered an expe dition .desirable, they actually compelled the war riors to sally out, driving them from the, city, or turning them forcibly about if they attempted, to come back. ' ’ " Michelet, who, in bis ■work entitled “I/InseCte,” quotes these accounts frord Huber, adds his own personal testimony as to slavery among the ants. One day, in the summer of 1857, he saw;the evi dence of it— (“de mes yeux je Pai vuc”. —with my eyes I saw it—he says emphatically)—in the park of Fontainebleau. Out l of a heap of stones, he beheld issue an army of reddish ants, four or five hundred in number. It moved rapidly in the direction of a turf, in 9. strong*column, marshalled by regular officers, which maintained order on the march, and prevented any scattering of the forces. Suddenly it plunged Into the ground, where there was not to the eye any indication of an ant-hill, and as suddenly reappeared, bearing away, each a cocoon in its jaws'. Out came the negroes with them, in dismay and consternation, vainly at tempting to prevent the kidnapping. In ten mi- DUtes it was all over. At least three hundred children were carried away by an invasion which had all the appearanee of having been as carefully preconcerted, as it was swiftly and mercilessly executed. ■ Stephen felt, asleep.— How calm! How peaceful! He fell asleep. Was it lying on his bed, with friends, around' him, soothed; by love’s hand, gently at sunset breathing out his soul? No! It was on the bard ground, with none to pity him, crushed by stones hurled by infuriated foes, murdered for no crime, that he died. But it was a happy, peaceful death. His peace was within, - and no earthly power could rob him of it. “ And . they stoned Stephen, callingupq.n God and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. And he kneeled land cried wfth a : loud V|ice,-Lord, lay hot “Ithis fein fo tbeih'cbh%e. Ana •tlieh be had said this, lie fell asleep.?* : Lord, jf I am called to die a sudden, bloody death, let thy peace Be in my heart. Let 'me fall asleep in Jesus ! Let me awake in his presence! ... ,■ .. . . '[ Soldier’s Friend. INFLUENCE OF FAMILY-WORSHIP ON * CHILDREN. ‘ BY 3. W. AMSXANBEXtJ There are many rea'deiW of'this article who, like the author, can go back* to ho' period of re collection in which therß'cftship of God was not duly observed under theparentalroof; andthey trill agree in testifying that, this is am.ong the . chief blessings for which ’they haw to’ thank an ever-gracious Providence. If called upon to name the principal benefit of fhinily-wbVship, we should indicate its benign operation on the children of the house. ... /. ' ■ ~■.. '. . The simple fact, that pgpents and offspring meet together' every ihorhing ’and evening, forthe word of God and prayer,isA great’ fact in house hold annals. Itis-the God’s name oyer the lintel.of ik P ,the,|Setting;Up of God's altar. Tlie_. |ing..ls 5 marked*; as ;«r house Of prayer, Religion, lb'thus; m’adh a, suh stantive and pfomihenf jlaifrbf thh Hbflestic plan. Tbedday ■it openbdi and <ch)d|d instheiiiaufe sofr«the Lord,. ; From the very daWtt of ABason, each,, little one.,grows.,up..wifh...a feelipg that i God, l mi|st„be honored, in’ everything; -that no business of life can proceed without Himj and that the day’s wotk, or study, would be unsheltered, disorderly, and in a manner profane, hut' for this consecra tion. When such a in later ypars, to mingle with .families wh«ge,there is no womhip,; there is an unavoidable shudder, as if among hea then or infidel companions. J in Greenlan'd, When a stranger knocks at the dbdr, 'he asks; ■‘f Is God in this house?” and if -they -answer, ‘‘.Yes;”; he enters.’ ■ .. s u As prayer is the main part of all family-wor ship,, so the chief benefit to children, is that they are the subjects of /such' prayer. As’the great topic of..the parentis ? heart is his offspring, so they will be bis great burdenvat: the throne of grace. And what is there,;-which the,father and mother, can ever do fbr their beloved ones, that can be compared wifn the,ir bearing them to God* in daily ' Bupplioi&f 'And when are they so likely to do 5 melting :affection, as; when -kneeling, amidst- #e group of sons and .daughters? And what players are. more likely to he answered, than those which are offered thus? The direct influence of 5 fa4ily prayer is then to bring ■ down' the benediction of Almighty God upon the children of the house. In saying this, though we should not add another .word, we adduce a, sufficient and triumphant reason- fqr r the custom of our fathers. But there are incidental and col lateral advantages which must hot Be overlooked. Daily worship, in-commCii; encourages . children to; acts: of devotion. . It reminds them, however giddy or careless, they may be, that God is to be adored. In many ways to then* the duty ahd blessedness of praying for themselves, : Slight impressions; otherwise transient, axe 1 thus fixed, and infant aspirationsxstre carried ;up-with the vbltune of domestic incense. Is. it 'too much to say, , that, in,this, way,,family-w.orship becomes the means,of ev.erlastiogsalvation to multitudes? ■ The daily regular and sblemn redding of God’s holy word, by a parfeht before 1 hi's’childfen, is one of the most powerful agencies of a Christian life. Wa are, prone, toundervaljre this-.oause,, ;It is.,a .cohstmit dropping,,but it J |gws its m;ark;4utq thw rock. A family tbjus trained cannot be ignorant of the Word. The'whole SWptures come repea t • edly before the mind. The most heedless child must observe and -retain some portion of the sa cred oracles: the most forgetful must treasure up some passages for life, No one part of juvenile education is. more important. Between families thus instructed, and those where the Bible is not read, the contrast is striking. To deny Buoh a source of influence to the youthful mind is ah in justice, at , the thought of which a professor of Christianity may well tremble. The .filial affec tions are moulded by faniilyWorship. The child beholds the parent in &■ peculiar relation. No where is ;the Christian father so venerable as where he leads his house in -prayer. The tenderness of .love is ..hallowed-by the .sanctity of;reverence. A chastened awe is thrown about the family form, and parental dignity assumes a new and sacred aspect. ' 1 ’ - ; **'■' ; There is a kindred influence upon fraternal-af fection. Praying together is a certain means of attachment; those who pray for one another can not but love. Think of .it,,and confess how im possible it isfor sous and daughters, every day, during all the sunny years,Of youth, to bow down side by side in common devotions and mutual in tercessions, without feeling .that their affection is rendered closer and holier by the very act. BrO' thers and sisters who have thus been led together to the throne of grace from infancy, are linked by ties unknown to the rest of the world. But the topic merits a separate.discussion. , ; Delighted as is. .the,.syllable home, it.is made tenfold more so by prayer. The ancient lares, pr gods of fhe house, were cherished, and their altar was the domestic hearth; They were vanity and a lie: “but our God is in the heavens.’’ The | house of our childhood is always lovely, but the presence of the Almighty Protector makes it, a sanctuary, and Kis altar causes home to Be d.onbly hoin'e. However long we‘live, or however far we ’ wander, it will ever abide iuinemory as the place of-prayer, the cradle;of; our ii childlike devotions, the. circle which enclosed father and mother, and sister and brother, in its sacred limit. Now that ; which adds to the charm and the influence of ’ home, affords a mighty incentive to good, ahd a | mighty check to evil. To make a child love l his home, is to Secure him againstj A thousand tem'pta | tions,: Families who /live wAbout-Gad such advantages and recollecupus. The domestic fireside no WoujbtHas its churns, but.itiS 1 shorn • of its religious*associationit is less revered; ■we believe it is less loved. | v In families where there is praise of God, in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, there; is an additional influence OT jths young. ’ At no age are we' more impressed |by music, arid no rotisio is so impressive as that which' is’the vehicle of devotion. The little, imitative creatures'begin to catch the melodies; lopg before they can under stand the words. Withoutany exception they are delighted with this part of the service, arid their proficiency is easy in proportion. No choir can be compared with that of’a goodly household, where old and young, day after day, and-year after year, lift up the, .voice in,harmony. . ; . / Sacred song tranquillizes and softens the mind, makes an opening for the 1 higher influences, 1 arid prepares voice and heart for the public praise of God. The practice is the mom important, as it is well known that in order to attain its perfection, the voice should be cultivated from an early age. Nor should we omit to . mention the stores of 1 psalms and* hymns which are thus treasured in the me mory.' By this it is, even more l than by public wor ship, that the Scottish peasantry to so great an extent hav,e>the old versionoftlie.l’sa.lms bvrotc,. in great pert or in whole.; In the fearing of youth, riosfog can he thought insignificant which goes to train the thoughts, or give strength and direction to the habits? : It is by a repetition of perpetual, paltient touches, small in themselves, that the stragglingbranches of the yipe are led by the gardener to . grow and. spread aright. It is by ten thousand inappreciable dots arid scratches, that the plate of the engraver is made to represent the portrait or tho landscape. So it-is by an renewed applicatidn of the right principles, that parerifaLcare, in. the hand reign grace,, gives; Christian^habit tp ; the infant lurid a .wdiri; urnim enees, as we save the filings of gold and the dust of diamonds. For this reason we ascribe to do mestic worship a large share in /creating useful habits in theijoung. ;We scruple-not tqsay that, a child receives advantage by being led to do any tiring, provided it be innocent, at stated times, with frequent repetition,' and with proper Care. The daily assembling of a'Household; at regular periods, lor' a religious directly -tends to promote good habits. It is a useful' lesson for the .speechless‘babe, to Acquire the .patient still ness of" the hour bf pitayer. It is good for a fa tbily'to have'a religions motive for early rising. and l timely attendance to personal neatness. It is something: to; have- -punctuality in; the - obser vance of two hours each day, enforced from, the very dawn of life. Those who may bp, tempted to put this asidb with a smile, Bhouldifirst insti tute'aeomparison'in regardto these ‘particulars, between any two families; of whichene 1 worships, and • the other worships not. We are willing to abide by the result of .the examination, fpr we are sure .that in'the latter will be found a great loose ness of domestic arrangement, tardy rising, a slo venly toilet; aJong, iTregolar, tiine.-vvasting break fast, more conformable to the modern fashion than i .to\Bhristianaupage-; ! .eveniflgS'lwithotit an,Affection ate rally ofthe.-bouse; and late hours of retiring, br nb.snecified Honrs at all. , Parents, who may read this article' are respect fully invited to ; consider whether they do not owe it; to their’children to;-give-them-the . daily;wor ship of God. - Especially,, are the sons and- daugh ters of the church, whose, own youth, was. hal lowed by-this constant observance, charged to re call their impressioDs ofthe'past, and to reckon up the advantages which they are denying to their offspring. • - DI& WILLIAM ADAMS’ ADDRESS A3P BOSTON, BEFORE THE NEW-ENQLAND BRANCH OF THE AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY. —AN EX- TRACT. Bpeciali oootislons'demand special 1 religioiiß ex ertions. -As we -were never before passing through such a crisis of affaire as the .present, so, never were there so many inducements to a wise and faithful Christian aggression. *l. The present is a most favorable time for the application nf religious truth. This is not in ac cordance with the popular notion. I am aware that many things tend to divert and distract at tention, and that the sanctity of the Sabbath has been disturbed by unwonted sights and sounds. On' the Othbr hind, times of activity, of life, of -earnesness,'are more favorable to religious'impres sions, than, seasons, of droway indifference. It is easier to turn and direct,a running stream, than to put motion into a stagnant pool. The whole land is galvanized with new vitality; and if the ministers of religion are wise and earnest in guiding and instructing excited thought, -no phy sical appliances of; hartshorn and fennel-seed will be necessary to keep congregations awake during the Sabbath of this extraordinary.summer. 2. Never was there'a time when there was more need of clear, sharp, strong emphatic re ligious truth,, than the present. There is a yast deal of .what may be calied zoee-water religion. ; Society has become enervated and demoralized by notions which have been put forth in the naui'e of Humanity. The community has become tole rant of crimes. Legislators; under a false potion of philanthropy, have taken action looking to the abolition, of capital punishment, as if-it were too erucl and vindictive for bur moderp/civilization. Though it stands unchanged in the Hebrew code, with God author, “ Whoso shbddetb man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed,” the deli cate nerves of our fastidious humanity have shrunk from such jndicial severity as, a relic of primeval barbarism. An intuitional religion has come into vogue, which has substituted personaf sensibility for the divine requirement; gentle Suasion' for ener getic: control, pity for the wrong-doer: in place of the stern severities of justice. Instances have been numerous of notorious criminals arraigned for -judi cial trial, in whose behalf more sympathy has been expressed than for an outraged community; and this has made conviction for crime difficult; the exe cution of law .uncertain’; and escape from sentence and .penalty by .any art,, has been applauded as an act of cleverness. - Nor has this mawkish sentimentalism stopped at this point. It has modified theological state ments j it has relaxed the strength of Biblifcal truth. l : Men have undertaken to prove themselves more tender-hearted than their Maker. We have any number of treatises, designed, if not to dis prove the doctrine of future retribution, yet so to soften down tfje divine declaration onJjbe subr ject, as to deprive it of all its force. Philanthro py, so called, has supplanted theology, humanity usurped the place, of .divinity- The tendency of things has been to put the unregulated instincts and hripulses of‘man lb place of the attributes of the Supreme. The- same tendency exhibits itself in modern theories of education. Authority-has given place to coaxing. The rod, notwithstanding the divine sanction and the result of ancient dis cipline, has been.laid asideus a badge of cruelty; and a self-indulgent parentage .makes , easy terms with the refractory, in the'form of toys arid-sweet meats and picture hooks. - Implicit obedience to tparejgts,;as*the first lawibf society,;is judge.d;to he an obsolete statute, unsnited to modern intelligence and later progress and individual independence. In truth-there has beeri a”“ softening of the brain” in the body politic, the progress of which, like all similar ailments, has -been insidiously showing itself, not by; violent, paroxysms .of in sanity, but by a general relaxing of the whole tone, a slow but resistless preparation for general dissdlutibn. No people have been more 1 rapidly or sthoroughly‘jedheating .‘themselves for: disjii tfe . gration r ,ahjd anarchy, through an' emasculated theology, degenerate potions concerning govern ment—filthily government,,- civil government, di vine government—and law and justice and autho rity',' than' we ourselves, in this long Season of prosperity and luxury and enervation. Htimam- Jputfgjwm in.religion and- ethics -and} manners■ has crept into the seat of discipline,-! and,,she has walked.in silver slippers, been attired in satin, and her voiee has been rimsical as‘a lute, and her general’i method has been to liirb ineh -tbiAnty along; a . primrose path; with gentle persuasions, mahipg it to.appear that doing right was nothing more than, policy and prudence; ..and if one whs bent on doing wrohg, the conseqdericesf On the whole, under the sway of infinite Benignity; would not' be' so very severe or intolerable. 1 : We have had serious proposals for mew versions of the Scripture which were to omit all the imprecations in tbe.PsajmSj.and all the threatenings from the mouth of the Lord, and oil the terrors of the di vine justice, as utleHy incongruous with 'that “milk of 1 human kindness” which has been se creted by false notions concerning the goodness of the Almighty. A LESSON. A week since, just before an engagement took place between two regiments of Federal troops and . as large body of Rebel troops near Norfolk, sadness spread over the land when it was announced. that by a, fatal mistake, growing put of not understand ing the signal, one' of our companies fired upon another'in the darkness 'of the morning, and some were killed, and'many wounded. These brave memwere engaged:in a common arid: glorious cause, and eaeh had on his uniform the initials of bis country’s pame, and all had over them the stripes and stars of - their’ country’s noble banner. But by reason of the darkness thCseemblenis could not bri recognised; and the missiles of death were projected with alas! too :sure ahiaim by these sol diers of our army upph ,one another 1 How sadly true is this of the, soldiers of the, cross! ~ Evan -geiical Christians have one great heart beating within them; they are animated by one motive, and aim at one result ; they have Jesus for their Captain; the sword of the Spirit, and for an helmet the hope ,of salvation. Yet how often are they found in conflict with each other, and weakening their strength for resisting their common foe. Suiely the darkness of prejudice should even'now puss away, to reveal.tothem all, |h«ir true charac ter as worthy of love, arid not of hostile attack. , „ , .Standard, RETRENCHMENT. The prospects of the conntryebnrisel retrench ment. The stagnation-of bnsiness, the prospec tive increase of taxation, and.tbe voluntary con r tribntiops for the soldiers and their families will render ft necessary for most persons to reduce tfieir Waatr afiict expenses. Biit we fear many commence eco.no.my at; the wrong end., We ought first to reduce the expenses of the table ,and, wardrobe, ’and, deny ourselves the useless luxuries of life. * hot" begin retrenchment by redheifig ybur confrißntions to yonr pastor: 'His-family i .will neetkfood and: raiment, a bouse andbome,’ tfa. less now than when the times were better: lle.is expected to pay his store bills no less now than before. Besides, you expect bim to per form the same labor and bear the sarise respon sibilities as iwhen ’the times were better, s You would not think of firiding an excuse in thg hard times for withholding, money due your other creditors: who gives yon a fight to withhold from the man of God the hire to which he is en titled as a faithful laborer ?• .. Do- not begin retrenchment by reducing yonr gifts to the cause of Christ—-to the benevolent objects of the.churcli. The church has employed a certain number of missionaries, and pledged herself to suppCrt them, relying on your accus tomed ' -contributions. How can she pay her •honest debts to these self-denying men, if you refuse, to give, your share. They have families dependent on them for support. If a day-laborer were about starving because you refused to pay him iiis hard-earned wages, you would forfeit the respect of all who Knew you. Here are la borers, who for the kingdom of God’s sake, live, on the scantiest means,, and -yon help to with hold, from them even the paltry sum which was pledged for their support. If you must save, do not repudiate the honest debts you owe to these servants of God. It is wicked for a man to feign bankruptcy in order that he may, with full pockets, repudiate his debts. It is more wicked still, to feign poverty to withhold your debts to God, when you have more than you can use. If you have subscribed to missions, or the building of churches, pay your subscrip tions promptly. There is some complaint on this seore. * Enterprises that have commenced on the faith of subscriptions by Ghristians, are jeopardized, if not defeated, by the non-pav ment of’moneys subscribed. Daring hard times ; churches must be built as well as in better times. The heathen need the gospel as much now as then. Perishing - souls can no moire get to heaven now without the Saviour than then. Our worthy beneficiaries, who are eager to pre pare themselves for service in the [Master’s vine yard; can no more live on the wind in hard than in prosperous times. Do not begin to save by robbing God through bis servants and cause. You can practise economy withoift being dis honest- ■ SWiridling and repudiation'are not es fsCritial'to fhriffl I"--■ " Do not-begin retrenchment by curtailing the supplies for, ypur spiritual wants. Do not abridge or diminish yonr devotions to gain time to make money. Read your Bible and pray, -commune and attend public worship as often in hard as in prosperous times. Rather improve these privileges more frequently. Do not cease buying and reading good boots, because the times are hard. Slow, more than ever, yon need good counsel, nutrient mental food—useful healthy reading, i Do not stop your religious paper because the times are hard. To s u will lose more than you gain by so doing. If it must be, rather stop your secular paper for a season. You can remain in Happy ignorance of markets, murders, and poli : tieal miscarriages, detriment to yonr religion. But stop your religious paper and you cut off the supply of religious informa tion; you will hear and know nothing of souls new-born and sonls borne to heaven. In short, yon shut ont from your family all the intelli gence of the Saviour’s workings in his church. Which will you choose ? The world or the church, na,turgor grace, earth or heaven f A good religions paper will help yon to bear the burdens imposed by the hard times. Take yonr church paper, and pay for it, and get your neighbor to do likewise. i J.LOTHROP MOTLEY OS' THE AMERI , * CAS REBELLION, . , [We present our readers, with; the openirig column of the extended and masterly argument of Mr. Mot ley oh the Sbiithem-Rebellum. In a future number we intend .giving further extracts.] rTo the Editor of.the Times: —The de facto ques tion.in America has been referred at last to the dread "arbitrament of civil war; Time and events must de termine whether the “great Republic” is .to disap pearfrom the,roll,o.f nations, or whether it is destined to survive the storm which has gathered over its . bead. There is, perhaps, a readiness in England to prejudge the ease; a disposition not to exult in our downfall, but to aecept the fact; fop nations, as well as'lndividuals, may often he addressed 1 in the pa thetic language of the poet— . “Donoc eris felix multos.numerabis amicus, Tempora cum fuerint f nubila n.uilus prit.’’ , Yet tlie trial by the ordeal of battle has, nardly com menced, and it would be presumptuous to affect to penetrate the veil of even the immediate future. But' the question fa jure is a different one.. The right and the wrong belong to the past,.are hidden.by ,no veil, and may edsify be'read by all who are not wilfully blind.- Yet it is often asked, why have the Ameri cans taken up arms? Why has the United States Government plunged into what ! is’ sometimes balled “ this wicked war?” Especially it is thought amazing iniEnglanj] that^he.Presjdjefjt,should, have.recently called fqr, a great army of volunteer's and 'regulars, "and ; that ! fhip»inhabitants of the free States should .have sprung,forward, as one man at his call, like-men suddenly relieved from a spell. It would have been amazirig had tbe call been longer delayed. * The na tional »flstg,.insulted and l .defied for many months, bad at Jast-been,lowered, after the most astonishing kind of siege recorded in history, to an armed and orga nized’rebellion; and a proptinent personage in the .government -pf the Southern-Confederacy,”: .is, re ported to have proclaimed,, amid the exultations of victory, that before the first bf May the same che rished emblem of our nationality should be struck from the capitol,at Washington, An advance of the “Confederate troops” upon that city; the flight or captivity Of the Pi'eeiden.t 'aod his Cabinet; the sei zure ,of the.national archives, the national title deeds, and tho whole machinery of foreign inter course and internal administration'by tho Confede rates; and the* proclamation from the American pai ' Indium itself of the Montgomery Constitution in place of the one devised by Washington, Madison, 'Hamiltoh and eoHstituiion in which slavei-y should..be the universal: law of the land, .the comer stone, of _ the. political edifice—were.- events which seemed, for a few,' days, of intense anxiety, almost probable. •'• ' •. . ‘ v ' , ,;-i . , ' _ THg UNION SENTIMENT, ; ~ ~ Had this really been the result- without a blow -being struck in defence of the National Government and the old Constitution, it is certain that the con dutqely poured forth upon the .Free States, by their r dbmestio enemies and by the world at large, would have been as : richly deserved-' aslfc 'would -have been am P?y bestowed. At prpsen,tf : Bnch;a, catastrophe H- Hto been averted.,. Rut the levy in mass of such-a vast number of arm&i 'men in the Free -;&tateB,ln:swift,responsefo .theleaU of the President, t!?e attachment .to fhe Constitution and'to the 3 fag of the Ufiiiin in the - -A-tu-, iUvd m msm a -.d st-vi f . VOL. Y—SO. 46.—.Wh01e Ho. 263. German Reformed Messenger. hearts of the nineteen millions .who inhabit those States. It is confidently believed, too, that the senti ment is not wholly extinguished in the nine million whife men who dwell in the slave States, and that, on the contrary, there exists a large party through out that country who believe that the Union furnishes a better protection for life, property, law, civilization and liberty than even the indefinite extension of Af rican slavery can do.' THE CONSPIRACY. At any rate the loyalty of the Free States has proved 1 more intense'andf passionate than it bad ever been supposed to be before. It is recognised through out their vvfele people that the Constitution of 1787 had made us a nation. The efforts of a certain class of politicians? fotalopg period, bad been to reduce our commonwealth to T a\confede racy. So long as their ef forts had been confined to argument it was considered sufficient to answer the argument; but now that se cession, instead of .remaining a topic of vehement and subtle discussion, has expanded into armed and. fierce rebellion "arid revolution, civil war is the inevi table resist." It is the result foretold by sagacious statesmen .almost a generation ago, in the days of the tariff “nullification." “To begin with nullifica tion/’ SAid Dkniel Webster in 1833, “with the avowed intention, nevertheless, not to proceed to se cession, dismember men tand general revolution, is as if one were to take the plunge of Niagara, and cry out that he would stop half way down.” - And now the plunge of secession has been taken, and we are all struggling in the vortex of general revolution. THE UNITED STATES A COMMONWEALTH, The body politic known for seventy years as the United States of America is not a confederacy, not a compact of sovereign States, not a copartnership; it is a commonwealth, of which the constitution, drawn up at Philadelphia by the Convention of 1787, over which ‘Washington presided, is the organic, funda mental law.; We had already had enough of a con federacy. The thirteen rebel provinces, afterwards thirteen original independent States of America, had been united to eaeh other during the revolutionary war by articles of confederacy. “ The said States hereby enter into a firm league of friendship with eaeh other.” Such was the language of 1787, and the league or treaty thus drawn up was ratified, not by the people of the States, but by the State govern ments—the legislative' and executive bodies, namely, in their corporate .capacity. The Continental Congress, which was the central administrative board daring this epoch, was a diet of envoys front sovereign States. It had no power to act on individuals. It could not command the States. It could move ouly by requisitions and recommenda tions. Its functions were essentially diplomatic, like those of the States General of the old Dutch Repub lic, like those of the modem Germanic Confedera tion. THE EARLY HISTORY OP THE NATION. We were a league of petty sovereignties. When the war had ceased, when our independence had been acknowledged in 1783, we sank rapidly into a condi tion of utter impotence, imbecility, anarchy. We had achieved our independence, but we had not con structed a nation. .We were not a body politic. No laws can be enforced, no insurrections be suppressed, no debt collected. Neither property nor life-was se cure. Great Britain had made a treaty of peace with us, but she scornfully declined a treaty of com merce and amity; not because we had -been rebels, but because we were not a State—because we were a mere, dissolving league of jarring provinces, incapa ble of guarantying the stipulations of any commercial treaty. We were unable even to fulfil the conditions of -the treaty of peace, and enforce the stipulated col lection of debts due to British subjects; and Great Britain refused in consequence to give up the mili tary posts which she held within our frontiers. .For twelve years after the acknowledgment of our independence we were mortified by the spectacle of foreign soldiers occupying a long chain of fortresses .south, of the [great lakes and upon our own soil. We were a confederacy. We were sovereign States. And these were the fruits of such a Confederacy and srich sovereignty. It was, until the immediate pre sent,, the darkest hour of our history. B.ut there were patriotic and sagacious men in those days, and their efforts at last rescued us from the condition of a Confederacy. The “Constitution of the United States” was an organic law, enacted by the sovereign people of that whole territory which is commonly called,in geographies and histories, the United States of America. It was empowered to act directly, by its own legislative, judicial and executive machinery, upon every individual in the country. It could seize i his property, it could take his life, for causes of which itself was the judge. The States were distinctly pro hibited from opposing its decrees or from exercising any of the great functions of sovereignty. The Union alone was‘supreme, “anything in the Constitution and laws of the States to the contrary notwithstand ing.”-Of what significance', then, was the title of “sovereign” States, arrogated in later days by com munities which had voluntarily abdicated the most vital attributes of sovereignty? THE GOVERNMENT AN ESTABLISHED AUTHORITY, But, indeed, the words “sovereign” and “sove reignty” are purely inapplicable to the American system. In the Declaration of Independence the Provinces declare themselves “free and independent States,” but the men of those days knew that the word “sovereign” was a term of feudal origin. When their connexion with a time-honoured feudal monarchy was abruptly severed, the word “sovereign” had no meaning for us. A sovereign is one who ac knowledges ,no superior, who possesses the highest authority without control, who is supreme in power. How could any one State of the United States claim such characteristic! at all, least of all after its inhabi tantg,~ in their primary assemblies, had voted to sub mit themselves, without limitation of time, to a Con stitution which was declared supreme? The only ..intelligible, source of power in a country beginning its history denovo after a revolution, in aland never subjected to military or feudal conquest, is the will of the people of the Whole land as expressed by a majority. At the present moment, unless the South ern revolution shall prove successful, the United States Government is a fact,'an established authori ty. In the period between 1783 and 1787, we were ,in chaos. In May of 1787 the Convention met at Philadelphia, and, after some months’ deliberation, adopted, with unprecedented unanimity, the project of the great law, which, so soon as it should be ae .eepited by the. people, was to be known as the Consti tution of the United States. THE GOVERNMENT NOT A COMPACT. It was riot’ji compact. Who ever heard of a compact to Which there were ’ no parties, or whoever heard of a compact-made bya single party to Idmsetf? Yet the name of no. State is mentioned in the whole docu ment; the States themselves are only mentioned to receive eommands'or prohibitions, and the “people of the United States” is the single party by whom alone the instrument is executed. \ The Constitution was not drawn up by the States, it was not promulgated in the name of the States, it ; was not ratified by the Stages. The States never ac ceded to it andL possess no power to secede from if It “was ordained and established” over the States by a power superior to the States—by the people of the whole land in their .aggregate capacity, acting through conventions of delegates expressly chosen for the purpose within-each State, independently of the State governments,...after the project had been framed. - , ' THE EARLY STRUGGLES OF PARTIES. There had always been two parties in the country during the brief but pregnant period between the abjugatibn of British authority and the adoption of •the Constitution of 1787. There Was a party advo cating State-rights and local self-government in its largest sense, and a party favoring a more consoli dated and national government. It was strenuously supported and bitterly opposed on exactly the same grounds. Its friends and foes both agreed that it had piifcan end to the system of confederacy. Whe ther it Were an advantageous or a noxious change, all agreed that the.thing had been done. “In all our deliberations (says the letter accompa hyiug and recommending the constitution to the peo ple) we kept: steadily in view that which appeared to us,the,greatest interest of every true American, the coiisdlidaiwn of our Union, in which is involved our prosperity, safety, perhaps our national existence .” [Journal of the Convention, 1 Story, 308.) And an eloquent opponent, denounced the project for this very same reason:— > “That this is a 'consolidated govertment (said Henry) is demonstrably clear. The language is ‘we the people,’ instead of ‘we the States.’ It must be one great consolidated national government of the people of all the States." The fears of its opponents, then, were that the new system would lead to a strong—to an over-cen tralized government. The fears of its friends were that -the central,power of theory would move ineffi cient to ebpe with- the local or State forces, in prae ti(Se; The inexperiehce Of the last thirty years, and the‘catastrophe of the present year, have/shown which class of fears were the more reasonable.
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