Yol. YI, No. 16.—Whole No. 285. IfflltW. v~~> *@ The Day-laborer. In ilio morning sow thv soed, and in the eve . ini? withhold not thine hand: for thouknowest not ■i hotlicr shall prosper, either this or that, or whe ,]uy both shallbe alike good.”—(Eccl. xi; 6.) Sow ye beside all waters, Where the dew of heaven may fall; Ye shall reap if ye be hot weary, For the Spirit breathes o’er all, * Sow; though the thorns may wound thee, One wore the thorns for thee; And though the cold world scorn thee, Patient and hopeful be. Sow ye beside all waters, With a blessing and a prayer; Name Him whose hand upholds us, And sow thou everywhere. Sow, though the rook repel thee, In its cold and sterile pride; Some cleft there may be riven Whore the little seed may hide. Fear not, for some will flourish, And, though the tares abound, Like the willows by the waters Will the scattered grain be found. Work while the daylight lastoth, Ere the shades of night come on; Ere the Lord of the vineyard cometh, And the laborer's work is done. Work 1 in the wild waste place, Though none thy love may own, (lod guides the down of the thistle The wandering wind hath sown. Will Jesus chide thy weakness, Or eall thy labor vain? The word that for him thou bearest Shall return to him again. On t with thine heart in heaven, Thy strength in thy Master’s might, Till the wild waste places blossom In the warmth of a Saviour’s light. Watch not the olouds above thee; Lot the whirlwind round thee sweep; (l od may the seed-time give thee,. Hut another’s hand may reap. Have faith, though ne’er beholding The seed burst from its tomb: Thou knowest not which may perish, Or what be spared to bloom. Iloom on the narrowest ridges The ripened grain will find, That the Lord of the harvest coming, In the harvest sheaves may bind. — Anon. NATIONAL FASTS AND THANKSGIVINGS. It were unjust to close our retrospect of iiiitional profanity -without record of the fact ;!mt, though the Constitution furnishes no proper warrant for any such procedure, Oon gress, by the appointment of chaplains to "pen their sessions with prayer, does make itch acknowledgment of God, in public affairs. This is right, whether it be Constitutional or i»t, The venerable Washington, in his in uiguvation speech before the first Confess, imler the Constitution, was not ashamed to i mnv God, saying: “ It will be peculiarly improper to omit, in this first official act, my Vvvent supplications to that Almighty Be ng who rules over the universe, and who incudes in the counsels of nations.” Imme-. liutcly after the inauguration, with the mem k rs of both Houses, he attended Divine ser.r vice in St. Paul’s Chapel. Congress, and siceessive Presidents have also, on various wciisions of national distress, acknowledged the hand of God, and humbled themselves imler it by appointing national fasts. It is <«e of the hopeful omens in our troubled sky, that the President has thus publicly recog nized the Great Ruler of our nation, and that the people, without distinction of party, have rendered such a general and appropri ate recognition of the call as to constitute a truly national observance. For though sick ed religion is always suspicious, and God ' harges it as one of the sad defects of Israel that “ When he slew them they sought him,” hut iii the return of prosperity returned to ungodliness, yet he has never refused even the transient penitence of the most depraved. The King of Nineveh proclaimed a fast, and averted for a time the destruction of that wicked city. Ahab humbled himself, and put on sackcloth, and the Lord deferred the punishment of the nation till his son’s days. And when even the late President proclaimed ! fust, in the same week the Lord inspired Anderson to that heroic occupation and de tun' of Sumpter which awakened the nation, au l sent a man into the cabinet with sense •■mutgli to catch up the fallen reins of gov vi nuient, check-the State in its revolutionary 'areer, and save the trembling President ‘"Hu the gallows. In the feeling of hopeful amid the multitude of our disasters, in ■l’i'vl by faith in the God who delivered our jitlars out of still greater perils, we have a nvi'e greater than armies. hut if we are to obtain help from our fliers’ God, we must seek it as our fathers 11 h All Christian men are grieved to ob | how universally and industriously the j u H" of Christ, through whom alone our I I vers are accepted, has been omitted from < proclamations. For so universal and 1 Hutment among all Christians of every de ■ "lination, is the habit of presenting our !’ >,vt rs in the name of Christ, that now, as 1!i dir days of the Apostles, their West com i '■ ”."Hsive designation is, “ All that in every i'luv ca \j upon the name of Jesus Christ our 1 ' Only through his atonement and ’■ vision will Goa pardon sin, or accept "iMhip, as all Christians confess. The 1 '"ion, then, of all reference to that bless -1 "me is peculiarly unhappy, in a religious "nation in all other respects so pious and 1 " |uiate. In a proclamation calling the 1 I'd* to confess their sins, and pray for the 11 'li of them, it was surely natural and , '-Mirv to give the Lord Jesus Christ, the ® lutm' of Nations, yfhose last words of "lesion were offered for a guilty nation, 1 without whose intercession we can have "l»e of deliverance*, the honor of such a 'v confession 6f his name. For he de 1' that, “Whosoever is ashamad of Him ‘ men, of him will the Son of Man be ' "cd before his Father and before the uiigels.” And God commands that, ' 1 men should honor the Son even as '"’Hot the Father.” He will accept no dess worship. It is not a return from 1 " "i Atheism, to national Deism, hut to "mil Christianity, which will save the Kiss the Sod lest He be angry; and ye periah from tie way.*’ « There is none other name given under heaven or among men -whereby we must be saved.” 6 It is written, that “the nation that will not serve Christ shall perish.” The fate of the Deistical nations is the best comment on the threatening. The Jews believed in one Cod, and worshipped him with much devo tion ; but they refused Christ, and those ele ments of national life which his Gospel alone can bestow. Where are they now? What has become of that powerful people who once made their mark upon the world's lite rature, commerce and laws; to whom the nations from the Euphrates to the Mediter ranean gave homage ? Homeless wanderers, and aliens m their own land, they are the slaves of Turk, Tartar, and Russian, and can only obtain rest for the sole of their feet when they reach a land that owns Messiah's Gospel. The Mohammedan nations had all the elements of Saracen valor, Moorish lite rature and civilization, Persian eloquence, and Turkish power, established over terri tories much larger than our own broad Re public; but they, too, refused Christ, the lne and the light of men, and to-day then expiring empires receive the last offices of charity from the hands of their Christian in habitants. It is no disputable theological dogma, but a broad indisputable historic fact, that the religion of Christ is the life of nations. Every nation which has refused it has perished. —Banner of the Covenant. CAN THE MURDERER ENTER HEAYEN? I Do not ask this-question, thinking that the person can be found, who will have the audacity to answer yes; without adding by repentance and faith in Christ. Yet we fear there are many, if we may judge from their deeds, who virtually believes he may, even if he follows up this unholy practice through his whole life. Permit me to give One or two illustrations. There was a family living at N , in the full enjoyment of domestic bliss for a few years, until some of their good Christian neighbors introduced a new guest, who seem ed to be quite a jolly fellow, and always made merry the hearts of the father and mother, when present. This friend, coming so well recommended, and appearing so very agree able, soon won their hearts, and made them feel that his presence was indispensable to their happiness. Thus by the continued aid and influence of his worthy associates who introduced him, he brought the family en tirely under his control, and their peaceful enjoyment fled. The usurper now arrayed the husband against the wife in many an an gry dispute, and caused the children to be neglected and abused. The two beautiful, bright-eyed little girls he deprived of their nice winter frocks, and sent them forth upon the cold, frosty mornings half clad, their slender limbs exposed to the pinching frosts of January. Thus shivering, they were com pelled to go from house to house, and seek from the cold hand of charity, a morsel of food to sustain for a few days longer their miserable existence. At length, one morn ing he placed the dagger in the father s hand raised his powe ful arm, and sent the deadly, weapon to the mother s heart a few feeble struggles ensued, and life departed. The father seeing what was done, next destroyed his own life. A few weeks since, this same guest placed a pistol in the hands of one he had duped, and impelled him to take the life of a near friend. Worse than all this, it is the purpose and business of this agreeable friend not only to destroy the mortal life of man, but to cast him out eternally from the presence of God. Now, let me ask you, kind reader, are not this agreeable guest, and those by whose in strumentality was enabled to do these deeds of wickedness, all equally guilty of murder, with him by whose hand it was really committed? Could you suppose either of them can have good hope of heaven? Me thinks I can hear you answer no ! Now would you know of whom I speak ? This de structive friend is intoxicating drink. But who are his associates in crime ? Christian -readers who sell it, I would say to you in the words of the prophet to David, “ Thou art the man.” Christian friends, who do not refuse to take a social glass now and then, I would say, “ Thou also art the man.” .A Sympathiser. - Bonner of the Covenant. (For the American Presbyterian.) LETTER FROM MT. LEBANON. Bhamdun, Mount Lebanon, 1 November 5,1861. . j Bear Editor. —The administration of the Government in this mountain, on the complex plan inaugurated by the commissioners of Turkey and Europe, is one of the greatest problems of the age. . The division of Mount Lebanon into half a dozen districts, under six governors—three Maronite, one Greek, one Gre< k Catholic and one Druse, each Govern or having a distinct court, composed of Chris tians of \ ariou sects Dru e", Metatawalies, ten or twelve m number ; and eaeh judge made the special advocate of his own coreli gionists in each eourt: and all these govern ors and courts under the jurisdiction of a Christian Pasha and hr -upenor court, among the members of which all the communities in the mountain must have each one its special advocate and representative, —a highly libe ral and almost democratic arrangement. But the support of this complicated system, and of 1500 soldiers, in a financial point of view, paying the Pasha and all the members of his court, and aU the governors and their coun sellors, what the law provides, as well as the soldiers, will require three times the full amount of the taxes in years past. The taxes are doubled. But the enrolment of the soldiers is suspended until the means for their payment are. provided. In the mean time, the Turkish soldiers, not paid by the mountain will remain, of whom we have now 800 m this district, and 200 posted at Bham- The commissioners are at Damascus. We hear that the one hundred and fifty millions of piastres indemnification to the Christians of that city are reduced to forty-five millions, less than one-third of the estimate. Sheikii Yusif Ab’d-el-Melik, and the Emir Moham med have been released from prison at Bei rut. The other sheikhs of the Druses are held as prisoners of state in the. Danubian fortresses. Our former Governor waM&e only Druse sheikh who has recovered Jus PHILADELPHIA. THURSDAY DECEMBER 19, 1861. liberty. The preservation of Bhamdin last year saved him. The carriages now run daily between Bei rut and Zahleh. In Beirut much sickness prevails; twenty thousand persons are said to nave taken to their beds within ten days past. . But Rahleh is healthy and open for the missionary. Who will come over and help us preach to its ten thousand perishing souls, Christ and him crucified ? a nd Europe are deeply interested in the United States’ civil war. Our hearts are With our government and all our brethren engaged to maintain and transmit our na tional inheritance to our children. In our prayers we anticipate the morning watches, and believe in God that the issues of this un fraternal conflict will be overruled to the wel fare of the whole country, and the advance ment of that era predicted in the Scriptures, when “ nations shall learn war no more.” Brethren, pray for that promised age, for the success of our country, and the conver sion of Mount Lebanon, and for its mission aries. Yours, in Christian love, William A. Bentos. WESTERN MOVEMENTS. Tiie past week in Chicago has been one of great interest. During the previous week the contributions of the neighboring churches and towns for three Hundred miles around, were coming in to the Sanitary Commission, amounting to over one hundred and fifty boxes of hospital clothing and cordials for our sick and wounded soldiers in Missouri. How greatly needed these are appears from the statements of Miss Mather and other la dies, who went out to Rolia to visit them. Men have been lying for three weeks in the uniforms in which they fell, and patients in the lowest stages of typhoid fever, were be ing fed with boiled rice, and covered with felt blankets, for want of proper bedding and cordials. We have despatched two reliable agents With stores, to put this right without delay. The regimental surgeons do not wish to send their men to the tender mercies of St. Louis contractors, many of them are utterly unfit for such a journey; and the men are all so attached to their regiments, that they absolutely refuse consent to any ar rangements that would separate them from their officers and comrades, and put them under the care of red tape, which is just now more deadly than the measles which have broken out in Camp Douglas. East week, set apart by the Mew School As sembly as a week of special prayer for revi val, was observed by daily morning prayer meetings in the churches of that body. Those I had the pleasure of attending, were marked by a spirit of humility, confession, and long ing after a higher experience pf religion. Prayer for revival was also specially offered on the Saturday previous, in the noon meet ing. It is written, “While they are yet speaking, I will hear.” On Monday previous, telegrams began to ar rive from merchants in St. Louis, stating that G. fi- Stuart had been there : had addressed sixmeetings on Sabbath, arousing the whole city, and h d left foi Chicago A deputa tion of the Young Mens Christian Associa tion, accordingly rs at the depot to arrest him,' and deliver him up to the officers of the Christi n army at headqu itcra who refused to pass mm mrougn our lines wimout satis factory proof of his loyalty in the shape of a lecture on the Religious Condition of the Army. On Wednesday, a circular from the clergy appeared in the papers, adjourning the prayer-meetings—all held on Wednesday here—on account Of Mr. Stuart’s lecture. In the evening, the largest religious meeting ever ield in Chicago on aweek-day evening,—over 2000 persons assembling in Bryan’s Hall. After singing, prayer, and introduction of Mr. Stuart by Mr. John V. Far well, Presi dent of the Y. M. C. A., Mr. Stuart ad dressed the meeting for an hour and a half, in his own natural and indescribable style : illustrating the subject with incidents of his own observation, and producing an impres sion unparalleled in the history of Chicago lecturing. During one of the rounds of ap plause with which he was interrupted, turn ing round; his eye fell on an old friend on the platform, Dr. Pratt, of Trinity Church, whom he had not seen for years, and step ping back he grasped his hand; gave it a cor dial shake, and surprised by the friendly grasp amid the thunders of, the. audience electrified by this touch of nature, proceeded with a most eloquent appeal for the souls of our brave defenders, concluding with" a so lemn exhortation to the young men present to give themselves to Christ now. The col lection was , over $l3O. Next day he address ed the Noon Prayer-meCting, introducing a young gentleman he met in the street —went to Camp Douglas, inspected the men’s berths, tasted their soup, talked of the love of Christ to the Catholic cook, the Adjutant, and offi cers of the day; whose most deep-felt want was 5000 good muskets, and an order to march to the seat of war; for both which he promised his good offices with; the Secretary of War, gave’ the Camp church movement a move forward, and started for Pittsburg in the evening, leaving about a score of young men here fully determined to wake up for Christ, and henceforth enjoy life in earnest. —Banner of the Covenant. R. P. (For the American Presbyterian.) s, THE WAR IN THE WEST—SAD SCENES. St. Louis, Dec. 5, 1861; One of the most affecting spectacles which this Missouri warfare has yet pre ented, h~~ been making our hearts ache within the last few days. Each day, may be ~een a proce~ sion of emigrant wagons, drawn by oxen, or sometimes by mules or horses, laden with families whose homes have been pillaged, whose farms have been ravaged, and vrho have been compelled to flee eithei from mo lence, or from starvation. The whole south western region is di ol - ted ~nd seems like ly to be nearly depopulated. Our city and military authorities have taken prompt meas ures for affording temporary sheltei to there refugees ; and the charity of citizens is act ive and prompt in providing them food nd clothing.. ' Many of them arrive in a condition of ex treme destitution: and as the werther for the first two or three days of-this n onth was quite severe, (the ground being frozen and covered with snow,) they have doubl lere been great .sufferers. An efficient Committee of ladies have .charge of -the clothing nd food contributed, and administer'them judiciously. I am authentically, ihformed that they have, in some instances, found it necessary to car ry out clothing to fjhe wagons, to women who bad not enough on 1 their persons to enable them to leave the. wagons with decency; that not a few of the women arrive with only a single garment; that one came as scantily clad as that, having left her home with her first-horn infant less, than a week old ; that on the arrival of one wagon a woman within it was thought to 'be asleep, but was found to be dead, and stiffened with the cold; that in one instance a man, was seen riding into the city upon a horse, with a little -child in his arms, whose nakedness he was not' able whol ly to conceal, as he strove to keep it wrapped in the folds of bis own garments. Women rushed from their bouses into the street with covering for the little stranger.. Yesterday all wfyo had then arrived, had been elbthed and sent on their way. Others have arrived to-day, and many more all com ing. Some of them have friends in Illinois, to whom they are 'going —others go, they know not whither, but ‘all seem eager to get heyond the limits of the State in which they have eaten the bitter fruits of anarchy. The men, however, not* t seldom express the pur pose to return, for war; sometimes (I am sorry to learn,) expressing that stern purpose with profane effrses. The friends of our country, the martyijs of the Union, are not all friends of Christ;! The more must Chris tian hearts pity them, oppressed with such sorrows, and uncheered by Christian hopes, unsustained by ; Christian faith, God grant that their sufferings! may lead them to Him; : • ■ - • j-4-. • . GffiN. haixeck’s orders. To-day the friends of justice are delighted by an order from General Halleck now com manding this Department, providing that these refugees shall be “ quartered in the houses, and fed and- clothed at the expense of avowed seccessnpusts and of those who are found guilty -of giving aid, assistance, and encouragement to the enemy.” There are many such, livipg here in comfort and safety, under the. protectioa of the govern ment which they prpt to destroy. It is but just, however, to state that some secessionists voluntarily contribute to the relief of these sufferers, in corin'ection with the friends of the Union. * The General Order of which this is only one provision, announces the purpose, and sets forth the method of preceding hence forth with stern and 1 steady severity, accord ing to the laws of war, against all who aid and abet the rebellion. In this respect, it breathes the same spirit with Fremont’s fa mous proclamation; ! f>ut -it more'- deliberately prescribes the, mode of executing its. provi sions, and we have' good reason to believe that the General noW has the means of exe cuting it, I believe|hattlie'seasori of lenieiv cy and indulgence i^past^—that forbearance towards traitors'-is now to, be - exchanged for protection of loyal people, by means of the just punishment of traitors. There is something m General Halleck’s orders which gives'll,impression .of wisdom and efficiency, and which is fast winning him the, confidence of the people whom it is his duty, and purpose, to protect. One remark able exception to this has elicited a good deal of criticism, viz : his order to exclude fugi tive slaves, and to expel,those already within the lines on the ground that they are said to convey important "information to the enemy. The reason given for the order is too obvious ly illogical to be easily regarded as the real reason. It is, however very ti f ccory to find, in his order of to day an assurance that whatever laws shall be enacted by Congress will be strictly enforced. " Military officers,” he says, “do not m ke l w but they should obey and enfoice them when made There certainly are good indications that the pres ent Congress will enact a policy in which the essential manhood of all this human beings whom the war shall bring under the United States’ jurisdiction; will be recognized and respected. How large a part of the 'enslaved popula tion are thus to be directly enfranchised, is a question, the solution of which we may well entrust to that almighty Providence which controls the armies of rebellion and of loyalty, and orders all the events of war as well as of peace. But be the number great or small, there is no need of doubting that they will be the advance guard in the rapid march to universal liberty. It is wonderful what varieties of opinion on ethical, economi cal, political, and military grounds—are by the “logic of events”, becoming harmonized in the conviction, that slavery must cease. — SPELLING AND ALL THAT. Scribimus indocti doctique poemata passim. — II or. As writings were the easiest of things, And writing .poetry but common play, . ■, We, learned and unlearned, clowns and kings, Turn authors, critics, wits.! each moment’s wings , Some novelty of special wisdom gay, For praise orfame, in iba- mid (heavens' display. Fnlit immature is Useless at the best, And our hot haste, that runs before ’tis drest, • Can ill achieve what ought to last for ages, And be admired by fools—much less than sages, j I was lately crossing, said a gentleman, from South Ferry, Brooklyn, to--New York, when, standing in front- and conversing with follow; passengers, the. following dialogue, “ for substance .of doctrine,,”; ensued: A. What % lively and .beautiful scene ! The surface of the water is.all alive with sail ing craft of various sorts, kinds, names and uses; for pleasure, commerce, observation, tri lof speed with steam with s~ 1 with oars: ■ with flags. - pennons, streamers, devices nd in shoit everything to m ke the pic turesqne vanety beloie u~ Their name” too are curious original queer uliculous as well as m ny of them chs-ic ] scuptural, suggestive ■ -nd evincing liber-1 learning m ntiquity, ~ well m modem new pipei” in poetry, history, and fabulous enormities. B. The Sabbatli school system is to be credited for much the biblical knowledge in which this generationexcels our ancestors. Probably,, many of the names of ships and lighter vessels -retaken from the Scriptures Ihei e—while I pe k is a ste* m tug m ich ing like a hero, .a giant, too: and its name, you see. in flaming capitals., on its wheel houre Goliah, lia“lnng and dishing sit flies m the water. A True And the e I see anothei in the distance that just passed us. named Samp ~on For strength and peed well named, piobably It is plea-ant to Chrjrtian to see the proof n any community, that their knowledge of the Holy Scriptures is popular and general. We may infer better things of them, too. B. The education of the masses ought to be a matter of concern with the government of every civilized country, especially of every free and nominally Christian country; and in eveiy system, the influence of the Bible in copious infusions, deserves pre-eminent re gard.' . " A. Certainly it does.. Man is a moral being ; in,.-his very nature; and not merely should education ever ; aim to develop and enrich his intellectual powers, but with, these, also, his capabilities as a moral agent and a creature immortal. as' his maker. What a piece of work is man ! B. We agree there entirely—but, I allege, that his mental training ought to make him also discriminating and correct. He should be a* scholar, as really as a gentleman and a Christian. , How bad it is when biblical and devout sentiment discovers ignorance quite fross, as well as general respect for the criptures. . ' “It seems a spot upon avestal’srobe, ’ i : The worse for what it stains.” as Cowper has it. With this I was impressed as either steam-tug marched across our path; since scriptural more they had been; if either name had not been corruptly, instead of 'cor rectly jspelled. A Is it so?. Indeed, sir, I did not ob- serve it. . Are you sure ? They , seemed Loth to cut a fine figure, as they steamed by us so gallantly, catching their breath as they went. I saw no error of the sort. It all looked good and grand. B. "When you see them again, perhaps you will remember our conversation; and then, comparing each name with the same one in the Bible, you will see that in “Samson” there is-no p, and that “ Goliath” is correct to a t, which t that noble steamer, by the joint wits of, both painter and master, or . owner, utterly omits. A. Is the fact so ? Well, I may say that scarcely one in a thousand knows it! B. Very probably. They are just as likely to make such mistakes in England as in America. My attention has gone in that way a little; and only a minor degree of ob servation is required to see blunders not in orthography alone, but in other matters re lated to learning; to the Scriptures, to the classics, to philosophy and to every other thing connected with the free and fantastic naming at a launch, of the' vessel that glides from its ways so grandly into its fluid ele ment. I have a list of them somewhere; it is laughable, too, to reconnoitre it at one’s leisure, and see all its fooleries; .‘; -A. Really, I should like the opportunity. Where men use and affect a learned style, if is unpardonable, as well as ridiculous, in public, .to parade their, blunders, before the eyes of the universe. The fop that struts in a hall-room, admiring his own limbs, move ments, dress, address, yet all unconscious of a black smut of some sort on his pretty face, is only a less censurable dunce, as well as pitiable, more than such organized barbarisms as are the perpetrations we now reprove. B. At present, I will only cite one more. I refer to the well-built and respectable steamer “ Catalinej” often seen in these very waters, proudly cambering on her way, like a wealthy Carac or Argosy; a floating castle, at which the fleet of Julius Caesar had been dispersed with terror, when it came in such state to take the island of Britain, then po pulous alone with half-naked savages. A. Yet, really, I see no fault in that name. Is it indeed false in spelling, or a blunder? B. Plainly it should be “ Catiline,” if he is meant, so signally denounced by Cicero, when, in consular power, he so terribly as sailed the traitor in the Senate house:— “ Quousque tandem abutere, Catilina,-pa tientia nostra ?” It is Englished with one a only. A. You ftre right. I, too, am one of those who" less observe or criticise such mis takes. Yet, if it is true, that whatever is w-orth doing at all, is worth doing well, then all our errors of the sort ought to he ex pired; then sign-painters ought to learn how to spell as well as paint; then more care in our schools, our counting-rooms, our episto lary performances, our common conversation ought to he inaugurated and maintained, es pecially among scholars, gentlemen, Chris tians 1 ! B. Y m say the truth. Blunders are fashionable almost in every department of letters ; and some are so wedded to their faults, that others may not with impunity correct them. In orthography, etymology, syntax, .prosody; orthoepy, > and everywhere else, they appear; and in some places they actually abound, and seem incorrigible. It is my purpose to declare them, in some pro per way and time—at least the few occa sional blots and blemishes of the sort that have met Yny view, and may soon become common, perhaps honprable. - - - . A. 3?'or one, I shall only''thank you ; though possibly “ Groliah,” -“ Sampson,” “ Cataline,” and other honored crudities of the claSs, may recalcitrate in some way, re senting the audacity.. B. From you, sir, I can anticipate only what is honorable, fair, and so correct, that to others, mainly or alone, may my censures anticipate the application. Orito. A New Italian Movement. —At the No vember meeting ,of the Society for Promotr ing Christian Knowledge, an application was made for Prayer Books and other books for Italy. The Rev. -Prebendary Burgess, B. D;, rector of Upper Chelsea, stated that when he was at Naples in the last week of Sep tember, he ascertained that as many as 400 priests had joined the : association, for effect ing certain changes or reforms, in the Church of Rome. The majority of them went no futther than to protest against the Pope con tinuing to Hold his temporal dominion to the prejudice of Italian unity with injury to the Church.' This section of the reforming priests was represented by the Dominican Luigi Prota, who had written a learned trea tise on the inconvenience of the Pope holding earthly dominion, and on the necessity of Rome becoming the capital of the kingdom of Italy. But another section of these asso ciated priests, led by Zaccarp and Mialla, and represented by the journal called La Co- IdnndSdLFaseo, went further, and called for' reform in the discipline of the Church, and even on some matters which touch on doc trine. Not many of the priests had turned their attention to any reforms in the cere monies and services of the Roman Catholic Church, and they were unacquainted with any Reform Liturgy, and hardly knew of the existence of a Reformed Episcopal Church. Mr. Burgess having conferred with some of those priests and some friends of the Re formed religion at Naples, purposed to get a copy of the Italian Prayer Book, as pub lished by the Society for Promoting Chris tian Knowledge, into the hands of each priest,, and an .Italian marquis, the French pastor, and the English phaplain at. Naples, undertook to see that the books, were pro perly distributed - The committee made a liberal grant. - A New Law on the Relation between Church and State—Abolition oe the Con cordat. —The most important event inth is year's history of Austrian Protestantism is the draft of a new arrangement of the rela tion between -Church and State, made by the Committee of the Diet. It- completely abo lishes, in spirit as well as in letter, the noto rious Concordat, and, if adopted by the Diet, will place Austria among the most liberal States-of Europe. Among the members of the .Committee were one Catholic priest, one Protestant clergyman, and one Jewish rabbi. Some, of the most important provisions of the draft are the following.: There is no pri vileged church. Full liberty of faith and conscience is guaranteed to every one. The same is the case with the exercise of one’s religion at home. The law affords to all churches and denominations equal protection and equal rights. Every church adminis ters its own affairs independently. Churches and religious denominations are subject to the legislation of the State. The influence of the Church on the public schools is lim ited to religious instruction; lectures on theology at the university are free from it. The legislation on marriage affairs, as far as their legal validity and civil effects are con cerned, belongs -solely to the State. The coercive power of the churches is limited to an exclusion of their members from attend ance at divine worship or from membership. The income , of the churches has the same rights and duties as other property. All of these provisions intend to place the recog nized religious denominations of the empire On an equal footing. Other articles have the special aim of guaranteeing to the Ro man Catholic Church a number, of rights which she did not possess in Austria before the year 1848, but recovered from the libe rality of. the revolutionists in that memora ble year. .The intercourse of bishops, priests, and laymen with the Pope in Rome is un trameled; synods of any kind may assemble without' permission of the State government; the religious orders may keep up communi cation with their superiors residing in Rome; ecclesiastical decrees of the Pope, not inter fering;with the laws, of the State, may be promulgated without previous authorization of the. State government. The Liberal party iii th s States of Continental Europe, instinc-' lively following a law of retaliation, has too long contested to the Roman Church the ex ercises of these and similar rights, and, while adopting the principles of religious tolera tion in other respects, has believed it neces sary to restrict somewhat the 'freedom of the Roman Church, in order to prevent her from carrying out, with regard tonon-Catho lies, her intolerant principles. It is gratify ing to see that the friends of religious lib erty in Europe begin to feel a greater confi dence in the efficacy of this great principle, even in its application to Roman Catholics. — lndependent. Religious Life in London. —As to the present aspect of religious life in London, I believe it to be encouraging and gladdening. "We cannot be sufficiently thankful that great numbers are spiritual, earnest and active, who not long ago were careless professors or open enemies Of the Cross of Christ. Female effort also has been enlisted to an unprece dented extent, by the influence and success ful example of such works as “The Missing Link,” “ Ragged Homes and How to Mend Them,” and the “Link and the Rivet.” Cheering is it also to find London Episcopal clergy and Nonconformist ministers harmo niously working side by side, and at stated seasons praying together, as, for example, in Islington parish ; and this in striking con trast, I grieve to say, with many country towns and rural parishes. Add to what I have noted, that now the special services in halls and theatres have been re-established for the coming winter and spring; that even in the autumn season one place at least has been kept open and well attended ; that new laborers are rising up, among these Dr. F. Winslow, one of our first physicians, who lately preached to a body of working people; that new classes are being sought out, amongst whom are the Lamplighters of London, num bering at least one thousand men—-a work of grace among them begun, and a special city missionary assigned them; that already this year three hundred daughters of sin and sorrow have been rescued from ruin, and some of them truly become new creatures in Christ, and are following Him in spheres of Holiest industry as servants, or welcomed back* purified and made white, to their father's? houses, their mothers’ embrace, and their childhood’s home. In former papers I have referred to the establishment of Cabmen’s clubs and reading rooms; city missionaries also have for some years been laboring amongst them. “ One after another received the gospel, a change of life followed, and they became blessings to their fellow-drivers. There are now six hundred, communicants among the cabmen of London". But there are still to be cared for a lower class than the day cabmen—the Night; Cabmen, hitherto a- most degraded class. “ They are often without a character and without a home; sickly in appearance, owing to constant nightwork and irregular rest by day;" and a great number of them are aged men.” lam glad to state that the piti able condition of these men, who number one thousand, has, through a little work, “ Earn-; ing a Living,” by Miss Barber, become the object of practical compassion, and that one of the city missionaries, who has been em ployed twelve years among,the day cabmen, has willingly resigned his easier post to other, hands, in order to take up the work of a night missionary. Doubtless other laborers in this field-will follow him ; but already he .has com menced his-;labors and met with a favorable reception. A number of Testaments have GENESEE EYANGELIST.— Whole No. 812. t 0 ? ld men ’ who been night cabmen from ten to thirty years, and who if? 0 ™ °J never attend a place of worship.— British Messenger . * T o E -^ meeican Missionaries laboring in the Sandwich Blands, have been recently cheered by a revi val of religion amongst their people, who appear to have lost their early zeal, and so have sunk into a state of slum bering indifference.. The latest details re ceived are confirmatory of ; our previous intel ligence. An unseen power is described as moving on the hearts of the people. The prayer-meeting became no longer neglected. -Backsliders would rise spontaneously and coniess their wanderings, imploring the pray ers of the congregation. Careless and pro- Jljgate men were arrested by convictions of sin. Ihe members of the church and the newly-awakened were drawn together, and continued with one accord in prayer and sup plication, often for hours together. “Young converts,” writes a missionary, “dilligentlv sought out their former companions in wick edness, and labored to bring them to Christ, lhe brethren went m companies of two, three, oui;, or &ve ? and visited every house, without distinction; would converse and pray with the inmates, read the Scriptures to them, and urged them to attend the meetings for public worship Multitudes have'thus been brought under the influence of the gospel, who live far up the valleys and ravines, among the birds and wild goats of the mountains, who were quite inaccessible to their pastor. A won derful change has come over the whole com munity. Order and quiet reign ; the fear of (xod rests on the inhabitants. . Some of the most distinguished leaders of the licentious who were notorious as disturbers of the peace wherever they were found, are now clothed and m their right mind, sitting at the feet of Jesus. — lbid. From Polynesia we have intelligence o - a chequered character. Eromangalnd the adjacent islands have been devastated by th i measles; in many villages two-thirds of thj people have been carried off, and the natives, tenified by this new scourge, have risen up to destroy all foreigners. “They nearly succeeded,” says a missionary, “in killing all the Europeans a few days ago, and made another bold attack on the sandal-wood esta blishment two nights since, and burned one house and set fire to some. They held a council before our door to kill us, but were divided in their council, because the fear of God seemed to be upon them all.’ Yet even this dispensation has its brighter side. Crimes had multiplied during the last two years. “In warning them of their danger,” says the same missionary, “but one week before the measles came among them, I taught the doctrine of a retributive Provi dence with unusual earnestness. That day will not soon be forgotten, for the chiefs and leaders in crime and idolatry are now nearly all dead. Many exclaim that the Word of God is certainly true, but hate us' as the cause of bringing their sins to remembrance in the light of this new doctrine. Idolatry has received a death-blow. Some of them have so feared Jehovah as to remove their images out of the villages where the sick were lying, and I hope that they will soon destroy them! They are now sorely wounded, and seem to require nothing but the balm of Gilead, after which they are beginning to inquire.” Good News from Madagascar.—R - dama 11. had transmitted a communication to the Governor of Mauritius, inviting a free intercourse, and the Legislative Council had despatched amission to congratulate his Ma jesty, and thank him for proposing facilities to commerce and trade. The Mauritius So ciety of Arts and Sciences also sent an ad dress, soliciting the King to promote a dis play of some of the rich products of Mada gascar at the Great International Exhibition of 1862. The King is reported to have pro claimed commercial liberty throughout his territory, with equitable customs regulations at every port, and at the same time to have intimated that he is not disposed to accept the protectorate of France or of any other Power, although he will readily listen to any friendly suggestions of the Emperor Napo leon. Meanwhile he has appointed an Eng lishman—Mr. Lambert, long a faithful ad herent—as his chief Minister, and has com missioned him to proceed as ambassador to France and England to procure a recogni tion of his Majesty, under the style of Ra dama 11, King of the Hovas. Madagascar is larger than Great Britain and Ireland; has rich mines of metals and coal; the soil is-wonderfully productive, yielding valuable timber, dyewoods and vegetable substances in endless variety; and the climate, though bad on the coast, is healthy in the interior. Many persons, it is inferred, will settle when protection is afforded to Europeans. The Prospect of Protestantism Bright ening in Austria. —Religious liberty and Protestantism have been steadily progressing in Austria ever since the power of the Ultra montane party was broken by the Italian war in 1859. The progress still continues, and already many of the great hopes with which the Austrian Protestants entered the year 1861 have been realized. The fetters which have so long impeded the free deve lopment of Protestantism are rapidly falling off; new life is being infused into all classes of the Protestant population • the Ultra montane party is not only losing the power of curtailing the rights of Protestantism, but is bein'* more and more reduced to a defen sive war. Thus a new Protestant nation is rising in the east of Europe, and all the signs of the times indicate that it will perform a great mission. Statistics of Rome.— The Correspond ence de Rome gives the following statistical details for the year 1860:—There are in Rome 54 parish churches, 37,706 families, 34 bishops, 1,417 priests, 2,390 monks and religious men, 9,031 nuns, 886 pupils of se minaries or colleges, 884 inmates of the apos tolical palaces, 213 infidels and heretics. There were 96,294 men, 87,856 women— total, 184,049. The number of births in 1860 was 5,957, or one birth to twenty-eight inhabitants. The number of - deaths was 5,764, or one for every twenty-nine inhabit ants. The number of marriages was 1,423. There were also 4,468 Jews in Rome in 1860. One who loves his home, will go out to ac tive duties, that he may well support his fa mily, and bring in good to his home.
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