234 ace any special they pv - ; any such zeal ? Do athers ? Did the ,„_.•titeenth century do self-denial for the good of French Revolution do t ß h r is it ; ish did D t c h is e ts ac . • ... shown any special willing it ? Have Unitart:- for sa i r t n o , i z t ei 88 n i s : i.o .' n ' s the heathen ? Have SIN AND SUFFERING IN THE UNIVERSE. - • involving self denial Letters addressed to the Hon. Gerritt Universalistf , smith, of Peterboro, New York. ness to make and sacr: all, er l the question is not one respect BY ALBERT BARNES. Bu-` jee - lloys towards others, but it is whether LETTER IV. inc- . , race,- in fact sinful, and whether sinners HON. GERRITT SMITH: My Dear Si • dre in ac tin f dannr ? The facts in the case alk; ' my last letter I entered on an examinatior n i in no manner affected or changed by ourft , your solution of the difficulties involr uni _ whatever our feelings may be. 'lf vae,ar 6 l: n - i s suffering is . hate men because they are si f 1 '-' -.l7l‘M r - 6 ' the existence of sin and nation in r - , ..e led to f i is only by the perve . verse. I shall complete the e ; 1 'VPheatt,s ~ and is 0 Ti0....: and in danger, . , eAn . f.4 "- feelings of our own this letter : ,a explanation of and, there .o ~A v- 7 1-'* - WN a deeperproof of our own, . 1 (4 ) Your fourth remF,Gang , t , o . rogethem, this •:,. 2 - . ..1, :±l'll'4,, ~,,e, of human depravity. It has not the difficulties, or in atin that' 'riiaWis a great s , . 0 . is, that the repremg 'Ok'itifiitiedlittnishttiv as ; . c sinner, and is den hate•neheinanother ' ' —the dq. of all the race ;----for the, conviction of, tends to ni3O - ArY,.to,l4tfirGod LiKeOnti . `,t, , the Fall and'imin and 'danger of man has only 111Cry'oll hay@ tWeSed i d and to judge, , ~" . . s e,•,,r led Him 'to give His son-His`only son—to die. This.; : Iv , , .'the - ues. (p. 7.) It had not this effect on. the iSon of ;God who lan i riot, oniti a llrin- c „, . I.' in the following came to ,Erave , .men j for it., was this very'view , 1 .e. ..71. ~rred lifit it . ov which . made. him willing ,to become incarnate, ,Imalserjekaini •-•peacl and to,' suffer on thacross.. ' Has there ever been • eyes, an to mryA.Pti •dr• a . b re'ater - ove for mankin than thi's 9 ment* dekaT (s') 'Your"fifth ii ' tio n .of .the' i fficu . lty is,iniPeliet . aft a ' ea _w", en ~.,' that scienceis. dein*, much to :mitigate' the evils inV a referred p,,a.,A that it may be ; hoped that it will do much !pore--particularly that • it ,may .be hoped' iliii it `willmaterially prolong` human life. nab ! thOlight9 you express iii'ilie. following language`:: . r • .'. " - : '' ' 'Doiibtfess, the daY is coming when there will be compaßatively little'ain on the earth. Science, more than all other agencies, hastens the: coming of ,this day:' `'For :we may reasonably hope that, when science shalljtaye, more fully revealed, to men the laws of their being, obedience to these laws will be in greater proportion to the knowledge of them than it, now is. "When men shall have learne4,' as ,theyryet will learn, the laws, of• life and,health.; toad shall, as they ye, will, faithfully keep them, there will not only be few or none of these premature deaths, but the ordi nary length of this, ) existence ,will, probably;,be at least double its present three-score and ten years." 'pp. 7, 10 .) ' Original eli.omnurnitatitats. empire the fear that we are by God, but it, also, tends ,hble and ,sacred in each other's -;:tfe us coarse and cruel in our treat .4rother. The difference between our see other to be small sinners or enormous sinners .ot fail of contributing to produce, a correspond-: _ difference in our conduct toward each other. That • God is angry with the wicked every day' was the fancy, not of those who knew the Loving l'.l),thtfr of us all, but of those who pictured, in his stead, a.re vengeful and bloody Pagan deity ! The stari,:whielf shine sweetly upon all ; the green earth, ,which, vith its fruits and flowers, was made for all—t i ltese, and• the impartial sun and rain, unitedly testify that God is Love, and that He never hates any one, Nothing can be more absurd than this ceaseless preaching:that the least sin is, because committed against an infinite ly great and good God, r infinitely wicked, and, there fore, deserving of infinite punishment. The tenden cy of this preaching. - as already intimated, is to make us look upon' each , other•as monsters of wickedness ; whereas we should, by considering the ignorance and temptations of men, regard, their sins with all reason able charitableness.• The Just , One, who knows our ignorance, and, who saw fit, in appointing the first stage of our' discfpline, to put us into this world of temptations, pities us - for our sufferings in this life; and, although these sufferings are mainly sin -induced, He, nevertheless, can have no heart to add to them punishment in the life to 'come. He has no curses'for us. • On the contrary, He does all that He canr(com patibly with our freedom anal power to thwart and counteract Him) to have us from.mirsing ourselves and cursing 914 e another." I have myself never maintained 'or affitined that sin is an infinite evil, and, therefore, de serves infinite punishment, and I have, never, seen any force in the argument when. it has been so presented. Ido not find that sin is ever spo ken of in the Bible as an "Infinite' evil, or that the doctrine of future punishment is ever re.pre seated in the Bible as founded on that idea. That it has been so represented by, a certain class Of theologians I do not deny; but.yon could not hold me to that view, as you, seem to do, from anything• that I have ever said t or writ ten. I confess to,yoif that the phrase "sin is an infinite euilf (conveys no.: idea .whatever. to- my mind. Any argument i therefore, based Ow that idea, in favor of the doctrine of the eternal pun-, ishment of the wicked, makes not the slightest impression on me: I acknowledge that 1 not demonstrate the justice: of eternal punish ment from any view which I could. take,offithe evil of sin; just as there are very many things occurring in fact, under the divine administra tion on earth of which I cannot understand the cause, or which I cannot vindicate by any pro) seas of reasoning of my own, or any view which: I °mild take of Own, and in relation to which, I Should have said,beforehand, that such. things .acoiad not have oeciirred, under the government of 'GA. I could"not, for' example, by any rea soning of my own vindicate the sufferings which come upon, infants,; nor, in thousands oft similar cases, could I shew. how the sufferinga 'which are experienced in this life are exactly measured by. the guilt of the sufferer. The whole subject is quite too high` for me, and I have never attenifi ted to reason on the one case or - the other. I am content to, take the one as a fact actually oc curring under the government of, God, •and ~the other as the undoubte4 affirmation of the Bible, and to leav'e the whole matter, of the reasons in the one' ease and the other 'with - G-044 the ono beina l' more diffioult to my mind thin the other.' fact, the one is as inexplicable to mesas the other, and, for aught i that I knew, the reasons which would explain the one would make the other plain filth. • Until I understand why sin, and woe came into the nniverss tit'all, lam con tent to leave the whole 'natter of their continuance talk God, ' But as to the immediate!,ppint—thv.question i i whether this view of, the.. epravity and danger of man tends to, make us '('t ate our fellow-men." Few •men• have a ''deeper 'conviction of the de praVity of the human 'race than the Apostle Paul : •did that lead' him, to:'' hate!' mankind ? What. man has ever, shown nwarmer, love for the race, than he, or has Wen willing to make, more sacrifices in behalf of Sinners ? The Saviour - of " thelworldliad a deep conviction of ihe'dePravity and danger of men, and, yet 'where has there been such love:? The heart of a parent, who has,any right feeling, is deeply, affected by the cord* Of a son or a daughter if they go astray —41.0 t 'WO hatred, but, with, the warm affection of love; and with a willingfiess to make sacrifi ces for .their. welfare. • Did the father of "the Prodigal Son," hate" . his erring and' guilty•son.l And who ; are the ,men or tie women who are willing to make the moat sacrifices, or to practice the most self-denial; for the good of the world ? Are they not ' those who are most deeply im- pressed. with the sins •of the world, and with the danger of those who are, sunk in the depths of idolatry, superstition , and crime ? Was. it true that David Brainard was a hater of mankind,- . or, had no, love--no compassion—for men ? , bia he subject hiinself. to the sacrifices and selftdenials of- a life , among wretched savages, because he thought they were good and virtuous ? Had. H REff y, Nartya no , love for men; . no kind feel ings,t9ward them.; no sympathy for them,? Had Schwartz?., Had Vanderkempt ? Have they who, go, now among the heathen as, missionaries of t the Cr j ossnone.,?, And. de those who take a different Tim, of, Alppan i natnre, and who,,regard the racti. , 4, virteews,,ancl, as, safe from . 4anger, shiew any ‘ speoiaLlove. for ; ma, tikind, or evince any special willingness to make sacrifices for the good of the world ? Do skeptics and infidels evince THE AMERIa O PRESBYTERIAN, THURSDAY, JULY 23, 1868. RespeCting this 'theorY I have only to remark . : (a.) That thus far science has not done very much to diminish the actual amounts of sin on the• earth, or to reform niaukind, nor , have scien- tifio men been the most zealous, as they ,cer tainly have not been the most successful reform ers.• That*the progress of science has not as , yet. ~tended, ,materially to lengthen human life. Yott are pleased to,express ttie,hop,e that " when men shall have better learned the laws of , life and 'health," the "" ordinary length of their eicis tence:Will probably-be at least doable iiktlaree score azalea , years." • - ..llret. •it is a fact. that suite the time ef-,.•Moses, a,,,,'period of more 'than, three thousand', years, no perceptible progress has been made in that direction, nor are: there any indications 'that any . , material progreis is likely to be made, at least in our time. In the age of l Moses, the regular limit of human life was " three-score years and ten' (Psalm's txe 10;) the same is the regular limitation of hu man life now, nor does it appear from any sta tistics with which I am a,eiluaineed, that 'nche persons 'exceed that' period no*' than there were of tlic.same character in the time of Moses. On what p , iiderice you. rely in , proof ; that, there 'will be a material , change in this respect, you ha-ire Tint' been pleased to state. that (c.) It is obviouS to remark ht even 'if' this. ,should occur, the fileti in the case would' not be materially varied, nor would the difficulty be es sentially diminished. Death, ,the great,sourne of the difficulty, Wonld still, exist , as really, and to the same , • k extent, as riow; and, so far as appears, n. as varied.- and'as trying forms.. That' a' 'Mari dies when he is old does not change. the•'nature of death, nor. did the fact , that Methusaleh lived T aearly a thouSand.years do anything to explain ; the factthat sin and death were allowed to come. 'into the.world. • ' • • might still be,: also, that young persons woulii,die; it would be certain that all weal& ultimately die;,-and, so far as appears, there would' be as many and as varied forms of sufftr iiigAtpon the earth as' i there are now. I do' not perceive; therefore, that the difficulty is explained or. diminished • by thie . gratuitous'' supposition. • • '‘ •,•: (6.) Your sixth statement. is, that the grand remedy for the pViIS in the world is wpithla. This remarkable' statement is in the folloWing*Words: The longer I live, . the more am I persuaded that wealth,is what the' world thost'rieede for its redeinp-' tion from ignorance,. wickedness, , and 'unhappiness. Enough of it is created by the toiling roper, and, in point of- fact, , they nearly ail who 'do create it. Alas, that the.misuse ofmuch of it should be such, as to 'Make, the g pCor _poorer ! War, intemperance, excessive` luiury, and giddy, reckless 'fashion are. PP* IMast , ers.of walth; but no one ot them , •wastes , More than do the Theologies, directly,and indirectly. For instance, if the Christian Theology, had, not so 811,00es:dully passed itself. olf for the 'Christian' Reli gion, these evils, which. I base. j tot ,a;itow enumerated, would, fitc, far as Christendom is'concerned, have been far, Itsipextensive, and their waste of wealth corres pladingly less.. Then„loilk,,at the ,hundr4ds of, 'mil lions, which it coats Christendom annually to build and support thelohnrcbes hnd other eitablishments, whiehthis Theology calls for! (pp. 11 12.) ' On this I: have lci observe: • • ; • (cr.) That r ift the, correctness: ,of - this statement should be ; admitted; it, would. , not .explain the main difficulty, that is, why the sin and misery to be reniediiii 'Wealth bai ,% 'been Permitted to come- nto the world. • ' (b.) This would add-another item to the ,eulty itself, to wit: why, under the divine ad-.: ministration, so much of that, which, it would, seem, is to remove all these evils, has been stiffer ed to be wastegiby the crimes orroeri;, by " war, intemperance, excessive luxtiry,'and giddy, reck less fashion." (c.) I am not sure that I elyrrectly understand you, nor do I profess to be able to comprehend how the possession of'" wealth" is to renaove the evils of the world; that is, to- reform: 'and save 'wicked men. It is certain that hitherto its,in fluence has .not been particularly marked in this , resp'ect, nor has it commonly been supposed that the fact that a than was' becoming rich was essen tially connected' with •the idea that .he was be coming a good man ; or, that if he had been ad dieted to habits of vice, the • accumulation of irealth would necessarily, reform r , him. It has tbeen commonly : supposed that the acCuxnulation Of4ealth-had sonzething;t6 do with the corm!): tion and fall of the Roman • Empire; nor has it been plain that since the fall of that Empire the most wealthy - I - nations, or the most wealthy indi viduals, have been necessarily the most virtuous. Nor has it been commonly supposed that the ac cumulation of wealth has had a tendency either to convert a bad man, or to make a good m.- better. It is undoubtedly true that ?...01 - 4100 . 4.11 . may "inherit the kingdom oScitia-' rich man been generally believed_t,Nmeir ixod," but it has likely to occur in. u0111.',91t this result would be the effe.4,eiK" lB a s pe of his wealth, and not as The Saviour said (Luke xviii. " How hardly—a_uaz6lwc—shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God ;" implying that, although it might be done, there were some peculiar difficulties to overcome in the case, rather than that there was any peculiar ad vantage, as you seem to suppose, in wealth as a Means'of reform, or as a "means of grace." How far the building of "plain halls" for the "plain, loving-hearted, men and women" that might choose to them,would promote.the salvation oetlie great mass of mankind, or would remove the evils of the world, I should `hot feel myself competent to determine by any data in my pOs'session. I apprehend, however, that there are evils.in , human society which the mere build ing of " plain halls" fur such,purposes would not be likely to remove . 'At,all events, wealth is not so generally diffused in the World as to make it a universal agent in the work of reformation and salvation, nor has a state of society yet •aris en where it could be. I treat this as a grave matter. because, you have done so. '(7:) Your seventh Made of meeting the diffi culty is, that it may be hoped and expeCted, that men will be in a more favorable `condition in the future world than they'are here, and' that, al though:the wicked May suffer there, yet there will be.a beiter syste% of probation, so that all evil' may come to a'l3 ppd. this, which-is evidently . Your main reliance, you expressdn the Allowing, language: "Fay am I from holding.that there is no suffering in the next life. If thercls sin there, (and,l believe there is,) suffering is also there—for suffering neces sarily'attends sinning: ' • ' • "Indeed, we may reasonably hope that ,men will not sin, forever—that, if not in this, life, nevertheless in the hest, their increasing 'knowledge will conquer their' ignorance, and their increasing virtue will con quer. their temptations. So far from falling in with the irrational and God-dishOnoring doetrine; that the sinner will'hive no opportunities in' the next life for reformation and improvemeht, weshould allowreason and nature to,hispire,the expectation, that such op portunitiei - will be fargreater•there than here." Ou this . "iitiake the following re marks,: : (cr.j; It does : not, meet, and ;does not profess: to meet, the .main.—the, pripary difficulty--tbe fact that sin and woe have been allowed to come into the bystem - Under the . government of God, and that death'i.and sofroir have been permitted' to spread desolation over this world, and to.extenci and .perpetuate their dominion from age to age. These things are undoubtedly, in the world; they exist under the government of God ; they are Utieinlained. ' Whatever May occur hereafter, it is difficult to see how; if the facts should be as yowsuppoSe they 'shill be' . in. the future; w orld, such are arrapgsment .would'o,hrow any light on the question • why sin and suifering.were allowed to 'Conic into the univ,erse t at all Even if it is supposed' that them, ill be a better system in the future world and 4' which all these evils will come,to au ,end, still may be asked, why should not that,;`, bqtter syster?'.l." Aave beet' enjoyed this life?. Why shci,nld . .the "not better" .one have existed at 'all?' Why should, man be doom 'ed to go through all the sorrows, the dangers, the calamities of, this life it order to reach that "better" system ?; , ..Why should he-have been allowed, to„sin ! here . with the vague , hope that in• a future world there nt@ht be some ",better sys eflii" where "increasing knowledge would con , goer his ignorance; and`inbreasing virtue conquer his temptations ?" (b.) The doctrine of future punishment is.ad-- mitted by yon, ghus you say: " Far, am I from hording, that there is no suffering, in, the next life. If there is sin there, as. I, believe there is, suffering is also there—for siiffering, necessarily ateends sinning:" With your views of man s free-agency, and , of the' inability of God to con trol a free ag ent so.as to restrain him from sin without violating, his essential freedoni,.it was.a logical consequence that. you should, admit,that there might be' 'sin in- the future world; and so far as it appears at , any 'period in that loaid— !Atm the , principle applies to , one period there as weir as to another: :that is, at, any period in: the' future world there repay be, sin end suffering ; or, in other words, it may exist forever. But in ,the, .concession which you hive thus made you have yielded the inaiii•point in the 'difficulty. (c.) What.then is the' ground of your hope that the opportnnities,for information_ and im provement will be far greater there than here.?" You refer to no evidence or proof on the sub ject. You dO noteven suggest' how it may be done. , You,allude to no Saaour todikterpose and mo dify the condition of, the sinner and the sufferer there. You adduce no promise that there will.ba such an improved c,onditien'of things ,there. You have suCh ideas. of freedom that there can be. no security that man will not sin and .suffer there, and sin and suffer forever. You have affirmed that God does all that. Re can do to save men here: that ".He has not the ability to save any man without the help of that man.". It May be presumed, therefore; that. God, will have exhausfe4 his power of saving before men reach the Suture world, certainly that he will hive no 'giictier powei to save there than he has' here. .You hold, also, that the universe is governed by fixed; laWs, and that those laws "leave no room for a ,passionate and. changeful God, and no room for the working of miracles" (page 14 ;) and, from the nature of the case, those unvarying and unchangeable laws must exist there as well, as here in order to produce harmony, or to pre vent.disturbatice in the general system. Of the truth of ,the opinion which you have thus expressed, there is not the slightest, hint in the Bible.- Indeed; - you do not refer to the Bi ble as making any intimation on' the subject, or as. laying the foundation of any such hope. ' awl whether, if the. Bible: did do this, it would have awy, value, in your. view, ,or,afford any ground of probability that, it will be. so, may be ,better un derstOod ,froth.the views which yOu express in 'regard to the-Bible, to which I shall refer in'the next letter. Such, then, are your dim and shadowy, and I may say, dark views in regard to the f world; such ores ho e fi n d a o.n au woe will A6 lid in the universe; such is the pros pect which arises before your mind in reference to the condition of man as he enters on the future state. I ask now are these sufficient for a phi losopher to rest upon ? Are they fitted to dissi pate all gloom, and to dispel all anxiety ? Are they adapted to answer the questions which we may ask, and to give peace and calmness to one who is soon to enter the dark world? I have thus examined your solution of the dif ficulties in the case. In my next and closing letter I shall consider the views of religion which you have expressed as lying, at the foundation of your solution of the difficulties referred to, and the question whether your system has greater ad vantages than my own, or is better fitted to make the mind calm in. a' world. like ours. I am, with great respect, truly yours, ALBERT BARNES. AVERY COLLEGE, PITTSBURGH, June 24, 1868 Among the things Mr. Parton did not see in Pittsburgh, let me tell ,you something of the AVERY COLLEGE. Founded' by Rev. Charles Avery, soine twelve or, fifteen years ago, for the benefit of the colored people—and liberally gn dowed—n, very fair building was put up in Alle gheny city, containing a large chapel capable of seating seven hundred persons, with some five or six large recitation rooms, suitably furnished— with a respectable library—a good telescope, and a well selected assortment of chemical,—philoso phical, and astronomical apparatus, it still has been anything but a success. A suitable act of incorporation was procured, corporators from our most. respectable citizens were appointed who have continued to serve—with a majority of col- ored Trustees. From a variety of untoward cir cumstances, the institution ran down from a hun dred students, many'of them from distant parts 'of the country, to literally none. In these cir cumstances, REV. 11. H. G-ARNETT, the eminent colored preacher, connected with the Third Pres bytery of New York, (New School,) accepted the call of the Trustees to the Presidency of the Col lege. 'He Wag inaugurated with appropriate ex ercises some two months ago, say April 16. The speeches'on the occasion were made by Rev. John Peck, Vice President of the Board, Prof: J. A. Neale, Secretary of the Board, President Gar 'nett, and Prof. Sampson, one of the, new profes sors. These were all colored men. ' There was a large attendance of colored persons.' No per son of any reflection, or any living sympathy with the colored race, could have witnessed these 'exercises without the deepest feeling, and renew ed interest, in the future destiny of this •remark able people. The speeches were remarkable for their simplicity, earnestness, practicality, and force. Thirteen young women and one young man had already entered their names as students, and been examined, and admitted., Since then, the number has increased to very nearlyan even fifty. The prospect is that this noble' institution will go on, and no*, if not here tofore, realize the hopes of ! the benevolent foun der. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of visiting the institution,- in company with Mr. F. Mitchell, Well known to many in your city, as, for many years past, a devoted friend of the colored peo ple. We were received in' the• most cordial, cour teous, and, graceful manner, by President Gar nett. Mr. Mitchell is a member of the Society of Orthodox Friends. He had recently returned from England, where,. in the course of three months, in connection with Mr. Albright, - "of the same religions society, he had delivered nearly ninety addresses in behalf of .the Freedmen's cause, and'as, one of the results, some $50,000 was raised for the purpose of establishing Nor mal Schools in the South. This fund is to be spent mainly under the direction, or through the. agency of the American Freedmen'e•Union Com mission, but more especially under the, direction of a, special committee of three or five, of which. Mr. Mitchell, Frank King, Esq., of Baltimore, and J.'Miller- McKim, Esq., are members. It is to go exclusively for Normal Schools in the South and West. A's Mr. Mitchell is• thorough lY conversant with the subject, of Normal Schools for the colored ,people—and is ,eminently. practi cal in his views—and,opposed to the idea of wak ing large investments of this precious fund in 'brick and. mortar, I have no doubt a world of good will be accomplished. So far as I can judge, the..,money could not , have been more . wisely placed to accomplish the views of the large heart ed endwise donors. What the colored people 'need now, is not brick and mortar—large expen sive-buildings--but an ample supply of first class books in the.elementary English branches—maps —charts : —objectllesson apparatus, teachers of their own color—godly men and women, of. cul tivated minds andnoble hearts, to lead 'theni into the green pastures of knowledge and intelligent piety—teachers willing to go down to their level not to stay there, but in imitation of Christ him self, to raise them up out, of the ignorance and poverty where ,the infernal system of Slavery left them, to the state of mind and feelito , be commg their new position as freednien—rather as freemen—as. citizens and voters in this glori ous republic. Much as 'some Of our own people have done for our colored brethren of, the South,. the Quakers of England deserve immortal honor and respect for their continued, persevering, in telligent, devotion to the interests of this race in the United States. No missionary field in the world is so promising of glorious results as this colored race in, our own land, and it, is therefore with feelings of the deepest gratitude and. joy, that I learned 'that our own New School,body had, though too tardily—finally Aetertnine'd•to go into this field energetically as a special branch of their Home Missionary work. But I am making my letter, too long. What I wanted specially to speak of, was Mr. Mitchell's address to the stu dents of 'Avery College. Without apparent pre paration it, was replete with the noblest sentiments '—expressed, in the simplest and most appropriate language. - Full of fire and force, and yet of the manliest good sense and deep Christian- experi ,ence and feeling, it made a powerful impression on the student& Among the ideas pressed upon them, were: to' be earnest Chtistian-men'andwo men—to get a thorough education—to live not unto 19F222slisa i l4o,jor,t,le and for the world. With such notions as 0-enerallylKy p qtrAj to the coldness of Quakers with respect to earn est evangelical views—many of our New School brethren would have been astounded to hear the eloquent pleadings of this earnest Friend Mit chell, that those present should consecrate them themselves thoroughly to the service of God, their race, and their country. He spoke beauti fully of the interest he had everywhere found in England, in this cause, and trusted that when they came to be voters—if a war with England should ever again be agitated—their voices and their votes should be.given against it, remem bering the deep and loving interest that the En glish Friends had taken in their intellectual and spiritual elevation. Mr. Mitchell's speech was so mingled with anecdotes of interest as to personal efforts to sup ply the sufferin g s which he had himself witness ed in the South among the colored people, and of parties that he met in England, whose goods he had himself distributed to those about to perish, that it . will forever live in the memory of the writer with the'deepest interest. All honor to Charlie Avery—long life to the Avery. Collette--all honor to the English Friends, and to Friend Mitchell. J. S. T. BEV. A. M. STEWART'S LETTERS—VII. San Francisco, May, 1868. "The earth is the Lord's aud the fulness thereof." Emmanuel created our world for the sons of men and as a place whereon to develope His redemptive work. The first command to the representative of our race after creation and blessing, has neither been withdrawn nor super seded: "Be fruitful and multiply, and replenish the earth and subdue it." MUCH YET TO BE OCCUPIED But a small portion of our earth has as yet been subdued and cultivated to its full capacity of fruitfulness for the sustenance of man and beast. This is; however, done as fast as the pro gressive interests of Christ's Kingdom demand. No mistakes are made by Him who holds the earth for an inheritance. Nations have arisen, been restrained, changed, removed or overthrown for one purpose--the interests of the Gospel. THE. BEST LAST That the best portions of our world should be reserved to the last for the untrammelled occu pancy of man in his ;combined and highest de velopment, was a policy to have,,been expected from the-Ruler of the universe, who sees theend froni the beginning and lays His plans accord ingly. The world's vigorous ; practical, advancing, Christian knowledge has for :ages; been embody ing itself in the sturdy.Anglo-saxon race. In its majestic westward march, over virgin territory, the energies of this dominant race have been de ,veloping and accumulating themselves, by the help of all the marvellous inventions of the past century; and these guided by the printing press, the Bible. and k free Gospel. ' The coubtless acres of broad country; over which this western march of civilization has moved; have not been fully developed, nor are likely to be while the restless tide still rollS on. A STOPPING PLACE This, of necessity, was demanded; and God, foreseeing the necessity, had it in readiness front the beginning. The regions beyond the almost boundless Pacific, where the human race had its origin already overflow with effete peoples. At the shore of this great sea the human tide must stay, and when suffi'iently accumulated roll back over the course it came with a beneficent flood of wealth, intelligence, energy and Christian great ness. Long before civilized foot bad trodden the Pacific coast, had a Christian geographer, with the map of the world in his, hand, stood on the shore of this • greatest sea s somewhere in the north temperate zone, his inevitable conclusion must have been: That somewhere here will be demanded in future ages la'rbb r and place for a city to accommodate an untold amount of coin ,ruerce and human interests. God had it ready, 'ad so distinctly marked as to allow no dispute about the locality when needed. For a thousand -miles along our western coast there is no harbor or inlet for vessels save oee; 'and it is in the right place and the best also in the world,— THE GOLDEN GATE, `fancifully so called, being the water entrance to the gold fields of the Pacific slope. For more than 3,000 miles from Panama; our vessel glided over the sea and in sight of the , coast, until at length her prow was turned eastward and we steamed into the Golden •Gate—a deep channel, a mile wide and five miles long; skirted on each side by high, bare, rugged hills. Through the channel the Bay of San Francisco is reached; as you enter, and in front, about eight miles across; and opening to your right and left about fifty miles in its entirelength. The bay is sur rounded by a low image .of bare mountains in some places jutting &own' to the water's edge; in others receding - and. leaking a mile or more of level land. A wharfage can be built entirely around this large:, bosom of water a hundred miles in extent • sufficient to moor in safety the world's navies. On what part of *the bay a city should be built, when commenced, was perhaps a matter of accident or of caprice. San Francisco seems to be built on the most difficult and uninviting part of the great harbor. Close to your right hod as you enter , from the straits, and with high drifting sand hills between it and the ocean, itself `on a score of peaked hills and mina banks, nestlo the Golden City. Here we are, Mr. Editor, at length in safdt,.. c, and roomed at the Occidental, contesting is the maunificence of its accommodations with the Continental or St. Nicholas;—here, in the pig' about which we have had' many,a day-dream , well as thoughts in the night. "Then are they glad, because they 111 3 1 be quiet. So He bringeth them into their desire, haven. Oh, that men should praise the Lord I for His goodness,and for His wonderful W orks I the children of men:" I A. STEW. RT. THE CITY
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