6
,)
2
VOLUME XVI.
J. D. WILLIAMS. JOHN HAFT, JR.
J.Q.V. WILLIAMS & Co.,
IF hoieatti Grocers and Commission .21Prel i ald, an
Dealers in Produce and Pittsburg
Manufactures,
No. 116, Wood Street, Pittsburg.
HAVE NOW IN STORE, and to arrive this
week, the following goods, of the must re
cenuimportations, which are offered on the most
reasonable terms:
115 catty boxes prime Green Tea.
45 half chests do do
46 " Oolong and Chulan.
100 bags Rio Coffee.
15 " Lnguyra and Java.
60 boxes A's, l's, f and 1 lb lump tobacco.
35 bbls. Nos. 1 and 3 Mackerel.
20 and Ido No. 1 do
2 . and fdo Salmon.
50 oxes scaled Herring.
1300 lbs extra Madder.
3 bales Cassia, 1 bale Cloves,
6 bags Pepper & Alspice 1 bbl Nutmegs,
2 bids Ground Ginger, I bbl gronifttpepper,
1 bbl Urountlrimento, 10 kegs grourid , Mustard
10 kegs ground Cassia, 10 do do Cloves,
2 bbls Garret's Snuff, 45 bus Stearin Candles,
20 bxs Star Candles, 10 do Sperm do
1.00 dos Masons Black'g 100 lbs sup. Rice Flour,
100 lbs S. F. Indigo, 20 doz Ink,
150 dos Corn Brooms, 125 do. ' Patent Zinc
50 bxs extra pure Starch,. Wash Boards,
25 do Saleratus, 75 bbls N. 0. Molasses,
15 bbls S. H. Molasses, 10 do Golden Syrup,
25 do Loaf, Crushed, 5501bs seedless Raisins,
& Powdered Sugar, 50 drums Smyrna Figs,
20 jars Bordeaux Prunes, 50 lbs Sicily Primes,
5 boxes Rock Candy, 2 holes Genoa Citrons,
10 do Cocoa & Chocolate, 5 do Castile & Almond
12 doe Military Soap, • Soap,
1 bbl sup. Carb, Soda, 1 bbl Cream Tartar,
1 case Pearl Sago, 2 cases Isinglass,
2 cases Sicily & Refined 1 case Arrow.lloot,
Liquorice, 150 Bath Brick,
1 bbl Flour Sulphur, 100 gross Matches,
100 doe Extract of Lem- 5 doe Lemon Sugar,
on, Rose & Wallis, 1 cask Sal Soda,
Glass, Nails, White Lead, Lard oil, Re.
Refer to Merchants Thomas Read & Son,
" Fisher & M'Murtrie,
it •‘ Charles Miller,
" Honorable John Ker,
Huntingdon,
May 15, 1851-IY.
ho i LOON HERE t
17m:crib CO UT, I ' 3 aaa
RESPECTFULLY informs the citizens of the
borough of Huntingdon, and the public generally,
that he has taken the shop formerly occupied by
T. Adams, where he is carrying on business as a
CABINET MAKER,
in all its branches, and ho hereby solicits n share
of the public patronage. lly strict attention
to his business (intending to be. at home at all
times) and care in the niantifiteture of articles, he
thopes o please those who may become his pat
rons and, also, to induce n thir trade.
ia" lie makes Co.giud and attends Fitnerald on
the shortest notice.
GrHe has a SPLENDID MAIM for Hu
accommodation of those living in tho country.
Huntingdon, June 26, 1851.-3 m.
FITS, Errs, FITS,
JOHN A. KING
Begs leave to return his sincere thanks, for the
very liberal patronage he has heretofore received,
'and at the same time informs a generous public,
that he still continues the
TAILORING BUSINESS,
at the old stand of Jacob Snyder, where lie trill
be pleased to have his friends call and leave their
measures.
Every garment is warranted to fit neatly, and
shall be well made.
JOHN A. KING,
Hunt., July, 1831
GRAND COMBINATION
OF THE
Useful, Beautiful and Ornamental I I
EDMUND SNARE
BEGS LEAVE to inform the people of Bun.
tingdon, and the rest of mankind, that he km
bought, brought and opened the rirhelt, bargee
and cheap , st assortment of
WATCHES Si, JEWELRY
ever beheld in this meridian In addition to his
unprecedented stock of Watches nod Jewelry
he is just opening a most excellent variety o
miscellaneous BOOKS, as well as School
I3ooks and STATIONARY, which he is de
termined shall be sold tower than ever sold in
Huntingdon.
Call in and see if this statement is not cor
rect. Store formerly occupied by Nell & Mil
ler.
13:7'01d Gold and Silver wanted
April 21, 1851.
TO OWNERS OF
rtNPATENTED L AND S.—All persons ill pos
session of, or owning unpatented lands with
in this Commonwealth, are hereby notified that
the act of assembly, passed the 10th of April,
1835, entitled "An Act to graduate lands on which
Money is due and unpaid to the Commonwealth
of Pennsylvania,' and which act has been extend
*ed from time to time by supplementary lows,
WILL ExiquE ON THE FIRST DAY OF
bECEMBER NEXT, after which time no
'abatemennt can be made of any interest which
May have accrued upon the original machine
money.
It will therefore be highly important to those in
terested to secure their patents and the benefits
of the said act and its sdpplements during the
time the same will continue in force.
• WILLIAM HUTCHISON,
ISAAC PEIGHTAL,
BENJAMIN LEAS, •
Commissioners.
August 08, 1851.
ABeautiful lot of the latest style of Bonnets,
largo and small. Also, children's Flats for
sale by J. e l. 1V Sexton.
May 20, '5l.
B AGLEY'S Superior Gold Pens, in gold and
silver patent extension cases, warranted to
give entire satisfaction, for sale at,
Scott's Cheap JeWelr Store.
HUNT
TO PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS.
MBE undesigned begs leave to call the atten
tion of Printers and Publishers, to the fact
that he ebntinues to manufacture all kinds of
BOOK, NEWSPAPER, JOB and FANCY
TYPE at his old stand, N. W. Corner of Third &
Chestnut streets, Philadelphia, at his usual low
prices for cash. Be has just introduced a large
quantity of new style
JOB & FANCY TYPE,
rill of which are made of the best metal; and fur
beauty of finish and d2bility, cannot be surpass
!cd by any other founil • in ill,: Union. Ills long
experience in the (lift nt branches of the trade
us well as in the mixing . of he flatters
himself, enabled him to make a batter article and
at a much less price than any of his competitors.
He keeps constantly on hand a large variety of
Cases,Chases,Composing Sticks,lmposing-stones,
Common and Brass Galleys, Stands, Bodkins,
Brass Rules, Leads, Printing Presses, Furniture,
and all other articles required in a Printing Office.
Old Type taken in exchange for new at nine
cents per pound.
Printers are requested to call and examine his
spechnents before purchasing elsewhere. All or 1 ,
ders thankflilly received and promptly attended.to,
at his Philadelphia Type Foundry, corner of
Third and Chestnut streets.
L. PELOUZE.
July 3, 1851.-Iy.
NEFF, M. D.,
HAVING ointed himself in WARRIORRMARK,
in this trity, would respectfully otter his
Professional serviAito the citizens df that place
and the country adjacent.
PEFFEnEXCES:
J. 11. Loden, M. 1). Gen. A. P. Wilson,
M. A. Henderson, " Wm. I'. Orbison, Esq.
.1. 11. Dorsey, " Hon. James Gwinn,
M. Stewart, " John Scott, Esq.
lion. George Taylor. .
Huntingdon, Pa.
Inca) M, Gemmill, M. 1)., Alevmdria.
rutin IVE'Culloch, J'etersbury.
apl7'3l-0.
Splendid Stock of New and Cheap
Watches, Clocks, fs, Jewelry,
Phindelphia Prices.
J. T. Scott lino just received from Philadelphia!
and is now opening a new and very large assort
ment of Gold and Silver Watches, 8 day and thir
ty. hour Clocks, Jewelry, and a great variety of
other articles, which he is enabled to sell at rates
much lower than usual. " quick sales and small
profits' is his motto, the proof of which will be
Mund on examining his excellent assortment
April 10th '51.-9'
A. AIILLEII.
atravattaT zarTrlstr,
HUNTINGDON, PA.
N. B. All operations AVarratited.
COSTUbIrEI HALL
'Tis True is the place to purchase Spring and
Sumner Clothing, cheaper than you can buy in the
city of Philadelphia.
_
.TACOB SNYDER,
The Proprietor of , 4 COSTUME HALL," has just
arrived from the East with the largest assort
ment of Sprites. and Summer Clothe:mg, suita
ble for men and boys, ever offered to the good
citizens of Huntingdon county.,
He does not wish to offend his friends by of
ering, to give them any article of Clothing they
may desire, but he will sell 30 cheap that it will
mount to the same thing in the end.
EXC/lIINGM ZIOTZL
JOIN LIVI.NC;STON
Takes this method of.announcing to his
friends, and the public generally, that he has
leased the long established and well known
stand, lately occupied brCol. Johnston, and
flatters himself he is prepared to accommodate
all who may honor him with a call, in the most
satisfactory manner.
II IS T.. 1 /3l
will always be furnished with the choisest v
ands the mat ket will atlurd, and
HIS STABLING
Is ;is good as can be found in the borough .
Huntingdon, April 34, 'sl.—tf.
Town Lotg for Sale.
The suhreriber I. several town lots, situate
in the most pleasant part of West Huntingdon,
(the ground formerly used by him as n Brick Yard)
which he will dispose of on very reasonable terms.
E. C. SUMMERS.
Huntingdon, May 13, 11.31'.—tf.
F ANCY articles in endless variety :it
E. S11:111,'S Store.
NOTICE,
AMA N MARKS inform the public that they
still continue to make coffins at the old stand
formerly occupied by Thomas Burchinell in the
rear of the Sons of Temperance hull, fronting on
Washington Street,
.and
,attend fbnerels either
in town or country. Thee keep a splendid Hearse
for the accommodation of their customers.'
July 17, 1851.-6
I\7OTIOM
All perpous hoeing unsettled accounts with the
late firm of Dorsey o Maguire are respectfully re=
quested to call and have the sonic satistitctorily
arranged, as they arc determined to hare the ac
counts settled without respect to persons.
Huntingdon July 31, 1841.
NOVELS AN]) SCHOOL BOOKS for sale at
➢lay 22, '5l.- Ed. Sources.
LADIES tiold Pons and Pencils at the Cheap
Corner Jewelry Store.
L - IANS-A beautiful assortment at various prices.
Also, Card Cases, Boquet Holders, limey En
velopes, Note Paper, and other articles expressly
for the Ladies, tier sale at
Scott's Cheap Jewelry Store.
1. 0 Half Barr(ili Herring for
j sap l l;
&trim
May 29, '5l.
NGDON, PA., THURSDAY, SEPT. 25, 1851.
SABBATH SCHOOL FESTIVAL.
Hon. Geo. Taylor:—,,
- Sir—The undersign
ed Committee of the Huntingdon Presby
terian Sabbath School, believing that much
good may result from the publication of
the excellent Address delivered by you at
their recent festival, respectfully request a
copy of the same for that purpose.
NANNIE D. ALLISON
ANNIE DORRIS,
HARRIET 0. 11I'MURTRIE
Sept. 18th, 1851.
Ladies:—
I have received your note of this
inst. If, in your judgment, and the judg
ment of those whom you represent, any
'good may result' from the publication of
the "address" to which you refer, I am
not at liberty to withhold it. The re
quested.copy is therefore placed in your
hands, and committed to your disposal.
With great respect.,
GEO. TAYLOR.
Miss Nannie D. Allison,
" Annie Dorris,
" Harriet 0. M'Murtrie,
_
Committee,
ADDRESS,
To the Teachers, Parents, and others, as
sembled at the Festival of the Hun
tingdon Presbyterian Sabbath SchoOl,
Sept. 11th, 1851..
BY GEO. TAYLOR.
To some, my friends, this may seem an
empty pageant. But is it so ?—lf there
is tiny thing in these organizations for the
Sabbath-day instruction of our children
calculated to instil into their tender minds
the principles of religion and vittue, and
preserve them from vice, and promote
their happiness and well-being here and
here after, IT IS NOT SO.. Every appli
ance suited to win their affections and eon
fidence,—to attach them to their Sabbath
school instructors, interest them in the in
struction, and open an avenue to their young
hearts,—becomes part of the noble enter
prise, and demands the countenance and
encouragement, not only of every parent,
not alone of those to whom these little
children are endeared by natural ties, but
of every lover of his country and institu
tions, and every philanthropist, as well as
of every christian. And I propose, in the
part which has been allotted to me in your
exercises, to offer some reflections upon the
importance which should be attached to
Sabbath School instruction. If in do
ing so, I shall be fortunate enough to pre
sent views of the subject which shall stimu
late any to more zealous effort, or prevent
any from wearying, in a good cause, the time
which I may claim your attention, will not
be time misspent.
It is the aim of this institution to impart
religious instruction. Its pupils aro all
the children of. the whole country. We
have here, to-day, it is true, only the
children of a single school : but we were
all gratified to notice on the 4th of July a
procession of teachers and children belong
ing to the school connected with the Metho
dist Episcopal Church, as large,
perhaps,
as this ; and we all know that here, and
elsewhere, and every where throughout
this Union, these and other christian so
cieties have organized schools in every
town and neighborhood, and in which the
large mass of the children of the whole
country receive religious instruction every
Sabbath day. The institution, therefore,
.we may say, aims at, and is now actually
engaged in, the moral instruction of all
the children in the whole country. It
makes its impress upon an ago ! Its in
fluence upon the rising and succeeding
generations cannot fail, therefore, to be
potent. What that influence is likely to
be, may be inferred from the nature and
tendency of the truth inculcated ; and from
the intimate connection and dependence
which (od has established, by laws as im
mutable as that which govern the planets,
between man's duty and his happiness ;--
a oharacteristick of the Divine laws which
applies to individuals in this life, and here
after; and which is not alone applicable to
individuals, but is embodied, also, in the
great POLITICAL truism taught in the Bi
ble,—that "righteousness exalteth a NA
TION."
It is laid down as an axiom by a cele
brated writer upon elementary law, that
the Divine law of Nature is reducible to
one paternal precept,—"that man should
pursue his own true and substantial hap
piness." And this benign characteristick
is the broad seal of heaven, attesting the
high authority, and gilding with divine per
fection, all the moral precepts of the Bible.
They are all framed in infinite wisdom and
goodness "for man"; and display visibly
that wisdom and goodness in their perfect
adaptation to establish upon earth the pure
government of heaven, and in their ten
dency to elevate man toward the perfec
tions and happiness of the angels of light.
The most reckless sceptic must admit
that if all mankind would render a perfect
and ceaseless obedience to the letter and
spirit of the decalogue, all evil, except na
tural evil,—all moral evil,—would depart
from the world. He must admit this : and
if, in his eagerness to impeach the divine
wisdom, he suggests that 'these laws are
not wisely adapted to man as we find him,
for that he will not and cannot render such
obedience,' his cavil only amounts to the
admission of a cardinal Bible testimony of
which the whole earth, and the whole his
tory of our race, are filled with corrobora
ting evidence,—that man is a depraved be
ing, prone to evil and naturally disinclin
ed to walk in the paths of virtue and hap
piness ; while the great truth still stands
forth in all its towering prominence, that
"‘wisnom's WAYS," if a man WOULD pursue
them, "are ways of pleasantness, and all its
paths, paths of peace."
That the converse of this is equally true,
we have evidence no less convincing and
abundant. While perfect obedience to
the Divine laws would elevate man almost
to angelic perfection and bliss, the entire
withdrawal of their influence and restraints,
would plunge him to a depth of misery and
degradation which human conception has
not yet learned 'to fathom. If we only
look within ourselves, and observe the
strong downward tendency of the innate
depravity of our hearts, we tremble at the
dark and bottomless gulf over which we
feel ourselves suspended by the mighty
restraints, direct and indirect, of the reli
gion of the Bible. If we look at the crime
and tendency to crime which exist in our
midst, despite these restratts, we .must
feel a yet deeper conviction of the same
great truth, and wonder what we,—en
lightened Americans,—would be, if these
restraints were removed. If we glance
back upon the history of the world, and
pause in contemplation upon its dark spots,
with'scarce a tint of humanity to relieve
the grouped images of ignorance, cruelty,
superstition, and blood, which make up
each horrid picture, we have a miniature
representation of whitt this whole earth
would be without the Bible, its institutions,
its teachings, and its restraints. And still
w 6 are not thus afforded a true idea of
what man would bo destitute of all sense
of accountability ; for, in his worst estate,
he bears with him some faint, illegible
traces of that law written upon the heart
of our common progenitor in Eden,—soave
vague sense of accountability to some
invisible being,—which, acting upon a
greater or less amount of ignorance, has
filled the pagan world with idolatries and
superstitions more or less revolting, but
still better, perhaps, than no religion at
all. And it is impossible to tell how far
the rays of revealed truth, east out by
feeble reflection over the pagan earth, may
have saved it from the thickest gloom, and
the lowest degradation. But we need not
search fo reasons why man as ho has been
found in past ages, and as he is even now
lound in a state of heathenism, has not
been, and is not, still more miserable and
benighted. Paganism,.—the state of man
without God's revealed truth,—in its soft
est garb, is sufficiently appalling. Who
does ngt shudder at the thought of ex
changing America for India ? Yes, you
shudder at the thought ! Yet no one here
doubts,—no one who will reflect can doubt,
—that we aro indebted for every thing
that elevates us in knowledge, and refine
ment, and virtue, and happiness, above the
most degraded heathen that ever
c; in their blitiness
Sawed down to wood and stone" 2—
that ever sacrificed themselves or their off
spring, or fed upon one another,—to the
religion revealed in the Bible ;—thc sys
tem of morality which you instil into the
minds of these little children. It is to it
that we owe our national existence, and
the purest and best government on the
face of ttio• earth. It is through it that
, beams upon us this day, the brightest mor
al light that ever shone from heaven upon
mortals. It is the source of every thing
pure and exalted in civilization, intelligence,
virtue, and happiness, on the foot-stool of
God. All the various and pre-eminent
civil rights and privileges we enjoy, and
all the advancements and enterprizes which
add to their .enjoyment and increase their
value, are but diverging streandets of good
ness and mercy, each flowing out in its ap
pointed channel,—all springing from a
common fountain beneath the throne of the
Almighty.
In the light of these plain truths, it is
impossible to over-estimate the efforts of
the present day for the moral and religious
training of the young. It is impossible to
give too much aid, countenance, and en
couragement to Sabbath school organiza
tions, and Sabbath school instruction ; or
to value too highly the Sabbath school
teacher's mission ; whether it be viewed
iu its political, social, or direct personal
tendency.
Its influence upon our political institu
tions, considering the nature of our govern
ment, and what is plainly essential to its
purity and permanence, is too evident, one
would suppose, to require notice. But,
as those in the enjoyment of present heal4ll!
are prone to forget that they carry &Vont !
within the seeds of decay and death, and
to think "all men mortal but themselves;" ,
'so, since our government bas remained
stable, answering all the high expectations
of its sage and patriotic founders, for sev
enty-fivo years, we are perhaps too ready
to assume, without thought or reflection
upon the subject, that it must so remain
forever.
GOVERNMENT, which consists in the as
sociation of a people for the protection of
the weak against the strong, the depraved,
and the vicious, and for the common de
fence and general welfare of the whole,
by
means of laws established and enforced by
a sovereign power, has been found, and
will be found, indispensable, for these pur
poses, in the most refined and improved
state of human society. It must either
derive its support from a controlling
sense of right, a love of justice implant
ed and cherished in the hearts of the mass
of the people; or be enforced by the strong
arm of arbitrary power. The former is
self-government, or the principle of repub
licanism ; the latter kind includes all the
family of monarchies and despotisms.—
The one may be maintained, such as it is,
if the ruling principle, the rod of iron, be
sufficiently strong, in a comparatively de
graded state of human society ; the other
can only 'live,
and move, and have its be
ing' in a moral atmosphere. Where the peo
ple themselves are at one and the same time
the ruled, and by their own chosen agents
THE RULERS, and make and change their
own laws at will, as in a republican form
of government, and as is the case with us,
the government itself must of necessity
partake of the character, embody the prin
ciples, and conforiis to the habits and son
timents, of the people. The stream can
not rise above its source. A corrupt
fountain cannot send forth a pure stream.
"Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs
of thistles?" When the mass of the peo
ple become degraded, besotted, rapacious,
and lawless, the very idea' of self-govern
ment, is an absurdity. This is plain. It
requires no 'argument to show,
for it is an
axiom, a self-evident truth, that " VIRTUE,
i 8 the VITAL PRINCIPLE of a republic."
Let this principle of its life be destroyed;
and it will present the sepulchral aspect
of the dry bones in the valley of vision.
Let the foundation be removed, and the
fabric must fall.
Nor should we for a moment fall into
the error of supposing that intellectual
culture, or education in the restricted sense
of that word, may supply the place, or
subserve the end, of this vital principle ;
or that our institutions of learning, our
common schools more particularly, are suf
ficient safe-guards of the republic. These,
be it remembered, are the progeny, and
not the parents, of morality. Schools are
only sought and established, and apprecia
ted, by a virtuous and religious people ;
only flourish in a state of good morals.—
We see the house of worship and the school
house rise, side by side, and stand together,
in congenial companionship. VICE is the
unrestrained sway of the baser PASSIONS :
VIRTUE, the sway of the moral sentiments,
and the pure affections of the heart. In
tellectual culture may be made subserve
one principle or the other, and so become
an agency of good or of evil ; but it is con
genial only to virtue. Vicy, like its vic
tim, " loves darkness rather than light."
' A vicious thirst for the gratification of the
base passions, does not beget any de
sire for intellectual improvement ; nor does
intellectualculture necessarily make men
000 D. The intellectual endowments of anan
gel may characterize Gabriel or Beelzebub.
Learning is good ; indispensible to the hap
piness and prosperity of a people ; but it is
only as the hand-maid, the auxiliary, of
virtue. Knowledge unaided can never,
make of a child a virtuous man; or of a
man, a virtuous citizen ; though it may
make of a child a more useful man, and
will certainly make of a virtuous man a
better citizen. Talents and learning may
make a Bonaparte ; but virtue,—the in-,
fluence of religion upon the heart,—must
bo superadded, to snake a Washington.—
Knowledge alone may make an intrigueing
politician ; but, to make a good citizen,
you must awaken A CONSCIENCE in the
bosom, as well as instil knowledge into
the mind. This can only be dune by that
which schools the heart. Nothing else
can do it. Nothing else can implant, and
cultivate, and cherish that love for his fellow
man, that regard for the rights and wel
fare of others, which constitutes the silk
en cord, the heavenly principle of cohesion,
which brings and binds the members of a
great republican family together, in happy
and permanent union.
And while the American constitution is
founded upon the principle that "man is
capable of self-government," we must all
at once see, that, bo our people intelligent
or otherwise, the glorious structure may
refit upon a rock, or may reel and totter
upon aloundation of sand. For, though
man be capable or self-government, we
see many, and among them the most learn-
NUMBER 37.
ed and intelligent, who do not, and wilt
nut govcrii,theinselves ARIGIIT ; who would
tread upon the necks and wade through
the tears and blood of their fellows, to
atify rampant selfishness and unhallowed
anktion.,. Let the number of such swell into
majority,—let unrestrained vice and cor
ruptioti' by ir sway,—and what high hopes
could the 'patriot draw from the abstract
truth of a maxim l No! It is impossible for a
people, whatever else they may possess, to
establish and maintain a republican form
of government, without possessing and
preserving as its foundation,—the only
foundation upon which it can possibly
stand,—A PURE NATIONAL MORALITY.
With what an anxious eye, then, should
the patriot watch the progress of this in
stitution! The SABBATH 505100 L COO
grpgates together once a week the chil
dren of the land—those who will soon fill
our places in the active scenes of life—who
will be left to manage the affairs of this
government, when those who manage them
now shall be numbered with the silent
dead ;—its future teachers, voters, magis
trates, and statesmen. It collects them
together, and instils into their tender hearts
the seeds of true morality ;—the morality
of the Bible ;—pure from heaven—pure
as from the lips of hint who "spake as
never man spake." It " trains them up
in the way they should go ;" and reason
and revelation lead us to trust that " when
they are old, they will not depart from
it."—Thus, commencing at the proper
place,—ere vicious habits are formed and
evil passions gain the ascendency and mas
tery,—ere the inexperienced feet have
learned to stray,—while the tender mind
is susceptible of deep and abiding impres
sions .—adopting the proper means,—the
instillation into the heart of the pure and
purifying principles of gospel morality
and embracing in its comprehensive scheme
of moral tuition A WILOLE GENERATION AT
ONCE, how perfectly is it calculated, tinder
the blessing of God, to purge the nation
of its moral Impurities, and bear on and
onward to remote posterity, the blessings of
civil and religious liberty !
Apart, I repeat it, from the immediate
and direct aim of this humble institution,
no intelligent mind can fail to discover,
and no patriot can undervalue, its impor
tant political influence. Aid,—encourage
it:—let it be sustained and nourished
throughout the land, and though it may
work unseen it must work miracles.
Though its silent, unpretending operations
may be overlooked or despised by the
bustling multitude, its work of moral re
formation will go steadily on. As "one
generation passeth, and another genera
tion cometh, ' its influence will be mani
fest in a new succession of virtuous men
and good citizens. When one foundation
stone may be swept by the under-currents
of vice and corruption, from beneath our
republican edifice, it will lay another.
When the ship of state launched by . our
fathers, shall be, if it ever be, (but God
grant that it never may .13e!) well nigh
grounded by the mad recklessness of an
inebriate crew, may we not rationally trust
that our moral school will exert a promi
nent agency in furnishing another that
will prevent the wreck, and steer her on,
safely and prosperously, in her careering
course!
As a scheme of BENEVOLENCE merely,
—or as. an enterprize having in view only
to benefit our children, and promote their
happiness and well-being, and the happi
ness and well-being of those associated
and connected with them, IN THIS LIFE,—
the Sabbath School would have high claims
to the patronage and encouragement of the
wise and the good : and, regarded in this
light merely, no one could be present, it
seems to me, on an occasion like this, a
cold' indifferent spectator, unless he had
brought with him a mind unaccustomed to
think, or a heart unaccustomed to feel.
•
Though the seeds of vice exist in our
very nature, and, like the noxious growth
of a fertile soil, spring up spontaneously,
there is a period in life when proper cul
ture, if it cannot completely eradicate, will
check and restrain their growth ; a period
when the heart and the affections may be
pre-occupied by the germs of virtue. That
period is childhood. That is the auspi
cious seed-time which gives promise of a
golden harvest. 6, Train up a child in the
way he should go, and when he is old he
will not depart from it." And often at a
very early period, character is shaped for
all after life. Habits, good or bad; then
formed, are likelyt o grow with the growth,
and strengthen with the strength, of the
youth, and give character to the man.—
The first departure from the path of recti
tude, is likely to he followed by other and
wider deviations. The course of vibe is
downward and easy. To breast the de
sounding tide, youth, beset by passion and
lured on every side by temptation, occu
pies the position of a water-craft upon a
rapid, where a strong and steady pressure
is over required to save it from yielding
to the current, and a still more vigorous
pressure to overcome and make head way
against it. The principles of virtue, early