PRESBYTERIA\ BAMER & ADVOCATE prosbytorlan Banner, Vol. Vlip So. 7. proobytorlan Advoeata, Vol. Ik, So. 2, DAVID NeKINNEY, Editor and Proprietor. TERMS.-IN ADVANCE. The Duty of Dedicating our Sons to God, for the Gospel Ministry. THEME-" That Christian Parents be exhorted to give their Sons to God with a view of their being trained by the Spirit, and by the Church, to the Work of the Gospel Ministry." There are certain cardinal truths affecting most deeply the life of the Christian Church, which, by reason of long neglect, have died out from the common recognition, and need at intervals to be reargued and re-estab• lished. Such a truth, we take it, is this duty of Christian parents to dedicate their sons to God, with a view to the Gospel min istry. Like most other great practical truths, it has had its counterfeit in systems of formalism; and the false practice has prevailed instead of the genuine, until the very abuse has thrown discredit upon the true doctrine. So that even now, at the suggestion of so important a topic, we think it needful to vindicate it against any sus picion of fellowship with that absurd system of designating a particular son of the family to the ministry, just as another is set apart to the army or navy. It should not be forgotten, however, that the counterfeit points to the true; and it is our business to inquire what is the truth, in doctrine and practice, which is disguised under this empty formalism. Under the Old Economy, the original or dinance required the first born son to be set apart for the priesthood, or rather this sac erdotal office was one of the birthright priv ileges. The principles underlying this ar rangement, were, (1.) that God's service at the altar was the highest and best; (2.) that this sacred office required the first and best of the offspring; (3.) that they who had been preeminently spared —as their first born had been in the Egyptian scourge—should be'solemnly ded icated to God as his of double right; while thus also they should point to Him who is the great First Born among many brethren. Reasoning from all analogy, these principles are of full force under the Christian dis pensation; and are even expected to obtain more specially, as the shadow merges into the substance. Do Christian parents doubt that God's service at the altar is still the highest and the best ? Or is this indeed the lurking fallacy, the worm at the root of our ministerial supplies, that fathers and mothers in the Church seek worldly avoca tions for their sons, as more lucrative, or more honorable? Have they, indeed, ceased to regard the sacred office as the birthright privilege of their Samuels, and Johns, awl Timothys, which it were profane to part with for a mess of pottage ? And will it be for one moment disputed by Christian parents that this service of God in the sacred office, calls for the first and best of their offspring? And if this be so, then does it not in effect set up the first claim to each one of those who, as sons, are able to serve Him in the ministry ? Or, for which of their sons shall they make out an exemption on the ground of inferiority ? Does not this principle, so essentially be- longing to both Economies, of consecrating to God's altar the best of its kind, cut off the plea that any son is too talented, or too promising, or too useful in a worldly point of view, to be given up to this religious work ? And further; as the first' born " were claimed, as a class, for the ancient ministry because these, as a class, had been savingly distinguished from Egypt's first born, wh..; were swept off by the destroying angel, does not God's effectual call to any of our sons, so far set a mark upon them as being claimed for his seivice in the New Testa ment priesthood ? Let it not be answered that under the New Testament the priest hood is only the common Christian voca tion, inasmuch as every believer under this Economy is ordained to be a priest; for the same argument, if pressed, would abolish the sacred office altogether, and merge the Christian ministry into the comma Chris tian discipleship. If, then, we see our sons hopefully converted to God, does not this so far indicate that lie who separated them from their birth, would put them into the ministry ? Is there any provision made under the New Testament, for their redemp• Lion with money, from so blessed and privi leged a service ? If so, where is the family of Aaron, upon who e, in their stead, the office can tall ? And if there be miscon ceptiou here, may not the Church be failing of her supplies, and the ministry of its re inforcements, just because this family re source is neglected, and there is none ap pointed in its stead? Christian parents do rather ignore their own priesthood when they deny the duty of their sons and Ged's claim upon them as the proper sons of Levi. Should they not ask importunately for their new birth, as Hanna asked for Samuel, with the pledge, that if God would but convert them, they should be dedicated to his ser vice in the Gospel ministry ? 61 For this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given rue my petition which I asked of him. Therefore, also, I have lent him to the Lord As long as he liveth he shall be lent to the Lord."—l.. Sand. i : 27, 28. But it may be contended that we should rather dedicate our suns to God's service in gen eral, without any special reference to the work of the ariuistry ; that we ought rather to leave it to his providence to indicate their function, lest we seem to dictate to God. But it' it be conceded that the sacred office is that in which ordinarily God may be most eminently served ; and if our ded ication of sons to such service supposes al ways his effectual preparation of them for the work, and the inward call of his Spirit as a special personal requisite, and if, also, it implies a submission to the order of his rrovidenoe as to the outward call, then surely there can be no danger here of trench ing upon the Divine prerogative. But, consider (1.) that the presstny wants of the field are such as to call for much a system of recruits, If the whole tribe of Levi was needed for the old temple service, and all the suns of Aaron for the priesthood, it rs quite am necessary now that all the sons of Christian parents be separated for this work, it they eau have the requisite qualifi cation. And w hence should the recruits be looked for. more sppropriately than from this very quarter? And is not this always the fair presuniptiun in the case, that the ministry will be taken from families of the cute nant ? And if Christian parents have any right to presume upon their children being tr-sued as the Lad's, have they .not a eoriespeuding obligation to devote them as the Lord's, to hie most eminent service in the ministry ? Is not the presumption then always on this side, that while this immense ' want continues, if our sons are owned by God as his children, through his converting grace, they should be consecrated to his highest service, to be his Gospel ministers if he so please ? And how can Christian parents respond to the Divine command, and with an eye upon the whitened harvest, pray abet the Lord would send forth labor ers into his harvest, if, at the same time, they are not using their proper influence with God and with their sons, to put these of their own household into the harvest field ? Who shall tell how many loud prayers in our Church assemblies, for the reinforcement of the ministry, have been powerless, just because of this lurking self deception in many a parent's heart? Amidst all the crying demands of the foreign and domestic field, the sad deficiency of labor ers, and the dismal prospect for any forth coming supplies, worldly parents have rather sought for their sons the position 9f mer chant princes than of ministers of Christ. And what wonder that God often as now, rebukes such worlcliness, and shows them that this, their birthright, has been pro fanely parted with for a mess of pottage I May we not *same then, that while such immense destitutions in the harvest field continue—while the Master is so urgently calling for men—while the Church is trembling before the gates ref hell, just for lack of some such systematic reinforcement of her troops, the sons of the ,Church are demanded for the ministry, and Christian parents ought so to calculate, and to train them with this in view? Consider (2.) the positive power in the household of such parental dedication. Can it be doubted that our sonn, thus set apart, and instructed, and prayed for, with a view to such a holy service, would be placed at every advantage for their early conversion to God ? What a train of pious influences would of needs go forth from such a parental aim in the daily education ? What fervency in prayer would come from such a prospect and hope of seeing these sons ministering in holy things. What lofty Christian conversation and example would naturally ensue. And have we not reason to believe that the prayers which look toward such a dedication would be heard, and that thus our sons would be con verted • much more commonly than at present? Would it not oftener occur, as with Hannah, that the vow accompanying the petition would draw down a gracious answer from a covenant God ? But we have staggered at this point ! We have hesitated to say, "If thou wilt give unto thy servant this son, then I will give him unto the Lord all the days of his life;" and therefore often our sons have grown up in unconversion for lack of this very parental dedication. OBSERVE : We do not contend that all our SOU should be put into the ministry, whether converted or not. Nor even that all of them who are hopefully the Lord's should be, of course and at any rate, abso lutely designated to that office. God must .call them as he called Aaron. But we urge that, on our part, we should hold them as devoted to the Lord for this work, as that to which we may fairly hope that God will call them; and that, with this view, we. should train them, and pray for them, and lead their minds and direct their course, looking to his providence and his Spirit to second our efforts and open the way. This would contemplate quite a different course of conduct from that which most com monly obtains in our , households, with respect to our sons. It would point to the highest aims for their useful ness and their devotedness, and it would call for an ex.lted Christian culture, such as a mere passive dedication could never reach. We would not, by any means, maintain any such presampticm, as would dispense with a particular, personal call, in any case. But we believe that this call wore often comes to our converted sons than is commonly admitted. And we believe that among them at least, the misapprehen sion is much more often against the call than for it, and keeps out of the ministry more of these who are called than it brings into the ministry of those who are not called. But this view of the subject has not been overlooked by the General Assembly of our Church. In 1840 we find them using such language as this: " We suggest to Chris tian parents the important duty of dedica. ting their children to God, and especially of pleading continually with the Most High, in subordination to his holy will, to sanctify their stow, and prepare them for the sacred ministry. Our feelings (they add,) have been deeply enlisted in this subject by the statements laid before us from the Board of Education, which show that the number of our candidates for the ministry is, decreas ing. We call upon all the pious parents in our communion to consider this affecting circumstance. We have hundreds of vacant churches in our connexion. Several mil- lions of the population of the Union are believed to be destitute of the stated means of grace ; the heathen world spread out be fore us in one vast scene of crime, and cruelty, and woe, appeals to us with an un yielding and soul-piercing importunity, to send them relief. And yet our candidates for the ministry are fewer now than they have been for some years. Will you not lay this to heart ? Will you not bring your eons and consecrate them anew to your covenant God ? Will you not give over seeking for them the transitory honors and riches of this world, and pray the Lord of the harvest, if it seem good in his sight, to anoint them with his Spirit, and send them forth into his harvest, which is perishing for lack of laborers ?"—Ninutes 1840, p. 310. We would only urge, in conclusion, the striking FACTS which so attest the importance and value of sulli parental dedication. The celebrated John Newton testifies: "I have been told, that' from my birth my pious mother had, in her wind, devoted me to ti e ministry; and that, had she lived until I was of a proper age, _I was to have been sent to Si. Andrews, in Scotland, to be educated. But t'.e Lord had appointed otherwise. She died before I was seven years of age." Yet, mark the training of which he testifies: • " W hen I was four years old, I could repeat the answers to the questions in the Shorter Catechism, with the proofs, and all Dr. Watts' smaller catechisms, with his chil dren's hymns." This was the power ot that parental dedication in such - daily training, not only for the ministry, but for heaven. "ONE THING IS NEEDFUL:" "ONE THING HAVE I DESIRED OF THE LORD:" "THIS ONE THING I DO." PUBLICATION OFFICE, GAZETTE BUILDING, FIFTH STREET, ABOVE SMITHFIELD, PITTSBURGH, PA. FOR THE WEEK ENDING SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 1557. How the baud of a covenant God wrought mpon our thoughts and judgments; for if we with him through all his after impieties, ask ill because we ba l 'Vh judged ill, and hove and with all the persistency of a Divine or- k Judged ill because vl took no pains to judge dination, checked, disciplined, and reclaim - then the sin isisnot taken away from ed him, till he became an able and faithful Your act, but remains it; and the act was minister of the New Testament, according an act of what Scrip ore calls folly, the folly to that pious mother's prayer, is a notable r which sees not and re rds not God. What chapter in the annals of the Church. ever be our business life, if we make it a Tim biographers of Rea. John Belfrage, re- '1 part of our daily p yers to God that he marked, that his Christian mother labored will give us understanding in it; that he will to prepare him for the sacred office—to form assist our judgments,o that, seeing what is pious sentiments in his mind, and, to cherish right and true, we mal r igaintain and follow devout feelings in his heart. She marked, ;it both in word and d'edd'; I do not doubt with pleasure, her son's early inclination for that such prayers will he - answered, and that, the ministry, which had been awaked by : where we now act blindly and carelessly, ac means of her own early religious influences cording to any prevailing feeling. or fancy, upon him. Accordingly, when at a suitable there we shall act upoit' the full persuasion age, he was sent to the College of Edinburgh of our minds, and thaepersuasion will be, in r • it pleased God to work in him the graces of general, according to lie will of God.—Dr. a Christian character, and he became a de. 'I Arnold. voted and faithful minister of Christ, after his pious mother had been laid in the dust. Dr. Claudius Buchanan was, from his childhood, devoted by his parents to the ministry. He was, however, a reckless youth, and pursued a course of wandering through several years, until, at length, the God of Newton brought him to attend on the. ministry of that reclaimed wanderer, and be was led to Christ. It was on hearing a sermon from the passage in Isaiah : "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feel of him that bringeth good tidings," that all his early parental dedication to the ministry forced itself upon his heart. He became, at length, a preacher of the Gospel in Eng land, and afterwards filled an important post in India, as a herald of the Cross. It is recorded, also, of the celebrated Philip Henry, that his godly mother devoted him, in his tender years, to thh service of God in the work of the ministry; and though she died before he was fourteen years of age, he always spoke of her as being to him, what Timothy's mother and grand mother were to him—acquainting him with the Scriptures; from his childhood. She prayed with him daily; catechized him, and thus laid the foundation for his future use fulness in the great and holy work to which she had devoted him Of the Rev. John Bailey, who was a faithful minister of the Gospel in Ireland, and in New England, it is recorded that his godly mother dedicated him to the service of God in the Gospel ministry, from his earliest moments. He was accordingly trained in a way befitting such , a sacred aim, and from being reared like Timothy, he be came, like him; an eminent minister of the New Testament. We add the name of the celebrated President Davies. His mother, says his biographer, took example from the mother of the Proph et Samuel, and vowed a vow unto the Lord, that if he would indeed give her a man ohild, she would devote him to his service all the days of his life. Hence he was called. Samuel. At twelve years of age, it is re marked that he was more ardent in his sup pliCations for being' introduced into the Gospel ministry, than for any other thing. " The event proved," says President Finley, in his sermon on his death, " that God accept ecl the consecrated boy—took him under his. special care—furnished him for, and em ployed him in the service of his Church—• prospered his labors with remarkable success,, and not only blesied him, but made himself a blessing." See, also, to the same effect, the case of Rev. Dr. McMillan, as narrated in " The History of Jefferson College," by Rev. Joseph Smith D D Appendix p. 414. God has not left himself without witness. His faithfulness to bis household covenant, and to his New Testament Church, has been signally manifested in a .ong line of minis tees, parentally dedicated to him in this holy work From Samuel, and those that follow alter, a great cloud of witness bearers have testified of these things.. Many members of this Synod could testify to the tame effect, of such early parental dedication in their case. It has always pleased God to propa gate his Church by means of a pious poster ity. He has transmitted his Gospel minis try by this means. The sanctity of the do mestic relation and the power of parental in fluence and prayer, have been employed by, him for so momentous a result as the re cruiting of laborers for the harvest field of the world. And by all the necessities of his Church, and of perishing millions in all lands, he calls upon Christian parents to lay their sons at the foot of his altar, and to crave fur -them, as their high Christian birthright, the distinguished honor of serving him in the ministry of reconciliation. FATHERS AND BRETHREN OF THE SYNOD,where are our sons who have attained to years of maturity, or who are fitting for their stations in life? Have we honesly devoted them to the sacred ministry, and then, in good faith, pleaded with God to train them up for so high and holy a calling, if it were his Will ? Or have we borne no testimony in the household, and used no influence 'with God toward this result ? Might it not be expected that the Christian ministry would be recruited from our families? Does not God's service need them ? Are not the churches calling for men? Axe we not now to labor and pray that the promise may soon be fulfilled, as the glory of the latter days, that our sons and our daughters shall prophesy, and that our young men shall see visions, as welt as our old men dream dreams ; and that, "in the beauties of holiness from the worth of the morning, the Church shall have THE DEW OF LIER YODNO MEN ?" Asir for Wisdom. Even among those who do pray regularly, ;he prayer fur wisdom does not, I suspect, form a part of their petitions. Many of 'us seem to have a confused notion that sense, reason, good judgment, or by whatever name we call our intellectual faculties, are quite distinct from spiritual blessings, and are things too wordly to be named in our prayers. Yet what was Solomon's choice, but an "understanding heart to judge the people?" That is, a sound and powerful mind capable of discerning the truth and the right in the line of his daily duty. Solomon's choice should be our prayer; in St James' words, we should ask of God to give us wisdom. Aud as in other points of our conduct, so it is also in this—that by asking God to give us a wise and understanding heart, we con fee- to oulselves that our opinions and judg meets are serious things, for we do not bring mere trifles before God's notice in our pray. ers; and that, being serious things, they ocwand our own serious care; that duty and sin belong to them; that as our salvation depends on our lives, so our lives depend THE FREENESS OF DIVINE GRACE There is no need of price, or canvassing, or manual labor, to obtain the highest dignity and happiness of man. It is the free gift of God, and may be easily possessed. As the sun shines, as the fountain bubbles, as the rain descends, so' does the heavenly Spirit shed abroad his influence.— Cyprian. From our London Correspondent. India, and Suggestive Maps and Pictures—The Long Fight at Delhi—Havelock's Second Manch and Retreat—Lucknow's Respite, and Havelock's Peril—Calling out Militia, and Fresh Troops for India—Premature Explosion of Conspiracy—The Fast Day—Gloom and Sunshine—Spurgeon's Sermon at the Crystal Pdlace- 7 The Collection and the Crowd—The Covetous , Directors—The Times, and its Three Remarkable; Papers on the Fast Day—The,Press, and its Celerity—Texts preached on—General Solemnity—Probable Issues—Meet ing of the Emperors—Sabbath-Breaking at Stutt gardt and Berlin—A Reminiscence of Ems, and a Duke's Birth Day—The.King of Prussia—Ger man Revival—Tractarian &cession—The Two Catechisrai—Cullen and the' Relief Fund—Eng land's Maynooth Policy—The Cardinal's Stile— The Adantic Cable—Belfast and Orangeism. LONDON, October 9, 1857. MAPS or INDIA—SOME' of tnem Panora mic—enabling you to see, as at a bird's-eye glance, the track of every river, the line of every trunk-road or telegraph, the relative position and distance of the great cities, and strong-holds of the different Presidencies.— are now common in our Printsellers' win dows, as well as in private houses, and are the subjects of anxious arid corekant, refer- , ence, to multitudes. Our pictorial newspa pers give us likenesses of Nene Sahib, and of the puppet Sing of Delhi. Besides this, we have lithographed or Colored 'drawings, from authentic sources, of Benares,_ Cawn- : pore, Lucknow, and e4pecially .of ;Delhi,: with the lofty eircumvallations of wall's, and: gates, and flaunting towers and . ` bastions,`' which, with our 'own hands, we were left, in; God's judicial displeasure, to make so terri ble against ourselves. There is the Jumna, in the foreground, and the bridge of boats, over which fresh bands of mutineers have , arrived, week after week, without' any pow-' er, on the part of the British, to intercept'. them. Yonder, to the right, are the Brit ish lines, opposite to that Cashmere Gate ; through which each fresh band of conspira tors, a day or two after arrival, are com pelled, on pain of expulson across the bridge, into the, open country again, to go out to conflict and dread chastisement with the troops of England. For example, the Neemuch mutineers, lately arrived, assaulted the British on the first of August. The fight continued all the night, and till the afternoon of the following day. The. British troops were kept well under cover, and the. slaughter of their adversaries was tremen dous. Beaten, and dispirited ; their pow der manufactory exploding, and five hun dred artificers therein killed; the .Hin doos accusing the Mohammedans, and all trembling for the issue; if I cannot an• nounce, ere this letter closes, that Delhi is fallen„ yet it is a moral certainty that it is so, and that the next mail will bring us the welcome tidings. Havelock's second march toward Luck now, was not without fruits. The Oude insurgents forsaking Lueknow, and rushing to oppose the British, the garrison rushed. forth, and were able to procure ample pro visions; so that their safety from starvation was, in the meanwhile, secured. Probably before this letter appears in print, you will know through other sources, and by later news, whether Havelock himself is sets, as great anxiety prevails on account of the Oude mutineers crossing the river to attack him. The Government are providing FRESH REINFORCEMENTS FOR INDIA. The militia, also, are being now extensively called out, and numbers of them will he eirtployed to occupy our great naval depots .at home, to secure them from possible insult, and also to. garrison Gibraltar, Malta, and the lonian. Islands, so as to allow regular troops there to be dispatched to the seat of war. Havelock be found not to be himself in peril' at Cawnpore, and if the next mail brings. us word not only that Delhi has fallen, bat that the insurrection has not spread in the Bombay or Madras Presidency, we shall( then be delivered from fearful anxiety.. For the dreaded interval before supplies from, home could reach IMdia. will well-nigh be ended; and once that British troops are there in force, the mutineers haye no hope of success. The Governor of Ceylon, in a private letter to a friend in England, the contests of which have been made public, states that but for the premature 'outbreak at Meerut, the plot of the conspirators was so thoroughly prepared and laid, that a simultaneous nuts• sacre would have takett place over the whale of Bengal, and that probably "not one Euro pean would have survived." This is not to be forgotten among the reasons for national thanksgiving to Him who, we trust, is chas tening, in order to bring sin to remem brance, and to lead us to the conviction that Christianity must now be openly avowed and taught, (without State interference for or against,) and Mohammedanism and Hin dooism, be treated with tolerance indeed, but no longer with favor, and protection, and trust. The DAY OF NATIONAL FASTING AND HUAIILIATION, Was Wednesday last. Atter a long season of fine weather, the Fast Day was one of gloom and falling showers, inter mingled with glimpses of blue sky; and again, at nightfall, there were torrents of rain, and by-and-by the moon burst through the clouds. And, as was the day and nighti, so, I thought, is the crisis of mingled sorrow and hope th.it has come upon us. Mr. Spurgeon preached in the Central • Transept a' the Crystal Palace, to no leas than tweet: -three thousand five hundred and sixty-four persons. His text was: "Hear ye the rod, and him that bath appointed it." He gave : severe lashing to the nation, and especially the Metropolis, for its home Bins; and with regard to Hindoo idolatry, and our protection and patronage of it, he spoke. thus: "We never, for a moment, should have Wierated the so-called religion of the. Hindois, which was neither more nor less, ,tl,lnaslot:Ae o vilest. filth that dot? r_6rtict conceive. Religious liberty was a principle, but when religion taught immo : ralitt, then he would, at once, 'down with it.' He never could tolerate such a system, as ghat. If religion countenanced Thugism, anti the commission of bestial acts; he would not tolerate that; and he contended that it was the duty of a Christian Government to tanbpress the Hindoo religion by the strong hind." Touching on the recent popularity of Verdi's Operas, he referred to " Lords and lOies who frequently sat in theatres, to listen 0) plays which were a long way frorn'clecent." The collection in the building, for the Belief Fund for the Indian sufferers, aliounted to £475, to which the Crystal 131 ace Company added £2OO. Many serious peetons blame Mr. Spurgeon for going at all to the Crystal Palace, whose Directors used hint for an apology to open the Palace on the Fast Day at all, and to swell their own diTe,derids. Their receipts, at a shilling each, for twenty-three thousand five hundred and sixtjr-four persons, were large. But t the coniern, after all, does not pay. Tne Times, on the morning of 'Wednes day, had three remarkable papers. First, a leadfr, boldly avowing that henceforth Eng land's grand mission must be, to Christianize and civilize India. Second, a noble and conainehensive manife.to, put forth promi. neelly in the columns of the Times, from. the Committee' of the Church Missionary Society,' in which:our past shameful_ neglect, of India, and our future duty,, were impres vively set forth. Third, a remarkable letter from a lady, under the signature of " Elea nor," to her British sisters, on the prevailing extravagance in dress and equipage, and the love of pleasure to the neglect of the cause of Christ, and of the perishing poor. She referS to the common custom of paying £lOO for ball dress, and to ladies who think them selves economical in personal expenditure, if it is limited to £l,OOO per annum. This„ love of gayety and dress had been very ram, pant ere this mutiny . broke out, and some splendidly dressed trdser4ble sinners" were doebtletiti .to be found In the Fast Day cony • gregahons, not only in London,, but all over the Kingdom. To show how the press mirrors public feel ing, and its quickness of execution, too, on' the afternoon of Fast, , „the Globe, and other evetiiiiglapeiiiver conveying to the, provinces ;faithful ,outlifies of a 'large num ber of sermons preached in the Metropelis,l while the Times and all the morning papers of yesterday were almost: filled with sketches. All this deepens the impression on` the na tion's heart. God grant that it, may be per, moment, and that it may he seen—both as to the deliverance of those who "are drawn into death, and ready to be slain,” in India, and as to permanent reformation at home— that theprornise has been ours, "whilst they are yet speaking, I will hear." The texts preached on, showed a wonderful variety. Some were curious. One was "Raze it, raze it," or, Prayer-Book version,' "Down with it, down with it" This, by a Lady Huntingdon minister, was applied to, the conspirators' cry, in India, and to our own nation's cry, - (with the exception of some "Irish Sepoys, ) as to the putting 'down the mutiny, and, at the same' time' the de struction of Caste, and of a cowardly policy. Dr. Hamilton's text was: "I do reinember my faults, this day;" and in the course of, his sermon, he quoted "a prophetic pas sage " from Dr Duff, written twenty-two years ago, predicting,such a calamity, if the. nation repented not, Another Presbyterian minister, (a friend of yours, whom I shall not name,) discoursed on the bitter and unex pected sorrows - which had come on the suf: ferers in India, and on Britain too; and also on the duty of the Chuck and nation toward India, as well as on the refuge to be'found in this day of trouble, from God alone, from these words : "Thou bast-showed-thy-people bard things, 'thou halt made us to drink of the' wine of astonishment. Thou-hest given a banner to them that fear thee, , that it may be displayed because of thy truth. That thy beloved may be delivered,` save with thy right hand, and hear me."—Psalm lx 3-5. • The sums raised by collection's over the Kingdom, when added to'the Subscriptions so generally made,' will be vast: God grant that, a New Era may now. be initiated in the history of England, of India, and the world. The Fast Day was observed univer sally, and with' 'very gre'at , solemnity. The whole-nation 'seethed' to 'bow in abasement before God, owning the justice ,of the stroke. The press and the pulpit were; as a rule, the faithful exponents of the opinions, confessions, and•feelings of a people, whom the Great Governor will surely' use, When he has purified it, for the glory of hiername,, and the establishment of Messiah's kingdom. One thing seems. settled, in spite of Colonel Sykes, and other advocates of "traditional policy," that henceforth Christianity must unfurl her 'banners, fearlessly; in. the eyes of Hindoostan. And another settled-thing is, that High-, Caste Brahminism will hence forth be a thing disarmed and powerless. In the Punjanb, Lawrence is enlisting Sikhs, in great numbers, who are Moham medans, but Dissenters, and , therefore, on the principal of border hatred, are fierce against the Delhi conspirators. Edwards, also, the hero of Moultan, is 'reaping the fruits of past'. justice and generosity, and thousands are flocking to his standard. The recent MEETING OE THE EMPERORS, is an event of great political significance, as I formerly indicated. The effect is to make the French Emperor more poWerful'at and more the object of wonder to Europe. At Stuttgardt, he threw the Emperor of Rus sia completely into the shade. The latter made himself almost disagreeable, was laughed at for wearing a Cossack,dress;,and behaved very much like a spoiled bey; whereas, Louis Napoleon-:was polite to every one to a degree; and, mounted on his own 'splendid chirger, wbileyoung Aleiander tode on a borrowed and Clumsy steed, he won the , . admiration of the masses on great fete day; Then, the coming of the young Empress of Russia, unexpectedly to Stuttgardt—proba bly distrustful of the husband's ability to +Es ; Cuss political matters with . Napoleon--was felt by all as a very awkward. affair. The Empress .Eugenie. would !have been. there, had ; the Czarina . announced her intention to that effect. And the . gossips . , say that, the letter was 'afraid or the supericir beatitY and grace of. her French 'sister Empress,' to say nothing:of the secret Muscovite pride, which regards, both Aapeleen: and his wife as• up ,Starts and purpen.ues... , . • 'There is no real,OP.to . believe that in 'the `private interviews` of the Emperars, lean showed any inclination to 'break with England', .:,Thelact iti,ithe English Alliance, is, and has been, his safety. , With that at his back, he . ! stands . prepared .to resist all Etiropt. , The young Emperor 'of Austria had no 'Meeting. 'at Stlittgardt," With . the French'inonaroh;- but; after a great deal of diplomacy ; he„and Alexander have `met,-and we, hear,.much, of . kissing.. and:. embracing, 'followed :15y,Iong, secret interviews, , Aux triat policy` is 'atwaYS . despicable in its ard'Whitle. Russia- may seem to forget Austria's refisal to back her in - the last war, asi well as her "great ingratitude" for help against Hungary in 1848, she is not, likely to forgive either. 'The • Kifig'iif PrusSia .. did not send his 'brother to the Conference at Stettgardt. He is!afraid . of .too: close an intercourse 'between ,France and „Russia. His policy is equally adverse to the, predominance of Austria. The result is, aacekni on the Part of. FMB -6a' Wheneirer a great' crisis - eoneS; 'and a large standing army which - never strikes a blow,- - although it sometimes has threatened to do so. The SABBATH OBSERVANCE BB CONTI ;NENTAL MoNARCHS, (or rather its mock observance ' and real profanation,) comes out eurionsly enough, in, the accounts of. the Stuttgardt; meeting. The series . of enter tairinients 'ties fixed to conclude on Sunday. But first in the' morning` the hest, the King of Wurtemberg, goes to the Protestant Church, and his, guests, Louis Napoleon and the young Czar; repair respectively, to the RotaiSh and to the Greek - Church. This part of the programine hating been duly carried , out, and dinners, 'B.tol, follow ing, the great ones, repair to the Opera House in the evening , where the King—a great lover of muiic—has got up Bohemian 'Girl for their:special entertainment. 'Here the'. Muscovite Shows his' Tartar riideness; by walking out , before the performance ie half I %?very olgty,l smiling,. and apparently, enthushoitie, applauds and claps *his' Wide; eV - en' after the curtain fella.' Such was the Sabbath of the King' and the Emperors.:.. Such, too often, is the,Sehhath all over Protestant Germany. On the Duke of Nessau's birth day , at Ems I have ere now, listened, ' early :in • the, ;Sabbath morn- Jag,. to a- sweet hymn 'sung' by Multitude 'of school 'children, 'drawn up on the hill side opposite the town; then came the:wmal Protestant services, ending at. noon • .after that, all was holiday, and in the, evening there was a grand ball, to which all the, chief inhabitants,' including the physician in whose •house -I lived, his serf And daugh ter, besides military men," went in .full dress; But . what are we to say about Berlin 'itself? The ,King 'of Pruesia is ,not an in temperate Man: That faliehbod is now deed,, if' not buried yet.' , The *King 'of Prussia' is, we trust„a Christian men, and has-,warm evangelical sympathies., But -the King of Prussia, the patron of the Evangelical Alliance ;' the friend of knimmacher; ,the" Cppolient,of Lutheran ritualisth ftheibutider of. the: Jerusalem bishopric the prOtector of Continental Protestantism; one , of the deliverers , of s the Madiai, • from - the cruel hands of Papal:persecutora-,-he thinks it no harm to go to the theatre at Berlin on the even,. ing - of the Lord4day 'A friendefadne,ivho ,was recently atthe Berlin Conference, said; in relating this,,",lt is -well for us that weniak not judge other men !" It ia.tme;, imcwe know what the Scriptural - 'standard ; we knoni'that i Gintii law cannot alter and Berlin, with ' its half a million ' , of' people,. and Church accommodation—not-all , emu pied—for only forty thousand, we see how by Luther's . letting down , at the firstthe high standard" Of God's, own arrangeMent, the 'Sabbath has - in Germany 'praethially' been. trampled under foot, and both sound 'doe trine. And pure morality; have, norm queuee, well nigh perished from the land. Hoy slow must be the process of revival, if axes the Sabbath remains • despised;!And if a mighty shower of the Spirit come'down on Germany, will not the recognition of the' ,Puritan, the Scriptural, Sabbathybe. one of itsearlieEkfruits ? I The. Morning, Advertiser' states !that less . ; than •TEN CLERGymEN THE ENO- { uSH CHURCH, distinguished for , their literary standing, are about openly, to go over to Mme, and that iremediately. The `leading Tractarians have • been 'pet: 7 , suading them to Idefer, the 'step- :for a little time: ; They Are! all traitors together. It is only those who throw off, the , mask at' once, and go over to the eneiny,' that ? can claim the credit of honest avowal be con ,vietion, although even that is tardy at the best. What a state would ..an- army:be, in, with such traitors the camp; or anoth Londonderry, with such Lundiei in` the Tor-1 tress I Hew 'Steely, on the they be expelled or executed.' And yet the. Church of England is so, powerless or so faithless, and her "nomprornise" bosom is so expansive and all-embracing, that she either will net, or cannot, do { ,either one or the other. The Union' news Paper is doing its work well, as also is the Trietarian, Critical Journal, and others, of their pub lications. . A ROMISH AND A PITSETITE CATECHISM the one bearing .the imprimatur, ,of, Paul Cullen, Ardaiepiscopits 'the' other 6 ( The First' Catechisii of Christian' Doctrine,' published at the - Union - offiee,i in. the . grand, 'bear a Most,:atriking. resem blance to each other. The ,Samam en t a , are in each, seven, in number, and, are, Baptism",' the Lard's Supper, Confirinationk ; Penance, Holy • Orders, MatrimonY, and Extreme , Unction. So there are , also" seven ' -.deadly sins in each, viz , Prid e , ; ., th wetaaaaes ,, Lust, Anger, Gluttony, Envy,, and Slotk. " TheCommandmente of the hurch " are each case saidkto'he Popish'Cate; ihism. telling . usithat: it- is al. sin 461 break: them, and its twin sister declaring that we Philadelphia, 111 South Tenth Street, below Chestnut By Mail, or at the Office, $1.50 pet! Year,l SEE PROSPECTUS, Delivered in the City, 1.75 WHOLE NO. 267 are . bound to obey - those :Tommandments. Here -is a parallel painfully sug gestive THE PIISETITH GATE CHIBM. The C,ommandmenta of I the Church. 1. To keep certain ap pointed days holy by rest ing from servile works. 2. To be present at Divine service an, all ana holidayiV obligatien. • 3. To keep the days of fruiting and abstinence appointed by the Chttrth. 4. To confess our, sins to our pastors, or some other priest, whenever they trouble ns. 6. ,To receive the Blessed sacrament three times a year, of Which Easter must be one. 6. Not. to to solemnize marriage at certain tiMeg, nor within certain) degrees of kindredi nor privately, without wit nesses. You will, observe that in No. 4 of the Paseyite commandments, Confession is even made more fiequent than in the Romish Church, and that any " other priest," as well as "pastors," (why not a 'Romish priest ?) may hear the . . confession, and give absolu tion. But the recognition of the primacy of the Pope is the - crowning lesson taught in the Ttactarian Catechism. After stating dist' the Church "is governed by tishops and other clergy,. deriving their orders in a direct line from the Apostles," the following Occurs : , . _ Q. Are all the Bishops equal A_ All are equal in their. office, but some ere; higher higher than others, as Archbishops, Me.tropolilians, and Patriarchs, of whom 'the 'first is THE BISHOP OF ROME, the Patriarch of the West.'(? ! !)' ARCHRIEHOP CITLLEN has been writing from Rome about the collections for the sufferers in India," in the same vile and selfish spirit as Cardinal • Wiseman. Callen accuses'the Managers of the Patriotic Fund raised during the lait .war, of having re , fused to make, grants' for •the education of the children of deceased :ROMiSil , soldiers, and of using the fund for proselytizing pur poses. The result will be, Of , course, in Ireland as well as England, that Papists will inithliold help from the Fund for the Indian sufferers: Rome has no sympathy Ifor heretic'. England; or' the widowed and fatherless, fugitives from India. Her ten der mercies are cruel, and she , is quite as treacherous to the British Crown as are the Moltaiiiniedans Ind Sepoya of India. Some of her 'partizans in Ireland have been cir culating 'placards, urging the people not to enlist, reminding them that Eng . land's ,difficulty is Ireland's opportunity, and in terms of triumphant and fiend ish hate, ' gloating over' the massacres in India. The " Sepoy press " • in' Ireland is limited in its influence, and the priests do not openly countenance it. Bat save for self-interest; and hopes by cunning and by pressure, more than they Can gain by , violence, _knowing, too, that their own necki would he in - , peril, every ' Roinish ' • bishop' and priest' in Ire• land, if not. better I than his creed, ,is a : rebel ,to Queen Victoria at heart, and would gladly see the throne of one whO, as a heretic, is excommunicated ipso raetb 7 l lif the banons, overturned to-morrow. -•-England, however; not for her own 'Sake, but for the - glory of God's great name, will, 1 confidently believe, rise triumphant over all her traitorous, enemies whether - abroad or at home., _ Her pampering of Maynooth, as a heti:led of heresy and sedition, has been her' weakness and 'her sin' at • home, _just as iher: patronage of Paganism and Mo hanimettanisuf-L-und ;all, from base selfish ness of motive—has been India. Oh that' we were indeed wise, and right in Polley.' Hew, in the: day of „ "would ;one ehas& thousand, ilia two' put tea thousand to flight I" The Wines has been disporting itself afresh with CAnorplAr, WisEmAst, and his . recent pastoral. > The, Cardinal loves to be rhetorical, and sparkling; of true l oratory, the soil of which is heart, and earnestness, he is entirely innocent. But vainer than he of his literary performancea, none is to be Mound. How cruel'ihen'lor the Times to criticise his style, as Spanish translated into Latin ' and Latin into, ,English, Lord St. Leonards and the Times have se ' verely castigated Cullen for 'the lying charges he biingl forward, in Chler to jug / tify the ignoring ) by Papists, of collections for thelndian sufferers. .iThe ATLANTIC' CABLE is -now.' being un ,,,,alqpped at Plymouth. It :is , deposited in three water -proof tanks, with i a wooden roof over These ianks will receive three thetteandiniles'ircable. two Ships lie in the ' passeathrough bcilingoil, and its deliverOtill '6coripy six , weeks. The 254 7 !* 4 agara will then, go.to New X , ,Fork for repairs. The American,. frigate 'Sit.sixtehanna„ which had accompanied the algitminnon and Niagara, 'bilis sailed for the ;United States 'Naval 'Depot in'the Medi terranean. Her return next yeatlto assist 'in the effort more closely, to unite the two nations, is looked ferwaTd to with, satisfac- The American 'Offi`ceni hid been re ' ceiewilt Plymmith with aft 'peeisible honor `2,and'hospitality: intended to add sev eral hundred mileelingth to the cable before another attempt ia made to. lay it down. • 'lniconnexitin :with the:BELFAST RIOTS, the Iriah, Government has resolved hence fOrthto w#hhold comwissions of the peace perilous' Who 'ail, members,"Of 'Orange lodges: ' I'-think this •is jtiktifilible step. Political Protestantism 'lME'dinie Much harm to the progress and peace 'of Ireland, and ~too,often hasproved a barrier to the spread Of truth. I many,am hound, however, to say, lhat kt an e ev, an increasing num ' her Cf: Christiategiiiithimen,tire tb be found in. the Orange! rearikeptifid icia to; their loy ally and pluck, as a body, that in case of an, Irish , outbreak, the„government• would be comPollefte appeal.. Mo , ru was made of the. Belfast iiCtl;by - lheireis, than was called for. '.• The!: Freeeh•• efonsiiiiitionel took ad vantage of them to read usico lei:titre on the b,!,esaip g s, of , despotism ; to, which , the Times poi* repliefil r that: it, was: better,.to have In occaisidnal 'entente, than the• ; benitinlifOn -4 . Or 'ilesiii'etlain; 'broken up -eirery; now I , ntl; then 'earthquake convul shies and crushingthroneir. '3.. W. THE, ..PEPISH CATE * CHDSI4. The CommandmentB of the, Church. 1. To do.no,work and hear • :mass on Sundays and holidays. 2. To abstain from flesh meat on days of j 3. To fast on fasting clays, when you are 21 yeareold. • 4. To confess your sins every year. 6. To receive the Blessed Sacrament about Easter. 6. To help to support your pastors when you are able. 1