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to devote the produce to the work of the Lord. She has given 20 to our funds, and, I believe, the remainder to assist in forming a fund, by means of which Mr. La distinguished evangelical pastor of M- -, may be enabled to make some missionary excursions in the South of France, I think I should recommend this man to you, and I judge that you will be glad in some way to enter into correspondence with him, in order to offer him assistance in his design. He is a distinguished man.

Extracts from B's Journal.

Ah, my dear brethren, do not think of depriving Germany of laborers! on the contrary, we ought to send laborers into it; it has immense need of them, because the evils that exist are dreadful. The most impious irreligious writings abound in it, and many persons are ensnared by treacherous and pernicious works.

In the present days the enemies have determined to make a violent attack against the children of the light, and to strike a great blow at them, and we may expect something serious. Our meetings, although very secret, excite all their

rage.

July 14. While I was on a visit to L, there arrived in caravans, two other parties of visitors. On the Sabbath the church was so full, that an hour before the service there was no more room, and even the great altar was furnished with people, poor and rich, soldiers and officers, national guards and light horse: every thing was as at the preaching of John the Baptist. If any came through curiosity:-one saw more than one serjeant wiping from his mustachioes the tear, which his eye could not restrain, and saying in some sort, What shall I do to be saved? there were certainly more than 4000 people; there were some from the three neighboring towns, and from W-—.

July 22. Last Sunday the preachers said as much as they wished about Lon the subject of false teachers. An ex-franciscan called him in the pulpit a seducer and a heretic; a man rose up and cried out to him, "Mr. Curate, can you prove that?" and then went out. At, the Curate accused L, of not making any thing of the Mother of God; and conjured his parishoners, lifting his hands to heaven and weeping, to attach themselves to the good Mother, as "one day," said he, "the Father will be judge, and no more Father; what will become of you then, if you have no Mother!"

M—, Sept. 12. Our man of God, G————, is gone. His farewell sermon penetrated like fire into an auditory of perhaps 3000 souls, who were present. The hearers could not go away; the impression was exceedingly great; the Spirit of God presided in a manner as sensible as striking, which was not only proved by the tears of the auditory, but by a kind of miracle, which God wrought at this time. Eight men, among whom there were some ecclesiastics, had conspired, as formerly they did against Paul, to cry out during the last preaching, "Thou liest, thou art a seducer of the people." This is what one of the eight confessed, who was so influenced by grace during the sermon, that he would now weep tears of blood, for not having better known G——, and oftener heard him. The same Spirit shut the mouths of the other conspirators.

An Extract of a letter from G—, himself, about his visit to L. Sept. 13.

I was already expected here. The next day there came several clergymen. In the evening there came some children of God, as many as filled the whole room, and I had enough to do to talk to them for an hour or more. On the Sabbath there were two sermons, at 6 and at 9 in the morning; I was called upon to preach the first, but you cannot, nor can your brethren, form any idea of the torrents of people, which collected here. In the evening before, our places, (that

L-is a Catholic priest. Having received and preached the truth, he was much persecuted. Apprehensive of the consequences of continuing to preach in his own place, he wished to retire into R. A letter of invitation came to him from P. Gon a Tuesday to that effect; and on the Thursday following he received information that the authorities had just come to a determination to shut him up for life in a convent. Accordingly L, after this notice went on the Friday to give in his resignation, and as he gave it to be understood that he was going to R, at the invitation of P—G—; they did not dare to execute the determination they had just come to.

is to say all our houses) were full. In one small house they had 18, in another 20, who passed the night there; and so it was with almost all the houses; and during the whole night there were continually new visitants arriving. Already at four in the morning they began to ascend the steps, which lead to the top of the hill, on which the church stands; at five it was completely fall, and at a quarter before six, when I went up, there were more people without than within; they were on the steps, on the windows of the church, and were looking in: it was necessary for me to have a guard to make way through the crowd. At the moment that I was going to mount the pulpit, the schoolmaster said, "What, will you preach in the church, when the greater part of the hearers are without?" He asked L-'s advice, and I went out to take my stand on a hill. I kneeled down and lifted up my prayer; then I began in the name of the Lord before an innumerable crowd of people; for not only the hill where I was speaking, was covered, but also that opposite even to the forest. An eye witness estimated them from 15 to 18,000 another above 25,000. You may imagine what was passing in my mind. The fine morning, the sun rising behind us, this beautiful sky, this crowd of people hungry for the word, and who had come from afar. At first they appeared displeased, and murmured because it was a stranger, and not their dear L, who was preaching; but hardly had I pronounced a few words than they said, "It is not his voice, but it is his spirit," and I read on their countenances their pleasure; they were continually making signs of satisfaction and joy; not a smile stirred in this crowd. From my situation I saw the road, and still new troops, like the crusaders, were seen in the distance; so that at nine, when the second sermon began, there was an immense crowd, as if all S had been collected to this point. I preached from the Gospel; "1st. You are all dead in your sins, (if you are not converted.) 2nd. But Jesus can and will awaken you, and give you life and salvation." The Lord enabled me to speak with much force and life. The heavens over my pulpit, the fine heaven itself led me, every time I looked up, to conjure these good people to make his eternal abode the end of their pilgrimage; in a word, it was inexpressible, &c.

S, Sept. 18. We were brought here by the assistance of friendship. Lcame with us to G-; there other friends were already expecting us. In the evening many people assembled, more than the house would hold. Upon the staircase, above and below, in the passage, wherever they could hear. I must (nelens, volens,) preach a sermon, which the Savior enabled me to do with his blessing. From G- we went on Friday no farther than H, two leagues from thence, for Mr. P kept us by force. In the evening there assembled in his fine large hall near 300 persons of the town and neighboring villages. On Thursday, after having torn ourselves from thence, we went down in the evening to the house of a tanner, and hardly were we known till the house was quite full. I had scarcely time to eat, and another meeting must be held. An excellent pastor who has more than 600 converted persons in his parish, at three quarters of a league from this, also visited us. Here there again assembled three large rooms full of people of all sorts, also of pastors, and the Lord enabled me to speak in such a manner, that we were, as it were, inundated with the waters of eternal life. Since I left A- —,not a day has passed in which I have not preached to a stated congregation.

MERCHANT SEAMEN'S BIBLE SOCIETY.

FROM the Christian Observer for May, it appears, that the plan of visiting outward bound ships when clearing from Gravesend, by the Society's agent, for the purpose of distributing Bibles and Testaments, is continued with increasing success. "During fifty-one weeks, up to Feb. 17, 1819, the vessels visited and supplied, were 1681, having on board 24,765 men of whom 21,671 are reported as able to read. The Bibles and Testaments gratuitously distributed, were 5.773,' besides 597 copies sold to individual seamen at prime cost. It is most gratifying to find, that with very few exceptions, the visits of the Society's agent have been courteously and even gratefully received." This Society was established in Jan. 1818, and from its Reports there can be no doubt of the excellent effects produced on the morals and principles of seamen by an acquaintance with the Scriptores.

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ON THE CONDITION OF THE BLACKS IN THIS COUNTRY.

Editorial.

SINCE the decision of the Missouri question in Congress, we have been desirous of giving a brief history of that most important discussion, and a brief view of what the people of this country have to hope, and what to fear, from the present state of our laws on the subject of slavery, and the domestic slave-trade. We have not found leisure, however, even for such a history, and such a view. We are convinced, after very serious deliberation, that the general subject of slavery and its consequences ought to be kept before the eyes of the American people. Unless this be done, no real improvement of the condition of the blacks in the United States is to be expected. Abuses never voluntarily cure themselves; nor do they quietly submit to exposure. But their very enormity sometimes provokes and compels exposure, and thus hastens a correction, and prepares the way for a final remedy.

Our southern brethren are extremely irritable on the subject of slavery; and are apt to be indignant, if any thing is said respecting it, by the people of the north, We could most gladly wish, that there were such evidence of an enlightened, humane, and persevering attention to the improvement of the blacks in the southern regions of the United States, as would justify a profound silence on the part of the northern people. But during the forty four years which have elapsed since our nation became independent, what has been done by the legislatures of Virginia, the Carolinas, and Georgia, to elevate the character of the blacks, to secure their rights, and to fit them to become ultimately entitled to all the privileges of men and citizens. Let the statement be fairly made, and let all the laws, favorable and adverse to the happiness of the slaves, be duly considered: it will then appear, that the inhabitants of the non-slave-holding states ought not to remain silent, on the ground that the southern people know best what is to be done, and that they are doing all they can, for the benefit of the blacks. Unquestionably the people at the north would not be able to legislate wisely and judiciously, with respect to the slaves of Carolina. they might safely adopt some general principles on the subject. They might be able to say positively, that something ought to be done. They might without hazard assert the following positions as incontrovertible: viz. That slavery is an unnatural state of society;-that it VOL. XVI.

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But

brings with it innumerable and tremendous evils;-that the idea of a perpetuation of slavery in a country claiming to be free, and asserting that all men are "created equal," is a monstrous anomaly;—that the general countenance of such an idea would be supremely dishonorable to this country;-that all men, in every part of the world, ought to be taught to read the Bible;-that withholding the Bible from any class of men, under any pretence whatever, is unchristian, and a daring/ opposition to the will of the Most High;-that the blacks of our country ought to be immediately furnished with the means of religious instruction-that the most persevering, public-spirited, and unremitted exertions of the best and wisest members of the community should be applied to the mitigation and gradual abolition of slavery;that no time is to be lost in this business;-that the sooner the work is commenced the more rapid will be its progress, and the less arduous the conflict with prejudice, injustice, and selfishness;-and that no dictate of religion, or of an enlightened conscience, will permit a benevolent man to sit down contented with the present state and prospects of the negro population of this country.

What then is to be done? Let the people be informed of the nature and extent of the evil, without exaggeration and without concealment. Let the truth be kindly, though fearlessly, told. Let the plans of the benevolent be submitted for consideration. Let the friends of Africa and her sons be active and vigilant. Let there be a rallying point in every slave-holding state, at which the friends of liberty and of equal rights shall meet, for the expression of their opinions, and the promotion of the good cause. No doubt this process will excite much opposition on the part of the interested, and the violent. But opposition must not deter from duty. How would the slave-trade have ever been abolished if Mr. Wilberforce and his friends had yielded to opposition the most powerful, the most determined, and the most malignant? The friends of truth and righteousness never yet achieved any great victory without a great struggle.

We need hardly say, that this cause eminently deserves to be conducted with prudence and caution. No statements of facts should be made without good authority. Large classes and communities of men should not be judged by the excesses of a few. Candid allowances should be made for the effect of education and babit. Yet the fundamental principles of freedom should never be abandoned; the great and paramount and spiritual interests of immortal beings should never be deserted. It appears to us, that the publication of extracts from the laws of the slave-holding states, relative to slavery, and the condition of the blacks, is one of the methods of diffusing information least liable to misconstruction or exception. It is not to be supposed that the laws are the effects of temporary passion, or local prejudice; especially when they have long been continued in operation, and submitted to as necessary.

The following paragraphs were transcribed for the New York Evening Post, by a Virginia correspondent, from the lately revised code of that state. The whole act on the subject of slavery and the blacks, contains 89 sections, comprising all the existing laws of the state on this head; and went into operation the first day of last January. The transcriber says, that the sections here copied have

had the effect to drive all the black children from the Sabbath schools, and nearly all the black people from public worship, in the part of the state where he lives.

Section 13. "And to prevent the inconvenience arising from the meetings of slaves, be it further enacted, that if any master, mistress, or overseer of a family, merchant, tavern-keeper, or any other person, shall knowingly permit or suffer any slave not belonging to him or her, to be and remain upon his or her plantation, lot or tenement, above four hours at any one time, without leave of the owner or overseer of such slave, he or she so permitting shall forfeit and pay three dollars for every such offence; and every owner or overseer of a plantation, merchant, tavern-keeper, or other person, who shall so permit or suffer more than five negroes or slaves, other than his or her own, to be and remain upon his or her plantation or quarter lot or tenement, at any one time, shall forfeit and pay one dollar for each negro or slave above that number, which said several forfeitures shall be to the informer, and recoverable with costs before any justice of the peace of the county or corporation where such offence shall be committed. Provided always, That nothing herein contained shall be construed to prohibit the negroes or slaves of one and the same owner, though seated at different quarters, from meeting with their owner's or overseer's leave upon any plantation to such owner belonging, nor to restrain the meeting of slaves on their owner's or overseer's business at any public mill, so as such meeting be not in the night time, nor on a Sunday; nor to prohibit their meeting on any other lawful occasion by license in writing from their owner or overseer, nor their going to church and attending divine service on the Lord's day, or any other day of public worship.

15. “And whereas it is represented to the general assembly that it is a common practice in many places within this commonwealth for slaves to assemble in considerable numbers at meeting houses and places of religious worship in the night, or at schools for teaching them reading or writing, which if not restrained may be productive of considerable evil to the community

"Be it therefore enacted, That all meetings or assemblages of slaves, or free negroes, or mulattoes, mixing and associating with such slaves at any meeting house or houses, or any other place or places in the night, or at any school or schools for teaching them reading or writing, either in the day or night, under whatsoever pretext, shall be deemed and considered as an unlawful assembly, and any justice of the county or corporation wherein such assemblage shall be either from his own knowledge or the information of others of such unlawful assemblage or meeting, may issue his warrant directed to any sworn officer or officers, authorising him or them to enter the house or houses where such unlawful assemblages or meetings may be, for the purpose of apprehending or dispersing such slaves, and to inflict corporal punishment on the offender, or offenders, at the discretion of any justice of the peace, not exceeding twenty lashes.

16. "And the said officer or officers shall have power to summon any person to aid and assist in the execution of any warrant or warrants, directed to him or them, for the purpose aforesaid, who on refusal shall be subject to a fine, at the discretion of the justice, not exceeding ten dollars. Provided, that nothing herein contained shall be so construed, as to prevent the masters or owners of slaves from carrying, or permitting his, her, or their slave or slaves to go with him, her or them, or with any part of his, her or their white family, to any places whatever, for the purpose of religious worship, provided that such worship be conducted by a regularly ordained or licensed white minister, nor shall any thing herein contained be considered as in any manner affecting white persons, who may happen to be present at any meeting or assemblage for the purpose of religious worship, so conducted by a white minister as aforesaid, at which there shall be such number of slaves, as would, as the law has been heretofore construed, constitute an unlawful assembly of slaves.

17. "If any white person, free negro, mulatto, or Indian, shall at any time be !found in company with slaves at any unlawful meeting, such person being thereof convicted before any justice of the peace, shall forfeit and pay three dollars for every such offence to the informer, recoverable with costs before such justice, or on failure of present payment, shall receive on his or her bare back, twenty Lashes, well laid on by order of the justice before whom such conviction shall be.

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