good has been effected, it is evidently inadequate to the grand end we have in view. In order to realise our expectations we want some directing and superintending organisation, by means of which we may at once secure to Bands of Hope consolidated action, a wholesome and generous esprit de corps-and last, though not least, a good position with the public outside. To meet this task we evidently require a Band of Hope Association, liberally supported, by means of which we may obtain the services of talented men, duly qualified to go out for the threefold purpose of assisting to organise Bands of Hope upon a sound basis where they do not exist; of inspecting and otherwise improving those already existing, and of producing upon the public mind, by means of their lectures, a favourable impression with regard to Bands of Hope. It is evident that to accomplish these objects they must be men who are not only hearty in the cause, but who, from their manners and acquirements, may be able to command our respectful attention; in short, that they should occupy some such standing in society as that which is occupied by the association secretaries from missionary societies, or the Government inspectors of public schools.

I may here allude to the Band of Hope Union. Though this society might form the germ of a more enlarged institution, its present funds are far too small for the mighty work which has to be performed. Great, however, as is the work which has to be done, and large as are the means which would be required for the establishment and support of an institutign adequate to the emergency, if the object should find that favour amongst Temperance men to which it is entitled, I do not despair, nay, I confidently hope, that there is the spirit and wealth amongst us which would be amply sufficient to meet the difficulty.

Should this consummation be attained, should a well directed system of teaching and arranging Bands of Hope over the country prevail, who can tell how gratifying would be the result? While every year was carrying away its portion of prejudiced opponents, their place would be filled up with an ardent band of friends unvitiated by drinking tastes and habits, and carefully instructed in the weapons of our warfare. Even now, in the present imperfect state of the system, the beneficial effect of Bands of Hope is telling upon the struggle in which we are engaged. Young men's societies are being formed in different parts of the country, in which numbers are found who have never known the taste of alcoholic drinks as a beverage. These young men's societies bring as it were new blood into the system, and are ready to replace with vigour those amongst us whom age has enfeebled or whom death has removed.

In contemplating, however, the triumphant result which might fairly be anticipated from the judicious and liberal organisation and management of Bands of Hope, the cheering prospect is obscured by one dark cloud. The drink demon starts up and blocks the way. He has his beerhouses, his dram-shops, his drinking saloons, &c., to entrap the footsteps of unheeding youth. Thousands who would otherwise have been rescued from the enemy have been seduced and ruined. Unless, therefore, we can remove from our midst those hotbeds of temptation, we shall have to mourn over the failure of our plans, and to complain that our labour has been in vain. Would we, then, wish to have the pleasure of witnessing

the fruit of our toil in sowing the good seed, common sense tells us that we must use our untiring efforts to keep the field free from being overrun with smothering weeds. We must unite our energies, if we cannot unite our plans, against the common foe. On this point we are open to censure. We forget the maxim, "Union is strength;" disunion is weakness. All Temperance men of every shade of opinion would rejoice to see the entire absence of drinking houses. But if we cannot agree to advance against the soul-destroying enemy with one combined and united assault, let us with concentrated efforts from different points of attack harass, cripple, and humble him, and finally drive him from every city, town, and village in the land.

No doubt the struggle will be an arduous and protracted one. It will call forth our utmost energies and perseverance. But the result cannot be doubtful. A glorious future is before us, and our cause will come forth from the ordeal with triumphant splendour, and the taunts and jeers to which Temperance men are now exposed will be exchanged for the praise and gratitude of an emancipated people. That which a writer in the Saturday Review (no friend of ours) has said, when speaking of other social reforms now accomplished, will be said of us :-"Thirty or forty years ago there was a lordly neglect of social duties; there was an indifference whether the poor lived like brutes or like men. To bring about a better state of things, earnest reformers worked hard, and wrote and spoke with all the powers of their minds. They have succeeded, and now we are sitting beneath the shadow of the tree they planted. We live under the daily influence of the ideas they established. We may be quite content to do so."

In conclusion, having learned by experience how hard it is to unteach the fallacies which men have imbibed in their youth, and to prevail upon them to lay aside habits which have become to them a second nature, and which they cherish with a fond indulgence, let us devote more attention to improve and strengthen that youthful and vigorous arm in the service which is offered to us in the Bands of Hope. Valuable as they are now, what a triumphant effect might they not be expected to produce in our cause if they were established upon a sounder basis, fostered with a more liberal support, guided by more experienced and skilful hands, and united in greater harmony of action. True, we should not see the fruit of our labours all at once; many who assist in planting the tree may not behold it in its full growth, but we may rejoice in the thought that the day is not distant when it will overspread the land with its branches, and yield a rich return of fruit for the care and labour which have been employed in its culture.

My heart leaps up when I behold

The rainbow in the sky;

So was it when my life began,
So is it now I am a man,

So may it be when I am old,

So let me die.

The child's the father of the man,

And I could wish my days to be

Link'd each to each in natural harmony.-WORDSWORTH.

The Force of Habit: A Plea for Christian Churches to Support the Bands of Hope. By the REV. JOHN DOWTY, A.M.

HE

ERR WIESE, a German, in contrasting the English and German systems of education—the one aiming chiefly at the culture of the character, the other of the intellect—has observed, "that in the lives of celebrated men, English biographers lay far more stress upon energy of purpose, patience, courage, perseverance, and self-control, than upon their scientific ardour or studiousness in youth; that, in short, the English give the chief prominence to the individual element, and attach more value to character than to intellect"-a remark not less true than tending to important conclusions-"as pointing, indeed, to the fundamental characteristics of our national strength, the product, as it is, of individual thinking, individual action, and individual character."

The supreme importance of individual character must be universally acknowledged. If we believe that every human soul has a complete and perfect plan cherished for it in the heart of God-a divine biography marked out when it enters into life-what a thought is this for every human soul to cherish; what dignity does it add to life! In acting out this life-plan, man must not seek to copy the life of another. No man is ever called to be another. Each man should seek to be just what God would have him. Then he will have a life of his own.

Nothing has more to do with the formation of individual character than the force of habit.

Habit is that disposition of the mind or body acquired by custom, or by a frequent repetition of the same act. So that habit is that which is held or retained; the effect of custom, or frequent repetition. Hence we speak of good habits and bad habits. The frequent drinking of intoxicating liquors leads to a habit of intemperance.

It is scarcely possible to describe the force of habit fully, without being charged with overstating its influence upon mankind. Habit is said to be "a second nature." This is true; and the Scriptures fully recognise the principle and its power. "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil." Two questions are put here, which, when analysed, will show that those who are "accustomed," or are in the habit of doing evil, will find it as impossible to do good as for the Ethiopian to change his skin, or the leopard his spots; that the continuance of bad habits prevents the practice or learning good ones that the practical bearing of this on moral doing is highly important, whether the doing be thought, feeling, or outward action; for the habit of doing what is wrong, is a barrier to the doing of what is right, just as the habit of doing good strengthens the principle of what is good. If habit is not so strong as almost to be a second nature, why the difficulty of changing the manners of the Hottentot, the Turk, and the Indian? Why the distinctive features of character in the cautious Scotchman, the independent Englishman, and the sprightly Irishman?

We consider the exercise of all and every principle to be habit, therefore we can scarcely estimate too highly the influence and importance of early training in forming correct habits, whether these be physical, intellectual, or moral. Persons who think we attach too much importance to habits overlook the difficulty, if not the impossibility, of training an old horse, bending an aged oak, curing a miser, a drunkard, or even the more venial practice of snuff taking.

One important conclusion drawn from the premises already laid down is, that nothing which is habitual should be regarded with indifference. Habits are attachments; more, they are ties, chains. The most invisible ties are not the weakest, at all events their number renders them indestructible. We must remember that a cable is formed of threads. It is impossible to dispense with habits; we contract them unawares. Easily and imperceptibly are habits of intemperance formed. These habits are often unobserved, often formed without feeling any pleasure in them; but we cannot break them without pain. It costs us something to cease to be what we always have been, to cease doing what we always have done.

With our minds deeply and solemnly impressed with the great truths already stated in this paper, we affectionately, yet most earnestly, call upon all Christian churches to give their individual and united support to the Bands of Hope.

Those who originated these Bands of Hope firmly believe that the principle of early moral training, fully carried into popular education, under God's blessing, will eventually become the great moral lever of society, not merely by giving correct principles, but by training to correct habits.

The intelligent members of our Christian churches will have recognised the power of early impressions. These colour the child's future destiny. It has often been observed that in after life we are not so much guided by conviction as by early impressions. And what is more influential in making these impressions than the force of habit? It is of supreme importance that the young should be early trained to healthy moral habits. Many Christian parents are surprised at their children turning "aside to crooked ways." They gave them religious instructions. True; but "training," not simply "instructing" a child, is needed. Teaching is simply telling, and when not united with training is weak, because it stands alone; when conjoined, however, the effect is powerful and strikingly manifest. Training is doing. True, prayer must accompany the means" To work without prayer is impiety, and to pray without the use of means is presumption."

Christian churches acknowledging the force of these sentiments will see their bearing upon the Bands of Hope. Only let the young be trained to the healthy habit of Total Abstinence from all intoxicating liquors, and the generation of drunkards will be cut off. To prevent is better than to It is benevolent to construct a lifeboat to go and pick the shipwrecked mariner from the billow and the rock; but it is much wiser to erect a lighthouse to keep the ship from destruction by its faithful warning. "The United Kingdom Alliance for the Total Suppression of the Liquor-Traffic" labours to secure both these objects. In their God

cure.

like mission the Temperance societies seek to reclaim the poor, wretched, half-damned drunkard; but their mightiest and most successful efforts are engaged in diligently seeking to enrol the young, our country's pride and our country's promise, in her Bands of Hope.

We would loudly call upon the Christian churches of our land, without delay, to form Bands of Hope where they are not established, and vigor, ously to strengthen them where they already exist. Let the members of Christian churches wake up to their personal responsibility in this matter. Let the ministers of those churches cheerfully and valiantly identify themselves with this glorious cause. We cannot shut our eyes to the great fact that the drinking habits of society act as a silent blight upon our dear young people. It is granted that Temperance is not piety. The benevolent promoters of our Bands of Hope urge the absolute necessity of a change of heart as essential to salvation. They contend that Temperance and piety should be always discriminated, but they should never be disunited. Where they are not distinguished a religious system cannot be clear, and where they are divided it can never be safe. So that, not merely for reasons of worldly prudence, which are of vast moment, but also on high religious principles, we urge all Christian churches, by their practical sympathy, to promote the growing interests of our Bands of Hope.

We would, in conclusion, address the friends of the Bands of Hope in the language of Azariah to Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin, "Be ye strong, therefore, and let not your hands be weak, for your work shall be

rewarded."

On Bands of Hope, and Some Causes that Prevent their Efficiency. By MRS. C. L. BALFOUR.

THE

HERE is no department of the Temperance Reformation that has been more cheering, and presented more satisfactory evidences of immediate good, than Bands of Hope.

They were first formed in 1845-6, and were at once extensively adopted as an admirable means of preserving the young from the evil influences of pernicious customs. Many influential people, who were either opposed to, or not greatly in favour of, the adoption of Total Abstinence as a rule among adults, were impressed with the necessity of rearing the rising generation in habits very different from their predecessors. On the wise rule that "prevention is better than cure," Bands of Hope found general favour, and it is not too large a computation to say that in the United Kingdom fifty thousand children annually have enrolled their names during the last seventeen years.

It is not easy to present a summary of the great good that must have resulted from so large a number of the young having been taught, even in the most cursory way, to dread and avoid intoxicating drink. Doubtless a large number of these young adherents have grown up strong both

I