Secondly, I look upon this not only as a victory of right over might, but of knowledge over ignorance. The minds of men have been informed. The agitation, which preceded the issue, was not addressed to the emotions only, but to the reason. We have been taught to look to causes, remote as well as proximate-to results, far off as well as near-to weigh evidence, to detect fallacies, and to apply comprehensive abstract truths to the practical affairs of life.

And now that suspense is over, and the black clouds which darkened our political horizon might seem to have rolled away, and no enemy stands to scatter tares in our field, and the seed has sprung up-what will the harvest be?

Each one of us forms perchance his own expectations, and many will meet with some disappointment. God gives us hope to cheer us in our conflicts; but the skadow is sometimes of larger dimensions than the substance. The prophetic glance, looking down the vista of time, cannot always discern its true perspective; distant good may appear nearer than it is, and things may seem contemporaneous, which are in reality remote. Perhaps it was well to concentrate all our energies to roll away the stone from the mouth of the sepulchre; but the prosperity which has declined, and has been buried, will not always revive when its tomb is opened.

be

God grant that (unless good fortune should harden our hearts) all the benefits, which the most sanguine have anticipated, may accrue; but, whatever may be the result, there are some advantages of which nothing shall rob us. The beggar may not be clothed, the poor labourer may pine in vain for a plenteous meal, the selfish man may disappointed of his coveted gains-still there shall be oppression, and want, and crime, and sorrow. We have removed only one cause, among the many which retard the progress of improvement. I look on this not as an end but as a beginning. As in ancient times the warriors, whom our British forefathers summoned to defend them from their northern foes, remained after the fight was done, and possessed themselves of the land, so I trust that those great principles, which you have evoked to gain your cause- -those appeals to truth and justice and highnindedness and philanthropy, which you enlisted in your

service-will not leave you, but quite subdue you to themselves; and, as they conquered your foes, will absolutely

govern. you.

You have exclaimed, "Let the poor have bread !” Man cannot exist without food, but he will not always thrive with it.. It has been stated by medical men, that more in ordinary times perish in this country from over-eating than from starvation-that the abuse of appetite has been more pernicious than the disappoint ment of it. Nor suppose that our scarcity has solely arisen from the laws, the years of which are numbered. Grain, far more than we import, has been wasted to make that which is not bread, and which satisfieth not; and whilst the starving have cried out, because the staff of life had given way, thousands have raged in mad frenzy because to them that staff has been turned into a serpent. The grain which might have fed myriads of our population,* is yearly consumed in the manufacture of an article which the healthy do not need, nor the hungry require-which judges have declared has caused nine-tenths of our crime, which is the fruitful source of domestic woe, of outrage, of disease, and death, as well as of the lesser evils of loss of property, and pauperism. If, then, one great and holy motive with you was, that the poor might have bread, still consider how it is that so many will be in want of it. See what it is, that yearly wastes a sum, greater even than our heavy taxation. You may not be able to make laws to remove this cause of poverty; reflect whether, by some self-denial on your part, you cannot hasten the time when each shall be a law unto himself.

but

But man liveth not by bread alone, nor does he die only for the want of it. Those who were appointed to examine concerning the health of towns, have revealed many enormous evils, which are more destructive to life than sword or fire. You, who have so perseveringly laboured that men may have plenty of good bread, labour

*It is stated in the Bury Abstinence Society Report, for 1843, that in England alone, 1,149,741 acres are occupied for the production of malt and hops. No account is taken of orchard land. I find from another document, that, in 1842, 7,385,445 quarters of malt (the illicit consumption cannot be computed), were destroyed in the United King dom in brewing and distillation-enough to support the fourth part of our population.

too, that they may have abundance of pure air. It is quite as great a necessary of life. If you pollute the air they breathe, they sicken; if you take away their breath, they die. I have the satisfaction of knowing that I am addressing many, who are alive to the evil, and who will now employ their undivided energies to promote a remedy -that rich and poor may dwell in healthy homes, and not be sent prematurely to that silent house, where corruption, commencing from negligence, completes its dismal work.

First, that which is natural; but forget not, afterwards, that which is spiritual. Cleanse the outside of the temple, let the breeze of heaven dispel its noxious fumes, and draw water from the clear fount, to lave the structure; but see that the deity within be not neglected. Man liveth not by bread alone, but by every word of God. You have been expanding the views of the narrow-minded-have taught them to reflect and reason, and to discern their true interests. You have mourned when you had to argue with the stupid and obtase, and been glad when you found men open to conviction. Cease not to educate the people: not only by tracts and public orations, but by every means in your power cultivate the faculties of man. You wisely say to the owners of the soil, "Reclaim and fertilize the neglected fields of your country!" but remember that there are fields which yield immortal fruit, which now are choked with weeds, and overrun with brambles. You give men food: provide them with the bread that perisheth not. Let the benevolence which has hitherto actuated you, lead you more than ever to discover the causes of misery, destitution, disease, ignorance, and her sister crime. Let the success which has attended your efforts, inspire you, not enervate you. If you have gained five talents, strive to gain five talents more. Lay aside every weight, and those sins of selfishness and indolence which so easily beset us, and press on to the mark, to the prize of your high calling.

I would not conclude these observations, for whichconscious of my own sincerity in this matter-I ask your candour, if they seem to need it, without adverting to the fact, that of you have powerfully advocated freedom of commerce, as one of the best means of promoting peace. You love peace then-you prize it as the promise

many

It is

of God's reign on earth-seek it, and ensue it. the interest of those who trade with one another to live in harmony; but men are not the mere creatures of interest, nor are they solely swayed by prudence. There are passions which overleap the dictates of reason, and are only to be subdued by the mild force of an indomitable love. If you desire men to live together in unity, you must lead them to look on one another, not only as customers, but as brothers. The Prince of Peace calls upon us to do a great deal more, than merely to repeal bad laws. He tells us to put the sword into its sheath, to love our enemies, and to do good to those who hate us.

No man liveth to himself. Those who have tried to do so (have we never been among the number?) have been disappointed, and have reaped vanity and vexation of spirit. Some have striven to live to others, but not wisely; and they blindly misled those whom they would have guided. Others have had light, and walked accordingly they showered blessings on their path, and if disappointment has sometimes saddened them, and malice blackened them, and anxiety washed them, and toil wearied them, they find an ample recompense in the consciousness of duty performed, in the gratitude of those whom they have freed, and the approval of the God whom they have served.

May this auspicious event signalize a new era in the history of our country-an era marked by respect for human rights, and a desire for human welfare; by efficicient sympathy for the poor and the neglected; by a better comprehension of the unity that should exist between the members of the human family; by a feeling that the world is to be loved as much as our own country, political wisdom more than party policy, the interests of religion more than sectarian aggrandisement: when men shall live, not for themselves, nor for their denomination, nor for their native land, but for all mankind-when the blind selfishness which marks an inferior nature shall be absorbed in the pure benevolence which makes individual happiness consist most in the well-being of others—when the full meaning of my text shall be comprehended, that no man liveth to himself, and no man dieth to himself; for whether we live, welive unto the Lord, or whether we die, we die unto the Lord! Jesus is the pattern of dis

interested philanthropy, untiring, active, self-sacrificing,, Godlike love live to him. As he did, live with God. Religion shall give you newness of life. It shall rouse you from slothful repose, or if you are restless it shall impart peace, which the world knoweth not of. Christ shall bind up your wounded spirits. We come to him, oft, drooping and faint; he shall raise us up, and give us strength. We are desponding, and our hearts know bitterness; the success which animates may be delayed, and hope deferred shall sicken us: "My God why hast thou forsaken us?" we cry. But the man of sorrows bids us endure to the end.. On earth we shall take up the cross, but bear it with a martyr's courage, and a childlike love. We shall not live in vain. We are heirs of immortality. He, to whom we are living, has shown us a glorious consummation to the divine career of the servants of God. Those who live to the Lord, pass the river of death; and from the heavenly mount behold all things become new. It is not one victory which cheers them: in all things, through him who loved them, they come off more than conquerors. The efforts they had made, which appeared forgotten, they perceive silently performing their blessed work. God reveals to them the unutterable beauty of His perfect ways, and their souls are entranced, not with the short-lived sound of mortal triumph, but with a joy which passeth not, and the songs of the redeemed, and the blissful strains of an undying harmony.

RECOGNITION.

IT has frequently been made a question, whether, in the future state of existence we shall be able to recognise our departed relatives, and those who have been dear to us in the present life. To us this presents no difficulty. Members of the same family, and dearest friends, are often separated till time has effaced every lineament by which they were previously known. But, when again brought into contact, an accidental reference to some circumstance in which both were concerned, elicits unequivocal assurance of identity.

But it is not difficult to imagine, and Scripture warrants