been compelled to witness. Should any doubt the correctness of the representation which has been made, let me remind them that these people are not in some distant part of the world to which they can have no access, but in the city in which we dwell. Let me request, nay, let me urge and entreat them to examine for themselves to go out and view the ravages of sin-to pass from one dark corner to another, from one habitation of cruelty to another, from one sink of pollution to another, till their ears shall be deaf with blasphemies, till their eyes shall be dim with scenes, which language cannot paint, till their hearts bleed and die within them. Could Christians be persuaded to examine for themselves, it is not too much to say that the work of reformation would be half accomplished. They would inquire, with deep concern, what must be done to stem this flood of iniquity, to raise the character, and save the souls of so many thousands of immortal beings."

From this disgusting, yet most affecting, picture of vice and of wretchedness- from this powerful appeal to the Christian philanthropist to alleviate the distress, to endeavour to lessen the ill effects of the sin and misery, which he cannot but deplore, we turn with great satisfaction to the more pleasing part of the subject, the remedies proposed by Mr. Stafford for the evils he has pointed out:

"It may be thought improper," he observes, " by some, that one who has been a labourer in the vineyard for so short a period, should attempt to point out the means by which the temporal and eternal welfare of these people is to be promoted; that having in some measure exhibited their wretched moral condition, the methods of relief should be left to age and experience. This course would be more grateful to my own feelings, and would be pursued, were it not often remarked by persons advanced in life, and even by divines, that as we had established schools, provided Bibles, and erected churches and opened the doors, it was difficult to conceive what more could be done. There is another reason also why I ought not to be silent: having been upon the ground, and examined the state of the inhabitants; having visited and conversed with hundreds of families, it is not unreasonable to suppose that I have advantages for judging on this subject not in the possession of others. The hope of aiding in the execution of the measures already adopted, and exciting Christians to the adoption of others, and the pledge which I have given to some of the virtuous poor, both encourage and oblige me to proceed to mention some of the ways in which the moral state of the destitute may be improved :

1. So far as respects that class of people who are most ignorant, whether adults or children, it is evident that they must, in the first place, be taught to read, and have instilled into their

minds the first principles of religion. This, it is believed, can be done in no way so effectually, as by the establishment and support of Sabbath schools. To this institution some pious people, from the best of motives, have been opposed. As there are free schools for the purpose of instructing the children of the poor, it is supposed, that to instruct them on the Sabbath is an unnecessary profanation of that holy day. It has, however, been ascertained, as we all know, that, notwithstanding this generous provision, there are hundreds and thousands of poor children in our large cities, whose education is entirely neglected. It will be asked, perhaps, whether an effort might not be made to instruct them on other days? We believe that the efforts made at present are small, compared with what they might be; and we hope that the day is not distant, when to learn persons to read on the Sabbath will be neither a work of necessity nor mercy that period, however, has not yet arrived. Could these children be collected on other days, where should we find persons to instruct them? Most of those who instruct children on the Sabbath are otherwise employed during the week. Most of the children, also, who are of a sufficient age, are employed either as servants, or in some other way, so that they could not be collected. As to adults, we know that they are obliged to labour for their own support, or the support of their families; and have, therefore, no time but the Sabbath to receive instruction. Experience has abundantly proved, that large numbers of children and adults, if not instructed on the Sabbath, will not be instructed at all; and will, consequently, be ignorant and generally vicious. There seems to have been some misapprehension as to the manner in which these schools are conducted. Many appear to regard them as schools of mere human learning, whereas the great object is to communicate religious instruction. It is true they are taught to read, but it is to read the Bible. The lessons which are used are selected from that sacred book. The Bible is read and explained to them; they commit portions of it to memory, together with religious hymns and catechisms. The schools are opened and closed with prayer, or some other religious exercise. The great business of the teachers, who are generally pious, is to instil, in various ways, into the minds of the learners important religious truths. In this manner they spend an hour or two previous to public worship in the morning and afternoon. They are then conducted in order to the house of God, and their teachers see that they behave with propriety during divine service. By means of this institution, multitudes of children, and others, who would be strolling about the streets, or spend the Sabbath in other ways equally injurious to themselves and to society, and offensive to God, are made to spend it in a most profitable manner: have their minds enriched with the treasures of divine knowledge; are placed under the sound of the Gospel; and, though neglected by their parents, are,

to some extent, trained up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Time will not permit me, were it necessary, to point out all the advantages to the teachers, to the scholars, to their parents and connexions, and to society at large, which result from the institution of Sabbath schools. We will only add, that many pious people who have been opposed to their establishment, have, after witnessing their operation, become their most cordial and active friends—that it is an institution which God has owned, by granting the influences of his holy Spirit - that by it thousands have been rescued from poverty, disgrace, and wretchedness, in this world, and from everlasting destruction in the world to come -have been made useful members of society and of the church, and prepared for mansions of glory in the heavens.

"But Sabbath schools, however excellent and important, will not of themselves accomplish the object proposed. They are of modern invention; they are not the Gospel; and we believe, that in the Millennium they will be unknown, certainly in their present form. We believe, that they are among the means which are to hasten on that glorious day, that they now exert a most powerful and salutary influence. But by being unconnected with other means, their influence is half destroyed. In the Sunday School Teacher's Guide, there is an observation, though made for another purpose, which is full of meaning, and exactly in point. It is the following: A few hours on the Sabbath, with respect to most of them, (the scholars) is all the time, during which, through the whole week, they hear or see any thing like religion.' Who does not see that the good impressions which may be made during these few hours, must be almost entirely effaced by being exposed, during the whole week, to all kinds of iniquity; iniquity practised by their parents and others, whom they are taught to love and obey. Many scholars who have been powerfully affected under the plain preaching of the Gospel on the Sabbath, and have retired from the school-room in tears, I have found the next day in places where it seemed impossible that serious thoughts should not be almost instantly banished from the mind. Did we not know, that with God all things are possible, we should have no hope that the seeds of grace, which are thus sown, would, in any instance, spring up and grow, and bring forth fruit. Let it not be forgotten, also, that many of the scholars, after leaving the school, mingle with the ignorant and vicious, and are beyond the reach of Christian influence. We take them and conduct them a short distance, and then leave them to wander. We know the depravity of the human heart, the power of bad example, and of the great adversary of souls too well, not to believe that most of them will wander in the by-paths of sin. It is asserted, and generally believed, that the most effectual mode of approaching the parent is through the medium of the child.' That many parents have been successfully approached, through the medium of the child, will not be called in

question. But that this is the only or the best mode, cannot be known till others have been tried. Why, let me ask, cannot we approach them in other ways as well as in this? Suppose that a number of Christians should go forth to the destitute parts of the country, and set up Sabbath schools-would this be furnishing the inhabitants with those means of grace which God has appointed for their salvation? Besides, a considerable proportion of the destitute, in this city, are not within the reach of Sabbath schools some have no children to send-some will not send them, because they are too proud, or too indifferent, or for some other reason. There are others, whose children go to school during the week, and do not, therefore, really need such an institution, provided they are not destitute of other means of obtaining religious knowledge. There is also a numerous class of boys and girls, whose age and habits forbid us to hope that they will, without exertions of another kind, ever become members of such schools. On the whole, highly as we think of this institution, we must reject the idea that it will of itself accomplish the great work of reformation, and effect the salvation of these perishing thousands. We proceed, therefore, to mention,

“2. The distribution of Bibles, and other religious publications. Upon those who have felt the sacred influence of the written Word; whose hearts have burned within them, while perusing the inspired volume; whose tongues, with involuntary rapture, have exclaimed, How I love thy law! It is my meditation day and night; it is more precious than gold, yea, than much fine gold; it is sweeter to the taste than honey and the honey-comb;' upon such we need not urge the importance of distributing the Bible to those individuals and families that are destitute. How dark must be that habitation where the light of God's Word does not shine! How poor would Christians feel if deprived of this treasure! The fact that the destitute do not feel their need of such a treasure, does not render them the less poor without it. Equally unnecessary is it to urge the importance of distributing the Bible upon those whose eyes have been open to witness its influence upon the minds of men of every condition in every age. Who that has marked its progress, has not seen ignorance and superstition, vice and immorality, universally retiring at its approach? On the duty and importance, however, of putting into the hands of the destitute the Word of God, we need not enlarge. Concerning this subject, a spirit has been excited, which, it is believed, will not abate till every man, woman, and child, not only throughout this city, but throughout the world, shall possess this best, this richest of heaven's gifts a fire has been kindled, whose light and heat will extend throughout this valley of death. But on the manner in which those who are destitute are to be supplied, it may be well to make one or two remarks. It seems to be the opinion of many, that if Bible societies are formed, Bibles purchased and deposited

at some suitable place, and notice of the fact given in the public papers, nothing further is necessary to secure their universal circulation. But if we stop here, the work is but half done. Our efforts may, indeed, prove the existence of Christian principles in our own hearts; but they will not be the means of producing them, to any great extent, in the hearts of others. It will be said, that if people will not take the trouble to walk a short distance to obtain the Bible, it will be of no use for them to have it--that they will not read it, if put into their hands that we cannot compel them to read, and to become religious. To such objections and remarks, which have sometimes been made even by professing Christians, I answer, First, that so far as my knowledge extends, (and I have visited hundreds of destitute families,) not one-half of those who are destitute, and who wish to receive the Bible, know that there is such an institution as the Bible Society in the world. This will appear strange to those who have not examined the subject, who meet reports of Bible societies, and find Bibles deposited in every book-store they enter, who see notices of them in almost every newspaper they read. But consider the character of these people. They are generally ignorant and poor; they rarely, if ever, enter a book-store, never see a report, or read a newspaper. They are not in the habit of reading any thing; most of them are entirely separated from the religious community, and know little more what that community is doing for the spread of the Gospel, than the inhabitants of Hindoostan.

"It is in my power to state, that hundreds in this city have received the Bible with emotions of joy and gratitude, who never heard of a Bible society. But we have a still more substantial answer to these objections. The Bible has not only been put into the hands of a considerable number of people of this description, but, so far as they have been called on for the purpose of ascertaining what use they have made of it, it has been discovered that they have preserved it with the most sacred care; that they have read it, and that it has been productive of the most happy effects. We have time to mention only one or two cases. A poor labouring man was called on about five weeks after a Bible had been given him, and was found to have read it through once, and commenced reading it a second time. His wife informed me, that he had frequently sat up to read till twelve and one o'clock at night; and that, since he had been reading it, he had generally accompanied her to church. From questions which were asked him, it was evident that he had read it with great care, and that it had made a deep impression on his mind. He observed, that he found in that book what he never knew before-he found that he was a sinner. He was left in tears. What the event will be in this, and other cases, where the Bible has been given, and made similar impressions, is known only to God. A Bible was given to a poor woman, soon after she was confined with a consumption, and who VOL. III.-No. 5.

M