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fully excited, but our judgment has not been asleep. If I should be questioned upon the indulgence of these feelings, I must say that I envy little the temperament of that man, who can reflect without admiration and gratitude upon the splen did efforts which have been made by the Bible Society. The simplicity of its plan secures a co-operation beyond example: the enlargement and liberality of its views have created an interest in its welfare, even upon remote continents, which never was witnessed before: it has dispersed copies of the Scriptures by hundreds of thousands: new channels are opening every day: and far beyond its means of distributing Bibles is the anxiety to receive them. Future ages will tell with astonishment, that in the midst of a most awful and perilous war, while infidelity was triumphant abroad, and kingdoms were crumbling around us, Britain should rise, in the greatness of her strength and the majesty of her benevolence, with one hand to dash in pieces the chains of the oppressor, and with the other to hold out the everlasting Gospel to the inhabitants of every region under heaven. Whilst I fix upon this single fact, I feel a renovated confidence in the cause of my country. I never can believe that it is in the design of Providence to desolate with its judgments a nation, which thus nobly stands forward, in this awful crisis, the great bulwark of religion and the determined friend of the best interests of man. The blessings of all nations are coming largely upon us, for we are gradually extending benefits to all. And may I not, as a member of the university, indulge for one moment the pleasing reflection, in how great a degree the land of our nativity, and through it the world at large, is indebted to those, who have preceded us in these seats of learning, for the inestimable privilege of the Gospel? "Shall we on this occasion forget our Cranmers, and Latimers, and Ridleys? It was in this place that

they first imbibed their love for the Scriptures; it was in the pulpits of Cambridge that some of our earliest reformers contended for their dispersion. My eloquent friend (Dr. Clarke) has asked you, what would Latimer and Ridley and Chillingworth have said, if they could hear now the arguments, which are brought forward in Cambridge against the Bible Society? Some of the arguments are enough to rouse them from their graves, to quicken their very ashes into life. Permit me to ask, what would have been the sensations of our holy martyrs, if they could have anticipated this present spectacle? If they could have foreseen, before the lapse of three centuries, so many members of this univer sity, secure in the profession of the Protestant religion, with the Bible in their hands, and I trust with its precepts in their hearts, meeting here for the express purpose of dispersing the sacred volume to every quarter of the world? Of giving it currency in all languages, and securing its blessings, as far as human intelligence cansecure them, to every age? This prospect would have afforded them an increase of consolation in the extremity of pain, and would have mitigated even the violence of the flames. With the declaration of Latimer to his partner in affliction, we are all acquainted:

Be of good cheer, brother Ridley: I trust that we shall this day light up such a fire in England as, by the grace of God, shall never be put out. It has burnt from that day to the present; and I persuade my. self, that it will never be extinguished. The light, which they kindled, has not only shone through Britain, but is now rising upon nations hitherto immersed in darkness; it is at this moment diffusing its beams and extending its heavenly influence through the most distant regions. The sun himself scarcely visits a land accessible by Englishmen, but upon that land, and through their means, the Sun of Righteousness is

beginning to arise with healing in his wings.' In such a matter, I must change my nature before I can be cold or indifferent: and high as the university of Cambridge justly stands in the estimation of all wise and good men; of all who know how to value what is great in project or enlarged in benevolence; this I will be bold to say, that its members have never come forward to patronise a more noble and glorious cause."

Mr. Dealtry concluded by mov. ing the thanks of the meeting to the Secretaries of the institution in London. The motion was seconded by Lord Francis Osborne.

Mr. OWEN then rose, and expressed his regret that the hoarseness of his voice, and the exhausted state of his bodily strength, would prevent him from doing justice to his own feelings, and those of his excellent colleagues, in acknowledging the honour done them by the unanimous vote of thanks with which their humble but zealous services of this day had been remunerated. He adverted, in terms of deserved commendation, to the many able advocates who had pleaded the cause of the society on this interest ing occasion with such irresistible argument, eloquence, and effect. He then proceeded to support the many eulogiums which had been passed on the character of the society, both with respect to its principle and its proceedings; animadverting with much force on the attempt to sow dissension between the Bible Society and that for promoting Christian Knowledge; and appealing to the well-known correctness of the prelates who honoured the former with their patronage, and had watched over the conduct of its business, as a justification of its members against the unfounded and not very mannerly charges of hostility to the Old Society (as it was called), and of defection from the established church. Mr. Owen then alluded to the origin and progress of those measures which had terminated in the har

monious and highly-animated meet ing of this day.

He rejoiced to have heard so honourable a testimony borne to the conduct of those juniors in whom the business originated, by persons whose names are not more identi fied with the best learning, than they are with the most correct discipline of the place. For his own part, he could not have ventured to appear before them, had not things taken precisely that turn which they had done. He congratulated the assembly on the satisfaction they must have derived from the orderly course in which the business had proceeded, and the feelings of delight and unanimity which it had so greatly excited. He would have shed tears of regret for those who had excluded themselves from so rich a repast, had not all his tears been bespoken for gratitude and joy.After a variety of remarks to a similar purport, Mr. Owen admonished the youth whom he saw before him, and who would soon be called to fill various stations in the world; to assert our rights at the bar, in the senate, or the field; or to minister for the public welfare in inagisterial or pastoral employments; to bear in mind the solemn manner in which they had this day vowed allegiance to the Bible in the presence of God, their seniors, and each other. He exhorted them to take that Bible home to their hearts; to circulate it among their neighbours; and to exemplify it in their lives; and concluded in this forcible manner"As you have caught the ardour of Christian benevolence, which has been kindled in so many breasts,

oh spread it wide,

And let it circulate through all the veins Of our vast empire, that where Britain's power

Is felt, mankind may feel her mercy too."

The Rev. Mr. EDWARDS, after moving the thanks of the meeting to the Mayor and Corporation, spoke to the following effect:

That much stress having been laid

so ably presided on the occasion. Notwithstanding the misrepresentations so artfully circulated, they have used their own unbiassed judg. ment; and the result, we trust, has been felt by them, as their best re ward.

upon the objection to the Bible Sothe Bible Society, upon the score of its novelty, it should be recollected that the same might once have been urged, and in fact was urged, against the Reformation, against Christianity itself. But that there was one novel circumstance attending this institution, which could not but give pleasure to every benevolent heart: it was the spirit of concord thus produced and cherished among those who had been in the habit of differing widely from each other. This was delightfully exemplified in the large and mingled company who thronged the room in which they were assembled. The history of the university and town of Cambridge recorded many bitter and disgraceful conflicts between those bodies; their mutual jealousy and animosity had long been fomented by prejudice and intolerance; but upon this happy occasion, not a vestige of discord appeared. It was surely a just ground of exultation upon which he congratulated the meeting, that the Mayor and Corporation of Cambridge had, with a liberality which did them much honour, shewn their readiness to meet the University upon the common basis of the Protestant religion, in a public de claration of respect for the holy Scriptures; and that so large a portion of the University had shewn themselves willing to accept, and would (he trusted) be ready to acknowledge, the obligation conferred in the use of that room.

We cannot follow these interesting and animating speeches with any thing more appropriate than was inserted, by some masterly hand, at the conclusion of the report given of them in the Cambridge newspaper.

"Previous to the suggestion of any reflections upon the event of this meeting," says this anonymous but able observer, "we think it our duty to bear testimony to the manly conduct of our distinguished Chancellor, and of the Noble Earl who

"Such were the proceedings at Cambridge on this memorable day; a day to which succeeding genera tions, when every distinction be tween Christian brethren shall be annihilated,' will look back with joy and gratulation. It has indeed opened a field before us, which we may well lift up our eyes and loos upon, for it is white already to the harvest.'

"We cannot conclude this subject without making two observations, connected with the progress of the Bible Society. Great Britain now stands alone among the nations, with the wreck of Europe scattered at her feet: and though the dangers of war have been imminent beyond all example of former times, yet it has pleased Providence to give her strength to resist all the efforts of her enemies, and to establish an empire co-extended with the bounds of the ocean. We are fully aware, that political greatness and extended dominion are no tests of Divine approbation; that nations have been exalted only to the degrading office of executioners in the infliction of Divine vengeance; and, when their appointed course of war and devas tation has been finished, they have, like Babylon, been swept away from the face of the earth. It is not, therefore, from political greatness and extended dominion that we would augur any thing whatever in our own favour; but, from the dispositions which God has been pleased to put into our hearts, we humbly hope, that our country bas been exalted among the nations for nobler purposes; that the empire of Britain shall be an empire of mercy; and that no shore shall echo to the thunder of her power, but what shall smile also under the blessings of her beneficence. Judging from

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the events passing around us, the signs of the times,' is it presumptuous to indulge the humble and pious hope, that to Great Britain may be entrusted the high commission of making known the name of Jehovah to the whole earth; and when she shall have faithfully performed this sacred office, and the period of her ministry shall have been terminated in the universal diffusion of Christianity, that then her work and labour of love may be had in remembrance in the sight of the Lord, and she may repose in peace, and blessing, and honour, till she sink in the conflagration of the world?

"Nor is our second observation wanting in reasonable grounds of hope, that we may thus found for our children an empire on the Rock of Ages. As we are assured by Him, whose name is Truth, that a kingdom divided against itself cannot stand;' so, on the other hand, the spirit of conciliation and mutual benevolence, which is rapidly diffusing itself through all denominations of Christians in the land, seems espe-cially to indicate the favour of Heaven towards the temporal as well as the spiritual interests of our country. And when it pleases Almighty God thus to bind up the hearts of the nation, in the same bond of brotherly love and Christian charity, we trust with humble confidence, that, whatever chastisements his providence may deem necessary for our correction, we shall not greatly fall. We have now seen all denominations of Christians cordially uniting for the noblest of all purposes, and we cannot but hail it as the dawn of that day, when the dominion of charity shall be universal in the universal kingdom of Christ; of that day, when, according to the sure word of prophecy, 'the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid;' of that day, when the earth shall be filled with the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea.''

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To the Editor of the Christian Observer.

THE following account of Captain Paul Cuffee is taken from the Liverpool Mercury of the 4th and 11th of October, 1811, with only the omission of a few sentences. Any slight variation which has been introduced, is the result of the impressions which the writer's personal intercourse with that highly interesting character produced on his mind. I am, &c.

A FRIEND TO AFRICA.

MEMOIR OF CAPTAIN PAUL CUFFEE.

"On the first of August, 1811, a

vessel arrived at Liverpool, with a cargo from Sierra Leone, the owner, master, mate, and whole crew of which were free negroes. The master, who is also owner, is the son of an American slave, and is said to be very well skilled both in trade and navigation, as well as to be of a very pious and moral character. It must have been a strange and animating spectacle to see this free and enlightened African entering, as an independent trader, with his black crew, into that port which was so lately the nidus of the Slave Trade."-Edinb. Review, August,

1811.

WE are happy (say the Editors of the Liverpool Mercury) in having an opportunity of confirming the above account, and at the same time of laying before our readers an authentic memoir of Capt. Paul Cuf fee, the master and owner of the vessel above referred to, who sailed from this port on the 20th September, with a licence from the British Government, to prosecute his intended voyage to Sierra Leone.

The father of Paul Cuffee was a native of Africa, whence he was brought as a slave into Massachusetts. He was there purchased by a person named Slocum, and remained in slavery a considerable portion of his life. Like many

of his countrymen, he possessed a
mind superior to his condition; and
although he was diligent in the
business of his master, and faithful
to his interest, yet by great indus-
try and economy he was enabled to
purchase his personal liberty.

At this time the remains of seve-
ral Indian tribes, who originally
possessed the right of soil, resided in
Massachusetts; Cuffee became ac-
quainted with a woman descended
from one of those tribes, named
Ruth Moses, and married her. He
continued in habits of industry and
frugality, and soon afterwards pur-
chased a farm of 100 acres in West-
port in Massachusetts.

Cuffee and Ruth had a family of ten children. The three eldest sons, David, Jonathan, and John, are farmers in the neighbourhood of Westport, filling respectable situations in society, and endowed with good intellectual capacities. They are all married, and have families, to whom they are giving good educations. Of six daughters, four are respectably married, while two remain single.

Paul was born on the Island of Cutterbunkker, one of the Elizabeth Islands near New Bedford, in the year 1759. When he was about fourteen years of age, his father died, leaving a considerable property in land, but which, being at that time unproductive, afforded but little provision for his numerous family; and thus the care of supporting his mother and sisters devolved upon

port, where, owing to the unfortunate continuance of hostilities, he spent about two years in his agricultural pursuits. During this interval, Paul and his brother John Cuffee were called on, by the collector of the dis trict in which they resided, for the payment of a personal tax. It ap peared to them, that, by the laws of the constitution of Massachusetts, taxation and the whole rights of citizenship were united. But as people of colour had never been considered as entitled to the pri vilege of voting at elections, nor of being elected to places of trust and honour, they refused payment of the demand. The collector resort. ed to the force of the laws, and, after many delays and vexations, Paul and his brother deemed it most pru dent to silence the suit by payment of the demand; but they resolved, if it were possible, to obtain the rights which they believed to be connected with taxation.

They presented a respectful pe tition to the state legislature. From some individuals, it met with a warm and almost indignant opposition. A considerable majority was, however, favourable to their object :they perceived the propriety and justice of the petition, and, with an honourable magnanimity, in defiance of the prejudice of the times, they passed a law, rendering all free per sons of colour liable to taxation, according to the ratio established for white men, and granting them all the privileges belonging to other citizens. This was a day equally At this time Paul conceived that honourable to the petitioners and commerce furnished to industry more ample rewards than agriculture; he therefore entered at the age of sixteen as a common hand on daries of Massachusetts; and the board of a vessel destined to the bay names of John and Paul Cuffee of Mexico, on a whaling voyage. should always be united with its reHis second voyage was to the West collection.

his brothers and himself.

Indies; but on his third he was

the legislature: a day which ought to be gratefully remembered by every person of colour within the boo

At this time, being about twenty

captured by a British ship, during years of age, he thought himself the American war, about the year sufficiently skilled to enter into busi1776. After three months' detention ness on his own account. He laid

as a prisoner at New York, he was

before his brother David a plan

permitted to return home to West- for carrying on a commercial inter

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