among us? This Society has stood for sevenand-twenty years; and the subscriptions on which you have been congratulated are sixand-forty thousand pounds: but we will reckon them at fifty thousand, which I trust they will reach next year; but then I tell you that there will be a lapse of One Thousand Years, before you will, at this rate, raise for this Great Temple what they raised for theirs before a stone was laid! [Rev.C.Simeon-at the Church Mission. Ann. National Benevolence attended by National Blessings. It will be mentioned to the honour of Britain in future ages, that, in a year of such great privations and suffering as that which is passed, no decrease was occasioned in Christian Liberality: though there is not a branch of expenditure in which retrenchments have not been evidently made, the last thing which the British Nation has been willing to economize, has been to economize charity; and, while many of us were suffering at home, still our bounty was extending the blessings of civilization and religion to distant lands. While this kingdom perseveres in such a course, it is laying the best foundation for its own prosperity, because it is best commending itself to the favour of Him from whom all prosperity proceeds. [Lord Bexley-at the Church Mission. Ann. Progress of Religion among British Seamen. There are more than 500,000 of the most interesting characters of our land, to whom the Nation instrumentally owes its prosperity and preservation, who, in point of moral destitution and lack of Christian Instruction, are little before the Heathen, and certainly much behind every class of our own community: and these brave, these profane, these ignorant men have been, until very lately, overlooked altogether! Our Christian sympa thies have carried our exertions to the east and to the west, to the north and to the south, in imparting the blessings of instruction and the glad tidings of salvation to the Heathen; and, astonishing to say, we have passed by half-a-million of our own brethren, perishing -absolutely perishing-for lack of knowledge, and that at our very doors! The seaman is, from necessity and from habit, exposed to more snares and moral evils than any man on earth. From his cradle up to manhood-for I say not old agefew, alas! among seamen arrive at that period-from his childhood up to manhood, he is followed and surrounded with all the temptations which the world, the flesh, and the enemy of souls can combine for his ruin. Separated from all means of grace, he goes forth, apparently abandoned by Providence and by man. But Providence hath not given up our maritime tribe: the day-dawn and the day-star of mercy have arisen on them: the public mind is, in part, aroused and informed concerning their wants and their claims; and no one effort has been used for their improvement, but an evident blessing has attended it. I could adduce several instances in which I myself have been more or less concerned: June, 1827. and those facts, with very many others that I could produce, would prove that those who have been endeavouring to instruct and christianize our seamen have not laboured in vain in the Lord; and they may well stimulate every benevolent mind to exertion in so good and promising a work. Before this Society holds its next Anniversary, how many of our brave mariners will be numbered with the dead! Full many of these defenders of the nation will have gone on their last voyage, and have encountered the last storm in their tempest-driven course; and will either have foundered in the deep waters or been dashed against the rock. Were you, My Lord, or were any of this assembly, to stand by and witness what I have but too, too often seen-the shipwrecked mariner hurled amidst the foaming surges, and struggling for life with the overwhelming and resistless waves-how gladly would you throw that struggling, sinking seaman a spar; and how exultingly would you rejoice, if peradventure he could grasp it, and be saved But this kind office from impending death! you will not be able to perform; the vessel When I went down the Thames forty years ago, I could see and hear wickedness of every kind. I have lately been down the river, and rejoiced to see so great a change. Order and decency supply the place of wickedness; and, though much yet remains to be effected, we have abundant reason to rejoice in the measure of success which has been mercifully vouchsafed. [Rev. Dawson Warren-at the same. Having served In nine or ten different ships, of all classes, I have had time to study the character of Seamen, and to see the very beneficial effects of distributing Bibles, PrayerBooks, and Religious Tracts. In one vessel I found upward of 100 men, and was told that the Prayers of the Church had been only twice read to them for five years: being provided with some chests of Bibles, PrayerBooks, and Homilies, I distributed them; and, in a very few months, I saw a considerable reformation in the moral character of the men. Their attention to the books was truly gratifying; and the men most imbued with the doctrines of the Gospel, I found to be the most efficient seamen, and most to be depended upon in times of danger and [Hon. Capt. Noel-at the same. difficulty. The Doctrine of the Cross, the Salvation of the World. I determined, said the great Apostle of the Gentiles, not to know anything among you 20 save Jesus Christ and him erucified. In harmony with this declaration is the resolution of all Missionary Societies: they are formed on the principles of evangelical piety: they are not rivals, except in the great cause of Christian Love and Benevolence: they are not hostile, but confederate powers; confederate against sin, and death, and hell; and under the standard of the Cross, they march forward, fair as the moon, bright as the sun, and terrible to the Powers of Darkness as an army with banners; pressing forward from conquering still to conquer, till the Cross of their dying Lord is waved in triumph over every hostile power. The Salvation of the World by the exhibition of the Doctrine of the Cross, is the great end of all Missionary Associations and Contributions; and the Salvation of the World by the exhibition of this Doctrine will be the glorious result of all Missionary Exertions. The Hill of Calvary is the place of rendezvous, where their battalions are marshalled, and the plans and order of battle are concerted. How awful is this place! It is none other than the house of God and the very gate of heaven. Here we see exhibited to our view the Patriarch's vision at Bethel-the heavens open-the mystic ladder-the angels ascending and descending on this hill of Calvary-the redeeming Angel of the Covenant at the head of His legions which are encamped round about Him. It is here that we find all the grand and powerful motives to zeal, fidelity, and perseverance in this glorious cause. Would you know, Christian Brethren, all the worth of an immortal soul, six hundred millions of whom are now lying in ruins in the Heathen World, go to Calvary: carry along with you the balance of the sanctuary: place the human soul in one of the scales, and the world and all that is therein in the other; and, while you gaze on the agonies of the dying Saviour, watch the turning of the beam, and see how it preponderates on the side of the soul of man; while the world, and all that is therein, are but as a feather, lighter than nothing and vanity. [Rev. W. Thorpe-at Wesleyan Miss. Ann. Union, the Strength of Christian Societies. The basis on which we profess to rest this Society, is the Word of God; or, in other words, we rest it on the three great principles of Faith, Hope, and Charity and let us take care that we do not separate them, the one from the other: let us not separate what God has joined together. Let us, indeed, be zealous, in this Cause: but let us remember, also, to maintain a pervading spirit of Charity, the bond of peace and righteousness. But do I mean that there are to be no differences of opinion? Or do I hope that there will be no diversity of sentiments in an Institution which covers almost the whole habitable globe? Human infirmity forbids this hope. But I do mean, and I do expect, because I judge of the future by the past-I do mean, that these differences shall be all subservient to the great and animating principles of all: I do mean, that if we are compelled to differ in opinion on some points, we shall do it in the same spirit as we hear of one great man of old rebuking another great man ; and that those who differ from our proceedings we shall regard with no feeling but of Christian Affection; and that when that period shall arrive, which I trust will arrive, when all these differences shall be annulled, and we shall mingle again in the same united feeling, we shall never reproach ourselves for having, by one single expression, excited or increased animosity, or retarded the happy moment of re-union: and when we see our Brethren animated by such sentiments, we shall not wait till they arrive within our premises, but, beholding them afar off, run and embrace them. [Rt. Hon. C. Grant, M.P.-at the Bible Soc. Ann, In the whole of the Report, there is nothing so entirely satisfying to my mind as that language of humiliation in which it is framed. The Society had grown to possess gigantic strength. It is glorious to have a giant's power and perhaps we may have been intoxicated with that glory; and, while the Society was confessedly doing wonders in the world, then, like one of old whom you will remember, we may have grown less mindful of that Fountain from which all our strength and all our capacity of usefulness were derived. Then was it shorne of its mystical strength-its eyes, as it were, put out. But if there is one here who watched its prison hours, and saw this giant, thus shorne of its strength, lying humbled before its enemies-who witnessed the sneers and scoffs of the infidels-let him not despair: the giant has come forth again, and is a giant still; and has its arms upon the columns of the superstitions of the world, which are shaking under its grasp. Let us, then, no longer think of its mistakes and its errors; nor add our censures to those, perhaps already too severe, which have been passed upon it; but let us pray for it, as we value that Sacred Book whose distribution is its exclusive ob ject. You know the power of prayer: it is Instead, therefore, of mighty and effectual. adding a sting to the wound already inflicted on the Society, let us pray for its success. One little symptom of dissatisfaction expressed this day was instantly borne down by the breath of charity; and I trust that all such feeling has now subsided: but let me say to the person who has called forth this remark, I admit it to be glorious to stand alone when we are surrounded by the foes of Jesus Christ: it was glorious when Martyn, in the Persian Empire, stood alone and preached Jesus Christ; but then he was surrounded by Mahomedans: it was glorious when Paul stood alone in the Areopagus; but then he was surrounded by Infidels: it was glorious when our Blessed Lord Himself stood alone, surrounded, perhaps, by the greatest combination of malice and power that was ever formed against an unsheltered individual, while His very friends shrunk from Him and fled; but this was when He stood alone for the rescue and salvation of a world! This was a glorious singularity! But never, never may I stand alone, at least among my Bre thren! Never may I stand alone in this So- Nor can I avoid referring, among the topics for congratulation, to the spirit of union existing in the direction and administration of this great Society. Numerous and complicated are the questions which frequently come before the Members of your Board; and it must, from the nature of things and from the diversified habits of thinking among individuals, often happen that there will be diversities, and even momentary collisions: but there is a spirit of practical harmony and friendly confidence, that restores the balance of proper feeling, and secures our attachment to one another and to the cause in which we are engaged. We know who is "the author of peace and the giver of concord;" and we acknowledge the interposition and guidance of the Father of Mercies and God of all Comfort in thus preserving our uninterrupted union. I trust that it will never be disturbed; but if clouds and darkness should gather around us, I trust the Sun of Righteousness will soon scatter those clouds; or, if they be not scattered, that they will become so irradiated as to form a canopy of overshadowing glory, resting on our Society! Or, should even this be denied us, and in the dark and palpable form of clouds and shadows they should continue, I trust there will be such an adjustment of their elements, that no injurious effects will be experienced; that the lightningflash will not destroy, nor the thunder-storm intimidate, but the descending shower come down upon us in all its enriching and fertilizing and gladdening efficacy. [Rec. Jos. Fletcher-at the Lond. Miss. Ann. Grounds of Humiliation in Christian Societies. There was a passage in the Report, in reference to the West-Africa Mission, which, I own, charmed my very heart-a tone of chastened humility, connected with the confessions of the labourers themselves: "God," they said, "hath a controversy with us! Sin and infirmity may have mingled with our exertions, and God hath a controversy with us!" Yes, My Lord, I would refer to our infirmities as ground of deep humiliation; am, and I trust I shall be forgiven, if, as a Christian In into our treasuries, the arm of persecution was raised against us, and like the Christians of former times we were carried from our drawing-rooms into prison, then I believe would these dissentions cease, and they who now maintain the strife would hang down their blushing heads before their God, and, like Joseph and his brethren, would fall into one another's arms, and bless God that there is ONE who can pity their infirmities as well as pardon their sins. But there is another ground of humiliation before God. There never, certainly, was a period, in which, in a Christian Land, and amidst efforts to diffuse Christianity, there was a more unblushing contempt of the glorious precepts and promises of the Gospel. The Human Intellect is the idol to which men are bowing down. It is the " March of Mind," and not the March of Grace, which is glorious in human eyes. There is, perhaps, no idol, which so boldly stands up as the rival of Jehovah, as that Intellect which the creature has received from Him. I do hope that we shall feel these evils, and be more humbled before the Throne of Grace, and not be carried away by the appearance of things, but remember that there are thousands and tens of thousands who despise There is that in our object and assembly to-day, which I find refreshing to my own mind. On the two preceding days, I have been so carried, as it were, into every part of the world, in the vast objects of the Missionary and Bible Societies, as to be almost bewildered and overcome, and to be scarcely capable of returning to the ordinary duties of calm devotion: but this Institution seems to lead me into the immediate presence of God in the sanctuary, and calls upon me to bring back my thoughts to the state of my own mind and that of my friends; and I think I shall feel more ardour than ever on the approaching Sabbath, in offering up those prayers and praises which so many affectionately regard, and in which we have so much occasion to rejoice. [Rev. C.Jerram-at the Prayer Bk. & Hom. Soc. Ann. I would generalize the observation of my friend, who said that this Institution brought back his mind, from those great objects in which he had been almost bewildered, to that which is more calm and devotional. Charity begins at home. Christian Benevolence is formed in the man's own bosom : it thence extends to his family and neighbourhood, to his country, and to the world at large; just as we see those little rills, which at first water some field or valley, swell into the mighty stream which enriches important districts or extensive countries. It was one of the melancholy effects arising out of the French Revolution, that those philosophers, who found out that Revelation was destitute of wisdom, disregarded the feelings of domestic charity and brotherhood at home, and taught that those were low and little objects -THEY contemplated the welfare of the WORLD! And what did they do?-they forgot the interests of that world, and were ready to wade through slaughter to a throne, And shut the gates of mercy on mankind. But Christianity teaches us, that it is in communion with God in the pages of His Word and in attention to relative duties, that a man grows into the possession of that charity which hears at length the voice of Him who bled on the cross, saying to him, Go, and do thou likewise. The basis of our charity is at home. You look not for the source of the river where the torrent is rolling, but in the recesses and retirement of the forest; and there find the little rill, which, unheard and unknown, gives the swell to the torrent which is to fertilize the surrounding world. [Hon. & Rev. G. T. Noel-at the same. Personal Benefit to be derived from Annual Reports. To Annual Reports, these words of Scripture may be accommodated, as they have been to the addresses of Ministers-I have a message from God unto thee. To each individual heart I conceive that an Annual Report thus addresses itself; and that each individual is thereby called on to consider his own conduct, in the past year, with relation to this Society and to the Bible-how far he has used his best endeavours to promote the Cause of God and of this Society-and how far he has used his endeavours to disseminate the Scriptures among his family and those entrusted to his charge; to consider, again, how far his example has had such a salutary effect on the world around him, as may induce them to make the Bible, by which he professes to be governed, the standard of their faith and the ground of their consolation; and to consider how far he himself has grown and increased in the personal knowledge and practical application of the truths of the Gospel in his own soul. I trust I shall be excused, from the situation which I fill, for making these observations on the effects which an Annual Report is calculated to produce; and I trust, this evening, before we retire to our beds, the issue of such inquiries will be-a determination to increase our exertions and our selfdenying sacrifices in this Blessed Cause. [Bp. of Lichfield and Cov.—at Bible Soe. Ann, Right Improvement of Anniversaries. In rising to fulfil the duty which the Committee have been pleased to entrust to me, I cannot but endeavour, however briefly, to express the gratification which I feel in witThose who are nessing the scene before me. now, like myself, present here for the first time, will know something of the feelings, of the deep feelings, which fill, and I had almost said overwhelm, the heart of one who witnesses such an assembly of individuals collected together in this holy work. Such a scene can be witnessed unmoved by no one: but it will be felt with a more than ordinary emotion, by one who is a Minister of God, however unworthy of that high title-by one who is bound, by the most sacred ties, to assist in the dissemination of the Word of that God of whom he is the Minister; and to lend his helping hand, feeble as it may be, in diffusing, to those now perishing for lack of knowledge, that Word of Life which alone is able to make them wise unto salvation. Impressed with a deep sense of my responsibility as one of God's Ministers, I have attended here this day, to assist more honoured instruments of God's glory, in sending to those who know not yet the name of a Saviour, the Word of God. Hitherto it has been permitted me to view the operations of this Society, and to assist in some humble degree in its labours, only at a distance; but now that, by the Providence of God, I am permitted to hear the detail, the annual detail, of the operations of the Society-to witness the extensive benefits which it has been, in the hand of God, the instrument of diffusing-and to know how anxiously these blessings are yet called for by many, who know not God nor the power of His salvation-I own I cannot see such an assembly as this before me, united, as I trust they are, in one spirit, one heart, and one mind, in this great object-I cannot see such an assembly, without feeling the most heartfelt gratitude to the Giver of all good things. I own too, that, late as I came into the field of action presented before us, it is to me a matter of no small satisfaction to see so many of those long-tried and zealous advocates of the Society still permitted to give their labours to their Fellow-Christians and to God-still coming forward, to render the annual account of the labours of the past year; and to implore, first, from God, who alone can give the means, His blessing; and then from you, who are the instruments in providing the funds placed at their disposal, the means of their support. But, above all-and I beg the attention of the Meeting to this point most particularly, inasmuch as it is connected with the Resolution in my hand-is it a source of satisfaction to be present under the Presidency of our noble and venerated Chair man, who at the commencement of the Society stood forward in its defence and support-has ever since been the hearty co-operator in all its designs-and is now permitted once more, through God's Providence, to witness its advancing progress; and to hear, what we have all heard this day, the gratify ing details of its continued success. The Annual Report which has been made to you, calls on every friend of this Society not to slumber in its service: it summonses each one to renewed Exertions, to renewed Vigilance, to renewed Perseverance. The last word, indeed, I would venture to suggest as the Motto for each individual-PERSEVERANCE, in multiplying the friends of the Society; PERSEVERANCE, in increasing the funds of the Society; PERSEVERANCE, under God's blessing, in extending the operations of the Society; but above all, I would venture to urge PERSEVERANCE in prayer to the Throne of Grace, that He who has hitherto seemed to vouchsafe His blessing to this labour of love, may still be pleased to be with us, to direct us, to guide us at home and abroad, to purify us, and to preserve us from error; and, so long as the Society exists (which I trust will be so long as there is one to receive a Bible, or one to hear the name of Christ!) that He will be pleased to give His continued blessing to its labours in a still larger measure. [Bp. of Llandaff—at Bible Soc. Ann. Western Africa. Sierra Leone. REPORT OF COMMISSIONERS OF INQUIRY. THE First Part of the Report of the Commissioners of Inquiry into the State of the Colony of Sierra Leone and its Dependencies has just appeared: it is dated the 11th of April; and was ordered, by the House of Commons, on the 7th of May, to be printed. This Part occupies 111 pages; and is to be followed by a Second Part, relative chiefly to the Dependencies in the River Gambia and on the Gold Coast, and also by an braces the following subjects Extent and Boundaries of the Colony-Number and Condition of the Population, by Classes-Liberated African and Engineer Departments - Provision for Religious Instruction and the Education of Youth -— Agriculture — Trade-Revenue and Expenditure— Judicial and Civil Establishments-Observations on the Climate of Sierra Leone and its Dependencies. The Commissioners found much difficulty in procuring information on these topics; and, in various cases, were obliged to be content with very imperfect intelligence: this arose chiefly from the frequent changes, occasioned by sickness and death, in the persons who might have been most competent to furnish such intelligence. They have added such suggestions, as seemed to them best calculated to remove existing evils and to promote the good of the Colony. They have fulfilled their charge, so far as we can judge, with exemplary diligence, fidelity, and candour: the labour must have fallen, from the continued illness of Mr. Wellington, very heavily on Major Rowan. We shall bring before our Readers, as opportunities offer, such parts of this Report as most nearly concern the best interests of the Colony: for the present we shall quote the following just and forcible Remarks on the Expenditure. The aggregate amount of expenditure is certainly large: even that for 1825 is considerable: but, if the magnitude of the undertaking and the nu merous difficulties with which it is surrounded be taken into consideration, it will be evident, that, whatever may be the situation and however judicious the measures chosen for its accomplishment, it must be attended with a heavy expense. We cannot, therefore, feel justified in holding forth a hope that the Annual Expenditure, under any of the heads specified (except the Military Establishment), is likely to be diminished; at least for some years to come: contrary, it appears to us, that, even on the |