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sentiment must be that of the deepest humiliation; and even before our readers, we are not unwilling to acknowledge the numerous blemishes and defects which may have marked our labours. At the same time we cannot but cherish a humble consciousness, that, with whatever imperfections we may be chargeable, it has been our earnest and unremitted endeavour, in our public career, "to maintain a conscience void of offence towards God and towards man," and not to pen even a single "line which dying we might wish to blot." Nor are we less firmly persuaded of the general propriety of the moderate line we have taken in regard to the discordant opinions both in religion and politics, which prevail among It would have cost us less care and thought, and would have greatly conduced to enlarge the number of our active supporters, had we pursued a different course, and become, for example, the vehement partizans, either of Arminianism, or of Calvinism; of High Church, or of Low Church; of Ministers, or of Opposition: but it was not our original plan, neither could we have reconciled it to our priuciples, thus to compromise our independence; and after the experience of so many years, we are fixed in the belief, notwithstanding the reproaches we have occasionally had to endure from very opposite quarters, that if any benefit has accrued to society from our feeble labours, it has been owing, in no small degree, to our preference of what we deemed the truth to any party considera, tions, and to the moderation by which it has been our aim, in advocating even our own views, that our pages should be cha racterized. And that some benefit has thus accrued, we trust we may without vanity assume, when we look back on the list of valuable friends and correspondents, now gone to their eternal rest who have from time to time made the Christian Observer a vehicle for the diffusion of their sentiments; or when, we advert to the names of many living ones to whom we are deeply indebted for their past contributions, and, whose continued assistance, as well as that of our correspondents in general, we respectfully and earnestly solicit in our future volumes.

Chequered as have been the events of the last twenty years, we cannot review, the period without the warmest gratitude to God, In our earlier volumes, we had little comparatively to, record of a pleasing or hopeful kind: Europe seemed to be rapidly sinking under one vast overpowering despotism; while infidelity and irreligion were despoiling mankind of their eternal hopes. In the mean time, but little was attempted for their improvement, How striking, the reverse at the present moment, the auspicious dawn, as we trust, of a brighter day, which is, about to open upon us! Let our readers compare the confined and feeble efforts of the Christian world, as they appear in our earlier Numbers, when it was difficult to collect sufficient religious intelligence, of an

interesting nature to fill up a few brief pages, with the overwhelming materials of this description which now accumulate around us, and require our utmost efforts to abridge and condense, so as to furnish even a passing sketch, a succinct digest, of the progress of morals, education, religion, and general improvement in various parts of the world. In the course of our labours, we have had to record, among numerous other topics of interest to the philanthropist and the Christian, the struggles and the triumph which signalized the Abolition of the African Slavetrade; the opening of the East to Christian instruction; the emancipation of Europe from a military usurpation;-the wide diffusion of just principles of liberty;-the increased attention devoted to moral and political economy, with a view to better the condition of mankind;-the modern reviviscence and extension of several societies which had previously existed for the promotion of religious and benevolent objects throughout the world, and the origin and wonderful progress of those more recent Bible and Missionary Institutions, which have now taken fast root in every quarter of the globe, all simultaneously operating to hasten on the time when the kingdoms, of this world shall become the kingdoms. of our Lord and of his Christ;-the astonishing progress of education under the system of mutual instruction, the vast powers of which were unknown to Europe till long within the period of which we are speaking, and the societies formed to diffuse its benefits throughout the world, and the important results of their exertions :and, besides all this, Societies for the circulation of religious publications among the poor; Societies for the Conversion of the Jews; Societies for promoting Virtue and suppressing Vice; Societies Literary and Philosophical; Mendicity Societies, Savings' Banks, and Friendly Societies; Prison Societies; Church Building Societies; Colonization Societies for the outcasts of Africa; Societies for assisting indigent Clergymen; Societies for improving the condition of the Poor; to say nothing of numerous institutions of a more limited kind, which have for their object the relief of various calamities incident to our fallen humanity.

Nor is it the least pleasing feature of the events which we have witnessed and recorded, that our own Church has experienced a great improvement; that her Clergy are enlisting themselves in increasing numbers under the scriptural banners of her martyrs and, reformers; and that, of her laity also, multitudes, influenced by Christian motives, aspire to assist in the general extension of religious knowledge. It is with peculiar satisfaction that we advert to this topic; because if there has been any one object to which our attention, has been more anxiously directed than another, it has been the diffusion among the ministers and members of the National Church of sound scriptural principles and personal piety, combined with

candour, moderation, intelligence, and good taste, and animated by ardent zeal and unwearied philanthropy. Would that the improvement were universal! that our Churches were sufficiently numerous for the population! that the Clergy who minister in them were, without exception, orthodox, laborious, and devout! and that the people who attend them were uniformly educated in sound principles, and leading holy and exemplary lives! But on the afflicting contrast to such a state of things, which is exhibited in the actual circumstances of society, even in this highly favoured country, we will not now enlarge. We would rather use the painful retrospect as an occasion of earnest prayer, that each succeeding year may witness the progressive removal of every evil we deplore, and the rapid extension of the benign and peaceful spirit of the Gospel of Christ, not only in our own Church, but throughout the world.

Before we take our annual leave of our readers, it may be neces-" sary to state, that we have received various suggestions from friends and correspondents on completing our fourth lustrum, relative to the future plan of our work; all of which we have weighed with attention, but upon mature consideration are of opinion (for reasons which it would be tedious and unnecessary to detail) that it would not be advisable to make any of the alterations which have been proposed to us.

It has further been repeatedly suggested, and we have long entertained the idea ourselves, that a General Index to the Christian Observer has become very desirable, and that the termination of the twentieth volume is a proper resting place for the purpose. We have therefore taken measures for the accomplishment of this object, and hope in a very few months to have the Index ready for publication. To those who have taken in, or completed, their sets of the Christian Observer from the commencement of the work, it will, we trust, be found highly useful; and scarcely less so to those who have only a few volumes in their possession: for as the references in it are intended to be to the year, and not merely to the number of the volume, it will be of service for reference to any detached part as well as to the whole of the series. It is intended to comprise it in a thin, moderately priced volume, and to number it Vol. XXI., in order that in future the numeral of our volumes may correspond with that of the year; and thus obviate an inconvenience which has arisen from our work having begun one year after the commencement of the present century, which has caused the date of the volume to be always a year before the number of it. In future, the year of the century, and the number of the volume will correspond; beginning with Vol. XXII. for 1822, to Vol. XCIX. for 1899, should the work survive to so distant a period.

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