the great Missionary enterprise. I look upon it as the greatest, the noblest, and the subblimest on which the energies and powers of the human mind can be expended. All that is great and momentous in time and in eternity, the glory of God, the triumphs of the cross, and the destinies of innumerable myriads in the eternal world, are all concentrated in it; and if the Bible be trueif there be a God, and if there be an eternity-it is utterly impossible to attach too much importance to this godlike cause; and so far from thinking that the Christian church has devoted too much money, time, and talent to this cause, I believe that the period is approaching when Christians will look back upon their present measure of zeal and liberality with pain and surprise, and regard them as infinitely beneath the sublimity of the object contemplated, and unworthy of the great work designed to be effected. Contemplate the work as done, the world regenerated, enlightened, and blessed

"Every mountain as Jehovah's throne,

And every valley as an angel's home;" the earth yielding its increase, the people all righteous, and God, even our own God, blessing us. Contemplating such an object, we do hope that the period is hastening when the Missionary cause will have such a hold on the public mind that the greatest wealth, the mightiest influence, the most brilliant talents, and the highest rank in the British nation, will be consecrated to it; and we do believe that the cause is worthy of it all.-In contrasting the glory of military conquests with the triumphs of Christian benevolence, Mr. Williams observed,A young, an amiable, and an intelligent female, whose heart, in common with those of her sex, is made up of tenderness, has just ascended the British throne. Contemplate that amiable and beloved young Queen as presiding in a council of war, as swaying her sceptre over a people delighting in war; contemplate her as becoming familiar with the roar of cannon and the clash of arms, with scenes of blood, and misery, and devastation we say, while thinking for a moment of the amiability and loveliness of her character, that the very savagism itself of human nature revolts at such an unnatural combination. But contemplate this beloved young Queen as living in the affections of a peaceful, intelligent, and religious community, countenancing and encouraging them in devoting their best energies in diffusing all over the world the knowledge and blessings of that Christianity upon which our own national superiority is based, and in which the present and future felicity of the human family is concentrated. The heart and the benevolence of every Christian palpitates with delight in the contem

plation. And who knows whether she has not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? Youthful and beloved sovereign, our eye has never yet rested upon you, but our sincere prayer is, that this may be your fe licity, and the benighted and barbarous na. tions of the world reap and enjoy the advantages which would result therefrom! May your reign be long, and prosperous, and glorious!

Viewing the Missionary enterprise as contrasted with the pursuits of the colonist, the merchant, and the man of science, Mr. W. said-Turn for a moment to what the embassy of Christianity has done. It is the transla tion of the sacred Scriptures into languages previously unwritten; it is the rearing of the intellectual, the social, the civil elevation of whole communities. Thus the Missionary enterprise is pre-eminent in its claims upon the support and the sympathies which we ought to be disposed to give it. Allow me to assert, as my firm conviction, that the cause of Missions generally, is the most mighty, the most effective machinery that has been brought to operate upon the universal interests of the human family. The abolition of slavery in all our British colonies-the mighty movement of mind in British India, of which we have just heard, consequent upon the diffusion of Christian knowledge by means of your Missionaries— the altered state of the tribes in South Africa-the conversion and subsequent civi lisation of 300,000 pagan savages in the isles of the Pacific are effects too stupendous in their character to allow the merchant, or the philanthropist, or the statesman, to regard as unimportant the cause in which they originated." And I be lieve all these are only the earnests, the preludes of the mighty and beneficial changes which the Missionary cause is calculated to effect. With these views of the national importance, the moral grandeur, the spiri tual sublimity of Missionary enterprise, I avow, in the presence of this vast assembly, slowly, solemnly, and deliberately, that I love it with all my heart, and with all my soul. Having stated these views and feel. ings in reference to the Missionary cause generally, allow me, for a few moments, to express my feelings in reference to the Mission with which I have been connected. It does, in my estimation, notwithstanding the observations which have fallen from my friend, Dr. Philip, stand out unrivalled in interest and importance, to the whole Mis sionary world. Not that the islands of the South Sea will bear a comparison with China and India, in reference to the my riads of their inhabitants. But even in this particular, that Mission has been greatly under-rated for, as my esteemed friend and brother who read the address has stated,

as soon as you cross the 180th degree, and proceed westward, the islands are so large, so numerous, so thickly populated, that in the aggregate the inhabitants would form a great nation; and I have never regarded the Mission to Tahiti and the other islands in any other light than as a fountain from which the streams of salvation should flow to and fertilise every island. But the importance of this Mission and its interests appear pre-eminent, if we regard it as that part of the world selected by the providence of God where the great and grand experiment of the power of the Gospel to tame the most ferocious, to civilise the most barbarous, to enlighten the most ignorant, and to elevate the most degraded portion of the human family should be fairly tried. The experiment has been tried, and, by its complete success, this great and delightful truth stands out with unprecedented prominence in the face of the whole civilised world; that notwithstanding the Gospel has been working its wondrous way for 1800 years, yet it is still mighty through God; it has not lost one atom of its moral power, but it is still efficient in the accomplishment of the sublime purpose for which it was originally given. I think no other Mission has brought before the civilised world so prominently as that of the South Seas the national importance of Missions. This to my mind is a very weighty fact. The commerce of the country has been alluded to. Now, a few years ago these people had no idea of us or of our commerce; not one atom of British property was used by the inhabitants; and now, to say the least, there are between 200,000 and 300,000 persons wearing and using articles of British manufucture. This is a fact that cannot be contradicted. What will our merchants say to this? Will they not be bound by their own interest to afford assistance to a cause from which they are themselves reaping so much benefit? Wherever your Missionaries go, new channels are cut for British commerce to flow in; and these channels are widening and deepening every year. There are one or two other points to which I should like briefly to allude. One point relates to British shipping. Every one knows that we are not only a commercial and a literary, but truly a maritime people; and in every part of the world British shipping is to be seen. Prior to the introduction of Christianity to the South Seas, commodious as were the harbours, abundant as were the provisions on the shores, no British vessel dare enter a harbour or drop an anchor; and now it may be stated, without the slightest exaggeration, that, including the Sandwich Islands to the north and the Friendly Islands to the west, from 200 to 300 sail touch the islands

every year to obtain provision and pursue their voyages. Take another view. If a ship is wrecked on an island where Christianity is not introduced, what is the consequence? Look at the unfortunate sufferers of the Charles Eaton. You have seen a plate representing the skulls of the unfortunate mariners, as dedicated to the Deity on those shores. You have had your hearts rent and your feelings excited by the circumstances under which Captain Frazer and his unfortunate comrades met with death on the coast of New Holland. Take one fact in contrast with these. Last year a ship was wrecked on the island of Rarotonga, but the mariners were treated with the greatest hospitality, and both the captain and the supercargo told Mrs. Pitman when on their passage home, that they had not lost even a single nail. What can we say to these things, but that they are all most important facts in reference to the influence which Christian Missions are exerting upon the civilised world. In reference to what has fallen from Mr. Binney, I may observe, that our phrenologists have been examining the skulls of the natives. In some they have found a deficiency of development of the intellectual organs; in some they have found that there is no bump of veneration, as they call it; and therefore they argue that it is utterly impossible to make these people religious. Such have been the speculations of these philosophers. But what have your Missionaries been doing? They have been bringing these things to the test of facts. While others have been describing the colour, the capacities, the weight of the brain, the number of organs of intellectual development, we have been trying experiments. And what has been the result? Here we are, from east, west, north, and south, and from among all tribes on the earth, and we stand before the civilised world and say, "God has made of one blood all nations of men that dwell upon the face of the earth." A variety of other points might be alluded to, but I would just mention that one, which appears to me to be of importance, in connexion with Missions, is the success with which it has pleased God to crown the efforts of your Missionaries in the South Seas. By that success, the present Missionary feeling has been in a great degree produced. I believe, that had that Mission failed, we should not at present have had our 70,000l. for the Wesleyan Missionary Society, our 70,0001. for the Church Missionary Society, and from 60,000l. to 70,0007. Cour own Society. Every one acquainte with the history of Missions must know that the Missionary feeling was at a very low ebb till the importation of the rejected idols of Pomare, and from that time to the present the Missionary

feeling has been increasing with accelerated progress. All these points appear to me to invest the Mission to which I have just been alluding with a very great degree of interest and importance. Allusion was made in the statement read by Mr. Ellis to the freedom of the press. I can truly say that the press is free enough there; but I have the satisfaction of adding, that to my knowledge not a single sentence has ever been printed in that language to which a Christian could not most cordially and heartily give his consent and his concurrence. I must now, for a few moments, allude to the Society with which I stand connected. I beg leave to state my concurrence in all that has fallen from my esteemed friend and brother, Mr. Read. I love the Society-I love its catholic principles-I love its catholic constitution, and I trust that it will never be altered, and never be violated. It is not the Church, the Wesleyan, the Baptist, or the Independent Missionary Society. I think that these things are lighter than a feather poised against the universe, when put in competition with the simple fact, that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners. With reference to the very kind treatment that we have received from the Directors, it appears to me unnecessary to make any allusion. I would just say that they have most cordially entered into my views, and I have no fault to find with them. I must now thank the Bible Society for 5,000 copies of the precious volume in the native language, to take back with me to the South Seas. In addition, I have 20,000 tracts, entitled 'The Sinner's Friend,' translated into the native language, for the expense of printing which I am indebted to many noblemen and gentlemen, among whom I may mention the Bishop of Chester, the Marquis of Cholmondeley, the Archdeacon of Ely, &c., &c. I am also deeply indebted to the Tract Society, and to other friends, for publications. I would now advert to the objects contemplated on our arrival. The raising up of a native agency is one great design; and I propose to establish, I may say without ostentation, a native college, in which we propose to educate pious young men for the ministry in the English language. I shall also endeavour to make arrangements whereby the native churches will be enabled either in part or entirely to support their own ministers. It may seem rather strange to some persons, that a greater sum has not been contributed towards this object by the natives themselves. This arises from the want of informa

tion. They build their chapels without one farthing expense to our Society; the Schoolhouses and the Missionary premises have also been erected by them; and, moreover, they contribute a large portion of their native food, by which we are enabled to live upon the small stipend which the Society allows us. All we want is markets for our articles. Manufactories are rising up, and I have endeavoured to establish an agency throughout this country. If Christian friends purchase our articles, we shall afford the natives the means of procuring books, and of making contributions to the Parent Society, by which it will be enabled to devote a great portion of its funds to other parts of the world. In reference to our voyage, it is one of the greatest yet contemplated. I am sensible of all its dangers, but I trust that we shall be preserved. We only want one thing, and that is a ship in which to take the voyage. I am not about to appeal to you—from that I am restricted; but I tell you what I want, and you can give it me. I have made application to her Majesty's government to be supplied with a ship, and I did anticipate the pleasure of carrying England's com merce, civilisation, and Christianity to distant regions, in a vessel the gift of England's Queen. I made the application entirely on my own responsibility, not involving the Society in its merit or demerit. I regret, (he continued,) that no decisive answer has been received; and we cannot wait longer. I have about 600l. towards the purchase of a ship, and surely we have a thousand friends who would give a sovereign each. I believe that if I were to put an advertisement in the papers, and send it to Liverpool, Birmingham, &c., I should find that I had personal friends who would subscribe the amount. I should not be surprised if I had five hundred of them here to-day. But the expense incurred in sending out the number of Missionaries before you is great, and we therefore look for a liberal collection for the Society. I thank you most sincerely for the kind attention you have shown me, and for the kindness which I have experienced ever since I landed in my native country.

The Rev. Dr. BENNETT then offered up special prayer for the Missionaries, and the services were concluded by singing the doxology.

The meeting separated at half-past four.

The collection after the meeting, including £21 from J. Bockett, Esq., amounted to £172 88. 9d.