your readers to my former paper, in the Number for May, where it is given at length.

The third objection alleged by Verus is the most serious of all; but I am happy to say that it is altogether unfounded, and that here also he has been led into error by making a partial quotation. I had said, that the believer performs good works, "not because it is his duty to do them, but because he can no more believe without doing them, than he can live without performing the actions of life." In this sentence, viewed thus in the connexion of its parts, I do not think that the most rigid criticism can detect any thing to imply, what I certainly never meant, that it is not the duty of the believer to do good works, although, owing to the ambiguous manner in which the word "because" is sometimes used, the clause which Verus has quoted, when taken by itself, appears to convey this meaning. But Verus himself has expressed my meaning, when he says, that "whether a man is under the covenant of works or that of grace, in either case he is bound though under the influence of very different motives, to perform good works." The motive of duty has been tried and found ineffectual by all who have passed from the covenant of works to that of grace; but they continue to do good works, and more abundantly than ever, not be cause it is their duty to do them (though it still is so), but because of another and a much more powerful motive.

W. H.

Tothe Editorofthe Christian Observer.

In reply to your correspondent D. D. it may be sufficient to inform him that the Millennarian writers maintain, that there are two resur

The

rections, and two judgments. first resurrection and first judgment take place, as they consider, at the commencement of the Millennium, and at the same time with the personal coming of the Lord Jesus in power and great glory, which is the advent, or rapova spoken of in Scripture. At this time, as they assert, all evil-doers will be cut off, and all evil will be put down, and the earth and the heavens will be purified by fire from the curse brought upon them by sin; and there shall be new heavens and a new earth wherein dwelleth righte ousness;-see 2 Pet. iii. 10-13;— and thenceforth shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: all things shall be made new, and the tabernacle of God shall be with men. See Rev. xxi.

They also hold, that the second resurrection and the second judgment take place at the end of the Millennium, when Satan, having been loosed out of his prison (according to Rev. xx. 7), and having deceived the nations of the earth, they whom he has deceived shall be devoured by fire from heaven; and the devil who has deceived them shall be cast into the lake of fire; and then all the dead, both small and great, that is, every one who was not raised up at the first resurrection, must rise to stand in judgment before the great white throne of God. See Rev. xx, 11.

I wish also to remark, in answer to your correspondent R. G., that many modern commentators adopt the opinion of the late Mr. Granville Sharp, and consider that the commencement of the great prophetic period of 1260 years is to be dated from the code of Justinian; that is, between the years 529 and 534.

PAULINUS.

For the Christian Observer.

PROTESTATIONS against slavery, we rejoice to say,are multiplying around us; and this not merely in publications professedly devoted to the subject, but, what furnishes a still stronger attestation to the public feeling, in the current stream of our general literature. We are particularly led to this remark in glancing over the forthcoming volumes of some of those embellished works which are issued yearly from the press as New-Year's presents. The conductors of several of these have most laudably employed a portion of their pages to increase the abhorrence of the public against slavery. The forthcoming "Winter's Wreath," the newest of these publications, and a work which, in addition to literary and graphical attractions, aspires to the higher merit of combining "understanding and taste" with "religious principle," has not neglected to insert a poem on this affecting subject; while Ackerman's "Forget me not," the eldest we believe of them, and a very elegant literary, though not religious, publication, has a tale by Mrs.Bowdich directed to the same theme. But from poetry and fiction, however elegant, we gladly turn to simple and important fact; and this we find most strikingly set before us as men and as Christians in another of these annuals, the "Amulet," in the shape of "Thoughts on British Colonial Slavery, by the Rev. D. Wilson, Vicar of Islington*."

The Amulet has, however, not disdained the aid of poetry on the same subject; witness the "Petition of a Negro "Boy," contributed to the volume by that enlightened and zealous friend, at once of piety and true humanity-Mrs. Hannah More. It is a most auspicious presage to our minds, to find writers so justly and highly valued, by the religious part of the public especially, as Mr. Wilson, and Mrs. More, availing themselves of popular publications like the present, to invite the

Mr. Wilson's "Thoughts" are so just and eloquent, and, above all, so truly Christian, that we most gladly lay them before our readers.

THOUGHTS ON BRITISH COLONIAL SLAVERY.

It may be a question whether the contrariety between the Christian religion and West-Indian slavery has been sufficiently insisted upon. The inhumanity, the impolicy, the cruelty, the injustice, involved in our present slave-system, have been exposed; but, perhaps, not the directly antiChristian spirit of it, its opposition to all the principles and obligations of the religion of love. At least this view of it has not been dwelt upon with the force which its paramount importance demands. For if there be any one thing which characterizes the religion of Christ, it is the tenderness which it inspires. Its foundations were laid in love-the love of God, our heavenly Father, towards lost mankind-the love of Jesus Christ, our blessed Lord, in dying a sacrifice upon the cross for us. Even infidels allow that the meek and peaceful spirit of Christianity, and especially the character of our Lord, is pure and lovely. In fact, the distinguishing badge of the religion of Christ-that by which all men are to know that we are his disciples-is LOVE. It is the boast of Christianity that she has diffused a spirit of kindness amongst mankind-that she has mitigated the horrors of war-abolished the gladiatorial spectacles-ameliorated the treatment of captives-intro

attention of their countrymen to this momentous topic; and indeed, in general, to purify the often polluted waters of our current literature, by an infusion of Christian truth. The Wreath and the Amulet both profess to have this object in view, and are adorned by the contributions of many well-known and truly estimable authors.

duced hospitals and infirmaries for the sick-banished infanticide-improved the condition of the laborious classes-established one day in seven for the repose of the body and the instruction of the mind-softened the administration of absolute governments changed, in short, the aspect of the countries where it has prevailed.

How comes it to pass, then, that upon 800,000 subjects of the British empire, the most burdensome of all yokes should still be permitted to press? How comes it to pass that Christianity has not abolished the slavery in the West Indies, as it triumphed over the slavery established in the Roman empire? The answer is, that Christianity has never been brought to bear upon the question in the way that it should, and that it must, before the evil will be abated. Christians have not yet fully considered the absolute unlawfulness of the present state of slavery to every man who calls himself by the name of Christ.

It was late in the eighteenth century before the public attention was effectually called to the condition of our slaves, and the horrors of the traffic by which their numbers were supplied. The first great object of the friends of Africa was to obtain the abolition of the trade itself. During the twenty years exhausted in that contest, the attention of the public was not directed immediately to the opposition of slavery to the Christian religion, but rather to the atrocities of the trade between Africa and the West Indies-to the terrific cruelties of the middle passage-to the miseries of the captivity in which it terminated-to the impolicy of pursuing so fatal a traffic-to the beneficial effects which its abolition might produce on the condition of the slaves. Much time was also of necessity consumed in establishing, by irresistible evidence, the facts on which the various parts of the case rested. It has only been within the last four or five years that the attention of Parliament has

been called, distinctly, to the question of the mitigation and gradual abolition of West-Indian slavery itself. The time is still more recent since it has been established by undeniable facts, that no material improvement of the system of slavery can be expected from the slave farmers and the colonial assemblies in the West Indies. Now, at length, the whole case stands out clear and prominent. The solemn act of justice, which is to vindicate the oppressed and injured African race, must proceed from the mother country-from the general feelings of Englishmen-from the effects of decided public sentiment upon the Parliament and the Government. Nor can this be brought about, except as the irreconcileable hostility of the Christian religion to the dreadful evil of Negro slavery is fully and strongly shewn. This will awaken the public conscience. This will shake us from the torpor which is apt to creep upon the mind after we have become familiarized with the terms and statements of a great question.

Nothing can be so directly contrary to the whole spirit of Christianity as the inhuman and horrible system of slavery. If one act of injustice, wilfully committed, is inconsistent with the character of a Christian, what must be ten thousand? If one injured and oppressed fellow-creature cries against us for redress to the Father of mercies, and cries not in vain, what will the thousands upon thousands do? If an occasional deed of cruelty, prompted by passion, is a provocation in the eyes of a gracious Father, what must a cool, deliberate system of cruelty be? If crimes affecting the health or property of another, though ever so partially, be a breach of the Divine commandments, what must injuries be, affecting the liberty-the whole future well-being-the family- the children of thousands of innocent fellow-creatures consigned to hopeless slavery?

Do we remember what are the plain broad facts of the case? Is it not unquestionable that the WestIndian slaves now in our colonies, were obtained by the fraudulent and unjust rapacity of the slave traffic? Thus the first possession rests on an act of injustice, which every subsequent day of captivity continues and aggravates. The English slaveowner has no more right, in the eye of religion, to retain the unoffend ing African, than an African slaveowner would have to retain a number of Englishmen, if he had made an incursion on our coast, and had carried off our peasants with their wives and children. The poverty, the ignorance, the uncivilized state of Africa, its inability to cope with our force and detect our fraud, only aggravate our enormous guilt; and aggravate it in the exact ratio of our superior knowledge, attainments, power, and advancement in the arts of life.

What, again, are the facts as to the condition of these poor slaves, when landed on the West-Indian islands? Are they treated like men

-like fellow-creatures - like brothers? Are they instructed in the Christian religion? Is the Sabbath allowed them as the day of repose and peace? Is the institution of marriage encouraged? Is their labour moderated by their strength? Are their chains softened and lightened by the general kindness of their masters? Are they placed under the equal protection of the laws? Are the tender bonds of domestic charity respected and preserved? Do they make advances in religion, social order, happiness? Do their numbers increase according to the usual progress of population in other countries? The answer to every one of these questions is -NO.

Our fellow-creatures, our brethren in blood, they are treated as beasts of burden-are delivered over to the absolute will of a slavedriver--are compelled to their daily work by the cart-whip-are forced

in gangs to their excessive and overwhelming toil-are exposed to punishments the most cruel and debasing, at the passion and caprice of another-are branded in the flesh with hot irons-are sold as goods and chattels for the payment of their master's debts--are separated, the one part of their families from another, and sold off to distant owners

are debarred from religious instructions by the Sabbath being the market-day, and the only time allotted for cultivating the patches of land by which they support themselves-marriage almost unknowncruel punishments and overworking in crop-time, with the constant effect of indiscriminate licentiousness, lessening their numbers their testimony not received in courts of law-the possession of property forbidden -the purchase of their liberty made almost impossible! Thus man is the prey of man. The innocent African, first taken from the land of his fathers, is pursued by unrelenting barbarity through his shortened term of life, to à death unrelieved by the Christian's hope.

And all this is done by Englishmen--by the professors of that religion which says, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them." And all this is done by those who acknowledge the Bible to be the word of God, who read the continual woes. pronounced by the Prophets against those who oppress and do unjustly

woes which fill the sacred pages, and which ended in the Babylonish captivity. All this is done by the followers of that Jesus who came to proclaim peace, and mercy, and love; who wept at the grave of Lazarus; who denounced his heaviest threatenings against the oppression and cruelties of the Scribes and Pharisees; and who accomplished his sacrifice upon the cross to redeem all mankind, and break down all differences of race, and teach us that "in Christ Jesus there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor un

circumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free; but Christ is all, and in all."

All this is done, again, by those who read the second great commandment of the Law," Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself;"-who join, in words, in the prayer of the Psalmist, "Let the sorrowful sighing of the prisoners come before thee;"--who hear the Apostle's command, " Masters, give unto your servants that which is just and equal; knowing that you also have a Master in heaven; neither is there respect of persons with him; "who hear his exhortation," Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep: remember those that are in bonds, as bound with them; and them which suffer adversity, as being yourselves also in the body;" -who hear him class men-stealers with murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers; and who read his affectionate language concerning Onesimus, a run-away slave whom he had begotten to the Christian faith at Rome, as "not any longer a servant, but above a servant; a brother beloved, specially to me," says the Apostle to his correspondent Philemon; "but how much more, to thee, both in the flesh and in the Lord? If thou count me therefore as a partner, receive him as myself."

All this is done, finally, by those who profess to believe that at the last solemn day, when masters and slaves will stand before the same tribunal of Christ, works of mercy will be especially produced as the proofs of faith and love. "For I was an hungered, and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink; I was a stranger, and ye took me in; naked, and ye clothed me; I was sick, and ye visited me; I was in prison, and ye came unto

me."

And, what inceases the guilt, all this is supported by a systematic opposition to reform in the colonial assemblies-by an artful and in

dustrious concealment and perversion of facts, false representations and colourable excuses-by a pertinacity and folly which the authority of the king and the resolutions of the British parliament in vain attempt to subdue; and by an infatuation, which bears along the West-Indian body in blindly defending a system in open hostility with every principle of humanity, with every view of just policy, and with every dictate of religion. But this seems the natural effect of great crimes. Obduracy is the just infiction which follows habits of such a character.

It remains for a free and religious nation like England to look the dreadful evil in the face, and to devise the efficacious remedy.

I do not stay to answer the objection that the Christian tolerates such a slavery as prevails in our colonies, because the Jewish law modified the domestic bondage of early times, and stripped it of its most fearful characteristics—an objection which is the strongest possible confutation of itself. Nor do I condescend to refute the cavil, that, because the Apostles enjoined obedience on the first converts who were of the class of slaves, and commanded them to be faithful to their masters (which Christianity now does, oppressed as the Negro slave is), therefore the injunctions of mercy, and justice, and kindness, on masters, and princes, and legislators, (which would at once unloose the chains which we so much abhor,) are null and void! Nor can I with patience hear the unworthy sophism, that because Christianity and some sort of bondage may have co-existed since the first promulgation of the Gospel, therefore the most cruel and inhuman species of slavery ever known, admits of apology as not inconsistent with the Christian faith. Christianity is indignant at such an insinuation. As well might all the vices and evils which have co-existed with Christianity, because men have