of honesty; that it throws down the distinction between the unfortunate and the unworthy, equalises the deserts of the unhappy and the vicious, brings to one level industrious poverty and prodigal dissipation, and throws the reproach of ignorance on the most enlightened mind." We make the following extracts from a very interesting paper in this number, written by Charles Mackay, LL.D. and entitled the "Unity of Great Questions :"

"It is the prime object of the conductors of this journal, as its name indicates, to advance one great principle-that of temperance. Let us see how intimately it is bound up with all the great questions of the present day, how it receives aid from and gives aid to them, and how it springs from the universal law of love, to which we have alluded. The divine Teacher of Christianity announced that God was love, and laid upon us a commandment that we should love our neighbour as we loved ourselves. If mankind had obeyed this beautiful, easy, and sublime injunction, since the time it was made, the misery, the sorrow, the suffering of the world, would long ago have been at an end, and we should have been in the full enjoyment of the millennium. But we have not obeyed it. We have not loved ourselves, except in that selfish and ignorant spirit which was inconsistent with a love for our neighbours. We have thought that we and they were irredeemably and hopelessly wicked as far as this world was concerned, and have done our best to convert that erroneous idea into a positive fact. A change has, however, come over us. We have begun in the present day to love our. selves, and we find that, being in the right way, this love of ourselves is but the preliminary to the love of our neighbours. We have discovered that it is a crime against our bodily and spiritual health, against our worldly prosperity, against our wives and children, to drink spirituous liquors; that alcohol is our enemy; and that it is a wise and good plan to refrain from it altogether. This many of us have done, and it was a wise self-love that taught us to do so. The result of this determination, even while the beneficent reform is but yet in its infancy, is, that many thousands and tens of thousands who were sick are now whole; that as many who were once poor, and ragged, and wretched, are now, if not rich, at least comfortable, decent, and contented; and that as many more who were sunk in ignorance and brutality, have been raised above this degradation, and elevated into the condition of civilized and thoughtful human beings; not altogether well informed who is?-but becoming daily more so, and having a love of knowledge, and a rational and continually increasing enjoyment in procuring it. "Having begun to love ourselves in this manner, we have also begun to find that there are several other modes in which we can love ourselves, with the very happiest results upon our own homes, and upon every one around us. We see that the comfort of cleanliness is very great, and that cleanliness is not only next to godliness, but a part of it. This feeling has led to the practice of the virtue in the home circle, and to the establishment, on the associative principle, of public baths and wash-houses, where the blessings of a clean skin and clean garments can be procured at the lowest prices by the very poorest of the poor. This knowledge again has either been coexistent with, or has led to, an increased knowledge of the structure, functions, and necessities of the body. This, in its turn, has caused us to devote attention to the ventilation and purification of our dwellings, and the removal of filth from the places where numbers of people congregate. As one man, unless he be a rich man, cannot procure these blessings for himself, the question has become a public one, and the HEALTH OF TOWNS has been considered, as it ought to be, a matter of national concern, calling for the prompt and earnest attention of statesmen and legislntors. There is not, we are sure, a single adherent of the cause of temperance, who is not fully impressed with the immense importance of both these subjects, and prepared to aid them to the utmost extent of his ability and opportunities. "The very fact of our loving ourselves in this manner has forced us, or, we should say, has induced us for in love there is no force-to love our neighbour. We aid him in a good cause, and he aids us; and so the principle of love is developed and established between us. His natural equality with us, and the con

sequent equality of all good men, becomes a self-evident truth; and the mind is opened to the reception of any and every exemplification of it that the annals of the past, or the passing occurrences of the present, disclose to us. We hate OPPRESSION; we hate WAR; we love FREEDOM; we love PEACE we know both oppression and war to have their origin in IGNORANCE, we pity ignorance, and sympathise with every effort that is made to remove it.

and as

"The ABOLITION OF SLAVERY' has long been advocated by every good man. The extension of the temperance principle has increased, and must increase, the number of its friends; and who shall define the limits of the aid that the one shall yet afford to the other? Intemperance is moral slavery. Temperance is moral freedom; and moral freedom must, of its very nature, aid both moral and physical emancipation. Wherever there is a man who has taken the temperance pledge, understanding what he has done, and determining to hold fast to it through all the changes of time and circumstance, there shall we find a man who is the friend of the oppressed, whatever may be his colour; and a man who, in the cause of freedom, loves his neighbour as himself, and would do his best to see him righted. So it ever is, and so, from the all-pervading action of the principle of love, it ever must be-proving what we started by saying, that great questions fit into each other, aid each other, and work their way to a simultaneous victory over all that oppose any one of them.

"So again of the great cause of peace. Neither loving ourselves, nor our neighbours, nor our God, we have made war upon each other, to the injury of ourselves and our neighbours, and to the insult and outrage of that God who made us in his own image, and laid his law of love upon us.

'Near, or remote, in cold, or torrid zone,
Each clime has had some hero of its own
To play the fabled Mahadeva's part,

And light Destruction's torch, or hurl its dart.
And still, as one has run his fiery race,
The next has started to supply his place.
An Alexander grasped his sword, and lo!
From half the globe uprose a voice of woe.

A Genghis came, and many a fertile plain

Was drenched with blood, and cumbered with the slain.
A Timour next, and with her bosom rent,

Pale Asia bled through all her vast extent.

A furious Charles, destruction at his heels,

Drove from the north his murderous chariot wheels.

Napoleon flashed upon the world's sad sight,

And blazing towns illumined all the night;

Brave Saragossa fell amid her woe,

The fires of Moscow burnt amid the snow;

And Berezina, by the moon's pale beam,

Poured through her vales a blood-encrimsoned stream.'

"But as the cause of temperance increases, and embraces in its beneficent law those who formerly hated and were jealous of each other, the cause of peace will advance along with it: we shall not lavish all our honours upon fighting men; we shall not think the gainer of the greatest number of battles the greatest of human kind, nor place the successful soldier upon a higher pinnacle of glory than the poet, the philosopher, the chemist, or the mechanician, who have in. creased the sum of human joys, and administered to the gratification and the improvement of their kind. Hating war, we shall avoid occasions for it. We shall not allow the old lie to pass current, that the Frenchman and the Englishman are naturally foes, or encourage miserable and foolish jealousy of any na tion under the sun, whether its people speak our own language or another. The members of the temperance societies of the United States of America, dur. ing the progress of the now happily ended dispute about the Oregon territory, never joined in the outcry of their countrymen. Their voice was for peace. The members of the temperance societies of Great Britain raised their voice in the same cause, and both did much in their own spheres to soften asperity, remove ill will, and cement the brotherhood of nations.

"What other good cause of the many that are now occupying the minds of philanthropists, philosophers, and statesmen, does the cause of temperance not

S

aid? Toleration and the prevalence of Christian charity? It increases both. The diffusion of knowledge? That cause has no surer support. The elevation of the masses in social comfort? It is its especial object. Their elevation in the political scale? It cannot fail of that result. The diffusion of brotherly love over all the world? None but the intemperate can indulge in hatred. The extension of art, commerce, science, and literature? All are alike advanced by it; and it is the most hopeful sign of the present times, that such a reform has spread so rapidly, and has so many ramifications. Great truths are indeed so blended and interfused with each other, that they cannot be separated: all are portions of the Infinite, and work together to the infinite good of humanity.”

The Silent Pastor; or Consolations for the Sick. By T. Sadler, Ph.D. London: Chapman, Brothers, 121, Newgate Street. Pp. 128. We have read this interesting little volume with much pleasure, and, we trust also, with considerable profit. Books of this character, and written for the same purpose, are multiplying upon us, yet the fountain from which each draws its treasures of light and peace and hope is far from being exhausted. We have read the works of Jonathan Farr and Jonathan Cole; and these writers have, indeed, faithfully and lovingly ministered to the consolation of the afflicted. Our impression was, that they had left almost nothing more to be said; but we, nevertheless, gratefully welcome to the sick room every succeeding visiter, who enters with the love of Christ on his lips and in his heart. Dr. Sadler appropriately dedicates his book to his mother, "to whom," says he, "I owe more than any other living friend, and who has long borne, and is still bearing with exemplary patience and fortitude, one of those severe illnesses with which our Heavenly Father sometimes sees fit to exercise us."

The volume contains a lengthened introductory paper on "The Christian view of Sickness," and a selection of appropriate prayers, psalms, and hymns. We select the following hymn by Longfellow :

GOD'S ACRE.

I like that ancient Saxon phrase, which calls
The burial ground God's Acre ! it is just;

It consecrates each grave within its walls

And breathes a benison o'er the sleeping dust.

God's Acre! yes, that blessed name imparts

Comfort to those who in the grace have sown
The seed that they had garnered in their hearts,
Their bread of life, alas! no more their own.

Into its furrows shall we all be cast

In the sure faith that we shall rise again
At the great harvest, when the archangel's blast
Shall winnow, like a fan, the chaff and grain.
Then shall the good stand in immortal bloom,
In the fair gardens of that second birth;
And each bright blossom mingle its perfume
With that of flowers that never bloomed on earth.

With thy rude ploughshare, Death, turn up the sod,
And spread the furrow for the seed we sow;
This is the field and acre of our God,

This is the place where human harvests grow.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE IRISH UNITARIAN MAGAZINE.

DEAR SIR, I forward an extract, which I have been kindly permitted to take from the letter of a young gentleman in Monte Video to his brother in England. It sets forth in a simple and earnest manner, the value of teetotalism to those who have been using intoxicating drinks moderately-and the good which their self-denial, in this respect, may do to others, as well as to themselves. Hitherto the attention of the public has chiefly been drawn to total abstinence, as needful for the drunkard; and moderate drinkers, when invited to consider the principle, and embrace it, have commonly replied that they have no occasion to do so, for they can use wine and spirits in moderation, and are in no danger of going to excess. Now it seems to me very obvious, that the intemperance which overwhelms our country, is sustained and perpetuated by the moderate drinkers-the respectable men and women of all ranks, with the ministers of religion at their head, who sanction the drinking custom by their practice. The drunkard, a wretched, degraded outcast-the sad wreck of all that noble and beautiful in humanity, would rather deter the young and uninitiated from the use of strong drink; but fashion, religion, social and domestic converse, throw around it their powerful influence, and thus it is eagerly sought by the multitude, who know not, or heed not its insidious, and often fatal, effects. Let the moderate drinkers abandon an indulgence which is at best useless, but generally pernicious. The very act of self-denial will in itself, be a good thing: it will tend to strengthen good feelings, to guard virtue, and foster piety; and may be instrumental in reclaiming some who otherwise might pursue the path of drunkenness and ruin. One unfortunate brother thus reclaimed, one Christian grace thus protected and cherished, will afford more real happiness than the use of intoxicating drinks has ever produced.—I am, dear sir, yours faithfully,

it

HOLYWOOD, March 8, 1847.

C. J. M'ALISTER.

"I have now, my dear John, at last to ask a favour from you I have been long meditating to do, which is, that you will adopt the resolution to become a teetotaler, and give up all wines, spirits, or fermented liquors. I assure you, I attach more importance to this step than if you got £1,000 put into the concern. I have seen the infinite advantage of my doing so, and you are aware it is now more than twelve months since I adopted it. The example in this house has been attended with the most happy results; it has reclaimed a most valuable clerk, and it has, most certainly, caused myself to be more respected: it has been no privation, and it has given, I feel sure, the utmost pleasure to my parents, and to me it has been a source of the very greatest pleasure. My head has been clear; my feelings, I may almost say, serene; I have imperceptibly and by degrees become less of a sinner, and by consequence a better Christian; I feel, at any rate, an honester and more upright man than I was, and that I am at least coming more nearly to that application of my talents for which they were given to me as an accountable creature.

"I feel assured the spread of temperance in England, has, by this time, become so general, that you can do it without feeling the slightest annoyance, mixing in general society; and of the very few who may laugh or sneer, certainly the very same people, secretly and inwardly, cannot help respecting the resolution carried out by others, which they have not the courage themselves to attempt.

"I can assure you, you will find it far more easy to succeed in your business, if you follow it up with temperance and a cool judgment, and you will also feel an honourable pride in seeing the fruits of your labour thus accumulating; you will become a good and useful member of society, and more disposed to acts of charity, a virtue far too much neglected by us both.

"Now I beg of you not to laugh at, or ridicule these thoughts of mine. I know I am a very bad hand at sermonising, for I must not forget the beam in my own eye whilst I am preaching about the mote in my brother's; but I wish you to consider me seriously in earnest, and that my object is to persuade you at once to adopt the total abstinence system. Your affectionate brother, "H. C. S.

"MONTE VIDEO, November 17, 1846."

TO THE EDITOR OF THE IRISH UNITARIAN MAGAZINE.

DEAR SIR, With this, please receive my second letter on "Ocean. Penny Postage." If you can find a corner for it, its insertion will confer a favour. I am, yours truly,

OCEAN PENNY POSTAGE.

ELIHU BURRITT.

Of all nations upon earth, England alone is able to establish an Ocean Penny Postage.

If merely a brilliant abstraction, or splendid conception of genius, were neces sary to effect an enterprise of vast consequence to mankind, then it would be of slight importance to ascertain the physical strength, the pecuniary means, the rank in society, or even the locality, of the man from whose mind the great idea was to originate. But when the necessities of the age require a stupendous work to be done, which must involve, in its execution, not only the concentrated energies and affluence of a well-developed mind, but also the most vigorous exercise of the powers of a well-developed body, a work which not only requires the combination of these two classes of executive faculties in one man, but in a man occupying a particular rank in society, a particular location of residence, and a particular range of influence and pecuniary means, then all these qualities of condition and ability become indispensable. The very rareness of their combination in one person, involves the person who possesses them in a responsibility from which he cannot escape.

The social tendencies and commercial necessities of mankind are converging into the want of an Ocean Penny Postage. To meet this world's want must be the work of one nation, in order to give an energetic integrity to the enterprise : and that nation must be distinguished from all others by its relative position, its physical constitution, the character and position of its population, the genius of its language, its industrial and commercial economy, the constitution of its government, its material wealth and pecuniary resources, its present and prospective relations with the rest of the world. All these distinctive qualities are indispensable in the nation upon which this vast enterprise must devolve. If America or China possessed them all but one, without that one, neither of them could do this work for the world. If the steam and other mercantile navy of America were ten times its present tonnage, it could not send ocean postmen to England, to take England's letters to Alexandria, Bombay, Calcutta, or to any seaport of India or China. If China had a steam navy of more tonnage than all the navies of the rest of the world put together, she could not carry the letters of England and France to America. Both those nations, and all others similarly situated, must for ever lack the faculties of local position, which England alone possesses, to establish an Ocean Penny Postage.