The nation that shall work out this desideratum of the age must be singularly qualified for the undertaking, by the conformity of the genius of its population to the physical constitution of its territory; both of which must distinguish it from any other race and country. It is not enough that it be planted in the sea, upon a small island, and apparently compelled to provide for its wants by a commerce with distant and continental countries: nor is it enough that its population should increase by a ratio unparalled in the propagation of the human species. Both of these conditions might exist, and, instead of creating commerce, or commercial relations, end only in an annual exportation of the annual increase of population, or by cutting down the number of consumers to the crops of the island. A commercial necessity does not create a commercial genius. A sea-girt country does not, in itself, make a seafaring people. It is very probable, that, if the island of Great Britain were occupied by the Spanish, German, Russian, or even French nation, none of them would possess a larger mercantile navy than it does in its present location. It is not the insular position of Great Britain, nor any quality of its island territory, that has made the English race the most commercial people on earth. If her island had been expanded to the compass of a territory as large as the American continent, and the whole world had been dependent upon her for agricultural productions, she would probably have been as much distinguished for her commercial character and navy as she is now. Look at the United States, peopled more entirely by the English race than Great Britain itself. With an agricultural region capa. ble of feeding the whole population of the globe, the tonnage of the mercantile navy nearly equals that of all the nations of Europe, with the exception of England. The constitutional genius of the English race, and the physical constitution and condition of the island of Great Britain, blend into that gigantic ability which England alone possesses, to establish an Ocean Penny Postage. The nation that shall open a new cycle of human improvement, by a work of such vast consequence to mankind, must have more means and motives of communication with every part of the globe than any other people, and infinitely more of both than appertain to the interests of commerce. It must be under a more than commercial necessity of sending and receiving across the ocean more letters than any other people. And England, as I shall hereafter attempt to demonstrate, is under a necessity, stronger than the interests of commerce, of sending and receiving across the ocean, not only more letters than any other nation, but more than all other nations of the earth put together. If this position may be sustained by unimpeachable facts, then it will be assumed as the basis of the argument, by which I shall try to prove that England alone is able, and owes it to herself and the world, to establish an Ocean Penny Postage. INTELLIGENCE. SYMPATHY AMONG ENGLISH UNITA. RIANS FOR THE POOR IN IRELAND. SINCE Our last publication, we have had many gratifying proofs, from our brethren, in England, of their sympathy with the sufferings of our multitudinous poor. There was a wish expressed by a correspondent of the London Inquirer, to have a Unitarian Fund for this purpose; but we are much better pleased with the manner in which our friends are proceeding, namely, by making collections in their several congregations, and sending aid without any explanations as to their religious creed. These explanatory epithets are unnecessary on such occasions. They do not, in the slightest degree, affect the value of the money which is trans. mitted along with them. It is enough to know, that the succour comes from persons whose hearts are alive to the claims of the destitute, and who are ready, also, to acknowledge their responsibilities as Christians. In the mean time, we are happy to record the following collections, from the pages of the Inquirer, and we hope that friends in other places may express their pathy in a similar manner : ancient chapel of Toxteth, near Liverpool, by the Rev. John Robberds, B. A. in behalf of the distressed Irish, after which a collection was made, amounting to upwards of £90. EDINBURGH.-On Sunday, January 31, the Rev. R. Shaen preached a sermon on behalf of the destitute Irish, to the congregation in Clyde-street Hall, where, after morning and afternoon services, the collection amounted to somewhat more than £15. LANCASTER.-On Sunday, the 7th Feb. the Rev. J. H. Hope delivered a discourse in the Presbyterian Chapel of this town, in behalf of the destitute and starving Irish. Immediately after the discourse a collection was made. The sum obtained amounted to £22 5s. 6d. including a small subscription which was cheerfully proffered by the pupils at present attending the Sunday School. GLOUCESTER. At the Unitarian Chapel, Gloucester, two excellent sermons were preached by the Rev. Wm. Smith, of Cheltenham, on behalf of the distressed Irish, and collections made amounting to the sum of £19 15s. 6d. WARWICK, HIGH-STREET CHAPEL. sym-Two sermons were preached in this chapel on Sunday, February 7, in behalf of the distressed people of Ireland: that in the morning by the Rev. J. C. Woods, late of Belfast; that in the evening by the minister of the chapel. The collections amounted to £14. LITTLE CARTER-LANE, LONDON.The sum of £131 16s., subscribed by the minister, several members of the Presbyterian congregation, Little Carter-lane, London, and a few other friends, to the fund for the relief of the poor Irish, has been transmitted to the Central General Relief Committee, Dublin. BRISTOL.-LEWIN'S-MEAD MEETING. A collection was made in this place of worship, in behalf of the starv. ing Irish, when £188 were obtained. It should be observed, that above £200 had also been contributed by members of the society to the general subscription in the town for the same object. OLD MEETING-HOUSE, BIRMING HAM.-On Sunday, January 31, two sermons were preached in this place, morning and evening, by the Rev. Hugh Hutton, M.A. on behalf of the famishing population of Ireland. The united collections amounted to £104, including contributions from the teachers and pupils of the Sunday Schools, to the extent of £4 5s. LIVERPOOL.-On Sunday, January 31, a sermon was preached in the LEWES. On Sunday evening, Jan. 31, a sermon was preached at the Westgate Chapel, by the Rev. S. Wood, B.A. in behalf of the destitute Irish, and a collection made, amounting to £12 3s. 6d. which was transmitted to the Ladies' Association at Belfast. NORTON.--Amongst our notices of collections on behalf of the destitute Irish last week, we accidentally dropped out that of a collection made at Norton, near Stockton, by the Rev. J. M.Dowell, which reached the very handsome sum of £10. OLD MEETING-HOUSE, SIDMOUTH. -On Sunday, February 7, collections were made in this place of worship in aid of the funds for the relief of distress in Ireland and Scotland, amounting with subsequent contributions to £70. LEWIN'S-MEAD CHAPEL, BRISTOL. -We have been requested to state, that the collection made at Lewin's Mead Chapel, on the 31st January, in answer to the appeal of the Rev. George Armstrong, who availed himself of deeply affecting details, contained in private letters he had received from Ireland, amounted to upwards of £190, a large contribution by members of this congregation having been previously given to the General Bristol Fund. Of the above sum, £60 have been transmitted by Mr. Armstrong to connexions of his own residing in Ireland, in the midst of awful distress; and the residue has been placed in the hands of the Society of Friends. KIDDERMINSTER.-The amount collected at the Unitarian Chapel here, for the poor of Ireland and Scotland, amounted to more than £36. NORWICH.-A Sermon was preached at the Octagon Chapel, by the Rev. Joseph Crompton, M.A. on behalf of the distressed Irish and Scotch, when the collection amounted to £85 ls. 10дd. Several of the collections for the relief of Irish destitution made in the Unitarian Chapels in England have been wholly, or in part, entrusted to the Belfast Ladies' Association. We notice the following sums thus be stowed: 5 0 0 15 6 Paradise Street, Liverpool, remitted KNUTSFORD.-On Sunday, Feb. 14, a collection was made in the Unitarian Chapel, Knutsford, in behalf of the distressed poor of Ireland. The sum received amounts to £36 1s. A feeling universally prevailed, that while compassionating the urgent necessities of the Irish poor, the people of England ought not to be taxed for their relief until the landlords and wealthier classes of Ireland contribute equally with the English to all the burdens of the State, including the Property, Income, Assessed, and all other taxes, and especially including a rate for the poor. CHELTENHAM.-Two excellent sermons were preached in the Unitarian Church, Bays-hill, Cheltenham, by the Rev. William Smith, minister of the congregation, on behalf of the dis. tressed Irish, and collections made, amounting to £8. DOVER.-On Sunday, Feb. 7, at the General Baptist Church, after a sermon preached by the Rev. J. L. Short, the sum of £5 5s. was collected and paid to the Rev. W. Hincks, to be forwarded to the Central General Relief Committee, Dublin, for the relief of the destitute Irish. LITTLE PORTLAND-STREET CHAPEL. On Sunday last a collection was made for the suffering Irish, after a sermon by the Rev. E. Tagart, when £115 were obtained. It must not be overlooked, that many of the society had already subscribed liberally to public and private funds for the same object. TENTERDEN.-The Rev. Edw. Talbot, of Tenterden, preached a sermon in aid of the suffering Irish. A subscription was subsequently entered into, and £51 Os. 6d. raised. The congregation, by way of marking their approval and gratitude to the Society of Friends, for their timely, energetic, and self-denying benevolence in this pressing emergency, and because they had full confidence in their practical wisdom and discretion, resolved to place their contribution at the disposal of the Central Relief Committee in Dublin, organized by that body. MAIDSTONE.-A collection was made at the Earl-street Chapel, Maidstone, on Sunday, Feb. 14, after a sermon delivered by the Rev. W. Stevens, on behalf of the destitute Irish, and the sum of £27 2s. 6d. has been forwarded to the British Association for the relief of extreme distress in the remote parishes of Ireland and Scotland. HORSHAM. The General Baptist Congregation here have made a collection, amounting to £20 7s. 6d. in behalf of their suffering fellow-creatures in Ireland, and remitted it to the Committee of the Ladies' Association, Belfast. On Sunday, 21st Feb. a sermon was delivered, by the Rev. W. Bowen, M. A. in the Unitarian Chapel, Parklane, Cradely, near Stourbridge, after which the very liberal sum of £63 was collected, in aid of the destitute Irish and Scotch.-Birmingham and Midland Counties' Herald. A sermon was preached by the Rev. J. H. Thom, at the Unitarian Chapel, Renshaw Street, on behalf of the poor Irish and Scotch, and the sum of £360 was afterwards collected, in the chapel, for their relief.-Liverpool Mercury. BOSTON. The sum of £42 7s. 6d. collected by the Rev. J. Malcolm, among the members of the Unitarian congregation, Boston, has been forwarded partly to the British Association, and partly to the Belfast Ladies' Association, for the relief of Irish destitution. NEW-ROAD CHAPEL, BRIGHTON.A sermon was preached by the Rev. J. P. Malleson, on behalf of the starving Irish and Scotch. The collection amounted to £29 12s. Several members of the congregation had previously contributed to this cause through other channels. NORTHAMPTON. The first anniversary of the Christian congregation meeting in Dychurchlane, Northampton, was celebrated on Sunday, January 31, on which occasion a sermon was preached, in the morning, by the Rev. Henry Ierson, M.A. in his own chapel, on "Earnest and Rational Inquiry the only Barrier to Scepticism;" and, in the evening, by Mr. Joseph Barker, at the Unitarian Chapel, King Street, on True Religion." The audiences, on both occasions, were very large, especially in the evening, when very many were obliged to go away, the vestry and the aisles even being crowded. Mr. Barker's discourse was a beautiful and powerful exposition of the practical character of true religion. Collections were made in both chapels in aid of the funds of the congregation, who, with their minister, Mr. Ierson, having seceded from a Baptist church in this town, have incurred considerable expense in fitting up a place where they may worship God and unfold his word, according to the dictates of their own conscience. Though the expenditure has been on the most economical scale, still the amount is large in proportion to the means of this small but zealous flock. On the following evening, the anniversary was further celebrated by a public meeting, in the Temperance-hall, at which Mr. Ierson presided. The Chairman, and the Rev. W. A. Jones, and Mr. Joseph Barker, addressed the meeting. Mr. Barker spoke at considerable length, and with his usual power and eloquence. There were about five hundred persons pre. sent, and the impression made was, there is reason to believe, of a most pleasing and most profitable character. UNITARIAN CHAPEL. Upwards of 150 persons took tea together, at the Black Friars' Chapel, in Bridport, on Tuesday last. The company was addressed by the minister, the Rev. Robert Maclellan, and other speakers, in remarks of a social and elevating tendency; and some sacred music was performed, under the superintendence of Mr. Thomas Clark, the celebrated composer, which afforded con. siderable pleasure to all present. When we call to mind the great service rendered to religion, to literature, to science, and to political and civil freedom, by Unitarians, in the persons of Locke, Milton, Newton, Priestley, Lardner, and, not to mention other names, is still being rendered by men of that denomination, amongst those most foremost in the work of human improvements in the present day, we can but rejoice, that, setting aside the evident advancement of their principles, their value, as a body, to society, is being respected, and their sentiments are being investigated to a greater extent than ever. This is as it should be. Success attend all efforts to arrive at, and to advance the truth, and may the conscientious inquirer always meet with respect and encouragement! NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS. "THE WORLD'S TEMPERANCE CONVENTION" in our next. We hope the respected writer will excuse us for delaying the publication of his interesting paper. The delay is unavoidable. We thank "L. R." and “T. B. L." Dublin, for their excellent contributions. It is requested, that all communications intended for insertion in the Irish Unitarian Magazine, will be forwarded, not later than the 10th of the preceding month (if by post, prepaid), to the Rev. George Hill, Crumlin, County Antrim; and books, &c. for review, to 28, Rosemary-street, Belfast. MEN, in speaking and in writing, but especially in speaking, are occasionally in the habit of using the figure of speech called “ Hyperbole ;" or, in other words, in order to give weight to their statements, they are apt to express more than they really intend to convey. Instances of this are often to be met with even in the Scriptures. I am aware that many estimable persons, on meeting with texts of the class to which I refer, are in the habit of ridiculing them as visionary, incredible, and utterly impracticable, whereas, did they comprehend their real import and make due allowance for the figurative language employed in ancient times and in Eastern countries, they would feel and acknowledge that they are reasonable, satisfactory, and altogether deserving of respect. 1. The first passage to which I shall refer is to be found in the Book of Jeremiah, 13 chap. and 23 v., "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good that are accustomed to do evil." Now, this verse, as it here stands, represents the Deity himself as speaking in hyperbolical terms.—He declares that it is as difficult and hopeless a matter for an evil-doer to reform his life as for an Ethiopian to change the colour of his skin, or a leopard to alter the arrangement of his spots. Now, for an Ethiopian to do the one, or a leopard to do the other, is utterly impossible, but is it impossible for a sinner to repent and amend? Most assuredly not; yet, this passage, if taken literally, would assert it to be so, and that, too, on the authority of God himself. You cannot but perceive that the words here employed are somewhat hyperbolical, and express more than was really intended to be conveyed. Reason naturally and consistently explains the passage. It tells us that as it is impossible for an Ethiopian to change the hue of his complexion, so is it very difficult, but not impossible, for the T |