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to that momentous object; but the popular motto of ships, colonies, and commerce" is in general so grievously dissociated from questions of religious obligation, that it is not often we see statistics and price-currents connected with loftier thoughts, and more solemn calculations, than those of finance, exchange, and merchandise. Either Mr. Martin is a bold Christian man, or the appetite of those for whom he designs his "Commercial Maritime Journal" is considered by him to be much more healthy than we fear it was wont to be within living memory; seeing that at the outset of a publication of this character he dares to urge the duty-which he esteems to be also sound policy—of endeavouring to promote Christianity, nay, "church establishments, "throughout the British dependencies. The very name of religion in the pages of a "Colonial Magazine" would heretofore have been accounted, in some high commercial circles, folly, fanaticism, or worse; and to speak of extending church establishments to them, would have as dreadfully alarmed the

nerves or excited the bile of not a few West Indian planters, and their London consignees-to say nothing of English gentlemen in India or Leadenhall Street-as it doubtless will those of Mr. Hume, when he bethinks him of the perils which will menace the Canadas "and Australia, should Mr. Martin's lucubrations find their way thither.

As our notions do not coincide with those of Mr. Hume in this and many other matters, we will extract a portion of Mr. Martin's remarks, which we consider excellent, monitory, and well-timed. He says:

"If ever there were a period, in the progress of England, from the first implanting of Christianity on its shores, to

the present day, when religion-true, vital, soul-saving religion-were more essential to the maintenance of established government, and to the temporal· as well as the eternal happiness of

individuals, it is the commercial, gainseeking, self-absorbing period now before us.

"We pause not to indicate the causes which lead to that intense thirst for wealth to that unceasing activity of the mind for worldly advantages-to that unmitigated pressure of bodily toil -which leaves man no time for reflection, no leisure for abstraction from the harassing anxieties of daily life, no momentary reprieve from the miseries attendant on a protracted feverish struggle for the maintenance of a position in society, or for the diurnal bread necessary to family or individual existence. these results, and to entreat of all who "It is sufficient for our object to mark desire the permanence of the British empire, to reflect that such a course of civilization must have a rapid and fatal termination. Unless religion be an abiding motive for every thought and action, the rise of prosperity in an individual or in a nation will but serve to measure the height of its fall; and riches and honours will be but the gilding which adorns the sepulchre, to conceal the rottenness within the tomb.

"It is one of the many blessings of Christianity, that while softening and alleviating the cares incident to life, it gives a quickening impulse to man's energies, and adds a tenfold vigour to every enterprise which has for its main

object the welfare of our fellow-creatures.

And now, when burdened with distress at home, and seeking relief by planting distant colonies abroad, can we expect a favourable issue to our efforts, however herculean, unless a religious principle pervade our minds and guide our

counsels ?

"Religion is far more necessary for the maintenance of mankind in society than any form of government: the latter, devoid of religion, would be mainly effective by brute force, and by the terror which its punishments inspired; the former moulds the human being into a social creature, identifies his interests with those of others around him, and

by consentaneousness of thought, gives

a firmness and force to all acts emanating from authority for the commonweal.

"The monarchical government which attempted to maintain rule without the aid of a church establishment, would share the same fate as the Robesperian council; the delusive dream of worshipping a self created goddess of Reason would soon vanish; and the people, in

returning into the fold of Christianity, would crush to atoms the false shepherds who betrayed them to the wolves of anarchy and ruin.

"We do not propose now entering into the opposite side of the question, as to the advantages which the church derives from its connexion with the state; or how the disadvantages supposed to be attendant on such connexion may be obviated; our present object has reference to the necessity which the government itself labours under of maintaining, ay, of even drawing closer its connexion with an established form of religion-now that political freedom is advancing, and numerous young and dependent governments are being founded by the parent state in every part of the globe. A despotism-whether it be that of a single ruler, or of many rulers -is less dependent on a connexion with a church establishment than a monarchical or constitutional government. The despot, or despots, rule by brute force; the will of one or two predominates, and that will enforces its decrees by military power. Despotism is, therefore, not only to a great extent independent of a connexion with a religious establishment; but as it alike disregards all religions, it is also tolerant of all creeds, and protective of all systems, so long as they do not interfere with the political power of the state. But the case is widely different with a free, constitutional government; it must adopt one or other of the prevailing forms of religion, and having incorporated itself with that creed which it believes to be true, it is bound to uphold it paramount in civil as well as ecclesiastical power; to maintain the supremacy of the church by law established; and, while allowing freedom of conscience to all, granting only to the disciples of that church the delegated authority which the sovereign government can alone confer.

"The very term free government, while it implies toleration to all in their respective modes of worship, implies also a freedom to choose as a government its own form of religion; and the power which gives to the government freedom of choice imparts also the power necessary for its preservation : premising, of course, that the government of a Christian country deems it requisite to profess and act on some settled form of religion.

"If the government of England be a free government, representing the opinions of a majority of the intelligence, virtue, and wealth of the kingdom and that majority be of the Protestant faith-then, as a Christian government, it is bound to uphold and expand the

form of faith, and system of religion, which its represents. But the free nature of the government, although it enjoins toleration to all other creeds, does not necessarily enjoin propagation of all other creeds; such a course of action must end in the extinction of the government and nation that adopts it.

"Is that permanent individuality, termed the state, to be devoid of any religious principle? Is its form of civil polity to be based on a Socratinian or Platonic code of morals-or is it to be founded on revelation? If the former, then any junction with religion might perhaps be dispensed with for some time, if all men in the state were like Socrates or Plato; if the latter, then some system of religion, based on divine revelation, must become the avowed principle of the state, as well as of any single Christian individual in that state. Well, then, if religion be an inherent part of the government or state, is the state religion to be the prevailing form of religion in the majority or minority of individuals composing the single body called the state? It seems to be forgotten that one of the main differences between a republic and a monarchy is, that in the one the voice of the majority of mouths, whether they be right or wrong, govern; the minority, however large, however intelligent, honest, and wealthy, have no alternative but to bow to decrees, which they may know to be unjust, and destructive of the common weal in the other, (monarchy,) intelligence, virtue, and property, regulate the state. Questions are not decided by the number of voices, but by the reason of some several heads; and therefore, in choosing a religion for the state, or in adopting a principle of government, it is not the mere majority of individuals in a nation that regulate its affairs, but the majority of intellect and wealth, honestly and patriotically exercised. England, for instance, is a Christian monarchy, but if the voice of the majority of inhabitants living in subjection to that monarchy were to be asked whether they would consent to have the state Christian, there would be an overpowering negative. The subjects of the British throne are in number about one hundred and thirty millions! of these little more than 30,000,000 are nominally Christians; 25,000,000 are Mahomedans; of Buddhists or Jews there are 10,000,000; of Hindoos, 40,000,000; and of Pagans, of various denominations, there are about 25,000,000. Now, if the religion of the majority of inhabitants in a nation should be the religion of the state, (or head of that nation,) then ought the religion of the

British government to be Hindooism: for by the act of parliament of 1833, conferring the government of British India on the East India company for a series of years, the natives of British India, of every cast, creed, and colour, are declared to be 'British subjects.' Thus it will be seen to what absurd lengths an erroneous proposition may be pushed, and it is thus only that we can recognize truth from error. A true principle can never be converted into an absurdity; a false principle, or a mixture of truth and falsehood, must, when extended to ultimates, be found absurd and impracticable.

"If then, England, as a Christian country, is to go on extending colonies over the face of the globe, she is also bound to extend her religion-the religion of the state. Heretofore we have acted as if our only duty was to get rid of and expatriate our surplus population, without any care what became of them, so as the narrow boundaries of this island were freed from their injurious pressure on subsistence.

"But surely there ought to be felt some degree of national responsibility. Has a state no conscience? It would seem not. When the first settlements of convicts was being formed on the shores of Botany Bay in 1787, then an eight months' voyage, and the uttermost extremity of the earth,'-the whole expedition, consisting of eleven sail of ships, with two years provisions on board, and containing 565 male and 192 female convicts, a governor, with upwards of 200 troops, (as a guard,) and their wives and children, were on the point of being despatched from England to found a settlement at the antipodes for the refuse of our goals and prison-houses, without a single minister of religion being deemed necessary; and it was only by the urgent and pressing intreaties of a good man, the Rev. Richard Johnson, through the influence of Sir Joseph Banks and Bishop Porteus, that the government tardily and reluctantly assented to Mr. Johnson accompanying the expedition; while on landing no measures were adopted that could, in the slightest degree, indicate whether a Pagan or Christian government had taken possession of the country, and founded a new empire. Few indeed could be the expected blessings from such a commencement, and hopeless would it be to expect that transportation would reform the guilty offender, when he was denied all means of returning within the pale of that merciful faith which, by his crimes, he had once rejected.

"Upwards of half a century has rolled CHRIST. OBSERV. No. 28.

away, and we are still manifesting the same culpable apathy, the same criminal indifference to the spiritual welfare of our fellow-citizens, and, had we not the following fact recorded by Judge Burton, in his recent work on Religion and Education in New South Wales,' we would have hesitated to believe in its truth. 'A settlement has been recently established at Port Essington, on the north-west coast of New Holland; the expedition left England about a year ago, under command of Sir John Gordon Bremmer, in his Majesty's ship Alligator, accompanied by the Britomart, Lieut. Stanley commander, and consisting of 500 souls, unprovided with any minister of religion! There was no clergyman at the disposal of the Bishop of Australia when the expedition reached Sydney on its way to the intended settlement, but his lordship furnished it with such means as were in his power; he caused a temporary church to be erected for them, and Bibles, Prayer-Books, and other religious publications, to be supplied to Sir J. Bremmer.' [Judge Burton's work, page 2.]

We call on this nominally and professing Christian country to awake from its shameful indifference to religion; we tell them that there are subjects of vital importance for man's temporal and eternal welfare which have been utterly neglected, and that an awful responsibility awaits our present and future course of action. Land and emigration boards are being formed, the soil of the dark coloured heathen is being seized, and the white heathen is driving him from the land of his forefathers, without building up the slightest real Christian fabric. Every acre of land in every new colony should have a tenth of its produce set apart for the maintenance of an established church, and every township should have a portion of its area reserved for education in unison with the principles of that established church. Those lands are crown lands; the crown professes to uphold an estabfished form of religion; but its professions are worse than useless, unless efficient measures be taken to carry those professions into action. The Protestants of England, Ireland, and Scotland ought to unite as one person, to enforce, if it be necessary, the formation and maintenance of an established church in each of our colonies. If the limbs become diseased when the frame of the body is enfeebled, the malady must soon reach the heart. All classes of Dissenters are interested in the maintenance of an established church; beneath its shelter only can they have

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repose and freedom; and were the Protestant church abolished to-morrow, they would find the Romanist church, which would inevitably succeed it, very different in its exercise of civil as well as ecclesiastical polity."

that in the often rapid changes of political shuffling, we have had many secretaries of state for the colonies, who, at their accession to office, and some who, at their exit, did not even know the very names of the British dependencies whose affairs they undertook to administer; and much less their respective laws, habits, interests, statistics, and moral or religious condition. Lest any of our readers should remain in the same condition, we will copy from some observations annexed to a petition addressed by Mr. Martin in 1837 to the House of Commons, recommending the establishment of an administrative Board for the management of colonial affairs, the following summary.

"The territories under the management, control, and protecting care and patronage of the Secretary of state, are:

"In North America.-Canada, Upper and Lower, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Prince Edward's Island, Cape Breton, and Newfoundland: area, 435,000 square miles, or 279,400,000 acres, with

These passages present important "materials for thinking." In a religious view our widely-spread colonies have been disgracefully neglected; nor indeed can we say much as to their uniform good management in other respects; but there is this difference between the two cases, that with regard to secular concerns, the mother state has considered it her duty to do her best, though bad it has often been; but that with regard to religion, her maxim has been pretty much to do as little as possible; regarding it as a matter too great or too little for her care; above or below her superintendence. Nor can we wonder that, if statesmen do not feel very stringently the responsibility before God which rests upon them in this behoof,they should be glad, in the overwhelming multiplicity of colonial affairs, to avoid as much as possible all reference to a question which it is admitted involves some points of difficulty and perplexity. If they can persuade themselves that it is allowable to be indifferent upon the subject, and still more if they dad, Tobago, Grenada, St. Vincent, Barare pleased to think that the promotion of religion is not within their province, and that the less statesmen notice it in any way the better, they have abundant excuse in the pressure of business which must be transacted, to avoid wasting their time or strength upon "theological whimsies." It is little known to the public how weighty is the daily amount of colonial administration; and it is a mystery to those who are better informed, how it ever chances to be transacted; except upon the satirist's solution of the little skill or care that

is necessary for the government of nations. We seriously believe

a population of one million and a half of white colonists. [Independent of the foregoing, Hudson Bay territories extend over 370,000 square miles.]

"In South America.-Demerara, Essequibo, Berbice, Honduras, and the Falkland Isles; area 165,000 square miles, or 105,600,000 acres, with a population of 120,000.

"In the West Indies.-Jamaica, Trini

badoes, St. Lucia, Dominica, Antigua, Barbadoes, Montserrat, Nevis, St. Kitts, Anguilla, Tortola and the Virgin Isles,

New Providence and the Bahama Islands, St. George's and the Bermuda Isles;

area 13,000 square miles, or 7,720,000 acres; population, 1,000,000.

"In Africa.-The Cape of Good Hope, Mauritius, Mahé and the Seychelle Islands, St. Helena, Ascension, Sierra

Leone, the Gambia, Accra, Cape Coast, &c.; area, 250,000 square miles, or 160,000,000 acres; population, 350,000 Van Dieman's Land, Swan River, King "In Austral-Asia.-New South Wales, George's Sound, South Australia, Norfolk Island, &c.; area, 500,000 square miles, or 320,000,000 acres : population, 120,000.

"In Asia. Ceylon; area, 24,644 square miles, or 11,771,160 acres : population, 1,000,000.

"In Europe.-Gibraltar, Malta, Gozo, Corfu, Cephalonia, Zante, Santa Maura, Ithaca, Paxo, Cerigo, &c. and Heligo

land; area, 1,500 square miles, or 1,000,000 acres; population, 400,000. "Total under the Colonial Secretary. 1,750,000 square miles, equal to 1,120,000,000 acres, with a population of at least 5,000,000 of British subjects, and daily increasing. The languages used in these different colonies embrace the English, French, Dutch, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Greek, Maltese, Cingalese,

&c. The laws are more or less based

on the customs of the different nations from whom these languages are derived, and from whom we obtained the possessions. The religions embrace the English Episcopalian, Dutch Lutheran, Roman Catholic, and Greek churches, with various shades of Pagan idolatry and forms of worship. The value of the maritime commerce of the above-mentioned possessions is, in the aggregate, £35,000,000 per annum; and the value of the property, public and private, moveable and immoveable, in lands, houses, roads, forts, canals, ships, trading stock, and horses, oxen, sheep, &c. is £450,000,000! all

confided to the responsibility of a single individual, who has no permanency of office, and no local knowledge of the vast interests committed to his care."

When we look over this list (which of course does not include India, that being under a special administration), and remember the sarcastic remark of a colonial ex-Secretary of State, that of all these vast possessions," one colony only was in a state of tranquillity— Heligoland," we cannot much wonder that public functionaries have sometimes allowed affairs to go on with as much of routine and as little of volunteer energy as possible; but we are surprised that the people of England have been so long content to have it so. We say nothing of this apathy in relation to questions of politics, commerce, and jurisprudencethese we gladly consign to statesmen; but we deeply deplore the indifference of so many of our countrymen, in relation to the spiritual interests of our foreign dependencies. Let any man who has endeavoured to arouse the attention of the government, the

legislature, or the public, to any great question connected with the religious welfare of the colonies, relate the coldness, the mistrust, the opposition, which have too often impeded him at every step. Mr. Wesley records, that when in 1780 he presented to Bishop Lowth,for ordination for the American colonies, a young man whose character and qualifications were stated to be unexceptionable, and were not not disallowed by the bishop, and for whose support a sufficient stipend was guaranteed, the bishop refused to receive him, on the ground that another missionary was unnecessary, "there being," said his lordship, "three ministers in that country already." If such was the opinion of the prelate under whose ecclesiastical juris. diction the colonies were at that period placed, secular men might well think even three too many. It is not many years since Mr. Codner, a merchant trading to Newfoundland, having witnessed the deplorable religious destitution of that colony-the oldest in our possession-and of the British colonies on the adjoining continent, exerted himself to make the evil known, and to get it redressed; but was repulsed from house to house with the declaration that the government would do nothing; and that the public needed do nothing, for that the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel already did every thing that was requisite. Only a few years ago, when Bishop Stuart of Canada came over to England to obtain some help for his diocese, to relieve which he had munificently devoted a large portion of his own property, and was the more encouraged in hoping that something might be effected, as his own nephew, Sir James Graham, then a cabinet minister, was anxious for the sue. cess of his plans, as were some other of the public servants, he

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