I never went but twice. In short, I considered every hour as precious, and I made every thing bend to my determination not to be behind any of my companions,-and thus I speedily passed from one species of character to another. I had been a boy fond of pleasure and idleness, reading only books of unprofitable entertainment-I became speedily a youth of steady habits of application, and irresistible resolution. I soon gained the ground I had lost, and I found those things which were difficult and almost impossible to my idleness, easy enough to my industry; and much of my happiness and all my prosperity in life have resulted from the change I made at your age. It all rests with yourself. If you seriously resolve to be energetic and industrious, depend upon it you will for your whole life have reason to rejoice that you were wise enough to form and to act upon that determination.'-p. 15.

It was during this period, also, that an important change was first indicated in his religious views. 'I am sure,' he says, about September 1806, 'that some of the happiest hours that I spend here are while I am reading our Bible, which is as great a favourite as a book can be. I never before felt so assured, that the only means of being happy, is from seeking the assistance of a superior being.' His views subsequently became clearer, and his feelings more habitually devout. The ministry of the Rev. Josiah Pratt, at Wheeler Chapel, Spitalfields, contributed mainly to this end, and was constantly referred to by Mr. Buxton, as having led to his first real acquaintance with the doctrines of Christianity.' The basis of his religious character, however, was laid previously to his acquaintance with this estimable clergyman, but his influence advanced and matured that character, till it appeared in the beautiful proportions visible in his subsequent life. An over-ruling providence, which shapes events in conformity with its own design, was, from the first, preparing him for his noble calling. As yet he did not see his destination, but now that his course is fulfilled, we recognise the wisdom which presided over its earlier stages. Whatever I have done for Africa,' said Mr. Buxton to Mr. Pratt, 'the seeds of it were sown in my heart in Wheeler Street Chapel.'

Mr. Buxton was married to Miss Hannah Gurney on the 13th of May, 1807, and resided for a short time at a small cottage' near Weymouth. He had originally contemplated the legal profession, but having been disappointed in his expectation of Irish property, he wisely resolved to apply himself to business, and thought of becoming a Blackwell-Hall factor. This, however, was frustrated by the offer of a situation in the brewery of his uncles, with the prospect of a partnership at the expiration of three years. He joyfully accepted the proposal, and writing to his mother in July, 1808, tells her, I was up this

morning at four, and do not expect to finish my day's work before twelve to-night.' He was now a thorough man of business, and devoted himself, with exemplary diligence, to his vocation. His near relationship to the conductors of the brewery was a great advantage, but his progress in life depended mainly on himself. He evidently felt this, and with his accustomed decision applied himself to his calling. His correspondence, therefore, was less extensive than in previous and succeeding years. He applied himself vigorously to his proper work, and soon obtained such a knowledge of the various departments of the brewery, as enabled him to introduce material improvements into its management. He did not, however, wholly abandon his favorite studies, and appears to have indulged, even at this early period, the idea of some day entering parliament. The subject of capital punishments engaged many of his leisure hours, and he took an active part in all the charitable objects of the Spitalfields district, more especially those connected with education, the Bible Society, and the deep sufferings of the weavers.'

A severe illness, in 1813, greatly deepened his religious convictions, and gave a fixedness to his character which it never lost. It was then,' he remarked, fifteen years afterwards, 'that some clouds in my mind were dispersed; and from that day to this, whatever reason I may have had to distrust my own salvation, I have never been harrassed by a doubt respecting our revealed religion.' The healthfulness of his religion was shown in its activity. There was nothing moping or melancholy in it. It was not mere sentimentalism, a thing of feeling or of words, but an active, potent, and universal element of life. It led him to shun rather than to seek retirement, and readily to avail himself of every opportunity which occurred to mitigate the sufferings of others. The opposite of this is frequently the case, and much injury is thereby done to religion, as a large amount of useful service is withdrawn from the cause of practical benevolence. Nothing can be more foreign from genuine Christianity, than the sickly sentimentalism which thus assumes her name. The Divine Redeemer went about doing good, and Mr. Buxton imitated his example with most commendable diligence. The system of prison discipline early engaged his notice. It was at this time in a wretched state. Our prisons were nurseries of crime. So far from diminishing its amount, they contributed fearfully both to its extent and its enormity. Juvenile offenders were brought into contact with the vilest criminals, and many innocent persons committed on suspicion, received their first lessons in crime within the walls of our jails. The whole arrangements of these esta.

blishments were admirably adapted to promote the very evil they were designed to crush. This state of things had continued generation after generation, at an immense cost to the nation, and yet our sapient legislators wondered that crime was not repressed. For every criminal whom our barbarous code sentenced to death, some half dozen were created by our prison system. The extinction of crime was sought by legal murders, while its perpetuation and increase were insured by the corrupting associations of our administrative policy. To this great evil the attention of a few philanthropists was happily directed, at the commencement of the present century, and Mr. Buxton was foremost amongst them. As in other cases, he spared neither pains nor time, in order to acquaint the public with the real facts of the case. He devoted considerable attention to the subject, and in February, 1818, published a work entitled, 'An Inquiry whether Crime be Produced or Prevented by our Present System of Prison Discipline,' which ran through six editions in the course of a year, and gave an impulse to public feeling which has never been lost. Sir James Mackintosh did not exceed the truth when, referring to this volume, in the House of Commons, he said :

The question of our penal code, as relating to prison abuses, has been lately brought home to the feelings of every man in the country, by a work so full of profound information, of such great ability, of such chaste and commanding eloquence, as to give that House and the country a firm assurance, that its author could not embark in any undertaking which would not reflect equal credit upon himself and upon the object of his labours.'-p. 75.

It is no marvel that Mr. Wilberforce and others now began to look to Mr. Buxton, as destined to find his appropriate sphere of action in St. Stephen's. He was ripe for parliamentary life. His principles were fixed. His character had been tested. He had passed his novitiate with distinguished credit, and now awaited the summons of duty to enter parliament. That summons came in 1818. In the spring of that year a general election took place, and Mr. Buxton was returned for Weymouth. Thirty years ago, it was not unusual for English elections to be disgraced by brutal conflicts, as well as systematic bribery. This was the case at Weymouth, and it required all Mr. Buxton's decision to put a stop to it. Beat them,' he said to his supporters, in vigour, beat them in the generous exercise of high principle, beat them in disdain of corruption, and the display of pure integrity; but do not beat them with bludgeons. views in entering on this new sphere of labor were characteristic of his religious spirit, and afforded good augury of the honorable course he pursued. They are thus stated by himself, and we

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should have more hope of our country, if a larger number of her representatives contemplated their responsibilities in a similar temper. We quote his words, as containing the secret of his strength, and affording the best illustration of his character:

'Now that I am a member of Parliament, I feel earnest for the honest, diligent, and conscientious discharge of the duty I have undertaken. My prayer is for the guidance of God's Holy Spirit, that, free from views of gain or popularity,―that, careless of all things but fidelity to my trust, I may be enabled to do some good to my country, and something for mankind, especially in their most important concerns. I feel the responsibility of the situation, and its many temptations. On the other hand, I see the vast good which one individual may do. May God preserve me from the snares which may surround me; keep me from the power of personal motives, from interest or passion, or prejudice or ambition, and so enlarge my heart to feel the sorrows of the wretched, the miserable condition of the guilty and the ignorant, that I may never turn my face from any poor man;' and so enlighten my understanding, that I may be a capable and resolute champion, for those who want and deserve a friend.'-p. 80.

His earliest parliamentary efforts were directed to the state of our criminal population. He had deeply studied the subject, was master both of its principles and of its details, and-which constitutes no trifling element of success-was thoroughly sincere and earnest. On the 2nd of March, 1819, he seconded a motion of Sir James Mackintosh, for the appointment of a committee on criminal law, and the speech he delivered established his reputation with the House. His intellect was that of a cultivated Englishman,-masculine, energetic, and practical, having more respect to the end contemplated, than to the subtleties of logic or the ornaments of speech. Not that he was deficient in either, but that they were kept in due subordination. They were his means, not his end, and his speech on this occasion clearly illustrated the fact:

There are persons living,' he said, 'at whose birth the criminal code contained less than sixty capital offences, and who have seen that number quadrupled,-who have seen an act pass, making offences capital by the dozen and by the score; and what is worse, bundling up together offences, trivial and atrocious,-some, nothing short of murder in malignity of intention, and others, nothing beyond a civil trespass,—I say, bundling together this ill-sorted and incongruous package, and stamping upon it death without benefit of clergy.''—p. 84.

His views on the subject of parliamentary oratory were sound, and to his strict adherence to them he owed much of his success in the House. Writing to his friend, Mr. North, soon after his election, he says, 'Perhaps you will like to hear the impression the House makes upon me. I do

not wonder that so many distinguished men have failed in it. The speaking required is of a very peculiar kind: the House likes good sense and joking, and nothing else; and the object of its utter aversion is that species of eloquence which may be called Philippian. There are not three men from whom a fine simile or sentiment would be tolerated; all attempts of the kind are punished with general laughter. An easy flow of sterling, forcible, plain sense, is indispensable; and this, combined with great powers of sarcasm, gives Brougham his station.' He then adds, what perhaps will surprise some, considering that such men as Canning, Mackintosh, Plunkett, and Brougham, were at this time members of the House-' And now let me tell you a secret these great creatures turn out, when viewed closely, to be but men, and men with whom you need not fear competition.'

His attention was now divided between various philanthropic objects, each one of which would have sufficed for a man of ordinary diligence and earnestness. He describes himself as

'working very, very hard,' and the catalogue of his labors fully justifies his statement. The condition of our criminal law engaged his special notice. He frequently spoke on the subject, and the practical cast of his mind was strikingly shewn in the line of argument he took. Referring in one speech to the punishment of forgery, he triumphantly contrasted the effect of increased severity with the results of an opposite policy, in the case of another crime :

For a multitude of years,' he said, 'every wretch who was overtaken by the law, without regard to age or sex, or circumstances in extenuation, was consigned to the hangman. You accomplished your object, no doubt! By dint of such hardness you exterminated the offence as well as the offenders: forgeries of course ceased in a country under such a terrible method of repressing them! No! but they grew, they multiplied, they increased to so enormous an extent-victim so followed victim, or rather one band of victims was so ready to follow another, that you were absolutely compelled to mitigate your law, because of the multitude of the offenders-because public feeling, and the feeling of the advisers of the crown, rebelled against such continued slaughter.

• Have I not then a right to cast myself upon the House, and to implore them no longer to continue so desperate and so unsuccessful a system; and to lay side by side the two cases-forgery and stealing from bleaching grounds, both offences only against property-both unattended with violence. In the one we have tried a mitigation of the law, and have succeeded beyond our most sanguine expectations; in the other we have tried severity to the utmost extent-and to the utmost extent it has failed. Well then: are we not bound-I will not say by our feelings, or by tenderness for life-but by every principle of reason and equity; of common sense and common justice; to discontinue a system