under heaven. In England they now enjoyed liberty to a great extent, but that was not the case on the continent, with Jews living under despotic rule. In Russia, for instance, if the Czar required additional means to enable him to carry on a war, or in any case of emergency, at once he would go to the Jews, as the kings of England formerly did.

MR. BARKER said Mr. Grant had told them that every person who believed his opinion to be right, would persecute those who opposed them, according to the principle he (Mr. Barker) had laid down. But that was not necessarily the case. Christians had no evidence of anything supernatural about their faith, and, unable to convert, they persecuted those who rejected it, threatening them with eternal damnation and all the horrors of the burning lake. Such a course, however, was not restorted to in teaching natural truth, because it was not found necessary. Mr. Barker then observed that as Pagan philosophy prepared the way for Christianity in ancient days, so Christianity now prepared the way for Humanitarianism. He also stated that Christians were backward in taking up great reforms, and that the temperance cause would not be taken up by the churches in England until it became very popular, as the anti-slavery question was not favoured by a single church in America till it had gained considerable ground. In reply to Mr. Grant's remarks respecting the Jews, Mr. Barker said he should be ready to admit that the predictions of the Bible as to the fate of those people had been fulfilled, if it could be shown to him that their condition was worse than that of the English and Irish people living in the same localities. The supporters of the Bible knew that that could not be proved, but, if it could, Christians would still be to blame, as they had thought it necessary to refuse them the right of trading, in order to insure the fulfillment of those prophecies, which ancient fanaticism uttered. He closed the evening's discussion by affirming that it would be no more difficult to prove the divine authority of the book of the Mormons or that of the Swedenborgians, than to prove the divine authority of the Bible, and arguing that it was preposterous to suppose that the barbarous acts of Bible worthies were done at the command of God, as the Bible represented most of them to have been done.

The discussion was adjourned till the following evening.

FACTS WHICH SOPHISTRY CANNOT CHANGE.

Barker cannot now refute the testimony which in his "Christian triumphant" he bore to the religion of Jesus.

I have shown that the religion of Christ is calculated to give to mankind all those things which our opponents themselves think necessary to their happiness, so far as these things are capable of being enjoyed by men. But I would not stop here. There are several things which are necessary to make men happy, which are not so much as hinted at in the list of good things drawn up by our opponents: and I am wishful to show that the religion of Christ is calculated to give us those things also. Men, as we find them in their present state, are sinners, and afflicted with a consciousness of guilt; and they cannot be happy without an assurance of pardon. The gospel gives this assurance. It proclaims a free and unlimited pardon to all that receive its truths and submit to its authority. It assures us, that God can be just and yet the justifier of the ungodly that truly believeth in Christ; and that Christ is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world. Man is naturally fearful, and he cannot be happy without a

The

clear and full revelation of the fatherly goodness of God, and a hearty assurance of his favour. The gospel gives us a clear and full view of the goodness of God. It assures us that he is love itself, and it gives us the most glorious and affecting proof and exemplification of his goodness in the person of Jesus Christ. It brings the promise of the Holy Spirit also, both to enlighten and direct our minds, and to give us the fullest assurances of acceptance with God. Man is exposed to continual temptation: he cannot do what is his duty without conflict. His fleshly appetites, the influences of an evil world, and the temptations of the wicked one, all combine to make duty painful and difficult: and he can never hope to vanquish those opposing influences without help from on high. The gospel brings the promise of such help. It assures the tempted that they shall not be tempted beyond what they are able to bear,-that in every temptation a way shall be made for their escape,-that in every conflict they shall come off victorious, that their enemies shall be bruised beneath their feet, and that to them that overcome shall be given all the glories and felicities of heaven. Man cannot be happy without an object worthy of infinite love : he wants some one that he can love without limits and without end. world does not present to man any such object of love; but the gospel does. The gospel reveals the Eternal God, and places him before us in all the glory of boundless and eternal love. In our Heavenly Father we find an object which we can love with a devotion and an extacy as boundless as the infinite God, and as lasting as eternity itself. Man is feeble and blind : he lives in a world which he cannot control; he is surrounded with influences and powers which he cannot comprehend; and he wants some one in whom he can fully confide. The gospel reveals the mystery of an infinite and eternal providence, and supplies this want also. It teaches him that God understands all things; that he controls all things; and that he overrules all things for the good of his people. Man here finds a wisdom which he can follow safely; a power in which he can rest without fear; and his soul is relieved of its cares. To be happy, a man must have hopes of eternal blessedness. Man cannot avoid looking to the future, and he cannot look to the future with pleasure, unless he has before him the prospect of continued life and blessedness. The gospel gives to its disciples this requisite to happiness also. It assures them that they shall live for ever, and it lays before them the prospect of a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Man cannot be happy without the prospect of infinite and eternal improvement. The farther man advances in knowledge and benevolence, the more ardent are his longings after still farther advances. The gospel gives us reason to expect, that we shall go forward in improvement for ever, exploring new worlds of thought, revelling in new delights of heavenly love, and extending our benevolent labours world without end. The religion of Christ is not content with giving the list of blessings which our opponents have drawn out; it gives blessings for which unbelief will not allow its disciples even to hope. Eye hath not seen, ear hath not heard, nor can the heart of the unbeliever conceive what God hath laid up for them that love him.

We have proved the happy influence of Christianity from the testimony of ancient writers. We have proved it from the history of the Saviour

himself, as recorded in the Gospels; and we have proved it from the history of his first disciples, as recorded in the Acts of the Apostles. We have brought forth proofs of the happy influence of Christianity from the writings of early Christian authors generally, who pleaded the cause of Christianity against their enemies and persecutors; and we have brought forth other proofs from the writings of the enemies of Christianity themselves. We have shown that Pliny, and Celsus, and Lucian, and Epictetus, and Marcus Antoninus, and Julian have given decisive proof that the followers of Christ were a peculiarly chaste, and honest, and peaceful, and benevolent, and happy people.

We have shown that the religion of Christ has exerted a powerful and happy influence upon the sentiments, the customs, and the institutions of mankind generally. We have mentioned a number of fearful and gigantic evils with which the religion of Christ has grappled, and we have shown that in some cases it has utterly demolished those evils, and that in other cases it has greatly diminished their influence. We have shown that in proportion as the Gospel has prevailed, it has freed men from erroneous and tormenting notions of the Deity, of the government of the world, and of a future state of being,-that it has abolished the cruelties and pollutions of idolatry, swept away the dark and tormenting forms of superstition, and torn up by the roots the cruel system of priestly domination. We have shown that it has made its disciples peaceful, and checked the ravages of war, that it has abolished bloody and cruel sports,-that it has destroyed the bitter and unsocial prejudices of people against such as were not of their class or country, and united in the bonds of peace and love, men of all classes and of all countries.

We have shown that it has exerted the happiest influence upon domestic life, breathing a spirit of tenderness and purity through all relationships, and uniting husbands and wives, parents and children, brothers and sisters, in one harmonious and delightful fellowship. We have shown that where the Gospel has been faithfully received, it has abolished lying, and taught men truth and honesty in all their dealings with their fellow-men. That it has softened the rigours of slavery, and in many countries abolished the inhuman system altogether. We have shown that it has taught men new lessons of charity, transformed the selfish spirits of men into love, given birth to innumerable benevolent institutions, and raised up multitudes of examples of charity such as the world before had never seen. We have shown that it has restrained men's extravagance and self-indulgence, and taught them to live soberly and temperately in ail things, and to employ the whole of their superfluous resources in carrying forward undertakings of benevolence and piety.

We have also shown, that the religion of Christ is calculated to bring men to the possession of all those things which are mentioned in the list of requisites to human happiness drawn out by our opponents. We have shown that it tends to promote health of body and vigour of mind,-to increase man's power of procuring all things needful for his support and accommodation,-to promote the right education of the rising generation, -to excite in men benevolent affections, and to furnish them with the means of doing good, to awaken in men's minds the desire of knowledge,

and to give them the opportunity of increasing continually their intellectual treasures,—to bless men with the pleasures and advantages of good society, -to facilitate their movements from place to place, to free men from superstition, from all tormenting supernatural fears, and from all the fears of death,-to promote liberty of speech and liberty of action,-to inspire a regard for truth in all things,-and to bring society in all its laws, institutions, and arrangements, to the highest possible state of perfection and felicity.

We have gone still further, and have proved that the religion of Christ is calculated to bestow blessings on its disciples, of which its unbelieving enemies can have no hope nor conception. We have shown that it brings pardon to the guilty, and peace to the troubled conscience,—that it gives man the fullest proof of God's goodness, and blesses him with an assurance of his favour, that it reveals the principles of Divine Providence, and inspires a calm and cheerful trust in God,—that it presents an object worthy of unbounded love, and of unrestricted and eternal confidence,—that it holds out the prospect of eternal blessedness, and of everlasting advancement in knowledge, in love, and in enjoyment.

And now I must draw my observations for the present to a close. I have laboured to treat the subject which I have had in hand with the greatest fairness. I have used no deceitful arts of language; I have sought no help from the passions or prejudices of my readers; I have told you a plain and simple story; and I have laboured to keep within the limits of truth in all that I have said. And now I leave the subject with you. I have the fullest confidence in the goodness of the cause which I have been called to advocate. I am persuaded it is the cause of truth, and that whatever opposition it may meet with, it will still prevail. The testimony of all ages and of all lands is on our side, and there is a witness in our favour in the heart of every human being. The voice of conscience and the voice of truth may be clamoured down for a time, but they will not be clamoured down for ever. The violence of passion will subside; the rage of appetite will die away; and the truth shall lift up her voice again with double power. Time will weigh all things in an even balance, and then will the slanders of our opponents be found lighter than air. Nothing but truth shall bear the trial of coming ages. Error in all its forms shall vanish away; but truth shall be immortal, and shall live and flourish when the world itself shall die.

I have no anxiety as to the fate of the religion of Christ: it will triumph for ever, and every conflict through which it may have to pass, will only add to it new strength and glory. My only anxiety is for you for whom I write. And if you will ponder well the evidence which has been laid before you; if you will silence the uproar of clamourous and rebellious passions; if you will pay respect to the voice of reason, of conscience, and of truth, my soul will be at rest. Yon will not only perceive the charges which have been brought against Christianity to be unfounded, but you will acknowledge it, and feel it in your souls to be worthy of unbounded and eternal love. For myself, I declare to you, that while I contemplate its spotless and glorious character, and survey the vast and countless blessings which it has bestowed on the children of men, my heart is full, and

the unutterable emotions of my soul break forth in tears. It is the image of the eternal God, and the friend and benefactor of mankind. It blesses all ranks,-it blesses them in all ways,—and it makes them abundant in communicating blessings to their fellow-men. It makes those who are rich tender-hearted and liberal,-it makes those who are high condescending and gentle,―it improves the condition of the poor on earth, and it gives them a title to a kingdom in the world to come. It regenerates men's souls, it reforms their lives,—and it improves their lot. It makes them good; it makes them useful; and it makes them happy. It has blessings for every country, for every family, and for every heart. It wages war with all institutions that are founded in error and injustice. It is opposed to everything that is opposed to the interests of mankind; and it is friendly to everything that is friendly to man's welfare. It is the illuminator, the emancipator, the regenerator of the universe. Its foundation is eternal truth; its effects are the joys of Heaven itself; and it stands alone, the fairest visitant of earth, the loveliest offspring of the skies,the bright effulgence of eternal light,-the best, the mightiest, the universal, and the eternal friend of man.

THE FAST OF GOD'S CHOICE.

The British people are called upon by their Queen to spend a day in humiliation and prayer before God, on account of the calamities that have come upon us, in the carrying on of the war against Russia. A considerable diversity of opinion obtains as to the wisdom of the appointment at the present crisis. By some it is contended that it will be regarded by the continental nations as a confession of non-success, if not of defeat, that it will give some of them, that have hesitated as to the course they should pursue, an excuse for their hesitancy, that it will furnish plausible reasons for their injurious neutrality, and thus indefinitely prolong the war, which has already made such fearful havoc of treasure and life. It has been argued that, although our success may not have been equal to our first expectations, when we were ignorant to a great extent of the position of the enemy, and of the strength of the stronghold which has been attacked by the allied forces, it has been fully proportioned to our actual preparations and efforts; that no actual reverses have befallen us; that our disasters and difficulties have sprung from our own mismanagement; and that our success has been fully equal to the merit and the energy of our plans.

On the other hand, it is contended by those who are favourable to a day of fasting, that, to a great extent, we have been the authors of our own calamities, we ought to acknowledge the finger of God, and seek by intelligent supplication and prayer to avert the evils that at present threaten Europe; that just because our sins have brought these evils upon us, we ought to turn away from them.

We do not know precisely the motives of our government in appointing the 21st of March as a day of fasting; but as it has been appointed, the observance of it will be as widely different as the views entertained regarding it. Some will not observe it because the Queen has commanded it, and they deny the right of the civil magistrate in any way to interfere