quence which should have been expected; briers and thorns have occupied the ground which should have been covered with valuable fruits. Where the duty of the husbandman has been properly performed, the blessing of heaven has in general, been abundant.

It would not become us upon this occasion, to pass by unnoticed, that tempest which has been sent upon some parts of our country, and by which such extensive damage has been effected. When we reflect upon those who suffered from the tempest, and upon those who escaped its ravages, we are led back for instruction to what our Savior said respecting the Galileans, whose blood was mingled with their sacrifices; and respecting those eighteen upon whom the tower in Siloam fell and slew them. Is it because we have made an uncommonly religious use of this house of public worship, that its feeble frame was strengthened to resist the blast which prostrated the sanctuary of some other people? Is it because that our property has been more than ordinarily devoted to the service of God, that while the furious blast swept away much, if not all, from some, we were permitted to retain our possessions? Though our situation is high and airy, exposed to every wind that blows, we have no damage to complain of; we have sustained no loss, worthy of being mentioned.

It has been a favorite object with some, to have every thing produced in this country which is consumed by the people. The chief advocate for this scheme has spoken both for, and against it; and therefore we cannot tell in which scale to look for the preponderance of his wisdom, nor for the sum of his wishes.

The question is before the community for consideration; and arguments of weight are to be found on both sides. Did our population as much exceed our territory, as our territory exceeds our population, we should not be long in agreeing upon a verdict. Our manufacturing experiments have been so successful, and attended hitherto with so little evil, that we are, with propriety, called upon to mention this matter among the things which constitute our prosperity. As gradual changes in the habits of a people are not so dangerous as sudden alterations, for which no preparation

has been made; and as there are always in a community men fitted for one employment, and good for nothing in any thing beside; so the time may come, when a manufacturing interest established upon broad scale among us, may not be injurious, but beneficial to the body of the

nation.

Commerce in our situation has been proved to be of vital importance. Before the war commerce was obstructed by the acts of our government, and after hostilities commenced and these acts were repealed, our shore fell into the custody of the fleets that blockaded it; so that in these times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the country. Now the scene is changed, Commerce has revived, and with it the nation is reviving. Our attention will

soon be called to an account of the sums received into the treasury; and it will appear, that these sums are to a great amount. Whether or not it will be thought expedient, by the council managing for us, to lighten the burdens under which we stagger and complain, cannot now be determined; but it is certain were it not for the revenue arising from commerce, any petition for redress of grievances which might be presented, would be treated like the request of the Israelites to Rehoboam. Our expenses are very great, and they must be provided for in some way. Let us therefore take grateful notice of the goodness of God in prospering our business on the sea; since in present circumstances, we may calculate upon this business, if not as a source of wealth to this generation, yet as a help exceedingly needed in our case of difficulty.

Health we all consider as a very great blessing. Of sickness and death, we have a natural abhorrence. Though every year brings sickness and death with it, the past year has, perhaps, been as favorable in this respect as the average of years. We can recollect, when the pestilence which walketh in darkness, made wide havoc in our country; sweeping vast multitudes into eternity, and very sensibly thinning the population of our largest sea-port towns. Graves could not be dug for such a mass of putrid flesh; but the bodies were thrown into pits, made capacious for

their reception. In various instances the probability is, that children have been supported upon alms, to whom, had their parents lived an estate would have descended; and perhaps some are now passing under a name very different from that of their parents, because it cannot be ascertained who their parents were. The instances of sickness and of death among us, have been few during the year which we are looking back upon, compared with what we have experienced.

Can we not say, without having a party spirit imputed to us, that we are bound to be thankful that the government of this commonwealth is lodged in the hands of men who so prudently conduct. its concerns. Those must be acknowledged to be good rulers, who regard the welfare of all those over whom their commission and influence extend; and who, in all their appointments and removals of men acting under them, calculate not upon an increase of popularity to themselves, but upon the probable advantageous result to the public.

Leaving others unmentioned, he who is at the head of our state affairs, is a rare instance. How many times has he been called to the same office; and that in a period of time peculiarly critical, when the conflict of parties has been violent, and when each party has resisted almost unto blood? Sharp and poisoned arrows have been shot at his heart, and his head; but he has neither been killed nor wounded. Collected and composed he leaves it to others to carry on the fight, and hardly proceeds so far as to say to those who would displace him; Seeing that many glory after the flesh, I will glory also; For ye suffer fools gladly, seeing ye yourselves are wise; For ye suffer if a man bring you into bondage; if a man devour you; if a man take of you; if a man exalt himself; if a man smite you on the face. Having tried him for several years, the people tried to do without him; but were convinced by sad experience, that they had no man like minded, who would naturally care for their state. Would any man, fit for the office, at his time of life, and with his reputation, from any motive but a sense of duty, forego the pleasures of his sequestered condition, to take upon himself a load of public cares, always irksome,

but now more so than common? When the mariner leaves the unruffled port for the stormy ocean; it is not because he would rather plough the billows which run high as the mountains than lie at anchor by the shore; but because he anticipates the gain for which he is willing to risk the consequences of the voyage.

We hear from various places abroad, that God is appearing in his glory to build up Zion. Great additions have been made to the Church of Christ in different parts of our land; and in some instances, it has been a strange work; nothing like it having ever been seen before among the people. Colleges, and other seminaries of learning, have witnessed the out pouring of the Spirit; and many of the rising generation, who will be called to fill conspicuous places, have experienced that change of heart which will qualify them for usefulness. Religion has answered a valuable purpose without learning; and it is always to be preferred to learning without religion; but when both can go together, it is very desirable that they should. If it would rejoice us to be assured that our public coffers were filled to the brim; it ought far more to fill us with joy, if multitudes of our fellow creatures, and of our countrymen, have obtained the pearl of great price, the one thing needful. All things which perish with the using, are insufficient to bring us contentment. For that we must have godliness.

As we are required to pray, that the kingdom of God may come, and his will be done on earth as it is done in heaven; we should be thankful for the promise, that such a state of things shall be accomplished. Referring to the future condition of the Church we may say with peculiar propriety and emphasis, Look upon Zion, the city of our solemnities; thine eyes shall see Jerusalem a quiet habitation; a tabernacle that shall not be taken down; not one of the stakes thereof shall ever be removed, neither shall any of the cords thereof be broken. But there the glorious Lord will be unto us a place of broad rivers, and streams, wherein shall go no galley with oars, neither shall gallant ships pass thereby. The rulers of the darkness of this world, shall be effectually overthrown. And the kingdom, and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people of the

saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him.

Sin made it necessary for our first parents to leave the enchanting garden of Eden. Sin has made the world a wilderness. Nothing but religion can make it rejoice, and blossom as the rose. Were the wild beasts; the owls; the satyrs, and other doleful creatures, which inhabit Babylon, to be expelled, and were the city to appear again in the grandeur of ancient times; were Tyre to return to her former traffic; and were the dead sea to be drained off so as to show the beauty of the plain which it now covers; there would still be a deficiency without the knowledge and love of God.

It is impossible to determine, precisely, how long it will be before God will spread over the world the robe of righteousness; before he will engage all in his service, of every order, and rank, from him who holds the sceptre, to him who holds the plough. It is pretty well agreed, however, among commentators, from dates well established, that three score years will, hardly, pass away, before the world will be prepared for the commencement of a reign of righteousness. The measures of the divine government, are now so obviously tending to this end, that he must be blind who is not sensible of it; and he must be obstinate who does not acknowledge it.

Societies under various names are formed and forming for the express purpose of rooting out vice, and of increasing virtue, by diffusing knowledge upon moral and religious subjects. Bible, and Missionary, Societies, for the benefit of the ignorant at home, and of the heathen abroad, are multiplying with such rapidity, that we are compelled to say, This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. Who would think, so sordid is the human heart, and so reluctant are multitudes to support the gospel where they live, that pecuniary means would be supplied, sufficient to send religious instruction to the dark corners of the earth.

So unwilling are men in general, to be separated from their friends, and the comforts of domestic life, that we should, hardly, believe any could be found, who would vol