said to be "as marvellous as anything in colonial history." The country which, fifteen years ago, had only a few wandering savages and wild animals, is now occupied by sixty thousand inhabitants of British origin, and feeds four hundred thousand horned cattle, and upwards of five million sheep, producing more than twelve million pounds of wool for exportation. In 1849, the imports amounted to £479,831, and the exports to £755,326. The exports are therefore about £12 per head, and the imports £8 per head, on the settled population. The exports and imports are rapidly increasing, and since 1849 we should imagine that the imports per head must have risen to about £10 or £11. As much of these are British manufactures, it is evidently for the benefit of the home country to encourage, by all reasonable means, the growth not only of this, but the kindred Australian colonies. The chief town of Victoria is Melbourne, with a population, in 1850, of fif teen thousand.

Separated from Australia by a narrow strait of sea is the island of Tasmania, or Van Diemen's Land. This island is somewhat smaller than Ireland, and has a population of more than sixty thousand. chief town is Hobart Town.

Its

Some parts of Tasmania, though it has been about thirty years a British colony, are entirely unknown. The inhabited parts are fertile, and the climate is generally healthy. It is said that this island is capable of sustaining three millions of inhabitants, or from forty to fifty times its present population. But there are circumstances in the history and present condition of this colony which should make an emigrant, especially the working man, pause before fixing on it as his future home.

PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND.

THIS is an island in British North America, situated near New Brunswick. It is comparatively a small colony, containing an area of not above two thousand square miles,

and a population of sixty or seventy thousand, or not a larger number of inhabitants than is to be found in many of the second-rate towns of England. Of the climate of this island and its effects upon the health of the inhabitants, it is said," All who have ever visited the island can bear testimony to the salubrity of its climate, which is neither so cold in winter nor so hot in summer as that of Lower (Eastern) Canada, while it is free from the fogs which spread along the shores of Cape Breton, and Nova Scotia. One hundred years of age, without ever knowing a day's sickness, is frequent in the island; the air is dry and bracing; the diseases of the North American continent are unknown, and puny British emigrants attain, soon after their arrival, robust health and unwonted strength. No person ever saw an intermittent fever produced on this island pulmonary consumption, so frequent in the north, is seldom met with. It has been estimated that not one person in fifty inhabitants dies throughout the year; and industry secures a comfortable subsistence."

:

:

The writer of the above states that "the island could support with ease ten times its present population, as almost the whole area is capable of cultivation and adds that a custom prevails of granting leases of land for 999 years at an annual rent, varying from one to two shillings an acre. For the first, second, and third years no rent is required; then three-pence per acre, and this sum is annually increased until the maximum of two shillings is attained: but proprietors are reducing the term to 99 years-a more reasonable and sufficiently advantageous arrangement for the occupier, especially as the price of land to purchasers is higher on this island than in some other of the neighbouring colonies. In addition to the advantages possessed by Prince Edward's Island, it is conveniently situated for commerce, has good harbourage for ships, is in no part of it far distant from the sea; provisions generally are cheap; while, in common with the other colonies

in this part of the world, its rivers and sea coast abound with fish of excellent quality, and its climate and soil are well adapted for the rearing of sheep and cattle."

PRAYING FOR A BLESSING.

One Sabbath evening not long since, my friend, a village preacher, after exhorting his hearers to enter into their closets and pray in secret for a blessing before attending the public means of grace, related the following anecdote. "I knew a man," said he, "of moral conduct, who had been in the habit of attending the house of God with regularity, yet gave no evidence of his being a converted man. I therefore visited him for the purpose of conversing about his soul. After having told him the oject of my visit, I said, My friend, how long have you been in the habit of attending the public worship of God? Forty years,' he replied. Can you say that you are a converted man? He answered, 'No.' Can you tell me how it is that the devotional exercises and holy instructions of God's house, which you have been favoured with so many years, have not proved a blessing to you? He replied, ‘I do not know.' I then said, I think I can tell you. The man looked at me with astonishment, and said, 'Do you think so?' I then asked, Did you ever, before leaving home, pray to God in secret that your heart might be prepared to engage in the public services of his house, or that you might hear his word, so as to become wise unto salvation? He appeared surprised at the question; the blush of confusion appeared upon his cheek, and he answered, No.' I then told him as he had not sought God's blessing it was no wonder that he had so long heard the gospel preached without profit. He felt the truth of my remark. After exhorting him at once to seek a change of heart, and in future to implore God's blessing in private, before attending the public means of grace, I engaged in prayer, and then left

him. The man attended to my advice, and his after life gave evidence of his being a converted man. He lived about three years after the conversation related, a great part of which time he lay upon the bed of sickness. Once when I visited him he said to me ;- How thankful I am to God for the advice you first gave me, if it had not been for that I think I should never have come to Christ. Not long after, he left this world, with a well grounded hope of a blessed immortality. Reader, remember the Saviour has bid you to "ask," in order that you may "receive;" to enter into your closet and pray to your Father who seeth in secret, and has added for your encouragement that "He will reward you openly." The invitations and promises of God, are all of the most encouraging character. None need despair. "Whosoever will may come.' None will be re

fused.

J. DORE.

GLEANINGS FROM THE LIBERATOR.

ONE HUNDRED NEW CHURCHES FOR LONDON.

an

THE LONDON DIOCESAN CHURCH BUILDING SOCIETY has made a special appeal to the landowners and others interested in the welfare of the metropolis, to raise a fund of £500,000, in ten years, for the purpose of promoting the formation of one hundred new ecclesiastical districts. Among the sums nounced are £10,000 each, from the Marquis of Westminster and the Duke of Bedford, and £5,000 from the Bishop of London. This is voluntaryism on a great and gratifying scale, but approval must be modified by a note of alarm, suggested by one item in the list-" the land revenues of the Crown in London, £10,000." Now, if, as we assume to be the case, the revenues from which this sum is to be taken, are those in exchange for which the Civil List is granted, they are national in character, and as the gross revenues are now carried to the public account, the money cannot be touched without a vote of Par

liament. Need we say, that so soon as Parliament meets, this point should be immediately cleared up; and if it be really the fact, that this scheme of Church extension is to be helped by drawing on State-funds, there should be a decided stand made against recurrence to a policy which has been abandoned by common consent.

HOW CHURCH REVENUES ARE APPLIED.

THE BISHOP OF DURHAM has lately been the subject of two very suggestive newspaper paragraphs. First, came the announcement that he had made, or was about to make, an assignment of the whole revenues of his see to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, in consideration of an annual stipend. To this was appended the comment of a local journal:-" Dr. Maltby has been, upon the whole, a singularly fortunate Bishop of Durham, for throughout his career his receipts have largely exceeded the income

66

-£8,000 a-year-proposed to be allotted to him; even during the last year, after paying over £11,000 to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, and £2,000 to the Maltby Fund, the bishop's receipts have it is believed, been enormously large." It is needless to make any comment on these facts or figures, for we believe that Churchmen throughout the kingdom feel ashamed of them, and of the system to which they belong. But what do they think of the subse quent notification that the Bishop, who, on account of his great age and increasing infirmities, is unable to perform his episcopal duties, has appointed the Bishop of Manchester his commissary, and he will for the future administer the affairs of the Diocese of Durham." There have recently been proposals for the division of large dioceses, but here are two Bishoprics practically rolled into one. What would be thought were one of our judges, or other public functionaries, thus to retain office after acknowledging himself to be incompetent to discharge its duties, and, retaining

his salary, coolly to hand over his work to another official? Is the man, or the "system" to be blamed ?

CHURCH LITIGATION.

We have had the "Stone Altar Case," and the "Gorham Case," and now there is the "Knightsbridge Churches Case," and the "Denison Case," with the prospect of proceedings of quite a different complexion in respect to the "Neology "of Mr. Jowett. Dr. Lushington's judg ment, it should be remembered, governs only a single diocese, and, if confirmed in the Court of Arches will have no effect out of the Province of Canterbury; so that only the judgment of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council can finally decide the points at issue. Yet, on the strength of this decision the evangelical churchmen of Bedminster are, it is said, about to bring their grievance into a court of law, and a regular crusade against all the puseyite churches in London is threatened.

This is a melancholy prospect for churchmen who would fain see all the resources of the Establishment directed to the increase of agencies for the evangelization of the ignorant and irreligious masses of the population. "Going to law,” is always riskful, often injurious and ruinous to the parties concerned but for religious men to settle their ecclesiastical differences by means of lawyers and barristers, briefs, and mandamuses-and by running the gauntlet of all the courts of the kingdom, is surely a mis-direction of energy and property, and an occasion of scandal, which must be deplored by all who wish peace and love to be the characteristics of every religious community.

We do not charge the members of the Established Church with pre-eminent litigiousness: we only point to such facts as those now adverted to, in proof of the mischief of uniting in one Church men hopelessly differing from each other-of the impropriety of making the action of religious

bodies dependent exclusively on legal arrangements--and of the inextricable confusion which prevails in the Church of England, as the result of perpetuating ancient laws and usages, and of the incompetency and unwillingness of the Legislature to supply an adequate remedy. The Establishment is out of harmony with the existing institutions, habits, and feelings of men ; and the very efforts made to impart to its ministrations and movements new life and energy, have the effect of bringing opposing parties more and more into collision, and of showing how unsound is the basis on which the entire structure rests. The new wine is bursting the old bottles: the new piece is tearing into tatters the old gar

ment.

MINING PRODUCTS.

THE mining products of England form a very considerable portion of its wealth. The value of the raw material of the several mining industries may thus be estimated-Of coal at the pit's mouth, 11,000,0007; iron, 10,000,0007; copper, 1,500,0007; lead, 1,000,0007, tin, 400,000; silver, 210,0007; zinc 10,0007; salt and other minerals, 400,0007; a total of 24,520,0007. If clay and lime are included, and the produce of our quarries, the raw materials may be said to represent an annual value of 30,000,000l. Ireland also produces coal; from the Connaught coalfield might be raised as much as 30,000,000 tons annually.

TEETOTALISM.

GOD'S BLESSINGS.

Oh what a blessing it is to have good health! but the drinking man cannot enjoy this blessing. What a pleasure it is to live in a good house, and to have it nicely furnished; but the drinking man cannot afford to pay the rent, and he furnishes other people's houses instead of his own. How respectable it is to wear a good suit of clothes on Sundays, and to have

our wives and children also well clothed; but the drinker cares little for his wife and children, and he is generally obliged to stop in doors on Sundays to conceal his rags. What nice playthings halfcrowns or half-sovereigns are in a poor man's pocket, or invested in the savings bank; but the man who visits the drinking shop has empty pockets, and the landlord's till is his savings' bank. What is more interesting than to see a father on a Sunday forenoon going to church or chapel with his family, but the drunkard, more cruel than a brute, neglects both wife and children and leaves them at home to suffer and pine away amidst poverty and distress.

Oh, drinkers! God's arrangeye ments are all made to promote your happiness: but by drinking, you transgress the laws of your Creator, and set at defiance all his restraints. You destroy your health, punish your families, and are pests to society. Turn ye, turn ye, why will you go on headlong to ruin. At once begin to abstain. Dash the poisoned glass to the ground. Flee from the public-house as from a pestilence. Go to the temperance meeting. Sign the abstinence pledge. Keep it, and you will be happy.

ble land, time, labour, and capital, are worse than wasted upon making, vending, and using these intoxicating drinks.

6. Because 55 millions of money is annually expended upon the drunkard's drink in the united kingdom, which ought to be laid out in food and the manufactures of the country.

7. Because 5 millions of quarters of good grain are annually destroyed to make these poisonous liquors.

8. Because intemperance obstructs the progress of civilization, education, religion, and every useful reform.

9. Because abstinence is sure and safe, but drinking moderately is difficult and dangerous, and has led to all the drunkenness in the country.

10. Because I find I cannot effec tually warn the drunkard, unless I am an entire abstainer.

11. Because I like to join those who are exerting themselves to promote the reformation and happiness of the nation.

12. Because it is important to set a safe example of perfect sobriety to our children, friends, and

associates.

13. Because it is our christian duty to deny ourselves even of lawful things to promote the happiness of others.

14. Because, while millions repent of drinking, not one repents of being a teetotaller.

15. Because, while no blessing is pronounced upon drinking, God's approval is frequently recorded in favour of abstinence. (see Jer. XXXV. Luke. ii. 15. Rom. xiv. 21 Prov. xx. 1.)

16. Because I should be ashamed to touch, taste, or handle, or keep in my house, the article which is filling the land with misery, lamentation, and woe.

17. Because nothing but teetotalism will cure the drunkard or prevent the moderate drinker from becoming such.

18. Because by abstaining, I find myself healthier, wealthier, and happier; I am more respected, and better fitted to perform my duty both to God and man.

DRINKING versus EATING.

No less than 1,500,000 acres of the best land in this country are appropriated to the growth of grain, hops and other materials from which intoxicating liquors are made. This land, if employed in the growth of grain to be used as food, would yield an immense additional means of subsistence. Allowing that an acre will yield 3 quarters of wheat, we should have 5,250,000 quarters from the 1,500,000 acres. Again, it is estimated that one quarter of wheat will give about 350 lbs. of flour. At this rate, the 5,250,000 quarters would annually supply It is 1,817,500,000 lbs. of flour. also calculated that the flour is increased one-third by being made into bread. It would consequently produce 2,723,000,000 lbs. of bread. The mind is scarcely capable of grasping this quantity as exhibited in figures, but some notion of its amount may be formed, when it is stated, that this bread would feed one-fourth of the population of the United Kingdom, allowing that one pound of bread should be consumed by each person daily.-Scottish Review.

CC NO ONE'S ENEMY BUT HIS OWN."

How often are these words used to excuse, if not to justify the conduct of the unhappy drunkard! But is it true that he alone suffers ? In thousands of cases is he not the enemy of every person with whom he has to do? He mostly squanders his own property, incurs debts, and calls on his friends for loans; reduces his wife to beggary; leaves his orphan children to the public; and, after having indulged himself to the last shilling, entails a life of misery on his family, and too often leaves behind him that ill-understood reputation of harmless folly, which is more injurious to society than some positive crimes. The utter waste of life, the neglect of all relative and social duties, an evil example, and a worthless character, are more or less the fruits of the conduct of him who is no one's enemy but his own."