of Darien, for the purpose of investigating this barrier between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans; to make an excursion through Mexico, and from thence to pass onward by the South Sea Islands to China, visit the Philippines and the Moluccas, go onward to Australia and Van Diemen's Land; continue from thence through the Indian Archipelago, by Borneo, Java, Sumatra, and Malacca, to India; traverse the Peninsula of Hindostan, from the Ganges to the Indus, and return to Europe by the Red Sea and the Mediterranean.

"Throughout the whole of this long and varied route there are a few prominent and important objects, which, as they have been long favourite subjects of study, and have engaged a large share of my attention in the past, I shall hope to keep steadily in view, and do all within my power to advance in the future. It has long been my conviction, that among the most prolific causes of vice and misery in the world those of Intemperance, Ignorance, Slavery, and War are productive of the greatest evils; and that the best service which man can render to his fellow-beings is, therefore, to promote, by every means within his reach, the principles and practice of Temperance, Education, Freedom, and Peace."

Mr. Buckingham and his family returned to England in the ill-fated steam-ship President, which was lost on the subsequent voyage, and has never since been heard of. They landed at Liverpool, and came on direct to London; soon after their reaching which a public meeting was held at Exeter Hall, under the auspices of the Temperance and other Benevolent Societies of London, to give Mr. Buckingham a public welcome to his native home, and to hear from him some account of his Western tour. The meeting was crowded to excess, and nothing could be more enthusiastic than the welcome given. The following are extracts from the address delivered by Mr. Buckingham on that occasion:

"It is now little more than three years since I left England, in September, 1837, with the intention of visiting the United States, the British Provinces in North America, and, proceeding from thence through Mexico to the Isthmus of Darien, to cross the Pacific to China, and from thence to return home by India and the Mediterranean Sea. At that period, such a voyage of circumnavigation appeared to be perfectly practicable-as Mexico was then in comparative tranquility, and China was accessible at several points: and if

no untoward events had occurred to mar the execution of this project, it would most probably have been accomplished, as no change took place in my own resolutions or intentions, until necessity compelled it. In Mexico, the civil war that now rages fiercely within its borders, and the hostile attacks of the Texans and Cumanches which occasionally press upon it from without, render all travelling so difficult and dangerous, and make the public mind so indifferent to everything beyond the pressing exigencies of the moment, while life and property are everywhere so insecure, that it would have been the height of indiscretion to have entered upon it; while at the same time, China, by the recent unhappy war upon its coasts, has been rendered unapproachable to Europeans: and, as a consequence of this, all maritime intercourse and opportunities of conveyance from Mexico to that country, by ships across the Pacific, have ceased. But for these reasons, I should now, most probably, have been in the capital of the Montezumas; at the commencement of the ensuing year, on the coast of China; and on the following, or fifth year after my departure from England, have been returning home. It has been otherwise ordered, however, and I yield to the influence of those events which I could not control, with some regret, it is true, but with that resignation which recognition of a Higher Power makes at once a duty and a consolation.

"When I set forth upon this projected tour, I adopted, for the motto of my expedition, the words 'Temperance-Education— Freedom-and Peace;' desiring to keep before me constantly these high and important objects, the interest of which I should feel it my happiness steadily and zealously to promote. To this I have endeavoured faithfully to adhere; and the narrative of the operations, in which I have had the privilege to be engaged, will best show the degree of success with which my labours have been crowned.

"It was in the month of October, 1837, that I first landed in New York; and the object of my visit soon becoming known, I was speedily surrounded by some of the most philanthropic and influential individuals with which that city happily abounds. The period of my first stay there embraced about four months-from October, 1837, to February, 1838; and during that time I devoted the mornings of my days to the careful investigation of everything of interest that this enterprising and opulent city contained; in which I was

most cordially assisted by the ready access with which I was favoured to every kind of information that I sought. My evenings were partly devoted to the delivery of my public Lectures on the Scriptural and Classical Regions of the Oriental World, which were repeated in six separate and successive courses, in six different quarters of the city, and attended by nearly all the most respectable and educated classes of the community; while these public duties were agreeably relieved by the interchange of visits and participation of private entertainments, with the numerous friends which those literary labours brought around me; and these again were hallowed by the devotion of other evenings, in conjunction with the friends thus formed, to the advocacy, at large and overwhelming public meetings, in some of the most spacious buildings of the city, of the great objects I was most anxious to promote.

"Among these, at which I assisted, may be named, the New York Temperance Union-the State and City Temperance Societies and their several Auxiliaries-the Infant School Society-the Sunday School Union-the Society for Promoting Education—the City Tract Society-Bible and Missionary Societies- the Sailors' Home Society-the Widow and Orphans' Society-and the Society for Promoting a Congress of Nations, to dispense with appeals to arms for the settlement of national disputes, and to substitute, for the barbarities and cruelties of War, the decision of such a Congress, adequately organized, and competent, by their united powers, to enforce and secure Universal Peace.

"From New York I proceeded to Philadelphia; and here the kindness and hospitality of the inhabitants was manifested towards myself and my family, by whom I was every where accompanied, in a manner at once new, brilliant, and effective. The friends of temperance in this "City of Brotherly Love" determined to honour us with a public welcome; and, to give it increased popularity, the day chosen for this purpose was February 22, the anniversary of the birthday of their great hero and statesman-to whom the whole world now pays the homage of admiration-General Washington. It was conceived that, as his glory rested chiefly on the delivery of his country from the yoke of political oppression, his birthday would be an appropriate moment on which to do honour to the advocates of the great moral reform that seeks to deliver, not a nation merely, but

the human family at large, from the still heavier and more oppressive yoke of intemperance, which first reduces men to the vilest of all slaveries that of complete subjection to their appetites and passions -and after depriving them of reason, consigns its victims to an untimely and unhallowed grave, sinking them below the level of the brute, and killing at once both body and soul.

"For this festival of welcome one of the largest theatres in Philadelphia was engaged, and the pit being floored over on a level with the stage, this united space was converted into a saloon, in which were placed tables, covered with an ample supply of the most elegant and agreeable refreshments that the culinary and confectionery arts could supply, but with an entire absence of all intoxicating drinks. The visitors occupied the three tiers of boxes and galleries; the stewards of the entertainment superintended the tables in the saloon; while the directors of the festival, with the speakers and musical choir, occupied the stage. The price of admission was limited to a dollar each, but long before the hour of opening came, the full number of tickets that the theatre would contain was issued; and such was the eagerness to join the party, that those who were too late could only purchase tickets of early buyers, which was done at premiums of five and ten dollars in advance - sums that were freely given. The result was far beyond the expectations of the most sanguine. Never had there been before, within the walls of the building, so large a number of persons-2,000 was the lowest estimate of those present; and they were said to include among them members of nearly all the first families in the city. The scene was brilliant and animating in the highest degree; the proceedings evidently in accordance with the feelings of those present; the expressions of pleasure enthusiastic; and the order and decorum of the meeting never for a moment disturbed; while at the same time, three great and important ends had been achieved; First, it had been proved, by this experiment, that a large assembly might be entertained, for many hours, with great elegance, and unflagging interest and cheerfulness, without the use of wine. Secondly, a mass of useful information, connected with the temperance reform, had been spread before the most intellectual and influential portion of the community; which, through the agency of their personal communications, and the still more extended agency of the public press, could hardly fail to produce a large

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amount of good.-And thirdly, by the voluntary contributions of those who paid for their admission to this festival, and the donations subsequently given - an amount of 2,500 dollars, or 5007. sterling, was raised to be added to the Temperance fund.

"From Philadelphia I proceeded to Baltimore, and there also a very crowded assembly greeted my arrival, at a great Temperance meeting held in the Methodist church, at which most of the leading families of this beautiful and hospitable city were present, and where several of the clergy, of different denominations, rendered the aid of their valuable services to the cause.

"The next scene of my labours was the city of Washington, the legislative capital of the Union, where the Congress of the United States was then in session. To the President, as well as to the members of both houses, the senators and representatives, my labours in the British Parliament were not unknown. Many of them had read, and all had heard of, the investigations of the Committee appointed by the House of Commons in 1834, to inquire into the extent and causes of intemperance in England; and some had carefully perused the evidence and report, which, as chairman of that Committee, I had drawn up and laid before the House. But instead of having to encounter the difficulties by which I was surrounded and opposed when bringing this question before the Parliament of my own country, I received here every assistance that I could desire. The spacious and beautiful hall of the House of Representatives was freely granted to us for the purpose of a Temperance meeting; and from the speaker's chair I had the honour to deliver an address on this occasion. It was listened to for about two hours with the most profound attention by a large assemblage of the members of both Houses of Congress, several of whom moved and spoke in favour of resolutions connected with the cause; and a great accession of members was made to the Temperance ranks. At present, there exists at Washington a Congressional Temperance Society, formed wholly of members of Congress; the sale of intoxicating drinks is prohibited by law within the precincts of the capitol; and a growing feeling in favour of legislative measures, to co-operate with moral means, for the promotion of the Temperance reform, is manifested by the rulers of the nation.

"A fatal duel having occurred between two members of the Con