forward in their responsible work, believing they have the sympathy and support of many friends. Mr. W. Lyons, the travelling representative, has successfully opened several new towns, but there are yet in the three kingdoms many towns which give nothing to this Society. If they have not been visited, it is hoped they will not be offended, but as soon as possible come into this philanthropic franchise. Mr. T. P. Hearne, one of the directors' honoured colleagues, has rendered valuable service by introducing the claims of the Society to several city firms, who have responded by becoming subscribers or donors to its funds. It will be seen, however, that, had not the financial year began with a considerable balance in hand, the expenditure being greater than the income, either some of the stations must have been abandoned, or a general retrenchment, which would have been painful and perplexing. To the donors and collectors, are tendered on behalf of our seamen, the best thanks of the Board, and many of these kind helpers might truly say, "The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me." The directors hope that before the close of the next financial year the good example of Dr. Clemence and his church will be followed, in lending a schoolroom and assisting in getting up a bazaar which will help the Society to meet several urgent claims. Special gifts, accompanied by letters full of encouragement have come to cheer the heart and help the hand of the Board. An old friend of the Society sent £50, as he tenderly said, "in memory of my mother." Another wrote, "what a glorious time it would be if all our sailors as they landed on other shores, were the disseminators of the Gospel of Christ. I enclose £20 toward the British and Foreign Sailors' Society, and pray that many may this year be led to the Saviour." The same gentleman has since nobly offered, “Provided you can get ten persons to subscribe £10 a year each, I shall be happy to give a donation of £50, and subscribe £10 a year." One lady has offered to be one of the ten, and the directors sincerely hope they will be able to accept this generous challenge. One little laddie, Charlie, by name, who prays for the sailors every day, collected last year, no less than £21 2s. 34d, and sent from Ireland. MEMORIAL FUND (LATE MRS. MATTHEWS). This little fund, commenced in faith and hope, has been greatly blessed of the Lord. Contributions both great and small have come from many lands and seas. Sums ranging from a shilling from an Irish servant girl, to £120 from J. T. Arundel, Esq., a beloved director of this Society, now cruising among the Isles of the Paciffc.* A sailor's widow in the United States of America, sent one hundred dollars. A missionary's daughter (of this Society), sent as a thankoffering, £1 1s., being a fifth part of her first month's salary. Others in sorrow and bereavement elected to help the sailor in this way. The Rev. Dr. Gibson of St. John's Wood preached an admirable sermon on "Salvation from the waters," and gave an offering of £21 10s.; while the Misses Derriman gave a portion of * We are pleased to report a telegram from s.s. “Explorer,” New Zealand,— "Mr. and Mrs. Arundel well." IMPROVEMENT OF OUR SEAMEN. 175 their bazaar fund, amounting to £114 16s. Mr John Cory, J.P.,V.P., gave £100. One who thinks of the sailors wrote: MY DEAR MR. MATTHEWS.—Enclosed please find a Bank Draft on demand, in favour of Rev. Edward W. Matthews for £100. (One hundred pounds sterling), which please use for the British and Foreign Sailors' Society. I give the money unconditionally, and hope it may prove a blessing to the poor sailors in every sense of the term. Please do not mention my name in connection with it at all, and simply acknowledge it as coming from one who thinks of the sailors. Hoping your work amongst, and for the sailors may be abundantly successful. The Rev. C. H Spurgeon who preached one of his characteristic sermons in his own Tabernacle, for this Society, and who meets its missionaries to-night wrote: DEAR Mr. MATTHEWS.-I am right glad to be able to give you £10 towards your excellent work and tender memorial. Nothing can be better, and I hope that many friends will practically shew that they think so. Sailors' work is needful and profitable, and if I were a rich man I should take care to invest a good portion in those who go down to the sea in ships. I pray that the rich blessing of the Lord may rest on your earnest labours, and on your admirable Society. May generous donors make short work with the amount which you so much need. This precious letter bore immediate fruit, as it came to the Secretary at the house of Mr. R. Cory, of Cardiff. As soon as read, the lady at the head of the table covered it with another £10, and her husband with £50. It is hoped that this may be catching, and others may follow such a good example. As several of the hundreds were conditional, Mrs. wrote last month to say, "I will promise to give £100 in September next; let me know if this is agreeable, and will answer the purpose of securing the others." One other £100 has only to be secured when the fund will be complete. The fund has now reached in gifts and promises £1,203 6s. 9d. One thousand pounds are already invested, and the other sums will be added to the principal as they are received. A suitable deed of trust has been executed, and Messrs. J. H. Tritton, A. Scrutton, and E. W. Matthews have consented to be Trustees. Its object is to practically sustain, not on the principle of endowment, but encouragement, an agency to our sailors, where of all places on the earth it is most needed, in a Foreign Port. This little ship is now fairly launched on its mission of mercy, if heavenly breezes fill its sails, and Christ be its Captain, then it shall be found when its voyage is o'er that a goodly crew signed articles and safely reached the eternal harbour. IMPROVEMENT OF OUR SEAMEN. It was this tremendous need which called the Society into existence in 1818. This is its Raison d'etre to-day. How best to improve our seamen, materially, mentally, morally was the question submitted to writers by this Society, and the best answers were to receive two prizes of £100 and £50, kindly given by six Vice-Presidents. The adjudicators, Bishop Claughton, Dr. Donald Fraser, Messrs. J. H. Tritton, and J. W. Jansen, awarded the £50 prize to the best essay, which proved to have been written by the Rev. Charles E. Fry, B.A. It is hoped this essay, when revised, will be published, and benefit both the Society and the sailor. The directors tender their 66 best thanks to the writers, adjudicators, and donors.* The latter kindly consented for the unappropriated £100 to form the nucleus of a fund to assist our sailor missionaries who have grown aged in the service of the Society, and may be in need. A society as old as this comes to a critical point in its history when it is not easy with such a limited income "to love mercy" in the aged servant, and at the same time "to do justly " with the mission which might be overtaken with acute symptoms of paralysis, and even nigh unto death. One old missionary is blind, another is nearly so, while several after about thirty years' of service are not so young as when they first began. Such a fund, therefore, of which this £100 is the seed germ, might become most useful to the Society. The directors, however, are pleased to note that in several of the stations where the agents have been longest, the work was never more real and prosperous. But to return to the vital question of the improvement of our seamen. It is one which should have the interest of the legislator, shipowner, underwriter, merchant, passenger, philanthropist, and Christian. A deputation of the Chamber of Shipping of the United Kingdom recently brought the question of their seamen's conduct before the President of the Board of Trade. He replied that they deserted either because the bargain was bad or they themselves were bad, in fact, a worse class than the ordinary average of English workmen. He said, "If that is the case we have to look for a remedy in the improvement of this class of working men, and I am forced to think this improvement is happily proceeding." Those who take a large view of the case and have watched our sailors during a greater part of the century, will confirm this opinion. In Her Majesty's navy, where drunkenness and debauchery ran riot, sobriety and morality and, in many cases Godliness, now reign. In that vaster fleet of the mercantile marine it must be looked upon from all sides. There are the small coasters and barge men, a great improvement is noticeable among them. Then those who man our coasting steamers are generally steady men, closely bound by their families. A friend of one of our missionaries made 47 voyages from Sunderland to London and back in six months. It is not infrequent to see a steamer arrive in port, discharge cargo, load again, and start in little over the 24 hours. "A fleet of steam colliers have been seen for weeks past, every Monday morning only, at the Regent's Canal Dock, Limehouse." While it is notorious that in all Foreign ports that steamers flying our British flag generally work cargo on Sunday. Last year had 53 Sabbaths, but many a sailor by the nature of his calling had not one. Many an officer and sailor, too, proves that in some steamers there is little time for moral improvement by religious exercises. Yet, in spite of all the difficulties, it must be admitted that many good men and true, man these steam ships. From whence come the trusted officers of this magnificent fleet, constantly bearing untold millions worth of precious cargo and hundreds of thousands of passengers? Last year there were 473,642 emigrants taken into the port of New York alone. But from our sailing ships great and small, and many of *Sir Thomas Brassey, K.C.B., Messrs. J. H. Tritton, John Cory, E. Rawlings, J. Anderson, and J. Clark. IMPROVEMENT OF OUR SEAMEN. 177 them were once rough sailor lads. and it is not too much to say that many of the managers, moving spirits of our great shipping firms, and even partners, were themselves once unknown sailors. It must ever be remembered that our merchant service is recruited by a portion of her seamen who have sprung from the lowest moral strata of inland towns, and the very worst slums of our seaports. Criminal boys trained in vice, to say nothing of ungovernable youths nurtured in wickedness, altogether under the influence of their worst passions, thriftless and immoral, find the free, roving life of the sailor congenial. These men become the easy prey of professional crimps who live on their festering vices. It is no wonder that some of these break a contract too often made by their worst enemies, whose tools they are. Absolutely separated from their families, too often abandoned, mere wanderers of the deep, without ambition. It is scarcely to be wondered at, that at Cardiff last year out of 38,000 sailors shipped that nearly 24 percentage of the shipping was detained through desertion. But in Poplar, London, out of 19,486 seamen engaged only 68 failed to join their ships. It is such homeless, often friendless, unfortunate seamen who, after a short time on shore find themselves without any choice in the matter, put on board of deep sea ships. It will be seen that our missionaries have not only a wide area to cover, a migratory class to reach, increased rapidity of movement, but are heavily handicapped in the stern battle to save the lost of our mercantile marine. Even from these, souls are rescued as Chaplain Jones of New York, Father Taylor of Boston, John Newton of London, and many others, who become an honour to their profession and the pioneers of the Kingdom of God. Then our survey is not complete unless our fishermen and boatmen be included. They not only man an ever increasing fleet of lifeboats, the glory of our nation, but that beautiful fleet of pleasure yachts is largely recruited from their ranks by picked crews, which cannot be surpassed even by Her Majesty's navy. Look at the Manx fishermen, the Scotch fishermen, the Cornish and West country fishermen, and the North-sea fishermen, and you will see some of those very types of Christian character found among those memorable fishermen of Galilee's lake. Talk of improvement, they have not only conquered the seas, but themselves for Christ. This year special attention will be directed both to them and their calling. The firstfruits of the harvests of the sea will be exhibited at Kensington, when our beloved Queen will (if able) open in person that unique exhibition. All shores will be represented, and doubtless rapid strides will follow, and our sailors will be enabled and encouraged to perfect their lawful dominion of the sea. Fishing is no feasting. A fisher lad said to our representative in Yarmouth, that his life was eight weeks in penal servitude at sea and a week a gentleman on shore. Even Shakespere could scarcely put sea life more tersely, but he might have added to the penal servitude, with the prospect of being drowned. But this is not only true of a fisherman's life, but the sailor's generally. Working out their penal servitude is not always pleasant. Joseph, who had many opportunities of studying human nature, said to his ten brethren, "See |