200 LONDON AND ITS NEW BISHOP. old lines.' • The old lines' have emptied Spitalfields, St. George's, the Seamen's Chapel, and other splendid centres of Christian work. The old lines, the old pews, the old pew rents, the old quarterly collections, the old times, and, if necessary, the old trustees, the old officials, and the old congregation, must retire from the scene to some congenial resting place. The time has come when the salvation of 10,000 immortal souls can be no longer subordinated to the imaginary interests of a handful of excellent Christians."* Noone can know London unless they read Andrew Mearns little sixpenny book of London and its Teeming Toilers, who they are, and how they live. We should like to see a chapter added. London as a port, the world's entrepot, the ships that come and go, and what they carry. The Rev. Andrew Mearns is Secretary of the London Congregational Union. To say that he and Mrs. Mearns are the right persons in the right place are simple facts and figures, but eloquent as those he has given us. It is not given to every one to originate, initiate, and execute. It is given to Mr. Mearns. Some men fight shy of figures as of foes, he passionately loves them. He does with figures what Quakers do with their foes-convert them into friends. There are Secretaries of Church Institutions as well as Secretaries of State, whatever may be said as to the imperfections of the latter: we have thought that Mearns does not stand alone among the former in their office as monuments of Sovereign grace, both as to fitness of things, and possessing capacity, courage, and other good qualities! Here are a few of his facts and figures. In the population of inner London in 1881, there were no less than 549 males, 704 females, making a total of 1,253 British subjects born at sea. Connected with navigation we find 30,218 persons, including 10,110 seamen of the Mercantile Marine. We suppose these are residents. In the Borough of Hackney 417,233 persons live. That is 6,000 more than in Leeds and Blackburn united. Lambeth with its host of 499,255, more than equals Bristol, Brighton, and Nottingham, with a small town of 10,000 inhabitants added to them. The Tower Hamlets (in which our Sailors' Institute is situated) with 439,137 people, would need ten such towns as Reading to house them, and would still have 18,597 persons left out in the cold. In 1871 the population of inner London was 3,816,483. In 1884 the Registrar General estimates the population to be 5,093,995, showing an increase in thirteen years 1,208,354, or an average of 92,950 a year. But the present rate of increase is estimated at 103,043, and as it will probably increase there will be considerably over a million increase in less than ten years. * Why are Churches, Chapels, Halls, well nigh empty, though surrounded by millions of people? What can be done to gather them in ? SUNDAY WORK IN OUR STEAMERS. Sunday working on our steamers, both at home and o abroad. In one of the recent numbers of Chart and Compass which my wife has forwarded, you speak, sir, about Christian Traders, what we require is Christian shipowners and traders. Many so called Christians are our ship managers, while great numbers of good men haye shares in steamers who are ignorant of the fact that when they are praying for, and contributing to the support of missions to seamen in foreign ports, the poor fellows, without whose aid and self-denial they could not make a dividend and who are deprived of all home comforts, are when in port hindered from attending the means of grace through the working of cargo on their ships. True, all hands are not employed, but it so destroys the sanctity of the day, and has such a bad influence that those of the crew who are seriously inclined seldom care to go to church or chapel, while the rest make it a grand excuse to spend the day and evening in places ruining body and soul, and you, sir, from your long experience, know that it is well nigh impossible for a missionary to have any good influence amongst the crew of a Sunday working steamer. In the home port it is the great point to get the steamer to sea either on Saturday night or Sunday so that there are thousands of men who seldom, if ever, get an unbroken Sabbath in port notwithstanding the vast sums spent to provide means of grace for them; as competition becomes the theme—and theme it is, enough to make one despair for our English Sabbath-unless we are willing to follow the example of the Germans who have retained the forms of Christianity but appear to have given up the Sunday to pleasure or work. I have felt so deeply on this subject and have written twice to religious papers hoping they would take it up, but they have only noticed the letters—nothing more, as it is an evil kept out of sight at home, only being seen by a few, while abroad the great number who are affected by it are amongst those who have the least chance to make themselves heard, so religious societies with their influential newspapers are willing to let the matter slide having amongst their chief supporters many who are interested in undertakings which demand Sabbath labour. They are unwilling to offend them by crying “Thou art the man.” This temporising with first 202 DEATH OF ANOTHER AFRICAN EXPLORER. principles among religious people, I am afraid, is becoming one of the evils of the present day and not unnoticed by the world. Some ship owners even provide their crews with Bibles and good books yet allow their steamers to work cargo on Sunday, and Jack will readily tell the missionary that “if the owners care for my soul they would show it by caring for the Sabbath and let us have a quiet day of rest when we have the chance.”—I am yours, C. G., Master Mariner. Malta, May 11th, 1885. JESUS ONLY! JESUS EVER! ALL FOR JESUS! Jesus only!—for salvation, and for heart-subduing power, EVA TRAVERS EVERED POOLE. We are pleased this gifted writer has promised something for Chart and Compass.-ED. DEATH OF ANOTHER AFRICAN EXPLORER. News has just reached England that the International African Association has lost another able officer at the post of duty in the person of Mr. Edward Spenser Burns, third son of Dr. Dawson Burns. Mr. E. S. Burns reached the Kwilu River in December, 1883, and in two months after his arrival carried through with complete success an exploring expedition from the Kwilu to the Congo, traversing upwards of a hundred miles of country never before visited by Europeans. He was subsequently placed in command of the Mauyanga district, and had obtained leave of absence to visit Europe ; but on a business journey to Stanley Pool he was seized with severe intermittent fever, and died at Leopoldville on March ist. He had not completed his 24th year. MY DEAR SIR,—The enclosed cutting appeared in the Echo two nights ago. It occurred to me that possibly you may deem it of interest sufficient to notice it in the Chart and Compass, for Mr. Burns visited the Institute several times before he left for Africa, for the purpose of learning the use of the Sextant in taking observations. This I undertook to teach him. He was quick to learn, which gave me great pleasure, and from his manner and excellent principles of life I learned to love him. He made much use of his knowledge of the Sextant, for he fixed several geographical positions in his travels; received the thanks of the Royal Geographical Society for the same, and was made a F.R.G.S. I look back now with sad interest and regret that his life was cut off so soon. You will probably know also that Mr. Stanley himself, a prince of African travellers studied here under Mr. Saxby.-Yours faithfully, W. B. CUSTARD. HEROES OF THE NORTH SEA. “ The gale! the gale ! the gale! the roaring gale ! The battered ship! the shattered sail.” “ The valiant dare everything but doing any other body an injury.”—Sir Philip Sydney. CHO has not, either seen, heard, or read of the heroic V deeds performed by our daring, brave, and noble ay in hearted lifeboat men around our sea-girt isle? When life is in peril, these men with their lives in their hands, man the lifeboat, and bravely commit themselves to the boiling surf, breakers, and raging billows, to save the lives of their brother seamen, etc., in distress, and imminent peril. On her return from the scene of rescue, in very many instances with her living freight of human beings, it is no uncommon thing for her to be received with shouts of triumph, by those who may have been eagerly, and closely watching, while the gallant deed has been performed by these sturdy men. But we have another object in view in writing this article, than the grand exploits achieved by these useful and hardy men. There is another class of seamen that perform gallant deeds of heroism in saving life and property, far out of sight of those, whose privileged lot it is to live on shore. The men who follow the deep sea fishing. These may truly be called the heroes of the North Sea, their smacks, and the tiny cockle-shell boats (in comparison with the noble boats of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution) verging from 12 to 15 feet in length; 4 feet 6 inches floor* ; 6 to 7 feet beamt; and about 2 feet 6 inches in depth. These are the kind of boats they take to sea with them to carry out the objects of their occupation in taking fish which they catch, on board other vessels that may be proceeding to land, that they may remain some time longer on the fishing grounds before they return to port. These boats may be termed, and really are, the lifeboats of the North Sea, without any of the appliances by which the specially built lifeboat is equipped. The crew of the lifeboat is supplied with cork jackets, so that in the event of an accident the risk to life is minimised to the greatest extent possible. All this is perfectly right, and does not detract from the gallantry and heroism displayed by the lifeboat crews. In the cases of rescue effected by our smacksmen in the North Sea, they have no self-righting boat with air tight compartments, no cork jackets wherein to go to the halfdrowned and perhaps the half-famished crew; nothing but a small boat, often not of the best description, and, more often than not, in a very unseaworthy condition. The gale perhaps is a heavy one, and the sea is running mountains high. To launch this frail little * Bottom of boat. † Breadth of same. 204 HEROES OF THE NORTH SEA. craft is of itself a work of great difficulty, the passage between the smack and the wreck is full of peril, and it is only by courage, skill, and perseverance that it can be effected. To get alongside and take off the crew is dangerous beyond conception; and to return with such a cockle-shell deeply laden would seem to a landsman like courting death without the slightest chance of escape. But the records of this post will show that this has been done year by year over and over again, and will be done again while British fishermen are the noble fellows they are, and we trust ever will be. The gallant deeds done by these heroic men, cannot be fully chronicled, as they are accomplished in many instances, under the greatest difficulties, some hundreds of miles, out of sight of the applauding multitude, and appreciating philanthropist, on the wild North Sea. It is impossible to have a correct conceptive idea of the dangers, horrors, and rolling billows of this great waste of waters, without some practical knowledge of the same, to know it, is to be in the midst of it, as these brave men are. It is in the interest of these daring men we write, to make known the deeds (not words) which are done by those rough, yet humane fishermen, that Christian sympathy may be elicited on their behalf, that they may be won for Christ, sail under His banner, and become His true disciples. The gallantry of these noble fellows cannot be too highly spoken of, or too widely made known amongst the friends of seamen. Take the following extracts from recent cases, as examples of daring bravery, and humane kindness to distressed fellow seamen in the open North Sea without any means at their command to save themselves; the disinterested motives of these men, will at once be seen, to be but those of kindness on behalf of the distressed, whom they seek to save and succour. On the 26th of October last, during a fresh gale from W.N.W., when about 55 miles off Lowestoft, the smack “ Victory” of Ramsgate, sighted the Norwegian brigantine “ Magda,” in a sinking condition and unmanageable. The smack's boat was manned by the mate, H. P. Brittain, and senior apprentice, John Blackman, and after considerable difficulty, owing to the leeway of the ship, they managed to get alongside, when five of the crew of the “ Magda” immediately jumped into the boat, the captain and mate refusing to leave the vessel, as they did not think the boat would carry them all. Brittain urged them to come, as they might not be able to return for them ; but they remained behind. Very reluctantly the boat was headed towards the smack, which was safely reached. By that time it was quite dark, but the smack again bore down on the “ Magda” with the hope of effecting the rescue of the captain and mate. The master of the “ Victory" |