animated conversation took place. This conference was kept up till a late hour, and was sustained by Messrs. Rees, Rossiter, Dickens, Hill, Captain March, and others.

VAN DIEMEN'S LAND.-The town of Launceston numbers about 8,000 inhabitants. It is the second town in the penal colony of Van Diemen's Land, and a very large proportion of its inhabitants either are, or have been, prisoners of the crown. In such a community you would naturally expect to find vice of all kinds abounding, and may readily picture to yourself the thousand forms in which evil influences surround and poison the mind of our youth; and you can well understand that, in bringing the counter influences of christian instruction to bear upon the children of such a community, many are the discouragements which the teachers and friends of the sabbath school system have to contend with. But, notwithstanding, those who have entered upon that sphere of christian duty in a right spirit, need not despair of final success, for He who has commended to his disciples the "lambs" of his flock, will bless their work of faith and labour of love, which so completely harmonizes with his own benevolent designs towards the children of men. While many in the community are chiefly concerned for their present enjoyment and temporal prosperity, there are still a goodly number in this place who “esteem the sabbath a delight, and call the holy of the Lord honourable." We have in Launceston nine congregations, to each of which a sabbath school is attached. The number of children in attendance at the various schools is as follow:-Tamar-street, Independent, 123; St. John-square, Independent, 65; York-street, Baptist, 44; Free Church, 33. These four schools form the Launceston union. The other schools are-Wesleyan, 368 children; St. John's Church, 117; Trinity Church, 141; Presbyterian, 80; and the Roman Catholic, 140. Total number of scholars, 1,111. The Launceston Sunday school union was formed in 1847. Its principal object is to promote intercourse and to cultivate feelings of friendship between the teachers of the different schools; for which purpose a quarterly meeting is held, when the teachers and pastors meet, and form a social tea party. The penal character of the colony has long been a source of regret to all who have taken an interest in its moral advancement, and the transportation system has proved so injurious to the temporal and spiritual interests of the people, that one universal cry has been raised for its immediate cessation. Free Institutions have been recently conceded to us by the English government, and the arrival of the act was signalized by general rejoicings, on which occasion about 1,450 children of this town assembled in the Horticultural Gardens, where they were met by the Sunday school teachers. From thence they went in procession to a pavilion erected in the heart of the town, and were suitably regaled: it was the most interesting feature of the popular demonstration.-Extracts from a letter, dated 1st September, 1851.

SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION ANNIVERSARY.

THE NATIONAL GREATNESS OF BRITAIN; ITS CAUSES, DANGERS, AND PRESERVATION.

A SERMON, BY THE REV. JAMES SHERMAN, At Surrey Chapel, May 4th, 1852.

DEUTERONOMY iv. 5—9.

"Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it. Keep therefore and do them; for this is your wisdom and your understanding in the sight of the nations, which shall hear all these statutes, and say, Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people. For what nation is there so great, who hath God so nigh unto them, as the Lord our God is in all things that we call upon him for? And what nation is there so great, that hath statutes and judgments so righteous as all this law, which I set before you this day? Only take heed to thyself, and keep thy soul diligently, lest thou forget the things which thine eyes have seen, and lest they depart from thy heart all the days of thy life: but teach them thy sons, and thy son's sons.

CANAAN was eminently the glory of all lands, and Israel the most renowned of all people; in wealth, in intelligence, in honour, and in victory, the Jewish nation exceeded all the nations by which it was surrounded. It is natural to inquire how this arose. It was not from their splendid descent, for they sprang from an idolater. It was not from their numerical importance, for they were the fewest of all people. It was not from their warlike character, for they were unaccustomed to the use of the spear or the bow. It was not from the soil of their country, for though Palestine was fruitful, Egypt was much more so. When, therefore, Moses describes to them how they are to progress and prosper, he lays down certain laws which would ensure prosperity to that nation-he invariably attributes its advancement to God's favour in giving them his will, his statutes, and his laws; and he tells UNION MAGAZINE.] [MAY 15, 1852.

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them that, as they obeyed these laws as a nation, and as they instructed their children in them, they should prosper; when they forgot those laws, and ceased to instruct their children in them, they should sink into dishonour, and at last into utter ruin; and, precisely as he predicted, it came to pass in that nation.

Now England is a great nation. Compared with heathen and unenlightened countries, it assumes an imposing splendour; but if viewed in contrast even with the cultivated nations of the con. tinent of Europe, it stands at the head of them all. Its commercial enterprise, its civil and religious liberty, its indomitable industry, its multiplied comforts, and the distinguished reputation in which it is held in all nations of the earth, place it above, far above, any other country. It is natural for any man in surveying England to ask, "How has she become so great among the nations which were previously her superiors, in honour, in wealth, and in dignity ?" And having discovered the fact of this greatness, and the causes of it, the inquiry naturally suggests itself, "How is this greatness to be perpetuated and increased?" He cannot be a patriot who does not wish his country to prosper; nor he who when he discovers the proper means for increasing the prosperity of his country, will not use them. I feel I am addressing, this evening, a number of patriots who wish well to England-who have undertaken to teach the young, because they believe a religious and well-instructed people is the best preservative of national greatness, and lays the foundation for its future prosperity, which nothing can overturn or overcome. The object, then, of this discourse will be to confirm and to stimulate you in this work.

The subject will be, "The National Greatness of Britain; its Causes, Dangers, and Preservation." I shall notice

I. THE CAUSES OF BRITAIN'S GREATNESS.

The causes are specified in the text; but the time allotted to such a service as the present will only allow me to touch on several points on which I would otherwise have spoken at length.

The first thing mentioned in the text, and which is presented throughout this book, is, that a nation's greatness consists in having the knowledge of the true God. It is not many years since this nation was the seat of idolatry: its inhabitants were so many naked savages, or if they covered themselves, we are told by the historians of the age, that it was with the rough skins of beasts; and even that covering extended only to parts of their persons. They made incisions in their bodies, in the shape of various animals and trees; and for the sake of ornament they rubbed these incisions

with a blue juice which they extracted from herbs; they lived in the rudest huts, which were covered with turf and boughs; they practised concubinage, and their best sons were sacrificed to their gods. All the consequences of idolatry followed; cruelty, bondage, and superstition were the ingredients of their bitter cup. While in this state God sent to their land the knowledge of himself, and the idols were utterly annihilated, so that there is not now one in existence. When God came near, prosperity approached; and now who hath God so nigh unto them as this great nation, in all that it calls upon him for? God has given us the knowledge of himself, and this is the foundation of our prosperity. Your appearance here to-night is the effect of God's coming amongst us, and of the knowledge of God spreading as it has done in this land.

Nor must we forget another cause mentioned in the text, and which may also be ascribed to Britain-our multitudinous and wonderful deliverances. The deliverances of Israel were often miraculous interpositions of God's providence; and without attributing our deliverances to miraculous agency, we must say that the hand of God has been remarkable with regard to Britain. We cannot stay to specify many interpositions; but take, for instance, the attempted invasion by the Spanish armada, in which the storms from heaven effected that which no human power could possibly have accomplished, and saved our nation from being driven back again into papistical slavery and degradation. Look, again, at the invention of printing-at the great reformation from Popery at the translation of the Bible into the common language of the people. All these great and wonderful interpositions of God's providence for Britain have been the means of raising us to our present greatness and importance. He has but to open his eyes, and read in the pages of history how this country has risen among the nations of the earth by the remarkable power and providence of the Lord.

The text prescribes the institution and preservation of the christian ministry as another means of national greatness. In the fifth verse it is said, "Behold, I have taught you statutes and judgments, even as the Lord my God commanded me, that'ye should do so in the land whither ye go to possess it." Now this refers to the constant teaching of the people by the living voice. And have we not this privilege, from multitudes of pulpits and by various men; holy men who are appointed to the work, not by legal statute only, but who feel that they are called of God. This

agency has distributed knowledge-has nerved the people with right principles-has taught them industry, benevolence, and all the social virtues; and, above all, has exhibited to them the way of salvation by Christ, and furnished motives to holiness, and to every kind, benevolent act, of which even the learned amongst the heathen were ignorant. This has raised the nation in its intelligence and comfort more than any other means; for a continuous preaching of evangelical truth involves a respect for the sabbath -it involves cleanliness of the person-it involves care for the household, and the maintenance of family religion-all of which are a nation's honour and glory.

Moses insists that a most important means of promoting this greatness is, the communication of religious knowledge to the young. Where the statutes and precepts of the gospel have been taught to the young, the nation has made singular advances in prosperity. Since this Union was commenced, strides beyond all conception have been taken in that greatness. Within the seventy years during which this culture of the youthful mind has been attempted on the Lord's day, the population has been rising in intelligence. Latterly, an effort has been made, to take the very refuse of the population, which no man seemed to care for, to tame the lion, and to rescue the neglected, and in our ragged schools to bring the very lowest of the people to intelligence, spirituality, and duty. This attempt has answered beyond all the expectations of its founders. Only a short time ago I had the pleasure of addressing an assembly of seventy-six reputed felons, taken out of the jails of the kingdom, who had been under educational training for different periods; all were desirous of learning the way of God, and some of them, we have reason to believe, were truly converted to Christ. What has this teaching of these ragged youths already effected? Several are filling important and useful situations. Some have revived an obsolete trade, and are ready in the streets to black your shoes or to minister to your comfort. In helping those who are thus blessing and assisting these classes, it has been the honour of this church to take a very prominent part; for many years it has instructed between three and four thousand children every Lord's day at its own expense, and I believe that the prosperity of this church is largely attributable to these very efforts. It is a dishonour to any individual connected with it not to have something to do for Christ, and something to do if they can in connexion with the young. Though all the advantages in connexion with these efforts have not been realized that we could