Their

ever been, the great and the only true civilizer of man-
kind. On him alone the hope of all heathen lands, at
this moment, entirely depends. He alone can bring
them deliverance. It must be very pleasing to the
friends of the heathen, to know that you have really
begun to give the subject your serious attention. Every
thing connected with human society and the affairs of
nations, however important in itself, is really insignifi-
cant as compared with the work of missions.
temporal is only second to their eternal importance.
The question of universal civilization is mainly a ques-
tion of missions. May I cherish the belief that you
have read the principal portion of the missionary pub-
lications issued within the last twenty years, and, above
all, the "Missionary Enterprises," in the South Seas,
by the Rev. John Williams? That work I respectfully
offer to you as at once the proof and illustration of all
my assertions on this point. The present Bishop of
Chester,―an authority, you will grant, of the first order
in such matters,-after perusing that work, declared that
"he knew not whether he would not willingly put away
at least half the folios which he possessed, rather than
part with one volume which had recently been published
by the Missionary Williams!" Such a statement, from
such a man, surely bespeaks a corresponding degree of
merit in the work. The causes which have produced
such effects in Polynesia, are causes to whose power no
limits can be set. The power which wrought such
wonders is equal to the working of any thing.
have only to multiply the same sort of agency, in order
to adorn and bless all countries with similar results.

We

Let me most earnestly entreat you, Sir, if you have not yet had leisure to read Williams, to give him a

careful perusal. It is of the first importance to this first of earthly causes, that you, and all legislators and men of letters, should seriously entertain this question. It is in your own power, singly, most materially to forward it. It is supremely to be desired that the Edinburgh Review should heartily espouse this great cause. It has never yet put forth its giant strength on any theme, that equally deserved the utmost stretch of its highest power. The question of missions is, moreover, a standing subject. Not a new work of any importance on missions, ought to pass without notice in the pages of that journal. And, independently of such works, were it to put forth an annual article upon all the missionary reports, it would render an invaluable service to the general cause of civilization and of universal humanity. The Annual Reports of the Church of England, the Church of Scotland, the London, the Baptist, the Wesleyan, and Moravian Missionary Societies, would supply abundant materials for discussions and dissertations, which, for œcumenical importance, practical utility, philanthropic interest, and moral grandeur, have never been equalled in its most brilliant, profound, and enlightened lucubrations.

It is to be hoped that the infamous articles* on Methodism and Missions, will not prove a bar in the way of such a course. Because the original conductor of the journal erred in admitting such miserable slanders, are his successors, in all coming time, bound to exclude missionary literature, or else to vilify its authors, that they may maintain consistency in error? Surely this is not the way to atone for the wrongs perpetrated

* Vol. xi. p. 341; xii. 153; xiv. 83.

upon the cause of humanity, and for the injuries inflicted upon the characters of honourable men! Frankly to confess mistakes, and promptly to repair them, is among the finest traits of noble natures. The path of justice, moreover, is always the path of wisdom, as well as of prudence. Whatever tends to promote the glory of God and the good of mankind, can never be impolitic. Forgetting all that is past-and the Christian public will readily unite in such an act of oblivion-let the Review come forth at once as the advocate of Christian missions, on the largest scale, and the most liberal principles. Let the reverend traducer who wrote the articles in question, be at once thrown overboard! It might wound his pride to see the Review practically disown his productions, but it might also serve to appease his conscience. As he still lives, he must have seen enough of the beneficent results of missions to cover him with confusion! He and his co-operatives, in the manufacture of impiety and falsehood, have had time to ascertain the effect of the "pestilent absurdities" of the gospel; they may now witness, in the work of Williams, "the extent of the mischief of that delirious enthusiasm, which is still more pernicious in its remote consequences than in its immediate effects."* The isles of the South Seas are tolerably "remote" e" as to space, and thirty-three years are tolerably "remote" as to time. How it is to be wished that the venerable libeller would now favour the world with his septuagesimal reflections on the deeds of his unreflecting youth! The friends of missions are now in circumstances to answer his question: "Why are we to send out little

*Vol. xiv. p. 83.

detachments of maniacs, to spread over the fine regions of the world the most unjust and contemptible opinions of the gospel?" Their reply is, read Williams's "Missionary Enterprises" in the South Seas, and behold the work of the madmen!

With respect to the duty of attempts to convert the heathen, the reverend adversary of missions says, "It is somewhat strange, in a duty which is stated by one party to be so clear and so indispensable, that no man of moderation and good sense can be found to perform it: and, if no other instruments remain but visionary enthusiasts, some doubt may be honestly raised, whether it is not better to drop the scheme entirely." Let him read Williams's "Missionary Enterprises" in the South Seas, and behold the work of the enthusiasts! The conscience of the critic, towards the end of his second article, seems to have become rather uneasy, and hence he concludes with the following passage by way of caveat and redemption: "For ourselves, if there were a fair prospect of carrying the gospel into regions where it was before unknown; if such a project did not expose the best possessions of the country to extreme danger; and if it was in the hands of men who were discreet as well as devout, we should consider it to be a scheme of true piety, benevolence, and wisdom: but the baseness and malignity of fanaticism shall never prevent us from attacking its arrogance, its ignorance, and its activity. For what vice can be more tremendous than that which, while it wears the outward appearance of religion, destroys the happiness of man, and dishonours the name of God?"* To all this we reply, Read

* Vol. xii. p. 181.

Williams's "Missionary Enterprises" in the South Seas, and behold the fruits of fanaticism! The clerical calumniator, at the close of his first article, thus expresses his solicitude for the good of his country:-" It is impossible to say what political animosities may not be ingrafted upon this marked and dangerous division of mankind into the godly and the ungodly!. At all events, we are quite sure that happiness will be destroyed, reason degraded, sound religion banished from the world; and that, when fanaticism becomes too foolish and too prurient to be endured, (as is at last sure to be the case,) it will be succeeded by a long period of the grossest immorality, atheism, and debauchery. Whatever happens, we are for common sense and orthodoxy. Insolence, servile politics, and the spirit of persecution, we condemn and attack, whenever we observe them; but to the learning, the moderation, and the rational piety of the Establishment, we most earnestly wish a decided victory over the nonsense, the melancholy, and the madness of the Tabernacle."* To all this, again I reply, Read Williams's "Missionary Enterprises" in the South Seas, and behold the results of the work of the men who laboured most deeply under these mental maladies! Williams was, beyond all question, and all comparison, one of the maddest and most melancholy members of "the Tabernacle."

The present Conductor of the Edinburgh Review is not to be held responsible for the folly, ignorance, impiety, and injustice of the articles from which these extracts are taken. They were highly mischievous in their tendencies, at the time of their appearance, both at home and abroad. Their evil effects have long since,

* Vol. xi. pp. 361, 362.