66 which exist almost exclusively among the most polished and intelligent of the species," it is not " very probable, at least, that they will be eradicated by rendering the species more polished and intelligent." For any thing they can see, unless an instrument of greater power can be discovered or invented, matters, they think, will remain much the same, ten thousand years hence as they are at this moment."* These are far from shallow thoughts; they are the judgments of pure philosophy -the profoundest operations of reason apart from Revelation. Philosophy, however, holds forth no hope of relief to mankind from their manifold miseries, except the tomb! Looking at generation after generation, through the vista of thousands of years, she beholds nothing but discord, which— 66 Raging, bathes the purple plain; Turning from philosophers to the prophets of God, how changed is my prospect! Their writings abundantly assure me that all nations "shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; that nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more." The wonderful writings of these seers not only foretell the fact of the ultimate prevalence of peace, but describe the process by which the great revolution will be effected. It is not by philosophy; it is not by legislation; it is not by secular instruction; it is not by the diffusion of freedom; it is not by the extension of commerce and the multiplication of wealth: it is not by one nor by all of these things, and still less is it by war, the bane and destruc* Edinburgh Review, vol. xxi. P. 16. tion of them all! No. It is by filling the earth, as the prophets express it, with "the knowledge of the Lord." This this will extinguish the flames of war! I have now reached the highest point of my great theme. From this fact arises the glory of the missionary. He is the man by whom the earth is to be so filled. On his agency, therefore, hinge the hopes of all nations. It is madness to look for deliverance from any other; and such an expectation must end in despair. How dignified, then, is the position of the missionary body, the appointed enlighteners and liberators of mankind! How puny, how contemptible an object is the greatest of this world's great men, as compared with the least of these heavenly benefactors! All earthly operations are truly honourable and glorious only as they harmonize with the work of missions, or help it forward. Such men as the late John Williams, the martyr of Erromanga, are incomparably greater men than the greatest of European conquerors, or statesmen, or philosophers. The fame on earth of Williams and his brethren will be as lasting as the benefits which they have conferred on mankind; it will be bounded only by the globe, and terminate only with the end of all things. Their names are written, not in blood, but in the hearts of nations. The celebration of their peaceful glories commences not with the thunder of desolation, the shrieks of suffering, and the groans of death! acts are not "Such as nations yet unborn shall tell, And curse the battle where their fathers fell!" Their Oh my Lord Duke, what peace, joy, unity, and brotherhood succeed their victories! How tender, how intense is the love of the vanquished for the victor! How they admire the Saviour! How they cleave to his servants! Good, and only good, good personal and relative, good of all kinds, good in the largest measures, good both for soul and body, good for this world and for that which is to come, attends their march, and flows from their conquests. The missionary's station is a fountain of good, of unmixed good, to all around it; and the missionary himself is at once seen to be the friend of God, and the benefactor of the whole human race. How simple are the means, how unostentatious the movements, how cheap the wars of the missionary body! Their Bibles, paper, types, and printing presses, are the cannon, shells, and mortars with which they storm the citadels of idolatry. The missionaries assail systems, not men; in their battle there is love to man, hatred only to evil. They go to this, the most difficult, sometimes the most dangerous, of all enterprises, in the strength of the Lord God. In the name of their God, they "set up their banners ;" and "his banner over them is love." They lay their sieges to the soul of man. They first proceed to rectify the deadly disorders that rage within him. They lead him to the knowledge of the true God through Jesus Christ, which proves life, light, peace, hope, and happiness. From this moment the most savage of our race become gentle as lambs, and the most barbarous are introduced within the pale of the only true civilization, and lifted up to fellowship with God. This internal renovation becomes the basis of a new moral character. The Book of the missionaries declares, that "if any man be in Christ Jesus, he is a new creature; old things have passed away, and all things are become new. Thus piety is the source of morality; and morals the foundation of government. In the British capital there is at present a member of the missionary brotherhood, who could rehearse to your Grace facts illustrative of the power of the gospel over the hearts of men, such as would not fail unspeakably to interest you. He could tell you of the murderous feats of Africaner, the terrible Caffrarian chief. He could tell you of the power of the gospel over this desert monarch of Namaqualand; he could show him to you in all the simplicity of childhood, and, with more than female tenderness, acting the part of a peacemaker, pouring forth the bitterest regrets for the torrents of blood which he had caused to flow, and earnestly imploring the head men of his region to unite with him in efforts to establish permanent peace. This missionary, whose name is Moffat, could give your Grace the history of a ten years' experiment upon the tribes of the Desert, comprehending accounts of labours, trials, privations, and dangers, in connexion with this magnanimous experiment, such as your Grace never formed an idea of. At first he knew not the language, and he had none to teach him. To accomplish this, unmindful of their filth, and fearless of their ferocity, he went and lived, for a period, entirely among the natives. He waked, he slept, he wandered, he hunted, he rested, he ate, he drank with them, till he thoroughly mastered their language, and he then began to preach to them the gospel of Christ. Through this long space of ten years, amidst difficulties and afflictions of all kinds, occasionally attended by threats of murder, he laboured on without any tokens of success. Still he continued to preach to them the love of God, and the death of Christ for the sins of men, till, at length, they began to listen, to tremble, and to weep. They repented of sin and forsook it; they heard the gospel and believed it. Then, as the evidence and effect of this, burst forth the buddings of civilization. The once naked, filthy savages became clothed and cleanly; idleness gave place to industry; they built houses, and cultivated gardens; provisions for the wants of the mind kept pace with that of those for the body; they reared schools for the young, and chapels for the old. The business of education and religion rapidly advanced. Hundreds of these sable savages now believe the gospel of Christ, and "walk in his holy ways;" thousands are learning to read; surrounding tribes behold and admire the change, and are imploring missionaries to come and work like wonders for them, and communicate to them like blessings. Human bones no more strew the region; bonfires are no longer made of the children of prisoners taken in war; and no more do they bury alive their own little ones! Mr. Moffat, to complete his benevolent operations, is now in England, printing Bibles and school books in the language of these people. He has with him a Bechuana girl, whom, sixteen years ago, he rescued from the grave. This girl, with his own daughters, has been trained in England to conduct infant schools on his return to Africa. Who can describe the obligations under which these tribes are laid to their missionaries! This, my Lord Duke, is only a specimen of a work which, in substance, is being carried on with like success under almost every sky, and by Protestant missionaries of all denominations. Among men of all hues, of all tongues, and in every stage of barbarism, it is now being demonstrated that the gospel of Christ is "the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth." Those portions of the globe which have been last discovered, have been among the most successful fields of modern missions. I refer more especially to the islands of the South Seas. The spirit of discovery, animated by the love of science, first descried those lovely isles. Commerce, impelled by cupidity, next visited them; but science and commerce left the natives ignorant of God. To them the white man's discovery was no blessing, and each successive visit was but a greater curse! At length the missionary ship from England arrived at Otaheite, with men of manners so unlike all that had previously appeared on their shores, that the natives could scarcely believe them to be English. After fifteen long years of delay and disappointment, |