GREAT PROSPECTS. THE BENEFITS OF THE BRITISH SQUADRON | education; twelve different dialects have IN REPRESSING THE SLAVE-TRADE. been studied and reduced to system, and These unfortunates (the slaves) in-printing-presses are industriously emcreased between the years 1805 and ployed on behalf of the multitudes who 1836, from 85,000 to 135,000 annually. have been taught to read." Now, let But from the year 1840 to 1845, their it be borne in mind that this spiritual numbers fell from 44,000 to 23,000; nay, agency was cotemporaneous with our in the year 1842, they were as low as protection of the coast; it was called into 17,000. There was indeed a partial in- existence by that protection, and has ever since been maintained by it against the crease in 1847 and 1848, but it arose violence of the slave-dealer. from peculiar causes, some of which no longer exist. I have ascribed these results to the efforts of our squadron, because, in truth, they can be attributed to nothing else. Up to the year 1836, little impression was made on the Slavetrade; we were fettered by defective treaties. That evil having then been remedied, we commenced a system of blockade, of in-shore cruising, of destruction of barracoons, aud of extensive capture. We took in eleven years, (between 1838 and 1849,) no fewer than 744 slavevessels; we destroyed during the same period, about 3000 barracoons. We have thus ruined many slave-dealers, and effectually discouraged others. And the repression of this infernal traffic to the extent already indicated, has been the blessed fruit of our humane and generous policy. THE PROTECTION AFFORDED BY THE SQUADRON. "There have been founded along the coast of Africa, within the last fifteen or sixteen years, as many as twelve independent missions. They are at the distance of 100 or 200 miles from each other; they embrace three times that number of coast-stations, and a still greater number in the interior. The Gospel is statedly preached in them, to thousands and hundreds of thousands; more than ten thousand youths are receiving a Christian Our difficulties are thus removed, and West Africa is opened to us. Considered merely in a worldly point of view, great will be England's reward. "The capabilities of the soil of Africa are unbounded; the resources of the country are great, beyond conception." Africa yields, without cultivation, almost all the products which we receive from India, and nine-tenths of her produce are available for exportation. God has rewarded England for her acts of mercy, by opening a country to her commercial enterprise, which, in the language of the West African Commissioner, "ought to become a new East Indies in her hands." But the rewards of England's missionary Church will be of a nobler kind; she is now about to see, in this field of spiritual culture, the fruits of her patience, her labours, and her prayers. The children of Africa regard us as brethren; their homes and hearts are open to us; they wait to receive our missionary-our Bible And if that -our religion. Blessed One has wrought for Africa, as I have shewn that He has done, and we desire the same distinction, an opportunity of realizing it is presented to us now. Let us give freely and liberally for that holy object for which His Providence has prepared the way! HEALTH AND HOUSES. THERE are many things clearly revealed to man by God, though not revealed in the Bible; or rather, we should say, His will in regard to much which pertains to man's well-being, is so clearly revealed in every book of nature, that it was unnecessary and superfluous to reveal it in any book of the Bible. Of such revealed facts we might truly say, "If they should be written every one, I suppose the world itself could not contain the books that should be written!" Yet the world is, after all, full of books written by the finger of God, revealing His will to those who have eyes to read them! God has told us, for instance, that if we put our hand into the fire, it is His will that it should be burned and pained; that if we take a certain quantity of arsenic, it shall kill us; that if we do not eat, we shall die. All this is certainly the revealed will of God, as much as if it was and flourishing business, finds time to cultivate both literature and science, and to stimulate his fellow-townsmen to follow his example. The essay may serve also as a specimen of the value of those institutions in directing the minds of members to such interesting and useful topics. No one can have failed to notice, though probably few have pondered sufficiently, the close connexion that exists between the physical circumstances of a dwelling or neighbourhood, and the sanatory and even moral condition of its inhabitants. In our own town, where the field of observation is comparatively narrow, and the tendencies of inadequate sanatory regulations are only partially developed, jest and worst ventilated localities are we may all have observed that the dirtalso those where fever and other contagious diseases most extensively prevail, and where the more disrespectable portion of the community are generally to be found; and it was the first object of the Health of Towns Commission to trace and account for this connexion, as it is found to exist in London and other large towns and cities. said in so many words in Scripture, "Thou | sociation" in a provincial town, by a shalt not take poison and die;" or, "Thou grocer, who, while conducting a large shalt take food and live." In like manner, God has told us that it is His will that men shall enjoy good health, only on certain conditions. And as sure as He wishes a man to labour for his daily bread, and to support his family, and to improve his time and talents to the utmost, so sure is it, that He wishes that man to fulfil those conditions, without which health and life cannot be maintained, and those duties, consequently, be performed. God, who desires the right ends of human existence to be attained, desires also the right means to be employed for their attainment. It is thus that he who disobeys God's will as revealed to him in daily life, and rebelliously insists upon it, that he shall -contrary to the laws of God-enjoy good health, although he is filthy in his body, and breathes day and night impure air, lives on the brink of open sewers, and amidst the miasma of fetid courts and accumulated manure—a man so acting is breaking God's law as much as if all he thus did were forbid in words in the Bible; and, consequently, when he and his family are laid down in fever, or swept off by cholera, or reduced to poverty by sickness and lost time; or when his children grow up delicate and diseased, he is just receiving the terrible punishment brought upon himself by ignorance of, or disobedience to, God's wise and impartial laws. "Sanatory Reform," then, is but a wise and pious endeavour by society to point out to men God's will in regard to health, and to assist them to obey the one, so as to enjoy the other. We hope our readers, especially those among the intelligent working classes, will take a deep interest in all such attempts to improve the physical condition of the population. To save the health of a working man, is to save his capital. To reform him physically, prepares the way, at least, to reform him morally. We are therefore happy in being able to publish the following summary of the first "Report of the Board of Health Commission," which was read at a meeting of a "Scientific As In Dr. Southwood Smith, the accomplished makes some statements on this branch of physician of the London fever hospital, the subject, which cannot fail to be interesting. "There are certain localities in the metropolis," says he, "which are the constant seats of fever, from which this disease is never absent, though it may prevail less or more extensively, and be less severe in some years, and even in some seasons of the same year, than in others, but still in which it is incessantly committing its ravages. there is uniformly bad sewerage, a bad every such district," continues Dr. Smith, supply of water, and a consequent accum ulation of filth; so that if the fever-districts of the metropolis were traced down in a map, and compared with the map of the commissioners of sewers, it would be found, that wherever the commissioners of sewers have not been, fever prevails, and that wherever they have been, it is comparatively absent. In some of the neglected districts in the east of London, what it is in the western parts. This the rate of mortality is nearly double higher value of life in the western division of the metropolis is doubtless partly owing to the better food and clothing of the wealthier inhabitants, their more temperate habits, and less exhausting labour, and especially to the better care taken of their infants and children, and in general to the more favourable circumstances in which infancy and childhood, the most precarious and mortal epochs of human life, are placed. But still the poorer classes in these neglected districts are exposed to causes of disease and death which are peculiar to them. The operation of these causes is steady, unceasing, sure, and the result is the same as if twenty or thirty thousand of these people were annually taken out of their wretched dwellings and put to death, the fact being, that they are allowed to remain in them and die." This statement is confined to London, and does not include the numbers that perish from the same causes in the other great cities, and in the towns and villages of the empire. It has been stated, that the annual slaughter, in England and Wales, from preventible causes, of typhus fever alone, which attack people in the vigour of life, is double the amount of what was suffered by the allied armies at the battle of Waterloo. And this is no exaggerated statement. This great battle against our people is every year fought and won, and yet few take account of it,-partly for the very reason, that it takes place every year. The mortality occasioned by fever, however, does not express the whole amount of the evil. Comparing the whole number of those attacked throughout the kingdom with those who die from this disease, it appears that, in ordinary years, the mortality does not exceed one in twelve; so that the number of sufferers is at least twelve times the number that actually perish from it. There are certain diseases which prevail so remarkably at certain epochs of life, that you may assume that threefourths of all who die at these epochs die of those diseases. Now, it is established by indubitable evidence, that of all the acute diseases to which the human frame is liable during that variable but most important period of life which intervenes between puberty and old age,-the most precious part of the term of existence, and the only part of that term which it is in the power of human precaution and wisdom to extend indefinitely,-fever is incomparably the most prevalent; so prevalent, indeed, that it may be said to be the disease of adolescence and manhood. From tables prepared from the records of the London fever hospital, it appears, that out of 2537 persons attacked by fever in the course of four years, 1188, or nearly one-half that number, were between twenty and thirty years of age. Now it must be borne in mind, that the poorer classes usually marry and have families at earlier ages than the middle and higher, the great majority of the women at least being married at twenty. Of course it is during the succeeding ten years that they have young families; and as this is precisely the ten years in which fever is so prevalent as to furnish nearly as many cases as all other periods of life put together, we have a striking view of the pauperizing influence of this disease, and of those defective arrangements as to cleaning, ventilation, and sewerage, by which it is produced. But fever, though the most rapidly fatal of all the diseases arising from defective sanatory regulations, is not the only one to which these causes give birth. The indirect action of the poison, unceasingly generated in these neglected districts, is highly noxious, though the evil is not so manifest. When not present in sufficient intensity to produce fever, by disturbing the function of some organ, or some set of organs, and thereby weakening the general system, this poison acts as a powerful predisposing cause of some of the most common and fatal maladies to which the human body is subject. For example, the deaths occasioned in this country by diseases of the digestive organs, by inflammation of the air-passages and lungs, and by consumption, form by far the largest proportion of the ans nual mortality. Now no one who lives in or near a malarian district, is ever for a single hour free from some discase of the digestive organs, which are in themselves highly painful, and even dangerous maladies, while they lay the foundation of several other fatal diseases. The mental faculties of the poor suffer not less, in these circumstances, than their bodily health. The disease and weakness to which they are subject diminish very greatly the ability of the labouring classes to support themselves, break down their spirit of independence, and reconcile them to the degradation of depending for their subsistence on charity. There is abundant evidence that persons placed long in these circumstances, lose equally the spirit and intelligence proper to a healthy and independent peasantry. One of the most melancholy proofs of this is to be found in the quiet and unresisting manner in which they succumb to the wretchedness of their lot. year 1836," says one of the medical officers of the West Derby Union, "I attended a family of thirteen, twelve of whom had typhus fever, without a bed in the "In the 'have I swept this place as clean as I pos sibly could, and you see the state in which it is again. It is of no use to try to keep it clean.' Her whole appearance indicated that she was a new-comer; in a few days she would naturally give up her hopeless attempt to keep the place clean, and if she remained there, she would naturally sink into the state of squalor and filth so common among her neighbours." cellar in which they dwelt, and without straw or timber shavings, frequent substitutes. They lay on the floor, and so crowded that I could scarcely pass between them. In another house, in which there were only two beds, I attended fourteen patients. They all lay on the boards, and never had their clothes off during their illness. I met with many similar cases, yet, amidst the greatest destitution and want of domestic comfort, I have never heard, during the course of twelve year's practice, a complaint of inconvenient house has a no less injurious effect on the The want of a decent and comfortable accommodation." Now, this want of com- character and habits of the men. The plaint, under such circumstances, consti- moral influence of filth and discomfort is tutes a very melancholy part of the seldom sufficiently attended to. That incondition. It shews that physical wretch-fluence is, in the highest degree, anti-social. edness has done its worst on the human sufferer, for it has destroyed his mind. The wretchedness being greater than humanity can bear, annihilates the mental faculties-the faculties distinctive of the human being. And there is a kind of satisfaction in this, for it sets a limit to the capacity of suffering, which would otherwise be without bound. The demoralizing tendency of filth and discomfort is not less obvious than their injurious effects on the health and spirits. In every large town the crowded and neglected lanes are at once the abodes of disease, and the seats of crime. The thief, the pickpocket, and the burglar, find a congenial shelter amidst the filth and squalor of these neglected localities. And it is easy to see how the vices should flourish and congregate amid such scenes as these. The neglect of the decencies of life has a debasing effect on the human mind. Hopeless poverty naturally produces recklessness. There is a point of wretchedness which is incompatible with the existence of any respect for the peace or property of others; and to look, in such a case, for respect or obedience to the laws, is to expect to reap where you have not sown. It is almost impossible for a decent and respectable woman, coming into one of these dirty and neglected districts, to maintain that propriety of demeanour and cleanliness to which she was accustomed in the country. "A short time ago," says Dr. Smith, "I was standing in one of the streets branching off from Rosemary Lane, called Blue Anchor Yard, watching a stream of abomination that was flowing down from a court into the open gutter in the centre of the yard, the open gutter being the common receptacle of the filth from the houses. This noisome stream was flowing past a house at the door of which stood a woman with ruddy cheeks, and neatly clothed. Five times this very day, Sir,' said she to me, The wretched state of his home is one of the most powerful of the causes which induce a man to spend his money on strictly selfish gratifications. He comes home tired and exhausted. He wants quiet; he needs refreshment; and when filth and discomfort are around him, it is not to be wondered at that he should seek to escape from them. Children brought up in such places are and of those who survive the period of peculiarly liable to disease and death; childhood, a very large proportion do so with enfeebled constitutions, and indolent and vicious habits, which render them at once a burden and an annoyance to the community. Education, in such circumstances, is of little value, its effects being neutralized by the bad examples the children witness, and the bad habits they form at home. They are in school only a few hours; their life is chiefly spent amid scenes where the physical and moral atmosphere are equally impure; and the practical education they there receive must necessarily have a far greater influence in forming their character and habits, than the formal and technical instruction they receive at school. To the evils arising from defective sanatory regulations must be added those occasioned by the inadequate dimensions of the houses of the poor, and the want of separate apartments in these houses. In most of these dwellings the proper segregation of the sexes is impossible. Entire families must necessarily live, eat, and sleep, in the same apartments; and the moral degradation arising from this state of things may be conceived. In the reports of the Sub-Commissioners under the Children's Employment Commission, such instances as the following are given :"A mother and her son, being an adult, sleep in the same bed. Grown-up females and unmarried young men sleep in the same room. A man, his wife, and his And in such localities the work of religious instruction all but hopeless. Is there not reason for inquiring, whether, while alive, in some degree, to the duty of imparting Christian instruction to the poor around us, we have not too much neglected the debasing circumstances of their outward lot; and whether it would not be a wiser exercise of Christian philanthropy that should combine both of these important objects; and by securing to our poorer neighbours commodious and healthy dwellings, awaken those kindly feelings, and promote those purer tastes, which would at once elevate their general character, and place them in a more hopeful position for the reception of religious truth? (To be continued.) GREAT WORK GOING ON AT WESTMINSTER. "All went on delightfully for a time. | The little vessel was just getting into smooth sailing, when it was discovered that she was falling to pieces, and the only remedy was to build a new one! The 'old stable' was fast falling into decay. As to repairs, they were out of the question; the only remedy was a new building!-Yet this seemed an impossibility. On inquiry she learned it would cost about £200! The very thought was enough. Such a sum to be raised, when she could with difficulty just pay the usual expenses! She could find no one willing to take such a responsibility, and she felt quite unable to take it herself, not possessing, most likely, 200 shillings in the world! However, she began in the old way, and wrote one letter to the lady before mentioned, (one of the first friends, who had now returned from the Continent.) The answer was not so satisfactory, however, as were those hitherto received. It contained neither money nor encouragement, but enclosed was a copy of another letter written to the lady in question by an influential gentleman, a friend of hers; it contained severe remarks to this effect: That there was more enthusiasm than prudence in the secretary. How could she ever expect to obtain money to build a school, and then support it?' This certainly fell on her like cold water; yet, as it will appear, a strong reaction was caused, and even this letter was made of real benefit. In her reply, she only expressed the feelings of her heart; she said he was quite right, for, as to prudence, she did not profess to have any, and, as to enthusiasm, she did not blush to own it in such a cause; yet, acting on his better judgment, she preferred now giving up the schools, being utterly unqualified to take such a charge! What was her astonishment, however, when she received, soon after, a most polite apology from the gentleman, for having in any way hurt her feelings, and in addition, £26 towards a new building,-he uniting with the lady in begging her not to resign her post! "How different are the courses of the Lord's people, yet how surely are they all directed by the same unerring hand! The ways are many, but the end is one; for He will direct all things according to the counsel of His own will, and for His own glory. Some Christians are permitted to choose their work, others are led on, while again others are driven forward, as if even against their will. 'Necessity is laid upon them.' It was rather thus with regard to the writer; she received this pledge of further aid with a trembling hand, almost wishing it had been committed to the keeping of one of more power and ability. "About the same time another remarkable incident occurred. She was visiting |