and should feel, that whatsoever of wrong or of evil exists in any part of the land, mars the beauty, and diminishes the efficacy and strength of the nation as a whole. Still further, he should feel personally responsible, to the extent of his possible influence, to mitigate or remove it, for every evil that exists in the land, and for every wrong that is committed by the people or their rulers. All questions of rights, privileges, immunities and obligations, so far as he has to do with them, should be settled with an impartial eye upon the whole country as politically a unit. It is only when he takes this position, and adheres with conscientious fidelity to these rules of action, that he can with any propriety be called a citizen of the country, much more a Christian citizen.

Yet he who watches the working of that machinery by which the government of this great nation is administered, cannot fail to see that local affiance-a pledged adherence to the interests of particular sections of the country-has become so general in its influence upon the people, that not one in a thousand remains unbiassed by it. This is a great evil-a prolific source of evils. The States of the Union, as States, may and must have their representatives in the general government; and these representatives may, and ought to, so far as the case allows, look after the particular rights and obligations of their respective States. This is perfectly compatible with Christian citizenship, and against it we have nothing to say. But in matters pertaining to the country as a whole-when questions of general interest and of national importance are to be decided, no man has a right to be swayed or influenced by local affinities or local prejudices of any kind. Whenever the interests of man, as man, are to be affected, the Christian citizen cannot properly ask whether the East will be more benefitted by his action, or the West-the North or the South. His duty in the premises is clear. It is to do that which is right-that which God, and the gospel, and his own conscience, quickened and enlightened at the great fountain, will approve. Let this course be pursued by all the Christian men in our country, and we should be at once set forth a century in true political progress. Ambitious politicians would be like Samson shorn of his locks. Their strength would be gone. That distracting question which has been settled, and re-settled, and which has sprung up again and again where it was not expected; producing angry and bitter controversy, alienation, jealousy, and wrath; would be settled in fact-never more to perplex or disgrace us as a nation. The real question with the Christian citizen, when he looks at things in the light of conscience and

religion, and in the true spirit of the Gospel, must be a very simple one-must be simply this: are black men, men? And since the question carries in itself, its only true answer, the only right action in reference to it is as obvious, as that all men are by nature equally entitled to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. The grand difficulty which has thus far stood in the way of the final settlement of this question, lies in the fact that attempts have been made to settle it so as to satisfy or propitiate the South-to settle it in accordance with the demands of local affiance, rather than according to the spirit of our Constitution, and the interests and honor of the whole country. By an obsequious deference to this local influence, some men have purchased for themselves a brief residence in the White House, and others have stooped in vain. That this has long been a most corrupt and corrupting element in our national politics, all very well know. As the effect of its working, other kindred influences, more or less antagonistic in their aims, have come into play, until there is a degree of friction produced in the machinery of our Government which well nigh defeats the great end for which it was established. The creaking of this machinery has been, of late and many times, truly startling. The cause is obvious. A grave question is pressing itself before the nation, and must sooner or later be answered upon its own merits. But the difficulty thus far has been, to get this question before the people fairly and fully, without the pressure and corrupting influences of local affiance. Once fairly before the people upon its own merits simply, and all know how it will be settled. It is in fact, though not exactly in the same form, the very question which our fathers settled by a seven years' war with their oppressors. The question is this and no other: Shall a free country become a country of slaves? Side issues may be madeoutpost skirmishes, and dexterous feints may be resorted to, for the purpose of concealing the naked ribs of the monster, but through all these, one with half an eye can see that the extension of the area of slavery, for the benefit of the South, is the real thing sought.

That there are Christian men at the South, we cannot doubt. That they will resolutely stand against this manifest iniquity, or openly rebuke it, we do not expect. And this because by political management-in which the attachments and prejudices of local affiance are made to play a conspicuous partChristian men are kept from that honest, frank, and earnest defense of truth and righteousness, liberty and justice, which is at once the crown and the power of the Christian citizen.

The same influence is found to operate in other sections of our country, to prevent the development among us of the Christian element in the character of our citizens. The North and the West are as selfish, in whatever affects their pecuniary interests or their relative power, as the South. This is not an evil in a corner. It is not confined to any one section. It prevails throughout the land, and therefore all Christian men in every part of the country are alike called upon to rise above the influence of this contracted spirit, and speak and act with reference to the good of the whole country, and its honor and integrity as a free and Christian nation.

In the face of these opposing influences and deep seated prejudices, it is not without some care and effort, that Christian men can carry themselves so as to maintain true consistency and strict integrity amid the whirl of State and National politics. And this has operated of late to keep not a few from the faithful discharge of those obligations, which in a land like this, and under a government like ours, can no more properly be disregarded by the Christian, than his more direct and immediate obligations to God. Christian men among us have a clear duty and a solemn responsibility in the matter of righting whatsoever is wrong in the laws, the usages and the institutions of the country. However repulsive to their religious or moral susceptibilities designing politicians may make the duties of citizenship, no measure of discomfort should be allowed to prevent them from speaking and voting as they believe will most conduce to the good of society, and the glory of God. This is the conviction we desire to have fixed in the mind of every citizen of the land. If the reader of this Article finds this conviction at all quickened or strengthened by what we say upon the subject in hand, our end will be gained. Reader, we would take you from the sordid and groveling views which are too generally entertained respecting citizenship in this great nation, and transfer you to a higher and more noble stand-point. We would have you feel that your obligations to God, to humanity and to conscience, are such as will not admit of a blind or thoughtless adherence to the opinions or the projects of political mountebanks. Admit this, and you will at once see the necessity of a measure of intelligence commensurate with the dignity and responsibility of your position. The Russian sert may discharge his accredited political obligations and never know more about his country or the world than is implied in a timid and entire subjection to his lord. Not so with an American citizen. His position demands a larger intelligence and his obligations require him to cultivate a more extensive acquaint

ance with principles, with men, with laws, with governments. Intelligence and Christian virtue are the great safeguards of this nation. Let these be greatly wanting, and our strength is gone. It is therefore the duty of every citizen to promote, in every practicable way, general intelligence and public virtue. It is equally the duty of every citizen to become personally informed respecting the nature and operations of the government he helps to administer. Nor is it less a duty to know the character of the men who ask to be elevated to the rank of legislators or rulers. And if they have not character enough to command confidence, without being sworn upon a political catechism, then it is not unlikely, that in the oath they take, there will be such mental reservation as cannot well be calculated upon. Finally, it is the duty of every Christian citizen, to let all political parties and all sections of the country know, that he is to such an extent, under the control of conscience, and subject to the bidding of religious principle, as not to be jostled aside from the determination to give his suffrage for no man whose intelligence, virtue, and capacity are not equal to the station he seeks to fill-and to favor no measure or project which will not bear the ordeal of a free and open discussion by an enlightened public.

How important that Christian men in our country should come under a more just and impressive sense of the high moral obligations imposed upon them by their citizenship. When we see, as we do not unfrequently see, Christian men of sterling worth, positively refusing to stand in places of trust and authority among us, because it brings them into contact with so much that is offensive to an elevated character-or denied the merited honor of holding such stations, because their integrity and virtue will not allow them to stoop to the vile means which too often ensure success in the competition; when we hear good men say, that they will have nothing to do with the elections, because there is so much corruption and contemptible intrigue practiced there; we feel strongly inclined to cry out with David in his season of fear and apprehension: Help, Lord; for the godly man ceaseth; for the faithful fail from among the children of men.

It is with no little of this feeling, coupled with a desire to throw our mite of strength against the rude current that is bearing down upon us, that we say, in conclusion, to all the readers of this Magazine, and wish we might say to all the people of this land, to whom it can apply-Neglect no duty; shrink from no sacrifice; withhold no efforts, which promise to advance the true interests, to elevate the character, and per

petuate the benign influence of this country, for which we are in duty bound to thank God daily. Even regard it as one of the most noble of all human attainments, to realize in your own character, in a country like this, the integrity, the virtue, the dignity and the enduring worth of the Christian Citizen.

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ART. IX. THE PERMANENCE OF THE PULPIT.

MAN," says Vinet, "is the medium through which God has purposed that truth shall come to man." "Christianity, a religion of thought, should be spoken." Such, in fact, has been the conviction of men in every age of the Christian Church. Whatever their theories about the validity of sacraments, the nature of ordination, and the mode of introduction to the ministry, there has been a singular unanimity in respect to the divine appointment of preaching. The most zealous Romanists, and the High-Churchmen, who go to the farthest extreme in relying upon the efficacy of baptism and priestly absolution, do not forget to maintain that the ministry have authority to speak for Christ, however much they underrate the importance of the commission. And, on the other hand, the firmest opponent of every form of doctrine pertaining to an apostolical succession, has some theory that provides for the continuance of a preached gospel. Yet, we hear at times, from various quarters, suggestions about the inefficiency of the pulpit of the present day. Some think it has become sadly degenerate; some fear it has been losing ground as compared with other agencies; and many are sighing because it seems to accomplish so little good. Multitudes of ordained ministers have left the immediate work of preaching the Gospel. The statistical tables of the N. S. Presbyterian Church for 1854, show that out of fifteen hundred ministers in this country, connected with that organization, upwards of three hundred and fifty are without a pastoral charge; some of these are engaged in teaching and other professions; some are superanuated, and some have suspended labor at midday. The number of those preparing to preach the Gospel is small when compared with the number of places needing an educated ministry. And among the reasons that have led to