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laws inflict? To solve this, we might look to the nature of the human mind, and then to examples from history. In taking a survey of the former, it would be obvious, that the oppressor for religion (and indeed every other oppressor) would become irritated, and rendered still more vindictive, by opposition; while, on the other hand, his mind might be softened by the sight of heroic suffering. To resistance he would attach nothing but a common, or perhaps an ignominious character; whereas he might give something more than a common reputation, nay, even nobility, to patience and resignation under supposed injury. In punishing the man who opposed him, he would lose all pity; but his feelings might be called forth, when he saw all selfish notions done away, and the persecuted dying with satisfaction for a public good. Add to which, that he could not but think something of the cause for which men thus thought it worth their while to perish. In looking at historical example, that of the apostles would first strike us. Had they resisted the Government, or stirred up the multitudes, which attended them, to do it, they had lost their dignity and their usefulness. Their resistance had been a bar to the progress of their religion, whereas their suffering is universally confessed to have promoted it. The same may be said of those martyrs, after whom followed the Established Church: : nay, of the very persons now in question, for to the knowledge which succeeding Governments had, that it was the custom of the Quakers never to submit to the national authority in matters of conscience, and yet never to resist this authority by force, it is to be ascribed, that they at this moment enjoy so many privileges. They are allowed to solemnize their own marriages-Their affirmation is received legally as their oath-Exceptions are always made in their favour in all Acts of Parliament which relate to military service. And this reminds me, that if this principle

could be followed up, I mean generally and conscientiously, sources of great misery might be done away. For if the great bulk of mankind were so enlightened, either by scriptural instruction, or divine agency, as to feel alike on the subject of any evil, and to feel conscientiously at the same time the absolute necessity of adhering to this principle as its cure, no such evil could be perpetrated by any Government. Thus, for example, if War were even to be generally and conscientiously viewed in this light, how could it ever be carried on for ambitious or other wicked purposes, if men could be forced neither by threats, imprisonment, corporal suffering, nor the example of capital punishments, to fight? I do not mean here, if a common combination were to take place for such a purpose, that such an effect would be produced. A combination, the result of mere policy, could never have in it sufficient virtue, to stand the ordeal to which it might be exposed on such occasion. It must be a general harmony of action, arising out of a vivid sense of the evil in question, and out of a firm conviction at the same time that this was the remedy actually required as a Christian duty, and that no other was allowed. In this point of view Christianity contains within itself the power of removing the great evils of wicked governments, without interrupting those other parts of their system which are of essential use to the good order, peace, and happiness of mankind."

Indeed nothing can be more true, than that the pacific spirit of Christianity, which is gradually diffusing itself in the present day among men, is so far from being of an injurious tendency to a state, that in its uniform operation it would render any virtuous government more secure and permament. As we proceed in our extracts from the Life of this great and good man, I apprehend the truth of this position will be still more apparent, and a complete answer will be given

to those objectors who contend that the prevalence of the principles of peace would prove subvertive of social order and good government.

Among the judicious regulations which he drew up for those who were about to become adventurers and purchasers, he makes the following humane and just provision for the poor Natives, which was admirably calculated to avert the horrors of war, and to preserve inviolate the peace and happiness of his little colony, far more than the most abundant assemblage of the instruments of offence and defence, or the erection of strong fortresses.

"In behalf of the Indians it was stipulated, That as it had been usual with planters to overreach them in various ways, whatever was sold to them in consideration of their furs, should be sold in the public marketplace, and there suffer the test whether good or bad if good, to pass; if not good, not to be sold for good. That the said natives should not be abused nor provoked; that no man should by any ways or means, in word or deed, affront or wrong any Indian, but he should incur the same penalty of the law as if he had committed it against his fellow-planter. And if any Indian should abuse, in word or deed, any planter of the province, that the said planter should not be his own judge upon the said Indian, but that he should make his complaint to the governor of the province, or his deputy, or some inferior magistrate near him, who should to the utmost of his power take care with the king of the said Indians, that all reasonable satisfaction should be made to the said injured planter; and that all differences between planters and Indians should be ended by twelve men, that is, by six planters and six Indians, that so they might live friendly together, as much as in them lay, preventing all occasions of heart-burnings and mischief."

I shall conclude these extracts for the present with the letter which Wil

liam Penn addressed to the Indians, previous to his departure for America, and sent to them by commissioners, whose object was to confer with the Indians, respecting their lands, and to make with them a league of eternal peace.

"There is a great God and Power which hath made the world and all things therein, to whom you, and I, and all people, owe their being and well-being, and to whom you and I must one day give an account for all that we have done in the world.

"This great God has written his law in our hearts, by which we are taught and commanded to love, and to help, and to do good to one another. Now this great God hath been pleased to make me concerned in your part of the world; and the king of the country where I live hath given me a great province therein; but I desire to enjoy it with your love and consent, that we may always live together as neighbours and friends; else what would the great God do to us, who hath made us (not to devour and destroy one another, but) to live soberly and kindly together in the world? Now, I would have you observe, that I am very sensible of the unkindness and injustice which have been too much exercised towards you by the people of these parts of the world, who have sought themselves to make great advantages by you, rather than to be examples of goodness and patience unto you. This, I hear, hath been a matter of trouble to you, and caused great grudging and animosities, sometimes to the shedding of blood, which hath made the Great God angry; but I am not such a man, as is well known in my country. I have great love and regard toward you, and desire to win and gain your love and friendship by a kind, just, and peaceable life; and the people I send are of the same mind, and shall in all things behave themselves accordingly; and if in any thing any shall offend you or your people, you shall have a full and speedy satis

faction for the same, by an equal number of just men on both sides, that by no means you may have just occasion of being offended against them.

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"I shall shortly come to see you myself, at which time we may more largely and freely confer and discourse of these matters. In the mean time I have sent my commissioners, to treat with you about land, and a firm league of peace. Let me desire you to be kind to them and the people, and receive the presents and tokens which I have sent you, as a testimony of my good will to you, and of my resolution to live justly, peaceably, and friendly with you. I am your loving friend,

WILLIAM PENN."

Reflections upon the splendid Victorics obtained by the Duke of Marlborough, in the reign of Queen Ann. [From Morell's Studies in History.]

BUT while it becomes us to recognise with holy awe that Divine agency, by which the affairs of empires are arranged, and the issue of battles determined--while the meed of honour may be awarded by grateful nations to those who have successfully defended their social rights-let it never be forgotten, that War, whether prosperously or inauspiciously conducted, is one of the most tremendous scourges with which a people can be visited, and ought, therefore, to be most earnestly deprecated. Let us take heed, that while contemplating the achievements of our martial heroes, we do not allow ourselves to be so inflated with national vanity, or dazzled with the glare of what is termed military glory, as to lose sight of the horrors with which they have been accompanied, and the tremendous price of blood at which they were purchased. If, at any time, in dwelling on the historic page that records, or the heroic strains that celebrate, victories like those of Blenheim and Ramillies, our bosoms heave with exultation and delight, it were well to check their antichristian emotions, by surveying the reverse of the

scene, which is for the most part carefully kept out of sight.-By picturing to our imaginations the horrible carnage of that day-by endeavouring to realize the expiring agonies of thousands of wretched victims, strewed over the plain, whose very soil was crimsoned and saturated with human gore-by contemplating the rapid stream of the Danube almost choked up, and impeded in its course, by the multitude of warriors precipitated from its banks, floating on its surface, or buried beneath its ensanguined wave-Such an appalling view of the subject would at least tend to correct the false estimates which are not unfrequently made, and scatter the delusions which are commonly lot of the lowliest peasant, who spends practised, by convincing us, that the his days in industry and peace, is far more enviable than that of the laurelled conqueror in his stateliest palace." Vol. ii. p. 276.

In reference to the disgraceful political intrigues which prevailed towards the close of Queen Ann's reign, Mr. Morell remarks

"How humiliating is the scene which the preceding pages exhibit! Men of illustrious birth, of elevated rank, of pre-eminent talents, degrading themselves and betraying the interests of their country by petty jealousies and contentions; aiming at no higher object than the personal gratification arising from some paltry triumph obtained over their political rivals; and sacrificing both their own peace of mind and tranquillity of the empire, to party cabals and selfish projects! How far removed was this from the spirit of genuine patriotism! which will even prompt to the most painful personal sacrifices for the public good. How unlike were the statesmen of this corrupt and venal age, to those patriots, whose names are inscribed in the records of Grecian and Roman fame, and will be transmitted with honour to distant ages-who devoted themselves to exile and to death for the good of the commonwealth-who

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were willing to be accounted as nothing, so that their beloved country might be preserved-and who cheer. fully sacrificed their private ambition, their desire of revenge, and even their love of glory, predominant as these sentiments were among heathen nations, to the welfare of the republic over which they presided. But how much farther removed is this unhallowed ambition, this lust of power, this contention "which shall be the greatest," from the spirit of Christianity and the example of its Divine Founder! He whom the Scriptures of Truth declare to be God over all, blessed for ever,' divested himself of his essential glories, and made him self of no reputation,' that by this his voluntary abasement he might raise apostate man to glory, honour, and immortality! Happy would it be for the nations of the earth, if the rulers of this world were formed after the model of the meek and self-denying Redeemer :-if the same mind were in them, which influenced all his conduct while he condescended to inhabit our world-if they were willing to 'learn of Him, who was meek and lowly in heart!' Then, instead of the restlessness of ambition-the envy. ings and strifes, and debates,' which have agitated the breasts and distracted the counsels of rival statesmen-each would esteem others better than himself; in honour they would prefer one another; and all would maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace.' Vol. ii. p. 287.

Voltaire on War.

[From the Bath and Cheltenham Gazette.]

[WE Confess that the Frenchman whose name is prefixed to this article is not a favourite author with us; but, on the

principle, fas est ab hoste doceri, we quote his sentiments on the subject of War. Although imbued with the author's peculiarly satirical and piquant style, they are nevertheless just. Had Voltaire expressed equally correct opinions upon other matters connected with the wellbeing of his fellow-creatures, he would

not have incurred the lasting displeasure of the wise and the good; nor would his latter moments have been embittered by those agonizing reflections which har rowed up his soul when reluctantly on the wing for eternity.]

"Famine, the plague, and war, are the three most famous ingredients in this lower world. Under famine may be classed all the noxious foods which want obliges us to have recourse to; thus shortening our life, whilst we hope to support it. In the plague are included all contagious distempers; and these are not less than two or three thousand. These two gifts we hold from Providence; but War, in which all those gifts are concentered, we owe to the fancy of three or four hundred persons scattered over the surface of this globe, under the name of princes and ministers. The most hardened flatterer will allow, that war is ever attended with plague and famine, especially if he has seen the military hospitals in Germany, or passed through some villages where some notable feat of arms has been performed.

It is unquestionably a very notable art to ravage countries, destroy dwellings, and, communibus annis, out of a hundred thousand men to cut off forty thousand. This invention was originally cultivated by nations assembled for their common good. For instance, the diet of the Greeks sent word to the diet of Phrygia and its neighbours, that they were putting to sea in a thousand fishing-boats, in order to do their best to cut them off root and branch. The Roman people, in a general assembly, resolved that it was their interest to go and fight the Vejentes, or the Volscians, before harvest; and some years after, all the Romans, being angry with all the Carthaginians, fought a long time both by sea and land. It is otherwise in our time.

A genealogist sets forth to a prince, that he is descended in a direct line from a count, whose kindred, three or four hundred years ago, had made a family compact with a house, the very

memory of which is extinguished. That house had some distant claim to a province, the last proprietor of which died of an apoplexy. The prince and his council instantly resolve, that this province belongs to him by divine right. The province, which is some hundred leagues from him, protests that it does not so much as know him; that it is not disposed to be governed by him; that before prescribing laws to them, their consent, at least, was necessary: these allegations do not so much as reach the prince's ears; it is insisted on that his right is incontestible. He instantly picks up a multitude of men who have nothing to do nor nothing to lose; clothes them with coarse blue cloth, one sous to the ell; puts them on hats bound with coarse white worsted; makes them turn to the right and left; and thus marches away with them to glory! Other princes, on this armament, take part in it to the best of their ability, and soon cover a small extent of country with more hireling murderers than Gengis-Kan, Tamerlane, and Bajazet, had at their heels. People, at no small distance, on hearing that fighting is going forward, and that if they would make one there are five or six sous aday for them, immediately divide into two bands, like reapers, and go and sell their services to the first bidder. These multitudes furiously butcher one another, not only without having any concern in the quarrel, but without so much as knowing what it is about. Some times five or six powers are engaged, three against three, two against four, sometimes even one against five, all equally detesting one another; and friends and foes, by turns, agreeing only in one thing, to do all the mischief possible.

Anodd circumstance in this infernal enterprise is, that every chief of these ruffians has his colours consecrated; and solemnly prays to God before he goes to destroy his neighbour. If the slain in a battle do not exceed two or three thousand, the fortunate com

mander does not think it worth thanking God for; but if, besides killing 10 or 12,000 men, he has been so far favoured by heaven as totally to destroy some remarkable place; then a verbose hymn is sung in four parts, composed in a language unknown to all the combatants, and besides stuffed with barbarisms. The same song does for marriages and births as for massacres; which is scarce pardonable, especially in a nation of all others the most noted for new songs. All countries pay a certain number of orators to celebrate these sanguinary actions : some in a long black coat, and over it a short docked cloak; others in a gown, with a kind of shirt over it; some again over their shirts have two pieces of a motley-coloured stuff hanging down. They are all very long-winded in their harangues; and to illustrate a battle fought in Weteravia, bring up what passed thousands of years ago in Palestine. But in not one of all these discourses has the orator the spirit to animadvert on War, that scourge and crime which ludes all others. Put together all the vices of all ages and places, and never will they come up to the mischiefs and enormities of only one campaign.

Ye bungling soul-physicians, to bellow for an hour and more against a few flea-bites, and not say a word about that horrid distemper, which tears us to pieces! Burn your books, ye moralizing philosophers! Whilst the humour of a few shall make it an act of loyalty to butcher thousands of our fellow-creatures, the part of mankind dedicated to heroism will be the most execrable and destructive monsters in all nature. Of what avail is humanity, benevolence, modesty, temperance, mildness, discretion, and piety! when half a pound of lead, discharged at the distance of six hundred paces, shatters my body; when I expire at the age of twenty, under pains unspeakable, and amidst thousands in the same miserable condition; when my eyes at their last opening see my native town all in a blaze; and the last sounds I hear are the shrieks

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