"Hence all those lying rumours and lying wonders, that one party invents to beat down the other. One party reports the other to be all profane and superstitious; and the other reports its opposite to be all hypocritical and se ditious, and both suffer from each other's envenomed tongues; and between both, truth suffers, and charity perish eth, and is utterly lost. For shame, O christians! is this the way to promote God's cause or Christ's kingdom? Doth he or it stand in need of your lies? Will you speak wickedly for God, and talk deceitfully for him? Shall his honor be maintained by the devil's inventions? I beseech you, O christians! for the peace of the church, which else will continue sadly rent and divided; for the sake of christianity, which else will be discredited and reviled; for your brethren's sake, who else will be discouraged or exasperated; be very cautious what reports you either receive or make of others."

Bishop Hopkins.

"And so, indeed, it was with those first and best ages of religion; for no sooner did the gospel fly abroad into the world, but the love and charity of christians became notorious, even to a proverb; the heathens taking notice of the christians of those times, with this particular remark, see how these christians love one another!" W. Cave.

"There is one and that the main thing which we want; namely, the spirit of Christ, to animate us in the practice of his religion, without which it is dead, even as the body is dead, without the soul that quickens it." Bishop Burnet.

"You ought not to conceive a distaste for any man, or body of men, because they are of a different persuasion, sect, or party. Supposing yourself in the right; you pity corporeal blindness! Why should you not likewise compassionate, instead of being angry with the blindness of the understanding, when it cannot discern certain religious truths?

"Whether a good man, who is a misbeliever in some points, without any faultiness or irregularity of will, will be

"Railing is the province which our adversaries have chosen, and let us leave it to them. For whatever success they meet with that way, as indeed they excel in it, we shall meet with none; but only make the spirit of christianity be misunderstood and ill spoken of by our own want of it.

"But to show passion and bitterness in any of these cases; to take pleasure in making men's mistakes of designs thought worse of than they are; to judge harshly of them with respect to another world, or to expose them to ill usage in this; to refuse them due allowances for human infirmity, or to be more backward to own their merits than to see their faults; such behavior, instead of promoting truth, will prejudice the world against it; will give unbelievers dreadful advantages, and forever prevent that union among christians, which would procure us, above all things, the esteem of men and the blessing of God." Archbishop Secker.

"Orthodox and heretic, papist and protestant, churchman and dissenter, all, in their turns, have thought proper to show their zeal against the nationdestroying sin of toleration, as it was called in Cromwell's time; and for fetching the devil out of other men's consciences, have made no scruple of giving him free entrance into their own, not knowing what spirit they were of. Good God! what amazing ignorance, prejudice, and presumption, that men, frail men, who know not the essence of a blade of grass, and are liable to oversight, misapprehension, and error, upon the plainest subjects, should dare to murder and damn their fellow creatures and fellow christians, for not agreeing with them in opinion, about the essence of the Supreme God! O, my soul, come not thou into their secret! Unto their assembly, mine honor, be not thou united!" H. Taylor

wards God, and the love of man, for his fellow men, are the essence of true religion, and it is declared by the great Law Giver of christians, that 'on these two commandments hang all the law, and the prophets.' It is also declared in the same code, that 'love is the ful filling of the law,' and that 'be that loveth another hath fulfilled the law;' and further, that all the law is fulfilled in one word,' viz. 'thou shalt love thy neighbour, as thyself"

"It will be the object of the following essay, to shew that we are now presented with an occasion of obeying and practising upon the precepts of this law of kindness,' by doing much good to a great number of our fellow creatures, that we have the strongest obligations to the performance of it, and have the most powerful motives and encouragement to action, and that nothing but strenuous efforts to accomplish it, and disappointment on the trial, can satisfy the claims of christian charity.

"Among all the banks hitherto established, all the public purposes, which have been answered, and individuals and classes accommodatedWhether there is not, still, a class of people the most neglected, who have the strongest claims to the attention, and the fostering care of the government? In this class, or classes, may be numbered, the orphan, the widow, the unmarried woman, the minor, the cripple, the insane, the ideot, and to comprehend, in one word, a great number and variety-the friendless. By those last mentioned (including strangers, or aliens) it is meant to include any, or all descriptions of per. sons, which may not be properly classed, with either of those before mentioned, as they may, speaking generally, have some relation or friend, who are supposed to have some degree of concern for their welfare, but not in all cases willing, or perhaps capable of taking care of their interestsbut the stranger is presumed to be destitute of such friends.

"Let us pay a momentary attention to some of these descriptions of persons. So great is the imperfection of all human arrangements, and such the case of orphans and minors, &c. that a

question here arises, whether their property would not generally be in a better state of security and a greater probability of accumulating in a bank, than in the hands of individuals? The responsible, troublesome, and sometimes expensive trust of executors, guardians, &c. would, in this way, be performed cheerfully, as far as relates to property, free of expense, by men who would have a common concern with the widow, the orphan, &c. in the security and increase of their property.

"If the commerce and wealth of our country have actually increased, as these numerous lucrative institutions would seem to indicate, and if there really are so great profits accruing to bank stockholders, as we daily hear-why should not the orphan, the widow, the minor, the unmarried woman, the mechanic, the mariner, the soldier, the stranger, the ideot, the cripple, the insane, the infirm, the distressed, of whatever age, sex, or condition-why should not they par ticipate in these advantages, rather than trust the security of an individual, and reap, if not the golden harvest of some, let them at least be permitted to be gleaners of the silver field, and leave part of their gleanings to their needy heirs or friends. The main object of this inquiry then is to extend this guardian care, and the benefits of banking to all the descriptions of persons above mentioned, and to all others, whom it may be expedient to associate with them.

"Let then, at least, one bank be estab ished, which shall embrace and nourish in its lap all such persons, of the above descriptions, as shall appear to desire it, and deposit their mites, with as many others of the non-descript classes, which require relief, and are the proper objects of it, as may be consistent with the nature of such a bank. To bring my ideas more to a point, and to give them some shape, let us, for example, call this the asylum bank, the benevolent, the humane, the philanthropic, or the guardian bank, or by any other name, which shall best express its appropriate purpose, and sufficiently distinguish it from common banks.

"If such a bank, as is here proposed,

should be thought advisable, whatever principles or modifications of them may be adopted in its construction considering its peculiar design and objects, should it not be under the more especial care and protecting wing of the government? Why may not the governor and council, (for the time being) be directors, or otherwise have some salutary control in its affairs, at least for the same purpose as the state treasurer, in behalf of the commonwealth, is (ex officio) a director in the Union Bank.

"A bank thus nurtured and protect ed by the parental care of the government, and its security and prolific powers provided for and guarded by all the means which the ingenuity of man has devised, and which motives, prompted by humanity and interest, both conspire to excite:-Why may not such a bank become, as it were, A father to the fatherless, a husband to the widow, and a guide tɔ the youth' that shall be "eyes to the blind, and feet to the lame," that shall "strengthen the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees"-that shall be "a com. fort to the mourners"-that shall "break the jaws of the wicked, and pluck the spoil out of his teeth"-that "will bring the blind into a street that they know not, and lead them into a

foot path they are ignorant in." That "shall make darkness light before them, and the thing that is crooked to be straight." That "shall keep the simple folk in their right, defend the children of the poor, and subdue the oppressor."That shall be as "a fáther to the poor, and the cause which they know not, have searched out."That shall "deliver the poor from him that is too strong for him; the poor, and him that is in misery, from him that spoileth him"-That shall "say to them of a fearful heart, be strong, fear not."

"Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped-then shall the lame leap as ar hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall sing.

"When the ear hears, it will bless you, and when the eye sees, it will give witness to you-because you have delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him-The blessings of him that was ready to perish will come upon you, and you will cause the widow's heart to sing for joy."

"The heart that feels for other's woes, Shall find each selfish sorrow less; The man who happiness bestows, Reflected happiness shall bless."

THE first public report of this society was made in the month of May

last.

The Sunday School Union was established in London, in 1803, and consists of teachers and other persons actively engaged in Sunday schools. The objects of this union are-1st. To stimulate and encourage each other in the education and religious instruction of the young. 2dly. By mutual communication to improve the method of instruction. 3dly. To promote the opening of new schools by their influence and personal assistance. 4thly. To print books, &c. suited for Sunday schools, at a cheap rate. 5thly. To correspond with ministers and others in the United Kingdom and abroad,

relative to Sunday schools. 6thly. To promote the information of country Sunday school unions, which are expected to report regularly to this so ciety, and are allowed to purchase its publications at reduced prices.

By the individual and collective en. deavours of the members of this society, many persons have been excited to engage as teachers in Sunday schools; and the zeal of those, who were drooping in their employment, has been revived and increased. ticular attention has been paid to the religious instruction of the young, and many useful plans have been suggest ed and adopted.

Par

By the influence and personal assistance of the members of this union,

many new schools have been established and are now establishing; and many old schools have been increased and improved.

The following books have been published by the society, and have met with very general acceptance.

A plan for the establishment and regulation of Sunday schools.

An introduction to reading, part the first, compiled for the use of Sunday schools in general, of which 150,000 copies have been printed.

An introduction to reading, part the second, of which 85,000 have been printed.

A catechism in verse, of which 38,000 have been printed.

A select list of scriptures, designed as a guide to teachers for a course of reading in Sunday schools.

Also the first part of the introduction to reading, in a series of lessons for collective teaching.

The youths' magazine, a monthly publication, commenced under the auspices of this society, and is calculated to promote knowledge amongst the young; while it inculcates the fear of the Lord, and displays the inestimable treasures contained in the sacred scriptures. Out of the profits arising from its sale, donations of £50 have been offered to three different societies.

The committee have received interesting communications relative to the formation of Sunday schools in our West India islands. At St. George's, Bermudas, a Sunday school has been established, containing 80 children, principally blacks. At St. John's, An. tigua, there is one school, containing 100 children, and another consisting of 650.

A school has likewise been established in Sicily, among the soldiers' children, and one is commenced, or about to begin, at Gibraltar. To all these schools the committee have voted a donation of books, and they are happy to say, that through their representations, the patronage of our General Sunday School Society has since been extended to our foreign possessions.

A very respectable society has been formed in Ireland, entitled the "Hiber.

nian Sunday School Society," which is likely to become exceedingly useful in that country; and two respectable country Sunday school unions, the Nottingham and the Hampshire, have been formed.

The Nottingham Sunday School Union was commenced more than two years ago, and has continued increas ing since that period; and it appears by the last report received, that there are 108, teachers, and 8440 children in connexion with it.

The Hampshire Sunday School U. nion was commenced about the same time as the Nottingham Union, and now consists of 283 teachers and 3055. children. The meetings of this Union have led to the formation of several new schools, to the improvement and increase of cld established schools, which needed reviving, and have excited considerable interest and attention in favor of Sunday schools in general.

The Sunday schools, connected with this union, appear to be in a very prosperous state; and it is calculated, that in London and its vicinity, about 40,000 children are

educated in Sunday schools, and that about 4,000 teachers are engaged in this work. The expenses of the Sunday School Union are defrayed by the small profits derived from its publications, without making any appeal to public benevo

lence.

The utility of Sunday schools has been proved by a test of nearly thirty years, and who can tell the benefits which thirty years more will display? Perhaps they may extend to the neighbouring nations, and be diffused throughout the world. While the Bible is printing in every language, the laboring poor must be taught to read, or it will be to them a sealed book. While faithful missionaries carry the everlasting gospel to the realms of ignorance, superstition, and vice, the most promising result of their labors will probably arise from the instruction of the young. Upon the whole, past experience fully justifies and demands the most ardent zeal, and the most active exertion, in pro moting Sunday schools.