to aid in the full tide of benevolence, which must endear other countries to our own. If this benefit is scen among the lowest classes, it does seem peculiarly desirable that in such a district as this, those who enjoy abundance, should contribute to the Society, that the Institution should in its operations increase more and more. His Lordship then referred to the value of the Ladies' Association, and noticed the fallacy of the objections made to their activity-contending that it was a strong recommendation of the Society, that those who attended the Saviour at his death, and were the object of his tenderness, should be employed in its service. His Lordship concluded by earnestly expressing his hope that every Anniversary might be attended with increasing prosperity to the Institution. The Lord Bishop of Gloucester expressed his pleasure at meeting the Society again, and intimated his deep sense of the benefits resulting from the Institution. His Lordship urged not only the duty of perseverance, but also of increased labour; to look around the district; to explore every part and every alley, and not to rest while any place remained unvisited. His Lordship was decidedly convinced, that, with proper management, every part might be visited, even by female collectors, without offence. He then noticed the immense increase of population; the temptations which were every where to be met with in this at once the best and the worst metropolis; the efforts to disseminate improper books-unusual and unheard-of efforts, till the present moment; and in addition to these reasons for increasing exertion, arising from the district itself, it was important also to re member, that this Auxiliary formed a large branch of the Parent Society. He called upon the assembly to remember the warning of Scripture, and not draw back, but press forwards towards the mark of communicating to every individual the glorious light of the Gospel. The Right Hon. Lord Bexley, in moving thanks to the Royal Patrons for their early patronage and long-continued protection, remarked that he never rose on these occasions without a feeling of the importance and sanctity of the work in which he was engaged; but he never felt this more strongly than on the present occasion. When he recollected the formation of this Auxiliary, and the persons by whom they were then addressed, Lord Londonderry, Mr. Whitbread, the Dean of Westminster, Mr. Owen, and Henry Thornton; they, in the state to which they are removed, look back upon that day's work with pleasure, and doubtless we shall look back with similar satisfaction upon this Anniversary. His Lordship hoped that the Society would still farther extend, that it would become a national society, and that we should give to the cause of the Bible the same degree of exertion, which we have given as a nation to military and naval undertakings, and thus occupy as distinguished a part throughout the world on benevolent, as we now do on political grounds. The meeting was also addressed with very appropriate speeches by the Right Hon. the Earl of Rocksavage, by Drs. Steinkopff, Waugh, and Winter, by the Rev. G. Clayton, Mr. Henry of Leith, J. Marshall, R. Vernon, and T. Webster, and by W. B. Hudson, Esq. LONDON SOCIETY FOR MITIGATING AND GRADUALLY ABOLISHING THE STATE OF SLAVERY THROUGHOUT THE BRITISH DOMINIONS. THE objects of this Society cannot be more clearly and comprehensively defined than in the following resolutions, which were unanimously adopted at the first meeting. "That the individuals composing the present Meeting are deeply impressed with the magnitude and number of the evils attached to the system of slavery which prevails in many of the Colonies of Great Britain; a system which appears to them to be opposed to the spirit and precepts of Christianity, as well as repugnant to every dictate of natural humanity and justice. "That they long indulged a-hope, that the great measure of the Abolition of the Slave Trade, for which an Act of the Legislature was passed in 1807, after a struggle of twenty years, would have tended rapidly to the mitigation and gradual extinction of negro bondage in the British Colonies; but that in this hope they have been painfully disappointed; and after a lapse of sixteen years, they have still to deplore the almost undiminished prevalence of the evils which it was one great object of the abolition to remedy. "That under these circumstances they feel themselves called upon, by the most binding considerations of their duty as Christians, by their best sympathies as men, and by their solicitude to maintain unimpaired the high reputation and the solid prosperity of their country, to exert themselves, in their separate and collective capacities, in furthering this most important object, and in endeavouring by all prudent and lawful means to mitigate, and eventually to abolish, the slavery existing in our colonial possessions." IMMOLATION AT HOWRAH. FROM A LATE CALCUTTA JOURNAL., "KNOWING that you are a philanthropist, I beg leave to inform you that directly opposite to Fort William, a widow, the mother of a large family, was put on a pile of combustibles, and burned to death, attended with circumstances of the utmost cruelty. "On Friday the 11th instant, about noon, an old Brahmin died, who at the time of his death was possessed of considerable riches, and had two wives, one of whom was many years younger than the other, and by each of these wives he had a large family of children, boys and girls, now living. The moment this man expired, his eldest son, heir to all his property, posted off to Allypore, and applied to C. R. Barwell, Esq. magistrate of the suburbs of Calcutta, for a license to burn his own mother and his stepmother, with the body of his father; but it appears Mr. Barwell then granted license for one wife only, the eldest, to be burned. Confident, however, that by another application leave would be obtained to burn the other wife also, the pile was raised, and every preparation made to burn them both on the following day at noon; but at the hour of noon on Saturday no license from Mr. Barwell for the destruction of the youngest woman had arrived, and no license was granted during the whole of that day. "The news of this rather novel circumstance soon spread along Seebpore and Howrah, and thousands of people of all descriptions were assembled to learn the particulars, and many of them, and to me, the family and Brahmin friends voluntarily confessed, that either both wives must be burned, or neither of them could be burned, as the one for whom the license was obtained had declared that she would not be burned alone. "On Sunday, circumstances remained just the same as on Saturday, for Mr. Barwell was inflexible, and no license to burn the youngest wife could they obtain from him, notwithstanding they used every art, artifice, and invention, which the craft and cunning of a Brahmin could conceive. "On Sunday, as on Saturday, crowds of people were in attendance from morning till . night; and toall the Europeans who inquired, the declaration of the deceased's family, and attending Brahmin, were the same, that the one wife could not be burned alone, sbe having dissented therefrom, and great hopes began now to be entertained by the humane, that Mr. Barwell's firmness would save them both; but the poor creatures were all this time, from the moment their husband had breathed his last, on Friday at noon, kept locked up, and not allowed to taste a morsel of victuals of any description, and the hope which had been entertained of their being saved from the flames was greatly damped by the fear that both would be starved to death by their merciless keepers. "On the following morning, Monday the 14th, at gun-fire, notwithstanding the previous repeated acknowledgments and confessions of the attending Brahmin and the family and friends of the deceased, that they could not burn the one wife alone, at the selected period when they thought few eyes would be open to view their proceedings, the elder woman was dragged from her prison of starvation, made to mount the pile and clasp the putrid carcase of her so long deceased husband in her arms, the stench from which at the time was intolerable. Two thick ropes, previously prepared, were then passed over the bodies, and two long levers of bamboo crossing each other were likewise employed to pinion her down, the unconsumed four ends of which are still to be seen on the spot. “ All things being thus arranged, the eldest son and heir, who was to succeed to the property, set fire to the pile, which speedily burnt and consumed his own mother, and at this act it is said that he triumphantly exulted! "The other poor woman being still kept in confinement, and no nourishment supplied, is now seized with delirium, and a few hours more will no doubt end her existence also, actually starved to death." We leave it to our readers to determine to whom the guilt of the above barbarous murder attaches. Is it to Mr. Barwell, or to the British Government in India, or to the British Government at home, or to the nation at large? RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY. "SOME time ago," says a clergyman, “I preached in both my parishes on the subject of family prayer, and some impressions appeared to be produced, of the importance and necessity of that much-neglected duty. In order that these impressions might not be fugitive and unprofitable, it was intimated that any person who wished to establish that excellent practice in his own family might be provided, gratuitously, with a form of prayer for every day in the week, in case he promised to use it, at least, once : a day. In consequence of such an intima tion, I had nearly 120 applications; and here I found the peculiar utility of the Religious Tract Society; out of its depository I was enabled to furnish so many families with an excellent form of prayer for every morning and evening in the week, at a very trifling expense to myself. Had I supplied myself with so many forms out of a bookseller's shop, this would have, been a serious demand upon my pocket; and I know of no other Society that could have provided me with so many, and so good, at so cheap a rate." WESLEYAN MISSIONARY SOCIETY. May 1, Thursday. The Anniversary Sermon will be preached at the City Road Chapel, by the Rev. Adam Clarke, LL.D. Service to begin at Half past Six in the Evening. May 5, Monday. The Annual Meeting will be held in the City Road Chapel. The Chair will be taken at Eleven o'clock. CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY. May 5, Monday. The Anniversary Sermon will he preached in Christ Church, Newgate Street, by the Rev. J. W. Cunningham, M. A. Vicar of Harrow. Divine Service to begin at Half past Six in the Evening. May 6, Tuesday. The Annual Meeting will be held at Freemasons' Hall. The Chair to be taken at Twelve o'clock. BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY. May 7, Wednesday. The Nineteenth Annual Meeting will be held at Freemasons' Hall. The Chair to be taken at Eleven o'clock. PRAYER BOOK AND HOMILY SOCIETY. May 7, Wednesday. The Eleventh Anniversary Sermon will be preached at Christ Church, Newgate Street, by the Rev. Henry Budd, M. A. Minister of Bridewell Hospital and Precinct, &c. Service to begin at Half past Six in the Evening. May 8, Thursday. The Annual Meeting will be held at Stationers' Hall, Ludgate Street. The Chair to be taken at Twelve o'clock. LONDON SOCIETY FOR CONVERSION OF THE JEWS. May 8, Thursday. The Anniversary Sermon will be preached at the Church of St. Paul's, Covent Garden, by the Rev. W. Thistlethwaite, M. A. Minister of St. George's, Bolton. Service to begin at Half past Six. May 9, Friday. The Annual Meeting will be held at Freemasons' Hall. The Chair to be taken at Twelve precisely. LONDON ASSOCIATION IN AID OF THE MORAVIAN MISSIONS. May 9, Friday. The Annual Sermon in behalf of this Association, will be preached at the Church of St. Clement Danes, by the Rev. Thomas Mortimer, M. A. Divine Service to begin at Seven o'clock. LONDON HIBERNIAN SOCIETY. May 10, Saturday. The Annual Meeting will be held in Freemasons' Hall. The Chair to be taken by H. H. R. the Duke of Gloucester, at Twelve o'clock at Noon. LONDON FEMALE PENITENTIARY. May 12, Monday. The Annual Meeting will be held at the Crown and Anchor Tavern, Strand, at Twelve o'clock at Noon. BRITISH AND FOREIGN SCHOOL SOCIETY. May 12, Monday. The Annual Meeting will be held at Freemasons' Hall. The Chair to be taken at Twelve o'clock. May 12, Monday. The Right Hon. Lord PORT OF LONDON SOCIETY. 1 The Annual Meeting will be held at the City of London Tavern. May 13, Tuesday. The Annual Meeting will be held at the City of London Tavern, at Six o'clock in the Morning. NAVAL AND MILITARY BIBLE SOCIETY. May 13, Tuesday. The Annual Meeting will be held at the King's Concert Room, in the Haymarket. The Chair to be taken at Twelve o'clock. CONTINENTAL SOCIETY. May 13, Tuesday. A Sermon will be preached for this Society, at the Church of St. Ann, Blackfriars, by the Rev. John Williams, D. D. Service at Half past Six o'clock. May 21, Wednesday. The Annual Meeting will be held at Freemasons' Hall, at Twelve o'clock at Noon. LONDON MISSIONARY SOCIETY. May 14, Wednesday. A Sermon will be preached at Surrey Chapel, at Half past Ten o'Clock, by the Rev. W. Leifchild. Another in the Evening at the Tabernacle, Moorfields, by the Rev. W. Chaplin. May 15, Thursday. The Annual Meeting will be held at Great Queen Street Chapel, at Half past Ten. A Sermon will be preached in the Evening at Tottenham Court Chapel, by the Rev. J. Macdonald. May 16, Friday. A Sermon will be preached at St. Ann's Church, Blackfriars, by the Rev. E. Sidney. RELIGIOUS TRACT SOCIETY. May 16, Friday. The Annual Meeting will be held at the City of London Tavern, at Six o'clock in the Morning. AFRICAN INSTITUTION. May 16, Friday. The Annual Meeting will be held at Freemasons' Hall. The Chair will be taken at Twelve o'clock, by W. Wilberforce, Esq. M. P. HOME. HE "who ordereth all things both in heaven and in earth," has been pleased to preserve this country, during the past month, from the near approach of one of its greatest perils. The Catholic question, certain, as its advocates seemed to think, of an immediate triumph, has been defeated in a manner which we, who look at the proposition with the deepest apprehension, should be most ungrateful if we did not acknowledge as a kind and gracious providence. May it be a token for good to those that fear God! and may it encourage them, as a divine interposition ought to do, to stand yet more firmly in defence of the faith once delivered to the saints! On the 17th of April the House of Commons met for the first contest during this Session on the Catholic question. Few, we believe, imagined that any remarkable circumstance would distinguish this discussion from those of former years, or that the votes would be much increased on either side, although, indeed, hopes were partially entertained that the small majority of five by which the Bill of last year was carried, might be reduced, or even annihilated. Before, however, Mr. Plunkett, who this year moved the question, began his address, a conversation arose upon the presentation of some petitions, which was carried to considerable length, and marked with great asperity. Several of the leaders of the Opposition' took part in it, and animadverted with much severity and even intemperance of language, upon the conduct of Mr. Canning, Mr. Plunkett, and Mr. Wynn, the ministerial advocates of the measure, in having accepted office without demanding a pledge for the concession of the claims of the Roman Catholics. They even went so far as to urge that Mr. Canning, when offered a high rank in the Administration, ought to have refused to accept it, until Lord Liverpool, the Lord Chancellor, and all the other anti-popish members of the Cabinet, had given up their conscientious opinion upon this subject, in obedience to his wishes. This would, of course, have been to pass a sentence of perpetual exclusion upon himself, and no one offered to show, that by so excluding himself from power, he would have forwarded the success of his own views. The argument, however, was prosecuted with so much warmth as to threaten a breach of the peace on the part of some distinguished individuals, and finally ended in the secession of about twenty of the leading members of the Opposition from the House, during the discussion of the question. Under these discouraging circumstances, Mr. Plunkett made his motion, and after a very short discussion the House showed symptoms of a wish to put an end to the matter. One of the supporters of the measure then moved the adjournment of the question until the following evening, which is the course commonly followed on such occasions. The House, however, negatived the proposal by 292 votes against 134, leaving a majority of one hundred and fifty-eight against the question.-One of its supporters then moved, for the purpose of avoiding a direct defeat, "that the House do now adjourn," which was carried by 316 votes against 110; by which step Mr. Plunkett's motion fell altogether to the ground. That gentleman has since declared, that he has no intention of renewing it this session; and its warmest friends in Parliament have spoken of it as "lying prostrate." The confusion and dispersion of its supporters, indeed, is so complete, and their animosity so strong, that it is not improbable that years may elapse before they can become sufficiently united to recover the ground they have lost. We do not express this conviction with a view of encouraging a feeling of security; we would rather urge our friends to "thank God, and take courage," for the danger, however distant it may now appear, will still return. Another subject has come under the notice of Parliament, which threatens to occupy all the time which the speedy dismissal of the Catholic Question may have saved. The Attorney General for Ireland, by bringing to prosecution the persons concerned in the riot at the Theatre, after a Grand Jury had ignored the bills, excited very great dissatisfaction among the Protestants of Ireland. A motion was made by the member for Armagh, Mr. Brownlow, conveying a vote of censure on Mr. Plunkett.-This Mr. P. warded off by bringing forward very strong charges against the Sheriff and Grand Jury of Dublin, whose neglect of duty, he urged, had compelled him to have recourse to extreme measures. These charges were taken up by Sir F. Burdett, who moved an inquiry into the conduct of the Sheriff. That gentleman himself petitioned for an inquiry, and his friends voting with the Opposition in its favour, carried the motion against Ministers by 219 votes to 185. The investigation is therefore to be immediately gone into. Motions have been made in both the Houses of Parliament, disapproving of the conduct of Ministers in continental affairs, which have been negatived by large majorities. FOREIGN. The French armies have entered SPAIN, and appear to encounter little opposition. On the western frontier they have penetrated as far as Vittoria; on the eastern, their progress has been retarded by various circumstances. The Earl of Liverpool lately stated in the House of Lords, his expectation that Madrid would be occupied, but conceived that such occupation would by no means conelude the contest. 200 We should NOT advise confession to man in the case proposed. It doubtless calls for deep and unfeigned humiliation, confession, and repentance before God. Psalm li. 4. Micah, vii. 9. Psalm xxxii. 5. We approve of the sentiments of M. but doubt whether we shall be able to find a place for the article.- is more appropriate to the Sailor's Magazine.-The extensive circulation of Songs in the Night renders it inexpedient to insert the Extract which Malvina has kindly sent. J. W. M.-Aliquis-J. S.-Litoreus-will be inserted. We are happy in being able to comply with the request of A. J. S. The account of M. C. has arrived, and will most probably appear, in an abridged form, in our next. The miscarriage of the former copy renders it imperative upon us to meet as early as possible, the wishes of our respected friend. Pierre M.-Moniteur-Lines on the Departure of a Teacher--Esther, &c. are under consideration. We are obliged by J. M. B.'s confidence, and shall not forget his kind offer. The tirade of Onesimus is received, and would have been printed entire had our object been, principally, the amusement of our readers. As this, however, is not the case, judgment has been speedily passed, and execution done upon it. LITERARY INTELLIGENCE. Just published. A new and improved Edition of "The Religious World displayed," or a View of the Four grand Systems of Religion--Judaism, Paganism, Mohammedanism, and Christianity; and of the various Denominations, Sects, and Parties, in the Christian World. By the Rev. Robert Adam, M. A. late Minister of St. John's Church, Christianstad, St. Croix, &c. In two Volumes 8vo. A third Edition of the Rev. H. Martyn's Sermons. In Octavo. Musæ Solitariæ. A Collection of original Melodies, adapted to various Measures of Psalms and Hymns, with Words at Length, and a full Accompaniment for the Piano Forte and Organ. Intended as a Help to Devotion in the Closet, or in the domestic Circle. By the Rev. J. Jowett, Rector of Silk Willoughby. In Quarto. A fifth Edition of the Rev. Thomas Scott's Life. A tenth Edition of the Rev. E. Bickersteth's Scripture Help. In Twelves. A new Edition of Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, with the Notes of the Rev. Thomas Scott. In Twelves. A third Volume of the Rev. Charles Davy's Cottage Sermons. The victorious Christian's Reward. A Sermon preached before the University of Cambridge, by the Rev. William Mandell, B. D. Lectures on Scripture Comparison, or Christianity compared with Hinduism, Mohammedanism, the ancient Philosophy, and Deism; forming the seventh Volume of a Series of Lectures on the Evidences of Divine Revelation, which comprises an Examination of Scripture Facts, Prophecies, Miracles, Parables, Doctrines, and Duties, and a Comparison of Christianity with Hinduism, &c. In Seven Volumes, 8vo. By William Bengo' Collyer, D. D. &c. &c. The Parish Clerk. A Tale. Eight Lectures, on some striking Proofs of the Being of a God, and the Truth of the Bible. A Catalogue of the Ethiopic Biblical MSS. in the Royal Library of Paris, and in that of the British and Foreign Bible Society; with Specimens of the modern Dialects of Abyssinia. By Thomas Pell Platt, B. A. Fellow of Trinity College, Cambridge. Martin Luther on the Bondage of the Will. Faithfully translated from the original Latin. By the Rev. Edward T. Vaughan, Vicar of St. Martin's, Leicester, &c. With Preface and Notes. One Volume, 8vo. An Alpine Tale. Suggested by Circumstances which occurred towards the Commencement of the present Century. By the Author of "Tales from Switzerland." Two Volumes, 12mo. Dr. Chalmers' Christian and Civic Economy of large Towns, Nos. XIV. XV. and XVI. "On the Causes and Cure of Pauperism in England," will be published in May. These Numbers will complete the second Volume of this work. |