Missions to the heathen. If there is any spirit which more than all others should animate the christian, it is that which breathes in your address, and which, I trust, conveys a true view of your character as a body. The conviction that such is the fact, tends very much to encourage the hope that I may not be long left the only Missionary from the Synod of Ulster. The position 1 now occupy in this respect, is to me most painful. I feel a weight of responsibility which I cannot describe, and which the solitariness of my situation necessarily creates. Believe me, therefore, nothing could afford me greater pleasure than the prospect of some of you joining the ranks of that little band who are fighting the battles of the Lord among the heathen. That there are privations connected with such a warfare cannot be denied, but I feel convinced that the situation of a faithful Missionary, and that of a faithful Minister at home, differ very little in this respect. He who associates ease and the enjoyment of every personal comfort with the ministerial life at home, must either be very ignorant or irreligious. I do not suspect any of you of falling into such a mistake. When, therefore, you refer to the sacrifices I am called to make, I interpret your words as an expression of what you think ought to be the sacrifices that every minister of Christ should make if called on by his master and I trust that their existence would interpose no barrier to any of you in going forth to the help of the Lord against the mighty.

1

Concerning you, my young friends, I feel peculiarly jealous. You will excuse me, then, of laying aside the style of compliment which the world is accustomed to employ, and permit me as an elder brother to beseech you that ye may not receive the grace of God in vain. You must be aware that the standard of religious attainment among our people generally, is much too low, and that he is their greatest benefactor who contributes most to its elevation. Now there are two modes I would particularly point out as available by you for promoting this end. Either devote yourselves as Missionaries to the service of God among the heathen, or stand forth fearlessly and consistently as the advocates of Missions at home. By directing the attention of professing christians steadily and zealously to such an object, you take the most ef fectual means of overcoming that natural selfishness of the human heart, which circumscribes its bounty to its own immediate circle. And rest assured, the more extensive the sphere of christian sympathy, the more does christian principle grow in the heart. As to the first of these plans, I would ask you is it too much to expect that from your number I may live to see many engaged personally in this glorious work. You say, and truly, that it has long been a blot on the escutcheon of the Synod of Ulster, that her sons have lingered at home while the heathen were per ishing for lack of knowledge. Come, then, to the missionary field, and thus blot out that stain which is deep on the character of a professedly christian people, and believe me you will thus contributé more, by your example, to keep alive a Missionary spirit among the members of the church at home, than you could do by any means while remaining at home. Remember the work of evangelizing the heathen will go on whether you join in it or not It is your privilege, therefore, to have an opportunity of becoming fellow-workers with God in bringing about a consummation, the remote prospect of which awoke the prophets of old to the loudest strains of rapture. The present are awakening times may the Lord arouse many of you to the sense of your duty, and make you willing to say with his servants,

"Lord, here we are, send us."
you shall be employed at home, and most of you, the probability is, that
of you
and wherever you are, the cause of Missions will find in you zealous and
devoted advocates. Let not your advocacy, however, be the cold, formal,
and didactic information whatever you do in this matter, do it heartily;
and rest assured you will never find the people under your care indifferent
to your appeals. If you undertake the charge of a congregation where
there seems so little life that you fear to ask their assistance
in the cause of Missions, you may be certain that all your fears will be
realized. But if with a determination to know fully, and to preach no-
thing but Jesus Christ, and him crucified, you combine what should al-
ways accompany such a resolution, the demand that they who
have received benefit from the word of life should assist in imparting it to
others, you will not be disappointed every disciple of Christ will join
you, and even those who are strangers to him will acknowledge the jus-
tice of the principle on which you act, and respect you as consistent.

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*

*

10/15/est br

Mr. Leslie had written thus far, when he was called to take his departure from our shores.

our blunda and

32 THE 7049

The Missionary.

ON THE DEPARTURE OF THE REV. THOMAS LESLIE AS A
MISSIONARY TO JAMAICA.

"MR. LESLIE has broken new ground, being the first Missionary to the Heathen from the Synod of Ulster. He departs from among us with a pure and elevated character-he goes with the prayers and sympathies of the church-and the confident expectation is that, under the blessing of God, his services will be faithful, persevering, and successful."-Orthodor Presbyterian.

AROUSE thee, our Zion! be girt in thy strength,
The voice of the Heathen hath reached thee at length;
The cry of the needy hath come from afar,

And one of thy sons goeth forth to the war.

He goeth in weakness, yet goeth in power;
For his God will be strength in the perilous hour-
The helper of Jacob will still be his stay,
When he dwells with the Negro, in lands far away.

fn lands far away, where the star of the West
Is mirror'd deep down in the calm ocean's breast,
Where the sun in his glory all cloudless careers,
And d the dew steeps the drooping banana in tears.

Our country hath broken the fetter and chain,
And wiped from her scutcheon the deep bloody stain- '
That plague spot of Britain, which tarnish'd her fame,
And left scarce a trace of humanity's name.

The hand of the Negro's unfetter'd and free_L
His feet unéons train'd as the wave of his sea;
But his heart, still enslav'd with the shackles of sin,
Is darker, by far, than the hue of his skin.

Has he look'd to our land has his cry been in vain
To the green Isle of Erin, far over the main ?-
Have his hands been uplifted?-and heedlessly fell
His tears, that far more than his accents can tell?

O no; to his help thou hast hasted away-
O bless'd be thy meeting, and hallow'd thy stay
The floods of deep waters have lifted their voice,
Yet thou goest in mercy, his heart to rejoice.

Thy way lieth far from our Isle of the West;
But the love thy Saviour so burns in thy breast,
That thy fathers, thy brethren, thy kinsmen, and all,
Thou leav'st at the sound of humanity's call.

My pray'r goeth with thee, thou true-hearted man-
I see thee all wearied, all wasted, and wan,
Surrounded with sickness, enfeebl'd with care,
Cast down, and in trouble, but not in despair.

In the strength of the Lord-by the power of his might
With the armour of faith thou wilt "fight the good fight"-
And a crown of rejoicing will ever be thine,
Where the saints as the stars thro' eternity shine.

And now, when a time of refreshing is come,
-Shall the youth of our Zion still slumber at home ?—
Awake, and be doing, while now it is day—
Acquit you like men-to the battle away!

The harvest is plenteous, the reapers are few-
The call is from heav'n-the call is to you.
Go forth; and your services God will regard;
Up, up, and be doing the work of the Lord!

BELFAST, 16th March, 1835.

. 1. ****.

As a token of the Christian feeling with which Mr. and Mrs. Leslie were regarded, a number of her sisters in Christ, in Belfast, presented the latter with a very beautiful Copy of the Bible, and Bridges' Exposition of the 119th Psalm

In another work also presented to Mrs. Leslie by a Christian friend, the following lines were inserted

3 %

Thy way lies o'er the lonely deep, tardo 180-1, fista Thy home on distant shore;mont usqi bn A 981 May He who lull'd the waves to sleep,q to Preserve thee evermore,13 £ 901232 Лsí A

TEMPERANCE..

[THE following Petition to Parliament, on the subject of Temperance, is in course of being extensively signed in Belfast and the neighbourhood, and we lay it before our readers with an earnest recommendation that they would consider the propriety of addressing the Government in this or similar Petitions. A motion on the classification of public-houses, and the prevention of drunkenness, will be submitted to the House of Commons, on the 9th of April.]

To the Honourable, the Commons of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland, in Parliament assembled.
The Petition of the Minister, Elders, and Congregation of
HUMBLY SHEWETH,

*9

THAT, as appears in evidence before a Committee of your Honourable House, Drunkenness, with its attendant evils, prevails to an alarming extent throughout the United Kingdom; and that in Ireland, where it presents itself in a most aggravated form, it is caused almost entirely by distilled spirit. It is in evidence before the Parliamentary Committee on Drunkenness, that while in Ireland millions of her people are in a state of most pitiable destitution, MORE THAN are ANNUALLY EXPENDED on DISTILLED SPIRIT, chiefly by the POOR; and that as a necessary consequence, poverty, disease, and crime have so increased, that THREE FOURTHS of the abject POVERTY AND CRIME of the country, and ONE HALF of the of the DISEASE prevalent among the lower orders, are, by competent witnesses, attributed to INTEMPERANCE. The brutalizing influence of distilled spirit,

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is universally acknowledged: it sears the conscience and hardens the heart; it is a barrier in the way of improvement; and the friends of education, religion, and all benevolent efforts, too often strive against it in vain. It has also been established by the incontrovertible evidence of hundreds of the most eminent medical practitioners, and by very long and extensive experience, THAT DISTILLED SPIRIT IS ENTIRELY USELESS TO PERSONS IN HEALTH, and directly and positively NOXIOUS to the human constitution, body, and mind, so that all use of distilled spirit as a customary beverage, and all sale of it for such a use, is MORALLY WRONG, and CONSEQUENTLY CANNOT BE POLITICALLY RIGHT. It has been further established in evidence, that THE GREAT SOURCE of drunkenness in the United Kingdom, is the sanction given by the influential portion of the community to the customary use of so seductive, powerful, and pernicious an instrument of evil as distilled spirit-very many captivating qualities being falsely attributed to it by their precept and example, and very many fatal customs upheld and perpetuated which trained the present generation of drunkards, and which will have another ruined generation ready to occupy their place when they are gone. Your Petitioners deeply regret that the whole of this destructive system has been hitherto sanctioned by the British Legisla ture, which largely participates in promoting the evil, not only by legalizing a traffic MORALLY WRONG, but directly producing drunkenness in the ARMY AND NAVY by the distribution of spirit-rations, and the establishment of canteens; while a most pernicious lesson is thus taught, and a most destructive example set to the whole community.

Your Petitioners, therefore, pray your Honourable House immediately to adopt such measures as shall, in the present depraved state of public sentiment and practice, most effectually tend to exclude distilled spirit from customary use as an article of diet,

And Petitioners will ever pray.

your

WILL YOU BECOME A SUNDAY-SCHOOL,
TEACHER?

•

Are

READER, allow me to reason with you. Are you willing to do any thing for Christ? Are you anxious that his kingdom should be promoted, all being converted to it? you anxious about the welfare of the souls of others? If you are, then be a Sunday-School Teacher. It is easy if you will but try. You have only to make the attempt