licks; and to this letter the Baronet had returned a favourable answer. It appears that Picton and Sidney, in the province of Nova Scotia, have, by an order in council, been declared to be Free Ports, and also Montego Bay in Jamaica.

FRANCE. On the 5th of February, the Session of the French Legislature was opened in form by the king, surrounded by all his family, chief officers of his household, his ministers, and grand officers of the crown. He delivered in person a speech, of which the following is the substance. He declared that he came "to make known the situation of France"-that the relations of France with foreign powers was amicable and satisfactory-the affairs of Turkey and Greece alone excepted; and that as to these, he entertained the hope that he and his allies would be able to settle the controversy "without the necessity of having recourse to arms"-that the unexpected battle of Navarino was an occasion of glory for the arms of France, and “a brilliant ̧ pledge of the union of the three flags"—that the support of a French army in Spain had been burdensome to the French, but that the burden would very speedily be removed, by withdrawing the French troops from that kingdom-that a vigorous blockade of Algiers continued, and would be continued, till due satisfaction for Algerine aggressions should be received-that the French flag "in distant regions, and under the dominion of infant governments" [we suppose the South American Republicks are intended] had "suffered some aggressions," but that reparation was expected for the past, and care would be taken to prevent the like in future-that the domestick affairs of France, as well as her foreign relations, were in a desirable state-that there had been a temporary diminution of income, for which it would be necessary to provide, but that "a severe and extensive economy" should be used-that the army would be gratified by his "calling his son to act in the military promotions"-that the increasing commerce and industry of France required "more numerous outlets," and that an additional minister, to superintend these concerns, it was his wish should be appointed—that religion and education, although intimately connected, required "a separate direction," and that he had ordered a division to be made-that it was his wish to support the national charter granted by his brother, and which he had sworn to maintain; and that he should be watchful to see that the legislative operations were carried on in harmony with that charter-that "some high questions of publick administration had been pointed out for his attention," which he had ordered to be examined with a view "to bring out the truth." The address then closes with the customary declaration of his devotion to "the happiness of France," and of his reliance on the chambers to second his endeavours. It is said that this speech "was heard with a lively interest, and followed with prolonged acclamations." It appears that there is a decided majority in both chambers, opposed to the measures of the late ministry; and in favour of opinions and proceedings qualifiedly liberal. Our nation's friend, General La Fayette, had been very ill of pleurisy, but was recovering. In conse quence of his sickness, he had not been able to take his seat in the chamber of deputies. On the whole, it appears that the progress of arbitrary measures, both in reference to politicks and religion, has received a serious check in France; and we cannot but hope that a still greater melioration is at hand.

SPAIN. We have nothing of much moment to report, in regard to this unhappy kingdom. The late insurrectionary movements seem, for the present, to be put down. But the kingdom is still greatly agitated, and miserably impoverished. Bands of robbers have obstructed the approaches even to the capital-One distinguished horde has, it is said, been lately broken up. The king had been ill of the gout, but was stated to be convalescent. The French troops were leaving Spain, and Cadiz was to be garrisoned by a Spanish military corps.

PORTUGAL.-The Princess Regent opened the Portuguese legislature on the 2d of June; she said “that a great deal remained to be done before the political fabrick could be considered as completely consolidated;" spoke favourably of Don Miguel; said that Spain had acted with good faith, and that party spirit was nearly extinct. An article dated Lisbon, Jan. 23d, which appears to have been taken from a Paris paper, contains the following information. "We have just received despatches from the infant Don Miguel, of a very unsatisfactory nature, relative to the queen, to the marquis Loulle, and to the Infanta Donna Maria, his wife. It seems that Don Miguel will not quit England till the queen his mother shall have left Portugal. As to the marquis Loulle, we are again assured that he is also to set out with the princess, before the arrival of the infant. It is certain that the preparations are resumed, which were suspended, on board the English frigate which is to conduct them to London. But the most general opinion is, that the queen will set out for Rome on board the frigate." Either in pretence, or in reality, Don Miguel has abandoned his mother's arbitrary views; and will not assume the crown till she shall have left the kingdom. His pre

sent professions are decisively in favour of the existing constitution. We do not understand that his marriage with his niece is yet consummated: a marriage which no dispensation from the Pope, can render other than incestuous. The insurrections in Portugal appear to be quieted, and as elsewhere observed, the British troops are leaving the kingdom.

RUSSIA. Under one of the latest dates we have seen, from a London paper, we observe the following article: "A demand is said to have been made by the Russian government for a port in the Mediterranean.-The British government, it is added, hesitate in acceding to this demand; and it has been suggested that Russia would probably take forcible possession of Milo, an island and harbour well calculated for the purposes of the Czar."-If the junction of the Russian fleet with that of England, in the late battle of Navarino, has awakened a spirit of cupidity for a naval station in the Mediterranean, Britain will pay dearly for her alliance. We rather suspect, however, that this article is merely a manufacture of a London paragraphist. Yet the cordial union of three such powers as Britain, France, and Russia, all inordinately proud and ambitious, would, if long continued, be a new thing under the sun. He who rules among the nations, may use this union to humble, perhaps to destroy, the Mussulman power, and then permit it to end, as such things have usually ended, in a bitter quarrel among the allies themselves. It is stated that an entire change has taken place in the Russian ministry. The particulars are not known, further than that it is said to have been occasioned by a difference of opinion in regard to a war with Turkey.

TURKEY.-It must be admitted that the Sultan Mahmoud has acted with consummate policy. His intentions were apparently pacifick for a considerable time after the destruction of his fleet, and he detained the ministers of the allied powers far beyond their expectations and wishes. In the mean time, he exerted all his influence and exertions to prepare for war-covering the whole with the pretence, (and doing it so as to make it believed by the negotiators) that his dignity and the spirit of his people demanded these measures. Since the departure of the ambassadors, he has made that circumstance an ostensible reason for measures still more warlike, and preparations for hostile operations still more efficient; and yet without a declaration of war. He has closed the Bosphorus against the flags of all nations; he has detained the vessels of the allied powers, and put their cargoes into a state of sequestration; he has provisioned his capital with grain taken by force from vessels in his port; he has refused all mediation from neutral powers; he has declared that he will not accept the terms of the allied powers for the pacification of Greece; and by a most inflammatory proclamation addressed to the religious feelings of Musselmen, he has called them all to arms-a hundred thousand Kurds are said to be on their march for Europe; he has struck terror into the minds of all Europeans resident in his dominions, and has seized and probably strangled a rich merchant of Scio; he has, in a word, converted his capital into a military camp, and done every thing but proclaim warPerhaps he wishes to provoke such a declaration from the allied powers, before he makes it himself. These measures of the Sultan, taken in connexion with the treaty which exists between England, France, and Russia, seem to render war inevitable. Yet we shall look for peace till war is proclaimed. But it really seems as if a bloody conflict was at hand; and if so, the convulsion of all Europe will probably be the con

sequence.

GREECE.—It is stated, with apparent authenticity, that 15,000 of the Egyptian troops have left Greece, and that but 8000 remain; and that these are in a starving condition. The Greeks still carry on military operations, and General Church, it is stated, is besieging Missolonghi. The ruling powers in Greece have published a proclamation prohibiting the capture of any more vessels by their cruisers, denouncing piracy in the severest terms, and forbidding their vessels, not employed in blockades, to put to sea at all. The fortress of Scio is reported to have fallen into the hands of the Greeks; but this wants confirmation-The devastations which the Turks have made in Greece have produced indescribable distress; and we hope the exertions of Dr. Howe in our country, to obtain for them some farther relief, will be successful.

ASIA.

One of the latest papers received from London, contains the following article. "By accounts from Madras of the 18th of October, it appears that hostilities have been commenced against the Rajah of Kolapore. Kolapore is situated in the province of Bejapore, and distant about one hundred and eighty miles south of Bombay, and nearly five hundred miles north-west of Madras. A strong ghurry, hitherto deemed impregnable, had been reduced by the British forces."-We regret that war has again been proclaimed against a native prince of India. We cannot avoid the suspicion that

British cupidity is deeply concerned in these conflicts. When will humanity and religion put an end to the needless sufferings of the inhabitants of India! It also appears, that in the island of Java, after a cessation of hostilities for a time, active warfare had again commenced, between the native forces and the Dutch troops.

AFRICA.

We extract the following interesting article from the United States Gazette of the 27th of March:

66

Capt. Nicholson, of the United States navy, who has recently returned from Africa, gives, in a letter to Mr. Clay, a very flattering account of the American colony at Liberia, which he visited in returning from the Mediterranean.

The colonists, with most of whom Capt. N. conversed, and of whom there are 1,200, are quite content with their situation, and do not desire to return; and eight of Capt. N.'s crew, after being on shore a few days, applied for, and received their discharge, in order to join their brethren. These eight were coloured mechanics, and possessed of nearly two thousand dollars.

The soil in the possession of the colonists is rich, and will produce a superabundance for the support of the colony, as well as for external commerce. Sugar, cotton, coffee, rice, and various trees and plants, yielding valuable dyes, and medicinal gums, can be cultivated with success.

The colonists were not only content-they were happy; and appeared to enjoy that rational freedom which their present situation secured. They have turned their attention to agriculture, and already raise 100 hogsheads of tobacco per year. Indeed, the soil will produce any thing which a tropical climate will allow to arrive to maturity."

It appears that the enterprising and dauntless missionary Wolff is determined to set out for Timbuctoo, in the character of a travelling servant to a kind of mercantile caravan. His object is to carry the gospel to some of his Jewish brethren, who are said to dwell in that city; and to endeavour to plant Christianity there. He leaves lady Georgiana with a new born infant daughter-It appears that she is not opposed to the enterprise, but favours it.

AMERICA.

The last month has afforded us less news of importance from our own continent, than from the continents of the old world. Warfare is yet carried on, but without much activity, between the Emperor of Brazil and Buenos Ayres. Colombia, under the auspices of Bolivar, appears to be improving-The Liberator, when last heard from, was at Bogota; and was ready to pledge himself that in the province of Caraccas all difficulties should be settled within a year-In the mean time, the whole country is under martial law. Mexico is yet agitated by the conflicts and commotions produced by the banishment of the natives of old Sain-That measure is likely to be effected, and the government appears to act with efficiency. In Guatimala the intestine war still rages; and the English consul has been murdered by one of the natives, a servant in his family, with a view to seize his wealth. The murderer however has been taken, and the remains of the consul have received funeral honours. From the other republicks of the South, no news has reached us within the month. In the United States, nothing disturbs the public tranquillity, unless it be the controversy about our next president; and this is chiefly a newspaper and congressional controversy. Still it is one which we think all good citizens should endeavour to abate, and not to inflame. It interferes, in some instances, with private friendships; and the slanders which are circulated on both sides, and we think about equally on both, are prejudicial to morals, and hurtful to national character. Let every citizen enjoy his opinion and exercise his rights; and looking to an overruling providence to give the result most beneficial to our common country, let us quietly await the issue.

The IV. No. of The Presbyterian, with some other articles, unavoidably omitted in our present number, may be expected in our next-The engraved likeness of the late venerable Joseph Eastburn, which accompanies our present No., will, we think, be pronounced a very good one, by all who remember his appearance in the last ten years of his life, during which the portrait was taken, from which the engraving has been made.

THE

CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE.

MAY, 1828.

Keligious Communications.

the workshop, in which these part ners in manual labour pursued their occupation, with unceasing activity. The number of hours in the day, during which they toiled at their trade, was greater than usual. Mr. Eastburn once told the writer, that a man, who valued himself on his skill in the cabinet making business, came from the country to the city, under the idea that city mechanicks had easier times than their country brethren. He applied to Messrs. E. & L. for employment as a journeyman. Employment was offered him, on condition that he should work the same number of hours in each day as his employers. The offer was gladly accepted; but in less than a week, the journeyman declared that he could not stand it to work as they did," and left their service. This workshop was, for several years, the resort of many who wished to converse with Mr. Eastburn on the subject of religion generally, or on the state of their own souls in particular. He conversed and laboured at the same time; and the observations he made, and the advice he gave, in these circumstances, were, in many instances, highly useful.

He was always fond of children, and seldom failed to gain their affection and confidence in return. From a school almost adjoining his shop, be was daily resorted to by a number of these youthful visitants, whom he supplied with little blocks, the remnants of the wood in which he wrought; and sometimes permitted them to build their tiny fabricks on the floor of his shop, while he watched an opportunity to say something to them, which he hoped they might remember with advantage. The following short dialogue between him, and the writer's eldest son, then a child about six years old, may serve as a specimen of his conversations on these occasions-"Mr. E. Well Robert, you seem very busy-If you live, what business do you expect to follow?

what do you expect to be? Robert. Why Mr. Eastburn, you know what my Pa is? Mr. E. Yes, your Pa is a minister of the gospel. R. Well, I intend to be a minister too. Mr. E. Ah, my dear, if you intend to be a minister, you must first be a good man. Remember that; for you had better be a chimney sweeper, than a minister of the gospel, if you are not a good man." It is known that a number of individuals of unquestionable piety, now living, attribute their first religious impressions to the affectionate admonitions and instructions which in their childhood, or early youth, they received from this faithful servant of the Lord Jesus. His earnest prayers were doubtless constantly offered, in behalf of those who received his counsels; and we know the declaration, that "the fervent and effectual prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

After the close of the revolutionary war in 1785, till the establishment of the Federal government of the United States in 1788, and, in a degree, for several years afterwards, there was a most deplorable stagnation of almost every kind of business. abundant, but there was scarcely The produce of the soil was indeed any foreign commerce; and in consequence of this, and the circulation of a paper currency, the precious metals had almost entirely disappeared-They had either left the country, or were hoarded up by a few individuals. For the wares of mechanicks, especially, the demand was very small, and the price unusually low. Mr. Eastburn's circumstances, in common with those of many others, became, from this cause, much straitened. But another cause increased his embarrassment. He had borrowed money to purchase a lot of ground, and on it had erected the house in which he lived till the time of his decease. The labour of building the house had, to a considerable extent, been performed by his own hands. But