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New Zealand Herald, Volume I, Issue 308, 7 November 1864, Page 7

Fire at Sewtox.—About one o'clock this morning, the neighbourhood of ilewton were alarmed by the ringing of the fire bell and the outcries of persona who were witnesses of the outbreak of a fire on the Karangahape road. It proved to bo the cottage of Mr Blackburn, a builder and plasterer, opposite the ? ewton Post Office. Before the engines could arrive the house was one mass of flame, and itwas only I by the exertions of a lodcer in the house that the other inmates were rescued from imminent destruction The. hoii?o and all its contents, including upwards ot 00 worth of nla-stci- models, were entjiefy des* TroveJ. Wo understand that the two insurances on thu' building will not cover more than one-fifth of tha loes. i.

PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE. The following lecture iras dcliverod l>y Wm. Gisborne, Esq., on the cx-oning ot' the '31st nit., in tlic Literary Institute, Newton, to a full and appreciative audience. Mr. Chairman, Ladies, and Gentlemen,—ln tlio selection of the subject of my lecture 1 ivhs afraid that the title might-excite in your minds 6ome alarm that I would iullh't. on you a tedious dissertation on things in general, und 1 am still apprehensive on this point; but lam not sure that a lecturer should not congratulate himself on such a state of mind, at first, on the part of his hearers, for the negative praise ol not being so bad as was expected may be gained with less diiliculty than the positive triumph ol' surpassing favorable expectations. Tt is sometimes easier not to justify flic apprehension of fear, than it is to satisfy the anticipation of hope. Pa.st, Phksent, ami Knrin:! These words are of the most significant import. There are not three more momentous words in the Knglish language. Addressed as they are, and only can be in the. present ■world, to human beings, they suggest, thoughts which must arrest the attention of the most frivolous, and

nbsorb the reflection of the deepest thinker. They comprehend in their embrace everything that has ttfl'eoted, does, and will affect living bodies endued -with living sods. I have been —T am—l shall be. Kiu'U of us is the incarnation of this awful tvi-unitv. Xife is the formation of it in embryo, and death is its birth into immortality. AYe are fashioned in the womb of time, but we live in the world of eternity. "We cannot recall the past, we cannot control the future, but yet both the future and the past are, in one sense, greatly under our influence, for past, present, and future are essentially identical. "While I am speaking the future dilates into the present, and the present subsides into the past. The suinovvent that was future is now present, and is thenceforward past. We can so use the present as, in :.oine measure, to determine coining events, and It) that extent to iniluence what ultimately become past events. Thus the future and the past are both moulded by our ■creative hands, the past because it was the present, and the future because it is the effect of a present cause, and the consequence of a present act. I, of course, assume what I think no man in this room will deny, that man is a free agent; that lie "las the will to determine and the ability to act, and is not a passive and irresponsible instrument, in the hands of another; that, if Omniscience foreknows events. Omnipotence has enabled man, by his own ■deliberate will, to decide on his own course of action, the result of whieh will be that-fixed by the unchangeable law of cause and effect, and not the accident of caprice. This is no contradiction. God in His infinite knowledge know? what will take place, and yet does not interfere with the human agency which brings it about-, because he also knows imprecise manner in which that free agency will l-e exercised. This seems to me a simple and irrefutable argument against the objections to the existence of free will, t know that in the backgi-ound there springs up the more formidable question of the oricin -of evil, but I do not propose, in this lecture, io enter into that subject. It- is a question probably insoluble by Iruiiian reason, and Divine inspiration, no doubt for wise reasons, atibrcis no elue to the solution. Even in the material ek-eation when we rellect on the infinity of mysteries "which the human mind cannot penetrate, criticising, as it were, the pebbles on the shore while the ocean of the universe extends bevond, fathomless and il'imitable. Is it wonderful that the .same mind should be utterly impotent when it attempts to scrutinise the spiritual creation, and to

reason respecting its object in the counsels of the Ulost High. Sutiice it to know that this world is the scfcxte of a continuous conflict between pood and evil, and that we are the actors who practically illustrate ■both the contest and its results. Those results aiiect ns in every particle of body and in every element of soul. Our duty is, then, "to exercise every faculty in the discrimination ot" right and wiong, and in the promotion ot lite former. One successful attempt to suppress sin, or to counteract disease, is of far men' substantial value than philosophical conjectures whv evil has hcen permitted, or elaborate cssavs to prove that pain properly considered is rather' a pleasure than otherwise. Instead of u theoretical argument ~nhj imperfection exists, let our practical consideration be the best mode of its reduction. Let all our efforts, however laborious t)ie work is, and however hopeless success appears, be directed to the aceuinulation ot that .which is good, and to the diminution of that which is bad. The best way to inquire into the origin of evil is to study the practical means of its termination.

My wish, however, is in this lecture to avoid these metaphysical subjects, and rather t*.) glance at. the flowing course of human aifiiirs, in the earnest hope °f suggesting thoughts which may incite us more and to improve the opportunities which life alt'ords. In that improvement, my present subject, protjerlv considered., may be of some 'aid ; for in all posit ions of life a careful reflection oil what we have done, and an approximate knowledge of what the result wili be, materially conducc to a prudent determination what to do, white, on the oilier hand, the knowledge ot what Zff.v bfeu, aided by the experience of what /*, enables better to conjecture what will be. The ton h of the present, illumined by the light of the past, throws a shadowy ray on the future, and we thus are able with more accuracy to calculate that result, the anticipation of which will probably determine our present action.

In a retrospect of history wc must be struck will the law of progress which characterises the liumiu race, and broadly distinguishes it from tint of lomi animals. In brute« instinct is superior to reason, am generation succeeds to generation without improve njent. In man reason is paramount, and civih.satioi is progressive. Individuals may rise and fall ; nation; may prosper and decay ; but the tide of human know ledge and power is constantly flowing. 'J.he limits o human dominion over animate and inanimate matte] •are gradually extended, and mail who in his inland is_ the most helpless of all living beings, becomes ii his maturity the most powerful. Dr. jN"<-il Arnott, ii his " Survey of Human Progress," strikingly com ments on this characteristic quality. He says : "In comparing man with the inferior races ot animals it is seen that his vast superiority to all is due, not t< his bodily strength, or the acuteness of partk-ula: senses, for in these respects he is surpassed liy many hut to his mind, with its great power of acquiring knowledge of the universe around him unci of contriving acts, founded 011 such knowledge to subject events to his will, tin's knowledge become; power, and a man of cultivated understanding is a; much superior to an uncultivated man, as the lal.tci is to a brute. A most striking point of di/ference that man can form and use language, whilst brute.' cannot. A brute can only know what its individual experience may teach it concerning the one spot, n] earth 011 which it resides, and the one small portion of time during which it lives ; but any man through language may learn whatever other men, in othci places and other times, have known or done. And after the invention of writing and printing, which made language visible and permanent, a numerous society, or indeed the whole human race, ma}' be regarded ao only 0110 vast national being, with millions oi eyes • and hands, and separate, yet connected minds, all laboring for the common good— and with memory which never forgets what has once been known. This great compound being has evidently still the characteristics of youth manifesting rapidly increasing vigor. A savage man cannot contend. 111 strength with the elephant, or lion, nor run Tmell ia-e ,T'' ",T See in lh ° ni B Ut liku th(J owl > »<" t 1 S °, r - a , 0g 1 L,lt Ulei,la " of civilisation constructs and controls to be obedient to him as if it were a part of himself, the noble steam-ei^ne'with force ol a hundred elephants, if he so wills,"to do any work : against the assailing lion on ti»er lie can point Ins hre-arms with instant effect; tl,° deer or vhound ialls behind him as ho glides along in ]?j s hil wf?,-, , ? V , I S ? sjl,t M dull «o'»purod to his when aided by Ins telescope; and with his microscope he discovers worlds of life and activity where the sharp eye of the wren can see nothing. Then lie proceed:, steadily makin.r tions. to his powers. Such facts exhibit man as '1 progressive being in a strong contrast with the other races oi animals, which have chariged as iin.le since the beginning of human records as th.» trees and herbs of the thickets which give them shelter." There thus appears another reason, other than intellectual capacity, why, as I stated in the commencement of my lecture, the words Past, Present, and Future, are only applicable, (except of course in the most restricted sense,) to mankind. In brute crealion, the dillerent states of being are stereotyped, and only slightly affected, except as regards the physical existence of the moment, by individual action. Human nature, 011 the contrary, is plastic in its character, and tile process of moulding it is eondueted by human agency. It is the unhewn marble out of which the statue is sell-produced;—the blank sheet on which characters arc self-traced. Sameness is improbable. The statue, wit ether of form or defonni-

ty,"nmßfc Ije produced. Tho characters, whether of Rood or evil, must be traced. Man holds from his Creator a delegated power of crcation, and is responsible for its exercise. Hence the tremendous import, ol' the past, present, and future ol human existence. When I speak of Hie undoubted pi'fifi'iss ol the world, it will, 1 think, tendloeleamesF, if] explain my meaning of that impression. Man enjoys reasoning faculties, in common with the lower races of animals though to a much greater extent, but the breath which God breathed into his nostrilsand which made him a living soul, constituted him a distinct creature, and implanted in his breast a. conscious connection ol his present state with a future existence. Since the fall this recession of soul has made man ail accountable being.— one (o whom a vista of the knowledge of pood and evil is opened, and 1o whose agency during the whole eourpo of Ins life both are subjected. Thus, in any consideration of the progress of man, we should not omit to include the stale of the moral, or spiritual part of his nature. That, stale we call religion. True religion is essential («'• Irue progress. JN\> doubt nations as well as individuals, without true religion, have occasionally achieved considerable progress in knowledge and power, and have conferred great advantages on the human race; but still thai :•< ;u> answer to the argument that, with true religion, progress and these advantages would have been infinitely greater. The goddess » f reason is but a blind guide in companion witli the god of truth. 'the superstructure raised upon sand, and the seed sown in stonv ground, arc both ephemeral. The bad U?o intermixed with tbc good in this world, and e\evy etl'ort toclUct impiovement creates, as it were, si» many new e\ ils, that Divine faith is required to supplement human delects. 3n the existence of a i ation, as in the life of an individual, the want 'if such faith is fatal. We may say of it, in the words of Tennvson

"It i«the little rift within the late ' That I'V mill hy will tnrilc.- fhv tauste mute. And ever w itlennii; slowly silence all. The little rift within the lover'slute, • v j>iltt <1 >}ierk uithin the fruit, 'I hi)t rutting infant slowly nieuhlers II. *" Put, on the other hand, true religion without t rue progress is impossible. because true faith and goed works are inseparable. ,l!ow can \>e perfoim our duty to God w iihout performing our duly to our teliow-crcattire ! Why do we believe in Christianity but because we are convinced that it combines the purest doctrine with the most beneficent operation, and tied it best ernbles us to follow the footstep* of Mini, in whom is concentred the perfection of duty to God and duty to man. Pciigion is rof sentimen!, but action. It should be in a man what the lifeblood is in his physical frame —ever freshly streaming from the soul, whieh is the spiritual heart : circulating: through every vein : nourishing everv psrtiele : visible m the glow of health : palpable in tic beating pulse, and vigorous in the daily work of life. limt is religion.— and nt t a miserable mockery of lite, piodueed by out ward varnish ami mechanical contrivance —not the semblance of a belief v.iihont tile reality of a result.

It we consider the prop-ess which civilised m:m has made the last I'.bt'O v cars we cannot help mimrkiiii: that its chief cl>>irit«-t«-vi^(:<-s havr Ihtii g'eneially tl'.e promotion oi' inti rcour.-e. and the development of pon\r. Ol' ioursc there are i;i::nv exceptions, hut ill watchi:>;: tht- turmoil of waters in human atl'airs, we must noi he misled by this or that eddi, but by a eomp'ohen.-ive and patient view, we must endeavour to ascertain Ihe j general temiencv of tile cum ni. am! I think that we shall then admit I lint the tendency lias Inen in lhal direction. In ancient times sclf-aggramjiscmcnt was the watchwoid ot nations ami ot individuals. and knowledge was the object ol' ambition. Rome boasted ot her military dominion over the world. 1 hilosophy, piiestcrali, p<ettv. learning. ami the line arts were cultivated to the highi -I dcL-rcr, h::t they were sys-uiiiiitit aih conlined to the few, ami forbidden to tile many. l'nm the fn.c wlen the Creator decreed that "it w us not uood for man to live alone.'' the true progress of man has been connected with hi? inteicourse with his (ei!i w-n.ai:. Teal v.hiili laeilitates stich in I < rcoi.isc also facilitated his p: on res-. Oral language. or the power to in'.cr-ecir.municaio. tiuiy Ije called the material germ of ei\ilisat ion. The next step is-written language. which not only enables cc-iiiuiimlOU to !:•• t \s< i'lt pi-r-ciis ul a distance from caeh other, i ui winch also rcconls events, ami thus forms a link ol intercourse betwo n the pust tnul the pivMiit. friiiting ne\t makes a gigantic st ride in advance. Klect ricit \ almost annihilates the obstacle of spice to human intercom-sc. Commerce also is a motive power of incalctilal le force in this direction. I%'oads, coaches, rahioad*, ships, astronomy, the ma:iticr's compass, and steam, have, both by limit anil set, (o:ilrit)tiici! their itceu/mtiativc aid to the promotion of mercantile activity. Colonisation, which is always the product of a high state of r.atiinal advancement, multiplies the centres of e< n no n e at.d civilisation. Closely contacted with the inti icour.-e of man !;iut :,lliiiu, ami equally conducive to human progress, is jhe scioi.d' gi.'at characteristic of the modern ago. the di vel.-piu, r.t j., j, 11(AV ,., . Jlany persons ale disj osi d to ngaid thai Ui wi* pnient witli suspil ion and distrust. '1 ln-v aie still. unintentionally, ulten iiiliueiieid bv that old It- liuir. tlmt in every shite t Juri e sii, odd he a small aristooiaey of learning, wealth, rcllneinont, and power, ami that the rest should he unli arm d, industrious, poor, oood, and obedient. They consider the latt. r the proper normal condition of the majority of mankind. Knowledge hi guts power, and ] owcr may bo , asilv aht.scd, they, theietero, an; opj osed lo 0m.0i.-iI education. This kind of political philosophy mc.-t dano-rous. "\Yu must i dapt outx-lvcs to a. taal, tat imaginary,

circumslances. .Kv.iv improxcu . curries with it nijiiiy duJijr<:ii<. Civifisstii n <-i. ::!.•> ia u vie • ■>. An we, then, to take rehire in that barbaii.-m, whenthere is little vice, I), cini.-c :l,i-r<- l ltie Ki.i'.wb <]■:., and because lile ronsjr-ts in mi relv a lew anin.al Maids. The tin.' principle, of .-curse, is 1.. increase knowledge, but to tal.e iaie to increase ii i T , its two-told character— in that in which it coiiler.-,-, and in that in which it ie«»;ii,.e. Jimmvir, what human power ran limit the j.regies.-, ei'knowledge, and determine j( s boundaries. ?urs. I'artir"tori twirl.s her mop with tin* prote.-sional slvi.'i p. euliar to that elderly lemale, hut, sintwithftandin:.'. the Atlantic ocean will advance. Knowledge will thread in spite ol all the theorists in the world. Is it not better, then, to endeavonrtodir. c", its jiow insalutarv sti< anion (.veiy hide, than, bv petty inoie■noli, s anil narrow rest rid ions, to tin n ii.- j-ie»jj> into a Such bigotry can and will inllii-;. t:r o>» injustice, ai ra v «•!(,..< against class, eleate Soi ia'i.-iii, ami priiluce revolutions. It can anil will n tard, by coir, in ies, the rial progress ol the world. li can anil will ,-o ei nliise t1,,. elements oi' good a.nd ol' evil, and so extract the deadliest poisons from tin- most :a 11ri.-lii> food, food, that we may sometimes'aimo,--!. d.spair of the iuture, und commence to think that •• where n;noraniV is bliss, 'tis lolly to be wise." J'ro:;ri ss, however, does slowly but surely take j,lace. T:;e evils ineid. Nt to it arc nit rely the dust raised in its coins.;. In the moral, as in the animal world nature, in h.-r curative proce.-s, inllicts pain and di-!igi:rement. j'iie e.>sei,r-e of all truth is unity and permanence. The usseit. e of all error is discord anil change. 'J'he force of tinth is centripetal and accumulative. Thai, ol en or is centrifugal and tending.o decomposition. Micridan eloquently expresses tl.e.-e characteristic distinctions i;i his eeiebraled JJegrn. Speech. lie savs—"Su. h was tile perpetual law oi' nature, that, virtue, whether placedin a circle more i out ract.-.l ~r enlarged, mov. d with sweet consent in its allotted orbit: tip-re was 110 dissonance to jar, no asperity to divide, and that harmony which made its lelicity. at tin; Mime time con-

•Stillltocl it.-i ])l'<itec(ioil. U/' vice, i/ 1. 1,',,; I'Oiill.ilV tillparts won,' disunited, and each in ba-.ijar. us l:in' i u:i" l ' clamoured for its yre-i:inini.'iii'e. It. Wll s a \rei~ie where, though one domiii'.-ering passion iuivi: sway, UIC others .still ]»n.\>>st/d lorwurii with liu-ir ,jj;_ itiiunl. claims, illnl in the huH'ti! iruri'd, eli'ei-ts .still awaiting on their causes, the discord ui' i;<• nr:>.: euMiied their detent."

ft is this confidence ill tin; permance and immutability of truth which enables n.- in iho midst oi' wars, revolutions, crime, and ignorance, to have |;,ith i;j its gradual advance and ultimate triumph. It is Ihi.-, Vhicil enables lIS IO p(T< eivi; what ilieal cnlabl.; aid C/iristianity has conti il.uli d tu i!,, ; pn/ Kress oi - the world during 1m: last eighteen l.umli,;" .year*. Chrialiaiii.'y does not couiiU'rael the principle" to which I have referred, —human iiiteivuiu-M' ;im' popular freedom. The ,Jt:wi.-h religion v. as tii..- isolation ot a nation, but Christianity is the coninnmiun ef mankind. The lonuer was tho arlc which pi'csi.-rved laith in one (Jod amid lliu deluge of jiolyti»eiMu which overspread tJio earth. The latter is the | r „i„ which rays oi salvation shim.! to Iho ends of the world. J. here is no contradiction ihu tv.v. lor tlio second is the maturity of the iirst "\\V gather together and cherish "the few K lu u tn-riti embers, before tiie lire is able (o burst inLo ilamc — Christianity, then, as a religion which was inau.',, rated by the gilt of tongues, and whose apostles went to alt nations, promotes human intercourse,—ami as a religion which teaches brotherly lore, tmd which

" tnketli up the simple out of the dust, and lifroth (he I poor man out of the mire," it promotes popular freedom. It not only promotes these two great characteristics of modern progress, but it breathes into them that spiritual essence which rescues them from i the perishability of error, and sends them forth on their saered mission as the living principles of the eternal truth. Originally, the dispersion of man ami the confusion ol language were, we read, effected because, as the people were one and they all had the the same laugunye, w nothing will be restrained from them whieh they have imagined to do." Mav not the present tendency to an assimilation of people and of language be ultimately destined, under the holy inlhicnce ol Christianity, to place man in an equally powerful position for good, as it was of old for veil, ami thus conduct his devious steps through a wilderness of trial into the promised land of a Paradise regaim.V. The history of any great nation, including its rise and tail, — its birth, maturity afid decline, though suggestive of melancholy rctleefions, always inculcates an instructive hsM-n. The record of tlie past is the beacon of the future. Perhaps ofall histories of this kind one of the most complete whieh we now posses- is that of (Greece. The early dawn, (lie meridian splendour and the gloomy twilight of her giory are till before u*. In literature, in philosophy, in oratorv, in the •linearis, in patriotic courage, in military prowess and in civil government, she, achie\ed unequalled greatness. She was herselflnr only parallel. What is she now ? What is the eountrv of Homer, of Socrates, of .Demosthenes, of Vhidias, of 1 .conidas, of Miltiades, and ol Lycurgu* ? The mere ashes ofa nation, — the seatlei\ /jagmenN of her own Panthenon ! Solitary, in the depth of her degradation, some foroigne*Mo be her king, and for some lime soliciting that humiliating boon in vain! Tho origin of Orecce was in the Heroic age. A fi w tribes, piratical ami warlike, ami in a state of society icx-mMing that of our f"ud;d times, gradually maluied into a co:l» etion of small states, among which Sjvuta and Alliens look tie* lead. In tin; sixth century before the Christian era, (Jrei ee made rapid pro-gic.-s in civilisation, and the next thieo hundred years constituted perhaps the most glorious period of her history. Her wailike gieatncss by land and sea wi r- 1 proved at Marathon and Salamis. 11er civil prosperity was illustrated by clusters of distinguished statesmen, philosophers ami writeis. Put especially did she carry the cultivation of the line arts to a degree of excellence which has never sine** been stn-

I a.-sed. That sublimity of soul which produced in her tin- .-jivat'-si of orators and the greatest. of poets, ; 1.-o pioduccd the greatest of painters and the greatest of sculptors, and found its expression in perfect forms of glare and loveliness. 'Heroism, majesty, ami beauty :-jnaK* in the ornaments of her temples, and in her sculpture with an eloquence which penetrates the lar tutuie, ami which the lapse of time secmi niv l<< intensity, (ijeoee, v, »!)i };er pre-eminence in those attributes of civilisation, with her genial climate, her muautic scenery, her handsome sons ar.d daughteis, a nolle State,--a central sun, dilin?iug, in rays of I«mining and n'imment, light and v.ai mib to mm v unding nati< us. .V splendid present, to all appeal,"iner, inaugumti da m« re^pit ndhl future. I bi'ie was. howevt r, a ri J t in the lute, which would gnuiur.llv siier.ee its sw< ete-t musie, and tbeie was a fatal taint in '.began.end fruit. h'eligion was polytheism. idolat i< u-, and sensual. Civil disunion also Si..,u aiose. 'i lieie i\ is ted a fodeialion of State-, bur Athens (and tins might at present convey a useful i» ssoii to the Federal ( lovernna nt uf America), began to regard the other States assiibjee;, and not as indepembnl States in alliance. "When any State withdiew in ni the adiaree. its citi'/ejis were considered by the Athenians as rebels, and imimdiate attempts wen nade to redme them to subjection. 11 ej:c* - arose t]ie lYlopenmsian war, tin; permanent division of I w<» .-c|s of States, ami their .-abjection t'» ?>!;ici lieu, ami ultimately to Kome. National d. mi raii-at ion closely followed the I«-s >)t inuepenu. nee. A h'oman Pjovince,— twice oveMiiii by the (loths—oecn]»iid by V<'in tians, illi<i ei.Muit ii d b\" 'J'uths. Greece b.as in th• e time.-. into a st.-i't ot imh pi lab-nce : but, r hein of her IVimer gl< v\, will; d-n med i')e>. palsi« d hands, and trem.hlinjr

net \ e.-, she i.- M':iri i 1 v !o lie ri cogiii/.i d as the (i r< c<e of old. "What a shana lul iutuie has followed a ub !au>]asl ! Tut may not an< tla r fntato n >t< ;«• hu ; fhii: t ianity, thoui:b j-;lib we believe, in a j<:\«rt«»l iei ni. ha> .-npjlat.ted her ancient mvllioA glimn.troi hej.e is s<-e/» in her anxietv i'-r a ('.n.vt ituta nal Gov» rnna iit. 11er etn nest desiie to l It a 'ii I'i im e Aim d as her king jai.-cs in umi nal ural pieiein that just tiihnte to our political institutions, and aiM) a «o] lejpoiaiing hope; tlsat in Mich dc.-ire lh< n- may be contained a gvim of that civilization hi eli, in t jut; re oi (i im (f, will i evi ve her banner 1 1 i» e>. j.mi iniiniteiy add to their woithaml Mabi'iilv hy tir>! laying a foundation («fpure nlieion and due frced(;u:. Tie j ast, piesen!, and future of our own native i ount iy is *»I et.uix- to us a subj« n\ of 1 i:<r \ uiIt also concern* the whole world — tor evid< ntlv in teims the (if I Jnav n.-e that, well und«-rstoo(i, although inaccurate Unit] i !i - ua nt i> b avening thema>sof mankind. h-ui-oj» A A !i ie;i, Ana rica. Australia, and the multitude o/ (in 1 / ]e. i; , bear cm urrenf. v.'iliM.-sto thi:« great tact. >ueh is the present position of our race, which, •'-I'"' yiais ago, WJ.S a Hide composition of Celtic, l>atin, ( m iman, Panish, and N«»tman partiele.-r--an inMgni/icant p( oplc inhabiting two insignilieunt ai.d laiiiote islaiais. And yet, even at that period, the germ o/'iutuie was diM er/iible in the mid.-! of geiieial l nhbish. '1 hut gel m was the union of the p! uiciple* Ot the JCuglisii Con>ti: nlio-i wi'.h thi ■princij ie> i'i ( InisJianily. ()in- j olitical ii:s:iuj!ioi;.-, evi n then nc'gni/i'd as tluir leading prjneiph >. uioly and cnti a 1 i;-a 11< no| t.io\a n:Ua. ;:t in jjeiier.d nia 11 r - a iea 1 at: mn;j>l ja t jon jll ot her ma Jt cj - th< suprt oJ law, and the leg al;nualit yo!al i. The>guiding juineipb vivilied by iajtb, ilave grcaiuahv led i'.ngland thiorgh diliicnlties and danger.-, thi:i;Ji toil and h'e od.- h«. ;t. through revolutions and (i\il wars, through bueign ia stiiiiyaud d< mestie t:«aeh' jy, in her ]»i« gresr ive i omse id greatness. 'J la v have achieved f»r her her gioi-y. jhoyaie, we trust, preparing' fur her a *(iil mure gk»riuus i ut un *. "No unbiassed observer," llallani remarks, u wh derives plea Mire from the welfare of his species, can tail to consider the long ami unintorruptcdlv inert as* ing ])]'Gspcrity ol b.nglaud as tlu- most beautiful j phenomena :n the (.f mankind. in no other i reign have the benefits that political institutions enn lonti r been cithned over so <\tcnded a populatie-u: nor ;niy other people so well reconciled the discordant eleiia iits ot Wealth, order anil iibertv. r J he eon.--! it ut ion there-lore (.if j'.ngland," he amis, ''must be to inquisitive men of all countries, far mor;» to oursch is. in: object of superior interest, distinguishi'd especially as it i.-, trom all free g••veruments of powerful wJiich J.istory has recorded, by if.s mani- , iesting alter the lapse of several centuries not nierciv : no symptom ul irretrievable decay, but a mure e_.pansne energy ." Hut this picture of Kngland is not; altogether a subject of seif-gi at u ation. Tlie rule in this world is that progress does n-'t obviate, hut docs rather intensify the need for further exertion. Uurcounirv is no exception. \\ hell we rctiecl oil the masses ol social and Jnorai evil still festering aiuojig her people, on the ignorance, uestilntion, crime and miserv still prevalent among them wu lni.st at once ri'cognise the only of nn|))'o v ement. Y>'hen wtr remeuihcr that to whom much has been given, from him mm n will be required; and that to Lngland have been eonnuiited the tiiistsoi L lu'ist janity am.lol liviilum, —precious possessions for which she will have to account, we feel lmw necL'rj.-ary it is that cveiy patriotic individual in the Slate should, in his sphere, continue to strain evcrv nerve t,u enable her to vindicate her high privileges, j and fulfil a futurity wort hy of herself.

il we regard the current of events in America Me cannot lail to be impressed with the important lesson liieiv pre.-en'. Ed to mankind, j'.ighty yi ars ago on that Continent, a great, federation ot colonies sprung into national existence, '.their ancestral origin was identical with our own, and their independence Mas nobly achieved by force of arms against their oppression by the lnother-couiilrv. Since that date tln.-ir progress in material piosperily has been extraordinary. Jn we-Jtli, commerce, and population they became scarcely second to I front Ijrilain, while 111 capability of expansion tiley became jnliniielv superior. OV'-r estimation of their own greatn 's.s was not wanting,and periinpi their highest boast was ol their Constitution. Anno in its panoply, they seemed to consider their mis.-ion to lie the empire of ihe New World, and the regeneration of mankind. I nuirlimately that constitution has within i(,-olf an organic delect. Its recites that all men are bom free and equal, while, in ctl'ect, it rivets the fclUrsol thro;: mifions ol slaves. It enacts a great iaUehood in the lace of (iod and man. Jt is the great image with legs ol iron,' and with 41 leec. part of iron," ami '•part of clay." We have gazed at it " till that a stone was cut out without bunds which smote the imago upon his leet that were of iron and clay, itud brake flu'in to picci'S." Availing i;tle h:is rhoa

asunder fho ties of a discordant "Union, and cach section now sutlers in the horrors of a civil war the penalty of a foul wrong. In the diary— 14 North and South," -written hy Mr. Russell, tlio special correspondent- of the Times, there is a touching passage, more forcible to my mind than the most impassioned declamation, describinga scene "which, in company with the overseer, he witnessed on a sbive estate. Mr. llussell states, 44 A tall, well-built lad of some nine or ten years stood hy me, locking anxiously into my laee. 1 What is your name,' said I. 4 tieorge,' he replied. 'Do you know how to read or write.* JTo evidently did not understand the question. 'Do you go to church or chapel A dubious shake of the head. ' Did you ever hear of our Saviour:' At this point Mr. Seal (the overseer) interposed, and said, 4 1 think we had hotter go on, as the sun is getting hot.' And so we rode gently through the lit tie ones, and when wo had got some distance, he said, rather apologetically, 4 Wo don't think it right to put these tilings into their heads s<> young, it only disturbs their minds, anil leads them astray.' Now, in this quarter there were no less th:»u eighty children, some twelve', and some even fomteoi years of age. No education, no (lon, their whole life 'food and play to strengthen their muscles, and tit them for the work of a- slave. ( And when they die. 1 4 "Well, 1 said Mr. Seal, Mhev are buried in that Held there by their own people, ami some of them have a sort of prayers over them 1 believe.' "

'.I lie re-establishment of the union of the and Southern Hates may, I think, be regarded us an impossibility. May The latter, if they become an independent community, wisely apply to themselves the moral ofthe past. If they will stilt persist in (hat infamous institution, which trades in man and debases him into a mere machine for the production of merchandise, they may rest assured that in time the Nemesis of na!ional sin will lind them out, and inlliet on them a fearful retribution.

Perhaps the most striking modern illustration of the stages of past, present, and future, is the history of the Australasian colonics. That history is coeval u illi tho life of many a man. The piesent Premier of the Priteh h.mpire was born three years before thai in which the Ihst settlenient. j\*ew South Wales, was founded in .Australasia. Contrast Australasia of 17N7 with Australasia oi IHOJJ. Australia, then, a vast continent of unknown bind, not. inhabited, but partly named over by barbarous tribes oi', perhaps, the lowest order of humanity,—! New Zealand, two comparatively small islands, one of which was sparsely sprinkled with a raee cannibals. Such were the barren territories which Great Pritasn wax so soon to occupy. Colonisation, however, can scarcely be t-aid to have commenced in them until The number of emigrants from t J rent Britain to Australia in that year was only 1242. Western Australia, \ie',oria, South Australia, Xew .Zealand, and Queensland have all been founded as colonies sii.ee tint date. \V! at is Australasia now? It contains al'ukpi an poj u.'at ion of 1 souls. ] I raises an annual revenue of £7.000,000. Its imports last year Mere worth ard its exports X'otUH o,< (0. The tonnai/e of the shipping entering its ports \\\ one year is 'J.edO.Ot-O tons. One hundred oecan st ejin;eis ph uh itss«as. The electric spai k flashes along tvo thousand miles of telegraphic wiro. le:»rn«ng is enthroned in her own university. Christianity and llritish institutions secure spiritual and civil welfare.

AVben we rrgnid these great practical results ;i< lii*»\ i-d in so short a time, must we liut lieartiK" own that colonisation is really a heroic ivork. It i.< not the heroism of the swon t, mill in characters of blood, In nnl in the wails of the bereaved ami of the captive, :inil illustrated in scenes of desolation, but it is ibe irrepressible eneigy of a noble race in the fulfilment of a noble duty, the peaceful subdual of the earth, and (bo spread of its own civilisation.

So mueh has been done during the lust thirty years in these colonics thai tie nund becomes bewildered in any mti mpt to antic'pate what maybe done there clurii>lt the nc:.t ami Hiceeeding generations. "While liny conjecture founded on past experience lias a fabulous appearance, -• 'most the wildest stretch of imapination falls short of a reasonable probability. 1 paw s«'ine time ago in an imaginary Loudon Times of 17J12, an MimiuiKTinnit that King .Albert the third, then sover< inn of the J'ritish empire, would open Pailiamcnt at "Westminster on a particular day, and then pioeecd by the centre of the earth—atmospheric r;»il\va\— to open on the same day the Parliament of New Xcah.nd. Now this may or may not be the ease in one hundred year? from this lime, hut we may predict with ccrtainty that within half that time !he electric telegraph "will enable the British Sovereign, without undergoing a process of subterranean locomotion, to address both parliaments simultaneously. One remarkable feature of telegraphic intercourse between this colony and {he mother eountrv will be the .liluTence of time arising (roni the difference of longitude between the two places. Past, present, and future will be curiously commingled. The morning telegram from .Auckland would reach London on the previous night. Telegrams across a short distance, even from -pecial ooi-ropomh nts, somewhat tend to mental hewddernicnt, but it will be " confusion worse eonfoumed " when w'hat vi'f happen //«■.mVjttV//, and what th'! happen /o-womf, may be reciprocally askid and answen d without auacbronism. If young ladies and gtntlemeu of the next gem ration, on ci!h« r side of the globe, desire, as no doubt they will, to i xpress elc< trh ally to cadi other the surcharged state ot their af! cctions, ] am afraiit /'or t)ie sake of the blushes of the fair sex generally, that in pome ease.* the acceptance of mi oiler may be known to the ardent lo\cr i:i Knghmd several houis before the exact time of its u'eeipi.ns punctually recorded in the diary of the bashful maiden in New Zealand.

J new rr me to that phase of my subject wliirli most mm ems ns in rsonally. It is the past, present, and lin tit i- <t<;m ii human lift-. That lite is brief. and its limit is nmi rlaii:. but wilhiii it are contain! d. on an iiifnitcsimai sea!'-, tins stirrinu' incidents and strange vicissitudes -which we lind ill tile history of nations. The scale is intiniti'sinial, hilt the issues are infinite: tor each tiny ii 11 of individual existence hears in its trickling waters momentous elements of trood and «>i' evil, and contributes to the weal or woe of mankind, (ileal events are only the aggregate of small actions, each life is a daily series of those actions, and every livinir man is the lree and responsible agent. No mailer how lofty or humble, how rich or poor, how i dtiealcd or ignorant, how powerful or weak lie mav be, he is still, according to the talents entrusted to Ir'm, a responsible agent, and his every act, whatever his icsponsibility for it may be, most surely adds, drop by (In p, fo (hose bitter fir to those sweet waters whose mingled currents tlow in the course of cach life. A good rule by which to test our acts is to ask oinselves, accoiding to our estimate of their importance, what shali we think of flum a day, a week, a \ear, or twenty years hence ; or, to £o further, what, vill the verdict of posterity on them be I" Of course the answer must he as uncertain as is our knowledge oi the luture, but such habitual questions may often n.ake us pause ill a rash course, and induce us to take a direction, however unpromising it may appear ai the time, and however it may be opposed to our natural inclination. We may rest assured that the Inline, the inexorable iuiurc, will mercilessly strip of. the sophistry, that coat of many colours, which we love to weave around our follies and our crimes, and leave them anil Iheir pernicious effects, in their own bare deformity; hut we mav also be equally jMive that a right action, whatever present pain it may occasion, ami whatever present obloquy it mav bring upon us, will i vuntiiathj appear, with its train of good results, ill till the brigi.t roality ot ii iitb. jNii.-ts ui' Iho earth cannot extinguish, nor even long obscure, the sun of heaven. The Future is ti.e ctuc.blc of the l'ast and Present—earthly alloy is consumed in its fervent heat, and the pure gold alone remains.

The question, then, for us, is—what are our lives to

lie r Are they tu be false lights—noxious vapours, seen only ill tile gleam ot' their own corruption—falling iietors v.iiii-n il.ish aero.-s tin; sky in evanescent in igliine -mil thou are lost lor ever in the blackness oi night. '.-shall they rather be like the stars of iit-aveil- r- differing one from another, yet all deel.irin; i.-.: glory ol'their Creator, and showing his hanaiwoi'ii ; — stars, visible in the to the eye of Jaiih, unerring guides to the feet ol' Him who is the iiliject ol our laith, and the .source of our salvation, — spiritual stars, foul-prints in the Imminent of Cod, foul-prints, wliirli perhaps nnotlier o'er life's solemn main, A I'orlom mid .shipwrecked brother Seeing shall take lie;irt n^.iiu. This-uc.hievenienl is within our power. Simple duty, simply performed, is ihe means, -bueh a course of life, however humble or unpretending, is nothing less, and however illustrious is nothing more. We ate apt to overlook the commonplace work of daily life, and to leservo ourselves for some great occasion, which, perhaps, never conies, or, it it does come, iinds us unequal to it. The task, I said, is simple, but it is not easy. Our inclination, makes it irksome, and our pride, humiliating. Wo desire'to please ourstlvts, AVe disdain the waters of Israel. We have

Aba oil and Pharpar, -rivers of our ™ wi'.sh in them, and bo clean.- Jhe task is difficult, but it is not impossible. Its lionest attempt bni g its own reward, for we .shall thus lay up stores m the I'ast, of pleasant reflection-in the Present, of rational enjovment, and in the Future, of cheerful hope.