Asia unfeeling, who leave their aged sick to perish by rivers and streams they hold sacred! Tell not of the pilgrims crushed beneath the ponderous wheel that bears the car of Juggernaut! Speak not of the annual waste of human life by the lusts and follies of his devotees ! Reveal not the horrid mysteries of his temple, directed by his 10,000 priests and priestesses! Look, England, to thy Sailors ! examine thy seaports; let the banks of the Thames be inspected; and, with all our boasted piety, England will equal Orissa, while her Sailors are daily dropping into eternity, crying, “ No man cared for my soul !” Poor Sam said, “ I'm no scholar :" but cannot England furnish thousands who are ? and have they no“ bowels of compassion” for poor, drunken, ignorant, abandoned Sailors ? Britain, awake! arise ! 'tis God, 'tis Heaven, 'tis Eternity, that calls. “Open thy mouth for the dumb in the cause of all such as are appointed to destruction ! open thy mouth, judge righteously, and plead the cause of the poor and needy !" Such were the thoughts that crossed my mind while observing Sam walk quietly and steadily back with his shipmates. But the reproach is wiping away from my beloved country; and the success of the Sailor's Mission, in picking up Ben, is another proof of what may be done by bold and persevering efforts in the cause of Christ. MERCHANT SEAMEN’S AUXILIARY BIBLE SOCIETY. The fourth Annual Report of this Society contains an account of the interesting visits of their agent at Gravesend, from which we make some extracts. The systematic course adopted by Lieut. Cox presents an excellent example for Bible agents in our seaports, and if they would keep journals on this plan, they would afford mach useful matter for our pages, and much encouragement to the friends of Seamen. VISITS. “ No 31. “I fancy you will find few Sailors now who cannot read," said the Mate, and not so many as formerly destitute of the Scriptures. One of the crew had a Bible, which he brought with him from the L-: he said the Captain gave it to him." "A respectable man, who keeps a lodging-house for Seamen in London, said, a few days ago, that he had forty prime Seamen at his house, waiting for ships, and that he counted twenty-five Bibles amongst them, most of which had been purchased of the Society." “ No. 60. We are well off for Bibles,' said the Captain ; and we hope it is no vain thing to possess them; and I am glad to hear, from time to time, what is doing among Seamen: they certainly are an altered people : I do not hear those dreadful oaths, or witness those drunken frolics among them I formerly did.'» “No. 217. The chief officer, a very respectable man, the son of a clergyman, invited all the crew to purchase. 'I am happy,' said he, to find that most of you have the inclination, although few of you have got the ability to purchase., Ab, I was in a ship once, where we lost by sickness twenty hands. Our sick Seamen never thought of the Bible till death stared them in the face. Then the Bible was consulted.' - You can have my Bible,' said one of the crew to Merchant Seamen's Auxiliary Bible Society. 191 another, who was going to purchase: “No, no,' he replied, 'that will not do, I must have a Bible of my own;' and so said another.--A ship in apparent good order." “ No. 821. One of the officers, who appeared very serious and intelligent, said, 'I did belong to --- East Indiaman, when you left us some Bibles and Testaments for the ship's use: the crew not only had the privilege of reading the Scriptures, but in addition to that, the Captain every Sunday took his station at the Bils, and read to the crew a good sermon : the example he showed, and the instructions he gave, influenced the whole ship, and we lived together like brothers of the same family: many of her crew belong to this ship, and I can assure you the whole of them are better men for what they read and heard on board that ship. Yes, we were very happy together, and the Captain did his utmost to render us so, both as it respects the body and mind."" “No. 296. An excellent crew: one man said, 'I should be happy to get a Bible of my own, if I could any way obtain the money to pay for one. The waterman who attended the ship let him have what he so much wanted, and offered to advance for any others who might want money to purchase the Scriptures." "No. 306. A revenue cutter. Three of the crew, fine Sailorlooking men, after pulling from Sea Reach, called at my office; and one of them said, 'We have taken the liberty, sir, of waiting upon you, to request of you to let us have two Bibles and two Testaments, for the use of some of our crew, who are without the Scriptures.' On my telling them I was not authorized to let them have any Bibles or Testaments upon the terms they wished, as the books I had to dispose of were designed for vessels going foreign, and that I suspected they wanted them for the use of their families on shore, one replied, “I can assure you, sir, that we want them entirely for the use of the vessel : the whole of us were once thoughtless and wicked, but our manners and views are, I hope, altered for the better; many of us are searching for the truth in the Scriptures; but having only five Bibles and one Testament amongst thirty-four hands, we find them insufficient for the use of all; and, if you will indulge us with what we so much need, we shall feel greatly obliged to you, and, I think I may say, you have never disposed of the Scriptures in a more favourable channel.' These men were respectful and modest in their manners, and I believe very sincere; and, as most of the crew were very poor, having families to support, and the vessel „almost constantly at sea, I could not help complying with their wishes. No men could be no more grateful than they appeared to be." “I visited an American ship belonging to New-York: the chief officer said, “The Bible Society at New-York takes good care we do not go to sea without the Scriptures. Almost every man amongst us has got a Bible, and I wish we paid more attention to it than we do.'" “ No. 322. The Captain was quite the gentleman, and received me kindly. He assured me that he had the people aft to prayers on the Sabbath-day; at the same time showing me an elegant Common Prayer-book which he had purchased for that purpose. “Do you recollect,' said he, 'my purchasing a Bible of you, in my last ship, for the cook? It was astonishing the delight he took in reading the Scriptures. He was constantly at the Bible, and he did not read in vain. An excellent crew, and well supplied. One man said, 'I always carry two Bibles to sea with me: one is for my own use, of course; and the other for any of my shipmates who have not a Bible, and are inclined to read.'” 66 No. 400. The Mate showed me a No. 2 Bible, in which were the following words written : « This Bible belongs to the ship - purchased by the Captain for the spiritual good of the ship's company, with a hope that they will search the Scriptures agreeably to the command of Jesus Christ.' A vessel in good order, and well supplied with the Scriptures.” “No. 407. The Mate of this small vessel, which had the appearance of a coasting sloop, hailed me as I was passing by at a distance. 'I want a cheap Bible, if you please,' said he : you have supplied several vessels where I have served as Mate, and now I am resolved to have a Bible of my own. “Ah !' said the custom-house officer, our Sailors differ from what they were: I am an old man, and have been many years amongst them; and where I hear one oath now, I formerly heard a hundred. Your Society, she Floating Chapel, Prayer Meetings, and Tracts have done wonders.' A very grateful and wellbehaved crew." . JOURNAL OF THE BETHEL FLAG. (Continued from page 128.) July 21.-Sunday evening a Bethel Meeting was held on the deck of the new ship “ London,” Capt. Candler, in the London trade. At an early hour the people collected, and the exercises commenced at Seven o'clock. The Rev. Dr. Spring engaged in prayer, and delivered an appropriate discourse from Ps. xxv. 11. “For thy name's sake, O Lord, pardon mine iniquity; for it is great." The Rev. Dr. Rice, of Richmond, Virginia, followed with a few remarks, and prayer, and the exercises were concluded with singing. Every necessary arrangement was made by the commander to accommodate the numerous company, and awnings were spread to secure them froin the dampness of the evening air. A large number of ladies attended, and many gentlemen from the city, and seamen : the whole assembly amounted to many hundreds of persons. The ship sailed on the 24th, and Dr. Spring went passenger, to visit England, while his church is undergoing some repairs and alteration. MARINERS' CHURCH. The Rev. John Truair has gone on a tour, to visit the principal Seaports to the East, as far as Portland, Me. for the purpose of pleading the cause of Seamen ; we trust our brethren, in those places, will receive him, and his object, with their accustomed hospitality and liberality, INDEX TO VOL. VIII. 32 587 . 433 Page Page BIBLE SOCIETIES- - African South 46 Cambridge Aux. iliary , : 589 Calcutta do. . 277 Catholic's distri- 209 bution of Bibles 369 Dublin Auxiliary 590 Germany . 112 Ladies' Associa- tions . . 265 Merchants Aux- iliary · · 159 man's Magazine.) 1821 . . . 449 - Report of 1821 .667 Nassau Hall Auxili. ary . . . 591 Paris Protestant, 2d Anniversa: ry of . . 14 President's ad. dress . . 15 Sweden Sierra Leone , . . 145 590 United Netherlands Ward Bible Associations . . 589 ral Instruction Bermuda-opening of a . . 335 Cornerstone of Central Pres- byterian . . 351 - ol 8th do. . . 216 - of Episcopal, at Greenwich Objections to the plan of a 714 . 415 December, 1821 . 598 . 631 . 762 . 276 . 439 43 . 480 Pare Page Schools for Africans in England 105 Greece . : Reformed Church 372 - Reformed Dutch Church 103 - Episcopal Ch. 606 Presbyterian Church 85, 401 - Andover 85 Williams College . . . 371 Plan of a free 680 Objections to it 714 at Greenwich . 376 Europe, Continental Society . 43 330, 366, 395, 428, 460, 486, 589 Female Penitentiary . . .240 meeting of 14, 45, 299, 431 and Moral Instruction .221 German Reformed Church . . 372 rian Church in the U. S. A. 82, 147 -Family Morals 9, 200 Geography, new, for schools . 582 331 Report 395 Address : 196 Islands, African . . . . 592 331, 44, 369 (See Civil Retrospect.) . 538 vania 363, 454 Queries 48 JEWS Conversion of a . . C. B. . . . . . 570 Journals of Missionaries. (See |