night and secret discourse from the lips of one of those very negroes who had long been his victim; and the result of this interview proved beneficial to the Driver's eternal interests. The concluding chapter of the book exhibits a scene of tragic interest. It is entitled, "The Condemned Negro "-an individual who, upon the eventful 1st of August, 1834, with thousands of his fellow-slaves, was set free, but who for the trivial offence-arising from misunderstanding the apprenticeship arrangement-of hoisting a flag to receive the Governor, was deemed guilty of treason; the negro was condemned and executed! While in prison he was visited by the missionary; and there is no doubt but the life of this persecuted son of Ham, though finished upon the gibbet on earth, was renewed eternally in heaven. The volume is full of deep interest, and we cordially recommend it to our readers.

Prize Essays on Infidelity. Edited by the Rev. JOHN JORDAN. Partridge and Oakey.

THE Essays are two, the first by Charles Smith, printer; and the second by Matthew Spears, iron-founder. Upon the old maxim, "Send a thief to catch a thief," it was wise in the Evangelical Alliance to send operatives to deal with operatives on the subject of infidelity. They only, indeed, were adequately competent to do so. The infidelity of the mine, and of the manufactory, is a very different thing from the infidelity of the schools. Hume, Gibbon, Chubb, and Tindal, Voltaire and Paine, are out of date in those regions, which are pervaded by a new species of infidelity, more largely partaking of the element of Atheism, Socialism, and Anarchy. It is only men, therefore, who move in the same walks, who know alike the strength and weakness of the system, as it there abounds, that can deal with it. This fact is strikingly exemplified by these writers. There is not a Doctor of Divinity in the land, nor a Professor of Theology, that could have written either of these Essays; and sure we are, there is not one who could have produced a publication so admirably calculated to arrest attention, to meet objections, and thoroughly to grapple with the mind of the unbelieving multitude. The project has been entirely successful, and we are sure the excellent Mr. Farmer, a gentleman of the Methodist Body, and the not less excellent Mr. G. Hitchcock, "whose praise is in all the Churches," and Mrs. Mather, of Maidenhead, must have great satisfaction in the result of their munificence. No fewer than 109 Essays were presented. It might, indeed, have been thought that the number would have been greater, especially remembering the nearly 1,000 which were offered for the Sabbatic Prize; but it is not to be forgotten that to deal with the Sabbath was an easy and holiday exercise compared with that which was here assigned. It was only men of an awakened and robust intellect, with considerable intelligence, and some command of the pen, that could be expected to embark in such a competition. We are not surprised at the printer succeeding, forasmuch as his pursuits and habits were favourable to the work. most strikes us is the fact of the success of the iron-founder, who appears likewise to be a man of independent thought and excellent understanding. Both the Essays are well thought,well written,-marked by that freshness, and

What

raciness, and originality, which was to be expected and that simple, Saxon, vigorous expression, characteristic of the Working Men of England; who, when they have any gift of either speaking or writing, always perform it with vigour and ability.

We conceive it, then, of great importance that this volume should be most extensively circulated among the operative classes; and it were exceedingly desirable that associations should be formed in all the chief towns of the empire, for the purpose of distributing it by subscription, by hawking, and otherwise. It were greatly to be desired also, that such men as Messrs. Farmer and Henderson would put their shoulders to the wheel and issue a shilling edition of it. Were that done, with proper management, we should not despair of the issue of at least half a million of copies.

But while we express our anxiety to have it diffused among the working millions in a cheap form, we confess to a strong desire to command a most extensive circulation for it among the upper and higher classes in its present form. It will give them a knowledge of the working Commonwealth as to mental habits and moral aspects, which they could not otherwise acquire, and for which they will be permanently the better.

Life, Experience, and Character of James Shrewsbury, late a Medical Student, and Wesleyan Local Preacher, of Bradford, Yorkshire. By HIS FATHER. Second Edition. Simpkin. THIS volume is dedicated to the excellent Alderman Beaumont, of Bradford, as an expression of the gratitude felt by the family of the deceased to that gentleman whose pupil he was The volume is one of considerable interest, more especially to young men, by whom it may be read with advantage. Its theology, is of course, Methodistic, and therefore contains matters to which we should object; but it will, on that account, be all the more agreeable to Methodist circles, who will like it not the worse for such expressions as the "sandy foundation of unconditional election; " which, however, will not be so agreeable to those who believe that they have been taught the way of God more perfectly. But allowance must be made for the school to which the young man belonged, as also for his youth, and the consequent immaturity of his judgment, as well as the juvenile character of his religion, whether as a matter of knowledge or of power. They who are able to do this will find in the little volume a freshness, a vigour, an earnestness, and a simplicity, which will delight, and tend to stimulate them in the work of their generation. Would that England had a hundred thousand such young men, and that every Gospel Church in the land had at least half-a-dozen of them in its fellowship!

Aunt Jane's Verses for Children. By Mrs T. D. CREWDSON. Gilpin.

THESE Verses were written for various stages of childhood-some for the early, some for the middle, and others for the higher steps in the ascending ladder of intelligence. The bulk of the pieces, it strikes us, are of the last, or highest description. At any rate, none but children of superior intelligence, or who had received a

Impressions of Paris: containing an Account of Socialism, Popery, and Protestantism, in the French Capital: together with Brief Sketches of Historical Scenes. By ALEXANDER GORDON, A. M. Partridge and Oakey.

ALTHOUGH, from our crowded space, to give an enlarged notice of the work is out of the question, we cannot suffer the month to pass, without just informing our readers that there is such a book to be had, and assuring them that it is a very interesting and instructive publication. Mr. Gordon is an observant, practical, reflecting man; who has the power of clothing his vivid impressions in clear and strong language.

He must have made the best of his time, so thoroughly to inform himself on a subject so great and so multifarious, and we think he has done, both to France and England, a considerable service by this book.

Roger Miller: or, Heroism in Humble Life. A Narrative, by GEORGE ORME. Dedicated, by special permission, to the Right Hon. Lord Ashley, M.P. Gilpin.

THIS is a publication which our great Poet of the People, Crabbe, would have read with admiration, and been pleased, by every means in his power, to diffuse amongst the middle and upper classes, exhibiting a portrait of human life in these nations. He who will carefully peruse the volume, will have a striking illustration, on the one hand, of depravity and its effects; and on the other, of the Gospel and its power to renovate man, and ennoble character, even in the humblest walks. Appended to the volume, is the Funeral Sermon by the Rev. James Sherman, delivered on the occasion of Mr. Millar's lamented death.

Adams' Pocket London Guide Book; A Complete, Historical, Critical, and Topographical Work on the Metropolis: for the Use of Residents or Strangers. By E. L. BLANCHARD. AMONG the numerous Guides which have recently appeared, we consider this the best. Mr. Blanchard is familiar with the subject; and seems to have a taste for statistics, and that species of minute toil, which is so necessary to successful labour in this direction. His object

is to give, in a compendious form, a full description of everything that can be seen, within the limits of the Metropolis, carried up to the latest period, and arranged in an easy and proper method; so that the reader-whose means prevent him fro a gratifying his curiosity with the admirable volumes of Hunt and Cutningham-may still possess the great facts of the subject on easy terms; but this volume, although an epitome, is far from meagre. It is not to be wondered at if here and there an error has crept in, where the subjects are so numerous and multfiarious; but for all practical purposes, it will be found sufficiently correct, and prove a valuable companion both to the citizen and the stranger.

The Convict Ship and England's Exiles. By Dr. BROWNING, Royal Navy. Fifth Edition. Hamilton and Co.

WE are more pleased than surprised to find that this remarkable book is already in a fifth edition. We were among the first, if not the very first, to announce to the public its merits; and now have great satisfaction in once more recommending it to the perusal of all who are interested in the theme on which it so tenderly and ably descants.

Divine Socialism; or, The Man Christ Jesus. By NEWMAN HALL, B. A. Snow.

THIS is a singular, and, in some respects, an extraordinary production. It may safely be affirmed, that there has been no such sermon published at least during the present Century. In fact it is not, properly speaking, a Sermon ; it possesses scarcely a single quality of that kind of composition; neither does it pretend to that character. It is an Essay, a Dissertation, au Oration, or whatever else you may choose to call it, only not a Sermon; although it was delivered in the Poultry Chapel, London, on behalf of British Missions; and it cannot be denied that, notwithstanding its deviation from the usual sermonic character, it was largely adapted to such a convention. It comprises much that is true as well as striking, and is not less practical than original, with very little that we are inclined to dispute, although there are expres sions that we might prefer to have modified a little, since they are liable to be mistaken, more especially those in which the preacher speaks somewhat slightingly of doctrines, creeds, and formulas. He thinks that the churches are more concerned in believing these than believing in the man Christ Jesus;" which, of course, we dispute, forasmuch as the belief of these is neither more nor less than a belief of the great points of revelation as concerning him. But with these slight exceptions, the bulk of the Oration is praiseworthy and admirable-very much calculated to conciliate the ignorant and alienated multitudes of our operative classes, whom it permits to discharge a mingled stream of bile and venom against religious people, and Christianity, taking occasion, in reply, to correct whatever requires correction in their views, and to set before them, with great force and clearness, the grace and glory of the Gospel. Viewed, therefore, as an approach to the Camp of Infidel Socialism, as a gentle invasion of that dark and dismal territory, it

possesses no ordinary merit, and deserves a most extensive circulation. If we mistake not, it will find its way into many a quarter where a common-place production would have been shut out; and wherever it shall go, it will eloquently show that in Christ alone can the weary nations of the earth find rest, and the consolation the spirit of man has so long sought but never found.

The Christian's Hand-Book to London. Partridge and Oakey

THIS cheap and correct book comprises a guide to the churches and chapels of this vast metropolis. It chronicles religious and benevolent societies, ragged schools, public institutions, and a multitude of objects of interest to strangers; and not to them only, but to the citizens at large. To both these classes we very cordially recommend it.

By

Auricular Confession and Popish Nunneries. WILLIAM HOGAN, formerly a Roman Catholic Priest. With Notes. Fifth Edition. Ward and Co.

We have great pleasure in again, and so soon, calling attention to another Edition of Mr. Hogan's valuable publication. He is a wellinformed, strong-minded, out-spoken man, who has used the freedom which becomes him in dealing with the most stupendous system of iniquity that the sun ever shone upon. Such publications are admirably calculated to expose its hypocrisy, turpitude, wickedness, and danger to the best interests of mankind.

If

Popish Intolerance—Is the Imposition of Salutary Restraints upon Popery Inconsistent with the Principles of Religious Toleration? By the Rev. V. M. WHITE, A B. Ward and Co. Of the multitude of sermons, essays, tracts, and pamphlets, which the present agitation has called forth on the subject of Popery, we are not sure that there is among them all, anything which, in point of force, and efficiency, will gain by comparison with the pamphlet before us. ever man made out a case against Popery, within the compass of sixty pages, that man is Mr. White. If there is aught among men, cr among beasts, against which it behoves society to protect itself, it is Popery! There are no evils to which the human family are liable, compared with the evils which flow from this source. It touches man in all possible points, and in all possible ways,—and it never touches but to pollute, debase, deceive, and destroy! The individual, the family, the nation, for soul and body, through time and eternity-all come within its dread grasp ! The enemy of God and man, it ought to excite the wrath and indigna、 tion of the whole intelligent universe! Our author says but little as to the character of the restraints, which are to be imposed; he seems to feel, and, justly, that here lies the difficulty, since the rule of the realm is largely in the hands of ungodly men who have no sympathy with either Popery or Protestantism, or anything appertaining to religion-to men to whom all religions are alike and who have the strongest bias towards that which has the least sanctity about it.

The Dark Day of Queen Mary. By EDWIN PAXTON HOOD. Partridge and Oakey. THIS is a terrible tale, well told; it carefully embodies all the facts which recent times have served to illustrate, and constitutes one of the most important chapters of England's history. These were "dark days," indeed, but through the mercy of God they were short.

The History of Modern Europe, from the Commencement of the Sixteenth Century to the Year 1850. By ROBERT STEWART, M.A. Partridge and Oakey.

WHO Mr. Stewart is, or what has been his object, in the present compilation, we are not told. There is the narrative, and the public must make of it what they can, or please. There is not even a word of Preface to the work, neither is there an Index, although the headings of the chapters are so meagre as to do little more than indicate periods. The great fac's of the subject, however, are woven up in a very respectable form, while the tone that pervades it is, throughout, liberal. As a clear, rapid, and careful narrative, it may be read with advantage by the young student, and by those who are endeavouring to improve themselves. will serve as a decent introduction to the general subject. From the lack of all the usual and necessary apparatus, it is clear that Mr. Stewart has no ambition to take a place ia the schools of the land; and it is but too probable that the public will take him at his word; whereas it might have been rendered a valuable school book.

It

Talk with the Little Ones. Partridge and Oakey. A PRETTY vessel, well filled with good things, for little people.

Cuff, the Negro Boy. A Story for Christian Children. Translated from the German of Dr. BARTH. Third Edition. Paton and Ritchie.

THIS is a book for boys, which they will read, like, and remember. It is full of exciting description and stories; at the same time there is nothing childish about it. It is simple, yet dignified, and calculated at once to instruct and improve.

Christmas Morning: or, The Little Ink Cask. Translated from the German of Dr. BARTH. Paton and Ritchie.

Dr. BARTH'S name is, perhaps, as much a household word in England as that of any other German writer, not excepting Krummacher, and is indeed better known among the young than perhaps those advanced in years. The present volume is a welcome addition to his previous contributions, and can hardly fail of wide acceptance.

Night Watches. By the Author of the "Faithful Promiser." Ramsay.

THIS is a very valuable vade mecum, deserving to be classed with Bishop Keen, and publications of this description. It is, moreover, a beautiful example of devout meditation on select portions of the Word of God.

NOTE. The Army in Great Britain, and the Navy, Merchant Seamen, and other Persons on board Vessels in the Ports, are included in the Return for 1851; the Navy, Merchant Seamen, and persons on board Vessels, were not included in 1841.

The apparent decrease of Houses in Scotland between 1811 and 1851 is attributable to the fact, that in 1841 flats or storeys were reckoned in many places as "Houses;" in the present Census the more correct definition has been employed.

GEORGE GRAHAM, Registrar-General. Census Office, Craig's-court, June 14, 1851.

In

From the above Table it will be seen, that the population of Great Britain in ten years, has increased-between 1841 and 1851--Two MILLION Two HUNDRED AND SIXTY-THREE THOUSAND FIVE HUNDRED AND FIFTY! London the increase during the same period has been FOUR HUNDRED AND FOURTEEN THOU SAND SEVEN HUNDRED AND SEVENTY-TWO, or about ONE-THIRD of the whole. In Scotland, the increase is only Two HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND SIX HUNDRED, or about ONE-SIXTH of the total increase in Great Britain.

The present population of Great Britain is 20,919,531. There is a preponderance of 550,157 females over that of males.

The number of inhabited houses, at present, is 3,675,451; in 1841 there were 3,165,981; showing an increase in the number of inhabited houses of 209,470. In London the present number of inhabited houses is 307,722; showing an increase over that of 1811 of 44,985.

If we add to this the population of British America, the United States, and the various Colonies of the empire, it will make a total of somewhere about 52,000,000. But it is to be remembered, that power is not a question merely of numbers, but of intelligence combined with geographical position. Now in both these respects prominence will not be denied by the rest of the world to the seed of the Saxon. They occupy incomparably the best geographical positions in the world; they have at this moment the largest maritime trade, the most profitable manufactures, the freest institutions, and the purest and best literature; while they are, moreover, the great depositors of Bible truth, the disciples and representatives of Protestantism. History, poetry, literature, science, mechanical invention-these, to a vast extent, are all their owr. But the union which obtains amongst this strange family is not the least remarkable feature of the aggregate. Although divided by many oceans, and forms of political organization, there is in their language, literature, religion, manners, habits, and spirits, the elements of a union such as binds together no other people. Emigration, for many years past, I as considerably affected British increase at the present Census, more especially during the past ten years. increase has, notwithstanding, amounted to a considerable ratio, viz, 2,212,892; whereas, during the previous ten years, with a much smaller population, it was 2,181,076, which obviously represents a higher ratio of increase as compared with the population of that period. Perhaps, to the moralist, the most important feature in the Census Table is the increase of females. In 1841 there were 493,303 more females than males in Great Britain. In 1851

That

the excess is 550,157. In 1841 the excess of females in the metropolis was 124,367. In 1851 it is 154,429-an increase greater than the whole increase of population would lead one to expect.

This is not as it should be; but it will be observed, that what is spoken of here is, not births, but population, which is largely explained by the fact of emigration; but it reveals a state of things by no means satisfactory, and goes far to vindicate the wisdom and the philanthropy of those parties who of late have banded together for the benevolent object of transmitting large numbers of females to the colonies, where the preponderance is exactly the other way. It is much to be deplored that there should be a superabundance of female population, since the tendency must be to decrease the amount as well as the reward of female labour; and thus to diminish the value of woman, putting her unnaturally and disadvantageously at the mercy of the other sex. But such is and must be the tendency of advanced civilization-an army and navy, commerce and the colonies, all contribute to this disproportion.

CRYSTAL PALACE.

The great thing to which all eyes are at this moment turned, and have been turned for many weeks past, is, the Crystal Palace, which is advancing in a manner the most satisfactory. In all respects, it has exceeded even the most sanguine expectation, with the solitary exception of its beneficial operation on metropolitan trade and commerce. It was believed, that the influx of the anticipated millions would necessarily give a mighty, and, perhaps, unprecedented impulse to city business; but hitherto it has not been so. The complaints are even great, that it has been most injurious to many of the principal businesses. Tales are even told of pounds not being taken in great houses, where hundreds of pounds have been customarily taken in one day. The idea of forty, fifty, and sixty thousand people, comprising the population of one of our large cities, meeting in one place, and spending the time and the money connected with the spectacle, must necessarily suggest the idea of empty shops which once were crowded. And such is the fact. Domestic wants are forgotten, and personal vanity goes ungratified that the passion for excitement, bustle, and curiosity may be indulged. This, however, will have an end; and in a moral view, the Palace is doubtless a magnificent object of Christian contemplation. The idea of an English Prince addressing himself to the civilized world, and inviting the transmission of the products of every clime, with specimens of art and genius to be exhibited collectively on one spot, is doubtless one of the grandest that ever entered the human mind; and one can scarcely doubt its heavenly origin. There is no national vanity in the idea that only an English Prince could have made a friendly challenge with success; for certainly there is none other in Europe to whom, for a moment, the nations of the earth would have listened. But England's power and position gave to the request all the force of a cominand from a superior, and pride and pleasure were felt in submission. The fact that such a thing could be done, moreover, is a great triumph to the spirit of the age. We can

look upon the Crystal Palace in no other light than as a marvellous pyramid, or column, inscribed with the names of nations of every clime, and every people, all in amity.

The Temple of Janus, when indicating peace, in comparison, was a contemptible object. We are further inclined to view it as the foreshadowing of another and a mightier event, in which we also believe it is reserved for England to take the lead, when there "shall come people and the inhabitants of many cities, and the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go speedily and pray before the Lord, and to seek the Lord of Hosts; I will go also. Yea, many people and strong nations shall come to seek the Lord of Hosts in Jerusalem, and to pray before the Lord." Certainly nothing which ever occurred among men bore so close a resemblance to this spiritual challenge, and this aggregate cf cities and nations, as the case before us, and we believe the time will come when a proposition made from England to the nations of the world, to set apart special periods for joint supplication, will be received as gravely, and concurred in with the same or greater avidity. It is to be noticed, that "many cities" are to be engaged in this affair of joint devotion-that" many people" are to concur and co-operate. By the time this is done, it is tolerably certain that a spirit of peace will have come with them, since nothing is more incongruous with the spirit of war than such an idea. By that time the Gospel rebuke will have been delivered to many people" and "strong nations afar off;" and they "shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more!" Thus hath God spoken, and thus it will be, so sure as the sun shall rise to-morrow. Now we hesitate not to affirm, that we look upon this affair of the World's Exhibition as a stupendous and glorious prelude to that long looked for consummation. We can conceive of nothing more calculated to divest war of its charm, and to disinfect nations of the disease for strife, and the thirst for shedding blood! It turns the thoughts of men from mischief to mechanism, for the diminution of human labour, and thereby the abridgment of the evils of the curse entailed by transgression, and sends them on a rivalry of inventions not for the destruction of men's lives, but for their preservation, thereby bringing them into a path which runs parallel to that of the Son of God!

66

The sublimest spectacle on earth, at this moment, we conceive to be the Crystal Palace. Let a man first visit the Tower of London, proceeding in an obliquitous march hither and thither from chamber to chamber, and familiarize the eye with the manifold and multiform specimens of instruments for human destruction, and he will see with what ingenuity the armoury of death has been improved in its methods of fabrication; and then let him repair to the Crystal Palace, and march leisurely from compartment to compartment till he has completed the mighty circle, and as he traverses, so to speak, the rooms of the Palace in which repose the peaceful representatives of every nation, tongue, and people, let him contrast the contents of the Tower with the contents of the Crystal Palace, and he will be supplied with materials for a profitable and prolonged contemplation,