while the present price of land continues, it can be obtained only by means of slavery. Of this the present condition of the free states of the Union is an immediate and direct proof. Among them, no extended combination of labour for agricultural operation can be obtained. Among them, therefore, none of the articles which require such combination can be raised. If this were not the case, why do they not, by means of the superior advantages of free labour, cultivate some of the articles to which we have referred. Their soil and climate are fitted for rice and tobacco, and in some cases for cotton,-but none of these are raised. Every one, on the contrary, prefer being the owner of a small quantity of land, of which he cultivates, perhaps a tenth, or even a less proportion; though by this he probably obtains a smaller amount of the comforts and conveniences of life, than he might do if a labourer for hire. We have here, therefore, a proof of the fact which we have supposed; the only question consequently is, whether this state of things may not be more advantageous and whether this be not the fact proved by the very conduct of the Americans in adopting it. And this inquiry is by no means idle or superfluous. If there be really any difficulty in the way of the emancipation of the negroes, arising from any peculiarity in the social policy of the Americans; the cause of freedom can never be advanced by treating the matter as though no such difficulty existed. Our wisest plan will be to give every obstacle its full weight, that thus we may best proportion our means to the end sought. Now, looking at the dependence of the free states of America upon the existence of slavery, for the greater portion of their commerce, and for a market for their manufacturing and, agricultural productions, there appears no doubt that they would be to a certain extent injured by emancipation. And their loss would be uncompensated, as these advantages are enjoyed, without the existence among them of that moral taint which always accompanies slavery, and undoubtedly forms a great deduction from any benefits which it produces to the slaveholders themselves. That the slave-holders would be injured we have before shewn. It must be remembered, that the persons who at present will decide the question of emancipation, are the whites; and it is, therefore, to the influences which it would exert upon them, that we must confine ourselves, in considering the probability of its being conceded. The emancipation of the negroes, under the circumstances most favourable to its successful issue would be, in fact, to remove the chief barrier which the institutions of America present, to that tendency to dispersion, and consequently to barbarism, created by the low price of land. If full scope were given to this tendency, it would probably result in the semi-barbarism of the greater portion of the nation. It may seem to many that we are here giving a very undue magnitude to the effects of a matter apparently so trivial as the low price of waste land; but if any one will attempt to trace out its consequences, he probably will not find they have been at all exaggerated. The first result is, that every one may in the course of a very short time become a land-holder; and this, as the first result, has been frequently cited as one of the blessings of America, by those who do not look beyond the surface. That the condition of an American is in this respect, better than that of an English labourer, under our present prohibitory system, there can be no doubt; but we have to attend to his actual, not to his comparative position. When he has become a land-holder, he can find no labourer to work for him. and he is consequently compelled to do every thing for himself. The natural result of this is, that every thing is imperfectly done. His farm is tilled in the most slovenly manner. His house is probably inferior to that of an English labourer; the amount of comforts which he is able to command, is less than may be enjoyed by an English artisan of tolerable skill; and in fact, he is a loser in almost every respect, except that he gratifies his love of independence, enjoys the belief that he has no superior, and has the consciousness that his time is his own, and that his labour is employed upon his own property. This statement, strictly true as regards the new settlements, has a great degree of trnth, even in reference to the oldest and most thickly peopled states. may be doubted if such a state be favourable to the happiness of the individual. There can be no doubt that it is unfavourable to the advancement of the community. In all countries, the measure of prosperity will be the extent to which the bulk of the people enjoy the comforts of life, and the leisure and inclination for mental culture. The results of the American system has been the diminution of both of these. Labour produces less, and at the same time engrosses the mind to the exclusion of other ideas. It Labour pro duces less, both because each individual, from the multiplicity of his pursuits, is unable to acquire the highest degree of skill in any one; and because it is exerted singly instead of in concert, which is always the least profitable way of employing it. It is in this way that the low price of land in America, by producing a certain amount of dispersion, has diminished the national wealth; and it is equally easy to shew the way in which it has operated upon the mental character of the people. An indidual who is generally employed in one pursuit, will, if educated, turn to subjects of general interest as a relaxation, and cultivate them for the relief they afford. But any one whose mind is disturbed by a multiplicity of pursuits, each of which, from his imperfect acquaintance with it, demands the whole of his powers, would require as his relaxation the absence of all thought. But in addition to this, the fact that all his Occupations have immediate reference to himself, to his own comfort and advancement, will lead greatly to narrow the range of his sympathies. He will be acute, but selfish; not easily over-reached in a bargain, but feeling little scruple at over-reaching others. While, for general literature, and all arts which have not an immediate and obvious bearing upon his own interest, he will feel, not perhaps contempt, but indifference. This is now the general character of the free inhabitants of America. Eager, and certainly a little unscrupulous, in the pursuit of wealth; careless of every thing that does not appeal to their vanity, or minister to their personal gratification; skilful to a certain extent in many things, but to the highest degree, in few or none; and its cause appears to us to be the isolation produced by the low price of land. We have adverted to the extent to which slavery prevents the full development of these tendencies, and to this extent the free states in America, have, if they refuse to alter this part of their policy, a direct interest in its continuance ; and, as they have never been accused of neglecting their interest, so far as they understand it, the prospect of the extinction of slavery among them appears still distant. We have thus endeavoured rather to indicate, than develop fully the principles to which we have adverted. Until they are recognised and acted upon by the Americans themselves, there appears to us little hope of their voluntarily putting an end to slavery. To this therefore should, we think, be directed the efforts of the friends of emancipation in England, and of those Americans who wish to free their country from its worst social crime for a crime it is, in every sense of the word. It is a voluntary and intentional sacrifice of the interests of one portion of the community, to those of another. It is a tyranny the same in 2D. SERIES, No. 37,-vol, IV, kind, and worse in degree, than that of the feudal system of the middle ages. The negroes have the same right to be considered as citizens, and to enjoy the privileges which this would confer, as any inhabitant of the land; and unless this be speedily conceded to them, Americans will too late discover that they have been accumulating for their posterity a fearful amount of retribution. The negroes in the slave states are increasing more rapidly than their masters, and they are thus every day bringing nearer the time when the question of their continued slavery must be brought to the test of a servile war. If, in such a war, the contest should be between them and the whole force of the Union, the result must be their re-subjection; but if between them and their masters only, it is probable they would be the conquerors. In either case, however, the contest would be most fearful, and in all probability the former wrongs of the negroes would be effaced by the extent of their revenge. They have now no moral instruction, and there would then be no moral restraint. With them now, the charities of life, the ties of affection and relationship, are mere names, and they would then have none of those feelings which so often check man from inflicting upon another a misery which he would himself shrink from enduring. Nor have they any of that religious instruction which in our own colonies has restrained the negroes, during their temporary successes, from inflicting upon their masters the evils which they had themselves suffered. All, therefore, that a hatred springing from a sense of the accumulated wrongs of centuries could produce in beings whose intellect and feelings are alike without one restraining principle, would be the result of the first successful attempt of the American negroes to obtain their freedom. But this is a result which every lover of human nature would deprecate, as much for the sake of the slave as of his master; and it, therefore, becomes every one who is interested in the termination of slavery in the United States, to address himself to a consideration of the means by which it may be peaceably effected. It is clear that any alteration in the mode of disposing of waste land, which should have the effect of creating a class of agricultural labourers, would be advantageous to America; and it would be the first, and an effectual blow to the system of slavery. If this were done,-if the American capitalist could with certainty obtain the free labour requisite for the employment of his capital,-the competition thus introduced must lead certainly, though gra dually, to the extinction of slavery. If, however, no alteration be made in this respect; then, unless from the operation of external force, or from the revolt of the slaves themselves, there appears to us to be no chance of emancipation, till the population of America shall have advanced to the shores of the Pacific, and fertile land can be no longer obtained on the same terms as at present. RECOLLECTIONS OF A MISSIONARY. NO. XI. MISSIONARIES OF DIFFERENT DENOMINATIONS: THEIR EXCELLENCES, ADAPTATIONS, AND USE IN THE GREAT WORK. I AM not, in the following notices, going to make any unkind remarks on my brethren, of other denominations. Nor shall I set up any rivalry among Christian missionaries, or create any invidious distinctions among good men employed in promoting the kingdom of Christ in foreign parts. God forbid that I should exalt one at the expense of another; or, shade the excellences of this, to make a bright fore-ground for that. Truth and candour compel me to impartiality; and I shall take for my motto, "In necessary things, let there be unity; in things not necessary, liberty; in all things, charity." Christian missions have the same object the conversion of the heathen world. This lies near the hearts of all good men. They may have different views, but their end is the same. With an almost infinite variety of talent, they may all be united in executing the same plan. The Moravian may prepare the ground; the Calvinist may lay the foundation; the Wesleyan build upon it gold, silver, and precious stones. The Churchman may, upon all the glory, add the defence of righteous laws; and the great body of Christians may supply materials for the building of the grand missionary temple. "And who is willing this day to consecrate his service to the Lord ?" In this stupendous undertaking, as there is need of the combined labours of all, there is scope for the varied talents of each. A mission to Hindostan requires superior talent to one sent among the Hottentots. The Indians in North America are many degrees of intellect above the negroes; and men sent to Ceylon, China, or the Burman empire, should excel in talent those sent to Labradore, Madagascar, or the West Indies: these should have learning, polish, and address; those, boldness, plainness, and zeal, with the language of the natives grafted upon their mother-tongue: these may do miracles in the way of positive conver sion; those, by science, literature and philosophy, may prepare the way of the Lord among more polished heathens. One denomination of Christians may think it necessary to undermine pagan superstition by argument and reason; to shew its absurdity, uncover its nakedness, and expose its deformity. Some may imagine that the simple story of the cross, and the love of God in Christ, affectionately exhibited, will do the deed. There are who say, that the arts of civilized life should be taught simultaneously with the gospel.God may bless all these means. The missionary who translates, may be a pioneer to him who preaches. In this great work there are diversities of operations, but one Spirit. The various gifts bestowed upon each, may be so tempered by the art of God, that one grand result shall grow out of their combinations. There is need of all, work for all, and reward for eachthat is faithful unto death. In the wide ocean of the world, there is ample searoom : none need run foul of the other; they may hail each other in passing, and proceed on their voyage. They may correct each other's longitude, exchange civilities, and dash away in their circumnavigation of charity. The vast field demands the help of all hands, the knowledge of all heads, and the combined zeal of all friends to truth. The heathen world may defy the solitary acts of a party, but it is vulnerable to the combined efforts of the whole church. While Buonaparte fought singlehanded with the nations of the continent, he destroyed them one after another; but when the combined armies of all Europe fell upon him, the mighty fell, and the weapons of war perished. The Christian world has never yet risen in the grandeur of its united zeal and strength to save the heathen. Christian zeal is yet far below the blood-heat of Christ; in most churches it is below zero; and nothing but the finger of God's Spirit, put upon the ball of the thermometer, will ever raise it to the boiling point of millennial ardour. For ages, the christian world has been so taken up with its domestic broils, that it has looked with neither heart nor hope on the forlorn heathen. This crusade of love could not be undertaken while there were feuds and squabbles at home; now, however, it is time to bury the hatchet under the olive-tree of peace. Let not Ephraim vex Judah, nor Judah vex Ephraim; they are brothers. Let the family of God be reconciled, an enemy is at the gate. Let each bring his stone, and the temple shall be built even in troublous times. "The God of heaven-he will prosper us, therefore we his servants will arise and build;" and though our enemies should say, "Even that which they build, if a fox go up he shall even break down their stonewall," we still hope to see the "top-stone brought on with shouts of grace, grace unto it." : In this blessed work all the isms of the christian world may be comprised. There is a department for all. One band may be exploring the field, another prepare the seed; this may construct defence, that clear away the stones, extirpate the weeds, and grub up the roots of old idolatry. Some may break up the fallow ground, and others cast the seed into the earth. The land, however, is all before them and they may say to each other, as Abraham to Lot," If thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right: or, if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left." Shall we blame the Moravians for taking possession of Greenland? or the London Missionary Society, for their occupation of the South Sea Islands? Were not the Wesleyans driven by stress of weather to the West Indies? and, in former times, the puritans, by persecution, to America? Let any one read Cotton Mather's "Magnalia Christi Americana," and he will see the wisdom of God, in the appointment of good men to their several lots in the great field of the world. The pomp of superstition in Hindostan may require to supersede it, the splendour of an imposing ritual, and the dignity of an episcopalian costume. The heathens like something showy in religion, that the soul may be taught through the senses. The regions of Siberia may afford a fine theatre for Scots missionaries; languages may be the province of Carey, Marshman, and Morrison; exploration and discovery, the duty of Buchanan, Bennet, and Tyerman; visiting the outcasts in the fag-ends of nature, may require the patience and humility of the United Brethren. The Methodist Episcopal church of Upper Canada, may be scooping out settlements in the woods, for the Chippawas, Mickmacks, and Mohawk Indians; and superseding the war-whoop by "the joyful sound," and the tomahawk and the scalping-knife, by the spade and by the plough. The active English Wesleyan missionaries, may be praying and preaching, (their chapels pulled down about their ears,) through the cruel persecution of West Indian planters; or, with the Cingalees Testament in their hand, roving through the cinnamon groves of Ceylon. Their brethren, within the roar of the lion, may be planting the Cross in the deserts of South Africa; or may, in the South Seas, be braving the fierce looks and long spears of the New Zealanders. In the building of Solomon's temple, there were hewers of wood and drawers of water, as well as carvers and polishers. In missionary work, one is the ploddingfoot, another the ingenious hand; this may be the clear eye, and that the attentive ear. I hardly know to which body of Christians we can yield the palm. The Church of England Missionaries have great patronage, literature, and science. The Moravians, poverty, patience, and simplicity. The London Missionary Society's men, address, ingenuity, and perseverance. The Baptist's, application, learning, and constancy. The Wesleyan's, ardour, vigour, and activity. Each of these stars is illuminating some part of the dark hemisphere of heathen land; and though, perhaps, few may be of the first magnitude, such as Xavier, Swartz, Eliot, Brainerd, Coke, Martyn, or Ward ;' yet they may shine as lovely in the eye of heaven as others, who have been more conspicuous and resplendent. There is a fashion even in religion; and to be out of that fashion, is to be out of name, out of fame, and out of notice, Full many a gem of purest ray serene, The dark unfathom'd caves of ocean bear;" Some lights are seen only through the dim haze of prejudice, while others are magnified by a thousand reflectors; some missionaries write well; others labour hard, but write little; some have a flood-tide of popular opinion in their favour; some, lacking this, find their whole missionary voyage "bound in shallows and in miseries.” I know a missionary who never received a line from the parent institution for eight years, nor a single stiver till he had been abroad for five years; and, after fourteen years' service abroad, found, on his return home, all the best posts occupied by men who had seen little service, and faced no danger. Looking back some two hundred years, the church of Rome was first in the field of missions. The Moravians soon followed, and were succeeded by the church of England the Wesleyans, Independents, and Baptists, came next; and since that time others have entered the mission field, and are cultivating their appropriate portions of heathen land. Each have their different excellences, and have done much good; still, however, spring is not yet come, although a few flowers appear in the eart The chariot paved with love is not yet seen, though the rumbling of its wheels may be heard. Missions, with all our fine flourishes upon the platform, are still in their infancy. The desert is still sandy and sterile, though it has some green and beautiful oases. The wilderness is dreary, though some parts may blossom as the rose; heathen skies are gloomy, notwithstanding the midnight is past, and morning stars shew the approach of the sun. The prayer breathed by David, "Send forth thy light and thy truth," is but beginning to be answered; hence, all need pray, "That the Lord of the harvest would send forth more labourers into his vineyard." Wednesbury. J. MARSDEN. THE TWO GREAT CONTINENTS. FROM my manuscript, an article was inserted in the Imperial Magazine for the year 1827, column 100, on Geology, from which I ask leave to extract the following particulars: : "The strata of the earth, in their amplitude, are stretched out into two vast continents, which, nearly parallel to each other, extend north and south, from the vicinity of the antarctic circle, to considerably within the arctic circle; and between these continents lie two immense oceans. In the midst of these continents several extensive mediterranean seas occur, and also many deeply indented gulfs and bays; but in no instance do any of these afford a communication from ocean to ocean." A second article was also inserted, from which, col. 166, I extract the following: “The sphere we now inhabit is a ruin of the primitive sphere. The Creator constructed the primitive sphere in infinite wisdom, and in infinite wisdom reserved, from the terrible effects of the disruption of the great abyss, and the oscillations of the general deluge, a world every way calculated for the convenience, comfort, and enjoyments of animal life, and especially for the head thereof,-man. This wisdom, providing a due equilibrium of fluids and solids, and restraining each of these within due limits, so that the one should not operate to the destruction of the other, but each minister to each throughout the ages of time, will, as science progresses upon the earth, become more and more conspicuous. Every fact, as it is discovered, will, I have no doubt, demonstrate this wisdom to man; and the fact, that these two immense continents, stretching from north to south, are original portions of creation, and were preserved when many portions of this sphere were disrupted and lost from the dry land, argues some especial design, as to the purposes these were intended to subserve in the economy of this sphere. It was Jehovah which exclaimed, "Who shut up the sea with doors, when it brake forth as if it had issued out of the womb? When I made the cloud the garment thereof, and thick darkness a swaddling band for it, and brake up for it my decreed place, and set bars and doors, and said, Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed?" The answer is at hand; it was he, himself, who performed all this; and he alone is capable of giving such a glowing picture of the ruin of a world, and the re-creation of another world out of that ruin, at the awful moment of its disruption, during the general deluge. In the midst of wrath, he remembered mercy; and even "while he destroyed, he saved." "It is probable, that certain portions of the primitive world, being disrupted, fell into the great abyss of waters; and the rushing forth of the ocean, triumphantly to Occupy their places, is here finely and poetically described; the cloud and thick darkness seem to refer to the excessive rains, and the decreed place broken up for the sea, its present bed, formed at the moment of the general deluge. Triumphantly as the sea rushed forth, as if to possess the whole earth, he, who created the sea as well as the dry land, launches forth his bars and doors, confines it to its decreed place, and where its mighty surges lashed the confining shores, and shook them like the thunders of heaven, He decreed, and behold it stands fast; hitherto shalt thou come, but no further; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed! From the highest antiquity to the present moment, according to all recorded observations since the general deluge, the sea has not gained upon the land, except in immaterial and trifling instances, even to this day." On looking over the letter of Captain Ross, who has recently returned from a perilous arctic expedition, addressed to Captain, the Hon. George Elliott, and inserted in the Imperial Magazine for November last, page 531, I found a full confirmation of the opinion quoted above, and have, therefore, transcribed so much of his letter as relates thereto. Early in January, 1830, we had the good fortune to establish a friendly intercourse with a most interesting consociation of natives, who, being insulated by nature, had never before communicated with strangers; from them we gradually obtained |