Receipts ON BEHALF OF THE AMERICAN AND FOREIGN CHRISTIAN UNION, FROM THE 1ST OF JUNE TO THE 1ST OF JULY, 1863. Adams. Presb. Ch. to make Rev. G. W. Mackie a L.,M.,-. 56 69 N. Y. City. St. Paul's M E. Ch., of which Henry J Barker $25, others $45, by Rev. D. C.; Van Norman, L.L.D. ... Hannibal. Cong. Ch. by. W. brewster, Lenox. Miss Lydia Hall for Miss Rankin, one-half for her personal benefit, one-fourth to supply her with tracts, one-fourth with Bibles.... Tarrytown. H. N. Lombard, Semi-Annu. al donation for the support of a missionary in Italy N. Y. City. Ref'd Dutch Ch. in Wash'n 70 00 7 00 20 13 38 08 15 47 22 75 67 29 25 00 5 00 42 00 600 00 134 00 12 00 MASSACHUSETTS. 175 00 17 85 Burlington. Luther Clark by J. S. Gal lagher,.... 10 00 25 00 Mrs. Nancy J. L. Bayne, to make Miss Nancy Jane Kellogg of Ypsilanti, Mich. L.M in part, 49 40 Southampton. Lesb. Ch. in part for a L.M... Union Coll'n in Presb. Ch., 64 100 100 00 10 00 50 Huntington. Union Coll'n in Presb. Ch. 6 00 Roslyn. Presb. Ch. in part of L.M., for 500 Sam'l R. Ely, Jr..... 25 Islip. Piesb. Ch. in part of LM. for Rev. A. Nash,--. 5 00 16 Un 6. M. E. Ch..... 33 97 N. Y. City. Mrs. H. I., to make Mrs. Jan Bobbins, of Putnam, 8 00 NEW JERSEY. 5 00 14 31 4 65 23 30 20 02 14 25 8.00 O., a L.M.,. 30 00 48 9 Philadelphia. Belle Valley. Rachel Russell.... 3 00 Chestnut Hill. Presb. Ch., which n.akes 66 Kev. Roger Owen a L.M. Bapt. Ch,.. 30 00 450 Bellefonte. Prest. Ch. of which $30 makes Rev. J. H. Barnard a L.M.... 54 50 So. Windsor. Mrs. C. Olcott,-. New Haven. Officers of Yale College, 50 00 5 00 Lock Haven. L. A. Markey, Esq., in part L.M..... 10 00 South Ch. & oc'y- 66 1st Ch. & Soc'y, 349 95 Sam'l Hepburn and family which makes him part L. 66 Maria Marvel,- Vernon. Cong. Ch. by Allyn Kellogg... 41 04 Others of the Presb. Ch., NEW YORK. which makes Rev. Jos. Nesbitt L.M. 37 25 Williamsport, Presb. Ch. which makes Rev. Wm. Simonton L.M. 39 00 Homer. Presb. Ch.. Corfu. Presb. Ch. Rev. C. R. Burdick L. Baltimore. "M.".-- 20 00 M., in part,. Clifton Springs. Sani'l Pettit, in full to make Mrs. S. Pettit L. M. $20, and $30 to make Mrs. Olive J. Downing a L.M...... Cleveland. Mis. Elisha Taylor,.. 14 35 1 00 200 5 00 5 00 50 17 05 3 35 66 150 100 00 800 Cincinnati. D. Harper $3; Messrs. Thomson & Miller $1 ea.; 2 others 45c Christ's Prot. Epis. Ch., add, B. F. Strader $25; Griffin Taylor in part L.M $29; B. Homans, Jr. $15; Messrs. Vandeusen and McGuffy, and Mrs. Rule $5 each; Mrs. Stetenius and Worthington $3 ea.; Mrs. Brown $; Judge Hall $1, in full of L.M. of Rev. John W. McCarty... 2d Presb. Ch. add, John Shil leto in full of L. M. $20; Messrs. Durand, Winslow, Pendleton, Miller, and Mitchell, Ladd & Co. $10 ea.; Messrs Gaston, Allen, Jones & Bro. Butler, Slocum, Isham, McBerney, Fisher, Ray, Taylor, Swazey & Co, Brown $5 ea. Messrs. Isham, Bruce, Burnet, $2 ea.; Messrs Lupton, Crane, Cone, Brown, Hedrick, Fol som, Pickard, Fagin and Mrs. Gaylord $e ea., 102 00 6th-st. M. Prot. Ch. in part Messrs. Gates and Hicks $5 ea. J. A Duer $2,---Union Chapel M. E. Ch. add, Capt. Fisher $10; Messrs. Woods, Lewis, Cook, Burton, and Webb $5 ea; Messrs. Laws, Foulds and Fisher $2 ea.; Messrs. Laws and Marshall, and Mrs. Perin $1_ca. in fuil of L.M. for Rev. Carlton T. Lewis, New Jerusalem Ch. W. S. Merrill $5; W. Merrill $1 Ch. of the Atonement, Mr. Frazier, 5 45 84.00 145 00 12 00 Cincinnati. St. Paul's P. E. Ch. Chas. Kelgour, bro, and sister, which makes Miss E. C. Kelgour a L. M. $50, Mrs. Longworth $20, Mrs. Wright and Mrs. Wiggins $10 ea., Mrs. Flagg $6, G. H. Barbour $5, Mr. Coan $1, in full of L. M. for Rev. Sam'l Cox,3rd Presb. Ch. add J. R. Davey $10, J. C Mores $5, A. H. Poundsford $3; F. Ferry$2; Messre; Lytle-Crane--Copeland--Lytle $1 ea, in full of L. M. for Rev. Wilbur McKeag, 9th Bapt. Ch. add D. G. A. Davenport $10, E J. Wilson $5, Messrs Morton, Sage, Nichols and Cheever $1 ea... 1st Presb. Ch. add, J. C. Cuiberson $20, Mr. Johnson and Mrs. Shulty 50c. ea. Broadway Presb. Ch. add Messrs. Scarborough and McKeehan and Miss Anna Pierce $10 each, Messrs. Clark, Bullock, Shaw, McAlpin, Fallis, Corsin, Stewart, and Rowland $5 ea., J. Kessick $3, Messrs. Farrell Forbes, Williams, Andrews, and Mrs. Coons $2 ea. Mrs. Shultz $1 50; Messrs. Starr, Harper, Lewis, Baker, Irwin, Tudor, Johnson, and Brown, and Mrs. Caldwell, Johns, Greene, and Miss Howard $1 ea.; 5 others 50c. ea, another 55c.... Vine Street Cong. Ch., add Messrs. Sumner & Co. $10., Messrs. Sellew, Short, Tilney, Sellew, Merrill & Snowdon, and Otte $5 ea. A. P. Wil liamson $3. Messrs. Woodruff, Nichols and Lockwood $2 ea. Messrs. Scott and Lockwood $1 ea.,-. Central Presb. Ch. add, Messrs. Mitchell, Spencer West, Wynne, Haines & Co., J. E. Wynne & Co. $5 ea.; W. D. Morgan $3; R. Smith $2; Messrs. Hoover, Jones, Wynne and Lodge $1 ea.; F. Skinner, $2; 2 others 90c.. 7th.st. Cong. Ch. add, J. E. Perrin 2d instalment of L. M. and Messrs. Fay and Harris $10 ea.; L. C. Hopkins in full L. M. $20; Messrs. Evans and Lindsey $o; Messrs. Kidd, Nichols, Chatfield, Powell, Wells, Barker and Johnson $5 ea.; Messrs. Shotwell, Prince, Nelson, Burt and Hopkins $2 ea.; Messrs. Barney, Bobb, Swan, Walton, Bradstreet & Mrs. Hurd $1. ea. Orchard-st. Union Presb. Ch. Mr. Crosby.--- Trin. M. E. Ch., in part Messrs Platt & Emerson$5 ea. 6th-st. United Presb. Ch. add, 44.00 6 00 1 00 6:00 14.00 THE CHRISTIAN WORLD. VOL. XIV. SEPTEMBER, 1863. No. 9. LIBERTY, POLITICAL AND RELIGIOUS, IN AUSTRIA. THE mention of free institutions in Austria calls up the shades of Silvio Pelico, and that noble band of Italian martyrs who pined and died in the horrible dungeons of the Spielburg and other Austrian prisons, for the crime of loving liberty and saying it would be good for Italy. When in 1860 it was announced that Francis Joseph was meditating a Constitution, and inviting wise men from the "Crown Lands" to aid by their counsels in framing such an one as would strengthen the whole Empire, and at the same time bless each province, it was suspected to be only a trap to catch the credulous nationalities, and draw them into a more hopeless bondage. But it was not so. Francis Joseph was honest in his professions, and has been earnest in his endeavors to reform Austrian institutions. Austria had had two great frights.-One in 1848, when the uprising of the Vienese drove Prince Metternich, a trembling fugitive, to England, and caused Francis II. to lay off his glittering imperial diadem as a bauble too uncomfortable to be worn: the other in 1859, when the defeats of Magenta and Soferino spread dismay, gloom and general discouragement through the Empire. That of 1848 was followed, not by liberty, but by drawing the cords of despotism still tighter; by changing the different nationalities composing the Empire, and before enjoying many municipal privileges, into "Crown Lands," and ruling them with centralized, bureaucratic stringency. This did not bring strength, but weakness—to the provinces sullen, irritated discouragement, which paralyzed enterprise-to the Government an empty treasury and an almost hopeless derangement of the finances. This state of things prepared the way for the fright of 1859 to bear better fruits. After this, the Emperor at once set himself to the task of reform-to the attempt of getting good by giving it. He invited leading men in the "Crown Lands" to assemble at Vienna and aid him, by forming wise institutions of freedom, to develop the forces of the Empire. The work is now in progress, and there has been much real progress, so much that it would seem very difficult to return to the old autocratic despotism. Still it has to struggle with gigantic di culties at every turn. The struggles at reform in an old despotism are faintly illustrated by those of an inebriate, trying to become a sober man.His good resolution is constantly assailed by the enticements of old habits, old companions, and old lusts; while his power of persistency is weakened by the enervation of intemperance. So the way out of the mire of confirmed national absolutism is at every step obstructedobstructed by the immemorial habits of unchecked authority in the reigning family-by the unwillingness of old office-holders to lose power and place-by the old unrepealed laws, incompatible with free institutions, and constantly turned by the ill-designing to thwart all good progress. In this "slough of despond" Austria is now floundering.— And she, perhaps, with more difficulties than would attend almost any other nation, because of the heterogeneous materials of which she is made up-twenty-one nationalities of different races-different habits different wants, different degrees of intelligence, and very different forms of internal administration. The first general Parliament, or great Reichsrath of the Empire, of twenty months' duration, came to an end in Dec. last. We will, as briefly as possible, note the principal steps of progress up to that time. -After the events of 1848, (terrible to tyrants!) the old Emperor Francis and his son, the next heir to the crown, were easily induced to step out from under this now dangerous ornament, and let it fall upon the head of the grand-son, Francis Joseph, apparently, because of his superior intellectual ability. On the whole he bids fair to justify their judgment. He has something of the liberality of Joseph II. without his recklessness. And we hope to see under his rule a regenerated, constitutional, free and prosperous Austria rising up, satisfied with making her 35,000,000 of people intelligent and happy, without the robber-ambition of crushing and impoverishing her neighbors. But before her waters are to become thus clear, they are evidently to be agitated by many tempests. Now for the steps by which she has come, since 1848, to her present position. The young Francis Joseph evidently had, from the first, views of government better than those of his grand-father. In 1861 he appointed a Reichsrath, or Imperial Council, of limited number, to be his special, private advisers. They were independent of the ministry drawn from the different provinces and appointed for life, the number to be occasionally increased by temporary appointments. It was an old custom of the Empire for the ministers to submit to the Emperor written reports on matters requiring his decision. These reports he would often hand over to the Reichsrath, and perhaps act on their advice in opposition to that of the ministry. But the liberties of his subjects were not as yet increased, but rather abridged under a more rigid centralized rule, till after the disastrous Italian war of 1859. It is, however, asserted that before the war he had resolved on liberal reforms; that even Prince Metternich, on his return from England, had advised to it, saying, "representative government, as administered in England, is the best"—and had named Count Rechberg, one of the present ministry, as the best man to carry it out. If this were so, his plans were broken off by that war, and yet were stimulated to a more rapid con-summation by its results. The utter derangement of the finances and the deep gloom of the whole people, consequent on its sad disasters, imperatively demanded great changes in the national policy. Francis Joseph was forward to make them, in accordance with the wishes of the wisest of his people, and for the best interests of all the nationalities. We believe he really had this desire, however he may have been partially drawn aside by politicians from the most direct way to its accomplishment. On March 5th, 1860, he published a decree for the increase of the Reichsrath by the addition of ten life, and thirty-eight extraordinary members, chosen from the ablest men of the different provinces. These last men, on the reassembling of the provincial diets to be replaced by men of their choice-so that each of the "Crown Lands" should have a part in the regeneration of the Empire. May 31 the enlarged Reichsrath assembled in Vienna, and proceeded to consider the embarrassing question of the finances. They requested the Emperor to set aside an imperial statute which limited committees to seven, and allow them to appoint one of twenty-one-representing all the "Crown Lands"-to examine and report on the financial condition of the Empire. He not only granted this, but voluntarily pledged himself not to lay new taxes, nor increase the old, excepting in accordance with their advice. This was a great step in the right direction, and gave new hope to the best friends of Austrian regeneration. This body discussed also with great boldness the vital questions of the Concordat with the Pope-of equal rights and self-government of all the nationalities-of religious freedom-of law reform, and of freedom of the press, and took liberal grounds in regard to all. No onenot even one of the ministers-ventured to vindicate the old centralized, bureaucratic system of Bach. All without exception, condemned the system of over-governing, of the ever-increasing interference of Government functionaries in all the affairs of life, discouraging the heart and stifling the energy and enterprise of the people. The substance of the recommendation of the committee of twenty |