"Now, those who are ignorant of the facts may suppose, from your disclaimer, that we wanted to be considered as Friends connected with you, and attempted to pass ourselves off as such; which we should be quite as unwilling to do, as you would be to be identified with us. I also should be as unwilling to be responsible for sentiments I heard in your Meeting, as you seem to be for sentiments you did not hear in the Chapel.

"The difference between us is this, you call yourselves Friends, and claim to be such; whatever our opinion may be as to the fact, we do not deny or question your right to call yourselves by this name. We, also, call ourselves Friends, and claim to be such; but you deny us the right to the name, and reproachfully apply the epithet of Hicksites, which we disclaim, it having been used by our opposers in derision.

Of

"You may say, that you lament our declension or departure from what you consider and believe to be the doctrines of the Society of Friends. We also, and as sincerely, lament your departure from what we consider and believe to be the doctrines and practices of the Society; so that, in this respect, we stand on equal grounds. one thing I have had such evidence as fully satisfies me of the fact, that Friends in this country are deplorably ignorant of the causes of the division in America, and of the relative circumstances of the two parties then or at the present time; and that they cherish a spirit of prejudice and bigotry towards us, incompatible with the benign religion of Jesus. Of this however we do not complain, as you are the sufferers; but we deplore the unchristian conduct this leads many into. I am satisfied a difference in opinion on doctrines does exist between you and us; but this does not settle the question as to which is right or which wrong. I suppose you believe yourselves right, and holding doctrines in accordance with Fox, Penn, Barclay, &c. I fully believe we do; and can bring as much evidence to support our views as you can. What is the ground of warnings given in your yearly meeting, your verbal and newspaper disclaimers? Are you afraid

of being robbed of your good name? or are your doctrines of such an evanescent character that they are in danger of vanishing before the sunshine of truth? Does it not

show a want of confidence in your principles, or in the solidity or durability of your position? It is a small matter to us to be judged of man, or to have our religious faith called in question, or to be charged with worshipping the God of our fathers after the manner called heresy; all this moves us not. But I grieve at the manifestation of a spirit that will deliver a brother up to death: as far as the law and custom of the country will allow, it is the same which a few years ago imprisoned, burned, and hung those who held opinions on religious subjects different from those who then possessed the legal power. We do not find any charge of immoral conduct brought against those martyrs, but of holding opinions dangerous to the peace and unity of the church; or, more correctly, not holding opinions that were deemed essential to salvation. It is easy to be very liberal and charitable towards those who believe more than we do; but those who believe less, we are ready enough to denounce as heretical, dangerous innovaters, not to be countenanced.

"When will men respect properly the right of private opinion? Not until they learn, that religion consists not in the assent of the mind to any dogma, nor yet in the belief of any mysterious proposition of faith; but in visiting the widow and fatherless, and keeping ourselves unspotted from the world. I am sick of opinions, I am weary to hear them, my soul loathes their frothy food; give me solid, substantial religion-give me an honest, devoted lover of God and man.'

"It is time Christians were judged by their likeness to Christ, rather than by their notions [opinions] of Christ.' It appears to me, you take the latter ground of judgment; I greatly prefer the former.

"I had intended to say something about the objects of our crossing the Atlantic; but my paper is full, and I must subscribe,-Thy friend,

JAMES MOTT."

THE

CHRISTIAN PIONEER.

No. 171.

NOVEMBER, 1840. Vol. XIV.

THE ARRIVAL OF THE BRITANNIA.

A Sermon delivered in the Federal-Street Meeting-House, in Boston, July 19, 1840. By Ezra S. Gannett. "Zebulun shall dwell at the haven of the sea; and he shall be for a haven of ships."-GEN. xlix. 13.

OUR citizens have for several days been kept in somewhat anxious expectation of an event, whose naked importance would scarce seem to justify any considerable degree of attention. Its novelty alone will not explain the fact of such a general interest. Never, indeed, has a vessel of the same class, of equal size and stateliness of appearance with that whose arrival has been so eagerly anticipated, ever entered our port. But the triumphs of steam over wind and water, over distance and difficulty, have become familiar to our observation. We have seen with our eyes, as well as heard of, the results which have been obtained through its agency alike on sea and on land -results which a few years ago were contemplated, if at all, only by the fancy of some bold prognosticator, but are now brought within the every-day experience of the whole people. It is the connection of this event with the past and the future which gives to it a peculiar interest. We look upon it-and how can we help looking upon it-as a landmark in the progress of our community. I confess that no event which has occurred since the commencement of the present century seems to have involved more important consequences to this city, than are likely to flow from the establishment of regular and efficient steam communication between the capital of NewEngland and the great commercial Island-the maritime threshold, if I may so style it-of the Old World. Its effect must be seen in the industry, wealth, population, manners, and general culture of the inhabitants of this peninsula and of the neighbouring towns. Our charac

ter will be reached by its influence, and our children be affected, for good or evil, by the success of the undertaking, whose commencement has been noticed by the civil authorities and by the concurrent sentiment of the citizens. It is proper, therefore, that it should also be noticed in the pulpit, whence the interests of society should alway be regarded with a wakeful concern, and the feelings of the people be met with a just sympathy, or be checked by timely counsel.

It would not be difficult to find, not only moral, but religious associations with which to invest this occurrence. To the devout mind, it suggests new illustrations of the power and wisdom of the Creator. Here is "this great and wide sea," which at first sight appears to be a barrier reaching down to the foundations of the earth, but as effectual an obstacle to the intercourse of the nations who live on its opposite shores as if it reached up to the sky -behold it, not surmounted only, but made subservient to the very purpose which in our haste we might think it was meant to oppose. The skill of the shipbuilder and the science of the navigator had indeed shown to former times, that the ocean might be used to bring those into acquaintance who were divided by its broad expanse; but there were uncertainties, and delays, and perils, which still made a great difference between the journeying of the traveller on land and the voyage of the visitor to another continent. But now this difference disappears; and in regard alike to time and to security, the questions which arise on departure from home are answered with equal ease, whether New Orleans or London be the place of destination. A voyage to Europe is reduced to a matter of calculation within the ability of any schoolboy who has learned the rule of simple division. In this we see no contravention of the laws of the Creator, but an approximation to a better understanding of them; and the better they are understood, the more clearly is it seen that the whole frame and structure of the world are suited to promote human happiness and improvement. The ocean was intended to be the highway of the nations, on which they might pass and repass, and never crowd its ample space. Look, too, at that agent, which is now brought into obedience to the will of man, and made con

ducive to his comfort, convenience, and pleasure-how terrific and ungovernable appear its capacities; yet how admirable is their adaptation to the wants of man in an advanced state of civilization, and how great their value in spreading civilization over the world. Here is an instrument of still unknown efficiency, which for six thousand years was regarded hardly with curiosity, much less with confidence in its practical uses, now found to be of the utmost importance in the arts, and probably, nay certainly, destined to work momentous changes in the relations of human society. With such an example before us, it is anything but presumption to anticipate further discoveries, which shall reveal stores of benefit for mankind, laid up by the Creator in elements or combinations of matter which are not at present understood; nor is it an irrational, but a sound conclusion, that every part and principle of the creation, if we did but comprehend its nature, might be made instrumental for promoting the interests of man's individual and social existence. Let a calm, humble, and grateful piety follow out the trains of thought which one such illustration as we are now noticing suggests, and what large as well as profitable views may we not obtain of the beneficence of the Maker of the universe.

The same facts to which we have just adverted, if contemplated from another point of view, may confirm our sentiments of admiration and gratitude towards the Author of our being. They show us what man has done, and they intimate to us what he is capable of doing. By his own study and industry he has converted one of the most frightful instruments of destruction into the minister of his pleasure, and by its means made the billows of the ocean a pathway for his triumphant ships. Here, too, we perceive the wisdom of the Creator in his government of man. It is sometimes asked-Why were not the great discoveries of modern times included within the knowledge of our race at an earlier period, or at its commencement, when it might have begun its career with so much greater advantage? The answer is obvious. Man and mankind can best be trained for perfection by gradual and voluntary developement of the powers which belong to the individual and the race. This developement must