consin, Iowa, and California. With a view to its removal from the States to which it still adheres, many of the inhabitants of the Northern, or non-slaveholding States, have associated themselves in what are called anti-slavery societies, and have been endeavoring, for several years past, to awaken the public to a sense of the evils and dangers of slavery, and to the reproach which it entails on the whole country. By means of the press, by tracts and books, and by the voice of living agents, they aim at the removal of this-the greatest of all the evils that lie heavy on our institutions. I say nothing at present of the wisdom of their plans, or of the spirit in which they have been prosecuted. I only mention these societies as a further proof of the wide application of the voluntary principle, and of the manner in which it leads to associated efforts for the correction of existing evils.

Peace Societies. Thus, too, in relation to the evils of war, and for the purpose of preserving good men especially, and all men, if possible, from thinking lightly of them, Peace Societies began to be formed as early as the year 1816, and a national society was organized in 1827. The object must be admitted to be humane and Christian. By the diffusion of well-written tracts, by offering handsome premiums for essays on the subject, and their subsequent publication, and, above all, by short and pointed articles in the newspapers, a great deal has been done to cause the prayer to ascend with more fervency from the heart of many a Christian, "Give peace in our time, O Lord," and to inspire a just dread of the awful curse of war. To many, such efforts may appear ridiculous; but not so to the man who can estimate the value of even one just principle, when once established in the heart of any individual, however humble. Who can tell how much such efforts in the United States, and other countries, may have contributed, in God's holy providence, which often avails itself of the humblest means for the accomplishment of the greatest purposes, to prolong that happy general peace which held Europe, and all the civilized world, in its embrace during almost forty years! The receipts of the American Peace Society are usually $3,000.*

* The late William Ladd, Esq., of the State of Maine, was the founder of the American Peace Society, and for many years its worthy president. He was an excellent Christian. His heart was absorbed in the objects of the society over which he presided. Through his exertions a prize of $1,000 was offered for the best essay on the subject of A Congress of Nations, for the termination of national disputes. Four or five excellent dissertations were presented, and the premium was divided among the authors by the judges appointed to make the award; one of whom was the Hon. John Quincy Adams, formerly President of the United States. The evils of war can hardly be exaggerated. "In peace," said Croesus to Cyrus, "children bury their

fathers; but in war, fathers bury their children." "War makes thieves," says

CHAPTER XXVI.

INFLUENCE OF THE VOLUNTARY PRINCIPLE ON THE BENEFICENT
INSTITUTIONS OF THE COUNTRY.

NOR is the Voluntary Principle less operative in the formation and support of beneficent institutions than of associations for attacking and vanquishing existing evils. But these present a field too wide to be fully gone over in this work; besides, they do not properly come within its scope. I shall therefore glance only at a few points, showing how the Voluntary Principle acts in this direction for the furtherance of the Gospel.

In efforts to relieve the temporal wants and sufferings of mankind, as well as in all other good undertakings, Christians, and those, too, with few exceptions, evangelical in their faith, almost invariably take the lead. Whenever there is a call for the vigorous exercise of benevolence, proceeding from whatever cause, Christians immediately go to work, and endeavor to meet the exigency by their own exertions, if possible. But should the nature and extent of the relief required properly demand co-operation on the part of municipal and State authorities, they will bring the case before these authorities, and invoke their aid. It follows naturally that, when this is given, it should be applied through the hands of those who were the first to move in the matter; and this wisely, too, since who can be supposed so fit to administer the charities of the civil government as those who have first had the heart to make sacrifices for the same object? Such alone are likely to have the experience which in such affairs is neces

sary.

All this I might illustrate by adducing many instances. In this chapter, however, I shall notice but a few, and take these collectively.

There is not a city or large town, and hardly a village, in the whole country, which has not its voluntary associations of good men and women for the relief of poverty, especially where its sufferings are aggravated by disease. These efforts, in countless instances, may not be extensive, only because there is no extensive call for their being made. Created by circumstances, when these disappear, the associa tions also cease to exist. But where the sufferings to be relieved are Machiavelli, "and peace brings them to the gallows." "May we never see another war," said Franklin, in a letter which he addressed to a friend, just after signing the treaty of peace at the close of the American Revolution, "for in my opinion there never was a good war or a bad peace."

perpetually recurring, as well as too extensive to be alleviated by individual effort, these benevolent associations become permanent. Their objects are accomplished, in most instances, by the unaided exertions of the benevolent, who voluntarily associate for the purpose; but if these prove insufficient, municipal or State assistance is sought, and never sought in vain. Accordingly, the stranger who visits the United States will find hospitals for the sick, almshouses for the poor, and dispensaries for furnishing the indigent with medicines gratuitously, in all the large cities where they are required.* There is a legal provision for the poor in all the States, not such, however, as to do away with the necessity of individual or associated effort to meet extraordinary cases of want, especially when it comes on suddenly, and in the train of disease. The rapid and wide-spread attacks of epidemics may demand, and will assuredly find benevolent individuals ready to associate themselves for meeting such exigencies, before the measures provided by law can be brought to bear upon them.t

It is with great pleasure that I state that the Gospel finds admittance into the establishments for the relief of poverty and disease, which have been created and maintained by the municipal and State authorities; and that I have never heard of any case in which the directors have opposed the endeavors of judicious Christians to make known to the inmates the blessings of religion. Prudent and zealous Christians, both ministers and laymen, are allowed to visit, and min

* The manner of providing for the poor differs greatly in different States. In the West, where there is but little extreme poverty, the inhabitants of each township generally make this provision in such manner as best suits them. Money is raised, and by a "commissioner of the poor" appropriated to the support of such as need it. Those who have families live in houses hired for them; single persons board with others who are willing to take them for the stipulated sum. In the Atlantic States, where there are more poor who need assistance, the same course is pursued in many cases. In others, "poor-houses" are erected in such counties as choose to have such establishments, and to these the townships send their quota of paupers, and pay for their board, clothing, etc. In the cities on the sea-board, the municipal authorities make abundant provision for the poor who need aid, a great proportion of whom are foreigners.

There were many illustrations of the expansive nature of individual and associated charity during the prevalence of the cholera. In all our large cities, associations, comprising the very best Christians in them, were formed with the utmost promptitude, and zealously sustained as long as needed. I myself saw, and often attended the meetings of an association of Christian ladies formedin Philadelphia, as soon as the pestilence commenced its ravages in that city. They hired a house, converted it into a hospital, gathered into it all the children whom the plague had made orphans, both white and black, and day after day, and week after week, washed, dressed, and took care of those children with their own hands, and defrayed all the expenses of the establishment. Two of the children died of the cholera in their arms! These ladies belonged, many of them, to the first families in that city.

isters to preach to the occupants of such establishments; and in several of our cities, one or more excellent ministers of the Gospel are employed to preach regularly in them as well as in the prisons. With rare exceptions, they are in the hands of Protestants, though Roman Catholic priests are nowhere forbidden to enter and teach all who desire their ministrations.

Of all the beneficent institutions of our large cities, there are none more interesting than those intended for the benefit of children. Orphan asylums, well established and properly conducted, are to be found in every city of any considerable size throughout the Union. Nor are these asylums provided for white children only; they are also for the colored. Indeed, it can not be said with truth that the poor and the sick of the African race, in our cities and large towns, are less cared for than those of the white race. Nor are those children only who have lost both parents thus provided for. In some of our cities, asylums have been formed for what are called half-orphans-that is, those who have still one parent or both, but are not supported by them. I am not aware that there is a single foundling hospital in the United States.

In some of our cities we have admirable institutions, called houses of refuge, for neglected children, and for such as are encouraged by their parents to live a vagabond life, or are disposed to lead such a life. In these establishments, now nine in number, they not only receive the elements of a good English education, but are instructed also in the mechanical arts; and with these religious instruction is faithfully and successfully combined. All of these institutions were commenced, and are carried on by the voluntary efforts of Christians, though they have been greatly assisted by appropriations in their favor, in the shape of endowments or annuities from some of the State governments.*

Nor are the aged poor neglected. Asylums for widows are to be

One of the best conducted of these establishments is at Philadelphia. It occupies a beautiful site, and has a number of acres of ground attached to it. There are here usually between one and two hundred youth of both sexes, who occupy different apartments, and are under the care of excellent teachers. The magistrates of the city have the power to send vagrant, idle, and neglected children to it. Very many youths have left this institution greatly benefitted by their residence in it. It has fallen to the lot of the writer to preach often to its inmates, and never has he seen a more affecting sight. If a man wishes to learn the importance of the parental relation, and the blessings which flow from a faithful fulfilment of its duties, let him visit such an institution, and inquire into the history of each youth whom it contains. A similar one, admirably conducted, has within a few years been established at Allegheny city (near Pittsburg), partly by the aid of the State of Pennsylvania. The "Farm Schools" for orphans and for neglected children, in the neighborhoods of Boston and New York, are excellent, and have been the means of doing much good.

met with in all our large towns, where they are, in fact, most needed; and old and infirm men are also provided for.

At the same time, that "charity which seeketh not her own," but the good of all others, no matter what may have been their character or what their crimes, has not forgotten those unfortunate females who have been the victims of the faithlessness of men. Magdalen asylums have been founded in all our chief cities, especially on the sea-board, and have been the means of doing much good. It is only to be regretted that this branch of Christian kindness and effort has not been far more extensively prosecuted. Nevertheless, there are many hearts that are interested in it; and in the institutions which they have erected, the glorious Gospel of Him who said to the penitent woman in Simon's house, "Thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace," is not only preached, but also received into hearts which the Spirit of God has touched and broken.

CHAPTER XXVII.

INFLUENCE OF THE VOLUNTARY PRINCIPLE ON THE BENEFICENT INSTITUTIONS OF THE COUNTRY.-ASYLUMS FOR THE INSANE.

THE utmost attention is now paid in the United States to a class of the unfortunate who, of all others, present the strongest claims on our sympathy-I allude to the insane. For these very much has been done in the course of the last twenty years, by the establishment of suitable places for their reception, instead of confining them, as formerly, in the common prisons of the country. In this the American Prison Discipline Society has exerted a most extensive and happy influence, never having ceased, in its annual reports, to urge upon the governments of the States the duty of providing proper receptacles, to which persons discovered to be insane might be conveyed as promptly as possible, with a view to their proper treatment. The society has showed this to be an imperative duty on the part of the States, and its voice has not been heard in vain.

There are now thirty-one asylums in the United States, supported or aided by the States, and some of these are on a large scale. That near Utica will consist, when completed, of four buildings, each four hundred and forty-six feet long by forty-eight feet wide, forming the sides of a beautiful quadrilateral area, which, by the intersection of its corners with verandahs of open lattice-work, assumes an octagonal form. It is intended for the insane poor of the State of New York,