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The African Society propose to receive under their care, all the children liberated from the captured Slaveships, amounting to not less than 2000. A grant of 1000 acres of land has been given to the Society for their cultivation, and buildings are now in a state of forwardness; and Vaccination bas also been introduced amongst them. The Timmaney Chiefs on the banks of the Barka Locho branch of the river Sierra Leone have signified their cooperation in writing, and promised hospitality to any traveller.

Two Expeditions of Discovery in the interior of Africa are now on their journey,one conducted by Major Peddie, and the other by Captain Tuckey of the Royal Navy.

"The Slave Trade is carried on to great extent in the Isle of France; and from its being unlawful, the poor wretches suffer more than when the trade was open, from being confined in the hold, and, generally speaking, under a cargo of rice or cocoa nuts.' This fact is extracted from a letter dated in July 1815.

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The Colony of Sierra Leone is in favourable progress, according to letters dated in December, January, and February last. The conduct of the Settlers is said to differ very little from that of the generality of English villages. They are chiefly engaged in trading speculations. The captured Negroes, on the other hand, subsist solely by Agriculture: the Colony is supplied with fruit and vegetables almost exclusively from their plantations. Many intermarriages between the Nova Scotian and Maroon settlers had taken place, which it was thought would result in the improvement of both. All the Settlers are now married in the manner prescribed by the Church, and the institution of marriage gains ground even among the captured Negroes. In one week 23 couples of them were married. There exists among them every shade of improvement which, though seldom rivalling the Settlers, is treading very fast upon their heels: they build huts in the fashion of their own countrythey have allotments of land, which they gradually improve; their rice and cassada fields are of great extent, exclusively the property of the captured Negroes. The most respectable are among those who have been longest in the Colony. Among the

new-comers there are some turbulent spirits, who often commit irregularities. Unaccustomed to European dress, they neglect external appearance. Such, however, are only found among the new-comers, and are rare occurrences: they soon form acquaintances, and copy each other's example, by which improvement insensibly grows. The African youths educated in the Borough-road School are sedulously employed, and the schools are well attended. Mr. and Mrs. Turner, and a Mrs. Davis, have been very active; and the latter having fallen a victim to the severity of the climate, her assistants are carrying on a female school for 100 girls. The copper coin has been received by the Colony with great pleasure: the Colony was in general healthy, though some attacks of fever were reported. The price of labour was extremely high, and had not decreased for several years. It is thus that the efforts of the Society have succeeded upon the basis of the Abolition Act of Parliament; and although the Continent of Africa is of great extent, yet the civilisation of its rude and uncivilised parts will probably be effected from this small Colony.

Mr. URBAN,

A. H.

SEND you, for the satisfaction of your critical Readers, the followingcurious extract from Baron Silvestre De Stacy's Report to the Royal Institute of France on the labours of Mr. Asselin. A. H.

"Mr. Asselin describes the language in which his Translation of the Bible is written, as the vulgarAbyssinian as spoken at Goudar. This language is that which we know under the name of the Amharic, and which the Abyssinians themselves thus denominate, because it is spoken in the Kingdom of Amhara. The language which we commonly call Ethiopic, and which the Abyssinians call Lisana Ghees, that is to say, the Language of the Kingdom, is that of the province of Tigre, to which appertained the celebrated city of Axum. It was the common language of Abyssinia down to the period at which Axum ceased to be the royal residence, and when the authority passed into the hands of the Princes who spoke the Amharic dialect. The Ghees however continued to be the only dialect used in public worship, and in all acts of Government; the only dialect,

in

no other passage of Scripture, which gives any countenance to this doctrine but what is contained in this chapter. To which we may add, that the author of this doctrine not only lived very soon after the publication of this book, but had an opportunity of a very early acquaintance with it, from his holding a Bishoprick within a very few miles of Laodicea, one of the seven Churches in Asia, to which it was particularly addressed.

in short, used in writing. Thus the Egyptians call it the Language of Books; while the Amharic, as being that of the reigning family, is called the Royal Language. By the help of the Amharic, one may travel through all the provinces of Abyssinia, notwithstanding the different idioms which they respectively use.

Before Mr. Asselin, the Missionaries from the Jesuits, who resided long in Abyssinia, had there translated different portions of the sacred Scriptures into the Amharic language. None of these productions have reached Europe, nor is it known in what they consist, or what is become of them.

Mr. Asselin has rendered an important service to Oriental literature, and to learning in general, by procuring før Europe the knowledge of a language which is spoken in a great extent of country. The new relations which England has sought to establish with Abyssinia, and which have already obtained for us the knowledge of a most precious monument, and removed all doubts that could be entertained on the authenticity of the monument of Adules, add certainly a new value to the labours of Mr. Asselin. The last journey of Mr. Salt into Abyssinia has also enriched us with some vocabularies of the vulgar dialects of different provinces of the country, and especially of the Amharic ; and already the Amharic Bible has been printed in England."

REV. XX. 2, 3, 4. "And (the Angel) laid hold on the Dragon, that old Serpent.. and bound him a thousand years.. that he should deceive the Nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled, and after that he must be loosed a little season... And (they) which had not worshipped the Beast, neither his Image, neither had received his mark, lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years... This is the first Resur

rection."

A

MONG the visions of this truly wonderful book, no one appears to have engaged the attention of the first Christians, except what is contained in the words above. For that the doctrine of the Millenium was founded on this passage of Scripture, there seems not to be the smallest reason to doubt. It cannot well be supposed, that such a doctrine would have been at all received and entertained by those, to whom it was first proposed, if it had not appeared to have the sanction of the Scriptures for its support. And there is certainly

The word Millenium however has been so long used to describe a state of great prosperity and happiness in the Christian Church, that a person runs some little hazard of his credit as a friend to religion, who should venture to propose any other interpretation of it. It becomes therefore necessary to introduce the following observatious with reminding the readers of them, that this doctrine of the Millenium has been from the first

only received by some particular Christians, and that it has always had opposers, men of equal learning and piety with those who have been admirers and propagators of it. It has never been generally received as an article of Christian faith. And as it has had no other foundation but a very dark and mysterious Prophecy, and that too taken in its literal sense, there must be good ground to doubt the truth of it.

And a circumstance has taken place in the late dreadful times, which not only renders the old interpretation of this passage of Scripture doubtful, but appears to lead to the true meaning of it. The circumstance to which I allude is, that exactly one thousand years should have intervened between the establishment of the Empires of Charlemagne and of Buonaparte. The former, it appears from History, was crowned and assumed the title of Emperor in the year 800, and the latter, in the year 1803, we know, took to himself the same dignity. Nor need we consider the three years, added by the Divine goodness to this long sum, as diminishing the exactness of it. This rather adds to the certainty of it by showing that the promised term has fully taken place. And this circumstance is rendered remarkable by having never before happened in the world. No such interval ever before interposed between the foundation of any of the other Empires. Of these

the

the Babylonian may be mentioned as the first, which lasted little more than 200 years. This was overturned by Cyrus, the founder of the Persian Empire, which immediately succeeded it. The Persian Empire lasted about the same length of time, when it was supplanted by the Grecian Empire, which rose upon its ruins. And this, after having existed not quite 300 years, gave place to the Empire of the Romans. This last continued 420 years, and lay in ruins 380 years, when it was revived in the person of Charlemagne, crowned by the Pope Emperor of the Romans. This revival we have seen last a full thousand years, when it was again superseded, or rather an image or imitation of it was made under Buonaparte.

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The time, of the conclusion at least, of these thousand years is marked by the manner of the death of certain Martyrs mentioned in this chapter. The Apostle "saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus." The invention of the guillotine made that instrument the most prevailing mode of execution in the late sad times. And again some of these martyrs are commended for not having worshipped the Beast, or received his mark." They must have some of them then have lived exposed to that templation, which could only he by living in his time. In the course of the French Revolution it has been computed, that not less than 250,000 women, 230,000 children, and 20,000 priests were murdered as opposers of the new order of things. It is said indeed of these martyrs, that they should "live and reign with Christ a thousand years." But it is well known that the life of man very seldom exceeds fourscore years. This therefore must be meant of a succession of men, who should be partakers of this blessing. And the last of them might fall by the axe of the guillotine. I find it laid down as a very proper rule the interpretation of Prophecy, that "no piece of Prophecy is to be understood of the state of the world to come, or the Mundus Animarum, for that it is impossible to describe that, or to comprehend it in this. And therefore all Divine Revelations in Scripture must concern some state in this world." We are not therefore to suppose the resurrection spoken of GENT. MAG. August, 1816.

in this place as really a resurrection of men long since dead and buried. The Kingdom of Christ appears to be described by the Prophet Daniel under two views, as the Kingdom of the Stone, and the Kingdom of the Mountain; the former meaning the imperfect state of Christianity at present existing, and spread over only a small part of the globe; and the latter, that perfect state of it, which is yet to come, and will extend itself over all the nations of the world. For the coming of the latter state of it, it is, that our blessed Saviour has made it a part of our daily prayers under the petition "thy kingdom come." It is possible then the words "first resurrection" may allude to the present state of the Christian Religion; and this is rendered probable by its being said, that the rest of the dead," i. e. the part of mankind which have never heard of Christ, or his religion; or have not received it, though known to them, which is peculiar to the Jews, "lived not again," i. e. shall not be received into Christ's Church, "until the thousand years were finished." To prove that these years are finished, is the object of the present discussion; and the few Prophecies which remain to be fulfilled, give reason to expect, that this new state of the world can be at no great dis

tance.

The Millenium has been hitherto by all writers upon the subject confounded with "the new Heavens and the new Earth, the new Jerusalem," described in the next chapter, and all the happiness of that glorious time has been attributed to it. But in this particular they must be mistaken. The two Prophecies are distinct, being most plainly separated from each other by the expedition of Gog and his associates, which is here represented as one of the consequences of Satan being again at liberty. Now it is a thing neither probable nor credible, tha. God would put his most faithful servants into possession of such exalted happiness, as is expected under the prescut notions of the Millenium, and yet permit it to be interrupted at the end of a thousand years. And another difficulty is, to find a place of existence for Gog and his company during this long period of general happiness. But I hope in

my

my next communication to offer some strong reasons for thinking that this of Gog and Magog has

expediken place, which, if they should

prove satisfactory, will be a farther proof of the truth of the interpretation here proposed of this passage of Holy Scripture.

"He was

The Author and first supporters of the Doctrine of the Millenium, no doubt, took it for granted, that Satan could not be chained in the bottomless pit without mankind obtaining the highest possible degree of happiness, from being thus secured against all his wiles and machinations. Having no clue whatever beyond the bare words of the Prophecy to guide them to the true meaning of it, they were not able to understand from it, that this restraint regarded only a particular exertion of his power. shut up, that he should deceive the nations no more till the thousand years should be fulfilled." He is then "to go out to deceive the Nations." And this we find was to be particularly put in practice by his great agent, the second Beast. He deceiveth them that dwell on the Earth." And what is meant by his thus deceiving them is also specified. "He deceiveth them..saying that they should make an image of the Beast, which had the wound by the sword and did live," that is, erect an Empire like the Roman Empire. That the French Empire owed its prosperity as much to its deceitful promises and practices as to its arms, is a fact that there can be no doubt of.

I shall only take notice of one circumstance more, and this must not be passed over, because it is another point, in which the event accords most exactly with the Prophecy ;. and this is, that when Satan had finished the appointed term of his confinement, he would be loosed but "for a little season." And we have

most happily seen this new Empire come to its end after a very few years. If we take its date from Buonaparte's assuming the Imperial dignity, it lasted little more than twelve years; or if we go back to the beginning of the Revolution, its existence did not exceed twenty-five years. This was then truly a very little season," when compared with the duration of all the other Empires before it.

T. R.

Mr. URBAN,

Newland Vicarage, co. Gloucester, Aug. 6. HROUGH the medium of your

T Publication, permit me to com

municate the pleasing intelligence of the Chapel in the Forest of Dean* being duly consecrated, with the usual solemnities, on the 17th of July, by the Hon. and Right Rev. the Lord Bishop of Gloucester.

His Lordship was supported on the occasion by his Chaplains and upwards of 20 Clergymen. After an admirable, highly appropriate, and impressive Sermon, delivered by his Lordship, to a crowded and attentive Congregation from Matth. xviii. 20, the Holy Sacrament was administered.

To our many excellent friends it becomes my duty to offer congratu lations of the most grateful "kind: asking of them to unite in thanksgiving and praise to God for making us the humble instruments in raising, for the poor, a house of prayer to the honour of His Name.

It is scarce credible, but it is an afflictive truth, that in the large, desolate, extra-parochial tract of land in his Majesty's forest of Dean “not a place of worship of any sort or denomination was EVER known.”

After the lapse of so many centuries to the present age, to the lovers of pure religion this honour has been

reserved. On the records of Time and of Eternity, "Christ Church," the name given to the Chapel, stands as the" First-fruits," on the Extra-parochial, of an attachment to the Established Service, and of love to God for his spiritual blessings.

Being engaged, at the request of many distant friends, in drawing up an account of my first entrance into the Forest; and of the interesting death of Thomas Morgan; I shall take that opportunity of giving to the Subscribers a general statement of the expenditure, the funds, and the particulars of all our proceedings, Yours, &c.

Mr. URBAN,

THE

P. M. PROCTER.

Aug. 17.

Parish of St. Pancras -contains 52,000 inhabitants. The religious education and morals of the poor children in so. large a population deserves, much more than it has

* See vol. LXXXIII. i. p. 417; vol. LXXXIV. i. p. 545.

hitherto

he thought such person could not have framed a more effective instrument for these purposes than the Registry Bill. Such was an imperfect outline of what the Bill appeared to him to have been, and which he was quite sure would be shewn to be the case, by persons more competent than himself, if ever unhappily that Bill should be again discussed in the House. He would leave the House to judge whether it was in itself a delusion, or was calculated to delude others."

It may probably be urged that Mr. P. and the other gentlemen, who followed him in this debate, took an exaggerated view of the subject,or that, as individuals interested in the West India Colonies, their opinion must not be considered as conclusive. To such reasoners, I will now produce some practical objections against. the measure in question, which the bitter fruits of experience have furnished.

A Registry was established in Trinidad under an Order in Council, dated the 26th of March 1812, and from which the present Bill was, in its leading provisions, framed and copied. The number of Slaves in that Island aré computed at about 26,000, and the returns are required to be furnished by the Registrar on or before the 1st of March, in each year, but from the intricacy and complex na ture of the regulations, copies of the first returns of the Plantation Slaves, directed to be forwarded to the Secretary of State for the Colonial Department, have not yet been received. An estimate of the "moderate fees" (as Mr. Stephen terms them) payable on making the returns, has been computed at 10,0001.; but these have proved but a small part of the burthen, the indirect expences of this measure being much greater than the regular fees. In the first place, above 1,300 judicial proceedings have already taken place in Trinidad, in virtue of this Order in Council. (What a glo-. rious harvest for the Lawyers!) In the next place, the Planters are not allowed to make their returns to the Commandants of the Districts where they reside, but are obliged to attend in person, and swear to them before the Registrar at his office. Many of them, therefore, are under the necessity of making a journey of 70`or 80 miles; and as all the returns are

to be given in between the 1st and the 10th of January, when the Planters arrive, they find the Registrar has so much business on his hands, that they are detained several days before they can be dispatched, and during this time are obliged to maintain themselves, their horses and servants, at an inn, at a very heavy expence. The disadvantage to the Planters of being obliged to leave their estates in crop time, which commences the end of December, is sufficiently obvious, as well as the danger arising from their all being absent at the same time, and thus leaving the Slaves without superintendance or control.

It should be observed that these inconveniences have arisen where the Slave population does not exceed 26,000. What would be the result in Jamaica, where they amount to more than 300,000 ?

After this statement will it be contended that the Colonists have raised their voices against a Registry of this description without a cause? Nevertheless in the Christian Observer for June (p. 409) it is coolly stated, that "in the Island of Trinidad, where a Registry has been in force for five years, no mistake as to its real nature has existed; nor has there been the slightest pretence of inconvenience, except what arises from the payment of the prescribed fees, and the necessary precision of the enactments." These are trifling exceptions truly! Of what, I would ask, does the Regis try Bill principally consist? Against which of its objects and provisions have the strongest arguments been urged?" The payment of fees," and the observance of "precise enactments," form the very essence of the Bill, and have been animadverted upou by the Colonists as burthens particularly oppressive; yet the candid and ingenuous Christian Observer alludes to both, as matters merely trivial, and scarcely deserving of attention, in a consideration of the practical consequences of this measure.

A. H. also remarks, that "some insurrections have been falsely ascribed to the reports of the effects of this Bill." Upon this point I shall not dwell, as the fact is placed beyond a!! doubt. The Proclamation of Sir James Leith, and other communications from Barbadoes, all point to the Registry Bill' as the source of the

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