Far be it from us to depreciate those tender feelings which the Almighty has been pleased to implant in our common nature. They are the witnesses of his heavenly hand, and declare, in no equivocal language, that our souls, though fallen far from original righteousness, are yet the work of God. These are the feelings which we find, even in the Heathen world, perpetually displaying themselves in acts of high and heroic mercy. It is the province of the Gospel to bring them into a state of matured and permanent action, not confining them to the breasts of individuals, but carrying them into the very vitals of the community, and arming them with the influence of legislative enactment and political administration.

Among all the institutions which a Christian country can boast, for the protection and preservation of life, there is none more extensive in its views, more successful in its exertions, or more national in its character, than that Ancient Corporation, whose establishment we are on this day assembled to commemorate. It arose with the first dawning of science on our land, and is coeval with that enlightened view of Christian principle, which the Reformation spread over a dark and a degraded world. It has grown with our commercial growth, and strengthened with our naval strength, and has spread its fibres deeply

into all the maritime policy of the country. In all its various and extensive bearings, it promotes the skill, encourages the enterprise, and incites the courage of our British seamen, and unites them in the closest ties of gratitude and affection to their native land. And why ?-The great end of all its exertions is the preservation of life. It is this Christian principle which pervades every department of its action, and is connected with every branch of its establishment. Whether in examining the skill of those who are entrusted with the pilotage of our shipping, whether in erecting a series of beacons to warn the mariner of his approaching danger, whether in relieving thousands of poor seamen, their widows, and their orphans, it is the great engine of national benevolence in protecting, comforting, and sustaining the lives of those, who form one of the main bulwarks of our national security.

High is the trust reposed in the conductors of this institution by their country and their God. In a department, where dangers most abound, at moments the most critical, and to an extent, almost incalculable, they are constituted the guardians of human life. How this trust has been discharged, is recorded in the annals of a grateful country, it is displayed in the security of our commerce, in the enterprise of our merchants; it is witnessed in the hearts of those,

whom their vigilance and skill have contributed to save. "The blessing of them that were ready to perish is come upon them."

With the exertions of this ancient corporation in the cause of human life, the country itself most effectually unites. Armed with full power, from the authority of the legislature, it not only affords, but enforces the means of security. Every ship that approaches our shores is placed under the guidance and protection of its pilots, and every seaman is thus reminded, that his country has a greater interest in the lives of all its children, than they perhaps would have for their own.

Secure then in the vigilance, and confident in the protection of a parental and a Christian country, the mariner goes forth with an intrepidity all his own. Conscious that he is the object of the most anxious concern, not only for the sake of his services, but of himself, he cherishes in his heart every tender and amiable feeling, which such a consciousness is calculated to inspire. This is the principle which unites in the character of a British seaman, qualities so apparently opposite in their nature and direction. The perils that harden his frame, soften his affections. With native ruggedness and contempt of danger, he combines the softest feelings of humanity and love. Proud as he stands in

the moment of triumph over a vanquished foe, prouder still would he be, when the conflict is past, to save the life of that very enemy, even at the hazard of his own. Few have equalled the seamen of England in courage, none have matched them in benevolence and mercy! To the call of suffering, whether from friend or foe, their ears are never closed; they go forth in the spirit of their Redeemer, less anxious, even in the very heat of battle, " to destroy men's lives than to save them." The wonders of the Almighty in the deep impregnate their souls with his fear, and the Christian principles of their country open them to his mercy. The same "God that maketh a way in the sea and a path in the mighty waters," hath found" a temple" for his spirit in the hearts of them that are occupied thereupon.

It is not in the superiority of our naval prowess, it is not in the extension of our commercial resources, it is not in the almost impregnable fortress of our insular situation, that as Britons, we rest the hope of a solid and a lasting prosperity. The victories and triumphs with which our arms have been crowned, are but the gleams of a passing glory, dazzling the sight with a proud, but an unsubstantial lustre. Where are the nations, which in ancient and modern times held a rank in commerce and in arms almost as high as our

own? Some are vanished from the face of the earth, and of others the remnants only and the ruins yet exist; the monuments, as it were, of departed greatness.

Would we lay the foundations of a substantial and a lasting strength, we must lay them deep in the rock of Christian benevolence. Institutions which have the preservation, the sustenance, and the comfort of life for their object; institutions, which unite man to man, and man to God, form the only basis upon which we can hope to build a permanent superstructure of national glory. Upon these the favour of the Almighty shall descend, as upon the agents of his Providence, and the instruments of his goodness. The voices of thousands and tens of thousands who have been rescued from destruction, succoured in distress, and supported in age, shall make their way to the throne of heaven, and shall call down a blessing upon these establishments of mercy, and upon the happy country in which they are cherished.

Praised then be the God and Father of all, whose Providence has guarded, and whose Spirit has animated our native land; who, while he hath founded her dominion on the seas, has established her mercy upon the floods. Whether it be at home in protecting the persons, the happiness, and the morals of her children; or