effect and the supposed cause; yet men acting under the dominion of prejudice, would gladly have availed themselves of such a specious opportunity, without leaving any room for discrimi

nation.

The gospel, in all its forms, is calculated to reform mankind; those, therefore, who are placed in power must be insensible to their secular interests, if they will not avail themselves of its assistance when placed within their reach. The dictates of policy, in this view, co-operate with the principles of revelation, and link together the temporal and eternal interests of the hu

man race.

At the period in which this attempt was made to destroy Kingston by fire, upwards of 500 were in the Methodist soci ety in that town, and not one was implicated in the charge. May we not then reasonably presume, that if the number of members had amounted to as many thousands, all would have been exempted from this atrocious sin? And may we not also presume, that if those, whose lives were justly sacrificed for their crimes, had been permitted to attend the instructions of the missionaries, such a reformation might have been wrought, as would have led them to abhor that wickedness which they were about to perpetrate? Reason tells us, that this might have been the case; and we are warranted in drawing these probable conclusions.

May we not also, on the opposite side of this question, presume, that those who are now pious might have joined their companions in guilt, if there had been no reformation by the exertions of the missionaries; in which case the concerted plan might have been carried into execution; the town might have been reduced to ashes; and those, who oppose the progress of religion, might have weltered in their blood. We cannot trace the intricacies of Providence, nor penetrate the latent purposes of God, who frequently makes use of mediums for the safety of ungrateful man, which we neither suspect nor know. Even Morant Bay may be indebted for its preservation to those pious persons who have been treated with so much severity: we know not what schemes might have been concerted for its desolation, which God has kindly prevented by introducing the gospel, and by reforming those who might have been the projectors of unheard-of crimes.

Sooner or later, wickedness defeats its own purposes, and procures for its authors those calamities which it intended to avoid. We see this exemplified in many instances here below; there are many others, without doubt, that are not less certain, though invisible; and many more still we shall behold, when the light of eternity shall dispel the shadows of time.

Reformation stands opposed to vice; and it is both the duty and interest of communities, and individuals, to promote the former, as the only effectual way to repel the latter. The warnings which God has given to the island of Jamaica have been both numerous and awful. "What has thus frequently appeared (says a late author) will probably happen again; and the insolence of wealth, and the confidence of power, may learn a lesson of humility from the contemplation."

The removal of Mr. Campbell, and the silencing of the local preachers, both whites and blacks, placed Mr. Fish in an arduous situation. It is true, his labours were confined to Kingston, because the severity of the law forbade him to enter as a missionary in any other part. But his public preaching in Kingston, both mornings and evenings, the care of the classes, and the superintendance of all, left no vacant periods for preaching in other places, if favourable opportunities had been permitted to offer: this, however, the law which has been already transcribed absolutely precluded; and as Mr. Fish was the only missionary in the island, he could not be idle, though the distant societies were obliged to languish without any public guide.

In this state the missionary affairs of Jamaica continued for some time, without any material occurrence. No interruption was offered in Kingston; and, notwithstanding the commotions which had been occasioned, the congregations continued large, and the members of the society gradually increased. Towards the close of the year 1803, Mr. Fish states the number and con dition of the society to be as follows:

Of

"The number of members in Kingston (the only society of which it is possible for me to make any regular return) was at the September visitation 530;" of whom there were 14 whites, 98 browns, and 418 blacks: of these, 482 were baptized, and the remaining 48 were catechumens. Those of free condition amounted to 246, and those that were enslaved to 284. men the number was 201, and of women 329: three only had paid the debt of nature between March and September; which, considering the sickly season of the year, was the smallest number that had been known for a series of years. Of those who had departed this life, Mr. Fish speaks as follows:

"Patience Jackson sincerely feared, and, I trust, loved God, and walked according to the gospel. Her death was sudden, so that no particular account of it can be given."

"Thomas Hay was many years a pious and exemplary Christian. He bore his last illness with much patience, and calm resignation to the will of God. The last time I saw him was the day before he died: he was then insensible, and was there

foré unable to express his state, to tell his consolations, and his prospects of eternity, or to unbosom either his hopes or fears. But from that unshaken confidence in the Redeemer which he had constantly expressed, and from the genuine Christian temper that he had continued to evidence, there is no cause to doubt of his eternal happiness."

"Margaret Frances was a very old member of the Methodist society; she belonged to our connexion on the continent, and has since been well known in some of the Windward Islands. She came hither from St. Kitt's, well recommended by Mr. Brownwell. Her sickness was short, and not thought to be dangerous till the very last hour. She was zealous for God, and alive in every duty."

"Comparing this letter with a former one (continues Mr. Fish), you will find, that the Kingston society continues to increase, but not rapidly. Our congregations are large; especially at the five o'clock morning lectures, which for some time past have been better attended than I ever knew them to be before."

Though the Act had operated in all its rigour on those against whom it was directed, its day of triumph was but short. By the constitution of Jamaica, the law which we contemplate could only claim, through the legislative powers of the island, a temporary existence. The permanency of its duration, depended upon the royal assent. To ratify or nullify colonial laws, is a branch of the royal prerogative. Without the approbation of His Majesty, permanency can have no connexion with law.

That particular regard which his present Majesty has shewn to the liberties of his Protestant subjects, and to their rights of worshipping God agreeably to the dictates of their own consciences, will transmit his name to posterity, as the father of his people, and a friend to the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is by his favourable interposition, under the grace of God, that pure religion has been permitted to diffuse itself through his dominions; and his benevolence has riveted to his person the affections of a grateful people. They bear him in the arms of faith and prayer to the throne of grace; and there is reason to believe, that God has prolonged his valuable life in answer to their supplications.

The rigour which was aimed at by the law in question, defeated the purposes for which it was passed: His Majesty, dişapproving of every species of persecution, signified his disap probation of it, and granted to his people in Jamaica the same religious liberty which their fellow-subjects enjoyed at home. The royal determination was soon wafted across the Atlantic; and the newspapers, which in 1802 had announced its existence, 3 M

VOL. I.

were employed in 1804 to declare that His Majesty had disal lowed the law, and that it consequently was annulled.

It is with a degree of pleasure, which in some measure compensates for our former sorrow, that we transcribe the following paragraphs from the Royal Gazette of Kingston in Jamaica: and we do it with the greater readiness, as it tends to mark that justice and toleration which have uniformly distinguished the conduct of our gracious Sovereign, since the providence of God raised him to the British throne. And as every friend to the sacred rights of conscience must rejoice in an action so worthy of a British monarch, a knowledge of the fact cannot fail to excite gratitude in every feeling heart. The extracts are as follow:

"House of Assembly, December 12, 1804. A message from his Honour the Lieutenant Governor by his secretary: Mr. Speaker, I am directed by the Lieutenant Governor to lay before the house an extract of a letter from Earl Camden, dated Downing-street, 7th of June, 1804, together with the draught of a bill which his Honour has been instructed to propose to the house to be passed into a law.'

"Extract of a letter from the Right Honourable Earl Camden to Lieutenant General Nugent, dated Downing-street, June 7th, 1804.

"Sir, I herewith transinit to you an order of his Majesty in council, dated April 23d last, disallowing an Act passed by the legislative of the island of Jamaica in December 1802, entitled, An Act to prevent preaching by persons not duly qualified by law;' and a further order of His Majesty in council of the same date, to which is annexed the draught of a bill upon the same subject, which, in compliance with the directions contained in the said order, I am to desire you will take an early opportunity of proposing to the Assembly to be passed into law."

"Ordered, That the above message, and the papers sent down therewith, do lie on the table for the perusal of the members."

"House of Assembly, Dec. 17th, 1804.

"The above message and papers being referred to a com mittee on the state of the island,

"The House resolved itself into such committee; and, being resumed, reported resolutions, which were agreed to, nem. con, as follows:

"To send a message to his Honour the Lieutenant Governor, to acquaint him, that in consequence of his Honour's mes sage of the 12th instant, accompanied with a report from the Board of Lords of Trade and Plantations to His Majesty, and

an order of His Majesty in council thereupon; the house have. maturely weighed the purport of the proposition recommended to them, to enact into a law the Bill framed by that Board for the prevention of unlicensed preachers in this island; but are of opinion, that any attempt by that Board, or any other, to direct or influence the proceedings of this house in matters of internal regulation, by any previous proposition or decision on what is referred to, or under their consideration and deliberation, is an interference with the appropriate functions of the house, which it is their bounden duty never to submit to."

By this repeal or disallowal of the law which shut up the Baptist and Scotch churches, imprisoned Mr. Williams; deprived the negroes of the means of grace, stopped the mouths of all our local preachers, and banished Mr. Campbell from the island, the rights of conscience were again restored. The sheep, which for two years had been torn from their shepherds, had again an opportunity of hearing that gospel of which they had been deprived, and of embracing once more those overtures of salvation which God has revealed through the Son of his love.

Thus infinite Mercy once more interposed in the behalf of those who put their confidence in God. Almighty power and unbounded love can cause every cloud to disappear; can dispel every shadow, and shine with a degree of lustre which must make the pious soul to shout for joy. The dispersion of these gathering frowns sufficiently proves, that the watchful eye of Providence neither slumbers, nor suffers his faithful children to be tempted beyond what he will enable them to bear. It shews us, that though darkness and heaviness may endure for a night, yet joy cometh in the morning; and consequently, that it is our duty to trust him where we cannot trace him, since we cannot but be assured, that

"He watches every number'd hair,

And all our steps attends."

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME,

Printed by Nuttall, Fisher, and Dixon, Liverpool.