our custom of compromising with criminals. A man secures a large sum by fraud and betakes himself beyond the reach of the law officers. Soon a proposition comes to him to return a portion and retain the remainder. This custom violates every one of the objects sought to be accomplished by the punishment of the evil doer. By this is the planner of schemes of embezzlement, etc., encouraged.

In political and business morality how fearfully attenuated often is the line that divides right from wrong! An honored senator of the United States, with his crutch beside him, was lying ill upon a lounge in his rooms. He was approached by one with an offer of stock if he would vote for a certain matter under consideration. He sprang from his couch and chased the bribe offerer from his presence with the crutch as a club. Yet that bribe-refusing senator said to a brother senator but a brief while after, "You vote for the matter under my care, and I will vote for that matter you are interested in, although I know nothing about it." The briberefuser was now a bribe-offerer. At any rate, the moral difference is exceedingly narrow. Some who have acute moral apprehensions cannot perceive it. In the commercial world it is supposed lawful to get an advantage in a bargain by an acted lie, by a false statement of cost or value of the goods, or certain tricks well known to the trade. A certain salesman well known to the writer, once declared that if his employer told him to sell a piece of goods for "all wool,” he should tell every customer that it was all wool, though he might know it was not. Is it any wonder that certain minds. make no distinction, and are easily led to appropriate the property of others in such way that the law lays its hand upon them? Society then does share the blame and responsibility in some degree. The treatment received by the convicted evil doer should be modified by this fact. Society should seek to undo, so far as possible, its harmful work upon the character of the criminal. Reformation may well be then the principle aim of punishment, that the man under condemnation of the law may be restored to his old position.

From what has been said it may be assumed that the lawbreaker has rights which the public are bound to recognize and assure to him, and wrongs which should be, under our Christian civilization, righted, not alone for his own sake, but that of the public as well.

In closing, attention may be called to the fact that several states, notably New York and Massachusetts, have entered upon the work of prison reform. It was the writers privilege recently to visit and inspect the reformatory at Concord, Mass. In this institution, which is under the superintendency of Colonel Gardiner Tufts, the more humane, Christian, and advanced principles of penal discipline are in use, in charge of one who is himself an enthusiastic believer in them, and well-fitted by nature and experience to test thoroughly their value. tion.

Let those interested in this matter visit this institu

Rev. E. A. Perry.

ARTICLE XXVIII.

Thoughts Concerning the Ministry.

It is an established fact, long ago settled, that the Christian ministry holds an important and vital relationship to human affairs; that it fills a place in the world of mind and morals, not supplied from any other source. That it has been a powerful agency for good in the Christian centuries that have passed, is unquestioned by candid minds; that it is a leading factor in all reformatory, enlightening and Christianizing movements of the present age, is recognized throughout the civilized world. Whether it is to continue, in the generations that are to come, to exercise the same healthful and saving influences as in the past, will depend almost wholly on the character of those who are to be Christian ministers in the future. While we may truly say that the ministry is a

divine institution, yet, like all human agencies which the Almighty employs here on the earth, it must possess a personal character of its own, fitting it for the peculiar work it has to do. The truth which the minister proclaims may be divine, but he is himself but human, an imperfect instrument; an instrument, however, which is capable of self-improvement; yea, which is under special obligations to " to perfection," by reason of the fact that he claims to know the perfect laws of life. The nature of his message to men, and of his office among men is such, that the nearer he approaches in his own character the ideal he lifts before them, the more effective and fruitful will be his ministry.

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In our zeal to increase the number of ministers in our communion, we should be careful not to present unworthy or wrong motives before young men, in asking them to enter the ministerial office. It is far better to struggle along with a small number who love the ministry and its work so much that they are ready to endure its trials and privations, than to swell our ranks with those who come in chiefly because of the "attractions" that are held out to them. No young man is fit to enter the ministry, who does not see in the noble service of God and man to which it calls him, its chief attraction, and the leading inducement for him to enter it. It is the most reckless kind of folly to throw out this bait of "attractions of the ministry," in trying to catch young men for its service. He who does not discover for himself what its real attractions are, will never make a worthy or successful minister; for the very spirit that should prompt him to enter the ministry will make him forgetful of self, and fill him with a desire to serve others. He cannot become a true "minister" only to the extent that he becomes like his Master, who came "not to be ministered unto, but to minister."

To say to young men that the ministry offers better inducements than other callings, from a worldly point of view, is to deceive them, and to degrade and dishonor the sacred office. Any one who enters the ministry simply on that recommendation is doomed to disappointment; and he is the first one

to leave the ministry, because he entered it with an unworthy motive-expecting pay for his service in worldly emoluments and material rewards. A man who goes into the ministry with the question upon his lips, "Now I wonder if I shall be supported, and be able to make a living?" is quite sure not to be supported, and will find it difficult to make a living by his profession. Such a man lacks the one essential qualification for a successful minister, viz., sufficient faith in God, in man and in truth, to enter their service unselfishly, and trust that the faithful laborer is "worthy of his hire." The question of "support" answers itself, in the case of every worthy, consecrated minister of Jesus Christ. A comfortable support awaits any man who has the physical, mental, and spiritual qualifications for the ministry. He may not become rich, as the world goes; but there is no question about a reasonable compensation, if he will only keep steadily at work; refrain from croaking, faultfinding, and constant worrying because he may not receive as much salary as he needs or deserves. The manifestation of such a spirit is almost sure to result in a still greater reduction, and may prompt his congregation finally to ask him to send in his resignation.

Following these more general remarks, we desire to offer some specific suggestions on the character and work of the Christian ministry, which several years of experience and observation have verified.

First, the minister must, above all, be a true man. This may seem a self-evident proposition; but nevertheless it needs to be emphasized, because the minister is often regarded as either more or less than an ordinary man, and because ministers themselves sometimes forget that they must be true men first, and ministers afterward. And it is not strange that such should be the case, when his treatment by the people frequently leads a man in the ministry to feel that he is somehow exempt from the rules which govern the conduct of other men, in the business affairs of life. This very spirit among many people, so well meant, so considerate, and intended only for the good of the ministry, oftentimes has the

effect of making ministers feel unmanly. While the office he fills is entitled to all the honor, reverence and respect that was ever given it, the minister himself is entitled to no more consideration in business affairs than any other man. No special favors should be granted him, because he is a minister, that would not be granted him if he were filling any other position. His character as a man ought to be sufficient guarantee for his integrity and trustworthiness; if it is not, certainly it is a fraudulent proceeding for him to use the sacred office which he unworthily fills, as a shield and protection.

If a minister is paid a living salary for honest services rendered, then there is no reason why he should not pay the same price that other men pay for what he buys-expecting no special favors in the shape of free passes, half fares, goods at cost, or anything of the kind; and if the circumstances of his parish will not allow him sufficient compensation to live in a manner he may think necessary for a clergyman, then let him have the courage to do what other men have to do in similar circumstances-curtail bis expenses and live in humbler style, that he may by all means live within his income. And the people to whom he ministers, who are unable to pay him all he should have, must not expect that he can live in as fine a house, or in as elegant style, as the pastor of some neighboring church, who receives double the salary. By all that is just and righteous in this world, let the church which employs a minister, encourage him and his family in their honest efforts to live within their income. In this way, they can greatly aid their pastor in acting the part of a true man in the community, and show the world that a minister of Jesus Christ should and can possess the most independent, practical, and genuine spirit of manhood.

Secondly, the work of the successful ministry demands a variety of talent. This truth no one can fully learn except by some years of experience in the ministry. If a minister would be truly successful in his calling, he must be able to do quite a variety of work, and possess abilities for adapting

NEW SERIES. VOL. XXIV.

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