savage. Commerce of itself cannot civilize. The gospel must go with commerce, or no real improvement will take place in the savage mind. The highest degree of heathen civilization will fail when put to the test, like that of Mark Antony after the battle of Actium, or that of Nana Sahib in the mutiny at Cawnpore.

We conclude in the eloquent language of one of Africa's best friends, the late Sir T. F. Buxton, in whose sentiment we cordially concur:"The most patriotic and loyal amongst us cannot frame a loftier wish for our country and its sovereign, than that her reign, which, in its dawn, witnessed the deliverance of our colonies from slavery, may be prolonged, till, through British agency, Africa shall also be released from a still greater curse: not, however, for the honour's sake, though it would give imperishable renown; not for the profit's sake, though it promises to open boundless fields for capital, industry, and enterprise; but in pity to Africa, and for His favour, who has said :-'Undo the heavy burdens, let the oppressed go free, and break every yoke.' Then shall thy light break forth as the morning,' and the glory of the Lord shall be thy rereward.""

NOTICES OF NEW BOOKS.

The Pioneer of Progress; or, the Early Closing Movement in relation to the Saturday Half-Holiday and the Early Payment of Wages. By John Dennis. Prize Essay. Hamilton, Adams, and Co.-'This little work is the result of a prize of fifty guineas, liberally offered by Mr. James Spence, of St. Paul's Churchyard, for the best Essay on the above subjects. The task of adjudication was assigned to the dean of Canterbury, the Rev. Dr. Hamilton, and B. Shaw, Esq., who selected this as the best of fifty-six Essays laid before them. The subject is one which we think deserves most serious consideration, and this unpretending little book is well calculated to assist the mind of a candid inquirer in coming to a right conclusion. There is an unusual amount of solid information and argument contained in it, and the style is easy and attractive. There are two distinct aspects in which the question may be looked at: first, as respects the propriety of affording the working classes greater opportunities for mental improvement and innocent recreation (a view which we by no means disregard); secondly, as respects the safeguard provided for the due observance of the Sunday, by ensuring time for secular amusement on the Saturday. This is a very important point. There can be no doubt that the most plausible argument for the desecration of the Lord's-day is taken away, if it can be shown that the labouring man has other opportunities for healthful diversion. Then, again, if the payment of wages on the Saturday can be avoided, a similar and most valuable result is attained. Let the workman go home on Friday with his earnings in his pocket, and the marketing which now takes place on Sunday morning is at once transferred to the Saturday. For these reasons, those who have the real welfare of the country at heart ought, Vol. 60.- No. 281.

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as it seems to us, to do their best to cooperate with the Early Closing Association, the only orginization which exists for promoting these objects. We regret to hear that it much needs assistance, and that it has hardly secured that hold on the public mind which it deserves. Much, however, has already been done-how much, can hardly be estimated without a careful consideration of the results laid before us in this essay. The fact, however, that the Volunteers are enabled, to a great extent, to drill and exercise on Saturday afternoons, shows that in many departments of business a half-holiday has been already gained on that day. Had this been otherwise, who can say but that we might have had a repetition of the proposal made at the beginning of this century, that the Volunteers should exercise on Sunday. To have been spared a discussion of this nature is surely a vast benefit, and is mainly due, as it appears to us, to the progress of the Saturday half-holiday. The only objection that we anticipate against the movement is that it may lead to idleness, and so to vice. The best answer is to be found in the testimonies cited by Mr. Dennis. Thus Mr. Hitchcock of St. Paul's Churchyard says, "I consider the young men, as a body, are marvellously improved. I trace this improvement in the character of our young men, under God, to the opportunity which has of late years been given them for moral and intellectual culture. There are many things that will prove that this change for the better has taken place. For instance, the more general attendance of young men at public worship, at the Exeter Hall Lectures, and also their numerous attendance at the prayer meetings connected with the Young Men's Christian Association." And Sir Morton Peto says,-"I have, in the employment of the firm with which I am connected, given, in all the departments where I can, a Saturday half holiday, and I am bound to say that the greatest advantage has been taken of this for mental improvement and for healthful recreation." We believe that one of the most formidable hindrances to the further extension of the half-holiday at this moment is owing to the ladies' practice of shopping on Saturday afternoon. Could this be checked, the assistants in a vast number of West-end shops would be able to close their labours and enjoy the air and exercise which they so much need on that day. Those who have not looked into the subject can have no conception of the exhausting nature of the work of young men in these departments. Surely a word upon the subject must be enough to induce our readers to discontinue a practice which cannot be indispensable to any, and which prevents the removal of a grievous burden from a large class of men. We have nearly reached the limits of the space which we can afford to the subject, though by no means what its importance demands. We can only hope that we may have directed attention to the essay itself, which will repay careful study. There is, however, one more aspect which we must notice. The operations of the Early Closing Association have nothing to do with the unfortunate "strikes" by which misguided workmen endeavour to secure less work and more pay. We believe, indeed, that the enlightened action of public opinion, such as this Society seeks to promote on the question, while it repudiates everything like coercion, would in the end be the fair and true arbiter between masters and men in all branches of toil. The half-holiday, as proved by numerous testimonies in this essay, when carried out in an intelli

gent spirit and with good feeling on both sides, has not been found at all injurious to the employer. Thus Mr. Spottiswoode, the eminent printer, says "We thought we would try whether by giving them (the men) a few hours, the firm actually lost by it; and we found, so far from that being the case, that the same amount of work was got through. The secret of it was, that a less amount of time was wasted. Everybody went to work, especially on Saturday, with very great eagerness. In fact, our office on the Saturday is quite a sight to see, so anxious are the men to get through all the work, so as to be able to get away early." And the evidence of Price's Patent Candle Company, of Messrs. Truman, Hanbury, and Buxton, Messrs. Barclay, Perkins, and Co., and of Mr. Leonard Horner, the Inspector of Factories, is all to the same effect. On all grounds, then, whether religious, political, or social, we hope this work will have a wide circulation, and that the reasoning which it contains will lead to a corresponding practice. If thinking men will but unite to make their voice heard, and to obtain what is reasonable on behalf of the working classes, the unreasonable demands of mischievous agitators will be seen in their true colours, and will be disregarded as they deserve. It may not be possible to secure equal or the like benefits for all branches of industry. But whatever can be done, consistently with the fair claims of employers, will be done by directing the attention of Society to the question in a candid and temperate spirit. Whatever sets masters and men at variance, and leads them to look on each other as natural enemies with opposing interests, tends indefinitely to postpone any satisfactory or lasting settlement.

A Memoir of the Rev. Thomas Gajetan Ragland, B.D., Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, and Itinerating Missionary of the Church Missionary Society in North Tinnevelly, South India. By the Rev. Thomas Thomason Perowne, B.D., Fellow of Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Seeley and Co., London. 1861.-Those who delight to trace the development of mind and character under Christian influences may find in this volume the highest gratification. It exhibits indeed no stirring events, and no striking situations, such as abound in the lives of Schwartz, Judson, and Moffatt. Mr. Ragland was not distinguished by the brilliance of a Martyn, the fascination of a Heber, or the fire of a Wilson; but in respect of fervent, laborious, self-sacrificing devotedness to God in the missionary service, "he was not a whit behind the very chiefest of these apostles." Where to find a more beautiful specimen of genuine fear and love towards God, of self-subjugation and lowliness of mind, of affectionate, considerate, and consistent demeanour, combined with no mean abilities and sound practical wisdom, we should find it difficult to say.

There was also a singular combination of apparent incongruities in Mr. Ragland, which rendered him, if not a very prominent, at least a very distinct character. This is traceable even from his youth; during which, though religiously disposed, he both devoured works of fiction, and took the greatest delight in genealogies and the niceties of political discussion. Though of retiring habits, and living much within himself, he became a most sociable companion and ardent friend. He was an exception to the dictum that a man cannot possess power of which he is not conscious; for long after entering the University of Cambridge, he unexpectedly discovered in himself that aptitude

for mathematical studies which ultimately placed him in the rank of fourth Wrangler, and Fellow of his college. Though a Sunday-school teacher at the age of fifteen, and thenceforward thoroughly acquainted with his Bible, successful in university studies, and peculiarly a man of prayer and meditation, he found the greatest possible difficulty in the preparation of an English sermon. Though he became one of the most devoted of missionaries, he continued, long after he was a decided Christian, and even while labouring for the spiritual welfare of others at Cambridge, comparatively indifferent to the missionary cause, and regarded addresses upon the subject with jealousy as disparaging the ministry at home. Timid in disposition, often accusing himself of cowardice, shrinking from anything like ostentation, slow and unready in manner, and unable to overcome a difficulty in speaking the colloquial Tamil of South India, he never hesitated to face the boisterous and even blasphemous crowds of heathen to whom he preached, nor to avow his conviction that in case the Sepoy mutiny should possibly extend to the south, himself and his European brethren should remain at all hazards with their native flocks.

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The thread of Mr. Ragland's history is simple, though sustaining so much that is valuable and lovely. Early left an orphan, he was religiously trained by the kindest of friends. Till twenty two years of age he continued in the inercantile establishment of an uncle. offer to make him his successor, which most young men would have eagerly accepted, became to Mr. Ragland a matter of so much anxiety, that to escape it he entered the university. When there, he contemplated nothing more than taking an ordinary degree, and entering the ministry in England. But while pursuing his studies, a mine of mathematical capabilities was sprung within his mind, which he worked until he had attained the distinctions before mentioned. While subsequently exerting a beneficial influence as Fellow of his college and curate of St. Paul's, he was induced to reconsider the missionary subject. The result was a conviction that it was his duty to offer himself to the work. The Church Missionary Society appointed him to the secretaryship of their Madras Corresponding Committee, about to be vacated by the Rev. J. Tucker. While visiting the Tinnevelly Mission in the discharge of his duties, he was led to the contemplation of what proved to be the great work of his life. The spiritual destitution of the northern part of the Tinnevelly province, as compared with the southern, where the mission had so greatly prospered, forcibly struck his mind; and led him to draw out an admirably conceived plan for permanently itinerating among its numerous towns and villages. This plan he proposed to carry out himself, after resigning his secretaryship; for this purpose he visited England, secured the concurrence of the Parent Committee, and the assistance of two fellow-labourers like-minded with himself. Returning to India, and uniting himself with these and suitable native helpers, he commenced the task; and for nearly five years, in delicate health, under many discouragements and trials, he toiled incessantly in this great undertaking. Nor did he devote to it only body and soul, but all that he possessed besides. He had insisted upon returning to India entirely at his own expense, that the Society might incur no risk by his experiment; he applied the whole income of his

Fellowship to his support and the furtherance of the work, and moreover presented anonymously to the Society the whole of his property, a sum of £500, as his Jubilee donation. The sudden close of this devoted life is touchingly narrated by the only fellow-labourer who was with him at the time. "Within two minutes from the time he called me," says Mr Fenn, "his spirit was with the Saviour." His last word, spoken with a sweet smile and a clear voice, was the name of "Jesus." It is needless to add, that the loss of such a man was deeply deplored.

The memoir is carefully written, and illustrated with several plates by an intimate friend, both as a token of affection, and also with the view, which we sincerely hope may be realized, of inducing members of our universities to follow in his steps. We trust that it will have many readers. An excellent portrait of Mr. Ragland has recently been placed in the hall of his college; fulfilling the words of holy writ: "Them that honour me I will honour."

PUBLIC AFFAIRS.

IN our monthly summary of public affairs we are obliged to single out a few points of more importance than the rest, and to leave unsaid much that we should like to say. There are two questions of home growth, very dissimilar in other respects, which seem to have laid hold, almost to the exclusion of other topics, of the public mind, and which for that, if for no other reason, call for some remark; the one is the question of strikes, the other the budget and taxation.

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The masons and cognate artisans of London-" skilled workmen" is, we believe, the designation they most approve-have bowed to the unanimous verdict of the country, and tacitly acknowledged their error, by acceding to the terms of their employers and resuming their work. If this were all, we should congratulate them on their returning good sense, and dismiss the subject. But unfortunately their influence has been great and their example contagious. We hear of strikes of builders and masons at Edinburgh and Bath; of strikes of nailmakers and colliers in the midland counties; and of a strike of thirty thousand hands in the looms and cotton mills of Lancashire. subject is painful in every point of view. It shows how slight are the threads by which the social body is compacted. The connection of master and servant has ceased; superseded by that of capitalist and artificer, the employer and the employed. Between the two there seems to be no other bond than that which is created by a pure regard to self interest; no kindliness of feeling, no personal attachments remain; and mistresses complain, even through the columns of the newspaper, that it is the same at home. Between the parlour and the kitchen the cord of domestic sympathy seldom vibrates.

Then, politically, our skilled workmen, it appears, are five hundred years behind-hand with their political economy. They stand just where the Hanseatic towns, and our own great municipal corporations,