A Word To All—Rulers and Ruled.

We say to all—Be up and doing—seek to strengthen your innate powers by every available means—be governed by scripture reason and conscience—think justly, act wisely, and let it ever be thought that superiority is attainable, and the attainment will be made. As far as our intellectual powers are concerned, we must endeavour to have correct notions of things; to know what we are and ascertain our attributes and relations; to find what will detract from our dignity, and lessen our estimation; to know, further, what will contribute to our greatness, power, and worth—where our happiness lies, and how it is to be attained,—what it becomes us to do, and in what our excellence consists. Of our moral powers to be cultivated, none can have a preference to firmness and courage, patience and resignation, prudence and self-command—love of excellence, and conformity to duty—elevation of spirit, and grandeur of character. Grandeur of character! what a noble pendant to be seen streaming in the breeze, as our bark glides through the restless and stormy ocean of human life! And, let us never forget, that we must long and seek for the safety of our better being which shall never end. When reconciled unto God through Jesus Christ, our bark shall at length safely harbour page 2 in the haven of everlasting rest, and then the Angels of God shall welcome our souls to the happy shores of immortality and peace. Be assured the God of all creation and of all good, whose perfections are discovered in all his works, is the most sublime object which we can contemplate; and we can never recollect the power, wisdom, and goodnesss, which He has displayed in everything within us and around us, without the most profound veneration.— We should never stoop to prostitute our noblest endowments—recollecting that whatever belongs to exalted character, should be carefully preserved pure and entire. Let us take the word of God as our guide, and we shall find that the more we study its rules and obey them, the smoother will be our path through the world, the less obstructed by opposition, the freer from those anxieties and cares which in so many cases destroy the serenity of the mind, and thereby prevent its attention to the higher calls of the Holy Spirit, and the brighter prospects of salvation. The present generation as they go down into the vale of years will commit to the keeping of the rising generation the precious trust of our glorious privileges both sacred and civil. Our dying request will be, ‘Take from my relaxing grasp the unspotted banner of the Cross of Christ, and preserve it with the hallowed care of your pious forefathers of old—defend its liberty—maintain its purity—and when the strength of your arm doth fail, transmit it with the same inviolable fidelity, as a heaven-born legacy, to your children.’ Let us guard also, as a security to the Faith of our Fathers, the blood-bought rights of British Freemen—honour England's flag, which has braved a thousand years the battle and the breeze—support the moral and religious character of our country in whatever clime or nation we may be called by Providence to sojourn. When our fathers reaped the conquests of the field, the fire that blazed from the altars and hearths of their sea-girt home, enkindled a responding flame in their patriotic bosoms, and as a beacon warned them to eschew the paths page 3 of vice and folly which would reflect discredit upon their beloved land. The guiding-star which directed them to honour and renown was their love of country, coupled with the inestimable gem of domestic piety and affection. And now when the ensign of war has given place to the olive-branch of peace, the motto is still emblazoned in golden characters, “England expects every man to do his duty.”— Peace has its laurels as well as war—secluded industry has its trophies as well as the battle-field. There are duties demanded of us in all our respective stations of life, and each individual, however humble, is called upon to contribute his share to the general good of society. With heart and hand united, let one and all, with friendly zeal, seek to promote and maintain the prosperity and happiness of the christian community. The Church of Christ will demand our faith and obedience,—our country will ask for our wisdom and patriotism,—society will require our honour and virtue, and the family will look for our precept and example. Let us arise then, and prepare ourselves for the proper discharge of the important duties which devolve upon us—apply ourselves with diligence to the confirmation of our principles and the culture of our minds—strain every effort, surmount every difficulty, and the laudable and honourable object of our lives will be gained.—We must not procrastinate when we are standing upon the confines of failure or success, we must proceed boldly into the territory in search of a settlement,—we must stand prepared to encounter every danger and brave every storm—we must look to knowledge as the beacon, and to the best knowledge which is Christ's will, to warn us from the rocks and shallows, and pray to our Heavenly Father, who is alone able, to save us from sinking amidst the waves of prevailing iniquity—to smooth our thorny path—to bear us through the storm, and to conduct us in safety to the haven of sound tranquility and everlasting glory.

T. D. N. Nelson.