O^. %.t IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) l^r h-: ' . • 1.0 I.I 1.25 '" IM 12 2 If 1^ '""^ ill 1-8 1.6 — 6" #. '-^r ^. /^ ¥ .<% Pnoio^Bpiiic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 872-4503 k •1>^ k iV \ :\ "^h V <> ^ < ^ ^fk '^'^.' % !> J^'. '^'<^l^ Ur Va fe ^ \ "^O m -b- » CIHM/5CMH Microfiche Series. CIHM/ICMH Collection de microfiches. Canadian Institute for Historical Microreproductions / Institut Canadian de microreproductions historiques Technical and Bibliographic Notes/Notes techniques et bibliographiq ues The Institute has attempted to obtain the best original copy available for filming. Features of this copv which may be bibliographically unique, whi'jh may alter any of the images in the reproduction, or which may significantly change the usual method of filming, are checked below. 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This item is filmed at the reduction ratio checked below/ Ce document est film* au taux de reduction indiqud ci-dessous. ^0^< 14X 18X 22X 26X / 20X 12X 16X 20X 24X 28X n 32X re details es du modifier er une 'ilmage >s rrata to 3elure, 1 a J 32X Th« copy filmsd hare has baan raproducad thanks ro tha ganarosity of: McLennan Library McGill University Montreal Tha imagas appaaring hara ara tha ba'^t quality possibia considaring tha condition and lagibility of tha original copy and in ln. f M ^'' 1^ I i M ' >?'' AT a Meeting of the North-Britijh Society^ in Halifax^ Nova-Scotia^ I on Saturday the 4th Day of December, 1790, Agreed, That the Thanks of the Society be given to the Reverend Dr. Brown^ for the Difcourfe delivered by him on the 30th of November, before the Society ; and that he be defired to deliver a Copy of the fame to the Soci- ety to be printed. WILLIAM SMITH, Secry. i. ^^"V / T O TH E Prefidcnt, Vice^Prefident and Membeira OF EACH OF THE NATIONAL SOCIETIES ESTABLISHED IN HALIFAX, THE FOLLOWING PISCOURSE, CONTA^NINd Hints and Obfcrvatlons fuppofed to be applicable to them all, * PKLlVtRED BEFORE THE N0RTH-31UT1SH SOCIETY On the 30th of November, AND PRINTED AT THEIR DESIRE, IS MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED BY 4 f ■L eirs f E, n all, 1 L OR, DISCOURSE VKLIVtXSO BZFORZ TMK North-Britifh Society; Psalm Cxxxvii. 5, 6* If I forget theey O Jerufalem, let my right hand forget her eunniKg. If I do not remember thee^ let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouthy COUNTRYMEN and Friends, this is a day of national commemoration, and thefe pathetic effufions of the l(raelitiih captives, as they wept by the rivers of Babylon and 'langed their harps upon the willows, may be taken to exprefs our prefent feelings with refpedt to the land of our nativity, and our kindred and connexions there. To lay the fluices of the heart arc open, and memory recurs to years that are pail, a id to places that are diftant. In the mind's eye we fee our cradle and the feats of our youth, and feel, at every pulfe, the intereft we ftill take in the fortunes of our friends and the afhes of our fathers. The affociatlons of ideas, on which arc founded many of the mftitutions of civil life, though flight and cafual in th'em- lelves, are, nevcrthelefsj boundlefs in their extent and won- derful in their operation. This day is marked in the Calen- dar with the name, and is, by the rubric, confecrated to the memory of Andrew the Apoftle. In our minds it is con- neded with the fentiments of patriotifm, and with the regards \ye owe to the country in which we opened our eyes upon the light, and enjoyed the firftbleffingsofexiftcnce. A rapid glance at the page of ecclefiaftical hiflory, will at once explain the origm of this aflbciation, and introduce the proper fubiea of the preient difcourfe. In /:' \. [ 6 ] Im the infancy of the Church, the piety of Chriftlans af- figne feparate and fuccefltve feflivals to the glorious college of A I )ftles, and to the noble nrmv of Martyrs. Thcfc un- rivall d Champions of the Crofs, (pent their lives in propaga- ting the faith, and having refiHed unto blood the fury cf per- fecuiion, fealed the fincefiiy of their profeflion by confefling Jefus in the extremity of torture, and adoring him on the ut- moft verge of the vifible world, To perpetuate the memory of their holy race and happy reward, particular days, diftin- guiflied by their birth, their call or their martyrdom, were let apart for the annual recolle<5tion of the leading incidents of their lives. On thefe folemn occafions, the time, the place, and the manner of thr^ir converfion was fpecified and explain- ed. Ths (tedfalinefs of their faith, from this period, received its juft atteftation. The zeal of their miniltry, their aflidu- ity in doing good, their excellent gifts and admirable graces, were anxiouily recorded, and icrupuloufly confirmed by in- fallible proofs. Blamelefs in their lives and blefled in their death, they were propofed as models for the imitation of the faithful i and fervent prayers were offered to the Almighty, that their fpirit and virtues might defcend to their fucceflbrs, to adorn the triumphs of the Gofpel, and warm a believing world with the piety and benevolence of Jefus. When Chriftianity became the religion of the empire, the merits of its founders were not forgotten, nor were their cuf- tomary honours ungracioufly withheld. As their feftivals re- turned, clergy and laity lufpended their ordinary labours, and repaired in crowds to countenance an inftitution, fo rational in Jtfelf, and fo well adapted to promote the interefts of religion, and virtue. JRuT no ordinance, however pure or pious it may be, is exempted from abufe. The Church became the proprietor and miftrefs cf the Saints ; and it was unhappily believed that her bulwarks were ftrengthcned, as her treafury was enriched, by their increafe. In confetjuence of this idea, they were multiplied beyond meafure, and exalted above their higheft deferts. When hiftory and tradition failed, fictitious legends were (hamefully obtruded upon a fimple and credulous peo- ple. In the anniverfary orations^ the Genius of the cloifter found ample fcope to difplay itfclf ; hyperboles of praife were heaped upon each other ; and truth and tafte were equally vi- olated in the panegyrics of the Saints. From confidering and magnifying their good deeds on earth, the heated mind was tranfported to the contemplation of their heavenly glory. Thus wound up, the vehemence of oratory burfl into an im. paHioned -f I, /> f p [ 7 ] paflioned addrefs to the fpirit before the throne. The eyes of the congregation followed thofe of the preacher ; their ima<»i- nations were moved and agitated ; and, in the delufion of The moment, they believed that God had fent down his Saints to vifit and defend them. As this idea grew with the growino- errors of the times, the devotional parts of the fcr vice, thai had originally been direaed to the Almighty, were intercepted by the baint. Religious honours were paid to him ; and, ia cafes of emergency, public prayers were offered in his name. Ihus, in procefs of time, through prieftcraft operating upon Ignorance, this inftitution, introduced into the Church to •immortalize the memory of the witnefTes of Jefus, and to ani- mate Chriftians m fucceeding ages to follow their example, became the pregnant fourceoffuperllition and idolatry. The popular and chflical notion that individuals, and tribes, and nations, have a tutelary fpirit, a peculiar fuperintendant, appears from its antiquity and extent to be congenial to the human mind. In the blindnefs of felf-love, mtnkind have even chenflied the belief that their voice might determine the nomination of heaven to offices of this nature. Hence thev have always been folicitous to eftabliih an advocate of their own felea.on at the throne of God. In the times of Hea- thenifm, the choice of priefts and people generally fell on fome ilJultrious fhade of their own nation, endeared to them by birth, attached to them by patriotifm, and ftimulated to con. tinual exertions in their favour by the pofthumous honours mat were paid him in bis country. In the dark and barbarous ages which followed the fall of the Roman empir^ this infatuation -xgain arofe, and pervaded the kingdoms of iLurope. t was encouraged by the policy of the Church, and fuppl.cd from the evangelical roU of faints and worthies, which afforded an abundant latitude of choice. During the reign of fuperftition and impofture, this deluhon running wild, the local deities of Pagan mythology world. At the period to which I now refer, no affociatior* was formed, no enrerprize projeaed, without commitUngT to the fuperintendence of fome Saint in heaven. Every tem- ple every village, every city and every kingdom had Its ce^ leftiai Patron. In this interefting article. Kings and Princes tTe • '/^^//v""^°^'^-"^^"^>^^' °^ cle^outly^uief ed a endof Xn"'"^'"'''°" f '^' ^°"^'"«" f'^^her V Chrif? wertTf , ""T''^.' '^^ government, and the people, were folemnly configncd to the proteaion of their tute^; u-««. nis ciois quartered their arms,^nd diftinguifhcd their banners T [ 8 ] banners and their fliields. His (hadowy aid vas befought in a^iion and in difficulty. When the Captains of the hofl gave the figna) to clofe, and the impatient champion finglvd out his antagonift, he invoked the Saint of his fathers, and in the frenzy of the times the armies of heaven were fuppofed to march under hoililc ilandards to fight the battles of the ea'th. Is the general diftribution of the nations, the care of Scot- land was committed to St. Andrew* His apoflolical life wag fpent on the mountains of Scythia ; and 1 have neither difco- vercd, nor been very folicitous to enquire, upon what pecu- liar merit, or what principle of appropriation, that province Was ailigned to him. It is of more importance to obferve, that in confequence of the canonization and local inveftiture of thefe holy perfons, the orations delivered on their feAivals allumed a new form. The hiftory and heroic atchievements of the people, which they patronifed, came to be interwoven with the purer triumphs of their apoftolical fanftity. Immedi- ate advantage was taken of this revolution, and in artful hands a religious dclufion ferved as an engine of politics. The h'jiiWc paifions were kindled, and the thirft of blood was in- «jmed, before the crofs of peace and reconciliation. ?'he paffive virtues of the Chrif^ian were forgotten i and the very commemorations of the Saints were made to propagate a rage for military enterprize. In every other refpedt the devotions of the day were illiberal and degrading. The adoring nations lifted not their voice to the majefly in the heavens. Their prayers were preferred to a departed mortal ; and in our country *' St. Andrew hear us ; St. Andrew help us j St# " Andrew intercede for us," was the general cry^ Delivered at the reformation from the yoke of fuperftl- tlon, our Church ordained, in the purity and limplicity of her worfhip, that the days of the Saints, as formerjy folemnizedi having neither countenance nor warrant va the fcriptures, and being ever liable to abufe, ftiould ceafe to be obferved as reli- gious feftivals. This was conceded j but the traces of im- riiemorial ufage could not be obliterated in a day. The pub- lic offices, and commercial companies for the negcciation of exchange, f^ill note the letter of the calendar, and aflert the annual intermifTion from bufinefs which had heretofore been enjoyed upon the holidays of the Church. Different inflitu- tioi.s and orders within the realm make the nominal feftival of their Saint the day of their anniverfary meeting ; and na- tional Societies abroad feledt it as a fit occafion for an annual entertainment, accompanied fometimca with a religious ob- A. ftrv anct and a rubhc contricuticn ►^:u, You A. f are [ 9 1 Chariuble AlToaation, you have done well to confecrstc voir iZr aY^^ ^''^' " '*** aJmoncrs of his bounty to your pooier and left fortunate counrrymen. ' yourhrftrclig.ousann.verfary; and in preparing a dif,;ourff for .t I have confidered what would be due to you. to Zfe who hear me and to the place where we are met. Inftead therefore, of deluding your curiofity with an apocrypK Ibi- ography of our Samt, or infulting your underrtanding wUh an mv.d.ous eulogium of our country, I have determiner o if IT f'-'T' '^' ^.° '^' °^J^^*°"^ '^^' "« common! ly made to :nftitutions of this nature ; and 2dly. To the K :fe'„rft ;'''^'* ?^°"" '"^y ^^ ^^^^^^^^ fubLient t the prefcnt ftate of the communiry ; taking the liberty to fuggcft fome new hints for your future con* deration. ^ I. I am firft to Call your attention to the otjcaions that commonly made to inaitutions of this nature. The objeaors to private afTociations of every defcriptlon, tommonly alledge, that they tend to circumfcHbe theS Virtues of chantv and mercy, which Chriftianity requires to be umverial ancf unbounded : that they perpetuate narrow prejudices and national diftinaions, andkeepthe members of hnl"". ^°'"'^""'fy /'■o'" "niting together and becoming one body . fomenting the fpirit of party and feeding the flames of fadt.on whenever a fucceiTion of unfortunate events co-oper- ates to give them birth. ^ It will be allowed that this is nearly tl*e fum of the general objea.on, partly religious and partly political, which it made to national focieties, and to charitable aflociations ft unued on national principles. \f IH^l^ "Ptious and indifcriminate charges of this nature, It might perhaps be deemed a fufficient anfv^er, that no rea- fomng from the abufe can, by any legitimate rule of logic, be urged againft the ufe ot human inftitutions : that fublunary things are mixed and imperfea : that no religious, or civil, or political arrangement of man's invention is abfohitely and m;?l1^ hli 'c a ''' ^y ;^" ^'^^' of nature, advantages are mingled with defeas : and that difficulties and dangers are mfeparable from evtry refolution v.^c form, and every ftep we But t lO ] u But in the prefent inftancc we can intrench ourfclvesorl higher j^round. It may fafely be aflerted, that the foundat.ort of our inltitution is laid by the hand of nature ; that the prin- ciple of it is, confcquently, a good one; and that the abufcs objeacd to it are only calual and incidental, and are not m fudt experienced in any fenfible degree. To prove this, let us conlider the manner in which ouf obligations are formed and extended ; perceived by the un- dcrftanding and engraved upon the heart. What countenance gives animation and joy to the infant on the knee ? Is it not that of the parent, or ot thofe who fulfil a parent's duties, and merit a parent's reward ? Who cxercilc and engage the firft affedions of the boy ? Is it not his fami- ?y, nis companions, and his neighbourhood ? Undoubtedly it is From earlieft youth he cultivates their acquaintance, and is folicitous to obtain their el^cjm ; attends to their converfa- tion, and takes a decided intereR in their affairs. In h.s progrefs to manhood his mind and his views expand. As he liOens to the traditions of the diftrid, or lifps the hiftorical ballad of a former age, his heart and affeaions embrace u party. In the internal conflias of the people he warms, and clovv'S, and becomes a zealot for the honour of his province } and in the ftrife of nations he buckles on the armour of his native heroes, renews the fields of blood, hears the cry of vic- tory, joins the purfuit, and, in imagination, kills the 11am. Or all the fentiments that fpring fpontaneous in our bo- fom, and continue, without our care, to gather itrength through life, thofe which conneft us with our country and endear it to our hearts, are, by far, the moft deeply rooted and widely fpread. They are the growth of no climate, ^n^ do not depend upon fertility of foil or falubrity of fttuation. Thev obtain and are recognized, in every parallel of latitude, from' one end of the earth to the other ; andconftitutean im* portant part of the natural religion of the heart. 1 heir ma- gical power irives to the barren plain a charm and a talcina- fion which inherent beauties cannot beftow. They attach the untutored native to the horizon of his birth, in prefer- ence to every other trad on the furface of the globe. With afilkencord they bind him to the florms and tne frolts, the penury and the hardlhips of his native foil, and render the Fcanty fare it may yield preferable to the varied icitiaty of any other land. In every language we find the world exile, a^d among the molt wretched tribes the exiled are odjccxs oi cou.- inifcrution. In the fcanticfl: and rudcft dialed we hear the rapturous, [ n ] rapturous cxpreffion « home," and they who are calm and cool on every other occafion, utter this word with an empha- fis and emotion which is not perceived in the tone of ordinary converfation, ^ Now, although it is very true that this feeling may have itsexcefs, and although the bigotry of attachment to the land of our nativity may unfit us for enjoying the comforts of any other, yet, in its proper place, it is both laudable and virtu- ous. It occupies, according to the obvious intention of the Author of our nature, a diftinguifhed ftation in the graduated fcale of the difpofitions and duties of focial life, and furnifhes the principle of that inftitution for which I am contending. It Is indeed univerfally acknowledged (hat there are pri- mary and fecondary obligations incumbent on us as members of civil faciety ; and that the prior muft be difcharged, before we can he juftified in proceeding to fatisfy the pofterior. Thus, when the demands of juftice are cancelled, and \vc owe ^ no man any thing but the love which Jefus has prefcribed, the claims of natural afFeaion are confcfledly pre-eminent ; and parents and children, brothers and fifters, before they ihew kindnefs to others, ought to make due provifion for thoic, who are, in fcripture, emphatically called « their own Hefli." The debts of gratitude fucceed; the rights of friendfhip and de- cayed relations rank next in order ; and as we recede fanthcr and farther from perfea obligation, an i^cquaintance is to be preferred to a ftranger, and, in iimilar circumftances and equal ftraits, a ftran^ r of our own country to a itranger of a foreign one. This, as it has been fliewn to be a natural, muft be admitted as a rational ground of diftindion. For even between claims, otherwife equal, fome diftinaion is ne- ceflary ; and what is likely to be more unexceptionable than one which is dilated by nature, and approved by the prai^ice of all mankind ? It is obvious then that the fame objeaions that are urged, with (q much parade of philanthropy, againft national predi- legions and the combinations refuiting from them, ought, if thcobjeaors were conliftent wi''i themfelves and followed up their reafonings, to be oppofed with equal force to the zu tachments and duties of kindred, the -bonds ^f gratitude, the rights of friendfhip, the obligations of neighbourhood, and, in a word, to the whole fabric of civil fociety from its loweft foundation to its chief corner ftone. If the fentiments and conning f' -it ffirlnrr fmm imt. nr^^ ^f il,_/"_ „_l_^r-^- • _ compatible with Chriftian charity, it reftrains them all. But B 2, a i! [ 12 ] if thofe which are moft perfonal in their obje^l, and mod li- mited in their operation, are yet commendable and good, they can never furely grow criminal as they grow difhiUve. If the ties which bind heart to heart, and hand to hand, can be defended and juftified, even upon gofpel principles, doubtlefs much more eafily may thofe be juftified which join city to ci^ ty, province to province, and connedt in one chain the lives and happinefs of millions. In anfwer to ^he political obje^ion, that inftitutions of this nature tend to perpetuate local prejudices and national dif- tindUons, and to keep the different clafles of a new commu- nity from uniting into one bodv ; it may be remarked, that it is partly true, and partly without foundation. National focieties, no doubt, preferve national prejudi- ces, and give countrymen a predilection for countrymen. But this predile6tion exifts without them ; they find but do not nriakc it i and if the national prejudices which they cherilh (patriotic ones, if any fuch there be) are all in favour of a principle to which every good breaft vibrates, namely; the profperity of our native land } and if, as colonial fubjeds, they are in favour of the conftitution and eftablifliment, the reli- gion and laws, the glory and the government of the mother country, who that hears me would wifh to fee them dimin;jh» sdy far lefs obliterated ^ If we have any national prejudices of a di[Ferent compfex- ion ; if, like the Jews and the Samaritans, we have, to our reproach, any that avert from us every fellow-creature whofe fortune it was not to be born and bred in the fame land with ourfelves \ any that difincJine us from all dealings with fo- reigners, and tend to confine to countrymen exclufively the common offices of neighbourhood and good fellowftiip, — for luch I am no advocate, and for fuch, I truft, this Society will never need an apology. With regard to the deeper and more criminal charge, that national focitties foment the ipirit of party and feed the flames of faction, this ag-^in rcfoives itfeif, at vi/orft, into an objection againil all connexion and aflbciation in life whate- cver. At any rate, the obfervation has never been verified by experience. On the contrary, hiftory demonftrates, that in all the great empires where' parties have been trained and employed, they have been colleaed and banded not accord- ing to country -ind province, but according to perional con- gruities and coincidence of intereft, refultingfroiii other caufes than .. i [ '3 ] Aan what form the ground of the objeftion I am now con,, batmg. Countrymen and even blood relations are found .'^ a.fcr.m,„ately on either fide ; conneaed or oppofed by hone. wt''fe„rto -^:;:ir: "" '^" "'"'"^^^^ - °f--^ Institutions of this kind are in their vetv mtur- r.n,.» ••-ant to treafons and confpiracies. Thefe r^/fteries of dart nefs dare not venture abroad, but feek the co'ncea men of he chamber and the folitude of the night. Such inftitudons Ve not even adapted to ferve political purpofes. No nadonal sV cety, however mafterly its regulations, and however abeiB conduaors, could fubfift long at a combination to for'e the fa beftow^Th?T?.'' ""i '° T""""''" •"' offi« it hast «1 ahlt ,1 ^ *?>-. obtained the prize, they would quar! tors would fooner fee the vacancies fupplied by ftraneers than by rivals m their own affociation. ^ "rangers, tnan ■ =nllh'T """u"""' ^""='"'" "'P f°"""i in'" public view ?rih,?, r!' ?''^"<"'«,"f 'h' world, it can only be to paX' o br,nd h ""• "^"'' "f g"'""''^ to 'h^ eminently good or to brand the incorrigible with merited infamy. To the former they will never be an objeS of diftruft, and to the alter ma they prove a perpetual fource of anxiety and apprehenfion ^ Be fuch the vindication of national Societies ; and to the "Xt:lr" """"''" ""'''' "Stents for adhering . }}■ } "ow proceed to enumerate the purpofes to which «.,r inftitution may be rendered fubfervient in the prefent ftate of lor your future conlideration. wasl'ftllTft 'T^'""'"''-^ Pi'^'-'P'^ "P™ which t'lis Society was eftabl bed, was, to affift and fupport fuffering countrv SeverfcS; ''""'' " '"''"''' P-Auref oTfuS ^Stf&t^e'^^:!f-Sv:^= ?o^Xr"""''*Y'768- Wth the hearts of pat iots°h" n the tirit of ChHi?"'' ""^ °' '"' ''""'g^ of profperity Vd tl:^!ri°!J^r.t'!i"l^''' ' common caufe of the m'isfor- attained 'ih^t'n^T^' ' "T"'" ' "*-' '"ttlemcnt had not then attained that ftabiluy and pewuiience which it this da;; en- . joys. I [ H ] joys. The municipal charity of the town was lefs petfe6k itk its fcheme, and its funds were lefs adequate to their object, than now. The firft coutributions were therefore religioufly appropriated to fuch diftreiTed inhabitants as had emigrated from Scotland ; and as thefe chiefly coufiited of the aged, the infirm and the deflitute, they became fettled penfioners, and were voted a regular quarterly allowance. Kept in a low ftatc by this continual expenditure, the occafional demands for the extraordinary bounty of the Society foon exceeded the com- pafs of the funds upon which they were made. But grievous vifitations and fcenes of complicated fufFering frequently pre- senting thcmfelves, thefe gradually concurred with the pro- greflive advancement of public affairs to extend the views of the Society, ai 1 to induce them to referve their aid for the greater diftrelfes of life. This has for fometime pad been the leading principle of your appropriations, and it may be worth while to enquire whether you ought not, in prudence, to adhere to it in time to come. To enter ^ore particularly into this confideratlon, it may be obferved, that as tha municipal allowance of the poor, though fmall, is yet ftated and duly advanced ; as it knows nodiltin<^)on of country, but is impartially extended to all with due attention only to the age, the fex and condition of the objedt ; it appears equally unadvifeable to take the unfortu- nate of our country from the weekly provifion of a legal fet- tlemenr, or to interpofe in their behalf, on common pccafions, as a national Society, after having contributed to their fupport in our private capacity as citizens of Halifax. The idea is pregnant with diitin«Siions of the moft pernicious tendency, which, whenever they find their way into a community, it requires one age of wrang' ; to detCCT, and another ofcon- ceflion and forbearance to extinguifh. It muft alfo be remembered that in a f?u£luating Society, a national cliarity muft ever be unequal to the double charge of conftant penfions, and of effedual interpofition on fingular emergencies. Thus fcatte.ed, its efforts mufl be languid, defultory and fruitlefs. 'J'he fiery embers neither glow nor give heat unlefs colleded to a common centre ; difperfe them, their fervour is loft, and they perifh in darkncfs. May not thefe confiderations fuggefl the propriety of per- fevering to appropriate your fund, in a particular manner, to cafes of great and unexpc6f;ed calamity, againfl which pru- dence canncst gu^rn, and I'or WiiiCu neituer tns pouce oi the town, nor private liberality can make an adequate provifion ? This 1 I I ? [ «5 ] This defcriptton comprehends the grievous fum of accidentj to which mortality is cxpofed ; the undiftinguifhing dcvafta- tions of fire j the fury of the whelming wave ; the fuddea death of the heads of families, with the firft miferies of the Widow and the orphan ; deep diftrefs of various forrs, arifing from contmgencles not eafily to be enumerated • in a word all that foftens the heart of fleih within us, and forces ths fympathy ot kindred natures. At the fame time it is not to be doubted but that the exi- gencies of your own members will command (and it is fit they Ihould) your firft attention. It may lilccwifc be believed, that to the aged and the defolatc of your country you will not always be able to refufe an occaftonal afliftance. To your credit, your books have uniformly exhibited penfioners of this defcription j nor is it intended, by any thing now ofFercd* to dilcountcnance the humane and generous fpirit. To your candour and wifdom it is only fubmitted, whether' it might not be proper to difpenfe fuch aids with as frugal a hand as poffi- ble, that you may have it in your power to meet deeper dif- trefs and ftronger calls for compaffion, with that liberality which you arc known to pofTefs, and to inftances of which he who now addrefTes you can, during the period of his mi. niitry, abundantly teftify. 2dly. This Society has long been, and may ftill be, emi. nently ufeful, in two of the moll trying periods of our condi- tion i in the hour of ficknefs and in the article of death. In the fluauations and uncertainties of an infant fettlement and a fea. port town, the anguifh of difeafe and the vilitations of mortality, come attended with circumftances of peculiar aggravation. Here multitudes are met, from the various countries of Europe and America, without previous habitudes of intimacy or conneaion. Their refidence is precarious, their union imperfea. They live in a moving fcene, and do not contmue long in one flay. In fuch circumltances folia at- tachment and real friendlbip muft be extremely rare. But they are equally needful in every region of the globe. Slckrefs and decay follow us to the ends of the earth, and wherever they overtake us, fympathy and compaflion are ineftimable. Little do they know the lot of the emigrant, who, a- midft native fcenes, contemplate it through the medium of their own fufterings, real or imaginary. While at the dif- tancc of a wide extended ocean, under the incumbrance, it may be, of a family, and the embarrafTments of debt, the pa- rent. [ 16 ] rent, *midft the ftruggies of his calling, exults only in th* idea that one of his race is exempted from the condition to which the reft are doomed, and by his virtues and reputation refle(Sls honoui on the name, and on a growing fortune, — This ftranger, in a ftrange land, more to be pitied than all his generation; is, perhaps, ftretched on the bed of languiih- ing, and left to (hiver and to burn, through all the varieties of the ague's cold and the fever's heat, deftitute of the mini- Itrations for which kindred were given us. In his diftrefs, even the humane do not feel themfelvcs fo much interefted in his fortune as to ftep forward in his behalf, under the double hazard of delivering their names to the malice of flander by afluming the office of conducing his bufmefs, and of incurring the ftill more dangerous confequence of becoming refponfi- ble for his property to his creditors and heirs. In this fitua- lion money is butof fmall avail. It cannot purchafe a heart, and the attentions which it buys are altogether of an inferior and coarfer kind. The perfons who nurfe the fick for wages cannot approach their bed with that tendernefs of fympathy and that confidence of afFedion which the nearer relations of life infpire. It is not their office to watch and to prevent the rifing wifhes of the foul j to wipe the cold fwcat from the brow j to clafp the trembling hand, and hold the aching head i to mark and to feel the rollings of the eye ; to receive the fecret bit- ternefs of the heart, in which a ftranger cannot intermeddle ; and to mingle with the balm of friendfhip and of piety the ine- ftimable cup of Chriftian confolation. This is not colouring ; it is not half the truth. Could I lead you through the dif- ferent habitations of the emigrant and the adventurer, from the vertical fun of India to the polar frofts of Labradore, and enumerate, as I turned from every fick man's bed, the fymp- tomsof his jifeale and the attendance he enjoyed, I mould foon convince you how much is fuffered by that defcription of men in this feafon of exigence. The heart-felt fynipathies offender union are incommuni-* cubic ; and even this inftitution, with all its nationality, can fupply them but in part. But what can be fupplied, is done molt efFcctually. In the land of ftrangers it brings to the bed of the diftrcfled and the friendlefs the countenance of a countryman, a voice and an accent which is known. I have witncfied with joy, and I record with gladnefs, your unwea- ried care in procuring a fucceffion of attendants, and your meritorious condelcenlion in performing the humble offices that :i iick bed requires. Too much praife cannot be beftow- eu on this part of your conduct, and it has originated, I be- lieve, with thh inftitution. The beneficial effeds of it have been [ »7 ] iieen frequently experienced, and are reglftered in a Konlr where they will never be forgotten. In* the name of .h« God whom we are affembled to adore, I bid you prMeed in thefe labours of love ; I bid you proceed and profper. If yoU need encouragement, liftert to the Scriptures and Iwrn your reward ; "Be rtot weary in well doing,'for indue feaWvou OiM reap ,f you famt not." Perfevere in the piouJoVce Let not mgra,„ude itfelf reftrain you ; it did not rXinyo"; Lord. Remember that hete below mercy is twice bl.l^d once to the Objefl of mercy, and again to 'h'e meT^?ul and* k^nldrr r " "f e™" ^°"'' '°^' »"■' y°« ^'»i«» » the Kingdom of your Father. been wtt1"^'° °^''""' '"^ »'««»« °f '^is Society ha, not YouFi atixious attention, and cdmprebenfive charity, not only reheve the wants of poverty, and alleviate theagolesof pan., they alfo fuftain the Uft moments of expiration' ai^ foothe the departing fpirit with the confolatory affuran« th« ChXrl^rtar^^ «'"' "'''^^ -^ ---''« ^-"-^ . ^?t\''^}^^ ^'^] ^"^ "°' '^'^ ^caft memorable, of tHfc laws wh.ch the drum and the provoft-marihal proclaimed among the m.x.d multitude on the beach ofChebuao. was, that of the death ora fett er the juftices of the peace were empowered to nominate twelve perfons of the quarter to which he belonged, to accompany the funeral and depofit the corpfe in the eravfe ; and that while the Royal allowance of provifions lafted, the ^ZA ^^^'•y P'^'-fo^who refufed to obey this fummons (hould be erazed from the mefs-books. This penalty feems to have been mfuffic.ent to procure the attendance required, and a few months after the magiftrates received orders to pu- nilh the inhuman refufal with commitment. This is a gloomy view of the ftate of things in a new efta- biifhment ; but ,t is a juft one. Extraordinary laws are di^a- ted by extraordinary neceffity ; and in the prefent inftance it may be conceived that the indifference about the difeafed, the dying and the dead, which pervaded the encampment of three thoufand people, calt, without any connecting tie, oa the fand o^ a foreign fhoie and the fkirtof an unknown forcft, mult have been extreme. Happily this fpirit has long ceafed j and from the prefent appearance of our funerals no perfon would fupnof- that an e- C dia [ «8 ] di^ of this nature had ever been noccflary in Halifax. In- deed the reverfe is now to be lamented. The burial of the dead is become rather too expenfive ; and I call on you, an^ on every national Society in the province, to difcountcnanc? and correal the extravagance. Retrench, if you cannot abo- lifli, the idle parade and oflentatious cxpence, fo frivolous and puerile at all times, but fo peculiarly unfeafonable at a fune- ral. It is of no avail to the dead, and materially injurious to the living. A decent, an affeilionate refpetSl, may be (hewn to the memory and remains of the neareft and deareft relative without it. It forms no part of real mourning, and is indif- putably calculated rather to flatter the vanity of the furvivors than to do honour to the deceafcd. t In the fpirit of rational and virtuous reform, might ir not bje proper and confident, nay more, my countrymen, is it not ;abfoiutc!y incumbent on you as a national Society, to adhere Icrupuloufly and inflexibly, in this article, to the limplc ccre- inonial of your native land? That v^eaknefs of characfler which receives a new direiHon from every impulfc offafliion is unworthy of a national Society. Be not then fwayed by a llavifti imitation — nor employ on the moft folemn occalicp that expenfive pageantry, which, however venerable it may gppear in the country where it has beep confecratedby imme- morial ufage, is out of charafter here, as well as a dead loi3 to your fund of charity. Have thecourao;c to make the re- form propofcd as a national ailbciation, and as individuals have the confiilency to adhere to it inviolably in your families, how- ever eafy your circumftances may be. In private life there is no one who does not fee, and feel, and deplore this tyranical cuftom ; who does no: heartily wifli it aboliihed ; and who would not be flncerely glad to find a precedent to juftify the abolition. But few, in comparifpn, poflefs that fortitude of xnind which is neceflary towards fubmitting their reafons for being fmgular to public obfervation and private fcandal ; an<^ lead of all on a fubjedl fo delicate as that of refpedt to the dead, where the fmalleft faving is ever imputable to a fordid xnotive. On this account it is fo much the more neceflary tp be undertaken by a public ailbciation. The reform is worthy of you J may you merit the thanks of pofterity for effeiiing it ! 3dly. A third laudable purpofe to which your inftitution may be rendered fubfervient, is, to grant, under your feal and the Agnaturc of your Prcfidt-nt, certificates and recommenda- tions to the dei'erving of your number, whofe removal to other lands, in queft of employment and fubfiftence, various caufes may compel. This, [• ■ I In^ ,. [• ■ I This, in every point of view, is an object of equal im- portance with the preceding, and I therefore crave your moft fcrious attention in its behalf. Indeed proteftion and patron- age take place of alnris, in proportion as a friend is of more yalue than a little money. Under the fpreading population of the new world as well as of the old, the difficulty will every day increafc of procu- ring confidence and employment, without fufficient documents of adequate talents and a blamelefs life. In the infancy of the colonies, the fcarcity of men made it necefTary to abate much of that jealoifs enquiry into the hiftory and merits of fet tier's and fervants which is cuftomary in coMntries that have been longer eftabli.lied. The prefence of emigrants was fo con- folatory, and their afiiftaiice fo needful, that they were kind- ly received and courteoufly entertained by every government^ But this period is nearly part-. A rapid population begins to produce a keen competition for the various appointments of life ; and, every thing clfe equal, a f.naller fcalc of fubordi- nation and a fimpler itate of manners is likely foon to make perfonal merit of more confcquence here, than we find it in parts of the globe more highly improved. \u the prefent condition of the town and colony, it may juftly be apprehended that application for certificates will not be wanting. Where fo many hazardous experiments ar^ made on fortune and happinefs, as every day difclofes, failures are unavoidable ; and after exhaufting the rcfources which the place affords, the fcene muft be ihiftcd, and a new theatre tried, l^he conviction of the importance of obtaining cre- tlitable recommendations, in exigencies of this kind, may dp much good. It may operate on our countrymen as a power- ful incitement to that temperance and induftry for which they have been remarked j — that in every reverfe they may ftill en- joy, under your inftitution, the invaluable blefling of a good charaderj and the afllirance of carrying a refpectable intro- du6lion among /hangers, if it fhall be necefTary for them to, yelinquifh their eftablifhment in this Province,and their friends in this Society. The fitnefs and propriety, the importance and utility of your inftitution, muft have appeared in a f^rongcr light from this enumeration of its ends, than from the formal vindication of its foundation and principle at an earliej period of the dif- courfe. ^ However inexpedient and unneceilary fuch Societies may be elfewherc, here, at leaft, they are both commendable and of f.-V fWMIRRMW^MMMPqi^ f I *0 ) b^TLlc. As yet our charitable cftablilhments are few in rium- iJcr i and common pity has fo many calls tbaff it i« in the uE- hioft danger of vvaXihg cold. The heart needs to be touched and the hand to btf opened by fome powerffil'l^rinciplc of equal and uninterrupted operation. Such a prind^le is national at- tachment i a principle that has here done jnnch good, which Without it would not have been done, and relieve^ much dif- trefs, which without it would not have been relieved. '»/WheM, at fome future period, this portion of America fRkn aflume a more fettled form ; when emigration, from Eu- rope, in its prcfent extent, (hall ceafe i wheit nationality (hall be blended and loft ; when municipal endowments fhall be nu- inerous and rich, and when this inftitution (hall be no longer Iiece(rar7 } then let the few adminiftering <*lirators who hnd tio countt'ymSn to daim their aid, affigti our fancl to the (lock of general charity, and place our archives in the moft confpi- cuous (helf of the provincial library, to perpetuate among bur defceitifants the remembrance of their obligations to Britain, ahd to ferve as an admonition to them never to fufFer the ilfangcr to pine unpitied, to ficken without attendants and medicines, or to die without the decencies of burial. Mean- while, we, of the prefent generation, who drew our breath in the other hemifphere, who there received the rudiments of our education, and there formed the firjf friend(hips of life,' may hope to be forgiven, if entertaining no averlion to fo- reigners and refufing them no adl of kindnefs or humanity, we, at the fame time, cherifli a tender and grateful regard fot" the land of our nativity, and exprefs it in the glowitig lan- guage of the text "If I forget thee O Jerufalem let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not reiiicmbcr thee let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth." AMEN. I :hls.,