association of young men, who form their own by-laws and adopt a course of mutual instruction; receiving aid from professional teachers, many of whom have been very zealous in promoting the objects of the Institution. During the summer seasons, courses of lectures in natural philosophy are delivered in the Institute to young ladies. A class of fifty is now attending Doctor Craig's course. THE STATE OF RELIGION AND THE DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS SECTS. An experiment is now making which will ascertain whethcr religion can be sustained without the support of the government. Our constitution utterly forbids any preference to be given to any one religious sect. It permits religious societies to be incorporated, so that they can build churches and own the land where they stand; it also recognises any contract entered into by any society with a clergyman for his support and maintenance. But these things are all the government does, unless it be that religious people are protected by law, while they are worshiping their Creator, as it does any other persons while peaceably assembled together for any lawful business. Should any one suppose, however, that our western people are not as religious as those who have an established religion, supported by, and connected with the civil government, he would do them great injustice. Our people believe that religion is a matter between God and his creature, with which, the civil ruler has no right to interfere. Most of the ministers who are in some sense permanently settled, perform much more labour than ministers do in the eastern states. Doubtless there are conveniences and inconveniences, pleasures and the reverse, connected with the situation of a western, or an eastern minister. Our balances will not weigh these very correctly, so we do not attempt it. Our eastern brethren are wonderfully deceived in one thing respecting us. They often state in their meetings, papers, magazines, &c., that we are destitute of preachers. According to our population we have two ministers here, of some sort, to where they have one there.* Ours are itinerants, each one officiating in several neighborhoods. This is owing to our great number of religious sects. We speak of Ohio. We have swarms of missionaries from the Atlantic cities, and from our own, consisting of Cumberland Presbyterians, Campbellites, Catholics, &c., all in motion, to build up their various sects; but they all move forward in peace, and in a good degree of harmony. We see no evils growing out of all these sects, except it be, that the people are not able to support all this host of ministers. Fewer of them, and those well qualified for their missions, would be a vast improvement. If the people were divided into one half the sects to which they now belong, and would be contented with one half the preachers we now have laboring among us; and if the other half of our preachers, would travel farther west, and officiate there, a great deal of good might be done, by this improvement, in our religious matters. The people of the east, need not mourn over our destitute state, as to preaching, because we have ten sermons to their one, in proportion to our numbers. There is scarcely a day in the year but there is preaching of some sort, in every town of any size in the state. We by no means, say that we have too much preaching, but we do say that there is no want of it in Ohio. That there is a prejudice against all preachers in this and all other states, is certainly true, but so far as we are acquainted with them, and we know them well, we are complled to say, that our clergymen in Ohio, especially those who have lived here ever since our first settlement, deserve unqualified praise for their zeal, and good works. No men in this state have been so useful in building up society, in making us a moral and truly religious people. Their disinterestedness and benevolence, their kindness, forbearance and charity, zeal, industry and perseverance in well doing, *The presbyterians and protestant episcopalians need more ministers, and have many churches without being able to supply them at present. Our re marks do not apply to them. merit and receive the respect, gratitude and affection, of all good men. They have labored zealously, faithfully and long, and their pay has been but trifling. But they have generally been blessed, in their children, whose good conduct, prosperity and success in life, are the consolation and support of these aged servants of the most high God. We name them not, though we know them all. They have always been the true friends of liberty, and they would be the very last men in the nation to wish to overturn our free institutions. Persecuted they may be, but it must be, either by those who know them not, or by those who would overturn all good government, good morals and true religion. The religion of Jesus is friendly to liberty, but because, in the rude and barbarous ages of Europe, there were hypocrites in the church, who made merchandize of this religion, that is no reason why its Author should be persecuted, more than it would be, to refuse to receive the true coin because there were counterfeits in circulation. Christianity is friendly to free government, and without this religion, there can be no good government, RELIGIOUS SECTS. These are composed of Presbyterians, Methodists, Protestant Episcopalians, Baptists, Catholics, Dunkards, Congregationalists, Seceders, Unionists, Friends, or Quakers, Cumberland Presbyterians, Swedenborgians, Jews, Newlights or Halcyons, Associate Reformed, United brethren in Christ, Radical Methodists, Universalists, Campbellites, German Lutherans, Unitarians, Shakers, and Mormonites. We have several shades of difference, even among several of the above named religious sects, such as high and low Churchmen, among several sects, but they all live together in a good degree of harmony, often assisting each other, in the erection of churches, and, in permitting ministers of other denominations, to officiate in their churches. This tolerant spirit, is highly commendable, and is rather gaining, than losing ground, among us. We suspect that a greater proportion of our population belong to some church, than any other people in the Union. This is more the case with the people in the Scioto and Miami countries, than in any other part of the state, perhaps, but it is so, generally, in all parts of it. As to talent and learning, we have at all times, had a good degree of them in the pulpit. Our ministers, like our lawyers, speak with a great deal of animation, otherwise, they would not be western people. They speak extempore, mostly, but not a few of them, speak accurately, so that every sentence might be printed, and it would read very well. On the whole, we feel quite proud of our ministers as such, as Christians, as citizens and as men. The Presbyterians have in the state, about twenty presbyteries as follows, viz: Presbyteries. No. of No. of Communiministers. churches. Steubenville, 16 31 Beaver, Grand river, 15 35 cants, Portage, 27 23 1857 Names of the stated clerks of these Presbyteries. 3218 Charles C. Beatty. William Hanford. This denomination of christians, have besides the above three hundred and eight ordained ministers, twenty licensed preachers, besides thirteen candidates, for the ministry. Let us see, three hundred and eight ministers, and four hundred and seventy-seven churches, or sixty nine more churches, than preachers. The Methodist Episcopalians are far more numerous, than any other christians, as the following statement, derived from the very best authority shows. Number of church members, seventy-seven thousand and thirty six; two hundred and ninety four traveling preachers; five hundred and sixty local preachers, four hundred and ninety churches, in the state, fifteen districts and these are divided, into one hundred and thirty nine circuits and stations. They have erected, at different places, fifty six parsonage houses for the accommodation of the itinirant ministers. This denomination, own a large commodious, Book room in Cincinnati, eighty feet, by forty-two, four stories in height, erected on the corner of Eighth and Main streets. From this western book establishment, they distribute many thousand dollars worth of books, annually, into Ohio, and all the states and territories, west of the Alleghanies. The present agents, of this valuable establishment, are John F. Wright and L. Swormsted. They publish at this establishment, a religious periodical, called "The Western Christian Advocate." And to this paper, there are now, eleven thousand subscribers. C. Elliot and L. L. Hamline are the editors of this paper. PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL CHURCH. Names of the churches; places where located, in 1834, to wit: Cleveland, Trinity Church, Columbus, Trinity Church, Newark, 4 Norwalk, Dayton, |