quantity of nutritious food, and, by rendering it palatable, induce the poor hereafter voluntarily to adopt it (when circumstances require it) as an article of food, they established five stations, in as many different districts of the town, at each of which some members of the Committee undertook to superintend the cooking and distributing, four times in each week, the salt fish mixed with mashed potatoes, at one penny per pound. This was continued eight weeks, till the salted cod-fish was consumed. The benefit which the town in general, and the poor in particular, derived from the exertions of the Society here, and the benevolence of the Society in London, may be in some degree appreciated, when it is considered that probably forty thousand dinners were afforded to the poor in this town for less than one penny each, besides the great quantity of fish which was sold in an uncooked state, at very low prices, with potatoes under prime cost. Though the Society had the fish gratis, they incurred great expenses to defray freight, carriage, cooking, selling, &c. which, with the cost of two hundred and fifty loads of potatoes, left a balance against them of more than one hundred pounds. The Society being before this unable to meet the urgent and increasing calls, which the peculiar distresses of the times caused to be made upon them, are, from this additional and unprovided-for expenditure, under the necessity of calling upon the public for such temporary assistance as will relieve the present embarrassed state of their funds, and also conduce to enable them to extend permanently the relief which continues to be so much required. Below is a short statement of the accounts of the Society, as far as relates to the transaction in question. Freight of carriage of fish.. Rent of shops and cooking places, wages Received for fish and potatoes when cooked...... Do. 1 8 150 0 0 350 1 61 do. 157 13 6 uncooked.. 104 1.9 241 15 3 Balance against the Society.... 108 6 3 N. B. There remains unsold with the Society: 20 Barrels white pickled Herrings These may now be had at very 46 Do. Do. Pilchards low prices. There are now in Chester Castle eight boys; three convicted of house-breaking; two for trial for picking pockets to a large amount; and three charged with privately stealing in shops: their united ages amounted to 96 years-average 12. THE SLAVE TRADE. The Thais, Captain Scoble, lately arrived at Portsmouth, sailed from Sierra Leone on the 4th of August, and from Acra, on the Leeward coast, on the 3d of September. Prior to her quitting the coast, the Favourite and Albicore had arrived. The Thais was eighteen months on the coast. Though, unfortunately for the cause of humanity and the improvement of Africa, the Slave Trade is still carried on extensively under the Portuguese and Spanish flags, (the continuance of which will materially depend upon cases of appeal which are forthcoming for decision in the High Court of Admiralty,) yet we have the satisfaction to learn, that in June last, the Thais destroyed the last remaining factory for this traffic (at Masuredo) supported by British subjects. The proprietors of this establishment, John Bostock and Thomas M'Quin, were brought home in the Thais, and sentenced, under the late Slave Trade Felony Act, to be transported for 14 years. The Thais landed forty of her crew, commanded by Lieutenant Wilkins, to accomplish this act of humanity. The factors resisted, killed one man, and another was drowned when advancing to the assault. There were about 230 slaves in the factory, who were released. The Thais captured several vessels on the coast with slaves on board; they were under Portuguese and Spanish flags. One of the vessels presented another instance of this horrible trade; she was a smack of 189 tons burden, bound to the Brazils, with 375 slaves on board; and it appeared, when the Thais took possession, that three of them had died from actual suffocation. ANNIVERSARY OF THE BIBLE SOCIETY. Spoken at an Anniversary Meeting of the London Auxiliary Bible Society, held in the Egyptian Hall of the Mansion House, the 28th of October, 1813. I beg leave to second the motion that has been just now made, and at the same time, in a few words, to observe, that it is a cheering consideration in the afflictive circumstances of a longprotracted war, that there is in this country a work going forward which is likely to sow the seeds of genuine and universal peace; of peace resulting from good-will and Christian senti ments towards each other, on the part even of nations as well as of individuals. This assembly, this respectable assembly, furnishes a practical illustration of the harmony of the minds of men of various religious denominations, uniting in their endeavours to diffuse the knowledge of Gospel truth, the knowledge of that glorious dispensation which, if it had its full effect in the world, would make the earth a garden of Eden, in which peace would have universal sway, in which innocence and happiness would dwell. May this harmony, without any invidious distinction of sect, increase and prevail. I entertain a comfortable hope that this favoured city, amid the political convulsions of Europe, will never be overthrown for want of righteous men within it; may then truth, justice, and peace, ever mark the proceedings that take place under this roof; for truth leads to justice, and justice leads to peace. ONE OF THE CAUSES OF WAR. Who, that takes an accurate view of what has passed of late years in Europe, can doubt that war has raged with more destructive and sanguinary effect in this the nineteenth century of the Christian æra, than in any other age of the world; and that amongst nations professing the Christian religion,—a religion, with the principles of which war and all its horrors are utterly inconsistent. Is not such outrageous violation of that system, which speaks peace on earth and good-will to men, to be referred to this source? namely, that amongst potentates and governments there exists no supreme, paramount, or controuling power, which has the effect of placing them in a state of civilization like their respective subjects. In a community that is civilized, men are not allowed to avenge their own cause in case of injury or injustice; that is to say, to be judge, jury, and executioner in their own cause; the law is to decide and to redress. But what is the actual state of the case in this enlightened age of the world? Potentates and governments, like the savages of the wilderness, resent an injury or an affront, whether it relates to a privilege of traffic, or to firing a gun, by plunging into hostility and war; entailing death or misery on thousands and tens of thousands of human beings, to say nothing of the wanton waste of treasure exacted from the hard-earned property of laborious industry; and at length, as to the cause of dispute, are glad to leave off where they began, This, then, being the state of things existing in our own times, it is obviously an irrefutable truth, that there is no such thing existing on the face of the earth as a Christian government, strictly speaking; and whilst governments continue to exist in their present savage state, without any controlling power that shall bring their injuries to an equitable and effective adjudication, wars will continue to rage, be the religious profession of nations what it may. IRENEUS. STATE OF NEWGATE. Copy of a Presentment, as printed by order of the House of Commons, of the Grand Inquest for the City of London, made at the General Session of Oyer and Terminer, and of the Peace, holden for the said City, by Adjournment, at Justice Hall in the Old Bailey, on the 3d of December, 1813. Sessions-House, Old Bailey, Dec. 3, 1813. The Grand Jury having visited his Majesty's Gaol of Newgate, peg to call the attention of the Court to the remedying the great inconvenience and danger arising from the crowded state of the Debtors' side of the Prison, which was built for the accommodation of one hundred prisoners, and which now contains three hundred and forty. The Female Criminal Department they beg leave to present as suffering from the same cause; the apartment set apart for them being built to accommodate sixty persons, and now containing about one hundred and twenty. The Female Convicts appear very destitute of necessary clothing, and many of the prisoners are without shoes. They likewise complain of a want of bed covering, particularly rugs; and they are greatly inconvenienced from the rain penetrating the roof. In other respects the Grand Jury have the pleasure to state, that the whole conduct of the prison gave them great satisfaction. [Here follow the names of the Grand Jury.] The above is a true Copy, THOMAS SHELTON, Clerk of the Sessions of Over and Terminer, and of the Peace for the City of London. SIERRA LEONE, Many of our readers are doubtless aware that a considerable number of distinguished and highly benevolent characters formed an association, under the name of the Sierra Leone Company, with the view of promoting civilization and an innocent traffic on the African continent. It is well known also, that from some cause or other the plan miscarried; but a colony was established, partly consisting of black people brought from Nova Scotia, and partly of Maroons, originally from the Island of Jamaica: this colony exists to the present day. The Sierra Leone Company transferred the whole to Government on the 1st of January 1808; and, as large sums of the public money have been expended upon it, the public have a right to inquire how far the great objects for which this colony was founded, and these expenses incurred, have been obtained. The affairs of Sierra Leone have, for some time past, been involved in much mystery; it has indeed been well known that great discontents have prevailed in the colony, and that, although it has existed twenty years, very little good effect has been produced upon the natives; yet there have appeared to be almost insuperable obstacles to obtaining a clear and correct account of the causes which have in a great degree frustrated so noble a scheme. We trust, however, that the public will insist upon a developement of these causes, if it serve for no other purpose than to afford a wholesome lesson to posterity, and to point out what ought to be avoided in all attempts of the kind. The first thing which one would think as most natural to occur to any or dinary capacity would be, to study the genius, habits, and even prejudices, of those individuals on whom the experiment of colonization was to be made; to convince them that your object is solely their comfort and happiness, and that you have no little by-ends of your own to accomplish. Nothing, indeed, is more obvious, than the impossibility of providing for the comfort and happiness of people, before you are acquainted with their precise situation; and yet, apparently, for want of attention to this plainest of all axioms, vast sums of money have been expended without answering any useful purpose; and by pressing measures hostile to the feelings and prejudices of the people, the colony has lately been thrown into great confusion: a large proportion of the most industrious inhabitants have quitted it in disgust, and taken refuge in the territories of the native chiefs, some upon the Bullom shore, and others in the mountains. It appears that all the colonists were to be made soldiers who were capable of bearing arms; and a colonial act was accordingly passed, the preamble of which asserts the right of employing them in any part of Africa, or even on board of ships; a large power truly, which some future Governor may employ to the most mischievous purposes. If it be maintained that the charter gives a right to frame such a law, it will surely be worth |