volved in all the darkness of Paganism, nay, were in a still more lamentable, as they were in a more hopeless, condition, being led by the pride of a false philosophy to imagine that they were in a state of peace and safety, whilst they rejected all the truths which were essential to ensure salvation. The state of Geneva was particularly deplorable. The Genevese Pastors were the determined opponents of the gospel, and their people were des. titute of all religion and godliness. The Sabbath was shockingly desecrated. A small remnant, however, was left, and they had good hopes of imparting the divine light which Scotland had received from Geneva, once the Zion of truth and holiness. Scotland owed a debt of gratitude which she should endeavour to repay.

Rev. Mr. MEJANEL, from Paris, lamented the defections from the true faith, and represented the eminent success which had attended his ministerial labours in the South of France. Hundreds implored him with tears in their eyes to preach longer to them, and he preached to large assemblies in the open air and in drenching rain. The fields were white to harvest, and labourers only were wanted. The Edinburgh Continental Society had been chiefly instrumental in turning many to righteousness. Dr. JAMIESON denounced in strong terms the Roman Catholics, and was sure that religion never would flourish till their debasing system was annihilated.

Mr. HALDANE in bitter terms condemned the Catholics, and, amongst other railing accusations, stated that they had excluded from the Decalogue the second commandment. He severly condemned Socinians and Arians, and represented them as the children of hell, the allies of Satan. The pastors and people of Geneva were the objects of the most violent invective. They trampled the gospel under their feet, desecrated the Sabbath, and practised iniquity with greediness. At Strasburgh, Haffuer had in his Professor's Chair openly ridiculed Christianity.

The Rev. W. J. BAKEWELL said, that he had no intention of speaking when he entered the room, and did not rise for the sake of disturbing the harmony of the meeting. Statements, however, had been made which he knew to be erroneous, and some of which a sense of duty urged him to refute. The Continent of Europe had been represented to be in the most deplorable state of ignorance and error on subjects of religion, and of moral depravity, the consequence of a deadly faith. Catholics and Protes

tants had been equally anathematized. The latter had been denominated nominal Christians, as ignorant as Heathens, requiring as complete a change of heart and life, and denounced as the children of hell. It had been said that they pay no respect to the Bible, that Professors in their Chairs had ridiculed the doctrines of the gospel, and that the religious pastors were the determined opponents of the doctrines of Christianity. These were hard expressions, scarcely consistent with the professions of charity which we had heard from lips denouncing the claims of the Catholic Church to infallibility. But, in fact, those who had been preaching liberality had this day virtually assumed exemp tion from error, and dogmatically insisted on their own opinions as the only true and saving faith. He had never attended a meeting characterized by more charitable professions, and more illiberal denunciations and greater misstatements. The Continent was not so deplorably ignorant and depraved as it had been represented to be. Many of the statements carried their own refutation. That a Professor of Divinity should from his Chair ridicule the doctrines of the gospel, was too palpable a misstatement to be credited. Had he no other means of detecting the misrepresentations respecting the religious state of the Continent, a knowledge of the gross misstatements of the religious and moral condition of Geneva would induce suspicion as to their correctness. Of the state of Geneva he spoke from accurate information, and he could say, that there were few, if any, cities in Great Britain more distinguished for genuine piety and virtue. The pastors were exemplary in the discharge of their duties, and paid partiticular attention to the religious instruc tion of the young. They were not, indeed, Calvinists, but they were in his opinion sincere Christians, and he believed that their faith contained all the essential doctrines of Christianity. They believed in God, in the divine mission of Jesus. They received him as their Master and exemplar, and the Scriptures as their only rule of faith and life. Much holy indignation had been expressed “at their desecration of the Sabbath." They were not, indeed, Sabbatarians. They did not believe that the Lord's-day should be observed with all the strictness of the Jewish Sabbath. In this opinion they agreed with Calvin, whose peculiar notions of dogmatic theology they rejected. Indeed, all the Continental nations disapproved of a Jewish manner of observing the day on which

Jesus rose from the tomb. The Genevese had been grossly calumniated. In this they shared the fate of all religious Reformers. The primitive Christians were as groundlessly libelled. Let the Continental nations manage their own religious affairs; and let us attend to our own opinions and our own hearts, and we should have enough to do. Consider our starving poor in some of our manufacturing districts, and let them have your superfluities. Feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and you will have the satisfaction to know that your means are not abused.

Mr. HALDANE wondered that the last speaker should have been suffered to mount that sacred platform, dedicated to religious purposes, and pollute the meeting with his blasphemies. He had always questioned the propriety of allowing strangers to speak on such occasions. He could assure the meeting that all his own statements were correct, that the religious and moral condition of Geneva was most deplorable. A debasing system of religion had depraved the manners of the inhabitants. He and his friends had investigated and found that there were 20,000 abandoned women in that city, a greater number than in the whole city of London. The world was the devil's world.

The CHAIRMAN complimented the speaker on the satisfactory answer he had made to the stranger's statements.

SIR JOHN NEWPORT brought forward a resolution respecting the state of the law regarding the building and repairing Protestant churches in Ireland. He said, the Protestants had allowed the churches to fall into decay and ruin, and the cost of building and repairing them fell upon the Roman Catholics, who were shut out of the vestries, and derived no benefit from them, instead of upon the Established Church of Ireland, which had immense revenues at its disposal! Since the Union, not less than half a million of money had been raised, principally upon the Catholic population, for such Protestant purposes, many of whom had been distrained upon for church rates. Persons who did not profess the Esta blished religion ought not to be taxed for the support of it. This country was cried up as the paragon of liberality,

while Roman Catholic countries were at the same time denounced as illiberal and prejudiced. Let the House, however, judge. In 1791, the Diet of Hungary, which was composed of persons of different orders, to the number of 500 or 600, came to a resolution in the following words:-"The Protestants of this state shall not be called upon to contribute to the Catholics either in money or labour, nor shall the Catholics, on the other hand, contribute to the Protestants, or to the establishment of their churches or schools." This resolution was passed by a majority of more than three to one. In the same Diet, Protestants were declared equally eligible with Catholics to fill every office and to hold every rank in State. This was the conduct of a Roman Catholic State, and yet it was said that England surpassed every other country in the world!

Mr JOHN SMITH thought the system perfectly monstrous which compelled the Catholics of Ireland to build Protestant churches; but our whole system in that country was an absurdity of the grossest description. A day must, however, come, when common sense and common justice would triumph.

Mr. PLUNKETT observed, that the Protestant churches must be kept up, although there might be but few Protestants in the parishes.

Mr. PEEL said, he could not concur in the proposition, that the Roman Catholic peasant ought not to be burdened with any share of the expense for repairs of Protestant churches. If that principle were good for Ireland, why not equally so for England? If one class of Dissenters were to be so far relieved, what reason could be assigned for not releasing all other classes who were not within the pale of the Established Church? The inevitable consequence would be, that all who were indifferent to the reformed system would declare themselves Dis senters, for the purpose of escaping this tax. Undoubtedly, if one class of Dis senters more than another deserved to be looked upon in a more favourable light, it certainly was the Roman Catholic occupiers of land in Ireland, for they had to provide their own churches as well as to assist in making the same provision for the other church by law. But while he entertained these feelings towards the Roman Catholic occupier of land, he felt them not for his landlord. And more particularly for his Protestant landlord, and still more so where he happened be an absentee. Of all men, for him he had no consideration. With reference

FRANCE. The Press.

THERE are few sciences more essentially serviceable to mankind than statistics. Facts speak for themselves, and every body will allow that their effects are more really powerful than the most brilliant theories. M. Daru, by the pub lication of his "Notions Statistiques sur la Librairie," has demonstrated unanswerably all the importance of the various species of industry to which the press gives birth; and the result which every impartial man will draw from his calculations must be, that a well-advised government will ever most scrupulously beware of diminishing the products of a source so admirably calculated to increase the public wealth. M. Daru has arranged his Statistical Tables of the products of the French press, from the Bibliographie published since the year 1811, by M. Beuchot. It will be seen that from the 1st Nov. 1811, to the 31st December, 1825, the French press has produced the enormous number of 1,152,295,229 sheets, the daily papers not being in cluded, nor the impressions from the royal press. If we afterwards follow, year by year, the number of printed sheets, we shall perceive that the demand for literary matter has doubled in 10 or 12 years. But we prefer giving some remarks on the particular labours which belong to the press.

The first material requisite for printing is the paper, or rather the rags with which it is fabricated. We perceive, then, that for the yearly fabrication of paper, (the quantity of which is 2,800,000 reams,) the necessary quantity of rags is 80,600,000 pounds. At Paris, a considerable portion of these rags is collected from the streets by individuals, the number of whom is calculated at about 4000, and whose average gains are computed at 36 sous per diem. But as this article makes scarcely one-sixth of the gain of these pickers, the rest consisting of bones, old iron, broken glass, &c., it appears that the quantity of rags daily collected in the streets of Paris, is of the value of about 1200 francs. This sum doubles when the rags have passed through the hands of the rag merchant and of those who superintend the selecting and washing; operations which occupy about 500 persons. On the whole, the city of Paris supplies the paper manufactories with rags to the value of 4800 francs, comprising the contributions of hospitals and private persons, &c., which makes annually 1,752,000 francs; and the whole

The

of France produces in the same space of time a sum of 7,480,000 francs on the single article of rags, which, at the rate of 500 francs per head, furnishes means of existence to 14,960 individuals. number of paper-mills in 1825 was 200, and the number of workmen employed in them amounted to at least 18,000, not reckoning those engaged in the prepara tion of acids, pastes, the machinery, &c., which would form a total of more than 30,000 persons. There are 35 typefounderies employing 1000 workmen, and the produce of this branch of manufacture may amount to 650,000 francs per annum. Lastly, the expense of printing ink may amount to 12,000 francs.

We now come to printing itself, having briefly glanced over its accessories. The general number of printing establishments in France is 665, of which 82 are at Paris. In 1825, 1550 presses were calculated to be in full activity, viz. in Paris, 850, including those of the royal establishment to the number of about 80, and about 700 in the various departments. These presses produced, in the same year, 1825, between 13 and 14,000,000 volumes, of which more than 400,000 issued from the presses of M. Firmin Didot. We cannot follow the calculations of M. Daru through all their details, and must content ourselves with observing, that the gains of the compositors, pressmen, correctors, &c, amount annually to about 15,262,500 francs.

There are reckoned, at Paris, 132 master binders, but to these must be added a great number of private workmen, and binders in the departments, which will increase the number to 1200, occasioning an annual circulation of 2,440,000 francs. There are, in Paris, 480 booksellers, and 84 second-hand booksellers, and in the departments 922, forming a total of 1586.

The general summary of these statistical statements shews, that 13,500,000 volumes, the average annual produce, create in commerce a real sum of 33,750,000 francs. This comprehends the gains of the rag-picker, the income of the bookseller, and the profits of literary men. It is true that these last have but a small division of this enormous amount, and M. Daru considers himself as very close to truth in estimating the receipts of literary men for their labours, at no more than 500,000 francs. It must, indeed, be remembered, that many desire no remuneration for their manuscripts, and that others can obtain none; that those who bargain with publishers obtain a very moderate price, most frequently paid by