men.-The deliverance of the African from his degraded state of bondage was a most noble task, one which at once embarked all the fine feelings of humanity, which were roused with indignation at the recital of the dire horrors of the Slave Trade, as well as at the conduct of those criminals who connived at its existence. Wherever, and whilst there was a demand for slaves, so long would a contraband traffic in human flesh be carried on; or while the European colonies of America had a demand for Slaves, so long would all the evils of slavery be in existence. It was, therefore, highly important to abolish slavery by gradual amelioration and improvement, and thus qualify them for emancipation. When such a state of things shall make itself conspicuous in the colonies, it will be impossible for Cuba and the other Anglo-American Colonies to persist in keeping their inhabitants in their degraded state of servitude. If they should so continue that abominable system, he felt it his duty to warn them of the consequences which might result from so fatal a continuance. When such a state of improvement took place, then there could be no Slave Trade, they would have emancipation, and the total abolition of slavery. Much had been said upon this subject, and he was truly astonished at the obstinacy of the British planter. Could they think to perpetuate the horror of the condition of their Slaves, and profess their noxious principles in the face of Europe, the independent states of South America,and even of Hayti, the independence of whose black population had been so recently recognized by a Christian King? They could not remain long in such a delusion. Those changes which were first taken up from the best feelings of humanity and benevolence, were now imperiously necessary for self-preservation. This gradual system, if carried into effect, would cause all the other states of Europe to endeavour to abolish slavery. He wished to say something with respect to Mr. Dwarris's Report on the judicial establishments of the West Indies. Nothing could be more striking than the two passages of his Report in which he represents the condition of the Slaves. At Barbadoes, he says every sort of cruelty is practised on the unhappy slaves; and provided it is done in private and does not disturb the general quiet of decorum, there is no law in the island to punish the perpetrators of such atrocities. The only crimes recognized and punishable by the laws of the islands were those of mutilation and murder. Such is the state of the negroes in that island, by one passage of Mr. Dwarris's Report; but in how strange and in how widely different a light he describes their condition in another passage. He says, they are in general contented and happy; they dance, and sing, and trifle away their time, ignorant of their condition and the cruelty of their laws. What! could there be a greater state of degradation? They were not allowed to be witnesses in a Court of Justice. Thus they were denied the power of redressing their wrongs, and of telling, in the language of truth, the story of their oppressions. We are told they have enough to eat and drink, and are contented, and live in the most perfect security. Surely a country gentleman in England might give the same account of his horses and dogs. No condition could be more degraded than that of the negroes; they were degraded almost to a level with the brute creation. He believed, in his conscience, that the immediate amelioration of the Slave community would be conducive to the real happiness and interests of the British inhabitants of the West India Islands. He was not an advocate for immediate emancipation, but for gradual and immediate amelioration. But God forbid, that he should not raise his voice against the perpetuation of Slavery. It was the interest of the master that the beginning of gradual abolition should be immediate. Mr. BROUGHAM said the remarkable eloquence with which his Honourable and Learned Friend had prefaced the Resolution, and the various facts which he therein detailed, had nearly exhausted the subject. They were charged with violence, with rashness, and enthusiasm, because they wished the welfare of 800,000 individuals, whose grievous injuries and dire sufferings had called up and roused all their feelings of humanity, and which indignantly opposed themselves to all the horrors of this slave system. They were charged with rashness and precipitancy in forcing a measure upon Parliament. This rashness and precipitancy consisted in waiting, not a quarter of a century, but nearly half a century, to have this measure carried, and which was frustrated by the attempts of the West India Planters, who opposed them. They charged the promoters of these measures with only listening to the wrongs and complaints of the negroes, and that they would hear nothing from them. Not a word was said about the complaints of the Slaves by his Honourable Friend, nor should he that day say a word about them-he would only take the facts established by the Report of Mr. Dwarris, himself a Planter, and to whom great credit was due, and would now call their attention to an Act recently passed in Barbadoes. "It is enacted, that if any person commits, or causes to be committed, any wanton act of cruelty towards any slave, or shall wantonly, maliciously, and cruelly whip, beat, or bruise any slave, such person, on conviction before two justices, may be fined not more than £25. (about £17. sterling); and if the accuser cannot prove his complaint, and if any slave make a complaint, which shall appear to be frivolous, vexatious, or unfounded, then the justices may give him thirty-nine stripes. Any person maiming, mutilating, or dismembering a slave,.may, on conviction at the grand sessions, be punished by fine and imprisonment (no minimum is fixed) or either, as the court shall think fit; and if the maiming, &c. shall have been done by the owner, then the slave shall be taken possession of by the treasurer of the island, and forthwith sold (not made free, but sold) to some person of good and humane repute, for the best price that can be obtained for him, and the proceeds paid over to the owner or his creditors. For a second offence, &c." This was all they have done upon the urgent remonstrances of both Houses of Parliament, and this is the anti-cruelty Act, which the Speaker of the House of Assembly said would endear their memories to the latest posterity? This was the Assembly which in 1805, by an Act, only made the perpetrator of a murder liable to a fine of £15. and then they frame an Act, by which they made it capital to commit murder, unless some provocation had been given to the master. Thus, if the slave only raised his finger in defence, this would be looked upon as a sufficient provocation, and instead of the master being subject to a capital punishment for this murder, he would be only liable under the old Act to a fine of £15. Such was this protecting Act, which was to send down the names of its enactors to posterity with endearment. The Act also contained this enactment:" Sec. 47. Any slave who shall hear any other slave speak any words tending to mutiny and rebellion, or shall know of his having gunpowder or arms in his possession for purposes of rebellion, and shall not immediately disclose the same, shall suffer death without benefit of Clergy, or such other punishment as the Court may think fit." So that if the slave took any other view of the words he heard, than what the white man and the Judge should take, and should not disclose it, he should undergo not the same punishment of his master for maiming or dismembering him, which punishment was placed in the discretion of the Justices at the Sessions-not that punishment; oh! no, but if he did not immediately disclose what he heard, he should suffer death, without benefit of Clergy, or any other punishment the Court should think fit. So that the black man had first to make up his mind that the words he had heard had a tendency to mutiny, and then he had to make up his mind that the white man should agree with him in opinion as to the mutinous tendency of the words. Having thus made himself sure on both sides, he was at liberty to disclose, but if he had not made up his mind as to the tendency of the words, he should suffer death. It was needless for him to go further into this Act, for which posterity was to remember its framers with kindness and endearment. The disapprobation of the Governor of Barbadoes was expressed upon the occasion of this enactment, who said he could not receive the Act, or recommend it to be confirmed by his Majesty, as it contained enactments highly injurious to the slave population. This Act also contained an enactment," that if any slave should be heard to swear, or drive a cart or horse at a faster rate than ordinary, he shall receive 39 stripes"-that is, for going out of a jog-trot, Oh! no; he will not be fined, but receive 39 stripes of the whip. Oh! this was a protecting Act, indeed. These were the effects of the old system, and it showed more than ever the necessity of totally annihilating it. Messrs. F. BUXTON, DENMAN, CROPPER, Dr. LUSHINGTON, &c. then addressed the meeting in interesting and important speeches, which we regret our limits will not allow us to insert. Intended for insertion, J. S***,-A CONSTANT READER. Under Consideration, A SUBSCRIBER, SEPTUAGENARIUS,-W. F. B. CAMBRIAN, A PROTESTANT, The facts illustrative of the system pursued in our Correspondent's neighbourhood, may under certain circumstances become highly important. We are, however, unwilling to trouble him at present; but if necessary, shall avail ourselves of his kindness, and apply to him by post. We have not been able to notice as we could wish the interesting Pamphlet concerning the Waldenses or Vaudois, which has been transmitted to us. We are, however, happy to announce that a highly respectable Committee have undertaken to receive Subscriptions, and apply the amount for the general relief of these distressed and persecuted descendants of the primitive Church; for the establishment of a Hospital, the support of Ministers and Churches, the relief of the Poor, or more especially of the establishing of Village or Hamlet Schools, which are exceedingly wanted. Subscriptions may be addressed to the Rev. W. S. GILLY, 2, Tavistock Place, Russell Square. The following brief notice concerning this interesting People, will perhaps be considered worthy of attention. "The Waldenses of Italy suffered almost unprecedented calamities, during many centuries prior to the Reformation, on account of their strenuous opposition to the image-worship, and to the various unscriptural doctrines and ceremonies introduced and diffused by the Church of Rome. Numerous bulls and edicts urged their extermination by fire and sword. The tribunal of the Inquisition was established in the first instance, for the express purpose of torturing and destroying those assertors and defenders of the primitive Christian faith. Notwithstanding the severity of successive persecutions, they remained in their retired valleys till the year 1686, when the whole population were expelled. Some of the few thousands, who sought refuge in Switzerland, returned in the year 1690, and regained their possessions. "During the greater part of the last century, they appear to have escaped the notice of the British public; even the existence of these descendants of the ancient Waldenses was scarcely known. But, within the last few years, several British travellers, as the Rev. W. S. Gilly, the Rev. Thomas Sims, Mr. Plenderleath, and Mr. Durbin Brice, have at different periods visited the valleys of Piedmont, and inquired minutely into their temporal and spiritual wants, and are deeply convinced of the great importance of establishing schools for girls, under the care of schoolmistresses, who shall instruct the children in needlework, knitting, &c. as well as in reading the Holy Scriptures. "Fifteen schools are wanted for the villages, at an expense of Ten Pounds each; and one hundred and three small schools are wanted, during five winter months, at an expense of Three Pounds each. The necessity for establishing so many small schools, arises from the nature of the country. In the winter season, when these smaller schools are kept, the hamlets are surrounded by deep snow, that covers such tremendous precipices and ravines, that the lives of the children would be in imminent danger, if they were to go from one hamlet to another. A school is therefore wanted if there are only twelve or fifteen children in the hamlet; but frequently we find twenty, thirty, and more. "The Vaudois still maintain, as their forefathers did, a strong attachment to those great truths of the Gospel which prevailed among the primitive Christians, and were revived at the Reformation: but education is particularly requisite, because their temptations to apostatize are very great. Snares are, in fact, continually laid; bribes are perpetually offered to seduce them to bow down to the idols of the Church of Rome; especially when obliged to seek employment as servants in Roman Catholic families, and removed from home. "The forefathers of the Waldenses sent out Ministers from their little college of Angrogne, to impart religious instruction to the kingdoms of Europe, when immersed in ignorance and superstition in the darker ages;—and shall the children of such worthies meet with neglect in the nineteenth century? especially since very great benefits may be conferred by means of a comparatively small sum; it is therefore earnestly requested that one individual should undertake to collect from a few Friends, small Annual Contributions of Five Shillings from each person, to make up either the sum of Ten Pounds for a village, or Three Pounds for a hamlet school." On the ninth of September there was a numerous meeting in the great hall of the monastery of Poissy, at which were present the King, Queenmother, Duke of Orleans, Princess Margaret, their Majesties of Navarre, and the Prince of Condé, fifty church-dignitaries, and a crowd of counsellors, Sorbonnists, and Canonists. The King having briefly explained his reasons for calling them together, was followed more at large by the Chancellor, to whom the Cardinal of Tournon replied as president of the clergy. Twelve protestant ministers, with twenty-two deputies, were then introduced by the Duke of Guise, and the Sieur de la Ferté, who conducted them to the bar, when Beza thus addressed the monarch. "Sire! As all undertakings, whether great or small, depend on the assistance and favour of our God, and especially as the discussion proposed concerns his service, and relates to matters above our understanding, we trust your Majesty will not be displeased, if we commence by invoking Him in this manner : Lord God, everlasting and almighty Father, we acknowledge and confess before thy holy Majesty, that we are poor and miserable sinners, conceived and born in iniquity and corruption, inclined to evil, incapable of all good, and continually transgressing thy holy commandments; for which FEB. 1826. we deserve thy wrath and indignation. Lord, we abhor ourselves at all times for having offended thee, and condemn ourselves with true repentance, begging the assistance of thy grace: have pity on us, then, O God, most kind and merciful Father, in the name of thy Son Jesus Christ our Lord, and only Redeemer and set us free, blotting out our sins and imperfections; and daily increase in us the grace of thy Holy Spirit, that we may acknowledge our sinfulness with all our heart, and be led to true repentance: that being mortified to all sin, we may produce the fruits of righteousness, which may be pleasing to thee, through the same Jesus Christ our Lord and only Saviour. And moreover, that this day it may please thee, so to favour thy poor and unworthy servants, that thou mayest give them freely to declare in the presence of the King, whom thou hast set over them, and this most illustrious and noble assembly, what thou hast granted them to know of thy holy truth; that it may please thee, according to thy accustomed goodness and mercy, O God and Father of lights, so to illuminate our understandings, guide our affections, and form them to all teach-ableness, and so to order our words, that in all sincerity and truth, after having conceived according to the measure which thou shalt be pleased G to impart unto us, the secret things which thou hast revealed unto men for their salvation, we may be able with heart and mouth to set forth that which may serve to the honor and glory of thy holy name, the prosperity and greatness of our King, and all who belong to him, with the peace and quiet of all Christendom, and especially of this kingdom. Lord and Father Almighty, we ask all these things in the name and for the sake of Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Saviour, as he himself hath taught us to ask them, saying, Our Father, &c.” This solemn address to the Divine Being, at the commencement of the proceedings, was calculated to impress the monarch and the court with a sense of the importance of the conference, and of the sincerity of the protestants. The account is from the report of the reformer himself; but the ill grace with which this conduct was received by the Romish dignitaries may be traced by the manner in which the continuator of Fleury relates the same circumstance. After noticing the command given to Beza by the Queen to speak, he adds: "At this order the heretic cast himself on his knees with the other ministers who attended him, and lifting up his hands and eyes to heaven, made a long prayer to our heavenly father, which he finished by that of our Lord."* trine in which they agreed with the Roman Catholics, and those in which they differed from them. He declared, that there was no other satisfaction for the offended justice of God than the righteousness of his Son, whose death and passion was our sole title to heaven: that in him alone is all our salvation: that the word is the only rule of faith: that Jesus Christ is applied to us by no other mean than justifying faith, from which faith good works are as inseparable, as light and heat from fire that to such good works no free-will could be found in man, but as bestowed on him by divine grace that the commands of God are the sole rule of obedience, which are not to be augmented or diminished: that works are good so far as they proceed from the Spirit of Ged operating in us, and God is glorified by them: that eternal life is the gratuitous gift of God, and not a recompense due to our merits : that the Word of God consisted of the writings of the Old and New Testament, and that as to the productions of doctrines and councils, it was necessary that they should agree with the scriptures and with each other. He then proceeded to the subject of the Sacraments, which he said were visible signs, by which the union that we have with Christ is not only represented, but is verily offered to us on the part of the Lord, and consequently ratified, sealed, and as it were engraven by virtue of the Holy Spirit, in those who by a true faith receive and take that which is there signified. He allowed, that the Sacraments underwent a celestial and supernatural change: the element of water in holy Baptism was not to be regarded simply as water, but as a true sacrament of our regeneration, and the washing of our souls by the blood of Christ : the bread in the holy Supper not to be regarded simply as bread, but as the sacrament of the precious body which was given for us, and the |