persuaded, if this subject were properly attended to by the members of the Missionary Societies, and by the ministers and the people in general in these United States, their ears would be opened to hear a messenger from Africa, like him from Macedonia, in the days of the Apostles, crying, "Come over into Africa, and help Us!" and that there would immediately be united endeavors to send the gospel to them.

Amer. You talk as if all the people of this nation were concerned in the slave-trade, and involved in the guilt of enslaving the Africans. I think this to be an injurious misrepresentation, contrary to fact. But few, compared with the whole, have had an active hand in this trafic; and if it be wrong, let them answer for it, and not the people in general. For my part, I consider myself, and thousands of others, as having had nothing to do with it. And as to the slavery of the blacks, I am free from this; I do not own any slaves, and should be willing to have them all sent back to the country from whence they came.

Afri. Sir, you appear not to have considered this matter sufficiently. This trade has been carried on for a great number of years, in the sight of all the inhabitants of America: the slaves have been bought and sold, like cattle and horses, by thousands, all over the country, and forced, with their children after them, into a state of abject slavery. Very few families, I believe, can be found, who have had no hand in this business, either by themselves or their ancestors. And if you have never owned a slave, which you do not assert, yet your father, or your ancestors, may have had many, and you may be now enjoying the fruits of their toil and servitude. But if this were not true of you, or of the people in general, yet you, and they, have had this trafic in human flesh, and the consequent slavery, before your eyes, and have, at least, implicitly approved of it, and acquiesced in it all. This has been true of the people in general in America a century or more, until within a few years of late. They whe

have not been active in the business, have consented to it in general, and you know that when men see a thief, and only consent with him, they partake in his guilt. This guilt all the Americans, a few only excepted, have incurred in a greater or less degree, and there is no way to remove it without repentance, and bringing forth fruits meet for repentance-which necessarily implies, a willingness to make all and the best restitution in our power; which can be done in no better way, than by sending the gospel to the nations in Africa. At least this is one way which first offers itself to our view, for which we have full ability and a happy opportunity; which if we neglect, how can we stand before HIM, who commanded his followers to preach the gospel to all nations, and to every creature!

Benevolus. Gentlemen, I have diligently attended to all that has passed between you on this important interesting subject-and I cannot but approve of what my friend Africanus has said-It is a theme which has much attracted my thoughts, and has affected me not a little. If this matter were laid before the public in a proper and striking manner, and donations and contributions proposed, I. doubt not, that there would be money enough freely given, to procure a vessel suitable to answer the end, and to provide every thing necessary to prosecute the design; and without doubt, missionaries would be found who should be wanted, and seamen to navigate the vessel.

Amer. I very much doubt of all this. But if money could be procured, where will you find missionaries, qualified for such a work, who would be willing to give up all the comforts of life, and risk their lives among barbarians in an unhealthy climate?

Benev. If people were rouzed to proper zeal and engagedness, and were ready to give what is necessary to carry on the design to effect, which I doubt not would be the case, if suitable measures were prosecuted, THEN, and not 'till then, we might with consistency, and the greatest encouragement, pray the

Lord of the harvest to raise up and send forth laborers sufficiently qualified and numerous for this work-and, doubtless, missionaries, seamen, and every article wanted, would soon be provided. We have a recent and striking example of this in Great-Britain. When the attention and zeal of ministers and people were excited, by the use of proper means, and their hearts were opened to contribute largely to send the gospel to the heathen, and they prayed to the Lord to direct them what part of the world they should send to, and to qualify men for the purpose-they were soon led to fix on the place, and persons fitted for the mission, offered themselves, even as many as they wanted-a ship was provided, and a pious, able captain, and seamen, willingly undertook the navigation of the ship. - Amer. And would you have the missionary societies, and all the people, now relinquish the plan of sending the gospel to those people who enjoy it not, on our frontiers, and to some of the Indian tribes who border upon us, and turn all their attention and zeal to christianize the Negroes in Africa? This appears to me a whimsical scheme.

Benev. By no means! I wish the attempts to send the gospel to those you mention, may continue and increase. All the attention to the Africans for which I plead, will be so far from diverting from that object, that it will tend to promote it. This is exemplified and proved by the instance in Great Britain, which has been mentioned. The zeal and exertions to send the gospel to the islands in the South Sea, &c. has not in the least abated the concern and attempts to promote the preaching the gospel to those near home, who weredestitute of it, but hath greatly increased them.

I do not desire to dictate and prescribe, but I take leave to propose a plan by which the abovementioned scheme might be prosecuted to good effect. Let the several missionary societies take the matter into serious deliberation, and by their secretaries correspond with each other on the subject. And if they judge it proper,

let them appoint a committee of one or more from each society, fix the time and place of the meeting of said committee, to consider the subject, and determine whether such a proposal be practicable, and if so, by what way and means it may be best executed, and make report to the several societies. If they shall approve of the report, let it be published, and the ministers of churches, and congregations, be desired to lay it before the people in public, to explain the subject, urge the motives and obligations to promote it, as they shall think proper.

And let it be proposed to the churches and people who observe the quarterly days for prayer for the spread of the gospel and advancement of the kingdom of Christ, to make a contribution on each of these days, according to their ability, to promote this design.[And if they do nothing of this, how can their prayers be sincere and acceptable, and not a mere mockery!] And let all others take the method they think best to collect donations.

If this were done, and money collected, a committee appointed to execute the plan, and all should be laid before the public, without doubt persons would be found, both qualified and willing, to go on a mission to Africa.

There are a number of pious, sensible, judicious Africans to be found among us, who can speak the language of a number of nations in Africa, and who could soon be fitted, some for teachers, and others for . school-masters. One or more white persons would be found, of sufficient knowledge and learning, pious, judicious, steady, and prudent, to superintend and direct the business in Africa. And if they should be well received, and establish themselves there, a number of religious blacks, persons of a good moral character, would gladly be transported there, where they would settle, and be formed into churches, to practice and recommend Christianity in the sight of the heathen. VOL. II. No. 1. E

The worldly advantages of a commerce with these nations, which would be the natural consequence of such a settlement, in exchange of the produce of each country, I leave to the consideration of others. I am urging the advancement of the kingdom of Christ, and the salvation of souls, one of which, is worth more than all the riches in the world.

SUNDAY READING: a new Christmas Tract, or, the right way of Rejoicing at Christmas-Shewing the Reasons we have for joy at the event of our Savior's birth-In which also a description is given of the dreadful State the World was in before His coming; with some Remarks suited to the times in which we live.

THER HERE are two ways of keeping Christmas: some seem to keep it much in the same way in which the unbelieving Jews kept their feast in honor of the calf which they had made. "And they made a calf in Horeb in those days, and the people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play." But what a sad sort of Christianity is this! I am no enemy to mirth of a proper kind, and at proper seasons; but the mirth I now speak of is the mirth of inconsideration and of folly, and it is often mixt with much looseness of conduct and drunkenness. Is this, then, the sort of mirth proper for Christians?

Let us suppose now, that a man was to chuse a church as the place in which he was to sit and sing his jolly song, and to drink till he was intoxicated, surely this would imply that he was a person of extraordinary wickedness. But this you will say is what nobody is so bad as to be guilty of; well then, let us suppose, that instead of chusing a church as the place, he should chuse Christmas as the time for the like acts of riot and drunkenness; methinks this must imply no small de