ground for a like belief amongst ourselves on which we trust the European powers will not be slow to act.

Within the last few days accounts have reached these shores of the revolt on the part of the Mahomedan races of Syria, which has resulted in the massacre of thousands of Christians, and which they appear to conduct with the deliberate aim of exterminating them altogether, and that with the connivance and treacherous aid of the Turkish authorities. Truly the viper we have nourished has turned to sting us. By the compromise of our religious faith, and the sacrifice of our noble soldiers in an unnatural war, we have supported the power that now conducts an onslaught as brutal as that of the Indian mutineers upon our helpless fellow Christians. Atrocities of the darkest nature have been committed, women and children have suffered no less than men, everywhere the Christians are flying for their lives, and one account states that 20,000 helpless beings, the majority of the feebler sex, are wandering on the mountains in one district, preferring to die by hardship and starvation rather than by the fiendish cruelty of their enemies. It needed some such blow as this, it would appear, to convince the Christian governments of France and England of the true character of the power they upheld so warmly, and we are glad to see that even the most accredited organ of worldly principles and policy in this country now admits the truth, and demands redress. The Times of the 10th of July thus speaks, after describing, as we have already done, the nature of the insurrection and the extent of the massacre, it goes on to say,—

"But now comes the worst part of this history. It seems impossible to doubt that the Turkish military authorities to whose guardianship the keeping of the peace in these regions is entrusted, have permitted and perhaps encouraged the slaughter of the Christians. It may be thought a heavy charge to bring against the officer of a sovereign who has signed treaties with the great powers, exchanged presents and autograph letters with Christian princes, who wears the star of S. George, and the cross of the legion of honour; but we can easily believe that the accusation is well founded. The civilization of a Turkish official varies inversely as his distance from Constantinople, and in a province where there is no close supervision, he is ready to indulge every impulse, of bigotry, avarice, and sloth. We can believe that the officers at the heads of detachments have purposely abstained from interference with the murderers, and they have not refused presents from them, and that they have consulted their own ease, by keeping out of the fray and letting the Christians shift for themselves. Some accounts go even further than this, and indicate a treachery on the part of the Turkish commanders which makes them worse than the Druses themselves. Christians are said to have been prevailed on to surrender their arms on the assurance that they would be escorted to a place of safety, and to have been then deliberately given up to the knives of their

enemies.

"And this,' an Englishman would exclaim, 'is the government we have saved, this is the empire, the integrity of which we were bound to support.' It is indeed so. But no political objects can make us forget the claims of humanity-if the Porte cannot repress these outrages, the Christian powers must do it. When the Sultan called upon us to guarantee his authority, he gave us the right to see that it did not become a curse to his people, and particularly to those of our own faith. An intervention there must be, and we trust that England and France will concert measures for saving the Christians of Syria from destruction."

It is somewhat of a new sensation to agree with the Times, but we heartily concur in this last sentiment. The hour is come when the fate of Turkey must be decided. We have ourselves little doubt, that the superstitious expectation of their approaching doom now rife in Turkey, is really the main cause of the present insurrection. It is the last convulsion of the expiring power, the final effort of despair. The Mahomedans have always feared that the Christian faith would be imposed upon them by force of arms, a belief which with other causes less creditable to England than our national pride is disposed to admit, produced the Indian revolt, and which will continue to render the Moslem race our treacherous enemies till they have no longer an existence as a people.

The whole circumstances of the case resolve themselves into this one question, what is to be substituted for this infidel power doomed on all hands to extermination?

We have already stated the answer which we believe would be given by the voice of CHRIST's Church. A free Church and State consolidated round that fair little kingdom which so nobly freed itself from the Moslem yoke, which possesses title deeds of high antiquity to the possession of a Christian empire in the East, and which above all is governed in its moral and spiritual existence by that branch of the Church, which in its indisputable apostolicity and marvellous unchangedness could best represent and continue the work of the first Christian mission that sent illumination to the Eastern nations by the very hands of the chosen twelve.

This we say is the answer of the Church, that of the world as expressed in this shrewd and thoughtful pamphlet is nearly identical; with the exception of one proposition against which we utterly protest, that the Christian empire should permit the continuance within itself of a Mussulman state in the interior of Asia. It will be seen from the following extracts that political interests tend to the same result as that which we demand in the name of the Church.

"Let us now resume these considerations: Turkey can no longer be saved. Even if it were possible to prolong her expiring existence, she can no longer serve the equilibrium of the world, being incapable of selfdefence. She is a continual source of embarrassment and anxiety, and

as her fall can no longer be prevented it must be regulated, and brought on purposely, when the event is still in one's own hand. As to her inheritance it would not be wise to divide it. To small advantages more real interests would be sacrificed, and for one difficulty a thousand others would be substituted, more serious and more permanent. The creation of small states ought also as much as possible to be avoided. All the dangers of the Eastern question arise from Turkey being too weak; it must therefore not be divided into portions weaker still. In order to procure a great result, one must take great measures. Of all the races, or at least of all the Christians of Turkey, a single Christian state must be created. It is the only solution worthy of Europe, useful to her policy, advantageous to her commerce, practicable in short,-for all the little jealousies which may exist between the Christian races of the Turkish empire, roused and maintained by interested motives, would fall without effort before the vast common interest which would be created for them.

"We have heard the doubt expressed whether if a Christian state were to replace the Ottoman empire, it would be better governed. It must be acknowledged that this would not be difficult. Besides, to believe the contrary would be to contest the efficacy of Christianity to ameliorate the condition of humanity.

"A glance over the Christian countries which have become more or less emancipated from the Turks, will suffice to show that no sooner escaped from the grasp of Mussulman tyranny, they raise themselves at once to civilization, and make noble efforts for their own organization, crowned with rapid success.

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"The provinces of Wallachia and Moldavia, which, during the sovereignty of the Porte, were governed by Greek princes, had attained under their rule to a degree of development which left far behind them the other parts of the empire. And since they have relaxed still more the ties which bound them to Turkey, they have shown themselves worthy of the share of liberty which has been given them, by ruling wisely. Servia, which, by an heroic struggle, has conquered an exceptional position in Turkey, marches boldly in the path of progress, under the auspices of her partial emancipation. She has a regular government, a well organized army, and no debt; 343 primary schools, a lyceum, and 5 gymnasiums give instruction to 10,000 children, that is to say, to one child in 92 inhabitants. These fruits of liberty cannot but be applauded, if we reflect that, scarcely twenty years ago, this rural people, vegetating under the Turks, was plunged in the most profound ignorance, and that their principal citizens could neither read nor write.

Greece, which has been raised to complete independence, is the best proof of what we affirm. For some time it was, on false information, the fashion to depreciate that nation. Their deliverance was declared an unsuccessful experiment. Now, people being better informed. on the subject, are more just. The allied armies who occupied Greece during the war of 1854 have contributed much to enlighten public opinion with regard to a country so interesting and so worthy of sympathy.

"Its population, exterminated by oppression and war, was reduced

to 700,000 souls when King Otho took the reins of government. Twenty-five years afterwards, it had risen to 1200,000.

"The revenues were then scarcely five millions of francs. Now, in spite of the great sums spent to raise from their ruins all the villages and all the towns of the kingdom, and with extremely liberal financial and custom-house laws, the public revenues amount to 22,000,000 of francs.

"The constitutional system works very regularly, all the branches of the administration are copied from the best governed countries, the legislation is complete, and combined from the best codes of Europe. The Commission instituted in 1356 by the three powers, to examine the financial position of Greece, has after all proved the satisfactory state of her administration, having only found some very secondary omissions to remark upon. And each year, the Chambers are called upon to discuss new projects destined to stimulate her progress and to augment her well-being.

"Athens, which was a muddy village in the time of the Turks, may rank now among the secondary towns of Europe. Syra and Patras have a most flourishing aspect. Roads begin to be traced all over the country, in spite of the difficulties which its natural configuration presents. The country, which but thirty years ago was almost a desert, is now covered with rich cultivation, which attains in certain places even to the summits of the hills, and which has converted some of the provinces of the Morea in particular, into gardens of the greatest beauty. The amount of the exportations of Greece augment every year, and has now attained a sum of 22,540,000 francs. (See the tables of 1858). It is true that the value of the importations is much greater, but this difference is covered by the produce of the national navigation, which progresses in an astonishing manner. Greece counts at the present time 4,000 merchant ships, small and great, some steamers, and 30,000 able and sober seamen. How long is it since this enslaved people was dragging its wretched existence amongst mines and tombstones? Now free, active, and intelligent, its well-being augments every day, and it will soon have nothing to envy in the most prosperous nations of Europe.

"But it is above all the intellectual progress of the Greeks which furnishes the greatest ground of hope. Under the Mahometan sceptre, the most profound ignorance was extended like a shroud over the land once illustrated by the genius of philosophers, poets, and artists. Lord Byron travelled shortly before the Greek revolution, over these disinherited countries, and found all dead, except the splendour of the sun's light:-'But all, except their sun, is set.' A few years more, and the cry of the insurrection having once resounded, life returned to this sojourn of death. And now, instruction is widely spread everywhere. 830 primary schools, both public and private, for boys and girls, have been established; and 64,000 children, that is to say, one for 18 inhabitants, receive there the knowledge which civilizes a people. 102 secondary schools, 7 upper schools, and 4 seminaries, give the higher degrees of learning, and in Athens, which is the seat of several scientific societies, the university is frequented by 600 students, who become afterwards the apostles of science in all parts of the East. More than fifty political and literary journals published in the capital and other

towns of the kingdom, complete the work of the propagation of civilization.

"Those who are interested in the happiness of humanity, as well as those who search an issue to the Eastern question, cannot but applaud the idea which created in Greece an independent state, under the sceptre of a king who leads it worthily to the aim it is destined to attain. The rapid revival of this little kingdom to civilization, militates powerfully in favour of the establishment of a Christian empire in the East."-P. 43.

In conclusion we must remark that we have not brought this question before our readers simply for their amusement, but with the definite purpose of leading them to consider what interest they have personally in the present state of affairs. A great crisis is at hand, involving the future destiny of nations, and it behoves every member of the Church to see what duty arises for himself out of the convulsions around. In the present case it appears that there are two special requirements pressing upon Christians. The first is the duty of making the real position and character of the Greek Church a matter of careful study, a study to be conducted with the banishment of all preconceived prejudice, and with an honest examination of this ancient Communion, not in the practice of the lower orders of the people, but in her sacraments and ordinances, in her dogmatic teaching, and in her authoritative rules for the guidance of her children, rules which prescribe every step they are to take, and every prayer they are to say from the cradle to the grave.

Secondly, we conceive that in the English communion at present we are especially bound to strive by an impartial survey of historical records, to divest ourselves of the local impression that is so strong upon us, that in the Western Church we behold at least the most ancient portion of the universal Church, the most secure by right of inheritance, the pillar that stood upright and unmoved when the Eastern portion of the once perfect temple fell away from it in the convulsions of departed ages. It is not so. We do confidently affirm that any one who gathers up the history of the past from uncorrupt and unbiassed sources, must come to the conclusion that at the least it is a drawn question, and that no fair and honest judgment can charge the disruption on the Eastern side entirely. We ourselves are of opinion that the authorities hold good for an admission far beyond, and that the case is clearly proved against the Latin Church as having been the power that moved away from the glorious old Church of the East, leaving it where it now stands.

In any case, if as we believe, all things are pointing to the employment of the Eastern communion in the good Providence of GOD for the evangelization of a large portion of the world, let it be with feelings of charity and hope towards that ancient Church, that we daily say our prayer, Thy kingdom come.