has been adopted as a ready means of explaining the healing change from sin to holiness'."

Are not missionaries wanted among such a people?

The African

inferior in intellectual and spiritual dowments to any other por

en

Many who assert the former, do not declare not naturally the latter. Perhaps the slave-holder and dealer alone say that he is a mere animal without a soul. It is almost unnecessary to contend for the possession of the immortal spark, and for a partaking of the covenant of grace by our brother; but for the other position it is necessary to strive.

tion of the human family.

In answer to objectors, we would say, Were not the ancient Egyptians true negroes? They were the masters of the civilization of the world. When Greece was just emerging from the shades of barbarism, and before the name of Rome was known, this negro-land of Mizraim was proficient in science and art, and Thebes the wonder-city of the world. Solon, Plato, and a host of our Greek and Roman intellectual masters, confess their obligations to that stupendous "learning of the Egyptians" in which Moses was so apt and able a scholar; notwithstanding, too often does the white man of the present day undervalue the humble descendant of that giant who helped to make him what he is!

Were there no native African Bishops of the early Church, who shewed such intellect, piety, zeal, and activity for the cause of good, as even to influence the creeds and formularies of the West? Who was Cyprian, and who was Augustine? Some of these Bishops shewed mighty intellect for evil, as well as good. Who was Tertullian?

Some of the opponents and allies of redoubtable Rome Pagan were no mean warriors: Who was Masinissa, who Jugurtha, and who was Syphax ?

Toussainte L'Ouverture, a pure African, was a troublesome opponent of the elder Napoleon in St Domingo.

Analysis, p. 39, note.

The native orators of the present day shew good speaking talent as well as no small amount of common sense, and intellectual ability.

What the African wants is education-elevation-fair treatment, and, emphatically, Christianity: with these, he will soon outshine many who now look down proudly on him.

SECTION IV.-Dr Livingstone's labours, explorations, and discoveries considered as to their extent and results in their MORAL and RELIGIOUS ASPECT.

"For the day of the Lord is near upon all the heathen."-Obad. 15. "And the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations."Rev. xxii. 2.

In this concluding portion of our volume it will be well to review the Missionary bearing of the solution of the great central South African problem. Man is the most important object of our solicitude, whenever we want one whereon to exercise our talents and benevolence. He possesses an immortal soul to be saved or lost. In this point of view our traveller's labours and discoveries assume proportions at once solemn, gigantic, and unspeakably important. Science, philosophy, literature and art all pale their splendours and lose their worth when weighed in the balances with the human soul. Other branches of our race are now introduced to us. We are, and ought to be, anxious about their moral and spiritual state; these being topics of eternal interest.

In this Section the best course to adopt appears to be, that of trying to produce a conviction of the need of Christian training and instruction among these Africans; and then to shew what has been already done-what is being effectedand what remains to be accomplished in these regions, with reference to such training and instruction.

The present MORAL CONDITION of the Natives of South

Africa.

"For the dark places of the earth are full of the habitations of cruelty."-Ps. lxxiv. 20.

"They became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened."-Rom. i. 21.

Real heathenism is the same in principle and practice in every age and country of the world. We have had an appalling spectacle and realization of these in the late Sepoy atrocities in India; and in some revolting episodes of the Chinese war.

The picture of heathen faith and practice given by St Paul, in Rom. i.; and iii. 10-18, applies with equally forcible truth to the heathen in the present day, as it did to the Greeks and Romans of his own. With reference to South Africa, there might be this difference, that its native inhabitants are uncivilized, while those to whom the Apostle refers were highly cultivated as to intellect and the arts of life. But whatever differences exist as to outward condition, yet spiritually speaking, all heathen are dark, and utterly alienated from God.

Missionaries and others returning from India tell us of the painfully exciting and yet deadening influence of heathenism on the soul. Dr Livingstone, after his nine weeks tour with Sekeletu, although he was treated by all with great kindness and consideration, thus speaks of such intercourse: "Yet to endure the dancing, roaring and singing, the jesting, anecdotes, grumbling, quarrelling and murdering of these children of nature, seemed more like a severe penance than anything I had before met with in the course of my missionary duties. I took thence a more intense disgust at heathenism than I had before, and formed a greatly elevated opinion of the latent effects of missions

in the south, among tribes which are reported to have been as savage as the Makololo1.”

In another place he says: "But amidst all the beauty and loveliness with which we are surrounded, there is still a feeling of want in the soul in viewing one's poor companions, and hearing bitter impure words jarring on the ear in the perfection of the scenes of nature, and a longing that both their hearts and ours might be brought into harmony with the Great Father of Spirits"."

Such portraits are painful to contemplate.

The life of God in the soul, purity of thought and man- ners, together with the bringing forth of the fruits of the Spirit, are never exhibited in any except Christian countries, whatever the dark side of these countries may be.

ed moral per

The question of the moral sense is not to Their blunt- be discussed here; nevertheless much can be ceptions, and gathered both for and against it from Dr degraded man- Livingstone's narrative.

ners and cus

toms.

We find even public morality in some cases at a very low ebb; Dr Livingstone tells us that there is not even a public opinion of purity and decency. He states that among the Makololo all the women, married and single, are expected to be, and are, at the call of the chief; likewise that a female chieftain regards each man of her clan as her quasi-husband; and that such is the case with most other tribes, as well as the practice of polygamy. Some of the Balonda and Barotse tribes are an honourable exception in the treatment of their women.

The Makololo use most awful language; swearing, cursing and obscene expressions being their delight. They are not only foul-mouthed, but also very dirty in their habits and persons.

As far as dress is concerned, most of the people have but little; while murder and the grossest of crimes, often go 1 Travels, p. 226. 2 Ibid. p. 259.

unpunished. With vast numbers the ideas of common honesty, public law, private duty, and proper obligation between man and man, are, to a great extent, in abeyance. Sekomi, a Bechuana chief, tried to palliate an act of extortion by shewing that it was not swindling'. On one occasion our traveller concluded that an old Bushman had no conception of morality whatever. He says of him “When his heart was warmed by our presents of meat, he sat by the fire relating his early adventures: among these was his killing five other Bushmen. Two,' said he, counting on his fingers, were females, one a male, and the other two calves.' -'What a villain you are to boast of killing women and children of your own nation! what will God say when you appear before him?'-' He will say,' replied he, 'that I was a very clever fellow.' This man now appeared to me as without any conscience, and, of course, responsibility, but, on trying to enlighten him by further conversation, I discovered that, though he was employing the word which is used among the Bakwains when speaking of the Deity, he had only the idea of a chief, and was all the while referring to Sekomi, while his victims were a party of rebel Bushmen against whom he had been sent."

Dr Burchell informs us that the Batlapis view murder with perfect indifference. Mr Moffat adds that during his stay among these people a man killed his wife in a rage. Remarking of this crime, "When I endeavoured to represent to the chiefs, with whom I was familiar, as old acquaintance, the magnitude of such crimes, they laughed, I might say inordinately, at the horror I felt for the murder of a woman by her own husband"."

The Bushmen and Bakalahari are unspeakably degraded; making the beasts of the field their companions, they are become almost assimilated to them in their every-day life. 2 Ibid. p. 159.

1 Travels, p. 146.

3 Missionary Labours, &c. p. 465.