We walked to the fish-market, where we saw the most beautiful tropical fish, deep-red, blue, yellow, the variegated and striped; and it was an entertainment to get the sellers to give us their different names. The language spoken by the colored people in this island is a kind of broken English, with a mixture of Danish, and is almost unintelligible

to us.

"12th mo. 5.- We occupied yesterday in making efforts to appoint some religious meetings. This being a despotic government, and the will of the Governor being the law. in such cases, we mentioned to several persons, to whom we had letters of introduction, our wish to see the Governor." Here follow some accounts of the difficulties encountered. They found I. I. Gurney had been forbidden, a year before, to hold any public or private meetings; and the keepers of boarding-houses, to let their rooms for such a purpose under the penalty of a fine. I. I. Gurney had, however, obtained leave to hold one public meeting, on condition that he should say nothing upon slavery, and not request another meeting; but he held several private meetings, without having asked the Governor.) After some days, and a journey of fifteen miles, to see the Governor, (in vain, for he was ill,) the Police Judge, Andersen, received a formal letter, saying that "the requested permission cannot be granted," signed by the Governor, P. V. Scholten. The journal continues: "Thus it would seem that our mission will not be received. In the exercise of worldly power, men usurp the prerogative of Christ, and deny to him the right of sending by whom he will; forgetting his declaration, Whosoever shall receive in my name one of these little ones that believe in me, receiveth me; but whosoever shall offend one,' &c. The exercise of despotic power over the consciences of men has in every age retarded the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom; and it is to be deplored, that, with the history before us of the rejection of Jesus by the Jews, and of the ages of

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martyrdom, any people should in this age be in bondage to a spirit of intolerance. The following is a copy of a notice issued by the Governor, and placed in all the boardinghouses of the place: Whereas it appears, that, notwithstanding the information and advice given to strangers and others at the police office, some persons have undertaken to hold meetings for the purpose of delivering religious speeches, discourses, or prayers: Notice is hereby given, that, agreeably to the existing laws and regulations of our country, none but the ministers duly appointed for the colonies, by the royal authority, or such persons as have obtained special permission from our government, are entitled to hold such meetings, and deliver discourses, prayers, or the like; and that, in case of non-compliance, the owner or tenant of the house where such illegal meetings may be found must expect to be prosecuted and dealt with according to law.'

Having been prevented from holding religious meetings on this island, and not feeling entirely clear, without expressing more fully to the Governor and the inhabitants the object of our mission, I occupied a part of the day in writing An Address to the Inhabitants of St. Croix."" From this address, which was subsequently printed and circulated in the island, we shall make an extract, which will serve once for all to give the practical, religious, and ecclesiastical doctrine as still held by the Quakers.

"The Society of Friends have, from their earliest rise, maintained as a fundamental point of doctrine, that a measure and manifestation of the spirit of Christ, 'the true light that lighteth every man who cometh into the world,' is given to all men, to lead and guide them in the path of duty; that this is 'the appearing' of 'Christ within' which the Apostle declared to be 'the hope of glory' (Col. i. 27), and which is the same divine power that the blessed Jesus alluded to, when he gave this command to his disciples: 'Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them into

the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost' (the baptism of fire, in discrimination from the baptism of water), 'teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and, lo! I am with you always, even unto the end of the world!' (Matt. xxviii. 19, 20.) This divine principle, or light of Christ within, is that to which our worthy predecessor, George Fox, called the attention of the people, as an efficacious teacher and spiritual guide to salvation, that they might conform their lives to the example and precepts of Jesus, and thus find peace with their Creator. Hence it is declared by William Penn, that 'a belief in the light of Christ within, as God's gift for man's salvation, is our characteristic or main distinguishing point or principle of doctrine.' And in relation to those Quakers whom it pleased Christ to call to the ministry, the same writer asserts, that these experimental preachers of the glad tidings of God's truth and kingdom could not run when they listed, or preach or pray but as Christ prepared and moved them by his own blessed spirit, for which they waited in their meetings for worship, and spoke only as that gave them utterance.' They went not forth in their own wills or times, but in the will of God; and spake not their own studied matter, but as they were opened and moved of his spirit, with which they were well acquainted by their own conversion. They directed people to a principle within themselves, but not of themselves, by which all that they asserted, preached, and exhorted others to, might be known through renewed experience to be true.'

"Although many of the builders of systems of religion have rejected this revelation, or manifestation of Christ's spirit in man, as their foundation, our forefathers built upon it as a rock immovable, as 'the corner-stone, the tried stone, elect and precious,' which the Lord's prophet declared should be laid in Zion. (Isaiah xxviii. 16.) They undoubtedly were sincere in their convictions, when they went forth, as under the influence of the Holy Spirit, as the servants of

Jesus Christ, to call men from under the dominion and power of transgression, into the glorious liberty of the children of God; for they manifested their attachment to these principles by a willingness to suffer persecutions. Fines, imprisonments, even the loss of life itself, were inflicted upon them, and drove many of them from the shores of Great Britain to seek a refuge among strangers. In the wilderness of America they found an asylum, . . . . . there the enlightened Penn founded a colony, . . . . . there the tree of religious liberty was planted, and many generations have already partaken of its fruits.

"We are unshaken in the religion of our fathers; like them, we believe in the light of Christ within, as God's great gift for man's salvation; like them, we believe that the Head of the Church is as able now as formerly to make use of the weak things of this world to advance his cause. He set us the example, by choosing some of the illiterate fishermen of Galilee to be among the first promulgators of his Gospel. And we believe that the learning and wisdom of man are not an essential qualification for a minister of Christ; neither do they receive a true qualification from the ordinations of men, or by virtue of an appointment from royal authority, or the consent of human governments; for they are the servants of Jesus Christ only, whom he, by his Holy Spirit, calls to the labor he hath assigned them; and who can say, with the Apostle (1 Gal. i. 11, 12), 'I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it by man, nor was taught but by the revelation of Jesus Christ.'

"Without assuming to ourselves more than belongs to the very least of the family of Christ, we unhesitatingly assert that we believe our Divine Master hath required at our hands the religious service in which we are now engaged. It is not our mission to teach for doctrines any commandments of men, or to call them to speculative theology; but to invite them to embrace the principles of practical right

eousness, which will lead them to a knowledge of pure and undefiled religion. We dare not preach or pray in our own wills, nor in our own times, but only as our Heavenly Shepherd is pleased to enable us, poor instruments, to proclaim the Gospel. We covet no man's silver or gold; we are not in pursuit of any earthly treasure; we seek not the praise of men; but the love of Christ constraineth us; and for the spread of that religion which breathes 'Glory to God, peace and good-will to men,' we have left the endearments of home, to encounter many trials. Whatever may be the opinions of men concerning us, God is a witness that it is the religion of Jesus, which embraces the present and eternal welfare of our fellow-heirs of immortality, that we alone desire to promote. Our request to mingle with you in religious worship was because our love for all men extended over you. Therefore we are willing patiently to bear our burden, hoping that the day may speedily arrive when the feet of those who are commissioned to publish the glad tidings of salvation may be permitted to tread upon all the high places of the earth, to proclaim to Zion, 'Thy God reigneth.' But while we are willing patiently to suffer in spirit with the seed of the Church, we do not hesitate to express our conviction, that the exercise of human authority over the consciences of men is utterly at variance with the benign religion of Jesus Christ. We are well aware that nations have not unfrequently assumed the right to exercise this authority, and established what is called the religion of the country, which is either directly or remotely supported by the sword. The subjects of such governments are required, in a greater or less degree, to conform their views of worshipping their Creator to the standard thus set up for them; and they who may honestly and conscientiously dissent therefrom are subjected to spiritual bondage. We believe this has ever been detrimental to the interests of Christ's kingdom. His religion can never be forced upon men. They can only be induced to embrace it as they