shillings was obtained for them. On another occasion two sailors attended, who had been shipwrecked on the coast of Holland. Their deliverance had been very singular,-one of them was the only person saved out of twentyone on board the 'Diana,' on her voyage from Shields to London, during the late tremendous and distressing gales; -the other was the only survivor of the ship's crew of the "James and Agnes," lost on her voyage from Wisbeach to Shields, during the same gales. These men, after the evening sermon, were specially addressed from the words, "The Lord saved them with a great deliverance;" after which, at the close of the services, a collection of £1 17s. 6d. was obtained for them, Bibles were presented to them, and together with this captain, the crew of the 'D-,' (to whom also Bibles were given) attended all the means of grace at the chapel whilst in London. Preached seven times at the Sailors' Chapel. Visitation of Ships at Gravesend.I have held one meeting on board the 6 Mary Lyon,' at Gravesend, bound to South America, in which I have two sons going out as first and second mates. The cook, (a coloured man,) and two others appeared deeply affected,—and when I quitted the ship to leave them, they unanimously exclaimed, 'God bless you'-'God bless you.' One of them, as I passed down the gangway, said to me, (at the same time shaking my hand,) 'I hope I shall never forget what you have said to day.' I left this ship's crew with grateful reflections, both as it regards the pious captain who is a particular friend, and also as it regards my sons, who are going out as officers with him, and even the crew, of some of whom I entertain a good hope. A prayer-meeting was held immediately after this service, on board the ship 'Thetis,' bound to Antigua. The whole of the crew, pilot, and officers of the customs, with the exception of the cook, attended ;-one sailor engaged in prayer; this was a soul refreshing sea son. Sailors' Boarding-Houses.-Whilst there is much difficulty in obtaining access to the inmates of these dwellings; yet there is great encouragement. Our labours have not been in vain, many are induced to attend the means of grace; and we have much pleasure in recognizing some of those at chapel, with whom we have conversed on the former part of the day. Tracts are in general thankfully received by them. First Station.-Rev. W. BENSON.During the past three months, I have been enabled to prosecute my labours amongst seamen, amidst personal and domestic afflictions, encouraged by the reflection, that the promises of God are calculated in all situations to comfort, to animate, and to inspire with holy zeal in the great cause of the Redeemer. I have had additional encouragement to persevere amidst difficulties, by very marked expressions of gratitude and great readiness to listen to the word of salvation. On some occasions I have listened to the prayers of not a few, whose fervour and sentiments have been such, as to lead me to think that that heart must indeed be hard, which could remain unmoved. The meetings, in the three stations in which I have laboured, have been well attended. After making fair deductions, not fewer than eight hundred souls have listened to the word of life. I cannot but look back with much satisfaction to the series of special services held in the Sailors' Chapel in January last, as also to some other meetings of a similar nature in other places. The holy flame appears to have strengthened and extended, and been caught by some of our seamen. captain, whose ship was devoted to Bethel meetings, and who had arrived only the day before these services were com A. menced (unconscious of what had taken place on shore, and engaged on the second day in holding a meeting on board his own vessel with upwards of twenty present,) said, 'Sir, how is this, we never had such a number present, and, speaking for myself, I have never before felt as I have done this night,— and never before, have I heard you in such a manner; how is it? the Lord seems to break in upon us wonderfully! -surely this is a token for good!' There have been several instances of the like nature. I feel satisfied that the sacred fire has been kept alive. On a recent occasion, a new ship came to London; the master being a Bethel captain, and anxious to devote his vessel to the Lord, we held, what is termed, a consecration service. Twenty were present. It was a most solemn and interesting engagement. Every heart seemed to beat with joy; every eye to kindle with gratitude; every tongue to utter the feelings of the soul! This scene gave rise to another on the alternate evening; when I could but rejoice and say, 'what hath God wrought!' I felt unwilling to close the service. There appeared so much of heaven,—so much of the presence of the Lord! Our numbers were six-and-twenty, in a cabin of very moderate dimensions. Thus the work of the Lord is prospering,-many among our seamen are hearing, and believing, and turning to the Lord. NORTH DEVON AUXILIARY. On Thursday, the 17th January, the First Anniversary of the North Devon Coast Auxiliary to the British and Foreign Sailor's Society, was held at Bideford, in the Wesleyan Chapel, when prayer was offered; and a very suitable and excellent discourse delivered by the Rev. Evan James, of Bridgewater, In the afternoon there was a special meeting for prayer, with an address from the Rev. C. H. Shepherd, of Tavistock; and a public tea, in the Mansion House, of which upwards of a hundred partook. The public meeting for business was held at half-past six o'clock. The chair was taken by Richard Bartlett, Esq., in the room of Captain Lewis Hole, R. N., who was prevented from attending by domestic illness. The report was read by the Rev. Ebenezer Corbishley, the agent of the Parent Institution, to the following effect: The report of the Bethel proceedings presents some pleasing anticipations of the future, rather than a retrospect of the past; although the services of this day would never have been held, but upon a graduating scale, upon which the Bethel cause, through the auspices of a kind providence had hitherto proceeded. There was a period when no attention was paid to the sailor in any of our localities, although the seafaring population in some of them, formed a large proportion of the census; there was a time when the Bethel flag was first hoisted, without exciting much interest, in behalf of that object, which that signal is now well known to embrace, whether it waves upon the shore, the sea, or our rivers, namely, to collect seamen together, to the worship of the Most High. That, however, led, twelve years ago, to the formation of the society at Appledore, called the "Bethel Union, and Seamen and Fishermen's Friend Society," when Admiral Pearson presided, who has now entered into his rest. For some years that society continued its operations with much success, as visible in the moral and spiritual improvement of the sailors at Appledore ; but it appeared that it would benefit the sailors' cause generally, and excite a greater degree of local interest, if the Bethels which now existed in our different towns were blended together in one institution, to assist by their combined efforts the operations of the "British and Foreign Sailors' Society," having for its object the evangelization of seamen throughout the world. Such an auxiliary was formed on the 10th of August, 1837, at Appledore, under the name of the North Devon Coast Auxiliary to the British and Foreign Sailors' Society. To extend this report to an undue length, by contemplating the measures adopted by the parent Institution, and by which the work of mercy has been successively carried on among our sailors at home and abroad, is not our object; but where there has been inattention and neglect to that useful and important class of men,-to urge their claims, as peculiar and important, upon British sympathy and christian benevolence. From our insular situation, as an island of the sea, sailors, both in the naval and our merchant department, form a very considerable part of the community; the former has been Britain's bulwark and defence in the time of danger; the latter has furnished her with those unparalleled resources in trade or commerce, that have made her the mart of the world. But whilst our country has been ennobled by her religious Institutions, which remind us of so many luminaries filling their orbs and shedding their lustre around us, from which, as a focus of light, they have reflected their beams upon distant nations, there was no society to meet the religious wants of seamen, till the recent date to which we have alluded, from which time the feeble efforts of the few, have endeavoured to wipe off the disgrace and odium incurred by general indifference and neglect of that part of the human family, who have long appealed to the sympathies of the church, in the plaintive but powerful language of the Psalmist, "I looked upon my right hand and beheld,' but there was no man that would know me; refuge failed me; no man cared for my soul." Whilst the number of British seamen (nearly 300,000) render them of so much importance to the nation as incorporated with the whole community -the very nerves of our strength-the very channel through which the blessings of Divine providence are conveyed, they are a people held in a state of moral degradation, of which we have no example. If we tremble for the destinies of our hearers to whom we address the great themes of the gospel from sabbath to sabbath, how very hopeless must we contemplate the future condition of men who, without some extraordinary effort in the provision that meets their calling and its privations, must remain without the means of grace and instruction. Through Bethel exertions such means have been partially supplied, and not without manifest tokens of the Divine favor: many sailors have been rescued from the haunts of vice and ruin, have been taught the knowledge of the truth, which maketh us free-have embraced that faith which exerts its transforming influence over the human character in all that receive it-nay, sailors have been added to our churches, and we can here emphatically say, 'Ye are our epistles, seen and read of all men." With such encouraging facts, and which multiply upon us in proportion to our efforts, we appeal to Britons, to British churches -to the great and noble Institutions, whose progress and triumphs have been impeded among the heathen by the conduct of our seamen; and may we not confidently look for one simultaneous effort in their behalf? Promptitude is required; while we talk over the matter the sailor is contending with the storm -he is struggling with the wave-he is sinking into a watery tomb-and a soul is lost! The report then referred to the local Bethels, Appledore, Barnstaple, Ilfracombe, &c., and congratulated the meeting upon the increased degree of feeling and effort, in behalf of the sailors' cause at Bideford, upon the auspicious circumstances under which they had met in their respective places of worship that day, exemplifying that union which is the life and support of christian enterprise, and which must ensure final success. The meeting was addressed, in advocacy of its objects, by the Rev. Evau James, Rev. C. H. Shepherd, Rev. E. Corbishley, Mr. Rooker, and others; and collections at the close of the services amounted to nearly £17. ROCHESTER AND CHATHAM AUXILIARY. The First Anniversary of this Auxiliary was held on the evening of the 25th Feb., when Dr. Bell presided. The meeting was numerously and respectably attended; and the impression produced was highly favourable to the great object designed and advocated. The following is an abstract of the report, which was read by the secretary : While the committee, in presenting their first annual report, would rejoice in what is doing for the sailor, deeply lament that in this maritime vicinity, where his moral degradation is always before our eyes, so little has been done to reclaim and elevate him in society. The exertions of the committee during the past year in their immediate locality have been as extensive, as their limited opportunities would admit. The services on the river have been regularly continued on the sabbath. The merchant vessels in the harbour visited for the purpose of distributing tracts, conversing with the crews, and inviting to worship under the Bethel flag. These services have often been of a very interesting nature, and the number has averaged about eighteen. At one of the Bethel meetings, after the seamen had been addressed on the important duty of prayer, a pious sailor, then present, stated, that God had blessed him with a praying wife, and that there was a mutual understanding whenever he left home for his voyage, that at a certain hour every day, she would re - pair to her closet, to supplicate for the protection and blessing of God upon him when far off upon the seas; and that it was his constant practice, whenever the duties of the ship would admit, to devote that same hour in fervent prayer for his wife and family on shore, that God would bless them with the care of his providence, and the riches of his grace ;-and often, when at that hour of prayer his vessel was driven with the wind, and tossed, the thought of his wife, who then was pouring out her soul to God for him, calmed his fears and gave confidence to his mind. It is with much pleasure also, that they have heard of instances of piety among sailors, on board some of Her Majesty's ships in the harbour. In a man of war lately paid off at this port, there were twelve pious sailors who were in the habit of meeting in some retired part of the ship for religious conversation and prayer; and though subjected to many privations, they continued to the end of their voyage to maintain an uuflinching avowal of their attachment to religion; and these very men were regarded by their officers, as the most confidential, punctual, brave, and useful part of the crew. The committee therefore are led to cherish the hope, that soon the little leaven will leaven the whole lump,—and when as a people the conversion of seamen to the Saviour shall be general. Every opportunity has been embraced, which the providence of God has afforded for introducing religious publications on board of government vessels in the river, and those bound to distant ports of the world; and they cannot omit to acknowledge the christian solicitude and effort put forth by those whose influence has been employed to advance the objects of this Society. Although the attention of the committee had hitherto been principally directed to the maritime department, it was their unanimous opinion, that in this neighbourhood, where such a large portion of the military is constantly garrisoned, and the demoralizing influence of whose conduct is so lamentably witnessed, direct efforts should be made for their benefit. It was therefore resolved, that united monthly lectures to soldiers and sailors, be delivered at the different chapels in succession, with a view to excite their attention to the great truths of religion. The attendance has varied from twenty to eighty soldiers, and from ten to forty sailors; and the committee hope that the appeals made to their consciences, will be as a nail fastened in a sure place. In connection with this effort it was deemed adviseable to commence, during the summer months, open-air preaching for the special benefit of these classes in the neighbourhood, who absent them. selves from public worship. The most eligible situations were therefore selected. As a place most suited for the attendance of those connected with the river, they commenced on Strood quay; and it was gratifying to witness the numbers that came, and the attention which was manifested. A similar ser vice was engaged in, on the military road, as the best locality for soldiers. This service was generally of a very interesting nature; the numbers present on some occasions, amounting to upwards of 200; tracts were distributed; and the committee believe, that the special services were made useful. They hope that in the coming season greater efforts will be made in this particular department of christian labour. The committee, gratefully acknowledge the grant, from the Parent Society, of a small circulating library; and although considerable difficulty has been felt in their circulation, owing to constant changes in this department, every opportunity has been embraced, and they have been gratified in the interest which has been evinced in their perusal. The soldiers' library still continues in circulation. The committee congratulate their friends on the improved state of the society's funds, The collecting cards issued at the last public meeting, have re alised the sum of twenty-six pounds; and the committee would deem it a neglect of duty on their part, were they not publicly to acknowledge the kind and persevering efforts of their friends, by whose devoted and disinterested labours this auxiliary has not only been enabled to extend its operations in the neighbourhood, but has the prospect of shortly forwarding a remittance to the parent society. The committee would earnestly urge the claims of that important institution upon the consideration of this meeting, both from the nature and extent of its operations, and the character and circumstances of those to whom its efforts are directed. This they would do on the ground of their exposure to premature death-their deep depravity-and their extreme privations. Impressed with these things themselves, the committee would invite the co-operation of every philanthropist, patriot, and christian. that a combined and vigorous effort may be made to raise the |