to pation, that the repose of the civilized world will shortly be universal. But we are not to forget, that with their present elements, the sleep of the nations is but a feverish dream; and that the slightest disturbance may again rouse them to commotion. We would advance our decided opinion, that this is the proper season prosecute the claim of peace. In the clashing of arms the voice of reason and humanity cannot be heard. The delusions of active war blind the eyes of the powerful to the exhibition of their true interests; but when the turmoil of national passion subsides in peace, the pleas of religion and sound morality may not be urged in vain. urge In full view therefore of the sublime philanthropy, and rational practicability of the pursuit in which we are engaged, we would communicate to all the benevolent friends of peace the encouragement we feel, and them to renewed and augmented efforts. The object we have at heart, is a vast and holy one-we are conscious of the purity of the design, and we are assured of the efficacy of the means by which we would promote it :-the Almighty Being looks with approbation on our endeavours; and his word of undeviating veracity has predicted success. Here are considerations to touch and animate every heart alive to human eman cipation and felicity-to prompt to unremitted and increasing exertion; till, with a divine blessing, every malignant passion shall be hushed; and the pacific song which delighted angels poured over the nativity of the Redeemer, shall be responded by every human voice, in unbroken harmony. [We have to apologize to our readers for not having inserted this Report sooner; the fact is, that we have not yet received, as usual, any copy of it from the Massachusetts Peace Society. The present extracts from the Report are, therefore, taken from The Harbinger of Peace, the periodical of the American Peace Society, the supply of which has been rather irregular. The miscarriage of a parcel, containing some numbers of The Harbinger of Peace, has prevented us from giving, in our pages, the last Report of the American Peace Society. We, however, hope soon to be able to favour our readers with it.-EDITOR.] The Geneva Peace Society. THE friends of peace are sometimes twitted with the observation, "I do not see that you are doing any good; " and they are then referred to Turkey, Russia, Poland, or whereever there happens to be war. Such observations evince a misconception of the principles, and of the direction of the labours, of the Peace Societies. They have repeatedly disclaimed any interference with the politics of governments, or with the differences that may arise between them, as inconsistent with the christian principle upon which they are established. They endeavour to enlighten the public mind, through their publications,-by exhibiting the hero's laurels as irrigated with the blood of the slain and the tears of the widow and orphan, and nurtured by crime;-by proving that, as war is repugnant to the christian virtues, so it is the direst scourge that afflicts humanity; while peace cultivates the arts, sciences, manufactures, and commerce, and, above all, prepares the mind for the mild influences of that religion which illumines the future. destiny of man. Their labours, therefore, have only an indirect influence on kings and governments, through an enlightened public opinion on the impolicy as well as unlawfulness of settling national differences by an appeal to mortal strife. They send forth their publications to foreign lands and distant regions of the globe, and then leave : them, as the husbandman does his seed, to the kind influences of heaven, that they may germinate, taking root downwards, and bearing fruit upwards and the seed thus sown has not been unproductive; the plant of peace has thrown its refreshing shade over persons that might previously have been the least inclined to repose under the peaceful shadow of their vines and their fig-trees. We recommend to our readers the articles under the head of the "Spirit of the Times," in our last number, p. 493 to 496, as corroborating these remarks, which are further confirmed by the establish ment of a Peace Society at Geneva; and the following important document, which also affords encourage ment to our editorial labours, as not having, through the Divine blessing, been in vain. GENTLEMEN,-I must premise by expressing my gratitude to you for having been pleased to answer the appeal which I had the honour of making to you by my proposition of the 16th of November last. It would be as easy to deny the utility of all academies, of every scientific and literary association, as to deny the utility of the Society which I have the honour to propose to you; for it will be formed with the same object, that of diffusing among the community the knowledge of many, in order to attain to a happy result. Now, gentlemen, without wishing to depreciate in any way what is obtained by the labours of the Societies I have just named, I dare affirm that those of the Peace Society will surpass them all in importance. Had I considered that my know * See also the speech of Mr. Henry Dunn, from Guatimala, Vol. VII. p. 69-71 of our work. ledge equalled my inclinations and my convictions, I would have ceded to no one the glory and the hap piness of contending in favour of the abolition of the punishment of death, and of war; but I have done myself justice, and, by a public assembly convened in 1826, have acquired fellow-labourers, who have powerfully contributed to introduce into the sanctuary or cabinet where the laws are prepared, a discussion which, till then, was scarcely admitted in books. Some distinguished statesmen have been pleased to assure me that this assembly had produced fruit, of which the whole community already felt the advantages; and the answer of the king to the address of the Chamber of Deputies, of the 9th of October last, is entirely in accordance with the letter which the Duke of Orleans did me the honour to address me in 1828, expressing great respect for the Report of the above assembly. This answer has proved to all the world that he was inclined to propose or to sanction the entire abolition of the punishment of death as soon as it could be practicable.* Encouraged by this progress of opinion, I have considered myself authorised to address the public, to repel, by my "Wishes," the most cruel of all scourges; that which the gospel virtually condemns in every page: to repel that barbarous conduct which Voltaire called murder and crime, openly committed with uplifted and waving banners; and I come forward and ask the combina * Persons of influence have wished me to make known this opinion of King Philip under the present circumstances. A Work he published under that title. ED. The savages of the Sandwich Islands, after having heard a Christian missionary, sought for all their arms and gave them to him, doubting not that the effusion of blood was henceforth forbidden. Do not these people comprehend the gospel better than the partisans of war? This fact is the more striking, as the missionary had not, in the first instance, himself inculcated the sentiment. tion and assistance of men distinguished by their sentiments and their enlightened minds, to elicit the different means by which this end may be obtained. It is not when all the organs of public opinion are proclaiming principles that are new and often dangerous, that people would dare to pretend that a Society of honest persons has not the right of putting forth and publishing its ideas concerning the means of curing the most cruel malady that infects the human species. A moment of reflection upon the times in which we live suffices to dissipate such an error, It is sufficient to observe the works, the official introduction of which into royal libraries is announced in all the journals, to be convinced that the Government is not alarmed at discussions upon the boldest questions. A retrospective view of history will suffice to convince us that it is for the benefit of mankind that the right peace and war should be publicly discussed by men entirely independent, and who can have nothing to gain by war, either directly or indirectly. of As some persons are distrustful of new establishments, I have placed in the hands of the pastor, Mr. Ramer, some numbers of an English Journal, The Herald of Peace, which is designed to give an account of the labours of the Peace Societies of England and America. I will not affirm that we are indebted to the Peace Societies for the pacific tone of the speeches at the opening of the Assembly by the President Jackson, * When a minister or secretary of war has a voice in deciding the question, it is to be feared he may yield to the desire of making himself necessary, as did Louvois, who caused the devastation of the Palatinate in order that Louis XIV. might continue to need his services. It is the same with many honest individuals who can hope for their advancement only by war; it ought, then, to be decided only by men disinterested in the question. This distinguished military man has been or for those of some members of the English Parliament; yet it is not at Geneva, where Societies have been established for the encouragement of the arts, sciences, and industry, that their salutary influence will be denied. It is not at Geneva, where, for the last 300 years, the interests of the state have been discussed in all assemblies,*-where the impulse for association has produced such happy results, that any would dare deny that there may proceed from the Peace Society, writings calculated to open the eyes of men upon the extreme folly of destroying each other for questions capable of being settled by a general arbitration, the possibility of which is proved by particular examples.† I Do not think, Gentlemen, that I confine myself solely to that plan of arbitration which was conceived by Henry the Fourth, and which I have constantly quoted in all the writings. that I have sent to the press. conceive that there may be many ways of attaining to peace; and it is in order that you may give publicity to all your ideas on this subject, Gentlemen, that I propose to establish a Journal, the columns of which should be open to all who may be desirous of serving the cause of the Peace Society. The editing of this Journal should be submitted to our inspection, in order that it may never swerve from the object it is intended to promote; and that each of us may find in it an organ for the free expression of our opinions. As the converted to pacific ideas, on which account his words have but the greater weight. * Although the object of the deliberations of the Peace Society extends beyond our limits, we are permitted to believe that we shall have the consent of good men to hunt down war, as the French physicians have sought the means of combating the plague, the yellow fever, and the cholera morbus. The tendency of the age makes us predict that Machiavelism would not preside at the tribunal of arbitration. See my Historical Fragments, p. 103, and what follows. founder of the Society, I shall for a time make the necessary advances to supply what is wanting in the subscriptions; * and whilst waiting till the Society shall call a meeting relative to the object of its establishment, I shall, Gentlemen, beg you to have the goodness to perform the duty of a jury to award the prize which I have offered for the best essay upon the means of procuring a general and permanent peace, in the proposal sent therewith. † If the Peace Society be desirous of directing more particularly the attention of the competitors to some points omitted by me, I would invite it to deliberate, and to vote a supplement to the proposals, which should be made public, in order that the said competitors may comply with the wishes of their judges. Now, Gentlemen, that you know the motives by which I have been actuated, I am about to have the honour of communicating to you a plan for the regu lation of the Peace Society, to which you will make all the amendments dictated by your experience of deliberative assemblies, and by the interest that you have already taken in the Peace Society, which can only exist by the protection of God and by your good will. Do not forget, Gentlemen, that your example will be followed, and that a pleasing sympathy will, in a short time, be established between the future Peace Societies that may be formed and * I venture to hope that the Archives of the Peace Society will experience the cordial support of all who, acknowledging it to be the greatest blessing, may be willing to concur in this enterprise. † Dated the 25th of November, 1830, at a time when we had no certainty of being able to establish the Peace Society, and when the founder was desirous, by his Proposals, of calling attention to the scourge of war and the benefits of peace. It should be understood that, although the prize may be awarded to an Essay, the jury is not obliged to sanction all the opinions of the author. This reservation is always expressed by the Faculty of Right, when it permits a thesis to be printed. your own, which is the first on the European continent. I have cogent reasons for believing that your Society will be viewed with a favourable eye by all the friends of peace, whatever rank they occupy in the social hierarchy of Europe; but should some malevolent individual, regardless of the benevolence of its mission, seek to injure it in the public opinion, each of us, I am sure, would answer, Do what is right, come what may. Proceedings of the American Peace Sociely, at their Second Anniversary, held in the City of NewYork, on Thursday, the 13th day of May, 1830, at the Baptist Meeting-house in Nassau-street. [The numbers of The Harbinger of Peace, for which we have been so long waiting, have just arrived from America, and with them the Proceedings and Report of the Second Anniversary of the American Peace Society.] AT 4 o'clock P. M. the Society met, and the Rev. JOHN CODMAN, D.D. of Dorchester, Massachusetts, was called to the chair. The Throne of Grace was addressed by the Rev. Asa Mead, of Gorham, Maine. The Corresponding Secretary read the Report. The Rev. Mr. M'Aboy, of Ohio, made the following motion, which was seconded by Mr. Goodell, of Boston. Voted, that the Report just read be accepted, and published in The Harbinger of Peace. The second was made by the Rev. Mr. Baldwin, of New-York city, seconded by the Rev. Mr. Carroll, of Brooklyn, L. I. viz. Resolved, That the magnitude of the work to be performed by Peace Societies, the importance of it to the world, and the comparatively small numbers engaged in it, call for much devotedness and activity among its friends, and that the certainty of success, from the promises of God, affords ample encouragement for our utmost efforts. The third motion was made by the Rev. Mr. Mead, and seconded by Mr. Ladd, viz. Resolved, That we will persevere in our efforts to disseminate information respecting the evils of war, and the duty of Christians in relation to it, till death shall close our career, or the millennium shall remove all doubts and occasion for further exertions. The above vote and resolutions were accompanied by able speeches, the substance of some of which we hope, ere long, to lay before our readers, and were passed unanimously. The audience was then dismissed with the gospel blessing, by the Rev. Chairman, and the Society proceeded to elect the Honorary Members and Board of Directors, and then adjourned sine die. Mathew Cary. North Carolina. John Stafford, P. M. | Joshua Lindley. The Board of Directors subsemittees and Officers. quently chose the following Com EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE. Rev. E. W. Baldwin. D. L. Dodge. A. G. Phelps. Rev. C. G. Sommers. H. Aikman. PUBLISHING COMMITTEE. John Griscom, LL.D. | Rev. E. W. Baldwin. Rev. D. L. Carroll. Wm. Ladd, Sec. for Foreign Correspondence. Rev. L. D. Dewey, Rec. and Dom. Sec. Hugh Aikman, Treasurer. Wm. Ladd, Editor of The Harbinger of Peace. EXTRACTS FROM THE SECOND REPORT. By the blessing of Almighty God, we meet again as a national Peace Society, for the purpose of mutually encouraging our hearts and strengthening our hands, and learning the progress of pacific principles during the year past, and to devise means for promoting peace on earth, and good-will toward man. If we look around on the whole world, we shall find it to be more peaceable than it has ever been before, since the advent of the Prince of Peace. Christian nations, exhausted by the mighty conflict in which they have been engaged, during the conclusion of the last, and the commencement of the present century, seem to desire repose. The crescent also has waned, and God, who, in his providence, sometimes opposes and punishes one evil by another, has allowed Christians to triumph over Mussulmen, and to drive back their |