in some degree support; and which has constituted the pleasure, and, I may add, the pride of a considerable part of it; I hope I may be permitted as a seaman, and as a seaman's friend, to say a few words concerning a practice, which seems to be not only at variance with policy and humanity, but peculiarly calculated to promote vice, by forcing asunder those whom God has joined together;-I mean the practice of the impressment of seamen.

This custom, alike contrary to the laws of God and man, and productive of much vice and misery, will be considered in my next letter.

I remain, &c. &c.

LETTER VI.

THE SUBJECT CONTINUED.

"What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder.”—Matt. xix. 6.

MY DEAR SIR,

BEFORE I enter upon the subject of impressment, permit me to say a few words on the characters and habits of seamen; for it is a subject on which, I believe, landsmen in general, have formed very erroneous opinions.

Seamen are commonly considered as persons of vicious, idle, and thoughtless habits. This may be very true of them after being long employed in the naval service; but their character is often the very reverse of this when they enter, or rather, when they are forced into it. Seamen, at least those who are regularly brought up as such, are early accustomed to habits of industry, and they quit them with regret. They are trained to a laborious trade, which, in common with other trades, holds out to them the cheering prospect, which most good men look forward to as essential to a high degree of earthly happiness,-which is that, by good conduct, they may, in due time, be enabled to marry those they love, or afford support to aged or infirm

parents. That men of these habits and views should, from a life of industry, be dragged into scenes of vice and debauchery, is deeply to be lamented. That they should be placed in situations likely to send them to their last account, "with all their sins upon their heads," is what you, as a clergyman, must particularly deplore. But vice and misery must ensue from every system which interferes with the sacred institution of marriage; an institution coeval with the creation, and with which the custom of impressment is in open hostility.

The eloquent advocate of the Negro slaves in the West Indies, in his Appeal in their behalf, after quoting the extract I have given, in my last letter, from Dr. Paley, adds:

"This cannot be surprising to any considerate mind. The supreme Ordainer of all things, in his moral administration of the universe, usually renders crime, in the way of natural consequences, productive of punishment; and it was surely to be expected that he would manifest, by some strong judicial sanction, his condemnation of practices, which are at war with the marriage institution, the great expedient for maintaining the moral order and social happiness of mankind."

At a meeting in 1825 of the Anti-slavery Society, an advertisement from a Jamaica paper was read, in which it was stated, that a female slave had absconded; that she was supposed to be harboured by her husband; and a reward was offered for her apprehension. This account called forth strong expressions of sympathy and indignation: but a little reflection would have shown to Dr. Lushington

or Mr. Wilberforce, that, whether we regard the cruelty of forcibly separating man and wife, or the crime of violating the marriage institution, impressment is more to be deprecated than Negro slavery; and the seaman is placed in a worse situation than the slave who is born in the colonies. The latter will seldom be separated more than a few miles from her he calls his wife; and the worst punishment that can await him, is flogging or imprisonment. But the seaman is not only forcibly separated from his wife and family, but he is sent into a distant part of the globe, and this not merely to work, but to transgress one of the first principles of human nature; to fight and kill those who have never injured him; and, strange to say, the British seaman engages in the work of destruction with zeal and alacrity, and without inquiry. If checked by conscience, or if urged by humanity, or the all-powerful feelings of conjugal or parental affection, he ventures to quit a situation into which he has been forced, he is liable to suffer DEATH!! We are told by the highest legal authority, that Christianity is "part and parcel of our code of laws." Impressment alas! seems to dismiss from this code, the distinguishing characteristics of Christianity, viz. justice, judgment, and mercy; and therefore the continuance of it must be as contrary to our interest as to our duty.

An author of the present day, equally to be admired for the elegance of his writings, and for the benevolent spirit these writings in general exhibit, has expressed apparent satisfaction for having settled

the question concerning the legality of impressment*. If this practice can, indeed, be justified on the score of its legality, it would seem to me that no laws against Catholics, or others who dissent from the state religion, ought to be regarded as illegal. Impressment and these laws, stand upon. the same basis, namely, expediency, or state necessity. They are alike as to their legality; and the Catholic who, like Mr. Butler, holds the lawfulness of impressment, ought to be the last man in the world to complain of Catholic disabilities. I beg leave, however, to assure the author of the Reminiscences, that I am as friendly to Catholic emancipation as himself, though, I apprehend, on very different grounds. These practices, and Negro slavery, alike violate the first principle of Christianity, "Whatsoever ye would that men should do unto you, do ye even so unto them." I conclude, therefore, that neither of these can be lawful, if we consider Christianity as "part and parcel of our code of laws." The first principle of this religion is an inflexible obedience to its precepts: this neither Protestant nor Catholic can lay claim to; if they could, there would now be no contention between them, nor would there be any impressment into fleets or armies.

Although it is true that the evils arising from impressment are upon a small scale, compared to those of Negro slavery; yet, if we apply the test to war in general, we shall find its evils, whether on

* See Butler's Reminiscences, p. 70.