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- ‘ a * - ? - N&UTJIIL II POLITICS & RELIGION—-DEVOTED TO ART, SCIENCE, LPtJC ATION > MORALITY AND THE ADtANCEMEMT OE SACRED MUSIC* B F. WHITE, CAUIPBELLiTOUf. —€. HI., Original , by Wm. E. Haskins. jsrr iiiS ~ rgrjljzJrJzjLrJ^ Come, we that love the Lord, Join in the song with sweet accord. And thus surround the rbrone. ADDRESS, Delivered hy the Rev. Jeremiah Clarke before the South western Musical Con veniion of the Stale of Georgia, at their first Anniversary Session, held at Cedar Creek Church, Marion county, on the Bth December, 1854. ’I feel myself highly honored, Respected Auditors, in beiug-called upon to-day, an ‘occasion of importance, to deliver your first anniversary address. I shall not attempt : nnv display of oratory, or trick of rhetoric, hut shall endeavor ‘.o speak in that maimer which mav he, in a degree beucfieial to us all. Excue me then, when I say that I shall appeal to the Holy Scriptures kn foundation of my believing that that which has not a foundation there, should never be practiced or taught. J therefore design as a subject, the words 0 f the Psalmist, as recorded in the first ver e of the 147th Psalm-: Praise ye the Lord, for it is good to sing jtra'rees unto our G o d, dor it is pleasant, and praise is comely.” Here doubtless the Psalmist, in consider ing the great power, condescension, and mercy of Jehovah, calls upon the people to praise him, and to sing praises unto our God. In another place he is more specific and calls upon all his host, yea, even ex tends his entreatiesto the beaveto of heav. ens, and to unite in singing the -, s add \v 11 a U Mp J£r , ■'*> Sk ‘JB p~aist and manner H being shoW^^H^H^K sth. And praise is pleasant and elegantly adapted to the worship of Ist. What is Praise. Praise is ihe acknowledgment of some perfection seen in another with a commen dation of the same. Praise may be ex pressed in words, in acts, and in hymns of’ adoration. This last kind of praise is that “to which the Psalmist had allusion, for. to the second clause of the verse, he says. “ It is good losing praises unto our God.” And tn fact this is the general way of praising ■one who is supposed to he a God, The ‘heathen themselves account it as the prop er method of praising their supposed deities; and even the poorontutored Indian delights to sing songs of praise to the Good Spirit,— ‘This method of praising them seems to he a natural gilt, with which the commonality -of mankind are endowed. Yea.it is o*eu as much so as the powers of speech; and this we think evident from the fact that, tall people, nations, aud languages practice ‘•it. But some will ask, Do you think singing is natural and therefore should not ’be improved ?” No; we mean that it is -natural and therefore should be improved.— It would be nonsense to speak of improv ing anything that was not natural. What ‘would you think if a man were to say that he was sending his sou to school to -give him mind, would you not think b ; m a •deranged man? But there would he much tphilosophy in sending a child to school to iiix.prove his mind. Every talent, we may argue then, that God has giveu us, should be improved, and ■ none other. Man mu-t have an intellect, j the parent stock, before he can improve it. j Tile orator must have been endowed with the gift of oratory before he could have im proved it. The poet must have been one by nature, before he could have been taught | to swell his numbers in immortal lays. In short, science itself is hut a knowledge of | that which before existed; language was i certainly in existence before a grammar;] calculation before arithme'ic ; and many ; sougs had already been sung to God before the science was inveuted or the “Sacred Harp” blessed our people. As God has endowed man with every thing necessary to praise Him, with “ a bo dy to be presented as a living sacrifice holy 4iud acceptable; aud with a tongue, though now unruly, untameable, a fireiu itself, and is itself set on fire of hell, to sing his eternal praises ? and it is for the misbestowrnent of these that he will be called into judgment. It will be necessary for us to point out the proper province of praise as we know nought Os the science of music, which brings us to our second proposition, ** That the TOE ORGAN. Superintendent. } being we prßise*hould be worthy io dignitv of character.” However talented a man may he? what ever. and how great may be the peculiari ties of his mind, yet if *he lark dignity of character he Will not be commended. If he associate freely and indiscriminately with the low aud vulgar, he will soon be spurn ed by the lowest of the low, aud tire basest of the base. We do vro*t mean by dignity otcharacter, that kind of demoeraticul aris tocracy which exalts one above his fellow creatures, but that principle which makes one bend, or aspire to every thing ft a honorable, yet too high-mtoded to trf i vice, orcondesceUd ton mean action. a being as this the vicious fear, and gmTtr men love and extol. He that possesses tbis to infinite perfection is God ; who, tho’ He never associates with wo. nor can He look upon it with the least alloWWncc, yet unstoops himself from the * heaven of heav ens,’his high throne, to relieve the distress ed, and to remove suffering from the hearth stone of misery-; and spurns not, though in finite in ail his perfections, to acknowledge the redeemed sons of Adam as His children. It is right then that we should .praise Him, and sing aloud in commendation of His many virtues. Let us praise Him who is worthy and never let our voices be heard praising the Devil who is a bondman-, a slave, reserved in chains for the judgment of the last day, by such songs as ‘Jimmy long Josey,’ or low, vulgar and obscene songs. The goad Lord alone is worthy, and stands pre-eminent iu dignity of character. Who, ther,f would our delight io praise j such a being? Even a man of this sort is j commended for his virtues how mueh toore should we join fa eternal anthems of praise to Him, who, in this and every other point, is perfection. Thirdly, we remark i The being Vv* praise should be perfect in goodness and mercy. He that is noted for a love to his fellow rnn-n, who spends his pilgrimage as did Howard, the great philanthropist, in the cause of humanity, relieving the distressed, souihing ihe afflicted, and administering to the cares and wants of many, well deserves praise. And in fact goodness and mercy is the last manifestation tow nrd its that w e are likely to forget. IT an an had taken one of us, as a helpless orphan, led. clothed, and administered to our every Want, and then should have taken upon himself the patron age of us through life, our hearts would be continually warm ingratitude towards him. In fact, it would for any one to speak aught agai^^mim; and equal ly would we praise the Wai> who, when we owed au amount that we were utterly Una ble to pay, would pay our debts for us and cancel all claims against Us. Such a being as this well deserves our praise. But God has done infinitely more for its t han ell this; He has given us life, for *iu Him we live, move, and have our being;* He sustains our lives, Biid from our earliest infancy has vouchsafed to be our sword, shield aud pro tector. to provide for us, and satisfy our real wants. In short, from the cradle to the grave, His goodness, long suffering and for bearance are plenteously manifested. But He has done far more for us than all this, while wb wers in debt to Him for a violation of His sacred tow, deserving death, with nought to pay. frith nothing in any degree to liquidate Hie claim of justice, I He sends His Son. His only begotten Son j into the world, that he might expiate for : the sins of his childten. that he might cancel the debt, and save from death, death eternal. The manner of his coming too should strike us with a sense of his goodness and ! merry. He comes, not eurobed in regal pomp, panoplied by a host of the angelic j throng, nor surrounded by the sweet singers iand musicians of heaven; but he is con j ceived of the Holy Ghost,—-born of the vir gin Mary in a Manger—cradled in an ox trough—unknown among the world's elite and unsnrrounded by wealth-like pomp or t worldly splendor. Truly and emphatically, may it be said of him, “ He took upon hint self the form of a servant His short career of unmitigated suffering, exhibits to us his great goodness and mercy* The poorest of the pool* —a stumbling block —an offence, a reproach among men, a hame every where spoken against, with no continuing place, with no abiding city, with no pillow on which to recline his head, he sojourns a stranger to earth —a pilgrim from the skies- Imagine the deep agony of his soul s he sweats great drtp of blood Hamilton,\G:t. Wffitesday, April S, 1855. in the-garden of Gethsetnane; aud last of all, behold Him extended upon the accursed tree between two outlaws; the sun veiling her face from the sight, the temple rent in twain, the earth seized with-spasm, tossing to aud fro; and then think, that all this was done for-the benefit of the lost and ru ined sons of A'dam, and for the redemption, of all that believe, and surely* you will say with me that such goodness aud merry is unparallelled. Truly may it he said, that at the cross truth and righteousness meet together, justice and mercy kiss each other. A man might die for his friends but trot for his enemies. Jesus Christ died for his en emies. Here then is a proper object of perfect praise. Such a mauifestation well might wondering Angels see and praise, but it is for the redeemed sons of Adam, to see him in a light that angels cannot see- him, and praise fti mint Ira t toamrer that angels can never praise him. O, Christian Brethren! when I think of the’ cross us Christ, and the -good Wv claim, from it, it astonishes me that Ve can ever “ mock Him with a solemn sound upon a thoughtless tongue.’’ We think we have now called your at tention to the only befog, that is worthy of praise, and what constitutes him as a prop er “oijcct of our commendation. We now hasten, fourthly, Io Consider in what manner should He be praised 1 : And upon this part of our subject, much is needing to he said to counteract that list less, and inattentive method of singing at our Schools. God is our creator. and is ns high above us .ay is the. abqve the earth ; nua as ucfr : , Ween IVeupprrmeb him In either in prayer,or in it Vohg Vo bis great’ name, we should do it with rev erential care, and not with uqcnuth mirth and jollity. The best manner, however, of praising him is better cesertbeil by his own Word, “ Vviih the spirit and understanding,’ 1 making melody in yout herrts unto the Lord.’ He should always be! praised with thoughtfulness and seriousness. If this were to be the case, bow pleakant wotilri be our singing school and our church meeting, where eVery heart would beit iu unison, and eVelry tongue but express the inner emotions of the soul-. It does appear strange that ban can make a solemn mockery of the hymns of praise to bis own benefactor. And yet it is too true, that our schools have too much be come a place for courtship to the young, and a place of idle chit-chat. This ought not so to be; remember, m-yyoiHtg friends, that you are preparing to fill the places iu vocal music as well as every thing else of your fathers’ aud sires; that y< u must raise and siug our songs at church* and O, how important it is that you do it w ith solemnity aud with Godly fear. A word to teachers. Teachers, you have ihe guardianship for the time being, of your pupils; will you teach them the sa credness and importance of this study 1— Will you teach them that they should praise him in earnestness? Will you teach them to maintain as profound silence while in session as if they wore listening at a sermon? If you will, glad would I be to attend your school, and hear the glad voices of your pupils praising with solemnity auo cheer fuluesss that God whom 1 hope I love and adore. Fifthly, and lastly i Such praise is‘Come ly,’ and elegantly adapted to the worshib of God. David says, to sing praises unto the Lord is * pleasant and comely.* It is pleasant for one whose heart is warm in the cause of Christ, to praise his name and to declare his goodness towards Him. But how pleas ant and comely is it for Christians of one heart and mind to sing with the spirit and understanding thte songs of Zin. I have always thought that good singing was the life of a congregation, and that it added en ergy and beauty to the war ship of Go<t,— If the singing in our schools was done with due reverence and Godliness, how comply would it appear ? truly would it then bo pleasant losing praises unto the Most High. But when weconsidei sacred thusic carried to its more proper sphere, the sanctuary of God, with a proper spirit it cheers up the drooping spirits of a so I diet; of the cross, as does the heating of a drum a soldiers’ heart almost faint with fear, How* toy young hearers. O let me ask, can yu sing with thoughtlessness and idle mirth, songs to ‘hat Savior, through whose blond your life is granted unto you, together with all ihe priv ileges and blessings which you enjoy; and, O Christians, how* can you praise bino list- les'sly, hy whom your life has been ransom ed ft nm eternal and you have Rdeti made an heir of God. and a joint heir with our Lord Jesus Christ, and to shine as the sun in ihe kingdom of your Father. But I must now bring my feeble'remarks to a close. My oßjeeChas been to do good, and if J have done it. my most sanguine expecta tions are realized. May God ble-s you. and ever enable you to praise Him with the spir it and understanding. RUSSIAN AY?AIR*, INTERESTING FROM RUSSIA. The Policy ok Alexander Hi Sphiltd Add css to the Senate—Not on inch of Russian Territory to be Surrendered. [Correspondence of London Chronicle.] Paris. March 28. The rumors of a pacific disposition orn the part of Alexander 11. have been made stronger to-day by the announcement made in the Cologne Gazette . that a Russian note arrived at Berlin ou the I7tb, renewing the pacific declarations already made by the new Emperor, with an assurance that he was ready to submit existing treaties to an honorable revision. Very much, of course, of the chance of a peaceful solution to the Eastern question must depend on the personal feelings of Alexander IL. and on how far those feel ings may be ‘mods'rafe'd of pmbiUered by t*he necessity of adhesion to the traditional policy of Russia, sanctified, as it must be, both in the eyes of prince and people, from the observance according to it by a line of imperial ancestors, aud hallowed, also, hy almost uninterrupted success. On this sub ject. a letter from St. Petersburg!), of the 10Hi, in the Conshtutionnel , says? I have already given you to Un’d'erstaMl that no hopes ate Yrnterfftined here of aby change of system in the policV of Russia’; Every one feels assured that the Emperor Alexander has not ascended the throne of his father w ithout having well studied and comprehended the system, which the Em peror Nicholas followed so obstinately. I am assured on good authority that the Emtp'eror Nicholas, onhis death bed, dis cussed with his son the first measures of the new government, and that their opinions were not in accord ou the subject of the manifesto. Ther.*,'is, iu fact, a very essen tial difference, as regards Russian policy, between the manifesto 9T the Emperor an’d that of hTs,SoVi. The Emperor Nicho- Ifes freVer failed to place the question of re ligion pVoTnireusly forward, and made the grandeur of Russia subordinate to it; and, according to him, the attacks of Europe were more particularly directed against the orthodox Church. In the manifesto of his son, on the uontray, the religious question is passed over in silence, perhaps from a fear of still further increasing the fanaticism of Hie pe'opr®, or from a w ish to remove wliat might be an ototacle to peace. It is e’eriain that an injuction of moderation has been imposed ou the Senate. On the other hand, a letter from the same place, of the date of the 9th, gives the fol lowing extract from the address of the Em peror Alexander, 00 receiving a deputation from the nobility? \ solemnly swear that I will not give up a single inch of Russian territory to our enemies. I shall take good care to preVent their further penetrating on the soil of our country ; and never, never—toay my hand w ither first—will 1 affix my signature to a treaty which shall bring the slightest stain On the national honor. His Majesty’s address to the officers 0! the Guards, upon tho latter taking their oath of allegiance, it is Said, was of the same warlike character, and was delivered in a tone of energy aud vehemence that ex cited considerable attention. We have received the St. Petersbnrg journals of the 13tn of March. The Journal de St. Petersbourg announ ces the artival at the Prussian capital of Prince Peter of Oldenburg, of ihe Archduke Willi im of Austria, of the Grand Duchess Dowager of Mecklenburg Schwerin, of Prince Charles of Prussia, and of the Duke WHUam of Me'cklenhurg Schwerin, The St. Peteisburg Gazette publishes an imperial letter, thanking the inhabitants for their sympathy on the occasion of the death of the late Emperor. ‘l’he Gazette also publishes the following : The Grand Duke Cohstantine is relieved from the functions of Adjunct of the Chief of the Staff-Gen'ehal of the Navy, and in his quality of Grand Admiral will have the direction of this Ministry of Murine, with the rights atid prerogatives of a Minister, retaining his other functions and dignities. Aid-dfe-Camp General Prince Menschi koff is believed, at his request, on the ground of ill health, from the chief command of the land bud sea forces in the Crimea, from his functions of Chief of the general staff of the Marine, and of those of Governor General ofFruland, retaining his rank as Aid-de- Cnmp General and member of the Council of the Empire. General of Artillery, Aid-de-Carnp Gen eral Prinfce Gortschakoff IL, commander in chief of the artoy of the South, is appointed commander in chief of the land and sea forces in the Crimea, with all the rights, powers and prerogatives of a commander in chief in times of war, and retaining the chief commaud of the army of the South. t VOX,. 4—NO. S. IMPORTANT DIPLOMATIC MAN , \ iFEsTo. , . ; t ; We have received from Vienna Cctftil Nesgelrode’s note to the ministers of Rus sia at foreign courts. It professes to be,* manifesto to Europe of the.intentions en tertained by tbe new Emperor, and. is the first official paper w hich has appeared on the subject. The following is a translation:, •, • S'r.Petersburg, March ID, 1855. x My despatch of the 2d fast., w ill have.im fornted you of the accession of his Majesty the Eropetor Alexander2d. I also, .at the same time, had the Ifon'or of sending you the manifest” of our illustrious sovereign, is sued on the first day of his teign. This document expresses his Majesty's profound sense of the importance of tjbe du ties w-filch “heis called so futfii, .Those du ties have been imposed on him by Divine Providence in the midst of severe trials.— ascending the throne of his ancrstois, he beholds Russia involved in n war, the like of which occurring in anew reign history cannot pioduce. Our illustrious sovereign accepts these trials, trusting iu God, confiding securely in the unwavering devotedness of his people, and filled with religious reverence for the memory of his much loved father. In a child like trpint of piety he- ncccTfe as tiis heritage two obligations, which, in bis eyes, are equally sacred. ‘I he first de mands from his Majesty the employmeut of all the power which the will of GqcJ 4i ■placed ip his hands for the defence and in tegrity of the Honor of lipssia. The second imposes on his Majesty thq duty of steadily devoting his care to the completion -.of that work of peace, the bases of which were sanctioned by the Emperor Nicholas. Faithful to the ideas w bicb predominate in the last dispositions and arrangements of his illustrious father, the Emperor has rs -and confirmed the instructions With ‘which the ’plcmpoteniiary of Russia had beet) provided, from December until thp time when the Vienna conferences were to have been opened, In this way the inten,- tious of the Emperor Nicholas are certain to he fulfilled. Their aim To restore to Russia and Europe the ‘b ossings of peace. To confirm the freedom of worship and the welfare of the Christian people of the East, without distinction of .rife, To place the immunities of the Principal ities under a collective guarantee. To secure the free navigation of the Dau •ubeU f— tT U.o iVaue.ctf pJI nations. To put an end fa the rivalries of thegreat Powers respecting the East, j,n such mln ner ns to preclude the return of new compli cations, . , . , Finally, Vo cPYne to an understanding with the great Powers respecting the revis ion of the treaties by which; they have rei cognized the principle of closiug the Dardanellts and tl.ie Bosphorus, and iu this way to arrive at an honorable settlement. A peace concluded on such a basis as this, since it would terminate the, ,ca.fotoi|lgi IqT war, would call forth the blessings of all naiious upon the new government, jtussie, however, feels deeply, and all Europe must acknowledge the fact, thgt the hope of a restoration of peace Would prove vain if the conditions of au adjustment Should overpass that just limit which a sense oif the dignity of the crown led our aughst ford to fix irre vocably. . , ; , j Tbe Emjjeror will wait tranquilly until tbe cabinets called to deliberate in com-, muu with Russia on this question of unfa versa! interest for ail Christendom t.hall de clare the views by which their policy will be guided. ‘ . . Our august lord will eh ter upon these, important deliberations in a sincere spirit of concord ; this is the declaration which f am expressly commissioned by bis Majosty to make to you.in his o am*. ‘I he general instructions with which you are provided, prescribe to yob the course which you aro to continue to follow in youi; intercourse with the governments to which you are accredited. The Emperor, in conv firming you in the post to which you were appointed by the grace of his illustrious f&t ther, relies implicitly ou your fidelity and, zeal. It is his desire that on all occasion* your conduct and language should bear wit< ties 3to Abe loyalty with which Russia re> gards obligations involving fidelity to treaties —to its constant desire to live on good terms with all allied and friendly and, fiually. to its reverence for the inviola bility of tbe ri hts of every State, as well aa its firm resolve to maintain intact and make, respected those rights which Diviue Provi dence has entrusted to the Emperor in to&£ king him tho protector of the hpnor of tbq nation. You are instructed to bring this to the knowledge of the Court at Which you hud the honor to represent the Emperor Nicholas of glorious and much beloved memory. NESSELRODE. ADDRESS OF THE~CZAR ALEXAN DER IL, TO DIPLOMATIC CORPS. The following is the address delivered bv tbe Emperor Alexander 11. to the diploma tic corps on the 7th tost : t am persuaded, geutlemen. that all your courts feel sincere sorrow at the misfortune which has befallen us ; I have already re ceived proofs of it from all sides; they have greatly moved cue, and 1 stated yesterday to the Ministers of Prussia aud Austria hojr much I appreciated them. I solemnly d*-