Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1859-12-10 00:00:00

o .
her marks the present, and guides our expecta-
tio4B of the future.
the contest, indeed; cannot be said 'to have
ceased anywhere. _The •Anglo-Saxon- race with
all its advancement; affords. countless evidences of
a strife still progressing. Bait this.is after the fight
;I°' sopreinoxy has been .decided. It is nothing
t the gradual assimilation: Of.details, and the
almost -stpod surrender of-posts which there
had
not been leisure enough to enter. -upon
the possession -of. The old world ohas yielded,
e old system, the old ideas, the old traditions,
the old standards and 'measures of things no
°liger resist the progress of the devouring ele-
aleut, and are ready unceMplainingly to quit the
aetile• To us, then, so familiar with the conflict,
and so proud of the victory, it may be a startling
114estion, which yet. sometimes springs_ up in the
mind of the moralist, will the triumph of the
new ever be consolidatrd, ever extended, ever in
reality affect as a whole the condition of man-
? We talk much of a _great future. mapped
ant upon our own - plans, to be . characterised
Y certain features of our own putting together,
t° be known, in fact, by the attainment of
some conscious end and purpose. We are aceus-
14oled to speculate on the world's condition
a 4 if there could be no doubt about the goal which-
-18 to be arrived at, • about the manner and the
all eons of approach,or about the fact that it is our
I,tory which is gradually unfolding the secret.
e think that the great work to be.discharged for
Irthe World, and for which the world itself waits,
What we are and have been discharging;
that we :are gradually. filling some. great
Picture, and that everything is suspended upon
the process of accomplishment. Yet, with these.
t'al.placent accents of egotism or enthusiasm, we
al‘e on the other hand assailed by monitors, who
predict an abrupt and speedy close of the present
ateetie, Where we are strutting so pretentiously with
all brains., and bustling intentions, and strong
/lllwearied effort, as. if everything depended on
as, and were approaChi4r 'systematically to
Pe.rfeetion. We know the marks of .progress;
.say things are not yet ready ; that
the life of the World—that is the Mental and
14°1,...1 world=.-is as the life of individual man,
whose stages are recognised and. chronicled, and
that as for the world at large, it may be in its
Infancy or its boyhood, but is still far from its
1,
411 Maturity of growth.' ' If we wished .to find
the aptest exponent of this living, active spirit,
431abolised by Anglo-Saxon civilisation, most
1411 would turn to the Times as its leading,
world-wide organ. It would be curious then to
'4OY7, with what feelings the busy mind of
the day, listened to its recent wail oveg ri
Closing dispensation, which formed so peculiai an
association with the tone of its leading columns
A ',veek or two ago. -can there be-any 'practical
keaning in talking of this work which we have to
d° as the pioneers *of.progress, of the girdle of
N3dern civilisation which is to be cast round
shout the earth, if we are to be looking for
everything so soon to come to an end ? If.we are to
learn ' The School of the Prophets," it is evident
that we must receive with some, qualification the
lessons of newspapers, the,. programmes :.df
'6‘Liberalism," and the dreams of. secular progress.
1341' secular life it is clear, must, after all, par-
lake a little of the hand.to mouth .existence; we'
aiiist look after the morals and happiness of our
Own people without pretending so much to a
tquien among .the nations of the earth; and
mast, in short, direct our efforts to. get through
1 scene—which, upon' our. principles, has no
tithnination, and which a: catastrophe that
Noes to us in no other -than the light of an
it •
cident without antecedent, without connection,
Without beginning or middle or anything by
'a°l'ich it falls into our only ,ascertainable system
r things will bring to .a sudden stop,—in the
hest way possible.

For *after all, if we are the pioneers, the
kie"ertdds, the missionaries of ,mental and social
nce, it is clear that" we have done -next to
nothing yet. If we gO with ithe Times to his
.ehool of the Prophets" we shall see that we 'can
never do any thing Nay, it is
dear that ;in our dreams 'of social and political
14404 cement all over the world, we are on a
lvt°llg scent. We are throwing-away (Mr time
444 our -wits. We are. making a vast deal of
tother about,what is impossible, and useless if it
Nl'e possible. We are evidently judging things
)3
a wrong standard, and measuring by our own
:4411 rule what is wholly without -the limits
iven of our vision, let' alone our grasp. There
an unseen system over-lapping ours, growing
17t until it entirely. supersede it, disregarding
in its inevitable march, having a quite different
of progress, and intending to stop just
its own fixed time, and in its own self-imposed
4Y. Even at this moment it goes on with its
444 Without stumbling or faltering ; and what
ti_kl°re, without the besetting apprehension a
This is the work which looks forward
0,
_4efinite completion ; which is to culminate;
kiu-e-b- has a point beyond which there is nothing
1,44 e to he done ; and upon which everything in
it: world of nature andtheworld of man files
'teret its and is-by an unknown

•nging eyes, and is by
'al vended.
le'vv, we have taken this lesson from the
tki; CB' What is it ? It is something applicable to
Particular crisis of history. We have been,
ate, sending forth an influence into the strange
ax, rld of the East. SOW peoPle suppose that we
the about to do something with that influence on
'lllPesing stage of tbe civilise add Christian
ktet 4. Europe, it is said, wants ateacher, and we
let „t° be it—or, at least, we are to try- to be it. Now,
hatim' oot think too much of this. We are a groat
or v°llol.o doubt ; we have learnt some fiery goon
Profitable-lessons for ourselves. We hive