Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1840-05-15
A HEART-sIcKENlNG PICTURE.

a MISUNDERSTANDING flC OhE.
From sermon preached in Hollis street
church, Boston, on Fast day morning. the
= ed inst, by the Rev. John Pierpont, and pub
{ lished ia the last New World. we extract the
following. II is part OF the Reverend
speakers argument TO prove against Great
Great Britain aud the United States, the
awful charge that "these two natlons-the
frees, nations of the world and the most en-
lightened, if we may receive as true their
opinions of themselves--tbe most Christian
nations il their own boastings are 10 be trust
ed--are doing more, at this hour, by means
ortheir wars for conquest, by their oppression
of the conquered, and by their poisonous
drugs--to desolale Gods earth, TO break
down his kingdom upon the face Of it, and 10
efface bis image from the human soul, than
is done in all other nations, Christian, Ma
homedan and Pagan combined ; and where,
after all their Boosting, these nations, between
thcm, have invested one dollar in the
means ofChristaiu salvalion,they have inves-
ted ten to corrupt and destroy their fellow
men in body and in spirit, for time and ioi
eternity |"
"The sangunary wars by which she
(Greai Brittany has subjagated the hundred
millions OF India, and the stern despoiism
with which she rules and starves them, that
her merchant princes may roll in splendour
and lap themselves in volupluonsness. have
a voice which the whole thickness OF the
globe canno, keep out of our ears. a more
beautiful country says brother clergyman
recently this city. than that from Cuddao-
re to Tanjore, lin Madras cannot possibly
be Imagined. The dense population and
rich soil give their energies TO each other,
and produce scene ofsurpassing LONELINESS
But the taxes and other causes keep down
The laborers 10 a state below that OF our
Southern slaves Turn your eyes back
ward says a speaker of their own,no longer
ago than last September, Turn your eyes
backward upon the scenes ofthe past year Go
with me into the North west provinces oil
the Bengal presidency and | will show you
the bleaching skeletons Of five hundred thou
sand human beings who persisted of hunger
in the space OF a lew short months. Yes
died of hunger IN what has been Justly called
the granary ofthe world The air for many
miles around was poisoned with effluva e.
mnled from the putrefyng bodies OF the dead.
The rivers We're choaked with corpses
,hrewn into their channels Molhers cast
their lil!e ones beneath the rolling waves be.
cause they would not see them draw their
last gasp and feel them siiflen in their arms
'Jackals and vultures approached and Ghsten.
ed upon the bodies Of men. women and chill.
dren. before life was extinct. Madness, dis.
ease. despair stalked abroad and no human
power presentto arrest their progress And
this occurred in British India. in the reign
of Victoria the first Nor was the event ex.
traordinary or unforeseen. Far from it
Eighteen hundred thrty.five witnessed a ia.
mine in the Northern provinces. Eighteen
hundred thirtythree beheld one in The East,
ern Eighteen hundred twenty-five saw one
in the Deccan. They have continued TO in.
crease in frequency and extent under oui
sway, for more than half a century. Under
the administration Of Lord Give famine in
the Bengal provinces swept oh'hree millions
and at that time, the British spectators ia
India had their gIanaries filled to repletior
withcorn. Horrid monopoly of the neces
saries Of life Three millions died, Will,
there was food enough and to spare locked
up 10 the store houses of the rich. To ndt
10 the horror with which we are now called
upon to regard the last dreadful carnage
t.hat olthe last year,) we are made acquant
ed BY the returns OF the custom house, will
the fact that as much grain was exporedlron
the lower parts Of Bengal as would have fet
the halfmi!lon who persisted, for Who'll,
yearl" Yet this awful oppression, and ihes,
desolaling famines must go on. that Englan,
may extort a hundred millions Of dollar
every year from her hundred millions @
Hindoos and poppies must grow instead o
wheat, that at her lannon's mouth she ma,
force her opium upon the three hundre'
millions of the Chinese; while some on
solitary Marshman, perhaps. is iransaiin;
the Bible Of the Christians, TO bring thes
countless millions to accept The religion @
nation that stands ready. at this moment
to destroy one half Of them by war; that i
may destroy the other half by poison p