Litchfield enquirer., 1857-08-13
A Merchants System of Giving.

1 A mercnant Tn answer to inquiries, refers back to period when he says, |" In consecra- ting my life anew to God, aware of the en sharing influence of riches and the necessity of deciding on plan of charity before wealth should bias my judgment, 1 adopted the fol- lowing system:
 l "l decided to balance my accounts as near l ly as I could every month aud reserving such portion of profits as might appear ade- 1 quate to cover probable losses, to lay aside, by entry on bene volent account one-tenM of the remaining profits, great or small, as fund for benevolent expenditure, supporting myself and family on the remaining nne-tenths. l fur ther determined, that if at any time my net profits, that is, profit from when clerk hire and store expenses had been deducted, should exceed five hundred dollars in mouth, 1 would give twelve and a half per cent. :; if over sev- en hundred dollars, fifteen per cent. if over , nine hundred dollars, seventeen and half per cent. if over thirteen hundred dollars, twen- ty-two and @ half per cent. thus increasing 1 the proportion of the whole, as God should prosper, until, at fifteen hundred dollars should give twenty-five per cent, or three hun dred and sevelty y-fve dollars a month. As capital was of the utmost importance to my ouNSSSo III UuoiLCoS, uEIiuC1 hS9 No ihNtCuo0 the foregoing scale until had acquired a cer tain capital after which would give one quar- ter of all net profits, great or small, and on the acquisition of another certain amount of capital decided to give half and on acquiring what 1 determined would be 8 full sufficiency of capital, then to give the aehole of my net profits.
 ct is now several years since l adopted this plan and under it have acquired a handsome capital, and have been prospered beyond my most sanguine expectations. All though constantly giving, I have never yet touched the bottom of my fund, and have been repeatedly surprised to find what large drafts it would bear. True, during some months have encountered a salutary trial of faith, when this rule has led me to lay by the tenth, while the remainder proved inadequate to my support but the tide has soon turned, and with gratitude I have recognised heavenly hand more than making good all past def ciences.
 "This system has been of great advantage to me, enabling me to feel that my life is d- rectly employed by God. It has afforded me happiness in enabling me to portion out the Lords money. and has enlisted my mind more iu the progress of Christ's cause. Happy privilege which the humblest may enjoy, of thus associatng the common labors of life with the grateful service of the Saviour, and of making that which naturally leads the heart from God, subserve the'highest spiritual good :!
 This system has saved me from commers cial dangers, by leading me to simplify busl- 1 ness and avoid extensive credits. It has made me better merchant for the monthly pe- cuniary observations which 1 have been wont to take, though often quite laborious have brought me to better knowledge of the state of my affairs, and led me to be more cautious and prudent than I otherwise should have becn I believe this system tends to enlarge the Christians views, to increase his disnter- e<tednesS, and lead him to shun the tricks of trade. My own observation also confirms the belief that even waruhearted Christians must deteraa;nc beforshond on the system they will adopt, if they would secure the benefits of the gospel plan to themselves, under the grace and providence of God, or its happy results to the cause of Christ"
 TIE MooN-Dr Sco"csby in an account that Ee has given of some recent observation made with the Earl of Ross telescope, says: "With respect to the moon every object or lES SuiiHtS Ol lut ol OllC btiiui'i ICCl was now distinctly to be seen, and he had nc doubt that, under favorable circumstances il might be so with objects sixty feet in height On it's surface were cratcrS ot extinct volca noes. rocks. and masses of stones almost Enu. merable He had no doubt that if such g building as he was then in were upon the sur
 face of the moon, it would be rendered dis
 tinctly visible by these instruments. But there were no signs of inhabitants such as ours-nt
 vcstige of architecture remains to show tha
 the moon is or ever was inhabited by a race O
 mortals similar to ourselves. It presented nt
 appearance which could lead to the suppositiol
 that it contained any thing Ike the green fields
 ard lovely yerdure of this beautiful world O
 ours There was no water visible, not sea
 or liver, or even the measure of q reservoir fol
 supplying town or factory-all seemed desc late"
 The principal error of Dr. Scorcsbv, con
 sists in the fact of claiming to be able to set
 too much of the moons surface. Neither hs
 nor any other astronomer ever saw or can set
 that side of the moon which is turned from us
 It is only that polar region of the moon that i' attracted towards the Earth, which can poSsi
 bly be discernabe to us. According to the
 well known principles of optics, that would be
 the only circle Of vision. The southern pola'
 region of the Earth, could it be seen as clearly
 from the Sun, as the moon can be seen by ns
 would answer exactly to Dr. Scoresby's de
 scripton of the moon-rocky, desoate and des titute of verdure.
 TIE GAkRorE.-Few people knew the mean ing of this phrase, now in every mouth 1t l' simply the Spanish word for stick, which was applied to twist the cord in the old-fash ioned days of executions: It has acquired technical precision of meaning; applicable t assaults and robberies, when the victim | . stupe6ed either by the forced inhalation . ether, or by mechanical pressure on the respi story organs.