Page:Australia an appeal.djvu/5

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expect such a thought to be entertained amidst the bustle of human affairs, the din of ambition, and the clashing of worldly interests? Influenced by these reflections, the author, in reliance on Divine providence, is induced to attempt a work hitherto neglected by Christians and disregarded by the government. He asks, however, no part of the revenues of the empire; though a guinea from the Chancellor of the Exchequer for every one of the Aboriginal inhabitants of Australia, slain by Your Majesty's subjects and those bearing Your Majesty's commission, would, in proper hands and properly managed, form a fund sufficient for the promulgation of Christianity among the innumerable tribes that yet survive within the vast extent of her shores. Were the Princesses Charlotte and Amelia permitted to draw aside the curtain of the invisible world, and to look in upon earth again—were they at liberty to give you the estimate they have now formed of sublunary things, and to set before you the vanity of all the glitter, and pomp, and parade of human life, attired in its gayest dress and gaudiest forms—were they suffered to remind you of the possibility of being cut off, as they were, in the bloom of youth, without doing any thing that would immortalize existence, or bear to be viewed in the light of eternity—were they allowed to disclose to you the reflections that crowd upon princes on passing that "bourne whence no traveller returns"—the dismay, the terror, the remorse that torture their bosoms, when, after having neglected the eternal welfare of the millions intrusted to their care, and every thing that related to the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom, they find themselves ushered into his presence, amidst myriads of attendant angels, and that, no longer clothed with mercy, but in the attributes of power and vengeance, he is to be their judge, the arbiter of their destiny for ever—the writer will not ask what impression such communications would make upon you, or what counsel the disembodied spirits of these princesses would give you. It is not necessary. When he recollects the character of her who cared for you from infancy, and calls to mind that of your father and grandfather, he is more inclined to trust the cause he pleads to the tender feelings of the heiress of the House of Brunswick, than to the dilatory, cold, formal, and often abortive efforts of legislative charity. Nor will his suit on behalf of Him that was born in Bethlehem lessen your domestic comfort, or diminish the means of discharging the duties essential to the dignity of the crown. It extends merely to the purchase of a few thousand copies of this Appeal to distribute among your attendants, the social circles around you, and those with whom they mingle in the different walks of life. Every copy pleading the cause among your subjects, will excite