Excerpt from The Colonial Empire of Great Britain, Especially in Its Religious Aspect: A Lecture, Addressed, in the Town Hall, at Stourbridge, to the Amblecote Church of England Young Men's Association, on December 3, 1849 In considering then in what point of view' it would be most suitable to place the subject, I could have no hesitation in fixing upon the one which I have named, namely the religious View. For this there is a general reason, that it is the most important one, and therefore entitled to the preference when a selection is to be made. But there is also a special reason, derived from the character of the body whom I am addressing. I doubt not that I am but expressing a feeling common to all its members, when I say that it is the peculiar happiness and pride of this Association that a strong and distinctive religious character is of its very essence, and is that which in its collective utterances it would always place in the strongest light and the most leading position. I cannot be mistaken in this, for it is no more than has been re cognized in the prominence given to what I lately read with hearty approval and satisfaction, the first sentence in your last Report. The Committee of the Amblecote Church of England Young Men's Association desire to present their sixth annual Report, with humble thankfulness to Almighty God for the continued progress of the society, and with earnest prayer that its progress may be attended by that holy influence on the hearts and lives of its members, without which no prosperity can be truly valuable or lasting. This alone would therefore have justified the arrange ment which I have proposed. I by no means, however, intend to confine myself wholly to the Degreesreligious, or to any other distinct part of the question. It is, again, a happy incident of the constitution of this Association, that its members are not precluded, within the limits of propriety and fair discussion, from reference to any matter which may tend to elucidate the subject before them. It would be indeed, if not contrary to positive rule, still probably unadvisable, to introduce on such an occasion as this, what is commonly understood by the term party politics. But the politics of Colonies, or rather the politics concerning the relation between the Colonies and this country, do not seem to fall within this designation: and I intend, occasionally, to advert to them. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.