and after deducting the expense of coachman,
conductor, horses, the wear and tear of the
vehicle itself, still yield a good profit to the
proprietor, a railway train occupying only
the same time in the journey, stuffed full
of sixpenny passengers, would yield a
handsome profit. It must be remembered, too,
that the omnibus pays a tax of three-half-
pence per mile, while the government has
very properly remitted the impost on excursion
trains. A great and significant fact, too,
connected with cheap trains, is that the
North-Western and Blackwall Junction Railway,
with a fare of only sixpence between London
and Camden Town and back, a distance of
more than a dozen miles, and on which a
very small mouthful of fresh air and only
five minutes' view of " the country " can be
obtained, numbers every Sunday between ten
and twelve thousand passengers.

Now, more than ever, when we have
invited the world to come and make itself at
home amongst us, the boon of these cheap
excursions would be appreciated by millions as
particularly grateful and valuable; and we
have no fear but that the results would afford
matter of heartfelt congratulation to all
parties.

THE CLAIMS OF LABOUR.

LAYING in dust the giant arm of strife,
   Upraised in menace o'er a troubled nation,
Let warring parties join to cheer the life
   Of those who languish in a lowly station.

The germs of good with which their minds are
         fraught
   Let genial kindness foster into bearing;
Feed them with bread for which their hands
         have wrought;
   Weave from the sheep warm raiment for their
         wearing.

Teach every soul the lore of Christian truth,
   On which amid the peace of home to ponder;
Train them in right from early budding youth;
   Close up the paths that tempt their feet to
         wander.

Unlock the jealous treasure-vaults of Art,
   And spread their wealth before the sons of
          Labour;
That all may find in every crowded mart
   Topics for wholesome converse with their
           neighbour.

Let Printing multiply the works of Mind,
   To form their taste, and guide them to
           reflection:
Thought is the common heirloom of mankind,
   No privilege of any favour'd section.

And thou, who boastest an ennobled name,
   Which Time has gilded with a storied splendour,
Win for thyself upon the page of Fame
   The title of the poor man's stout defender!

Thou wieldest in thy hand the might of Laws;
   Thou canst restrain the wicked from oppressing;
Therefore be foremost in the sacred cause,
   And earn the guerdon of thy country's blessing!

THE GREAT EXHIBITION AND THE
LITTLE ONE.

IT was seen by a few philosophers long
since, that the abstract faculties of man could
not be increased in number, neither could
they be enlarged and refined beyond a given
extent; and it was therefore concluded that
the advances of mankind in their practical
social condition were limited to the ordinary
characteristics of a high condition of civilisation.
This belief was generally entertained
down to a comparatively recent period. It
has been reserved, not merely for our modern
times, but we may fairly say for our own
day, to perceive the truth, and to announce
a belief in the gradual advances of the human
family to a condition very superior to
anything conveyed by mere "civilisation," in the
common acceptation of the word, and in the
common characteristics which it displays. In
brief, we consider that our present period
recognises the progress of humanity, step by
step, towards a social condition in which
nobler feelings, thoughts, and actions, in
concert for the good of all, instead of in
general antagonism, producing a more
refined and fixed condition of happiness, may
be the common inheritance of great and small
communities, and of all those nations of the
earth who recognise and aspire to fulfil this
law of human progression.

There may be—for a free will, and a perverse
one, too, appear to be allowed by Providence
to nations as well as individuals—there may
be an odd, barbarous, or eccentric nation,
here and there, upon the face of the globe,
who may see fit to exercise its free will, in the
negative form of will-not, and who may seclude
itself from the rest of the world, resolved not
to move on with it. For the rest of earth's
inhabitants, the shades, and steps, and gradations
of the ascending scale will be various, and
no doubt numerous; but, that we are moving
in a right direction towards some superior
condition of society—politically, morally,
intellectually, and religiously—that newly turned-
up furrows of the earth are being sown with
larger, nobler, and more healthy seed than
the earth has ever yet received, we humbly
yet proudly, and with heartfelt joy that
partakes of solemnity, do fully recognise as a
great fact—the greatest and grandest, by far,
of all the facts that crowdingly display
themselves at the present time, because it
indicates the ultimate combination of all our
noblest efforts.

Let us glance at a few of the special signs
and tokens of the struggle that is now going
on in the world, and we shall clearly see that
the period of revolutionary excitement has in
a great measure subsided into an industrial