,transcribed from the #ahdi ,johnstone  
and ,hunter edition by ,david ,price1   
ccx#jgdpglaf4org1 using scans from the  
,bodleian ,library1 ,oxford4            
,picture3 ,pamphlet cover               
,,sabbath ,,defence ,,tactics1          
,a ,,manual2                            
,,by ,,james ,,bridges1 ,,esq4          
99 99 99 99 99                          
99 99 99 99 99                 8,be ye  
wise as serpents1 and harmless as       
doves40                                 
99 99 99 99 99                          
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,edinburgh3                            
,,johnstone ,,and ,,hunter1 #ae         
,,princes ,,street2                     
,,and #bf ,,paternoster ,,row1 ,,london4
                                        
,m4,,dccc4,,xlix4                       
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,respectfully ,,inscribed              
,,to ,,the ,,office-,,bearers ,,and     
,,members                               
,,of ,,the                              

,,lord',s-,,day ,,society ,,of          
,,england4                              
99 99 99 99 99          ,,sabbath       
,,defence ,,tactics4      ,,the         
observance of the ,lord's day partook   
largely of the general religious        
declension which characterised the      
conclusion of the eighteenth century4   
,fresh invasions were constantly made on
 its sanctity2 and practices which  a   
century before would have startled the  
most careless1 were  unconsciously      
acquiesced in even by the religious4    
,england1 as a nation1  never made the  
large professions of strictness which   
marked the north1  and its remembrance  
of the day1 such as it was1 became      
feebler as time  progressed2 while in   
,scotland1 which always had a name as a 
,sabbath-keeping land1 the evil         
influence grew visibly in its populous  
towns1 and was seen gradually diffusing 
itself throughout the country4  ,the    
,post-,office1 with its mail-coaches1   
runners1 letters1 and newspapers1  and  

the hackney-coach1 are among the        
standing memorials of this falling      
away4  ,happily1 however1 for the cause 
of every thing sacred and  expedient1 a 
revival of religion took place in both  
ends of the island1  which1 manifesting 
itself first in the ,churches1 did not  
fail speedily to  embrace within its    
action the great matter of the          
observance of the  ,lord's day4    ,to  
the honour of ,england1 the practical   
,sabbath movement among the people      
began in that great country4  ,a few    
pious men1 taught by its religious      
societies1 of which they were           
distinguished members1 the superiority  
of  united over insulated action1 formed
 themselves into 8,the ,lord's-day      
,society10 which has ever since         
exercised a very wholesome influence4   
,an  early step on its part was to      
establish a connection with ,parliament1
  through the medium of an influential  
member who might choose to be           
officially connected with the ,society4 

,after unsuccessful efforts in          
different quarters1 they were directed  
to the late ,sir ,andrew ,agnew of      
,lochnaw1 ,bart41 then member for       
,wigtonshire1 who1 after many doubts and
  fears1 prompted by the modesty of his 
nature and his deep sense of the        
responsibility attaching to every more  
prominent part in the cause of  ,god1   
consented to their application2 and he  
soon became established1 as  he         
continued to his dying hour to be1 the  
rooted and grounded friend of  the      
,sabbath1 and of every institution and  
effort1 whether made by many or  few1   
for its observance4    ,the author had  
the happiness to renew an earlier       
acquaintance with this  excellent and   
distinguished person under the gallery  
of the ,house of  ,commons in the year  
#ahcc1 when1 in the playful language    
which was a  characteristic of the man1 
he was 8enlisted as a ,sabbath recruit1 
the  smart-money being a cup of tea in  
,bellamy's40  ,from that night to the   

last hour of this lamented gentleman's  
active life1 he had the happiness  of   
serving under him in the struggle2 and  
having seen more intimately  than most  
persons the nature of his principles and
 policy1 which were  eminently wise and 
practical1 and their gradual            
systematising1 he records  in these     
pages such particulars as may be of use 
to others2 taking up the  pen1 as he    
does1 singly1 because much that is      
valuable may otherwise be  lost1 now    
that death has interposed4  ,if they be 
found to refer mainly to  the ,railway  
question1 this obviously is because the 
portion of the field  which has latterly
 engaged the chief attention of         
,sabbatarians1 and has  demanded most   
largely their practical combination1 is 
that important  point4  ,it will be felt
 by all1 that while ,sabbath            
desecrations of every  kind require to  
be sharply looked after1 very many of   
them are so slight  or rare that they   
may be sufficiently met--as indeed all  

great as well as  small must be--by the 
blessing of ,god upon the faithful      
preaching of the  word1 and upon the    
honest indignation of the people in     
their several  neighbourhoods4  ,but    
where great numbers are united1 by      
selfishness or  any other bond1 for the 
protection of any particular ,sabbath   
wrong1 they  must be met1 or at all     
events they may most effectually be met1
 by an  opposite combination2 and       
therefore these pages1 leadingly devoted
 as  they are to the railway1 and to the
 principles and practice of combined    
acting there1 will be found useful in   
every other serious ,sabbath  question4 
,it is proper to add1 in order to       
prevent misconceptions1 that this paper 
in no way bears on1 or is affected by1  
the question of ,establishment or       
,voluntaryism1 compulsion or free       
action4  ,in some quarters the name of  
,sir ,andrew ,agnew has come to be so   
associated with ,sabbath legislation1   
that his general measures have too often

 been regarded with some  prejudice1    
even by good men yielding to an         
undefined alarm about  voluntaryism4    
,it is due1 however1 to his memory to   
say1 that while  adhering to the last1  
with fresh constancy1 to his original   
principles on  the subject of           
legislation1 he freely1 and as          
faithfully as freely1 held  these in    
suspense in all those ,sabbath          
enterprises where men of opposite  views
 on that point agreed to act together4  
,and1 in regard to these  pages1 let no 
doubt or suspicion arise in any quarter4
  ,their sole object  is to promote     
harmonious action on the part of lovers 
of the ,lord's day  in the practical    
promotion of its sanctity by means of   
moral suasion  efficiently directed4    
,the ,churchman or the ,dissenter who   
objects to  this1 because it does not   
compel1 or because it is suspected as   
compelling1 is no true friend of the    
,sabbath4    ,it has been stated that   
the agitation of the ,sabbath question  

took its  origin in ,england4  ,it was  
soon1 however1 imported into ,scotland4 
,various causes had both delayed the    
measure there1 and at length made way   
for it4  ,scotland had long1 and for    
long deservedly1 possessed the          
character of a ,sabbath-observing       
nation2 and1 notwithstanding its days of
  declension1 the people had been so    
accustomed to this character1 that  they
 lived very complacently on the strength
 of it4  ,nor was it till  circumstances
 had awakened them to the sense of the  
change that had come  over their dream1 
that it was felt necessary to do        
something in the north  actively1 as    
well as elsewhere4  ,the publication of 
the evidence of ,sir  ,edward ,lees1 the
 secretary of the ,post-,office1 in     
regard to the ,edinburgh  mobs which    
crowded ,waterloo ,place every ,sunday  
in quest of their letters1  and which   
excited much surprise and not a little  
displeasure1 but was all  the while too 
true1 was one of those circumstances    

which stirred up the  ,scotch mind to   
active resistance of the evil4  ,it may 
also be added1 that  the very           
constitution of the ,churches in the    
north tended for a time to  lull the    
people into quietness2 for the popular  
character of these  ,churches1 with     
their parochial1 provincial1 and        
,general ,assemblies and  debates1 might
 well be regarded as in some measure    
superseding popular  agitation4         
,accordingly1 when the ,english fire    
crossed the borders1 it  did not spread 
at first with any exemplary energy1 nor 
did it burst out  with force at all1    
till a movement took place within the   
,scottish railway  companies to run     
coaches on the ,sabbath-day1 in the face
 of the  long-settled convictions and   
habits of the country4  ,then1 indeed1  
was  shown the efficacy of the popularly
 constituted ,churches in the north1    
which1 if a cause at first of delayed   
action by the people1 speedily  proved  
themselves to be a stimulating force of 

no small energy4    ,the ,english       
movement within the railways for ,sunday
 coaching had long  preceded the ,scotch
 attempt4  ,but coming in the rear of   
other prevailing  habits1 it failed in  
exciting that indignation which was its 
rightful  due2 and so long as the       
iniquity was limited to the south1 the  
people of  ,scotland1 strong in their   
imagined security1 and slow of uptake as
 to any  new thing--though quite learned
 enough to know the force and meaning of
  the ,tua res agitur dum proximus      
paries ardet--failed to take active     
alarm for a very considerable time4  ,in
 regard also to ,england1 it of  course 
must be allowed that the religious      
classes there did certainly  feel       
aggrieved1 and took some quiet steps1   
even within the  companies--though of a 
very courteous1 timid1 and hesitating   
kind--to  induce these companies to     
abstain from their railway trading4     
,but with  that certain peculiar spirit 
in public religious things1 which1 pious

 and  excellent as in itself it is1 so  
often evaporates there in mere          
adjuration and protest1 instead of      
embodying itself in earnest  8contending
 for the faith10 the struggle in        
,england1 saving here and  there in the 
pulpit and press1 ceased altogether as a
 public thing2 and  the very men who had
 maintained the controversy for a time  
within the  railway companies1          
mistakingly deeming it ,christian to    
cease from godly  strife1 withdrew from 
that field whenever the first success   
was effected  by the enemy4  ,they sold 
out their stock1 under the baseless     
notion that  they would become partakers
 of the iniquity by remaining at their  
posts  and endeavouring to bring their  
fallen shareholders to righteous        
dealing2  thus leaving these parties    
undisputed masters of the ,lord's day1  
and  henceforth acting on the gainsaying
 public merely by their ,lord's-day     
,society's very excellent tracts and    
meetings1 though the very last things   

of the very existence of which the      
,railway ,stock ,exchange was ever      
likely  to become cognizant4    ,not so 
in the north4  ,when the first attempt  
was made to establish  systematic       
railway traffic on the ,sabbath day1 the
 country rose en  masse against it1 and 
to this hour the fight for the faith has
 been  maintained1 if with various      
success1 still with unvarying fervour   
and  firmness1 not to cease1 it is      
trusted1 till the cause of truth shall  
prevail4  ,general indignation was      
excited1 and every where expressed      
itself in debated remonstrances from    
public bodies1 civil and                
ecclesiastical1 and from popular        
meetings4  ,it1 at the same time1 broke 
forth most significantly in a           
8declaration0 or pledge not to use the  
railway at all1 or at any rate1 not     
while any other practicable  conveyance 
was attainable1 so long as it continued 
to violate the  religious feelings of   
the country by desecrating the ,lord's  

day4  ,whatever may be thought on the   
subject of the principle of this        
declaration1 the fact that it was       
adopted1 and1 at the risk of much       
personal inconvenience1 speedily signed 
by more than a hundred thousand1  is    
honourable to the religious zeal of     
,scotland2 and that it was  steadfastly 
observed for years by multitudes till   
the change came1 in the  face of great  
annoyance and privation1 operated1 we   
know1 powerfully on  the minds of the   
,english gentlemen who at length brought
 about that  change4    ,it has since   
been the general opinion1 that the      
8declaration0 rested thus  far on an    
erroneous principle1 that1 instead of   
addressing the  consciences of the      
violating directors1 it assailed their  
selfishness1  and for the good of the   
,sabbath did the evil of interfering    
with the  business of the six days in   
which there is a command to work4  ,but 
it was  a noble1 self-denying ordinance1
 and was so regarded by the honourable  

baronet to whom reference has been made1
 by whom it was scrupulously  observed1 
though before its adoption1 and in the  
face of opposition and  of some obloquy1
 he opposed it as not being within the  
legitimate line of  ,sabbath operations4
    ,the railway company addressed was  
deaf to remonstrance4  ,the evil was    
established on one important line1 and  
was likely to spread as new lines  were 
opened4  ,the efforts of the pulpit and 
of the press also were  redoubled2 but  
while these served gradually to         
indoctrinate the land1  and1 through the
 blessing of ,god1 might stay the evil  
in the lapse of  time1 still1 on the    
other hand1 the iniquity was in the mean
 time being  firmly established1 the    
country was being familiarized with it1 
and no  reflecting person could fail to 
fear the effect of familiar habit in    
undermining even the most rooted        
principle4  ,it became of importance    
thus  not only to meet it by the general
 pressure of religious principle1 but   

to encounter it within the walls of the 
offending companies1 by arguments       
addressed in their presence to the      
consciences and interests of directors  
and shareholders1 in the hope of        
prevailing on them1 through moral       
suasion1 to abandon the obnoxious       
policy1 and return to right dealing4    
,for this end1 the writer of these pages
 submitted to his honourable  friend and
 leader--who1 in his letters at this    
time1 was constantly  grieving over his 
inability to work in the wake of the    
8declaration10 and  exclaiming every now
 and them1 8,false position6 false      
position60--the  scheme of purchasing as
 much railway stock as would give a     
voice in the  half-yearly meetings of   
companies1 and there maintaining the    
cause of  truth and godliness4  ,a      
prompt and animated reply was the       
immediate  result1 and a commission to  
purchase the requisite stock4    ,was   
this not a proof of what the world did  
not know1 the practical  business-like  

tact1 no less than the deep-founded     
principle1 of this  lamented man8  ,when
 the ,lord's day railway traffic was    
first sanctioned  in ,england1 good men1
 it has been seen1 ran away from the    
field1 and left  it in the hands1 and   
delivered it over to the tender mercies 
of  speculators1 who sought with greed1 
and talked with complacency1 of the     
gains in prospect when 8,sunday traffic 
should be fully developed40  ,the       
churches also1 and the religious press1 
complimented the pietistic  self-denial 
of those estimable persons who sold out 
their stock1 that the  enemy might      
retain an uncontroverted possession of  
the field2 and to this  hour the        
,lord's-day ,society remains paralysed1 
#aj and the ,english  ,sabbath railway  
cause prostrated1 through the melancholy
 panic which  actuated this flight4     
,not so the stout judgment of him who1  
strong in  his piety1 gentle in his     
affections1 and earnest in his zeal1 but
 clear  in discernment and practised in 

business1 at once saw that so long as   
the  constitution of the railway        
companies remained sound1 and only their
  voluntary actings were vicious1 it was
 not merely lawful1 but  praiseworthy1  
to join them for the purpose of bringing
 their impure  actings into accordance  
with their pure principle2 and it was   
felt  that the proposed stockholding    
afforded a legitimate and excellent     
opportunity1 as well as a right and     
privilege1 to bring before all          
stockholders the highest principles of  
moral and religious law1 in their       
bearing on a question of traffic which  
affects1 more or less1 all  trading1 and
 is as much forced on a company of      
coblers or coal-heavers as  on a company
 of railway coach-owners2 viz4 that of  
determining whether  they shall pursue  
or abstain from traffic on the          
,lord's-day--a question  and a          
discussion affording direct opportunity 
and lawful right1 by moral  suasion1 to 
influence the hitherto unreflecting or  

hostile to adopt the  course of truth   
and soberness4  ,and if1 in so doing1   
honourable gentlemen  did convert the   
half-yearly railway meetings into       
capitally reported  ,sabbath meetings1  
with the immense superiority of having a
 practical  question to discuss1 and to 
discuss most religiously1 which         
interests  even worldly men1 instead of 
being limited1 as in the others1 to the 
grave exposition of things general1     
abstract1 and clerical1 though          
certainly most savoury1 doctrinal1 and  
eternally interesting--this was not     
only not the fault of the ,sabbatarians1
 but it was a mighty benefit  impressed 
on their policy by the nature and       
necessity of things1 or  rather by the  
very will of ,god himself4 #aa    ,the  
struggle began under the auspices of    
,sir ,andrew ,agnew in the  ,edinburgh  
and ,glasgow ,railway ,company4  ,it was
 continued--it was  successful4  ,it    
spread1 as new ,scottish lines opened1  
into the ,north  ,british under the     

charge of ,mr ,blackadder--the          
,caledonian 7alas671 of ,sir  ,andrew   
,agnew--the ,northern1 of ,mr ,maitland 
,heriot of ,ramornie--and the  ,central1
 of ,mr ,campbell of ,monzie4  ,it      
crossed the border1 and it is now       
maintained as an ,english question in   
the ,newcastle and ,carlisle line by    
,mr ,graham of ,edmond ,castle--in the  
,north-,western by ,mr ,thomas ,greig of
  ,manchester1 the associate of ,mr     
,cheetham of ,staleybridge in the       
deliverance of the ,edinburgh and       
,glasgow ,railway from its ,sabbath     
bondage--and in the ,eastern ,union by  
,mr ,andrew ,johnston of ,halesworth1   
who  was long ,sir ,andrew ,agnew's     
devoted coadjutor in ,parliament4       
,these may  be little-looking things in 
contrast with the gigantic railway      
interest  which broods over the land1   
nestling within the palace of the prince
 as  well as in the cabin of the        
peasant1 and in all that is between4    
,but  they are a beginning4  ,they have 

an existence4  ,they have secured a     
standing for themselves in the country  
and in the companies4  ,they  possess an
 indestructible principle of life in    
their magic symbol1  8,remember the     
,sabbath-day1 to keep it holy0--words   
which render the little  band as        
unconquerable as if they were cheered on
 by thousands and had the  command of   
millions1 and as confident of           
success--unless the country be  under   
judgment--as the word and promise of the
 living ,god can make men to  be4    ,it
 is impossible1 and it would be most    
ungrateful1 to overlook the  eminent    
services of 8,the ,sabbath ,alliance10  
itself a fruit of the  agitation of the 
question of the ,lord's day1 and a      
powerful agent in its  cause4  ,its     
basis is thoroughly orthodox1           
recognising1 as it expressly  does1 the 
whole truth of ,god in regard to the    
,sabbath1 its divine  institution1 and  
the perpetual obligation of the ,fourth 
,commandment of  the ,moral ,law4       

,while thus it excludes from its        
membership all who deny  any portion of 
the truth1 it includes in the matter of 
its actings all  who differ on the point
 of the civil magistrate's authority to 
interfere  in regard to the observance  
of the day4  ,it thus so far restricts  
its  actings as an ,alliance as to avoid
 all application to the law or the      
legislature1 save only to the effect of 
rescinding existing laws whose  purpose 
is to compel disobedience to the divine 
law4  ,nothing can be more  pure or more
 catholic in constitution than this4    
,it has enabled ,sir  ,andrew ,agnew1   
the advocate of legislation1 to embrace 
excellent ,mr  ,henderson of ,park on   
its platform1 the originator and        
munificent endower  of the ,workmen's   
,sabbath ,essay ,scheme1 and of every   
purely 8voluntary0  effort1 though the  
foe of judicial or state interference4  
,and that the  ,alliance has been       
practically most efficient1 is proved   
both by the  progress of the principle  

all over the land1 and by the stir of   
hatred  excited among the enemies1 as   
against all its actings1 so especially  
against that most sagacious1 effective1 
and self-remunerating arrangement       
whereby the whole services of two men   
have been secured for the working  of   
its work--the one resting at the centre 
and the other revolving round  the      
provinces1 to concentrate at once and to
 scatter the light of the  principle1   
and bring the darkened masses to its    
enjoyment4  ,let our  friends be        
assured1 that the bitter derision and   
invective of the infidel  press directed
 against the 8two secretaries and their 
salaries10 are the  transparent         
exhibition of the sense entertained in  
these quarters of the  power and        
efficacy of the labours of these two    
,christian gentlemen4  ,the  country    
ought to support this institution more  
effectually than it does1  and to make  
more true than the state of its funds   
and the generosity of  ,dr ,greville and

 ,mr ,lyon admit1 their gibes at the    
8large and lavish 767  allowances0 voted
 to them4  ,the ,english localities     
likewise should1 no  less than the      
,scotch1 have their 8,sabbath           
,alliances20 and it would be  honourable
 to the ,church of ,england if it did   
not leave the work of  originating them 
to the unestablished communions4    ,and
 so these 8little people0 will go       
vigorously on1 undismayed1 even  though1
 in the inscrutable providence of       
,almighty ,god1 their beloved  leader be
 taken away from their eyes with a      
stroke2 or though an ungodly            
,parliament decree1 like him of old1    
that at what time the sound of its  ,act
 shall be heard1 all people who are     
firemen1 and stokers1 and  pointsmen1   
and railway directors1 guards1 or       
clerks1 shall forsake the  service of   
,god on his holy day1 and fall down and 
worship their golden  image1 and shall  
seduce all vagrant men and foolish maids
 to scorn the  ,word of ,god and do the 

like2 certifying whoso falleth not down 
and  worshippeth1 that he shall1 the    
same hour1 be 8fined the sum of #bjj to 
our ,sovereign ,lady the ,queen60  ,no1 
no2 none of these things shall          
influence the struggle4  ,be it known1  
that the ,sabbath observers will not    
regard thee1 ,o ,joseph ,locke1 and thy 
bill6  ,let your bill pass to-morrow2   
still1 not merely in our modern ,babylon
 and over our whole land1 shall  the    
,god-fearing people rise up against you 
for the vindication of his  honour1 but 
7be under no mistake7 we will continue  
at our stock-holding  posts1 and raise  
our voices in your companies as of old3 
we will in no  respect alter our        
tactics2 we will only enlarge our       
position4  ,we will  continue to move in
 your companies--for no human           
legislature can abrogate  the divine law
 or compel conscience--#8that no        
systematic railway work be  done on the 
,lord's day2' and we shall1 in addition1
 there also move1  #8that the companies 

do petition both ,houses of ,parliament 
to rescind'  your iniquitous law4  ,you 
thus will just duplicate our motions2   
you will  just enlarge the field of     
discussion4  ,do your worst2 8to this   
complexion  must you come at last40     
,seriously1 it is earnestly to be hoped 
that religious shareholders will  take  
warning from the miserable experience of
 the past1 and hold on1  should ,mr     
,locke's bill pass--not giving way to a 
second panic1 and  betaking themselves  
to foolish flight1 intimidated by the   
bugbear of an  anti-,deity act of       
,parliament4  ,and again1 while we say  
this in reference  to the event of the  
bill becoming law1 neither1 we entreat1 
let the  friends indulge now in any     
false security that it never will pass4 
,if it  ultimately fail1 it will fail   
only through the blessing of ,god on an 
energetic pull from the religious world 
at large4  ,who can doubt that1 if  the 
country be quiet and seem acquiescent1  
the formidable minority of #abb  to     

#aca--one of the most successful        
openings of a new agitation ever        
witnessed in ,parliament--will soon     
become a majority8  ,o let our friends  
be firmly persuaded1 that no man will   
more please the adversary than he  who  
counsels to withdraw from the railway   
companies when the bill shall  pass into
 a law6  ,the great drift of the        
engineering interest1 and secret  of    
their bill1 is to drive strife and      
controversy 7which tell awkwardly  on   
the share-market7 out of the railway    
companies4  ,if the enemy once  believe 
that the good men will fly1 their       
efforts will be redoubled for  its      
passing4  ,if they be given to          
understand that the good men will       
continue1 after it passes1 to meet them 
at the railway ,philippis as of  old1   
and will there treat them to two motions
 7and perhaps two  movers--fresh        
,richards in the field7 in place of one 
as before1 their  courage will cool1 and
 the righteous indignation of the       

country against  their selfishness will 
have time to arise for the hiding of    
their  diminished heads1 so that the    
truth may prevail4  ,up then1 we say1   
and be  doing4  ,the measure may be yet 
discomfited4  ,but let it pass2 let it  
become the law of the land--no matter2  
it will share the fate of ,judge        
,jefferies' law and ,james's            
proclamations4  ,it is contrary to      
,god's law2  it cannot stand4  ,it will 
be overthrown through the force of the  
,,evangelical ,,principle1 which shall  
yet1 steam-power-like1 burst the bonds  
asunder that may have been imposed on it
 by engineering artifice1 and  stream   
forth on the right hand and on the left 
to hallow the day of  sacred rest1 and  
to refresh the land with showers of     
blessing4    ,the fact itself of the    
bringing in of this bill ought to be    
regarded by  the friends of the ,sabbath
 as a favourable indication of the state
 of the  question in the country4       
,parliament is not troubled with bills  

about  trifles4  ,the ,sabbath          
controversy was long regarded by the    
country1 and  of course by ,parliament1 
with indifference or contempt2 and had  
its  advocates limited their efforts to 
the abstract question and to ,exeter    
,hall1 and mere tractism and preaching1 
this would have remained the  prevalent 
mind of the country for a generation4   
,but so soon as the  spiritual principle
 came to embody itself in a practical   
measure--so soon  as the world met the  
,sabbath as an active agent in what is  
regarded as  its own department1 its    
railway coaching--indifference became   
abhorrence1  and contempt fright2 and   
feeling itself to be worsted from       
half-year to  half-year in argument1 and
 seeing its proxy-power to be sliding   
from  under its feet1 the evangelical   
monster came so to bulk1 that it became 
conquerable only through the brute force
 of parliamentary law4  ,what  better   
sign can there be than this of the      
stringent force of the internal  railway

 controversy8 what higher premium on its
 prolongation6  ,and if the  ,house of  
,commons1 on the first appearance of the
 hateful thing within its  walls1 has   
been a bear-garden rather than a        
deliberative assembly1  reducing the    
,cowans and ,m#8,gregors1 the ,scottish 
representatives of the  ,scottish       
religion1 pretty much to dumb-show in   
their moving and  seconding--what is    
this but the ,queen ,street chambers of 
the old ,edinburgh  and ,glasgow        
,railway over again1 where1 amidst the  
din of strife1 was to  be seen stout    
,macgill ,crichton stretched to tiptoe  
height1 that he might  elude the circle 
of infuriated anti-,sabbatarian fists   
which compassed him  about like bees1   
and straining his trumpet-like tones to 
the very crack  of eardrums that he     
might drown their variegated            
vociferations8--futile  attempt to      
ordinary-voiced mortals6  ,but let      
honourable members take  courage4  ,this
 was in the railway affair1 the mere    

surf of the near shore  on the first    
launching of the ,sabbath boat1 which1  
once battled through1  conducted to the 
deep-founded calm beyond4  ,such1 no    
doubt1 will be the  comfortable         
experience of the good men in           
,parliament1 if they will but  hold on  
and persevere4  ,the railway lions after
 a time became lambs when  they were    
confronted in a lion-lamb like spirit2  
and now as they have  become sober and  
well-behaved1 so will also the          
worldlings of ,parliament1  whether     
titled or trading1 when they shall once 
have made their little  bully-like play4
  ,they will soon condescend to be      
silent1 if not to  listen4  ,speeches1  
besides1 made in ,parliament1 should    
they discontent  the honourable ,house1 
have the quality of telling on the      
country at large  through the pleasant  
echoes of the reporters' gallery1 and   
the cause  stuck to1 will1 like every   
other based on the rock of ,bible truth1
 in the  wisely appointed time prevail4 

,quitting preliminaries and             
generalities1 it is now time to present 
to the  ,sabbatarian soldier the manual 
of his exercise and tactics1 to which   
all  that goes before is introductory4  
,the manual shall be narrowed within    
the closest practicable compass4  8,be  
practical1 be practical60 then--the     
frequent exclamation of our departed    
leader--shall be our steady aim--in     
medias res1 our watchword4        ,i4   
,,principles ,,of ,,action4      ,first 
of all1 the strength of our position1   
the foundation on which we  rest1 the   
star which is our guide1 the stay in    
defeat1 the hope in  adversity1 the     
confidence in weakness1 the power that  
makes invincible1  is the word of ,god3 
8,remember the ,sabbath-day1 to keep it 
holy40  ,the  divine authority and      
perpetual obligation of the ,fourth     
,commandment of  the ,moral ,law1 is the
 creed and test of the true             
,sabbatarian4  ,this is  the sacramentum
 of our legion4  ,none who does not take

 it is worthy to  contend in the        
,sabbath ranks1 or will stand firm in   
the shock of  conflict4    #b4  ,the    
,sabbath contended for is one natural   
day in seven1 every single  portion of  
which is as sacred as every other       
portion2 and no distinction  of         
canonical and uncanonical1 or morning   
and evening hours exists1 or is  to be  
listened to4  ,all the day is the       
,lord's day4    #c4  ,works of necessity
 and mercy are not exceptions to the    
,sabbath rule2  they are a part of the  
commandment implied in its terms1 and   
authoritatively sanctioned by the ,lord 
of the ,sabbath4  ,but the necessity    
must be real1 and the mercy             
unquestionable2 the one not such as     
prudent  foresight or patient waiting   
would supersede1 nor the other mere     
trifling  or mawkishness4    #d4  ,such 
being the doctrinal test of the true    
,sabbatarian1 it may not be  amiss to   
add1 that there is a practical test     
which has been found  valuable1 viz41   

that he repudiates all systematic       
,sabbath railway  traffic1 whether      
morning or evening1 and whether for man 
or mail--hating  post-office traffic    
equally with railway traffic4  ,he      
rejects the morning  and evening scheme 
both on principle and on policy--on     
principle1 because  he holds all        
portions of the day equally holy2 and on
 policy1 because he  knows that the     
iniquity once insinuated into a portion 
of the day will  diffuse itself over the
 whole2 and that the public1 once       
swallowing the  little bait1 and        
committing the little sin1 will become  
familiarised with  the whole evil1 and  
soon have neither moral principle nor   
courage left to  oppose its out-and-out 
establishment4  ,in regard1 again1 to   
the mail  train1 this is certainly1 in  
the ,sabbatarian's eyes1 as bad2 he     
probably  regards it as worse than the  
other4  ,the combination of both is just
 a  double iniquity1 with this          
aggravation1 that the post-office work  

is a  national offence1 sending         
worldliness in all the infinite         
varieties of  correspondence into houses
 and families1 which1 but for it1 might 
have  enjoyed the blessing of one day's 
repose in seven from the destructive    
tear and wear of life4    #e4  ,it      
follows1 as a portion of the ,sabbatical
 principle1 that it never  yields--no1  
not by a hair's-breadth4  ,the command  
is exceeding broad1 and  no apparent    
good is a real good which involves the  
slightest concession4  ,the absolute    
purity of the principle is the talisman 
of success1 never to  be tarnished      
without ruin to the cause4    #f4  ,it  
farther follows1 in the memorable words 
of the departed ,baronet1  8,that we    
have nothing to do with success2 that is
 in better hands than  ours4  ,we have  
only to do with means40  ,the           
consequence of which is1 that  we never 
trouble ourselves with the anxious      
inquiries of the timid--8,what  chance  
is there of succeeding8  ,have you got  

any more votes8  ,is it worth  while to 
try8  ,is it not hopeless80 c4 c4       
,contending for the command  and honour 
of ,god1 these things affected our      
,sabbath course practically  in no way2 
they generally were the snare of the    
half-and-halfers alone4  ,no doubt we   
counted our numbers1 glad of their      
increase2 but the less  carefulness     
about these things1 and the more        
confidence in the  impregnability of the
 principle there is1 the better for the 
cause1 and  the better for the man4     
#g4  ,decided firmness thus is of       
unspeakable value in this work4  ,but it
  is not all4  ,it must ever be tempered
 with courtesy4  ,temper indeed and     
courtesy1 beautiful ornaments of the    
,sabbath defender1 are powerful aids  to
 his argument--8,remember1 gentlemen10  
said our late leader1 8these men  are   
just as well entitled to hold their     
opinions as we are to hold ours4  ,to be
 sure you know 7smiling7 they are wrong 
and we are right2 but they  must be met 

fairly and respectfully4  ,who knows but
 they may come round80  ,things did     
indeed now and then occur to stir up his
 indignation1 but few  and far between  
were the rufflings of his benign heart4 
,to ordinary  mortals they are very     
rarely lawful4  ,the practice of a      
friend1 with whom  the author was once  
associated in an important negotiation1 
is worth  following on occasions of     
trial of temper4  ,when an exceedingly  
irritating or impertinent thing was     
said1 he pulled out his very handsome   
snuff-box1 and1 expending his wrath in a
 violent rap on the lid1 and  noisy     
draught of its contents within his      
inflated nostrils1 proceeded  thereafter
 to the reply1 which was not the less   
effective for the pause4        ,,ii4   
,,mode ,,of ,,action ,,before           
,,meetings4      #a4  ,two men 7or any  
greater number1 ad libitum7 thus        
principled1 having  established         
themselves in a railway company by the  
purchase of 7at least7  as much stock as

 will yield a vote1 may proceed to      
action without fear4  ,the whole        
agitation in the railway companies so   
began2 and1 for many a  long day1 it was
 carried on but by a handful4 #bj  ,they
 were strong1  however1 in the strength 
of their position and foundation2 and   
the band  grew and multiplied4    #b4   
,let the men who enter the arena be     
assured that it is very good to  arrange
 with the clergy and religious classes  
of the town where railway  companies    
have their headquarters1 to hold        
meetings for public and  private prayer1
 and to appoint these especially for the
 ,sabbath preceding  the railway        
meetings2 for it must be reiterated to  
satiety1 that the  struggle is a        
religious one2 and while there is even  
worldly policy in  ever keeping this    
prominently before the public mind1     
there is  undoubtedly a blessing on     
believing prayer4  ,it cannot fail4     
#c4  ,in the same way1 the little band  
must meet before the hour of the        

company meeting1 and join in prayer4    
,the ,edinburgh and ,glasgow handful    
never appeared in the ,queen ,street    
,chambers without having previously in  
the ,bath ,hotel1 or other rendezvous1  
prostrated themselves before  ,almighty 
,god1 in earnest seeking of his         
guidance4  ,and then1 come weal or  come
 woe1 every thing came right4  ,this    
previous meeting is useful for  other   
than the business of prayer4  ,here it  
is right to arrange the order  of battle
 for the day4  ,the parties to move and 
second1 for instance1  must here be     
fixed1 as well as the skirmishers who   
are to be ready to  support them4  ,the 
motion to be made must also be          
determined on4    #d4  ,on this subject1
 it may1 after all experience1 be stated
 that the  best motion to make is1      
8,that no systematic traffic be carried 
on on the  ,lord's-day40  ,this form of 
words excludes the obnoxious thing1     
meets the  commandment1 and leaves an   
opening for all needful arrangements for

  8necessity and mercy0 cases--a class  
multiplied and magnified to worldly     
vision1 but scarce known in fact and    
truth4        ,,iii4  ,,mode ,,of       
,,action ,,at ,,the ,,meetings4      #a4
  ,on this subject1 it is of great      
consequence for the party to be well    
versed in the forms of conducting the   
business of a public meeting4  ,these1  
in general1 are borrowed from the       
admirable1 and most just1 and           
time-saving forms of the ,house of      
,commons1 more or less acknowledged1    
and1 it may be added1 increasingly      
adopted at all public meetings in this  
country4  ,the genius and principle of  
these forms is1 and the duty of a       
faithful chairman ever is1 the          
protection of the minority4  ,a majority
  is always safe1 and can protect       
itself4  ,but the form of business      
throws  a shield over the minority by   
securing a hearing1 or a standing at    
least1  for all1 in spite of clamour and
 violence4  ,it is to be remembered that

  on every new question there is a right
 to speak once2 and it is advisable     
that no friend should attempt to speak  
more than once4  ,he can thereby  better
 challenge the like liberty when taken  
by the obstreperous  opponents4  ,he may
 indeed 8explain20 but a good chairman  
will rigidly  enforce the rule against  
multiplied speeches4  ,where1 indeed1 a 
gentleman  says merely1 8,i second the  
motion10 he is not thereby exposed on   
rising  afterwards to the 8,spoke1      
spoke10 which ordinarily shuts mouths2  
on the  contrary1 he is understood as   
having reserved his fire for an         
adversary1  and must have his full      
swing4  ,but the great protection is1   
the right of  moving an amendment to any
 effect1 and upon any motion2 and1 an   
amendment  moved and seconded1 the      
chairman must allow to be debated and   
put4  ,where  two or more amendments are
 moved1 the two last are put against    
each other  till the ground be cleared  
of all but the original motion and      

amendment1  which are then voted4  ,this
 is not quite the ,house of ,commons'   
amendment  system2 but it is a very good
 one1 well adapted to ,scotch ideas4    
,the  mover1 it will be kept in view1   
has always a right of reply2 and this   
suggests the practical remark1 that the 
party1 having chosen a leader1  should  
always stick by him2 for much depends on
 his judgment and tact as  to the time  
to speak or to be silent1 the time to   
ask for more or to ask  for less1 as the
 tide ebbs or flows1 and so forth4      
#b4  ,where the business of the meeting 
is conducted with fairness1 it is       
advisable to allow the directors' report
 to be discussed and disposed of1  and  
to leave the secular business proper to 
be settled before the ,sabbath          
motion--which is the secular-sacred--be 
tabled4  ,but where there are  symptoms 
of unfairness1 and of a disposition to  
suppress the discussion1  then the safe 
course is to move an amendment on the   
motion for approval  of the report1 to  

the effect that it be disallowed in so  
far as it  sanctions ,sabbath traffic4  
,a strictly courteous mover and seconder
  cannot be overborne1 even where there 
is force and unfairness4  ,a protest    
tabled with the clerk1 or1 if rejected  
by him1 taken 7as once the ,friends     
were driven to7 in the hands of a       
notary-public1 will put all right4      
#c4  ,one thing to be added is1 that the
 ,sabbath party ought to make a  point  
at all meetings of dividing4  ,generally
 the personal attendance of  friends is 
greater than their proxy strength2 and  
it is very encouraging  to the friends  
to know one another by face4  ,on the   
contrary1 there are  not a few of the   
opponents who feel themselves somewhat  
in an awkward  predicament--professors  
not quite relishing the exhibition of   
themselves  as enemies of the ,sabbath2 
and who knows but that1 where this      
feeling is  found1 it is symptomatic of 
incipient change8  ,at any rate1 the    
division  brings all the real friends   

into prominent action2 and so1 their    
names  being dotted down at the time by 
the whipper-in1 they may be summoned    
henceforth to the private meetings1 and 
become doubly efficient2 as much  more  
so than before1 as a party of drilled   
soldiers are than an awkward  squad of  
recruits4    #d4  ,and this leads us to 
say1 that all friends should1 where     
possible1  attend in person1 instead of 
resting at home and flying their mere   
proxy  into the field4  ,the moral      
influence of the living man is great4   
,it  ought always1 besides1 to be       
remembered1 that where directors fight  
within a wall of majorities1 personal   
and proxy-form1 the defenders of  the   
faith are exposed to an overbearing     
pressure1 which is to be met with  a    
serried strength on their side4  ,their 
great point is1 to be heard1  that they 
may speak the words of truth in the ears
 of the company and of  the country4    
,but this the adversary instinctively   
hates2 and this1  therefore1 he shifts  

where he can4  ,but where the ,sabbath  
phalanx is not  only compact but strong1
 it makes itself to be respected and    
heard4  ,therefore the friends are      
exhorted to come to the meetings4    #e4
  ,we add a word on the subject of the  
proxy system at large1 which  gives an  
unlimited preponderance to wealth over  
number4  ,bad as this is1  it would be  
tolerable if wealth must always hear    
before it strikes4  ,but  the proxy     
system acts without hearing4  ,directors
 spending the monies of  companies in   
providing themselves with proxies1      
establish for themselves  a sort of     
despotic power1 which1 even after an    
argument that would have  reached the   
conscience of wealth itself had it been 
there to listen1  declares its          
pre-determination1 and proceeds in its  
reckless course1  regardless of reasons4
  ,this is a system which ought to be   
stopped by act  of parliament4  ,the    
power of granting proxies should be     
taken away2 and  then the truth on every

 question1 secular as well as sacred1   
would have  fair play4  ,for the        
wholesome effect would not be limited to
 the ,sabbath  question4  ,there are    
many things coming home to worldly      
business and  bosoms which the          
ventilation of personal attendance would
 greatly tend to  rectify4    #f4  ,the 
,sabbath party had better not generally 
incur the expense of  proxies2 they     
should merely ask individual proprietors
 to send them in  extraordinary cases4  
,their best general policy is1 to       
request friendly  shareholders1         
prevented by necessary causes from      
giving personal  attendance1 to address 
letters to the leader expressive of     
their  adherence to the cause1 and      
adding the number of shares held by     
them4  ,these the leader will put in by 
way of exordium to his speech1 naming a 
few of the more influential and         
conspicuous4    #g4  ,it is necessary to
 add1 that the debate having proceeded1 
and the  motion being disposed of--it   

may for the present be assumed          
unfavourably--the leader then publicly  
intimates that he will renew it at  the 
next ordinary meeting4  ,it will be     
right for him to see that this  notice  
is minuted1 for thereby it enters the   
advertisement of the  following meeting4
  ,he must1 at the same time1 give a    
public notice on  the adjournment1 that 
there will be a meeting of the friends  
at a place  and hour to be then named2  
for in addition to the preparatory      
meeting1  before the assembling of the  
shareholders1 already adverted to1 it is
  always good to hold another after     
their adjournment2 first1 for the       
purpose of unitedly rendering thanks to 
,almighty ,god for what may have  taken 
place1 confessing the sin that may have 
mingled itself1 and asking  strength and
 counsel for the future2 and secondly1  
for the purpose of  arranging the course
 of policy for the ensuing six months4  
#h4  ,one important point remains to be 
considered4  ,what ought to be the      

subject-matter of the railway debate8   
,on this point it is proper to bear  in 
mind1 that while1 at the opening of the 
controversy1 the discussion  most       
properly assumed a polemical form1      
embracing questions of ,christian  faith
 at large as opposed to dissolute       
infidelity1 latterly the field has  been
 considerably narrowed4  ,whether the   
enemy were driven from the  infidel     
position by the power of argument or the
 force of shame1 we know  not2 but      
latterly the line of defence has fallen 
back very much on the  8necessity and   
mercy0 plea1 which of course assumes the
 divine authority  of the day of rest4  
,and most certainly it is advisable to  
follow their  lead1 and address the     
argument as to ,christians frankly and  
avowedly1  leaving all others to        
vindicate and vote for their ,sabbath   
traffic at  pleasure4  ,this saves the  
necessity of a great deal of preaching2 
for if1  according to the standards of  
all evangelical churches1 the ,lord's   

day is  to be kept as a sacred day of   
rest--the institution of ,god           
himself--then it  must be vain to argue 
with men professing to be members of    
these churches  who advocate its breach 
otherwise than as a question of mere    
necessity  and mercy2 because1 when they
 go farther1 they in the very act       
violate  their own principles4  ,this   
pre-eminently applies to all members of 
the  ,church of ,england1 all of whom1  
after having read the fourth commandment
  in its solemn particulars1 are        
accustomed to exclaim on their knees1   
8,lord have mercy upon us1 and incline  
our hearts to keep this law60    #i4    
,the question of necessity and mercy    
then1 which alone remains1 is  capable  
of much and varied illustration1 and    
deserves and will repay  careful study4 
,in a few words1 it may be stated as a  
question1 ,whether1  in order to provide
 for the few and far between real cases 
of this  description1 it is necessary or
 expedient to entail on the railway     

staff  of the whole island1 the         
tyrannical burden of a toil which knows 
neither  interval nor remission1 from   
week to week and from year's end to     
year's  end1 save the middle of the     
night--if that--and as completely       
deprives  unhappy railway officials of  
the moral and religious blessings of    
,god's  appointed ,sabbath as if they   
were so many beasts4  ,london proclaims 
that  the land needs no ,sabbath post4  
,old ,scotland proclaims that it needs  
no  ,sabbath coach4  ,where then is the 
necessity8 where the mercy8  ,echo      
answers1 ,where8    #aj4  ,on the       
subject of motions for statistics       
bearing on the number of  ,sabbath      
travellers1 and the expense1 and        
consequent profit 7or loss7 of  ,sabbath
 traffic1 let the ,sabbath leader free  
himself as much as possible  of either4 
,the profit or the loss forms no portion
 of his principle1  just because it     
forms no part of the commandment2 and he
 is apt1 entering  into this walk of    

inquiry1 to be ensnared into secularity1
 whereof the  enemy always takes strong 
and sometimes unfair advantage4         
,besides1  through the process of       
8cooking0 7using this technical term in 
the  gentlest and honestest sense of    
which it is susceptible71 he can always 
be defeated in his attempt to establish 
a loss4  ,he knows1 that 8in  keeping of
 the commandment there is great reward20
 and that is his  strength even on the  
profit and loss account4    #aa4  ,it   
may be very right1 however1 for some    
skirmisher in his band to  call for     
,sabbath statistics2 and it is believed 
that these1 when  perfectly fair1 will  
support the good cause4  ,but the less  
the leader has  to do with them the     
better4  ,the more indeed he can1 in a  
missionary way1  penetrate into the     
dwellings of the stokers and switchmen1 
and there  learn1 for the public good1  
the ,sabbath statistics of the man1 with
 his  declension from the washed face   
and decent garb1 family worship and     

patriarchal walk to neighbouring church 
with wife and children1 downwards  to   
the greasy hand and clouded face1 and   
cast clothing1 and hasty meal1  and     
testy temper1 and troubled wife and     
larking children1 of the now            
,sabbath-breaker--the more of this the  
better4  ,o1 surely1 as the ,sabbath    
was made for man1 so pre-eminently was  
it made for the working man1 for  the   
poor man6  ,to him1 however1 the railway
 director says3 8,thou shalt  not       
remember the ,sabbath-day2 thou shalt   
not keep it holy2 in it thou  shalt not 
only not do no work1 but thou shalt do  
much work4  ,to the  poor the gospel    
shall not be preached40    ,lastly4     
,one point of policy1 resting on a solid
 truth1 is1 while  addressing           
shareholders and proprietors at large1  
to lay the  responsibility of all the   
,sabbath delinquencies of railways      
leadingly on  the directors4  ,there is 
not a doubt of the general fact1 that   
where  directors take a righteous view  

of the matter1 they easily carry the    
proprietors1 who relieve themselves by  
devolving responsibility on their       
boards1 and thinking by proxy4  ,then it
 is to be remembered that the mass  of  
monied men1 who invest for gain1 covet  
,sabbath gains2 and so whenever  a body 
of directors quietly have the same wish1
 but do not relish the  shame1 they tell
 the shareholders that the matter is    
left to their  decision1 and down comes 
the desired proxy power1 to which they1 
8nothing  loth10 blushingly consent4    
,now1 were such a course as this adopted
 by  the ,sabbatarians1 they would be1  
in no measured terms1 charged with      
hypocrisy4  ,good men1 however1 must use
 good words2 and therefore all we  say  
is1 that directors would be safer in    
their position1 and more  respected1 if 
they frankly avowed their opinions1     
whatever these might  be1 and claimed   
the support of the constituency to them4
  ,it is right1  therefore1 that all    
talk about directorship impartiality1   

when the  ,sabbath is left by them to   
the tender mercies of the ,stock        
,exchange1  should be courteously       
rejected1 and the charge of the evil    
fastened on  the right shoulders1 and   
pressed on their consciences in the face
 of all1  even the most pathetic1       
disclaimers4    ,the office of the      
directorship is equally delicate and    
important2 and it  is a singular fact   
that the chairmen1 now or lately1 of the
 whole line  from ,london to ,aberdeen  
7,mr ,carr ,glyn1 ,mr ,hasell1 ,mr ,hope
 ,johnstone1 ,lord  ,breadalbane1 and   
,lord ,wharncliffe71 are men of decided 
religious  profession4  ,now1 where the 
,breadalbanes and ,forrests1 the        
,hendersons and  the ,grahams1 the      
,greigs and the ,campbells1 take office 
with the purpose  of protecting the     
,sabbath1 they merit the homage of the  
whole ,christian  world for placing     
themselves on their vantage ground in   
the fore-front of  the battle2 and we   
entreat them to allow no adverse        

circumstance whatever  to withdraw them 
from their post of influence and power4 
,to all others  who1 like these1 make a 
religious profession1 but support the   
,lord's-day  traffic1 we say1 8,you have
 no call of duty compelling you to be   
railway  directors4  ,your churches     
condemn the traffic which you maintain2 
you  paralyse their discipline1 and     
greatly weaken them by your public      
counteraction of their principles4  ,put
 your practice in accordance with  your 
profession2 protect the ,sabbath in your
 place of power1 or come out  from among
 them and be separate40        ,,iv4    
,,miscellaneous4      #a4  ,careful     
regard should be had to the due         
reporting of the ,sabbath  debates in   
the newspapers4  ,it is impossible to   
overrate the importance  of this        
department of the agitation4  ,its      
difficulty almost equals its            
importance2 for generally the newspaper 
press is hostile4  ,however1 if  the    
speeches be short1 pithy1 and pungent1  

seasoned with facts1 at once            
good-humoured and high-principled1 the  
reporters will insert them2 and1  as the
 question grows in intensity and in     
public interest1 the debate  will       
command attention4    ,expense ought to 
be liberally devoted to this branch of  
the work2 and the  best way is1 to order
 large numbers of such of the papers for
 circulation  as give tolerable reports4
    #b4  ,on this subject of newspapers1
 it ought not to be at meeting times    
alone that they should be cultivated1   
but at all times4  ,whenever any  matter
 of fact bearing on the question occurs1
 let it be communicated to  the         
newspapers2 and in a quiet1 impartial   
way1 not in that inflated  partisan tone
 so natural to an ardent zeal4  ,let the
 fact tell1 and not  the way of telling 
it4  ,in this way the fact1 if          
interesting at all1 will  re-appear1    
through the excellent process of        
scissaring1 in other public  journals1  
and possibly in some which would be     

scared by any high  seasoning1 or what  
they would call cant4  ,letter-writing  
is an excellent  and necessary thing in 
an agitation4  ,sir ,andrew ,agnew used 
to say that1  when he lost his seat in  
,parliament and his franking power1 his 
wings  were clipt4  ,mr ,rowland ,hill  
has given wings to all men 7and women7  
by  his penny postage2 and there is not 
a moral or religious cause in the  land 
which has not benefited by his scheme4  
,but1 if letter-writing be  good1       
paragraphing is much better4  ,in the   
,sabbath cause1 when any thing  new     
occurs1 people oppress themselves by    
writing numberless letters to  impart   
the intelligence4  ,they do well1 for in
 this way they reach a  little circle4  
,but were they1 for their many letters1 
to substitute one  considered           
8paragraph10 they would do better1 for  
they would at once  inform a thousand   
correspondents2 and not only so1 but    
secure the  publication of their tale in
 newspapers by dozens1 each of which    

might  have its thousand readers4  ,a   
letter slays its thousands1 but a       
paragraph  slays its tens of thousands4 
8,paragraph6 paragraph6 paragraph60     
then1  say we to all the friends4  ,and 
not only paragraph the information you  
yourselves possess2 but when any        
misjudging friend sends you a letter    
with his tale1 paragraph it too1 and    
without delay1 ordering of course a  few
 copies of the paper to                 
friends--themselves1 in their turn1 to  
become  new sources of light4  ,should  
they get also from the paper a few slips
  of the article 7costing the mere paper
 and pressmen's wages71 they might1     
with good effect1 fly them off with     
their ordinary letters1 and still  wider
 disseminate the truth4    ,it is taken 
for granted that1 when a paper or other 
periodical will admit  a controversial  
article of argument1 admission is       
earnestly to be sought  for it4  ,but   
facts shortly stated tell best1 at least
 in the general  newspaper press2 and   

particular care should be taken at all  
times to  suffer no hostile statement or
 article to pass without its correction 
or  answer4  ,it is always undesirable1 
in a labour of this kind1 to allow any  
evil impression to settle down          
undisturbed on the public mind4  ,it may
  not look formidable at first1 but it  
festers and ferments1 and by and by     
comes to bulk large1 or explodes in a   
formidable way4  ,in an arduous         
,edinburgh struggle some years ago1 the 
author knows that three gentlemen1  in a
 manner1 beat the town1 by meeting every
 day1 with every newspaper  laid before 
them1 and following up every statement  
with an instant answer  and exposure--a 
sort of incessant battery against which 
nothing can stand4  ,so annoyed was one 
worthy opponent by the clatter1 that1   
fastening on the  obnoxious three1 he   
said1 8,there will be no rest for the   
toon1 till ,h41  ,b41 and ,c1 are hanged
 on a gallows on the ,castlehill60      
,the power of the newspaper press is    

infinite4  ,it is like the caloric of   
nature2 it overspreads the whole face of
 society2 it insinuates itself  into the
 darkest and coldest1 and penetrates the
 most obtuse1 regions4  ,the            
ever-recurring 8article0 is like the    
water-drop1 which1 small and  light in  
look1 will1 oft repeated1 pierce the    
hardest rock4  ,to the  religious press 
the obligations of the friends of this  
cause are  unspeakable2 and the         
irreligious helps it too1 if not by its 
violence1 at  least by its constrained  
spreading of intelligence1 for1 with    
exceptions1  the newspaper press at     
large is fair4    #c4  ,let it be a rule
 at the headquarters of each of the     
contested  railways--the town where its 
meetings are held--to keep a list of the
  ,sabbath friends in all the other     
towns1 in each of which it is very      
important to have some one known leader1
 or medium of communication2 #ca  and   
during the interval between half-yearly 
meetings1 care should be  taken1 by     

mutual interchanges1 to keep them one   
and all in full  information of every   
important thing that happens1 or        
suggestion that  occurs1 in any place4  
,lists also should be kept of all the   
friends in  the different places2 and   
the way to secure this is for every one1
 when  he hears of a new ,sabbatarian1  
to dot down his name on the instant1 and
  send it every where4  ,this is an     
excellent freemasonry4    #d4  ,it is1  
in one sense1 needless to say--but it is
 most important--that  every effort     
should be made to prevail on friends to 
buy into railway  companies4  ,let not  
the smallness of the purchase in any    
case lead to  indifference about making 
it4  ,its true value may be great1      
though in  numerical worth it is little4
  ,sir ,andrew ,agnew fought the battle 
of the  ,sabbath at ,glasgow on a #ej   
stock certificate2 and at periods of    
depression the qualification may be     
acquired for much less4  ,moral weight  
ever tells2 and1 when it also has a     

tongue1 it tells more emphatically4     
#e4  ,in this view1 it would be of      
admirable effect if churches would      
collect1 and invest their clergymen with
 railway qualifications4  ,where1  for  
example1 a railway1 in passing through a
 parish1 annoys the clergyman  by the   
falling away of this good man and that  
good man1 tempted to his  soul's ruin by
 the holiday pastimes or comfortable    
berths thrown in his  way by the railway
 managers1 how influential would it be  
if the bereaved  shepherd of the flock  
came to the directorship wolves1 and    
upbraided them  to their faces--if      
conscience were too steeled for         
entreaty--on account of  their          
unhallowed leading of the poor into     
temptation6  ,and how impressive  is the
 doctrinal lecture of the godly minister
 at the meeting1 as he  answers the     
flippant sophistries issuing from the   
chairs of railway  power1 or from its   
monied benches6  ,dr ,mackellar1 ,dr    
,m#8,farlane1 ,mr ,leake1  and ,mr      

,macnaughtan1 have often sent the enemy 
away with that dart in the  heart or    
confusion in the face1 which1 through a 
blessing from on high1  may yet reach   
even an obdurate railway nature4    #f4 
,great good has been experienced from   
the presence of clergymen at the        
railway meetings4  ,some of them1       
indeed1 shrink from the railway contest 
as if it were out of their sphere4  ,but
 ,parliament has consigned the  ,sabbath
 to the keeping of the railway          
shareholders2 and is there a solid      
ground for doubting whether clergymen   
are in the way of duty when they        
qualify1 for the purpose of lifting     
their voice in its defence8  ,they are  
not injured when worldly men speak all  
manner of evil against them for  the    
,lord's sake1 unless they revile again  
when they are reviled4  ,on the         
contrary1 their ,christian graces are   
stirred up by the exercise2 and they    
shine more bright--their enemies        
themselves being judges--when subjected 

to  the friction of rough usage4  ,but  
of this they will experience little4    
,it is the laity who form the object of 
attack2 and clergymen may be  assured   
that their respected presence less      
exposes them than it shields  the laity4
  ,clergymen speak authoritatively on   
points of doctrine1 and  few even of the
 boldest laymen presume to controvert   
their doctrine  openly1 or1 if they do1 
they injure their own cause more than   
they shake  the truth4  ,ministers thus 
preach the gospel in season and out of  
season4    #g4  ,parliament having taken
 up the ,sabbath subject1 it is well to 
bear  these two advices in mind4        
,first1 ,to send petitions1 not to the  
,plumptres and ,breadalbanes of either  
,house because they are known  friends2 
but to the member for the particular    
locality petitioning1 or to  any one of 
the lords who may be resident in the    
neighbourhood1 and known  to1 or        
interested in1 the people4  ,and1       
second1 to see that letters be  written 

to these noble and honourable persons by
 electors1 or other  influential        
individuals of the district 7ladies     
included71 as  numerously as possible4  
,if similar letters be also written to  
the known  friends in ,parliament1      
apprising them of the petition1 and     
requesting  their attendance and support
 when it is presented1 practical good   
will by  and by be the result4    ,last1
 but not least1 the doing of these      
things requires money4  ,it  shall not  
be believed1 that if the doing of them  
be right1 the means of  doing will be   
wanting2 for they must be done by       
religious men2 and  religious men will  
not withhold money where it is wanted   
for the service  of ,god4               
99 99 99 99 99    ,resuming this whole  
matter1 we urge on the religion of the  
country1 and  with equal earnestness and
 confidence1 the conviction1 that it is 
always  easy to establish an efficient  
,sabbath railway action in any railway  
company1 however cold or hostile the    

country may be4  ,if two gentlemen of   
principle and determination take as much
 stock as will afford to each a  vote1  
and one of them give notice that1 at the
 next meeting1 he will move  against    
,sabbath traffic2 if he and his second  
be at their post on that  occasion1 and 
make their speeches--no matter how long 
or how short--calmly1  resolutely1 and  
with imperturbable good temper2 the     
thing is done4  ,they  lose1 of course1 
at first2 but the question is entered4  
,they renew their  notice quietly for   
next meeting after each defeat2 the     
affair moves  forward1 gathering        
strength as it goes2 and there is a sort
 of awe about  the commandment1 which   
tells on the most hostile3 the motion   
becomes a  subject of talk1 possibly of 
annoyance3 but the leaven works2 it     
appears  in the actings of other        
companies1 spreading encouragement all  
around3  the power of reiteration is    
felt3 the religion of ,england is       
roused1 and  minds are indoctrinated    

with the truth which might never        
otherwise have  come in contact with it3
 the enterprise looks formidable at     
first2 but  the ,word of ,god prevails2 
and1 if the triumph be long of coming1  
its  postponement is but a trial of     
faith4    ,let our two imagined         
shareholders1 thinking over the matter  
in their  homes1 stir up themselves to  
see1 that while ,england boasts1 with   
justice1 of its ,may meetings1 they may 
yet give it its ,spring meetings  and   
its ,autumn meetings4  ,they may1 by    
their introduction of the ,sabbath      
question into the railways1 be the      
instruments of establishing ,spring     
meetings and ,autumn meetings1 not less 
efficient in their own sphere than      
those of ,may1 in drawing out and       
diffusing and consolidating the         
righteous principles of the country1 and
 its holy practice in regard to  the    
observance of the ,lord's-day2 that     
test1 cause1 and fruit of the  religious
 character of any people4  ,for the     

practical use of all such  devoted men1 
wherever they may be1 they are here     
presented1 within a  little compass1    
with        ,a ,summary of ,railway     
,spring and ,summer ,preparations4      
#a4  ,let our two friends apply to the  
company for lists of the proprietors  of
 the railways on which it is meant to   
act4  ,having obtained these 7as        
shareholders are entitled by law to have
 them71    #b4  ,let them prepare a     
general circular to railway proprietors1
 concisely  expounding the railway      
,sabbath question1 and intimating that  
it is to be  brought forward at the     
ensuing meetings1 and asking support4   
#c4  ,this circular being printed1 may  
be addressed inside1 in manuscript1  to 
each individual1 specifying all the     
railways in the lists of which his  name
 is found4  ,being addressed outside to 
him1 one postage will cover  many       
railways4    #d4  ,this circular should 
be issued early1 without waiting the    
fixing of  the day of railway meetings2 

the parties being requested in it to    
advert  to these as they are notified to
 them or advertised by the companies4   
#e4  ,let them arrange previously with  
the movers of the question on each      
railway2 and1 if possible1 name them    
7with their addresses7 in the  circular1
 requesting interim communications as to
 each railway1 to be  addressed to the  
movers before the meetings4    #f4  ,in 
the circular inclose a slip 7marked     
private7 to known friends1  containing  
an intimation that the friends of the   
,sabbath will meet to  consult one hour 
before1 and also immediately after the  
ensuing railway  meetings1 at places    
named4  ,let this slip also state1 that 
the circular  is issued in sufficient   
time to enable friends to get others to 
buy stock  for the meetings1 and let it 
ask a reply containing the number of    
shares  held4    #g4  ,let the slip     
farther contain lists of the directors  
of the different  railway companies     
operated on1 and let the friends1 male  

and female1  before the meetings1 be    
urged to write to such of the directors 
or  officials as they know 7or whether  
they know them or not71 pleading with   
them against the desecration of the     
,sabbath1 assuring them that they1 not  
the shareholders1 are the real authors  
of the evil1 and intreating them  to    
desist4    #h4  ,let this good system be
 systematically persevered in from half 
year  to half year2 and it will soon    
bear fruit in a wide array of ,sabbath  
defenders1 and a general diffusion of   
,sabbath principles4                    
99 99 99 99 99    ,in conclusion1 this  
manual of policy1 which1 from its very  
nature1  assumes a worldly aspect1      
cannot close without one general        
observation of  an important character3 
,that while there is ever much liability
 to  forget1 in the active use of means1
 the earnest exercise of faith1 so      
there is a faith which underrates means1
 and is1 in fact1 a tempting of  ,god1  
and a foolishness4  ,when sop told his  

waggoner to help himself and  ,jove     
would help him1 he showed the cloven    
foot of his heathenism1 and  despised   
,god4  ,but when ,oliver ,cromwell told 
his men at the fosse of  ,newark1 to    
pray to ,god and keep their powder dry1 
he not only violated no  principle1 but 
put himself in thorough accordance with 
the ,scripture  principle4  ,in like    
manner1 under the deepest conviction    
that all which  poor mortals can do is  
to use the means and pray1 while the    
success of  the means used rests        
entirely with ,god1 it is trusted that  
in these pages  not a sentiment is      
breathed1 or a department of policy     
recommended1 which  is not based on this
 great principle4  ,nothing gives such  
boldness and  confidence in a religious 
struggle1 as an abiding sense of man's  
impotence and ,god's omnipotence3       
nothing so fortifies against reverses1  
and gives such light in darkness2 and   
nothing1 we will add1 so disturbs  the  
enemy as to see the insignificant little

 band1 bolder without visible  strength 
amidst all their littleness1 than he is 
amidst all his  ,xerxes-like grandeur   
and profusion of numbers4    ,let us    
hear1 however1 the conclusion of the    
whole matter4  8,remember the           
,sabbath-day1 to keep it holy40         
8,contend earnestly for the faith40     
8,my  grace is sufficient for thee2 for 
my strength is made perfect in          
weakness40  8,when ,i am weak then ,i am
 strong40  8,i can do all things        
through ,christ1 which strengtheneth    
me40  8,therefore will not we fear40    
8,the ,lord of hosts is with us2 the    
,god of ,jacob is our refuge4  ,selah40 
99 99 99 99 99    ,p4,s4--,the ,london  
,railway ,record of #gth ,july1 contains
 the following  important acknowledgment
 by an enemy1 of the value of the       
,railway  agitation3--8,let us admit1   
however1 that the present ,sabbatarian  
movement  is remarkably practical in its
 character1 and in its working1 if not  
in  its objects4  ,sir ,a4 ,agnew       

agitated the question originally by     
public  declamation1 with zeal and      
enthusiasm but without method4  ,it was 
not  till the ,sabbatarians hit upon the
 plan of buying up railway stock1 and   
proposing and seconding1 and sometimes  
carrying1 practical resolutions at      
railway meetings that any success was   
achieved4  ,the originator of this      
plan1 we find from an essay reprinted   
from the ,free ,church ,magazine1  was  
,sir ,andrew ,agnew's fidus ,achates1   
,mr ,j4 ,bridges of ,edinburgh1 who1  in
 the essay referred to1 recounts the    
exploits of his party with  emphasis1   
and who certainly deserves credit for a 
suggestion which has  done so much to   
serve his cause4  ,how far we differ--in
 degree--from those  who hold the       
uncompromising tenets of the            
ultra-,sabbatarian ,school we  have     
already stated4  ,nevertheless we       
sympathise with the railway station     
clerk1 who in the ,times of yesterday so
 bitterly denounces the slavery  which  

denies him1 and #djjj others1 one day of
 rest from the #ast of  ,january to the 
#cast of ,december40                    
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,the ,,end4                            
99 99 99 99 99                          
99 99 99 99 99                          
,,edinburgh3 ,,johnstone1 ,,ballantyne1 
,,and ,,co4          ,,footnotes4       
#aj  ,the ,lord's-day ,society's recent 
efforts in the ,sabbath ,post-,office   
question have been very excellent4      
#aa  ,now that death has withdrawn my   
honoured ,friend from the field of      
mortal strife1 it may not be            
uninteresting to quote a letter from    
him1  written on his death-bed1 which   
may truly be regarded as containing his 
dying testimony to the truth of these   
principles1 having informed him  that   
the ,rev4 ,dr ,begg a powerful friend of
 the ,sabbath1 but doubter  hitherto as 
to the soundness of the principle of    
stockholding1 had seen  cause to adopt  
it1 ,sir ,andrew wrote--                

8#e ,,rutland ,,square1                 
#bb;d ,march #ahdi4        8,,my ,,dear 
,,mr ,,bridges4--,many thanks for your  
kind letter of sympathy and             
frequent enquiries4  ,i have had the    
scarlet fever in all its                
severities1 primary and secondary1 and  
,i do not quickly revive1 but      feel 
exhausted by the slightest exertion4  ,i
 rejoice to hear of ,dr      ,begg's    
adherence to the national railway war4  
,i am confident #gjjj      more will be 
raised up to see that the directors are 
the grand      offenders 7shareholders  
their cat's-paws71 and that it is a     
great      privilege to meet the        
offenders face to face every six months1
      according to law4  ,with much     
gratitude1 yours very truly1            
8,,and4 ,,agnew40    ,he died on the    
#abth of ,april4    #bj  ,it may not be 
unacceptable to state1 that for long    
,messrs ,charles  ,philip1 ,smyttan1 and
 ,macgill ,crichton1 with the author1   
formed the whole  of ,sir ,andrew       

,agnew's ,sabbath railway band4    #ca  
,for example3--                         
,aberdeen--,alexander ,thomson1 ,esq4 of
 ,banchory4      ,belfast--,john ,lytle1
 ,esq4      ,bath--,melmoth ,walters1   
,esq4      ,birmingham--                
,brighton--      ,bristol--             
,carlisle--,t4 ,h4 ,graham1 ,esq41      
,edmond ,castle4      ,cupar1 ,fife--,d4
 ,m4 ,m4 ,crichton1 ,esq4 of            
,rankeillour4      ,derby--             
,dublin--      ,dundee--,william ,hay1  
,esq4      ,edinburgh--,dr ,greville1 #f
 ,york ,place4                          
,folkstone--,alexander ,swan1 ,esq4     
,glasgow--,w4 ,guthrie1 ,esq41 ,west    
,george's ,street4      ,greenock--444  
,macfie1 ,esq4      ,ipswich--,andrew   
,johnston1 ,esq41 ,halesworth4          
,leith--,charles ,philip1 ,esq4         
,london--,joseph ,wilson4  ,esq4        
,clapham ,park4  ,rev4 ,t4 ,s4 ,baylee1 
#b ,exeter    ,hall4      ,liverpool--  
,manchester--,thomas ,greig4  ,esq41    
,cornbrook ,park4                       

,newcastle-on-,tyne--,t4 ,g4 ,bell1     
,esq4      ,paisley--,archibald         
,gardener1 ,esq4      ,perth--,alexander
 ,campbell1 ,esq4 of ,monzie4           
,southampton--      ,stirling--,peter   
,drummond1 ,esq4      ,york--           
,volunteers for the blank towns 7and the
 names of omitted towns with  their     
volunteers7 may be sent to the          
publishers4