STATE OF RELIGION. 303 



association of young men, who forni their own by-laws and 

 adopt a course of mutual instruction; receiving aid from pro- 

 fessional teachers, many of whom have been very zealous in pro- 

 moting the objects of the Institution. 



During the surnmer seasons, courses of lectures in natural 

 philosophy are delivered in the Institute to young ladies. 



A class of fifty is now attending Doctor Craig's course. 



THE STATE OF RELIGION AND THE DIFFERENT RELIGIOUS SECTS. 



An experiment is now making which will ascertain wheth- 

 er religion can be sustained without the support of the gov- 

 ernment. Our constitution utterly forbids any preference to 

 be given to any one religious sect. It permits religious soci- 

 eties to be incorporated, so that they can build churches and 

 own the land where they stand ; it also recognises any con- 

 tract entered into by any society with a clergyman for his 

 support and maintenance. But these things are all the gov- 

 ernment does, unless it be that religious people are protected 

 by law, while they are worshiping their Creator, as it does 

 any other persons while peaceably assembled together for any 

 lawful business. Should any one suppose, however, that our 

 western people are not as religious as those who have an estab- 

 lished religion, supported by, and connected with the civil gov- 

 ernment, he would do them great injustice. Our people believe 

 that religion is a matter between God and his creature, with 

 which, the civil ruler has no right to interfere. Most of 

 the mmisters who are in some sense permanently settled, 

 perform much more labour than ministers do in the eastern 

 states. Doubtless there are conveniences and inconvenien- 

 ces, pleasures and the reverse, connected with the situation 

 of a western, or an eastern minister. Our balances will not 

 weigh these very correctly, so we do not attempt it. Our 

 eastern brethren are wonderfully deceived in one thing respect- 

 ing us. They often state in their meetings, papers, magazines, 

 &;c., that we are destitute of preachers. 



According to our population we have two ministers here, 



