side of conservatives of every kind!

There is no class of workmen that is so much thought of and
cared for as the sailor class, and there is none who need
and deserve such consideration more. It would be invidious
to draw comparisons between classes, so that all I have to
say on the point is that they have always compared
favourably with those whose avocation is different from
theirs. They are susceptible to good or evil influences.
Perhaps not more susceptible to one than to the other; and
considering the malevolent, thievish scoundrels by whom they
are continually beset, their record does not compare badly
with that of others. Vagrancy is almost unknown amongst
them, and if their vices are large their temptations are
great; but, take them as a whole, they seldom premeditate
evil. Their intentions are mostly on the side of right and
goodness. Some of them stand like a rock against being
tempted by the gangs of harpies that are always hovering
about them. Others allow their good intentions to vanish as
soon as the predatory gentlemen with their seductive methods
make their appearance. Agencies such as the Church of
England Missions to Seamen and the Wesleyan Methodist
Mission are to be thanked for the hard efforts made to keep
the sailor out of harm, and to reclaim those who have
fallen. They may be thanked also for having been the means
of diminishing, if not altogether extirpating, a loathsome
tribe of ruffians who were accustomed to feast on their
blood. These Missions are a Godsend not only to the sailor,
but to the nation. No other agency has done the work they
are doing. The Church is apt, to gather its robes round a