This leads us to notice the close connection between the LATE HOUR SYSTEM and SABBATH DESECRATION—a system which has been justly denounced as “reducing man to a state little short of slavery.” When God divided “the light from darkness,” there can be no doubt that one of His merciful objects was to give us an opportunity to obtain suitable repose. Indeed, this is quite evident from many passages of Scripture which we might quote. We will merely select one single sentence from the Psalms, to shew that night work is contrary to the general tenor of the Word of God—“Man goeth forth unto his work, and to his labour, _until the evening_.” Here we see a clear and defined limitation to the hours of labour. To this it may be replied that the altered state of society renders it necessary that men should toil much longer now than in more primitive days. We are perfectly aware that there may be occasional periods, under peculiar circumstances, when this suggestion might be considered conclusive. It is not, however, to the _occasional_ or _accidental_ infringement on an extra hour or two that we object—it is to the _system_ of compelling men, almost habitually, to labour far beyond the period which DIVINE MERCY has evidently intended. Is not this the course pursued in many of our workshops and in various retail trades? It is a well-known fact, as regards the former, that it is a common practice for the same men who have been toiling all the day to continue their labour until a very late hour, if not throughout the whole night, and not unfrequently during the entire Sabbath-day! What must be the melancholy condition of the men and boys employed in such places? The Sabbath is awfully desecrated; the doctrines and precepts of religion are rendered nugatory; public morals are totally disregarded; and the bodies and souls of youth and age are alike sacrificed as victims to the idol of the world—WEALTH! Let us now refer to the indisputable testimony of Dr. James COPLAND, who may be considered as one of the most eminent physicians of the present day, in reference to the latter class:—“It is well-known to medical men that the labour in shops, which extends to fourteen or fifteen hours a day, is the most fruitful source of disease which is furnished in the Metropolis. We are sure to see induced more or less slowly those insidious diseases which undermine the constitution, and which perpetuate themselves to the third or fourth generation. I believe that no less than three-fourths of the diseases to which human life is liable in the Metropolis actually arise from this cause.” What an awful subject does this afford for the serious consideration of masters, parents, and especially the Christian community! Nor is the magnitude of this source of sickness, sorrow, and death, attested and deplored alone by the Medical Profession.