Not so in the north. When the first attempt was made to establish systematic railway traffic on the Sabbath day, the country rose _en masse_ against it, and to this hour the fight for the faith has been maintained, if with various success, still with unvarying fervour and firmness, not to cease, it is trusted, till the cause of truth shall prevail. General indignation was excited, and every where expressed itself in debated remonstrances from public bodies, civil and ecclesiastical, and from popular meetings. It, at the same time, broke forth most significantly in a “declaration” or pledge not to use the railway at all, or at any rate, not while any other practicable conveyance was attainable, so long as it continued to violate the religious feelings of the country by desecrating the Lord’s day. Whatever may be thought on the subject of the principle of this declaration, the fact that it was adopted, and, at the risk of much personal inconvenience, speedily signed by more than a hundred thousand, is honourable to the religious zeal of Scotland; and that it was steadfastly observed for years by multitudes till the change came, in the face of great annoyance and privation, operated, we know, powerfully on the minds of the English gentlemen who at length brought about that change. It has since been the general opinion, that the “declaration” rested thus far on an erroneous principle, that, instead of addressing the consciences of the violating directors, it assailed their selfishness, 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 work. But it was a noble, self-denying ordinance, and was so regarded by the honourable baronet to whom reference has been made, by whom it was scrupulously observed, though before its adoption, and in the face of opposition and of some obloquy, he opposed it as not being within the legitimate line of Sabbath operations.