By such movements as that we have objected to, the poor are being driven _farther off_ from Christianity. Suppose this particular Sabbatarian agitation to be successful, where is the gain to religion? Will it not be associated in the minds of those already out of reach of the preaching of the Gospel, with a dog-in-the-manger meddlesomeness, with the claims of rival systems, and the designs of interested priests? What an encouragement would it be to that party represented by the “Lord’s Day Society,” who would avowedly use their triumph as a stepping-stone to further demands—who would stop all trains and conveyances on the Sabbath, except, perhaps, the carriage of the rich—who would ruthlessly sacrifice the health of the working-man by confining him to the filth and closeness of this wilderness of bricks and mortar, and who would erect over the remains of pure and gentle Christianity, a gigantic system of hypocrisy and formalism which would ill conceal the hatred and disgust of all classes for a religion without heart or sincerity! To treat the working-classes in the spirit of those who are fomenting this agitation, is unjust and cruel, as well as impolitic. The point has been before adverted to, but will bear amplification. Suppose the Rev. Mr. Orthodox, the popular preacher of the West End, discussing this question of “Sabbath desecration” in the squalid apartment (if ever he has found his way there) of John Starveling, the overworked slop-tailor, of Typhus Court, Westminster. To the weighty arguments of the wealthy rector, on the necessity of shutting up all railways and stopping all conveyances, may not the poor underpaid artizan reply, that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath—that God requires mercy, not sacrifice—that the Sunday trip is to him the safety valve of life—that so long as he is obliged to work for six days out of seven, without intermission, to keep body and soul together, the seventh _must_ be devoted to renovation. Let the charge of mammon-worship rest on the right shoulders. If the Crystal Palace Company, who enable this poor man to inhale the pure air and enjoy the beauties of nature, are actuated by sordid motives, how much more are they—and their name is legion—who allow their passion for money-getting to reduce thousands to a life of slavery, and oblige them to regard Sunday not as the Lord’s Day, but only an opportunity to repair their wasted health and energies.