« Oh! wad some Power the glftle gie us To see oursels as others see us, It wad frae mony a blunder free us." Burns.

THERE is no community, and perhaps no single individual, who may not derive advantage from the study of the opinions which other communities and individuals entertain of them. Each community and each individual is so accustomed to survey its own acts solely or chiefly from its own platform and under the light of .its own interests, that it is unable to fake so comprehensive and impartial a view of them as to test their true value. Hence would be the great advantage, as one of Nature's true poets has, above, charmingly expressed it, of seeing ourselves as others see us.

Not indeed that it would be an advantage, either for communities or individuals, to allow others to think for them; for our moral perceptions and mental powers were given us to use for ourselves, and as our philosopher, Mr. MILL, tells us, we are, perhaps, only too apt to "run in grooves" already. We have also to remember that those who criticise our individual or collective acts are often imperfectly acquainted with them, and are just as liable to study them too exclusively from their own platform, and under the light of their own interests, so far as the latter are affected by them ; and, therefore, that it is only as a corrective, to be used as a chemical test is used, to detect an alloy or an adulteration, that the opinions of others claim our attentive consideration.

This is perhaps more especially the case as regards international criticism, seeing that besides conflicting interests, difference of country, of language, of habits, and often of religion, with necessarily limited personal intercourse, foster and maintain too many prejudices and antipathies to enable the people of one country to criticise impartially those of another.

We have been led to these remarks by the publication of a pamphlet in Paris entitled The Wreckers (Naufrageurs) of the English Coast, which has been recently brought to our notice, and the statements of which we think we may advantageously bring before the beachmen and hovellers and others who earn their livelihood by saving endangered property on our coasts; believing that, although they may not be brought to see themselves altogether as their French neighbours see them, and may be able to show that they are something very different and much better than they may seem to be when seen through foreign spectacles, yet that a little wholesome and candid self-examination will do them no harm.

The object of the pamphlet to which we have alluded, is to show that the coast boatmen of England are much more exorbitant in their demands for payment of any services rendered to foreign vessels in distress than French boatmen are, and to demand the interference of the British Legislature for the protection of foreign vessels jeopardized or cast away on our shores.

It commences with the following statement :—" For some years the salvage insti-tutions of Great Britain have been frequently brought to the attention of the French public.

" Every one knows the immense services which they render to the shipwrecked, but there is a fact which is not generally known : it is, that by the side of the life-boats and their valiant crews there exists a fleet of boats manned by greedy mariners roaming incessantly in the neighbourhood of banks or shoals to spy out vessels and to save them, willingly or unwillingly, from a peril often imaginary, and to obtain exorbitant payments from the shipowners, by the aid of a legislation which puts the latter at their mercy.

" Their own countrymen call these men wreckers, and it is their true name. Formerly they waited on the coasts for the strays that the tempest threw there, now they go to seek them out at sea. The evil has reached such a height that public opinion is stirred, and the English Government is assailed by complaints raised by their own countrymen, whilst French shipowners themselves are often victims of extortion and violence." Now, here is a very serious charge brought against an important and useful class of our fellow-countrymen, and, as several cases of supposed exorbitant demands and payments are quoted in the pamphlet in proof of the above charge, and especially as the charge itself is accompanied by an acknowledgment of the valuable services rendered by men of the same class in saving lives, the accusation is deserving of candid and serious consideration.

The pamphlet referred to has, moreover, been brought to the notice of the National Life-boat Institution by the French Lifeboat Society, " Societe Centrale de Sauvetage des Naufrages," which has published it in their own periodical journal, thereby making it all the more incumbent on us to give it full attention.

To commence with the title: the word "wreckers" is not now applicable to any class of boatmen in this country, and is not in the English dictionary; its meaning would, however, be in general understood to be "robbers or pillagers of wrecked property." In old times, indeed in times not so very old, the prevailing feeling, not only on our own coasts but on those of other civilized countries, was, that wrecked property was a "windfall" or "god-send," the previous possessors of which had lost or forfeited ownership by the mere fact of wreck, and which thereby became the property of the finder, or of the owner of the land on which it was cast away; and even in those cases where the rightful owners were on the spot to claim their own, it was often lawlessly taken from them by force. However, the establishment of the Coastguard and improved legislation, with a more general civilization, have greatly remedied that state of things in our own country, although we fear the old spirit still lingers here and there, and that, as in smuggling and poaching, it would again produce fruit if the strong arm of the law were withheld. We have not, however, now to do with those who deliberately pillage wrecked property, but with those who, according to the views of our French neighbours, and of many of our own shipowners, are only too assiduous in saving it, " who roam incessantly in the neighbourhood of banks and shoals" with a view to do so, and then make exorbitant demands for remuneration for services rendered, or even for pretended services.

The whole' case is very fairly put in the pamphlet before us, and every allowance is made for the difference in the laws and customs of France and England on the subject, and for other distinctions; but still the charge remains, that the owners of French vessels are mercilessly defrauded by our coast boatmen, and, as we all know, nearly every master and owner of an English coasting- vessel that one meets brings the same charge against the boatmen in certain wellknown localities, at the head and front of which, perhaps, stands Great Yarmouth and the adjacent parts of the Norfolk and Suffolk coast.

In the quotation from the pamphlet above given it is brought forward, apparently as an aggravation of the offence of these men, that they no longer wait for " strays" of the sea to be cast on the shore, but proceed to sea in search of vessels, &c. In a later paragraph it is acknowledged that they provide themselves with costly boats for the express purpose, and that they perform valuable services with them; but still the implication remains, that they merely thus provide themselves with the best instruments for extortion, just as a burglar or a brigand provides himself with the most efficient weapon that he can obtain.

It would, however, be as unjust to this class of men to assume such to be the case, as it would be absurd to suppose that they pursue their calling from motives of philanthropy; the truth being, that on those parts of the coast where the work of assisting distressed vessels is followed as a profession, it is simply undertaken as a means of obtaining a livelihood; and the men who undertake it, as distinguished from fishermen or pilots, are denominated beachmen, hovellers, or, 'long-shore men.

In former times, when trade was comparatively little, the demand for such service was not sufficient to encourage men to engage in it as a permanent occupation; but as our present enormous trade has gradually developed itself, the demand has arisen and has been naturally followed by the corresponding supply ; whilst, for mutual convenience, and to enable them to procure efficient boats and machinery, the boatmen in these localities where wrecks most frequently occur, have banded themselves together in companies, working together arid possessing a common fund.

In France, we believe, no corresponding class exists; that is to say, no class of men who obtain their livelihood exclusively by saving wrecked property and assisting vessels in distress, such services being casually performed by pilots and fishermen, and other classes of boatmen, as opportunities offer; the fact being, that neither is the amount of trade so great on the French coast, nor, fortunately, are the casualties so numerous as to be a sufficient inducement to the local boatmen to undertake the salvage of property as a profession.

There are then, in this country, two classes of salvors, the one casual, the other professional, which must be separately dealt with. We believe it is against the latter chiefly, if not exclusively, that the charge of exorbitancy, and even of violence, is brought.

The former may, therefore, be classed with their French congeners, and we believe that, as a general rule, they would be content, and even think themselves fortunate in obtaining any reasonable remuneration for casual aid afforded to vessels needing their services.

What, then, are the causes of the exorbitancy and insatiableness of the professional salvors ? for there is no doubt whatever that their demands for remuneration are often altogether unreasonable.

The French writer naturally enough attributes it to avariciousness of character, fostered by an unwise legislation, and such may, to a great extent, be the case; but as the characters of all men are in a great degree formed, or at least modified, by the circumstances in which they are placed, it will be well to consider what other causes, if any, have contributed to produce this apparent defect.

1st. They, as a body, possess a monopoly ; for, although they are often subdivided into different companies, and a keen competition exists amongst themselves, yet, as from the nature of the casualties to vessels there is ordinarily no time for delay to make bargains with rival parties, and as it is almost a universal rule with this class of men to give precedence to the party which first reaches the vessel needing assistance, a monopoly practically exists. These men have then the power, like all other monopolists, to make their own estimate of the value of their services, and are thus tempted to over-estimate them; or, to conclude, in accordance with the doctrines of political economy, that the highest amount they can legally obtain is the legitimate market value of their aid.

2ndly. The majority of the vessels which they are called on to assist are the colliers and other craft in the coasting trade, the masters and owners of which are often very penurious, and the former of whom frequently, after urgently demanding assistance, are no sooner out of danger than they commence to depreciate the service rendered, and expect to pay for it at no higher a rate than they would for labour in the dock or on the wharfs. This treatment exasperates the men, who, in return, and knowing they will not get all they ask, acquire the habit of demanding much more than they expect to obtain, or would gladly receive.

In this manner the two classes—owners and salvors—come to look at each other as naturally antagonistic and inimical, the one to the other; and, accordingly, it is very common to hear a ship-owner or mastermariner term the boatmen of certain localities pirates, robbers, and villains; whilst the boatmen, in return, speak of them as parsimonious, and mean, and as " grinders of the poor," &c.

3rdly. Another reason is, that Sie avocation of a salvor is an uncertain one, the proceeds of a single service having to maintain the men and their families for many days or even weeks, especially in the summer months.

4thly. From the common tendency of a boy to follow the profession of his father, the sons of salvors, in too large numbers, take up the same occupation, and thus the profession becomes overstocked, and in bad times the men are reduced to poverty.

They are also said to be an improvident class, and many of them in prosperous times apt to drink more beer than is necessary to quench their thirst, instead of saving their money for periods when out of work. But this habit is, unhappily, only too common with the labouring classes in general in these islands.

In how far, then, is the legislature to blame for the presumed impositions on the owners of rescued vessels and property, as stated by the French writer? With reference to this question it must be acknowledged that the legislature has a very important and difficult task to fulfil. On the one hand it has to prevent imposition on owners of ships and property, as far as practicable; and on the other, to take care that it does not drive a valuable class of men from our coasts, and thus, indirectly, cause the loss of a large number of human lives and of a vast amount of property.

Again, the difficulty is increased from the nature of the work, which is ordinarily performed at sea at a greater or less distance from the land, with no witnesses but the parties immediately concerned, viz., the salvors and the masters and crews of the vessels saved, either or both of whom may take a partial view of the case, looking at it in the light of their own interests only, and may even be ready to make false or exaggerated statements, thus making it very difficult for any adjudicators to decide impartially on the merits of the case.

Then the work performed is of such varied character, so many elements having to be taken into consideration, as to make it very difficult to judge correctly regarding its value; and accordingly the English law, as laid down in the Merchant Shipping Act of 1854, after pronoxancing that a l parties saving, or assisting to save, property, &c., shall be entitled to a reasonable compensation, states that such services depend so much on the attendant circumstances, that it is impossible to do more than lay down certain general principles for the guidance of adjudicators, the amount of indemnity to depend— 1. On the extent of the danger incurred by the vessel and crew assisted.

2. On the value of the property saved.

3. On the danger incurred by the salvors.

4. On the value of the vessel effecting the salvage, and the risk it incurred.

5. On the skill evinced by the salvors.

6. On the time occupied in the salvage, and the labour bestowed in accomplishing it.

Nothing can be fairer than such a scale of remuneration, yet much must still depend on the judgment and impartiality of the arbitrators in each case.

In France the arbitration in cases of salvage rests with the Tribunals of Commerce.

In England the receivers under the Board of Trade are the adjudicators, if mutually accepted both by salvors and the owners of the property saved. Failing such mutual agreement, any two local magistrates have the power to arbitrate if the amount in dispute be under 200Z. Above that sum, the decision in disputed cases must rest with the Court of Admiralty, with ultimate ap- peal, where demanded, to the Privy Council ; and in cases below 200Z., the decision of the magistrates may be appealed against in the higher courts up to the Privy Council, at the risk of the salvors and owners concerned.

It is open to question whether the local magistrates on our coasts are the most competent persons to arbitrate in such cases.

They are oftentimes clergymen and country gentlemen unacquainted with maritime affairs, and perhaps, therefore, sometimes are too easily led by the opinions of others; and again, at some places, we have been told, they are themselves interested parties, holding shares in the steam-tugs or boats employed in salvage of property. We are inclined, therefore, to think that at least at all ports on our coasts there should be special Marine Boards, corresponding somewhat to the Tribunals of Commerce in France, appointed to decide in all disputed salvage claims, and that the expenses and delay occasioned by appeal to the Court of Admiralty should, as far as practicable, be reduced. On account, however, of the large number of persons in such places who own property in vessels and in salvage boats, it might sometimes be difficult under any arrangement to secure the services of persons with altogether " clean hands" to adjudicate.

The French pamphlet gives numerous quotations from our own Merchant Shipping Act, and quotes many cases of exorbitant demands, which we have not space to copy in extenso. It also contains many sensible and fair remarks, some of which we will copy.

Referring to the quoted instances of exorbitancy, it states— " The facts just related reveal three kinds of abuses. Sometimes we see pilots claiming salvage dues when they have only fulfilled the duties of their profession, or Coast-guards speculating upon shipwrecks, when both are under administrative discipline.

At other times they are salvors by profession, who, exaggerating the services rendered by them, claim an exorbitant indemnity.

It appears, in short, that these same salvors, transforming themselves suddenly into veritable pirates, mount on the decks of vessels requiring no aid, and engage in a struggle with their crews, whom they overpower.

" We have spoken of salvors by profession.

Some explanations on this subject may be useful.

" When a vessel is in distress, it suffices sometimes to have a reinforcement to the crew, an experienced pilot, or a steamer bringing a cable, or hawser, to save the ship and her cargo, independently of the crew.

" At some places the opportunities of rendering services of this nature are not very frequent. The salvage of property then becomes a thing somewhat exceptional, and partakes, like the saving of human lives, of the character of devotion and disinterestedness.

" In other places, on the contrary, there does not pass a week, especially in the bad season, without a number .of mishaps more or less occurring. To be ready for such exigencies, there are required skilful and bold mariners, and an expensive material (boats and equipment, &c.) capable of conflicting with the tempest.

" That these men require payments equivalent to the dangers and fatigues they confront, and that the owners of such material, exposed to injury, should claim a high rate of reward for risk, assuredly nothing can be more just." In France, the writer proceeds to say, " The indemnities granted being very moderate, owners and underwriters never oppose payment, but, on the contrary, are always disposed to recognize the services of the courageous men who save their property.

" In England things go on differently.

Salvage is an occupation (Industrie) of which the right is recognized by law.

"In the neighbourhood of the most dangerous passages, associations of boatmen are formed with the view of carrying help to ships in distress. Companies employing towing-vessels (steam-tugs) also interpose with the powerful means at their disposal.

" If we reflect that on the English coast occur each year, independently of vessels running aground, a minimum of 1,200 wrecks, which supposes a number, at least, double of vessels in danger, and that in 1865 alone, 1,337 persons were saved by steam, and other vessels belonging to private individuals, it is easy to comprehend the extent to which maritime commerce is interested in the existence and prosperity of this calling, so long as it is exercised honestly." After quoting various clauses of the English Merchant Shipping Act, the writer observes:—"The whole of these regulations reveal in the English legislature a double pre-occupation. On one part it wishes to shelter wrecks from the unjust claims of salvors, for which object it addresses most precise instructions to "receivers," as well as to Coastguard officers, to protect the former in all circumstances; and were not the facts which we have recited undeniable, it would assuredly be impossible to suppose the depredations committed in spite of such stringent directions.

" On the other hand, the clauses of The Merchant Shipping Act have in view, to create, by the desire of gain, an energetic stimulant to acts of salvage, and to encourage especially skilful salvors, knowing their trade.

" There is, then, as the basis of English legislation on this subject, a utilitarian object that we seek for in vain in our own; and we cannot equitably, without taking account of such divergence, establish a comparison between them." After quoting an instance in illustration of French procedure in such cases, in which a pilot is awarded, by the " Tribunal of Commerce " of Cherbourg, 800 francs (321) for saving with his boat and crew, at the risk of their lives for two days, a vessel and cargo worth 20,000 francs (800Z.), the former being one twenty-fifth part only of the latter, we find it stated :— " In England, on the contrary, the indemnity sometimes exceeds the half of the value of ship and cargo, and one asks whether a rate of remuneration so high does not produce a very different result from the one in view. Whether, instead of procuring for vessels in distress help sought by themselves and really efficacious, there are not thus developed feelings of avidity which cause the help to be distrusted.

"It is notorious that~vessels in danger prefer sometimes to risk being lost rather than put themselves in the hands of English salvors; and that, in any case, they only readily accept the services of the latter in the greatest extremity, when it has become more difficult, if notim possible, to avoid disaster.

" It appears that a more moderate remuneration would sufficiently encourage Salvage Acts, without taking from them the motives of devotion which ought always to inspire them, and which alone renders help completely efficacious." After some comparison of the laws of France and England on the subject, and criticism of the latter, the pamphlet proceeds to remark on the bad working of the appeal to the High Court of Admiralty.

" If there be disagreement, the parties have the right to appeal to the Court of Admiralty. This is a faculty which opens the door to manoeuvres practised openly on a vast scale, and almost always with success ; thus,—if they have to do with a foreign captain, whom they suppose not to be able to provide a deposit, still less able to find in the port any one consenting to be his surety; the salvors do not hesitate to claim over 200?., even when they make no concealment of the exaggeration of their claim. In this manner they reserve the power of carrying the case to the Admiralty Court, which entails on the master the seizure of his vessel, the interruption of his operations during several months, and the accumulation of enormous expenses. The salvors, it is true, are exposed to pay these expenses if their claim be found groundless; but the expenses are not always charged to the defeated party, and, besides, in several ports the salvors being organized in societies, whose common fund supports the expense in case the suit be lost, they are then not restrained by any fear on this head, whilst the master has all to fear, and generally resigns himself to making a compromise with his spoilers: it is the wiser course.

" We would add that it is equally the course for some time past adopted by French underwriters, in consequence of the considerable losses resulting to them by proceedings before the Court of Admiralty.

In this respect the advice of the Committee of Underwriters of Paris is, that ' Even if the success of a suit in the Admiralty Court were certain, it would still be more prudent and more economical to effect a compromise, at whatever cost, rather than to have recourse to that tribunal.' " In France, the intervention of the Tribunals of Commerce, of which the procedure is simple, prompt, and economical, would render impossible similar speculations to those now practised, if they were attempted.

" On this subject the Committee of Underwriters of Paris have lately issued, and circulated in large numbers the following notice :— " We certify that it is of public notoriety in France, with all who are 'au courant' of matters of Navigation, that upon the English coasts the calling of salvage, or more correctly, of simple help rendered to vessels in peril, by boatmen, fishermen, pilots, and steamboats, is exercised upon oppressive conditions, which appear to us little worthy of a civilized nation, and of which we scarcely know the counterpart except among the ' wreckers' of the Archipelago of the Bahamas.

"Further, for some years, the situation of affairs has rather ameliorated on the Bahamas tham upon the English coasts.

"A Tvork, published in Paris in 1863, by M. A. de Couray, one of our Committee, under the title of ' An International Reform of Maritime Rights,' thus expresses itself:— " At some leagues from our shores, upon the English coasts, is the inverse abuse.

The least service rendered to a vessel in danger gives rise to exorbitant pretensions and degenerates into exaction. The pilot transforms himself into a salvor for having simply fulfilled an act of his profession.

Thus our captains dread, almost as much as the rocks, the uncontrollable auxiliaries who would impose themselves on them, and the calling of salvage approaches to piracy.

" We certify that, within our knowledge, there is nothing exaggerated in these accusations.

" The slow forms and enormous expenses of English procedure, during which the ship remains sequestered, are an additional evil.

" Those interested often resign themselves rather to undergo violence than to defend themselves. Thus, assistance in danger, which among mariners seems a duty of humanity and confraternity, results in spoliation and the pillage of property.

" We complain of this abuse, less in our own interest as insurers, as we are always able to apportion our rates to the degree of risk incurred, than in that of navigation itself, of morality, and of civilization. It is certain that salvage, as we see it practised on the English coast, is a remnant of barbarism.

There is no doubt also that it is the smaller class of vessels doing the coasting-trade between France and England who are its principal victims. These little vessels very often are not insured, and we refuse to insure them precisely because we dread the English salvors. The poor mariners who man these vessels, and who have no other means of subsistence, after having carried to England, for its alimentation, our wheats and our fruits, return from it despoiled and ruined, under pretext that in a moment of peril they have received the assistance of an English salvor.

" These violent proceedings, as regards property, contrast singularly with those regarding the persons of shipwrecked sailors.

" We know that there exist in England admirable Life-boat Institutions and other measures of protection for the lives of the wrecked.

" The Societe Centrale de Sauwtage, recently founded in France under the presidency of Admiral Rigault de Genouilly, has only been formed in imitation of an English Association having the same object. But if the lives of the shipwrecked are efficiently protected in England by this generous Association, property remains without protection, and is given up to all the excesses of cupidity.

" In France—we say it with legitimate satisfaction—things are done in quite a different manner, Our pilots content them- selves with their tariff. There is only a salvage right of one-third value when a vessel is recovered that is abandoned by her crew. When it is a question of simple help, it is often given gratuitously, and for the sake of humanity. At the most, our Tribunals of Commerce, adjudging with very little cost, award moderate indemnity, which is usually proportionate to the benefit of the assistance received.

" We remark also, for its liberal spirit, the German Legislation, which distinguishes clearly the right to salvage from equitable remuneration earned by opportune help.

" We applaud, then, the efforts made in England herself to bring on a reform so desirable, and we ardently wish them success.

A reciprocation of good procedure and effective assistance between mariners of the two nations is the necessary complement to the ' Treaty of Commerce,' and we know no question more worthy of the enlightened consideration of the British Government." We entirely agree with the Paris Chamber of Commerce that this important question is deserving of the serious consideration of our Government, and, by all means, let the law be made more stringent, if need be, to prevent extortion and violence on the part of our professional salvors ; but, on the other hand, let care be taken that in making it so, this class of men be not driven from their avocation to seek more profitable employment, in which case a vast amount of property and very many lives would, to a certainty, be annually lost for want of timely aid.

It may seem hard to the shipowner, after already suffering great loss from damage to his vessel and her cargo, and from delay in her voyage, to have to pay a further large sum, perhaps a large proportion of the remaining value; yet it is better to suffer a partial than a total loss, and it would be as unreasonable as chimerical to expect that this class of men, in following their vocation, should be actuated by chivalrous motives, or, as the French underwriters' notice expresses it, as a " duty of humanity and confraternity," in transactions which they regard as purely matters of business; and that they should proportion their demands for remuneration to the supposed ability of the shipowner to pay, or with reference to the duty of hospitality to strangers, rather than to the necessities of their wives and children at home. On the same principle, it might as well be expected of a tradesman to proportion the prices of his wares to the ability of his customers to pay for them." Nevertheless, we believe that, rough and rude-mannered as some of these men may be, they not unfrequently do acts of generosity in this way in the cases of small vessels, owned by poor men, whose all is embarked in them.

We cannot therefore coincide with the Committee of Undenvriters of Paris in considering that the avocation of salvors of property, like that of the life-boat service, should be undertaken as a duty of humanity rather than as a matter of business. We think it is expecting too much, and that the owners of foreign vessels trading with our ports must make up their minds that they will have to encounter certain dangers and difficulties which they must balance with their chances of profit. Amongst others they must calculate on having to navigate a dangerous coast, with outlying banks and shoals and strong and irregular tides; and if want of skill, stress of weather, or other cause should get their vessels into difficulty, they may expect the offer of prompt assistance, which they may avail themselves of or not as they please, but which, if they accept, they must expect to pay for.

Referring to the charge of violence on the part of our professional salvors, any such acts should undoubtedly be punished in the severest manner; we believe, however, that they are quite exceptional, and confined to a single locality on our eastern coast. They are very naturally bitterly complained of and resented by the masters of vessels who are the victims of them. As a set-off, however, to such unlawful acts on our side, although no excuse for them, we must in justice state that acts of violence on the part of French fishermen on our own N.E. coast, are of frequent occurrence, and have for many years past been bitterly complained of by our fishermen there. The French boats are larger than the English ones, and much more numerously manned, the latter having only 5 to 7 men on board each.

The crews of the former are reported to wilfully run over and damage or destroy the nets of the latter, and even to drive them from the best fishing-ground, whilst the crews of the English boats, being weaker, are unable to resist them.

We fear that such lawless men exist in all countries, and that no monopoly of virtue, of forbearance, of self-denial, love of God and man, of honour, honesty, gentleness, goodness, truth, .is possessed by any one country over others. The manners, customs, laws, and religion of countries differ one from another, but although national characteristics may be different, human nature remains the same in all, and the highest function of all Governments, as it should be their highest ambition, must ever be, by the administration of wise laws so to shape and direct the great seething mass of human mind committed to their care, so to counteract and curtail its evil tendencies, and so to foster and encourage its good ones, that, as the retreating centuries pass, and time steadily advances to the great final destiny of our race, each community of, men may steadily progress towards the good and the true, and that the happiness of the whole human family may be thus relatively promoted.