PRINCETON, N J
j " ' . ■ ipn j.
I No. Case, .• -m"
No. Shelf, S.ecJiqn
No. Book,_. -
I
V
CHRISTIAN WORK
For 1863.
•* Fly hftppy, happy RaHs atid hear the press,
riy liappv with Ihe mission of the cross ; Knif land to Ijiiul. and, blowing Imvcnward, Enrich the markets of the golden year."
TaNNTSON.
LONDON :
PUBLISHED AT THE OFFICE OF " GOOD WORDS,"
32, LUDGATE HILL.
Lqitdon :
l;R\DBURy AKD EVANS, PRnTTEKS, WniTEFRIAB
INDEX.
PAGE
Abyssinia, The Workmen's MisRion in. By Theophilus Waldmeier . 623
Africa, My late Mission Tour to the East Co;vst of. By Dr. J. Louis Krapf 193, 265
Africa, Voyages of the Candace to the East Coast of 609
African Missions, A Bird's-eyo View of 45
Aldershot, The Camp at . . . 275
America ; General Survey of Protes- tant Missions in 177
American Board, The Meeting of the. By Prof. II. W. Baird . . .644
Army Chaplains, Tlie . . . . 357
Army, On the Obstacles to Christian Work in the. By an Army Chap- lain 625
Asia Minor, Planting of Churches in 371
Basle, The Mission House at. By a Special Commissioner . . . 281
Basle Missions in India and China, The 169
Basutos, French Mission to the . 491
Belgium, The Roman Catholic Con- gress in 508
Bengal Mission of the Free Chjirch of Scotland 84
Berlin Christian Union, The . . 77
Brahma Saraaj and Reform Hindu Party of Bengal, The. By the Rev. Dr. Duff 272
Brazil, Social and Religious State of 115
Calabar, after Seventeen Years of Missionary Labour. By the Rev. Alexander Robb, Old Calabar . 433
Calcutta Betliune Society, The. By the Rev. Ur. Duff . . . . 635
Canstein, The Baron of ; the Founder of the First Bible Society . . 619
Canton, Visit to the Hill Districts of. By the Rev. F. S. Turner . . . 448
China, Christian Hospit.als in. By Dr. Hobson, M.R.C.P. (late of Canton) 645
China : The Bishop of Victoria's An- nual Report 96
Churches in the Confederacy, The. By the Rev. Dr. Hoge, of Richmond 366
Dahomky, a Visit to ... 175 Danube to Odes.sa, From the Upper.
By a Chinese Missionary . . . 346 Demerara Coolie Mission . . . fiSS Denmark, Ecclesiastical Affairs in.
By Dr. Biornatzky .... 629
Fan Sino Loins, Chinese Catoehiat on the Ovens Gold-fields, Victoria, Nar- rative of 42:j
Ganoes, Two Months' Furlough am<jng the Towns and Villages of the. By the Rev. J. Bradbury . 438
Germany, An Experiment in Homo Mission Work in .... 3.^)1
Germany, The Undercurrent of In- fideUty in 375
Germany, Religious and Rationalistic Movements in South. By Dr. J. Louis Krapf 291
Gorm.iny, RcligiouB Education in South 633
Germany, Religious Tliought and Feeling in South. By Dr. J. Louis Krapf .... 430
PAGE
Grcenhind. Life and Christian Labour in. By Dr. Kalkar . . . 285
Gujarat Territories, The. By the Rev. Dunlop Moore 614
Havanna, Three Weeks in. By E. B. Underbill, Secretary of the Bap- tist Missionary Society . . . 218 Heldring's, Mr., New Guinea Mission.
Bv the Rev. Dr. J. Louis Krapf . 631 Heldring's (Pastor) Work . . . 22 Hinduism, The Decline of . . .86 Hungary, The Protestant Sclavonian Church in. By Licentiate Borbis . 436
India, Government Support of Idol- atry in. By the Rev. G. Bowen . 307
India, Ten Years' Missionary Progress in. By the Rev. J. E. Carlyle (late of Bombay) 563
Indian Missions, Statistical Tables of 82
Indian Villages, Nino Days' Tour among. By the Rev. J. P. Ashton 487
Institute of St. John, The, at Berlin IS
Italy, The Education of the Clergy in. By the Rev. Dr. Desanctis . 364, 495
Italy, Noo-Catholici.«m in.; By the Rev. Dr. Desanctis . . 236, 305
.Jewish Festivals in London . . 612 Journey from Cairo to the Canal of Suez, for the Distribution of Testa- ments, Sic. By Messrs. Buhler and Hamm 229
Kafkraria and Bechuana, Experi- ences in. By a Resident Missionary 443 Karen Associations, Toimgoo . . 168 Karen Mis.sion, The Toungoo.— Dr. and Mrs. Mason. By the Rev. Dr.
Duff 417
Karens, The. By the Be\'. Dr. Mason 355 Koordistan, The Mountains of. By
Ju.stin Perkins, D.D. . . . 561, 642 Kornthal, The Colony of . . . 153
London Bible and Domestic Female Missions, The .... 135
London's, The Bi.shop of, Fund. By a London Clergyman . . . 293
London Diocesan Society, The . . 1
London, Parish Work in the East of. By an E,ast-cnd Incumbent . . 200
Madras, The Prim.ary Charge of the Bishop of 014
Mission Voyaging in the "John Williams." By the Rev. P. Ooold Bird 499
Mission Voyaging in the South Seas. By J. C. Patteson, D.D., the Mis- sionary Bi.shop .... 206
Mohammedans and Nestorians of Persia, The. By Justin Perkins, D.D 232
Mysore, The Ryots of ... 36
Natai, Dr. Callaway's Mission Sta- tion in 105
Neilgherries or Blue Mountains of India, Visit of a Gerinan Mission- ary to the 89
Ncstoria, The Mountain Regions of. By Justin Perkins, D.D. . .300
Nestoria, Perseeiition in. By Justin Perkins, D.D 348
New South Wales, The Churches in. By the Rev. Dr. Steel, of Sidney . 617
PACK
New York, The Riots in. By Pro- fessor Henry M. Baird, Now York . 450
Oxford, The Bishop of, on Christian Missions 568
Pacific, Kidnapping of Islanders in the. By J. Bayner, Sydney . . 420
Parsees, The 88
Pekin, A Visit to . . . .505 Phihp, the Tamil Preacher . . . 361 Prussia, Work in the Prisons of. By
J. Oldenberg, D.D. ... 234 Punjab Missionary Conference . . 32 Punjab Missionary Conference, The. By D. F. Macleod, C.B., Financial Commis.sioner of the Punjab . 226
Renan. Life of Jesus. By Edmond de Pressens^, D.D 378
Renan's (M ) Book, French Opinions on. By Edmond de Pressense, D. D. 513
Rhine, Home Missions on the . . 20
Rhine Mission, The. By a Special Commissioner ..... 221
Roman Curia, The. By the Rev. Dr. Desanctis. . - ... 630
Russia, IleUgious and Social Pro- blems in. By J. Oldenberg, D.D. 290
St. Chrishona, The Pilgrim Mission of 146
Slavery in West Africa. By the Bev. Alexander Robb, Old Calabar . 510
Slaves of the Southern Sfcites, The . 516
Social Science Congress at Edin- burgh. By the Rev. W. G. Blaikie, M.A., F.R S.E 555
Social Congress at Ghent, The. By Dr. Edmond de Pressens(5 . . 507
South America, Missions in. By Mr. Gray, Sccret.ary of the Patagonian Missionary Society . . . . 425
Spain, Recent Events in. By Jules Bonnet, D.D 344
Spain, Visit to, on behalf of Matamoros and otlior Prisoners. By Jules Bonnet, D.D 203
Statistics of Societies for Foreign Missions ... ... 64
Syria, Charitable Institutions in. By C. W. M. Van de Velde . . 212, 30
Syria, Sects and Divisions of . . 163
Syrian Relief Fund. By the Rev. Dr. Thomson, Beyrout . . . 440
Tahiti, The New French Mission at . 579 Tinnevelly, P:uitoral Training in. By
the Rev. Dr. Caldwell . . . 349 Turkey, American Missions in. With
a Map. By the Rev. C. S. Wheeler 428
United States Armv, Christian Efforts in the 492
United States, City Mission Work in the. By the Rev. Dr. Jenkins (late of Philadelphia) . . . .038
United St;ites, Sunday-school Work in the. By the Rev. Dr. Jenkins (lato of Philadelphia) . . . 575
Waldensian Valleys, Iraprcssionsof
an Eyo-witucss in the
•268, 337, 409, 481, 5.S0 Wesleyan Missioiiary Jubilee. By
the Rev. J. H. Rigg . . .581
IV
Enci.and, 1, G j, 120, 23S, 309, 380, 453,
519, 584, 647. Scuuuu^, 7, t8, 137, 212, 312, 382, 454,
522, 5S8, B50. Ireland, 7, 69, 138, 242, 313, 383, 688, 651. France, 9, 71, 141, 243, 315, 385, 455, 523, 691, 653.
South of France, 11, 72, 144. Spain, 145, 245, 317, 525. Portugal, 245, 318. Belgium, 11, 145, 386.
Italy, 13, 73, 146, 246, 319, 388, 461, 529, 593, 655. Rome, 146, 320, 530, 656. Kaples, 14S. Milan, 15, 530 Switzerland, 16, 75, 148, 249, 321, 387,
457, 525, 595, 654. Holland. 20, 156, 457. Germany — North Germany, 151, 526.
Prussia, 17, 77, 250, 390, 458,
5rt.i, 657. The Rhinf, 20, 76, 596. South Germany, 152, 251, 327,
390, 65S. Austria, 155, 459, 527. Bohemia, 77, 390, 459. Sweden, 157, 25 .', 322, 39 ■, 527. Denmark, 24, 79, 156, 323, 391, 528, 658. Russia, 25, 159, 252, 529, 659, Poland, 159.
Greece, 26, 8i>, 161, 462, 531.
T\irkey in Kurope, 162, 322, 392, 460, 532.
Turkey in Asia —
Western Turkey, 28.
Central Turkey, 29, 162.
Eastern Turkey, 29, 81, 253, 394, 462, 532.
Syria, 29, 80, 163, 324, 393. Palestine, 164, 324, 394, 659.
PAGE
EXGLISH. Able to Save ..... 336 Alford's (Dr.) New Testament for
English Headers . . . . 607 Andrew's Life of Our Lord , . 607 Arctic Discovery 408
BALDwrN's African Hunting . . , 61
Barlee, Ellen 60
Bible in the WDrk.-ihop . . . 60 Uirk.s' Exodus of Israel . , 836
Blaikie's Better Days for Working
People . , , . . ,664 Bonur s Family Sermons . . , 60 Bost, A., History of the Moravians. 119 British and Foreign Evangelical Re- view, April, 1863 187
Brown's Divine Mystery of Peace . 665 BUchsel's Ministerial Experiences , 407 Bungener's Calvin . . , ,185
Charteris' Life of Rev. J, Robertson, D.n. 406
Colani, T. Notre Ptre, Sermon pr£ch<; il Paris . . ... 120
Cumming's Moses Right and Colenso Wrong 60
D'AtrBicvE, J. n. M., Histoire de la RiSfonnation en E\irope . . . 119
Domer's Doctrine of the Person of Christ 336
Drew's Bishop Colcnso's Examination of the Pentateuch Examined . 60
Elus's Madagascar . . . . ISO
Fethehstone's Primev.al Symbols . 665 Foster's Essay on the Improvement of Time 60S
Garratt's Ehjah the Prophet . . 665 Gotthoil's Messiah . . .665
Graver Thoughts of a Coxmtry
Parson 118
Green s M.anuel Matamoras . .186 Grosart's, Balloch, Small Sins . . , 608 Guthrie's, Dr. , Speaking to the Heart. 118
Index.
MONTHLY CHRONICLE.
Persia —
Nestoria, 31, 165, 463. India—
The Punj.ab, 32, 35, 256, 326.
Bengal Presidency, 84, 166, 257, 325, 464. 533, 596, 660.
Bombay Presidency, 86, 8S, 254, 326, 395, 465, 533.
Madras Presidency, 37, 89, 167, 396, 534.
Mysore, 36. Affghanistan, 325. Ceylon, 95, 167, 258, 326, 397. Burm ih, 38, 96, 168, Annam, 171. Thibet, 535. China —
Pekin, 39, 397.
Hong Kong, 96, 258, 327.
Swatow, 99.
Canton, 170.
Tungchau, 535. Japan, 100. Singapore, 397. Borneo, 397. Australia —
Victoria, 536.
New South Wales, 40, 171, 393, 466, 037, 600, 660.
South AustraUa, 42, 398, 467, 538.
Queensland, 399, 467, 537. Now Zealand, 41, 600. . Sarao.an Islands, 43, Fiji Islands, 102, 171, 468. Melanesia, 41. Micronesia, 43, 101, S.andwich Islands, 100, Africa — 45.
Egypt, 102, 172.
Abyssinia, 173.
Algeria, 47, 102.
LITERATURE.
pace
Henrv's Christ All in AH. . . 408 Hill's, Michaiah, Christ, or Colenso . 60 Howe's Works. Vol V. . . . 335
JouRS,\L of Sacred Literature, ifec. . 187
Laroitrers' Cottages . . .60 Lancashire Homes . . . . 60 Lange's Commentary on the Gospel
of St. Luke 336
Legge's Lectures 406
Leilchild's Memoir .... 334 Lewis, Tayler, The Divine Human in
the Scriptures 118
M 'Caul's Examin.ation of Bishop
Coleu.so's Difficulty . . . .336 M 'C.ausland's Evangelical Ethics . 1S7 Macduff, J, R., D.D. The Thoughts
of God 60
Macfarlane. The Railway . . 187 Macleod'.s Pai'ish Papers . . . 118 Maolcod's Earnest Student . . 407 Mouchon's Hyppolyte . ... 120 Moulc's Hope .against Hope . . 408
Nicnor.'s Puritan Divines . . . 335 Noel s Freedom and Slavery . . . 336
Pravehs, Texts, and HjTnns, for those in Service . . . .60
Quarteriics, Tlie 0(i6
Quarterly Jom nal of Prophecy . . 187
Rawlinson's Two Great Monarchies
of the Eastern World . . .119 Recreations of a Country Parson . .118
Standard of the Cross . , . 408 Stanley's Lectures on the Historj- of
the Jewish Church . . . 117
Stevenson's Praying and Working . 118
T., H. Mary, Blossoms in the Shade . 065 Talbot's Parochial Mission . . . 60 Taylor, Isaac, on the Pentateuch . 60
ViLL.vRi's History of Savonarola . 335
Waddell's Twenty-nine Year.'? in the West Indies 185
Africa, contintied—
Contnal jVfrica, 260, 468.
West Africa, 103, 174, 175,
South Africa, 48, 104, 105, 260, 327.
Madagascar, 49, 177, 328, 399, 538. United Swtes, 52, 106, ISO, 261, 328, 401.
469, .53S, 601. North-west America, 55. Canada, 111. Nova Scotia, 112, 402. Coluaibia, 470, Mexico, 113. West Indies —
Jamaica, 11.3, 181, 263, 472.
Hayti, 540.
The Dutch West Indies, 540.
Antigua, 473.
Caymanas, 56. South America —
Brazil, 115.
Uruguay, 331, 474.
Chih, 403.
Keppel Island, 473.
Valparaiso, 473. Suggestions and Replies : — 121, 125, 126,
127, 128, 190, 191, 192, 26.3, 264, 331, 332,
333, 404, 405, 474, 475, 477, 541, 542, 643,
544, tOl, 60'2, 603, 662.
In Memoriam.
Bau-d, Robert 184
Boecher, Lyman 59
Clark, Roger E 184
Coldstream, John 606
Gaussen, Louis 403
M'Caul, Alexander 663
Robinson, Edward . . . .57
Stier, Rudolph 58
Tweedio, William K 184
Whately, Richard 604
PAGE
Walsh's Donellan Lectures for 1861 . 59 ^ately's Ragged Life in Egj-pt . . 335
Todnq's Ulrich von Hutten . . 334
GERMAN. Auberlen, and others. Zur Venint-
wortung des Christlichen Glaubens 63 Besser, H. F. Bibelstiindon . . 62 Uorner, Dr. T. A. Uber Jesu sUnd-
lose VoUkommcnheit . . . 63
Dorpater Zeitschrift fur Theologie
und Kirehe 189
F.abri, Dr. F. Die Stellung des
Christian ziu- PoUtik . . . 478 Gess, .and others. Vortriige Uber die
Projihetcn 187
J.ahrbUcher fiir Deutsche Theologie . 479 Keil-Dclitsch. BibUscher CommeutUr
tiber das Alte Testament . 62
Kurtz, J. H. Der Alttestamentlicho
Opfercultus 478
Lechler, Acht Vortriige Uber China . 478 Lobstein, T. F. Die Geheinniisso
des Herzens 82
Matthes, Karl. AUgemeine Kirch-
liche Chronik. Neunter Jahrgang,
1S()2. Altona, 1S63 . . . . 189 Piper, Dr. F. Evangelischer Ka-
lendcr. Jahrbuch fUr 1863 . .121 Schultze, Leopold. Die evangelischo
Bewegimg innerhalb der Katho-
lischen Kircho zu Vav\c des vorigen
Jahrhunderts. Ein Vortrag . . 121 Staehelin, Dr. E Leben und ausge-
wiihltc Schriften der Vater und
Bcgiundcr der Reformirten Kirche 120 TheoTogische Studien und Kritiken.
Jahrg.ang 1863. Uefte 1 und 2 .122 Die Verhandlungcn des Zwolftcn
Deutschen Evangelischen Kirehen-
t.ages 61
Wallman, T. C. Leiden und Freudon
Rheiniseheu Missioniiro . . .62 Zeitschrift fiir die gesammte Luther-
ische Theologie und Kirche . . 123
Zeitschrift fiir Histori.sche Theologie von Niodner, 1863. Hefte 1 und 2 123
NARRATIVE
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
MARCH 2, 1863.
THE UNITED KINGDOM.
The diocese of London increases annually hy about 40,000 souls. The rate of increase in the early years of the present ceutury was uo doubt less tlian this, but it was great, and it was little noticed by Christian meu. As an instance of this, we may mention, that Thomas Scott, living in London at the end of the last century, had his attention so little called to parochial work that he found his time unoccupied, and to avoid idleness, began his well-known commentarj". Even long afterwards, when Mr. D. Wilson (afterwards Bp. of Calcutta), on becoming vicar of Islington, proposed to build three new churclies for a population already numbering 30,000, there were some among his frienc's, who told liim 'that it was not the cages that were wanted, but the singing birds.'
In some places, indeed, there is little difficulty in the work of Chm-ch extension. There are some neiglibourhoods chiefly composed of the residences of the rich, both in the town and in the suburbs. In these cases fashion, and education, and wealth combine with an acknowledged duty to facilitate the erection of churches. It is even understood to be a good invest- ment of capital by a landown(!r or builder to provide church accommodation for the occupants of his new houses. But in other parts the increase of the popu- lation is entirely of the poorer classes ; and the constant deterioration of certain parts of the town, by the removal of the rich, causes an increase of numbers, with a decrease in the means of supplying their .spiritual needs. It is in these district.s, therefore, that the main efforts for church extension are required.
We shall mention a few of the agencies wliich are at work for remedying the evil, and point out what hopes we have of its being overcome.
1. The diocese being divided into rural deaneries, each containing from ten to twenty ecclesiastical districts, it has been of late attempted to form associ- ations of clergy and laity in the rural deaneries for diocesan pm-poses. In some cases, where [wor and rich districts ai'c united in the same rural deanery, su(^h associations have been able to do something towards I abating the needs of tliose within tlieir own borders ; as, for instance, in the rural deanery of Ealing, where an association of this kind has erected an iron churoli
in the poor district of Brentford, and supports the j officiating minister. The work, of such associations has but recently commenced, but it admits of gi-eat expansion.
2. The London Diocesan Home Mission, established in 1867, starts with the recognition of the fact that | there arc vast masses of persons whom the ordinary ■ parochial machinery cannot reach, and who need to be 1 drawn back to the clnu'ch by missionary efforts. It | employs ordained clergymen of the Church of England, to whom large districts are a,^signed, and who labour, with the consent of the incumbents of the parishes composing those districts, amongst the masses of the poor. By preaching in rooms or in the open air, by 1 special services in the churches, by visiting the poor in f their homes, by distributing tracts, by any means which may give a prospect of success, they endeavour | to reach them ; the ultimate object being, after collecting a congregation, to build a church and or- [ ganise parochial institutions. We may give as an instance of success in this work the case of the Mission | at Depfford, where a mass of working men have been drawn together at a place called the Saw Mills, and where it is hoped that a Mission chapel may shortly be erected. There are at present eight missionaries in the employment of the society. It is thought that as many as 100 might work with great advantage in the diocese.
3. The Diocesan Church Building Society in designed not only to assist in building churches, but also to provide in general for tlieir establishment. In neigh- bourhoods in wliich population is rapidlj- increasing, it purchases a site for a diurch; and occasionally erects an iron temporary church, and jilaces a dergj-man there with a view to the future establishment of a full parochial .system, and the building of a permanent clnn-cli. This society, which M'as foundetl by Bishop ' Blomfield, is by far the largest of the Diocesan , Societies, and has been most effective in suggesting, as well as assisting, the work of church-extension. j
4. The Additional ('urates' Society, the Pa.storalAid i Society, and tlie Scripturi^ Readers' Association, though I embracing other dioceses, yet render so much assistance to the clergy of Loudon that no statement of the work
It
2
WORK OF THE CIIRISTLIN CHURCH.
March 2, 1803.
of this diocese -would be complete which omitted them. In parishes which are large and poorly endowed, these societies supply the services of assist.ant curates and of scripture readers, without whom tlie best efforts of the incumbent would be unavailing.
In Bethn;d Green, where ten new churches were erected through the exertions of Bishop Blomfield, it is stated, by those who had practical experience of the work- ing out of the scheme, that at the erection of the first of those churches the people looked on with indifference and even suspicion ; but that on the last occasion thoy evinced a hearty interest iu the work. And the ex- perience of clergymen generally is to the effect that the poor look upon those who labour for their spiritual good as their friends, and respond in due time to the efforts to bring them under the influence of truth.
As to church building, the difficulty is that of making up the arrears of former generations ; and this will probably still be felt while the town continues to spread at its present rate. We hear, however, that a great effort is about to be made by the Diocesan Church Building Society to induce the landowners and great employers of labour to provide an adequate parochial machinery to embrace the whole of the poor population. To that effort we shaU call attention hereafter.
The endowment of Churches is a subject which is exciting great attention in looking to the future. It is very seldom that it is provided for. In the richer districts the pew rents form a sufficient provision. We hear it reported that the Ecclesiastical Commissioners have resolved to intervene in the most difficult cases, and it is expected that they will ere long be able, from the common fund of the Cliurch Estates, to raise each benefice which has more than 10,000 souls, to 300/. a year. There are more than 80 such parishes in the diocese.
The Congregational body liave raised nearly 200,000/. by their Bicentenary movement, for the building of chapels and the establishment of new interests, as well as the erection of a Memorial Hall in London. The English Congregational Cliapel-Buikling Society reports that ' no fewer than 300 memorial cliapels have been opened, commenced, or projected to be completed by the end of 1864,' and the London Congregational Chapel-Building Society reports that they have been enabled to extend the interests of the denomination material!}- in London.
The Loudon Congregational Association has just held its annual meeting, from which it appears that the so- ciety has modified its plans uuder the present secretarj'^s management (Rev. J. H. Wilson), so as to est;iblish ten district unions in the ten postal districts of the metropo- lis ; each union to be represented by its secretary and treasurer in the general committee, wliich would thus exist as a centrid power, and work through the local associations. The report revealed a startling amount of spiritual destitution, 1)utalso showed that there never was more done in London for the evangehsation of the masses than at the present moment by every denomina- tion of Christians. The statistics of church and chapel building in the reportj-showed that there are nowan equal nmnber of chiu-ches and cliapels in London : namely, 400 churches and 400 chapels belonging to the Protes- tant denomination. The increase has been as follows during tJie ten years from 1851 to 1861 : — 1 .
1851. 1861. Increase.
Churches registered . . 350 400 50
Chapels registered . . 311 400 89 of which increase the CongregationaUsts had provided 40 chapels; Baptists, 17; the United Presbj^terians, 4; the Wesleyans, 1 1 ; and various other bodies the re- mainder. But the Roman Catholics had increased from 21 chapels in 1851, with 50 priests, to 34 chapels, with 80 priests, in 1861 ; the increase being chiefly through the importation of Irish labourers, who are employed on the new buddings of London.
The London Association have appointed four evan- gelists, and are establishing district Missions in diffe- rent localities.
The Home Missionary Society, whose object is to preach the gospel among the spiritually destitute parts of England, has been extending its agency, and, as appears from its last quarterly report, has now 160 agents and evangelists, being an increase of fifty evan- gelists in two years. These evangelists are generally pious, intelligent, devoted working men, who receive a salary of 60/. and 70/. a year, two-thirds being raised in the localities where they labour by country associations cooperating with the Home Missionary Society, which pays the other third. They are under approved local superintendence, and visit seven hours a day, besides holding cottage prayer-meetings, open-air meetings in the summer, and otherwise sjireading the truths of the gospel.
A very remarkable revival has taken place at seyerid of the mission stations of the society. At one in Sussex, special services were held for nearly two months, and the chapel came to be so crowded, and the numbers of people iiriproved so greatly, that the assist- ance of other bretliren from neighbouring churches had to be obtained. In Somerset, also, there have been special services ; and in Norfolk remarkable results have attended the labours of some of those agencies.
A conference meeting of representatives of Con- gregational churches was held at Brighton on Feb. 10th; Samuel Morley, Esq., of London, in the chair ; when resolutions were passed declarative of an earnest determination to promote with increased vigour the cause of home evangelisation in the country.
A special public meeting of the friends of the London Missionary Society was held recently in Freemasons' Hall. The Earl of Shaftesbury presided, and the object was to consider the present position and require- ments of the mission in Madagascar. Dr. Tidman, the secretar}', spoke most cordially of the spirit displayed by the Bishop of Mauritius in his recent visit to Mada- gascar in relation to the London Mission. His inter- view with Mr. Ellis had been kind and fraternal, and it had been mutually agreed that ' in any efforts made by the Church Missionary Society or the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, both of which he repre- .sented, the agents which these institutions might send forth slundd occupy some of those wide fields of igno- rance and heathenism yet uncultivated ; that no collision or interference shoidd occur between our brethren and the new labourers, but that they shoidd pursue their several operations in the spirit of mutual goodwill and fraternal regard. In accordance with this mutual un- derstanding, the Church Missionary Society is about to send out two devoted labourers to Madagascar, and the Society for the Propagation of tho Gospel has adopted
Maech 2, 1863.
WORK OF TIIE CHRISTIAN CimRCn.
3
a. resolution to the same effect. In these arrangements the Directors of the Society most cordially concurred. They could not hope, in addition to all their other extended labours, .so to increase the number of their missionaries in Madagascar as to meet the wants of neaHy five million souls, of whom the greater part are still under the influence of dark and degrading superstitions ; and they rejoiced there- fore that other labourers were about to be sent forth into this wide and long-neglectcd field, and were ready to bid them God-speed in the name of the Lord. But, with equal surprise and regret, they hare more recently learned tliat efforts are making to form a new society, ■under the highest ecclesiastical patronage, especially with the design of sending out a bishop and six missionary clergymen to Madagascar. It is proposed, not that the agents of the intended institution should occupy those populous districts which lie on the coast, or in the interior remote from the capital ; but that they .should make the capital itself the centre and basis of their operations. It must be concluded that at least several of the distinguished prelates who have given the sanction of their names to this project have been unacquainted with the fact that the London Missionary Society commenced its labours in the island between forty and fifty years ago, and that the results have been so wonder- ful and blessed ; for the printed statement to which their names are prefixed, referring to last year, only states that ' the French Romish missionaries and the London Missionary Society have already commenced operations ' — a representation, although wc doubt not undesignedly, calculated to conceal the facts and to mislead the reader. Against the proposed measure, and especially the manner in which it is intended to be carried out, the Directors of the Society enter their most decided and solemn protest. It is in direct opposition to that good understanding and catholic spirit which have been invariably maintained by the Protestant Missionary institutions both of Britain and of all other countries. Hitherto they have endeavoured to keep the 'unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace,' by acting upon the wise counsel of Abraham to his kinsmen, ' Let there be no strife, I pray thee, between me and tlieo, and between my herdmen and thy herdmen. Is not the whole land before thee ? Separate thyself, I pray thee, from me : if thou wilt take the left hand, then I will go to the right ; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left.' The new course of intended operation is pregnant witlj danger and mischief, and cannot fail to give occasion to the Romish missionaries to make the apparent rivalry and strife of their Protestant oppo- nents subservient to their own (lurposos and policy. In the capital, consisting at the utmost of not more than 40,000 inhabitants, there will .shortly bo eleven English mi.s.sionarie.s, agents of this Society, besides a goodly band of native pastors and cat4'ohists. This field, tli(;re- fore, with the surrounding country, wiU bo adequately preoecupit'd, wliile wide-spread deserts will remain without a solitary labourer. Such an intrusion as that contemplated stinds strangely in contrast with the example of that great missionary who testified, ' Yea, so have I strived to preach the Gospel not where Christ is named, lest I should build upon anotlier man's found.ation ; but, as it is written, To wliom He was not spokfni of they shall see ; and they that have not heard shall understand.' If it be intended by an episcopal and clerical appointment to ignore the mis-
sionary labours of our brethren, and practically to deny the Scriptural character of their ministry, then, without attempting to vindicate themselves by argu- ment, they may be content to appeal to the enlightened and Christianised thousands of Madagascar, and say, 'Ye are our epistles, written in our hearts, known and read of all men. Forasmuch as ye are manifestly de- clared to be the epistle of Christ, ministered by ua, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God ; not in tables of stone, but in fleshly tables of the heart.' But, should remonstrance prove in vain, and this measure of aggression be carried into effect, although the directors would most deeply deplore it, they would nevertheless most earnestly exhort their missionary brethren to 'leave off contention before it is meddled with,' and ' by pureness, by knowledge, by long-suffer- ing, by kindness, by the Holy Gho.st, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left,' to ' make fuU proof of their ministry, and adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.'
The Chairman spoke at length strongly against the proposed measure. ' I am certain,' he said, ' that there are persons whose names are on that list who, if they wore acquainted with the state of things in Mada- gascar, with what has been done, what is doing, and what is in preparation, would no more think of dis- turbing the operations of this noble body than they woidd think of upsetting the Church of England and spreading disorder in all the parishes of this country. I am afraid, too, that it will introduce a new principle that may be subversive of all harmony, and act most injuriously upon missionary operations in general There has been hitherto recognised among all mission- aries in the Protestant denomination a kind of courtesy that they should not interfere one with another, unless it could be proved that a field was shamefully ill- worked, or that there were heretical doctrines taught, or that mischief was being done instead of good. As to interfering one with another, thrusting yourself into another man's vineyard, not attending to your own, but ever .spying out what your neighbour is doing — that is contrary to the received principle of missionary opera- tions ; it is contrary to acknowledged courtesies.'
The Rev. Samuel Martin, the Rev. "W. ^rthur, M.A., the Rev. W. B. Mackenzie, and others, took part in the proceedings.
The two Houses of Convocation met on Wednesday, Fob. 11th. In the Lower House, Archdeacon Denison moved that an address bo sent to the Upper House praying it to direct tlio appointment of a committee to examine and report on Bishop Colenso's book on the Pentateuch. In supporting his motion, he rested his claim for such enquiry on the denial of tlie truth of the Holy Scripture, and more especially upon tlie impugn- ing the authority of the Lord and Saviour Jesu.s Clirist, p(!rfect God and perfect Man. He considered that the book having been published within the province of Canterbury, it was incunilient on the Convocation to institute an enquiry. Dr. McCaul animadverted severely upon Dr. Colenso's statement of his inability to ordain an intelligent native because he must sign the formularies of the Church of England, and yet remain- ing in that Church. After quoting the passage he said, 'So ho himself admits, that upon his principles, no one can be ordaimxl upon the present formularies of the
4
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
March 2, 1863.
Churcli of England ■without uttering a falsehood. ; and yet he himself continiies in the office.' He held that this concerned the spiritual welfare — the very existence of the Church of England, as she could not get candi- dates for Orders if their minds were poisoned at the fountain head. ' I am sure,' he. said, ' that the very existence of the Church of England depends upon the clergy and laity of the Church repudiating all sueli doctrines. We are founded upon the "Word of God Himself, and His words are our rock. When we leave that Rock, we liave no foundation. I am convinced that the straightforward, honest, practical mind of the people of England will never consent to have a clergy of hypocrites teaching from their pulpits what they do not believe in their hearts.' Archdeacon Honj- questioned the powers of the Hou.se, and thought that they would be in perpetual controversy, if they were to take up cases of heresy. The Dean of Canterbury, in seconding an amendment to the effect that the House respectfully request the Upper House to take counsel as to the wisest and most legal mode of proceeding, said, ' I am in agreement with Arch- deacon Denison with regard to the book itself, and with regard to the perilous position which we are in with respect to it ; and I also feel very much what was said by the mover and seconder of the amendment. I think the course proposed by Professor Browne is by far the best, for this reason — that if we take the course proposed by Archdeacon Denison, we ought to do a great deal more. We ought in this case to petition the Upper House for the appointment of a standing committee to consider books supposed to contain hereti- cal opinions. Then comes the question, is it desirable that Convocation sliould have such a committee? If we had, it would lead us into a course which, I think, the house woidd pause licfore it embarked upon, and that is, to liave an expurgatorial committee.' Dr. Jebb said that the two propositions in tliis book stated by Archdeacon Denison are at the root of all heresy, and would lead us, not to a state of deism, but to a state of utter atheism. If we are to hold the doctrines of this book, wo should soon doubt the existence of God himself. Therefore I contend that it is our duty as a synod to pronounce not an opinion, as it would be in the case of a private or an unauthoritative sentiment, but what is an official judgement on this book. Allu- ' sion has been made to the incompetency of Convocation to do so — that we are but imperfectly constituted. With all submission to those who use this argument, I contend that it has nothing to do with the case. Take the lowest a.spect. AVe are an assembly of clergymen, and even if we had no liigher authority, if we liad no recognised ecclesiastical constitution, but were a mere voluntary assembly, I think it would be al- most a shrinking from our duty not to express our opinion. And I mu.st be permitted to say it woiUd be sometliing like a desertion of our position. If the examination of questions of this sort is not part of the service we are bound to render to our Lord Jesus Clirist, whose name has been so directly assailed in this abominable publication — if this be not part of our duty, I do not know wliat our duty is. For my own part, I would rather see this Synod dissolved than that our time shoidd be taken up on what are, in compari- son, mere matters of detail. If we are to proceed with them after we have rejected such a matter as this, I shoidd not care about our meeting at all. I should
deem it paltry even to proceed with the question of the Episcopate if we were to allow a member of the Epis- copate not only to hold pernicious doctrines, but to indulge in the abnegation of Christianity. If we are deprived of the power of deciding on such questions, I should say the synod would be dead. It would be a deliberative assembly for the purpose of adjusting certain portions of the machine of the Church, while the Chui'ch had become a lifeless machine, without any fire within, or any principle of good in it ; and I should say that those details woidd be more mischievous to the Church than useful to it, because to the country we should appear to bo doing some business, when in point of fact that which was most essential we were leav- ing undone. Prof H. Browne did not think the subject one for the consideration of Convocation, or that Con- vocation would do any good in the matter. ' I think,' he said, ' it is a fallacy to suppose that the laity — the fathers of families, and the hard-handed mechanics, of whom so much has been said — are likely to attach much weight to our decision. Wliat they want to know is, whetlier these things which Bishop Colenso asserts are true or false. They want to know whether these arithmetical questions, which are just tho.se wliich they can understand, have any foundation, or whether it can be shown that they are in error; but they will not attend to the mere censure of 150 clergymen gathered together in the Jerusalem Chamber. The tone of the present day is not that of deference to the authority of tlic clergy. No doubt the individual clergyman, if ho has won the confidence of his people, will command great respect amongst them ; but the opinion of Convo- cation, as such, would not have the weight of a feather.' Archdeacon Denison, in his reply, referred to the statement of Professor Browne, concluding with great earnestness: 'One more word. I confess I listened with pain to what foil from Professor Browne about our being guided by the state of public opinion. Authority has been committed to the hands of the Church for the express purpose of the people being guided by it. "Eejirove, acbnonish, rebuke, vrith all authority; let no man despise thee." I listened, therefore, with pain to hear it said there was a sort of revolt against the opinion of the Church on the part of the public. If there be, that is the reason to apply ourselves to correct that feeling. It is the boast of the Church of England that she has an open Bible ; but it was never meant by that to say that the Bible was open for any sacrilegious person, much less a Bishop of the Church, to damage it by misrepresen- tation, to tear out its leaves, to nuitilate it, to desecrate what was left, and then to say that those who object to what is stated must refute it. I am for doing that which is our duty. I am for maintaining that trust which God has committed to us, and for upholding that faith which He has intrusted to our keeping. I am going to say if any man asserts such things as are ass^ted in this book — anathema esto — ("No, no ! ") — let him be put away. I am using the word anathema in its true sense, and those who say "No!" will, I am sure recollect the Articles of our own Church : "And if any man believe not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema inaranaiha." I desire not to revive anything that savours of Romish practices, but I am not prepared to give up what the Church has borne testimony to herself I say that we rejoice in this open Bible — the book of God's Word
MARcn 2, 1803.
WORK OF THE CIIRISTLVX CHURCH.
5
to be laid before God's people ; but if its leaves are to be torn out, if its moaning is to be perverted and de- stroyed, and that by a bishop of our Church, and we, the Synod of the Province of Canterbury, are to hold our peace and say nothing, then, although I never have been one who despaired of the Church, I should fold my hands and bow my head, and go forth from this room, feeling that it was impossible anything I could ever again do here would have the blessing of God upon it.
The motion was carried by a large majority. On its being brought before the Upper House, the Bishop of London, after referring to the wide-spread doubts as to the hi.itoric accuracy of the books of the Old Testa- ment, said:— 'They have to deal justly with the author of the book. They have to deal as men ought to deal with it who are zealous for the maintenance of that truth which tlie Church has handed down, and they have also very carefully to consider what the effects of this particular mode of dealing with it may be upon those young men who more or less sympathise, if not with the author of this book, yet with certain opinions which are supposed to have more or less connection with the opinions of the author of this book. The I clergy generally, some of them at least, may be not I unlikely — I say it with the decjjest respect — to allow j their zeal to get the better of their discretion in their I desire to drive away all erroneous and strange doctrine. I To illustrate what I moan, I would look for a moment j to that best way of driving away eiToneous and strange doctrine — namely, by sound argument which sliall con- fute the gainsayers. Now, it never would do to li t the clergy generally tIirough(jut the whole kingdom sup- pose that it was the duty of every one of them to plunge into argiiment because they are bound to drive away all erroneous and strange doctrine, to intro- duce into their pulpits discussions on very intricate unsettled questions, respecting which it may often turn out that, not from any lack of strength in the cause, but from lack of experience or wisdom in the advocate, tlie worse side may appear to have the better of the argument. It was only yesterday that I received a packet containing a number of advertise- ments, selected from the uewsjiapers, of sermons against Bisliop Colenso's book, whicli were to be had for a moderate .sum, to be preaclied in the various pulpits ] throughout the kingdom. Of course this is a mere 1 insult to the clergy, and very probably the advertise- ments were inserted in the new.spapers by some person ! who had no such .'icrmons to dispose of, but who wished to represent the clergy in an invidious light. But .still it points to an obvious danger that persons not well qualified for the office may think it necessary to step forth from the ranks, when their .strength is not equal to the office of champion which they choose for them- j selves. I'orlunately in this matter there is a distinct j spliero in \ihich all our clergy may employ themselves for the good of the people, in answering dangerous opinions, whieli are likely to be much discussed througli- out the Chnrcli. For instance, with regard to this book, the antidote to it wliich is most wanted is the upholding of the positive proofs of the genuineness and autlienticity and insjiii-ation of tile Sacred Volume, which may well be brought forward without much con- troversy, and without the sliglitest mention of the book against wliieh they are directed. To build up tlieir people in their lioly failh, to give them that posi-
tive part of the Christian faith that shows the i Di^-ine Spirit breathing through the Bible — such arguments may bo treated incidentally by all our clergy, but it would be very much to be deprecated if uninformed and untrained persons were to think it their duty to plungo into direct controversy. He referred to the inconvenience which might be occa- sioned by the case coming before the Archbishop, after- wards as judge, if it were now prejudiced, and concluded by saying, that while he thought it might be right for j the heads of the Church temperately and quietly to | intimate that they were alive to the danger of the book, | being anxious to discourage all unnecessary excitement, all rash treatment of the question at issue, and, above all, any petty and vexatious annoyance of the author of the book, which could only result in greatly enlisting the sympathies of the country on his side, he must oppose the granting of the prayer of the address. ' I wish,' he said, 'to express an anxious hope and expec- tation, that whatever is done may be so done as to allay the natural anxiety of the country — that we shall consider tenderly the feelings of devout men, who find their old and most cherished opinions rudely assailed, while, on the other hand, we ]>y no means overlook or undervalue the anxious longings of persons of unsettled mind.'
The Bishop of St. David's supported the Bishop of London's view, but the other Bishops present consi- dered that the request sliould be granted, and the Lower House was instructed accordingly, the Arch- bishop of Canterbury eoneuning cordially with the i majoritj'. The Bishop of Oxford was absent tlirough \ illness.
Various other matters, including the Extension of ^ the Episcopate, Convocation Keform, Foreign Chap- i laincies, and Continental Churches, were brought be- fore the Convocation.
Dr. Pusey, Dr. Heui-tley, and Dr. Ogilvie, Professors of Divinity at Oxford, have instituted a prosecution against their brother Professor, Mr. Jowett, for his con- tribution to the Essai/s and Beviews. The case is at present before the Vice-Chancellor's Court. Three objections have been tendered ; that the Court has no jurisdiction in matters merely spiritual, that it has no proper machinery for a theological prosecution, and that it has no jurisdiction over a Regius Professor. Other objections of a more sweeping character have been made Ijy onlookers, and an article in the Times has drawn from Dr. Pusey a vindication of his conduct. He denies that he has any <listrust of the power of truth to abide the most searching enquiry. He affirms that the question is altogether different. 'It is true that God's truth will stand ; but it is true also that individuals, to their ov. ii great loss, are led away by their teachers from it.' He .says that a claim has been j made to subscribe the formularies in senses which they ' will not bear ; that Professor Jowett has contr.nvened the teaching of the Cliurch of England on great and | central truth.«i, yet is recognised as its University | teaclier ; that such contradiction is dangerous and intolerable. He protests that ho was bound to the prose<'ution by his duty 'to God, to the Church, .ind to the souls of men ;' that the Chancellor's Court was the only Cowt open. To tliis letter Mr. Maurice replied, ' as a clergyman who has no theological sympathy with either the Professor of Greek or Professor of
6
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
Maech 2, 1803,
Hebrew.' The claim to subscribe the formularies in a uon-natural sense was made, he says, not by Mr. Jowett but ' in the 90th tract of a series to which Dr. Pusey was a principal contributor.' He distrusts Mr. Jowott's theological teaching ; he distrusts Dr. Pusey's ; but he thinks both should be allowed to work together ; that if either of these men should try to silence the other aU Oxford should resist him. Dr. Pusey says he has appealed ' to the majesty of justice ; ' to him it seems he has appealed to ' a Court for the adjudication of small debts.' He conceives that in this prosecution, and in the previous proceedings about Mr. Jowett's salary, Dr. Pusey and his friends have sinned against the ordinary obligations between man and man. Dr. Pusey, in a short and emphatic rejoinder, maintains that neither he nor Dr. Newman ever sanctioned the claim to non-natural interpretation ; that it was not put forth in tract 90, but only on occasion of tract 90 ; that he has alwaj-s subscribed the Articles in their literal, grammatical sense. For himself, on two pre- vious occasions he had demanded that theological charges against him should be brought to a legal issue. He protests against any effort to damage the pro- secution by raising the odium thcologicmn against the prosecutors. If he is intolerant he sins in company with liis opponents; it is a question of degi-ee. ' They would allow Dr. Priestly or Channing to be clergy of the English Churcli, only not Woolston or Hume.' As for the Court, it is the only approach to the highest legal Court in tlie land. Here the correspondence closes. In any case an appeal from the Oxford Court is inevitable.
There has been a very serious controversy among the Congregationalists regarding the last of the series of Congregational lectures, by Professor Godmn, of New College. The work has been severely criticised, and the feeUng is so strong against it in many quarters, from an impression tliat, in some of the fundamental doctrines of oiu" common faith, Dr. Godwin is defective, if not positively erroneous, that the council of the college have had to take up the subject, and deal with it ; but they have decided by a majority that there is notliing in tlio book whicli would warrant them in con- cluding that its autlior sliould be either censured or dismissed.
An appeal is pending in the Jiidicial Committee of the Privy Council. The appellant is the Eev. W. Long, of Cape Town, who was suspended and deprived of his benefice by tlie Bishop of Cape Town. The result will, it is expected, determine the powers of Dr. Graj', as Metropolitan of South Africa, and sliow whether he can proceed in the case of Dr. Colenso. The result is therefore looked for witli much interest.
A meeting of the Sunday Pest Association took place recently in the lioard-room of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, 79, Pall-mall, — His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury in the chair. The fol- lowing noblemen and gentlemen were present: — His Grace the Duke of Marlborough, the Right Hon. Lord Chelmsford, the Eight Eev. the Lord Bishop of London, the Bishop of Winchester, the Bishop of Lincoln, the Bishop of St. A.saph ; Lord Claude Hamilton, M.P., Sir Brook Bridges, Bart, M.P., Art hiu- Mills, Esq., M.P., Thomas Webster, Esq., the Rev. Canon Jennings, Rev. J. Linjrham, Eev. J. F. Kempc, the Eev. J. Buck, the Eev. J. Evans, the Rev. .:Vlfi'ed Jones, Secretar}-, and
others. The object of the meeting was to consider whether the BUI of the Sunday Rest Central Committee of Tradesmen (who were also present) entitled ' Selling, Hawking, Crying, and Delivering Goods on tlie Lord's- day Bill,' should be introduced into the House of Com- mons this session. The opinion of the meeting was adverse to its introduction into the House of Commons without a good pro.spect of success, and it was resolved to ascertain tlie feeling of members, and of the country generally, vith a view to its speedy introduction, for it was felt by all that the measure ought to be passed as a matter of justice to tradesmen who have been suffer- ing great hardship on account of a very small minority of about 10 per cent., who perseveringly defy the law. The Sunday Rest Association was formed to help the overworked Shopkeepers and their assistants to gain their civil right to rest on the day of rest.
The Eomau Catholic Tablet says : — ' We are glad to be able to announce that the Prison Chaplains Question is making pi-ogi-ess. On Wednesday, Mr. Pope Hen- nessy communicated to Canon Morris, the Secretary of the Prison Committee, the result of liis interview with the Home SocTetary. The Government, it appears, will bring in a Bill early in the Session. This Bill will be dra\TO in accordance with the principle laid down by Sir George Grey and Mr. Henley in the debate on the Bill brought in on behalf of the Committee last year. It will deal with the case of the Dissenters, as well as that of the Catholics ; and its principal provi- sions, we believe, will be, — first, authorising the visiting justices of county prisons to appoint Chaplains of denominations other than the Established Church, whenever the prisoners of any particular denomination reach a certain nimiber ; secondly, empowering the justices to pay such chaplains out of the county rates; thirdly, repealing so much of tlie old Prisons' Act as made it the duty of the Protestant chaplain of each prison to visit all tlie prisoners, without distinction of creed; and, fourthly, it will compel the prison author- ities to keep a Creed Register.'
The two new bishops for Africa, the Eev. W. G. Tozer, of St. John's College, Oxford, and the Rev. Edward Twells, of St. Peter's College, Cambridge, late incumbent of St. John's, Hammersmith, have been con- secrated in Westminster Abbey, and proceed imme- diately to their destinations.
The Speaker has appointed Mr. Charles Merivale, rector of Lawford, in Essex, and author of 'The History of the Eomans under the Empire,' to be Chaplain to the House of Commons, in the place of the late lamented Archdeacon Drnry. His brother, Mr. Herman Meri- vale, is Under-Secretarv- for the Colonies.
On Thursday, February 5, Mr. Samuel J. Whitmee was ordained to the work of a Christian missionary in connection with the London Missionarj' Society. The service was held in East Parade Chapel, Leeds, and was very numerously attended.
At the annual meeting of the Yoiuig Men's Chris- tian Association, it was stated in the report that 206 members had been added in the past year. Notice was taken of the meeting of delegates in the summer. The finances were stated to be in a healthy condition ; the income of the year having been 4,000/.
On the invitation of the National Club, a conversa- zione was recently held to consider the subject of the dwellings of the poor. Much conversation took place. Dr. Lankester, Coroner for London, drew attention to
March 2, 1863.
WORK OF THE CIIRISXrAX CIIURCH.
7
the great evil arising from the turning of old dwellings intended for one family, into residences for six or seven, or even twenty families. Mr. Roberts, arcliitect of many of the model-lodging house.s, gave examples of cottages for the poor yielding' 3|, 4, 6, and even 6 and 7 per cent. He felt that builders had not done their duty in this matter. The speakers were, besides the Bishop of London, ' the Earl of Shaftesbury, Lord Ebury, Dr. Gumming, the Hon. Artljur Kinnaird, M.P.
The Ijhrth British Review gives the following statis- tics of the cost of crime in England for 1862, the materials having been furnished by the Parliamentary volume of Judicial Statistics : — Police and constabidary salaries and ex- penses £1,580.000
Outlay in local prisons .... 430,000 Vote for convict establishments at home and
abroad 465,000
Oiitlay for reformatories .... 50,000 Proportion of judges' salaries, and inciden- tal expenses 35,000
Supposed real value of prisoners' labour (a mere estimate) . 160,000
£2,400,000
Maintenance of 90,800 registered thieves, receivers, tramps, &c., known or confi- dently believed to be \\wvag at large by crime and pilfering (at £30 a head, the prison cost, probably it is much more), say 2,700,000
£5,100,000
There is nothing new or interesting in the Lenten Pastorals of the Romish bishops in Ireland; they have become political and social manifestoes ; but the narrowness and iteration of their political and social creed, present no features of interest. Denunciation of landlords, laws for the consumption of fish, eggs, and flesh, abhorrence of tlie Model Schools of the National Board, exhortations to charity, abuse of Freemasons, and sympathy with the Pope, are thrown together in these addresses without regard to sense or propriety.
The Churc'n of Ireland has sustained a serious loss in the death of one of its most devoted ministers, the Rev. Dr. Floury. For twenty years he has been identi- fied with its activity and progress; and borne the esteem of all Christians by his noble catholicity.
The Ocnoral Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church held its adjourned mo#ting on the 3rd inst. In October lust, it will be remomberrd, the Synod, after a good deal of keen discussion, agr<'cd to continue the Scotch communion office in all the congregations using it, unless and until tlio incumbent and a majority of the communicants expressed a wi.sh for the introduction of tlie P^nglish so:-vice ; it being provided that the English Book of Common Prayer should be used in all new congregations which might be formed. This reso- lution wiis only a)iproved iis a t(>mporary arrangement, and the strong opposition wliich it has since encountered, chiefly in the North, lias made it necessary for the Synod to agree to a compromise. Accordingly, after ten days' anxious discussion, they liave now finallv
determined that new congregations shall be at liberty to use the Scotch communion office, if a majority of the applicants express to tlr Pisnop tlieir desire for it. This permis.sion is qualified by a somewhat singular proviso, to tlie oflFect that, if it appears to the Bishop that undue influence has been exercised in any appli- cation for the use of the Scotch office, it shall be in his power to refuse such application, subject to an appeal to the Episcopal Synod. At all consecrations, ordina- tions, and synods the communion office of the Book of Common Prayer is to be used ; and any congregation may discontinue the use of the Scotch office as soon as the incumbent and a majority of the congregation desire to change.
The accounts and receipts for Home and Foreign Missions, for the year 1862, of the United Presbyterian Church, have just been published, and it is rather re- markable that, notwithstanding the severe distress that has been experienced in various parts of the country, the amount received is larger than during any former year. The following is an abstract ; — Received for Foreign Missions, 21,698A Is. \0\d. ; for home opera- tions, 7,092/. lis. 0\d. ; Church extension and supple- ments, 1,552/. 185. 2d. ; education of missionaries' children, 619/. Is. 6(Z. Amount in 1862, 30,962/. 18s. Id. In round numbers it may be stated to be thirty-one thousand pounds sterling which has been received by the treasurer of the Church in Edinburgh, and this large sum is altogether separate and distinct from the suras raised by the varioiLs churches for church building and payment of their own pastors.
There are several excellent institutions in Edinburgh, established for the purpose of providing a home to female domestic servants, when out of place, and intro- ducing them to respectable employers. One of them, ' The Scottish Register and Home Institution for Do- mestic Servants,' has held its eighth annual meeting, under the presidency of the Lord Provost. The appli- cations for servants numbered during the year 7,187, and about half of that number obtained situations through the medium of the institution. The new ap- plications of servants for registration was nearly 2,000, being about 100 more than la.st year, and showing that this useful class of the commimity are becoming more sensible of the benefits of such institutions. 551 lodgers had been received into the Home during the year. The receipts for the year liad been £623 18s., and the expenditure a few shillings less.
The annual meeting of the Glasgow Industrial and Reformatory School Society was aLso held this month. This institution diffi^rs from the House of Refuge in respect that it is not intended for youths convicted of crime, but for those who are in danger of becoming so. Unlike the House of Refuge, which Los tlie benefit of a local assessment, it is supixirted by voluntarj- subscrip- tion. In the charact<>r of its moral, educational, and industrial training, it is, liowever, the counteqiart of the institution above noticed. The institution has recently been enlarged for the purpose of proriding sleeping accommodation for tlie j-outlis whom it would not be safe to lodge in the homes of their relations ; and at present 86 boys and 54 girls are recei\-ing the benefits of the institution.
Tlie annual meeting of the Edinburgh Night Asylum for the Homeless, was held on the same day. This institution has now been in operation for twenty- two 3-(Mrs, during which period 286,092 nights' lodgings
WORK OF THE CIIIIISTIAN CIIUKCII.
Maeoh 2, 1803.
have been afforded to a very destitute class of the popu- j lation. During the past year, shelter and relief have been afforded to 6,858 persons, of whom 933 belonged to the city and county of Edinburgh, 3,!)57 to Scotch counties, and 2,368 to England, Ireland, and foreign parts ; and these had 14,051 nights' lodgings, showing, on an average, a little above two nights to each person. This "aggregate gives an average of thii-ty-eight persons lodged per night, being an increase of seven persons per night more than that of the preceding year. Early in the spring of last j'ear, the directors were indiiced, from the ample funds placed in their hands, to allow, in addition to the morning meal of porridge and milk, a penny roll of bread to lie given to each adult, and half the quantity to children, on their leaving the Asj-lum in the morning.
Lord Jerviswoode presided at the annual meeting of the Edinburgh Industrial Home for Fallen "Women. This institution now occupies improved jircmises nt Libberton, two miles out of towa. Dm-ing the year 1862, the number of females received into the Home was 38 ; and there were resident at 31st December 1861, 29 — making the wliole number diiring tlie year 1862, 67. Of these there have been sent to service or to work, 8 ; taken home by their relatives, 3 ; sent to Toronto, Upper Canada, 4 ; left bj- their own desire, 20 ; appointed laundress to the institution, 1 ; sent to Poor's House, Leith, 1— in all 37, thus leaving 30 in the Home at 31st December, 1862. Of those who have gone to service or to work, the Ladies' Committee continue to t;ike what oversight they can ; and they report that, on the whole, their conduct has been satifactory to their em- ployers, and has borne evidence of the advantage de- rived by them from the training in the institution. Those who were sent to Toronto in April last were all, immediatel}- on their arrival at their destination, en- gaged as domestic servants ; and, after being a short time in Toronto, the committee received tidings that they were doing well. The committee have reason to believe that, in the cases of manj- of those who have left the Home for situations and otherwise, pei-manent good, in a religious and moral point of view, has been efFected, and they are now, in their several spheres, useful members of society. The income for the present year was 1,079/.
The annual meeting of the Sabbath Alliance of Scot- land was held in Edinburgh on the 2nd instant. Major- General Walker occupied the chair, and the principal speakers were the Rev. Mr. Robert.'-on, of New Grej'- friars;the Rev. Profes,sor McMichael, Dunfermline; the Rev. James Dodd.s, Dunbar; and the Rev. Mr. Frazer, of Paisley. The report referred to the efforts put forth by the executive of the Alliance for the purpose of suppressing or discouraging unnecessar}- labour and amusement on the Lord's day. Their remonstrances against the opening of the Edinburgh Botanic Gardens had been so far successful that no order had yet been given to admit the public on Sundays, but the com- mittee coidd not promise the country an immunity from this threatened desecration. On the contrary, there was reason to apprehend, from the ambiguous conduct of the Lords of the Treasury, that they were not unwilling to grant the prayer of the petitioners who asked for the liberty of entering the Gardens on Sunday. It is believed that another attempt will be made in this direction, as soon as the summer weather approaches. The Alliance has also been instrumental in putting an
end to a system of excursion traffic on one of the rail- ways, by which return passengers had the option of travelling on Simdays on the home journey ; and have been enabled to check, in some degree, the growing evil of Sunday shop traffic. Four master bakers in Edin- bm-gh, as well as others elsewhere, had, it was reported, wrought, with complete succes,«, a new plan of baking, by which their joiirneymen and apprentices were entirely relieved from .Sunday work ; and it was fully expected that this system would spread. On the other hand, all the efforts of the Alliance have been inadequate to stop or even diminish the unnecessary cab traffic; although thej' obtained the introduction into the General Police Bill of Scotland, of a clause empowering the magistrates to license six-day cabs, and hoped to gain thereby an im- portant advantage in dealing ■B'ith this question in the future. The Alliance had entirely failed to obtain from the Fishery Board any promise that they would exert the powers with which they were legally intrusted for preventing the sailing of boats to the fishing-ground on Sabbath afternoon.
The Glasgow Free Church Building Society has held its annual meeting, and it was reported that, since it commenced operations, it has raised 15,379/. 4.'!. 6rf., with which sum it has ver}' largely contributed to tlie erection or purchase of nine or ten mission churches..
The religious awakening in Shetland, by latest ac- counts, continues to extend and deepen. In general, the demeanour of the enquirers has been most decorous ; but in some of the outlying districts there has been a good deal of nervous excitement and physical prostration. Mr. Brownlow North has had a fortnight's evange- listic work in Aberdeen. The meetings — one of which was presided over by the Earl of Kintore — have all been densely crowded, although held in the largest churches and halls in the city. Hundreds had nightly to be refused admission, many of whom came from long dis- tances by rail ; some even as fiu- as from Keith, fifty miles off. A deep impression is said to have been pro- duced upon the hear(>rs. A series of evangelistic ser- vices has also been conducted in the city of Perth, by ministers of different denominations.
The subject of Christian union has been kept very prominently before the public mind of Scotland during the past month. First, there was a meeting in Paisley of an association which has now existed for five years, the object of which is to promote union between the three disestablished Presbyterian denominations re- presented in the to\m — the Free Church, United Pres- byterian Church, and Reformed Presbyterian Church. Tliis association aims at realising its object, not so much by organi-'cd agitation as by frequent meetings for devotional exercises, and by conferences about their differences, and about the best means of evanlig-esing the irreligious masses of the community among whom they dwell. Some three or four years ago, a more public exhibition of a desire for union was made by the pu'olication of a manifesto, signed by many of the most influential laymen of the Free and United Prcs- bj-terian churches ; but this movement was quickly stopped by some of the Church Courts, before it had acquired sufficient momentum to withstand the spirit of ecclesiastici.sra. The matter has ripened since that time, and the report of the Paisley meeting has given a sensible impulse to the desire for union, or at least to the expression of that desire. At most of the annual congregational meetings of the
Makcu 2, 186!;.
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
9
Free and United Presbyterian churches •which have since been held, the question of union between these two denominations lias formed the principal topic, and in eveiy case the proposal has received the hearty concurrence of the speakers and the cordial appro- bation of the audience. Almost simultaneously the Eev. Dr. Cairns, of Berwick, delivered at Newcastle a speech in favour of the union of the two great non- ,
established denominations of Scotland, as preparatory to a union between the English Presbyterian Church and the United Presbyterian Church in England. The preparedness of these two bodies for union was called in question by a Free Church minister and a United Pres})yterian elder, in two Edinburgh new.spapers ; and Dr. Cairns, in reply to one of these correspondents, repeats his sentiments with still greater emphasi.s.
THE CONTINENT.
FRANCE.
Two subjects are calling out tlie best feelings of the nation and uniting every fraction of party in one com- mon interest, — Poland without and the state of our manufacturing districts within. The former has excited one intense indignant cry of outraged humanity, and the latter has touched the chord of universal sympathy, which manifests itself in increased eagerness to send relief. All churches join to gather fraternal offerings ; the Protestant sermons in Paris produced about 30,000 francs ; this was besides every one's private donations made previously through otiier cliannels. The liberal journals suggested that every workman, clerk, or other officer should give one day's salary ; the Siich alone has received in this way 200,000 francs. Every kind of suggestion has been made to procure money, some dance, some sing, some gamble ; certain men of mind and talent proposed a series of impronng lectures in Herz's concert-room, and requested authorisation thereto ; the Prefect of Police, haring consulted the Minister of Puljlic Instruction, declined, thereby giving, together with the Ministers witliout portfolio in par- liament, a most interesting example of scholars more circumspect than their master !
Men tliere were, simple hearts, who did not take the two speeches of the master as detached facts ; some rejoiced at the apparent satisfaction given to the clericals in the speech to the chambers, and some, on the other hand, at the very liberal hopes held out in the speech to the exliibitionists. But when a slight increase of freedom is asked for, the ministers manifest astonislinient that we are not .satiated with what we have got, and, taking a hint from Pio Nono, cry Non possumu.i! A woful disappointment to many!
Meanwhile, let me endeavour to characterise in few words our present religious state. Ours is a seetliing time ; cverv current opinion is cast into the crucible ; the mass of spectators stand around, some with the eager glance of curiosity ; some in agony of suspense ; some, with averted eyes, resolving, come what may, to deem their spurious coin jjure gold ; wliile here and there oiu; looks on witli steady gaze, secure that what bears his Father's impress luu.st stand the test. Of the mass of curious ones, to wliom faith is unknown, it has been said by a Catholic, well ver.sed in the questions of the time, 'They acknowledge religion in general to be necessar}', but they believe that while a new one would be ridiculous, the existing one is superannuated, and, consequently, religion is in their eyes at once indi.spen- snble and inipractiealile.' And so they wait to see what will emerge from the crucible, while to all intents they bow down to the mammon of unrighteousness, science, or wealth. To the anxious ones brought up in the faitli
of the church of Pome, who wish to preserve it while they love liberty, and who intensely long to see the two united, the su.spense is agony ; Gallieanism to them seems simk under ultramontanist outrage, and the partisans of liberty among sincere Catholics to be counted one by one. The noisy ones, who hug their mcdioeval idols, are hurrj-ing on the church of Rome to a more energetic affirmation of her infallibility than ever, and a more obstinate resistance to the principles of modern society ; while Rome remains (to use the words of a well-known statesman) 'an antiquated phan- tom, who neither understands nor loves modern civili- sation, and yet pretends to grasp it.' And yet, extremes meet. The follovring lines are from a decidedly demo- cratical apologi.st of liberty of conscience : ' At other epochs, a Constantine, a Charlemagne, under the pres- sure of circumstances, have usurped the Spiritual government. We incline to believe that there is some- thing analogous in the present European tendency, and that governments, insomuch as they advance with public opinion, will be more and more forced to substitute themselves for the constituted spiritual authority, which ever3nnhere is an obstacle to the union of nations and creeds, and the spirit of tolerance and charity which becomes a habit and aspiration of the age.'
The seething in the Protestant circles is no less in- tense for being internal and doctrinal. Our French reformation has passed tlirough her heroic, militant, and theological periods : she has had her ages of dis- persion and exliaustinn, and her years of mere secular machinerj-. She has had her times of refreshing, or what we are accustomed to call her revival, which commenced here, as elsewhere, from sparks ignited by the quiet Morarian and zealous Metliodist in the south, and by Scotch and Swiss influence in the north. In- dividual awakening soon produced collective agency, and societies were formed ; the Protestant Bible, Society, the Tract Society, the Paris Missionary Socitti/, the Primary School Society, sprang up and prospered. In- dependent churches ■\\( re formed, and independent societies, and, after a first recoil, the two parties united to provoke one another to love and to good works. Thus we have the French and Foreign liilih Society, the Kvavyeiical Soci(ty, the Central Society for rousing slumbering Protestants, the Society for scekinij out dis- Himinatcd Protestants. (lie Sunday-School Union, the Toulouse Book Society, and many others. Old dead orthodoxy was roused, the Gospel of a living Christ took tlie place of lifeless forms, and loving works were the consequence. Thus orphan institutions, .schools, a.sylums for the unprotected, destitute, fallen, sick, infirm ; ns.so- ciations,— some to aid those near at hand, and some to help the missionaries abroad — have .sprung into exist-
10
ence, each with its bright individual stamp of character, which contrasts strikingly with the works of similar nature among the organised corporations of Home. Journals weekly and monthlj' have multiplied, and car- ried news of the work of God into all our churches. The Protestant press has been increasingly active, and though too much time and monej' have been spent on translations, many of these, together with more original works, are carrjang God's truth far and wide. Tliis year has presented us with a long-Nrished for boon : a Protestant Journal, authorised to admit political questions ; and the journal which has obtained this envied license, is the Krvue Chreiienne, the most able of our Christian periodicals, and the one most read beyond our immediate circle.
But coidd the enemy leave God's children to pursue their work in peace ? No ! The antagonism of those over whom the refreshing spirit passed without reviving them had ever been intense, sometimes manifested by inert resistance and absence of life, and often by bitter opposition. Dead rationalism and dead orthodox}- are now dying out, and from their embers has sprung the spirit, not of enquiry, but of criticism, calling in ques- tion the very elements of Christianity. Mass-worship — call it intellect, conscience, or what they will — is substituted for the supremacy of the word of the Lord, morality for the atonement, ever3-thing but the name is dropped out of Christianity. The activitj- of this faction, whicli remains in the Protestant Church, is very great, and the siibtlety of its teaching such, that it not only remains, but increases, and leavens the mass far and wide. It influences the general public bj- the daily political paper, Lc Temps, and the Brvue Ger- manique ; it influences the Protestant Church by the Strashurg Review and the Paris Lien ; while the Disciple de Jhus- Christ, imd Pi^td-Chariie, bringdown to the less learned Protestants deep shades of the same doctrine. The society called FUjiivers Lib^rahin'PaTis has just published the version of Geneva in a cheap form, omitting, however, the very objectionable notes.
The enemy, while undermining from wthin, is no less active from without. Rome loses no opportunity of counteracting our work, of calumniating it, and of calling in administrative opposition wherever feasible. And, indeed, to see the expansion of Protestantism in France, we have but to cast our eye over the report for the year of the Frangois de Sales Association, in which eight compressed pages detail the expenditure of above 100,000 francs in rescuing straying Catholics, and creating schools and Viirious institutions in opposition to ours. Mgr. de Segur was less bitter in his pulpit oration on the 29th of January, before a numerous auditory, than he had been hitherto. But it will not siicceed, for one English Calvin (erroneously reported to be a descendant of the Reformer, whose children all died young), who was received with great ceremony into the Romisli Church in Paris, we can count hundreds of Romanists embracing the doctrines of the Reformation. Apropos of Englishmen, let me quote Pio Nono's defi- nition of Pusej-ites : ' They are church bells calling others to 7nnss without coming in themselves ! ' It seems that we are pri\-ileged to be the nation in which there are the most Jesuits. Out of 7,231, there are 2.203 in France ; Spain comes next in rank, with 742 ; and Belgium third, ^vith 542 ; j'ou have 265 in England, and 126 in Ireland.
Maech 2, 18G3.
There have been interesting conferences, or lectures, this winter, given by the Young Men's Christian Association in Paris. One has been on Geology, and others on the Principles of the Reformation, both subjects ably treated in a thoroughly Christian point of view. This interesting as.sociation prospers.
The work of Paris evangelisation wants hands ; everj- evangelist, whether a volunteer or salaried agent, is ovenvhelmed with the work ; doors stand open — some in the most unexpected places — and but httle opposi- tion from without. Frequently the question is put, whether the speaker is in league with the Pope ; and when he presents the Book which the Pope prohibits in Rome, they are satisfied and seize it gladly. One of the five evangelists, supported by the committee formed of various denominations, has brought fifty-seven per- sons to a saving knowledge of Christ forty-two of whom were Roman Catholics. We have two or tliree Bible-women at work.
The chtu-ch of Huismes has at length obtained the authorisation to open its chapel, closed for many years. The Government proposes to increase the stipend of the pastors of the National Protestant Church, 100 francs. The senate is being petitioned this j'ear by M. de Coninck to grant to the Reformed Church its legal right of holding its private sj-nod, composed of five consis- torial churches, as it cannot get its national synod.
On Thursday the 19th, the new Congregational Chapel was opened in Paris for English residents. It is the building in the Rue Royale formerly occupied by the Wesleyan Church (now removed to its own new- built place of worship, on the Boiilevard Malesherbes). This building, which has been newly decorated and altered, will hold between 200 and 300 hearers. The small congregation removes from the French chapel it has hitherto used in the Faubourg d'llonore. About fifty French and English bretliren of various churches were present ; the sermons were delivered by the Rev. George Smith, Secretai^ of the Congregational Union.
A new English church has been opened at Nice ; the Bishop of Gibraltar presided. It has been erected by voluntary contribution, and will seat 700.
Several interesting consecrations of young pastors have lately taken place in the Reformed Church.
Our intere.sting niissionarj- society has gone through a deep trial, in the forced return of the young mission- aries it had sent out two years ago to China. The wife of one of them, after fidfiUing heroically her arduous loving duties to the sick and dying around, was carried off by cholera, lea^'ing two babes. Her husband nursed his brother missionary through the same fearful dis- ease ; and after struggling in vain against the climate, they were compelled to return, though not without leaving traces of their mkission. The South African mission is prosperous : a missionary has been sent out to Senegal ; and M. Arbousset and his daughters and son-in-law have gone to Tahiti.
Our accounts from the province of Algiers are cheering. The church of God is steadily making progress. A Bible-woman is at work in the capital. At Constan- tine two libraries and three schools are in activity. The Algerian journals willingly insert articles on the benefits of the Reformation and the spread of the gospel. At the autumnal fair and Exhibition in Algiers, a colporteur hired a stall, and sold in one week 61
WORK OF THE CHEISTIAX CIIURCH.
March2,18G3. work OF TILE CHRISTIAN CliaiiCII. 11
Bibles, 43 Testaments, 92 Psalms, 605 Pentateuchs, and 149 books of the Toulouse Society. Last Novem- ber, Pastor Heim was publicly installed in the newly- created parish of Cherohell. A vast concourse of people was attracted, aud the authorities were present.
The universal Israelite Alliance formed in Paris in 1860 has not been idle during the past year. Committees of members liave been formed in Vienna, Berlin, and Am- sterdam. It has obtained promise of special uiformation respecting the Israelites of Persia, through the Italian embassj' sent on a scientific mission to that country ; similar promise "has been made to it by the French scientific missions to Cliina and Abyssinia. An appeal to join the alliance has been printed in Hebrew, to be circulated among foreign .Tows. It has founded a school at Petouan, and is about to establish one at Damascus. It has given publicity to several cases of persecution in Itiily, Russia, and elsewhere, especially that of Saratoflf, where its voice has been heard, and VeUetri, where it has not. Its committee-room is now open in Paris. Yoxir readers are aware that this alliance is entirely among Israelites as such, for the protection, improvement, and discovery of their dis- persed bretlireii, and promises to be a bond of union for them all over the world. "Who will not bid them God speed, and hope that it may be the first symptom of the glorious consummation of Ezekiel xixvii ?
A petition, covered with about 30,000 signatures of ladies of France, is being sent to the Queen of Spain, for the liberation of Matamoros, and our other brethren in bonds. Many Roman Catholics have eagerly signed it. An interesting meeting was held in Paris on the subject, in wliich details were given that prudence forbids to publish; it is, however, a fact, that the gospel continues to advance there, and that hearts are prepared to receive it by the attention tliat the pei-se- cutions excite.
Paris, Fd). 1863.
A few words on the work of the Deaconesses of Stras- bourg— a valuable institution, and one of the most pros- perous. They are taken from the twentieth Report of the establLshraent, which has just appeared. The end the dea- conesses have in view is thus expressed in the second Ar- ticle of their Regulations : ' To afford to Christian women who wish to devote themselves to the service of the lord, the means of fitting themselves to become sick mtrses ; to act as overseers in prisons, in refuges, homos, or any other charitable institutions which may require their services.' The total number of sister."; who at present labour in the work, is ninety-five : seventeen arc em- ployed in the Maison de Sant<S at Strasbourg; the Maison do Reti-aite occupies thirteen ; nine are engaged in various educational establishments in Strasbourg; one in the Crichc for infants ; two in the Home for Servants; tour in the Reformatory; and two in the Refuge ; in all forty-two in Strasbourg.
Fifty-three sisters arc employed in different stations elsewhere. One at the Hopital Evangnliquo of Ri- benuviUi; four at the Hopital Chenal of the Marie-aux Mines ; five at Colmar, of whom one is at the Maison de Sant6 one employed in visiting the sick at their own homes, and two in the Home for Servants ; three at- Guebwiller— of whom one is at the Hopital Evangelique, one at the infant school, and one emjiloyed in visiting the sick Protestantfl.
Mulhausen is, next to Strasbourg, the great centre of activity of the deaconesses : fifteen arc employed in the large hospital of this town, and ten y\»it the sick in their own homes One is at lUzaeh, near Mulhausen ; and three are at the Hospital of Montbeliard (Doubs), where their multiplied exertions hardly suffice for the number of sick under their care. Neufchatel, in Switzer- land, has also laid claim to the services of the Strasbourg deaconesses : three are at the Hopital Bourgeois, and make domiciliary visits, and six are at the Hopital- Pourtales.
This short sketch suffices to .show the activity and importance of this establishment, which continues to receive incessant applications for sisters whom it cannot supplj'. This work owes its present prosperity iji a special manner to the indefatigable and devoted direc- tion of Pasteur Haerter.
South of France, Feb. 1863.
BELGIUM.
Two great parties divide between themselves the political and even religious influence — the Catholic party and the Liberal, or, as it is also called, Free- mason party. These two parties are continually, and sometimes violently, striving for the direction of the political, and even the administrative, affairs of the country. In the years which followed the Revolution of 1830, they seemed not to be conscious of the anta- gonism which was to separate them, and to make of them two adversaries who could never be reconciled.
In order to understand the leading questions on which they differ, it will be necessary to say a few words regarding the origin and the history of these two parties.
When the National Congress made the Charter in 1830, which was accepted by the nation in 1831, these two parties existed already as two opposite tendencies. They made each other very remarkable reciprocal concessions, which induced them to make a very bberal Cliarter.
The Freemasons' party, not wisliing to be obliged to go to mass, or to confess, asked for religious indi- vidual liberty.
The party of the Clergy asked earnestly for the independence of Uio Church. The result of this was, that liberty of the conscience, and liberty of worship, and the entire independence of the churches, even of those supported by the state, were clearly and formally gxiaranteed by the Constitution.
The supporters of the Romish Church and the friends of liberty were interested alike in the right of associa- tion. This was a most important point for the Jesuits and the other Romi.sh confreries. The liberty of asso- ciation, and consequently the right of public and private meetings, were clearly and formally inscribed in the charter.
The liberty of the press was most earnestly claimed by the Freemasons' party, and the liberty of teaching by the friends of the Jesuits, who well foresaw, that hrhrr- the state could establish a complete system of national education, the celebrated company of Loyola, assisted by tlieir affiliates of all order's, would have got the entire hold of ]niblie instruction. The liberty of the press and the liberty of teaching were thus truly guaranteed by tlie charter. In this way these four
12
AVOEK OF THE CIIHISTIAN CHURCH.
Makch 2, 18G.3.
fundamental libertiej;, wliieh are the soiiree of all the others, and of all social progress, made the charter of Belgium the most liberal in Europe.
In acting thus the two parties thought that they had made an indissoluble covenant of peace. They looked at the future without any anxiety. The representatives of the Clergy in the Congress declared with emphasis that they wanted liberty, en iout et pour iovs (in all and for all). The Liljcrals put all confidence in tliis declaration ; the latter, on their side, professed a thorough attachment to the Church of Eome. The Romish party trusted to this profession.
It is easily to be understood, tliat during several years these two parties thought they were merely separated by some nuances of opinions. But the truly famous ene3'cHcal letter of Gregory XVI., wliich came soon to fulminate against all these liberties, as a pro- duction of hellish powers, roused the two parties from their illusions. The liberal party gradually saw that the high clergy gave le mot d'ordrc to their leaders, for the purpose of confiscating all liberty in their favour.
From another side the Catholic party soon found out that the Freemasons would obey the Church only in as far a.s they judged right, and did not care for her interest, but in as far as their own would not BuflFer.
The Catholic party, always preoccupied by regard for the interest and the privileges of the Church, wanted to turn everj-thing to the advantage of religion. All the important questions of interior and exterior politics thus became a wisp of dispute. Therefore, in a few years, tliey found them.'^elves opposed, the one to the other, as two great enemies.
The strife has been so much the greater as one party never managed to vanquish the other. During many years the Catholics had almost entirely the upper hand, but in 1847, the liberal party obtained it, and since this they have administered affairs, with the exception of three or four years, and at this moment thej- do not seem to be on the eve of j-ielding their place to the Catholics.
This antagonism, which has lasted during about twentj'-eight j'ears, has exercised a great influence on the religion professed by the Belgian nation. Those who supported the Romish Church have identified politics and all material interests with religion. The liberal party in defending liberty against tlie preten- sions of the Romish clergy, did equally so. And so it has come to pass, that the true friends of libertj". as guaranteed by the charter, considered religion generally as incompatible with liberty, and the Church as an enemy to progress ; and as they were accustomed to consider Romanism as identical with Cliristianity, infidelity has dreadfully increased.
The Catholic party, which commands tlie support of the aristocracy and the rural population, seems to be dinded into two fractions by questions of principles rather important. The party which is most influential, is formed by what is called tlie ultra Catholics. At their head is the Belgian episcopacy. Their principal leaders in the Chambers are, the Count de Theux, Mr. Malon (brother to the IBishop of Bruges), the Baron d'Amthan, &c. They have in the daily press a great number of journals. La Beviie Cafkoh'gue, published by tlie doctors of Louvain, is their theolo- gical organ. It is not necessary to say what are their
principles, and what they aim at : Ultramontanism is | well known. j
The other fraction of this party seems to conceive the illusion, tliat libertj- is possible with the Romish ; Chm-ch. The men of this opinion wanting to be good 1 Belgian and good Roman Catholics, follow the charter, and are at the same time good cliildren, subdued to the Church. They are sincere believers, according to the ' measure of their faith, and sincere friends of liberal institutions of course. The problem they try to resolve is of an impossible solution.
Among their eminent men, we find in the first rank M. de Declier and the Viscount Vilain XIV. They have no recognised organ in the daily press. The journal Jlistoriquc et Litterairc a review, edited atLiege by a respectable man, !Mr. Kerston, is the religious organ of this fraction.
It is not easy to say how far the men who form this moderate portion of the Catholic party are attached by truly religious convictions to the Church of Rome, nor if they admit still the fundamental dogmas of Chris- | tianitj'. It is certain that there are some among them who have a positive faith, and who more or less look for peace to the redemption which is in Christ. Their faith of coiu-se is considerably darkened by the erro^ , of Rome. j On religious ground, the liberal party has a certain I unity of view and negative principles. Thus, it is not i probable that among them you would find one who has I a cordial attachment to the Romisli Church, nor who believes in the godly origin of Christianity in the true sense of the word, or who admit.s that Jesus Christ is trulj- God and man.
This party, howeA'er, can T)e divided into three frac- tions. First, those who declare that they will remain | in the Romish Church, have their children brought up ' in its faith — yea, to live and to die in it, and who, when necessary attend to certain ceremonies of worship. I know, however, from a sure source, that a great \ number among them would be delighted if Belgium } became Protestant ; they would then hasten to join Protestantism.
Secondly. AVe count among the second fraction men who distinguish themselves from those wo have just j named, only liy sliowing more independence and more boldness in the profession of thcii- negative opinions. I However, they have still recourse to the priests upon certain occasions, and especially on tlieir death beds, not exactly for the repose of their souls, but from respect for certain prejudices. They also hope one day to see Belgium turn Protestant.
Thirdly. We have those who declare that they -want to reject all religious form, and who long to see eyery kind of worship disappear. They consider religion as an obstacle to progress, and as a kind of enemy to hu- manity. Tliey form a kind of association bearing the title of solidarity. They try to get rid entirely of the priests. Some of these refuse to confess on their death- \ j beds, and when on this account the priest refuses to conduct the funeral service, it is performed by one of themselves with as much solemnity as possible. If the deceased leaves a widow with little resources, the members of the society impose a fine upon themselves in her favour.
Bi-ussels, Fchritari/ 1863.
Maech 2, 18G3. WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
ITALY.
Tun Italian Parliament is again in session, Init no- thing of great importance lias yet been brought fom-ard. The journals begin to complain of time being wasted by long useless speeches of members who love to hear their own voices. The Director of the Neapolitan Bank, Marquis Avitabile, was lately seized by brigands while shooting on his own property, on the side of Mount Vesuvius, and had to pay 80,000 francs, it is said, of ransom ; but this isolated fact is no proof that brigandage is on the increase in the southern parts of the kingdom, for the reverse is the case, and life and property are more sure than tliey were. Four days more will put an end to that greatest of nuisances, the Carnival ; indeed, it is proliable that a few j-ears more ! will put an end to the observance altogether, except among little children, if we may judge from the way in which the cnrso or street processions have fallen oif in numbers and respectability ever since the establishment of constitutional Government left men free to occupy themselves with graver matters than masquerading and throwing whitening hon bona. I know nothing aliout the Viglioni, or masked balls, so as to be able to draw a conclusion as to the decadence or otherwise of this heathen custom, from the cliaracter and position of those who frequent them ; but it has been a subject of uni- versal remark both at Florence and Leghorn, that so poor a display was never known upon the streets. It is the cause of much immorality and mischief, and the sooner it is abandoned the better. The Eoman con-e- spondeiits of the Italian papers atSrm, that in the Et<>rnal City the people are abstaining from Carnival festinties by way of political demonstration, and that the Pope's Government is using every means to compel them to make fools of themselves !
In a former letter I mentioned a new dispute that had arisen between the local authorities of Leghorn and Signor Ribetti, owing to the former refusing to allow the bodies of Italian Protestants to be interred in coffins in the cemeteries which the municipal autho- rities have been obliged by Government to provide for them. There has been some delay in obtaining redress from Iiigh quarters, owing to tlie disjiutc having arisen just before the resignation of the Ratazzi Ministr)-. The case was put by Dr. Revel, as President of the Commission of Evangelisation, into able hands, and it has not been allowed to sleep. On the 9th of January, a circular was issued by the Minister of the Interior to
I all the prefects of Tuscany — ' Sullo tumulazioni degli
I Acattolici,' which gives the Protestants all (liey asked.
1 After setting forth that all citizens of the kingdom Iiav(> a right to sepulture in the public cemeteries, whatever be their religious profession, the circular continues, 'Complaints liave lately reached the Govern- ment from non-Catholic siilijects, who had been pre- vented in the Tuscan provinces from burying the bodies
; of their co-religionists in coffin.s, because such mode of sepulture was contrary to, the regulations on cemeteries
I now in vigour. The undersigned therefore has recourse to the [(refects, having the pleasure to point out to them that the Government desires tliat the most ample
I hberty shall be given to non-Catholics to bury, in that
j part of the cemetery allotted to them (and wliich can be cukrged when needed), the dead, in such manner as theii- religious rit<'s and customs requii-e, providi'd
13 I
only that the public health shall not be endangered i thereby.'
I find that the newspaper entitled La Via di Roma, recommended in the last number of the Buona Novella, is projected by Signor Niccolini. I have not heard whether it is fairly launched or not; and that the re- commendation was wholly tlie act of the editor, without the cognisance of the Committee who managed the Buona Novella. A partial attempt to make up for the | loss of this paper has been already ina<le by the most zealous business man the Vaudois Cliurch possesses — Dr. Revel, Professor of Tlieology in Florence, and President of the Waldensian Commission of Evangelisa- tion. He has published, at the end of January, the first number of a little quarterly joiu-nal, on the model of 77ie Voice from Italy, entitled Mcssagcjiere Evan- gclico d! Italia, containing letters from the evangelists at the different stations occupied by the Waldensian Church, indicating the progress of their work, or its hindrances. The first number is an exceedingly inte- 1 resting one, and the only matter of regret, it appears to | me, is that it is intended only for 'private circulation. | I trust its editor will soon see his way to a monthly publication, and I am convinced it will prove in- finitely more interesting to friends of the gospel in Italy, residing abroad, than the Buona Novella ever ' did, from its bringing the coiTc.spondcnce of the mis- ' siouaries with all minutenoss of detail under their own | eyes. In Italy itself, however, this does not supply the |
place left vacant by the Buona Novella. \
I
The most remarkable feature of the present time, in the religious history of Tuscany (perhaps I might almost say of Central Italy), and especially a most en- couraging one, is the number of applications which, within the last two months, have been made to various labourers in the mission fiekl, from small handfuls of enquirers after evangelical truth, residing in the countiy towns at a distance from the centres of influ- ence, to have preachers sent to them, to make known the glad tidings of salvation. This is the result of the colporteur's labours. Within the time specified, there have been applications by letter, signed sometimes by six, sometimes by twelve, or twenty individuals fronj Grosseto, Campiglia, and Fitto (di) Cecina in the Maremma, from Volterra and Perugia ; and from Fojano in Val di Cliianti. Mr. Meyer, from Ancona, has just gone to Perugia in answer to such a requisition, and \ M. Combe, a Waldensian evangelist, has been a month j stationed there, after a former exploring visit j)aid to it | by Mr. McDougall, of Florence. M. Ribetti, Walden- sian jiastor at Leghorn, lias just returned from a fortnight's missionai-y tour, during whicli he has visittnl Grosseto, Fojano, Siena, and Volterra, and [^reached in them all. Ho is much satisfied with what lie has seen and heard. He will himself visit Gro.sscto from time to time. A room has been hired at length in V^olterra, ^ notwithstanding the efforts of the bishop and priest- | hood, which had nearly closed that city against the | Protestant herctjfs, and Signor Perazzi, an ex-priest, is to be stationed there as evangelist. Fojano is to be sup- plied with religious instruction by a young Scottish mis- sionary, Sir. Simpson Ray, resident at Siena, who camo | out nine-months ago to devote himself <'ntirely to Italian ! mission work, and has already made such progress in j acquiring the language, that he is able to conduct divine
14
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
Makch 2, 1863.
service in it each Sabbath, to a small congregation in that city. M. Prochet, the Waldensian evangelist in Lucca, continues to meet with much opposition, but he also continues steadfast, and will by God's blessing succeed. The evangelical cause in the island of Elba is, through the grace of God, very flourishing at present. Marchand, Waldensian pastor, has been lately visiting Florence and Leghorn, to raise subscriptions for build- ing a church at the little town of Rio, his flock having previously raised 1,000 frs. among themselves, thougli all poor labourers. The following extract from a letter of his, dated February 6, will be read with interest, ^ The result of my collections at Florence and Leghorn, has been cause of great joy to niy flock, who now begin to believe in the realisation of what they have so long and ardently desired. Last Monday I had the joy of baptizing a child at Longone. Fifteen persons from Eio went thither to assist at the ceremonj', and six brethren came from Porto Ferrajo, so that there were about thirty evangelid present in all. It is impossible to describe to you the excitement which this act caused in the town. Our place of meeting was so crowded that it was with difSculty I reached the chair placed for me. All the bourgeoisie of the locality were assembled to have a near view of this baptism, which had been announced as fabulous ! After some exhortations, the reading of the Vaudois liturgy for baptism, and the baptismal act, all retired quietly, saying, ' That is not like what they told us," some adding, "that is the true baptism ; " According to the custom of the country, we were covered with a veritable shower of bonbons, cen- times, &c. We were afterwards conducted with music to the house of the parents, without a cry or a hiss being heard from the immense crowd which followed us. Sacred music not being yet introduced at that station, our sisters of Rio sang several hymns before leaving the family, which filled our hearts with love and gladness.'
An Italian church having been built at Pisa, chiefly through the exertions of Mrs. Young, an English lady long resident there, was opened for public worship about the end of last month. The former evangelist Signor Tecchi, having died last summei-. Signor di Michelis, a young man lately a student with Dr. Di Sanctis at Genoa, has been gent to succeed him, and he is higlily spoken of, both by Dr. Di Sanctis and Professor Mazzarella.
The New Waldensian church, in connection with the Theological College in Florence, is now nearly ready to be opened, and the 19th of March has been fixed as the day on which the dedication service is to take place. It is simple but very elegant, and does credit to the taste of Signor I'uini, the architect, who is one of the deacons of the Waldensian congregation. The fitting up of this church Iws been can-icd out chiefly at the expense of James Burns, Esq., of Bloomhill, Dumbarton- shire. The new schools in another part of the Palazzo Salviati, fitted up through the liberality of Mr. Hen- derson, of Park, will be opened probably on the same day.
In addition to the appointment which Signor Mazza- rella holds as a professor in the University of Genoa, he has just been appointed, by the Mini.stcr of Justice, one of the judges of the Court of Appeal in that city, in re- cognition of his tjilents, and without solicitation on his part. Tliis is highly honourable to him, and all who know how his prospects were bUghted in the kingdom
of Bomba, on account of his adherence to constitutional principles at the time when the king perjured himself, must rejoice at it. The priestly paper, L'Armonia, made a most \'iolent attack upon him, as soon as the appoint- ment was known, both as regards professional ability, and religious views. We rejoice to see his talents and merits at last recognised by Government. February 1863.
The following extracts are from an article by Dr. Passaglia, which appeared in the Mediatore, in answer to an article of the Civita Cnttolica, bearing the ominous title, ' Genesi del movimenlo cterodosso Italiano.'
'The author of this article has all the appearance of one of those ignorant and stupid preachers, who ha-ving abstracted some old manuscript from the chest where the undergraduates' ess.^ys are kept, adapts it for delivery on all occasions, for all saints and all countries, careful of nothing but gaining the all- important fee. Because he has read somewhere that Protestantism in Germany has led the way to religious scepticism, the simple scribbler prognosticates the same fate to Italy, unmindful of the diflference in habits and dispositions between the Germans and the Italians, as well as the remarkable diversity of the times. And, indeed, we wish we could see through the same spectacles as the worthy Jesuit, being weU assured that if Italy had to pass into a state of religious in- difiTerence by the way of Protestantism, .she would never fall into that sad extreme ; for there is nothing so repugnant to the Italians as the cold and dry worship of Protestants. But the misfortune is that a great part of the Italians have no longer to make this passage : alas ! they have already long since become sceptical and indifferent to religion ; and not by means of Protestantism, though from the same reasons as those which at former periods favoured the diffusion of Protestant principles in Europe, namely, from the indecent confusion of things sacred and profane, in which the Court of Rome so obstinately persists, and also from the superstitions which are attempted to be imposed for the justification of abuses which true religion cannot tolerate. For one must renounce common sense or honesty to undertake to deny that false miracles do not bring discredit on the true ones, or that exaggerations in worship do not expose worship to ridicule, or that proclaiming Heaven's intervention to support tjTanny does not lead to the conclusion that God's influence in human affairs is but a priestly invention ; that to make the confessional the means for exciting civil revolt and military desertion does not repel the masses from that salutary means of conversion ; or that to turn the pulpit into a chair for advocating the temporal interests of a Court, the very name of which denotes the quintescence of worldliness, and into an engine for invoking curses upon political dissentients, does not keep away from the house of God all except the fanatical and the bigoted. And yet, in the face of all these practices, ine\'itably productive of religious indifference, are we to hear that result set down to the action of Protestantism? There are three sets of persons to be distinguished in modern society, with rsgard to religion ; the ignorant and credulous vulgar, to whom vice is compatible with a superstitous observance of the ceremonies ; the few wise who, distinguishing between matters of pure faith and of
M.\Rcn 2, 1863.
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHUECH.
free opinion, between religious ordinances and those who administer them, remain faithful to the doctrine and practices of Catholicism ; and the immense mul- titude of the half-taught, who, able to detect falsehood, yet unable to find out the pure Christian teaching in the midst of the rubbish of sectarian exaggeration, give up the truth, together with the error, and without passing through Protestantism fall directly into in- difference. Such is the actual state of society among us — let the Jesuits alter it if they can by their sophistry and lying. . . .
'But let the reader hear their own words on the successive procedure of Protestant influences in European politics. It is stated that " those influences may with regard to their procedure be considered in this order of events : viz. 1. From Luther to the peace of Westphalia ; 2. From that peace to Voltaire ; 3. From Voltaire to the Reign of Terror ; 4. Thence to the Kestoration; 6. From the Eestoration to 1848 ; and 6th, from 1848 to the present day." . . . They also say that before the sixteenth century "Europe was as it were labii unius, such was the international charity that knit together the Christian peoples : the immense harmony of this choi-us which declared like the heavens the glory of its Maker, was preserved consonant, sweet, and pure, by means of that chief master who directed it from the Vatican." Now this is all very well for some idyll ; history, however, says that Europe was in the middle ages in a constant state of war ; that the Empire, restored by the Popes, not to give unity to Euroj^e but to gain a protector for the Church, became in its turn a new source of trouble —so grievous and continual that the " master " of the Vatican had to place himself at the head of the Guelphs, or, as they would now be called, the Opposition party ; and that the age which preceded that of Luther — which according to these Jesuits must have been the last of the sweet and pure harmony — was defiled with such political wickedness, and public and private immorality, "che non basta Giuda a sostfenerne il puzzo." '
' After speaking of the period from Luther to the Treaty of Westplialia, the Civiltd goes on to say : — " This treaty inti'oduced religious indifference into international relations, by declaring, in effect, that the true God and th(i way to servo Him were subjects of uncertainty." This, again, is a solemn impostiu-e ; for civil toleration, far from implying indifference, pays homage to th(! spirituality and sacredness of religion. Would the Jesuits have had the Protestants all cut off by the hordes of Wallenstinn, or that now the Catholics should be persecuted in Russia, Holland, Switzerland, Denmark, and England ? For to proclaim intolerance against Protestants in Catholic states, and liberty for Catliolics in Protestant countries, is such an absur- dity, that the writers of the Civilta alone could con- ceive it.
'But there has been a coiiiilry in which the Protes- tants were hrst persecuted by a long and cruel war, then massacred by treachery, aftei-wards tolerated for some years, and at last weri^banished at the suggestion of the Fathers of the Company; and that was the very country in which " atheism and religious indiffer- ence, favoured by unbridled licence, grew up to gigantic dimensions, first in the Court and among the most eminent classes of Society, where it resulted in the shamelessness of the ago of VolUvire ; and, thence-
forward extending among the inferior classes, ended by producing that horde of cut-throats who tendered their | services to triumphant Jacobinism, in the name of the ; sovereign people." AU these events, if history is to be j trusted, took place in France. Now observe the logical j acumen of tliese Jesuits. According to what they j said, the toleration introduced by the Treaty of West- | phalia was to lead to indifference, thence to Voltairi- anism, thence to end in the reign of terror. But, in point of fact, these results have taken place in the very country where no tolerance existed, and where Protes- tantism never wUl be popular, were it only from antipathy to the English ! The true causes of unbelief j in France wLU be found by the candid reader of history in the reaction which, sooner or later, follows perse- cuting fanaticism ; in the prolonged contentions be- tween Janseni.sts and Jesuits; in the scandals of tho Courts of Louis XIV., of the Regency, and of Louis XV. — scandals in which the cardinals and bishops had no small share. These were the causes which, combined with the many grievous disorders in the Government and in society to bring down the storm of 1792.
' . . . We \rill not go on to examine the application which is made by the Jesuitical journal to the present Italian movement, after a long tirade of rhetoric against the errors and desolations of the French Revo- lution. Eagerness to produce the impression that the | Italian movement is essentially irreligious, makes these writers shamelessly pervert everything in past history, and we would ask the candid reader what credit such persons can claim for their representations of what is taking place in our own day? When men calling themselves priests and monks have the audacity to say that, in order to obtain the many thousand signatures of the clergy to the petition addressed by us to the Pope, we have used the threat of assassination, there is no misstatement, no slander, no foul injury, which may ! not be expected from them ; as, indeed, there is no j evil with which God would not visit His Church, if I such apologists were suffered long to uphold her.'
The establishment at Porta Romana is now divided into two departments, one of which is made to serve as a school, whQe the other continues to be employed for preaching. I have hitherto been used to visit it twice a week, and I found at first a considerable congregation, but it has since then diminished sensibly. The like may be said of the operatives who used to attend the evening school. At first we had up to 67, of whom 27 now remain. The day-school only comprises about ten pupils.
In the school-hall a converted priest preaches the gospel every Sunday evening ; and here again the number of hearers, which was considerable at first, got greatly diminished as time went on. In my opmion this result mu.it be attributed, I regret to say it, not merely to tht? efforts of the priests, but to those of our separated brethren, who, as far as in them lies, are dissuading their friends from coming to hear us. At present the ex-priost B — is employed by Sig. P — , the agent of the Wesleyan Society; and Sig. L — has told him, that in consequence of his having entered into relations with foreign pastors, he meant no more to have anything to do with liim. Sig. B— will open at the commencement of the year a preaching-
16
WORK OF THE CHRISTLVN CHURCH.
March 2, 18G3.
J
hall in another quarter of the city ; and in this manner tliere will be five establishments opened for the preach- ing of the gospel in the Italian language.
Our chapel of St. Maria Valle is, thank God, always well attended ; and seeing that the congregation is dif- ferent in the morning and in the evening, I reckon that no less than 150 pei-sons must hear there the preaching of the gospel. The number of those who commuuicate, including the born Protestants, is about thirty. The steady progress of my Sunday-school emboldens me to hope for the future. Having begun it with three or four children, I now, to my great satisfaction,
1 number twenty-four. These are almost always led to the school by a nurse or a motlior, and this fact leads people to take great interest in the institution. Thanks to the help of some few ladies like Mrs. W., Mile. O., and Princess C, who has now for two months been regidarly attending our services, my mother has succeeded in arranging a very pretty Clu-istma-s treat for these dear children, with a tree, and presents of books, or of articles of dress, according to the position of each child. Pastor W. came himself to dii^tribute among the children a cake that had been made express
I for them.
The day after Chri-^tmas-day I repaired to Brcsciji, and there presided over two meetings, in one of which the Lord's Supper was administered. The work is going on regularly ; new brethren are taking the vacant places of those who have been compelled by business to quit the city. A number of them show signs of true spirituality, but many of them are still very behindhand. Tlie same may be oaid of the Milan congregation.
We have had the pleasure of seeing amongst us again the young man of whom I had spoken to the Committee. At first an unbeliever, then convertinl in our unions, and thence drawn away by the influence of his mother, who hoped, in this way, to make him forget his new religious ideas, he has now come back more zealous and stead}' than ever. He edified j MB yesterday by reflections, which were at once oppor- j tune and profound. He is now employed in the Prefecture.
Milan, Feb. 1863.
SWITZERLAND.
I Geneva has always had the privilege of showing, not- withstandnig its narrow limits, its capability of com- I pleting wliat it had commenced. It is not oUier- I wise at this moment. The current of e\-il is strong, wide-spread, formidable. The current of good is i strong also ; and all our labours have for their object I to make the good overcome the evil. But here lies ' the great difficulty. How to reach the evil? How j to prevent the wicked from becoming still worse ? How ■ to make Christianity penetrate into the various portions ' of our social body. It is true that we feel not in Geneva, I as in your great metropolis and large towns, the abso- I lute want of religious knowledge amongst many of the people. The pastor visits once a year all the houses in his parLsh, and the sick and the dying are specially visited. The admission to the Sacrament is preceded by long instructions (for an entire year), to which xery few refuse to attend. It is amongst strangers that
I we find ignorance regai-ding the elements of Chris- tianity. But ignorance has at least one advan- tage, because, when Christianity is preached, it is pre- sented as a great and striking novelty, wliilst -Hith us those who have not been renewed in mind and I heart regard it as an old talc without attraction. Thus it often happens that we have greater satisfaction with strangers than among people of the same class of our own country. There is in Geneva, as in all other cities, a strong current of public opinion. Those who do not embrace this opinion are the most hostile to it. The great enemies of the papacy in Europe belong to Eome. The enemies of the gospel are more hostile with us than in many other Protestant countries. But I thank God that these obstacles have stimulated our zeal. I do not say this boastinglj'. We acknowledge before ' God how far we are yet from doing all we could or ought to do, but we can in the meantime confidently state that for the last thirty years there has not been any work in the Christian world with which we have not been associated, whether in introducing it among ourselves, or in recommending it to those around us.
The canton of Neufchatel has among its clergy men of great knowledge and piety. There also the current of eril is powerful, and radicalism shows itself still more hostile than with us, if not to the j gospel, at least to the Church and clergj-. The Neuf- ! chatel constitution requires the pastor to be subjected, ! every eight years, to reelection. Every eighth year, therefore, each parish is called upon to vote for a pastor, and is emjwwercd to retain or dismiss its former mini- ster. Notwithstanding this humiliating position, the Neufchdtel clergymen have known how to maintain up to the prosent time all the dignity of an evangelical ministry ; and it is just to add that the parishioners on their part have continued to respect it.
The Canton of Vaud is on the point of adopting a new ecclesiastical organisation, which will allow it, we hope, to take a more active part in Christian work. ' Until now the Government was the cliief of the Church, i and attempted to rule the Church directly, exacting I from it all the rights of an episcopacy. Now, in a j state so democratic, where popular favour is at times ! very blind in its clioice, the Church may be given up to i its enemies. It was this which gave rise to the crisis 1 of 1845 in the Canton of Vaud. At that time more | than the half of the pastors quitted their functions. We hope that the new organisation will terminate what remains of this evil. More than a year ago they rescinded the laws which the legislature of 1815 had i passed against religious freedom. AVill it succeed ; sufficiently to destroy the ancient spirit of the Govern- j ment? The project of the new constitution, as I j understand it, makes me doubtfid ; I see in it too | many things submitted to the Government. There h j not any country, I believe, where the union of the church and the state leaves to the Church such entire control as in Geneva. It is to this we are indebted for j ha\ing been able to make progress and prosper under an immoral and infidel Government. Conflicts might easily arise between the cossistory and the company of pastors, this latter body having all the traditiional authority, whilst the consistory is no longer as under the ancient constitution of Calvin, but is the adminis- trative body of tlie Church created by the constitution of 1847. Meanwhile they progress amicably. There has not been between them any other conflict up to the
Mabch 2, 1S63.
WORK OF THE CIIIIISTL\.X CIIUIICIL
17
present time, but that emulation which causes them to labour more for the advannemont of the kingdom of God. The emancipation of tho churches will be, we hope, one of the great features of the history of our century. I do not mean by that the separation of the state— I spc;ik merely of the countries where union will b(^ maintained, while a conception more and more ju-st of t!ie true rights and true duties of the Cluirch will be formed. Geneva, Feh. 1863.
riiUSSTA.
Dt iiiNO this winter we have had here very interesting ledures. Your readers most probably know that every winter a course of twelve lectures is delivered by some of the most eminent men of tlie kingdom. Sometimes celebrateil men, even from other German States, are in- vit<'d to come here and deliver lectures on subjects and themes they tliemselves choose. One of the last lec- turi'S was delivered by Dr. TVichern, on the causes of thi' frequent experience at the first of unsuecwsful endeavoxu'S to educate and train children. Dr. Wichern stated in the opening of his address, that a deep-rooted and all pervading struggle was going on at the present time ; in fact, evil and good were measur- ing tlii'ir sU'cnglh. Everything is questioned. Notliing exists against which opposition and contradiction had not been h^ard. Countless multitudes have thrown off all fear and all faith ; tliey believe, in fact, nothing — no- thing is holy to them, notlung tlicy revere or fear ; the fundamental truths of our faitli — the Bible, and every- thing which men generally love and respect, they hate, revile, and mock at. Connected with this is their con- stant cry fur liberty — personal, individual, unrestrained liberty to act as they like, as everi/one personally likes, without the slightest respect to his neiglibour to the whole. Obedience, piety, respect, and esteem, are thrown off entirely. Parents consequently ask, What guarantee have we for the future with regard to tlie education and training of our cliildren? Public life is a sea raging wiliUy the waves in the fiercest conflict tlireatening to swallow up everything ; what are we to do that our children, about to be thrown into this raging sea, may not be drowned? Everyone who has had to do with education, knows wliat a powerful effect on the rising generation the ideas of 1830 and 1848 have exerci.sed, and how they have gained ground. Dr. Wichern gave his own experience, and advised the parents how to act. The parents have to exercise their royal priest- hood in th<' house in the midst of their family ; the more effectually they do this, the greater will be the influence th<'y exercise for good on the minds of their ehildreji. However, it is a fact that, out of a great number of families, called Cliristiau families in reality and truth, duldron have gone forth who have broken thnnigli all restraints, and taken their standpoint ju.st opi)Osite lo that of their parentis, joining the i-nemies of Christ. What may t he cause be of tliia apparent anomaly? Have the pious parents (xhu'ated their children more by tJ\e law tlian Ijy grace— more exercised tlie rigour of the Old tlian tlio lovo of tho New Testament ; or have they given tliem more spiritual food than the children could digest ? Can you scold a cliild — a l)oy — tluit ho does not pray ? that he does not love Christ
Jesus, and punish him for not doing it ? How can you expect to gain V)y violence what ought to be tho spon- taneous and genuine production of free affection ? A great fault it is, when the Ciiri.stian life is considered as quite a distinct and separate sphere apart from and be- yond the daily life and conversation, instead of consider- ing it as the leaven which ought to penetrate every deed, word, and thought — as the sun, which enlightens and enlivens every thing. Nothing is so dangerous as the over-feeding and over-loading the mind with religious instruction ; nothing .so dangerous as cant Christian words without power. It was, indeed, a natural and healthy reaction in a lad of fifteen years of age, when he said to those who persecuted him with their endeavours to convert him, and make him a Christian : ' I will do everything you tell me, obey j'ou in every- tliing ; but one thing I will not, cannot do — I will not be a Chri.stian, and will never become one.' This boy was considered to bo quite lost ; but ho was made a Christian ; and in after life, when this youtli was removed from those who had, by their false love and care for his soul, created in lam a disgust against the very name of a Christian, and was placed under other circumstances, among those who never talked of Cliristianity, but acted Cliri-stianity ; when he saw t\ic simplicity, truth, innocence, grandeur, and majesty of Christianity, he became a Christian, who thanked God on his knees that he had learned the value of tlic unspeakable gift of the Bible of Christ. Oh, that all parents might learn what a lovely and tender thing faith is — how delicate the spontaneous rise of it in the soul of man.
TheFO are only a few points which struck me very powerfully in tlie lecture of Dr. Wichern. I hope we shall see it published ; and you ought to give a trans- lation to your readers : indee<l it deserves it. I Wiis reminded by it of a fact which occurred a few montlis ago, and which goes far to prove how fearful the aliena- tion of the minds of childr(.'n is from all autliority, and how the children at the scliool talk of nothing but how to break through all restraints. A boy of eleven years of age, son of a military man in high rank, in the coui'se of conversation, says to liis motlier, 'Mamma, I wish we lived at Hamburg.' ' Why, my son ? ' ' Because there is no king to rule over us in Hamburg. There we should be free.' There was, in one of the gjnnnasia in Prussia, in one of the lowest classes or forms, an association formed among the boys of from twelve to foui-teen years of age. The statutes of this association are fearfully atheistical. The first paragraph was to this effect — ' "Wlio believes in a God is excluded from this association.' What a fearful thing for a parent to have to send his sons away from home into such schools ! What a contagion is spreading all over the land ! However, there is liglit in this gross darkness. The gospel has never been proclaimed so powerfully and effectually all over the land as in our time. Prayer is offered up in the churches and in tho families more extensively than e^er before. The Lord has bowed himself downi to liear and answer prayer.
Tlie first week of this year was observed as a week of prayer by many children of the Lord. Here, at Rerl in, services too were held at different places of worship. I had a letter from St. Petersburg, staling that even there the believing members of different denomina- tions and congregations had gathered themselves together for mutual prayer during that week. I heard also from Bombay, Maclra.s, and Calcutta. lu Mndnus
18
thoiisands of Christians have come together, in the midst of heathen darkness, holding up the hands of their ministers and missionaries ; in Calcutta and Bom- bay, also, thougli not to such an extent. May we not expect that the Lord will amply Lless the means now ■used, which He himself has appointed! Surely He is faithful, and keeps his promises. Let us trust in Him, the liA-ing God. He will hear, if we only continue to pray without ceasing and wavering. Wliat a grand thing, tliat in Boniljay, Madras, Calcutta, and Lahore — in St. Petersburg, Berlin, and London, Constantinople, and even Kome itself — all over the world — belie^-ing prayers are offered up for one and the same thing ! If two or tliree agree together to pray for a thing, they shall surch' receive it. Let the enemies of our Lord be ever so fierce in their furious assault upon his children, they shall never prevail. (Ps. ii.) Berlin, Feb. 1863.
CIjc |nsii(ulion of ^t. |o^it nt Sgcvliit.
Although the Institution of which we are about to speak is of recent origin, and has as yet a limited sphere of activitj', it nevertheless claims a high place among those imdertakings of the Evangelical party in Germany which are rife with tlie promises of extensive developemcnts and beneficial results. It owes its existence to Dr. "Wichern, the well-known founder of the ' Ratihe Htms ' at Hambm-gh ; a man whose honoured name has spread far beyond the confines of his own land, and is indeed constantly cited wlienevcr attempts are made to bring Christian ideas to bear immediately upon national and individual life.
It was in the year 1858, when the Hamburgh ' Pauhe Haus' celebrated its twenty -fifth anniversary, that twelve of the brotliers brought up witliin its walls were deputed to form a new establishment at Berlin, mider the control of Dr. 'Wicliern, to wliich the name of the St. John's Institution was appropriately given ; its gi-eat object being to prove in action the truth of the beloved dis- ciple's declaration, that God is love, and to act in the spirit of His injunction, 'Let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in trutli.'
The primary aim of this institution, tlien, is the bestowal of sueli theoi'etical instruction and practical guidance upon j-oung men of good moral character and firm religious principle — possessing the noccssarj' qua- lifications and inner vocation — as may qualify them re- spectively for the several posts of cit}- missionarj', almoner, hospital attendant, prison official, liead of an Orphan liouse, or other educational establishment of the kind, teacher and visitor in factories, and similar offices connected with that Home Mission to which their lives arc lovingly devoted ; offices too often inade- quately filled or altogether neglected, and for which, as a general rule, neitlier the State nor the Church in its official character -nill be found able to provide.
Essential as it is to secure the right men for such tasks as we have enumerated — men not only prepared cheerfully to undertake the toil and self-denial with which these tasks are fraught, but fitted to perform them successfully— nevertheless, it is certain that tlie authorities, whether of Church or State, are little able to seek out new ones, and duly train these men. This must be the work of voluntary Christian zeal, or it will never be done at all ; and if it be not done, it seems 'im-
Makch 2, 1863.
possible to bring the blessings of the gospel to bear on large masses of our population, estranged, as they are, alas ! not only from Christianising, but even lunnanising influences.'
In so short a sketch as the present, we must renounce the attempt i^^ give any account of the manner in wliich the above important object lias been pursued for the last thirty y(>ars at tlie Hamburgh ' Rauhe Haus ' by Dr. Wichern, and of its actual position at present ; although we are strongly tempted to do both, inasmuch as of hite years — partly througli ignorance, and partly through bad feeling and avowed enmity to Evangelical religion — distorted and misleading reports have been spread abroad, and have even found their way into the English press. But we dismiss the subject on this occasion, and return to the St John's Institution.
Its primary object, then, as we have seen, is to instruct the young men who enrol themselves among its members, not only in Holy Scripture, but in aU other departments of knowledge that farther .spiritual culture, and exercise an important influence upon daily life. These young men are also placed under special practical guidance, and experimentally trained to un- dertake the care of the sick and destitute, the education of children, and the proper way of dealing with wretched and criminal classes wherever found, more especially with discharged prisoners. It also formed part of the original plan to gather in helpless, neglected, and deserted children — children of prisoners for instance — and to bring tliem up in one of the Houses of Rescue connected with the St. John's Institution. This has been in some measure accomplished ; thirty poor boys having been already coll<>cted, all belonging to the lowest class of tlic Berlin population, and having, for the most part, been in the hands of the police. Once these poor children were of necessity growing and maturing into criminals, now the blessing of a home is bestowed upon tliem, where they are simply, indeed, but liealthily lodged and fed ; admirably instructed, accustomed to gardening and manual labour of various kinds, and prepared by good discipline and cheerful industry for a settled and honest way of life. Several of these have, after their confirmation, been apprenticed to respectable tradesmen, and thus the brotherhood not only obtain experience in tlie difficult task of educating neglected and demoralised boys, but while standing by and helping them ^\ ith true brotherly love, they keep up their own pitifuhiess of feeling and freshness of heart.
Another wide spliere of activity has ojieued out to them in Berlin itself This great city abounds in poverty and moral mi.sery of every kind. I hope, on some future occasion, to enter more in detail into its manners and customs, and general social condition, and to give a few sketclies illustrative of the character and religious condition of great part of its population. But, on the present occasion, I content myself with saying, that there are in Berlin at least 30,000 inha- bitants who have already been punished either by tlie police, or the courts of justice, and of them a con- siderable number are under tlie surveillance of the police ; and, moreover, that this number is constantly increased by the discharges of prisoners from jails and houses of correction — a class that the State and thp State Church are almost powerless to restore to the social and dxiX position they have forfeited. It is the province of the Brothers of St. John's Institution, in common with thatof the chaplains of the great city prisons
WOEK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
March 2, 1863.
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
19
and houses of correction, as well as of the workhouses and lock-up houses in the suburb of ' Moabit,' to look after a portion of these discharged offenders, who are often in great danger of utter ruin and demoralisation ; to befriend and advise them ; to find out both lodg- ings for them and fit employment, and in every way to lend them a helping hand, with a vie-w to preserving them from a second fall. This is, no doubt, an especially laborious and painful duty, requiring much discretion and much patience, frequently met by ingratitude, leading into the darkest recesses of society and of the human heart , but not without its reward and rejoicing. Many a man who is now honestly earning his daily bread, leading a happy domestic life, and working his way back to social respectability, would have been lost with- out the helping hand m'c speak of With regard to juvenile offenders more especially, the institution has succeeded in finding for several, after the expiration of their sentences, good places in the country, and, by remo^-ing them from the temptations of Berlin, ginng them once more a fair start in life. Then, again, the deep distress of the numerous families where the father is in prison, or under detention on account of some violation of the law, affords a wide sphere for benevo- lent exertion. Such families lack bread, clothing, money to pay their rent — lack, in short, everything : and, more than all, they lack the fear of God and do- mestic peace, and the neglected children ine^ntably deteriorate. Such families as these are the very hot- beds of future crime. Now in these cases it is the aim of the Institution of St. John, not only to afford help and counsel to the best of their power, but to seek to bring the army of the clergy and of ecclesiastical organ- isations to tlie support of private societies and indivi- dual benefactors, so as, by a combined effort, to ward off extreme pressure and family ruin. And thus the institution affords to the many and various agencies of Christian beneficence with which the great city abomids, but which too often waste their strength in isolated endeavours, a central point of union and reciprocal assisfcince. Most important indeed it is, that in all great cities benevolent societies should have such a point of concentration, while at the same time retaining their independence and free agency.
It should also be mentioned, that the help of the institution is claimed by many affluent and beneficent families, with a view to the proper distribution of their charity. In Berlin, as everywhere where poverty and vice congregate, nothing is more common than begging and begging-letters. Now, the professional, or other- wise much occupied man, the high in ofiice, or the lady of rank, alike find it impossible toexamine into individual cases in any but a most superficial manner. Few have the time or the inclination to penetrate into the most out- of-the-way parts of Berlin, and there to institute enqui- ries and take means to unmask the numberless forms of artful imposture practised by the professional beggar, in order that charity may not be thrown away on the undi^erving. Large sums, indeed, are annually wasted by a miiitaken benevolence ; nay, they positively .serve to complete the ruin of their recipients. Here, again, the intervention of the St. John's Institi tion is highly beneficial; hundreds of begging-letters being sent to the l)rothers by private individuals, who at the same time enlnist them with funds to be laid out, after due investigation, in the relief of the genuine poor.
A section of the brotherhood is also regularly em-
ployed in the nursing of the sick at the largest of the Berlin hospitals, and some of them are frequently sum- moned by private families to assist in the care of painful and peculiar cases. In such cases their assist- ance is felt to be invaluable ; for the nursing that is done out of love to God and man is very different from mere hired nursing. Numerous applications of the kind have had, imfortunately, to be declined ; the re- soxirces of the institution proving inadequate to the claims made upon it.
According to the last report, we find that since 1858 — in little more, therefore, than four years — five brothers have been appointed to congenial posts con- nected with prison management ; for they are only sent to fulfil duties for which they have a special call : tlu-ee of them as prison sujserintcndents ; one as attend- ant upon the sick in a house of correction ; one as schoolmaster to the prisoners. A sixth has become the resident manager of the great Evangelical institution in Berlin, with which is connected a Home for working men. In about fifteen cases, seriously afflicted invalids have been attended at their own homes, sometimes tliroughout a whole year. One of the brothers has been invited to a hospital in Nassau ; another received a call from the ' Comitd d'Evangelisation de I'Eglise r^formee' in Paris, there to labour among tlie poor Protestant Germans, and more especially to undertake the religious instruction of their children ; tliree others were sent two j'ears back, together with a fourth who came directly from the parent institution, to Sidon, in Syria, in order to undertake the care of the sick in the hospital founded by the Order of St. John for the unfortunate Maronites in that season of destitution and oppression. This fourth now rests in his grave at the foot of Mount Lebanon ; the tlu-ee others, together with the whole hospital staff, have been transferred to Beyrout, where they are now labouring with excellent results. Anotlier of the brothers has been sent to Zelinople, in Pennsyl- vania, where about a year ago a new society — a branch from the original ' Eauhe Hans ' — was founded. It is called the St. Luke Institution, and is destined to carrj- out the same schemes amongst the Germans in North America. Quite recentlj- another almoner from the St. John's Institution has been sent to the hill district of Sile- sia, where thousands of weavers' families are plunged into the deepest distress by the cotton famine, and without Christian assistance and sympathy are but too likely to sink to a lower level morally and socially.
This mere sketch, slight as it is, may serve to show the tendency and the importance of the institution we liave been describing, and the benefits which maj- be expected to arise from its agency, not only to Berlin but to a far wider circle.
In conchusion, we would ob.serve that this in.stitution depends solely and entirely ujion voluntary contribu- tions, and is perfectly independent of the State and all public authorities. It is no Government institution ; it is a free-will effort of Christian charity ; it holds fast to ' liberty,' and, consequently, hopes for the sympathy of all who are bound to it by the ties of a common faitli and a common love.
Up to the present time the institution has been lo- cated in a hired house in the suburb of Moabit ; but it hopes ere long to be able to purchase land on which to build and carry out its various undertakings indepen- dently.
This would enable the brothers to found an extensive
c 3
20 A^'Oinv OF THE CIIKISTIAN CIIURCII.
educational e.stablisbinent for orphan children, after the model of the ' Eauhe Haus' (great is the need of such a one in Berlin !), and also to have a hospital of their own, in which the sick poor may find loving care and shelter. May England — to whoso large heart no Cliristian efforts, wherever made, can be indifferent — have her sympathies actively called out in favour of this under- taking of Dr. Wichcrn's, and of the labours of love of tlie Brothers of the St. John's Institution.
|5onu pisslous on iht
The Rhenish Wostplialian Young Men's Vnion, which has its head-quarters in Elberfeld, han, during the past j'ear, received a vigorous de\ elopement. The institution of a separate agent, who occupies himself ■with visits to the unions, and takes part in tlie annual solemnities, has manifested a blessed fruitfidness. Among the younger preachers there are not a few who dedicate themselves with entire affection to tliese ope- rations ; but, on the other hand, teachers, tradesmen, and artisans find it a satisfaction to sacrifice a portion of their time to the young people.
Tlie confederation at present consists of 120 unions, wliich are divided into 12 circles. Over every circle there is a president of tlie circle, ^^ho has to keep up the connection of the unions among themselves, and to prepare the way for the foundation of new unions. The most important imions belong to the"\Vupperthal. The Elberfeld Union, which is managed by a tradesman, numbers more than six hundred members, and has now set up a city missionary of its own, who is active among the yoiuig people. Meantime there are flourish- ing Young ilen's Unions, not only in the manufacturing places, but also amidst the rural population, especiidly in the Raven.sperg territory in Westphalia, and in that of Oberberg, in the prt)vince of the Ilhine. In regard to the question whit relations there are between the Young Men's Unions and the cidtivation of r<-ligious I life, there is much diversity of opinion. While certain unions report : ' AVe have certaiidy during the past year lost a considin-able number of our members, but our collective life is now a much goodlier one, for wo have now not a single unbelie^■ing young man amongst us to disturb our social sympathies :' while in sumlry public journals —especially in Schenkcl's perio- dical— it is complained that the Young Men's Unions are falling a prey to a separatistic pietism ; there is yet no lack of symptoms tliat the leaders of the unions are employed in giuirding the young naen from unsound tendencies, and in keeping them in a just mean. In this manner a resolution was lately published in (he Ehenish Westphalian Junglingshoir, that such men only should be elected to preside over the unions as would subject themselves to the ordinances of the Evangelical Church, and partake the 'means of grace' it affords. On the other hand, the educational part of the question has by no means been underrated. The Elberfeld Union, for instance, has, during the winter months, erected a finishing school, wliieli is numerously attended ; and the Wiijiperfeld Union gets up from time to time a trade exhibition, which contributes in no small amount to excite zeal and affection for their occupations among the yotmg artisans. And ever and anon voices are heard reminding us, that it is the task cf the Young Men's Unions to work like a leaven
M.\RCJi 2, 1863.
among the young people, and not to keep at fruch a distance from the careless that all influence on them may be impossible.
The Evangelical Lutheran Mission has published its forty-third annual account, wliich exhibits in the first place an increase in its working force. 'Fifteen European laliourers, two native rural preachers, and 162 miscellaneous missionary assistants from among the Tamnls, are at present pursuing their operations. Furthermore we have to thank the Lord for a con- siderable increase in our year's revenues. We have received 20,000 dollars more than last year", making 60,000 dollars. The principal contributions have come from Bavaria, 811,000; Eussia, S9,500 ; Saxony, ^8,500; Prussia, S6,000 ; Sweden, J56,000 ; Hanover, ^4,500; and Mecklenberg Schwerin almost ,^3,000. So also the sacred stores for more than five stations where they are most immediately wanted, have been su]iplied by charity. 221 h.eathens last year received baptism, so that the entire number of the Christians in the Tamul country belonging to the Leipzig mission has now reached 5,196. In the Missionary establish- ment at Leipzig there are seven pupils, and admission has been graiiti d to five young Esthonians.'
Leipzig, Fih. 1863.
A man named M. F. Ilensler, v.ho lias recently died at Basle, left in his will a sum of 740,000 francs to thirty-five Christian and benevolent institutions in the town of Basle itself, as well as in France and Swit- zerland generally ; 2,600 being willed to the Basle Missionarj- Society. All honour to liis memoi-y! May God raise up many to follow such an example.
The Basle Missionary Society began the year 18G2 witli a debt of 50,000 thalers, added to which the ma- nagers had m;'.de an advance of 28,000 thalers to the general fund, in order to meet'Current expenses. Larger donations than common were therefore needed and re- quested to cancel so large a debt ; but, unfortunately, these only amounted during the past year to 1,800 thalers.
Basle, Fih. 1863.
HOLLAND.
At the end of last month an occurrence took place, wliich excited much interest among tlie Protestants in our country, and may be regarded as an event of consi- derable importance to the Eoformed Church and to theolo- gical science in Holland. One of the theological chairs at the University of Utrecht becoming vacant, the nomination was waited for by the public with intense concern. Till this day the custom prevails, that even the profes.-ors of theology, to whom the' academical education of future clergymen is trusted, are named by | the king and his ministers. Political and personal | views often have too much influence in a clioiee of so great importance to the highest interests of the Church. For a long time, theology of a more decidedly orthodox character was .systematically kept down, ard to the great grievance of many, it is not 3-et officially repre- ' sented in the scientific section of our academies. At j last the impending danger of growing neology, and tlie j urgent exigencies of the Reformed Chiu-eh, seem to 1 have opened the eyes to the necessity of a more liberal j policy, at least with respect to the University of ,
MAEC5 2, 1808.
WORK OF THE CIIRISTIAX CHURCH.
21
Utrecht. Three years ago, Dr. Doedep, a Biblical sch'dar of great acuteuessof mind, was called to occupy the vacant chair of Scriptural Iiit'Tiwetation. Another professor was now wanted for dogmatic tlieology, and the kings choice designed tlie very man whom the public regarded as most proper to accomplish this difficult task. Dr. Van Oo.sterzie, clergyman in Rot- terdam, a man of groat renown anil vast erudition, one of our most eloquent and poj)nlar preachers, and an arduous cliampion for the orthodox faith.. He gained a merited applause in our country by a great many works, amongst which his Lift- of Jcsits and his Christ- ology (si.\ large volumes together) are the most im- portant, and is not quit<! unknown perlwps amongst you by his participation in the JSibelwcrk of Prof. iMnge in Bonn. This man of eminent gifts, now lately entered upon his new task b}- driivering, according to the custom, an inaugural oration, which is considered as a personal programme for the lectures to the students. The subject of this maiden /speech was quite adapted to tile exigencies of the present time ; De Scepiicimno, hodicmix thtvlogis cautc vitandu ( On Scepiicism, which is anxiously to be avoided hj th: ih olngians of our days). This eloquent address, which lasted full two hours, was attended to with unremitting interest, and received with great apjdause. As I supjwse that many of j-our readers are acquainted with the language, and may be desirous to know something about this very interesting address, I quote some short and stray passages, bj' which you will best gain an idea of the actual state of things in Holland. Dr. Oosterzee spoke consecutively De scepticismi in rebus theologicis cha- racdre, origine, Jure, fricctd et mtdela.'
About the character of theological scepticism in our days and country, he said, ' IJou adeo hoc illudve d 'cUinae ChristianiB capnt in dubium vocatur, quani quidem id, quod hucusqu(! ab univers4 Ecclesia inter axioniata fere recensebatur ; non aniplius de fidei formulis atque Confessiouibus unius alteriusve societatis Clu-istianjE qusestlo est, sed de argumento Evangelii ipso ; non tautum centenis effiUis Jesu Apostolorunique interrogandi signum apponitur, verum de ipso Christo, objecto fidei, qua;ritur: ti' «(rTij' aA.i7fl«a?' whicli, it must be confessed with sorrow, is by no means exaggerated.
In noting the origin of this modern scepticism, he remarks the theo/ogicfd,2>oliticHl, Andphilosophicul causes, from which it may be said to liave sprung. There was a scliolastic dogmatism, which by its wrong and ques- tionable way of demonstrating the truth led itself to doubts and scepticism. In politics, a revolutionary spirit, proclaiming tlie autonomy of human natures, undermined the faith in divine revelation. And jihi- loHophy of un irreligious character led to material- ist views, idealistic speculations, or panthi istic visions, whilst mere empiric materialism evoked a spirit quite uncongenial to scriptural truth. 'Ex his parenti- bus tandi m mutata mundi contemplatio sive recentior Cosiiwlogia nata est. Biblieie expositioni de Deo supra- nuindano implaeabih: bellum declaran.s, ipsuniq\i.' Deum vetans, ne quid miraculum ederet.'
An to the rights of theological .scepticism, lie declares, that doulding maybe very useful, but that the principle of tliis modi'rn neology, as if all supernatural were in itself iwi;)OMiWc, lias no right to bo admitted, and that on this erroneous and arbitrary principle, the whole system is built, ' evanescente autem supranaturali reli- gionis nostras fundamento, ipsa religio mox evanescit."
On fruits of this spirit. Dr. Oosterzee maintains, that though much good may come even from this evil, and tmbelief is in so far a blessing as it brings to further and nearer exiimination of tlie tnitli, still scep- ticism in itself can bear no good and sound fruits, and proves pernicious to theo!ogi<'al seiene<' and to the Church of Christ. As to theology, it can only produce damage to all branches of that science — to tk riptitral hitcrprcialion, Dogmatics, Ecchsiastical Hiitory, and Practiced Theology. He proceeds to show what the Church has to suffer from this great evil, and rememhers ' Ecclesiam non magis Scepticismi fundamento super- strui posse quam pj'ramiduni \mk acus in acie fundari.'
In the last place, the orator expressed his own views about the rctmdy for the said evil. This remedy is not to be souglit in the theology of former times : ' Nequa- quam redeundum erit ad systenia sieculi decimi septimi, omnibus inimeris restam-atum, sed novum in eodem a!ternoque fundamento condendum, quod verbo Divino, EcclesiiK principiis, mvi sin minus desideriis, .saltern commodis, magis niagisque conveniat. Ab eorum eo- cordi^i quam longissime remotis, qui, prouti dici solet, nil obliti sunt aiitiqiionim, nil recentionmi edocti, nobis illud prseclari poetai transatlantici : F.xcclslor perpetuo obscrvetiu-, oportet, excelsior autem, non ad rigidas, niveasque regioncs, ubi tandem miseri pereamus necesse est, *ed ad templum veritatis Christiaufe, in monte illo exstnictum, ulii novum mund-um adspicere poterimus.' The sure and sound theology by which scepticism is to be opposed, he thus characterises : ' Theologia sit Evangel ico-Bihlica, Historico-philoio- phica, Irenico-practicu,' thus denoting what he under- stands by these names. Let me call your attention especially to the eloquent description of tlie true Chris- tian theologian : ' O utinam vobis mihique adumbrare posseni imaginem talis theologi, qualem nequeo adhuc, eheu, vobis monstrare, at intus sentio tanien. Incepit ille, anteaquam Doctoris munus obiret, discipuli locum
tenendo, ad Christi pedes sedentis >Si e variis
Doctorum mcdii tevi titulis ei optio concederetur, non Doctor tSubliiitis, aut Angelicus, aut Seraphicus, voeari cuperet sed Biblicus, sana vi voeis. Archiva regni coclorum in sacro codice consignata noctiu-nii versat manu, versatque diurnA. Ubi autem penitius pene- trare non potest rb Auros ((pa optimi Magistri veneratur, imo T(jj yifpa-ittai divino obstrictum se non sentire non
potest Pectus potissimuin est, quod Theologum
ilium effecit, pectus, cui Lutheri prjceejitum infixum est, " non esse theologum, qui magna sciat et multa doceat, sed qiii sanete et theologice vivat." Eidei fir- miter tenax, v<Tam illam lilnTalitatem sectatur, quie nullibi nisi in Christi schol4 diseetur. . . . Criticus est, non vero .Sceptieus, credit, nec tanien credulus erit. Per fidem ad scientiam, per scii ntiam ad fideni, identidem profmidiorem procedit. . . . Ipsius divini \iyou imagi- nem aliqmitenus refert, atque Christi Ajiostolonimque vestigia pn mens, revera alios docet, qua; ipse intiniA cum Patre eommunione aeeepit.'
Put I must conclude. It is nothing but a verj- in- sufficient sketch, a mi re skeleton, I give jou of tliis addi'ess. I should much like to see it tninslate<l into your language. Thi le may be some diffi rence between your position and ours : still there is very mucli affinity too, and I think there is much going on in Holland in tliese days wliidi ought to excite the lively interest of j'our theological and religious public. Rotterdam. Feb. 1863.
22
WOKK OF THE CHRISTL\N CHURCH.
March 2, 1863.
pastor ^tlbring's W.oxk.
If ever you travel tliroiiglt Holland, on your way to the Ehine or Switzerland, please do not book through from Rotterdam to Cologne or Coblenz at once, but break that long journey hy taking your ticket for Ede (the second station from Arnheim), and proceed thence by stage-coach to Wageningen, where you wiU arrive after half an hour's drive. AValk then a mile or two eastward to the pretty village of Hemmen, and paj' a visit to the clergyman of the place, the Eev. O. G. Heldi-ing. Only tell him that you are a disciple of that great Master who came to seek and to save the lost, and you will be sure of a cordial reception.
Mr. Heldring, who is a clergyman of the Dutch Reformed Church, is a tall strongly-built man, whose healtliy look, open face, and cheerful countenance, would make you take him for a man of forty-five, though in reality fifty -nine summers and winters have passed over liishead. His is the battle against that fearful enemy, immorality, which strikes both body and soul with a destruction already visible on this side of the grave. When a young man, and about to take orders, he was, under God's pro's-idential leading, brought among the operative class. He shared their labour for a short time, that he might recover his health, shortened, as it had been, by over-exertion at the university. He thus got acquainted with the wants, the sufferings, and the evils of the lower ranks of society. He became a friend of the poor, and tlie desire to raise them up to a state of happiness and independence struck deep roots into his heart. This desire grew up with power when, as a young minister, he found himself in a country distrii-t peopled over many miles with poor peasants and small struggling farmers. How to help them out of their ignorance and destitution he did not know. He felt that mere material support, even if it were in his power to afford it, would only be like putting a new thatch on their miserable hiits without rene-sving their rotten foundations. He perceived that, together with some substantial hel)i, the power of helping themselves should be given to them ; but how to give them that power was not quite clear.
At eighteen miles from his manse he discovered a cluster of miserable huts, or rather holes dug into the soil, and covered only by a sloping thatch, -sWth an open- ing in front which served both as door and chimney. There some eighty families were living quite unknomi to society. They had no church, no school, no well. In the dry season they were oft^n ready to j^eri-sh from thirst, rain-water lieing their only drink. Of regular labour they knew nothing, much less of such work as digging a well or making a pump. Mr. Heldring thought he must begin with providing them with the natural water in order to win their hearts to the liring water that springs up into everlasting life. He men- tioned the matter to .some influential iudi^-iduals at the neighbouring towns, put an advertisement into the papers, and soon an excellent fountain bubbled up in the midst of the dry barren heath. Then a school- house rose, then a church ; gradually the people filled up their ugly, damp, dark holes and built themselves habitable cottages. The wild, savage game-hunting was left off; little farms sprang up ; little gardens began to blossom— the children went to school and the people to church — and eternity only will reveal how
many fruits the heavenly Husbandman has reaped from the fields of the once utterly neglected but now inviting hamlet of Hoi nderloo.
I £ould fill many an interesting page, were I to give a detailed history of this blessed work of Mr. Hekbing. Nor woidd it be xmsatisfactoiy to read an account of iVIr. Heldring's operations on behalf of another district called the Anna Polowna Polder. Suffice it to say, that he soon became known as a man to whose care the poor and neglected and lost could safely be trusted. Hoen- dirloo and the Anna Pohwna Polder, and several other works in the line of Christian j)hilantlu'opy, were only preparatoi-y to the great laboiu' which Pi-ovidencc had in store for him.
As earl}- as the year 1846 the condition of unfortunate women became a matter of serious concern for a few ]Jiilanthropists at Amsterdam. Among them were two medical professors, superintendents of public hospitals. These declared that among their patients there were not a few fallen women, who with evident tokens of re- pentance expressed their earnest desire to retm-n to the good way. The obligation of tendering a kind helping hand to them was deeply felt. A society was formed ' for the aid of penitent fallen women.' The most simple means of carrjang out the object of the society were observed. It was not deemed jxidicious to give public notoriety to its operations. If a girl applied for help, a reconciliation between her and her family was tried. If she had no family, she was boarded with an elderly childless widow, or a situation was procured for her as a servant in some philantliropic household. Above all, an opportunity was afforded of obtaining Bible in- struction and of learning some useful trade.
The Society had scarcely commenced its ojjerations when, by a remarkable leading of Providence, two mem- bers of the committee fell in with Mr. Heldring, whom they knew by name from his philanthropic laboiirs. They communicated to him the object of their Society, and found that to him al.so the condition of unfortunate women had been long a matter of earnest concern. His opinion was that an asylum at some remote spot in the country was indi.spensable. The boarding of girls .so recently coming out of a life of sin and disorder might prove in many instances deleterious to the persons or fiimilies that took them in. Nor could private families, dwelling in a large populous city like Amsterdam, guard them sufficiently against frequent temptations. Besides, strict seclusion for some time was, to his opinion, absolutely required to enable them to test the sincerity of their repentance, and to accustom them to a life diametrically opjiosed to their former practices. They ought to be brought under the constant influence of the Gospel, whose tender whispers, inviting them to come to a merciful iind loving Saviour, could be far better heard in the quiet abode of a Christian asylum than in the midst of a noisy, bustling city. Mr. Held- ring, however, was of opinion that both ways ought to be tried, and should individuals be found ready to test his plan, he expressed himself 'willing to join them with all his heart.
The two members of the committee gladly gave their consent to the suggestion of the clergyman. Anotlier Christian friend joined them with cordial sjTupathy, and the four gentlemen resolved to leave no stone un- turned till an asylum rose for the unhappy females of Holland. To commence at once, two or tliree girls, who had returned from a colony for con-\-icts, and were
March 2, 1863.
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
23
received by the AmBterdam Society, were entrusted to Mr. Heklring's care. He boarded them with respectable farming people, members of his church, got them labour in the fields during the day, provided them with instruction in knitting and sewing, and spoke to tliem from time to time about the only way that was open for them to be saved. Meanwhile: a suitable building wa.s eagerly sought for. It so happened that, through an unexpected concurrence of circumstances, a little farm- house, at scarcely a mih^'s distance from the manse, had become the pi-operty of the minister. It was situated in a quiet spot of the country, surrounded by a kitchen garden, an orchard, and a few acres of arable land. A little grove liid it from the gaze of the indiscreet. A little brook separated it from the adjacent fields. No better place could be imagined for the purpose. It evi- dently was a gift of Providence — an answer to prayer. One of the members of the Amsterdam committee offered Mr. Ileldring a handsome gift for the fitting up the place as an asylum. A Christian lady, of an aristocratic family. Miss P. Voute, who had for some years devoted herself to the work of Christian phihm- thropy, accepted Mr. Heldring's invitation to take the management of the establishment. Mr. Ileldring tra- velled through the country for a month to collect sub- scriptions. Gifts poured in from aU quarters and sects. The Lord's hand evidently was with the work. In January 1848 the Asylum Siernbec/c was solemnly opened, with supplications to God for the good of tlie poor Magdaleus of Holland.
The Asylum gradually grew in the confidence of the public. The philanthropists were glad to know a place where they coidd send the objects of their com- passionate care. Mr. Ileldring travelled tlirough the country to found auxiliary committees at the chief towns. To secure th(! permanent operation of the es- tablishment, he united with his friends to form a cor- poration, which -mis recognised by the state. To this corporation he sold th(; property. A capital was raised on a loan, without interest, of 150 shares, each of 100 guilders (8/. 6.5. 8d.). They were soon taken. To cnalile the corporation to repay the loan, the boarding and lodging of a girl, to be paid by the auxiliary committees or by private subscriptions, was fixed at two guilders a Meek, or 8/. 12*. id. a year, besides 4/. 3.S. 4rf. as entry. Of such capital, one-fifth was used for the enlarging and fitting up of apartment.s, for already twenty-four girls were under Miss Voute's care at the close of 1819.
Thus a good work was established on the basis of God's word. What was now needed, above all, was to carry it on in the spirit of /ihtrti/. Without this, no tnily moral influence upon the hearts of the girls was deemed fiossible. The Asylum should not l;e a convent. When entering, you want the assistance of somebody inside to open the door ; but when going out, nobody's help is required. The girls are free to leave the house any day. This is one of the fundamental principles of the establishment. During the night, however, each of them is locked up in her own bedroom. There is no common dormitory ; but long passages on the second story are on botli sidc\s lined with nice tidy little bed- rooms, just large enough to contain a bed, a washstand, a press, a chair, and sutticient space to walk a step or two.
Mr. Heldring beingaverse to anything like mechanical or compulsory influence, has made as few laws aud
rules as possible. Indeed, the rules and regulations which there are, are the result of experience, and were not drawn up until proved necessary. The establish- ment steadfastly strives to realise the idea of a family. At the commencement of the day a portion of the holy Word is read, then a list of precejjts, called ' General Principles of Christian Life, for the Asylum Steenbeek.' The first runs as follows : —
' 1. Let nobody look back who puts his hand to the plough. So from the first step into this house all the past is forgotten, dead and buried, that a new life may be devoted to God and the Sa-s-iour in the Holy Spu-it.'
' 8. Keep in mind that labour is the first evidence of obedience to the commandment of God : " In the sweat of thy brow thou shalt eat thy bread." Show that it is your most sincere desire, since your entrance into this house, to earn honestly deserved bread.'
' 14. Our most holy battle is against unbelief. Never cease to rebuke it. Let your constant pi'ayer be, that your faith may increase. The whole Asylum only exists through faith, and ought, in the midst of the world, to be a testimony of faith, charity, and hope.'
Such and similar principles are daily brought home to their hearts in the way of general address. Special addresses take place occasionally when elicited by some particular cause. Any appearance of an effort to force a change of the heart is carefully avoided. But the girls are steadily kept to their work, that they may learn to appreciate the virtues of diligence, order, cleanliness, and discipline, as the effects of Cliristian principles. Their labour is divided between the sewing-room, the laundi-y, the kitchen, the house, and the garden.
Punishment needs seldom to be applied. Shoxdd anyone be refractor}^, she is ordered to make a certiiin number of mats. The obstinate one, who wants to leave the house, is put into a small room to spend a day in solitude before carrj-ing her sad resolution into practice. Some of the best girls are sent in from time to time to speak to her ; then the teachers, one after another, ^isit her. In most cases this proves sufficient to make her repent aud return to her dutj*. If she continues obstinate Mr. Heldring speaks to her. Take an instance of one case : —
A proud, stubborn girl, who, perhaps for the tenth time, resolved to leave the house, but never had carried her resolution into practice, declared to him that she had made up her mind to go.
' Do you remember,' said he, ' how often you have told me the same story, standing where you are now 'i '
' I do n't.'
' Still, it might be as well for you to remember it, for I do n't know anybotly upon whom such an amount of patience and mercy was ever bestowed as upon you.'
The girl is silent, and .'^o is the minister.
' But just as you like,' he continues, after a pause. ' You have said you are determined to go ; do what your heart impels you to ; as for me, no sooner will you have left the spot where you are now standing tlian I shall shake the dust from niy feet against j'ou, for I don't want to have as much communion with you on the great day of judgement as with the dust that now sticks to my feet."
She went away — but to the room where the other girls were at their work. She resumed her place among them. 'How is that?' a.sked the lady who was in superinteudeuce ; 'are you back agaiu ? ' ' The miiiifit«r,'
24
AVORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
Makck '2, 1863.
answered she, ' told me to act as my luart ^vishcd. My lieart tolls me now to staj-.'
Some liom-.s later the lady saw Mr. Ileldring. ' Viluit are we to do with her nov.- ? ' asked she. ' She has understood me,' was Ids short reply.
It is now fifteen years since the Asylum was founded, and those fifteen ye.irs tell their own story. I have before mo the 14th Keport of the Asylum, which runs from the first of July 1860 to the last of June 1861. It shows that from the commencement of the institution down to that period, 352 girls have been taken into the house. Of these the following statistics arc given : Dead, 32 ; mamod, 62 ; in service, 57 ; retiirued to their families, 12 ; in prison, 2 ; at the Beggars" Colonj-, 3 ; known as fallen again, 54 ; lost out of sight, 101 ; giving hope now and then, 22 ; wandering about as beggars, 4 ; entered into a Eoman Catholic institution, 1 ; in the hospital, 2.
And how many truly converted ? The statistics of that are not k(-ptliere below. Let \is hope and pray that they may form a long list above. And let us at the same time be thankful to find that, as far as wc can judge, ono-third of the received girls have been rotnrned to a life of order and usefulness.
In so far as prosperity may be considered as a divine blessing, the A.sylum maj- be pointed] at as a striking proof of God's favour upon a good work. Supported by voluntary- contributions and by the annual sums that were paid by Christian friends for the boarding of the girls whom they had sent in, the loan'^has" not only been paid off) but two other spacious houses have been built in its vicinity, — the one, a preventive reforma- toiy called Talitha Ktimi, where at present 120 to 130 girls under sixteen, rescued from neglect and bad training, arc receiving Christian education ; the other, called Bethel, is giving shelter and refuge to about 70 girls above sixteen, mostly released convicts.
I visited tho.se three establishments a month ago, and I witnessed about 250 j'oung souks — from the full- grown girl at Sieenheek down to the little child at Talithn Kumi — li^-ing in peace and happiness, and I thought of them as three flocks of sheep and lambs res- cued from the wolf, and being brought back to the good Sliepherd. And I heard them sing their hymns, and I saw them going about their work, and dining and supping together like happj- members of a blessed Christian family, and I rejoiced by the side of my friend Mr. Heldring, who was standing as a father in the midst of them, raised up by the Lord to show forth the power of His word and Spirit o\er the cunning devices of that enemy who is a murderir from the beginning.
If ever you travel through flat Holland to the beau- tifxil mountains of the Continent, pray do not hurry, but g(>t out at Ede, and take the coaeli to Wageningen, and walk up to Hemmen, and j'ou Viill see a work of God which surely is not less chamiing or glorious than the .'■■miling hills of the Ehine or the gigantic Alps of Switzerland.
Fehriiary 18G3.
DEKMAEK.
In Denmark, missions are a subject of controversy between two important sections of the national Church. One party, building on a very singular theological sys- tem, opposes the evangelisation of heathens, pretending
that it is not in this life they are to hear the word of salvation, but that after their death, by a so-to-speak mysterious virtue of the blood of Christ, their under- standings ■«-ill be opened, their hearts moved, and their souls saved for ever. But by the side of tliis party is another, and indeed a more numerous one, whoso mem- bers, animated b}' the evangelical spirit, have fomided a missionary society, and are seeking to per.suade their brethren, even more by their works than their discourses, of the seasonablencss and paramount importance of such associations. This Danish Missionary Society had ccU'bratcd a second anniversavj- at Starhus, a manufac- turing town on the east coast of Jutland, containing about 12,000 inhabitants. The meeting had been very numerously attended, and believers had been brought together from all sides by the voice of their pastors towai-ds it. This year it was at Kibe, a small town in the Duchy of Slcswig, that this Cliristian festival took place. Kotwithstanding the unimpoi'tance of the town, notwithstanding its distance from the grand centres of the national life, an immense number of Danish Christians considered it a happiness to attend there. After the sermons, which were listened to with interest by a composed audience, Dr. Kalkar, who is president of the society, and one of the most respectable pastors in Denmark, presented a report on the state of Cliristianity in Greenland. Among other remarkable circumstances, he announced that the translation of the Bible into the Clrec idandish language had been re-vised with much care, and that a new edition was shortly to appear. Ho then proceeded to speak of the work which had been undertaken in that country, of the blessing \rith which it had been crooned by tho Spirit of God (notwithstanding the insufficiency of the means em- ployed), and of the indisputable progress which had been effected, and which had been proved by the entrance of some Greenlanders into the society in the capacity of missionaries among their fellow-countrymen.
On the follow ing day the cathedral, which is con- sidered to be one of the finest in tho kingdom, was the place of a meetnig not less interesting, though relating to a subject entirely different : it turned upon the state of religion in Denmark. Dr. Noerdam presented a me- moir, which attested a notable improvement in all quarters; 'no doxilit,' he said, 'many instances of infi- delity are found among the children of God ; no doubt religious indifference exists, but it is continually dimi- nishing ; and wo nuiy saj-, without fear, that the work of Christ is in progi-ess. We continue on all sides to see consciences awakened, appeals heard, and numerous conversions, attesting tlie progress of the kingdom of God. Let us hope that a time may come, whe)i all the members of the church shall be won over to it -n-ithout reserve.'
Aflerthis warm discourse an opportunity of speaking was given to M. Vatel, of Jetsmark, in the north of Jutland, who directed the attention of the public to the spiritual needs of the Danes living in foreign countries, and, in particidar, of the seamen. After having spoken of the Danes resident abroad without religious resources, and of the artisans who, being without work in their own country, go elsewhere to seek for bread, and meet for the mo.st part with the gravest temptation.s, he alluded to the thousands of seamen who every year quit the ports of the kingdom to such an extent, that there is nowhere a harbour of any importance that is not visited by Danish ships ; he showed how desirable
March 2, 18G3.
WORK OF THE CIIIJISTIAX CHURCH.
25
it was tliat iu every port there should he a pastor from the same country, wlio might declare the gospel to his fellow-countrj nien ; at HamLurg, for instance, there were entered in 1862 nearly 308 ships, manned by 1,500 sailors ; at Dantzig there are 348 ships entered yearly ; at Kiinigsberg, at Amsterdam, at Rotterdam, at Antwerp, an equal number ; in England there are about 3,270 counted; the need is urgent, audit is most necessary that it shoidd be satisfied, for so large a Ijody of seamen must not be allowed to live on without reli- gion ; the task is a great one, and the church of Denmark must rise to its level.
The assembly generally coidd but applaud these sentiments, and Dr. Kalkar became the interpreter of a unanimous feeling when, in tlie farewell session, he proposed an address, drawn uji in the name of the society. It was therein demanded that the entire church should take more interest than before in mis- sionarj- labours ; that the society, whose festival had just been celebrated, and new societies, might be estab- lished, and that no means might be neglected to assure their success. Herewith the assembly was dissolved, all the mcml)ers bearing with them the conviction that its efforts would be blessed.
Copenhagen, Feb. 1863.
RUSSIA.
Thi? Russian sectarians (Raskolniki) may be divided chiefly into three groups: — 1. Those who have priests (Popowsclitschina or Popowzj-) ; 2, those who have no priest*, and reject the greater part of the Christian dogmas (Bespopowschtschina) ; and 3, those who not only reject dogmas and priests, but have a kind of political tendency mixed up with a religion of their own. To the first Ciitegoiy belong the Staroobijadzy (those who adhere to the ancient customs), or Starow- jirzy (believers of the old school), who also form the most numerous and best-known sect. It originated through some fanatics refusing to accept the Bible as revised by the patriarch Nikon in 1667, and the other sacred books as restored fi-om their original texts. They rejected all the reforms introduced as being unchi'istian. When Peter the Great, among other innovations, conformed the era of Russia to that of the rest of Europe, and transferred the date of the beginning of tlic year from the 1st of September to the 1st of January ; when he further decreed that beards should not be worn any longer, the conservatives formally seceded from the established Church, called themselves Staroobrjadzy and formed a distinct sect, which now perhaps counts ten millions. On the wluile, however, the difference between the respective dogmas of these Dissenters and the Orthodox party, there does not seem to be much essential difference ; in fact, it is chiefly ceremonies of minor import which ajipear to have led to that wide breach.
Thus the Starowjerzy walk in their processions round the church to the right, use beads at their prayers, sing the Hallelujah at the Easter-mass twice, and have seven breRd.s at the Communion ; while the ' Orthodox ' walk to the left, do not (with exception of the monks) use beads, sing the Hallelujah thrice, and have only five breads at the Communion. But the Starowjerzy, who object to cutting off their hair and beard, on tlie ground of the prohibition contained in Leviticus xix. 27, also
consider the use of tobacco, coffee, tea, and potatoes as ! sinful. They are tolerant, but object to close contact ' with those who differ from thrm in creed; even if thej' ! belong to their own family, they Mould not sit with ; them at the .same table. The sects of the second category are of an older origin, and owe their origin to ;| the two deacons, Karp (called Strigolnik), and Nikitin, .: who went out of the Church in the fifteenth centuiy at j Novgorod. In 1478 strong measures were taken against j them, but thej' managed, bj- a general dispersion over j Livonia, Poland, and Pomorje (Ai-changel and Olonez), j to keep up their peculiar creed. Among these are !| again six different sects, tlie Fcodosians, I'liilippones, '\ Aristowze, Rjabinowze, I'omorjane, and Spassowa- j Sloglassie (' saving conformitv ') ; but they all agree on ,1 tlie main points. The Orthodox Church they consider to be heretical and condemned ; they therefore reject the sacraments. Baptism is in tlu-ir eyes a defilement, and it is in the same light that they look upon the conseei'a- tion of man'iage. The sect of the Philippones is chiefly remarkable for its two minor branches of the 'Morelt- sehiki,' or believers, who seek death by combustion and the Saposchtschewanzy, or those who die by fasting. Very little is known about these fanatics and their mystic dogmas. Every now and then the awfid news arrives from Siberia or the eastern produces that members of this sect — by hundreds sometimes — have died yoluntarily in a pit or a house filled with com- bustibles, pious hj mns on their lips ; or that others of tlieir number have died through total abstinence from food. The last-known religious solemnity of this kind took place in 1849, in the Government of Penii, where eighteen people died in the self-sotight flames. Another branch is known by the name of Stranniki, or Bjeguny, 'wanderers' — mere vagabonds and thieving strollers, who live in forests, plunder what they can, and form altogether, as they saj', a li\-ing protest against the ' vexations of the heretical authorities.' To the sect of the third categorj' belong the 'Judaizers' (Judeist- wojoschtschie), the oldest Russian heretics. Their origin goes back to the time when Novgorod entertained dreams of independence, and the Lithuanian Prince Michael Olelkowitsch came to that city in order to assume the reign. With him came many IIel)rews, who converted a multitude to their creed, and thus formed this extraordinary sect, which soon spread as far as Moscow, and, notwith.'^tanding all persecution.s exists to-day as -v-igorously as ever. It is now better known under the name of Subbotniki (celebratcrs of Sabbath). These believe themselves to be the truest adherents to the Mosaic law, and the real elect ; yet they know very little of the Pentateuch, and confine themselves to certain outward acts and ceremonies, such as circumcision, the peculiar celebration of Easter, the reading and singing of some psalms in Hebrew, which, j linwever, they write with Russian characters, &c. They hfill exjiect a Messiah, and nject all Christian dogmas, the sacrament.", and alihor oaths. Marriages are not binding witli them. Fanatics of a different description are the Skopzy, voluntary eunuchs, on the ground of Matt. xix. 12. As a transition from these must be considered the Chlj-sty or Chlj'stowschtsehina (Fla- gellants), who first appeared in 1717, at Uglit.seli, in the eparchy of Rostow. They believe in the speedy reappearance of Christ and the impending destruction of th(^ world ; they worship in secret meetings, with dances, flagellations, songs, and sometimes orgies of llic
26
WORK OF THE CHRISTL-VX CHURCH.
March 2, 1863.
■wildest description. Their notion is tliat righteousness is to be attained only by self-mutilation, and they reject nearly all existing civil and religious institutions. To their sect belong, strange to saj', the greatest number of the richest native merchants. They deny the divinity of Clu'ist, but assume the Messiah to have come for the second and last time in the person of Peter III. He, so their account runs, suffered martyrdom under the name of Seliwanow, and was sent to Siberia. Recalled from thence he had to undergo new per- secutions, from \ihieh he was liberated by his faithful flock. A few years later he was sent to Susdal, whence lie went again to Siberia, where he will remain hidden until the Day of Judgment. Then he will appear in all his glory, and will toU the great bell in the Uspenski cathedral at Moscow, assemble the true believers, ascend the Eussian throne, and hold the Last Judgment at St. Peter.sburg. Prom that time forward the world will be a habitation of bliss, in which only Skopzy will dwell. The historical foundation of these absurdities is, that a fanatical Skopez, the peasant Kondrati Seli- wanow, from Stolbowo, was convicted of proselytising, received the knout, and was scjit to Siberia. There his partisans proclaimed him to be their INIessiah, the late Emperor Peter III. Emperor Paul, hearing that his cousin was still alive, under the name of Seli- wanow, in Siberia, sent for him, and found the man to be half mad. He accordingly sent him to a lunatic a.sj-lum, which, in 1802, changed for the workhouse at Sniolna. At last, he was liberated by his faithful ad- herents, who henceforth rendered divine honours to him. The Emperor Alexander, in 1820, put an end to this by sending the Messiah to a convent in Susdal, where he died very soon afterwards. On this man the Skopzy have built all their faith and hope. In their religious assemblies they appear in long white gar- ments, according to their denomination of 'doves,' ' bleached ones,' &c., sing peculiar songs, and perform strange dances. Every Skopez has a special passport, sealed with Christ's own seal. Their ethical code contains mjiny excellent regulations. Thus, they are not to use bad language, and must neither blame nor reproach their neighbours : the use of liquors, meat, and tobacco is prohibited. How all these things have been able to survi\e the fearful persecutions that were directed against all heresies at different times, is an enigma, to be exjilained, perhaps, by the circumstance that a good deal of money does a gi-eat many thing.i in Eussia, more than anywhere else. 'J'he last two sects are the Duchoborze (Adversaries of the Holy Ghost — Pneumatomachoi) and the Molokane (Milk-caters). It is to be hop(>d that a time will come w hen a free Eussian press will be able to treat of, and successfully to combat, these religious anomalies.— Pur^Acnow.
GREECE.
Whilb a war of unprecedented magnitude is raging in the western luniisphere, and tlireatens the Great Republic -ivith destruction, and hundreds of thousands in Europe with starvation, thus causing much anxiety to two of the great Powers of Europe — a quiet and blood- less revolution in a small corner of Em-ope has given occasion to greater anxiety and discussion, and threatens the balance of Europe and the peace of the world more seriously even than the former. This small, and here-
tofore insignificant, country, is Greece, and to it these few lines are devoted.
It is well known that soon after the acknowledgement of the Greek independence, three of the great Powers of Euiope— England, France, and Russia — being jealous of each other, and not wishing to see the tlu-one of the new-born kingdom occujjicd by a prince from either of these reigning families, agreed upon a prince of a second, and even- third-rate jiower, and, after a long and tedious consultation and discussion, they at last cast their vote on Otho, the second son of the House of Bavaria ; and, without even asking the opinion of those o^ er whom he was to reign, they declared him first king of Greece ! He arrived in Greece under the ex- press condition of ginng a constitution to the nation ; but a prince born in, and nursed by, and brought up with such ideas as were then prevalent in the Courts of Germany — and destined, as he was, for a cardinal's hat — neither could nor would fulfil his promise, or carry out the terms agreed upon.
In order to rule as he wished in a country that had but recently emerged from a long and bloody war for freedom, it was necessary to employ other means than mere brute force ; means by which a nation can be brought into a greater state of servility than that pro- duced by the sword. Seeing that the Greeks were an enterprising nation, and that the country possessed many natural resources and advantages, and that the people needed but a little encouragement to attain a high degree of prosperity and independence, the Court discouraged, and actually prohibited, all that was cal- culated to bring about such an attainment. Therefore, no roads were made ; no company of any kind was al- lowed to be formed ; thousands of acres of public land were left uncultivated ; while all sorts of liLxurj', fashion, corruption, costliness, extravagant habits, &c., were in- geniously introduced and encouraged by it. The old maxim, ' Divide and rule,' was so freely and so well applied, that, after a few unsuccessful efforts to put a stop to the daily encroachments upon the national rights, the people acquiesced for a time, and the King mistook their acquiescence for a wiUing submission to his wishes.
But in the year 1843, ten years after his landing in Greece, he was one night suddenly suri-ouuded in his palace by both citizens and soldiery, and compelled to send away the host of Bavarians that feasted on the carcass of poor Greece, and to sign the constitution which he promised to give, but had not given, and to swear to abide by and fulfil its articles. No sooner however, was the pressure of the national hand removed, than he commenced again to follow his old beloved path, and as he did not dare to follow the example of many crowned heads in Germany, after the re^■olution of 1848, who trampled upon the constitutions they had sworn to, he continued and at last succeeded to render it a mere printed sheet, by ways and means which made him effectually an absolute monarch under the cloak of a constitution, while he deceived Europe, by ca.sting the whole blame upon the nation. Money, offices, orders, decorations, cajolery, flattery, and the like, were lavished by the Com-t, till at last the consti- tution was turned into a mockery, and the Chambers into an as.sembly of slaves, where none sat but nominees and tools of the Court. And, to complete this comedy, the Court played so well its part in 1854, by placing itself at the head of the agitation of the 'grand idea,'
t
Maech 2, 1863.
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
27
that while they enriched themselves with Eussian roubles and Grecian drachmas, and attained a degree of popiilarity unprecedented, they succeeded at the same time inwipingaway the last trace of sympathy for Greece which remained in the West, and in forcing the two Western Powers to occupy the Piraeus, thus making fools of the Greeks as well as of the three contending Powers ! But the delusion did not last long, at least as far as the Greeks were concerned, and they uow saw but one way of deliverance — viz. the expulsion of King Otho from their soil. To effect this, several attempts at insurrection were made by some of the military men, which, though unsuccessful, sen'ed to prepare the people for the last and triumphant one of last October. Such is a brief history of the reign of Otho and Amelia, and such has been its end. But although the cause is removed, the pernicious effects of its long workings, like those of a slow but sm-e poison, will, it is to be feared, be manifest in the couutx'y for many years to come.
Otho's and Amelia's policy was not only injurious to the political aspect of Greece, but also detrimental to the social, moral, and religious g^o^^'th of her people ; for the means employed to sustain a Government that trifled with every human and di\ inc law, could not but por\-ort the fine qualities of a people which, under a better Government, might have been transformed into one of the best in the world ; so that many of the social and domestic virtues which were prevalent among the people before and during the revolution of 1821, are either extinct or very rarely met.
Then the Sabbath was strictly kept, now there is no Sabbath at all. Then the people lent to and borrowed money from each other, without giving or recei\'ing any receipts whatever ; now they have no hesitation to deny their own signature. Thm the people trembled to take an oath when it was required by the law, now they do not scruple to swear falsely eitlicr for gain or revenge. Tfun true friendship was a pleasing aspect of the Greek character, now you seldom meet with a sincere friend.
But I will not dwell any longer on these matters. Sufl&ce it only to add that Greece is indebted to the Court of King Otho for many of the vices and crimes which mar our national and social order.
Bad and injurious as ha\e been the influences both of the Government and the Court of King Otho and Amelia, I believe that they were designed by Divine Providence for the good of the nation ; for, as with individual character trials do but serve to form and strengthen it, so a nation's is often developed and pm-ified by adverse circumstances. And I hope that the Greeks have passed through a school in wliieh they have learned that, neither in fanaticism nor indifference are they to liud their true interests, but in that course which reeoiumendii the proving of all things, and the holding fa.st that which is good.
It seems, however, as if greater trials were yet in store for Greece. She has indeed thrown off the yoke of the Bavarian Olho, but cannot deliver herself from thi^ protectorate of the three great European Powers. Her geographical position, and her just claims on Turkey, have placed her in a very unpleasant situation ; aud allhougli, by their last act of electing Prince Alfred for iheir King, the Greeks have shown both their good sense and their love for England's liberties and her reigning family, they an: denied the right and privilege
truitus, which have been trampled underfoot by owe at least of those who insist upon the validity of such papers.
But though England, for reasons which she regards strong enough to ju.stify herself, refuses to make a nation happy by giving it Prince Alfred for its king ; and the Duke of Coburg is prevented from accepting the same offer, which Greece seemed willing to extend ; and although various agencies are at work to saddle her with a second edition of King Otho, and thus blast her hopes and frustrate her claims on some of the pro- vinces of European Turkey, the Greeks are too wary to ignore the importance of their country in connection with the Oriental question, and will never consent to any recommendation which is calculated to jeopardise their country's future. On this account they are de- termined to adhere to their first choice, till circum- stances remove the obstacles in Alfred's way to Greece, or open the way for another Protestant prince who can fiu'nish sufficient guarantees of his qualifications for such an important post. At any rate, let England and the world understand that the Greeks will accept neither a Catholic prince, although he may consent to be baptized according to their own Church — nor a German Protestant, brought tip as nearly all of them are, with the idea of the divine right of kings. The Greeks are, both by nature aud training, a democratic people, and they now wisely consent to have a king over them, because they see and feel that they are not yet c^uite prepared for a republic ; but they will not willingly accept of any prince who is not willing to reign with a strictly constitutional form of gorernment. I was talk- ing the other day with one of the members of the 'Holy Synod,' on the rumom- of Ernest's bringing with him his nephew — a Catholic by profession — who is willing to embrace the Greek religion for the sake of becoming heir to the throne of Greece, and he expressly declared that Greece needs no sucli heir ! Indeed, public opinion is, that a man who would consent to change his religion for the sake of a throne is unworthy the name of a man, much less of a king. He may be externally washed and anointed, but in his heart he will remain as strong a Catholic as ever !
And now, in conclusion, let me add that since both time and circumstances unmistakably indicate that the Greek nation is about to take a leading part in the aff'airs of the East, England's duty and iuterest is to assist it to get into the right track and make a good beginning. This will save her a great deal of anxiety and expense, and put a stop to all schemes of aggran- disement on the part of the Polar Bear and the Western Fox, at the same time giving an impulse to the principles of both civil and religious liberty, which are so much dreaded by the other two parties, and SO much needed in the East. Greece has fixed her eyes and placed her hopes on England ; and although she stands in a very critical position, she will still give ear to her advice, and patiently wait for the result of her efforts. God grant that she may not be disappointed! Athens, Feb. 18G3.
of having a king of their own choice, on the plea of i Greece:
The New York Christian Timrs piilili^hes the subjoined letter from the liev. Dr. Hill, tlie missionary of the American Protestant Episcopal Church in
28
WORK QF THE CIIKISTIAX CIIURCIL
March 2, 1863.
Eov. and dear Brother, — Our work, so far as the maintenance of oiir schools is concerned, is about to comnieiice, after an interval of some weeks. It is my intention to concentrate them as much as pos- sible without diminishing their influence ; but the dark cloud which lias for eighteen months past en- veloped our country causes us many misgivings for tlie future, and we know not how w"e may be affected by the breaking up of all those bonds which united us as Christians and as Churchmen. The trou1>les at home press very liea\'y on our hearts — perhaps even he.ivier than they are felt at home, inas- much as we need the excitement of what is pa-ssing before you every day. Here we have to wait from week to week, often in the greatest suspense, v.itliout any cheering surmi.se, or even any well-invented rumour, to relieve our anxiety. We endeavour ' to stand firm in our lot,' praying daily unto the Lord God of Hosts to send some angel of good to arrest the plague that threatens to lay desolate our once fair heritage. And it is with no slight feeling of gratitude we can say, under all the atl\ erse circumstances which have befallen our beloved coimtry, and which must have so greatly affected tlie prosperity of the Church at home, 'Hitherto hath the Lord helped ! '
Amidst all our anxiety re.sj)ecting our mission, we have had mucli, very much, to encourage us in the assurance that our efforts for the spiritual improvement of this people have not been in vain. We see the fruits of our early labours now in our daily intercourse witli those around us. I have had occasion, of late more than ever, to observe the tranquillising effect of j the simple preaching of the Word of God upon the hearts of those whom God has bowed down with afflic- tion. These had sought in vain for comfort and consola- tion in the dead letter of Christianit}-, to which they have long been accustomed ; and it is really affecting to see the almo.st cliild-like simplicity with which the pure Word of God is received, and the surprise they exhibit 1 wlien passages of Scripture are pointed ou* to them applicable to their individual circumstances. Such j texts as these : ' Wlien my father and my mother for- ^ sake me, the Lord M-ill take me up ; ' ' Leave thy father- ' less children, I will preserve them alive : and let thy widows txust in me, saitli tlie Lord;' 'For thy Maker is thy husband : tlic Lord of Hosts is His name,' &e. ; i 'A bruised reed shall He not break, and the smoking | flax shall He not quench ; ' such and similar texts, appli- {
cable to mourners suffering under the loss of parents, children, husbands, wives, have been wonderfully blessed and accompanied by suitable reniai-ks.
Some little time ago, an incident occurred which will gi\ e you a good idea of my manner of preaching the Gospel, and ^-ill make you understand what ojspor- tunities are afforded us of instruction altogether apart from the regular les.sons in our schools. I was called upon to accompany Miss ]\Ivdligan (on the arrival of her trunks from Smyrna) to our Custom-house. While waiting in a private i-oom till the formalities were gone tlirough, one of the principal officers, a highly respectable gentleman, a man of good education, re- counted to me some of his afflictions — the loss of his wife, quite recently, and of two or three children some time bef >re, and that he was left now with an only child. He spoke with that kind of submissiveness which wc always hear from a Mohammedan who resolves the will of God into fatality, and bows to it because he cannot rever.se it ; with a theoretical belief in the doe- trine of a future life, but destitute of the power and comfort of a faith which bears the Christian believer up under a load of afflictions, and causes him to esteem them as 'light,' and 'transitory,' filling his heart with the hope of a ' far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.'
He listened with miirked attention to my remarks, which naturally took this turn ; but when, to enforce my arguments for consolation under bereavements, I spoke of a reunion with our departed friends, and the recognition of each other in the hajipy land, he inter- rupted me with eagerness, and asked me if I really believed this. I said, ' Certainly, I believe it.' ' Can j-ou pi-ove it to me?' said he. 'I can fill my mouth with argument .s,' I replied, ' but the Spirit of God only can make them a>ailablc to persuade you.' I then addressed niys(>lf to this point seriou.sly, during which he was much affected. Others stood by and listened ; but as we were interrupted hy public business, I promised to send him one of my sermons in Greek ('2 Sam. xii. 22, 2.3), in whicli the subject is fidly dis- cussed. I sent it to him, and along with it a copy of the Psalms in ancient Greek (mai-king many of them as suitable to his state of mind), and a volume of con- soling subjects, also in Greek. He sent me a most kind acknowledgement, expressing his appreciation of the truth of the doctrine, and of the comfort he had derived from it.
ASIA.
TURKEY IN ASIA.
The events which have taken place in the American Mission during tlie year are presented in the following summary. The mission is divided into four great dis- trict* :—We.stern Turkey, Central Turkej-, Eastern Turkey, and Syria, while there is, besides, the Mission to the Nestorians of Persia. AVe give the narrative under these different dinsions.
CoxsTANTii,-opi.E.— William Goodell, D.D., Elias Riggj, D.D., L F. Pettibone, George F. Herrick, Till- man C. Trowbridge, Missionaries; Mrs. Abigail P.
Goodell, Mrs. Martha J. Riggs, INIrs. Margaret Trow- bridge, Mrs. Helen M. Herrick ; Miss Maria A. West, Teacher. — Two pastors, two licensed preacher.s, eight helpers, and eight teachers.
Adri.\nopi.e. — Oliver Crane, Charles F. Morse, Minsiunnrifs ; Mrs. Marion D. Crane, Mrs. Eliza D. Morse. — One teacher, and one helper.
Phimi'POPoi.is. — James F. Clarke, Missiimary ; Mrs. Isabella G. Clarke. — One teacher.
EsK.1 Zagha.. — Theodore L. Byington, Missionary ; Mrs, Margaret E. Byington. — One helper.
Smyrna.— Daniel Ladd, Edward M. Dodd, Mission- aries ; Mrs. Charlotte H. Ladd, Mrs. Lydia B. Dodd. — One pastor, and one preacher.
NicoMEDiA. — Justin AV. Pai-sons, Missionary ; Mrs.
MAKcn 2, 1803.
29
Catharine Parsons. — Tliree pastors, one proachpr, five helpers, and nine teachers.
Bboosa. — Joseph K. Greene, Missionary; Mrs. Elizabeth A. Greene.
SrvAS.— Oliver W. Wincho.stor, William W. Liv- ingston, Missionaries ; Henry S. West, M.D., Missionary Physician ; Mrs. Janette L. Winchester, Mrs. Martha E. I>ivingston, Mrs. Lettio M. West.— Two preiichers, six teachers, and one helper.
Cesaue.*.. — Wilson A. Farnsworth, Missionary; Mrs. Caroline E. Farnsworth. — Two preachers, seven helpers, and six teachers.
Mausovak. — Julius Y. Leonard, Missionary ; Mrs. Amelia A. Leonard. — One preacher, four helpers, and four teachers.
On the way to the mission. — Henry C. Haskell, Missionary ; Mrs. Margaret B. Haskell.
In Aiiurica. — Josiah Poabody, Henry J. Van Lennep, D.D., Edwin E. Bliss, George Washbm-n, Missionaries ; Mrs. Mary L. Peabody, Mrs. Emily Tan Lennep, Mrs. Isabella H. Bliss, Mrs. Mary Ann Jewctt, Mrs. Henrietta Washburn, Mi.^ Sarah E. West.
Four members of this mission have been removed by death, all under peculiar circumstances ; suddenly, or after a very brief illness. The manner of Dr. Dwight's departure, when journeying in Vermont, on the 25th of January, will not soon be forgotten. Dr. Jewett, en- coiu-aged hy able medical opinions, was returning to the field from the United States, when, at Liverpool, on the 18th June, his disease suddenly terminated his life. Mr. Meriam foil by the hand of robbers on the 3rd of Julj-, and his wife survived him only a few weeks. Tiie death of those labourers was a gi-eat loss to the mission. There are now connected with this mission twenty churelies, with 4G6 members, of whom fifty-eight were received during the year. The whole number of persons registered as Protestants is 1.931. Thirl y-fivc common schools contain 897 pupils. The seminary at Bebck and tlio female boarding school at Hass Keuy, liave been suspended for a time with the expectation of making a change in the location of the institutions, removing them to the interior. The printing of the mission for the year amounted to 8,307,000 pages, of wliich 2,840,000 were pages of Scriplujv. Dr. Riggs has continued his labours in the translation of the Bulgarian Scriptures. There are still encouraging indications of a waking up of Mussul- man mind to religious enquiry.
Central STurktij.
AiNTAii. — Benjamin Sclmeidor, D.D., Missionary ; Mrs. ,SuN,m M. Schneider, Mrs. Josephine L. Coffing : Miss Myni A. Proctor, 'riark'r.-Ono. native pastor, one ]ir« acher, and nine teachers.
:MARASH._Georgo H. White, Alvan B. Goodalc, M.D., Mixsionarirs ; Mrs. Joanna F. Wliitc, Mrs. Mary E. Goodale.— Ono native pastor and seven teachers.
OoRi-A. — Georgo B. Nutting, Zenas Goss, Mission- aries ; Mrs. Susan A. Nutting.— Ono preacher and two teacliers.
Ai.Ei'ro.~Audrow T. Pratt, M.D., Missionary; Mi-8. SuraJi F. Pratt.— Ono native pastor and one teacher.
ANTioni.— Homor B. Morgan, Missionary; Mrs. Susan. H. Morgan.— Ono preacher and two teachers.
Mrs. Powers, of this mission, died at Austerlitz, N.Y., January 2, and Mr. Powers has felt constrained to ask a release from his connection with the Board. Mr. Coffing died March 26, of wounds received from assassins, deeply regi-etted by his associates. To the 12 churches of the mission, 92 persons were added by profession during the year, making a present total membership of 786. The total average number in the congi-egation.s, at 25 places for stated preaching, i.s 3,136. 41 common schools contain 1,628 pupils, and 614 other persons, adult.s, are receiving instruction from ' little teachers.' The Cliristian activity, and the self-denying spirit of benevolence, manifested by many of the native Christians, is very gratifying, and the progress at some of the stations, particularly Marash and Oorfa, has been remarkable. Dr. Goodell, of Con- stantinople, remarked after attending the annual meet- ing, ' God has indeed done marvellous things for this mission, whereof many hearts are glad.'
63slenr STnrkfjr.
i\IosuL. — Two native preachers.
DiAHnEKiR. — Augustus Walker, Missionary ; David H. Nutting, M.D., Missionary Physician ; ]VIrs. Eliza M. Walker, Mrs. Mary E. Nutting. — One native preacher, and one teacher.
Mabdin.— W. F. Williams, Missionary ; Mrs. Wil- liams. — One native preacher, one teacher and one helper.
BiTLis. George C. Knapp, Lysander T. Burbank, Missionaries ; 'bLrs. Alzina M. Knapp, Mrs. Sarah S. Burbank. — One native preacher and one helj>er.
EiunooM. — George A. Pollard, Missionary ; Mrs. Maiy Helen Pollard. — One native preacher and one teacher. {
Akadkik. — Sanford Eichardson, Missionary ; Mrs. i Ehoda Ann Richardson. — One native preacher and two teachers. |
Kharpoot. — Oi-son P. Allen, Crosby H. Wheeler, | Herman N. Barnum, Missionaries ; Mrs. Caroline R. \ Allen, Mrs. Susan A. Wheeler, Mrs. Mary E. Barnum, Miss Arabella L. Babcock. — One native pastor and one teacher.
In Anwrica. — Henri B. Haskell, M.D., Mission- ary Physician ; Mrs. Lucy C. Lobdell, Mrs. Sarah J. Haskell.
Tht^ number of churches connected with this mission is 11, with a total membersliip of 344. 46 were added liy profession during the last year reported. There are j 41 common schools, with 948 pupils. The tlioological j school at Kharpoot has 24 students. The average aggregate number attending on preaching, at 30 places, has been 1,338. The extent of territory and the popu- : lation, connected with some of the stations of this mission, are very large, and the developemonts of the , work are encom-aging. In tiiis, as in other mi.ssions in 'i'urkey, there is progi-ess in the matter of self-support. The students in the theological school have given great^ satisfaction by their thoroughness in study, the tone of their piety, and their usefulness iu Sabbath and vaca- \ tion labours. |
i
Snriit. j
BiiiBLT.— William M. Thomson, D.D., C. V. A. \'an ■ Dyck, M.D., Henry H. Jessup, Missionaries; Gi-oi-ge 1
30
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAX CHURCH.
Makch 2, 1863.
C. JL-arter, Printer ; Mrs. Maria Thomson, Mrs. Julia ' mission, but afterwards, in ciisc of vacancy, by the Board
A. Van Dyck, Mrs. Caroline Jessiip. — One native preacher, tlu-ee teachers, and one other helper.
Abeih. — Simeon H. Calhoun, William Bird, Mission- aries ; Mrs. Emily P. Calhoun, Mrs. Sarah F. Bird. — One native preacher, and four teachers.
Shk el Ghurb. — One native teacher, and one helper. SmoN AND Hasbeiya. — J. Edwards Ford, J. 1,0- renzo Jjyons, Missionaries ; Mrs. Mary P. Ford, Mrs. Catherine N. Lyons ; Miss Adelaide L. Mason, Teacher of the Female Boai-dinff School. — Two native preachers, and eight teachers.
Hums. — One native preacher. Tripoli. — (Vacant. )
On the way to the mission. — Samuel Jessup, Mission- ary ; Mrs. Eliza Ann Jessup.
In America. — Daniel Bliss, William W. Eddy, Mis- sionaries ; Mrs. Abby M. Bliss, Mi-s. H. JI. Eddo, Mrs. Elizabeth Hurter.
This mission, tliougli suffering from a want of la- bourers, was never so promising of spiritual fruit as now. More persons have avowed themselves Protest- ants during the last twelve months than during the whole previous forty years, and never were so many inquiring on the subject of religion. In Hums, two hundred and fifty persons have declared themselves Protestants, and two hundred and thirtj'-two Maronitcs in B'teddin have announced their adhesion to the gos pel. In Cana, the Protestant community has increased threefold. The Hasbeiya church was broken up by the massacre, but a new church of seventeen members has beenformed in the Merj-Ayun district, mo.stof them from that church. Six were admitted to the church in Sidon ; there were also additions to the churches in Beirut and Abeih ; and nearly forty persons are reported as hopeful candidates for admission in connection with these three stations. Missionary- associations have been formed, both of males and females, for weekly offerings to sup- port a native preacher at Hums and a city missionary in Beirut, and to supply preachers for several localities in the south. An unusual number of adults are learn- ing to read, in order to study the Scriptures, and Bible-clnsses have been largely increased. Tiie mission earnestly calls for a strong reinforcement.
A ' Prospectus and Programme of the Syrian Pro- testant Colelgiate Institute, Beirut,' printed in Syria, has been received. The objects aimed at, tlie Prospectus states, are mainly two. ' First, to enable native youth to obtain, in the country, the literarj', scientific, and professional education which the exi- gencies of the community demand ; and, second, to make the institution indigenous, self-governing, and self-sustaining.' The college will be conducted on strictly Christian and evangelical principles, and ' w^ll J)e under the general supenision and control of a Board of Trustees, elected, in the first instance, by the Syrian mission of the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, from among the American and English missionaries and residents in Syria and Egypt'
There is to be a Principal, or President, ' appointed at the commencement of the institution, by the Syria
of Trustees ;' and the professors and tutor.s, of whom several wiU be needed when the college is in full opera- tion, to be elected by the Trustees, are to be, ' as far as practicable, from the commencement, educated and pious natives of the country ; it being one of the fun- damental objects of the college to qualify native pro- fessors and teachers to assume the entire management of the institution as soon as possible.' In the hope of making the college ultimately self-supporting as well as indigenous, it will be a prime object to make educa- tion in it as cheap as possible. The starting is designed to be upon a moderate scale ; but at least ^5,000 will be needed for the first year, to pa}' rent, pro^-ide appa- ratus, support the teachers, &c. Ecv. Daniel Bliss, of the Syria mission, now in the United States, and to be for the present located at New York, is the appointed President of the institution.
The printed Prospectus is accompanied by 'Reasons for establishing' the institution, from which a few sen- tences may be quoted here. ' The time has come when decisive measures should be commenced, to originate, in the bosom of the native Protestant community of Syria, all the educational institutions necessary for its permanent existence, growth, and prosperity. In no other way can this community be emancipated from the enfeebling and depressing influence inevitably result- ing from perpetual dependence upon foreign charity. The con^-ietion of this is daily becoming deeper and more influential amongst intelligent native Protestants, and awakening the desire to reach a position more independent and satisfactory ; and they arc learning to be more liberal in the use of tlieir property for the support of their religious and educational institutions. It is of the utmost importiinee to foster and encourage this new developement of organic life ; and to do this is one grand object in view in the establishment of the contemplated college. And although they are not able, at present, either to endow or to conduct such an exten- sive and expensive institution, without aid from abroad, yet very liberal donations have already been promi.sed from natives, and a number of educated and talented gentlemen are ready to consecrate their lives as teachers, totlie achievement of this irajwrtant entei-prise. It is also a significant and encouraging fact, that a more just appreciation of the value of education is rapidly spread- ing through the Arab community generally. Indeed, the desire for education, both male and female, of a higher order than has heretofore been possible, has risen to a sort of passion in Beirut, in certain parts of Lebanon, and even in some cities and towns farther inland.
' Well aware of this growing zeal for education, the Jesuits and other Roman Catholic missionaries are rapidly multiplying their institutions, in various parts of the country, and holding out attractions to draw into them, not only all those who are awaking to more enlarged and liberal views and aspirations, but even the children and youth of Protestants. One of the most distinguished Protestants in Sj-ria has sent his son to a Jesuit college, because in that alone could be obtained the education he believed to be necessary ; and others will be constrained to imitate the ruinous example, luiless provision be speedily made to meet the urgent necessities of the case, by the establishment of such an institution as this college is designed to be. It is, in fact, no longer a question whether or not educa-
WORK OF THE CimiSTIAX CHURCII. 31
March 2, 1803.
tion is to he obtained, but simply who are to bo the teachers.'
The importance of this undertaking mil be readily perceived, and it is hoped that those to whom God lias intrusted the means, will be found ready to give it generous assistance. The names of nineteen individuals, English and American residents in Syria and Egypt, who ' agree to organise themselves into a Board of Trustees,' are appended to the Prospectus. Among these are the names of the United States Consul and the English Vice-Consul at Beirut, and of the English Consul at Damascus.
The Rev. E. Dodd, American missionary, wi-ites, Feb. 3 : — ' We have a small clnireh organised in this city of twenty members. At Aidin and Thj-atira we have also small churches ; these, though feeble, are active in diffusing the truth.
' One of our two American mission families now occupies a house in the Turkish quarter, surrounded by Moslem families. At first their residence was looked upon as an intrusion ; but they soon made acquaintances among the Turkish families, and now the whole neigh- bourhood is friendly, the families \ieing with each other in showing their attention, sending in pre- sents, &c.
'Visits are exchanged among the families so fre- quently that Mrs. Dodd has hardly time for her house- hold duties ; and she has thus abundant opportunities of speaking for Christ, or reading a portion of the Gos- pel to those who have never heard.
' I have frequent visits also from the men of these Mahometan families. Some were visits of friendly courtesy, and some for " religious discussion." ■ ' One }-oung Turk came a few days ago, all bristling ■with arguments drawn from a book recently published by a Moolah at Constantinople, in answer to one of Rev. Dr. Pfander's against Islamism.
' This man brought forward each one of the Messianic prophecies of the Old Testament, and applied them to Mohammed ! You can easily see on what favourable ground we stand when thej- thus show any disposition for argument, and especially when they appeal to our Scriptures as uuthmty.'
The Armenian community at Aidin (the railway terminus) has recently invited our Protestiint native helper to take charge of their school, which he now conducts.
More persons have avowed themselves Protestants in the last year than during the previous forty years. In the city of ancient 'Horu.s,' 250 persons have spon- taneoKsly declared themselves Protestant.^, to whom the Beirut church have appointed a native preacher, paid by their local missionary society.
232 Romish Maronites in I5'teddin have announced their adhesion to the gospel. In Cana of Galileo the Prot<'stai)t community have incTcased tlu-eefold. The Hasheiya church, broken up by the massacre, has given 17 members to one formed in the Mcrj-ayun district; 6 admitted to Lidra church ; others to Beirut and Abeik churches ; and no lees than 40 hopeful candidates applying for acbiiission.
Shall all these Missions be closed for want of aid ?
Turkish Missions Aid Society, Fch. 1863.
PERSL4.
The following- is a review for the j-ear of the Mission to the Nestortans of Oroomiah, on the north-west border of Persia. This mission is intimately con- nected with that to the Armenians in Turkey. Both these missions are at present in great need of aid, through the war in America, and the consequent high rate of exchange. To secure their continued prosperity it is essential that they should receive liberal assistance from this countrj-. The Turlcish Missions Aid Society is the channel in this country for such aid, and we earnestly trust that its claims will not be neglected.
Ohoomiah. — Samuel A. Rhea, Henry N. Cobb, Missionaries ; Frank N. H. Young, M.D., Missionary Physician; Mrs. Sarah Jane Rhea, Mrs. Matilda E. Cobb ; Miss Mary Susan Rice, Miss Aura J. Beach, Teachers.
Seie. — Joseph G. Cochrane, Benjamin Labaree, Jr., Missionaries ; Mrs. Deborah P. Cochrane, Mrs. Eliza- beth W. Labaree ; Miss Harriet N. Crawford, Teachers.
Salmas. — Jolin H. Shedd, Missionary ; Mrs. Sarah J. Shedd.
Beturning to Persia. — Justin Perkins, D.D.
In this country. — Austin W. Wright, ISI.D., George W. Coan, Missionaries ; Mrs. C. B. Perkins, Mrs. Catharine M. Wright, Mrs. Sarah P. Coan, Mrs. Sarah A. Breath, Mrs. Esther E. Thompson ; Jliss Fidelia Fisk, leach rs.
The Nestorian mission has suffered much during the past year. Mr. Breath died of cholera in November, 1861 — an irreparable loss ; and Mrs. Breath has since been obliged to return to the United States with her childi-en. The health of Mr. Ambrose lias required him to relin- quish the missionary work, and the same is true of Mrs. Thompson, who has returned to the United States. The health of Mr. Coan demanding a cessation from labour, he is also now on a visit to this country, with his family. On the other hand, Dr. Perkins, the founder of the mission, is on his way back to Persia. He sailed August 20. The Nestorians have been ren- dered somewhat restless by oppression, and by the vain hope of Russian intervention ; but God has not forsaken His ow work. Tiie week of prayer in January was observed by the missionaries and the native preachers and heljjers throughout thi^ tield, and awakened great interest. In February, there was a revival of religion in both the male and female seminaries. Sixty-two persons were admitted to church fellowship during the year. The pledges of offerings to the Lord, made with such marked liberality in April, 1861, have been ful- filled, with Tci-y few exceptions. The mission has resolved to throw the support of the schools on the Plain, in great measure upon the people. There is a theological class of fifteen, all of whom are pledged to become preachers of the gospel. The Nestorians in the mountains were looked after by native preachers, under the special oversight of Mr. Cobb, whoso place is now to be supplied by Mr. Shedd. There is more and more evidence that a spiritual work is going on among the Moiiammedans of Persia, though it is still in its earliest stage.
The Rev. Mr. Cochran, of the Neetorian Mission, gives an acoount of the annual meeting of the native
March 2, 1863.
helpers of the Church, at which two suhjecta of special interest were brought nnder discussion : —
' Our annual gathering of native helpers has just closed. The meetings were well attended throughout the three days, and were considered,' by some of our oldest lielpers, as superior in interest and happy im- pression, to any that Iiavo preceded them.
'The two engrossing topics were National Unity and the Organisation of a Sunhados, or Gtmral Council. It had been prenously planned that a ci\-il head and a bench of couneilloi-s should be chosen, to whom all the evangelicals would agree to refer their civil matters, with the probability that the mass of the people would follow the example. Consul Abbott had been consulted, and liis cordial approval of the movement had been seeure<l. But the leading Nestorians, in coming to the test, evinced much timidity, especially as there was some strife as to who should be greatest in the new order of things. Consequently the matter of a civil head was waived, and a Council of twelve, from different portions of the plain, was vwy unanimously and entliusiastically elected.
' The election of this Council will, it is believed, relieve the mission of much of its burden in relation to civil matters, and we hope will be the germ of greater independence and self-reliance. Dea. Isaac, brother of the late Patriai'ch, whom all, save a small clan, would choose as tiieir civil head, will now be the liead or chairman of tlic Council. This bench of councillors will be annually elected, and honce mil be answerable to the evan^:( Hcals who choose them.
' The Snnhados adopted a complete confession, cove- nant iuul church directory, which is to be printed and circulate<l, and the signatures of all bishops and deacons in our communion is to be obtained to it. All was adopted with singular unanimity and cordiality. A rule limiting the church ordinances exclusively to the pious and their offspring, awakened some discussion and dissent on the part of a few ; but probably nineteen- twenti< ths of the meeting were of one mind, and the minority (no one of whom has the charge of a church) were brought, after the discus.sion, to agree to conform their practice to the decision of the nnyority. So the vote \vas tidien without a negative, and I trust that question will no longer be a source of serious contention within the evangeliciil church.
' The Suuhados stands adjoui-ned to the Ist of Sejjtem- bor ue.\t. Sectional Associations will also be held quarterly or semi-aniuially, in the several districts particularly on the plains of Oi-oomiah and Salmas, and in the mountains, at which, besides matters of general interest, all local and sectional questions may be dis- cussed and acUd upon.
' The students of our seminaries arc assembling. An amiable and liopefully pious young bishop from Bootan lias come over, with tlie professed purpose of fitting himself for spiritual labom-s among his people on that side of the momit;iins. New pupils from the plain of Oroomiah are to be received only on the payment of a sum m arly equal to the cost of board, except in special cases, to I'c decided by the mission.'
"Mr. Cochran also describes a visit to Tabreer, on the easteru shore of the Oroomiah Lake : — ' Mr. Labaree and myself have \'isited Tabreez within the last month, making tln' eii-cuit of the southern shore of the Oroo- miah Lake. We visited our two helpers in Sooldooz, about fifty mlhs dLstant. The work appears to be
opening in that popidous and beautifid plain. Efforts, more or less direct, are being made not only among the Nestorian.s, but also among Anneniaas, Koords, and Mussulmans, and books will be furnished in future for sale to all. A few Annenians have expressed a desire for regidar preaching in Turkish, and two lads, speaking both Armenian and Syriac, are promised for the semi- nary. We held an evening service in Syriac, which was very fully attended. No opposing force, apparentlj', exists there, .save inertia, which in morals, if not in physics, is here found to be a very positive quantity.
'During our visit at Tabreez, we were increasingly impressed with the importance of having a missionary family located there. There is an Armenian jiopula- tion of nearly three thousand in the place, besides a large transient population of merchants and traders from the AVest, and from the interior and India. Pro- testant Gennans, not a few, are also fomid there, and much liberality exists among the several nationalities represented. A small English-speaking congregation could doubtless be gathered. Tabreez is the civil and commercial emporium, and hence a religious centre ; and all that is done for the gospel there would open the way for and greatly strengthen the work throughout the land. Nicolas, a former bookseller for the Protes- tant German mission there, assured us that in point of liberalit}' and general readiness for the gospel, Tabreez is greatly improved.'
INDIA.
^unjab Plissionarg Conftrtiitt.
Thb Conference met in the end of Divember. There were present thirty-tliree ministers connected with six different bodies of Cliristians. Eleven, including two chaplains, were of the Church of England; three, includ- ing one chaplain, of the Church of Scotland ; ten Ameri- can Presbj terians, and one native missionary of the same communion ; three of the American Methodist Episcopal Clmrch ; four American Baptists, and one Independent. The Kajah of KuppoorthuUah, Sir II. B. Edwardes, Sir Robert Mont^iomery, D. F. M'Leod, Flsq., C.B., Financial CommissioncT for thePunjaub, and many other laymen, wore also present as monibers.
The following is a detailed list of missionaries and chaplains : —
Church of England.
Rev. R. BuucE, B.A Dora Ishmiel Khan.
,, J. M. BaowN, M. A. . . . Umritsur.
,, J. Bartox Agra.
„ R. Cl.vuk, M.A Peshawur.
„ J. Cooi'Eu Dera Ishmael Khan.
., C. E. Il.vnow, B.A. . . . Lahore.
,, W. Kr.r.Ni;. B.A Umritsur.
„ H. IHruiLVY, M.A. . . . Meean Mecr.
„ J. :M. M.vrk Kote Kangva.
., F. W.vniEU, B.A. . . . Umritsur. „ G. Yr..vTES, A.M. . . . Mooltan.
Church of Scotland.
Rev. W. FiutGussox „ R. Patehsok . ., .L Tati.oh . .
. 71st Highlanders. . Soalkote. . Sealkote.
March 3, 1803.
WORK OF TIIE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
33
American Presbyterian.
. Eoorkcp. |
||
W. Ca-t.derwood, M.A. |
. UmbaUa. |
|
„ |
C. W. FOUMAK . . . |
. Xialiorc. |
)» |
GoLUCK Nath . . . |
. Jullundiir. |
)t |
D. Herkox, ^I.A. * . |
. Dhcra Doon. |
»» |
L. Janvier .... |
. Sabathoo, |
. Lahore. |
||
Jl |
. Ra\vul Pindce. |
|
. Loodianah. |
||
E. Thackwell . . . |
. Loodianah. |
|
;j |
J. S. WOODSIDE . . . |
, Kuppoorthullah |
American Methodist Episcopal.
Eev. W. Butler, D.D. . . . Bareilly. ,, J. L. Hauser, A.B. . . . Bjnour. „ J. L. Humphrey .... Mooradabad.
Anierican United Preslyterian.
Eev. A. Gordon Stalkote.
„ E. H. Stephenson . . . Sealkote.
„ E. P. Swift Stalkote.
„ G. W. Scott Sealkote.
Independent.
Eev. J. H. BoDDEN .
Almorali.
The subject of tlie sale or free distribution of the Bible and religious books, elicited considerable differ- ences of opinion ; some members stating that the people would not buy books, and others that, in many districts, they had freely done so. The question of female education occupied a prominent position. His Highness the Rajah of Kuppoortliullah made an excel- lent speech in English, in which he expressed his heart}- sympathy with the cause of female education. Mr. Forraan stated that a Bible-woman was already at work among the females of Lahore, and had met with great encouragement. Dr. Butler gave an account of what had been done in female education in the mission with which he was connected. Several native speakers alluded to tlie objections which natives of respectability have to sending their daughters to school. Only girls of the lowest caste can be got to attend schools, and even they with difficulty. The higher classes of girls and women must bo visited in their zenanas. Mr. Prinsep, who had read an essay on this subject the evening before, took this opportunity of suggesting that a committee of ladies should be formed to carry out eomo schemi- of zenana etlucation in the way that the lato Mrs. 'MuUins had done in Calcutta. At the _f lose of the pro.'redings, Mr. Forsyth read a resolution which was immediately carried, conveying the thanks of tlie conference to His Highness the Eajah of Kuppoor- thullah, for his presence among them, and expressing their deep s(!nsa of the able manner in which he ful- filled the duties of his high station, and their congratu- lations on the mental and moral advancement to which ho had attained, with a hope that his religious progress would not end here.
At the morning sitting on tli • third daj', Colonel Lake in th(! chair, Mr. M'Leod read a highly suggestive and able essay on the subject of a native pastorate. Another essay on the same subject by the Rev. Mr. French was read by the Rev. Mr. Bruce. The speakers who followed were the Eev. Messrs. Nc\^'ton, Hauser,
Barton, Brown, Bruce, Kecne, and Colonel Maclagan. Mr. M'Leod, in his essay, showed the advantage of taking native pastors occasionally from among the learned natives, and from the religious devotees, for whom all Indians have an innate reverence. Some of the speakers, including a native missionary, considered that the time had not yet come for having native pas- tors to any great extent, and that we should not bo in too great a hurry to call into existence a native chxirch under native pastors. The Rev. Mr. Newton pointed out the distinction between pastors and evangelists, and was of opinion that even four or five native Cliristians were entitled to a pastor. A Church Missionary gave expression to the opinion that a native church should always be allowed to elect its own pastor ; and that this was the best way to secure the right man.
At the afternoon sitting, Mr. Perkins in the chair, essays on the subject of native brethren, and how their BjTiipathy and confidence could be best attained, were read by the Rev. Mr. Herron and the Rev. Goluck Nath. The latter viewed the subject from a native point of view. The discussion from the outset took a very unpleasant turn. The native .speakers, in no measured terms, and in a very sweeping way, attacked the missionaries as a body, and condemned the manner in which they gene- rally treat native Christians. The Rev. Mr. Fergusson tried to stop the discussion, but Sir Herbert Edwardes hoped the Chairman would not repress any exjiression of opinion on the part of the nati^'es. His suggestion was second (hI by Mr. Melville. At the close of the discussion, Mr. Woodside poured oil on the troubled waters.
On Tuesday, the fourth day, before the regular pro- ceedings commenced, Mr. Forman stated that the native brethren who had spoken the previous evening, had expressed themselves sorry for the hard language they had used on that occasion. They admitted that they had only represented one side of the question ; that there was another side, and that they had a high regard for the missionaries. Much discussion took place on the employment of converts. Mr. Herron, of Dehra, said he had applied to Government for a grant of land for his native Christians. Until they had some definite foot- ing, and an independent house and sphere of their own, Christianity in India would be merely a hothouse plant. Mr. M'Leod said the Punjab Government woidd always regard most favourably applications for land ; and Sir Herbert Edwardes remarked that, though this liberality was peculiar to the Punjab, land might be bought in other provinces under the new rules.
Sir Herbert Edwardes read a paper on Polygamy, in which he advocated the dismissal by converts of all but the first wife ; and also opposed divorce on any ground but that of adultery. The Rev. Mr. Hadon took a different view, considering that Polygamy before eon- version .should be no impediment to admission into the Christian church, though it .should not be permitted to eoinmence the practice, or to add to the number of wives afterwards ; and that such polygamists should not be allowed to hold office in tiie church. Sir Jler- bert Edwardes was plied with objections and queries fi-om all sides. Mr. Cust looked upon marriage as a contract, and it was a bad beginning for a man who embraced Christianity to ri jiudiate all former contracts. Sir Herbert Edwardes asked whether there wa.s not such a thing as an immoral contract. Ml-. Cust thought contracts founded on immemorial custom could scarcely
D
34
WORK OF THE CI1RISTL\N CHURCH.
Makch 2, 1863.
be called immoral. The Conference was about equally divided on the subject.
On the subject of native literature several papers were read. The purport of the whole was, that literature, to be effective, must be wi-itten from a native point of view, and generally by natives. Dr. Newton, of KuppoorthuUah, considered that strangers could not hope to found a literature in the country, but that it must rise out of native elements. Sympathy with the feelings and customs of the people was necessary to successftil authorshij^. He advocated adherence to the native forms, language, and style, except where any moral obliquity was involved in so doing. Mr. Forman was a strong advocate of native style in vTiting and binding. As an instance in point, he mentioned that he had heard of 20,000 Bibles for the Brahmins being bound in leather, to whom such ;v thing is an abomina- tion. He thought the best plan was for missionaries to write their books in English, then give them to a translator, and lastly hand them over to a man who could put them into idiomatic native language. There was some discuission also aa to the cliaracters to be used.
On Thursday morning, the last day of the Confer- ence, the chair was occupied hy Sir Herbert Edwai-des. An essay on inter-mission discipline, by thi; Rev. Jlr. Taylor, was, in his absence, read by the Eov. Mr. Paterson. The essay was clear and practical. Mr. Newton was requested to read his essay before discus- sion took place. This essay was chiefly of a tentative character. It set out with the fact that union was desirable, and that amalgamations between churches had taken place in England, Scotland, France, Austra- lia, Canada, America, Pi-u.^sia, and elsewhere. The writer then sketched one or two ways in which he con- sidered union practicable. The general inference was, that it would be best to return to the first principles of the Bible and apostolic times. The basis of the Catho- lic Church aimed at should be broad and liberal, and in every way coincident with that of the groat Invisible Church. He considered that when the native Chm-ch in India should stand alone, union might be accomplished. The natives do not understand all our differences, and would readily embrace any scheme of union. The only difficulties would be from without. But were mis- sionaries prepared for such a step ? Most of them in India were men of liberal views ; and opposition need scarcely bo expected from this quarter either ; and if so, why should not this grand idea be realised ? At present, however, it was only possible to adopt mea- sures for future union. Sir Herbert Edwardcs remarked that tliese essays were written on account of the fact that disunion among churches did exist. Tliis was a matter for deep regret ; but the very object of the Conference was to promote union and brotherly love.
The Missionary Conference brought its deliberations to a close on the morning of the New Year's Day; and in the afternoon of that day there was a Public Meeting, presided over by Mr. M'Lood, at which seve- ral addresses were delivered. On Friday, the 2nd, a Supplementary Meeting was held, and sundry practical measures were adoptcnl. Among these, the following may be named as tlic most important : —
1. The formation of a Bible and Tract Society for the Punjab.
2. The organisation of a Central Lay Committee, the object of which is to aid native Chr tians in ob-
taining secular employment, and otherwise to relieve missionaries, as far as practicable, of all secular cases.
3. The appointment of a Committee to prepare a petition to Her Majesty, praying that measures might be taken for the preparation ■ of a standard Oordoo version of the Bible, to be published under the sanction of the Crown.
4. A Committee to petition the Indian Legislature, on behalf of the Conference, for a law relating to the divorce, in certain cases, of native Christians.
This was followed, in the evening, by a public meeting for thanksgiving-. This meeting was a Tery appropriate tennination -of- the wliole Conference. ' Not only the members of the conference,' says the Lahore Chronicle, 'but the citizens and strangers in attendance on its sessions from day to day, lhave been deeply interested, and all acknowledge that the measure was one of complete success. The deep interest in tlie missionary cause, manifested by so liirge and influential a body of Christian laymen, was very gratifying ; and still more gratifj-ing was the Catholic and fraternal spirit which throughout the six days of the Conference pervaded the assembly. Even tlie disagreement between the native Christians and a portion of the missionary body which showed itself in the discussion of Monday last, can scarcely be considered an exception to this remark ; for the strong condemnatory expressions used on that occasion were confined to two or tliree indi\-iduals on the side of the natives, and the same number on the side of the Europeans ; and of the latter we find that the one who spoke most strongly, was not himself a missionary. Indeed, the missionaries generally, so far from being indignant at what was said by their native brethren, heard it all with the utmost calmness. Some of them acknowledging that the complaints were not altogether groundless ; and we have since learned that it was the missionaries themselves who induced the natives to come forward in this public way, and declare what grievances the community had to complain of; more- over, it was because the Eev. Goluck Nath was supposed, from his intimate acquaintance with native Christians, to be able to explain tlieir views fully on this subject, that he was appointed, at the instance of a missionary, to write the essay which gave rise to this discussion. The allegations made by him, though based on certain facte of which ho had definite knowledge, are understood to imply no dissatis- faction on his own part. And we take pleasure in stating here that the impression received by our correspondent, ' A Lover of Fair Play,' whose article appeared in our last number, turns out to have been incorrect. We have ascertained that tlie missionary there referred to did not request the native Christians to retract what they had said in the Conference ; nor did they retract, they merely expressed a regret that thoy had given a one-sided view. There was a bright as well as a dark side to the picture ; and by not presenting both sides tp view, they had unhappily failed to do justice either to themselves or to those missionaries to whom thoy and their brethren are strongly attached. Our correspondent seems to have been mistaken likewise in thinking it was the wish of certain members of the Conference to suppress dis- agreeable disclosures. What they wished was rather to prevent the use of intemperate language, and as for the proposal that one of the converts should speak in
Maech 2, 1868.
WORK OF THE CHRISTLVN CHURCH.
35
Hindustani, the reason of this, vre are told, was that he spoke English with difficulty ; and the proposal itself was made by Sir Herbert Edwardes— the gentleman who was represented as the champion of native rights and free discussion. On the whole, even this episode in the proceedint^s of the Conference, when jjroperly understood, is not much to be regretted. It seems to be generally believed that good will result from it to both the parties concerned.'
' This Conference,' it adds, ' must be regarded as an era in the history of missions in this country ; and we trust the good resulting from it will long be felt.'
Proposed Mission m Cashmeue. — The valley of Cashmere is now almost the only part of the Pun- jab and its border states which are accessible, where no mission has been yet established, and which has not been regularly visited by any missionary, The country is very populous. Sirinagar, its capital city, is believed to have a population of nearly 200,000 people. Ladak and Iskardo arc iu the Cashmere terri- tories. Yarkund and other Chinese towns are very closely connected with it. Although an independent state, yet successful missions have often been established beyond the limits of British rule; and it has been proved in some instances, as amongst the Karens of Burmah, that Christianity may often become more quickly indigenous, and extend itself more rapidly under a native than under a foreign government. The country is yearly visited by many Enghsh travellers ; the Word of God has already been preached publicly in it : and it would seem that the way is quit* open for the commencement of regular missionary work — at any rate during the six summer months.
It has been proposed by several persons that sub- scriptions be raised, and an appeal be at once forwarded to the Church Missionary Society iu England, earnestly requesting them to set apart a missionary for this par- ticular work. The expense of the establishment of a new mission is very great ; but it is hoped that, if libe- ral contributions can be raised, the Society will gladly respond to the call, and the object so much desired will be obtained. A paper is now circulated in the as- sured hope that the friends of missions in the Pnnjaub wiU do whatever can be done to promote the establish- ment of a mission in a country so near to themselves, which promises to effect the welfare of a whole people.
Mission Statistics in Bengal. — The Kev. Dr. Mullens, with a view to the formation of statistical tables of Indian missions, sent circulars requesting in- formation, to missionaries throughout India.
' Of th<»o circulars two lnnuln;d and thirty copies were sent out, accompanied by one hundred and fifty private letters to individual missionaries, who, from their knowledge of the writer and their long expe- rience, were likely and competent to render special and valuable .issistance. The expc^ctiitions raised respect- ing tlie result were not disappointed. These various communications were received in the kindest spirit and met with a hearty response. As month after month passed by, a stream of replies continued to flow steadily in from all jiarts of tlie country from Pcshawur to Maulraain. In many cases a second letter was written asking for more exact information, and thus with a view to correct ne.vs the correspondence was continued until the letters issued had amount ed to two hundred and seventy and the replies to one hundred and seventy-
two. Besides these there were forwarded to Calcutta no less than two hundred and eighty printed reports. For this warm response to his jjroposal, the writer de- sires to offer his best thanks to all who aided him. In some cases the reply consisted merely of the statistical table duly filled up ; in others brief notes were added ; in many others the returns were accompanied by letters fuU of information ; and to twenty-four of his mission- ary brethren the wi'iter is indebted for long and able papers on the recent history, progress and present condi- tion of the missions of which they are leading members, for which he desires to present his special thanks.'
Tables of the Bengal missions are pubhshed, from which it appears that there are in Calcutta itself 27 European missionaries and 7 native. There are also 25 native catechists. The number of societies repre- sented is six. The number of communicants is 449 ; of whom 120 are connected with the Church Missionary Society ; 84 with the Free Chiu'ch of Scotland ; and the rest are about equallj' divided between the other missions. In all Bengal there are 69 European mis- sionaries (including those that are at home on a visit) and 15 native; 150 catechists ; 3,978 commimicants ; 18,516 native Christians. There are about 12,000 children under instruction.
The Bombay Guardian reports that the Calcutta system of Bible-women has been established in Bom- bay. One visitor, the wife of a city missionary, has been appointed, and others will be nominated as soon as they can be found. Immense good has been done by two ladies in the Calcutta jail. They were the means of reforming many of the long-term convicts now imprisoned at Ootacanumd.
PooNAH. — On the 12th, the Rev. James Mitchell, of the Free Church Mission, Poonah, baptized five natives. One of them is rather a smart and intelligent young man, a recent convert, having received the truth in the love of it within the last two months. He is just now engaged as a sweeper ; but as he is a good reader, it is hoped he is destined for something better. Another man, not very old, has been an enquirer for a considerable time ; has suffered much from his relatives in consequence, being forsaken of his wife, and turned out of doors by his elder lirotlu r, who has taken posses- sion of all the family bullocks, ploughs, etc. The man is a Koonbi. He is simple, but he is thought to be sincere and faitliful. He works in the fields as a day- labourer just now. It is hoped that justice may yet be done him in the restoration of some of his family property. The third is a blind man of the Poor-house, young, of Mussidman extraction, clever, has been for years acquainted with the truth, and has latelj- shown much anxiety. The other two are women, rather aged and dependent, but interesting. One of them lately took refuge at the Mission-house, and on leaving homo, threw with scorn her household gods into a well by the way. She is by caste a Koonbi.
Mahrattas. — Mr. Ballantinc, of the American Board, mentions the admission, in October, of tlireo persons to the second, and fifteen to tlie first church at Ahmed- nuggur, on profession. Four of the number were women, eight were members of tlie school for catechists, and six members of Mrs. Ballantine's scliool for girls. ' Two,' he writes, ' are the only cliildren of our deceased brother, Shaik Daood, whose death was mentioned, with some particulars of his life, in our report for 1860. He I suffered from poverty and disease, but he left his wife
Hi
! 36
I _
and children the rich legacy of liis earnest and believing praj-ers. His wife was received to the church the same year that he died, and his hoys have now conje in also. "Leave thy fatherless children, I will preserve them alive ; and let thy mdows trust in me." Daood rested on this promise -with unshaken confidence. Like Clu'istiana and her children, the widow and her two .'^ons are now following in the same path which the dear liusliand and father recommended by his example, and earnestly exhorted them to pursue. The mother of Daood's widow, too, once a strong believer in Mohammed, now worships the blessed Saviour, and desires to profess his name before men. She will probably be received soon.' On another subject IMr. Ballantine remarks : ' I am happy to say, that a small book of hymns for children has just been published by the mission. It contains sixty-four hymns in Mahratta, printed with the air of the tunes to which they are sung. The metre of the English hymn is preserved in the Mahratta version, which is adapted to the tune. The most common tunes in the chikben's hymn and tune books at home are now in use among the Christian childi-en of this country, and they sing them with the same enthusiasm ■which is manifested by cliiklren in America.'
STIjt ^jiots JOf Pgso«.
The spiritual condition of the Mysore people is most : deplorable. With the exception of a few large places, . the population is scattered in small towns, villages, and hamlets. The oldest religion is that of Shiva. The I worshippers of Vishnu are nearly all foreigners from 1 the Tamul country, and are either employed in public j offices or attached to temples that have free lands and I annual grants from the Government. The temples dedicated to Shiva are few and generally small. The ! worship of female divinities prevails over every other, j and is celebrated with the most revolting rites. ' The great body of the people are cultivators, who j rent small portions of land from the Government, live I in houses of mud walls and thatched roof, on coarse I monotonous diet, and wear scanty clothing. The I Brahman doctrine is that thej' arc born to be slaves to ' the three castes above them ; and a Brahman proverb I likens them to cocoa-nut kernels which j-ield their oil j only on severe poimding in the mortar, and to sugar- \ cane which must be pressed in the mill if you woidd j extract the juice. These ideas have been well carried j out. Generations of grinding oppression have made I the ryot what we now find him ; .stupid as the oxen he I drives, with barely their instinct ; ignorant as the practical prohibition of even the rudiments of learning could leave him ; stolid and unimpressible as the clods I that hardly yit'ld to his plough ; yet in monej' matters cunning and dishonest almost as the Brahman. Dis- sembling, fraud, simulated obtuseness, and passive resistance, are his weapons against tjTanny. His innate capability of elevation is repressed by lazy submission to his assigned lot. He looks upon education and I religion as incompatible with the tending of cattle and cultivation of land. Keeping his small account with I government (the sole use of education) is done by the I hereditary village accountant, and the village priest j attends to religion for him. He laughs heartily at the idea of the clumsy mistakes he woidd make were he to
March 2, 1863. |
attempt to worship for himself, and gladly pays tithe to have it done properly for him. He sincerely believes that the village idol, a natiu-al or rudely carved stcme, is God, and that it arose of itself out of the ground. Occasionally he takes a cocoa-nut, breaks it before the idol, jjoM's the milk on the ground, prostrates himself or stands before it with joined hands, and prefaces his short petition for some temporal benefit with, ' 0 great God ! ' A stone bull or the filthy linga is the usual idol in the temples. Li his field a rough stone, occa- sionally bearing some unintelligible figure, receives his adoration. Often a few stones arranged like a child's ' baby house,' form the slirine of a shapeless piece of dried mud which he regards as a tutelar god.
The number of female divinities, all variations of Parvati, the wife of Shiva, is immense. Besides tlie daily and occasional oflferings, each of these is honoured with an annual festival. These festivals are numerously attended. Thousands of people assemble from the country twenty or thirty miles round. Fowls, sheep, and buffaloes, are sacrificed. At a hamlet of two or three houses within six miles of one of our mission stations, there were sacrificed at the festival held in the early part of the present j'ear, twenty-five buiFaloes, upwai'ds of two hundred fowls, and a thousand slipep. These were offered, not even to an idol, but on a bare spot where the sanguinary goddess is supposed to dwell. With all tliis blood-shedding, there is no religious feeling whatever, and least of all any recognition of sacrifice for sin. To the people it is more unmeaning slaughter. The only excuse that any can offer for it is, that it is an old custom, and it would be wrong to neglect the prac- tices of their ancestors. They dread the e\-il that might residt from such neglect. These festivals are oppor- tunities for trade. They more resemble fairs than religious gatherings. They are the harvest of Brahmans and strumpets. We dare not even intimate the scenes enacted ; 'for it is a shame even to speak of those things which cere done of them in secret.'
Blind adherence to ancient custom is the sole religion of the ryot. He deems it as perilous to forsake this as for a locomotive to quit the line. He has his religious beliefs and prejudices ; but to the fears, hopes, joys, and all the emotions of religion, he is an utter stranger. Wliatever may be thought of the monstrosity or impos- sibility, he sincerely believes in the divinity of a stone. The evidence of his senses goes for nothing in the face of tradition. How coidd it spring out of the ground if it were not God ? Would his forefathers have worshipped it if it were a mere stone ? ' Does it not avert danger, succour him in trouble, remove his diseases, send rain and fruitful seasons ? And how could it do these things if it were not God ? It appears like any otlier stone, but it is only in appearance ; it is tndy God.
He believes in the omni-pervasion of God ; and con- cludes that as we cannot see ' die gi-eat God,' wo must worship something in which He is. No matter what that something be, worship paid to it reaches and is ac- cepted by Him.
He regards all men as puppets moved to virtue or vice by God, who dwells in every man. This rids him of all personal responsibility, and makes him indifferent to his futm-c destiny, be it heaven or hell.
He is a firm fatalist. Every man's destiny is written in his forehead, and not even the gods can alter or efface tliat writing. All that he does, enjoys, or suffers is inevitable ; it coidd not be othenvise.
WORK OF THE CHEISTL^ CHURCH.
March 2, 1863.
37
He believes in the transmigration of souls ; that men are rewarded or punished in the present life for the deeds of a past existence ; that their enjoyments or suf- ferings respect past births only.
He believes in the indulgence of God, that with Him the feeding of a few lazy mendicants is a, full atonement for the most heinous sins.
Like every Hindu, he fails to perceive any incon- sistency in the most contradictory teachings. And with the Papist and Puseyite he concludes that, as it is easier, it is 'better to believe than to reason.'
He is a tenacious caste holder. Few things show the antagonism of East and West, Hinduism and Christianity, more clearly, than the dread that these all but naked, semi-barbarous, unlettered rustics have of being inveigled into the ' English caste.' Our books are dreaded as devices to th'aw them into the mission- ary's caste. The horror of this calamity is a great stumbling-block to them.
The ignorance, fatalism, oppression, and mere ani- mality of the villager, have induced an immobility that defies and baffles the efforts hitherto put forth upon him. He listens to preaching, acknowledges its truth, laughs at his idols, but is xmconcerned in the matter, and never for a moment entertains the notion of changing his life. He will send his boy to school until he can tend cattle or be of some use in the fields. But he himself cannot read, nor give his thoughts to any subject but his daily occupations. Discourse on spiritual things to him is, to use one of his own similes, like playing the lute to a buifalo. He is content in his physical, mental, and moral degradation. ' A full stomach is my heaven.' ' My stomach will soon cry out if I begin to think of anything beyond my work.' Such are his reasons for declining all effort after salvation.
Long-continued fruitless laboiu' amongst them fosters the temptation to regard them judicially dead. Dead they are Ijeyond human skill or hope. The evangelist feels himself powerless as a physician in a cemeterj-. What then justifies our labour ? The power of prayer. Have we fully tried this ? Have our Christian friends upheld us by prayer? Returning dejected from our morning M-ork, weighed down by the apathy, in bitterness from the blasphemies of our hearers, can we resort for consolation to the satisfactory exercise of our closet pleadings? As we bewail the little effected by the missionaries whom we help to send forth, are we assured that tliey have been to the utmost of our power sustiiined by our prayers. Oh, for the spirit of grace and supplication ! It is from no formal repetition of an oft-used expression, but from a deep and increasing conviction of our indispensable need, that we urge upon all our readers, ' Brethren, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may hare free course and Ia" glorified.'
TiNNiVELLV. — On the Fourth Sunday in Advent, an Ordination was held in the mission church of Palameottah, Tinnivelly, by the I^rd Bishop of Ma- dras, then on his fir.st Visitation to the Tinnevelly mis- sions. Seventeen candidates- a large number for this 1 diocese- all engaged in missionaiy work, were admitted 'Priests' and 'Deacons.' Of these eleven were natives, j men who would do honour to the mini.sfry anpvhere, j who being found duly qualified, solemnly devot ed t hem- selves, and were set apart for the sacred work of
preaching the ' Gospel of Reconciliation ' to their fellow-countrymen, and gathering into the fold of Christ His wandering sheep. The Europeans ordained were — Deacons — J. Stephenson, St. Augustine's College, Canterbury. Priests — Revs. J. Macdonald, Cambridge ; N. Howiss, J. Simmons, and W. P. Schaflfter, Church Missionary Institution, Islington ; J. M. Strachan, St. Augustine's College, Canterbury. The Rev. Dr. Cald- well, of the Edeyengoody Mission of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, delivered an admirable address full of wise counsels gathered from the jiracti- cal experience of five-and-twenty years' mission work in India. The Ordination sermon was preached by the Rev. E. Sargent, of the Church Missionary Society, and was an earnest practical discoiu'se on the duties and dangers of the Christian missionary's work. Several of the natives ordained have no acquaintance with English, and the congregation was mainly composed of Tamil Christians ; hence the ser^'ice was parti}' in Tamil, and, indeed, throughout was strikingly mis- sionary in character. There was a great gathering of Tinnevelly missionaries on the occasion — an occasion which those who were present will not soon forget — a welcome testimony to all interested in the cause of God, of the progressive life and -N-itality of the Church of England Missions in South India.
Thayancore Church Mission. — The Rev. J. Hawks- worth gives the following mission intelligence from Travancore : — Yesterday we had the great pleasure of admitting into the visible church of Christ a larger number of converts than has been baptized here at any time, so far as I am aware. Messrs. Schaffter and Lane, and my esteemed assistant clergyman, the Rev. K. Koshi, accompanied me to our last-erected prayer- house at Chengalum. We found the place crowded, so that the first class of students from the college, and my own preparandi, had to stand outside. There were sixty-five candidates for baptism, aU neatly clad (so different from their former appearance), and their faces beamed with delight. After a brief address on our Master's command, ' Go ye into all the world, and jjreach the gospel to eveiy creature ; baptizing them,' &c., they were questioned, not only to ascertain their knowledge of scriptural truth, but also to ascertain, as fiir as possible, their apprehension of Clirist as a living and present Saviour. Their answers were prompt, correct, and at times thrilling. To the question, Why is Christ gone to heaven ? the reply, instant, unanimous, and self-interested, was, ' He is gone to prepare a place for us !' Doubtful cases were carefully canvassed, espe- cially by one who had visited them from hut to hut, and does so regularly, who knows them indi\-idually, is energetic in proclaiming the glad tidings, and who was himself, not very long since, a sort of Saul of Tarsus, yet rather a publican than a Pharisee, fierce, reckless, and dreaded, until won over by means of one whose gentle, loving zeal attracted many, until he was called up higher a few months ago. Some strangers were jiresent ; they came to request that a prayor-house might be put up in their neighbourhood, as twelve families wished to place themselves under instruction ; they also requested that some one might be sent to another neighbourhood, wliere there are manj- who have heard a little, and wish to hear more of this way I As several have been under instruction for some time ])ast in an adjoining village, I maj- perhaps l)o per- mitted to report another baptism this next week.
38
WOEK OF THE CHRISTL\N CHURCH.
March 2, 1863.
Madura. — The following is an account of the death of the -well-known Mr. Seudder, of the Madura Mission of the American Board : —
'On Monday, the 17th November, he left home to A-isit two of his village congregations about ten miles distant. In the afternoon of the 19th he started home- ward, and reached the Vaigarriver, which it was necessary to cross about four p.m. He found it so high that the bandy was unable to pass it. He immediately decided to swim across, as he had done several times before. The swimmers on the spot and the natives who accom- panied him endeavoured to dissuade him from attempt- ing, but he was confident in his ability to cross the stream ; so, taking off most of his clothes and fastening them on his back, he struck out. Just then, without even a minute's Wiirning, the flood from the mountains came rushing down with overwhelming force : nothing could resist this mighty toiTent. The natives who were there describe it as a high wall of water dashing along with furious and impetuous speed. He was seen for a moment or so with his hat on and tho clothes fastened to it ; then, for an instant, his bare hoad ap- peared ; and then — they saw him no more. Next day every effort was made to find the body, but without success. Not until the fifth day was it discovered, floating on the water of the river nearly forty miles from tlie spot at which he had attempted txi cross. Those precious remains were then brought to his now desolate home, and were next day taken to the Jiills. They now lie in the quiet churchyard at our moiuitain Sanitarium.'
Madras. — Dr. Fennelly, Bishop and Apostolic Vicar of Madras, is bitterly displeased with the now Papal arrangements for India. He has issued a Pastoral, an idea of which may be formed from the following extract : —
' If the Indo-Portuguese schismatic priests had ex- pressed any sori-ow for the past — sorrow for having opposed the legitimate arrangements of the Pope in the government of the church — sorrow for having profaned so many sacrament.s, even the greatest and holiest of all the sacraments, the Blessed Sacrament of the Eucharist — son-ow for having pronounced so many absolutions without more power to absolve than the Ramaswamy with tlie mark of Vishnu on his forehead — sorrow for having assisted at so many marriages without being duly con.stituted (conformably to the decree of the Council of Trent) to give efficacy to the marriage contract— sorrow for having neglected, ever since the suppression of the Indo-Portuguese bishoprics, to ask jurisdiction from the Vicars Apostolic, as in tlie words of the Pope \iUi per erat] they ought to have done — sorrow for having sent so many persons before the judgement-seat of Clirist without the aids which religion had provided for them in their pas.sage to eternity — sorrow for having kept so many persons, and for so many years, in a legalised concubinage without the sacrament of marriage or sacramental grace ; if any sign of repentance were exhibited, there might be hope of pardon, and a real extinction of schism : because it is written, Thou hast prostituted thyself to many lovers ; nevertlicless return to me, saith the Lord, and I wiU receive thee. But when they one and all rojou'o in their schismatical conduct and its long train of deplorable evils ; when they rejoice in the humiliation of the Pope, and point to the reversal of the long- established policy of the Holy See as an argument,
that they were all along in the right and the Popes in the wrong ; when they maintain (as they do this very day) that the suppression of the Indo-Portuguese bishoprics in British India is n\ill and void without the bene placet of tlic King of Portugal ; when they maintain the inability of the Pope to deprive theaa of jurisdiction as long as they retain material possession of their congregationless chiu-ches, as if the decrees of the Pope should remain inoperative without a military force to carry them into physical execution ; wheB they maintain that there i.s, and has been, no schism; in India, but only distractions and perturbations caused by the Vicars Apostolic, who are under the immediate orders of the Pope ; when they maintain that the faith- less and perjured Archbishop Torres only did liis duty by disregarding the wishes of the Pope and that he- was superseded by the Portuguese Government, not at the instance of the Pope, but because he had a quarrel -with some influential priests at Goa ; when we see things taking no turn in the right direction ; when pertinacity is become more pertinacious ; when tho.se, -who have carried on a life-long opposition to the Pope, and are still in the same hostile and unfriendly attitude, only now profess submission to tho Pope because he through some evil influence has been coerced into submission to them, and has j-ielded unreserved compliance to all their unjust and unreasonable demands ; when they declare (as they do even now) that tlioy are under the order of the Portuguese Government, and ready to obey its commands, and that they are not under an obligation to obey the commands of his Holiness ; when we see all this and more, we do not hesitate to pronounce tho so-called extinction of schism a sham, at which the fi-iends of the Catholic Church must grieve, rather than rejoice.'
Ceylon. — It is an interesting fact that the progress of Christianity in Ceylon has induced the devoted adherents of Buddhism in that island to make an attempt to defend their religion, not only by exciting the multitude, but also by the press. To this end they have foimded a society en- titled 'Association for the Destruction of Superstition' (i. e. of Christianity!), and bought a printing press, from which they issue Buddhist tracts and pamphlets of all kinds, and circiilate them widely among the people, much in tho manner of our Clu-istian missionaries. Till now the Buddliists had done verj' little in this direction, while, on the contrary, Brahminism has long ago brought an abundant and often a Icarnetl literature into tho field against the ambassadors of the Gospel.
BUEMAH.
' Anitza, there is nothing permanent,' mutters the devout Buddhist, as he walks our streets counting his beads. Thougli this may fall on the ear a thousand times as a. dead platitude, yet circumstances now and then occiir which make it felt like a new discovery.
A remarkalile course of uninteiTupted prosperity had attended the Toungoo Mission up to our last Annual Assooiational Meeting in January ; but soon afterwards what may bo denominated an accident befell it, wbich has been productive of the most disastrous consequences. It was an event in which neither the missionaries, nor the assistants, npr churches, had tho slightest agency, and yet it has been fraught -witli great injury to all.
March 2, 18G3.
WORK OF THE CHEISTIAN CETURCIL
39
Two Eiiropean timber merchants had been attjiekcd by dacoitfi, and robbed, on the borders of the province of Shantaban, near the Toungoo district; andtlie Com- miseioner wrote to the Deputy-Commissioner of Toungoo to take measures to recover the jiroperty. The Deputy- Commissioner, having learned that a part, at least, of the plunder was in the house of a Chief named Pokhai, he ordered out the Karen police of twenty-five men to go out and arrest him, and bring in the property. As resistance was anticipated, and it was appreliended that twenty-five men would not bo sufficient to overcome it, the two Staphans, or Karen magistrates, were ordered to eaU out a hundred men each from their districts, and arms and ammunition were served out to them.
The Secretary to the Chief Commissioner reports oflSeially thus : ' A psirty under a Nga Khan was sent by the Deputy-Commissioner to the said village of Woottec, where it arrived on the 26th of March last. The village was prepared for resistance, and on the arrival of the party before it, a fire was opened upon them from a stockaded house. The party abstained from returning the fire, and requested some one to come out and .speak to them ; but as the firing still contiuued,the Nga Khan's party fired in return. The result being that the village was taken by the attacking party, and severe loss was inflicted on the villagers.' The .severe loss arose from the house being bunit down, and the wife and daughter of the chief with several others were burned to death.
The Secretary to the Chief Commissioner continues : ' It appears from the proceedings received from Captain Lloyd that Captain Burn, Assistant Commissioner, who was on leave, visited or was near the above village diu'ing the period in question, and it is stated that he told Pokhai he was sure the Deputy-Commissioner of Toun- goo had not sent this party. Poekhai is reported then to have said he would go and destroy the Karen villages, and Captain Burn is reported to have said, " Do so." '
It is from this Captain Burn that all our troubles have arisen. He saicceeded in persuading the Red Karens, the siivagest tribe in all farther India, that Government had nothing whatever to do with the sending out of the party, but tliat it was the wanton work of the Christian Karens, and had been got up by me. He eirculat<^d the most absurd stories to excite the Red Karens to WTeak their vengeance on the poor Tinoffending Christians.
The result has been that two Christian villages have been burned, two or three men kilhsd, and upwards of twenty women and children carried oft" and sold into slavery ; among whom are Ihe wife and two children of one of our Karen preachers. Several other villages have been broken up ; and a dozen have been kept in such a state of apprehension and alarm, for the last eifzht months, that they have not been able to cultivate their lands as usual, and next year there will be a great scarcity of rice. Many have fled to almost inaccessible crags or hidden dells, and many of the limestone caves of that n'gion have been made houses of prayer, and temples to the living God. Literally, ' They wandered in deserts, and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth ; of whom the world is not worthy.'
We hope the worst is past; that Government will take measures this dry season to restore peace and confidence.
Toungoo, Dec. 6, 1862.
CHINA.
Pekin.^ — At the Chinese Court, French influence pre- vails through the present Minister of State, Prince Kung. By the command of the Emperor, Tung-Tsche, who is still a minor, every facility that the Catholic mission- aries can desire in traversing the country is freely granted to them, and all local authorities are enjoined in the Fdcin Gazette, on pain of losing the Imperial favour, to beware of placing any obstacle in the way of these only ' virtue ' teaching strangers. It stands there- fore to reason, that the English embassy at Pekin has not been able to procure for Protestant missions the same privileges that M. de Bourboulon has gained for the Catholic. As yet, an entrance into the Chinese capital has been obtained for one Evangelical mission- ary only. Dr. Lockhart, of the London Missionary Society, and it is principally in his medical capacity that he is admitted there.
The Catholic Propaganda has so far profited by the successes of the French arms in China, as to send a missionary statf; headed by two bishops, into Thibet. The reports of the Abbe Durand, published by the Annalcs pour la prapayation ch la foi, give a graphic description of the present condition of Lama worship in Thibet. The wind and water Korlo (prayer mills), are the only way and means of salvation known to these poor heathen I ■
Hong Kong. — Mr. Lechler, sent out to labour in Cliina by the Missionary Society at Ba.sle, has written a private letter to the Mis.sionary Committee of Geneva, with whom he is connected, with an accoimt of his pro- ceedings. "We extract from it some interesting facts connected with missionary enterprise in the island of Hong Kong — situated, as is well known, to the south of China, and in the possession of the English.
' Since the war of 1856, at the outbreak of which all German missionaries were obliged to quit their remote stations, and to take refuge in Hong Kong, we | have begun to preach the gospel to the Chinese in this colony, whose number is not less than 100,000. By degrees a few individual souls have been snatched from the darkness of Jieathenism ; and on Easter Sund;iy, 1858, I had the happiness of baptizing twelve persons, who have ever since formed a small nucleus for spread- ing the knowledge of Christiiui truth among the in- habitants of the island. Mr. Winnes has since baptized, at various times, twenty Chinese converts ; and in the year 1861, eighteen rec( ived lioly baptism.
' The island of Hong Kong has several Government schools, in which the Bible is taught during one half of j the day and Chinese literature during the other. The children of our converts attend these schools, so that I do not occupy myself \^'ith their education, but devote myself exclusively to preaching the gospel and giving instruc- tion to adults. I have five separate places opened for \ regular worship, on five days of the week. My flock is scattered throughout th<! island, in the town of Victoria, as well as in the villages situated on the sea-coast, or on the summits of the liills, and the bottoms of the valleys. During the week I go to visit the Christians in these x-illages at their own houses, and to preach to the heathen. On Sunday I have a congregation of from 80 ot 100 souls. Every Wednesday I assemble those who are under spiritual distress, or who, being only half converted, require <'loser explanations and more personal application thiui I could bestow upon them from the
40
AVOEK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
Maech 2, 1863.
pulpit ; and I strive to enlighten their understandings,
and to lead them to the Saviour.
< We are beginning to introduce the alphabet in j Eomau letters into Chinese books. This facilitates I reading to an immense extent, and it will bring the [ wrd of God ■within the reach of Chinese women, who
AUSTEALIA AND
] The Bill for abolishing State aid to religion in Sidney I has passed the legislature, and come to England for the Queen's assent. It was carried in the Council, as was the second reading in the Assembly, by a majority of one. Petitions from the clergy and from trustees of churches, praying her Majesty not to consent to the I bill, accompany it. Seven members of the Council Iiave entered their reasons of dissent on the minutes.
I
j The Church Societj' for the Diocese of Sydney has raised and expended since its establishment in 1856 I about 60,000/. in the extension and sustenance of reli- ' gion in the diocese, and that during the episcopate of j Bisliop Barker eightj'-six buildings for public worship have been opened in the diocese. Tlie contributions ! of the Brisbane Diocesan Church Society from all sources, exclusive of the expenses of carr}"ing on public , worsliip in the various congregations, amount to I 6,217/. 12s. The increase of clergy throughout the colony has been fivefold since the arrival of the bishops, viz. from three to fifteen, and others are expected.
Mr. Taplin, of the Church Mission to the Aborigines, I made recentl}-, at a meeting in Adelaide, the foUo^ving I statement :—
'I am liapp)' to be able to report that the number of children capable of reading the New Testament, more or less correctly, is increasing rapidly. I reckon that .since the seliool has been opened twenty-one natives have been rendered able to read tlie New Testament, and about twenty -five have been more or less taught to read, besides the above. These latter would be able to read the " Second Class Book of the Sabbath-school Union." In addition to this, the knowledge of the simple doctrines of the gospel is becoming very much extended. All the blacks of any intelligence on this side of the lake can give j'ou some account of the lead- ing truths of the Bible. I greatly desire to see the children able to read their own language, and thi.s, by means of a box of movable letters (kindly presented by the Eev. Mr. Andrews, of Blakiston, in the name of, and by contributions made by tlie children of the Blakiston Sabbath-school), I am teaching them to do. Jly first object is, by this mean.s, to enable them to read to the old people divine truth in their own lan- guage ; and my second object is, to supplant the filthy and obscene songs of the natives by others, in their own language, of a moral and religious description.' In regard to the results of the instruction imparted, the agent of your Association speaks of decided im- provement in the character and deportment of the young of both sexes. ' The boys,' says Mr. Taplin, 'are fast giving up their .superstitions. They begin to be less afraid of the dead— indeed I have heard some of them .speak of the dead without fear. The boys also eat many articles of food forbidden by their customs. Eeligion is a frequent theme of conversa- tion among tlie j-oung, and prayer is with them not only a regidar but pleasant duty.
' Your Committee, during the past j'ear, had the happiness to seeiu-e the services of Mr. Stapley as assietant to Mr. Taplin, and Mr. Taplin reports of Mr. Stapley in the warmest, the most approving terms.
have not the time or the faculty to undertake the study of their own complicated language. The Gospel accord- ing to St. Matthew has already appeared in this manner, and I hope gradually to be able to print other portions of the New Testament on the same plan.'
THE SOUTH SEAS.
'"Worship, domestic and public. — The morning and the evening sacrifices of praise, reading of the Word of God, and prayer, continue to be daily observed in the i school, and occasionally the aborigines from the I wurleys avail themselves of the privilege of being pre- i sent. Public worship continues to be observed on the morning and evening of each successive Sabbath, and the meetings have been well attended by old and young. Not only is there propriety of beliaviour during the solemn ser\-ices, but there is all but uniformly the most intense earnestness and eagerness in listening to the glad tidings of everlasting life. Your Committee are exceedingly glad to report that Mr. Taplin is able for the most part to address them in their own tongue, and that his influence over old and young for good is daily on the increase.
' Mr. Taplin has formed a more complete vocabulary of the language than has hitherto been done, and he has translated into the native tongue considerable por- tions of tlie Gospels. Mr. Taplin visits, as opportunity presents itself, the grown-up natives in the wurleys, and is especially kind to the sick and the dying ; and your Committee are happy to say that his visits are warmly received, and, as your Committee would fondly hope, greatly blessed. Your Committee would refer with pleasure to a few of the results in tlie way of good, as illustrated in the case of the advanced natives: — " 1. There is now a general disposition so to arrange the hunts of the tribes as for them to be here on the Sabbath, and if tliey do not all attend worship they at least enjoy pliysical rest. The hunt generally starts on Monday or Tuesday, and on the Friday night or Saturday the hunters return with provisions enough to last over the Sabbath. Wlien I ask the hunters, on their dejiarture, wlien they will return, the reply is almost always, ' Oh, before Sunday, Mr. Taplin, before Sunday.' 2. Tliere is now a general preparation of clothes, washing, mending, &e., to appear decent on the Sabbath. 3^ The Sabbath is kept. The children put aside their marbles, &c., and the usual improve- ment of the Sabbath during the interval of worship is by singing hymns. All are fond of singing, and some- times thirty or forty vnU, of tlieir own accord, raise a chorus which will make the phu'e ring again. 4. A party averse to fighting has arisen, and it is to be hoped that such a party will be daily increased. 6. There are several cases of men and women of a very interesting and hopeful character." Of one woman the agent writes : — " She has been ill, and I was much edified by her conduct. She asked if she might be allowed to sleep in the schoolhouse ; ' for,' said she, ' you see, I\Ir. Taplin, that these men will play at cards, and I am obliged to lie here in the wurley, and hear them ; and wlien I hear them I cannot pray. If Jehovah should look down and see me praj-ing, and these play- ing at cards, I fear he would be angry.' One day, after recovering, slie said, 'Ah, Mr. Taplin, I thought I should die ; but I laid hold on Jesus (ngate Mirokkir tyan Jesuse), and I recovered.'
'Your agent add.s, " I am commonly now sent for to persons dangerously ill, for the purpose of talking to them about religion, and praying with them."
' One case related by a friend of the blacks may be told as confirmatory of what has just been said. A
March 2, 1863.
WORK OF THE CIIPJSTIAX CHURCH.
41
young black, Wankfri, was lately at tlie Goolwa. fie called upon a lady on the afternoon of a Saturday, ask- ing her to lend him a Bible that he might read to the blacks on the Sabbath. She at once complied with his request, and he took the Bible and kept it all the Sabbath, returning it on the Monday with many thanks. The lady adds that Wankeri regularly attended chapel while at the Goohva, and his behaviour was becoming and reverent.
' External improvement on the Station itself. — Much i of the land around the Institution has been fenced in, and a portion of it has been trenched and planted with vines. Other portions have been dug ; and potatoes, melons, onions, &e., are now seen grooving, and giving indications of an ample return. All the improvements made, and they are not a few, have been effected by the paid labour of the blacks — a labour rendered cheerfully, a labour steadily pursued ; a labour bene- ficial to themselves in habit and in return ; a labour of great moment to the inmates of the Institution.'
KEW ZEALAND.
The Smithem Cross (Auckland paper) gives a gloomy view of the prospect of affairs, as regards the natives :
'No new feature has arisen to lead to the suppoisition that the disaffected tribes are anxious to return to their allegiance. On the contrarj', those tribes that have declared for the King still continue staunch adherents to the cause they espoused, and announce their deter- mination not to permit the opening of the countrj' for useful purposes. Substantially, this decision amounts to the declaration that the work of colonisation must be confined within certain prescribed limits. The Eaglan and Waipa road is to be stopped at the Wnite- tuna River, which the Kingites declare must not be bridged. Resolutions have also lately been come to prohibiting the Government placing a steamer on the AVaikato, or spanning it with a bridge at Maungata- ■vrhiri. At a late meeting of natives at Waipa, the Bishop of New Zealand stated that he attended chiefly with the A-iew of having the Taranaki question peace- ably settled, but so far from any settlement of the Taranaki affair being a probable^result of the action of the King party, the natives resolved that the matters in dispute should not be settled by arbitration.
' At a meeting of the Wesleyans held at Onehunga on November 3, the Rev. A. Reid, missionai-}' at Upper Waipa, is reported to have said, — "As he was the only operative missionary present, they would naturally ex- pect him to say much, particularly with regard to the Maories. But he had determined to say nothing — to bo silent about Waipa. There wore reasons which would lead liim to prefer saying nothing of the Maori. Wliat he said here would be reported at Waipa, and on tis return he might be summoned to appear before the Runanga, and the King's party have made a law, that if any missionary dares oppose their movements, he shall have his tongue slit and his ear marked. His position was, therefore, not a very encouraging one. If he said one thing, it would be .said he was a peace-at- any-pricc man ; and if he liad said another thing, he would be put down as a war man; whereas he was neither. He did not wish to introduce politics ; but, in the present state of affairs, he was sorry to say they could not be avoided, if anything was to be said con- corning the natives. His statements must differ from those of former speakers. He could not report favour- ably of the progress of the Gospel among the natives. He would not, however, attempt to expose the evils of the Maori - - there were plenty others always ready to do that. He would rather endeavour to show that there waa still something to encourage. Bad as they were,
they were not so bad as to be beyond hope of recovery. The Maories hayp. not cast off their allegiance to God." '
The Thnes Melbourne correspondent, taking the same dark %-iew, reports the intriguing of Romish eccle- siastics to promote rebellion : — ' Before lea\-ing New Zealand I must remark that she at present is more happy in her auriferous than in her political prospects. The King movement still goes on. Sir George Grey is baffled mysteriously — partly by the hostile Maories, and partly, as according to general report he complains himself, by the intriguing of Roman Catholic ecclesi- astics with the natives. By the last mail we learn that war is imminent, and that both Sir George and General Cameron have tendered their resignations, unless backed up from home with 15.000 troops. The position of both Governor and Commander-in-Cliief is a ti-ying one. Opi- nions, both in and out of the New Zealand Parliament, are much divided on this native question, and certainly one more embarrassing it is hard to conceive. Not Caesar, bf.<^ot by the ever peace-making, treaty-breaking tribes of Gaul, led by some Orgetorix or Dumnorix (the Wi- riniu Kingi of his day), had a more diiRcult part to play than that of Sir George Grey, for the molita ci- haria, and other supports of the Roman soldier, were, in his time, drawn from the enemy ; but now, notwith- standing that we go warfares at our o'wn charges, and politicians are demanding, "Are our colonies worth their cost ? " — Sir George is expected (by an antagonist part}') to effect colonial ends with Imperial means not at his disposal, and which British Governments may be " pei-plexed in the extreme " about granting.'
MELANESIA.
The Mission Field gives the following sketch of this mission, which owes its existence to the enter- prising Bishop Selwyn.
'Melanesia is the name given to the Islands of the SW. Pacific Ocean, including the Loyalty, New He- brides, Banks', Santa Cruz, and Solomon Archipelagos, and reaching onwards to the W. and NW., so as to include New Guinea.
' There is no estimate of their number which can be depended upon. But there are certainly more than 200 islands. They are inhabited by people differing widely in appearance from the natives of the E. Pacific Ocean, or Polynesia.
' The Polj-nesians are lighter in colour, and for the most part of larger stature than the Melanesians. They speak dialects of one common language, and observe, speaking generally, similar customs and super- .stitions.
' The Fiji Archipelago occupies an intermediate po- sition between Polynesia and Melanesia. The struc- ture of its language is PoljTiesian, but its vocabulary differs in many instances from that of the ordinary Polynesian dialects.
' A native of any one Polynesian island would almost inniiediutely recognise in the dialect spoken in any other Pol-^niesian island a dialect similar to his own.
'Sandwich Islanders, New Zealanders.Tahitians, Ra- rotongans, Samoans, and the natives of the KingsmiU gi'oup, in a very short time are able to converse together; but it is very different in Melanesia.
'A comparison of dialects already acquired discovers indeed affinities in the vocabularies to some extent, and in the general structure of the dialects to a great extent; and it is quite certain that one t^-jie of language prevails tlu-oughout the whole Pacific. But the dialects of Melanesia diverge so greatly from the common type, and from each other, that each dialect forms almost a sepa- rate study.
42 WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
' Neiirly seventy islands have been visited by the Mission vessel.
' Concerning more than tliirty of these islands it may be said confidently that each possesses its own dialect, and that on many of these islands many dialects are spoken, mntnally unintelligible to tlie inhabitants.
'No native of a Melanesian island naturally under- stands a man of another island, nor can he understand (in many cases) inhabitants of his own island liwug out of his own immediate neighbourhood.
' The natives of Nengone and Lifu in the Loyalty Islands speak dialects of the same language ; but no Nengone man understands a Lifu man, unless from some caiise or other he has made himself acquainted with the Lifti dialect. This is the case in all the islands of the SW. Pacific Ocean, of which we have any information. With this great diversity of dialects, a great diversity of manners, superstitions, and cha- racter would naturally be expected ; and yet, inasmuch as all these dialects are really parts of a common language, some reference in all their various superstitions and customs to a common system underlj-ing all would pro- bably be discovered. We can already see good reasons for supposing that this is the actual state of the case ; but not to such an extent as to make one method of treatment applicable to all the islanders.
' This is the explanation of the plan followed by the primate of New Zealand. As he obtained an accurate knowledge of the character of the work entrusted to him, so he perceived more and more clearly the neces- sity of carrying on the instruction of the islanders through tlie agency of native teachers. He saw that each island must draw upon its ovm resources as soon as possible, and that young men from many islands could be educated simultaneously at one central school, if they could be induced to attend it.
'It has been foimd that there is not very much diffi- culty in obtaining young men and boys from many of thase islands. There is oftentimes a considerable delay ; but generally speaking we succeed within two or three years from the time of our first visit in bringing away some one or other, who instantly is converted into a living dictionary and grammar: for when once we can talk to the people, the first gi-eat step is gained.
' By paying repeated visits to the islands, endeavour- ing to bring away the same scholars year after year, and by maintaining central winter schools in the islands, so that the teaching may not be interrupted, we hope to educate the most promising young men in each island to become themselves at no distant day the teachers of their own people.
■ ' We cannot speak with certainty on this point as yet. There are several young persons with us now, about whom we are very hopefid : tliey have willingly returned to New Zealand for several summers, and have in some cases left their own islands during the winter months, in order to live at the winter school held on a neighbouring island. That they are really in earnest we have every reason to believe, and that they are likely to make competent teachers, as far as their capacity and knowledge are concerned, we have no doubt ; but we cannot say yet tliat they have been fully tried : the plan lias not been worked long enougli to produce decided results as yet : it seems to be answering exceedingly well.
'What has taken place at an isLind of the Banks' Archipelago (named by Bligh Sugarloaf Island, and by the inhabitants Motu) is perhaps a fair illustration of the working of our plan.
' Some nine years ago, the Bishop of New Zealand was sailing out of the great bay at the north of Espirito Santo, a large island at the NW. of the New Hebrides Islands. He saw from the fore-3-artl land in the extreme distance. No land was laid down in the charts, but
Maech 2, 1863.
he was convinced that he was not deceived, and steering for tliis land he saw gradually the whole group of the Banks' Islands, one by one, appear above the horizon. In the newest charts thej' are still laid down nearly one degTee of longitude to the east of their real position ; and Santa Maria, the finest and most populous of all, is to this day not laid down at all. The bishop had no communication then with the people of Mota : he was steering through the group, when the water suddenly became shallow, and the bottom of broken coral was visible ; and he was only too glad to be able to beat back from these unknown waters.
' His visit to England, and other circumstances, pre- vented his re-\-isiting these islands xmtil the winter of 1856.
' On that occasion no landing was effected at Mota ; the naiTow beach (so well known now) was crowdfxl with men ; we counted more tlian fifty swimming round our boat ; all were apparently friendly, but the landing was difficult, and the number of people too great. We made some small presents, and returned to the vessel, and sailed away. The next j'oar the bishop discovered a fine harbour in the neighbouring island, called Vanua Lava. Here we anchored in the Southern Cross. Several young men were inducexi to come on board the vessel. We had already made friends witJi the people on shore before we brought in the vessel. We visited the neighbouring islands, and again sailed away. But the next year two yoimg men came aw.ay with us, and spent the winter at Lifu, where our school was for the time carried on.
' Their report of us when they returned was soon circulated among the islands, and now full confidence seems to bo established. We went wliere we pleased, slept ashore, brought away scholars, learned the lan- guage. Now lads from aU the eight islands of the group have been with us in New Zealand ; we have spent two winters at Mota ; one of the two young men who first came away •mth us to Lifu is at this moment the most promising scholar in our Melanesian school. We must not say too much ; but in these three years we have seen great changes. No man on Mota walks about now with bow and poisoned arrows, witliout which they scarcely stirred from their halts a few months ago. Men who had never walked round their own small island till within the last two years, now go about freely where they please. Lads from six or seven different villages of the island, and even from three or four neighbouring islands, all lived together for more than two months last winter at oiu" school — to such an extent has their mutual distrust of each other been removed. Our daily morning and evening prayers were attended by an average of fifty or sixty people, who, indeed, knew very little of the meaning of what they saw and heard, but whose presence indicated at least curiosity and friendliness of feeling. No one person has treated us unkindly.
' During the time that we were living at Mota, we visited in our boat all the islands of the Archipelago, with the exception of two rather more distant than the rest. These two are only thirty miles off from us, but at the time when we hoped to sail and row across to them, sickness among our party made it impossible to leave the island of Mota, on which we were living.
'All these islands were first nsited by us in the schooner ; but we have seldom time then to remain long on shore ; and, indeed, in these introductory visits it is not wise to leave the beach at all. But in these boat- ing excursions we have ample leisure to feel our way among the natives of those islands with which we have already established some kind of connection, and in this manner we have walked round all but two of the islands of the Banks' Archipelago, spending several days and nights among the people, and always receiving kindly treatment from them.
March 2, 1863.
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
43
' What is being done at Mota, might, we believe, be done also in many other parts of Melanesia. There are ialanch in the New Hebrides gi-oup and in the Solomon Archipelago, where we are well known, and where we can talk to the people. There is nothing to prevent the introduction of such a winter school among them as already exists at Mota, but the want of funds and men. The plan is applicable to twenty islands as easily as to one, and it seems to meet every requisition.'
MICRONESIA.
Thb Micronesia group is situated on either side of the equator, from about 17o° to 18 ') ° E. The American Board has had here a mission for eight or ten years. It is a branch of their mi.ssion to the Sandwich Islands, the language being nearly related.
In 1861 light appeared about to dawn, but the sky has become' again overclouded. The Ecv. Mr. Bingham thus writes : —
' But you would know respecting the interests of Clirist's kingdom in th<'se far-off isles of the sea. We could hang our heads in shame, and cover our faces in grief, so faint are evidences that our labours are being blessed to the spiritual good of tliese benighted ones. We might almost say there is nothing cheering. Nearly all is dark ; the first beams of the Sun of Righteousness seem not yet to dawn upon us. The bright sky, under which we were rejoicing in the spring of 1861, has been overcast. Dark clouds have rolled up, and we strive almo.st in vain to catch some faint glimpse of the ob- scured orb. Were not the promises of God sure, we cotdd well give up in despair ; but these promises will not f.ul. Our two converts have gone back to heathen- ism (I do not know that particulars here are essential) ; others for whom we entertained great hopes have grown cold, and there is not a native of Apaiang or Tarawa upon whom we may look as a friend of Jesus. The offer of salvation is treated with the utmost indifference, and very few are willing to attend ujion the public worship of God. The king, however, has been quite regular, although his progress has been steadily back- ward.'
Mention is made of parties who had fled from offended chiefs, in Tar.iwa and Marakei, to Apaiang, exciting the fears of tlie king and people lest .so large an accession to the population of that little island shoiild occasion famine. After much talking, on tlie 20th of March the king started for Tarawa, with four cannon and nearly all the people of Apaiang, in a fleet of 321 canoes, fciking the expatriated Tarawans. 'I myself,' Mr. Bingham writes, 'took occasion to nsit Taljiang, with Mrs. B., to inquire after the welfare of our brethren and sisters, and to hav(i an interview with the king. The f'orm<>r we found well, and not alarmed at the war aspect. The latter was desirous of peace, and was willing to invite home the parties which left in Febnuiry, provided tliere should be only one port of entiy, otherwise he was pre- pared for war.' These persons had offended by patro- nising a trading vessel fi-om Sydney, contrary to the king's wishes. Spending the Sabbath at BTiariki, Mr. B. .saw little to i^ncourage, and returning on Monday to Apaiang, found that a robljery had been committed on . his premises the first night of his absence, and Hint the chapel also had been asrain entered, and the cloth of a cushion can-ied off. He had before had occasion to complain to the king of abuse of the place of worship; the pulpit, seats, mats, &c., being shamefully treated by mischievous natives.
' In tninslating, I have found enough to do. On the 28fh of Feliruary last, the four (iospels and Acts had been coinpleted, and now await the printer ; although I am still labouring to improve them as I have oppor-
tunity. Mrs. B. has been giving some time to pre- paring such Old Testament narratives as may more especially serve to elucidate! the allusions in the New Testament. I trust this work will be found very useful to such as may hereafter be found desiroiLS of reading the New Testament with understanding, when it shall be put into their hands. Mrs. B. and Kaholo have generally found a very few pupils who have been willing to visit them at the mission station for instruc- tion. Their former pupils liave almost entirely forsaken them, and none, anywhere, are eager for instruction. At Tarawa, not an indi^ndual has yet been induced to acquire the art of reading. A few have made some progress in syllables, but our feUow-labourers there (Hawaian helpers) have long been almost entirely without pupils, and thus far meet with very little encouragement. But why shoidd any of us be dis- com-aged? Did not the English missionaries at Tahiti wait many years for their blessing ?'
SAMOA.
We have been favoured with a fly-sheet published in Samoa, which gives the following report of the stations: —
The review of the work of God on our islands for the past year presents, as hitherto, a variety of aspects — some cheering and some dejiressing, some encouraging and others discouraging ; ljut, on the whole, it calls for devout thanksgiring that there arc so many proofs of real progress, notwithstanding the varied form.s of opposition with which it has to contend.
On the island of Savaii the work has been carried on at a great disadvantage, as regards means and superintendence, owing to the absence of Mr. Pratt. The teachers report tliat they continue to have much encour.igement in their work. Schools, classes, and services are regulaily conducted as usual ; and they are cheered not only by the attendancf^ of the peo])le upon the ordinances, but also by the general steadfastness of the members of the church, whose number may be stated at 550, in nine churches, with twenty-five teachers and native pastors; and schools with an attendance of 1,000 scholars.
The district inider the care of Mr. Bird, embracing the half of the island on the southern side, has thirty- two villages, each provided with a chapel and a teacher, who, in addition to the Sabbath and week-day senices, regularly conducts schools for the children and adidt population. The district has been formed into nine churches, with a membership of 410. Additions to the churches during the p;ust year 40. Candidates for church fellowship are 520. The number of .scholars in the schools, adults and children, are 2,902. The district named Lefaasaleli'Mgn, in the more immediate neighboiu-hood of the missionary's residence, comprises sixteen villages, ^vith a population of 3,500. The other I parts of the district form outstations, some of which I are at a great distance, and of difficult access, both by j sea and land. The missionary visits these twice a ■ year. I
In our short account of the work on tho island of Upolu, we begin ■with the district under the care of .Mr. Gee, on the novtii side, which embraces from Faleata, in thf; west, to Fagaloa, in the east. Properly speaking, it contains three distinct divisions, formed into three churches with a membership of 840, and th(? candidates for church fellowship number 500. The missionaiy reports a cheering amount of progress, especially when viewed in connection with the various forms of o]iposition witli which the gospel has to con- tend. The principal of these he finds in the very strong hold old customs have upon the people, and the active
44
WOEK OF THE CHRISTLVN CHURCH.
March 2, 1863.
opposition of the agents of popery in the neighbour- hood, who are not over scrupulous as to the means they emplo}' to induce people to join their party.
At Apia, the residence of the missionary, the people have had to lament the loss of their large chapel, the roof of which was blown down in one of our late gales ; but
, they hope soon to repair the damage, and again have
j the happiness of worshipping within its walls. Apia being the chief resort of shipping, and the place where the largest number of foreign residents have their abode, services are regularly conducted in the English language, in the neat and convenient iron chapel pro- vided for the purpose.
The adjoining district, under the care of Mr. Drum- mond, embraces from Aleipata, at the weather end of the island, to Safata, about its centre, on the south side. The district comprehends tliree principal divisions, wth forty -three villages, in each of which there is a chapel, with II teacher, who, as in all our other districts, in addition to the usual religious services, conducts schools and classes for children and adidts. The accessions of new members to the churches during the year have been 283. Deaths, exclusions, and removals number 100. The present number of church-members is 978. Of candidates for church fellowship there are 555. The attendance of scholars in the 43 schools is, boys, 573, girls, 008 ; making a total of 1,181.
The adjoining district extends from Lefaga, at the west end of the south side of the island, to Nofoalii, on the north side. It embraces the greater part of Aana, including the islands of Manono and Apolima. This large district has for some time been under the care of Mr. Ella, who has felt it to be a heavy charge, in addi- tion to his labours in the printing-oiRce. The district contiiins twenty %-illages, each with its chapel and teacher, day and sabbath-schooLs, as in other districts. There are four churehe.s, with a membership of 557 ; and the candidates for church fellowship are 450. During the year, 155 members have been added to the church. Scholars in the schools average, adults and children, 1,200.
During the year, the Press has been kept steadily at work. AVe have is.sued 12,000 copies of the revised and enlarged Hymn-book, 1,200 of the Samoan Ee- porter, 7,000 of the Doctrinal Catechism, with the Scripture proofs printed in full ; 3,000 of a Calendar, and 3,000 of a list of the missionary contributions in Samoa for the year ; also 1,000 of the Samoan Diction- ary, on which we have been employed for some months. There have also been printed in the dialect of Nine, (Savage Island), 4,000 of the Gospel by Mark and 2,000 of the Gospel by John ; 2,000 of a small Hymn- book, and 3,000 of a Doctrinal Catechism. There is also in the press an elementary work on geograpliy in Samoan, of which 3,000 copies are being printed.
The district which completes the circuit of Upolu is one of more contracted dimensions, and is mider the
I care of the tutor of the institution for native teachers. It embraces part of Aana, and part of the Tuamasaga, and contains eight villages, exclusive of the one formed
I by the institution. As in the other districts, these are under the care of as many native teachers, whose duties also are of the same kind. The district is formed into two churches, ^T^th a membership, exclusive of those in the institution, of 289. Additions to the
clnirch since January, 1861, 60. Deaths, exclusions, and removals, 27. Candidates for church-fellowship, 300. In the eight schools, the attendance of scholars averages about 450.
The duties of the Institution for native teachers have been superintended, as in the previous year, by Mr. and Mrs. Nisbet.
The complement df students at present on the books of the institution is 95 ; 8 of whom rank in the youths' class, and 87 are preparing for the office of teacher. The wives of the students number 56, who are more immediately under the care of Mrs. N.
Since .January, 1861, 17 students have been ap- pointed to the care of villages ; 5 have retired on account of health, and 4 on account of family circum- stances, &c. Three of those who retired have, however, been since appointed to the care of villages. 2 have died, and 6 have been excluded. Of the youths, 6 have left, their time having expired, and 2 have been excluded.
On Upolu, too, we have had, during the year, some few troubles and distiu-bances among the people, espe- cially a quarrel between two contiguous lands on the south side of the island, which resulted in bloodshed on both sides. But the affiiii- seems at last to have been made up again ; and at present we are enjoying peace.
From Tuiiiila we have had no definite report. We are happy, however, in being able to record the termi- nation of the war on that island, which, for so long a time has disturbed the peace of the people there, and stood in the way of everything which is good. By latest accounts, the people appeared to be settling down to the more peaceful pursuits of domestic industry, and indications were not wanting of a wish, on the part of many, to attend to better things.
A general statement of the statistics of our mission will stand thus — which may be taken as a near approx- imation to the truth : church-members, including those in the Malua Institution,4,200 ; candidates for church- fellowship, 3,245 ; teachers, 206 ; scholars in the variouii schools, 8,040.
During the past year, the Samoans have evinced their usual liberality in the support of the ordinances of religion among themselves, and their annual contri- butions to hi'lp in spreading the Gospel tlu-oughout the world. Our annual missionary meetings were well sustained in all the districts, and the contributions generally exceeded that of former years. The total amount of the contributions for the year is, in cash, 4,839 dollars, or £967 16s., and in oil, 1,355 gallons, which may reasonably be expected to realise £90 ; making a total of, say £1,058. We have not a list of all the contributions in money and property, by the several villages in support of their own teachers, but, at a moderate calculation, it cannot be much mider £800. If to this we add £200 expended in the purchase of books, we shaU have the sum of upwards of ;S2,000 expended by our people in connection with the work of God. But they do not only contribute of their pro- perty, tbey give themselves also, and their sons and their daughters, to the work. We have just selected six teachers and their wives, who are now waiting the return of the John Williams from the east, to proceed on the arduous and perilous enterprise of breaking up the fiillow ground on some of the savage islands of the New Hebrides.
March 2, 1863.
WORK OF THE CIIRISTLVN CHURCH.
45
AFEICA.
gi §irb's-(EjTe Wxtb d glissious m gifrita*
Africa may be said to be the most recent field of missionary operations. Though it is long since the first missions were planted on its southern and western borders, yet till within recent years no attempt has been made to search its entire coasts, much less to pene- trate far into the interior. An approximate sun ey of the present advance of missionary effort is given in the following paper.
Beginning with West Africa, we find that the worst abominations of heathenism still run riot in vast terri- tories. The sacrifice of human life continues. In the town of CoomassieWest saw men and women sacrificed to celebrate the funerals of the rich ; the description of an execution by cruel tortures that took place in a street bearing the name of ' Never-dry-from-blood,' is horrible beyond conception.
The latest reports from Dahomey are still more heart-rending.
Sierra Leone lies before us in brighter light, though it shines upon many graves. The work of God had oven in 1853 become so strong that a bishop was appointed for this colony in England. He and three of his successors have already fallen victims to the fatal climate, and a fifth has recently landed on the same shores.
How noble Bowen wondered when ho arrived in 1857, at tlie stately chui'ches and glebes, and, at tin? rush of the Negroes to church and school. Half of tlio preachers and the Christians of the different Evan- gelical churches were Negroes ; 10,685 Metliodists, and 2,187 Free Methodists, with aliout 24,000 Episcoijalians were united like brothers. The colony can now be hardly called a mission, but a church, and a living one.
Tlie congregations evince great zeal in repairing the churches and in collecting the stipends for their mi- nisters (amounting to 1,000^. annually) ; the schools, high as well as low, enjoy the same improvement.
The (American) colony Lilieria has nearly worked its way to the same height. Even in the year 1854, u foi'eign bishop said with truth, ' I have never seen people with such a love for order ; no rude language is to bo heard hen;. The Sabbath is kept strictly, and the churches are filled with attentive listeners.'
Here also, as at the Mission of Cape Palnias, the congregations have advanced considerably in indepen- dence of foreign preacliors ; young congregations will therefore bo less likely to suffer from a change of pastor, in consequence of the climate.
Liberia, it is known, is an institution of American free Negroes, who organised themselves into a republic in 1847, and now, 16,000 in number, exercise a Chris- tian influence over 480,000 natives who are scattered along a nai-row shore of about 250 leagues in extent. Bi.shop Payne held the first synod of the Episcopal Church, in April 1862, and reorganised the Church tlirough the whole colony. Bishop Burns in the same way exercises a particular care over 1,400 members nf llie Methodist Chm-ch. A college, in charge of the I'resby- terian.s, educates the future officers of State, as well as an increasing number of efficient preachers. American Lutherans al.M) take part (1860) in the great work, and are admitted more especially among the Congo Negro<'s that are flocking in. This fn>e state, formed in such a peculiarmanneraccordinnto the American code, retains somedegreeof uneoutlnifss, as (lie majority of the popu- lation consi.sts of ignorant lieathens. Tiio visible pro-
• We are indebted for this paper to the Basle Misslonarv Society.— Ay.
gress is on that account the more praiseworthy, and as cost but little in comparison with Sierra L(!one.
We can only briefly mention that the Methodist Mission at the Gambia (with 813 Church members), are about to be joined hy a French Mission at the Senegal in the north, under the protection of a governor with truly evangelical principles, and that the work on the River Pongas in the south, carried on by Church missionaries from Barbadoes (320 Church members) is spreading, in spit o of many sacrifices.
The Mission of Basle at the Gold Coast, commenced n 1829, lost twelve labourers by death in a short time, after which the suin'i\'ing missionary Eies renewed the mission in the year 1844 on a fresh foundation. There have indeed been numerous victims since, but the six stations contain now over 750 Chris- tians. Besides three establislmients for the education of the young, there is now also a seminary for catechist.s, where 20 (now 30) young Christians are trained for the ministry. In addition to tliis, trades are taught to the indolent Negroes. The work has advanced from six to seven days' journey into the interior.
The Bremen Mission, situated east of the Eiver Volta, boldly carries on its conquests from five stations ; they are afraid of nothing, not even to settle among cannibals. This mission also is constantly tried by sacrifices of precious human life, and is continually tlireatened by the whims of the chiefs and the fury of the fetish priests ; but it do not suffer in vain. The earthquake was interpreted in various ways there ; in one \'illage it led to the discontinuance of work on Sunday, and to a petition for regular divine serrice. Badagry and Lagos have been long ago cleared from the slave-trade, which is now only carried on by a Brazilian, at Wliydah, the harbour of Dahomey, while the conquest of Porto Novo (1861) and the occupation of Lagos by the English, have opened a new door to the mission there.
Behind this slave-coast, which almost no longer do- serves the name, the blessed land of Yoruba is situated. There, in Abeokuta, they kept joj-ful Bible festivals in 1859, and Scripture readers were sent among the heathens and Mohammedans of the neighbourhood. The seminary educates teachers ; a periodical, the Iwc Irohin (Morning Star), has an influence on public opi- nion, and civilisation advances with Clu-istianitj'. The desolate land is now covered hy cotton plantations, which increase the value of labour, that once was but of little worth. The inhaljitants perceive this, and, like the King of Ketu, ask for more missions, that they may obtain the same blessing.
The Mission of the Niger, renewed in the year 1867, by raising the stations Gbeba and Onitsha, ' is now occupied by ten native labourers ; they are commended to the fervent prayers of Christians, as they aro much thrcaten(^d by the enemy since they instituted a new station, Akassa, at the mouth of the Nun.'
The chiefs tliat were favourable to the Clmstians have, it appear.s, been remov(>d by ]x)ison.
In Calabar the Scottish missionaries continue to hold a difficult position. Tlie young King Eyo lias disappointed the hopes that wore entertained of him (he died in May 1861 in consequence of excesses, we may liope repenting) ; and among others, wlio have l)een lia[ili7,e<l, there occur now and then painful back- slidings. But tlie terrible system of punishment by substitute, according to wliich every person of r.iuk might atone for murder by the execution of his slave, is abolislu'd, and t win-chiklrcn aro at last allowed to live.
'Tiie expulsion of the Baptists from the island of i Fcrnaudo Po by the Spanish Government has led to
WORK OF THE CHRISTIiVN CHURCH.
MA.ECH 2, 1863.
the institution of a new station, "Victoria," near the high Cameroon mountain (1858), where a part of the converted hare taken up their abode. From thence the missionaries have made journeys into the interior, and discovered towns, which cannot be traversed in a day's traveL' For the losses occasioned to the mission by Spanish intolerance, they have at last received com- pensation to the amomit of gl,500.
' Opposite the island of St. Thomas, at the mouth of the Gaboon, the Americans have a mission, which is progressing notwithstanding the fatal climate.' Even if poor King Glasz, notwithstanding his eapabUity of repeating whole sermons by heart, has died micon verted (1861), many troubled souls are coming now unexpec- tedly to seek admission to the instruction for baptism.
In the Presbyterian Mission on the island of Coris- ko there is a still more active spirit at work, among the pupils of their efficient schools. After their conversion and education, these pupils are sent across to the continent to foxmd new stations.
' In South Africa we meet the stations of the Barmen missionaries, who had to encounter so many diffi- culties in Damara that they resolved not to send any more European missionaries there, whUe they M'ere only permitted to see very feeble results in the barren district of Namaqua.' But since tlie remarkable chief, Jouker, who fir.st was a friend and afterwards an enemy of the missionaries, died, satiated with the glory of war (1861), the stations in this place also eviuee a better praspect of success.
' The great colony at the Cape, lying before us, so richly supplied with missions of difierent churches and societies, we cannot describe better than as the mighty land that has now become a decidedly Christian country.'
'A revival among the Dutch farmers, in particular, lias had most blessed effijcts. Their church, hitherto so conservative and inactive, has roused itself to mis- sionary duty, and begins to show the effi;ct in the two free states in the north of Orange. The president of the free state of Orange attended in person a mission conference of the several churches that had been drawn closer by the revival, and confessed on that occasion that he had formerly considered the mission at least " unnecessary," but tliat he now offi'red them lands, and every assistance in his power, with joy. The whole significance of this change wiU be fully understood, when we read in the report of the Alliance that this very president, as late as 1861, could be called, with justice, " the decided enemy of all English doings in politics and religion." He refused for a long time to let Moffiit the missionary pass through to the north. How much the Paris stations had to suffer during his last war against Moshesli! It clearly illustrates to what a degree the people of Boshuana liave been changed by the gospel. Then, wliat a contrjist between a Basuto camp at the arriv:d of tlic French mission- aries, and a half-Christianised Basuto village in tlie year 1859 1'
'Several tribes of the Caflfres, as is known, were led by a false prophet (1866) to kill all their cattle, in the hope of giving the course of the universe a different direction — to liring about the expulsion of the whites, and restore the dominion of the blacks in the countiy. Nothing, however, followed but a teiTible famine, which compelled them to scatter about the colony and beg. The noble Sir George Grey supplied them witli bread and work, ordered huts to be erected for their use, and caused tliem to be instructed in the Christian religion. Thus tlie plan for the banishment of the whites was the means of gi\'ing to the blacks the gospel, which they had received with such indiffiTcnce in their own country.'
' Many Cafires have been won over here and there ; but for the great country of the Zulu-Ca£fres the right
hour appears to have not yet approached. The mis- sionaries from Hermannsburg and Norway, as well as the Engbsh and Americans, agree that we must wait patiently for the new birth of this talented nation, but that the friuts already ripened afford a siu-e foretaste of a fine harvest in future.'
In consequence of Livingstone's discoveries, throe missions have been formed for the interior of South Africa. First, London sent (1858) Helmore, Price, and others, to the Makololos, on the Zambezi ; then the older Moffiit used his influence vnth the King of the Matebeles to introduce missionaries — his own son was one of them. The former mission was frustrated in a painful manner. ' Helmore and the mothers with several children, were snatched away ])y fever in 1860. Price, on his way home with the little ones, was plundered by the King of the Macololos. Tlie grey-headed despot of the Matabeles, on the conti-arj', received the missionaries kindly, and allowed them to preach without restraint to all his people. The king is probably near lus end, but the missionaries hope the best from the heir-presump- tive to the crown. Missionary Price has also, with a yoTinger fellow-labourer, again arrived in Kuriunan, the station of the much-tried, but cver-hopefid, Moffiit, to foimd a new mission in the interior. Not far from theZamb(^zi the missionaries of two English universities have established a mission, under the guidance of Dr. Livingstone.' This Mission has already overcome its first trials. They have had more than one collision with the slave-merchants of the Portuguese district Mozambik, and were compeUod to make Tise of arms ; the necessity of tliis measure, in the strictest sense, has, however, not been proved. The bishop of the missiofl, Mackenzie, collected for the first beginning a congregation of 160 persons, chiefly cliildren, either left behind by or taken from the slave-traders. Bishop Mackenzie is already dead, and a new bishop, Tozer, has been appointed, with two missionaries, to strengthen the mission. We see, by the beginnings of the mission in the interior of South Africa, how much patience the Lord requires from his children, before He bids them enter on a joj-ful h:irvest.
How little could be said even last year, ' about the beautiful and happy island of Madagascar,' where, under constant persecutions, the spirit of the martjTS of old had been shown forth in all its glory, and where the number of believers has increased to 5,000 ! The time seems to have come when the gospel is to have free course again. The old blood-stained Queen is dead. Her son has succeeded to the throne. The religious services at his coronation were con<lucted by the London missionary and the native pastor. Me- morial cliurches are to be immediately built on the martyr sites, and the Bishop of Mam-itius has made arrangements for a joint mission of the Church of England. The Roman Catholics complain that it is easier to cut the rocks with a razor, than persuade the people to tluar faith.
Close to Madagascar lies the island of Mauritius with its 300,000"inhabitants, 200,000 of whom are Hindoos introduced into the sugar plantations, and who form the chief part of the population. Among them in particular the mission is making considerable progress. Delivcrtid from the thousand bpnds that fetter them at home to heathendom, they hear the gospel here from missionaries out of South India and Bengal, and carry back to their native land the pearl of price, to work there as teachers of the gospel among their races and families.
'Missionary Rebmann stands as yet alone on the east coast of Africa ; but he will be strengthened, and his work among the Wanikas seems at last to have had a cheering impulse.' Ho has only received one aux- iliary, and his firstlings, six baptized Wanikas, rejoiced the heart of missionaiy Krapf, when in the beginning
March 2, 1863.
47
of last year he visited RaLbai Mpia again after ten years' absence. What a different appearance ererytliing had then from 1857, when the depredatory Masai deso- lated the whole country and forced the missionary to take flight ! The hea%-y trial has done its work, and made the hardhearted Wanikas at last more favourably diaposed to receive Christianity. M. Krapf, accom- panied by two English Methodist missionaries, and two German brothers from St. Crischona, made a tour of investigation in the year 1861 in those parts, and tried to form two stations. He found the pro- vince of Usambara closed up against him on account of a, civil war. Three of his young companions were taken ill, and had to seek medical assistance in the large Catholic hospital at Zanzibar. One of the Englishmen was driven back to Europe by serious illness, the t^ro brothers from Crischona by dis- couragement. Only one remained in Africa, and has now found a station some distance from Morubas, where he hopes to be enabled to work with a blessing. Krapf himself could not carry out his plan, to return I through the interior of Africa, on account of the ci^'il war, and arrived in Wiirtemberg in November.
The attempt made by the members of St. Crischona to found a Mission in Abyssinia luider the guidance of Bishop Gobat, remains yet to Ijc mentioned. They were well received by King Theodorus, though he would have preferred using them as mechanics and tradesmen, for his own purposes. They have a difficult position, in the midst of Cliristianity that has died away, and under a whimsical despot. Notwithstanding, the Lord has allowed them to see some fruits of their work, not mt^rely among the young whom they teach, but also among the adults ; of the latter is Chancellor Dobtera Sauab, described as an intelh^ctual man, who holds prayer meetings with his soldiers, and bears witness to Clu'ist everywhere.
Particular interest has been excited by the result of a mission, which has been sent tothe Jews of Abyssinia, the Fahischas (in 1860), and not only occasioned a I general search into the holy scriptures, but led to a number of conversions of tliese lost children of Israel. The fifty-third chapter of Isaiah has there shown its ancient jjower. It is unfortunate that they must be received by baptism into tlie paganised Church of Abyssinia, which is certamly not superior in moral conduct to these remains of Israel. But perhaps new Tigour is to be engi-afled into it hy this fresh element.
Much else is being done in Africa to gathering the true Israel out of the worldly.
In Algiers (at Oran and Constantine), the Bible finds more and more an entrance among the Jews, and reaches the Mahomedans as well as the Kabylie people of Cabes, whose traditions say tliat they have once been Cliristians, and must in course of time become Christians again ; while the Jews of Sahara, on account of their dislike of traditions, are not so much opposed to the gospel as those who have had a pharisaie;d training. Ip Tunis also, the young at least are fond of reading the gospel. Finally in Egypt, the missionaries are labouring with diligence in se\-eral places. The Copts, formerly as d(^ad as the people of Abyssiniii, seem to awaken to new lif(! by tlie use of the holy scriptures ; and the mission of the American Presbj-lerians finds free entrance into many of their churches. The tolerant Pasha (now dead, 1863) also afforded his aid ; ho gave an impr(!ssivo lesson to a fanatic Mussulman who wished (o prevent a Capt by rude force from leanug Islamism, which he had been forced to adopt.
Last year he made over buildings to the value of 100,000 florins to the mission, and afterwards, to give a pi-oof of bis imi)artiality, he conferred a similar favour on the French priests.
Thus we may be permitted to glance up the Nile
with hopeful prayer. Along its shores, side by side with travellers in quest of discoveries, and hosts of Franciscan monks, the messengers of the gospel advance with undiminished zeal into the interior of this vast continent, to make the nations of Ham acquainted with tliat Name, in which alone there is salvation for the black man as well as the wliite.
ALGEEIA.
As a general rule, our Protestant religious periodicals take very little notice of the French Churches in ' Algeria, and, indeed, information concerning them is somewhat difficidt to obtain. The fact is, that the Algerian pastors, and the various other servants of God who labour in the midst of this great F'rench colony, liave too much work to do, if thoroughly in earnest, to find time for -writing off details of their activity to the world without. If, however, they are sowing the fruits of righteousness very quietly and silently, we are by no j means to suppose that their efforts have not been | blessed, and are not being blessed stiU by God. On the I contrary, in many portions of the vast territory in the j north of Africa, divinely assigned them as the sphere of ' tlieir laboiu-s, an amoimt of progress has been made, ] and continues to be made, which may well rejoice aH Christian hearts. I will endeavour in my present communication to make iip in some measure for their silence, by sending j'ou a summary of certain facts connected with tlicir mission, which have recently come under my knowledge.
And first of all I must say a few words about their efforts to diffiise the advantages of education and the love of reading in these parishes by the establishment of schools and of popular libraries, whenever this comes wdthin their power.
They are more and more convinced that in Algeria — as indeed everywhere else — but preeminently in Algeria, ignorance is the great obstacle to the general evan- gelisation of the country ; ignorance, parent of superstition, and often of unbelief. Now, the gospel loves the light, and its doctrines do not shrink from the fullest and most rigorous examination. It is to dissipate this ignorance, tlierefore, to break up and clear the ground in which they are to sow the divine seed that all their efforts tend ; and we may fairly say that if they have not as yet in all .cases satisfied this, their legitimate ambition, tliey have already brought about sundry results of a verj' satisfactory nature, and that wherever they arc they shed some light around. Without speaking of Algiers itself, which is the most privileged spot in the country, there are, at the present time, schools in almost every province, and not only schools, but parochial libraries as well, accessible to all who seek to share in their benefits. At Constantine the success of pastoral efforts in this direction has been such tliat it has recently been found necessary to establish a second evangelical library and a third parochial school, and this seliool and library have been specially mentioned by a newspaper published in the town, and so the public attention has been drawn to- wards them.
The fact is that our brethren in the course of their labours meet occasionally with unexpected and con- genial auxiliaries amongst the intelligent and cultivated chisses. I have mentioned the Constantino newspaper, and I ought also to name both the Set/bousr of Bone, and the licview of the Colonial World, with like apprecia- tion.
The Indffertdent — such is the name of the Constan- tine journal above referred to — published some time back an article, in which, after noticing the progress in civilisation, and the various benefits that schools and
48
WORK OF THE CHEISTLIN CHURCH.
Makch 2, 1863.
libraries bring about -nlierever they are established — at Sierra Leone, Liberia, Yoruba, the Cape, Natal, the Maui-itius, in Central Africa, where they mark the tracks of such men as Moffiit and I;iving>tone ; in India ; amongst the Esquimaux ; in the islands of the Pacific ; in Australia ; and concluded its enumeration by the foUoM-ing emphatic appeal : ' May the spectacle of this onward movement — this progressive tendency — excite around a healthy emulation ! May it be ours thorouglily to understand botli the causes whicli brought about the ruin of the Spanish and Portuguese colonies, and the principles which have produced the general prosperity of all colonies founded by England, Holland, and America. In making the tour of the globe, we have foimd that no colony can be prosperous and powerful, unless it adopts without reservation the prin- ciples of liberty and of universiil education.'
Sometimes, in order to bring about the one great and sacred aim, ingenious indirect methods are em- ployed, which perhaps have proved among the most successful. Here, for instance, is part of a letter written not long since by one of our bretliren to his friends in France: 'I have discovered a very simple way of circxdating an excellent book, and at the same time affording a means of subsistence to a family in want. At the hospital I met a former gendarme, who had lost liis left hand by the bursting of his gun a few chiys after obtaining employment. In lieu of mere beggaij I was able to provide him with a regular and honoiu-able employment. Follo^^^ng my advice, he went to the mayor of the town, showed him his muti- lated hand, and a stamped Almanack de Buns Cunscils, and at once obtained a viTitten permission to hawk this book about. I procured for him 500 of these Alma- nacks, at ten centimes a piece. He succeeded in sell- ing fifty of them daily, at twenty-five Centimes each — whether from the popularity of the Almanack itself, or from the general sympathy felt for the distressed father of a family. As almanacks are rare things in Algeria, he will be able to continue his rounds through- out the winter, selling books and getting subscriptions to the periodical Annie de la Jeunesse.'*
Pastor Ginsburg, of Constantine, has materially con- txibuted to the Municipal Library of the place (which is distinct from two others, the Parochial Library and that of the Evangelical Church), by bestowing upon it copies of the Bible in eight languages, and of the New Testament in ten, in addition to twenty of the standard works published by the Religious Book Society of Toidouse.
In most of the Algerian localities gambling and drunkenness lamentably prevail. The little rod pipes made for the smoking of opium (hashish) are publicly sold to Europeans. The natives on their side are attracted by the sight of the trader or the Maltese cross into the taverns of the 'mercantis roumis,' where, under the name of abscinthe, the most poisonous com- pounds are, alas, sold to them. In sight of such demo- ralisation no true friend of humanity or man of enlightened mind can fail to rejoice in the efforts made by Christians to drive off the impure miasma of igno- rance and to introduce healthy nu'utal food.
Of late years singular facilities have been afforded it by the number of new roads which the French Govern- ment undertakes to open. For in.stance, since the ' Carossa el Schistan,' or de^^^s carriage (such being i the pictiu-esque and significant name, bestowed by the Arabs upon Eailway locomotives) has begun rapidly to traverse the plain of Mitidja, the Algerian Pastors are able more easily, and therefore more frequently, to visit the different \-illages in their extensive parishes, which often stretch from the region of the Sahel to the
* This almanack aiiti periodical are both of thcni published by the Religious Tract Society of Paris.
Atlas Eange ; you can easily imagine the difficulties of their position when I tell you that there are certain pastors, those for instance of Ain Arnat and of Mos- tagenem who have no fewer than five or six places of woi-ship to serve, and these for the most part at a con- siderate distance from their own homes; there are indeed some cases in which they can only visit certain of their outljing districts once a year.
The government on its part (we must do it this justice) shows itself full of good feeling, I might say, full of anxiety to bring about a better state of things, both in fiu'thering as much as possible those pastoral visitations already made, and initiating others where they are really needed. For instance, during the course of last year two new stations have been estab- lished, the one at Kemeen, the other at Cherchel, in which last locality the installation of M. Frederic Heim, the preacher of the newly organised parish, took place not long ago. This service was solemnised in the presence both of the French and German Evan- gelical communities, and also of a large nmnber of Catholics, who were led by this special circumstance to attend our worship ; as for instance, the civil com- missioners, the municipal council, the chief commandant of the produce, and other cinl and military authorities. This new parish comprehends the towns of Cherchel, Tenis, Orleansville, and Milianali, with their sur- rounding yillagf>s ; judge therefore of its extent !
The pastors of AlgiTia have had the happy idea of transplanting to African soil that agency of humble Christian women which has been so singularly blessed in London and other English towns. They have in Algiers itself a Bible woman, whose special task it is to read the Bible to sick and needy women. They also took advantage of the great concourse in the city on the occasion of the last fair which happened to coincide with file organisation of a raco-course, and of an agricultural and industrial exhibition, to sow a few grains of evangelical seed, by establishing in the midst of the crowd a colporteur with his modest stand of books. In one week he sold 61 Bibles, 45 New Testa- ments, 92 Psalm Books ; 305 copies of the Penta- j teuch to the Jews, and 149 religious publications of i the Toulouse. Tract Society. This man remarked among his customers, sailors, priests, officers of marines, | Spahis, Italians, &c. The English pastor, IVIi-. Lowitz, | took advantage of the throng thus occasioned, to preach j the Go.spel message alternately to Spanish or Jewish j pmx'liasers, addressing both in their own language. ^
KAFFEARIA. \
The following extracts are from a journal of visita- 1 tion made by the Bishop of Grahamstown, at the close of la.st year. Writing of St. Jolm the Baptist's, Bolotwa, he says : —
' Miss End^, the German lady who has had charge \ of the girls, retm-ned to fetch a book wliich had been left there. She was surprised to hear a voice proceed- ing from the vestry ; and on listening, she found that ' it was one of these girls, who, with three or four of her companions, had gone there to pray; and their jn-ayer was that my visit might bo blessed to them, and that God himself might enable me to say something that might be useful to them. Poor girls! this prayer from them had a significance which English girls of that age can hardly realise. They have been for some time very anxious as to their own future condition in 'life, and the intention of their heathen parents respecting them ; for they are all the children of heathens. Being now of marriageable age, their parents wished to marry them out, and in several cases to make gain of them by selling them to heathen husbands.
March 2, 1863.
WOKK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
49
We have assured tliem, however, that if only they will remain firm themselves, the English law will protect them against violence. The Kafir custom of parents requiring cattle from those to whom they give their daughters in marriage, may be defended in theory by specious arguments — as, indeed, may every custom of every nation under heaven : in practice, it is the source of fearful evils, as it makes it the interest of every Kafir father to dispose of his girls to any old poly- gamist who can offer many cattle for a new concubine. I cannot believe that the British Government would permit any of its oflScers to give its sanction to this demoralising and degrading trade in women, if the true character and practical results of this native custom were generally understood.'
# * * « *
Of .St. Mark's Mission he wTites : — ' This mission is, both in the character of the work, and as regards the relations between the missionary and the native popu- lation on the station, distinct from every other in this diocese. Here a large industrial work has been carried on by the liid of the Government, amongst a popula- tion of more than 1,200 natives, many of whom profess Christianity.
' It was not until 18.59 that the .state of the people permitted us to commence regular industrial training in the schools and shoj^s. During that year the pro- gressive change in the general halnts and character of the people was such as to enable us to place 100 children — the support of whom had been hitherto a hea\-y burden on our funds — in charge of their fric nds and relations on the station, and to devote the Govern- ment grants almost exclusively to industrial work.
' I need only say here that, besides the day-schools there, which are attended by much more than 300 chil- dren, there is a sewing-school of eighty girls and young women, and more than sixty young men are instructed in different trades. During the past year work to the value of 470/. was produced by the industrial classes.
' The general results which have been attained are the following : —
' A remnant of the powerful Galeka tribe is collected on this station, and has undergone a change in their habits and characters, and relations to us, which, whether their conversion to Christianity be supposed to be genuine or not — iind I know no reason for doubt- ing its reality — yet cannot fail to be of consequence to the political state of the country. Many hxmdreds of those who, not five years ago, were savage and fierce barbarians, have forsaken the demoralising and de- grading customs of their fellow-countrymen ; they have intercour.se as nu^n and Christians with ourselves, are amenable to the Christian laws of the mission 8tatinn.s, are adopting European dress and modes of life, and are become, a.s compared with their former state, civilised men. It is not to be expected that a community so gathered and formed should be free from moral i-yiIh : but the testimony of the neigh- bouring police-station shows tliat crime is not common amongst them ; drunkenness is not known on the station ; and I think tluit the morality of these Kafirs will bear comparison with that of any English village of the same population.
' Tlie industrial instruction luis not continued long enough to produce skilled worknu'n, although some of tlie young men miglit already find employment as mechanics. IJut it must be observed ihul eve nj Kii fir who Icarnx a trade is an ehnunt of peace in this country. As in other parts of Africa, the encourage- ment of legitimate commerce is the best antidote to the slave-trade, so the best security against Kafir wars tile fruitful source of which has been a desire for plunder in order to purchase wives and obtain influence by their possessions — is to confer ou the
natives the power, by skilled laboiu', of gaining a live- lihood and accumulating propertj' for themselves, and so to make them contributors to the general wealth of the country, instead of its destroyers.'
# # * * #
' I believe from my own observation of missions, that there are two methods by which God is working now for the evangelising of heathen nations. In one case, converts are brought out, one by one, from the mass of heathenism ; they have to endure much opposition, and possibly to pass through a severe struggle, before they are joined to the Church, of Christ. These converts show much the most earnestness and zeal in the faith, and the light of the gospel shines in them clearly. In other cases, as formerly in Tinnevelly, and now (on a much smaller scale) in our St. Mark's Mission, many heathens are disposed to unite in making a jirofession of Christianity, probably from some general conviction of its superiority to heathenism, and without having to undergo the same amount of opposition as those who came over singly. The work may be real and sincere, so far as it extends, but the same ^igour and power of Christian life is not to be j expected at first, as in the former case. The mass has , to be gradually and thoroughly leavened with the truth of God, and, in time, by his grace, and tlirough the faithful ministry of the Word, it becomes quickened into active life. I bcKeve that the ultimate results of the two processes, after many years of faithful labours, are not so different one from another as might be supposed.
' Ou one of the days of my visit at St. Mark'.s, all the missionaries of the district met there, that we might unite in prayer and the Holy Communion. I spoke j to them on Ephes. i. 17, 18, "The eyes of youi- xmder- i standing being enlightened," &c. ; dwelling cliiefly on | the necessity of clearness of spiritual vision for those, j whether English or natives, who would be spiritual j guides of others.'
MADAGASCAR.
The anchorage at Tamatave is little more than a roadstead, protected by reefs, and exposed to winda from the east and north. The village is built on a point of land stretching into the sea towards the south. Here, amidst a population, the greater part of which is clothed more or less in articles of European manufac- ture, may be seen officials recently arrived on business from the capital. Ellis descriln s one of these men : — ' On the up]ier part of his person he wore a fine figured shirt, with Vandyke collar and -vrastbands of the same pattern, and, loosely thrown over this, a large and handsome silk scarf, or lamba. The centre of the lamba consisted of broad stripes of piu-ple, scarlet, pink, and yellow, edged with a border tastefully wrought on a kind of open work, exJiibiting a cui-ious pattern in yellow and scarlet silk. He had neither siloes nor stockings, but wore a blue cloth cap, the shade edged wth silver, and tlie crown sui-mounted by a broad band of gold lace.'
The first stage of the journey is Hivondi-o, about nine miles from Tamatave. Here the traveller embarks ! in pirogues upon the lagoons, which exti nd southward j from Tamatave in a direction jianiUel to the sea. These i lagoons are separated from the sea by a tongue of land thickly wooded, .sdiiu tinies not more than three hmi- i drc d fei I in l)readtli. The navigation is iiitemipted by I little isthmuse s, which break its continuity, and render ' necessary an occasional portage. I
Ther(> are three emhoiu hurcs by which these lagoons t communicate witli the sea ; one at Hivondro, the second j at Audavaka Meiierana, and the thiid at the village of t Andcvorandro. i
50
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
Makch 2, 1863.
A scattered village, named Boaboihazo, is the point where the traveller quits the southerly direction and turns abruptly towards the west. A country broken by hills, and witli very limited cultivation, is then entered. Passing the hot springs of Eanomafana, the ! hills become more steep, until the village of Ampasimbe is reached, fifteen hundred feet above the sea-level. The aspect of the coimtry now changes, becomingbare of wood, and spreading out into pastures for numerous flocks.
Beforana, mentioned in the Bishop's narrative, is one of the most unhealthy places in the island. It is si- tuated in a marshy valley, shiit in by steep hills. It is full of deleterious exhalations, which, at morning and evening, appear as a dense fog.
The forest of Alamanazoatra is now entered, the transit through wliieh presents much of beauty and in- terest. The ferns are abimdant, and bamboos of a curious species, bending their flexible trunks until they almost touch the earth with the flowery tiifts with which they are crowned, their brilliant verdure relieving the dark foliage of the forest trees. The traveller requires something to recompense him for the fatiguing pathway he has to pui'sue, of which the Bishop speaks as one who had experienced it.
Emerging from the forest, the country becomes more level, and many hamlets are to be seen surroimded with rice-fields. A high chain of fern-clad hills being sur- mounted, the traveller sees before him the valley of Ankay, quite luicidtivated, but rich in fossil remains, beyond which appear the mountains of Ankay, their base covered 'with a blue vapour, from the midst of which their summits stand forth distinctly, the loftier peaks of the Ankova mountains appe;iring beyond them in the distance.
Crossing the river Mangouron, the Ankay chain is traversed, from the top of which a view, extensive in every direction, save westward, is obtained, the descent leading into a valley better cultivated than any preced- ing poi-tion of the route. Passing tlie brook of Antatabe, the Ankova chain has to be surmounted — one formida- bly steep — the pass lying near tlio summit of a lofty granite mountain capped with claj', and having steep inaccessible sides. ' The small portion of level land on the summit is defended by a succession of deep ditches, extending nearly roimd it, and continued, one after another, from the summit to the edge of the precipitous sides.' Descending by a liroken path into an open country, laid out in rice grounds, the traveller reaches Ankera Mandinika, the first Hova village.
The Hova ■\'illages are surrounded with mud walls and entrenchments, a covered way not unfrequently leading into the village. ' I was much struck,' observes Mr. Ellis, ' with the diflfcrence between the Hovas and the inhabitants of the country through which I had passed, as manifest in the position and defences of their villages, indicating that they must have been a maraiid- ing sort of peopl(>, ever liable to reprisals from other tribes, or else constantly engaged in war amongst them- selves. Their villages are all built upon the summits of hills, enclosed in clay walls of varied height and thick- ness, and having but one narrow and difficult entrance, being, Ix'sides this, smrounded by one or more deep ditches. Those ditches were sometimes extended to a considerable distance from the walls enclosing tlieir houses, and beyond these there wore deep cuttings across any rising: ground leading to the viUage. Great skiU was manifested in the plan of their defences, as well as great labour in their completion. In no other country, perhaps, have the villages been so unifomily defended by this species of fortifications as in this part of Mada- gascar. In this respect their defences appear more ela- borate and permanent than those I had noticed around the Pas of New Zealand, or the mountain fortresses of the South-Sea Islands.'
Ambatomanga is tlie next viUage on the route, an
immense pile of blue granite rock, upwards of 200 feet high, and as many broad, giving to the viUago its name, which signifies ' blue rock.' On the summit is the tomb of a Hova chief, named Rambasalama. This part of the country being subject to violent storms, the princi- pal houses are protected by lightning conductors made of woven copper vrire, and introduced into the earth to the depth of four feet.
Betafo is five miles from the capital, and tlien An- draisora, three miles, a fortified ^•illage with a double trench and covered way. There is here a tomb of solid masonry, about twelve yards in length and of the same breadth. These tombs generally occupy small eleva- tions at a distance from the road. 'They consist generally of a square raised platform, having their sides formed by slabs fixed in the ground, with some- times a succession of smaller platform.s, one upon another, giving a sort of pjTamidal form to the tomb ; or else there are two or tlu-ee largo upright stones standing erect within the first stone inclosure. Some of these seem to be ancient, and may justly be reckoned amongst the most remarkable and impressive antiqui- ties of the country.'
As the distance from the capital diminishes, the villages become more numerous, and at length the palace of silver appears, distinctly visible, it is said, at a dis- tance of fom-teen miles, and long before any other object in the city can be discerned. It stands near the centre of the long oval-shaped hill of some five himdred feet high, on which Antananarivo is situated, being itself about sixty feet high, the walls surrounded by double verandahs one above the other, the roof being lofty and steep, with attic windows at three different elevations. On the centre of the top of the house is a large gilt figure of an eagle with outspread wings.
The Bishop of Mauritius' Visit to Madaoascab.
After his recent return from Madagascar, the Bishop attended a meeting of the Mauritius Bible Society, on which occasion, in speaking to one of the resolutions, ho gave the following interesting account of his visit to Madagascar : —
' The Resolution I hold in my hand alludes to the " silent extension of Christian trntli in Madagascar," " and the signal demonstration of the di^-inc blessing upon the reading of the word of God." I think I may say with truth that I was never more impressed in my life with anything than I was at witnessing the results occasioned by tlu; spread of Christian truth in Mada- gascar. It is my firm opinion that it is impossible for anyone to feel the full force of this impression unless he' has witnessed and studied it himself. The effect of Christian teaching in Madagascar struck me as possess- ing a most remarkable character ; and it was first in- troduced to my mind in this manner — I was requested to attend a meeting of some of the natives. I said I would do so if I could ; but the heat of the season was so great, that I could not remain on .shore, and was compelled to go back to the ship. I there received a letter address< d to me as " The Bishop of Mauritius, our beloved brother on board the .ship," expressive of the Christians' regret at my inability to be amongst them on the occasion to which I had been invited, and requesting me to attend in the evening. As regards Tamatave, my impression is, that it must be one of the worst places upon the face of the earth. The outward indications of \-iee and iniquity there ^ritnessed are dreadful in the extreme. But, in compliance with the request just alluded to, I went on shore in the evening, and found more than a hundred persons met together to receive me. They listened most attentively to the word of God : and their praying and singing were of the most fervent character. They expressed great pleasure at seeing me, and intimated their earnest desire to have Christian teachers sent amongst them.
March 2, 1863.
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
51
' After lea-v-ing Tamatavo, and proceeding towards the capital, the road lies on the right hand, the sea being on the left. Four attendants left tlie port with me, and three of these remained with me until I arrived at the capital, one ha^-ing left me on the way. They were ever ready to enter \ipon the exercise of prayer. As an instance, I may mention, that on one evening I was obliged, from fatigue, to go into my cot, and fell asleep. I was awakened in the early morning by the voices of persons who were engaged in reading th(! Scripture and in prayer ; and, on enquiry, I was informed that these exercises had been carried on throughout the night. I found myself in a large room, suspended in my cot, the room selected for my accommodation ha^^^g been nearly as large as that in which we are now as- sembled. They were ever ready for prayer and for reading the Scripture ; more so, indeed, than I was able at all times to assist in, owing to my being sick with fever. Proceeding along our journey, we came to a place called Indivaranty, where we met with many Christians, who walked out tlirough the village towards us, to welcome us. On arriving at the village, we went to a house, where we found a woman, who was a listener to the Missionaries who w-ere expelled nearly thirty yfars ago. The honesty of the j^eople — in a part of the country where there is no police, and no magistrate or judge— particularly struck me. On one occasion I held a meeting, when three fine young men came in, whom I fo\md to be Christians. They had each a copy of a Malagasy h3rmn book, and they started the singing of well-known English sacred airs. All of these young men were able to read ; and one of them engaged in prayer. This was precisely the state of things I met with throughout my passage from the coast to the capital.
' In the capital, and in its immediate neighbourhood, I was struck by yet more sterling proofs of the abiding power of God's word ; for, in spite of the cruel per- secution of the late Queen, there are at tliis hour many thousands more of openly-pronounced Christians than there were known to be at the ejection of the mission- aries in 1845. I met with many Christians who ap- peared to have had the truth brought to their knowledge in a very special and striking manner. Some of these I particularly questioned. One of them had been taught Cliristianity by a Hova mother: she had been seized, imprisoned, and had, almost miraexilously, es- caped : seized again, she was again imprisoned, and put to d(!ath with hoirible torture. A comrade, anxious to do everything in his power to oblige and assist her in her persecutions, discovered that it was the mistress of the family who had taught her, and this latter was, in consequence, sold into slavery. Wh&t became of her afterwards he never knew.
' Arriving on tlie heights of Antananarivo, I never saw seenerj- more beautiful than was there spread out before me. In the dwelling occupied by the General and myself, we overlooked the whole of the city. Mr. Ellis, who was present at one of the meetings held there, said there must have been at least 15,000 persons pre- sent I never saw anything like the foi-vour I tliere witnessed. I shortly afterwards addressed the people, when from 1,000 to 1,400 persons were present— a mighty crowd pressing its in upon all sides. Whilst I addressed tliem, a kind of electric feeling seemed to possess and pervade the whole assembly. I spoke to them of the fullness of the blessing of the Gospel of Christ. The Kev. Mr. Ellis interpreted my ob8er\'ations, and their effect so gi-utified mo, that I recalled those ILnee —
' In holy plensures let the day In holy fervour pass awny 1 "
Numbers, no doubt merely go to such re-imions as a pastime, for the pxirpose of spending an hour or two. Mr. Ellis commences his services early, and concludes
them at 1 1 a.m. To see the people swarm along the streets produces much the effect of a swarm of bees around a bee-hive. My firm impression is, that it is not of the least use to attempt to spread the Roman Catholic religion in Madagascar. One of the Roman Catholic priesthood whom I met there, observed to me, that one might just as well attempt to cut a rock with a razor, as attempt to make Roman Catholics of the Malagasy. On my way down from the capital to Tamatave, I asked Mr. Ellis if he was prepared to un- dertake the immediate responsibilit}' of conducting the mission. He unhesitatingly replied " Yes." He stated that the whole coast was ojaen ; that missionaries were on their way out ; and that everj'thing was ready for missionary labour, even to the very centre of Antana- narivo. Some of the first and most influential young men in the island are stud3ang under Mr. Ellis's in- structions, and one of the highest officers in the army has learnt his A, B, C luider his care, almost in a single lesson : he had been regularly put through his lesson, and very speedily learnt it.
' We paid a visit to the four villages in which the Cludstian martyrs had been .sacrificed. The bones of some of the martjrrs stiU remain where they fell, but Mr. Ellis did not wish to remove them for Christian burial, imtil the missionaries sliould arrive, and in this I fully concurred. Let Mr. EUis say what was the effect produced upon him, and upon the Malagasy Cliristians, by the liglit of this spectacle. We passed by spots where their bleached remains still lay, ever since 1858 ; the martyrs having been precipitated down a height of at least seventy perpendicular feet : there, striking against projecting rocks, they had rolled down a farther descent of at least fifty fe(t. Those survi\ing relatives or friends who had been able to obtain the permission to do so, had removed some of these melancholy remains ; but the bodies of several of the martyrs, on beuig hurled from the precipice, had been arrested in their descent by the wide-spreading branches of beech trees planted there by English missionaries many j'cars pre\-iously ; and evidences still exist of this fearful tennination of tlieir lingering agonies, and of the impossibility of according to them the last tokens of respect claimed by our common humanity. Our attention was again directed to another .spot, at which four Malagasy nobles had been burnt at the stake for their profession of Christianity ; and these spots coidd all be seen from the palace of the late Queen ; or if they could not be seen, or if the Queen was unable personally to assure herself of the literal execution of lu>r cruel decrees, special officers were despatched to witness the same, and to report the fact to the Queen. She would not,' she declared, rest satisfied until she had uprooted every Christian in her dominions. " These Cliristians," it was her habit to say, " will not cease singing their hj'mns until their heads are cut off!" When I heard that remark repeated, I said that Christians would not cease singing xuitil they had reached their homo in heaven ! Numerous cases of dreadful persecution— the ordeal of the tangena and other poisonous processes— were brought to my notice.
' It may be well to state what took place when we went up to the palace to present the copy of the Bible to the King, with wliich I was specially entrusted. The officers of the court, when I presented tliat Bible, received me, amidst two rows of their ladies, all dressed in strange and almost barbaric splendour. The address I had -written for the occasion was admirabh' trane- hited by one of the high officers of the palace, and some of the sentences were so constructed as to be most suitable for Oriental literature. The King seemed to enter with much feeling into some portions of this address, and at it« close shook me most cordially by the hand. Tiiis will illustrate the feelings he has regarding the sacred volume ; and I trust it will quicken tlie sen-
E i
52 WORK OF THE CHRISTL^N CHURCH. Maech 2, 1863.
fhnent of devotion with which we as Cliristians should implore the divine blessing upon him, and that, in the language of this Resolution, "he may wear his ero'nn with wisdom and in peace and prosperity, until he obtains an incorruptible crown in the kingdom of Ivearen." ' — Church Missionary Intelligencer.
On Wednesday afternoon (writes a missionary) three of our number, in company \vith Mr. E. and General Johnson, visited the spots where the Chi-istians had been put to death. The first was at the south end of the city, and there, mi the city ditch, surrounding the hrow of the steep and precipitous hill, was a niche, dug out with a spade, to mark the place where Eaza- 1am a, and those who followed her, were put to death. Underneath that niche were the bones of Cliristian martyj-s \ying bleaching in the sun. A few yards from this ditch, on the rising ground above us, the stump of a troe. stuck in the groimd, and in the shallow trench surrounding this elevation, lay another piece of wood — it was the remains of a cross on which Chri-stian men had J>eeu crucified for believing in Clirist, who himself was crucified. Tliis was like a ^-isit to Calvary. On the opposite side of the valley, by a hill-side, was the -spot where some twenty-one were stoned to death not many years ago. The General put a small piece of the cross in liis pocket, and ordered his servant to take up the piece that was lying on the ground, and carry it to Mr. E.'s house. Upon the spot where this stump now is, a stone chapel is to be built ; the bones are to be gathered up and placed in the foundation, and the piece of the cross still remaining is to be built into some part of the chapel walls. A glorious site from its a.ssociations, and also from its position, as it commands the south of the city, and tlie whole country for miles round is the south of the city. Tliosc who enter the city fi-om the south must pass it, and it cannot but be j«en by the villages around — a better sight, indeed, than the bleeding heads of martyred victims stuck on spikes lound the margin of the city ditch.
Descending into the valley below, and walking f hroiigh it to the centre of the adjoining plain — Iraahamasina — we were opposite the rock from wliich
the Christians were hurled — at ouo point of the road you could see the last-mentioned spot and the rock, both more than 100 feet above you. Climbing up the clayey ground, we approached the bottom of the rock, and got some idea of its height ; at the top, rounded and sloping till it reached the edge, here the Christians hung in suspense, and were offered life if they would recant ; they did not ; the rope was cut, and, bounding over the edge, striking the ledge below, which gave them back to one still farther down, they rolled black, bruised, and bleeding corpses, among the peach-trees or on the road below. Here, on the top of this rock, the second chapel is to be built, looking doivn from the precipitous rock that runs along the western side of the hill, on the plain Imahamasina, and commanding the central portion of the city. Near the bottom of this rock service is held every Sabbath in one of the houses in the village. Farther to the north and west is Ambatonakanga, where the first chapel was built — the bell still stands ; this is to be the site of the third chapel, and I hope soon the bell will again summon the valleys on each side to the worship of God. Again, ascending along the western side of the city, passing on ow way some ancient Ibma graves, wo came to Fara- riohitra, at the north end of the city. Here the last martyrs were biu-ned, and here, upon that very spot, the fourtli chapel is to be built, with a position as com- manding as that on the south side, and scenery equally beautiful. Oh ! it must have been hard to look for the last time upon those green fields — upon tliat setting sun — upon the glorious hills beyond, and from the midst of the burning flames hold up a scorched and fleshless arm to bid adieu to earthly friends. Truly, these people must have knoMTi the meaning of the fourteenth chapter of John's Gospel. Well, these are the sites of the chapels ; they ■will cost some 2,500/. each. General Johnson promised to do what he could liimself among his friends ; the Bishop of Mauritius has promised to lend us his aid ; we must look to our friends in Britain for the rest. Certainly such places deserve lasting memorials ; here God appeared to those who suffered ; the ground is holy, let us keep it so, and erect Bethels upon the spot where these men so nobly suffered for Christ and his cause.
AMEEICA.
UNITED STATES.
NrvTBB has the Week of Prayer been so extensively and pamestly observed among us as this year. There •was a good degree of preparation for it. The eccle- siastical bodies, many of them, had reeommended it at their annual meetings last spring, or last fall. The religiou.s and even the secular joiu-nals had given notice iu advance of the places and times for the public and imit«l prayer-meetings, and widely promulged the pro- gramme of the subjects of prayer which had been adopted. There had been a good degree of unanimity in TTg.'irtl to these subjects, as much so probably as msld be expected. The one grand desire of all hearts, fatwever diversified tlie expression of it might be, was that the Kingdom of God might come, for that in- cludes every blessing that humanity, in all the various phases of its sidfering and misery, needs — that kingdom which consists in ' righteousness, peace, and joy in the. Holy Ghost.' In this city of New York, in Phila- delphia, and other large cities and to^Tis, there were tmited meetings in central places every day in addition to in^l^^^dual church-meetings for prayer. They were hr.ppy seasons ! No doubt much prayer was offered at thd domestic altar and in the closet, for the great
objects whose promotion was sought for — objects so dear to the hearts of all true Christians, and to the Saviour Himself.
Of course tlie Fulton Street Prayer-meeting was well attended. It may also be readily imagined, that the state of our country, which fills all hearts with .so much concern was not forgotten. It was the burden of many an earnest praj'er. Among those who were often there, and who took part, either in prayer or exhoi-fcition, was a minister of the Gospel, now well advanced in years, the Eev. Dr. Jmikin, who was for several years Presi- dent of a College in Central A'^ii-ginia, and one of whose daughters was the first wife of General ' StonewaU ' Jackson, an older in a Presbyterian church in that State, and one of the best 'fighting' generals of the rebels.
We have seen nothing from the Confederate States that has gi-atified us so much as the Pastoral Letter from the Bishops of the Protestant Episcopal Church to the clergy and laity of that Chm-ch in those States. It bears the date of the 22nd of last November, and is said to be from the pen of Bishop Elliot, of Georgia. It is a' Clu-istian document, and breathes a spirit of brotherly love towards aU that love God in aU parts of the world, that is most refreshing in these times of
March 2, 18(33.
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
' strife, civil war, intense excitement, and, in too many I cases, of bitter hatred. Would God that a similar ; spirit pen'aded all who bear the name of Christ, both I South and North ! On the subject of slavery it speaks j in language very different from tliat which one too I often sees in Southern journals, botli religious and secular, as the following extract will show : —
' The time has come when the Church should press more urgently than she has hitherto done upon her laity, the solemn fact, that the slaves of the South are not merely so much property, but are a sacred trust committed to us, as a people, to be prepared for the I work which God may have for them to do in the future. While under this tutelage He freely gives to us their labour, but expects us to give back to them that religious and moral instruction which is to elevate them in the scale of Being. And while inculcating this truth, the Church must offer more freely her minis- trations for their benefit and improvement. Her laity must set the example of readiness to fulfill their duty toward these people, and her clergy must strip them- selves of pride and fastidiousness and indolence, and rush, with the zeal of martyrs, to this labour of love.
' It is likewise the duty of tlio Church to press upon the masters of the country their obligation, as Christian men, so to arrange this institution as not to necessitate the violation of those sacred relations which God has created, and which man cannot, consistently with Christian duty, annul. The systems of labour which prevail in Europe, and wliieh are, in many respects, more severe than ours, are so arranged as to prevent all necessity for the separation of parents and children, and of husbands and wives, and a very little care upon our part, would rid the system upon which we are about to plant our national life, of these unchristian features. It belongs, especially, to the Episcopal Church to urge a proper teaching upon this subject, for in her fold and in her congregations are found a very large proportion of the great slaveholders of the country. We rejoice to be enabled to say that the public sentiment is rapidly beeoming sound upon tliis subject, and tliat the Legis- latures of several of the Confederate States have already taken steps towards this consummation. Hitherto have we been hindertd by the pressure of AljoHtionism ; now tliat we have thrown off from us that liateful and infidel pestilence, we shoidd prove to the world that we are faithful to our trust, and the Church should lead the hosts of the Lord in this work of justice and of mercy.'
I am bound to say that I have ever thouglit it a great want of moral courage in our Southern brethren to talk so much as they used to do about the ' Abolition- ists of the North,' and their ' infidel and pestilent senti- ments,' as they esteemed them, and to make these things an excuse for not holding and expressing Christian opinions in regard to the slaves, and doing thoir duty to them. It remains to be seen whether they will go to work and instruct, elevate, and Christianise the African race among them, — sustaining I and enforcing the marriage relation, the relation of I parent-s to children, and all tliose other rights which I belong to human beings in all circumstances, and which I tliey ouglit certainly to possess under Cliristian Go- Tenimeiifs.
On the 20th of Januarj-, the American Colonisation Society celebrated, at Washington City, its 4Gth Anni- Tersary. The Hon. Mr. Latrobe, of Baltimore (a kinsman of the excellrnt Rev. Peter Latrobe, of London, whose name appears so often in the notices of the meetings of the great and good on your side of the Atlantic), pre- eidcd on the occasion. The Annual Report was read by the R(.v. R. R. Gurly ; who lias for many years been the corresponding Secrctaiy of tlie Society. Ad- dresses were made by Admiral Foote (who has seen
I much of Liberia, having commanded our American
I
squadron on the African Coast for some years), and the Hon. Mr. Kasson, an eloquent representative elect to Congress from Iowa. Both these addresses were highly interesting, and were heard with attention by a large and intelligent audience, embracing many members of both Houses of Congres.?. The following- paragraphs comprise a synopsis of the Annual Ee- port : —
' Since tlie last Annual Meeting the Society has been called to mourn the decease of no less than eight Vice- Presidents. The civil war. and the various questions which have divided and distracted the minds of our free people of colour, have prevented any large emigra- tion during the year to Liberia. Liberal supplies have, however, been transmitted, and some ^^4,000 for de- fraying expenses and making improvements in that country, while tlie principal part of the cargo (the whole cost of which was ^30,000) was shipped in return for orders sent out by citizens of Liberia. Liberia College, a splendid edifice, and its ample and appropriate accommodations, spacious s-urroundtng: grounds, etc., are described at considerable length, aad all rejoice at their completion.
' The most cheering event of the year has been the acknowledgement of the independence of Liberia by the United States of America. 'The noble act passed the Senate by thirty-two yeas to seven nays, and subse- quently in the House by eighty-six yeas to thirty-seven nays.
' Since the last general meeting, Liberia has made good progress both in agriculture and trade. OfiScial statements of her exports of palm oil, camwood, ivory, coffee, sugar, spices, syrup, and other articles, to Hol- land, England, the United States, and other countries, abundantly prove her growth and prosperity — added to which, one packet, arrived at Liverpool, brought 2,600 ounces of gold and $\,200 in specie, whilst a second arrival delivered 2,175 ounces of gold and a full cargo.
' The extent of the African trade, from official sources, is stated, in 1861, at 82,449,740 ; in 1862, at 83,537,320.
' The agriculture of Liberia has vastly increased during the year, especially the products of subsistence, as well as tlie crop of sugar-cane and coffee. Several citizens of Liberia have from 1,000 to 3,000 pounds of coffee, and several are profitably engaged in the culture of sugar cane. One citizen has promise of a crop of 30,000 pounds of sugar, and has also purchased 500 acres of land on the Junk river, which he represents as good land for either cotton or the sugar cane.
' The labour of the apprenticed and recaptured Afri- cans has contributed very mucli to the improvement of Liberia, and they are represented as making rapid pro- gress in civilisation.
' From the report of the able Financial Secretary, the Rev. Win. McLain, we learn that during the year the receipts, including the amount from the United States on account of the recaptured Africans, are Si 29, 836 50 Payments made, including those on ac- count of the Africans referred to . 104,765 14
Balance 25,071 3S
' The reading of this report was listened to with pro- found attention, and on its conclusion it was luiaai- mously adopted.'
Tlic testimony which Admiral Footo bore to thi- feasibility of the colonisation scheme, and tlie prosperous condition of the colony of Liberia, was emphatic. The colony has now a coast line of 600 miles ; the population is 200,000, of which about 10,000 are colonists from America, but of tlie African race. The climate becomes more salubrious as the country becomi's cultivated. At the distance of from 10 to 30 miles the country becomes hilly and sub-mountainous. Admiral Footx" spoke in the highest terms of the good order which he saw in the colony, and of the respectable manner in
54
Maech 2, 1863.
which the President, Legislature, and Judges fulfil their respective duties. Without doubt, tliis colony is destined to exert a great and happy influence u])on the future of the African race in these United States. It ■will be to them what America has been to poor and oppressed people of Europe. The Colonisation enter- prise is soon to become one of the most glorious of all human undertakings. The events, and still more the issue, of 0111 present unhappy war will demonstrate this. But want of space forbids my saying more on this topic at present.
On Monday, the 19th day of January, there assembled nearly 600 ministers of the gospel, chiefly of the Grei'man Eeformed Church, in the old church-edifice of that body in Race-street, Phihidelphia, to take part in the tercentenary celebration of the adoption and pro- mulgation of tile Heidelberg Catechism. The preli- minary services commenced on the Saturdiiy evening previous, and were continued in the preaching of sermons and the communion, on the Sabbath. These introductor}' services were exceedingly interesting and edifying. On Monday morning, as we luuve stated, the business sessions commenced, which were continued till near midnight on Fridaj'. Tlie Eev. John W. Nevin, D.D., a very celebrated minister, and long a Professor in the Theological Seminary of this branch of the Protestant Church at Mercersburg, Pctnnsylvania, presided, and opened the meeting with an able address on the origin and characteristics of the German Ee- formed Church.
Papers, or reports, on the following subjects were submitted to the Convention, all prepared for the occa- sion. It will be seen that the first four wen; from the pens of distinguished theologians in Germany :—
1. The Swiss Keformer. By Prof Dr. Ilerzog, of Erlangen, Germany.
2. The City and University of Heidelberg, with special reference to the Reformation Period, and time of the formation of the Heidelberg Catechism. By Prof. Dr. Hundeshagen, of Heidelberg, Gemany.
3. The Heidelberg Catechism Lu the Palatinate. By Prelate Dr. Ullman, of Carlsruhe, Germany.
4. Melanchthon, and the Melanchtlionian Tendency in Germany. By Prof. Dr. Ebrard, of Erlangen, Ger- many.
5. Introduction to the Heidelberg Catechism. By Eev. Dr. J. W. Nevin, of Lancaster, Pa.
6. The Elector Frederick III. of the Palatinate. By Rev. Dr. B. S. Schneek, of Chambersburg, Pa.
7. Tlie Authors of the Heidelberg Catechism. By Prof. L. C. Porter, of Liuicaster, Pa.
8. The Relation of the Heidelberg Catechisms to the various Confessions. By Rev. Dr. E. V. Gerhart, of Lancaster, Pa.
9. The Fortimes of the Heidelberg Catechisms in America. By Rev. Dr. Bomberger, of Philadelphia.
10. The Theological System of the Heidelberg Cate- chism in its Theoretical and Practical Aspects. By Eev. Dr. M. Kieflfer, of Tiffin. Oliio.
11. The Heidelberg Catechism in the Protestant Re- formed Dutch Church. By Eev. Dr. De Witt, of New York.
12. The most noted Pulpit Orators of the Eeformed Church. By Eev. Dr. J. F. Berg, of New Brunswick, New Jersey.
13. The Genius and Mission of the German Eefonned Church in Eelation to the Roman Catholic, the Lu- theran, and to those Branches of the Reformed Church which are not German. By Rev. Prof. T. Appel, of Lancast<>r, Pa.
14. The Mission of the German Reformed Church in America. By Prof Dr. P. Schaff, of Mercersburg, Penn.
15. The Theologicid Seminary at Merceraburg. By Rev. Dr. B. C. WolfiF.
16. The Necessity and Use of Creeds. By Rev. G. B. Russell, of Pittsburg, Pa.
17. The Organism of the Heidelberg Catechism. By Rev. T. Appel, of Greencastle, Pa.
18. Catechetics and Catechetical In.struction. By Rev. B. Bausman, of Chambersburg, Pa.
19. Tlie Educational System of Rehgion. By Rev. Dr. Gans, of Harrisburg, Pa.
20. Creed and Cultus. By Eev. Dr. H. Harbauch,, of Lebanon, Pa.
Two of the above-named authoi's (Drs. De Witt and Berg) belong to the Eeformed Dutch Church, which bod}' is as much interested in the Heidelberg Catechism as the German Reformed Church.
Take it all in all, this Heidelberg Catechism celebra- tion has been the most remarkable event in tlie history of our American German Churdi, and certainly consti- tutes a most important epoch in it. May a rich blessing from the Master follow what was said and done on the occasion !
I may add that the Rev. Doctor Berg, above spoken of, is Professor of Theologj' in the Seminary of the Eeformed Dutch Church at New Brunswick, New Jersey, and editor of T7ie Evangelical Quarterly. It is annomiccd in the Christian Intelligencer that this distinguished scholar and tlieologian has just com- pleted the translation of Van Allen's very able work on the History and Literature oj the Heidelberg Cate- chism, and its Introduction into the Netherlands. It will fill the forthcoming number of the Evangelical Quarterly, and will immediately thereafter be put into a book-form for general use. By these various means our American Christian public is likely to bo made better acquainted with the Heidelberg Catechism, its authorship, and its great excellence as a summary of Cliristian doctrine and duty. The effect cannot fail (with God's blessing) to be good.
The United States Christian Commission held its first annual meetuig in Pliiladelpliia on the night of the 29th January. George H. Stuart, Esq. presided. It was a large and interesting meeting. Addresses wore delivered by the Eev. Dr. Patterson of Chicago, Bishop Simpson (of the Metliodist church), CoL Bowman, WiUiam E. Dodge, Esq., and ex-Governor Pol- lock. I ejiclose a sjmopsis of the Annual Report. The seci'etaiy informs me ' that if the gi-atuitous services of the many delegates to the seat of war, and the railroad and telegraph facilities and others freely given us were all paid for at the usual rates, I am confident that the figures of our receipts and disbursements — which hiive been mainly within the last six months — would be swelled to more than a quarter of a million of dollars.'
The work of the Commission, together with that of the various Young Men's Christian Associations and Army Committees coopei-ating witli it, is, when summed up, as follows : —
Cash disbursed for expenses, stores and
publications $ 40,160 29
Value of stores and publications di.stributed
by the Commi.ssion . . . .8142,150 00
Cliristian ministers and laymen com- missioned to minister, at the seat of war, to men on battlefield, and in camps and liospitals .... 366
Christians actively working with the Army
Committees in the home work . . 1,033
Meetings held vnXh. soldiers and sailors,
exclusive of those at the seat of war . 3,945
Public meetings held on behalf of the
soldiers and sailors .... 188
Bibles and testaments distributed . . 102,660
Books (largo and small), for soldiers and
.sailors, distributed .... 115,757
Mag.azines and pamphlets, religious and
sebular, distributed .... 34,653
MAEcn 2, 186a
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCp.
55
Soldiers' and sailors' hymn and psalm
books, distributed .... 130,697
Tapers distributed 384,781
Pages of tracts, &c. distributed . . 10,953,706 Temperance documents distributed . 300,000 Libraries supplied to hospitals, &c. . 23 Boxes and barrels of stores and publi- cations distributed . . . . 3,691
I hare not room to say more than a word or two about our war. There have been no hard battles since our defeats at Fredericksburg and Vieksburg, and our success at Miu^reesboro' (January 1 & 2). The federal forces liave had some brilliant successes on the Arkan- sas and White Rivers, in the State of Arkansas. TJie rebels made, on the 1st of Feb., a raid from the harbour of Charleston, but it amounted to but little. Whilst I write (Feb. 7th), we are in daily expectation of receiv- ing intelligence of another attack on Vieksburg by Generals MeClemand and Grant, and an attack, mainly from the water, upon Charleston, S.C.
Never were our affairs in a more serious and difficult position. But the farther wo go, it becomes more and more evident that the war is turning more and more to be a war against African slavoiy. As to restoring the Union as it was, with slavery as it was, it is becoming more and more manifest that it is impossible. The rebels do not want to come back into the Union on any terms. They desire independence, with slavery as the chief corner-stone of tlieir government. Shall they be allowed to go? If so, where is to be the line of sepa- ration ? What the future relations betwe(>n the Free North, and the Slav^-holding South? And what the future of Mexico I'.nd the AV'est India Islands? These are grave questions upon whose consideration I cannot enter now.
New York, Feb. 1863.
NORTH-WEST AMERICA.
Thk Rev. W. AV. Kirby gives an account of a summer journey in which he travelled into the Arctic regions, having gone, it is supposed, farther north in this direc- tion than any missionary previously. He writes : —
' Our goocl Bishop expressed a desire tlial I should visit, as <'arly as possible, some spot where the light of divine truth had not yet reached ; and being very anxious to testify my gratitude for the many favours I have received from him, I resolved to visit the Yoncon, the very first opportunity that I had. I went accordingly in a small canoe, paddled by two Cliristian Indians. We followed the iee down the river Mackenzie, staying awhile with Indians wherever we saw them encamped, and remaining tlrree or four days at each of the forts along the route. At Fort Nonnan, according to a]> pointment, my catechist met me with his little band from Bear Lake, and a very hapjiy time I spent with them. When near to Good llojie, I met Mr. Grellier (the Roman Catholic priest). There were not many Indians at the Fort, but most of those present attended my sen'ices, and appeared glad of my \-isit. The opposing ones wen' very bitter, but they left the day after my arrival. A few days after leaving there, I had tlie honour of being thr first missionary on tliis continent to erect tlie standard of the Cross within the Arctic regions ; for on coming up to a band of Indians, I de- termiuefl to spend the n>mainder of the day and all night with tltem, to tell of " Chi-i,st and him crucified." They wei-e mucli delighted, jioor creatures, at the ghid tiding."! I hud brought to thcni, and alTected me not a little by their kind and earnest entreaties that I would not venture farther, lest miscliief should befall me from the Eskimo, of whom tlu y appeared much afraid. I told them of my trust in (tod, and of my willingness, if noF-ds be, to die in His cause ; and then reminded
them that by not even "counting my life dear unto myself," I gave tliem the greatest proof possible of my desire that botli they and their countrymen might be saved. This silenced but did not satisfy them ; for one man, who could speak a little Eskimo, at once volun- teered to accompany us to Peel's River without fee or reward, which ho most kindly did. The next day -sre came to another camp of about forty Indians, where I also remained a long time, and where the same results attended my visit, even to another Indian, who could also speak Eskimo, offering to accompany us. His services were also gladly accepted, and very thankful did I afterwards feel that tliey had come ; indeed, if tliey had not, I much fear for the consequences. May God bless them, wherever they may now be, for their ■ kindness aiid faithfulness !
' We had now three canoes, and went gliding along down tlie widening current till we came near to Point Separation : there we met the first party of Eskimo, and, shortly after those, tliree or four other parties, all of whom were exceedingly troublesome, and oven dan- gerous. They appeared friendly at first, until they got us pretty well in their power, and then they tried to steal everything that we had. But by the ability of th(^ two Indians to speak to them, and the firmness and decision of all of us, I lost nothing save my shoes and stockings, and a few things of that kind. They were well armed with deadly-looking knives, spears, and aiTows ; but the Indians being four in number, and with a gun each, they did not offer any personal ™lence.
' We wore now within a day and a half of the Arctic Sea ; and much as I longed to push to it, we did not think it either ^vise or prudent to venture farther \vith .so small a party : we therefore hastened to Peel's River, where I found a very large party of Loucheux Indians waiting to see me. They received me very cordially, and listened most attentively and thankfully to the story of the Cross. There were also forty or fifty Eskimo present, but from want of an efficient interpreter I fear they did not learn much. They were, however, veiy obedient, and manifested a desire to know all they could, by attending even the Indian sen-ices. There I left my canoe, and wishing my poor faithful Indians good-bye, and taking two others who knew the way, walked over the Rocky Mountains to Lapierre's House. This part of the journey tried me verj' much, for I am really unable to endure the fatigue of walking far. But it was not tlie distance that wearied me (it being only about one hundred miles) so much as the badness of the walking, and the myriads of mosquitoes which tor- mented me day and night ; for I had no tent to sleep in, it being too heavy to carrj- across ; so that, from Peel's River to the Yoncon and back (six weeks' jour- ney) I just rolled myself in my blanket and .slept through fine or rain. And from the day I left home to my return, I never either slept iu a bed or without my clothes. There was, however, no great hardship in this, nor do I wish to produce that impression on your minds. I wisli only to relate our mode of travelling here.
' The poor Indians crowded upon me here from morn- ing to night. But, correctly sjieaking, tliere was " no night there," nor yet at Peel's River, and often, with deep interest, did I watch the course of the sun through- out the whole twenty-foiu- hours. After remaining there eight or nine days, a boat came up from the Y'oncon with furs, bj' which I went dowai on its return. Four or five days of drifting and rowing down the sswift current of th(> Porcupine River brought us to the Fort, which we reached early in thi' morning of the 6th or .July. It is situated about two miles almve the con- fluence of tlio Porcupine and Yoncon Rivers, on the bank of the latter, whence it derives its name. There were about tiv(! hun<lred Indians present, all of whom were much surprised, but very glad to seo me there.
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. March 2, 1863.
56
I Mr. Loekhart, the gentleman in charge, gave me a hearty welcome, and, in a very kind and appropriate address, introduced me to the Indians. They are a bold, turbulent, and cruel race, resembling far more nearly the worst of the Plain tribes, than the quiet Chipewyans of the Mackenzie Valley. Medicine men ' have great authority among them. Mirrders are very i common, and almost everyone of them has several wives. I commenced my labours among them with much fear and trembling, but confidently looking to God for help and strength, and cannot doubt that both were abimdantly given. After the first service, the principal chief made a long speech, full of good sense and shrewd remark, and all in favour of me and my •message. His influence over the other Indians is all- powerful, so that my course was at once clear; and, 1 with a heart swelling with gratitude to God, I set to [ work in earnest to make the most of my golden oppor- I tunity. Three times a day we had service all together outside, and the times between were occupied by their coming to my room, in regular divisions, for conver- sation, more special instruction, and to learn the Ten Commandments, a liymn and prayer that I had trans- lated for them. Tlie hjTnn they soon knew, and in a day or two could all sing it very nicely, as well as re- peat pretty well the prayer, which was a reflection of it.
And to the honour of God's grace I must declare, that so greatly did he bless these simple services to them, that, before I left, the medicine men openly renounced their craft, murderers confessed their crimes, polygamists gave up their wives, and mothers told of their having killed their own children, till it sickened one to hear, and then all begged for pardon and for grace. Oh, it was a goodly siglit to see that vast number, none of whom had ever bent a knee before in prayer, now kneeling daily before God's footstool in supplication and praise ! I was in an ecstiisy of plea- sure the whole time ; and even now, much as I dread the mountains, I am really longing for May to return, that I may go again to see whether the good work was permanent or not. The Fort, I imagine, is not more than five or six hundred miles from Behring's Straits, as a small party from there were present. Delighted shoidd I have been to return with them, but time would not permit. However, if they were enabled to take back the precious truths they received to their friends and relatives, the glorious gospel will have, soon, its mighty way in that direction, across the whole con- tinent.
WEST INDIES.
The Caymanas are three islands about two hundred niiles north-west from Jamaica, of which they are nominally a dependency. Two of them are very small, and together contain scarcely a hundred inhabitants. Grand Cayman, the scene of my labours, is nearly thirty miles long, by five or six broad. It stands only a few feet above the sea, and in a late memorable h\ir- ricane much of it was entirely submerged. It is seen only nine miles oiF. Its verdant shore-line and houses of singiilar whiteness give it an almost paradisean aspect from the sea, and I can suppose a man sated with the world's pleasure, and wearied of its strife, to fancy, as he approached it, that he had liglited at length on an elysian resting- place. Much of it is rocky and marshy, but it has a large proportion of productive soil, from which the usual tropical vegetables and fruits are, or might be, raised. Its climate, though humid, is healthy, and it enjoys entire immimity from yellow fever, cholera, small-pox, and other malignant epide- mics, probably because, from its extreme flatness, the eea-breezes sweep its surface so thoroughly. Like
similar islands, it is surrounded by a low and dangerous reef, which has been the destroyer of many a noble vessel, and on which, tradition says, ten English ships, under convoy, went to pieces by following in a line, on a stormy night of last century. Homeward-bound merchantmen often call for turtle, and war-ships would occasionally put in for water and pro^•isions.
Little is known of its historj', and that little is entirely traditional. It is supposed to have been first inhabited by buccaneers from the American main, and a few of Cromwell's soldiery from Jamaica. British and American sailors wrecked in the surrounding seas, and Cuban outlaws, found refuge and remained on it. Negroes were brought to it from Jamaica, and even Africa ; occasionally tliey escaped to it from Cuba, and slavery existed as in the other English islands until the year of emancipation. Its inhabitants were long noted an^ dreaded for their semi-piratical habits. Much is told of their contraband and plundering courses, and it is just to add, much also of their having saved many lives from tlie wrecks inevitable amid the periodic storms of the Caribbean Sea.
At present the island has above two thousand inha- bitants, distributed in nine villages or hamlets (two are called towns), all situated on the coast, and, with one exception, on the southern shore. They are named, West Bay, George Town, South- West Sound, Prospect Bodden Town, Frank's Sound, East End, Gun Bay, and North Side. One-third of the people are white, the others l)laek or coloured. They cultivate land and rear cattle ; and many go to sea in small schooners, of which thoy have twenty-four, to catch turtle, and search for OTecks.
The government of the Cayman is unsatisfactory and anomalous. It has no authorised rule. The Legisla- ture of Jamaica practically outlaws it, but it will pro- bably receive soon from the Governor of tliat island a code of laws and a resident magistrate. It may be said of CajTuan as of Laish, ' The people that are therein dwell careless, quiet, and secure, and there is no magis- trate in the land that might put them to shame in any- thing, and th(>y have no business with any man.'
Various missions have been established in Grand Cayman within the past fifty years. It was long oc- cupied, first by the Church of England, and then by the Wesleyans. These missions were withdrawn, and tlirough an interval of many years, the island was entirely des- titute of the means of grace, and the people, left to themselves, relapsed into lawless immorality, until their ' last state ' seemed to be ' worse than their first' The United Presbyterian Church of Jamaica, sanctioned by the parent Church in Scotland, sent the Eev. James Elmslie, as its missionary, to the Cayman in 1846. Mr. Elmslie's 'ministry, was, from the first, signally blessed. Sabbath-breaking and intemperance were arrested, and to a large extent abandoned, and general reformation of character appeared. The scattered state of the population necessitated five (now six) preaching stations, six, eight, ten, and twelve miles apart, from which two congregations have been organised, which together number 800 worshippers, and 400 communi- cants. There are eight Sabbath schools, attended by 600, and five week-day schools, which have ISC' scholars.
I came out in 1857 to share the work with Mr. Elmslie, and he has since retained the western, and I have wrought the eastern section of the island. Besides the routine of classes, household visitation, etc., we have usually preached at two stations each Lord's-day, and as often as we could at the other stations through the the week. Physically, the work is very trying. None here, I am assured, ever attempted, or would attempt regularly to travel the roads in my division of the island, and, I fear, no European labourer could do so long. My journeys are made, usually, under the full
March 2, 1863.
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAX CHURCH.
57
heat of the sun, on native ponies, unsliod, over iron- bound, honey-combed cliifsi for many miles.
Excepting about twenty Piyraouth Brethren, all pro- fessing the Christian faith in the Grand Cayman are Presbyterians. Various obstacles to the reception of the truth elsewhere do not exist here. There is little scepti- cism. I know only one infidel. The superstitions of the people are not so important as to be a serious hindrance to the missionary ; they assent readily to the claims of the gospel ; they respect its genuine professors, and I often patiently receive the most pointed and faitliful rebukes of sin. The faith of converts seems singularly childlike and complete. The spiritual darkness and conflict of thoughtful Christians have little place in their simple minds.
One of my stations — East End — shared in some measure the remarkable awakening lately experienced in Jamaica. Much of it, however, I regret to say, was spurious. Spasmodic shocks were felt in other districts of the island, with few or no lasting residts. "We xn- gently need a genuine revival in a resurrection of the Church, and a birth to life of many hundred souls.
Our difficulties mainly arise from the habits of the people. Their wrecking practices operate most unhap- pily against us. Many vessels are wilfully, it is affirmed, wrecked in the adjacent seas. The ship to be put away is run ashore in smooth shallow water, where there is little or no danger to life, on one of the ' Keys ' between this and Cuba. Caymanas vessels, usually near, bring the crew and cargo hither ; the latter is sold, and the proceeds divided between the wrecked crew and their finders, and the former get home by Jamaica or America, though many of them prefer to settle in Grand Cayman. The connexion of the Cay- manians with this nefarious system may not be legally punishable, but it has a mournful influence on their character, which is, in truth, peculiarly unlovely. The selfishness, covetousncss, deceit, and heartlesness of human nature arc rankly developed here. The moral feelings are blunted and degraded. There are very few, indeed, whom one can entii'cly trust. Too many are -without ' natural aflTection.' Disputes on rights of property are perpetual. Murders, particularly of ille- gitimate infants, are frequent. It is more than sus- pected that several church members, white and coloured, have lately engaged in the slave trade on the coast of Cuba. And in addition to wliat is peculiar to the Cay- manas, we have, as in the West Indies generally, the ' image and superscription ' of the reign of slavery ; aboimding licentiousness in the form of abominable midnight dances, etc. ; active opposition of Satan's emissaries, ' whose glory is iu their shame ; ' and, what is most distressing of all, the testimony borne by the
character of most British residents against the gospel. Much of our work is uncompromising exposure of che- rished sin ; but our comfort is that, rude and vile as our materials are, they may be ' washed, sanctified, and justified,' and adorned with 'the beauty of the Lord,' and presented ' to Himself a glorious Church.'
The complete isolation of the field is, perhaps, our heaviest trial, as it makes all other trials more severely felt. The loneliness is extreme, and often wellnigh insupportable. The island is a ' Patmos ; ' even with the whole heart and everj' hour devoted to the highest and happiest work on earth, the social influences of society are needed, for the missionaiy is a ' man of like passions ' with oth(>rs. But in the Caymanas these are not to be foimd. Wo dare not make our best people companions ; we are far from bretliren ; and are often shut out from communication with Britain for several months. Yet many a fellow-worker has a similar tale to tell. Only close fellowship with the Master can sustain the missionary in the freshness of zeal under the chilling, crushing influences of his awful solitude.
The value of native lay agency has been tested here for many years. It has had full scope from the first ; indeed, the work at most of the stations could not have been sustained without it. Laymen have taught the Sabbath schools and candidate classes, and preached to, and largely helped to form, the congregations. I do not say their labours have WTOught solely for good to them- selves or the people. Some — chiefly intelligent though careless Englishmen — have abandoned the sanctuary in the missionary's absence. ' Novices ' have been ' lifted uj) with pride,' and the teachers have still ' need that one teach them the first principles of the oracles of God ; ' but of this I am assured, that lay agency has done good, and cannot be spared here. It may fail in more enlightened communities ; yet when I see what a few comparatively untaught Caymanians have done in their island for Clirist, I ask what the members of his church in Britain might not do for him there? and believe that when all who know Christ shall make him known, the world's mission field will soon be occupied and its harvest reaped.
We have hope for the Ca^Tnanas. They shall be won for Him for whom they have been claimed. The foun- dations of a work have been laid that shall rise when our day of labour shall have closed, till the copestono be brought forth with shoutings of ' Grace, grace unto it.' Your readers have the world before them, and we can ask but a fraction of th(ir prayerful interest for our lonely isle ; but if that be given, it may become an 'Eden, the garden of the Lord,' fruitful, beautiful, and glorious to his praise.
Grand Caj-man, Dec. 1863.
IN MEMOEIAM.
EDWARD ROBINSON.
This ablf scholar, and, while he lived, the fii-st au- thority upon Biblical geography, died at New York on the 27th of January, aged sixty-nine. His death will be lamented as much in Europe as America; his writingn commanded the respect of Biblical scholars over the globe. It is through the New World not the Old that the Palestine of the past has been rescued for the present, and whatever Biblical topography may do to elucidate the Bible, will be greatly owed to the eminent and himple-minded American Professor. He was the son of an Independent minister, and born at Southington, Connecticut, in 1794. During his childhood his father moved into the State of New York. Ho graduated with the highest honours at
Hamilton College in 1816, and during the next year was college tutor. In 1821 he removed to Andover with a high reputation for Greek, and the intention of liringing out an edition of the Iliad. Hero he learned theology, and pursued his philological studies under Profes.sor Stuart with so much success that in Stuart's absence he took charge of the Hel>rew_ class, and was afterwards appointed Assistant -Professor. He was united with Stuart in his literary labours of that time, and after five years sailed for Europe, where he resided, chiefly in Germany. Returning to Andover in 1830 he was appointed Extraordinary Profes-sor of Sacred Literature, and three yeai"s later went to Boston, where he engaged in literary work. In 1837, the year after the Union Theological Seminary was founded in New York, he was appointad its Professor
58
WORK OF THE CIIRISTIAX CHURCH.
March 2, 1863.
of Sacred Literature, and before entering on tlis duties of the eliair, lie paid a long-projected visit to the East, in company with liis friend Dr. Eli Smith. The result of this tour was soon after made public b}' his wll-known work, Biblical Besi'arclies, which appeared simultaneously in America, England, and Germany, and at once established its author's reputation. The facilities at his disposal were few, tlie difficulties infinitely greater than they are now. But he had enthusia.sm and courage, scholarly accuracy and im- wearied jierseverance ; and after great labour and pains he was able to make a complete survcj' of Palestine. After a short residence in Germany to pre- pare his book, he entered, in 1840, upon the duties of his Professorship, which he held until his death, a period of twenty-six years. He paid a second visit to the Holy Land, thr results of which were embodied in an addi- tional volume of The Researches. Last summer he passed in Germany in declining health. His disease was not checked, and though his death was sudden it was scarcely unexpected. He was twice married ; about 1817 to a sister of President Kirkland, of Harvard College, and in 1828 to a daughter of Professor von Jacob, of Hiille. His second wife, who witli two children, survives him, was an accomplished woman, and a frequent WTiter under the signature of Talvi. Though ordained to the work of the ministry he was never a pastor ; his gifts led him to another depart-^ ment of Christian teaching, where they signally served him. Besides his great work he wrote a translation of Gesenius' Hebrew Lexicon ; his own Greek and English Lexicon of the New Testament ; a Harmony of the Four Gospels ; a Translation of Butmann's Greek Grammar; and an abridgment of Cabnet's Biblical Dictionary. He was one of the founders of the Biblical Repository/ and tlio Bibliotheca Sacra, and contributed no little to tlie reputation of both those journals. He was a member of most of the learned societies, and was presented by the Royal Geographical Society with their gold medal. Two unfinished works remain to bear witness to his unflinching industrj' ; on Obscure Passages of the Bible and on Sacred Geography. To the latter he had addressed himself after his first journey to Palestine ; he considered it as the work of his life, to which the others were all preparatory. Should it not be far enough advanced for puljlication the loss to Biblical science will bo irreparable. He was a man of great modesty and sliyness ; of the strongest rectitude ; of indomitable perseverance, and of generous feelings. He was a constant contributor to the New York Observer, but instead of receiving payment desired the editor to give the sum to sncli indigent .students as he shoidd send to receive it. His mind was solid, his judgment masculine, penetrating, and sound. He was a thorough and accomplished theologian ; and a man of a calm and firm piety. He has left a name that will be remembered with honom* by scholars — that will be endeared to every student of the Bible.
RUDOLPH STIER.
This eminent divine died suddenly of paralysis of the brain, at Eisleben, on the morning of the 17th December, 1862. The previous day he pursued his usual avocations, and retired to his room between nine and ten. An hour after he was found prostrate on the floor, and neither consciousness nor language having re- turned, he went to his eternal rest at one o'clock in the morning. His death is a great loss to tlie Evangelical Church and to Theological Science. There is no doubt that Sticr was one of the first expositors of Scripture, and th-'.t he exerted a most beneficial and important in- fluence on exegetical study and theological thought.
His great work on the ' Words of the Lord Jesus,' is kno-mi and valued tlu'oughout evangelical Christendom, and men of the most various schools are one in their admiration of the comprehensive erudition, the manly ■\ngour of thought, the child-like faith, and the spiritual insight and experience which charactei-ise this commen- tary. Stier was preeminently a Biblical theologian ; the Bible was the clement in which he lived, and in all his expositions we feel that we are listening to one who has obtained a wonderfully clear and deep insight into the mighty and harmonioiis organism of the Word of God. A diligent and conscientious critic, he entered ■n-ith a candid mind into the difficidties and objections of the negative school in its various shades ; but never left out of view the spiritual and practical element in which alone can be found the key to open the rich treasury of the Word. It was his deep Christian ex- perience, and his reverence for the teaching of the Spirit in the living Church of God, wliich enabled him to penetrate so deeply into the fidl and ever-new meaning of the divine Word. Free from sectarianism and narrow- ness, as well as scholastic pedantry and esoteric exclusive- ness, he had a peculiar gift of recognising the Christian element, where sadly obscured and mixed; and his quotations from the mystics, Church Fathers, and the practical devotional literataire of all countries and Church denominations are the best testimony to the catholicity of his mind, and the largeness of his heart and .sympathies.
His eoramentar}' on the words of the Incarnate Word is his magnwn opus, but his other exegetical works on the Acts, the Epistle to the Ephesians, the last twenty-four chapters of Isaiah, &c., are scarcely of less value. His appreciiition of the organic connection between the Old and New Testament forms one of his characteristic peeidiarities ; and we sincerely hope, that some of the works on Old Testament book.s, of which he speaks in the prefaces to his later writings, will yet be given to the world. Great as Stier was as an essay- ist, he was also great in practical theology. His popu- lar expository lectures on the Epistles of James and to the Hebrews, as well as his sermons on tlie gospels and epistles, abundantly show how eminent he was in un- folding to tlie Christian congregations the treasures of instruction and consolation of the Divine word. His deep devotional feeling, manifesting itself throughout all his writings, found a more direct expression in his poems and hymns, some of which have won a perma- nent place in the services and hearts of German people.
He was little more than sixty years old when he died. Of his life, we only know, that in his youth he had to pass through the struggles of scepticism, whieli in those days of rationalism were spared to few enquiring minds ; but in a work published in 1824 at Konigsberg, we have a testimony of faitli and rejoicing love, in which we can trace the leading ideas of his future worth. In 1821 he lived at Wittenberg, in the Throl seminary, of which the venerable Heubner was president. Among his (■oll(>agues and friends were Herbert and Eothe. From AVittenberg he was called to Basle as teacher to the Mission house, where he laboured with much blessing. It was here that he met with an accident, a violent sprain of the foot, from the consequences of which he suffered all his life. After a short stay at Frankleben near Halle, when leisure, and the propinquity of the Univer- sity had the most favourable influence on his theolo- gical developement, he was called to Wiehlinghaiisen near Barmen. Various reasons induced him soon afterwards to resign his charge. He was subsequently superintendent in Skenditz (between Halle and Leipsig) and latterly in Eisleben.
He was twice man-ied (his first wife was a sister of Prof. Nitzsch), and has left .several children to mourn his loss. After a most laborious and eminently useful life, this faithful servant has been called to his home ;
Marc!H 2, 1863.
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
59
but his memory ■will live in the grateful hearts of thousands, and the influence of his profound and spiritual expositions be felt and enjoyed by many Christian congregations on both sides of the Atlantic. He has been a teacher to man}-, and, ' being dead, yet speaketh.'
LYMAN ;BEECHER.
On the 10th of January, died the Kev. Lyman Beecher, D.D., at the advanced age of 87 years. He was one of the most distinguished preachers of the United States in the present centui'y. A native of Nc^w Haven, Connecticut, he was educated at Yale College, ■which IS one of tht^ most renowiied literary institutions of America, was first settled as a pastor, eleven years, at East Hampton, on Long Island, N. Y. ; then sixteen years at Lichfield, Connecticut; next six years at Bo.ston ; after- ■wards, he -was for twenty years Professor of Theology in Lane Seminary, at Cincinnati, Ohio. The last ten years of his .life ■were pas.sed at Jioston and Brooklyn, without pastoral charge, but he preached as often as his strength would permit. In the last-named place, and near to his favourite sou, the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, h(^ spent his last years ; his po'wi'i's of body and mind gradually wasting away, till the flickering flame died in the socket. Bather below than above the me- dium h.'iglit, and having a person that had nothing striking about it, save an eye of singular depth, size and brilliancy, and posses.sing no particular advantages of voice, Dr. Beecher, by the jxmctrating nature of hi.s mind, by the richness of his imagination, and a ready command of language — but not with great nicety of proniuiciation — was a mo.st eflf'ective speaker both in the pulpit and on the platfonn. He was a great preacher in his best days, especially among a New England people ; sensible, well-educated, and acute. No man ever did more to break down the stronghold of Uni- tarianism in Boston than he did during the short period of five or six years which he s-pent there — building up three new and strong Churches in that short period. No man luider.^tood better than he )iow to blend the rigour of logic with the most
tender and melting appeals to the affections. His Ttian- ner was altogether his own — at least until some of his sons, and a few others, almost robbed him of it. He had seven sons and four daughters. All of his sons became ministers of the Gospel, and all but one are stiU living, as are all the daughters. Of the sons, Edward and Henry Ward have made their mark both as ■OTiters and speakers ; of the daughters, Harriet (Mrs. Stowe) has achieved a reno'wn that equals, if it does not even eclipse, that of her distinguished brothers. Dr. Beecher's published Lectures on Theo- logj-, Sermons before Ecclesiastical and Missionary bodies, and on other great occasions, Essays, etc., make several volumes. His Six Sermons on Intem- perance, delivered many years ago, did much to give an impulse to the Temperance Reformation 'with u.s. His sermon on Duelling, occasioned by the death of General Hamilton by the hand of Colonel Burr, almost sixty years ago, was one of the most remarkable he ever delivered, and produced a great effect on the public mind, especially in the Northern States, and takes rank with those which that memorable occasion called forth from the pens of Drs. John M. Mason, Eliphalet Nott, Timothy D^^vight, and other distinguishedmen of thatday.
The funeral services were held in the Plymouth Church, Brooklyn (of which the Rev. Heni-y Ward Beecher is the pastor), on the 14th January, when a sermon was preached \>y the Rev. Dr. Leonard Bacon, of New Haven, Connecticut, to an immense congrega- tion that filled that large edifice to overflowing. The text was : ' Thanks be to God ■wliich giveth us the ■victory.' (1 Cor. xv. 57.) The discourse was worthy of the occasion and the subject. It contained not only a just and discriminating portraiture of Dr. Beecher's moral, religious, and intellectual character, but also set forth the chief events and labours of his life. The next day his remains were carried to New Haven, and buried by the side of the late Dr. Taylor, according to his dying injunction. In due time we may expect an extended l>iography of this remarkable man ; and if it should contain all the wonderful things said or done, ■wliich have been attributed to him, it wiU. indeed be a most cxtraordinarj' book.
LITEEATUEE.
ENGLISH.
Christian Missions : Six Discourses delivered before ihe Vnivrrsity of Dublin : being the Donellan Lectures for 1S6L J5y W. P. Wai.sh, A.M., Chii|.lain of Sandford. Crown 8vo. pp. viii. 288. 6,«., Dublin : Herbert.
SoKB years since, a proposal was made to establish a Mi.s8ioiiary Lectureship at eacli of the Universities. The proposal is one of gr(!at interest. Most Missions have been hitherto conducted by Societies, and not as a part of the Church organisatiou. No dinrct connexion haa been eslablished between them and the Universitv-. •There an- ieeture« on the History of the Church ; Mis- sions which are the living and present history of the Church, i>re ignored. Men study for the Church ■ they do not r(,gani, th<.y are not taught to regard, the Mission as direct ( 'liureli work. Jt is only now that the preju- dicfl against missionaries, as an inferior class, is wearing away. There are still Societies whose Missionaries are not eligil)le for pastoral work. And so long us this separation Ix'tween the Mission and tlie Church con- tinues, the Mission will be crippled; so long as Mission work IS regarded its inferior, entered on with resignation
rather than consecration, so long will Mi.ssionary Societies appeal for men in vain. That appeal has now become serious ; the want of response may well cause apprehension. Whether or not a Univer- sity Missionary Lectureship be at once practicable, there is no doubt it would be a step in the right direc- tion; that until the University is identified with the Mission, — University men will hold aloof Tlie Donellan Lectures of Mr. Walsh are a hojieful symptom. Delivered before the University of Dublin, they are an excellent example of what such lectures should be. They are grajilue, clear, and jmictical ; they present a living and intelligent picture of tlie Christendom in heathendom; and throughout there runs a solemn and dignified plead- ing for Missions, a high appreciation of the Missionary office. They wiU lie acceptable to a wider circle than the students who heard them. Tlie Missions of tlie Middle Ages, IVIoderii ^Missions — Romish and Protestant — the results and jirospeets of missionary labours, are plainly and ■•sensibly treated, and many valuable facts are well arranged in the notes. Thos.f who are familiar witii Newcombe and Burkliardt, will appreciate the admirable selection and management of somewhat unmanageable materials ; those who wish a succinct account of ^lis- sious cannot find, at present, a better book.
60
WORK OF THE CHMSTLIN CHURCH.
Makch 2, 1863.
Parochial Mission Women: their Work and its Fruits. By the Hon. Mrs. J. C. Talbot, pp. viii. 120.
Bivingtons.
Our Homeless Poor, and what we can do to lulp them.
By Ellen Baelee. cro'WTi 8vo. pp. Zs. 6d. Nisbet. Friendless and Helpless. By Ellen Bablee. crowu
8vo. pp. Tiii. 292. 3s. Gd. Faiihfull. Lancashire Honirs, and what ails them. By the
Author of ' Ragged Homes, and how to mend them.'
12mo. pp. 'xii. 94. Nisbet. Labourers' Cottages in the Agricultural Districts of
England, crown 8vo. pp. viii. 108. Is. Jarrold.
The last twenty years have largely increased our Cliris- tian helpMness. They have given us ragged schools, and reformatories, Bible-women, and nurses for the sick. While some are studying the phases and dangers of our social evil, others are bringing to them the quiet help of practical Christian love. Every year almost informs us of some such new effort, independently begun, and then adapted to organisations already in existence ; and so the whole round of Christian work is being gradually filled in, and what is lost by the want of system is, at least, partiallj' regained by the enthusiasm of theseparate work- ers for their own departments. Mrs. Talbot's account of Parochial Mission Women is full of encouragement, and marked by great good sense. It is simply the Bible-woman in the parish under the incumbent, instead of in a district under a committee. Dr. Fliedner liolds his parish dea- coness as the most important ; her position is more defined, her relation to the Church closer, her power of doing good increased. Mrs. Talbot at least proves that there is room for the parish Bible-women, that there is no collision between them and the Bible-women already amiliar to us ; that their number is rapidly increasing, and that there is little difficulty in obtaining persons suited to the work. Miss Barlee has devoted herself to the homeless poor, especially girls, thrown suddenly out of employment, and who may be thrown upon the street. Refuges have been provided as a temporary shelter, and to these other helpful institutions have been added. In the new Field Lane Refuge it seems there is a lodging house for boj's under a given age, another for girls, a house for houseless girls and servants out of place, and an infant school for 200 cliihlrc n. A well- known Christian WTiter gives a sad enough account of Lancashire homes, and a prize Essaj-ist a still sadder of the labourers' cottages in agricultural counties. It was a saying of Sidney Smith, that all nations begin with living in pigsties. It would seem from such books as tliese, that a considerable part of our nation has not got beyond the beginning. It is plain that there must be no pause in Cliristian effort; it is cheering to find that there are so many to work.
Family Sermons. By Hobatius Boxak, D.D. 8vo.
pp. xvi. 464. Nisbet. The Thoughts of God. By J. R. Macduff, D.D.
18mo. Is. 6d. Nisbet. Prayers, Texts, and Hyinns for those in Service. By
the Author of ' Count up your Money.' 12mo.
pp. iv. 68. 8rf. Faithfull.
Devotional books are a marked characteristic of the time, no doubt a healthy characteristic. Recent sta- tistics go to show that religious literature has the largest circxdation of any ; and probably of such litera- ture devotional books occupy the largest share. And in an age so breathless and overworked as ours, it is cheering to find a craving for religious leisure, that the practical side of Christian life is balanced by the meditative. It is a proof that religious truth has taken a deep hold of the people — that it is enjoyed and sought in contrast to the restlessness of life — that scepticism has not the strength it seems. It may be that better devotional reading could be provided — that
it might assume a more modest and spiritual character — that much of it is commonplace. Tliei-e is much that it would be easy to condemn, that to cultivated and reverent and thoughtful persons may seem veiy worth- less— much that is no doubt taken for want of any better. But there is already a manifest improvement ; it is pleasant to notice that it is coincident with the extended taste for this kind of reading. Dr. Bonar's book is admirably fitted to its end : it is wholesome devout Sunday reading — sermons that may be heard with profit in any household, that will be likely to suggest conversation and fill up a pleasant and useful evening. They are plain sermons, with plain but pregnant teach- ing, and purposely deal with questions of the soul rather than the duties of life.
Dr. Macduff's little manual will reeal its predecessors. It might have found a better title ; but it is sure to be welcome to thousands of readers.
The Prayers and Hymns are suitable to their object, and may suggest much to those who are ignorant, and to many who are diffident. There i.s, perhaps, a ten- dency to stereotj-pe feelings that should be free, but the main intention is good, and it is a kindly thought for a class little cared for.
Considerations on the Pentateuch. By Isaac Taylob. 2nd Edition, 8vo. pp. 80. 2s. 6rf. Jackson, Walford £?- Hodder
Bishop Coknso's Rramination of the Pentateuch Exa- mined. With an Appendix. By G. S. Duew, M.A. 8vo. pp. xii. 118. Hell 4' Daldy.
The Bible in the Workshop. By Two Woeking Men, a Jew and a Gentile. Crown 8vo. pp. 104. Is. erf. Kent 4- Co.
Christ\or Colenso. By Mich.uah Hill, Son of a Mis- sionary in the East. 12mo. pp. 84. Is.Qd. Hamilton, Adams 4' Co.
Moses Bight and Colenso Wrotig. By the Rev.' John CuMMiNo, D.D., F.R.S.E. Shaw # Co.
If Bishop Colenso was aware of the start and sensa- tion that his book would produce in England, he must have at least felt some surprise at our English readi- ness of reply. Pausing for a moment to recover the shock, the press has poured out an unflagging succession of answers. Newspaper correspondents led the van; pamphlets followed ; books are bringing up the rear. No man has probably encountered so many antagonists ; no ant;igonists were probably ever so various. The hastiest weapons were seized ; personalities and abuse, when others failed. But more leisurely opponents made better choice, and have advanced with an earnestness and gravity befitting the position; for it is a position of great moment in the religious history of our country, not for the assault on the Pentateuch, or the assailant, ! but for the revelation of a certain deep and perliaps wide disaffcct ion to the authority of the Word of God. I It has brought men a step nearer to the struggle which many have foreseen — which has been already fought, | if it does not still linger, in Germany — a struggle not j for interpretations or theological systems, but for the ^ bare word and truth of God itself. Wlien the special battle over the Pentateuch is past, that st ruggle mil still remain. Dr. Colenso is no very formidable oppo- nent to those that will meet him humbly and calmly in the Spirit of God. The questions which he has i raised are not very novel to students of the Bible. The | nearest approach to novelty is in the oddity of his con- j elusions, the eccentricity of a man who, on his own sliowing, adopts out of two possible conclusions that which involves the greatest difficulties, and while pro- claiming his reverence for truth, deliberately suppresses the other. There is no ground to question his sin- cerity, his expressions of belief in what he still believes, his feeling of freedom to be rid of what he disbelieves.
Makch 2, 1863.
WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH.
GI
But there is strong ground to " suspect his logical acutenrss, to distrust iin expounder of Scripture who shows liimsclf so blinded by feeling, so defective in the sagacity and impartiality of a .judge. His book will soon pass away from men's minds ; there is nothing lasting in it but its disgrace. Able books will be written to refute it — abler probably than it deserves. Nay, some good may come out of it, by a more critical, patient, and lo^-ing study of the Old Testament, by the shame that we, in England, will feel for the crudities that have been opposed to criticism, itself so crude. But those sceptical tendencies out of which the book indirectly sprang, and which it has attracted from every side, will not pass away su lightly. Solutions of arithmetical puzzles, calcidations that overtlirow other calculations, even theories of inspiration will not remove them — nay, will scarcely touch them. The battle closed to-day may rage in some other part of the field to-morrow. And the importance of the Colenso controversy, as it is called, lies mostly in the indica- tion it gives of a rising unbelief which is already called freedom of conscience, which claims the widest tolerance for itself, but even now grows impatient at the reverence of a simple faith. Mr. Taylor's pamphlet is peeidiarly valuable for the perception and assertion of this danger. Wider and more philosophic in its aim than the other replies, it is manly and trenchant in its reasonings ; not a retort, and nowhere disfigiu-ed by inuendoes or unchristian speech. Mr. Drew's book has a special wortli, from his knowledge of Syria and his wise application of that knowledge to the Books of Moses. Happier than either, and more effective than any reply published is a series of papers appearing in Good Words. They are slightly wanting in feeling, at times, perhaps, bordering upon coarseness, but as a retort, singulary vigorous and crushing ; so skilful and aptly keen, so instinct with tlie sense and command of power, that only one man in England could have -nTitten them.
African Hunting from Natal to the Zambesi. By W. C. Baldwin, Esq., F.K.G.S. Demy 8vo. pp. 451. 21s. Bcntley.
There are sportsmen no doubt for whom Mr. Baldwin's book has a peculiar interest. Few men have hunted more desperately or had more hair breadth I escapes. But the book is interesting to others than ; sportsmen. Mr. Baldwin's hunting ground was ' through just that part of Africa which has received most prominence in missions. His narrative gives I one of the liveliest pictun'S of the people and the ] counti-y. His wanderings brought him into frequent I contact with the missionaries ; with Moffat at Mosili- katses' kraal, Livingstone at the Zambesi, the ill-fated Helmore and Price party on their way up, often with Schroedcr the Norwegian, and the Hermannsburghen. Ho is a shrewd observer and his impressions are frankly told. He does not give the information of a missionary report, but ho gives what is as valuable in its way, what struck him as a hunter and man of the world. And his opinion of the missionaries is favour- able throughout ; his description of Pastor Hamis colonists vei-y noticeable.
'We arrived hero yesterday ; found a large arrival of Gorman missionaries from Natal, no less than six ; they are active, energetic fellows, all tradesmen and good workmen, and have in the .space of six weeks, with weteh<d materials to work on, built themselves not only a good substantial house with five largo room.s, but really a tasteful, elegant building, with a wide verandah on three sides. They are clever, learned, well-informed men also, and pass every spare moment in liard studj', iu acquiring the Bechuana language, which is no easy task, n» they have only the New Testament, translated
by Moffat, to assist them. They are happy, hospitable fellows, and make most excellent colonists, being able to turn their hands to anything in the world.'
AVlion Darwin saw the missionary stations in New Zealand, ho exclaimed, ' The lesson of the missionary is the enchanter's wand ! ' We may hope that the time is not distant when our African sportsmen shall have cause to say as much.
GERMAN.
Bie VcrJiandlungcn des Zwolftcn Beuischen Evan- gelischtn Kircluntages zu Brandenburg an dcr Havel im September 1862. Berlin, 1862. [Transactions of the Twelfth German Evangelical Kirchentag held at Brandenburg in September 1862.]
The German Kirchenteig originated 'at a period of a great national movement, when the mighty voice of events roused the pastors of the German churches to inqiure more earnestly than before into the true con- dition of their country and church ; as Nitzsch expresses it, no individual man has called the Kirchentag into existence ; it arose by diA-ine guidance in thi-eatening the times out of the instinct of self-preservation. These meetings never claimed legislative or executive power, but simply regarded as their object testimony, delibera- tion, mutual counsel, and encouragement. The free expression of opmion, the communication of experiences, the discussion of difficult points of doctrine and practice, and especially the consultations on the practical work of the church, have exerted a most beneficial influence, and much valuable information ha.s been brought to light. The report of the last Kirchentag contains several valuable "papers. The paper of Dr. Wichern ' On the Duty of the Chm-oh to undertake the combat with the Opponents of Christian Faith in our day,' is worthy of particular notice. Very few men are so competent as Wichern to speak on this suliject, intimately acquainted as he is with the .state of German literature and with the religious condition of the nation in its various sections and classes. He gives an appalling picture of the decided opposition to Christianity, expressed without disguise in the most popular periodicals, which declare ' that before natural science, Brahma, J'upitor, Buddha and Jehovah must vanish and the principles of reason and love be established I' A very important section of these writers are Jews, who, equally opposed to talmudical and biblical Judaism, join the ' Gentile heathen,' as Wichern terms them, in their fight against all sanctuaries. As closely connected with infidelity, Wichern views the widelj'-spread sin of impurity, its great ally, both the mother and child of unbelief; ' the paralyser of conscience, which is then unable to resist the lies of anti-Clu-istianity.' He next treats of the manner in which the Chiu-ch is to engage in this con- flict ; and insists, among other things, on a thorough and conscientious study of the enemy, and a more solid and profound instruction of the congregations from the pulpit, and in other ways.
The paper of Pastor Kugel, ' On the Prevalent Igno- rance of Christianity, and its Relation to the Irreligious Character of the Present Age,' closely bears on the same subject, and analyses the causes of this ignorance, describes its extent among all classes of society, and suggests as remedies, to infuse more of the didactic element into the services of the Lord's day ; to encourage meetings in the congregations for the free discussion of scriptm-al subjects; to recommend good and solid com- mentaries and expositions as well as apologetic works ; and to devote more attention to schools, chiefly to strive that the reading of Scripture, prayer, and the use of our excellent hymns, may continue in the German schools.
The Report contains besides a very learned paper by Dr. Hennann, 'On Church Government, uniting Iho Consistorial and Synodal Elements;' a Report by Prof.
62
WORK OF THE CHRISTL\N CirURCII.
MAEcn 2, 1863,
Flashar on ' Schools, in their Eelation to the Church ; ' an Address by Dr. Schneider on the ' Unitj' of the Evangelical Church, notwithstanding its apparent Di- Tisions.' Special conferences were held on tlie fol- lowing subjects: ' Ee^■ision of Luther's Translation of tlie Bible ; Mission to the Jews; Young Men"s Societies; and the State of the German Artisans : The Poor and the Diaeonate ; Reformatories; Sabbath Observance ; the German Diaspora in North America ; Christian Ai't ; Treatment of Discharged Prisoners, &c. This little volume thus gives a comprehensive picture of the state of the German Church, and the progress of its mauifold activities, and contains much that is worthy of ciircful consideration as applying also to the requirements of this country.
Leiden ttnd Freuden rheinischen Missionarc, von T. C. Wallmann, Inspector der Berliner MissionsgeseU- schaft.) 2te Auflage. Halle, 1862. [Joys and Sorrows of Bhcnish Missionaries. Second edition.]
If the interest of Christians at home in the work of Missions is to be sustained, it is of the utmost im- portance to present them with a graphic and vivid picture of Mission life. The more truthful and indivi- dual the better. It is shortsighted, to say the least of it, to keep back difficulties, diseoiiragenienf s, and dis- appointments. The most glowing reports, whicli string together isolated facts of an encouraging and pleasing nature, will fail to insure a sustained, intelligent, prayerful, and active interest in the Mission, though apparently a species of fervid excitement has been produced.
Mr. Wallman, formerly Director of the Mission House in Barmen, gives us thirty-four sketches of Mission life with its joys and sorrows, its trials and rewards. He selected tlie stations of the society ■with which he was so intimately connected, but as he justly remiirks, 'The experiences of these missionaries are substantially the experiences of all evangelical mis- sionaries, and my chief purpo.'^e is to lay them before a larger public. Besides, I hope that the special character of this book will invest it mth greater hi.storical faitlifuhiess.' The scenes here brought before us are chiefly in South Africa, Borneo, and China. There is much in this book to deepen our interest in the cause of Missioiis and om- sympathy ■with the men engaged in this noble and trying work, ■while it presents many glorious instances of the power of Christ's truth and love.
Bihlischer Conmentdr iihcr dasAlte Testammi. Heraus- gegeben von C. F. Keil und F. Deijtzsch. Erster T}LEiL, Die Biichcr Moses. Leipzig, 1862. [Bibli- cal Commentary on the Old Testament. Edited by Kbit, and Delitzsch. 1st vol. The Books of Moses, by Kjeil.]
This work promises to supply a desideratum in theological literatiu-e. Embodying the results of modern exegesis and criticism, it presents us with a short exposition from the stand-point of faith in Christ, as the sum and substance of Scripture, its central and vivifying idea, and faith in Scripture, as thi; inspii-ed word of God. Sufficiently minute in its detail, it excels in general and comprehensive views, and while modern difficulties and objections are treated carefully, the positive element predominates. The stylo is easy, and free from the abruptness and ruggedness of a merely critical compendium. "Wo commend it specially to students of theology and to ministers. The following concluding remarks of our author possess peculiar interest at the present time :
' The strength of the opposition which impugns the imity and Mosaic origin of the Pentateuch is not so much in its formal peculiarities, though these have ' always
been put prominently forward by negative criticism, but rather in the contents of the Books of Moses, which are incompatible ■wdth the naturalism of the modem \-iew of the world. The leaders of modem criticism start « jpr/or?, and from theoretic reasons, with the conviction that the Pentateuch is not genuine, or has a post-Mosaic origin, and that the gradual development of the Mosaic legislation took place without direct and supernatural influence from God. This was expressed without disguise by DeWette, in the first three editions of his Introduction, in which he says, that so many narratives of the Pentateuch presuppose a direct inter- ference of God, and contradict the laws of nature, and that, "as it is clear to the educated mind that such miracles cannot have actually happened, the next question to be considered is, whether they appeared as such to the eyewitnesses; and as this also must be negatived, we arrive at the conclusion that the narrative was not ■written by a cotemporary or derived from cotejnjjoraneous sources." Quite as openly, Ewald developed liis naturalistic principle, which denies a superuatiu-al revelation of God, and it is on tlie basis of this fundamental view that he rears his theory of the successive formation of the Pentateuch. But as De Wette expressed his view subsequently ■with much greater caiition and obscui-ity, hjs followers also endeavoiu' to conceal the naturalistic principle, which is the basis of their criticism, and to put forward arguments, which they themselves would consider weak and futile, in ever}- sphere where fundamental theories are not concerned. As long as biblical criticism is fettered by naturalism, it cannot possibly recognise tlie genuineness and inward unity of the Pentateuch. For if the miraculous acts of the living God, which are there recorded, did not take place, the documents cannot have originated from eye^witnesscs, but must be myths, which arose long afterwards in the popular mind, and if there is no proplictic foresight of the future vouchsafed by the Spirit of God, it is clear that Moses could not have predicted the dispersion of Israel many centiu-ies before the event.'
Bibelstunden. Aiisleqnng der Heiligeii Schrift furs Volt Von W. F. Besser. 8 Band. Erster Corinther Brief. [Bible Expositions'' for the People. By W. F. Bessbr. 8 vols. /. Corinthians.'\
A Peacticax devotional commentary, based on careful exegetical study, enriched by many beautiful and apt quotations from the Churcli Fathers, and especially the Reformers and earlier Divines of the Lutheran Church. References to questions of the day, and to questions of Christian casuistry are frequent, and treated ■with the insight, prudence and delicacy of a wise and experienced pastor. The whole epistle is divided into twenty-two chapters, each of which concludes with an appropriate prayer and short hjTnn, embodying the leading thoughts and lessons of the section. An excellent work for family reading.
LonsTEW (T. F.). — Die Geheimnisse des Herzens. Fiinf- zehn Betrachtiingen uber Biblisohe Texte. 2te Au- flage, 1859.
Klippen avfdem Heilswege, 2to Auf.
Das Wirken der Gnade an den Seelen.
Tdgliche Weckstimmen, odcr eine SchriftstcUe, Kur: beleuchtct, aitf alle Tage im Yahr. 3te Auf.
[LoBSTEiN. — Anatomy of the Heart. Fifteen Medita- tions on Scripture Texts. Dangers on the way to Heaven. The Work of Grace in the Soul. Daily Readings, or Short Expositions of a Scripture Passage for every Day of the Year."]
Concise, suggestive, and eminently practical. Free from sentimentalism and monotony, which ai'e not unfrequently found in popular devotional literature.
March 2, 1863. WORK OF THE CHRISTL\N CHURCH. G3
thepe works abound in deep scriptiiral thought, and are evidently the result of profound study and rich and varied experience. Very rarely have -we met with devotional writings in wliich so many aspects of truth are presented, and which blend so harmoniously the dogmatic and etliic elements. Fervent love to Jesus Christ ; an intimate, accurate, and spiritwal knowledge of Scripture ; a remarkably deep and subtle analj'sis of human character ; and a manly and tender sympathy with men's struggles, joys, and sorrows, characterise all that has come from the pen of this singularly gifted and noble man. The ' Daily Headings ' appear to us quite unique. The evil, which the author, according to his own statement in the preface, is most anxious to com- bat, is the religion of false security and ease, a form of godliness without life, power, and growth. His repre- sentations of truth are very comprehensive and search- ing ; and while eminently suecessftil in delineating the features of a superficial and sentimental religion, the consolations of the gospel are very fully and tenderly brought before the troubled conscience. ' The Anatomy of the Heart,' is a most valuable vademccum for all who wish to keep their heart with all diligence, and to grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a book which will be found eminently needful in times of trouble and perjilexity ; the counsels of a man who was a true ' soul-curer.' Lobstoin's style is simple, clear, and graceful ; his illustrations from natiu-e, com- mon life, antiquity, and general literature, short, but pointed and striking.
It may bo worth while to give a brief sketch of the author's life. He was born in Strasburg, 1808, and was the son of a physician. In his seventeenth year he com- menced his academical studies, and devoted himself to philosophy. After spending a few years in Berlin, where the influence of Schleiermacher and Neander left him un- touclied, he was called to a classical professorship at the Lyceiun of Miihlhausen. Here he occupied himself chiefly with the study of Plato, and as was the case of the great German Church-historian just mentioned, it was in connection with this study that he first became clearly conscious of the deeper wants and longings of his soul. Influenced by the preaching and personal character of a French pastor then labouring in Miililhausen, he commenced the study of the New Testament, and, though it cost him many severe struggles to emanci- pate himself from retinalistic prejudice, he soon em- braced with humility and joy the truths of the gospel in their simplicity. Prayer, meditation on the Scrip- tures, and ^asitation of the poor and sick, were at that time his most congenial occupations. He subsequently entered the ministry, and laboured in Miililhausen, Odessa, for a short time, as professor in Geneva, and finally in Basle, where he died on January 26, 1855. We conclude with a few of his sayings during his last iUness, precious in themselves, and eminently character- istic of the man.
' I never could have thought that I should have such a consciousness of victory in death. The Lord leads mc from step to step, the prospect is enlarging; a land of light is opening before me, a heavenly Italy. . . . Prayer has changed its character ; it is more receptive ; I am not able to take in all th(! Lord is giving me — it is fellowship immediate and continuous. I breathe the atmosphere which surrounds the Saviour ; I feel that the Lord sends His angels to minister unto the heirs of salvation.'
Uber Jem sundlose Vollkommenheit. Von Dr. T. A. DoBNF,K. Gotlm 1862. \ On the Sinless Perfection of Jfsiix. By Dr. DoHNKu. Reprinted from the Jahrliiicher fiir Deutsche Thcologic.\
Although wo possess many admirable works on this subject., such as UUmann's Sinlessness of Jesus,
Young's Christ of History, Edmund de Presseuse, Le liedenipteur, Bushnell On the Character of Jesus, Dr. Dorner's Essay ia a most valuable contribution to Christian apologetics. Limiting himself to the question, whether we have sufficient historical e\'idence to regard the sinlessness and perfection of Jesus as an historical fact — he discusses first the relation of Christ's true humanity to sinless holiness. J esus is an individual as other human beings round him, but he is at the same time the Son of Man, and the centre of humanity. The author proceeds to show, that it is possible for us to arrive at the conviction of the historical reality of Christ's perfect character, and after a masterly chapter on Clirist's perfection, in which he does not attempt to | give a catalogiis virtuium, but to present us with a ] picture of a cliaractc!-, in which all was a harmonious , development of a central idea and law of life, he concludes with suggestive and excellent remarks on the importance of this subject for Christian apologetics. 'Jesus, as accredited by history, is a miracle in the world, a miracle which does not interrupt its order, but which, on the contraiy, restores by the power and example of its sacrifice the true idea of humanity, in which creation finds its culminating end ; which restores to Kosmos, the world which had become a moral chaos. It is not within the limits of this essay to enquire into the question, how such an individuality could rise in the midst of a sinful race ; the object which we proposed to ourselves is gained, if we have shown that the sinless perfection of Jesus is a liistorical fact, which a sound historical mind is bound to accept as much as any other authenticated fact, and if we have thrown some light on the originality of that perfect character.'
Highly as we value this paper in its apologetic aspect, we need scarcely add, that it contains many exegetical remarks and hints of the highest importance.
Zur Verantwortung des christlichen Glauhens. Zehn Vortriige, gehalten vor Mdnnerii aus allefi Stdnden durch, Prof. Aubeklen, Gess, P. Reiswehk, Eiggen- BACH, Stahelin, Stockmeyer, 2to Auflage. Basel, 1862. [Contributions to the Defence of the Christian Faith. Ten Lectures before a mixed audience of Men. By Atjbeelen, &c.]
Tirr.sE lectures treat of the liighest problems in a popular manner, avoiding as much as possible scliolastic teiTriinology and minute detail, but at the same time with great profundity and conscientiousness, their aim being to prove that Christianity and tlio results of modern science do not conflict, and to present a view of the leading facts and doctrines of Scripture, with special reference to the difficulties, objections, nnd misrepre- sentations of the age. They were originally delivered in Basle, and as the accommodation was limited, the audience consisted exclusively of men. Manliness characterises the lectures, of which we subjoin the titles:— 1. What is Faith ? by Eiggenbach ; 2. Nature or God (a masterly treatise 'on miracles), by Gess; 3. Sin, its nature and consequences, by Stahelin ; 4. The Old Testament, and its relation to the Heathen World, by Auberlen ; 5. On the Person of Jesus Christ, by Eiggenbach ; 6, Christ's Atonement for Sin, by Gess ; 7. Jesus Chri.st, the Eisen and Glorified Saviour, by Auberlen ; 8, 'I'ho Holy Spirit and the Cliristian (Church, bj' Preiswerk ; 9. Justification by Faith, from an ethical point of view, by Stockmeyer; 10, Immor- tality and Eternal Life, by Stiihelin.
We do not wonder that lectures containing so much instruction and suggostivi' thought, and iSTitten with such candour, breailth, and genuine love, have met with so favourable a reception, and sincerely hope that , they will soon be accessible to tile mere English reader, \ and bo helpful to many a perplexed and earnest seeker of truth.
64
^^•OKK OF THE CHRISTLVX CIIUECII.
March 2, 1863.
STATISTICS OF SOCIETIES EOE FOREIGN MISSIONS.
When Foun- ded
SOCIETIES ■I
1701 1792 1795 1800
jl816 1317
1840 M843 , 1844 , 1844 1850 ' ! 1850
1860 1860 18G0
11824 I»I1 1842
1843
1847
BRITISH.
ENGLAND. Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in (
Foreign Parts (1) 1
The Baptist Missionary Society -J
The London Missionary Society |
The Church [of England] Missionary f Society .. (
The General Baptist Missionary Society |
Wesleyan Missionary Society
The Scriptural Knowledge Institution Welsh Foreiirn Missionary Society . . .
The Lew Chew Naval Mission
Enirlish Presliyteriaii Foreign Mission .
Agents
Thr Pni
1 Mi.
1816 182R 1853 1836 1836
1836 1850 1852
1835 1842 1846
The Cliiiiese Evangelisation Society
The Cliinesc Society for Furthering thel
Gospel (
Turkish Missions Aid Society |
Christi.m Vernacular Education Society Primitive Mrtliodist Missionary Society Free Uniled Mrtliodist Missionary Society ..
The Moslem Missionary Society
The Baptist Mission to China
SCOTLAND. Church of Scotland's Foreign Mission
The Edinburgh Medical Mission
The Reformed Presbyterian Church's^
Foreign Mission )
The Free Church of Scotland's Foreign /
Mission \
The United Presbyterian Church's Foreign (
Mission I
IRELAND. The Irish Presbyterian Church's Foreign! Mission j
COjNrTmENTA.Ii.
GERMANY. . MoraviftD Missionary Society (2) .. ..I
800, including Cntcchists,! Teachers and Students | ! Missionaries ; 143 1 otber Api'nts •
170 Missionaries; 7001 Native Agents .. .,J
■2C.G Clergymen; 2,1461 ther Agents f
8 Missionaries ; 24 Assls-I lant Missionaries.. ..f 7 Missionaries; 1,2-14 1 other Agcnt-
4 ditto 2 ditto
5 ditto
Sta- tions
Commu- nicants
Scho. lars
naries
ditto*[l Medical]
155 Missionaries; otber Agents ..
J Mi
57 Missionaries (10 Na- ti%'e) ; 97 other Agents
55 Missionaries; Co other' Agents
' Missionaries (1 Native)
180 MiHsionarirs ; 120) other Agents /
7fi Missionaries; 92 other)
Agent* I
Missionaries; 12 Catoc.
.>■> ditto
17 MiAnionariei
11 Missionaries ; 83)
other Agpnts i
l-.i ditto ditto
The Raile Missionary Society (3) , . „ The Rhenish Minsionnry Society .. .. The Berlin Mi*slonary Society .. .. GossnerN Evangelical Union (4) . . .. The Evangelical Lutheran Missionary
Society
The North German Mie'ionary Society The Berlin Missionary Tnion for China
The Herrmannsburg Missionary Society f' i:»0, of whom about 1001
(5 1 \\ are Colonists f
The Jerusalem Society | —
FRANCE. I Paris Society for Evangelical Missions .
SWEDEN and NORM'AY. Stockholm Missionary Society NorwcKian Mis^ionarj Society , The Lund Missionary Society
1 1 Missionariei
DENMARK. 1860 The Oanisb IMissionary Society
1857
18S7 1812 1842 1843 1844
1845
HOLLAND. The Netherlands Missionary Society . Heldcring's Missionary Society
AMERICAN.
UNITED STATES. ( The Board of Commissioners for Foreign<
Missions (6) f
The Baptist Missionary Union |
The Methodist Episcopal Missionary i
Society 1
The Episcopal Board of Missions
The I'rce-Vill Baptist Foreign Missionaryl
Society /
Tlie Board of Foreign Missions of tlie I
Presbyterian Church )
Lutheran Foreign Missionary Society .. Seventh-Day Baptist Missionary Society American Indian Missionary Association .. The Baptist Free Missionary Society .. .. Tlie Associate Reformed Presbyterian 1
Board of Missions (
The Southern Baptist ConTcntion Board ofl Missions j'
The American Missionary Association .. ..
'BRITISH NORTH AMERICA. 1848 The Board of Foreign Missions of the Pres-l byterinn CInirrh of Nova Scotia .. ,.)
218 Native Preachei^^.
539 other A^fnts .. I 41 Missionaries; 387)
other A^entA .. . . j 45 Missionaries; 1021
other Agents (
IC Miss.; 26 other Agent
8 Missionaries ,
82 Missionaries; 311) other Agents .. ../
7 Missionaries ,
5 ditto
28 ditto
9 ditto
ditto ditto
ditto
6.576 5,800 25,192
21.2CI
( 200 1 iBapt.J
Abt. 20001 200 ] Abt. 4000
16,174 3,075 550 75 2.779
5,574 56,561
Fields of Labour
/East and West Indies, South Africa, Australia,) t New Zealand, North America /
India, ^Vest Indies, West Africa. China . . . . /South Seas, West Indies, South Africa, Mauri-l
t tins. India, China, Madagascar
(Wen Indies, West Africa, Egypt, Abyssinia, < Turkey, West Asia, India, Ch' I Ze aland, America, Mauritius . . .
India, China
fWest Indies, Africa, India, China, Australia,'
1 Polynesia
t Syria, India, Penang, China, British GulanM I British North America J
Brittany, India
Lew-Chew
China
isinia, j New>
Income
China
China
European and Asiatic Turkey
£ast Africa China . .
New Hebrides India, KafTraria •
/West Indies, M'est Africa, South Africa, North) \ Africa, Syria, India /
India [Rajkote, Gogo, Surat, Borsad]
(West In
< Thibet, ( land, I,
Indies, Sourh Africa, India, China,) , North and South America, Green- : abrador I
66,753 36.450 83,751
136,898 3,500
138.811 1,802
503 1,093
2,792 14,8.58 4.282
M'esC Africa, India, China China. South Africa ..
South Africa
India
India, Australia
2,658 2,251
4,52.1 55
Lapland South Africa China .. ..
852 14,952
45.000
26,000 7.000 6,0< K) 2,000 5.000 3,100
5,921 700
Moluccas, Borneo, East Indies Dutch Colonies
(West Indies, Africa, Turkey in Europe and) < Asia, India, Indian Archii>elago, China, >
( Polynesia, Nortli America )
Birmah, Assam, Tcloogoo, China
{Africa, India, China, Polynesia, North andl South America /
West Africa, Cliina
rAfrira, India, China and Japan, Slam, North) { and South America J
India ■
West Asia, China
North America
Hayti
India, Turkey, Poljmesia
West Africa, China, North America
M'est Indies, Egypt, Siam, Polynesia, North) America /
— New Hebrides
8,000
19,898
16,849 8,935 956 47,595
10,829 9,030
<!"). This Society is Colonial as well as Foreign.
(«). 2,000 Agents have been sent out since 1732, of whom 643 died in Mission service, 9 on Missionary journeys, 1 1 on voyage out, 2 on voyage home, 22 by shipvfreck, and 12 were murdered.
(o). 378 Missionaries have been ".ent out since its foundation, of whom 237 i^re still in service, either with this or some other Society.
(4) . This Mission was established and conducted hy one man ; sent out 141
Missionaries to Australia, Polynesia. Africa, Sumatra, .lava, and India ; .ind is still continued under Dr. Prochnow.
(5) . Tlii* Mission is the effort of a pious <;erman Pastor in a country parish of Hanover. Its object is to form Chrisfian Colonic). It has its own
Mission Ship, and purposes sending 24 Missionaries every two years. Tliey are trained in two Mission Houses at Herrmannsburg. It is strictly limited to Protestant Missions to the heathen. (6). During 50 years, the Board has sent 900 Missionaries (of whom 500 were native), and 400 Teachers. The Church Membership from the begin- ning is 55,000 ; the children who have passed through the Schools are 175,000; and the printed issues of the Board are over 1,500 millions of pages.
* 0-10 Central, 4,108 Preaching Stations. 1 75.000 Communicants and Catechumens. % 288 Churches and 625 Stations. § Excluding the Sandwich Mands.
While cvcrj- care has been taken to make these statistics accurate, they can only ' e regarded as approximate. Isone of them date further back tlian 18r>9. The map which is published in this number, and whicli is founded chiefly on that of the Uaslc Missionarj- Society, omits necessarily some of the smaller societies which are included here.
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