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THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY, 
Princetom,  N.  J. 


a 


jL  sheif,  Sectl9r    7  I 

P   .  No,.-  * 

^7 


r 


>  THH 

eAL€OTTA 

CHRISTIAN  OBSERVER. 


EDITED  BY 


CHRISTIAN  illNISTERS  OF  VARIOUS  DENOMINATIONS. 


Vol.  I. 
Nrto  Scries. 


JANUARY  TO  DECEMBER, 

CALCUTTA : 

PRINTED   AT  THE   BAPTIST  MISSION   PRESS,   CIRCULAR   ROAD  ; 
AND  SOLD 
BY  MR.    G.  C.  HAY,    99,  DHARAMTALA. 

1840. 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 
in  2015 


https://archive.org/details/calcuttachristia01unse 


CONTENTS. 


ESSAYS,  &c. 

Al  Quran, 

Bandras  Translators  and  the  London  Missionary  Society,  ..  .... 

Bengal  Auxiliary  Missionary  Society,  21st  Report, 
Bengali  Dictionaries  and  Grammars,  Further  supplement  to  Index  of, 
Brahmans  and  the  Aborigines  of  India, 

Brief  account  of  the  Santals,  ..       ..  ..  ..  •• 

Cabul,  Proposed  Christian  Mission ^  to, 
Conversion  of  the  Females  of  India, 

Cooly  Trade,  Report  of  the  Commission  on  the,  ..   

Dissenting  Ministers  and  Cantonment  Burial  Grounds, 

Duff,  Rev.  Dr.,  a  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt,  by         ..       ..  499,557, 
Durga  Piija  Naches,  On  the 
Era  of  Vivid  Religious  interest  in  India, 

Excellency  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  A  study  concerning  the,     ..        ..  .. 

Female  Bazar  Schools,  ..  ..  ..  ..  .. 

Hardwtfv  Fair,  The,  ..  ..  ••  •■  •»  .. 

Hill  Tribes,  The,— Santals,  5,  261— Coles,  263—Garrows,  266— General  view  of, 
435 — Nogas,  635 — Lepchas,  ..  ..  ..  ..         ..  .. 

Hindu,  a  converted,  Recollections  respecting,      ..  ..  . . 

 Female  Education,  Remarks  on, 

Hinduism  and  Vedantism  assuming  a  Missionary  character, 

 .Absurdities  of,         ..  ..  ..       ..  .. 

Hindus,  Sacred  Literature  of  the,  ..  ..  ..  363, 

Hindustani  Versions  of  the  Calcutta  Bible  Society,  Strictures  on, 

1   Translations  of  the  "  Word"  and  "  Son  of  man,"  .. 

Holy  Scriptures,  On  the  duty  of  omitting  Apocryphal  passages,  .. 

 ,  On  the  absence  of  all  constitutional  power  in  the  Protestant 

churches  to  legislate  on  the  canon  of  the, 

India,  Proposed  new  work  on  the  Geography  of,  .. 

 ,  Some  causes  for  the  slow  progress  Christianity  is  making  in, 

Indo-British  Law,  Minute  on  the  Rise,  Progress  and  Present  State  of,  685 — Le- 
gal Rights  of  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  parents  over  children  under  age,  692 
— Hindu  and  Muhammadan  Laws  of  Inheritance, 

Introductory  Observations,  ..  ..  .. 

Jellasore,  New  Missionary  station  at,  ..  ..  ..  ..  .. 

Jews  at  Allahabad,  Discussions  with,  ..  ..  .. 

Letter  to  a  Friend — IV.  The  Saviour,       ..  ..  .... 

Lodiana  American  Mission,  Sketch  of  the,       ..        ..  ..  .. 

Lower  Egypt,  A  few  Notes  on — Alexandria — 'the  Banks  of  the  Nile — Scrip- 
tural illustrations — Grand  Cairo,  the  Magician — The  Pyramids,  their  size, 
form,  origin  and  design,  with  reflections — Singular  fate  of  the  Mummies — 
Ancient  Memphis — Fulfilment  of  Scripture  Prophecies — Mahomed  Ali — 
his  Personal  Characteristics— The  present  state  of  Egypt  under  his  sway 
viewed  in  connection  with  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy — The  population  com- 
posed of  different  races — The  Coptic  Church— its  rise,  decline,  and  prospec- 
tive renovation,  ..  ..  ..  ..  499,557, 

Mela  at  Allahabad,  A  few  facts  concerning  the, 

Memoir  of  Bhaichand  Narsidas, 

Missionary  Conferences— Itinerancy, 

 ;  Observance  of  the  Sabbath , 

 ;  The  English  Language,  531  — Remarks  on,  593— Re- 
ply to  Remarks,  669— Rejoinder,  .. 
— *— «  Society,  Bengal  Auxiliary,  Notice  of  21st  Report, 


Page 
191 
335 
50 
52 
307 
5 
86 
313 
535 
749 
645 
597 
384 
577 
666 
521 

640 
22 
117 

405 
662 
584 
473 
738 
268 

368 
589 
742 


703 
1 

471 

573 
280 
740 


645 
243 
22 
29 


759 
50 


iv 


Contents. 


,    .      _       ,  Page 

Muhammadanism,  Remarks  on  the  nature  ol,                            ..            67,  130 

Native  Christians,  Disabilities  of,        ..                     ..             ,.          .,  548 

 Christian  Temporal  Aid  Society,  Proposed,                ..       .,          ..  377 

Education,  Government  plan  of,  defective,           ..          ,,             ..  340 

 Press  of  Calcutta,  Notice  of  the,         ..          ..          .,                57,  150 

Netherlands'  territory  on  the  West  Coast  of  Sumatra,  Short  description  of 

the,          ..             ..             ..             ..          ..              ..     199,326,  394 

New  Testament,  Remarks  on  the  omission  of  certain  passages  in  the  Urdu 
translation  of  the,  181 — Reply  of  '  One  of  the  Translators,'  201— Rejoinder  of 

T.  S.,  315 — Reply,  399— Remarks  on  the  omission  by  '  ,'  253 — *  One 

of  the  Translators' in  Reply,  339 — Rejoinder,             ..           ..             ..  391 

Notice  of  the  19th  Annual  Report  of  the  Calcutta  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  209 

Opium  Trade,  The,             .•          ..                ..          ..          ..          ..  152 

Orissa  Mission — need  of  more  labourers,          ..          ..             ..             ..  252 

Pearce,  Rev.  W.  H.,  Short  Memoir  of,          ..           ..       ..          ..       ..  284 

Prayer,  Duty  of,  for  those  in  Authority,          ..             ..                         ..  459 

Protected  Hill  States,  The,          ..          ..    727 

Protestant  Subscriptions  to  Popish  Institutions,        ..       ..                      ..  401 

Rath  Jatra  at  Puri,  Journal  of  Missionary  Labour  at  the,          ..       .,       ..  442 

Sabbath,  Desecration  of  the,       ..       ..       ..       ..          ..          ..  217 

Siuitals,  Recollections  of  the,             ..             ..           ..          ..            ..  261 

Schools,  on  Religious  Instruction  in,                        ..             .,              ..  518 

Scotland,  Revivals  in,          ..          ..          ..                      ..       ..       ..  337 

 ,  Revival  of  the  Lord's  work  in  Ross-shire,          ..       ..             ..  751 

State  and  prospects  of  the  Jews,  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..30 

Sutton,  Rev.  A.,  Remarks  by,  on  Native  pupils  studying  the  English  Lan- 
guage, 593— Reply  by  T.  S.,  609— Rejoinder,  ..  ..  ..759 

Temples  of  VV fin  in  Nemar,       ..                            ..                             ..  746 

Terms,  Theological  and  Ecclesiastical,  Vocabulary  of,           ..          ..       ..  528 

Theological  Library,  The,             ..             ..             ,.            ..          256,  372 

Voice  from  the  Ocean,            ..              ..             ..            ..            ..  526 


POETRY. 

'  Faint  yet  Pursuing,'         ..  ..          ..  ..            ..          ..  479 

Infanticide,                ..          ..  ..  ..             ..          ..       ..  350 

Jehovah-Jirah,            ..  ..             ..  ..           ..             ..  160 

Jehovah-Nissi,            ..  ..  ..             ..             ..  218 

'  Know'st  thou  the  Land,'  ..            ..          ..    300 

Lines  on  the  Second  Advent,  ..          ..  ..               ..          ..  349 

The  Intercessor,                ..  ..  ..          ..             ..       ..  404 


REVIEW 

AND  BRIEF  NOTICES  OF  INDIAN  PUBLICATIONS. 

An  Abridgement  of  the  History  of  Bengal  under  British  Administration.    By  C. 
J.S.Montague.    Calcutta,  1840,  ..  ..  ..  ..All 

Calcutta  Native  Press.    By  Cinsurensis,  ..  ..  ..  57,  150 

Wujra  Soochi,  or  Refutation  of  the  arguments  upon  which  the  Brahmanical  in- 
stitution of  caste  is  founded.    By  the  learned  Boodhist  Ash wa  G lioshu .  1839,  161 
Hindu,  Female   Education.    By  Priscilla    Chapman.    London,  1839-  —  First 
Report  of  the  Scottish  Ladies'  Association  for  the  Advancement  of  Female  Fd>i- 
cation  in  India  under  the  Superintendence  of  Missionaries  of  the  Vhurchof 


Scotland.    Edinburgh,  1839,             ..       ..             ..                         ..  117 

History  of  Madagascar,    By  the  Rev.  William  Ellis,             ..  . .        448,  599 

.  Wei-Tsang  too  Sheih,  or  Tibet  in  a  series  of  Maps  and  Descriptions,                ..  621 

Works  in  Sanscrit  Verse,              ..            ..             ..  ..          ..  14 


MISSIONARY  AND  RELIGIOUS  INTELLIGENCE. 
Presidency  of  Fort  WilliaMi 
Societies  and  Associations. 
Agra  Missionary  Society,  Formation  of  the,  ..  ..  ••  303 

 School  Book  Society,  Second  Report  of  the,  ..  ••  491 

Anniversaries  and  Examinations,  ..  ..  ..  ..  ..  64 


Contents. 


V 


Page 

Auxiliary  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  19th  Annual  Meeting,          ..          ..  Ill 

 ,  19th  Report,           ..             ....  109 

Bengal  Auxiliary  to  the  London  Missionary  Society,  22nd  Anniversary,        ..  763 
Benevolent  Institution,  Report  of  the,         ..             ••             ••  ..172 

Berhampore  Native  Orphan  Asylum,            ..                            ..           ..  174 

Calcutta  Bible  Association,  18th  Anniversary,         ..          ..          ..       ..  108 

 ,  18th  Report,  ..  ..  ..  ..169 

 Society, — List  of  Scriptures,            ..          ..          ..       ..  483 

 — —  ;  General  Meeting,          ..          ..          ..          ..  178 

 School  Book  Society,  Public  Meeting,            ..             ..          ..  407 

Christian  School  Book  Society,  Circular  of  the,             ..             ..  541 

Christian  Institution,  Bhowanipore,  Annual  Examination,    99 

 Tract  and  Book  Society,  Annual  Meeting,           ..          ..          ..  176 

Seaman's  Friend  Society,  13th  Anniversary,          ..          ..          ..          ..  103 

Educational  Institutions. 

Balasore  School,  First  Annual  Examination,              ..            ..             ..  356 

Bhowanipore  Female  Christian  Boarding  School  and  Orphan  Asylum,  Exami- 
nation,        ..          ..            ••             ••             ••          ••            ..  355 

Free  School,  Examination  of  the,          ..             ..             ..          ..       ..  482 

General  Assembly's  Institution,  Award  of  Prizes  given  by  J.  Muir,  Esq.,     ..  360 

.  .  .  ,  Examination  of  the,              ..                   ..              ..  98 

 Mission  School,  at  Fort  Glo'ster,  Annual  Examination,  >.<  97 

High  School,  Tenth  Annual  Report  of  the,         ..             ..        ..          ..  539 

Infant  School,  Annual  Examination,             ..              ..          ..             ..  223 

Ladies'  Society's  School,  Cornwallis  Square,  Examination  of  the,                ..  101 

La  Martiniere,  Anniversary,             ..              ..          ..          ..             ..  616 

Oriental  Seminary,  Aunual  Examination,          ..           ..          ..  223 

Orphan  Asylum,  Futtehgurh,           ..          ..              ..          ..             ..  225 

Parental  Academic  Institution,  Anniversary  of  the,           ..          ..          ..  223 


MISCELLANEOUS. 

A  Martyr  Spirit— J.  C.  Cornay,  ..  ..  ..  ..357 

Afghanistan,  a  field  for  Missionary  Labour,          ..          ..           ..  684 

American  Baptist  Mission,  Tavoy,             ..          ..           ..          ..  ..  302 

Arrivals  : — 

Rev.  Dr.  Somers  and  family  from  Benares — Rev.  Dr.  Ha?berlin  and  lady 

from  England,  ..  ••  ..  ..  ..  ..52 

Rev.  Mr.  Barker,  Mrs.  Barker  and  Miss  Bronson  from  America,  ..  168 

Rev.  W.  S.  Mackay  from  Van  Dieman's  Land,          ..          ..  ..  222 

Rev.  Dr.  Duff andladyfrom  Europe— Rev.  VV. Glen,          ..  ..  350 

Rev.  Mr.  VVallis,         ..             ..          ..          ..          ..  ..  480 

Rev.  P.  Bachelor,  Mrs.  Bachelor  and  Miss  Cummings  from  America,    ..  616 

Rev.  Mr.  Backhouse  and  lady— Miss  Wilson  from  Europe,       ..  ..  674 


Rev.  J.  D.  Prochnow  and  wife,  &c,  Rev.  Messrs.  E.  Schulze,  G.  Niebel, 
Misses  H.  Just,  A.  Winter,  S.  Wernicke,  D.  Feldner— Rev.  Mr.  Os- 
borne and  lady,  Rev.  Mr.  Bowman  and  lady,  Rev.  Mr.  Makie,  Rev. 
Mr.  Wenangrel  and  lady,  Rev.  Mr.  Long— Rev.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Evans, 
Rev.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Parsons — Rev.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Becher — Misses  Long 


and  Swinborne,            ..              ..              ..           ..  ..        ..  761 

Bangalore,  Ordination  at,             ..              ..              ..  ..           ..  355 

Baptist  Chapel,  Reopening  of  the,           ..          ..          ..  ..          ..  606 

Brahma  Shabha,  Anticipated  dissolution  of  the,           ..  .,             ..  301 

Brindabun,  Lord  Auckland  at,          ..              ..              ..  ..  ]69 

Cabul,  Extract  of  a  letter  from,            ..             ..             ..  4]8 

Cathedral,  The,  and  the  Court  of  Directors,        ..             ..  ..  618 

Catholic  Institute,  The,                  ..             ..             ..  ..          ..  617 

Charak  Puja,             ..          ..          ..          ..           ..  ..          225,  301 

 ,  Efforts  for  the  abolition  of  the,               ..  ..          ..  406 

China  Expedition,  The,            ..             .            ..             ..  407,  484 

 State  of  Missions  in          ..           ..       ..             ..  ..         ..  492 

Christian  School  Book  Society's  Poetical  Instructor,  ..       ..  362 

Colleges,  and  Schools,              ..             ..             ..  ..  101 

Cooly  Report,  The,            ..          ..             ..            ..  ..          .,  406 

 Trade,  The,       ..             ..             ..             ..  ..           ..  353 

Corresponding  Society  of  the  Friends  of  India,  Proposed,         .,  .,  546 


vi 


Contents. 


rage 

Dacca,  Proposal  for  the  erection  of  a  Baptist  Chapel  at,        ..  ..          ..  410 

 ,  Distribution  of  the  Scriptures  at,         ..          ..  ..          413,  772 

Deaths  :— 

Mrs.  Caldwell,         ..            ..           ..          ..  ..            ..  54 

Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce,      ..          ..          ..               ..  ..         ..  220 

Rev.  W.  Fyvie,  Surat — Mrs.  Innes,         ..         ..  ..             ..  480 

Rev.  J.  Campbell,  of  Kingsland— Mrs.  Philips,  Balasore,  ..        ..  539 

Mrs.  Thomas,          ..          ..             ..              ..  ..  ..615 

Rev.  G-  B.  Parsons,         ..            ..               :.  ..            ..  701 

Departures  : — 

Rev.  P.  Lyon  and  Mrs.  Lyon— Mrs.  G.  Pearce— Mrs.  Paterson  and  child 

for  England,        ..          ..          ..          ..          ..  ..  ..53 

Rev.  J.  Weitbrecht  and  lady  for  Benares,            ..  ..  i/,. 

Mrs.  Charles  and  family  for  Europe,            ..          ..  ..          ..  97 

Rev.  W.  Morton  and  family  for  Europe,               ..  ..               ..  168 

Rev.  W.  O.  Ruspini — Rev.  A.  Garstin  and  family — Rev.  W.  Buyers  and 

family — Rev.  R.  Bayne  and  family,            ..          ..  ..          ..  615 

Dissolution  of  the  Government  Connexion  with  Indian  Idolatry,  ..             .,  222 

Editor's  last  words  for  1840,                ..             ..            ..  ..          ..  790 

Educated  and  Wealthy  Native  Youth,         ..          ..            ..  ..  405 

Education  in  India,            ..            ..          ..           .  >  ..           ..  172 

Examination  of  tlie  Students  of  the  Delhi  Institution,             ..  ..  229,768 

Faithfulness  of  God  to  the  children  of  Believers,             ..  ..             ..  361 

Forbes,  Sir  Charles,  and  his  Admirers,         ..             ..  ..             ..  490 

Fyvie,  Rev.  W.,  Death  of,       ..        ..         ..           ..    497 

General  Committee  of  Public  Instruction,  Report  for  1838-39,  ..          ..  539 

Ghat  Murders,          ..             ..          ..          ..          ..  ..           ..  224 

Haji  Kakar,  Interview  with,             ..             ..             ..  ..       ..  413 

Hospital,  New,             ..             ..             ..             ..  ..          ..  481 

India,  New  Works  on,             ..              ..             ..  ..             ..  354 

Indian  Community,  State  of  feeling  on  Moral  and  Religious  subjects  amongst 

the,            ..            ..            ..            ..            ..  ..       ..  171 

■              Journal  of  Science,             ..             ..             ..  ..       ..  353 

Jews  at  Jerusalem,            ..          ..             ..             ..  ..        ..  786 

— —  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge,  ..             ..  770 

La  Martiniere,  the  Bishops  of  Calcutta  and  Norwich,           ..  ..  484 

Lamp  of  Knowledge,  a  new  work  in  Bengali,         ..            ..  ..  ib. 

Lent  Lectures,                ..             ..          ..             ..  ..              ..  221 

Marshman's  History  of  Bengal,  Translation  of,  into  the  Bengali,  ..  224 

Miscellanea,            ..             ..            ..          ..  54,222,352,  762 

Mission  School  at  Baraset,             ..             ..             ..  ..           ..  229 

Missionary  and  Ecclesiastical  Movements,   53,  97,  168,  220,  300,  352,  405,  539, 
615,  674,  761 

 Conference,          ..                   ..             ..  ..          ..  169 

 Herald,  Calcutta,                  ..             ..  ..             ..  169 

Moharram  and  the  Hull,          ..             ..          ..          ..  ..          ..  225 

Monthly  Missionary  Prayer  Meeting,         ..            ..       168,224,406,480,  769 

Native  Chapel  in  Bow  Bazar,          ..             ..             ..  ..        ..  485 

 Schools,               ..              ..          ..             ..  ..  ..481 

  Feeling,  State  of,                  ..           ..          ..  ..             ..  770 

New  Works  in  Bengali,          ..             ..             ..              ..  ..  616 

Oaths,  Heathen  and  Muhammadan,  abolished,             ..  ..            ..  222 

Oratorio,  Proposed,                  ..              ..             ..  ..             ..  223 

 ,  The  Calcutta,  Protest  against,                  ..  ..             ..  55 

Pearce,  Rev.  W.  H.,  Death  of,         ..          ..             ..  ..  ..220 

 ■,  Funeral  Sermon  on  the  death  of,  ..             ..  408 

Periodicals  of  the  Month,             ..           ..          ..    495 

 ,  New,             ..          ..             ..          ..  ..              ..  616 

Persian  Translation  of  the  Scriptures,          ..             ..  ..          362,  406 

Pilgrim  Tax  at  Gyoh,          . .           ..           ..              ..  ..  ..54 

Popery,  Progress  of            ..             ..             ..             ..  ..  231 

  and  Puseyism,             ..             ..             ..             ..  ..  407 

Publications  of  the  Tract  Society,             ..               ..  ..             ..  362 

Quran,  Proposal  to  publish  the,             ..          ..           ..  •.          ••  768 

Richardson,  Capt.  J.,  Notice  of  the  late,             ..             ..  ..         ..  408 

Sabbath,  Violation  of  the,             ..             ..             ..  ..        170,  217 

Sand  Heads,  The,            ..            ..            ..            ..  ..  ..776 


Contents.  vii 


Page 

Sanyasi,  The, — a  new  Poem  in  Bengali,            ..  ..          ..       482,  674 

Sati,  Abolition  of,  in  the  Baroda  State,          ..          ..  ..              ..  415 

 ,  Revival  of,  near  Calcutta,         ..          ..            ..  .         486,  709 

Sermons  in  Bengali,                 ..            ..  ..          . .  224 

Singapore  Christian  Tract  and  Book  Society,         ..  ..        ..       ..  222 

 Institution,          ..          ..                         ..  ..            ..  229 

Telescope,  The,  Prospectus  of,          ..          ..             ..  ..            545,  617 

 — — ,  The  Corresponding  Society — a  proposal,  ..            . .  547 

Union  Chapel,  Services  at,  on  New  Year's  Day,    107 

Vernacular  Schools,          ..                      ..             ..  ..             ..  407 

War  with  China — the  Opium  Trade,                          ..  ..             ..  354 

Wheler,  Capt.,  and  the  Oriental  Observer,              ..  ..            ..  481 


Madras  Presidency. 
Establishment  of  a  University  at  Madras, 
Indian  Missionary  Society, 

Miscellaneous  Notices,  ..  ..  ..  ..  , 

Notice  of  the  Native  Female  Orphan  School,  Viziagapatam,  .. 
Temperance  Society,  Report  of  the, 

Tinnevelly  Mission,  Union  of  the,  with  the  Madras  Church  Mission, 
Tract  and  Book  Society,  Madras,  Twenty-first  Report, 


Bombay  Presidency. 
Annual  Meeting  of  the  Auxiliary  of  the  Church  of  Scotland's  Mission  Society, 
Bible  Society,  Auxiliary,  Anniversary  of  the, 
 Reportofthe, 

General  Assembly's  Institution,  Annual  Examination  of  the, 
Lingayats,  Southern  Maratha  Country,  Movements  among  the, 
Mahabaleshwar,  Church  and  Mission  on, 
Miscellaneous  Notices,  ., 

Mission  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Ireland  to  Katiawar, 
Restriction  of  the  Arab  Slave  Trade, 


411 
771 

496 
228 
491 
543 
411 


230 
232 
416 
224 
775 
618 
773 
774 
497 


Cooly  importation, 


Mauritius. 


Foreign, 

Burmah — State  of  Missions, 

SPoEcie0tFy,G°OD  .HorE--An°«al  Meeting  of  *  Auxiliary  London  '  Missionary 
France.— State  of  Religion  in, 

Finland— Revival  of  Religion  and  Persecution,"     ..  " 


301 


Great  Britain. 

Aborigines  Protection  Society, 
Anti-Slavery  Convention, 

British  and  F oreign  Bible  Society,  Increased  exertions  of  the' 
tine,      Sc°tland'  Report  of  the  Deputation  from  the,  to  the  Jews  in  PaleV- 

Formation  of  a  Society' in  England  for  the  Suppression  of  the'bpium  Trade  "' 
London  Missionary  Society's  Annual  Report,  P  ' ' ' 

JVIarnage  of  the  Queen, 

May  Meetings,  The,  ..  "  " 

Naval  and  Military  Bible  Society,  Anniversary,  "     ..      "  "  491' 

Opium  Question.-Proceedings  in  reference  to  the, 
Religious  Tract  Society,  Fortieth  Report  of  the,  . 

icotashdCh^cf  The116""15  iQ'  54'-Kils?th  »<  Dundee,  419-Ross-shire/.'. 

If  ^^.^^'"gFernale  Education  in  the  East,"        .."        ,488,  617' 
Mate  of  Religious  Feeling  in  England,         ..  S~ 
Walthamstow,  InstUution  at,  for  educating  the  Daughters  of  Missionaries,  303,  554 


487 

ib. 
303 

234 
302 
229 
302 
550 
487 
484 
412 
751 
781 
305 
355 


679 

412 
677 
419 


viii 


Contents. 


Page 


Germany. — Religious  Persecution  at  Hamburg,            ..  ..          ..  539 

Greece. — Letters  from,         ..            ..          ..           ..  ..       ..  610 

Communication  of  Mr.  Pasco,             ..             ..  ..          ..  080 

Madagascar. — Persecution  and  Massacre  of  Native  Christians.  ..       ..  778 

Persia. — American  Mission  to  the  Nestorians  at  Ooroomiah,  ..             ..  426 

Russia. — Letter  from  St.  Petersburgh,             ..             ..  788 

Siam. — Chinese  Converts  at  Bankok,          ..          ..            ..  ..       ..  102 

South  Seas. — Success  of  Missions,       ..          ..           ..  ..             ..  486 

Murder  of  Rev.  J.  Williams,            ..          ..  ..       ..  176 

West  Indies. — Convert  to  Christianity  from  Judaism  in  Jamaica,  ..  232 

Indian  Coolies  in  the  West  Indies,         .,  ..            ..  302 

The  Missionaries  and  Sir  C.  Metcalfe,  ..       ..  488 


INDEX  TO  SIGNATURES  OF  ORIGINAL  PAPERS. 


A.  D.,  518,  573,  661. 
A  Late  Mofussilite,  261. 
A  Missionary's  Wife,  6C8. 
Anne,  478. 

An  Observer,  349,  461, 
A  Stranger.  599, 

A.  Sutton,  597,  761. 

A  Voice  from  the  Ocean,  527. 
A  Young  Missionary,  530. 

B.  S.  E.  315. 

Cinsurensis,  21,  53,  65,  152,  168. 
C  Lacey,  447. 
Concordance,  477. 
D.  M.  441. 

Eli  Noyes,  13,  313,  368,  588. 

G.,356, 

J.  A.  S.,  372. 


J.  M.  D.,  217,  471,584. 

J.  M.J. ,526,  738. 

J.  P.,  37. 

J.  Philips,  473. 

J.  Stubbins,  749. 

One  of  the  Translators.  277,  345,  403, 

P.,  149. 

4>iA.o5,  159,  208. 

R.  Morris,  742. 

2.,  100,  219. 

S.  B.  Manger,  662. 

Scrutator,  50,  615. 

T.  S.,  191,325.  478,  535,  673, 

W.,  251,300,  740. 

X.,  199,  574. 

 256,  394. 


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THE 

CHRISTIAN  OBSERVER. 


(Nrto  Series.) 
No.  1.— JANUARY,  1840. 


I. — Introductory  Observations. 

Our  readers  may  have  heard  a  story  regarding  a  very  brief 
address  delivered  by  a  Romish  priest  in  the  Emerald  Isle.  It 
was  part  of  that  gentleman's  duty  to  instruct  his  flock  regard- 
ing the  acts  and  merits  of  his  country's  tutelary  saint  on  the 
yearly  recurrence  of  that  saint's  day.  On  one  occasion  however 
it  fell  out  that  the  l/th  day  of  March  came  round  before  his 
reverence  was  ready  for  it.  He  therefore  (so  the  story  goes) 
entered  the  rostrum,  and  addressed  his  auditors  in  the  follow- 
ing manner.  "  Dearly  beloved,  twelve  months  ago  I  told  you 
all  I  knew  regarding  the  blessed  Saint  Patrick  ;  since  that 
time  I  have  received  no  tidings  from  his  saintship,  but  if  I 
hear  from  him  in  the  course  of  the  year  I  shall  not  fail  to  let 
you  know."  This  was  a  display  of  much  tact  and  wisdom  ;  for 
few  men,  if  any,  can  speak  or  write  well  repeatedly  on  the  same 
subject.  Tyrant  custom  has  imposed  upon  Poets-laureate 
and  Editors  the  task  of  presenting  their  several  patrons 
with  stated  addresses  :  and  if  custom  would  allow,  it  were 
often  much  better  were  they  to  follow  the  example  to  which 
we  have  referred.    This  however  may  not  be. 

But  while  we  shrink  from  the  necessary  monotony  of  a 
long  New-year's  address,  it  is  not  from  want  of  matter,  but 
rather  from  weariness  of  the  form.  Matter  we  cannot  lack, 
while  we  have  so  much  cause  of  thankfulness  to  our  Lord  and 
Saviour  for  his  having  honoured  us  to  enter  upon  another  year 

VOL.   I.  B 


2 


Introductory  Observations. 


[Jan. 


in  his  service*  so  much  cause  of  humble  gratitude  for  the  good 
that  we  may  have  been  made  the  instruments  of  effecting 
during  the  year  that  is  past,  so  much  cause  to  lament  that 
through  our  weakness  and  deficiency  that  good  has  not  been 
a  hundred-fold  greater.  Under  God  too  we  have  much  reason 
to  return  our  best  thanks  to  our  contributors  and  correspon- 
dents, and  to  our  subscribers,  for  the  valuable  aid  they  have 
severally  given  us.  We  are  happy  to  be  able  to  say,  that  our 
lists  of  contributors  and  of  subscribers  are  each  in  an  encourag- 
ing state,  and  we  trust  they  will  go  on  gradually  increasing. 

During  the  past  year  some  questions  of  deep  and  lasting 
interest  have  come  before  us  ;  and  we  have  not  shrunk  from 
presenting  our  readers  with  those  views  in  regard  to  them 
which  seemed  most  in  accordance  with  Divine  truth.  This 
is  the  infallible  guide  in  all  questions  of  faith  and  practice : — 
<e  To  the  law  and  to  the  testimony." 

If  in  our  application  of  Scriptural  principles  we  have  on  any 
occasion  come  into  collision  with  the  allowed  practices  of  any 
of  our  readers,  we  would  say  to  such  in  the  Spirit  of  Christian 
affection — It  is  not  "  We  say"  or  "  You  say."  Let  not  these 
words  be  heard  between  us.  But  rather  let  us  go  directly  to 
the  word  of  God  ;  and  let  the  style  of  our  discourse  be  "  What 
readiest  thou  ? — Thus  it  is  written, — Thus  saith  the  Scripture." 
If  our  remarks  on  any  occasion  have  induced  any  one  to  look 
more  narrowly  to  his  ways,  and  examine  more  narrowly  his 
courses  and  his  motives,  we  desire  to  give  thanks  and  praise 
to  our  heavenly  Father,  whose  humble  instruments  it  is  our 
honour  to  be. 

And  now  we  go  forward  to  the  duties  of  another  year,  with 
renewed  resolutions  by  Divine  grace  to  hold  on  the  even 
tenor  of  our  way,  to  turn  neither  to  the  right  hand  nor  to  the 
left  for  the  fear  or  favour  of  man.  It  shall  be  our  pleasant 
duty  to  lay  before  our  readers  whatever  we  receive  from  God 
illustrative  of  His  dealings  with  men  ;  whatever  may  cast  light 
upon  His  word,  and  point  out  the  fulfilment  of  His  faithful 
promises  ;  whatever  may  render  Christians  more  sensible  of 
their  high  privileges  and  their  corresponding  responsibilities, 
and  foster  aspirations  after  more  fervent  piety ;  whatsoever 


1840.]  Introductory  Observations. 


3 


may  arrest  the  attention  of  sinners,  and  lead  them  to  consider 
their  state  and  character  hefore  God  ; — in  short,  whatsoever 
may  give  glory  to  God,  and  tend  to  the  spiritual  well-being 
of  men. 

We  shall  therefore  watch  with  anxious  interest  over  the 
progress  of  religion  throughout  the  world,  faithfully  chroni- 
cling, so  far  as  we  can  learn  them,  the  movements  which  are 
made  by  the  Church  universal  with  the  view  of  establishing 
the  reign  of  truth  and  righteousness  on  the  earth.  But 
especially  in  this  land,  in  which  our  lot  has  been  providentially 
cast,  we  shall  carefully  attend  to  all  that  the  Lord  does  for  the 
honour  of  His  own  name,  both  detailing  facts  and  endeavour- 
ing to  elucidate  principles  in  regard  to  the  duty  of  Christians. 
In  this  part  of  our  work  we  trust  to  the  continued  and  increas- 
ed assistance  of  our  Missionary  brethren,  and  invite  the  aid  of 
all  who  are  in  any  way  engaged  in  efforts  to  extend  the  rule 
of  the  Messiah. 

We  shall  be,  as  we  have  ever  been,  the  unflinching  advocates 
of  Christian  education,  as  a  powerful  engine  put  by  God  into 
our  hands  for  the  purpose  of  demolishing  the  unclean  fabric 
of  heathen  superstition,  and  rearing  in  its  place  the  stately 
structure  of  Christian  faith  and  Christian  practice.  To  all 
other  means  of  missionary  operation  also  we  shall  constantly 
direct  the  attention  of  our  readers,  and  it  shall  ever  be  our 
endeavour  to  produce  or  keep  alive  an  intelligent  interest  in 
their  minds  regarding  the  progress  of  gospel  truth. 

One  nearly  new  branch  of  most  pleasing  labour  we  mean  to 
undertake,  that  of  endeavouring  to  lead  on  to  exalted  piety 
our  dear  friends  who  have  been  brought  out  of  heathenism 
to  the  knowledge  and  faith  of  the  gospel.  Being  delivered 
from  bondage  they  are  as  men  that  dream.  By  representing 
their  claims  upon  those  who  are  entrusted  with  the  ministry 
of  the  word,  and  by  pointing  out  frequently  in  direct  addresses 
to  themselves  their  peculiar  duties  and  trials  and  temptations, 
— by  speaking  for  them  and  speaking  to  them — we  trust  to  be 
honoured  of  God  to  contribute  to  their  spiritual  improvement 
and  growth  in  grace. — Their  increasing  number  evidently 
demands  that  such  attention  should  be  paid  to  them. 
b  2 


4 


Introductory  Observations- 


[Jan. 


The  customs  and  literature  of  the  natives  shall  continue  to 
receive  a  large  share  of  our  attention,  as  subjects  of  rational 
curiosity,  and  as  possessing  an  important  bearing  on  the  state 
and  prospects  of  the  country.  In  the  providence  of  God  we  are 
about  to  be  deprived  for  a  season  of  one  of  our  most  valuable 
contributors  on  subjects  of  this  nature*,  and  we  trust  that  our 
other  friends  will  exert  themselves  correspondingly  that  our 
readers  may  not  be  losers. 

We  shall  continue  to  maintain  the  same  catholic  principles 
which  have  heretofore  guided  both  ourselves  and  predeces- 
sors, having  always  a  reference  to  measures  not  men,  and  to 
the  greatest  good  of  the  greatest  number  irrespective  of  caste, 
creed  or  color.  We  shall,  God  helping  us,  know  mankind  but 
as  one  family,  and  the  church  but  as  one  brotherhood  ;  and  it 
shall  be  our  endeavour  not  only  that  the  watchmen,  but  the 
citizens  of  Zion  may  see  eye  to  eye. 

The  present,  our  readers  will  perceive,  is  the  first  number  of 
a  New  Series  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer.  The  Editors 
have  been  induced  to  adopt  this  new  arrangement  from  a 
variety  of  causes,  but  chiefly  on  account  of  the  imperfect  state 
of  the  former  series,  there  not  being  one  complete  set,  except 
any  of  our  friends  are  more  fortunate  than  ourselves  in  pos- 
sessing the  deficient  numbers  for  which  we  have  advertis- 
ed in  this  number.  It  is  impossible,  having  brought  the  past 
series  to  a  close,  not  to  experience  feelings  both  of  pleasure 
and  pain  : — pleasure  in  looking  on  the  past,  and  marking 
what  has  been  effected  ;  and  pain  when  we  remember  how 
many  of  those  who  have  contributed  to  the  pages  of  the 
Observer  since  its  commencement  are  now  numbered  with  the 
dead  or  scattered  abroad  in  the  earth.  We  can  say  in  the 
retrospect, 

*  Our  readers  in  general  know  that  they  have  been  indebted  for  an 
immense  store  of  information  on  the  languages,  literature  and  customs  of 
this  country  to  the  Rev.  W .  Morton  (Cinsukensis),  who  is  about  to  pro- 
ceed to  Europe.  Let  us  hope  that  lie  will  soon  return  to  us,  and  resume 
his  station  as  one  of  our  chief  "  Orientalist  Contributors."  Our  present 
No.  is  remarkably  rich  in  contributions  from  the  pen  of  our  Reverend 
friend,  as  we  hope  will  be  also  the  next. 


1840.] 


Brief  Account  of  the  Santals. 


5 


Tins  world  is  ;i  pilgrimage  state 
Made  up  of  sunshine  and  shade, 
Our  friends  are  hut  here  for  a  while, 
Then  they  haste  to  the  world  of  the  dead. 

Antl  now  we  commend  our  renders  to  the  grace  of  God, 
and  ourselves  and  our  work  to  their  prayers. 


II. — Brief  Account  of  the  Santals. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Messrs.  Editors, 

Perhaps  no  people  in  Hindustan  are  more  interesting,  yet 
so  little  known  to  Europeans,  as  the  Santals.  Having  twice 
visited  this  singular  people,  and  collected  some  little  informa- 
tion regarding  them,  I  thought  the  result  of  my  investigations 
might  not  be  uninteresting  to  the  readers  of  your  valuable 
periodical. 

It  is  certainly  a  matter  of  interest  that  a  people  claiming  to  be 
the  original  proprietors  of  the  soil,  should  be  scattered  through- 
out the  Mohur  Bunge,  and  twenty-two  other  countries  tribu- 
tary to  the  Mohur  Bunge  raja.  In  every  part  of  these  coun- 
tries their  villages  are  numerous,  being  interspersed  with 
Oriya  villages.  In  all  probability  their  country  is  much  more 
extensive  than  we  have  yet  ascertained,  but  in  these  places  it 
is  certain  they  are  numerous.  The  villages  I  visited  were  gene- 
rally small,  containing  from  10  to  30  houses;  but  I  am  told 
that  there  are  many  that  contain  200  or  300.  If  we  can 
establish  their  identity  with  the  Bhoomijas  that  are  scattered 
throughout  the  same  countries,  and  with  the  Coles  of  Chota 
Nagpoor  and  Sumbhulpore,  we  shall  probably  make  them  the 
most  numerous  class  in  Hindustan.  That  the  Bhoomijas  are 
Coles  there  can  be  no  dispute,  as  I  have  ascertained  their 
language  is  precisely  the  same  as  that  of  the  Coles  of  Sum- 
bhulpore. It  is  true  the  Santals  use  a  different  dialect,  but 
from  their  similarity  of  manners  and  religion,  one  cannot  but 
believe  they  were  originally  the  same  people.  So  far  as  my 
knowledge  extends,  all  that  may  be  said  of  the  Santals, 
excepting  their  name  and  language,  may  be  applied  to  the 
Bhoomijas  and  Coles. 

It  is  remarkable  that  though  the  Santals  live  among  the 
Oriyas  and  daily  transact  business  with  them,  they  have  a 
language  peculiar  to  themselves,  so  very  different  from  the 
Oriya  that  scarcely  a  word  can  be  understood  ;  and  though 
this  language  is  not  written,  a  Santal  has  no  difficulty  in  un- 


6 


Brief  Account  of  the  Santals. 


[Jan. 


derstanding  another  of  his  own  people  who  lives  100  miles 
distant.  As  they  have  no  written  language  they  have,  of 
course,  no  hooks,  (like  the  Oriyas,)  professing  to  give  an  ac- 
count of  their  origin  and  religion,  but  depend  upon  their 
traditional  accounts.  I  should  suppose  their  language  to  be 
different  from  any  eastern  dialect  that  has  ever  come  under 
the  observation  of  Europeans.  I  shall  however  give  a  speci- 
men for  the  speculation  of  such  of  your  readers  as  are  better 
acquainted  with  the  languages  of  India  than  I  am  ;  and  being 
unacquainted  with  the  popular  method  of  Romanizing,  I  shall 
give  it  in  the  Oriya  character*  : — ar,  a  house  ;  da,  water  ;  daka, 
boiled  rice  ;  bar,  a  man  ;  netka,  a  child  ;  dare,  a  tree  ;  dagan, 
a  cow;  buru,  a  mountain  ;  tura,  the  mustard  plant;  singala, 
fire;  chadubukha,  the  sun  or  God;  jema,  to  eat;  giti-aba,  to 
lie  down  ;  ju-senamai,  come  hither.  Their  language  appears  to 
be  much  softer  than  the  Oriya,  and  to  be  spoken  in  more  of  a 
sing-song  tone.  At  each  village  I  found  a  few  who  were  able 
to  speak  a  few  words  of  broken  Oriya,  so  as  to  answer  the 
most  of  my  inquiries  ;  but  the  greater  part  understood  nothing 
but  their  own  language,  in  which  they  were  remarkably  loqua- 
cious. To  my  surprise  they  were  able  to  converse  with  me 
much  better  than  with  my  native  preacher.  This  might  proceed 
from  disinclination  to  talk  with  Oriyas,  against  whom  they 
have  a  great  antipathy  :  or  it  may  prove,  what  I  have  often 
thought,  that  two  foreigners  can  converse  better  in  a  foreign 
language,  with  which  both  are  acquainted,  than  in  the  native 
tongue  of  either.  They  farther  differ  from  the  Oriyas  in 
having  no  distinction  of  caste,  but  all  eat  and  drink  together, 
and  are  of  a  common  grade.  The  only  things  that  appear  to 
resemble  this  remarkable  trait  in  Hindu  society,  is  that  the 
man  who  is  chosen  as  priest,  on  the  day  of  sacrifice  does  not 
eat  with  the  other  people,  though  he  does  every  other  day  ; 
and  also  for  the  breach  of  certain  rules,  one  is  excluded  from 
the  whole  community :  but  this  is  attended  with  banishment 
from  the  village.  The  appearance  of  their  villages  is  so  very 
peculiar,  and  one  is  such  a  fair  specimen  of  the  whole, 
that  to  any  one  acquainted  with  them,  they  are  immediately 
distinguished  from  Oriya.  In  the  common  Hindu  manner,  the 
roofs  of  their  houses  are  of  grass  ;  but  the  walls,  instead  of 
being  mud,  consist  of  sticks  or  bushes  placed  in  the  ground, 
sometimes  plastered  on  the  inside  with  mud,  and  sometimes 
on  the  outside.  Some  few  of  the  more  wealthy  have  them 
plastered  on  both  sides  and  washed  with  a  white  kind  of  earth, 
also  covered  with  the  representation  of  a  vegetable  that  I  took 

*  As  scarcely  any  of  our  readers  are  able  to  read  the  Oriya  character,  we 
have  Romanized  these  words  for  our  correspondent. — Ed. 


1840.] 


Brief  Account  of  the  Santals. 


7 


for  rice.  This  was  executed  with  a  great  degree  of  neatness. 
On  the  walls  of  one  house  I  saw  an  ordinary  figure  of  what 
they  told  me  was  a  man  on  horseback,  but  as  I  stood  viewing 
it  with  some  interest,  a  person  came  and  rubbed  it  out.  Of 
many  houses  the  walls  were  unplastered,  leaving  the  interior 
exposed  through  the  large  spaces  between  the  sticks. 

The  buildings  are  not  so  compact  as  is  usual  among  the 
Hindus,  a  small  field  or  garden  being  attached  to  each, 
enclosed  not  with  green  hedges,  as  is  universal  among  Oriyas, 
but  with  a  fence  consisting  of  stakes  placed  in  the  ground, 
upon  which  is  laid  a  pole  in  a  horizontal  direction.  This 
one  circumstance  is  so  very  peculiar,  that  it  is  enough  to 
distinguish  a  Santal  village  from  any  other.  Within  their 
enclosures  they  cultivate  a  species  of  the  Indian  corn,  mustard 
plant,  castor  oil  tree,  chassa  and  various  kinds  of  roots,  which 
with  jungle  fruits  and  wild  honey  are  said  to  compose  their 
food.    They  use  but  very  little  rice. 

Their  implements  of  husbandry  and  furniture  are  much  the 
same  as  are  common  in  India,  except  a  singular  kind  of  cart, 
the  wheels  of  which  are  solid  pieces  of  wood,  about  three  feet  in 
diameter.  These  are  more  clumsy  than  the  common  gari, 
but  we  were  told  they  are  preferable  in  the  jungle,  where  they 
have  no  roads.  Though  their  household  furniture  is  not  so  good 
as  that  of  the  Oriyas,  they  certainly  excel  them  in  their  man- 
ner of  sleeping  ;  for  while  the  Oriyas  are  content  with  a  coarse 
mat,  upon  the  ground,  the  Santals  have  a  neat  cot,  about  two 
feet  high  and  sufficiently  large  for  a  person  comfortably  to  re- 
pose, the  frame  of  which  is  woven  with  grass  rope.  They  have 
also  chairs  of  the  same  kind,  which  with  the  exception  of  being 
without  a  back,  are  nearly  as  comfortable  as  English  chairs. 
When  we  entered  a  village  they  often  handed  us  these  chairs 
to  sit  upon — an  act  of  hospitality  seldom  practised  by  Oriyas. 

The  women  appear  to  be  the  oidy  labourers  about  the  house, 
and  1  think  it  is  very  seldom  they  accompany  their  husbands 
to  the  field  or  to  the  market.  Those  I  saw  were  busily  en- 
gaged in  pounding  various  kinds  of  vegetables  in  the  common 
dinky,  or  in  a  large  mortar  about  three  feet  high,  holding  a  pon- 
derous pestle  headed  with  iron  and  about  four  feet  long  in  one 
hand,  and  in  the  other  a  piece  of  bamboo  that  they  used  in 
stirring  the  mortar.  Though  this  appeared  a  very  laborious 
exertion,  yet  I  saw  many  who  laboured  at  it  the  whole  day 
without  any  appearance  of  fatigue.  The  few  men  who  were 
seated  around  were  engaged  in  social  chat,  or  in  beating  a  drum 
made  of  earthenware,  about  three  feet  in  length,  and  at  the  large 
end  about  a  foot  and  half  in  diameter,  tapering  to  about  a  foot 
at  the  small  end.    This  was  secured  against  the  danger  of 


s 


Brief  Account  of  the  Santals. 


[Jan. 


breaking  by  leathern  straps  woven  over  its  surface.  The  heads 
were  of  goat  skin,  and  covered  with  hard  mud.  This  is  far 
superior  to  the  Oriya  drum  both  in  workmanship  and  sound, 
and  far  exceeds  for  neatness  any  thing  else  I  have  seen  among 
them.  Seeing  the  men  thus  dallying  away  their  time  in  sport, 
I  inquired  if  the  women  did  all  the  work  ?  They  replied  they 
were  the  old  and  feeble  of  the  village,  who  were  left  to  keep 
watch,  while  all  the  rest  had  gone  either  to  the  fields  or  to 
market  with  loads  of  wood  or  wild  honey. 

Hunting  appears  to  be  a  favourite  amusement  among  them, 
for  which  purpose  they  have  a  bow  and  string  both  made  of 
bamboo,  with  arrows  pointed  with  iron  ;  with  these  they  told 
us  they  kill  the  deer  which  are  very  abundant  in  the  Mohur 
Bunge:  also  various  kinds  of  jungle  birds  which  they  eat. 
With  these  weapons,  they  sometimes  kill  the  tiger  and  bear, 
whose  flesh  they  do  not  hesitate  to  eat.  They  are  every  where 
celebrated  as  being  very  clever  sportsmen.  At  one  village  I 
requested  a  man  to  show  me  how  this  weapon  was  used,  when 
he  called  his  son,  a  lad  Of  about  twelve  years,  whom  he  bade 
shoot  at  a  mark,  at  which  the  little  fellow  showed  himself  very 
expert.  But  music  is  the  most  favourite  amusement  with  both 
men  and  women.  They  often  meet  around  a  large  fire  in  the 
centre  of  the  village,  and  spend  the  night  in  beating  the  drum, 
singing  songs,  which  the  songster  composes  as  he  sings, 
dancing  and  drinking  spirits.  When  asked  to  give  a  specimen 
of  their  songs,  they  replied  that  a  song  would  not  come  with- 
out first  getting  drunk  ! 

The  dress  of  the  Santals  consists  of  a  piece  of  cloth  wrap- 
ped round  the  loins,  like  that  worn  by  Oriyas,  but  generally 
smaller.  Most  of  the  men  and  many  of  the  females  wear 
no  upper  garment,  thus  leaving  all  above  the  loins  quite 
naked.  The  females  who  wear  the  upper  garment  are  not 
at  all  careful  to  cover  the  breast.  Perhaps  their  ornaments 
should  be  considered  under  the  head  of  dress,  as  they  consider 
them  quite  as  requisite  as  clothing.  They  wear  a  small  ring 
of  brass  in  the  ear,  and  some  of  the  women  wear  one  on  each 
wrist;  but  they  are  quite  free  from  those  ponderous  loads  of 
metal  of  which  Hindu  females  are  so  fond.  Both  men  and 
women  wear  a  red  or  ivory-white  necklace,  and  frequently 
both.  This  necklace  is  so  peculiar  to  all  the  Santals,  Bhoo- 
mijas  and  Coles,  that  they  may  be  distinguished  by  it  from  any 
other  race  of  Hindus. 

The  complexion  of  this  people  is  nearly  or  quite  as  dark  as 
that  of  the  African,  and  they  have  none  of  that  variety  of  shade 
that  is  seen  among  all  other  Hindus.  By  the  most  careful  obser- 
vation I  was  unable  to  perceive  the  least  difference  of  colour 


1840.] 


Brief  Account  of  the  Sunt  ate. 


9 


amongst  hundreds.  They  have  more  of  the  Hindu  than  the 
African  features,  though  quite  destitute  of  that  sly  and  flat- 
tering look  so  characteristic  of  Hindus  ;  and  their  uniformity 
of  colour  is  one  evidence  that  they  were  originally  of  the  same 
stock,  and  not  a  mixed  race  liUe  other  Hindus.  They  are  quite 
averse  to  flattery,  and  even  among  the  Oriyas  they  are  pro- 
verhial  for  speaking  the  truth.  I  have  heard  this  remarked 
by  Oriyas  from  every  part  of  the  country.  When  I  told  some 
of  them  I  had  heard  of  this  trait  in  their  characters,  and  for 
that  reason  had  a  great  desire  to  see  them,  as  those  who  spoke 
the  truth  obeyed  one  of  the  commands  of  God  contained  in 
my  holy  book,  they  replied,  that  the  Oriyas  told  twelve  lies 
to  every  word  of  truth,  but  it  was  against  the  custom  of  the 
Santals  to  lie.  It  will  appear  from  one  circumstance  that,  like 
all  Hindus,  they  consider  the  right  hand  more  honorable 
than  the  left.  At  one  of  the  villages  I  sought  friendship  with 
a  child  hy  offering  it  pice,  which  it  attempted  to  take  in  the 
left  hand,  but  was  severely  reproved  by  the  mother,  who  bid 
it  extend  the  right.  The  women  have  none  of  that  squeamish 
custom  of  hiding  the  face  when  they  pass  men,  but  like  the 
men  preserve  an  open,  bold  and  unassuming  countenance. 
Indeed  it  would  seem  that  oftentimes  they  surpass  the  men 
in  courage,  for  when  we  entered  a  village  they  were  usually 
the  first  to  receive  us,  while  the  men  either  fled  into  the 
jungle,  or  shut  themselves  up  in  their  houses.  But  probably 
they  were  fearful  we  had  come  to  force  them  to  bear  burdens, 
or  to  extort  something  from  them,  according  to  the  custom 
of  their  rulers,  who  are  said  to  oppress  them  by  such  means 
beyond  endurance. 

It  was  seldom  that  I  found  any  who  were  inclined  to  enter 
into  conversation,  and  it  appeared  evident  they  placed  but 
little  confidence  in  what  was  said  to  them  ;  but  this  is  not 
surprising,  when  we  consider  how  they  have  been  deceived  and 
imposed  upon  by  the  Oriyas.  It  is  therefore  to  be  expected, 
that  until  they  become  acquainted  with  one's  real  character, 
they  will  be  very  reserved  and  suspicious. 

Feeling  a  little  curious  to  know  how  they  were  esteemed  by. 
their  Oriya  neighbours,  I  several  times  made  the  inquiry, 
and  was  invariably  told,  the  Santals  were  a  very  bad  people, 
because  they  took  animal  life,  eat  the  flesh  of  cows,  and  did 
not  reverence  the  brahmins  :  no  one  accused  them  of  any 
tiling  worse,  and  all  bore  testimony  to  their  remarkable  pro- 
pensity for  speaking  the  truth. 

Marriage  contracts  among  the  Santals  are  not  made  by  the 
parents,  but  by  the  parties  themselves,  about  the  age  of  16 
or  17-    The  young  man  usually  gives  a  present  to  the  girl's 

vol.  1.  c 


JO 


Brief  Account  of  the  Santals. 


[Jan. 


father,  either  of  a  yoke  of  bullocks,  a  cow,  or  something  of 
the  kind.  The  whole  expense  of  the  ceremony,  I  was  told  by 
an  old  man,  does  not  exceed  20  rupees,  a  part  of  which  is 
spent  in  feasting  the  friends  of  the  bride  and  bridegroom. 
When  all  things  are  ready  and  the  proper  signal  has  been 
given,  the  bridegroom  arises  and  puts  some  red  paint  upon 
the  forehead  of  the  bride,  whereby  he  seals  her  as  his  own. 
He  then  immediately  takes  to  his  heels,  and  the  whole  com- 
pany after  him,  with  great  speed,  and  if  overtaken  he  is 
severely  beaten  ;  but  if  he  shews  himself  fleeter  than  all  his 
pursuers,  he  gains  much  applause.  I  was  told  that  it  is  no 
uncommon  thing  for  parties  wishing  to  marry,  and  unable  to 
bear  the  accustomed  expense,  to  flee  to  a  neighbouring  village 
and  marry  themselves.  These  marriages  are  considered  valid, 
but  not  so  honourable  as  though  they  had  been  performed 
according  to  the  established  custom.  They  have  no  preju- 
dice against  the  second  marriages  of  females,  on  which  ac- 
count their  community  is  quite  free  from  prostitutes.  It  is  a 
common  custom  for  the  brother  of  the  deceased  to  marry  the 
widow.  Polygamy  is  sometimes  practised,  though  cases  of 
the  kind  are  not  common. 

They  have  a  singular  custom  in  sealing  bargains  with  each 
other,  which  is  done  by  one  of  the  men  breaking  off  the  branch 
of  a  tree  and  laying  it  upon  the  ground,  while  both  declare 
that  it  shall  be  witness  to  their  faithfulness.  This  reminds 
one  of  the  patriarchal  age,  when  a  heap  of  stones  or  some 
such  monument  was  prepared  to  seal  treaties.  If  a  man  is  once 
guilty  of  breaking  an  obligation,  the  whole  community  rise  up 
against  him,  and  expel  him  from  the  village. 

They  usually  give  their  testimony  in  courts  of  justice  by 
swearing  by  the  sun,  but  I  have  also  heard  that  they  often 
hold  cowdung  in  the  hand,  as  the  Hindus  hold  the  mahapra- 
sad ;  for  what  reason  I  am  unable  to  tell,  for  I  never  could 
learn  that  they  considered  it  holy. 

When  a  person  dies  his  body  is  burned  in  the  common 
Hindu  manner,  after  which  some  of  the  bones  are  put  into 
a  handy,  and  at  a  particular  time  of  the  year  the  nearest  relative 
of  the  deceased  must  carry  it  and  throw  it  into  the  Ganges. 
If  any  one  lets  the  proper  season  pass  without  doing  this  service 
in  honour  of  the  deceased  friend,  he  is  expelled  from  the  com- 
munity, and  obliged  to  flee  from  the  village.  This  appears  to 
be  the  only  pilgrimage  the  Santals  ever  make. 

It  is  a  matter  of  great  interest  that  though  the  Santals  have 
been  for  ages  surrounded  by  their  more  powerful  neighbours, 
yet  they  have  never  embraced  the  Brahminical  system  of 
religion.    They  do  not  acknowledge  a  plurality  of  gods,  and  are 


1840.] 


Brief  Account  of  the  Santals. 


even  quite  ignorant  of  the  most  noted  names  that  compose  the 
Hindu  pantheon,  such  as  Jaganmith,  Mahadev,  &c.  Neither 
have  the  various  Hindu  ceremonies,  such  as  bathing,  marking 
the  forehead  and  nose,  and  visiting  holy  shrines,  ever  been 
admitted  into  their  theology.  Their  principal  object  of 
worship  is  the  sun,  which  they  believe  to  be  either  God,  or 
his  brightest  image.  I  was  not  able  to  learn  that  their  language 
contained  any  other  name  to  express  the  Supreme  Being 
except  that  which  they  apply  to  the  sun.  In  the  vicinity  of 
each  village  is  seen  a  kind  of  frame,  consisting  of  four  stakes 
about  five  feet  long  placed  in  the  ground,  upon  the  top  of 
which  lie  three  poles,  thus  leaving  one  end  open.  In  the 
centre  of  this  enclosure,  which  is  about  eight  feet- square,  stands 
a  pole,  at  the  top  of  which  is  attached  apiece  of  wood  movable 
at  the  centre  upon  a  pivot.  Upon  this  piece  of  wood  I  was 
informed  they  pour  the  blood  of  their  sacrifices,  which  are 
performed  in  the  following  manner.  A  man  from  their  number 
is  chosen  as  Joihera,  or  priest,  who  cuts  off  the  head  of  either 
a  fowl,  goat  or  sheep,  and  then  pours  the  blood  upon  the  piece 
of  wood  mentioned  above,  at  the  same  time  invoking  the  sun 
on  behalf  of  all  the  people,  that  they  may  be  preserved  from 
wild  beasts  of  prey,  that  they  may  be  delivered  from  all 
enemies,  have  good  crops,  and  find  salvation  after  death. 

This  religious  service  is  performed  about  once  a  month. 
Such  is  the  paucity  of  their  ceremonies,  that  one  would  almost 
think  their  religion  the^rs^  species  of  idolatry.  Indeed  this 
kind  of  worship  can  boast  of  great  antiquity.  Some  eminent 
divines  are  of  opinion  that  the  sun  was  that  which  was  wor- 
shipped by  the  Phoenicians  under  the  name  of  Baal ;  by  the 
Moabites  under  the  name  of  Chemosh;  by  the  Amorites 
under  that  of  Moloch  ;  and  by  the  Israelites  under  that  of  Baal 
and  the  host  of  heaven.  It  was  for  this  kind  of  worship 
that  Moses  rebuked  the  people  in  Deut.  iv.  19.  "And  lest 
thou  lift  up  thine  eyes  unto  heaven,  and  when  thou  seest  the 
sun,  and  the  moon,  and  the  stars,  even  all  the  host  of  heaven, 
shouldest  be  driven  to  worship  them,  and  serve  them,  which 
the  Lord  thy  God  hath  divided  unto  all  nations  under  the 
whole  heaven."  Sacrifices  also  appear  to  have  been  regarded 
by  almost  all  nations  from  the  most  ancient  times,  as  the  best 
means  of  appeasing  an  offended  Deity  ;  and  although  the  learned 
differ  in  opinion  in  regard  to  their  origin,  some  supposing  they 
were  merely  idolatrous  inventions,  others  that  they  were  first 
instituted  by  God  himself,  and  some  that  they  originated  in 
the  natural  sentiments  of  the  human  heart,  it  is  certain  they 
are  noticed  at  a  very  early  date  in  the  sacred  writings,  and 
that  such  expiations  appear  more  like  the  religion  of  nature 


12 


Brief  Account  of  the  Santals. 


[Jan. 


than  any  other.  In  all  probability  there  is  scarcely  a  tribe  to 
be  found  in  the  world,  who  are  not  in  the  habit  of  shedding 
blood  for  the  remission  of  sins. 

Before  I  close  this  account  of  these  interesting,  though 
oppressed  and  ignorant  people,  I  must  advert  to  some  of  the 
feelings  with  which  I  have  been  deeply  impressed  ever  since  I 
accidentally  fell  in  with  them,  which  has  been  about  one  year. 
Often  has  the  inquiry  suggested  itself  to  my  mind,  how  are 
they  to  he  brought  under  the  benign  influence  of  the  Gospel 
of  Jesus  Christ  ?  To  spend  time  in  searching  into  the  charac- 
ters and  condition  of  a  strange  people,  with  no  farther  view 
than  to  gratify  curiosity,  would  be  only  vain  amusement,  and 
unworthy  the  character  of  a  minister  of  Christ.  But  whenever 
we  think  of  their  conversion  to  our  holy  religion  innumerable 
obstacles  present  themselves.  It  would  be  folly  to  suppose 
that  any  heathen  people  like  the  Santals  would  be  without 
their  prejudices  against  a  holy  religion.  Their  almost  entire 
unacquaintance  with  Europeans,  and  the  unfavourable  descrip- 
tions that  they  hear  of  us  from  the  Oriyas,  must  naturally  have 
the  tendency  to  excite  their  suspicions,  and  cause  them  to 
avoid  the  Missionary  as  much  as  possible. 

In  travelling  in  this  country  a  Missionary  must  take  Oriya 
servants,  of  whom  every  man  is  a  robber.  I  recollect,  at  the 
first  village  where  I  pitched  my  tent,  overhearing  one  of  my 
own  servants  use  my  name  in  order  to  get  something  for  his 
own  use,  from  the  first  man  who  became  bold  enough  to 
come  near  us.  This  one  circumstance  of  being  obliged  to 
be  followed  by  such  men  threatens  in  no  trifling  manner  to 
keep  the  Santals  ignorant  of  our  real  characters.  Though 
destitute  of  the  bands  of  caste,  yet  like  all  other  people,  they 
have  its  essence,  and  probably  he  who  should  profess  Christi- 
anity would  be  excluded  from  their  society,  as  much  as  among 
Oriyas. 

This  destitution  of  the  shackles  of  Hinduism  indeed  pro- 
mises great  advantages,  and  who  can  say  that  they  may  not 
prove  as  teachable  as  the  Karens  of  Burmah,  or  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  Sandwich  Islands  ? 

The  principal  vice  to  which  they  are  addicted  is  drunken- 
ness. They  distil  a  kind  of  spirit  themselves  from  rice, 
which  they  are  said  to  drink  in  great  quantities.  Another 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  bringing  them  under  the  influence  of 
the  Gospel,  is  their  scattered  population,  throughout  more 
than  one  half  of  Orissa.  Their  villages  are  also  remote,  in 
the  dense  jungle,  where  at  some  seasons  of  the  year  the 
Missionary  could  not  live.  He  might  however  find  a  village  of 
200  or  301)  houses,  surrounded  by  smaller  ones,  where  he  would 
have  a  delightfully  pleasant  and  healthy  country  during  the 


1840.]  Brief  Account  of  the  S ant als.  13 


cold  and  hot  seasons,  though  in  the  rains,  he  would  he  obliged 
to  come  in  to  Balasore,  only  one  day's  ride  on  horseback. 

But  one  of  the  greatest  obstacles  is  that  their  language  is  not 
written,  though  this  perhaps  might  be  found  an  advantage,  as  it 
prevents  an  acquaintance  with  the  falsehoods  and  impurities 
of  Hindu  mythology.  Their  religious'  terms  must  of  course 
be  few  in  number;  and  as  their  connexion  with  Oriyas  is  all  in 
a  worldly  capacity,  they  are  so  entirely  ignorant  of  those  terms 
we  usually  employ  in  religious  conversation,  that  it  was  almost 
impossible  to  make  them  understand  when  I  departed  from  the 
common  bazar  chat  to  communicate  the  truths  of  the  Gospel. 

It  appears  very  evident  to  me  that  one  who  would  be  useful 
to  the  Santals  should,  like  our  blessed  Saviour,  live  amongst 
them,  and  be  able  to  speak  their  language.  A  plan  like  that 
mentioned  above,  of  residing  near  one  of  their  largest  village 
six  or  eight  months  during  the  year,  appears  to  be  the  only 
plan  that  will  bear  investigation. 

I  have  already  trespassed  too  long  upon  the  patience  of 
your  readers,  and  must  close  by  requesting  that  earnest  prayer 
may  be  made  by  all  in  behalf  of  these  benighted,  neglected 
and  yet  promising  sons  of  India. 

Balasore,  Dec.  \2th,  1839.  Yours  truly, 

Eli  Noyes. 

[Our  attention  had  been  previously  directed  to  the  Santals  by  the 
following  notices  of  this  interesting  tribe,  which  we  lately  met  with  in 
the  sixth  volume  of  the  Transactions  of  that  useful  Institution,  the 
Agricultural  and  Horticultural  Society  of  India. 

It  appears  that  some  time  ago  Mr.  Laidlay  had  sent  to  Dr.  Anderson 
some  specimens  of  cotton  grown  by  the  Santals,  whom  he  describes  as 
inhabiting  the  hills  to  the  N.  VV.  of  the  Birbhum  district ;  and  in  acknow- 
ledging the  receipt  Dr.  Anderson  writes:  — 

"  I  shall  do  my  utmost  to  direct  the  attention  of  the  Society  to  the  improvement  of 
the  agriculture  of  the  Santals,  and  shall  in  my  next  letter  to  the  Secretary  to  the 
Agricultural  Society  of  Calcutta,  apply  for  seeds  of  the  two  varieties  of  Indian  corn 
mentioned  by  you.  The  very  original  nature  of  their  religion,  manners  and  customs; 
their  truth,  simplicity  and  partiality  for  Englishmen  ;  induce  me  to  believe  that  the 
seeds  not  only  of  social  but  of  mental  improvement  would  be  eagerly  received  by 
them,  and  would  meet  with  but  few  weeds  to  obstruct  their  luxuriant  growth.  J  am 
surprised  that  no  Missionary  has  ever  taken  the  trouble  to  learn  their  language,  and 
devote  himself  to  their  spiritual  improvement.  He  would  find  them  much  less  bigotted 
than  the  Bengalis,  and  I  am  certain  would  soon  produce  the  fruits  of  righteousness." 

In  reply  Mr.  Laidlay  writes:  — 

*'  These  people  [the  Santals]  are  very  simple,  it  would  appear,  in  their  habits ; 
and  I  have  heard  the  Bengalis  frequently  speak  of  their  veracity  with  applause.  Their 
language  is  of  course  very  circumscribed,  which  I  should  imagine  to  be  a  considerable 
impediment  to  their  instruction.  The  Editor  of  the  Reformer  newspaper,  who  was 
some  time  Dewan  of  this  Filature,  and  amused  himself  by  making  a  vocabulary  of 
their  language,  told  me  that  it  consisted  of  only  a  few  hundred  words." 

We  feel  happy  in  placing  these  gratifying  notices  regarding  the  San- 
tals in  juxtaposition  with  those  of  our  correspondent,  as  so  far  confirma- 
tory of  his  statements,  and  as  likely  to  promote  his  benevolent  object — 
their  speedy  evangelization,  both  by  directing  to  them  the  attention  of 
other  Missionaries,  and  by  indicating  where  important  facilities  in  the 
prosecution  of  their  views  may  be  found. — Ed.] 


14  Notice  of  New  Works  in  Sanskrit  Verse.  [Jan. 


III. — ■Notice  of  New  Works  in  Sanskrit  Verse. 

1.  ^r^^i^^rTrfsr  ^cnf*r,  fyc  or  the  Psalms  of  David,  faith- 
fully rendered  from  the  original  Hebrew  into  Sanskrit  Verse. 
By  the  Calcutta  Baptist  Missionaries  with  Native  assistants. 
Calcutta:  Baptist  Mission  Press,  1839,  pp.  294,  12mo. 

2.  irffirftWT.  A  Sketch  of  the  Argument  for  Christianity,  and 
against  Hinduism,  in  Sanskrit  Verse.  By  J.  Muir,  Esq. 
B.  C.  S.  Calcutta:  Bishop's  College  Press,  lfc>39,  pp.  54. 

3.  TnTTiir^^wmvW^Tf  I  e.  A  Discovery  of  the  True 
Way  of  obtaining  pardon  for  sin.  No  author's  or  printer's 
name,  date,  &c. 

These  three  works  have  heen  for  some  time  on  our  tahle, 
and  it  is  with  regret  we  have  hitherto  been  compelled  by  the 
pressure  of  various  occupations  to  defer  a  notice  of  thein.  Even 
now  we  must  confine  our  remarks  upon  them  within  much  nar- 
rower limits  than  it  was  as  well  our  desire  as  our  intention 
they  should  extend  to.  We  have  always  been  of  opinion,  that 
the  learned  language  of  Hindustan  has  been  too  much  neg- 
lected by  the  conductors  of  Missionary  operations  in  this  coun- 
try. Its  great  antiquity — its  high  degree  of  refinement  and  very 
philosophical  structure — the  reverence  in  which  it  is  held  by 
the  natives  of  the  country  as  the  very  language  ot  the  gods — its 
actual  importance  as  containing  the  poetry,  science,  philosophy, 
in  short,  the  entire  literature  of  a  very  large  proportion  of  the 
population  of  the  East,  of  one  of  the  most  ancient  sections 
of  mankind — the  fact  that  it  forms  the  only  universally  known 
medium  of  communication  with  the  learned  among  the  Hin- 
dus of  the  present  day,  throughout  the  vast  extent  of  Hindus- 
tan— all  mark  it  out  as  deserving  of,  and  demanding,  at  once 
respect  and  cultivation.  But  besides  that  it  is  the  treasury 
from  which  all  our  real  and  accurate  acquaintance  with  the 
united  cosmogony,  philosophy  and  theology  of  Hinduism  is 
and  must  be  drawn,  we,  from  large  observation  and  long  ex- 
perience hold  it  as  an  axiom,  that  the  provincial  vernaculars 
cannot  be  fully  acquired  and  accurately  understood  without 
some  tolerable  knowledge  of  Sanskrit.  On  this  however  we 
cannot  now  enter,  though  we  venture  fearlessly  to  assert  our 
unwavering  conviction  upon  this  point.  Yet  are  we  by  no 
means  prepared  to  go  the  whole  length,  with  Mr.  Muir,  of 
asserting  that  the  adoption  of  Sanskrit  as  a  vehicle  for  the 
communication,  throughout  India,  of  Christian  truth,  "  must 
be  a  scheme  above  all  others  effective." 

We  are  not  prepared  to  say  what  may  be  the  disposition 
among  the  learned  natives  of  the  Upper  Provinces,  to  receive 


1840.]       Notice  of  New  Works  in  Sanskrit  Verse. 


15 


with  candour  and  peruse  with  attention,  Christian  works,  com- 
posed in  their  own  revered  Sanskrit.  We  deeply  bewail  as 
an  indisputable  fact,  however,  that  in  the  Lower  Provinces  the 
apatliy  of  almost  the  whole  class  of  pandits,  is  extreme  ;  whilst 
their  contempt  of  all  foreign  instruction  is  great  in  inverse 
proportion  to  the  very  small  amount  of  real  proficiency,  even 
in  their  own  vaunted  literature,  usually  attained.  Scarcely 
one  in  a  thousand  would  care  to  give  even  a  slight  perusal,  we 
fear,  to  such  works  as  Mr.  Muir  advocates.  Nor,  we  think, 
will  this  isolated  class  of  the  Hindu  population  be  emancipated 
from  the  darkness  of  moral  error,  or  the  dominion  of  spiritual 
pride  and  literary  arrogance,  until  the  vernaculars  shall  have 
been  extensively  cultivated,  and  they  in  self-defence  driven  to 
their  adoption. 

Mr.  Muir  is  and  has  long  been  a  very  zealous  advocate  for 
the  cultivation  and  employment  of  the  sacred  language  of  In- 
dia, by  Christian  Missionaries  and  others  anxious  for  the  pro- 
pagation of  our  divine  faith.  He  looks  of  course  to  the  learn- 
ed. Now,  while  we  are  by  no  means  disposed  to  echo  the 
absurd  shibboleth  of  the  decriers  of  human  learning,  who  too 
often,  injuriously  as  ignorantly,  quote  St.  Paul's  "  not  many 
wise,  not  many  learned/'  in  justification  of  a  procedure  which 
4iis  own  conduct  proves  it  never  was  his  principle  to  adopt; — 
still  we  think  that  to  direct  towards  the  literate  portion  of  any 
population  in  any  country  of  the  world,  the  chief  bent  of  chris- 
tian effort,  is  a  course  that  cannot  be  justified  by  an  appeal  either 
to  a  priori  reasoning  in  this  matter,  to  the  voice  of  Scripture, 
or  to  the  testimony  of  historical  experience.  On  the  other 
hand  we  do  think,  that  the  learned  (or,  if  you  please,  at  least 
the  quasi  learned,  as  many  deem  the  mass  of  the  pandits  of 
India)  have  been  too  much  overlooked.  "  I,"  said  the  great 
apostle  before  named,  "  am  made  all  things  to  all  men."  To 
accommodate  himself  to  the  predilections,  the  tastes,  nay  even 
to  the  prejudices  of  those  he  would  benefit,  is  a  dictate  of  ordi- 
nary prudential  wisdom,  which  no  philanthropist,  no  christian 
philanthropist  especially,  can  properly  or  safely  disregard.  Mr. 
Muir  has  therefore  done  good  service  in  the  common  cause,  by 
his  frequent  appeals  to  our  Missionaries  and  their  friends  on 
this  matter.  And  happily  he  has  followed  up  his  principles 
in  his  own  example.  In  the  second  and  third  of  the  works 
whose  titles  form  the  heading  to  these  remarks,  he  has  favoured 
the  public  with  no  insignificant  attestation  both  to  his  zeal 
and  ability  in  this  line  of  Christian  literary  effort.  In  a 
short  preface,  he  modestly  professes  to  have  endeavoured 
merely  a  to  follow  (haud  passibus  eequis)  the  example  which 
has  been  set  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mill  in  his  '  Chrishta  Sangita,' 


16  Notice  of  New  Works  in  Sanskrit  Verse.  [Jan. 


of  moulding  the  instruction  intended  for  the  learned  of  India 
into  a  form  congenial  to  their  national  models.  A  sketch, 
therefore,  of  the  argument  is  all  that  has  heen  attempted. " 
The  argument  of  his  tract  is  treated  in  rive  sections— on  the 
Being  and  Character  of  God — the  need  of  Divine  teaching  or 
necessity  of  a  Revelation — a  statement  of  the  marks  or  tests 
of  a  genuine  Revelation — some  specified  proofs  of  Christia- 
nity as  a  revelation  From  God — closing  with  an  examination 
of  Hinduism,  and  the  proof  of  its  human  origination.  The 
work  is  confessedly,  "  a  mere  sketch  :"  of  course,  therefore,  it 
touches  the  various  suhjects  thus  arranged  but  briefly.  The 
whole  number  of  shlokas,  or  couplets,  composed  in  the  ordina- 
ry poetic  measure  (analogous  to  our  heroic  verse)  employed  in 
native  works,  is  413;  of  these  the  five  sections  contain  se- 
verally 34,  15,  38,  104,  and  190 ;  besides  13  and  19  in  two 
several  supplements  to  the  5th  section.  There  are,  in  addi- 
tion, five  couplets  quoted  from  the  Bhagavat  and  nine  from  the 
Padma  Puran. 

The  verse,  we  think,  is  well  constructed  and  on  the  whole  a 
creditable  specimen  of  the  writer's  attainments.  The  argument 
is  managed  in  the  way  of  dialogue  (after  the  pattern  of  the 
Chrishta  Sangita.)  between  a  disciple  and  his  spiritual  teacher, 
or  guru ;  and  certainly  is  so  conducted  as  fully  to  exemplify 
the  quotation  from  Manu  which  serves  as  one  of  the  mottos 
prefixed  to  the  work  ;  whose  meaning  may  be  thus  expressed — 
<£to  teach  or  prescribe  toothers  the  way  of  duty,  solely  with  a 
view  to  their  advantage,  is  one  of  the  best  deeds  a  mortal  can 
perform — but  then,  if  he  would  earn  for  himself  the  praise  of 
benevolence,  his  speech  must  ever  be  modest,  gentle  and  en- 
gaging.1' The  very  limited  space  allowed  himselt  has  of  course 
precluded  the  excellent  author  from  any  thing  like  detailed 
reasoning — yet  has  he  contrived  to  throw  into  a  small  compass 
many  valuable  ideas,  calculated  at  once  to  refute  error  and 
elucidate  truth.  To  specify  would  be  superfluous  where  there 
is  nothing  new  or  uncommon ;  to  point  out  minor  defects 
would  be  invidious  and  useless.  We  heartily  wish  our  excel- 
lent fellow-helper  may  find  some  able  imitator,  who  may  fol- 
low up,  to  use  his  own  language,  "  with  a  more  detailed  state- 
ment," the  argument  of  this  unpretending  but  very  meritorious 
"  sketch/' 

2.  In  the  3rd  of  the  articles  we  proposed  to  notice,  under- 
stood, though  not  so  stated,  to  be  also  the  work  of  Mr.  Muir, 
we  have  64  Sanskrit  shlokas,  or  couplets,  in  the  same  measure 
as  the  preceding  :  and  in  the  same  form  of  dialogue,  upon  the 
"  True  Way  of  obtaining  the  forgiveness  of  sin" — in  other  words 
upon  the  Christian  Doctrine  of  Atonement.    In  answer  to  the 


1840.]       Notice  of  New  Works  in  Sanskrit  Verse.  17 


inquiries  of  the  disciple,  the  guru  or  spiritual  teacher — 
1st,  shews  the  inutility  of  seeking  forgiveness  through  pil- 
grimages to  holy  places,  bathing  in  the  Ganges,  &c. 

2ndly.  Expounds  the  doctrine  of  the  Christian  sacrifice  of 
atonement. 

3rdly.  Exhibits  the  Holy  Spirit  as  the  author  of  sanctifica- 
tion,  and  asserts  a  Trinity  of  the  Divine  Unity. 

4thly.  Tells  of  the  nature  of  the  Christian  heaven,  its 
purity  and  bliss. 

5thly.  And,  lastly,  declares  the  excellent  moral  and  religi- 
ous character  of  real  Christian  believers. 

The  Sanskrit  Verses  are  followed  by  a  Hindi  prose  version 
of  their  argument :  an  excellent  security  for  rendering  the 
tract  doubly  available,  both  to  the  learned  and  unlearned,  the 
brahmin  and  the  sudra.  Of  the  merit  of  this  little  work  we 
may  quote,  fully  adopting  it  as  our  own,  the  judgment  of  one 
of  the  examiners  of  the  Calcutta  Religious  Tract  Society,  who 
writes — "  But  little  is  said  on  each  subject,  yet  it  is  all  to  the 
point.  If  the  interpretation  at  the  end  were  in  Bengali  instead 
of  Hindi,  it  would  be  better  for  this  part  of  the  country."  The 
suggestion,  it  is  believed,  will  be  acted  upon,  and  the  verses  re- 
printed with  a  Bengali  version  and  of  course  in  the  Bengali 
character.  Few  pandits  in  Bengal  read  or  write  the  Nagari 
character  with  facility. 

3.  We  now  come,  lastly,  to  the  notice  of  the  first  in  order 
of  the  series  in  our  heading,  namely,  the  Sanskrit  Metrical 
Version  of  the  Psalms  of  David. 

Whatever  the  extent  to  Avhich  the  learned  might  be  in- 
duced to  study  our  holy  religion,  if  presented  to  them  in 
their  almost  idolized  Sanskrit — although  in  truth  we  are  not 
very  sanguine  upon  this  point — it  will  surely  be  deemed  no 
unimportant  matter  to  have  our  sacred  books  invested  with  so 
venerable  a  human  exterior ;  not  merely  as  affording  at  least  the 
means  of  gaining  access,  if  it  may  be  so,  to  the  minds  of  that 
superstitious  class  the  brahmins,  who  affect  to  look  with  dis- 
dain on  sacred  lessons  conveyed  through  any  of  the  vernacular 
media — but  chiefly,  perhaps,  as  tending  to  furnish  a  standard,  to 
a  certain  extent,  for  ulterior  translations  into  these  latter.  Of 
the  Bengali,for  instance,  the  purest,possibly,of  all  the  derivative 
dialects  of  the  Sanskrit,  we  assert  with  confidence,  that  from 
that  parent  source  must  be  brought  the  means  of  its  improve- 
ment and  efficiency  to  all  the  purposes  of  an  extended  literature 
and  moral  instruction.  The  Sanskrit  vocabulary  alone  can  fur- 
nish an  adequate  supply  of  terms  to  express  the  daily  multiply- 
ing ideas  which  the  necessities  of  advancing  civilization  and 
education  demand  to  be  enunciated  ;  the  derivation  is  natural, 

VOL.   I.  D 


18  Notice  of  New  Works  in  Sanskrit  Verse.  [Jan. 


easy  and  elegant,  the  derivatives  at  once  euphonous  and  pre- 
cise— and  we  should  most  deeply  deplore  the  disfiguring  of  a 
philosophical,  neat  and  vigorous  dialect  by  the  admixture  of  a 
mass  of  uncongenial  exotics,  as  barbarous  as  they  are  wanton 
because  unnecessary.  We  deem  the  Calcutta  Baptist  Mission- 
aries, therefore,  to  be  doing  good  service  to  the  cause  of  ver- 
nacular Biblical  translation,  in  thus  laying  the  foundation  of 
a  Sanskrit  Version — in  which  a  much  closer,  amounting  almost 
to  a  literal,  rendering  may  be  attained,  than  is  well  possible 
perhaps  in  any  of  the  provincial  languages ;  in  which,  also,  a 
happy  commencement  will  have  been  made  to  fix,  as  it  were, 
the  just  rendering  of  Scripture  terms,  and  of  phrases  of  me- 
taphysical and  grammatical  difficulty. 

In  the  present  publication  this  service  has  been,  we  think, 
very  auspiciously  entered  upon — and  another  added  to  the 
many  contributions,  in  this  line  of  literary  Missionary  labour, 
to  the  cause  of  truth  and  benevolence  which  it  has  been  the 
distinguished  privilege  of  that  zealous  body  to  make. 

We  have  collated  not  a  few  of  the  Psalms  in  this  Metrical 
version  with  the  Bengali  Prose  one  of  the  same  translators — 
and  have  been  astonished  at  the  closeness  of  their  coincidence. 
With  unimportant  exceptions,  the  words  are  the  very  same 
throughout,  save  where  the  measure  of  the  verse  in  the  Sanskrit 
necessitated  a  various  rendering.  We  consider  this  fact  a  corro- 
boration of  our  previous  remarks  on  one  great,  if  not  the  chief, 
advantage  to  be  derived  from  a  version  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures 
into  the  learned  language  of  Hindustan. 

In  an  English  advertisement  prefixed  to  a  portion  of  the 
impression,  the  translators  give  a  useful  intimation,  with  speci- 
mens, of  the  poetical  measures  employed  :  together  with  some 
interesting  details  tending  to  obviate  an  objection  very  likely  to 
present  itself  to  the  mind  of  a  mere  occidental  scholar,  to  the 
employment  of  a  metrical  dress,  as  too  little  strict  and  literal  for 
a  version  of  the  word  of  God.  They  shew,  with  much  clearness, 
the  objection  to  have  no  support  in  fact ;  from  the  extraordinary 
amount  of  synonymous  terms  found  in  the  Vocabulary  of  the  San- 
skrit, with  the  wonderful  facility  of  derivation,  coalescence  and 
composition  which  it  possesses,  far  beyond  even  the  Greek  in 
all  those  respects.  And  they  successfully,  we  think,  maintain 
that  those  portions  of  holy  writ  which  are  poetic  in  their  ori- 
ginal Hebrew,  for  instance,  may  with  special  propriety  be 
clothed  in  metrical  language  in  a  translation — further  recom- 
mended, in  regard  to  a  Sanskrit  Version,  by  the  native  fondness 
for  poetry,  and  by  the  fact  that  almost  the  whole  of  their  own 
theology,  as  well  as  their  science  in  general,  is  in  verse. 

We,  from  careful  perusal,  can  testify  to  the  perfect  correct- 
ness of  the  assertion — that  "  this  work"  is,  what  it  "  pro- 


1 840.]       Notice  of  New  Works  in  Sanskrit  Verse. 


19 


fesses  to  be,  ;i  translation  of  the  Psalms,  and  not  an  elegant 
paraphrase  :"  and  we  further  add  our  suffrage  to  the  assurance 
that  "  in  this  metre  the  Psalms  are  more  easy  of  comprehen- 
sion than  they  would  he  in  prose."  This  singular  advantage 
is  obtained  from  the  laws  of  Sanskrit  versification,  in  which 
"  each  stanza,  sometimes  each  line,  contains  a  complete  sense  ; 
and  the  padas  (or  half-lines)  are  like  so  many  steps  leading 
the  mind  forward  and  affording  it  a  resting-place  till  the  whole 
is  comprehended  :  whereas  in  prose  there  is  no  rest  till  the 
close  of  the  sentence,  where  the  mind  must  by  a  vigorous 
effort  grasp  the  whole  at  once/'  Nor  must  it  be  unnoticed  as 
a  fact  that  will  be  surprising,  possibly,  to  those  Europeans  who 
have  no  acquaintance  with  Sanskrit  poetry,  that  "  the  Psalms 
in  verse,  do  not  occupy  a  greater  space  than  they  would  have 
done  in  prose."  This  advantage  results  from  the  wonderful 
powers  of  condensation  inherent  in  the  Sanskrit — "  so  that, 
with  the  exception  of  common  poetic  expletives,1'  there  is  an 
exceedingly  small  amount  of  terms  employed  in  this  version 
which  have  no  corresponding  ones  in  the  Hebrew  original*. 

In  any  of  the  above  remarks,  however,  we  must  by  no  means 
be  understood  to  express  our  entire  satisfaction  with  all  and 
every  portion  of  the  version,  either  as  conveying  always  what 
we  deem  to  be  the  mind  of  the  Spirit  and  the  literal  meaning  of 
the  original,  or  as  expressing  all  the  exact  shades  of  idea  in 
always  the  happiest  phraseology.  It  were  an  extraordinary 
phenomenon  indeed,  if  the  views  of  any  two  or  more  uninspi- 
red and  independent  minds  should  be  thus  coincident  to  so 
large  an  extent,  in  a  matter  of  such  nice  difficulty,  and  demand- 
ing such  conscientious  precision  of  expression ;  in  a  labour, 
too,  which  admits  of  so  great  a  variety  of  judgment  and  enun- 
ciation ;  i.  e.  both  in  determining  what  is  the  exact  sense  of  the 
original,  and  when  ascertained,  in  fixing  upon  the  justest 
rendering  of  it  amid  such  a  marvellous  abundance  of  terms  as 
is  opened  to  the  choice  of  a  Sanskrit  translator.  We  speak, 
therefore,  only  to  the  general  execution  of  the  version,  and 
chiefly  in  a  literary,  rather  than  a  theological,  reference  ;  on  the 
Biblical  criticism  at  large,  we  are  now  neither  called  nor  pre- 
pared to  pass  a  judgment :  this  would  involve,  besides,  an 
expansion  of  remark  far  beyond  the  narrow  limits  of  such 
notices  as  may  be  given  in  the  pages  of  a  monthly  miscellany. 
Were  we  required  to  enter  into  a  full  examination  of  this  ver- 
sion in  regard  to  the  justness  and  faithfulness  of  its  render- 
ings, we  might,  perhaps,  see  reason  to  entertain  a  difference 

•   *  The  exceptions,  besides  expletives,  are  chiefly  of  words  of  time,  as  ^j^j 
&c.  and  similar. 

D  2 


20  Notice  of  Neiv  Works  in  Sanskrit  Verse.  [Jaw. 


of  opinion  both  as  to  the  sense  to  be  conveyed  in  many  in- 
stances, and  to  the  channel  of  conveyance  in  many  more  :  but 
verbal  exceptions  would  here,  to  any  extent,  be  out  of  place ; 
and,  unless  on  a  full  statement  of  the  grounds  of  exception,  in 
any  case  invidious  and  unfair.  To  suppose  the  present  trans- 
lators may  have  failed  in  detail,  however  correct  in  general 
principle  and  rules  of  procedure,  is  only  to  assert  them  not 
to  be  infallible,  or  their  task  to  have  been  almost  infinitely 
less  arduous  than  it  has  been.  We  do  not,  however,  hesitate 
to  declare  the  very  high  satisfaction  and  even  delight  with 
which  we  have  gone  over  a  considerable  portion  of  this  vo- 
lume— we  think  it  immeasurably  easier  of  intelligence,  even 
to  one  possessing  but  a  moderate  acquaintance  with  Sanskrit, 
than  the  Bengali  one  of  the  same  translators, — a  superiority 
chiefly  owing  to  the  conciseness  of  the  verse,  the  facility  of 
composition,  and  the  greatly  less  diffusive  character  of  the 
parent  than  of  the  derivative  idiom. 

We  do  not,  in  our  own  view,  depart  from  the  consistency 
of  the  above  remarks  in  simply  calling  the  attention  of  the 
able  and  candid  translators  to  a  few  instances,  by  way  of 
specimen,  of  some  of  those  lesser  corrections  which  might,  we 
think,  be  advantageously  made  in  a  subsequent  edition,  in- 
dependently of  more  important  emendations  in  the  sense  or 
expression. 

E.  G.  Is  not  ^rV*}  in  the  second  line  of  v.  12  of  the  2nd 
Psalm,  unidiomatic  and  an  interpolation  ?  Again — in  the  last 
line  of  Ps.  iii.  the  two  clauses  of  the  original  are,  with  a  neg- 
lect of  literality,  blended  into  one,  to  effect  which  the  pro- 
noun "  thy"  also  is  omitted. 

In  Ps.  xix.  v.  2,  the  nominative  to  "  uttereth"  is  altered 
from  "  day"  to  "  heavens  and  instead  of Ci  day  unto  day"  this 
version  renders  it — "  the  heaven  daily  uttereth,  ike."  In  v.  3, 
one  of  the  nominatives>  "language,"  is  thrown  out.  In  v.  5, 
3j*j  3f*g  i.  e.  to  gain  the  victory,  or  be  the  winner  in  a  game 
or  of  a  wager,  is  scarcely  accurate  enough.  Nor  do  we  think 
^T5J^1ffT  "  royal  ordinances"  in  v.  9,  expresses  the  proper  inten- 
tion of  o*EDU)n  "  judgments."  Again,  in  Ps.  xxiii.  can  the  ren- 
dering of  its  third  line — "  He,  by  the  virtue  of  his  own  name, 
changing  my  mind,"  correctly  or  adequately  express  the  sense 
of  the  original  mv  psob — "  for  his  name's  sake  bringing  back  my 
soul,"  i.  e.  my  life,  a  periphrasis  for  me,  myself  ?  or  is  "  royal 
staff"  or  sceptre,  the  proper  rendering  for  the  "  rod"  or  crook 
of  a  shepherd  ?  In  v.  9  of  Ps.  xxxvii.  it  is  scarcely  accordant, 
we  think,  with  the  truth  of  the  original  to  promise  that  "  all 
they  (who  wait  on  the  Lord)  shall  become  kings,"  ^?nfVnrr*i:. 
In  v.  27  of  the  same,  there  is  an  addition  of  two  words  "  in  a 


1840.]       Notice  of  New  Works  in  Sanskrit  Verse. 


21 


good  land  or  country,"  made  to  "  dwell  for  evermore  ;"  while 
in  v.  29,  both  these  mistakes  meet  together :  "  all  the  righteous 
shall  be  kings,  they  shall  all  dwell  continually  in  a  happy 
land." 

In  Ps.  xlv.  v.  7)  hue  2nd,  the  first  qv^n  "  God,"  is  omitted  ; 
which,  whether  you  view  it  as  nominative  or  vocative,  is  of  no 
small  moment  in  the  theological  exegesis  of  the  passage. 

In  Ps.  ciii.  v.  3,  we  object  to  the  rendering  of  nton  "  for- 
giveth,"  by  imi^RT  "destroys  thy  sins,"  for,  say,  ^Jli  ^f^Tfw.  This 
is  not  only  an  unnecessary  deviation  from  literality,  but  an 
indulgence  to  native  notions  in  this  all-important  matter. 

In  v.  18,  w:  is  surely  a  more  than  doubtful  rendering  of 
<c  salvation" — it  is  rather  a  literal  version  of  the  English 
"  righteousness"  than  a  correct  translation  of  the  original 
wi>->s  "  his  deliverance." 

These  may  be  deemed  exceptions  of  smaller  moment  to  the 
general  accuracy  of  the  metrical  version  of  the  Psalms  of  David. 
But  for  that  very  reason  they  might  the  more  readily  have  been 
avoided,  and  may  now  the  more  easily  be  remedied.  No  measure 
of  literal  accuracy  that  is  attainable,  in  aversion  of  any  part  of 
the  Holy  Scriptures,  should  be  disregarded.  We  think  it  highly 
advantageous,  too,  that  many  pairs  of  eyes  and  many  minds  be 
exercised  on  a  work  of  such  large  importance  and  peculiar 
nicety.  At  the  same  time  that  we  by  no  means  pretend  to  any 
personal  qualification  to  execute  what  is  confessedly  so  dif- 
ficult, we  yet  deem  it  neither  presumptuous  nor  unkind  thus 
to  draw  the  attention  of  the  able  translators  themselves,  to  at 
least  those  lesser  defects  that  men  of  very  much  smaller 
abilities  may  discover  in  what  is  yet  so  generally  excellent. 
They  will,  we  doubt  not,  receive  our  hints  with  the  candour  to 
be  anticipated  from  sound  scholars  and  zealous  Christian 
Missionaries. 

In  fine,  we  heartily  rejoice  in  the  appearance  of  this  work, 
on  the  conclusion  of  which  we  congratulate  our  Baptist  Bre- 
thren and  the  Missionary  body  in  general.  We  only  add,  that 
it  is  elegantly  printed,  on  good  paper,  in  a  bold  clear  type,  and 
forms  a  neat  small  pocket  volume  of  the  sublime  inspired 
Hymns  of  the  "  Sweet  Psalmist  of  Israel,"  pleasingly  dressed 
in  the  harmonious  language  of  the  once  famous  gymnosophists 
of  India.    Laus  Deo  ! 

Cinsurensis. 


22 


Memoir  of  Bhaichand  Narsaidas. 


[Jan. 


IV. — Recollections  respecting  the  late  Bhaichand  Narsaidas, 
a  converted  Hindu,  who  died  2nd  October,  1839.  By  Alex- 
ander Fyvie,  Sural. 

The  above  mimed  individual  was  born  in  Surat  of  Hindu  parents, 
belonging  to  the  Koonbee  or  cultivator's  caste,  and  spent  about  37  years 
of  his  life  in  walking- according  to  the  course  of  this  world,  and  in  the 
practice  of  the  various  religious  rites  of  his  forefathers.  When  a  mere 
youth  his  father  died,  and  by  this  dispensation  he  and  the  other  members 
of  the  family  were  left  in  circumstances  of  comparative  poverty.  By 
prudence,  economy,  and  perseverance  in  that  line  of  business  to  which  he 
had  been  brought  up,  he,  however,  in  the  course  of  time  became  possess- 
ed of  something  more  than  a  mere  competence,  and  when  our  acquain- 
tance commenced  he  had  obtained  a  considerable  establishment  for  em- 
broidery, was  the  owner  of  several  houses  which  had  come  into  his  hands 
either  by  purchase  or  mortgage,  and  being  naturally  of  a  shrewd  and 
active  turn  of  mind  was  frequently  employed  in  cases  of  difficulty  as  an 
arbitrator  among  his  countrymen.  The  first  time  I  recollect  to  have 
seen  him  was  at  a  public  religious  service  on  the  afternoon  of  a  week 
day,  in  one  of  our  school-rooms,  about  the  latter  end  of  the  year  1831. 
The  subject  chiefly  discussed  was,  "the  state  of  man  after  leaving  this 
world."  A  friend  introduced  him  to  my  notice  after  service.  On  asking 
him  what  he  thought  of  the  truths  he  had  heard,  he  plainly  told  me  that 
all  might  be  correct,  but  that  he  entertained  very  strong  doubts  in  regard 
to  the  soundness  of  the  whole.  I  requested  him  to  call  at  the  mission- 
house,  when  convenient,  and  we  would  talk  over  the  subject  at  some 
length.  To  this  he  consented,  and  some  days  after  he  and  a  few  of  his 
acquaintances  called.  Several  subjects  were  discussed,  and  objections 
answered.  On  his  departure  some  tracts  were  given  to  him  for  perusal, 
and  he  was  particularly  invited  to  attend  regularly  on  sabbaths  in  the 
mission  chapel  to  hear  the  gospel.  From  that  period  he  occasionally 
called  on  week  days  and  sometimes  attended  on  the  sabbaths,  but  his 
manner  of  disputing  in  favour  of  heathenism  and  against  Christianity 
often  manifested  great  obstinacy  of  mind,  and  a  settled  determination  not 
to  be  convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  latter  or  of  the  falsehood  of  the 
former,  but  on  the  fullest  evidence  and  after  the  most  careful  examina- 
tion. Light  however  appeared  to  break  in  gradually  on  his  mind,  so 
that  by  the  latter  end  of  September  1832,  he  had  become  a  regular  hearer 
of  the  gospel  on  sabbath,  and  of  his  own  accord  declared  before  the 
congregation  that  he  would  not  in  future  allow  work  to  be  performed  on 
his  premises  on  that  holy  day.  There  is  not  however  sufficient  reason  to 
conclude  that  he  had  obtained  at  this  period  correct  scriptural  views  of 
the  character  and  government  of  the  true  God,  nor  of  his  own  state  before 
Him  as  a  sinner,  nor  of  the  way  of  salvation  through  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ.  He  seemed  however  to  have  become  very  uneasy  in  his  mind, 
and  to  doubt  the  correctness  of  many  of  the  sentiments  he  had  formerly 
held,  and  even  to  say  that  Christianity  had  many  strong  evidences  in  its 
favour,  and  Hinduism  very  few  and  those  of  a  doubtful  kind.  The  moral 
character  of  the  Hindu  gods,  as  developed  in  their  own  shastras,  seemed 
particularly  to  stagger  his  belief  in  the  whole  system  ;  but  the  pride  of 
caste,  the  supposed  wisdom  of  ancestors,  the  connexion  of  the  British 
Government  with  the  Hindu  religion,  and  his  natural  obstinacy  of  mind 
and  love  of  disputation  appeared  to  present  great  obstacles  to  his  em- 
bracing the  humbling  truths  of  the  gospel. 

Being  necessitated  on  account  of  the  health  of  myself  and  family  to 
take  a  voyage  to  England,  I  left  him  in  this  state  of  mind  in  October 


1840.]  Memoir  of  Bhaichand  Narsaidas. 


23 


1832,  and  my  brother  having  returned  to  Snrat  from  his  temporary  stay 
at  Kaira,  the  deceased  and  others  came  under  his  particular  instruction 
and  advice.    A  little  before  my  departure  I  translated  into  Goojuratee 
"  The  Exposure  of  the  Hindu  Religion,  in  Reply  to  Mora  Bhatta  Dande- 
kara,  by  the  Rev.  J.  Wilson,"  and  my  brother  judging  that  the  reading 
of  it  might  be  of  great  advantage,  gave  him  a  manuscript  copy  for  perusal, 
fie  read  it  attentively  several  times,  and  soon  became  convinced  that  it 
was  unanswerable.    In  the  course  of  time  he  began  to  take  it  with  him 
to  melas,  &c. — to  read  it  in  large  companies — to  comment  on  its  state- 
ments, and  to  hold  up  Christianity  as  God's  best  gift  to  mankind.  As 
lie  continued  regularly  to  attend  the  public  means  of  grace  and  to  read 
the  scriptures  and  tracts  with  attention,  my  brother  says,  his  progress  in 
Christian  knowledge  soon  became  considerable  ;  but  his  anxiety  to  make 
Hinduism  and  Christianity  agree  with  each  other,  the  terror  of  losing 
caste,  and  the  opposition  of  his  family  and  relatives,  together  with  a 
desire  which  on  certain  occasions  manifested  itself  of  becoming  the  head 
of  a  sect,  bearing  indeed  the  name  of  Christianity,  but  in  its  peculiar 
principles  and  precepts,  rank  Hinduism,  with  a  few  of  its  excrescences 
lopped  off,  kept  him  for  about  18  months  in  an  undecided  state,  and 
plainly  shewed  that  nothing  but  the  omnipotence  of  divine  grace  could 
transform  such  a  haughty  and  obstinate  individual  into  a  meek  and  teach- 
able disciple  of  Jesus  Christ.    The  working  of  conflicting  sentiments  in 
his  mind  during  this  period  seems  to  have  been  of  the  same  nature,  making 
allowance  for  his  small  degree  of  knowledge  and  the  untutored  state  of 
his  mind,  as  what  is  recorded  in  that  interesting  English  publication  by 
the  late  Rev.  T.  Scott,  entitled  "  The  Force  of  Truth."  Scott  however 
always  appeared  anxious  in  all  his  mental  struggles  to  adopt  just  pre- 
mises and  to  draw  correct  inferences  from  them,  and  to  follow  truth  to 
its  legitimate  consequences,  whatever  sacrifices  he  might  be  called  to 
make.    Bhaichand  on  the  other  hand  wished  to  mix  error  with  truth,  so 
as  to  neutralize  the  influence  of  the  latter,  and  make  Christianity  assimi- 
late with  his  own  preconceived  opinions  and  that  of  his  fellow-creatures. 
On  this  account  the  premises  he  adopted  in  argument  were  often  grossly 
incorrect — sometimes  his  inferences  were  false,  and  more  frequently  both 
his  premises  and  inferences  were  alike  erroneous;  and  when  he  found  his 
arguments  overcome  and  his  schemes  blasted,  he  often  appeared  much 
annoyed  and  even  chagrined.  One  stronghold  after  another  was  however 
demolished  by  the  force  of  scripture  truth,  and  the  agency  of  the  Holy 
Spirit,  and  about  July  1834.  he  mentioned  to  my  brother  his  full  convic- 
tion of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  his  hope  that  as  a  guilty  and  hell-deserv- 
ing creature,  he  had  received  Christ  by  faith,  his  earnest  wish  to  be 
baptized  in  the  name  of  Father,  Son,  and  Holy  Spirit,  and  his  determi- 
nation in  the  strength  of  divine  grace  to  walk  henceforth  as  a  disciple 
of  Jesus,  whatever  he  might  have  to  endure  from  the  world.    The  read- 
ing of  a  manuscript  copy  of  my  brother's  translation  into  Goojuratee  of 
"  The  Brahman's  Claims,  by  Rev.  R.  Nisbett,"  appears  to  have  aided  con- 
siderably in  bringing  him  to  that  state  of  mind  and  feeling,  as  I  have 
heard  him  frequently  express  his  gratitude  to  God  for  the  perusal  of 
that  work,  and  declare  that  it  particularly  convinced  him  that  the  Hin- 
du religion  was  never  intended  to  promote  the  spiritual  good  of  any  of 
its  votaries,  but  to  increase  the  pride  and  fill  the  hands  of  the  privileged 
few — the  Brahmans.    After  being  more  fully  instructed  respecting  the 
duties  which  devolve  on  those  who  have  thus  devoted  themselves  to  God, 
he  was  baptized  in  his  own  house,  before  many  witnesses,  by  my  brother, 
on  the  4th  November,  1834,  and  immediately  after  he  devoted  his  two 
children  to  the  Saviour  in  the  same  ordinance  ;  but  no  arguments  could 
persuade  his  wife  to  follow  his  example,  and  to  the  present  day  she  con- 


24  Memoir  of  Bhaichand  Narsaidas.  [Jan. 


tinuea  to  persist  in  her  attachment  to  the  superstition  of  her  ancestors 
and  associates.  As  he  had  heen  in  the  hahit  for  some  considerable  time 
of  conducting  Christian  worship  morning  and  evening  with  his  family 
and  domestics,  and  of  not  allowing  any  part  of  the  Lord's  day  to  be  de- 
voted to  worldly  business,  but  of  spending  all  its  sacred  hours  in  the  ser- 
vice of  God,  he  had  to  encounter  no  new  opposition,  after  his  baptism, 
on  these  points  :  but  he  soon  found  that  all  who  will  live  godly  in  Christ 
Jesus  must  in  some  way  or  other  suffer  persecution.  If  he  fell  into  a 
difficulty,  or  a  slight  affliction  came  on  any  member  of  the  family,  his 
wife  and  other  near  relatives  would  advert  to  his  apostacy  from  his 
former  faith  as  the  procuring  cause  of  all  their  trials,  and  his  workmen 
in  various  ways  endeavoured  to  annoy  him  ;  while  the  finger  of  scorn 
M  as  frequently  pointed  at  him  by  his  former  caste  and  by  the  people 
generally.  Amidst  many  failings,  some  of  which  arose  from  ignorance 
and  previous  associations,  and  others  into  which  he  plunged  himself  from 
the  remaining  obstinacy  and  ruggedness  of  his  mind,  he  was  enabled  to 
go  forward  in  the  path  of  Christian  duty,  notwithstanding  all  opposition, 
and  in  mnny  instances  to  "  overcome  evil  with  good.''  On  my  return 
from  England  in  the  latter  end  of  1835,  he  was,  generally  speaking, 
esteemed  by  many  for  his  upright  conduct,  and  particularly  admired  by 
the  really  poor  and  needy  for  his  kindness  to  them  ;  though  some  of  his 
former  associates  and  acquaintances  still  continued  to  load  him  with 
opprobrious  names,  and  the  Brahmans  and  other  religious  beggars,  who 
had  in  his  st;ite  of  heathenism  fed  on  his  bounty,  but  were  now  refused 
their  former  allowance  of  good  fare,  ceased  not  to  imprecate  the  vengeance 
of  heaven  on  him  and  his  family.  He  continued  however  to  seek  the 
present  and  eternal  good  of  his  countrymen  of  every  class,  and  his  in- 
fluence was  at  all  times  especially  exercised  in  favour  of  the  Christian 
instruction  of  his  family  and  the  people  in  his  immediate  employment. 
Public  worship  was  regularly  performed  by  us  every  sabbath  afternoon 
in  one  of  the  rooms  of  his  house,  which  he  particularly  devoted  to  that 
purpose.  In  the  latter  end  of  1S36  both  he  and  his  family  were  much 
afflicted,  but  the  spirit  he  manifested  under  that  trial  was  of  the  most 
scriptural  and  edifying  nature.  His  liberality  to  the  blind,  lame,  and 
diseased  poor  was  often  very  extensive,  and  his  benevolence  to  sufferers 
by  the  Fire  and  Flood  in  1837  was  far  beyond  our  anticipations.  In  dis- 
tributing tracts,  commenting  upon  them  and  recommending  the  gospel 
at  melas  and  other  places  of  public  concourse,  he  fully  performed  the 
labours  of  a  reader  or  teacher  without  any  remuneration  from  man,  and 
his  house  was  the  general  resort  of  all  who  had  any  love  to  the  truth,  as 
well  as  an  asylum  to  those  who  were  persecuted  for  righteousness  sake. 

In  the  spring  of  1837  a  circumstance  occurred  which  deeply  pained  his 
mind.  His  wife,  whom  he  had  taught  to  read,  and  who  had  for  a  long 
period  attended  to  Christian  instruction,  had  for  several  months  excited 
considerable  hopes  that  she  was  about  to  come  out  from  the  world  and 
cast  in  her  lot  with  the  followers  of  the  Lamb.  The  baptism  of  their 
third  child,  had  been  delayed  by  the  father's  request,  beyond  the  usual 
period,  in  order  that  the  ordinance  might  be  administered  to  it  and  the 
mother  at  the  same  time.  All  scriptural  means  were  used  to  increase 
her  knowledge,  impress  her  heart,  and  to  bring  her  to  an  enlightened 
decision  on  the  subject.  For  several  months  divine  truth  appeared  to 
make  considerable  impression  on  her  mind,  and  her  knowledge  of  the 
leading  principles  of  the  gospel  seemed  to  increase  ;  but  her  attention 
was  soon  diverted  from  these  important  matters,  and  she  finally  told  her 
husband  that  she  had  for  the  present  fully  decided  against  making  a 
profession  of  Christianity.  At  his  request  the  child  was  baptized,  but 
the  mother's  refusal  to  enter  into  the  church  of  Christ  continued  for  a 


1840.]  Memoir  of  Bhuichand  Narsaidas. 


25 


time  deeply  to  affect  the  mind  of  the  father,  and  to  perplex  and  depress 
his  spirits.  In  the  course  of  time  his  mind  assumed  its  wonted  energy, 
but  from  that  period  he  appeared  to  have  obtained  a  more  humbling  view 
of  huniian  depravity  than  before,  to  see  the  great  spiritual  danger  to 
which  he  and  especially  his  family  were  exposed  by  associating  with  ido- 
laters, and  more  fully  to  feel  the  entire  inefficiency  of  all  outward  means 
to  change  the  heart  and  fully  reform  the  conduct  without  the  influences 
of  the  Holy  Ghost. 

At  his  baptism  our  deceased  friend  publicly  expressed,  before  many 
witnesses,  his  ardent  wish  that  whenever  removed  by  death,  his  body 
might  he  buried  according  to  the  general  custom  among  Christian  people, 
and  not  on  any  account  be  reduced  to  ashes  by  fire,  as  is  usual  among 
Hindus.  This  sentiment  he  not  only  held  in  common  with  all  Hindus 
who  have  at  any  time,  since  the  commencement  of  the  Mission,  mani- 
fested more  or  less  attachment  to  Christianity,  but  practically  exemplified 
it  in  his  conduct  by  burying  all  paupers  who  died  on  his  premises  and  had 
no  relatives  to  claim  their  mortal  remains,  and  by  not  attending  the  fu- 
neral of  several  near  relations  who  died  in  the  Hindu  faith  after  he 
embraced  Christianity.  Being  fully  convinced  of  the  debasing  influence 
of  the  burning  system  on  survivors,  and  finding  so  many  examples  in  the 
scriptures  of  the  worshippers  of  the  true  God  having  their  bodies  com- 
mitted to  the  dust  by  interment,  he  concluded  that  it  was  the  will  of 
God  that  the  bodies  of  the  disciples  of  Christ  should,  after  the  departure 
of  the  immortal  spirit,  be  committed  to  the  grave  in  the  certain  hope 
that  what  was  sown  in  corruption  the  Saviour  would  at  the  last  day  raise 
in  incorruption.  His  sentiments  on  this  point  were  very  decided,  and 
well  known  to  us,  his  family,  and  to  many  other  people  in  this  city  ; 
though  it  is,  in  many  respects,  to  be  lamented  that  he  left  no  recorded 
attestation  of  his  wishes  in  reference  to  the  disposal  of  his  own  body  iti 
that  particular  manner. 

During  the  first  five  months  of  1839  he  did  not  in  several  respects  ma- 
nifest so  much  of  the  Christian  temper  as  was  to  be  expected  from  former 
professions.  So  far  as  we  know  there  was  no  positive  departure  from  the 
principles  of  the  gospel  in  sentiment ;  but  in  conduct  there  was  an  evident 
meeting  of  the  world  half-way,  a  disregard  of  scripture  authority,  and  a 
hankering  after  worldly  enjoyments  and  the  applause  of  his  fellow-crea- 
tures. The  appearance  of  this  spirit  grieved  us  much,  and  led  us  to  in- 
creased faithfulness  in  warning  him  of  his  danger,  and  in  beseeching  him 
to  beware  of  the  snares  in  which  he  seemed  about  to  be  caught,  both 
from  his  own  ignorance  and  recklessness  of  consequences,  and  the  blan- 
dishments and  machinations  of  those  who  in  heart  were  his  most  deadly 
enemies,  though,  to  accomplish  their  own  ends,  they  had  assumed  the 
garb  and  the  speech  of  his  most  devoted  friends.  The  betrothing  of  his 
third  child,  a  boy  of  about  three  years  of  age,  to  a  girl  something  young- 
er, of  rich  Hindu  parents,  and  to  which  his  wife  wished  him  fully  to 
consent  according  to  native  custom,  and  to  go  through  with  all  the  pomp 
of  eastern  manners,  was  the  chief  cause  of  this  melancholy  departure 
from  the  simplicity  of  Christian  temper  and  conduct.  Whether  the  agree- 
ment was  on  his  part  fully  consummated,  is  not  known  to  us,  as  a  circum- 
stance occurred  about  the  beginning  of  June  which  led  away  our  minds 
from  that  subject,  effectually  roused  him  from  the  lethargy  into  which 
lie  had  fallen,  shewed  him  that  the  friendship  of  the  world  is  enmity  with 
God,  and  convinced  him  that  the  path  of  Christian  duty,  however  rugged 
and  thorny,  is  the  only  path  which  leads  to  glory,  honour,  and  immortal 
life.  Almost  from  the  period  of  his  baptism  both  he  and  his  family  had 
been  considered  by  his  caste  as  lost  to  it,  and  he,  at  least,  did  not  join  in 
any  oi  its  meetings,  either  for  feasting  or  business,  but  no  public  expul- 

VOL.   I.  E 


26 


Memoir  of  Bhaichand  Narsaidas.  [Jan. 


Bion  had  been  formally  made.  About  the  period  referred  to,  a  child  of  one 
of  the  native  Christians  died,  and  was  buried  according  to  Christian  cus- 
tom. The  father's  former  caste  (the  same  to  which  Bhaichand  had  be- 
longed)  used  all  their  influence  to  get  the  body  of  the  child  burned, 
which  the  father  did  not  permit.  This  roused  their  indignation — they 
held  meetings  on  the  subject — influenced  his  wife  to  forsake  him — de- 
clared they  would  not  allow  her  to  return  unless  he  renounced  Christi- 
anity— publicly  intimated  that  he,  Bhaichand  and  his  family,  and  all 
others  who  bad  professedly  embraced  Christianity  and  had  formerly  be- 
longed to  that  class,  were  expelled  from  the  caste  and  had  become  unfit 
associates  for  any  Hindu,  and  threatened  with  the  same  punishment  all 
who  should  in  any  way  assist  them,  or  should  even  have  a  Christian  book 
in  their  possession,  or  go  to  a  place  of  Christian  worship.  Many  who  had 
till  that  period  been  loud  in  their  declarations  of  esteem  for  Bhaichand 
and  the  religion  he  had  embraced,  now  shewed  the  hollowness  of  their 
professions  by  openly  joining  the  opposite  party,  and  by  every  means  in 
their  power  annoying  him  and  all  other  natives  who  in  any  measure 
named  the  name  of  Christ.  These  things  opened  his  eyes,  and  perceiv- 
ing the  cloud  which  was  ready  to  burst  on  all  who  professed  to  love  the 
Saviour,  he  opened  to  them  his  heart,  his  hand,  and  his  house.  From 
that  day  he  appeared  clad  in  all  the  armour  which  the  gospel  supplies, 
he  encouraged  the  timid,  warned  the  unruly,  visited  all  the  melas  which 
occur  during  the  rainy  season  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Surat,  to  distri- 
bute tracts  and  to  speak  of  what  he  had  tasted  and  handled  of  the  word 
of  life  to  the  assembled  crowds,  invited  and  encouraged  many  to  attend 
on  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  in  the  Mission  Chapel  and  in  his  own 
house,  and  daily  seemed  to  increase  in  his  labours  and  self-denial  in  be- 
half of  the  really  poor,  the  sick,  and  the  dying.  Making  allowance  for 
human  infirmities,  he  literally  went  about  doing  good,  and  regarded  no 
service  too  laborious  or  mean  if  he  could  benefit  a  fellow-creature.  At 
the  same  time  his  private  conversation  became  much  more  savoury,  and 
his  whole  demeanour  such  as  indicated  a  deep  acquaintance  with  the 
evils  of  his  own  heart,  the  temptations  of  Satan,  and  the  snares  of  an 
ungodly  world  ;  and  also  manifested  a  clear  view  of  the  way  of  salva- 
tion, as  originating  in  the  sovereign  mercy  of  God,  flowing  to  us  through 
the  merits  of  his  Son,  and  applied  by  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  On 
these  themes  he  delighted  peculiarly  to  dwell  in  private  conversation,  and 
his  discourses  in  public  with  the  poor  and  others  were  generally  inter- 
esting and  appropriate.  There  was  a  softening  or  mellowing  of  his  whole 
character,  which  was  very  pleasing,  and  gave  vivid  indications  of  rapid 
growth  in  grace  and  in  the  knowledge  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ.  About  the  20th  of  September  he  was  attacked  with  fever,  and 
during  the  remaining  ten  days  of  the  month  he  called  several  times  at 
the  civil  hospital  and  received  the  requisite  medicines.  He  seemed  to 
be  convalescent,  though  in  a  weak  state,  and  no  fears  were  entertained 
respecting  his  recovery.  On  the  morning  of  sabbath  the  29th  he  was 
not  present  at  worship  in  the  Mission  Chapel,  but  appeared  improving 
in  health  and  lively  in  mind  at  the  afternoon's  service  in  his  own  house. 
On  the  1st  instant  we  were  informed  by  a  person  connected  with  his 
family  that  he  was  still  improving.  It  appears  however  that  in  the  even- 
ing of  that  day  he  became  suddenly  very  ill,  and  during  the  following 
night  frequently  manifested  symptoms  of  delirium.  Early  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  2nd  we  were  informed  of  the  change.  Immediately  I  went  to 
see  him,  and  concluded  that  though  the  fever  was  high,  and  his  speech 
somewhat  indistinct  and  incoherent,  yet  there  was  no  instant  danger, 
and  that  my  duty  was  to  get  a  native  assistant  doctor  to  visit  him  with 
as  little  delay  as  possible.    In  order  to  accomplish  this  I  returned,  and 


1840  ]  Memoir  of  Bhaichand  Narsaidas. 


27 


having  obtained  the  desired  individual  set  off  again  at  half-past  eight 
o'clock.  He  however  died  before  we  reached,  and  the  body  had  been 
taken  down  to  the  lower  hall  near  to  the  outer  door  of  the  house. 
Though  he  had  been  turned  out  of  caste  for  embracing  and  professing 
Christianity,  many  of  the  caste  people  had  entered  the  house  and  were 

ftreparing  to  dispose  of  the  body  in  the  usual  Hindu  way,  while  a  very 
arge  concourse  was  assembled  in  the  street.  I  requested  his  wife  to 
give  me  the  charge  of  the  body  for  interment  according  to  Christian 
custom,  and  his  well  known  sentiments  on  the  subject,  and  I  would  pro- 
mise that  the  funeral  should  be  in  full  accordance  with  his  wishes  and 
his  station  in  society  ;  and  endeavoured  to  strengthen  my  request  by  men- 
tioning the  incongruity  of  his  former  caste  having  any  thing  to  do  with 
the  body  of  an  individual  expelled  from  their  society,  especially  as  it  was 
in  direct  opposition  to  the  wishes  of  the  deceased.  To  this  she  gave  me, 
as  1  then  conceived,  and  afterwards  found  to  be  the  fact; an  evasive  answer  ; 
and  lest  any  impression  should  lie  made  on  her  mind,  she  was  dragged 
away,  and  I  could  see  no  more  of  her  at  that  time.  The  people  now  be- 
came much  excited,  and  wished  me  to  leave  the  house.  I  begged  them  to 
become  composed,  to  allow  the  body  to  remain  a  short  time,  and  I  would 
endeavour  to  settle  the  matter  both  amicably  and  honorably.  A  few  of 
them  then  went  into  a  hack  room,  and  having  wrought  themselves  up  into 
a  perfect  passion  by  stamping  with  their  feet,  beating  on  their  breasts,  and 
howling,  returned  where  the  body  was,  and  declared  in  the  hearing  of  all 
that  they  would  do  with  it  as  they  pleased,  and  stand  all  consequences, 
even  to  the  giving  up  of  life.  A  few  of  them  now  endeavoured  to  thrust 
me  out  of  the  house  by  sheer  strength,  but  fearing  they  could  not  accom- 
plish this  without  using  violence,  a  few  more  by  artifice  dragged  me  into 
a  corner  and  kept  me  there,  while  the  others  removed  the  corpse  into 
the  street.  Considering  it  then  beyond  my  influence,  1  was  left  at  liber- 
ty, and  the  people  proceeded  with  the  corpse  to  the  place  of  burning,  and 
there  consumed  it  in  the  usual  Hindu  way.  After  requesting  the  indi- 
vidual in  charge  of  the  affairs  of  the  house  to  act  as  a  faithful  servant, 
and  to  avoid  the  most  distant  approach  to  peculation  in  the  least  mat- 
ter, and  begging  all  present  to  follow  the  example  of  the  deceased  as  far 
as  he  had  followed  Christ,  1  returned  home  deeply  impressed  with  the 
recollection  of  what  I  had  witnessed,  and  the  scene  through  which  I  had 
passed  ;  but  comforted  by  the  assurance  that  "  precious  in  the  sight  of 
the  Lord  is  the  death  of  his  saints,"  under  whatever  adverse  circumstan- 
ces lie  may  in  his  infinite  wisdom  see  meet  to  permit  it  to  take  place, 
or  to  be  followed;  for  "  He  maketh  even  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise 
Him,  and  the.  remainder  of  wrath,"  which  w  ill  not  subserve  his  purposes, 
"  he  restrains."  "  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die  in  the  Lord." 
Surat,  I6th  October,  1839. 

Remarks. — The  above  detail,  while  it  affords  a  bright  display  of  the 
power  of  divine  grace  in  changing  the  heart  and  reforming  the  life  of  an 
individual,  points  out,  to  those  who  are  endeavouring  to  promote  the 
kingdom  of  Christ  in  India,  some  of  the  obstacles  with  which  the  gospel 
has  to  contend — the  many  disadvantages  under  which  converts  still  la- 
bour— the  deep  and  abiding  claims  which  they  and  their  instructors  have 
on  the  sympathies  and  prayers  of  all  the  people  of  God — and  the  pru- 
dence, zeal,  and  energy  With  which  their  Christian  friends  ought,  not 
only  to  watch  over  their  spiritual  interests,  but  also  to  induce  them  to 
adopt  and  uphold,  in  the  spirit  of  meekness,  such  measures  as  may 
maintain  their  civil  rights  inviolate.  When  any  fear  is  entertained 
respecting  tlie  disposal  of  their  bodies  contrary  to  the  mariner  which 
they  themselves  may  choose,  the  insertion  of  a  clause  in  their  last  wills 
has  been  strongly  recommended, 
E  2 


28 


Memoir  of  Bhaichand  Narsaidas.  [Jan. 


As  many  (if  the  natives  in  this  land  are  ready  to  misconstrue  the  burn- 
ing of  the  bodies  of  Christians,  and  in  many  instances  grossly  to  pervert 
every  occurrence  of  the  kind,  it  appears  of  importance  that  all  who  are 
engaged  in  communicating  divine  truth  to  their  minds,  should  plainly 
state  to  the  unconverted,  as  occasion  may  require,  that  no  form  of  bu- 
rial or  burning  is  supposed  by  Christians  to  affect  the  salvation  of  the 
deceased  ;  though  in  the  case  of  converts  from  Hinduism  to  the  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus,  burial  is  preferred  to  burning,  as  being  not  only  more 
in  accordance  with  the  word  of  God,  but  in  order  to  prevent  the  possi- 
bility of  its  being  asserted  that  the  Hindu  customs  are,  in  the  least, 
approved. 

W  hat  a  flexible,  and  ridiculous  mixture  of  absurdities  must  Hinduism 
appear  to  every  reader  of  the  latter  part  of  the  concluding  paragraph  of 
the  above  recollections.  Many  know  that  it  is  by  no  means  scrupulous 
about  the  terms  on  which  it  receives  back  apostates  while  living  ;  but 
few,  it  is  imagined,  are  really  aware  that  its  arms  are  so  widely  extended 
as  to  embrace  the  very  dead.  Some  of  its  votaries  in  Surat  must  be  in  a 
pitiful  plight  for  props  to  support  the  falling  mass,  when  they  could 
degrade  themselves  so  far  as  to  co-operate  in  the  burning  of  the  body 
of  one  who  had  been  expelled  from  their  society  when  alive,  as  an  unfit 
associate  for  any  of  its  true  members,  and  who  had  actually  died  under 
all  the  frowns  and  curses  which,  in  their  opinion,  that  expulsion  includ- 
ed. "  Bhaichand  according  to  Hindu  law,"  remarks  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wilson 
of  Bombay,  in  giving  me  his  opinion  on  the  subject,  "  was  an  out-caste  ; 
and  no  expression  of  repentance  for  abandoning  Hinduism  (even  suppos- 
ing that  such  an  expression  were,  falsely  or  otherwise,  alleged  in  their 
defence  by  the  members  of  his  former  caste)  could  have  restored  him 
without  atonements  which  were  altogether  impracticable  in  his  situation 
as  a  dying-  man.  Those  who  took  an  active  part  in  his  funeral  ceremo- 
nies, have  subjected  themselves  to  the  penalty  of  excommunication.  In 
the  present  state  of  relaxed  discipline,  which  I  do  not  regret  to  observe, 
it  is  improbable  that  even  the  most  zealous  supporters  of  the  Hindu 
communion  will  insist  upon  their  being  visited  with  the  punishment, 
which,  according  to  the  dictates  of  the  shastra,  they  have  merited."  It 
is  now  generally  reported  among  the  natives  in  this  place,  that  some  in- 
dividuals in  the  caste  suggested  the  necessity  of  slightly  punishing  the 
offending  members  ;  but  that  a  few  very  wise  and  benevolent  brahmans 
devised  an  expedient  by  which  all  has  been  amicably  settled  and  the 
purity  of  the  Hindu  faith  preserved.  They  are  said  to  have  made  a 
piitli,  image  or  effigy,  of  the  deceased,  the  trunk  and  head  of  coarse 
flour  and  the  extremities  of  reeds  and  grass,  and  by  the  power  of  San- 
skrit prayers  to  have  transformed  this  figure  into  the  very  body  and  soul 
of  Bhaichand,  who  though  he  spoke  nothing  audible  by  vulgar  ears,  nor 
did  any  thing  visible  by  vulgar  eyes  is,  nevertheless,  believed  to  have,  in 
the  presence  and  hearing  of  the  initiated,  renounced  Christianity,  again 
embraced  Hinduism,  been  regularly  received  back  into  caste,  and  in 
that  communion  to  have  become  sick  and  died — this  effigy,  this  real  body 
of  the  late  Bhaichand,  was  then  carried  to  the  place  of  burning,  and, 
after  a  few  more  Sanskrit  prayers  had  been  repeated  over  it,  and  several 
maunds  of  oil,  &c.  burned  beside  it,  was  consumed  by  fire,  and  the  ashes 
according  to  the  usual  custom  thrown  into  the  river — the  brahmans  who 
performed  the  marvellous  part  of  this  farce  were  then  presented  with 
Hs.  100  by  the  widow  of  the  deceased,  and  lis.  100  more  were  given  by 
her  to  the  opposing  party  in  the  caste,  and  by  this  means  all  was  hushed 
up.  Some  accounts  state  that  the  money  was  paid  before,  the  ceremony 
commenced  :  on  either  supposition,  it  may  truly  be  said  respecting  them, 
"  A  deceived  heart  hath  turned  them  aside." 


1840.] 


Missionary  Conference. 


29 


Christian. Brethren!  supposing  only  the  one-half  of  the  above  ridicu- 
lous story  to  be  true  (the  whole  is  believed  by  many  here),  what  a  hum- 
bling view  it  gives  us  of  human  nature  !  what  need  of  the  gospel  and  the 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  turn  these  people  from  darkness  to  light, 
and  from  the  power  of  satan  unto  God.  "  Ye  that  make  mention  of  the 
Lord,  keep  not  silence,  and  ffive  him  no  rest,  till  he  send  forth  his  light 
as  brightness,  and  liis  salvation  as  a  lamp  that  burneth." 

Surat,  9th  November,  1839. 


V. — Missionary  Conference — Itinerancy. 

Most  of  our  readers  are  doubtless  aware  that  the  Missionaries 
residing  in  Calcutta  are  in  the  habit  of  meeting  on  the  first 
Tuesday  of  each  month,  for  the  purposes  of  social  prayer  and 
of  conference  on  some  prescribed  question  relating  to  the  work 
in  which  they  are  unitedly  engaged.  The  meeting  of  last 
month  was  held  at  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Meiklejohn  of  the 
Scotch  Church.  The  subject  of  conference  was  "  Itinerancy  as 
a  form  of  Missionary  operation."  So  important  is  this  sub- 
ject in  its  bearings  on  the  conduct  of  Missions,  that  we  believe 
we  shall  render  an  acceptable  service  to  many  of  our  readers 
by  presenting  them  with  a  concise  statement  of  the  views 
expressed  by  the  members  present,  interspersing  or  appending 
such  remarks  of  our  own  as  it  may  occur  to  us  to  make. 

The  question  was  proposed  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Lacroix,  the 
Missionary  who,  we  believe,  most  of  all  now  in  this  part  of 
India,  has  had  experience  of  this  branch  of  labour.  Remarks 
were  made  by  all  the  members,  and  particularly  by  Messrs. 
Wenger.  Morton,  Campbell  and  Macdonald. 

On  almost  all  points  the  sentiments  of  the  speakers  com- 
pletely harmonized ;  and  on  none  more  than  in  regard  to  the 
high  place  that  ought  to  be  assigned  to  itinerancy  among  the 
various  departments  of  Missionary  duty.  Indeed  on  this  point 
there  can  scarcely  among  Christians  be  two  opinions.  While 
the  duty  of  the  Church  is  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every 
creature,  and  while,  in  proportion  to  the  multitudes  to  whom 
the  gospel  has  not  yet  been  preached,  the  number  of  preachers 
is  so  small,  it  is  clearly  the  duty  of  those  who  are  in  the  field 
to  endeavour  that  their  services  may  be  made  available  to  the 
instruction  of  the  greatest  possible  number.  The  Missionary 
must  sow  beside  all  waters.  His  work  will  not  be  done  till 
every  individual  on  earth,  male  and  female,  rich  and  poor, 
young  and  old,  has  heard  the  gospel  of  salvation  through  the 
blood  of  the  Incarnate  Son  of  God.  Hence  those  to  whom 
has  been  committed  the  high  and  holy  office  of  preaching  the 


30 


Missionary  Conference. 


[Jan. 


gospel  of  the  grace  of  God  must  not  circumscribe  their  exer- 
tions by  any  limits  narrower  than  those  of  the  inhabited  world. 
"  In  the  morning  they  must  sow  their  seed,  and  in  the  evening 
they  must  not  withhold  their  hands,  for  they  know  not  whether 
shall  prosper,  either  this  or  that,  or  whether  they  both  shall 
be  alike  good."  Since  all  Missionaries  believe  and  know  that 
it  is  the  Spirit  of  God,  "  who  worketh  when  and  where  and  how 
he  pleaseth,"  that  can  alone  accomplish  the  work  of  a  sinner's 
conversion  to  God,  and  since  they  know  that  their  work  con- 
sists merely  in  doing  that  by  means  of  which  the  Spirit  may  do 
his  part,  it  must  at  once  appear  manifest  that  the  Missionary 
should  see  to  it  that  as  great  a  number  as  possible  may  be 
furnished  with  the  knowledge  of  that  truth  by  means  of  which 
the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  works ;  as  it  is  written,  "  Sanctify  them 
by  thy  truth — thy  word  is  truth." 

If  we  knew  that  in  the  Lamb's  book  of  life,  this  man's  and 
that  man's  name  is  written,  prudence — yea,  mercy,  might  dic- 
tate that  we  should  address  ourselves  only  to  those,  and  leave 
all  the  others  to  that  fate  which  we  cannot  avert,  and  which 
our  preaching  only  aggravates,  by  increasing  their  guilt,  and 
placing  before  their  eyes  those  blessings  which  are  never  to  be 
theirs.  But  God  has  in  great  mercy  and  in  great  wisdom  con- 
cealed from  us  his  purposes  in  regard  to  individuals.  He  re- 
serves to  Himself  the  secret  counsels  of  His  will,  but  marks 
out  as  with  a  sunbeam  the  path  of  our  duty.  "  Preach  the 
word;"  "  Be  instant  in  season  and  out  of  season  ;"  "  Preach 
the  gospel  to  every  creature."  The  first  preachers  of  the 
gospel  acted  to  the  letter  in  accordance  with  these  commands. 
Now  we  find  them  in  Jerusalem,  in  the  temple,  and  now  in  an 
apartment  resorted  to  by  strangers  sojourning  in  the  Jewish 
metropolis.  Now  we  find  them  leaving  the  capital  and  tra- 
velling through  cities  and  towns  and  villages — in  places  of 
public  resort  and  in  private  dwellings,  freely  dispensing  unto 
all  who  would  receive  it  the  gospel  of  that  grace  which  had 
been  freely  bestowed  upon  themselves.  In  a  few  short  years 
they  traversed  the  principal  countries  of  Asia  and  Europe.  To 
the  idly  curious  loiterers  of  the  Grecian  capital,  to  the  humble 
women  who  resorted  to  the  chajief  by  the  river's  side  at  Phi- 
lippi,  to  the  officers  and  courtiers  of  Caesar's  palace,  and  to  the 
solitary  Ethiopian  traveller  in  the  desert,  we  find  them  bearing 
the  same  precious  message  of  grace  and  peace  ;  'cand  as  many 
as  were  ordained  to  eternal  life  believed."  In  journeyings 
were  they  often.  Not  contented  with  letting  it  be  known  that 
they  were  in  such  a  place,  and  that  they  would  willingly  re- 
ceive all  who  should  choose  to  come  to  them,  they  carried 
their  message  to  the  homes  of  men,  and  urged  it  upon  their 


1840.] 


Missionary  Conference. 


,11 


acceptance,  entreating  and  exhorting  all  by  the  tender  mercies 
of  God  not  to  receive  the  grace  of  God  in  vain. 

And  so  there  cannot  be  a  doubt  that  means  ought  to  be  put 
in  operation  for  making  known  to  all  men — villagers  as  well 
as  citizens — that  gospel  which  is  a  proclamation  of  goodwill 
to  men — to  men  as  such,  independently  of  all  providential 
distinctions  that  may  subsist  between  them. 

Of  course  we  are  not  to  be  understood  as  meaning  that  the 
stations  in  the  cities  ought  to  be  neglected  or  abandoned.  Far 
from  it.  Cities  have  been  in  all  times  and  in  all  countries  the 
centres  and  the  foci  for  the  collection  and  the  dispersion  of 
good  or  of  evil.  That  they  are  most  frequently  the  centre  of 
evil  is  universally  admitted.  That  they  may  be,  and  have  been, 
and  are  well  fitted  to  be  the  centres  from  which  good  may  be 
with  most  advantage  disseminated  will  as  little  be  questioned. 
Indeed  we  have  proof  that  it  was  so  in  the  early  days  of  the 
Christian  Church;  and  the  very  name  "Pagans"  as  applied 
to  heathens  gives  evidence  that  the  cities  of  the  empire  had 
assumed  a  Christian  aspect  before  the  villages  had  abandoned 
the  practice  of  idolatry.  On  this  point  all  the  members  of  the 
conference  were  agreed.  But  while  the  stations  in  the  cities 
are  to  be  most  sedulously  attended  to,  we  have  no  right  to 
neglect  the  millions  who  spend  their  days  far  from  the  bustle 
and  vice  of  towns.  Beside  all  waters  we  are  to  sow.  To 
every  creature  we  are  to  preach  the  gospel. 

It  might  be  an  interesting  question,  but  it  would  be  a  very 
difficult  one,  to  inquire  whether  more  good  may  be  expected 
to  be  done  by  a  frequent  repetition  of  the  truths  of  the  gospel 
in  ever  varied  forms  in  the  ears  of  the  same  people,  or  by  the 
proclamation  of  these  truths  once  or  twice  or  half  a  dozen 
times  to  a  great  number  of  different  people  ;  whether,  since 
by  feeble  man  both  cannot  be  combined,  the  Missionary  ought 
to  seek  more  after  intensiveness  or  extensiveness  in  his  work. 
This,  however,  we  take  it,  is  a  question  we  are  not  called  upon 
to  solve.  The  leadings  of  providence,  and  the  peculiar  gifts 
vouchsafed  by  the  Divine  Spirit,  must  regulate  every  individual 
in  the  direction  of  his  efforts  ;  and  since  both  objects  are  evi- 
dently desirable,  we  cannot  doubt  that  God  has  made  provi- 
sion in  His  church  for  the  accomplishment  of  both.  In  all 
other  departments  of  human  exertion  the  division  of  labour  is 
found  to  be  profitable  ;  and  in  this,  the  highest  department, 
there  is  the  strongest  reason  to  believe  that  the  principle 
should  be  adopted.  While  we  hold  it  to  be  of  great  moment 
that  some  natives  (as  many  as  possible)  should  be  furnished 
with  all  knowledge  that  Missionaries  can  communicate  and 
they  receive,  that  they  may  in  due  time  become  Masters  and 


32 


Missionary  Conference. 


Fathers  in  Israel,  care  ought  to  be  taken  that  no  individual 
throughout  the  land  shall  go  down  to  the  dead  without  hear- 
ing the  wondrous  story  of  the  Saviour's  love. 

In  India  there  are  peculiar  facilities  for  this  mode  of  intro- 
ducing the  gospel.  Whatever  may  be  the  powers  of  the  Native 
mind,  it  seems  undoubted,  that  the  natives  generally  are  fond 
of  religious  discussions.  It  was  stated  in  the  conference  by 
Mr.  Morton,  and  confirmed  by  other  brethren,  and  indeed  we 
believe  is  well  known  to  all  who  are  acquainted  with  the  habits 
of  the  people,  that  arguments  and  discussions  between  pandits, 
regarding  questions  of  religion  and  philosophy,  generally  form 
part  of  the  entertainments  when  public  occasions  call  multi- 
tudes of  people  together.  Hence  it  quite  coincides  with  their 
views  and  feelings  that  the  missionaries  should  go  and  request 
to  be  heard,  and  set  forth  what  they  know  to  be  truth,  in 
opposition  to  the  errors  that  have  so  long  prevailed  in  this 
unhappy  land.  The  physical  structure  of  Bengal  is  not, we  think, 
upon  the  whole  unfavourable;  although  it  must  be  admitted 
that  the  intense  heat  throughout  one  season,  and  the  incessant 
rains  during  another  are  obstacles  in  the  way.  The  absence  of 
mountains,  and  the  intersection  of  the  whole  country  by  rivers 
and  creeks,  probably  do  more  than  counter-balance  these 
disadvantages*.  So  far  as  we  know,  travelling  is  not  cheaper 
or  easier  in  any  country  in  the  world  than  in  this,  although  in 
many  it  may  be  pleasanter.  As  to  the  obstacles  just  alluded  to 
they  are  probably,  during  certain  portions  of  the  year,  insur- 
mountable. Mr.  Lacroix  stated  that  during  one-half  of  the 
year, — from  October  to  April — itinerancy  is  practicable  ;  and 
he  is  of  opinion  that  during  these  months,  a  large  proportion 
— say  a  fifth,  a  fourth,  or  even  a  third  part  of  the  whole  body 
of  missionaries,  ought  in  ordinary  circumstances  to  be  so  em- 
ployed. Perhaps,  when  we  take  into  account  the  number 
who  are  absolutely  required  to  superintend  the  work  which 
must  by  no  means  be  intermitted  at  the  stations,  even  the 
lowest  of  these  proportions  is  too  high.  But  this  must  of 
course  in  every  case  be  left  to  the  Christian  judgment  of  the 
parties. 

As  to  those  who  ought  to  engage  in  this  work,  there  seemed 
to  be  a  universal  agreement  that  all  who  are  qualified  by  a 
thorough  knowledge  of  the  language  and  habits  of  the  people, 

*  We  may  here  notice  a  suggestion  made  by  Mr.  Macdonald,  which 
seemed  to  many  of  the  members  to  be  very  valuable ;  that  each  Mission- 
ary body  ought  to  possess  at  least  one  Bhauleah,  which  should  be  at  all 
times  at  the  command  of  the  Missionaries.  By  this  means,  it  was  believed 
some  expense  and  much  trouble  would  be  avoided,  and  the  work  of 
itinerancy  materially  facilitated. 


1840.] 


Missionary  Conference. 


and  who  are  not  providentially  restrained,  ought  more  or  less 
to  engage  in  this  department  of  the  work.  That  it  requires 
such  qualifications  is  obvious.  Further,  as  in  all  branches  of 
the  work,  so  in  a  high  measure  in  this,  there  is  need  of  a 
harmonious  blending  of  the  apostolical  qualities,  the  wisdom 
of  the  serpent,  and  the  harmlessness  of  the  dove.  When  the 
parties  to  be  addressed  are,  in  most  cases,  those  who  know 
literally  and  absolutely  nothing  of  the  subject  on  which  they  are 
to  be  spoken  to,  it  is  clear  that  such  a  familiarity  with  their  lan- 
guage and  modes  of  thinking,  is  required,  and  such  an  acquaint- 
ance with  all  their  habits  of  life,  as  none  of  our  missionaries  can 
be  supposed  to  possess,  except  those  who  have  been  long  in 
the  country.  But  as  this  familiarity  is  best  attained  in  the 
course  of  itinerating,  it  were  well  that  each  of  these  veterans, 
in  all  cases  where  it  is  possible,  should  be  accompanied  by  a 
younger  man,  who  might  be  expected  by  the  blessing  of  God  at 
once  to  do  much  good  and  to  gain  much  good.  As  to  the  good 
he  would  do,  we  have  it  all  comprehended  in  the  reason  which 
without  doubt  was  our  Saviour's  guide  in  sending  out  the  pri- 
mitive missionaries  "  by  two  and  two" — a  reason  which  has 
commended  itself  to  all  who  have  deliberately  thought  of  the 
subject.  As  to  the  good  that  he  would  gain,  it  is  equally 
obvious  that  it  might  be  much.  A  man  is  not  deemed  fit  to 
be  entrusted  with  the  sharpening  of  our  knives  or  the  mending 
of  our  shoes  till  he  has  been  instructed  in  the  "  art,  trade  and 
mystery,"  by  a  competent  master.  And  although  preaching 
is  far,  far  more  than  a  mere  art,  yet  in  part  it  is  an  art,  and 
the  most  difficult  of  all  arts.  It  was  suggested  that  it  might 
be  well,  when  it  can  be  so  arranged,  that  the  individuals  com- 
posing the  sevei'al  pairs  thus  going  out  should  belong  to  differ- 
ent denominations :  and  it  does  seem  that  this  might  silence 
those  objectors  who  reproach  the  missionaries  with  the  un- 
happy dissensions  that  separate  the  several  divisions  of  the 
Christian  Church.  In  all  cases  there  ought  to  be  associated 
with  the  European  Missionaries  one  or  more  native  catechists. 
These  would  be  on  many  accounts  of  the  greatest  service  to 
the  Missionaries.  As  our  readers  know  how  highly  we  estimate 
the  services  of  well-qualified  native  agents,  we  need  not  dilate 
upon  this  point.  A  pious  catechist,  moreover,  could  not  fail 
to  derive  spiritual  profit  from  such  a  tour. 

As  to  the  extent  of  territory  that  ought  to  be  embraced  in  a 
plan  of  itinerancy,  it  is  not  easy  to  speak  very  definitely. 
There  are  probably  not  nearly  so  many  Missionaries  in  Bengal 
that  their  visits  could  be  repeated  with  sufficient  frequency 
were  they  to  comprehend  the  whole  country  in  their  scheme. 
Yet  by  a  well-defined  plan,  and  by  complete  co-operation,  it  is 

VOL.  I.  F 


34 


Missionary  Conference. 


[Jan. 


impossible  to  say  how  much  might  be  done.  While  it  is  an 
awfully  solemn  thought,  that  so  many  thousands  are  living  and 
dying  without  having  once  heard  the  name  of  the  living  God  and 
Jesus  Christ  whom  he  hath  sent,  it  is  not  to  be  forgotten  that 
a  frequent  repetition  of  applications  is  in  the  highest  degree 
desirable.  And  the  example  of  the  apostles  points  out  to  us 
how  important  they  deemed  it,  that  no  good  impressions  should 
be  lost  for  want  of  being  promptly  repeated  and  renewed. 
Hence  it  is  that  they  often  followed  each  other  in  their  wan- 
derings, and  that  they  ever  and  anon  returned  by  the  same 
track,  "confirming  the  souls  of  the  disciples,  and  exhorting 
them  to  continue  in  the  faith."  This  is  just  another  form  of  the 
question  as  to  extensiveness  and  intensiveness,  to  which  we 
have  already  alluded,  and  which  must  be  left  to  the  decision 
of  Christian  wisdom  for  every  particular  case. 

While  co-operation  is  absolutely  essential ;  and  while  in 
order  to  effective  co-operation,  a  due  attention  to  method  is 
requisite  ;  we  conceive  that  an  itinerant  ought  never  to  be  so 
bound  down  to  the  previously  arranged  plan  of  his  route,  that 
he  cannot,  when  providence  seems  clearly  to  dictate,  make  any 
deviation  from  it.  He  ought  to  be  able  to  stay  a  day  or  a 
week  longer  in  a  place  than  before  his  arrival  he  had  supposed 
would  be  advisable ;  to  go  thirty  or  forty  milt  s  out  of  the 
track  he  had  intended  to  follow; — in  a  word,  he  should  consi- 
der himself  as  completely  at  the  disposal  of  God,  and  act  from 
day  to  day  according  to  the  dictates  of  the  wisdom  given  him 
in  answer  to  his  daily  prayers.    Thus  did  the  apostles. 

As  to  the  particular  duties  of  an  Itinerant  Missionary,  they 
are  in  substance  just  the  same  with  those  of  one  who  is  sta- 
tionary. To  preach  the  gospel  to  all  who  will  listen  to  him, 
to  distribute  tracts,  books,  and  especially  portions  of  the 
Scriptures,  to  visit  and  examine  schools  and  colleges,  to 
engage  in  temperate  discussion  with  pandits  and  others,  and 
in  fact,  to  embrace  every  opportunity  that  presents  itself  of 
doing  his  Master's  work,  and  to  make  opportunities  if  none 
should  present  themselves.  In  order  to  do  this  with  effect,  it 
is  manifest  that  the  itinerant  has  need  of  all  his  physical  and 
mental  energies  ;  and  thus  it  appears  that  in  this  part  of  India 
the  system  has  never  had  a  fair  trial.  With  perhaps  a  solitary 
exception,  it  has  never  been  engaged  in  as  a  matter  of  duty, 
but  simply,  as  a  work  of  second-rate  importance,  has  been 
casually  taken  up  by  those  who  have  been  obliged  to  leave 
their  stations  in  pursuit  of  health.  In  the  case  of  the  excep- 
tion referred  to,  the  late  Rev.  Mr.  Chamberlain,  the  results 
were  in  every  way  most  satisfactory.  The  importance  of  the 
work  certainly  justifies,  as  the  difficulty  of  it  as  certainly 
requires,  the  devotion  to  it  of  the  best  energies  of  our  best  men. 


1840.] 


Missionary  Conference. 


35 


It  is  thought  desirable  that  an  itinerating  party  be  furnish- 
ed with  as  many  letters  as  can  be  procured  to  the  principal 
men,  native  and  European,  of  the  district  they  are  to  pass 
through.  Even  if  the  individuals  to  whom  the  letters  are 
addressed  should  not  be  particularly  favorable  to  the  cause  of 
Christianity,  they  will  generally  account  it  both  their  duty  and 
their  honour  to  facilitate  the  operations  of  those  who  come  to 
them  with  recommendations  from  their  metropolitan  friends. 
Thus  "  the  earth  helpeth  the  woman."  And  such  may,  in  the 
persons  of  the  Missionaries,  entertain  angels  unawares,  and 
salvation  may  come  to  those  houses  which  have  been  opened 
merely  for  the  exercise  of  common  hospitality. 

As  no  situation  in  life  is  attended  with  unmingled  good, 
so  there  may  be  peculiar  trials  and  temptations  to  be  encoun- 
tered by  the  Missionary  who  is  perpetually  removing  from 
place  to  place.  As  for  example,  there  is  unquestionably  some 
danger  of  his  interests  and  sensibilities  being  somewhat  blunt- 
ed by  their  being  called  forth  so  perpetually  by  a  rapid  suc- 
cession of  objects,  on  none  of  which  they  can  be  allowed  for 
any  considerable  time  to  rest.  It  will  not  now  be  questioned, 
since  the  natural  results  of  the  principles  of  the  French  illu- 
minati  are  matter  of  history,  that  the  man  who  loves  his 
species  most  is  the  man  that  is  most  warmly  attached  to  his 
kindred  and  friends  ;  and  we  earnestly  trust  that  the  experi- 
ment will  never  again  be  tried  of  teaching  a  man  to  love  the 
whole  human  race  by  first  teaching  him  to  love  none  of  the 
individuals  of  that  race.  It  ought  not  then  to  be  concealed, 
that  when  a  man  is  continually  having  his  sympathies  directed 
to  different  objects,  it  will  be  difficult  for  him  to  retain  that 
lively  interest  in  the  well-being  of  every  individual  which  is 
so  necessary  to  a  Missionary's  success.  But  prayer  and  watch- 
fulness will  counteract  this  and  every  other  danger,  so  that 
they  ought  not  for  a  moment  to  deter  any  one  from  entering 
upon  the  work.  "He  that  observeth  the  wind  shall  not  sow, 
and  he  that  regardeth  the  clouds  shall  not  reap." 

And  in  the  prayerful  heart  not  only  shall  these  evils  be 
averted,  but  positive  good  shall  be  communicated.  All  his 
graces  will  be  called  into  exercise,  and  will  be  strengthened 
by  the  exercise.  "  He  who  watereth  shall  be  watered  also 
himself."  The  itinerant  will  not  fail  also  to  gain  more  know- 
ledge of  the  people  with  whom  be  has  to  deal — an  exceedingly 
valuable  kind  of  knowledge — than  he  who  remains  fixed  in 
the  same  station.  Heathenism  is  a  Protean  monster.  Though 
in  all  cases  essentially  the  same,  it  can  assume  a  thousand  dif- 
ferent aspects.  With  these  the  itinerant  will  have  the  best 
opportunities  of  becoming  acquainted.     Divine  truth  also, 


36 


State  and  Prospects  of  the  Jews. 


[Jan. 


though  one,  is  of  so  plastic  a  nature  that  it  can  accommodate 
itself  to  the  opposition  of  all  these  various  forms  of  error. 
Being  thus  required  to  view  and  to  apply  the  truth  in  a  mul- 
titude of  aspects  that  else  should  never  have  been  presented 
to  him,  the  itinerant  may  be  expected,  other  things  being 
equal,  to  attain  a  more  enlarged  and  at  the  same  time  a  more 
minute  comprehension  of  the  gospel  scheme  with  all  its  bear- 
ings, than  he  whose  operations  are  confined  within  a  narrower 
sphere. 

We  have  therefore  great  pleasure  in  recommending  this  sub- 
ject to  the  serious  and  prayerful  consideration  of  our  Mission- 
ary Brethren  at  the  other  stations,  and  of  those  residing  in 
Calcutta,  who  were  not  present  at  the  late  conference,  and,  in 
general,  to  the  attention  of  all  who  take  an  interest  in  the 
success  of  the  cause  of  Christ.  The  plan  is  worth  a  trial, 
and  properly  speaking,  it  has  never  yet  been  tried  in  Ben- 
gal.— Ed. 


VI. — Stale  and  Prospects  of  the  Jews. 
To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Gentlemek, 

The  past  history  and  present  condition  of  the  Hebrews  have  excited 
an  interest  and  solicitude  in  the  reading  world  which  few  other  subjects 
have  commanded. 

The  statesman,  and  the  philosopher,  infidel,  and  christian  have  perused 
the  books  of  Moses  and  the  prophets,  and  bestowed  upon  the  examination 
of  their  contents  much  diligence  and  research.  An  accurate  acquaintance 
with  these  writings  is  of  importance  to  all  classes  of  people;  it  must 
enlarge  the  views  of  the  patriot,  and  fit  him  to  discharge  with  more 
efficiency  the  high  and  responsible  duties  his  country  calls  him  to 
perform.  He  cannot  fail  to  perceive  that  the  principles  of  justice,  purity 
and  truth,  on  which  the  first  constitution  was  based,  have  in  all  subse- 
quent ages  been  the  foundation  of  every  wisely-framed  and  practically 
good  government :  and  that,  as  legislation  has  breathed,  and  equitable 
law  enforced,  the  great  principles  embodied  in  the  decalogue,  a  rise  or 
fall  in  the  scale  of  national  eminence  has  been  the  result.  He  will  be 
able  to  trace  the  ruin  of  many  ancient  kingdoms  with  whose  history 
he  has  made  himself  familiar,  through  a  series  of  events  which  step  by 
step  conducted  the  nations  to  degradation  and  at  last  annihilated  every 
vestige  of  their  greatness  and  glory,  to  a  departure  from  these  primary 
and  essential  principles :  and  will  find,  that  the  downfal  of  nations  has 
begun  when  they  have  commenced  to  erect  a  standard  of  morality, 
justice  and  truth,  lower  than  that  which  is  engraven  on  the  pages  of  the 
.book  of  God  and  on  the  consciences  of  enlightened  men. 

Individual  solicitude  for  the  public  good,  and  willingness  to  forego 
the  gratification  of  self-interest  in  order  to  advance  it,  love  of  country, 


1840.] 


State  and  Prospects  of  the  Jews. 


37 


and  courage  employed  in  the  preservation  of  its  freedom  and  the  increase 
of  its  glory,  which  no  dangers  could  intimidate  and  no  trials  exhaust, 
were  qualities  that  characterized  ancient  Greece  in  the  most  prosperous 
period  of  its  history.  Love  of  wealth,  engendered  by  luxury  and  dissi- 
pation ;  eagerness  to  grasp  gold,  offered  in  the  shape  of  bribes  to  betray 
the  interests  of  the  republic  ;  degeneracy  of  morals  among  the  populace, 
increased  by  the  bad  example  of  those  in  power  ;  the  loss  of  manly 
fortitude,  (which  exists  probably  in  the  bosoms  of  the  virtuous  only;) 
cowardice,  from  which  arose  jealousy  the  fruitful  source  of  sedition  and 
intestine  wars ; — these  preceded  the  weakness,  slavery,  and  ruin  of  that 
once  powerful,  free,  and  flourishing  people. 

Rapacity,  which  was  the  prevailing  vice  of  the  great,  and  licentious- 
ness, that  of  the  multitude  ;  a  general  corruption  of  manners  by  debau- 
chery, and  the  gratification  of  unnatural  passions  ;  poverty  and  weakness, 
produced  by  idleness  and  inactivity  ;  neglect  of  literature  and  science, 
and  the  abandonment  of  agriculture  and  the  mechanic  arts  entirely  to 
slaves  cruelly  oppressed  by  their  tyrannical  masters  ; — these  accelerated 
the  fall  of  Rome,  once  the  mistress  of  the  known  world. 

One  of  the  most  melancholy  instances  of  the  sad  effects  of  crime  on 
the  welfare  of  a  people  is  to  be  found,  however,  in  the  history  of  later 
days, — in  the  dark  pages  of  the  annals  of  France.  Not  till  impiety  and 
profanation  of  all  that  was  sacred  and  divine  had  deluged  the  land ;  not 
till  destitution  of  honorable  principles  and  feelings  had  distinguished  all 
classes  of  the  community,  and  each  person  suspected  his  neighbour  of 
harbouring  the  same  foul  purposes  that  were  ripening  within  his  own 
bosom,  did  the  reign  of  terror  commence  ;  or  was  a  vast  empire  placed 
in  the  hands  of  Morat,  Danton,  and  Robespierre,  who  ruled  it  by  shed- 
ding the  blood  of  its  inhabitants  which  flowed  from  the  guillotine  in 
torrents.  Thus  ancient  and  modern  history  speak  to  mankind  in  lan- 
guage the  meaning  of  which  cannot  be  misunderstood,  "  that  righteous- 
ness exalteth  a  nation,  and  that  sin  is  the  reproach  and  eventually  the 
ruin  of  any  people."  The  painful  vicissitudes  which  the  Jews  have  in 
their  recklessness  of  principles  and  morals  experienced,  strongly  confirm 
the  truth  of  this  statement,  and  ought  to  carry  conviction  to  every 
mind,  especially  to  the  minds  of  those  who  read  the  history  of  the 
past,  to  learn  how  they  may  promote  more  effectually  the  well-being 
of  mankind. 

The  Hebrew  scriptures — the  most  ancient  records  in  the  world — 
present  to  the  mind  of  the  philosopher  the  wonderful  phenomena  of 
creation,  providence,  and  the  deluge.  He  is  furnished  in  the  book 
of  Genesis  with  a  minute  and  detailed  account  of  these  astonishing 
events.  Had  not  this  book  existed,  some  of  the  most  important 
parts  of  astronomy,  chronology,  and  history  would  have  been  clouded 
with  the  thickest  darkness,  covered  with  a  vail  which  the  study 
and  labor  of  ages  could  not  have  removed.  Destitute  of  correct 
data,  all  conclusions  would  have  been  founded  on  mere  probabilities, 
which  to  a  mind  thirsting  for  accurate  and  definite  information  would 
have  been  unsatisfactory.  Hence  almost  all  ancient  philosophers, 
astronomers,  chronologists,  and  historians  have  taken  much  of  their 
data  from  this  book,  and  all  the  real  discoveries  of  modern  times 


38 


State  and  Prospects  of  the  Jews. 


[Jan. 


have  confirmed  the  truth  of  its  statements.  The  reality  of  the 
deluge  is  established  by  organic  remains  found  imbedded  in  the  strata 
of  the  earth,  and  attested  likewise  by  almost  all  ancient  writers; 
for  example,  Berosus  the  Chaldean,  Hieronymus  the  Egyptian,  Nico- 
laus  of  Damascus,  Abydenus  an  Assyrian,  and  Plato  the  celebrated 
Grecian  ;  while  every  person  acquainted  with  the  works  of  Ovid  will 
no  doubt  be  prepared  to  admit,  that  the  interesting  story  which  he  tells 
of  Deucalion's  flood  is  in  so  many  respects  similar  to  the  account  of 
Noah's,  as  to  establish  in  no  ordinary  degree  the  truth  of  the  sacred 
narrative. 

Traditions  of  the  deluge  have  been  found  among  the  Egyptians, 
Chinese,  Japanese,  Hindus,  Burmans,  ancient  Goths  and  Druids, 
Mexicans,  Peruvians,  Brazilians,  North  American  Indians,  Greenlanders, 
Otaheiteans,  Sandwich  Islanders,  and  in  almost  every  country  of  the 
globe.  Whether  these  nations  at  an  early  period  possessed  the  simple 
and  unadorned  account  of  this  wonderful  event,  which  is  given  in  the 
sacred  writings,  but  which,  being  handed  down  age  after  age,  has  at  last 
became  corrupted  in  the  course  of  transmission,  it  is  not  of  material  mo- 
ment to  inquire.  For  though  these  traditions  do  not  agree  in  every  par- 
ticular with  the  scripture  account,  they  all  bear  unequivocal  testimony  that 
such  an  event  as  the  deluge  has  taken  place,  and  thus  give  all  the  evi- 
dence of  which  they  are  capable  to  establish  the  truth  and  inspira- 
tion of  the  Bible.  The  Mosaic  history  thus  spreads  before  the  philo- 
sopher the  mysteries  of  creation,  of  prov  idence,  and  of  nature  ;  on  which 
he  may  exercise  all  the  energies  of  his  capacious  and  gifted  mind  ;  from 
which  he  may  enrich  himself  with  treasures  of  wisdom,  and  still  leave 
regions  unexplored  ;  so  widely  extended  is  the  world  of  research  into 
which  he  is  conducted. 

If  the  infidel  lift  up  his  feeble  voice  against  the  united  testimony  of 
all  ages  and  nations  which  has  been  given  in  favour  of  the  oracles  of 
God,  let  that  voice  be  hushed  till  he  can  furnish  a  more  satisfactory 
account  of  the  creation,  progress,  and  destinies  of  the  world,  than  that 
given  in  scripture.  Let  him  hide  himself  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth, 
examine  all  the  fossilized  deposits,  which  men,  at  least  his  equals  in 
learning  and  elevation  of  understanding,  have  regarded  as  undoubted 
evidences  of  the  flood  ;  and  when  he  has  expended  all  his  energies  in  this 
department  of  labor,  let  him  arise  from  the  deptiis  and  boldly  announce 
the  issue  of  his  researches  to  the  world.  If  he  refuse  to  do  this,  if  he 
be  willing  to  sneer  but  unwilling  to  deal  with  facts,  he  must  allow  the 
Christian  to  say  in  the  name  of  his  Master,  "  Thou  hatest  the  light,  thou 
lovest  darkness  because  thy  deeds  are  evil." 

To  the  believer  in  divine  revelation,  the  history  of  the  Hebrews 
affords  abundant  matter  for  serious  thought  and  deep  reflection.  The 
calamities  and  miseries  of  the  Jews,  in  extent,  severity,  and  long  con- 
tinuance are  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  the  world.  Like  so  many 
Neros  thirsting  for  blood,  kings  have  published  edicts  against  them  of 
unexampled  cruelty,  and  sent  executioners  to  carry  them  into  immediate 
effect.  Seditious  and  infuriated  multitudes  have  massacred  thousands 
upon  thousands,  robbed  them  of  their  property,  abused  their  persons, 
sported  with  their  agonies,  and  walked  over  their  carcases  with  the 


1840.] 


State  and  Prospects  of  the  Jews. 


39 


same  insensibility  with  which  they  have  trodden  on  the  stones  in  the 
streets. 

Heathens,  Mahomedans,  and  Christians,  (so  called)  who  could  agree 
in  nothing  else,  have  cordially  united  in  this  work  of  persecution  and 
blood  :  with  hearts  as  hard  as  adamant,  unmoved  by  the  prayers,  the 
tears,  and  piercing  cries  of  the  sufferers,  have  dragged  the  out-casts  of 
Israel  as  so  many  oxen  led  to  the  slaughter,  and  with  an  infernal 
ingenuity  brought  into  requisition  every  instrument  of  torture  and 
death,  to  exterminate  them  from  the  face  of  the  earth. 

During  the  period  when  Jerusalem  was  surrounded  by  the  Romans, 
famine  more  destructive  than  weapons  of  war  preyed  indiscriminately 
on  the  besieged  inhabitants.  Though  the  starving  multitudes  seized 
on  every  thing  they  could  possibly  procure  to  satisfy  the  cravings  of 
nature,  the  most  loathsome  refuse,  even  the  contents  of  the  common 
sewers,  thousands  reduced  to  mere  skeletons,  wasted  away  with  hunger, 
fell  down  dead  in  the  streets.  Many  who  left  the  gates  of  the  city  and 
fled  from  this  dire  calamity,  were  taken  prisoners  and  put  to  the  most 
agonizing  of  deaths  :  of  these  fugitives,  daily  five  hundred  were  crucified 
without  the  walls,  till  every  open  place  was  filled  with  their  suspended 
carcases,  and  no  other  room  was  left  for  the  erection  of  additional 
crosses  and  for  the  committing  of  these  wholesale  murders.  The 
houses  and  streets  of  the  city  were  filled  with  the  slain  :  those  who 
fled  to  the  temple  for  refuge,  perished  amid  the  burning  cloisters  of  the 
sacred  edifice,  or  were  pierced  to  death  by  the  swords  of  the  enemy  who 
broke  in  upon  them  ;  eleven  hundred  thousand  Jewish  warriors  fell 
during  the  siege ;  ninety -seven  thousand  were  taken  prisoners,  and  of 
these,  eleven  thousand,  owing  either  to  evil  design  or  shameful  neglect, 
having  been  left  destitute  of  food,  died  of  hunger. 

Throughout  both  the  Roman  and  Persian  dominions,  they  were 
grievously  oppressed  and  persecuted :  frequently  multitudes  of  them 
were  put  to  death  ;  under  one  Roman  emperor  five  hundred  thousand 
were  slain  in  cold  blood.  In  Africa  their  condition  was  equally  calami- 
tous ;  the  exercise  of  their  religion  was  prohibited  even  in  the  caverns 
to  which  they  had  been  compelled  to  retreat  to  escape  the  deadly  fero- 
city of  their  foes  :  homeless  wanderers  throughout  the  world,  and 
unfavoured  with  the  least  sympathy  of  the  strangers  among  whom  they 
were  scattered,  everywhere  the  vengeance  of  men  was  arrayed  against 
them,  and  the  swiftness  of  flight  accelerated  their  steps  only  to  some 
unforeseen  catastrophe  ;  in  the  city  of  Alexandria,  within  the  space  of 
a  few  hours,  fifty  thousand  were  destroyed. 

Under  Mahommed  and  the  caliphs  his  successors,  the  Jewish  youths 
were  bribed  to  abjure  the  religion  of  their  fathers  and  to  embrace  the 
Musalman  faith:  in  the  event  of  becoming  followers  of  the  prophet, 
the  property  of  the  parents  was  confiscated  and  inherited  by  their 
apostate  children.  Heavy  tribute,  the  greatest  indignities  and  hard- 
ships, indeed  every  species  of  suffering  the  avarice  and  barbarity  of 
their  oppressors  could  dictate,  was  inflicted  on  the  out-casts  of  Israel. 
Horrible  to  relate,  on  one  occasion  "  seven  hundredJevvs  were  dragged 
in  chains  to  the  market-place  of  the  city  of  Medina  ;  they  descended 
alive  into  the  grave,  prepared  at  once  for  their  execution  and  burial, 


40  State  and  Prospects  of  the  Jews.  [Jan. 


and  the  apostle  beheld  with  an  inflexible  eye  the  slaughter  of  his  help- 
less enemies." 

They  were  barbarously  used  by  Christians,  if  the  term  Christian  can 
be  applied  to  vile  wretches  who  trampled  in  the  dust  every  precept  of 
the  law  and  every  doctrine  of  the  gospel,  who  in  solemn  hypocrisy 
sung  psalms  and  praised  the  Lord  while  marching  on  to  shed  the  blood 
of  the  innocent.  Such  were  the  crusading  hosts — they  murdered  not 
only  Turks,  but  likewise  many  of  the  seed  of  Abraham. 

In  subsequent  times  the  vast  amount  of  their  wealth,  and  their  total 
inability,  from  having  lost  the  knowledge  of  arms,  to  defend  themselves, 
excited  the  avarice  of  Christians  so  called  ;  who,  under  the  mask  of  piety, 
adopted  every  expedient  to  rifle  their  well-stored  coffers.  On  one 
occasion,  "  ninety  thousand  Jews  in  Portugal  were  compelled  to  receive 
the  sacrament  of  baptism  ;  the  fortunes  of  the  obstinate  were  confiscated, 
and  their  bodies  tortured.  The  clergy  of  the  Inquisition  passed  a 
decree,  that  those  who  had  been  baptized  should  be  constrained,  for  the 
honor  of  the  church,  to  persevere  in  the  external  practice  of  a  religion 
which  they  disbelieved  and  detested."  Throughout  the  whole  of  Europe 
they  were  treated  with  unrelenting  cruelty.  In  Italy,  at  Trani  and 
Naples ;  also  in  Spain,  at  Toledo  and  Barcelona,  throughout  the  pro- 
vinces of  Valentia,  Navarre  and  Arragon  ;  likewise  in  France,  in  the 
provinces  of  Naine,  Anjou,  Touraine,  Poitou,  Guyenne  and  Languedoc, 
many  perished ;  and  the  condition  of  all  the  survivors  was  one  of  extreme 
hardship.  In  England,  at  Norwich,  almost  all  of  them  were  killed  ;  and 
at  York  fifteen  hundred,  who  had  taken  refuge  in  the  castle  and  were 
there  attacked  by  their  enemies,  when  death  became  the  only  alterna- 
tive, "  perished  by  a  mutual  slaughter ;  each  father  was  the  murderer 
of  his  wife  and  of  his  children."  In  Germany,  at  Treves,  Mentz, 
Spire,  and  Worms,  thousands  were  plundered  and  slain  in  a  general 
massacre ;  at  Frankfort,  besides  those  who  were  put  to  death  by  the 
sword,  one  hundred  and  eighty  having  been  consigned  to  the  flames  and 
treated  with  every  indignity,  were  burnt  to  ashes  ;  at  Ulm,  the  Jewish 
inhabitants  were  refused  all  quarter ;  parents  and  children  united  in  life 
by  the  dearest  bonds,  and  undivided  even  in  death,  perished  together 
in  the  same  tremendous  catastrophe  ;  not  one  son  of  Israel  escaped  to 
tell  the  woes  of  his  brethren.  Nor  only  in  the  dark  middle  ages,  but 
also  in  times  designated  more  enlightened,  have  the  Jews  experienced 
every  kind  of  injustice  and  tyranny.  All  the  European  states  declared 
them  incapable,  owing  to  their  religious  belief,  to  be  members  of  any 
corporate  body,  or  to  fill  any  offices  of  trust ;  and  on  the  same  ground 
deprived  them  of  every  civil  right  and  immunity,  which  as  men,  what- 
ever might  have  been  their  creed  (so  long  as  that  creed  did  not  urge 
them  to  disturb  the  civil  constitution  and  peace  of  their  country)  they 
ought  to  have  possessed.  Because  the  wealth  they  accumulated  by 
industry  and  the  management  of  their  finances  was  found  exceedingly 
useful  to  relieve  sovereigns  and  nobles  in  emergencies  produced  by 
extravagance  and  vice ;  their  existence  it  is  true  was  tolerated,  at  least 
till  such  time  as  they  came  for  the  payment  of  their  bonds,  when  not 
unfrequently  for  some  pretended  fault  they  were  kindly  handed  over  to 
the  jailor,  and  compelled  to  disburse  as  large  a  sum  for  their  liberation 


1840.] 


State  and  Prospects  of  the  Jews. 


41 


as  would  perhaps  clear  the  account  of  their  royal  and  honorable 
debtors. 

In  every  country,  laws  most  inimical  to  their  interests  were  enacted 
and  rigidly  enforced  to  the  very  letter,  sometimes  at  the  expense  of 
both  property  and  life.  Such  legislation  was  even  attempted  to  be 
justified  not  on  principles  of  worldly  policy  merely,  but  on  those  of  the 
sacred  volume.  It  was  gravely  argued  to  be  the  duty  of  Christian 
nations  to  withhold  from  the  Hebrews  the  natural  rights  of  men  and 
citizens — to  treat  them  with  the  respect,  which  is  ever  due  to  rectitude 
of  principle  and  purity  of  morals,  was  considered  to  be  frustrating  the 
accomplishment  of  ancient  prophecy,  which  foretold  they  would  be  a 
suffering  people.  As  if  a  God  infinitely  just  and  holy  could  sanction 
deeds  of  wickedness,  and  commit  the  execution  of  his  judgments  to  the 
special  charge  of  men,  most  of  whom  despised  his  authority  and  made 
a  mockery  of  all  religion.  As  if  those  who  meddled  with  secret  things 
which  belong  exclusively  to  the  Lord,  and  rashly  touching  the  wheel  of 
Providence  helped  forward  the  affliction  of  unhappy  Israel,  would  not 
incur  the  sore  displeasure  of  Him  who  is  the  declared  and  rightful 
Avenger  of  the  oppressed. 

If  sincere  affection  properly  manifested  be  the  way  from  one  human 
bosom  to  another,  and  no  heart  can  be  approached  by  persecution  and 
vengeance  without  exciting  feelings  of  hostility,  possibly  emotions  of 
undying  contempt,  it  is  not  marvellous  that  oppressive  exactions  and 
unjust  imprisonments,  wounds  and  slaughters  unprovoked,  should  have 
failed  to  recommend  the  Christian  faitli  to  the  unbiased  consideration 
of  the  Jews.  Persecution  has  exerted  on  their  minds  only  the  same 
influence  it  has  exercised  over  the  minds  of  other  people,  rendered  them 
more  attached  to  their  own  opinions  and  more  hostile  to  those  of  their 
oppressors. 

During  the  last  half  century  their  political  rights  and  privileges  have 
been  in  part,  however,  acknowledged.  Many  nations  have  now  redress- 
ed their  grievances,  and  as  the  principles  of  civil  and  religious  freedom 
are  better  understood  and  more  highly  appreciated  they  will  be  treated 
in  every  quarter  of  the  globe  as  men  and  citizens.  This  improvement 
in  their  political  condition,  is,  no  doubt,  decreasing  their  prejudices,  and 
disposing  them  to  give  Christianity  the  consideration  which  its  claims 
deserve.  Let  the  religion  of  Jesus,  which  breathes  peace  on  earth  and 
good  will  toward  men,  be  addressed  to  them  in  its  own  godlike  spirit, 
and  it  may  then  cease  to  appear  what  the  characters  of  its  inconsistent 
disciples  have  hitherto  represented  it  to  be,  and  instead  of  exciting 
hatred  in  any  meet  with  a  welcome  reception* 

Their  spiritual  well-being,  though  neglected  for  ages,  has  now  become 
an  object  of  solicitude  and  interest  to  all  denominations  of  christians  ; 
the  divine  blessing  which  has  attended  energetic  and  wisely  directed 
labours  to  effect  their  conversion  affords  abundant  encouragement  both 
to  societies  and  their  agents  to  persevere  in  the  enterprise  they  have 
undertaken,  and  to  anticipate  the  gathering  of  the  Hebrews  into  the 
church  of  Christ  with  the  fulness  of  the  Gentiles,  as  one  of  the  greatest 
and  most  happy  of  foretold  events. 
VOL.  I.  G 


42 


State  and  Prospects  of  the  Jetvs. 


[Jan. 


That  the  Jews  are  to  be  converted  to  the  christian  faith  and  become 
as  pre-eminent  for  their  attachment  to  the  Redeemer  as  they  are  now 
conspicuous  for  their  hostility,  is  an  opinion  universally  entertained  : 
but  with  respect  to  matters  of  less  moment  relating  to  this  subject  good 
men  are  divided  in  their  sentiments.  Some  conceive  the  Holy  Land 
will  be  the  scene  of  their  conversion,  that  they  will  return  thither,  where 
besides  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  and  the  divine  teachings  of  the 
Spirit  to  make  them  wise  to  salvation,  the  Saviour  himself  will  descend 
from  heaven  to  convince  them  of  the  truth  of  his  Messiahship  ;  make 
his  appearance  again  in  the  flesh,  and  dwell  among  them  as  their  Prince 
and  King. 

Some  of  those  who  believe  the  age  of  miracles  closed  with  the 
ministry  of  the  Apostles,  and  that  consequently  the  spiritual  interests 
of  the  Jews  will  be  advanced  just  in  the  same  way  as  those  of  other 
people,  by  the  proclamation  of  divine  truth  accompanied  with  the 
influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  are  of  opinion  they  will  be  converted  in 
the  respective  countries  into  which  they  are  scattered,  and  return  after- 
wards to  Palestine.  Other  persons  conceive,  the  predictions  which  have 
reference  to  the  Jews  during  the  Gospel  economy  speak  of  a  spiritual 
restoration  only,  and  are  silent  about  their  emigration  to  the  natural 
Canaan. 

The  difficulty  of  rightly  interpreting  the  prophecies  relative  to  these 
matters  is  certainly  great.  The  fact  that  the  best  of  men  whose  sole 
aim  was  the  discovery  of  truth  have  arrived  at  conclusions  widely 
different,  shews  the  difficulty  to  be  one  of  no  common  magnitude,  and 
also  the  desirableness  of  every  writer's  approaching  the  examination  of 
sentiments  opposed  to  his  own  in  a  spirit  of  candour  and  charity. 

Though  however  it  be  difficult  to  ascertain  the  mind  of  the  Spirit  in 
these  predictions,  to  make  the  attempt  cannot  be  a  waste  of  study  and 
time  ;  since  the  views  which  christians  entertain  of  any  portion  of 
scripture,  especially  if  it  be  a  portion  immediately  bearing  on  the 
eternal  interests  of  the  church  and  the  world,  must  influence  their 
minds  in  forming  and  executing  plans  to  promote  the  religious  well- 
being  of  their  fellow-men.  They  cannot  therefore  be  too  solicitous  about 
the  correctness  of  their  views  and  the  solidity  of  the  reasons  on  which 
they  are  founded.  It  may  therefore  be  of  service  to  notice  those 
portions  of  the  sacred  writings  which  are  supposed  to  have  reference 
to  the  subject  under  consideration. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  numerous  passages  of  scripture, 
thought  to  point  to  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  to  their  own  land. 


Deut.  xxx.  1- 
Isa.  xiv.  1,  2. 
Jer.  xvi.  14,  15. 
Jer.  xxxi.  4 — 12. 
Jer.  xxxii.  37 — 41. 


Jer.  xxxiii.  7 — 1 1. 
Ezek.  xi.  15—20. 
Ezek.  xxxiv.  11  — 15. 
Ezek.  xxxvi.  8 — 36. 
Ezek.  xxxix.  25 — 29*. 


Deut.  xxx.  1 — 5.  It  is  predicted  in  this  interesting  portion  of  the 
sacred  writings,  that  when  during  the  years  of  captivity  and  suffering 

*  As  it  would  occupy  too  much  space  in  the  pages  of  the  Observer  to  insert 
all  these  passages,  the  reader  is  respectfully  solicited  to  turn  to  his  Bible  and 
carefully  peruse  them. 


1840.]  State  and  Prospects  of  the  Jews.  43 


the  Hebrews  would  recal  to  mind  the  blessing  and  the  curse  which 
were  set  before  them  in  their  own  land,  and  would  return  to  the  Lord 
really  penitent,  and  obey  with  all  their  heart  and  soul  the  divine  com- 
mands which  they  had  so  awfully  disregarded :  then  Jehovah  would 
gather  them  from  the  midst  of  the  nations  among  which  they  were  dis- 
persed, and  bring  them  again  to  Palestine,  where  he  would  greatly 
enrich  them  both  with  temporal  and  spiritual  blessings.  The  happy 
condition  of  the  Hebrews  after  their  return  from  Babylon,  and  the 
high-toned  piety  for  which  they  were  distinguished,  afford  evidence  both 
interesting  and  conclusive  that  the  prophecy  of  Moses  was  then  literally 
fulfilled,  and  cannot,  as  has  been  supposed,  have  reference  to  any  subse- 
quent period  in  the  christian  dispensation.  It  has  already  been  accom- 
plished, and  consequently  no  arguments  can  we  think  legitimately  be 
drawn  from  it  to  support  the  hypothesis  of  a  second  fulfilment — the 
return  of  the  Jews  to  Palestine  in  these  latter  days*. 

Another  prediction  adduced  to  establish  this  hypothesis  is  contained 
in  the  fourteenth  chapter  of  Isaiah.  After  having  carefully  perused  the 
whole  of  this  chapter  with  the  preceding  one  between  which  there  i3 
an  unbroken  connexion,  and  the  subsequent  history  of  the  Jews,  and 
of  the  kingdom  of  Babylon,  most  persons  will  most  probably  be  pre- 
pared to  admit,  that  the  events  foretold  in  this  portion  of  prophecy  have 
transpired  ages  ago.  The  divine  mercy  and  goodness  so  strikingly 
manifested  to  the  children  of  Israel  in  their  return  from  Babylon  to  their 
own  land  are  distinctly  mentioned  in  the  book  of  Ezra,  and  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  accomplishment  of  the  gracious  promise  announced  by  the 
prophet  Isaiah. 

It  has  been  argued  that  the  prophecy  in  Jer.  xvi.  14,  15,  has 
reference  to  the  restoration  of  the  Jews  to  their  own  land  during  the 
christian  dispensation,  because  it  predicts  that  their  return  will  be  more 
illustrious  and  memorable  than  their  deliverance  from  Egypt,  and  because 
such  an  illustrious  event  is  supposed  not  to  have  already  taken  place. 
This  view  is  supported  by  reasons  which  are  seemingly  indeed  well 
founded,  and  are  plausibly  adapted  to  gain  a  ready  admittance  into  the 
reader's  mind,  accustomed  as  he  is  to  associate  all  that  is  morally  and 
religiously  great  with  the  christian  era :  but  a  due  consideration  of  the 
peculiarities  that  marked  the  return  from  Babylon,  differing  in  many 
respects  from  those  which  distinguished  the  deliverance  from  Egypt, 
will  be  sufficient  to  explain  the  words  of  the  prophet,  without  extending 
their  reference  to  our  own  times. 

The  deliverance  from  Egypt  was  effected  by  divine  power,  against 
which  there  was  arrayed  every  possible  degree  of  hostility  and  defiance. 
By  afflicting  the  Egyptians  with  pestilential  diseases  and  heavy  cala- 
mities which  threatened  to  annihilate  the  whole  nation,  reluctant  con- 
sent to  let  the  Hebrews  go  was  at  last  wrung  from  the  hard-hearted 
monarch  ;  but  no  sooner  did  he  see  them  set  out  on  their  departure 
than  he  pursued  them  with  the  same  infuriated  rage,  and  was  drowned 
while  in  the  act  of  fighting  against  God.  The  effects  of  these  visible 
manifestations  of  Omnipotence  on  the  minds  of  the  Israelites  were  not 

*  We  must  beg  leave  to  dissent  from  this  hypothesis  of  our  correspon- 
dent.— Ed. 

g2 


44  State  and  Prospects  of  the  Jews.  [Jan. 


8uch  as  might  have  been  expected ;  scarcely  had  the  waters  rushed 
together  and  buried  the  Egyptian  army,  and  thus  rendered  farther 
pursuit  impossible,  than  they  began  to  abuse  Moses  and  sin  against 
God :  their  transgressions  had  the  most  extensive  range,  and  were 
accompanied  with  the  greatest  aggravation  ;  indeed,  almost  every  wicked- 
ness and  vice  which  mankind  are  capable  of  practising,  may  be  found 
in  the  catalogue  of  their  crimes.  Cut  off  by  diseases,  the  sad  effects  of 
their  immorality,  and  by  the  awful  judgments  of  heaven  with  which 
they  were  visited  for  their  idolatry  and  other  heinous  offences,  most  of 
those  (all  indeed  but  a  few  individuals)  who  came  out  of  bondage  died 
during  the  forty  years  sojourn  in  the  wilderness ;  the  fathers  were 
gathered  to  the  grave  before  their  sons  and  daughters,  an  improved 
generation,  inherited  the  blessings  of  the  promised  land. 

The  captivity  in  Babylon  terminated  in  a  manner  somewhat  different. 
Not  driven  by  fear,  but  anxious  to  carry  out  purposes  of  justice  and 
clemency  deliberately  formed  in  his  own  mind,  after  the  conquest  of 
Babylon,  Cyrus  made  known  throughout  his  dominions,  that  all  Jews 
disposed  to  return  to  the  land  of  their  fathers  would  be  furnished  with 
every  facility  to  expedite  their  journey  and  reinstate  them  in  that  coun- 
try ;  and  that  those  who  chose  to  remain  in  the  place,  where  they  were 
then  residing,  would  be  favoured  with  all  the  rights  and  privileges  of  which 
they  had  been  deprived  during  the  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar.  "  Cyrus 
King  of  Persia  made  a  proclamation  throughout  all  his  kingdom, 
and  put  it  also  in  writing,  saying,  Thus  saith  Cyrus  King  of  Persia, 
the  Lord  of  heaven  hath  given  me  all  the  kingdoms  of  the  earth  ;  and  he 
hath  charged  me  to  build  him  a  house  at  Jerusalem,  which  is  in  Judah. 
Who  is  there  among  you  of  all  his  people  ?  his  God  be  with  him,  and 
let  him  go  up  to  Jerusalem,  which  is  in  Judah,  and  build  the  house  of 
the  Lord  God  of  Israel  (he  is  the  God)  which  is  in  Jerusalem  ;  and 
whosoever  remaineth  in  any  place  where  he  sojourneth,  let  the  men  of 
his  place  help  him  with  silver,  and  with  gold,  and  with  goods,  and 
with  beasts,  beside  the  freewill  offering  for  the  house  of  God  that  is  in 
Jerusalem." 

An  earthly  monarch  forming,  appreciating,  and  accomplishing  as 
his  own,  the  very  purposes  of  rectitude  and  benevolence  which  engaged 
the  mind  of  Him  who  is  wonderful  in  counsel  and  excellent  in  working, 
was  a  manifestation  of  divine  providence  which  those  who  witnessed 
must  have  contemplated  with  peculiar  interest  and  pleasure  :  it  verified 
in  a  striking  manner  the  following  words  of  prophecy  :  Thus  saith 
Jehovah,  the  Redeemer  that  saith  of  Cyrus,  he  is  my  shepherd, 
and  shall  perform  all  my  pleasure,  even  saying  to  Jerusalem,  thou  shalt 
be  built;  and  to  the  temple,  thy  foundation  shall  be  laid.  Thus  saith 
Jehovah  to  his  anointed,  to  Cyrus,  whose  right  hand  I  have  holden,  to 
subdue  nations  before  him. 

This  did  not  fail  to  excite  the  pious  feelings  of  the  Hebrews ;  they 
were  sincerely  grateful  to  their  royal  benefactor,  adored  and  praised 
Him  by  whom  kings  reign  and  princes  decree  justice. 

"  In  consequence  of  this  proclamation,  42,360  of  the  captives  of 
Judah,  with  7537  attendants,  and  a  multitude  of  camels,  horses,  and 
cattle,  were  soon  assembled  together ;  to  whom  the  noble-minded 
monarch  gave  the  vessels  of  the  house  of  Jehovah,  which  Nebuchad- 


1840.]  State  and  Prospects  of  the  Jews.  45 


nezzar  had  brought  forth  out  of  Jerusalem,  and  placed  in  the  house 
of  his  gods ;  to  which  great  treasures  were  added  by  the  voluntary 
contributions  of  those  of  the  captives  who,  from  local  connexions,  or 
other  motives,  were  to  remain  behind." 

When  they  were  re-established  in  their  own  land  they  listened  with 
deep  solicitude  to  the  exhortations  of  Ezra,  and  proclaimed  with  one 
voice  their  holy  resolve  to  follow  the  counsel  of  their  distinguished 
countryman,  to  put  away  from  them  every  evil,  and  to  walk  in  the 
statutes  and  judgments  of  the  Lord  blamelessly.  "  Then  1 11  the  con- 
gregation answered  and  said  with  a  loud  voice,  As  thou  hast  said  so 
must  we  do."  On  the  first  day  of  Tisri,  whicli  is  the  first  Hebrew 
month  of  the  civil  year,  the  seventh  of  the  ecclesiastical  and  answers 
to  September,  all  the  children  of  Israel  having  left  the  respective  cities 
in  which  they  dwelt  came  up  to  Jerusalem,  to  do  as  it  is  written  in  the 
law  of  Moses  the  man  of  God.  The  altar  which  the  Babylonians 
destroyed  at  the  burning  of  the  temple,  they  immediately  rebuilt,  on 
the  site  most  probably  on  which  it  formerly  stood,  in  the  inner  court 
of  the  temple,  before  the  porch  leading  into  the  holy  place. 

Morning  and  evening  they  appeared  before  the  Lord,  presented  the 
appointed  burnt-offerings  on  the  altar,  and  did  as  the  duty  of  every 
day  required. 

Those  who  had  riches  contributed  freely  towards  the  erection  of  the 
temple  a  sum  which  in  English  money  would  be  about  seventy-five 
thousand  five  hundred  pounds,  and  after  the  performance  of  the  duties 
that  had  brought  them  together  journeyed  homewards  with  minds,  no 
doubt,  much  improved  by  the  engagedness  of  heart  with  which  they 
had  served  the  God  of  their  fathers. 

After  the  lapse  of  a  year,  of  which  a  great  portion  had  been  occupied 
in  purchasing  and  preparing  materials  for  the  sacred  edifice,  they  again 
visited  Jerusalem,  and  all,  excepting  the  aged  men  who  wept  at  the 
remembrance  of  former  glory,  witnessed  the  building  commenced  with 
feelings  of  gladness.  To  the  sounds  of  the  cymbals  and  trumpets, 
they  sang  together  by  course  in  praising  and  giving  thanks  unto  the 
Lord ;  because  he  is  good,  for  his  mercy  endureth  for  ever  toward 
Israel.  And  all  the  people  shouted  with  a  great  shout,  when  they 
praised  the  Lord,  because  the  foundation  of  the  house  of  the  Lord  was 
laid. 

Such  are  the  peculiarities  of  these  two  periods  in  Jewish  history. 
Now  let  the  hard-hearted  Pharoah  be  compared  with  the  noble-minded 
Cyrus — the  uproarious  and  insolent  manner  in  which  the  people  con- 
ducted themselves  towards  Moses  with  the  respect  and  reverence  they 
cherished  for  Ezra — the  idolatry  and  wickedness  that  marked  the  forty 
years  sojourn  in  the  wilderuess  with  the  simple,  unaffected,  and  high- 
toned  piety  which  characterized  the  builders  of  the  second  temple  ; 
and  then,  whether  the  return  of  the  Hebrews  from  Babylon  was  not 
more  illustrious  and  memorable  than  their  deliverance  from  Egypt, 
and  does  not  satisfactorily  explain  the  words  of  the  prophet  without 
any  necessity  for  extending  their  reference  to  our  own  times,  must  be 
left  to  the  impartial  judgment  of  the  reader. 

The  other  part  of  these  predictions,  referring  to  the  long-continued 


46 


State  and  Prospects  of  the  Jews. 


[Jan. 


and  cruel  oppressors  of  the  Hebrew  people,  is  now  a  fact  recorded  in 
the  pages  of  authentic  history. 

Frederick,  Rennell,  Kinnier,  and  Rich,  and  almost  all  travellers  that 
have  visited  the  site  of  ancient  Babylon  declare,  that  the  prophecies 
relating  to  it  have  been  accomplished,  not  only  in  general,  but  in  every 
particular.  The  golden  city — the  beauty  of  the  Chaldee's  excellency — the 
Glory  of  Kingdoms — Babylon  the  Great  is  fallen.  Its  name  and  rem- 
nant are  cut  off.  There  the  Arabian  pitches  not  his  tent ;  there  the 
shepherds  make  not  their  folds  ;  but  the  wild  beasts  of  the  field  lie 
there,  and  their  houses  are  full  of  doleful  creatures.  It  is  a  possession 
for  the  bittern,  and  a  dwelling-place  for  dragons — a  wilderness,  a  dry 
land,  and  a  desert — a  burnt  mountain — empty — wholly  desolate — pools 
of  water — heaps — and  utterly  destroyed — a  land  where  no  man  dwell- 
eth — every  man  that  goeth  by  it  is  astonished.  "  There  would  be 
something  extremely  melancholy  in  the  fate  of  Babylon,  its  desolation, 
its  disappearance,  its  external  annihilation,  after  so  vigorous  and  long 
continued  exertion  to  raise  it  to  pre-eminence,  did  we  not  know  that 
its  pride  was  excessive,  and  its  power  was  cruel.  The  fierceness  of 
war  was  the  delight  of  its  kings.  Nebuchadnezzar  himself  had  been 
a  warrior  of  no  limited  ambition  ;  the  Chaldeans  were  bitter,  hasty, 
sanguinary,  ferocious ;  and  to  read  the  accounts  of  their  inhumanity 
prepares  us  for  a  reverse,  which  we  await,  but  do  not  regret.  It  is 
not  only  because  we  are  better  acquainted  with  the  miseries  inflicted 
on  Jerusalem  and  the  sanctuary  that  we  admit  these  feelings  in  respect 
to  Babylon  :  there  can  be  no  doubt,  but  that  other  nations  had  equally 
suffered  under  her  oppression  :  the  people  who  are  emphatically  called 
to  execute  the  vengeance  determined  against  her,  had  certainly  been 
galled  under  her  yoke.  Cyrus  and  Xerxes,  who  captured  her  city  and 
destroyed  her  temple,  were  but  the  avengers  of  their  country.  Alexander 
considered  himself  in  the  same  light. 

"  Idolatry  took  its  rise  in  Babylon,  was  fostered  and  protected  there, 
and  from  thence  was  diffused  throughout,  at  least,  the  western  world : 
the  liberal  arts,  the  recondite  sciences,  with  every  power  of  the  human 
mind,  were  rendered  subservient  to  systematic  idolatry.  Its  doom, 
therefore,  must  correspond  with  its  crimes.  It  is  enough  however 
for  us  that  we  know  its  punishment  to  be  just ;  and  that  we  are  happily 
enabled  to  trace  in  its  ruins  the  unequivocal  and  even  the  verbal 
accomplishment  of  those  predictions  which  denounced  its  calamities — 
the  monuments  of  its  miseries  long  deserved,  but  not  remitted  though 
postponed." 

Jer.  xxxiii.  7 — 11.  In  this  prophecy  it  is  predicted  that  both  Judah 
and  Israel  should  return  out  of  captivity.  That  the  Jews  are  again  to 
dwell  in  the  land  of  their  fathers  some  persons  think  this  passage 
clearlv  proves ;  they  are  of  opinion  that  as  far  as  it  relates  to  the  ten 
tribes  at  least,  it  certainly  remains  yet  to  be  accomplished. 

The  ten  tribes  were  taken  captive  into  Assyria  about  a  hundred 
years  before  the  commencement  of  the  Babylonish  captivity ;  now  it  is 
exceedingly  probable  that  Cyrus,  who  had  conquered  both  the  Chaldeans 
and  Assyrians,  extended  his  decree  to  all  the  Jews  including  the 
Israelites,  and  thus  effected  the  deliverance  of  both  Judah  and  Israel 


1840.]  State  and  Prospects  of  the  Jews. 


47 


at  the  same  time.  Among  the  sacrifices  offered  at  the  feast  of  the 
dedication  of  the  temple,  it  is  distinctly  said  there  was  presented  "  for 
a  sin-offering  for  all  Israel  twelve  he-goats,  according  to  the  number 
of  the  twelve  tribes  of  Israel,"  from  which  it  may  be  fairly  inferred  that 
some  of  all  the  ten  tribes  were  present  with  Judah  on  that  interesting 
occasion.  Though  many  remained  in  Assyria  after  the  royal  proclama- 
tion, it  was  no  doubt  a  matter  of  choice,  as  it  was  with  those  who 
continued  to  reside  in  the  kingdom  of  Babylon  after  the  departure  of 
their  brethren  ;  at  least,  there  is  no  evidence  to  prove  the  contrary  : 
and  the  two  countries  being  under  the  sway  of  the  same  illustrious 
monarch,  disposed  to  act  on  principles  of  justice  and  benevolence  towards 
all,  renders  it  not  only  probable,  but  almost  certain.  Those  who 
remained  behind  would  consequently  cease  to  be  captives,  and  as  this 
prophecy  speaks  concerning  captives  only,  it  could  not  with  any  pro- 
priety be  longer  addressed  to  them,  its  legitimate  reference  would  be 
to  those  who  embraced  the  opportunity  to  return  which  Divine  pro- 
vidence afforded  them,  whether  they  were  few  or  many. 

The  following  are  some  of  the  passages  of  scripture  supposed  to 
allude  to  the  union  of  Judah  and  Israel  under  the  reign  of  one  king. 

Isa.  xi.  10 — 13.     Jer.  xxiii.  3 — 8.  Ezek.  xxxvii.  15 — 28 

Jer.  iii.  17,  18.      Jer.  xxxiii.  12—26.      Hos.  i.  10,  11. 

Since  the  defection  of  the  ten  tribes  from  the  house  of  David 
jealousies,  animosities,  and  feuds  had  existed  between  the  two  king- 
doms of  Judah  and  Israel.  The  prophets  foretold  that  these  kingdoms, 
divided  in  affection,  interests,  and  aims,  would  again  cordially  unite 
and  live  happily  under  the  sway  of  the  same  government. 

After  the  Assyrian  and  Babylonish  captivities  this  union  of  the  two 
kingdoms  was  effected  ;  for  all  the  captives  who  returned  to  the  land 
of  their  fathers  lived  under  the  same  constitution,  were  governed 
by  the  same  laws,  and  had  one  prince  who  was  of  the  house  of  David 
to  rule  over  them  ;  then  Ephraim  ceased  envying  Judah,  and  Judah 
ceased  vexing  Ephraim. 

Another  interesting  event  foretold  in  these  prophecies  is  that  the 
Hebrews  would  make  an  entire  renunciation  of  idolatry,  and  for  ever 
afterwards  worship  the  only  living  and  true  God.  Every  one  who  has 
made  himself  familiar  in  the  least  degree  with  the  history  of  this 
distinguished  people  remembers  many  instances  of  gross  idolatry  of 
which  they  were  guilty.  "  Before  the  captivity,  the  Jews  had  no 
synagogues  for  public  worship  or  public  instruction,  nor  any  places  to 
resort  to  for  either,  unless  the  temple  at  Jerusalem,  or  the  cities  of  the 
Levites,  or  to  the  prophets,  when  God  was  pleased  to  send  such  among 
them  ;  owing  to  the  want  of  these  great  ignorance  prevailed  among  the 
people  ;  God  was  little  known  among  them,  and  his  laws  almost  wholly 
forgotten  :  and,  therefore,  as  occasions  offered,  they  were  easily  drawn 
into  all  the  superstitious  and  idolatrous  usages  of  the  neighbouring 
nations. 

"  After  the  captivity,  synagogues  being  erected  among  them  in  every 
city,  to  which  they  constantly  resorted  for  public  worship,  and  where 
every  week  they  had  the  law  from  the  first,  and  immediately  after  the 
time  of  Antiochus's  persecution,  the  prophets  also  read  unto  them,  and 


48 


State  and  Prospects  of  the  Jews. 


[Jan. 


were,  by  sermons  and  exhortations  delivered  there,  at  least,  every 
sabbath,  instructed  in  their  duty,  and  excited  to  the  performance  of  it ; 
this  kept  them  in  a  thorough  knowledge  of  God  and  his  laws.  And 
the  threats  which  they  found  in  the  prophets  against  the  breakers  of 
them,  after  these  also  came  to  be  read  among  them,  deterred  them 
from  acts  of  transgression." 

Though  their  minds  have  been  distracted  with  anxiety  and  fear,  their 
bodies  tortured,  their  property  confiscated  and  their  lives  placed  in 
jeopardy,  sometimes  forfeited  on  account  of  their  religion,  yet  from 
that  memorable  period  through  successive  generations  to  the  present 
day,  neither  sacred  nor  profane  history  has  reproached  them  (as  a 
people)  with  the  sin  of  idolatry.  They  are  now  dispersed  into  every 
region  of  the  globe,  and  have  little  or  no  intercourse  with  each  other, 
yet  from  all  lands  they  lift  up  the  voice  of  thanksgiving  and  prayer 
to  the  same  Lord,  and  Him  only  do  they  serve — the  God  of  their 
fathers,  of  Abraham,  of  Isaac  and  of  Jacob. 

To  this  view  of  these  prophecies  it  is  objected,  the  Jews  themselves 
believe  they  shall  again  dwell  in  the  Holy  Land,  and  a  desire  to  return 
thither  is  among  them  almost  universally  cherished.  Had  the  Hebrews 
been  distinguished  for  rightly  interpreting  other  portions  of  the  sacred 
volume  which  have  special  allusion  to  themselves,  much  deference 
might  be  paid  to  their  views  and  feelings  on  this  subject,  and  every 
writer  would  do  well  to  pause  before  he  entertained  an  opinion  different 
to  theirs ;  but  notorious  as  they  have  been,  in  every  age,  for  misunder- 
standing the  plainest  prophecies  ;  apprehending  temporal  blessings  were 
promised,  when  the  sacred  writer  spoke  of  spiritual  bestowments  only, 
and  persisting  in  error  with  an  obstinacy  truly  astonishing,  during  the 
space  of  eighteen  hundred  years,  this  objection  is  altogether  futile. 

It  is  thought  by  some  persons  that  the  return  of  the  Jews  to  Pales- 
tine would  be  such  a  manifestation  of  the  glory  of  God,  such  an 
illustration  of  the  inspiration  of  prophecy  and  the  truth  of  Christianity, 
as  would  destroy  the  incredulity  and  convert  the  infidel  portion  of  the 
world. 

The  advancement  of  the  eternal  interests  of  this  class,  this  most 
pitiable  of  all  classes  of  the  human  family,  is  an  event  every  believer 
in  divine  revelation  anticipates,  and  for  which  he  daily  prays ;  he  may 
however  think  the  means  which  will  be  employed  to  bring  it  about, 
will  not  be  the  emigration  of  this  ancient  people  to  Canaan,  but  means 
of  a  nature  widely  different.  Other  systems  of  religion  borrow  their 
success  and  greatness  from  earthly  pomp  and  splendour,  and  in  the 
midst  of  external  glare  blind  the  minds  of  men  with  a  more  than  Egyptian 
darkness,  a  moral  darkness  that  may  be  felt.  The  grandeur  of  the 
religion  of  the  Nazarene  consists  in  its  perfect  simplicity  and  entire 
spirituality,  in  his  kingdom  not  being  of  this  world.  It  has  spread 
from  the  fishing  coasts  of  Galilee  over  almost  every  part  of  the  globe  ; 
disdaining  foreign  aid,  it  has  advanced  step  by  step  by  its  own  intrinsic 
merits,  and  subdued  to  its  holy  and  enlightened  sway  men  of  every 
country,  of  every  creed,  and  of  every  shade  of  morals. 

It  has  convinced  thousands  of  infidels  of  sin,  of  righteousness,  and  of 
a  judgment  to  come,  and  given  them  joy  and  peace  in  believing,  and  thus 


1840.] 


Stale  and  Prospects  of  the  Jews. 


49 


presented  a  most  gratifying  proof  of  its  efficiency  to  convert  the  rest 
of  their  incredulous  brethren,  whether  the  Jews  return  to  Palestine 
or  not. 

It  numbers  among  its  disciples  not  a  few  of  the  sons  of  Israel,  whom 
it  has  enlightened  and  blessed,  just  in  the  same  way  as  it  has  effected 
the  salvation  of  other  persons,  by  the  simple  proclamation  of  its  truths, 
accompanied  with  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  It  does  not  promise 
to  any  nation,  land  or  sect  the  enjoyment  of  exclusive  privileges ;  the 
wall  of  partition  which  divided  the  Jews  and  Gentiles  is  thrown  down, 
and  the  gospel  is  proclaimed,  not  as  the  religion  for  a  people,  but  of  a 
world. 

It  takes  no  cognizance  of  colour,  tribe  or  rank,  but  views  all  that 
obey  its  commandments  as  one,  without  respect  of  persons.  There  is 
now  neither  Greek  nor  Jew,  circumcision  nor  uncircumcision,  Barba- 
rian, Scythian,  bond  nor  free. 

In  the  event  of  being  converted  to  the  Christian  faith,  the  qualifica- 
tions of  the  Jews  to  act  as  Missionaries  to  the  Infidel,  Muhammedan, 
and  Heathen  world  would  be  such  as  to  render  their  return  to  Pales- 
tine, to  say  the  least,  exceedingly  undesirable  and  likewise  improbable. 

"  Their  number  furnishes  a  sufficient  cloud  of  witnesses  to  attest  the 
truth  of  the  Bible.  Their  dispersion  has  spread  these  witnesses  through 
all  parts  of  the  globe.  Their  adherence  to  their  religion,  especially  con- 
sidering it  a3  persecuted  or  contemned  over  the  face  of  the  whole  earth, 
and  their  frequent  apostacies  when  they  lived  under  their  own  kings 
in  the  land  of  promise,  and  within  sight  of  the  temple,  makes  their 
testimony  unquestionable." 

By  their  dispersion  they  have  acquired  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the 
manners,  customs,  and  languages  of  almost  the  whole  of  the  inhabitants 
of  the  world  ;  were  they  settled  in  Judea  these  qualifications  would  be 
of  little  avail  to  themselves  and  of  no  service  to  the  church  ;  but  em- 
ployed in  the  respective  countries  where  they  now  reside,  these  would 
enable  them  to  preach  the  glad  tidings  of  redemption  to  all  nations, 
kindred,  and  tongues,  and  to  become  the  most  efficient  agents  in  build- 
ing up  that  spiritual  kingdom  which  their  fathers  laboured  to  destroy. 
When  the  Jews  thus  stand  forth  as  living  witnesses,  in  every  country, 
bearing  the  same  unequivocal  testimony,  "  This  is  eternal  life  to  know 
Thee  the  only  true  God  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  thou  hast  sent,"  it  may 
surely  be  expected  to  infuse  into  the  church  additional  zeal  and  energy, 
to  bring  into  exercise  a  benign  and  overwhelming  power  to  break  the 
slumbers  of  a  guilty  and  sleeping  world,  which  will  issue  in  the  salva- 
tion of  millions,  and  happily  verify  the  words  of  the  sacred  writer,  "  If 
the  casting  away  of  them  be  the  reconciling  of  the  world,  what  shall 
the  receiving  of  them  be,  but  life  from  the  dead*  ?" 

Having  thus  freely  stated  his  present  opinions  upon  a  subject 
which  has  not  often  been  discussed,  simply  with  a  view  to  excite  in- 

•  It  is  in  a  high  degree  worthy  of  attention  that  the  gospel  ceased  in  a  great 
measure  to  spread,  to  have  free  course  and  to  be  glorified,  just  at  the  very  time 
wheu  the  chief  of  its  propagators  ceased  to  be  Jews. — These  scribes  instructed  in 
the  kingdom  of  heaven  were  possessed  of  double  resources,  and  bringing  out  of 
their  treasury  things  new  and  old,  the  gospel  in  their  hands  was  mighty  through  God 
to  the  pulling  down  of  strongholds.  —  Ed. 

VOL,.  I.  H 


50  Twenty-first  Report  of  the  Bengal  [Jan. 

quiry,  the  writer  has  no  intention  to  enter  into  controversy  by  defending 
them,  but  cheerfully  leaves  them  to  the  consideration  of  your  readers. 

He  has  throughout  the  paper  endeavoured  to  express  his  own  opini- 
ons with  becoming-  deference  to  those  who  entertain  different  senti- 
ments, and  hopes  he  has  avoided  the  possibility  of  hurting  the  feelings 
of  any. 

Scrutator. 


VII. —  The  Twenty-first  Report  of  the  Bengal  Auxiliary 
Missionary  Society. 

This  document  we  have  perused  with  that  pleasure  which  we  ever 
desire  to  feel  when  contemplating  any  channel  of  communication  which 
reports  progress  in  the  Redeemer's  kingdom.  His  name  is  as  "oint- 
ment poured  forth,"  and  conveys  a  sweet  savour  to  every  thing  with 
which  it  is  combined.  We  cannot  in  such  Reports  expect  novelty  or 
variety  from  year  to  year ;  but  it  is  a  source  of  pleasure  to  find  at 
times,  that  the  work  of*  Christ  is  not  retrograding,  if  it  is  not  much 
advancing  ; — that  the  siege  is  maintained,  if  the  city  is  not  taken.  It 
is  a  mercy  that  the  Lord  Jesus  continues  his  servants  in  the  field  of 
merciful  operation — and  it  is  a  mercy  that  God  has  not  entered  into 
judgment  with  this  obstinately  impenitent  land,  and  by  providential 
convulsion  driven  his  ambassadors  away  from  the  midst  of  it  : — for 
this  let  us  give  thanks,  amidst  internal  monotony  and  external  dead- 
uess. 

The  Report  before  us  comprehends  the  usual  topics  of  Missionary 
operation.  We  find  the  various  channels  of  Native  and  English 
preaching — of  native  and  English  education — of  native  and  European 
agency,  of  male  and  female  schools,  in  full  play  for  the  dissemination 
of  the  Gospel.  It  ought  ever  to  be  a  subject  of  rejoicing  to  see  so  many 
agencies  in  grace,  as  in  nature,  blending  together  harmoniously  for  the 
glory  of  God  and  the  good  of  man.  The  difficulty  we  have  to  contend 
■with  is,  to  give  to  each  its  due  proportion,  and  no  more  or  less  : 
herein  is  spiritual  wisdom  needed. 

We  are  glad  to  see  that  our  Missionary  brethren  in  the  case  before 
ns,  have  mustered  strongly  in  native  preaching,  and  that  seven  of 
them  have  been  enabled  to  maintain  this  primitive  and  apostolic  mode 
of  aggression  on  Satan's  empire.  May  they  be  enabled  to  persevere: — 
and  may  they  have  the  gift  of  language,  as  well  as  the  grace  of  truth  ; 
— for,  assuredly,  much  of  the  power  of  the  latter  depends  on  the  per- 
fection of  the  former. 

English  Preaching  in  its  due  proportion  is  most  useful  in  maintain- 
ing a  ministerial  sympathy  between  the  church  of  Christ  here  in  her 
ordinary  functions  as  a  community,  and  in  her  extraordinary  operations 
as  a  Missionary  organ.  It  were  neither  wise  nor  good  to  suppress 
this — however  proper  to  maintain  a  general  limit  of  office. 

The  Christian  Institution,  with  the  Theological  class  as  its  van- 
guard, occupies  now  a  prominent  place  in  tlie  Report  of  the  B.  A.  M. 
Society ;  and  we  are  glad  to  see  that  it  is  becoming  more  and  more 


1840.] 


Auxiliary  Missionary  Society. 


61 


effective.  We  trust  the  appeal  for  aid  to  support  it  will  not  be  disre- 
garded by  those  who  would  desire  to  see  the  young  brought  up  in  the 
"  fear  of  the  Lord." 

There  is  a  very  interesting  statistical  document  concerning  the  little 
church  at  Krishuapore,  furnished  by  one  of  its  co-pastors.  It  is  a 
faithful  report,  and  presents  a  miniature  as  to  much  of  the  work  in 
this  country.    The  following  extract  is  valuable : — 

"  If  it  be  inquired,  what  is  the  actual  condition  of  these  people?  the 
answer  will,  it  is  to  be  feared,  prove  but  little  satisfactory  either  to  those 
who  put  the  question,  or  to  the  Missionary  who  deems  actual  personal 
conversion  of  the  heart  and  mind,  turned  not  only  from  darkness  to 
light,  but  from  the  power  of  Satan  unto  God,  the  great  aim  and  only  ade- 
quate result  of  evangelical  labour.  In  this  point  of  view,  it  must  with 
deep  pain  be  confessed,  both  that  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  of  the  Gos- 
pel possessed  by  the  majority  of  these  people  is  very  limited,  and  what 
is  still  more  to  be  deplored,  its  saving- and  sanctifying  impression  on  their 
souls  in  some  cases  doubtful,  in  most  but  small.  On  the  other  hand,  we 
must  take  into  account,  the  deep  debasement  of  mind  and  conscience  and 
moral  condition  from  which  these  poor  people  have  been  drawn.  That 
they  should  not  at  once  shake  off  all  the  mire  of  superstition,  emerge 
into  a  clear  light,  and  pant  after  the  Divine  likeness  witli  all  the  ear- 
nestness of  soul  evinced  by  a  less  apathetic  poeple  when  enlightened  by 
the  truth,  roused  by  the  law,  and  drawn  by  the  Gospel  of  the  Redeemer, 
can  scarcely  be  a  matter  of  surprise  to  those  who  have  a  full  acquaint- 
ance with  the  actual  state  of  mental  and  moral,  civil  and  physical,  degra- 
dation in  which  we  found  them.  Meanwhile  the  missionaries  in  charge 
have,  from  the  first,  been  diligent  in  doing  the  work  of  evangelists  in 
faith,  affection  and  prayer — it  is  theirs  to  labour ;  success  is  from  above. 
Divine  service,  including  singing,  prayer,  reading  of  the  Scriptures  and 
preaching  is  regularly  conducted  on  every  Sabbath  day.  Besides  which 
a  Bible-class  meets  in  the  afternoon  of  that  day,  when  those  who  can 
read,  men  and  women,  are  carried  regularly  through  a  familiar  exposi- 
tion of  some  portion  of  holy  Scripture,  previously  read  by  them  verse 
and  verse  about.  Questions  are  asked  calculated  to  elicit  their  measure 
of  knowledge,  arrest  attention,  or  excite  spiritual  affections — the  whole 
concluding  with  prayer.  Already  has  very  essential  improvement  re- 
sulted from  this  exercise,  which  was  begun  only  in  the  latter  part  of  last 
year,  since  when  the  whole  book  of  Genesis,  with  a  considerable  portion 
of  the  Psalms,  has  been  gone  over,  it  is  trusted,  not  without  a  divine 
blessing.  This  plan  seems  to  meet  peculiar  acceptance  with  the  best 
disposed  among  the  people,  as  indeed  was  naturally  to  be  expected.  The 
word  of  God  is  the  lamp,  alike,  and  the  stimulus  anil  the  food  of  the  soul 
— there  can  be  but  slow  and  small  advance  in  knowledge  or  growth  in 
grace,  where  it  is  not  constantly  read,  studied  and  applied.  1  certainly 
attach  the  greatest  importance  to  the  persevering  adoption  of  the  plan  of 
Bible-classes,  as  much  more  calculated  to  maintain  attention  than  ordi- 
nary sermons,  which  are  both  presently  forgotten  and  afford  but  small 
aid  towards  entering  into  the  meaning,  force  and  spirit  of  the  Scriptures, 
in  their  private  perusal.  A  school-master  also  gives  daily  instruction  to 
the  children  of  the  Christians  and  to  any  others  that  choose  to  attend  ; 
while  at  night  he  teaches  the  adults  who  have  not  as  yet  learned  to  read 
—  for,  till  aman  can  read  the  Divine  word  for  himself,  he  can  be  but  on  a 
very  unstable  footing  of  spiritual  safety  and  comfort;  most  of  his  unoc- 
cupied time  will  be  unprontably  spent ;  and  inducements  will  be  many  to 
lazy  sauntering,  idle  gossip,  sleep  or  other  worse  modes  of  spending  what 
h»  has  no  mode  of  happily  employing.'' 


52 


Index  of  Bengali  Dictionaries. 


[Jan. 


Chinsurah,  Berhampore  and  Mirzapore  present  their  quota  of  inter- 
esting matter,  into  which  the  limits  of  this  brief  notice  prevent  us  from 
entering. 

We  are  glad  to  see  that  some  of  the  servants  of  Christ  in  those 
stations  who  have  been  long  tried  are  not  found  wanting  in  faith.  May 
they  stand  strong  in  their  Master's  grace,  and  though  "  faint  let  them 
pursue" — for  the  day  of  victory  is  at  hand.  "  Faith  is  the  substance  of 
things  hoped  for,  and  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen." 

Altogether  we  commend  the  spirit  of  the  Report  as  a  plain  and 
honest  record  of  facts — and  may  the  Lord  God  prosper  all  the  opera- 
tions of  the  Brethren  whose  names  are  written  in  it ! 


VIII. — Further  Supplement  to  the  Index  of  Bengali  Dictionaries 
and  Grammars,  fyc. 

(Continued  from  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer  for  May  1839.) 
No.   17.     ^ftstHtfattT  sifK   ^^U'i?r    fafr^    3re1?lf(r  ?F*et?+3 

"faCfa^rtl?  5r$C«t*ttg       &c.  by  Rameshwar  Tarkalankar.  Calcutta, 

from  the  Gyanaratnakar  (Native)  Press,  1839. 

This  volume  was  published  only  in  the  month  of  Shraban  (including 
part  of  our  July  and  August)  of  the  present  year.  In  typographical 
execution,  the  quality  of  the  paper,  binding,  and  appearance  generally, 
it  is  but  little  above  the  standard  of  native  bazar  publications;  yet  in 
literal  accuracy  and  freedom  from  typographical  errors,  it  exhibits  a  very 
considerable  degree  of  advance  in  the  conduct  of  the  Native  Presses, 
partaking  as  they  do,  largely,  of  the  improvement  evidently  going  on,  in 
a  constantly  accelerated  ratio,  among  the  whole  native  community.  The 
number  of  Bengali  words  collected  in  this  Dictionary,  and  explained  in 
the  same  language,  is  about  18,000,  a  considerably  greater  number  than 
is  to  be  found  in  any  other  Dictionary  in  which  the  explanation  is  in 
Bengali  only.  It  extends  to  473  pages,  printed  in  double  columns, 
averaging  19  to  20  words  to  a  column.  The  explanations  are,  on  the 
whole,  correct  and  pretty  numerous  :  many  words  not  in  common  use, 
some  even  which  are  as  yet  confined  to  Sanskrit,  are  to  be  found  here- 
in ;  under  some,  as  ?nrj  (the  sun),  of?  existence,  &c.  very  numerous 
synonyms  are  given,  all  extremely  helpful  to  the  student.  To  his  pre- 
decessors in  this  line,  the  compiler  is,  of  course,  largely  indebted, 
especially  to  his  immediate  predecessor  Jagannaiayan,  whose  very  useful 
work  was  noticed  under  No.  15.  of  this  Index,  in  the  Christian  Obser- 
ver for  the  month  of  February  last.  The  non-employment  of  any  system 
of  punctuation  or  mark  of  separation  between  the  continuous  but  distinct 
meanings  of  the  same  term,  is  a  defect ;  and  to  Europeans  at  least  will 
prove  at  first  a  hindrance  to  prompt  and  easy  reference.  An  improve- 
ment in  this,  however,  will  no  doubt  follow  in  the  train  with  many  others, 
ere  long.  The  work  is  to  be  had  at  No.  150,  Xhiritollah,  and  in  the 
shops  in  the  Old  China  Bazar,  for  Co.'s  Rs.  2.  in  native  half-binding. 

It  merits  a  place  in  the  library  of  every  European  student  of  the 
language,  who  is  but  inadequately  furnished  with  helps  in  the  way  of 


1840.]  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


53 


Dictionaries,  &c.  so  long  as  lie  has  no  means  of  getting  at  a  purely 
native  explication  of  the  words  he  meets  with  in  his  reading  or  has 
occasion  to  employ  in  composition  or  conversation.  This  will  very 
often  carry  to  the  mind  a  much  clearer  impression  of  the  shade  of 
meaning  than  can  be  obtained  from  any  English  Dictionary.  There  is 
a  certain  idiomatic  nicety  of  idea  which  is  conveyable  in  no  other  way, 
as  any  scholar  advanced  beyond  the  condition  of  a  mere  tyro,  must  be  well 
aware.  It  is  highly  gratifying  to  find  well-instructed  natives  beginning 
to  awake,  on  the  one  hand,  from  the  lethargy  of  indifference  in  which 
they  have  hitherto  been  laid  in  all  matters  of  literature  not  directly  bear- 
ing upon  the  acquisition  of  gain  ;  or  shaking  off,  on  the  other,  the  absurd 
contempt,  so  long  indulged,  of  the  vernacular  idioms,  in  a  supreme  super- 
stitious preference  of  the  so-supposed  language  of  the  gods,  the  refined 
Sanskrit,  and  which  even  yet  marks  the  whole  race  of  Pandits  and  others, 
whose  attainments  are  still  limited  within  the  range  of  the  native 
Shastras  and  Purans.  Europeans  who,  whether  from  a  love  of  literature 
simply,  or  from  a  higher  and  holier  desire  to  extend  the  knowledge  of  a 
pure  faith  among  the  millions  of  Hindustan,  take  an  interest  in  the 
progress  of  education  generally  among  the  natives  of  this  country,  ought 
surely  to  be  pleased  with  and  liberally  to  encourage  every  attempt  like 
the  present  to  supply  an  admitted  deficiency,  and  to  aid  the  great 
cause  of  the  advance  of  knowledge,  of  true  religion,  and  of  morals 
among  them.  A  little  patronage  only  is  wanted  to  allure  many  others 
into  the  same  curriculum  of  useful  effort. 

Cinsurensis. 


1. — Missionary  and  Ecclesiastical  Movements. 
The  following  movements  have  occurred  since  our  last.  The  Rev.  W. 
P.  Lyon  and  Mrs.  Lyon,  Mrs.  G.  Pearce,  and  Mrs.  Paterson  and  child 
have  sailed  for  England  on  the  Owen  Glcndower.  We  are  happy  to  find, 
by  a  letter  from  the  vessel  when  opposite  Madras,  that  the  health  of 
Mrs.  Lyons  had  greatly  improved  —  Rev.  Dr.  Somers,  Mrs.  Somers 
and  child  have  arrived  from  Benares  on  their  way  to  Europe. — The 
Rev.  H.  Fisher,  junr.  leaves  Dinapore  to  officiate  at  the  Presidency. — 
The  Rev.  Dr.  Hsfiberlin  and  Mrs.  H.  have  arrived  in  Calcutta.— Rev. 
J.  Weitbrecht  and  Mrs.  W.  have  gone  to  Benares.  We  regret  that 
the  health  of  Mrs.  W.  has  required  this  movement.— The  Rev.  Messrs. 
Gogerly  and  Lacroix  have  proceeded  on  an  extensive  Missionary  tour  to 
the  North-East  of  Calcutta.— The  Rev.  A.  Stronach  of  Singapore 
will  occupy  the  station  formerly  filled  by  the  Rev.  J.  Davies  at  Pinang.— 
The  Rev.  A.  Gros  has  been  obliged  to  leave  Mauritius  on  account  of  ill 
health;  we  regret  to  learn  that  hut  little  hope  is  entertained  of  Mr.  G.'s 
recovery.— The  German  brethren  connected  with  the  Patna  Mission,  refer- 
red to  in  our  last,  have  proceeded  on  their  way.— Mr.  Start  has  left  Patna 
with  a  view  to  establish  a  Mission  amongst  the  Nepalese.— Dr.  Duff  has 
we  believe,  left  England  for  this  country  ere  this.— It  affords  us  sincere 
pleasure  to  announce,  that  letters  have  been  recently  received  from  Rev 
W.  S.  Mackay,  which  state  that  his  health  is  much  improved,  and  that 
he  may  be  expected  very  soon  in  Calcutta.— We  regret  to  announce  the 


54  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Jan. 


death  of  Mrs.  Caldwell,  tlie  wife  of  the  Rev.  J.  Caldwell  of  the  American 
Presbyterian  Mission,  Upper  India. 

The  following-  appointments  have  received  the  approbation  of  the 
Governor  General. —  Kev.  H.  Pratt,  to  be  Chaplain  at  Nusserabad  ;  Rev. 
M.  J.  Jennings,  at  Kurnaul ;  and  Rev.  R.  Eteson,  at  Cawnpore. 

2. — Anniversaries  and  Examinations. 
During  the  month  some  of  the  Religious  Societies  and  many  of  the 
public  Schools  in  Calcutta  have  held  their  anniversaries.  The  Bible 
Society  and  the  Bethel  Society  appear  from  their  reports  to  be  in  a 
healthy  and  prosperous  condition.  The  Schools,  both  European  and 
Native,  Secular  and  Missionary,  appear  to  be  in  a  progressively  improving 
state  ;  but  as  it  is  our  intention  to  enter  more  at  length  into  these  sub- 
jects, and  give  a  more  lengthened  account  if  possible  of  these  matters  in 
our  next,  we  forbear  adding  more  at  present  than  an  expression  of  the 
gratification  we  have  experienced  in  the  present  state  of  the  different 
Missionary  and  Scholastic  Institutions  in  our  city.  May  they  continue 
and  increase,  until  the  whole  country  shall  be  filled  with  the  knowledge 
of  Christ. 


3. — The  Revivals  in  Scotland. 
Our  readers  have  doubtless  been  made  acquainted  with  the  cheering 
intelligence  that  a  good  work  of  revival  in  religion  has  taken  place  in 
Scotland,  especially  at  Kilsyth.  The  accounts  rendered  by  the  public 
prints  however,  are  so  vague  and  burlesqued,  that  it  would  be  impossible 
to  gather  the  truth  from  them.  From  public  and  private  information  of 
an  authentic  nature  we  have  reason  to  believe,  that  this  revival  is  the 
work  of  God.  That  the  work  is  at  least  in  great  part  of  God  we  have  no 
doubt  whatever ;  hundreds  have  received  the  truth  in  the  love  of  it,  and 
the  spirit  has  spread  far  and  wide.  Our  readers  must  not  imagine  that 
this  is  the  work  of  a  sermon  or  of  a  day's  excitement ;  it  would  appear  in 
this,  as  in  most  similar  revivals,  the  preparation  of  the  soil  has  been  the 
work  of  years.  The  venerable  Pastor  states,  that  for  18  years  he  had  been 
preparing  his  parish  for  the  reception  of  an  enlarged  blessing  by  prayer- 
meetings,  fast  days,  humiliations  and  visitations  of  the  whole  parish  ;  it  is 
in  answer  to  the  use  of  these  truly  legitimate  means  that  God  has  poured 
out  his  Spirit  from  on  high. —  Would  that  we  all,  in  a  consciousness  that 
we  had  been  so  preparing  the  seed,  could  look  with  any  degree  of  hope 
for  the  like  blessing  in  India. 


4. — The  Pilgrim  Tax  at  Gyah 
has  been  entirely  abolished,  the  Government  having  granted  a  remu- 
neration in  perpetuity  to  the  Raja  to  whom  the  territory  pertains  ;  the 
connexion  of  Government  with  the  shrine  at  Juggernauth  will,  we  hope, 
be  very  speedily  abolished  also.  We  sincerely  rejoice  in  the  triumph  of 
truth  in  this  important  matter :  we  hope  to  treat  of  it  more  at  length  in 
an  early  number. 

5. — Miscellanea. 
The  Opium  question  is  still  in  an  unsettled  state,  though  the  practice 
is  still  distressing  ;  loss  of  reputation,  individual  and  national,  risk  of 
property  and  loss  of  life  appear  to  be  the  inevitable  consequences  of  the 
jdans  pursued.  The  Government,  strange  to  say,  still  continue  their 
sales!  ! ! — The  poor  Coolies  in  the  West  Indies  have  been  and  are  still 
suffering  very  much  from  the  treatment  they  have  received: — an  inquiry 
has  been  instituted,  which  has  not  reflected  much  either  on  the  piety  or 
humanity  of  the  Cooly  dealers.    The  Coolies  at  the  Mauritius  are  mani- 


1840.]  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


55 


festing,  as  we  always  foretold, symptoms  of  uneasiness  and  a  wish  to  return. 
—  Famine  is  again  threatening  many  parts  of  India.— The  Steam  question 
is  in  statu  quo,  save  tlie  prospect  of  a  precursor — Our  arms  seem  still  to 
be  triumphant.  Khelat  lias  fallen  after  a  desperate  struggle,  and  other 
minor  strifes  in  the  West  hare  terminated  to  our  advantage,  and  at  pre- 
sent there  is  every  where  the  prospect  of  peace.  May  the  Lord  grant 
it  in  his  own  time. 


6. — Ohatouio — Protkst. 
The  Christum  Observer  of  passing  events  sees  little  in  this  sinful  world, 
and  least  of  all  in  such  a  country  as  this,  on  which  he  can  look  with 
pleasure.    Few  and  far  between  are  the  occurrences  which  Heaven  or 
the  heavenly-minded  upon  earth  can  approve.    Wickedness  walks  with 
unabashed  countenance  ;  God  and  the  things  of  God  are  banished  alike 
from  the  politics,  the  business  and  the  amusements  of  men.    Most  of 
those  who  bear   the  Christian  name  are  but  negatively  distinguished 
from  those  who  bow  themselves  before  the  idols  of  the  land.    How  sel- 
dom do  we  see  a  positive  recognition  of  the  authority  of  God,  a  decided 
part  taken  on  the  Lord's  side,  a  testimony  lifted  up  against  those  practi- 
ces which  give  occasion  to  the  Lord's  enemies  to  speak  reproachfully, 
The  cultivators  of  science  are  looked  upon  with  respect  even  by  those  who 
cannot  fully  appreciate  their  pursuits,  and  the  amateur  of  the  fine  arts, 
when  he  waxes  warm  in  the  praise  of  his  favourite  study,  is  deemed  to  be 
possessed  of  a  noble  ardour,  the  sure  proof  of  a  superior  mind.    And  all 
well.    But  why  is  it  that  while  eager  listeners  pay  reverence  to  the  noble 
zeal  of  the  devotees  of  science,  literature  or  art,  a  proscription  is  laid 
among  the  circles  of  the  polite  upon  that  subject  which  alone  can  justify 
all  the  warmth  and  energy  of  feeling  of  which  the  powers  of  men  are 
capable  ?  Why  is  it  that  while  he  who  leads  our  country's  armies  to 
successful  war  is  eulogised  as  if  he  were  more  than  mortal,  and  the  strifes 
of  the  potsherds  with  the  potsherds  of  the  earth  give  rise  to  hourly  dis- 
cussions and  speculations,  the  discomfiture  of  the  powers  of  darkness  by 
the  Captain  of  our  Salvation  is  an  unheard-of  thing?  Why  is  it  that 
while  the  attempt  to  expedite  the  communication  with  other  lands  is 
considered  to  entitle  Him  who  exerts  himself  in  it  to  the  gratitude  of  the 
whole  community,  the  name  of  him  who  opened  the  only  way  of  commu- 
nication between  heaven  and  earth  is  dishonored  and  despised  ?  Why 
is  it  that  while  theatres  and  balls  and  assemblies  form  the  common  to- 
pics of  discourse,  that  theme,  which  engrossed  the  whole  attention  of  the 
heavenly  visitants  on  the  sacred  mount — the  decease  accomplished  by 
Jesus  at  Jerusalem — is  passed  over  as  if  it  were  unfit  to  engage  the  atten- 
tion of  cultivated  minds  ?    In  a  word,  why  is  it  that  to  far  the  greater 
part  of  our  countrymen  here,  the  world  with  its  wars,  its  politics,  its 
business,  its  pleasures,  its  vanities  and  its  sins  is  all,  while  God  and  Christ 
are  not  in  all  their  thoughts  ? 

In  such  a  state  of  things  (and  that  such  is  the  existing  state  of  things 
is  but  too  well  known  to  all)  the  Christian  hears  with  no  ordinary  plea- 
sure a  word  spoken  in  favour  of  Jesus  and  his  cause  ;  even  as  the  heart  of 
the  exiled  wanderer  thrills  with  joy  when  in  a  land  of  strangers  the  ac- 
cents of  his  mother-tongue  fall  unexpectedly  upon  his  ears.  It  is  to  him 
as  waters  in  the  desert,  refreshing  his  soul. 

Such  a  refreshment  we  have  received  from  a  circular  that  has  been  sent 
to  us  (as,  we  believe,  to  all  our  readers  resident  in  Calcutta),  containing 
a  Protest  against  the  desecration  of  the  name  of  God  by  the  recent  per- 
formance in  this  city  of  Handel's  Oratorio  of  the  Messiah.  It  were 
vain  to  expose  the  profanity  involved  in  the  performance  of  music  adapt- 
ed to  scriptural  language  for  the  purposes  of  entertainment  or  of  gain. 
We  can  scarcely  conceive  a  more  literal  trampling  under  foot  of  the 
blood  of  the  covenant,  a  more  direct  treatment  of  that  blood  as  a  com- 


56  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


iron  and  unhallowed  thing.  "  Daughters  of  Jerusalem,  weep  for  your- 
selves." Such  were  the  words  of  the  Messiah  himself,  in  reference  to  that 
awful  event  for  the  accomplishment  of  which  He  assumed  our  nature. 
Yet  th is  is  the  very  event  which  in  our  days  is  made  the  suhject  of  en- 
tertainment,— an  entertainment  in  which  those  who  profess  to  he  the 
sons  and  daughters  of  the  Jerusalem  which  is  from  above  are  by  public 
advertixement  invited  to  participate ;  and  shall  we  not  be  glad  that  they 
have  at  least  the  courage  to  declare,  in  a  manner  as  public  as  that  in  which 
the  invitation  was  given,  that  they  will  not  so  dishonor  Him  by  whose 
name  they  are  called  ?  Shall  we  not  be  glad  that  some  amongst  us  have 
fidelity  enough  to  warn  those  who  like  themselves  profess  to  be  the  dis- 
ciples of  Jesus,  not  to  countenance  so  gross  a  violation  of  the  honor  that 
is  due  to  Him  ? 

We  thus  view  the  Protest  referred  to  as  a  valuable  document,  and  as 
such  transfer  it  to  our  pages,  that  it  may  be  more  certainly  preserved 
than  loose  sheets  of  paper  usually  are. 

Calcutta,  December  13,  1839. 

An  intimation  has  appeared  in  the  public  prints,  that  it  is  intended  to  perform  in 
the  Town  Hall  of  this  city,  on  the  23rd  instant,  a  "  Selection  from  the  Oratorio  of  the 
Messiah  ;"  a  piece  which,  as  is  well  known,  is  designed  by  words  and  music  to  repre- 
sent the  grand  work  of  human  Redemption  by  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ  ; 
and  which  consists  of  some  of  the  most  solemn  and  affecting  passages  on  this  awful 
subject,  that  are  to  be  found  in  the  Holy  Scripture. 

As  the  performance  of  this  Oratorio  is  not  for  a  devotional  end,  but  for  the  purpose 
of  yielding  entertainment,  and  thus  securing  gain  ;  and  as  it  therefore  necessarily  in- 
volves in  it  the  profaning  of  God's  most  sacred  name,  the  desecrating  of  His  holy 
word,  and  the  degradation  of  the  Divine  theme  of  Redemption,  we,  the  undersign- 
ed, deem  it  our  bounden  duly  to  publish  our  solemn  and  united  protest  against  it  ; 
and  earnestly  and  affectionately  to  entreat  our  fellow-Christians  of  every  denomination 
in  this  place,  to  abstain  from  giving  it  their  countenance  and  support, 

In  taking  this  step  we  are  actuated  solely  by  the  deep  conviction,  that  such  a  per- 
formance is  offensive  to  Almighty  God  ;  and  we  are  the  rather  impelled  to  make  pub- 
lic this  conviction,  because  we  have  reason  to  think  that  some  may  be  led  to  attend 
it  under  the  impression  that  it  partakes  of  the  nature  of  a  religious  service. 

(Signed)    JAMES  CHARLES,  D.  D.  Senior  Minister  of  St.  Andrew's  Church. 
R.  B.  BOSWELL,  B.  A.  Minister  of  St.  James's  Church- 
W.  H.  MEIKLEJOHN,  Junior  Minister  of  St.  Andrew's  Church. 
R.  B.  BOVES,  B.  A.  Junior  Chaplain,  Old  Church. 
A.  GARST1N,  Minister  of  St.  Thomas's  ( Free  School)  Church. 
T.  SANDYS,  Church  Missionary. 
J.  W.  ALEXANDER. 
R.  MOLLOY. 
G.  ALEXANDER. 
C.  VV.  SMITH. 
A.  BEATTIE. 
J.  HAWKINS. 
G.  J.  MORRIS. 
J.  LOW1S. 

C.  TUCKER. 

F.  MILLETT. 

W.  N.  GARRETT. 
A  GRANT. 
J.  M.  VOS. 

W.  YATES,  Missionary  Minister. 

T.  BOAZ,  Pastor  of  Union  Chapel. 

J.  MACDONALD,  Missionary  Minister. 

D.  EWART,  Missionary  Minuter. 
T.  SMITH,  Missionary  Minister. 

G.  GOGERLY,  Missionary  Minister. 
W.  MORTON,  Missionary  Minister. 
A.  F.  LACROJX,  Missionary  Minister. 
J.  L>.  LI. LIS,  Missionary  Minister. 

J.  WENGER,  Missionary  Minister. 

W.  H.  PEARCE,  Missionary  Minister. 

F.  TUCKER,  B.  A.  Pastor  of  Circular  Road  Chapel. 

J.  THOMAS,  Missionary  Minister. 


T11K 


CHRISTIAN  OBSERVER. 


(Neto  defies.) 
No.  2. — FEBRUARY,  1840. 


I. — The  Calcutta  Native  Press. 
(For  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer.) 

The  influence  of  a  public  press  upon  any  community  of  freemen  is 
manifestly  so  great,  either  for  good  or  ill,  that  the  extension  of  that 
influence,  its  nature  and  peculiarities,  must  excite  the  deepest  interest, 
and  engage  the  earnest  attention,  of  all  the  friends  of  civil  liberty.  The 
operation  of  the  free  Press  in  India,  in  as  far  as  regards  that  portion  of 
it  which  is  conducted  by  Europeans  in  their  own  language,  and  for  the 
benefit  of  their  countrymen,  has  obtained  the  closest  observation  of  all 
classes  of  the  community ;  nor  hitherto  have  the  beneficial  results  been 
few  or  of  small  moment,  while  the  once  apprehensively  anticipated  evils 
have  in  no  case  been  realized.  Important,  however,  as  is  the  influence 
of  the  Calcutta  European  Press  on  the  interests  of  the  Indo-European 
community  and  their  descendants,  it  is  in  reference  to  the  extension  of 
that  influence  over  the  indigenous  population  of  this  vast  country  that 
its  full  value  is  to  be  estimated ;  nor  this  merely  in  relation  to  the  open 
discussion  of  questions  of  law,  revenue  and  governmental  policy  in  general, 
or  of  commerce,  trade  and  manufacture  ;  or  to  the  application  of  the  test 
of  public  opinion,  freely  expressed,  to  the  measures  of  the  ruling  power, 
to  the  administration  of  justice,  to  questions  of  internal  police,  to  the 
various  relations  of  government  with  the  native  states,  and  to  an  innu- 
merable multitude  of  other  matters  vitally  affecting  the  stability  of  the 
empire,  the  growth  of  national  prosperity  and  the  improvement  of  the 
resources  of  the  country — all  of  which  form  subjects,  the  free,  public 
discussion  of  which  must  inevitably  exert  a  wondrous  power  to 
enlighten  and  ameliorate,  to  check  and  prevent  abuses,  favouritism  and 
short-sighted  policy,  and  in  a  variety  of  ways  to  promote  the  public  weal. 
Besides  these  inestimable  results,  in  which  the  advantageous  operation  of 
a  free  English  Press  is  progressively  developing  itself,  we  estimate  as  of 
no  less  moment,  in  a  large  and  prospective  view  of  things,  its  concurrent 
efficacy  in  awakening  the  slumbering  energies  of  the  natives  of  the  soil,  by 

VOL.  I.  I 


58 


The  Culcutta  Native  Press. 


[Fkb. 


producing  in  their  minds  a  conception  of  public  spirit,  and  creating  a 
national  sentiment ;  in  educating  them  to  feel  and  exercise  their  civil 
capabilities,  indoctrinating  them  with  just  principles  in  the  sciences  of 
government  and  political  economy,  and  imbuing  them  with  right  views 
of  public  morals  and  national  character.  Nor,  writing  as  we  do  in 
the  pages  of  a  Christian  Observer,  can  we  overlook,  were  we  so 
inclined,  the  silent  but  inappreciable,  nay  almost  omnipotent  power,  so 
to  speak,  in  this  way  exerted  upon  the  indigenous  superstitions 
of  this  vast  region  of  moral  darkness  and  religious  death.  The 
great  missionary  enterprise,  in  which  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  wisest 
and  best  of  the  population  of  our  father-land  take  so  deep  an  interest,— 
sending  forth  their  agents  in  yearly  increasing  numbers  to  plant  the 
cross  of  the  universal  Redeemer  in  the  soil  of  Hindustan,  and  to  pro- 
claim the  glorious  messages  of  heavenly  wisdom  and  mercy — this  great 
emprise  cannot  fail  to  be  aided  and  the  object  of  evangelizing  labours 
vastly  accelerated  by  the  yearly,  almost  daily,  accumulating  power  of  a 
free  Press.  It  is  no  longer  possible  to  misrepresent  the  motives  or  belie 
the  characters  of  the  missionaries  of  the  gospel  of  Christ,  or  to  torture 
their  proceedings  into  charges  whose  burthen  shall  be,  as  so  often  hereto- 
fore, that  they  endanger  the  peace  of  society,  the  stability  of  our  empire, 
the  continuance  of  a  commerce  so  advantageous  to  the  resources  of  our  na- 
tive country.  The  time  is  past,  forever  past,  when  it  might  still  be  possi- 
ble to  mislead  the  public  at  home  or  on  the  spot,  in  relation  to  the  quiet, 
unpretending,  but  all-important  labours  of  Christian  missionaries.  These 
are  now  too  well  known  to  be  defamed  ;  their  disinterestedness,  self- 
denial,  and  general  philanthropy  too  well  understood  and  too  generally, 
nay  universally  admitted,  (save  by  a  not  avowedly,  perhaps,  but  not  the 
less  really  atheistical  clique,)  to  be  longer  brought  into  questiou.  They 
are  known  and  acknowledged  to  be  the  best,  the  firmest,  the  truest,  and 
most  persevering  friends  of  India  and  of  its  swarming  population  of  moral 
and  immortal  beings,  our  fellow-creatures.  All  this  is  now  matter  of 
established  certainty,  as  to  the  European  residents  of  our  eastern  capital, 
and  their  compatriots  throughout  the  country.  But  it  is  not  perhaps  so 
generally  known  to  these,  that  the  same  things  are  now  becoming  appa- 
rent to  the  natives  of  the  soil  likewise.  To  no  inconsiderable  extent, 
this  revolution  has  been  brought  about  through  the  English  Press, 
which  the  wide  dissemination  of  English  education  among  the  natives 
of  Calcutta,  and  many  other  places,  has  brought  to  bear  upon  them  in  its 
most  useful  operation  ;  but  chiefly  has  it  resulted  from  the  creation  of 
a  free  native  press.  The  far  and  justly  famed  Serampore  missionaries, 
among  other  numerous  and  well-substantiated  titles  to  the  gratitude  of 
India  and  to  an  illustrious  place  in  the  memory  of  posterity,  have 
the  distinguished  merit  of  having  originated  the  Calcutta  Native  Press. 
The  Samachar  Darpan  (T?3TtFt?  K^fa),  or  Mirror  of  Intelligence,  which 
first,  issued  from  the  Serampore  Mission  Press,  we  believe  in  the  year 
1818,  twenty-one  years  ago,  and  was  conducted  by  those  whose  undying 
names  alone  now  survive,  was  the  first  specimen  of  a  Bengali  newspaper. 
The  Samachar  Chandrika  (WtFt?  3f^1)  or  Moonlight  of  News,  con- 
ducted by  a  well-known  individual  of  influence  among  the  so-called  or- 
thodox Hindus,  was  the  first  to  try  the  experiment  upon  native  resources. 


1840.] 


The  Calcutta  Native  Press. 


59 


Since  then,  especially  since  the  Free  Press  regulation,  many  competitors 
have  started  up  to  contend  for  the  dominion  of  public  opinion  among 
the  native  community.  Of  these  the  tabular  view  annexed  to  these 
remarks  will  at  once  shew  the  number,  spread  and  importance.  This 
it  has  cost  us  no  small  labour  and  trouble  to  prepare  ;  first,  in  obtaining, 
through  the  aid  of  an  intelligent  native  friend,  and  from  the  best  sources 
to  which  we  could  find  access,  the  statistical  information  ;  and  then  in 
reading  for  ourselves  many  numbers  of  the  papers  we  have  characterized. 
These,  it  may  readily  be  supposed,  are  of  very  various  merit  and 
circulation.  Each,  however,  cannot  but  separately  possess  some  in- 
fluence, and  all  unitedly  a  prodigious  efficacy ;  especially  now  when,  at  the 
same  time  that  English  education  is  spreading  on  all  hands  in  daily 
enlarging  circles,  so  wondrous  an  impetus  has  been  given  to  a  concurrent 
cultivation  of  the  vernacular  languages,  by  their  restoration,  on  the  fall 
of  the  usurping  Persian,  to  their  legitimate,  rational,  and  natural  place 
in  the  courts,  in  all  Government  offices,  and  in  general  business. 

These  papers  are  printed  mostly  at  Native  Presses,  conducted  by  Native 
Editors ;  and  the  greater  number  are  issued  weekly  in  small  single  or 
double  folios,  usually  of  three  columns  ;  a  few,  as  the  Bhdskar  and 
Gi/dndnweshan,  in  large  folio.  Most  are  in  Bengali  only — a  few  in 
Bengali  and  English.  Some  of  them,  like  those  evanescent  meteors 
called  falling  stars,  have  but  just  appeared  and  been  extinguished  even  in 
their  nascent  corruscations  ;  or,  as  abortive  embryos,  have  existed  but  to 
die.  Of  their  typographical  execution  little  requires  to  be  said  ;  most  of 
them  are  printed  on  indifferent  paper,  with  indifferent  and  much  worn 
types,  are  composed  and  worked  off  by  native  pressmen,  and  swarm  with 
typographical  errors.  Some,  however,  of  the  larger  ones  especially, 
are  both  neatly  and  correctly  executed,  doing  great  credit  to  the 
enterprize  and  diligence  of  their  conductors. 

The  style  of  native  composition  prevailing  in  them  is  various— 
generally  not  over  correct,  seldom  elegant,  too  often  loose  and  vicious 
in  the  extreme.  Magniloquent  phrases,  bombastic  figures,  tedious 
alliteration,  puerile  conceits,  accumulated  epithets  and  far-fetched  ana- 
logies— these  are  all  in  the  native  taste  as  it  now  is  :  the  transition, 
however,  to  a  purer  has  commenced ;  and  a  more  correct  style  of  com- 
position is  beginning  to  be  cultivated,  as  a  juster  conception  of 
the  real  beauties  and  true  end  of  written  language  is  better  under- 
stood. Many  are  already  exhibiting  a  nobler  aim  than  to  make  a  display 
of  personal  acquisition  ;  nor  will  it  be  long  ere  the  more  educated  taste 
and  better  informed  judgment  of  the  daily  improving  alumni  of  the 
various  schools  and  colleges  appear,  in  an  abandonment  of  affecta- 
tion and  purposed  obscurity  for  simplicity  and  perspicuity  of  diction  : 
at  the  same  time,  no  doubt,  the  scurrilities  which  now  too  often  discredit 
the  native  papers,  will  give  place  to  a  candid  and  honest  discussion  of 
questions,  both  in  politics  and  religion,  on  their  own  merits  alone.  Too 
frequently,  indeed,  have  we  had  occasion  to  lament  seeing  the  native 
papers  stuffed  with  miserable  verse,  or  equally  wretched  prose,  vitupera- 
tion and  misrepresentation  of  Christianity,  its  teachers  and  their  converts. 

The  best  of  them  by  many  degrees,  at  present,  is  the  Bhdskar  or 
Sun ;  it  is  published  weekly,  in  two  folio  sheets.   The  leading  article  is 
i  2 


60 


The  Calcutta  Native  Press. 


[Feb. 


an  ethical  maxim  or  definition  ;  illustrated,  after  the  oriental  manner,  by 
a  tale,  usually  fictitious  and  not  always  in  keeping-  with  the  sobriety  of 
the  subject.  The  strictly  ethical  portion,  however,  is  always  good,  often 
excellent.  The  style  of  the  Bhdskar  is  immeasurably  superior  to  that 
of  any  of  the  whole  tribe  besides  ;  and,  though  not  free  from  defects, 
exhibits  on  the  whole,  the  finest  specimens  of  Bengali  composition,  nei- 
ther mixed  and  vulgar  on  the  one  hand,  nor  affecting  the  abstruseness 
of  an  almost  Sanskrit  diction,  on  the  other.  The  Editor  is  a  Brahman 
of  highly  liberal  sentiments,  extremely  solicitous  to  raise  the  tone  of 
feeling  and  standard  of  thought  among  his  countrymen  ;  unsparing  in 
his  use  of  a  well-managed  severity  of  satire  and  indignant  rebuke 
directed  against  the  worst  faults  and  follies  of  his  compatriots  ;  of  which 
several  fair  specimens  have  lately  appeared,  in  an  English  dress,  in  the 
pages  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Advocate.  He  is  candid,  too,  disin- 
terested and  energetic.  We  have  a  personal  acquaintance  with  him,  and 
can  vouch  for  the  correctness  of  our  remarks.  We  recommend  his  pa- 
per to  all  who  either  desire  to  have  a  guide  to  the  purest  style  of  na- 
tive composition,  or  to  obtain  much  really  valuable  information  regard- 
ing the  state  of  public  opinion  and  the  advance  of  general  improvement 
among  our  native  fellow-subjects. 

The  Iiasardj,  published  at  the  same  Press,  is  largely  occupied  with 
original  metrical  compositions  :  its  prose  style  is  much  on  a  par  with 
the  preceding. 

The  Sarnbdd  Purnachandroday  is  conducted  by  a  very  intelligent 
young  Babu  employed  in  one  of  the  public  offices.  It  has  an  extensive 
circulation,  and  retails  a  great  mass  of  useful  intelligence ;  its  style, 
however,  is  too  much  laboured  and  ambitious ;  is  consequently  some- 
times both  affected  and  obscure,  as  well  as  occasionally  loose  and  incor- 
rect. The  earlier  numbers  abound  in  specimens  of  various  versification, 
and  in  what  is  still  more  valuable,  contain  many  good  moral  apothegms 
and  definitions.  Some  of  its  latest  articles  are  very  valuable  are  proofs 
of  a  growing  zeal,  and  augur  well  for  its  increasing  usefulness. 

We  have  had  much  intercourse  with  the  editor.  Although  a  thorough 
Hindu,  and  frequently  admitting  vituperative  verses,  &c.  directed 
against  the  Missionaries  .  into  his  paper,  we  have  experienced  much 
candour  and  obligingness  personally  at  his  hands. 

The  Gydndnu-eshan  is  next  in  merit;  it  is  a  very  respectable  paper, 
doing  great  credit  to  the  talent,  zeal  and  public  spirit  of  its  conductors. 

Of  the  Anglo-Bengali  Papers,  the  Darpan,  already  referred  to  as 
issuing  from  Serampore,  is  under  joint  European  and  Native  manage- 
ment. The  contributions  from  without  are  in  various  styles  of  native 
composition  ;  but  its  Editorials  are  not  always  written  in  the  purest  and 
most  idiomatical  Bengali  ;  it  has,  however,  the  far  higher  praise  of  be- 
ing ever  liberal,  of  advocating  every  good  cause,  of  containing  a  large 
amount  of  useful  information,  and  of  being  uncompromising  in  hatred 
of  vice  and  oppression.  It  is  always  the  enemy  of  superstition,  bad  go- 
vernment and  worse  anarchy,  the  friend  of  education,  tiie  patron  of 
the  oppressed,  and  in  fact  is  truly  "  a  mirror  of  the  times." 

The  proprietors  of  the  paper  known  by  the  magnificent  title,  as 
above  given,  of  "  the  Full  Moon  of  Intelligence,"  ( Sampurna  Chart' 


1840.] 


The  Calcutta  Native  Press. 


<>l 


droday,)  lately  projected  a  daily  paper  in  the  same  language,  a  speci- 
men number  of  which  is  now  before  us.  It  is  intituled,  somewhat 
more  modestly  than  the  preceding, — probably  as  being  deemed  but  the 
early  breaking  of  a  flood  of  mental  light,  in  process  of  time  to  shine 
forth  from  similar  more  extended  efforts, — 11  the  Dawn  of  Intelligence," 
(  Sambdd  Arvnnday . ) 

The  Arnnoday  is  intended  to  be  a  daily  paper.  We  venture  to  repeat 
below,  respecting  it,  and  indeed  of  the  native  press  generally,  what  we 
have  elsewhere  remarked  before  ;  because  our  observations,  though 
specially  referring  to  that  one  paper,  are  strictly  applicable  to  the  whole 
class,  the  Bltdskar  even  not  entirely  excepted. 

It  is  to  be  published  at  the  same  press  as  the  Saml>ad  Purnachan- 
droday,  and  delivered  daily,  at  the  cost  of  one  rupee  per  mensem,  or  eight 
rupees  per  annum,  if  paid  in  advance.  The  price  is  so  small  as  clearly 
to  admit  of  no  expectation  of  pecuniary  advantage  to  the  speculators, 
unless  through  a  very  extended  circulation  ;  the  only  chance  of  which 
is  in  a  careful  catering  to  the  wants  and  tastes  of  the  Balms,  with  as 
small  a  demand  as  possible  upon  their  purses,  as  we  should  say,  or  in 
native  parlance,  their  zones  ;  which  are  usually  but  bard  to  loosen  for 
disbursements,  however  insignificant,  even  when  a  full  equivalent  is  ob- 
tained. The  "  quid  pro  quo"  principle  is  one,  indeed,  which  they  well 
understand  ;  but  it  is  not  always  that  the  quid  is  recoverable  even  when 
the  quo  has  been  given. 

The  character  of  the  poetry  in  some  of  the  native  hebdomadals,  is  indif- 
ferent ;  not  having  always  even  the  merit  of  some  other  ephemeral  verse, 
of  possessing  at  least  some  point  and  wit  :  while  it  is  not  seldom,  as  we 
have  already  said,  discreditable  to  them  and  to  their  supporters,  consist- 
ing, as  it  too  often  does,  of  scurrilous  doggrel  directed  against  Christian 
Missionaries  and  their  procedure,  and  what  is  of  far  more  serious 
moment,  against  our  holy  and  divine  Saviour  or  his  benevolent  system  of 
faith  and  piety.  The  proper  antidote  to  this  is  just  "  to  let  it  alone,"  and 
to  abound  the  more  in  patience,  zeal  and  disinterested  effort  to  disperse 
the  light  of  truth  through  the  surrounding  darkness.  We  augur  well  to 
the  cause  of  Christianity,  when  its  grand  enemy,  beginning  to  fear  for 
his  usurped  dominion  of  God's  rightful  sovereignty  over  the  minds  and 
hearts  and  services  of  his  moral  creatures,  stirs  up  his  human  slaves  to 
fight  for  his  tottering  power.  For  tottering  it  is,  to  its  very  base,  and 
ere  long  will  fall,  "  nor  leave,  we  trust,  one  wreck  behind !" 

It  has  long  been  our  intention  to  take  a  succinct  review  of  the  native 
newspaper  press.  The  pressure  of  more  important  duties  alone  has 
compelled  us  to  postpone  fulfilment.  We  have  now,  however,  set  our- 
selves to  give  effect  to  the  design,  and  shall  ground  our  general  con- 
cluding remarks  on  a  special  notice  of  the  before-named  but  newly  pro- 
jected journal. 

This,  as  many  of  its  compeers,  is  to  be  a  half  sheet  of  small  folio,  in 
quadripartite  columns,  furnishing  a  daily  supply  of  four  pages  of 
multifarious  matter.  In  a  lengthy  editorial,  the  projector  exhibits  his 
bill  of  fare,  and  the  mode  in  which  he  proposes  to  excite  the  appetites 
of  his  expected  bonvivans . 

The  press,  and  in  particular  the  Newspaper  press,  he  deems  a  most 


(52 


The  Calcutta  Native  Press. 


[Feb. 


important  agent  in  the  production  and  advancement,  nay  to  lie  at  the 
root,  of  all  national  felicity  ;  and  from  the  root  which  it  has  taken  in 
India,  "  the  germ,"  he  thinks,  "of  national  prosperity  has  already  shot 
forth  !"  Candidly  enough,  he  attributes  its  introduction  to  European 
intelligence,  benevolence  and  activity  ;  and  rightly  :  for  the  first  Newspa- 
per in  the  Bengali  language  was,  as  above  observed,  the  "  Samachar 
Darpan,"  or  "  Mirror  of  News,"  which  still  issues  from  the  Serampore 
Press,  and  was  the  first  to  excite  a  taste  for  reading  in  the  indolent  and 
illiterate  Babus  of  the  capital  and  its  vicinity  ;  with  such  success,  too,  that 
not  fewer  than  some  twenty  or  more  competitors  for  their  patronage  have 
since  appeared,  many  of  them  yet  in  vigorous  existence.  A  weekly  paper 
he  considers  inadequate  now  to  secure  the  full  advantage  derivable  from 
these  sources  ;  whether  in  regard  to  the  supply  of  information  required 
upon  all  matters  of  commerce  and  general  business,  constantly  extending, 
or  to  the  wide  spread  of  literature  among  the  native  population.  Under- 
taking, therefore,  to  increase  t  he  supply,  he  writes,  as  if  appealing  to  the 
kindlier  feelings  of  his  hoped-iov  supporters — "our  heart  expanding  to 
furnish  our  countrymen  with  all  useful  intelligence  bearing  upon  either 
w  orldly  or  intellectual  advancement,  and  prompt  to  respond  to  the  call  of 
their  necessities,  is  as  yet,  however,  afloat  on  a  shoreless  sea  of  desire  ; 
should  the  universal  ruler  but  send  the  angel  of  pity,"  (to  find  an  entrance, 
it  should  seem,  into  the  hearts  and  act  upon  the  well-known  sluggishness 
of  the  Calcutta  Babus,  the  niggard  patrons,  even  for  their  own  advance- 
ment or  pleasure,  of  enterprises  involving  pecuniary  outlay,  and  so)  "  to 
lift  up  the  life  of  our  hope  above  this  sea  of  desire,"  (to  save  it  from 
drowning,  of  course,) — "then  shall  we  not  become  (by  our  impotent 
struggles)  an  object  of  ridicule  to  the  prudent  and  intelligent,  but  have 
our  best  expectations  fully  realized." 

The  wily  projector,  (knowing  well  the  taste  to  which  he  must  cater, 
and  the  calibre  to  which  he  must  adapt  his  argumentation,)  then  gives, 
by  way  of  a  sop  to  Cerberus,  a  running  notice,  as  we  should  say,  of 
the  policy  adopted  by  the  Anglo-Indian  Government  of  the  country,  in 
relation  to  the  exclusion  of  the  natives  of  the  soil  from  places  of  high 
trust  or  large  (direct)  emolument.  While  he  admits  that  "  no  other 
nation  of  men  has  ever  exercised  such  moderation  and  justice  in  the 
government  of  a  conquered  country  as  the  English,"  he  yet  asserts, 
1st,  "  That  it  is  a  fact  in  history,  that  no  country  has  ever  been 
altogether  well  and  happily  governed  by  its  conquerors,  and  that  it  is 
impossible  indeed  it  should  be."  2ndly,  That  it  has  been  with  a  view  to 
enrich  their  own  servants,  though  at  the  cost  to  the  governed  of  wealth, 
prosperity  and  improvement,  that  the  English  Government  have  so 
rigidly  excluded  from  all  offices  of  emolument  and  responsibility  the 
natives  of  the  soil.  3rdly,  That  during  the  whole  period  of  British  rule, 
the  practice  of  all  Government  servants,  Judges  and  Collectors,  Civil 
and  Military,  &c.  alike,  has  been  to  make  the  acquisition  of  a  fortune, 
with  which  to  return  to  their  father-land  as  soon  as  possible,  their  grand 
aim  ;  that  hence  has  India,  through  its  vast  extent,  suffered  a  perpetual 
drain,  to  the  enrichment  of  a  small  island  in  the  west  of  Europe  ;  and 
those  resources  of  the  country  only  been  sought  out  and  applied,  which 
Lave  tended  directly  to  augment  the  revenue ;  while  internal  improve- 


1840.] 


The  Culcutta  Native  Press- 


6.'i 


ment  has  been  ever  a  secondary  object  if  at  all  attended  to.  Such  is 
the  general  strain  of  remark  ;  the  particular  grievance,  however,  and 
that  whose  mention  is  calculated  on  to  propitiate  the  desired  native  pa- 
tronage, is  the  non-employment  of  the  natives  in  high  judicial,  revenue, 
magisterial,  and  even  legislative  functions.  It  is  a  marvel  he  did  not  add 
the  military  service  to  the  civil,  and  lament,  too,  over  the  want  of  a  he- 
coming  field  for  the  exhibition  of  B6bu  prowess,  by  the  exclusion  of  the 
heroic  sons  of  the  soil  "  from  the  blood-red  battle  plain  !"  But  why,  he 
asks,  should  they  be  confined  to  those  inferior  employments  which  fur- 
nish merely  the  means  of  subsistence,  while  they  possess  powers  which 
might  be  brought  into  effective  and  advantageous  play  at  the  Council 
Board,  in  the  Law  Commission,  on  the  Judicial  and  Magisterial  Benches  ? 
nay,  warmed  by  his  subject  (and  his  hopes  ?)  he  takes  a  yet  more  soaring 
flight,  and  "  dares  to  assert,  that  if  the  respectable  natives  were  in  power 
through  the  country,  the  condition  of  its  population  would,  without  a 
shadow  of  doubt,  be  superior  to  what  it  is  !  !  !"  He  will  not,  indeed,  abso- 
lutely undertake  to  decide  whether  the  English  have  resolved  or  not  to 
keep  "  the  respectable  natives  of  the  country  from  reaching  greater  afflu- 
ence or  higher  power ;"  but  he  conceives  that  Government  takes  far  too 
great  praise  to  itself  for  having  thrown  up  some  of  the  inferior  judicial 
and  revenue  offices  to  native  assistants  ;  and  trusts  they  will,  in  process 
of  time,  widen  to  them  the  range  of  admission  to  office  still  further. 

Apprehending,  however,  (with  great  reason,  it  should  seem,)  that  the 
tenor  of  these  remarks  might  lead  to  the  conclusion  that  he  wishes  for  the 
passing  away  of  the  British  dominion  in  India  into  the  hands  of  the  sons  of 
the  soil, — an  event  which  he  professes  unambiguously  and  most  sincerely 
to  deprecate,  on  the  ground  that  no  other  people  equals  the  English  in 
political  and  governmental  policy  and  intelligence — he  avers  that  all  he 
desires,  is  only  to  see  natives  every  where  associated  with  them  in  all  the 
offices  of  administration  I  He  is  aware,  it  seems,  that  the  strong,  and 
in  our  opinion  impregnable,  ground  of  objection  to  yet  throwing  open 
the  doors  of  office  generally  to  native  competition,  is  the  fact  of  their 
incompetent  education  and  defect  of  patriotic  and  moral  principle.  This 
fact  he  does  not  attempt  to  disprove  by  argument — he  could  not,  and 
therefore  dared  not ; — it  is  too  glaringly  notorious  to  admit  of  being  so 
set  aside  ;  witness  the  numerous  instances  of  peculation,  corruption,  and 
oppression,  practised  in  those  lower  offices  of  munsiff,  &c. ;  and  the  many 
consequent  deprivations  that  have  taken  place.  Yet  he  boldly,  it  must 
be  owned,  asserts — writing,  however,  for  natives  in  the  native  language — i 
that  even  this  fact  is,  on  his  ipse  dixit,  to  be  held  for  nought ;  that  it  is  a 
clear  mistake  ;  and  that  there  is  a  quantum  sufticit  of  intelligence,  know- 
ledge, literature,  acquirement,  patriotism  and  moral  honesty  existing 
among  the  respectable  natives,  to  qualify  them  for  an  able  and  judicious, 
impartial  and  honorable,  and  every  way  advantageous,  administration  of 
every  department  of  government  throughout  the  whole  country  ! !  ! 
whereas,  the  consequence  of  their  exclusion  is,  every  where,  the  un- 
checked operation  of  a  partiality,  in  European  functionaries,  highly 
injurious  to  the  sons  of  the  soil  I 

All  this  may  be  very  well  for  a  Newspaper  Proprietor  and  Editor,  who 
merely  seeks  to  extend  his  credit  and  circulation  among  his  money- 


64 


The  Calcutta  Native  Press. 


[Feb. 


loving  and  ignorant  countrymen  ;  but  to  do  them  or  the  country  at  large 
real  service,  demands  a  very  different  line  of  policy  indeed;  one  which 
would  fulfil  the  promise  of  the  projector  of  this  "  Dawn  of  Intelligence," 
to  seek  "  their  real  good  by  telling  them  as  well  of  their  faults  as  of 
their  merits." 

We  counsel  him,  then,  to  urge  upon  them  the  practice  of  domestic 
education  ;  the  establishment  and  support  of  village  and  other  schools  on 
an  extended  scale  ;  the  employment  of  the  zeal  and  active  patriotism 
for  which  he  so  generously  gives  them  credit,  in  drawing  out  the  many 
almost  untouched  resources  of  the  country  ;  the  expenditure  of  their 
numerous  overgrown  capitals,  in  the  building-  of  bridges,  the  formation  of 
roads  and  canals,  the  better  cultivation  of  their  many  immense  estates  ; 
the  improvement  of  the  physical  condition  of  their  miserable  ryots,  by 
encouraging  them  to  build  better  huts,  to  wear  better  clothing,  to  eat 
better  food,  and  by  setting  them  examples  of  cleanliness,  industry  and 
orderliness  ;  instead  of  lavishing  princely  sums  on  impudent  buffoons  and 
licentious  dancing  girls  ;  on  indecent  nautches,  silly  marriage  ceremonials, 
and  worse  than  useless  shraddhas  ;  or  in  feeding  lazy  brahmins,  wan- 
dering vagabonds,  and  itinerant  beggars,  while  grinding  the  honest  la- 
bourers on  the  soil,  at  the  loom  and  in  the  shop,  or  vainly  displaying 
a  puerile  and  gaudy  pomp  of  tinsel  dress,  elephant  trappings  and  idle 
retainers;  instead  of  doing,  in  short,  nothing  really  honorable  to  them- 
selves or  beneficial  to  the  country,  while  abusing  their  foreign  masters, 
(to  whom  alone,  with  all  their  faults,  and  we  should  be  the  last  to  cloak, 
the  first  to  expose  and  reprove,  these)  they  owe  all  the  happiness  they 
possess,  a  happiness  never  in  any  former  period  of  authentic  Indian 
history  the  portion  of  its  inhabitants — full  protection  to  life,  person  and 
property  ;  with  a  liberty,  moreover,  to  speak  almost  as  they  list,  and  even 
to  abuse  to  their  heart's  content  those  who  are  at  once,  under  Providence, 
their  conquerors,  their  masters  and  their  benefactors. 

Over  and  above  the  editorials,  the  specimen  of  the  paper  before  us 
exhibits  the  usual  variety  of  police  and  A'dalat  reports,  accounts  from 
the  various  courts  and  residencies,  new  enactments,  public  appoint- 
ments, rumours,  accidents,  state  of  the  weather,  prospects  of  indigo, 
rice  and  other  harvests,  domestic  occurrences,  &c. 

We  sincerely  wish  the  enterprizing  projector  all  fair  success  ;  and 
although  we  have  spoken  freely  of  his  editorial,  we  not  the  less  sincere- 
ly desire  to  draw  large  and  favourable  notice  to  his  design  ;  and  we 
hope,  that  both  he  and  his  compeers  may  ultimately  have  full  reason  to 
be  convinced  that  the  only  sure  as  well  as  just  expedient  for  gaining  an 
extensive  circulation,  is  an  unremitting  exertion  to  supply  really  useful 
intelligence,  and  to  meet  the  growing  necessity  for  information  on  all 
possible  subjects  ;  while  his  and  their  solemn  duty  is  to  study,  by  every 
effort,  to  improve  the  sentiments,  correct  the  mistaken  opinions,  enlighten 
the  ignorance,  excite  the  indolence,  direct  the  energies  and  improve  the 
morals  of  their  readers.  In  so  labouring  they  will  have  sources  of  pure 
satisfaction  within  themselves,  obtain  the  rich  meed  of  approbation  from 
all  whose  approbation  is  either  desirable  or  creditable,  prove  public  bene- 
factors, and  subserve  the  wondrous  and  gracious  designs  of  an  over-ruling 
Providence  for  good,  civil,  moral  and  religious,  to  the  natives  of  India. 


1840.] 


The  Calcutta  Native  Press. 


65 


The  Prabhakar  must  be  noticed  as  one  of  the  better  issues  from 
the  Native  Press.  Its  earlier  numbers  contain  much  well-managed  and 
biting  satire,  while  its  very  later  ones  give  to  the  public,  the  moral 
essays  or  addresses  delivered  in  the  Tattwabodhim  Sabha,  a  private 
society  of  immateria lists,  arisen  out  of  the  Brahma  Sabha.  These  are 
beautifully  written  ;  they  are  the  better  moralizings  of  a  select  few  of 
the  followers  of  Ram  Mohan  Ray,  who  disclaim  idolatry  and  profess  a 
species  of  Theophilanthropism,  which  indeed  is  the  ne-plus-ultra  of 
the  purest  Hindu  Philosophy — not  unamiable,  but  powerless. 

The  tables  below  exhibit  the  statistics  of  the  whole  Native  Press. 
We  have  necessarily  depended  for  much  of  the  details  on  the  informa- 
tion of  others,  yet  trust  they  will  be  found  substantially  correct  and 
not  a  little  interesting.  Europeans  generally  are  not  at  all  aware  of  the 
extent  and  daily  increasing  power  of  the  Native  Press. 

The  prices  of  these  papers  are  moderate  ;  by  far  the  cheapest,  esti- 
mated by  the  large  quantity  of  its  letter-press  and  the  usefulness  of  its 
contents  together,  is  the  Purnachandroday  ;  it  has  also  the  most  ex- 
tensive circulation.  Latterly,  too,  it  is  much  improved  and  deserves  all 
encouragement.  Indeed  these  productions  require  only  notice  and  en- 
couragement to  be  rendered  most  powerfully  influential  for  extensive 
benefit  to  Native  Society,  whilst  if  not  diligently  and  prudently  watched 
over,  they  will  as  necessarily  prove  most  mischievous.  The  real  friends 
of  India  will  do  well  to  pay  more  attention  to  them. 

ClNSURENSIS. 


Table  I.    List  of  defunct  papers. 


Nos. 

Name*. 

Editors. 

Weekly. 

Late  Rajah  Rammohan  Ray. 

1 

2 

Babu  Krishnamohan  Das. 

3 

do.   Premchand  Ray. 

4 

do.    Brajamohan  Singha. 

5 

do.    Jagannath  Mallik. 

6 

do.    Benimadhaba  De. 

7 

do.    Prasannakumar  Thakur. 

8 

Maulavi  Alimallah. 

9 

Babu  Kalishankar  Datta. 

10 

do.    Girishchandra  Bhos. 

11 

do.    Parbati  Charan  D4s*. 

12 

do.    Ganganarayan  Bhos. 

Monthly. 

Messrs.   M.   W.  Woollaston,  and 

13 

Gang-ftcharan  Sen. 

14 

Babu  Ram  Chandra  Mitra. 

15 

do.    Rasik  Krishna  Mallik. 

16 

do.    Ram  Chandra  Mitra. 

*  Nearly  all  verse  ;  but  not  over  good  composition. 
VOL.  I.  K 


66 


The  Calcutta  Native  Press. 


[Feb. 


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1840.]    Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism. 


67 


II. — Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism. 

Though  a  good  deal  has  been  written  on  Muhamma- 
danism, the  Quran  and  some  other  of  their  religious  books 
have  been  translated,  their  historical  and  philosophical  works 
have  been  studied,  and  their  poetical  and  moral  writings  have 
been  read  by  many  of  the  European  orientalists,  and  transla- 
tions or  extracts  of  them  have  been  published,  and  a  great 
deal  of  information  about  Muhammadanism  has  been  gained 
by  these  labours;  notwithstanding  all  this,  the  knowledge 
gathered  from  them  is  still  partial  and  imperfect.  The 
Mubammadan  poets,  their  writers  on  morals,  their  philoso- 
phers, and  even  the  Quran,  bad  as  many  things  are  in  them,  do 
not  yet  give  a  correct  idea  nor  a  full  representation  of  the  na- 
ture of  the  doctrines  of  Muhammadanism.  They  present  the 
fair  side  of  this  system  of  falsehood,  and  hide  under  the  dress 
of  fine  language  and  the  cover  of  truths  borrowed  from  a 
foreign  source,  the  mire  of  error  and  superstition,  which 
is  found  uncovered  in  their  traditions  and  theological  writings. 
To  acquire  therefore  a  more  perfect  notion  of  Muhammadanism 
an  acquaintance  with  these  is  necessary  ;  but  little  has  as  yet 
been  said  or  published  of  the  traditions,  which  form  such  an 
important  part  of  the  Mubammadan  religion  that  they  may 
well  be  called  the  basis  of  it.  Their  doctrines,  as  well  as  all 
their  religious  rites  and  ceremonies,  are  fixed  and  regulated 
according  to  the  received  traditions.  On  them  even  the  mean- 
ing of  the  Quran  is  dependant,  for  the  Quran  can  only  be 
explained  and  its  meaning  understood  as  it  is  rendered  or 
hinted  at  by  their  traditions.  Of  these  traditions  the  Slnas,  to 
whom  the  Persians  and  many  of  the  Muhammadans  in  India 
belong,  have  many  more  than  the  Sunnis,  who  consist  of  the 
Turks,  Arabs  and  other  Muhammadan  nations*.  And  as  these 
traditions  are  neither  collected  into  one  book,  nor  all  approved 

*  The  principal  difference  between  Sunnis  and  Shias  consists  in  this 
circumstance,  that  the  latter  say  that  Ali  alone  and  his  descendants 
were  the  lawful  successors  of  Muhammad.  They  therefore  reject  the 
three  first  Khalifs,  Abubaker,  Omar  and  Othman,  received  by  the  Sunnis. 
This  dispute  litis  from  the  early  period  of  Muhammadanism  created  a 
deep  hatred  between  the  two  parties,  and  often  occasioned  great  blood- 
shed between  the  Persians  and  the  Turks.  In  doctrine  it  created  no 
material  difference,  as  both  receive  the  Quran.  But  the  Shias,  believing 
in  twelve  Imams  or  Khalifs  descendants  of  Ali,  regard  their  sayings,  or 
traditions  from  them,  as  binding  as  those  from  Muhammad,  which  latter 
alone  are  received  by  the  Sunnis:  they  have  therefore  a  much  greater 
number  of  traditions.  The  Persians  are  however  in  doctrine  not  as  great 
fatalists  as  the  Sunnis,  though  in  practice  the  difference  is  very  slight.  In 
religious  ceremonies,  as  in  the  manner  of  performing  their  prayers  and 
ablutions,  &c.  they  differ  in  some  respects  from  the  Sunnis. 
K  2 


68         Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [Feb. 


of  by  the  whole  of  their  renowned  theological  writers,  they 
form  a  constant  source  of  dispute  as  well  between  the  two  great 
parties  of  Muhammadans  the  Sunms  and  Shias,  as  between 
individual  members  of  each  sect.  In  many  cases  the  traditions 
contradict  one  another  and  even  the  Quran,  so  that  what  the 
one  proves  on  the  authority  of  a  generally  received  tradition  the 
other  disproves  by  the  same  means.  There  is  very  little  doubt 
that  many  of  the  traditions  are  not  derived  from  Muhammad, 
but  have  been  invented  since  his  time,  and  mixed  up  with  those 
actually  handed  down  from  him.  The  uncertainty  in  respect 
to  their  traditions  is  so  great,  that  they  themselves  confess,  that 
in  many  cases  it  is  impossible  to  decide  whether  a  tradition  be 
authentic  or  not.  There  is  in  the  Kafi,  a  work  of  great  autho- 
rity among  the  Persians,  in  the  chapter  on  the  varieties  of 
the  traditions,  a  passage  to  the  following  effect :  "  Ali  lbn 
Ibrahim  lbn  Hashim  has  said,  that  he  once  said  to  Ali,  I  have 
heard  from  Soliman  and  others  explanations  of  the  Quran  and 
the  traditions  as  coming  from  the  prophet,  differing  from  those 
generally  known.  I  have  also  heard  from  them  things  to  the 
same  effect.  But  I  have  known  explanations  of  the'  Quran 
and  traditions,  generally  received  as  coming  from  the  prophet 
which  you  oppose,  supposing  them  to  be  mere  fictions,  and 
forged  with  the  view  of  opposing  the  prophet  and  of  pervert- 
ing the  Quran/5  Ali  then  gives  to  lbn  Ibrahim  several  rules  to 
discern  a  false  tradition  from  a  true  one,  to  which  he  finds 
some  objection.  Ali  at  last  tells  him,  "  If  then  after  all 
this  you  still  remain  in  doubt,  then  wait,  that  is,  suspend 
your  decision  about  the  truth  or  falsehood  of  a  tradition,  till 
your  Imam*  shall  make  his  appearance  ;  for  it  is  better  to  wait 
in  doubtful  cases,  than  to  be  hasty  where  there  is  danger  of 
destructiont  "  But  notwithstanding  this  uncertainty,  the  con- 
tradictions, and  the  foolish  and  childish  nature  of  many  of  the 
traditions,  they  are  always  referred  to  and  believed.  The 
mullahs  or  maulavis  relate  them  to  the  people,  who  hear  eagerly 
those  curious  and  marvellous  stories,  and  recite  them  in  their 
leisure  hours  or  on  journies  for  their  amusement.    They  exer- 

*  This  Imam  is  the  last  of  the  twelve  Imams  of  the  Persians,  and  is 
called  Imam  Mahdi.  They  say  that  he  did  not  die,  but  retired  to  some 
unknown  place  of  the  earth,  where  he  lives  in  a  most  splendid  palace.  He 
occasionally  appears  to  one  and  another  of  the  Muhammadans  in  vision, 
sends  letters  to  encourage  the  faithful  to  be  zealous  in  their  religion,  and 
comforts  them  with  the  promise  of  his  speedy  appearance.  Many  a  mar- 
vellous story  is  related  of  him  among  the  Persians.  They  believe  that 
he  will  appear  at  the  last  time,  and  assisted  by  Christ,  who  will  for  that 
purpose  come  down  from  heaven,  destroy  the  Dejal  or  Antichrist,  and 
convert  all  nations  to  Muhammadanism. 

\  Martyn's  Controversy,  p.  74. 


1840.]    Remarks  on  the  Nature  of Muhammadanism.  69 


cise  therefore  as  great  or  even  a  greater  influence  on  the  minds 
of  Muhammadans  as  the  doctrines  contained  in  the  Quran,  and 
are  one  of  the  causes  why  the  Muhammadans  are  so  indiffer- 
ent to  the  plain  and  sound  truths  of  the  gospel.  These  lying 
stories  have  so  destroyed  their  taste,  that  they  have  little  relish 
for  simple  truth,  and  generally  look  down  with  contempt  on 
the  simple,  but  sublime  doctrines  of  Christianity.  I  often  felt 
at  a  loss  how  to  explain  the  fact,  that  persons  of  no  common 
abilities  and  of  great  power  of  reason — for  many  such  are  found 
among  the  Muhammadans — and  who  made  the  most  acute 
and  subtle  objections  against  several  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
gospel,  on  the  pretext  of  their  being  contrary  to  reason,  believed 
still  at  the  same  time  all  the  absurdities  contained  in  their 
traditions.  Sometimes,  indeed,  some  will  doubt  them,  as  also 
the  truth  of  the  religion  founded  upon  them  ;  but  no  sooner 
are  they  troubled  by  their  consciences,  or  made  uneasy  by  the 
thought  of  approaching  death,  than  they  take  refuge  again  in 
these  lies,  and  seek  salvation  in  the  means  enjoined  in  them. 
But  the  truth  is,  infidelity  and  superstition  are  so  closely  united 
that  the  one  leads  to  the  other,  and  both  are  too  often  found  in 
one  and  the  same  heart.  In  principle  they  are  but  one,  both 
being  unbelief  in  God,  only  expressed  differently,  and  differing 
in  appearance.  Man  may  reject  error  for  a  moment,  and,  on  the 
principle  of  infidelity,  which  is  to  believe  nothing  but  what 
he  can  demonstrate  to  himself,  reject  religion  altogether  ;  but 
except  he  returns  to  truth,  and  receives  as  a  child  the  revealed 
will  of  God,  he  will  soon  turn  to  his  own  vomit  again,  and 
wallow  afresh  in  the  mire  from  which  he  has  been  washed, 
and  his  last  state  will  be  worse  than  the  first.  Man  can  never 
be  absolutely  free  or  independant ;  he  must  accept  principles 
from  without  to  govern  him,  and  have  some  ground  beyond 
himself  to  build  his  hope  upon.  But  divine  truth  alone  can 
make  him  free,  enlighten  his  mind,  sanctify  his  heart,  and  give 
a  sure  foundation  for  his  hope :  where  this  is  rejected,  he  will 
soon  become  the  slave  of  error,  and  believe  not  unfrequently 
the  grossest  absurdities.  This  has  been  often  proved,  and  is 
clearly  established  by  the  Muhammadans,  who,  having  on  the 
principle  of  infidelity,  rejected  the  gospel,  have,  though  they 
had  swept  their  house  from  external  idolatry  and  garnished  it 
with  some  borrowed  truths,  notwithstanding  fallen  as  much 
into  the  bondage  of  superstition  as  any  of  the  heathen  nations. 

We  shall  now  establish,  by  a  few  extracts  from  Muhamma- 
dan  tradition,  what  we  have  said  hitherto,  classing  them  under 
certain  heads.  It  would  be  no  unprofitable,  although  rather 
a  tedious  labour,  to  make  a  more  complete  collection  of  tradi- 
tions on  the  different  doctrines  of  Muhammadanism,  but  this 


70 


Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [Feb. 


we  must  leave  to  others.  One  of  the  most  acknowledged  col- 
lections of  the  Hadiths  or  traditions  approved  of  by  the  Sunms, 
is  Mishcat  ul  Masabih,  which  has  been  translated  into  Eng- 
lish and  published  by  H.  N.  Mathews,  Calcutta,  1810;  and 
most  of  the  traditions  received  by  the  Shras,  are  contained  in 
the  books  of  Hyot  ul  Kulub,  Haq  ul  Yaqin,  and  Ain  ul  Hayat 
written  by  Mullah  Muhammad  Bakir  Majlisi,  a  famous  Persian 
divine  who  lived  about  200  years  ago,  and  lately  printed  at 
Teheran  in  four  folio  volumes  :  nearly  the  whole  of  the  follow- 
ing extracts  are  from  these  books. 

I. — On  God. 

Traditions  can  of  course  not  say  much  on  the  nature  of 
God,  as  this  lies  beyond  their  reach.  Whatever  true  know- 
ledge of  God,  his  nature  and  his  attributes  Muhammadanism 
contains  has  been  received  and  borrowed  from  Scripture,  or 
from  Jews  and  Christians,  and  consequently  the  Musalmans 
believe  in  all  the  attributes  of  God  revealed  in  holy  writ. 
But  having  rejected  the  revelation  of  God  in  Christ,  and  the 
doctrine  of  the  holy  Trinity,  their  knowledge  of  God  has  no 
real  practical  tendency,  is  but  a  matter  of  cold  speculation, 
occupying  only  the  understanding,  leaving  the  heart  unaf- 
fected and  unaltered.  It  is  true,  they  acknowledge  that 
God  is  pure,  holy,  just,  infinitely  gracious  and  merciful. 
But  these  glorious  attributes  are  merely  a  matter  of  head 
knowledge,  and  have  not  in  them  that  quickening,  sanctify- 
ing and  consoling  influence  which  they  have  and  do  exercise 
in  the  Christian.  For  what  idea  of  justice,  and  love  of  holi- 
ness and  mercy  can  a  religion  give,  which  teaches  on  the  one 
hand,  that  hundreds  of  sins  are  forgiven  for  the  reading  of  a 
few  chapters  of  the  Quran,  or  by  the  repetition  of  some  Arabic 
words  ;  and  on  the  other  hand  asserts,  that  many  men  and  jins 
(genii)  have  been  created  by  God  for  hell,  or  as  the  common 
saying  renders  this  passage  of  the  Quran,  to  fill  hell  with  them. 
God's  holiness  and  mercy,  His  justice  and  love,  can  only  be 
rightly  understood  and  received,  and  exercise  a  practical  and 
life-giving  influence  on  the  mind,  when  viewed  and  received 
in  Christ.  Only  in  Christ,  and  in  the  revelation  of  God  con- 
nected with  him,  that  is  in  scripture,  does  God  appear  a  God 
of  perfect  holiness  as  well  as  of  perfect  love,  and  the  believer 
learns  to  fear  and  to  love  him, — to  fear  with  a  fear  flowing 
from  love,  and  to  love  him  with  reverence,  like  a  child  his 
parent.  In  Christ  God  has  come  nigh  unto  man's  heart  and 
affections,  and  man  has  been  brought  nigh  unto  God.  But 
to  one  who  does  not  know  Christ,  or  who  denies  him,  and 
rejects  the  belief  in  a  Triune  Jehovah,  God  is  a  God  afar  off 


1840.]    Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  71 


and  unknown,  to  whom  he  feels  he  cannot  approach,  heing  a 
mere  dead  idea,  and  not  the  living  and  life-giving  God  :  "for 
whosoever  denieth  the  Son  the  same  hath  not  the  Father,"  says 
scripture.  His  knowledge  of  God  can  therefore  never  he  a 
practical  one,  nor  exercise  a  sanctifying  influence  over  him  ;  it 
will  be  mere  knowledge,  .and  matter  of  speculation.  It  is  on  this 
ground  that  Muhammadanism,  like  all  other  false  systems,  treats 
but  slightly  of  the  moral  attributes  of  God,  but  gives  all  pre- 
eminence to  his  metaphysical  perfections.  The  Muhammadans 
are  therefore  peculiarly  fond  of  metaphysical  discussions,  about 
the  divine  nature,  but  they  do  this  in  such  an  indifferent  and 
heartless  manner  as  fully  proves  that  they  know  nothing  of  the 
living  God.  The  following  passage,  taken  from  a  Persian  Trea- 
tise on  Divinity,  is  a  specimen  of  such  a  dead  metaphysical 
knowledge  of  a  dead  God,  the  creature  of  man's  foolish  ideas. 
It  is  said  there  :  "  God  is  not  a  body  that  can  be  measured  ; 
he  possesses  neither  length  nor  breadth,  depth  nor  height ;  it 
is  mainly  impossible,  that  there  should  exist  in  his  nature  any 
necessity  to  possess  the  properties  of  any  thing,  and  he  is  no 
line,  that  is,  a  thing  which  can  be  divided  in  but  one  direction  ; 
nor  is  he  a  flat  (plain),  that  is,  a  thing  which  can  be  divided  in 
both  directions.  He,  the  great  God,  is  neither  heavy  nor  light ; 
he  is  neither  in  motion  nor  at  rest ;  he  is  neither  in  space  nor  in 
time.  Before  him  the  past  and  future  are  but  the  eternal  pre- 
sent, and  he  is  free  from  all  properties  of  the  creatures."  Af- 
ter this  it  will  not  surprise  us  to  learn,  that  the  Muhammadans 
never  call  God  by  the  dear  and  consoling  name  of  Father,  nor 
do  they  ever  call  themselves  God's  children.  God  is  the  Allah 
tala,  the  great  God,  and  they,  even  the  most  religious  amongst 
them,  are  only  Randas,  sei*vants.  They  are  however  so  far 
consistent,  for  only  in  Christ  is  God  a  Father,  and  the  believer 
his  adopted  and  beloved  child. 

Another  consequence  of  this  knowledge,  or  rather  igno- 
rance of  God  is,  that  the  Muhammadans  do  not  know  of  such 
a  thing  as  prayer  in  the  scriptural  sense  of  the  word.  Their 
regular  and  prescribed  namaz,  or  prayers,  are  but  a  mechani- 
cal ceremony ;  everything  depends  on  this,  that  all  the 
prescribed  evolutions  of  the  body  are  strictly  performed,  and 
all  the  enjoined  words  correctly  repeated ;  and  these  words  must 
all  be  in  the  Arabic  tongue,  for  in  this  alone  the  namaz  can 
be  performed.  And  even  these  Arabic  words  are  not  words 
of  prayer,  but  only  certain  verses  of  the  Quran,  speaking  of 
God  and  his  attributes,  and  certain  short  sentences  or  words, 
as  Allahu  akbar,  God  is  great ;  Alhamedulillah,  God  be  praised, 
&c. — which  are  repeated  several  times  in  the  same  prayer.  Of 
private  prayer  or  devotion  they  have  no  idea  at  all,  and  com- 


7'2  Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [Feb. 


monly  prefer  to  perform  their  prayers  in  a  public  place  or  in 
the  presence  of  others.  If  a  Muhammadan  is  in  great  distress, 
all  that  he  does  is  this  :  he  repeats  a  certain  number  more  of 
the  prescribed  prayers,  and  sometimes  he  may  also  add  a  few 
words  or  some  ejaculations  of  his  own.  Their  mystical 
writers  and  poets,  and  the  spiritualists  or  internals,  as  they  are 
called  among  them,  who  hold  all  ceremonies  and  external 
prayer  as  useless,  and  conform  to  them  merely  to  avoid  scorn  or 
persecution,  speak  indeed  much  of  internal  prayer  and  spiritual 
communion  with  God ;  but  they,  having  all  more  or  less 
imbibed  the  principles  of  pantheism,  mean  by  these  expressions 
nothing  more  than  internal  contemplation,  or  rather  absorption 
of  the  mind  into  the  Divine  Being.  But  that  any  Muhamma- 
dan should  ever  bow  his  knees  in  the  closet  before  his  God, 
and  pour  out  his  heart  before  him,  ask  forgiveness  of  his  sins, 
and  seek  peace  for  his  soul,  and  strength  from  on  high  to  walk 
in  His  paths,  such  a  thing  is  altogether  unknown  to  them, 
and  has  in  all  probability  never  happened  amongst  them, 
except  when  the  light  of  the  gospel  began  to  shine  on  such  a 
soul.  Prayer  is  therefore  no  delight  to  their  hearts,  but  a 
heavy  burden  lodged  upon  them.  And  but  for  the  good  advice 
of  Moses  to  Muhammad  it  would  have  been  altogether  intole- 
rable ;  for  according  to  a  tradition,  which  is  related  in  the 
Mishcat  ul  Masabih,  as  well  as  in  Hayat  ul  Kulub,  vol.  ii.  leaf 
176,  God  ordered  them  to  pray  50  times  a  day,  but  Muham- 
mad, on  Moses'  advice,  bargained  it  down  to  five  times.  The 
tradition  is  as  follows :  Muhammad  in  his  journey  to  heaven, 
having  arrived  there,  was  among  other  things  ordered  to  com- 
mand his  followers  to  pray  50  times  a  day.  When  in  his 
return  he  passed  by  Moses,  Moses  asked  him,  as  it  is  said, 
"What  have  you  been  ordered  ?  I  (Muhammad)  said,  Fifty 
prayers  every  day.  Then  Moses  said,  Verily,  your  sects  will 
not  be  able  to  perform  50  prayers  every  day.  Then  return  to 
your  Lord,  and  ask  your  sects  to  be  eased  :  and  I  returned,  and 
ten  prayers  were  taken  off.  Then  I  went  to  Moses,  and  he 
asked  me  as  before:  and  I  returned  to  God's  court,  and  ten 
prayers  more  were  curtailed.  Then  I  went  to  Moses,  and  he 
said  as  before  ;  then  I  returned  to  God's  court,  and  ten  more 
were  taken  off.  And  I  went  to  Moses,  and  he  said  as  before  ; 
then  I  returned  to  God,  and  ten  more  were  lessened.  Then 
I  went  to  Moses,  and  he  said  as  before ;  then  I  went  to  God's 
court,  and  was  ordered  five  prayers  every  day.  Then  I  went  to 
Moses,  and  he  said,  How  many  prayers  have  you  been  order- 
ed ?  I  said,  Five  prayers  every  day.  He  said,  Verily  your 
sects  will  not  be  able  to  perform  five  prayers  every  day ;  return 
then  to  your  cherisher,  and  ask  them  to  be  lightened.    I  said, 


1840.]    Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  73 


I  have  asked  him  till  I  am  quite  ashamed ;  I  cannot  return  to 
him  again  :  but  1  am  satisfied,  and  resign  the  work  of  my  sects 
to  God*." 

Now  if  the  doctrine  concerning  God  is  such  a  dead  and  life- 
less one  as  described  bere,  tbe  religion  built  on  such  a  founda- 
tion cannot  be  otherwise  but  a  dead  and  unsanctifying  religion, 
which  will  never  be  able  to  raise  man  from  his  spiritual  death, 
nor  enlighten  his  mind  and  sanctify  his  heart :  it  will  leave 
him  in  the  bondage  of  darkness,  superstition  and  sin,  as 
the  following  extracts  from  Muhammadan  traditions  will 
clearly  show^  and  the  moral  state  of  the  Muhammadan  nations 
fully  proves. 

2. — On  the  Creation. 

The  Muhammadaus  believe  in  good  and  evil  spirits,  or  in 
angels  and  devils,  like  the  Christians  ;  but,  though  having  taken 
the  doctrine  concerning  them  from  Scripture,  they  have,  like 
other  doctrines  borrowed  from  this  source,  greatly  disfigured 
them,  and  deprived  them  of  their  sublime  simplicity  as  well  as 
of  their  practical  tendency,  as  will  be  seen  by  a  few  extracts 
from  their  traditions  on  this  head. 

Satan  was  one  of  the  higher  angels,  but  because  he  was 
disobedient  (when  after  the  creation  of  Adam,  God  ordered 
all  angels  to  pay  homage  to  him),  he  became  Satan  and  was 
cast  out  of  heaven.  He  then  became  the  father  of  the  devils  ; 
but,  as  is  related  in  a  tradition  to  be  relied  upon,  "  his 
offsprings  do  not  generate,  but  lay  eggs  and  hatch  them,  and 
his  children  are  all  male  children.  There  is  no  female  amongst 
them  :"  Hay  at  ul  Kulub,  vol.  i.  page  16.  Besides  the  angels 
and  devils  they  believe  in  gins  or  devs,  which  according  to 
their  ideas  are  between  men  and  angels,  or  according  to  some 
below  man.  Some  of  them  are  good  and  some  bad  ;  they 
live  somewhere  on  earth  or  in  the  air,  and  can  appear  to  man 
and  have  intercourse  with  him.  They  have  the  distinction  of 
sexes,  they  many  and  have  children. 

The  angels  are,  according  to  their  traditions,  of  an  immense 
stature  ;  it  seems  Muhammad  and  his  followers  thought  this 
a  necessary  attribute  of  perfection.  To  give  an  idea  of  the 
size  of  one  of  the  angels  bearing  the  throne  of  God,  it  is  said 
in  the  Mishcat,  vol.  ii.  p.  651,  "Verily,  the  distance  from  the 
lower  part  of  his  ears  to  his  shoulders,  is  70  years'  journey. " 
Babmchi  relates,  according  to  an  approved  tradition,  that 
they  once  asked  the  Amir  ul  Mumenm  (the  prince  of  the  believ- 
ers, that  is  Ali)  about  the  power  of  God,  and  he  said,  "  The 
Lord  of  the  universe  has  some  angels,  who  are  so  large,  that  if 

*  Mishcat,  vol.  ii.  p,  694. 

VOL,  I.  L 


74  Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhamrnadanism.  [Feb. 


one  of  them  would  come  down  upon  earth,  the  earth  could  not 
contain  him  on  account  of  the  magnitude  of  his  body  and  the 
expansiveness  of  his  wings  ;  and  there  are  some  of  the  angels 
of  whom  neither  gins  nor  man  would  be  able  to  give  any 
description  on  account  of  their  immense  size,  and  the  ex- 
ceeding beauty  of  their  form  and  face  ;  for  how  can  an  angel 
he  described,  who  is  so  great,  that  there  is  7^0  years'  journey 
(road)  from  his  shoulder  to  his  ear-cap.  And  there  are  some 
which,  not  mentioning  the  size  of  their  body,  fill  alone  with 
one  of  their  wings  the  vault  of  heaven.  Others  are  so  great 
that  the  heavens  reach  only  to  their  loins,  and  others  standing 
on  the  air  the  earth  come  up  only  to  their  knees*  ;  and  there 
are  others  again,  whose  thumb-pit  could  contain  all  the  waters 
of  the  world,  if  they  were  to  be  poured  into  it.  Again, 
others  are  so  great,  that  in  the  waters  of  their  eyes,  or  drop- 
ping from  their  eyes,  ships  can  sail  for  years.'"  (Ain  ul  Hayat, 
page  26).  As  if  this  size  was  not  enough  there  is  said, 
in  the  same  place,  according  to  another  tradition,  "  that  there 
as  an  angel  the  distance  from  his  ear  to  his  eye  amounts  to 
the  length  of  500  years  of  a  bird's  flight."  (Ibid,  page  27.) 
Muhammad  in  his  journey  to  heaven,  when  Gabriel  led  him 
about  to  show  him  the  wonders  of  heaven,  saw,  among  many 
other  wonderful  things,  described  at  large  in  their  Hadiths,  an 
angel  called  Khorus,  or  the  lock,  of  whom  is  said,  "  His  feet 
stand  on  the  extremities  of  the  seventh  earth,  and  his  head 
reaches  to  the  throne  of  God.  He  has  two  wings,  and  when  he 
unfolds  his  wings  they  reach  from  east  to  west.  At  the  dawn 
of  the  morning  he  opens  his  wings  and  strikes  them  together, 
singing  aloud  the  praise  of  God.  And  as  soon  as  his  voice  is 
heard,  all  the  cocks  on  the  earth  strike  their  wings  together  and 
crow,  singing  the  praise  of  God,  and  when  he  ceases  they  too 
cease  crowing.  The  wings  of  this  heavenly  Khorus  are  white, 
the  feathers  under  the  wings  are  green,  and  the  beauty  of  these 
two  colours  is  beyond  description.  (Hayat  ul  Kulub,  vol.  ii. 
page  175  )  Another  of  the  wonders  which  were  shown  to 
Muhammad  in  heaven  by  his  guide,  was  an  angel,  half  of  his 
body  consisted  of  snow  and  the  other  half  of  fire  ;  the  fire  did  not 
melt  the  snow,  and  the  snow  did  not  extinguish  the  fire.  And 
he  heard  the  angel  say  with  a  loud  voice,  "  O  God,  1  praise 
thee,  that  thou  hast  prevented  the  heat  of  the  fire  from  melt- 
ing the  snow,  and  the  cold  of  the  snow  from  extinguishing  the 
fire."  (Ibid,  page  174.)  Ag;  iin,  another  of  the  wonders  which 
Muhammad  saw  in  heaven  has  been  related  by  him  in  the 

*  According  to  tradition  there  are  seven  earths  as  well  as  seven  hea- 
vens contained  one  in  the  other,  each  of  the  heavens  being  500  years'  way 
thick  and  as  many  years  distant  from  the  other. 


1840.]    Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  75 


following  manner:  "  In  passing  on  I  saw  one  of  the  angels, 
sitting  in  a  company,  having  the  whole  world  between  his 
knees,  and  a  table  of  light  in  his  hand.  On  the  table  was  a 
name  written,  and  he  turning  his  eyes  neither  to  the  right  nor 
to  the  left,  he  looked  with  a  doleful  face  always  on  this  table  : 
I  said,  O  Gabriel,  who  is  that  ?  He  said,  This  is  the  Malak 
ul  maut,  angel  of  death,  always  occupied  in  taking  the 
souls.  He  has  the  most  difficult  work  of  all  the  angels, 
and  more  to  do  than  all  others.  I  said,  Does  he  indeed  take 
himself  the  soul  of  every  person  ?  He  said,  Yes.  I  said,  O 
Malak  ul  maut,  canst  thou  see  them  wherever  they  are,  and 
be  present  at  every  one  of  them  ?  He  said,  Yes,  for  ac- 
cording to  the  power  which  God  has  given  me,  the  whole 
world  is  to  me  but  like  a  pence  (or  pice)  in  the  hands  of  one 
of  you,  which  he  turns  on  whatever  side  he  pleases,  and  there 
is  no  house  whose  inhabitants  I  do  not  closely  examine  one 
by  one  five  times  every  day.  (Ibid,  page  174*.) 

The  beginning  of  creation,  however,  was  Muhammad.  It  is 
related  that  the  Amir  ul  Mumenin  Ali  said,  "  God  the  glori- 
ous and  great  created  the  holy  light,  the  glory  of  the  prophets, 
before  the  heavens  and  earth,  before  the  arch,  the  throne,  the 
table,  the  kalamf,  before  paradise  and  hell.     He  created  him 

*  On  the  table  in  the  hand  of  the  angel  of  death  are  by  God's  power 
written  the  names  of  those  who  are  to  die.  And  as  soon  as  their  name 
appears  he  goes  and  takes  their  souls,  that  is,  makes  them  die.  The 
way  in  which  lie  took  the  soul  of  Moses  is  related  in  the  Mishcat,  vol.  ii. 
p.  647,  in  the  following  manner  :  "  The  angel  of  death  came  to  Moses 
and  said,  God  sent  me  to  take  your  soul ;  approve  of  his  order.  Then 
Moses  gave  him  a  slap  over  his  eyes,  and  blinded  him.  Then  the  angel 
of  death  returned  to  God,  and  said,  Verily,  you  sent  me  to  a  servant  who 
did  not  wish  for  death,  and  verily  he  has  blinded  my  eyes.  Then  God  gave 
the  angel  his  sight  again,  and  said  ;  Return  to  him,  and  say,  Do  you  wish 
for  long  life?  If  you  do,  put  your  hand  upon  the  back  of  a  bullock,  and 
your  life  shall  be  as  the  number  of  hairs  you  cover  with  it.  His  majesty 
Moses  said,  What  is  after  long  life?  The  angel  said,  to  die.  Moses  said, 
Then  I  choose  death  now."  In  Hay  at  ul  Kulub,  vol.  i.  page  177,  however, 
the  death  of  Moses  is  given  in  the  following  story:  "Moses  one  day, 
when  going  with  Joshua  on  the  mountain  Sinai,  met  at  the  top  of  it  a  man 
with  a  hoe  and  a  basket.  Moses  said  to  him,  Where  are  you  going  to? 
He  said,  One  of  the  friends  of  God  has  died,  and  I  am  going  to  dig  the 
grave  for  him.  Moses  said,  Shall  1  assist  you  in  digging  the  grave  ?  He 
said,  Yes.  They  digged  therefore  the  grave  together,  and  when  they  had 
finished,  the  man  wanted  to  go  down  into  the  grave  to  see  if  it  was  well 
digged  ;  but  Moses  said,  let  me  go.  And  when  Moses  had  gone  into,  and 
seen  the  grave  and  approved  of  it,  the  angel  of  death  came  and  took  his 
holy  soul,  and  the  mountain  closed  itself  over  the  grave,  which  therefore 
remained  undiscovered."  To  this  as  for  many  other  foolish  stories  the 
Muhammadans  are,  no  doubt,  indebted  to  the  Jewish  rabbis. 

t  The  arch  is  the  place  or  flat  on  which  the  throne  of  God  stands,  and 
is  supported  or  carried  by  angels.  The  idea  has  been  clearly  borrowed 
from  Ezek.  x.  The  table  is  the  table  of  the  eternal  degrees  of  God,  which 
L  2 


76       Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [Feb. 


424,000  years  before  any  one  of  the  prophets*.  And  with 
that  light  he  created  12  veils,  the  veil  of  power,  the  veil  of 
magnitude,  the  veil  of  favour,  the  veil  of  mercy,  &c.  He 
placed  that  holy  light  12,000  years  behind  the  veil  of  power, 
and  he  (Muhammad)  was  saying  there :  "  Praised  be  the  Lord 
the  most  high;"  and  behind  the  veil  of  magnitude  11,000 
years,  and  he  was  saying  there,  "  Praised  be  the  knower  of  se- 
crets," and  so  on.  Behind  the  last  veil,  the  veil  of  intercession, 
he  remained  1000  years,  and  was  saying,  "  Praised  be  the  mag- 
nificent." After  this  God  made  to  appear  the  holy  name  of  that 
majesty  upon  the  table,  and  there  it  was  shining  4000  years  ; 
and  then  made  he  appear  the  pure  name  of  this  Lord  on  the 
arch,  and  there  it  shined  for  7000  years.  In  this  manner 
he  was  transmigrating  the  heavenly  states  till  God  gave  a 
place  to  this  light  in  the  back  of  his  majesty  Adam  ;  and 
from  Adam  it  went  from  loin  to  loin  till  God  brought  it  forth 
out  of  the  loin  of  Abdullah  lbn  Abdulmutaleb,"  who  was  the 
father  of  Muhammadf.  Hay  at  id  Kulub,  vol.  i.  page  1.  Mu- 
hammad accordingly  is  in  their  idea  the  holiest  of  all  men, 
and  greater  than  all  the  prophets.  He  never  committed  any 
sin,  and  the  black  spot  of  original  sin  on  the  devil's  part  was 
taken  out  of  his  heart  in  the  following  miraculous  manner  : 
"Annas  says verily,  "  Gabriel  came  to  bis  majesty  Muham- 
mad when  he  was  playing  with  boys,  and  took  hold  of  him,  and 
laid  him  upon  the  ground,  and  split  his  heart,  and  brought  out 
a  little  bag  of  blood  ;  and  Gabriel  said,  This  is  the  devil's  part 
of  you.  After  that  he  washed  his  majesty's  heart  in  a  golden 
vessel  of  Zemzem  water,  then  sewed  it  up  and  replaced  it." 
Mishcat,  vol.  ii.  p.  684.  This  story  is  mentioned  in  the  same 
way  in  the  Shia  traditions,  and  referred  to  in  the  Quran. 

But  though  in  many  traditions  Muhammad's  purity  and 
holiness  is  extolled  beyond  all  bounds,  there  are  notvvithstand- 

are  written  ufon  it,  and  the  kalam  the  instrument  by  whose  means  they 
have  been  written  upon  the  tuble.  The  table  however,  as  well  as  the 
kalam,  are  in  several  traditions  spoken  of  as  heavenly  and  rational  beings. 

*  The  Muhammadans  believe  that  no  less  than  1,24,000  have  been 
sent  by  God  ;  to  104  of  them  lie  sent  down  from  heaven  written  revela- 
tions, or  books,  but  of  these  heavenly  books  only  four  have  remained, 
namely  ;  the  Torat — Pentateuch,  the  Sabur — Psalms,  the  Injil — Gospel, 
and  the  Quran. 

f  The  Muhammadans  according  to  their  traditions  believe  in  the  pre- 
existence  of  the  soul,  and  say  that  God  created  all  souls  at  once  in 
the  beginning,  but  in  birth  they  are  united  to  their  bodies.  In  that  state, 
as  they  further  assert,  the  belief  in  God  and  Muhammad,  lias  been  pro- 
claimed to  the  souls  before  the  creation  of  the  world,  and  whichever  soul 
has  there  said,  (Yes,  that  is,  accepted  the  faith,)  he  will  be  a  believer,  or 
has  been  destined  by  God  for  belief  and  paradise  ;  who  there  said  No, 
he  has  been  destined  by  God  for  unbelief  and  hell. 


1840.]      Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  77 


ing  several  in  which,  as  well  as  in  some  passages  of  the  Quran, 
it  is  mentioned,  that  Muhammad  made  confession  of  his  sins, 
and  asked  pardon  of  them  from  God*. 

As  Muhammad  is,  according  to  their  notions,  the  greatest 
of  all  the  prophets,  he  has  also,  as  they  say,  done  more  miracles 
than  all  of  them.  And  numberless  are  indeed  the  wonders 
performed  by  Muhammad,  as  related  in  their  traditions.  In 
the  Quran,  however,  there  is  not  a  single  word  about  Muham- 
mad's miracles  ;  on  the  contrary,  Muhammad  confesses  there, 
in  several  places,  that  he  has  been  sent  only  for  preaching,  not 
to  work  miraclesf.    The  Muhammadans,  when  pressed  on 

*  It  is  said  in  the  Quran:  "  O  prophet,  ask  pardon  for  thy  fault  ;  and 
celebrate  the  praise  of  thy  Lord  in  the  evening  and  in  the  morning." 
Sale's  Quran,  vol.  ii.  p.  323.  Again  is  said  to  Muhammad  :  "  Ask  pardon 
for  thy  sin,  and  for  the  true  believers,  both  men  and  women."  Ibid. p.  366. 
And  again  :  "  Verily  we  have  granted  thee  a  manifest  victory  ;  that  God 
may  forgive  thee  thy  preceding  and  thy  subsequent  sin."  Ibid.  p.  369. 
In  the  traditions  there  are  passages  to  the  following  effect.  It  is  said  : 
"  It  has  been  related  by  Imam  Muhammad  Baker  (the  5th  of  the  12 
Imams  of  the  Shias)  that  Muhammad  one  night,  being  at  the  house  of 
Ajesha  (one  of  his  wives),  was  much  engaged  in  prayer.  Ajesha  said  to 
him,  "  Why  do  you  trouble  yourself  so  much,  as  God  has  forgiven  you  the 
preceding  and  the  subsequent  sins  ?"  He  said,  "  O  Ajesha,  should  I  not  be 
thankful?"  Hayat  ul  Kiilub,  vol.  ii.  page  77.  And  in  the  same  book  at 
another  place,  it  is  mentioned  that  Muhammad,  at  the  conclusion  of  an 
address  to  the  people,  said  repeatedly,  "  O  God,  forgive  me  and  my  people. 
1  ask  forgiveness  from  God  for  myself  and  for  you."  Ibid,  page  30 1.  And 
in  the  Mishcat  ul  Masabih,  vol.  i.  p.  184,  is  mentioned,  that  Abuhurairah 
related  that  the  prophet  said  in  his  prostration,  "O  Lord,  forgive  me 
all  my  faults,  the  many  and  the  few,  the  great  and  the  small,  the  first 
and  the  last,  the  secret  and  the  disclosed."  Again,  it  is  mentioned  that 
Muhammad  said,  "  I  swear  by  God,  that  verily  I  ask  pardon  of  God,  and 
turn  from  sin  towards  him,  more  than  seventy  times  a  day."  Ibid.  p.  55t. 
Again,  it  is  related  that  Muhammad  used  to  say,  "O  Lord,  wash  my  sins 
witli  ice-water  and  hail-water  :  and  purify  my  heart  as  a  white  cloth, 
from  dirt;  and  make  the  distance  between  me  and  my  faults  far  as  the 
east  from  the  west."  Ibid.  p.  588. 

Besides  this  there  is  a  direct  contradiction  to  the  above-mentioned 
tradition,  in  which  Muhammad  is  called  the  glory  of  the  prophets  and  a 
light  created  before  the  world,  it  is  said  in  the  Qurfin  that  Muhammad  was 
living  in  ignorance  and  without  faith  before  he  had  received  his  revela- 
tions. The  words  are  as  follows  :  "  Did  he  not  find  thee  an  orphan,  and 
has  he  not  taken  care  of  thee?  And  did  he  not  find  thee  wandering  in 
error,  and  has  he  not  guided  thee  into  truth."  Sale's  Quran,  vol.  ii. 
p.  489.  Again  it  is  said,  "  Thou  didst  not  understand  before  this,  what 
the  book  was,  nor  what  the  faith:  but  we  have  ordained  the  same  for  a 
light ;  we  will  thereby  direct  such  of  our  servants  as  we  please."  Ibid, 
p.  343. 

|  It  is  thus  written  in  the  Quran  :  "  They  say,  unless  a  sign  be  sent  down 
from  him  we  will  not  believe.  Answer,  Signs  are  in  the  power  of  God  alone, 
and  I  am  no  more  than  a  public  preacher."  Sale's  Quran,  vol.  ii.  p.  241. 
At  another  place,  is  said  :  "  They  have  sworn  by  God  with  a  most  solemn 
oath,  that  if  a  sign  come  down  unto  them  they  would  certainly  believe 


78 


Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [Feb. 


this  subject,  commonly  say,  that  as  Muhammad's  proof  for 
his  mission  were  not  the  miracles,  but  the  Quran  and  its  in- 
compaiable  style,  these  therefore  were  not  mentioned  in  the 
Quran,  although  he  performed  many  of  them.  We  shall,  as 
they  do  not  properly  come  within  tbe  scope  of  these  re- 
marks, relate  but  a  few  of  them,  as  specimens.  It  is  re- 
lated, "  One  day,  when  Muhammad  and  Ali  went  through 
the  streets  of  Mecca,  Abulahab  went  after  them,  throwing 
stones  at  Muhammad,  whom  he  wounded  in  his  foot  so  severely 
that  blood  run  from  the  blessed  foot  of  his  majesty.  Abulahab 
then  called  out,  O  people  of  Koreish,  this  man  is  a  sorcerer 
and  a  liar  ;  throw  stones  at  him,  and  keep  an  eye  upon  him 
and  his  sorcery.  A  mob  having  collected  threw  stones 
at  them,  and  drove  them  out  of  Mecca.  But  no  sooner 
were  they  out  of  the  town,  than  lo,  stones  came  rolling 
down  from  the  mountain  towards  his  majesty.  The  infidels 
rejoiced  over  this,  and  said  :  Now  these  stones  will  destroy 
Muhammad  and  Ali,  and  we  shall  be  released  from  their  evil. 
But  when  the  stones  had  come  nec'tr  his  highness,  they  began 
to  speak  by  the  power  of  God,  and  said  :  "  Peace  be  with  thee, 
O  Muhammad,  son  of  Abdullah,  and  peace  be  with  thee,  O 
Ali,  son  of  Abutaleb  ;  and  peace  be  with  thee,  O  messenger  of 
the  Lord  of  the  universe  and  the  best  of  all  creatures,  and 
peace  be  with  thee,  O  successor  of  the  messenger  of  the  Lord 
of  the  universe."  When  the  unbelievers  saw  this  wonderful 
circumstance  they  laughed,  and  ten  of  them,  who  were  worse 
than  the  others,  said  :  "These  words  did  not  proceed  from  these 
stones,  but  from  some  people  whom  Muhammad  had  hidden  in 
the  ditches  to  deceive  us."  When  saying  this,  ten  of  the  stones 
by  the  power  of  the  Lord  of  his  highness,  went  up  and  flew 
each  at  the  head  of  one  of  these  unbelievers,  and  went  up  and 
down  again  they  came  on  their  heads,  till  they  had  bruised 
their  heads,  and  the  brain  came  down  their  nostrils,  and 
all  ten  were  destroyed.  And  when  they  has  laid  their  bodies 
on  biers,  the  biers  began  to  call  out :  "  Muhammad  hath  spoken 
the  truth,  but  you  said  a  lie."   Then  began  the  biers  to  shake, 

therein  :  Say,  verily  signs  are  in  the  power  of  God  alone;  and  he  per. 
mitteth  you  not  to  understand,  that  when  they  come,  they  will  not  be- 
lieve."  Ibid.  vol.  i.  p.  162.  Again  is  said  in  another  passage,  "  that 
which  ye  desire  should  be  hastened,  that  is  the  miracle  which  Muhammad's 
opponents  requested  him  to  perform,  is  not  in  my  power:  judgment  be- 
longeth  onlj'  unto  God.  Say,  if  what  ye  desire  should  be  hastened,  were  in 
my  power,  the  matter  had  been  determined  between  me  and  you."  Ibid, 
pp.  153  and  1.54.  That  .Muhammad  did  no  miracle  is  still  more  clearly 
expressed  in  the  following  passage  ;  where  is  said  :  "  Nothing  hindered  us 
from  sending  thee  with  miracles,  except  that  the  former  nations  have 
charged  them,  that  is  the  former  prophets,  with  imposture."  Ibid.  vol.  ii. 
p.  V9. 


1840.]      Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  79 


iind  threw  those  dead  bodies  on  the  ground,  saying  :  "We  shall 
not  carry  these  enemies  of  God."  The  infidel  Abujahal  said, 
"  All  this  is  nothing  but  Muhammad's  sorcery  ;  if  he  speaks 
the  truth  let  him  pray  to  God  to  quicken  these  dead  bodies." 
Muhammad  hearing  this,  said  to  Ali,  "  I  will  pray  for  six,  and 
do  thou  pray  for  four  of  them."  And  when  they  prayed  all  were 
quickened,  got  up,  and  said,  "  O  Musalmans,  Muhammad  and 
Ali  possess  a  very  high  degree  of  glory  in  the  world  where  we 
have  been.  Muhammad's  likeness  we  saw  there  sitting  on  a 
throne  near  the  arch,  and  Ali  near  hira ;  and  all  the  angels  of  hea- 
ven came  and  extolled  their  praises,  and  presented  them  their 
good  wishes;  and  whatever  they  commanded  they  did."  (Hayat 
ul  Kiiliib,  vol.  ii.  page  1U7-)  Another  of  Muhammad's  won- 
drous deeds  is  the  following.  Ahujahal  requested  Muhammad 
to  tell  him  what  he  had  eaten  to-day  and  done  at  his  house, 
if  lie  were  a  prophet.  Muhammad  told  him,  that  he  had  eaten 
half  a  fowl,  and  kept  the  other  for  the  next  meal  ;  and  that  he 
had  borrowed  a  certain  sum  of  money,  and  put  it  into  bags, 
witli  his  own,  and  hidden  it.  Abujahal  denied  all  and  said,  that 
he  had  not  eaten  the  fowl  nor  hidden  the  money,  but  that  thieves 
had  stolen  the  latter.  Muhammad  then  said,  "  O  Gabriel, 
bring  the  remainder  of  the  fowl  of  which  he  has  eaten."  Imme- 
diately the  fowl  was  produced.  Muhammad  said,  "  O  Abu- 
jahal, do  you  know  this  fowl  ?"  He  said  "  No,  I  have  not  eaten 
of  this  fowl,  and  fowls  half  eaten,  are  many  in  the  world." 
His  majesty  said,  "  O  fowl,  Abujahal  wants  to  make  me  a  liar  ; 
therefore  give  testimony  to  the  truth  of  my  words  and  to  the 
falsehood  of  his."  Immediately  the  fowl,  by  the  command  of 
God,  began  to  speak,  and  said  :  " I  testify,  O  Muhammad, 
that  thou  art  the  prophet  of  God  and  the  best  of  all  creatures, 
and  I  testify  that  Abujahal,  the  enemy  of  God,  has  eaten 
of  me."  His  majesty  then  put  his  blessed  hand  on  the  place 
of  which  Abujahal  had  eaten,  and  the  flesh  grew  again  and 
its  parts  got  right  as  before.  After  this  his  majesty  said, 
"  O  Gabriel,  bring  the  money  which  this  infidel  has  hidden 
in  his  house."  Instantly  were  the  bags  with  the  money  laid 
before  Muhammad,  who  returned  the  money  to  the  people  of 
whom  Abujahal  had  borrowed  it.  When  only  the  bag  with 
its  own  money  was  left,  Muhammad  said  to  him,  "  Believe  and 
you  may  take  your  money."  He  said,  "  I  will  not  believe,  but  I 
shall  take  my  money."  When  he  stretched  out  his  hand  to  take 
the  bag,  his  majesty  called  out  to  the  roasted  fowl  :  "Do  not 
allow  Abujahal  to  take  the  bag."  Accordingly  the  fowl,  by  the 
power  of  God,  "jumped  up,  took  hold  of  Abujahal  with  his 
claws,  and  carrying  him  up  in  the  air  put  him  down  on  the 
roof  of  his  house.    And  his  majesty  distributed  the  money  to 


80         Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [Feb. 


the  poor."  (Ibid,  page  601.)  Another  miracle,  the  returning 
of  the  sun,  is  related  in  the  following  manner :  "  One  day  his 
majesty  the  prophet  had  laid  his  blessed  head  on  the  skirts  of 
Ali's  cloak  and  slept,  and  receiving  a  revelation  he  wrapt  up 
his  head  in  the  cloak,  and  was  engaged  in  hearing  the  revelation 
till  the  sun  had  nearly  gone  down.  When  he  had  received 
his  revelation,  he  got  up,  and  said,  c  Ali,  have  you  performed 
the  evening  prayers  ?'  He  said,  e  No",  O  prophet  of  God,  for 
I  could  not  remove  thy  blessed  head  from  the  skirts  of  my 
cloak.5  His  majesty  said  then,  '  O  Lord,  bring  back  the  sun/ 
Asman  said,  by  God,  I  saw,  that  the  sun  returned  and  got 
high.  And  after  his  majesty  had  performed  the  prayer,  the 
sun  went  down  again."  (Ibid,  page  127-)  Once  Muhammad 
went,  accompanied  by  his  followers,  who  were  a  large  number, 
to  the  house  of  Abdullah.  After  he  and  Ali  had  eaten  of 
the  dish  prepared  for  him,  consisting  of  a  roasted  lamb,  he 
gave  it  to  his  followers,  and  they  all  ate  and  got  satiated, 
leaving  nothing  but  the  bones.  They  said  then  ;  "  O  prophet 
of  God,  we  want  some  milk  to  drink."  His  majesty,  having 
spread  his  handkerchief  over  the  bones,  said  :  "  O  Lord,  in 
like  manner  as  thou  didst  send  thy  blessing  on  this  animal 
and  satiate  us  with  his  meat,  so  bless  it  again,  and  do  such  an 
act,  that  we  may  drink  of  its  milk."  Accordingly  through  the 
divine  power,  flesh  grew  on  those  bones,  and  the  animal  began 
to  move,  and  got  up,  and  its  udder  became  full  of  milk.  They 
then  all  drank,  and  tilled  beside  all  the  basins  in  the  house  with 
its  milk.  (Ibid,  page  126.)  Also  the  trees  made  Muhammad 
to  walk  and  bear  testimony  to  his  mission.  Harith,  asking  a 
miracle  from  Muhammad,  pointed  to  a  great  tree  with  deep 
roots  and  said,  "  Tell  this  tree  to  come,  and  if  it  comes,  then 
I  know  that  thou  art  God's  prophet."  Muhammad,  as  is  re- 
lated, stretched  out  his  blessed  hand  and  made  a  sign  to  the 
tree  to  come.  The  tree  immediately  began  to  move,  and  tearing 
up  the  earth  like  a  mighty  river,  came  to  his  majesty,  and 
stood  still,  and  said  :  "  Here  I  am  come  to  thee,  O  prophet, 
what  is  thy  command  ?"  His  majesty  said  :  "  I  have  ordered 
thee  to  come  to  bear  testimony  to  the  unity  of  God  and  my 
prophet's  mission."  The  tree  then  said  with  a  loud  voice  :  "  I 
bear  testimony  that  God  is  one  and  has  none  like  him,  and  I 
bear  testimony,  that  thou,  O  Muhammad,  art  his  servant  and 
prophet;  Hehas  sent  thee  in  truth."  (ibid,  page  121.)  Many 
other  miracles  of  the  same  nature  are  related  in  the  same  book, 
as  the  Kaaba  on  Muhammad's  account  being  suspended  by  God 
over  the  heads  of  the  unbelievers  ;  Muhammad  being  always 
overshadowed  by  a  cloud  ;  that  food  and  fruits  were  brought 
him  down  from  heaven  ;  that  any  dress,  short  or  long,  when 


1840.]    Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism. 


8! 


put  on  by  him  would  just  suit  him;  that  he  healed  sick  persons 
and  gave  sight  to  the  blind,  and  that  animals,  mountains,  trees 
and  stones  paid  homage  to  him  and  spoke  his  praise.  The 
same  kind  of  miracles  are  also  related  by  the  traditions 
of  the  Sunnls,  though  not  quite  in  so  great  profusion.  So 
it  is  said  in  the  Mishcat,  vol.  ii.  p.  7'75  that  hills  and  trees 
saluted  Muhammad ;  that  he  fed  once  with  a  handful  of 
millet,  a  few  dates  and  a  morsel  of  bread,  his  whole  army,  con- 
sisting of  100,000  men,  (p.  714.)   That  a  tree,  and  at  another 
time  a  bunch  of  dates  gave,  on  Muhammad's  command, 
testimony  to  his  mission,  &c.     Many  more  such  wonder- 
ful occurrences  might  have  been  easily  added,  but  these  will 
be  enough  to  prove  to  the  reader  the  childish  nature  of 
the  miracles  related  of  Muhammad,  and  to  show  how  totally 
void  they  are  of  every  feature  of  that  divine  character,  which  is 
so  strongly  impressed  on  the  miracles  related  in  scripture,  and 
which  are  the  strongest  proof  of  a  true  miracle.  Every  one  will 
therefore  at  once  be  convinced,  that  these  tales  of  Muhammad's 
miracles  are  but  the  fictions  of  human  fancy  and  of  human 
wickedness.     Muhammad  himself  never  pretended  to  have 
performed  a  miracle  or  to  be  able  to  perform  one,  else  he 
would  not  have  failed  to  mention  it  in  his  Quran,  along  with 
his  other  pretensions.    He  could  speak  of  visions  and  of  visits 
from  Gabriel,  and  of  his  night  journey  to  heaven  and  of  the 
wonders  seen  there,  but  to  say,  that  he  performed  such  and 
such  a  miracle  in  the  sight  of  the  people,  or  in  the  presence  of 
his  opponents,  when  he  did  not,  for  this  he  was  too  prudent. 
He  knew  that,  however  much  he  might  otherwise  impose  on 
the  people,  he  could  not  make  them  believe,  that  they  had  seen 
miracles  wrought  by  him,  when  he  never  had  performed  any 
one  before  them.    He  therefore  gave  up  altogether  the  preten- 
sion to  miracles,  as  appears  from  the  passages  before  alluded 
to  in  the  Quran.     But  his  followers,  extolling  him  much 
more  than  he  himself  ever  thought  of,  to  make  him  also 
in  this  respect  equal  to  the  true  prophets,  thought  it  ne- 
cessary to  fill  up  the  deficiency,  and  fabricated  all  these 
stories  of  miracles,  as  also  many  other  things  mentioned 
in  their  traditions.    And  this  was  easily  practicable,  as  the 
traditions  were  not  written  till  a  hundred  or  two  hundred 
years  after  Muhammad  ;  Tior  were  they  even  then  confined  to 
a  certain  known  number,  or  collected  all  in  one  book.  Collec- 
tions indeed  have  since  been  made  with  great  labour  by  several 
of  the  learned  of  the  Muhammadans,  but  as  they  do  not  agree 
in  all  cases,  latitude  enough  has  been  left  to  any  renowned  writer 
to  add  to  or  reject,  at  his  own  choice*.    And  then  to  tell  a  lie 

*  Bukhari  one  of  the  first  of  the  collectors  of  the  traditions,  and  esteem- 
ed the  highest  in  point  of  an  authority,  had,  as  is  said,  collected  200,000 
VOL..  I.  M 


82  Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [Feb.. 


for  a  good  purpose,  especially  to  add  by  it  something  to  the 
glory  of  their  prophet,  is  with  them,  and  particularly  with  the 
Slrias,  quite  proper  and  right.  Now  if  to  all  this  it  be  further 
added,  that  they  are  not  in  the  habit  of  mentioning  accurately 
the  source  from  which  they  have  taken  the  tradition,  but 
merely  say:  "this  tradition  is  generally  received/'  or,  "has 
been  related  by  such  and  such  a  one,"  often  not  mentioning 
the  book  in  which  they  have  found  it,  and  never  the  page  in 
which  it  is  contained,  then  it  will  be  easily  perceived  that  there 
existed  not  the  slighest  difficulty  in  adding  to  the  traditions  as 
much  as  they  wished  or  thought  convenient  for  their  purposes. 

Respecting  the  creation  of  man  the  traditions  give  the  fol- 
lowing explanation,  or  rather  foolish  account.  It  is  related 
by  his  majesty  Imam  J  afar  (the  sixth  of  the  12  Imams  of  the 
Sluas),  that  when  God  the  Almighty  sent  Gabriel  down  upon 
earth  to  fetch  that  handful  of  clay  from  which  man  was  to  be 
created,  the  earth  said  :  "  I  take  refuge  in  God,  and  protest 
against  thy  taking  any  thing  from  me."  Then  he  returned  and 
said,  O  God,  it  took  refuge  in  thee,  (that  is,  did  not  allow  me  to 
take  it.)  Then  God  sent  the  angel  Israphil,  but  the  earth  did  the 
same;  then  he  sent  Michael,  but  the  earth  again  taking  refuge 
in  God,  he  likewise  did  not  succeed  ;  then  God  sent  Malak- 
u  1  Maut,  telling  him,  that  he  must  needs  bring  the  handful 
of  clay.  And  when  the  earth  again  took  refuge  in  God,  he 
said  :  And  I  likewise  take  refuge  in  God,  that  I  shall  not  return 
except  having  taken  a  handful  of  clay  from  thee.  He  then 
took  a  handful  of  clay  from  the  face  of  the  earth.  God 
then  took  a  handful  of  sweet  water,  and  mixing  it  up  with  the 
clay  said  :  From  thee  I  create  the  prophets,  and  messengers 
or  apostles,  and  all  servants  desiring  and  worthy  of  paradise. 
Then  he  took  another  handful  of  bitter  and  brackish  water, 
and  mixing  it  up  with  the  clay,  said  :  From  thee  I  create  the 
oppressors,  the  deceivers,  the  transgressors  and  all  the  compa- 
nions of  the  devils.  Then  he  mixed  both  together  and  poured 
it  down  before  the  arch  ;  and  both  consisted  of  several  small 
balls  (globules).  Then  he  commanded  the  four  angels  in  charge 
of  the  four  winds  of  heaven  that  they  should  let  the  winds 
blow  over  these  globules.    They  then  beat  them  together, 

or  according  to  another  statement,  600,000,  traditions,  of  which  he  re- 
garded but  100,000  as  somewhat  to  be  relied  upon,  and  only  7275  as 
actually  authentic  and  true.  He  died  A.  H.  256.  .Another  collector  has 
received  only  52jo,  and  the  author  of  the  Mnsabih  only  4484  as  authen- 
tic. I  he  writers  of  tiie  Shias  differ  still  more  than  those  of  tlie  Sunnis 
about  the  number  of  the  traditions  to  be  regarded  as  actually  to  be  relied 
upon  ;  for  as  the  Shias  regard  as  canonical  also  the  sayings  of  their  Imams, 
they  have  a  much  greater  number  of  traditions  than  the  Sunnis,  and 
consequently  still  more  difficult  is  it  to  fix  their  number,  or  to  distin- 
guish between  an  authentic  and  an  unauthentic  tradition. 


1840.]    Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  83 


rubbed  them  to  dust  and  gave  the  mass  a  form,  and  by  them 
tbe  four  properties  of  the  body,  the  choleric,  tlie  sanguine, 
the  phlegmatic,  and  the  humoristic  were  produced.  In  this 
manner,  tbe  lifeless  body  remained  for  forty  years.  And  tbe 
angels  passed  by  it,  and  said  :  He  has  been  created  for  a  great 
purpose.  And  the  devil  went  in  at  his.  mouth  and  passed 
through  his  body,  and  this  is  the  reason  why  all  that  is  in  the 
belly  and  evacuated  from  it  is  not  good,  and  has  a  bad  smell.  At 
last  God  breathed  the  spirit  into  him.  And  when  tbe  spirit 
came  down  to  his  knees  he  attempted  to  jump  up,  but  could  not, 
and  fell  down.  And  this  is  the  meaning  of  what  is  mentioned 
in  the  Quran,  God  created  man  hasty.  And  when  the  spirit  had 
been  breathed  into  the  whole  body,  the  same  moment,  Adam 
took  a  bunch  of  grapes  and  ate  it.  In  another  tradition  it  is 
said  :  "  Tbe  Almighty  created  man  out  of  the  clay  of  the  earth, 
of  which  some  was  brackish,  other  saltish,  and  other  good 
and  agreeable ;  and  this  is  the  reason  why  there  are  godly 
and  ungodly  people  among  the  offspring  of  Adam."  All  this 
is  literally  taken  from  these  traditions  about  the  creation  of 
Adam  found  in  Hayat  ul  Kulub,  vol.  i.,  pp.  16  and  18. 

Nothing  is  mentioned  in  these  childish  and  materialistic  tales 
of  the  creation  of  man,  of  the  image  of  God,  in  which  Adam 
was  created.  This  was  too  spiritual  and  too  deep  a  matter 
for  Muhammad  and  his  followers  to  receive,  or  to  perceive 
its  momentous  importance.  In  consequence  of  that  the 
fall  of  Adam,  though  mentioned  in  the  Quran  and  traditions, 
and  stated  as  having  been  occasioned  by  Satan's  deceit  in 
inducing  Adam  and  Eve  to  eat  of  the  forbidden  fruit,  is  merely 
taken  as  an  external  act,  and  nothing  is  said  of  the  moral  im- 
portance and  consequences  of  this  transgression.  Original 
sin  is  therefore  understood  by  them  as  resting  in  the  body  and 
being  the  consequence  of  it,  and  but  seldom  taken  as  the  moral 
consequence  of  Adam's  fall.  Adam  was  before  his  transgres- 
sion, according  to  their  ideas,  in  the  Paradise  of  heaven,  and 
his  fall  consisted  only  in  being  cast  down  from  the  heavenly 
paradise  to  this  poor  earth. 

The  Muhammadans  having  heard  of  those  giants  mentioned 
in  tbe  scripture  and  spoken  of  in  early  history,  give  us  the 
following  description  of  one  of  them.  "  It  is  related  of  Audj 
Ibin  Anaq,  that  his  stature  was  23,333  cubits.  He  took  a 
fish  from  the  bottom  of  the  sea,  held  it  up  to  the  disc  of  the 
sun,  roasted  and  ate  it.  The  waters  of  the  flood  did  not  reach 
up  to  his  knees.  His  age  was  3000  years,  and  his  mother  Anaq 
was  his  majesty  Adam's  daughter.  It  is  said  that  he  loosed 
a  stone  from  Kiifa  as  large  as  the  camp  of  Moses'  army,  and 
brought  it  to  throw  it  upon  the  army  of  his  majesty.  But  the 
m  2 


84  Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [Feb. 


Almighty  sent  the  lapwing,  which  made  a  hole  through  the 
stone,  that  it  fell  on  his  neck  and  threw  him  to  the  ground; 
Then  came  Moses,  the  stature  of  his  majesty  was  ten  cubits, 
and  the  length  of  his  staff  was  ten  cubits,  and  ten  cubits  he 
jumbed  up  from  the  ground,  and  struck  such  a  blow  at  the 
heel  of  Amlj  that  he  died  of  it."   Hayat  ul  Kulub,  vol.  i.  p.  164. 

Other  wonders  of  creation  are  explained  in  the  Hadith  in 
the  following  way.  It  is  said,  "  that  Imam  Jafar  has  been 
asked,  how  odours  have  been  caused  ;  he  answered,  that  Eve, 
before  she  ate  of  the  tree,  had  dressed  her  hair  with  the  deli- 
cious odours  of  paradise,  and  after  having  come  down  on  earth 
she  opened  her  oves,  and  God  sent  a  wind  which  scattered  those 
odours  from  the  east  to  the  west.  The  cause  of  every  odour 
has  therefore  been  from  this  source."  And  in  another  tradition, 
to  be  relied  upon,  he  said  :  "  When  Adam,  peace  be  upon  him  ! 
did  eat  of  that  tree,  his  clothes  which  he  had  on,  flew  off,  he 
made  therefore  an  apron  of  one  of  the  leaves  of  paradise.  And 
when  he  came  down  on  earth  the  odour  of  this  leaf  adhered 
to  the  plants  of  Hindustan  ;  in  this  way  the  odours  of  Hind 
have  been  occasioned."  Ibid.  vol.  i.  p.  43.  How  fruit-bear- 
ing and  not  fruit-bearing  trees,  and  wheat  and  barley  have  been 
produced  is  in  the  same  place  related  in  the  following  manner  : 
"  Ali,  according  to  a  tradition  to  be  relied  upon,  said,  that  his 
majesty,  the  prophet,  was  asked,  what  is  the  reason,  that 
some  trees  do  bear  fruits  and  others  do  not  ?  He  replied,  when- 
ever Adam  said  the  praise  of  God,  a  fruit  tree  was  produced  ; 
but  when  Eve  did  say  it,  a  tree  not  bearing  fruit  was  produced. 
They  asked  further, how  has  God  created  barley?  The  Almighty 
said  to  Adam,  peace  be  over  him,  plough  and  sow  the  ground 
with  whatever  you  choose.  Gabriel  brought  a  handful  of 
wheat,  of  which  Adam  took  one  handful  and  Eve  also.  Adam 
said,  Do  thou  not  sow  it,  but  Eve  did  not  obey.  Now  whatever 
Adam  had  sown  became  wheat,  and  whatever  Eve  did  sow 
became  barley."  The  cause  why  the  juice  of  the  grape  and  of 
the  date  tree  has  become  inebriating  is  explained  in  the  follow- 
ing manner.  "  Imam  Jafar  said,  the  devil,  the  cursed,  went 
after  the  death  of  Adam  under  the  date  and  wine  tree,  and 
defiled  them  with  one  of  his  excrements,  this  penetrating  to  the 
veins  mixed  up  with  their  sap.  This  is  the  reason  why  their 
juice  has  now  a  bad  smell  and  is  inebriating,  and  therefore  has 
God  made  unlawful  to  man  every  inebriating  drink."  Ibid, 
p.  45.  The  creation  of  the  dog  is  mentioned  in  this  way: 
According  to  a  tradition  to  be  relied  upon,  it  is  related  from 
Ali,  that  Muhammad  was  asked  of  what  the  Almighty  creat- 
ed the  dog  ?  He  replied,  he  created  him  from  the  spittle 
of  the  devil.    They  said,  how  was  this  a  prophet  of  God  ?  He 


1840.]    Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  85 


answered,  When  God  sent  Adam  and  Eve  down  on  earth, 
they  fell  upon  earth  trembling  like  two  young  chickens.  The 
devil,  the  cursed,  run  then  to  the  wild  beasts,  which  were 
before  man  upon  earth,  and  said  :  Two  fowls  have  fallen  from 
heaven  upon  earth,  so  great  that  none  has  yet  seen  greater 
fowls  than  these,  come  ye  and  devour  them.  The  wild  beasts 
therefore  run  along  with  him  ;  and  the  devil,  to  make  them 
eager  for  their  prey,  spoke  loudly  and  ardently,  saying  the 
feast  is  nigh  ;  but  in  the  haste  of  his  conversation  some  of  his 
spittle  fell  on  the  ground ;  from  this  God  created  two  dogs, 
a  male  and  a  female.  The  male  dog  stood  in  Hindustan  by 
Adam,  and  the  female  dog  by  Eve  in  Jidda,  and  did  not  allow 
any  of  the  wild  beasts  to  approach  unto  them,  from  that  day 
dogs  and  wild  beasts  became  enemies  of  one  another/'  Ibid, 
p.  39.  To  give  an  idea  of  the  depth  of  the  sea  they  have 
the  following  story  :  they  say,  "It  is  related  in  a  tradition 
to  be  relied  upon,  that  Zul  Quarnain*  made  a  large  box  of  glass, 
and  having  taken  with  him  provisions,  instruments  and  other 
things,  he  went  on  board  of  a  ship.  When  he  had  arrived  at 
a  certain  place  in  the  sea,  he  bound  ropes  round  his  glass  box, 
and  having  got  into  it,  said,  Throw  the  box  into  the  sea,  and 
whenever  I  shake  the  rope,  then  take  me  up  ;  but  if  I  do  not 
shake  it,  let  me  down  as  much  as  the  rope  will  last.  He  went 
then  down  for  forty  days,  at  the  end  of  which  he  saw  a  man 
knocking  at  the  side  of  his  box,  saying,  Zul  Quarnain,  whither 
art  thou  going?  He  said  ;  I  want  to  see  the  works  of  God  in 
the  sea,  as  I  have  seen  them  on  the  land.  He  replied,  O  Zul 
Quarnain,  at  this  place,  where  thou  now  art,  did  Noah  at  the 
time  of  the  flood  let  fall  a  hatchet,  which  this  moment  is  still 
going  down,  and  has  not  yet  reached  the  bottom  of  the  sea. 
When  Zul  Quarnain  heard  this  he  shook  the  rope  and  went  up 
again. "    Ibid.  vol.  i.  p.  108. 

Of  Gog  and  Magog,  they  give  the  following  descrip- 
tion :  "  It  is  related  that  the  prophet  said  :  Yajudge  (Gog) 
is  one  nation,  and  Majudge  (Magog)  is  another  nation,  and 
every  one  consists  of  400  tribes,  and  none  of  them  dies 
except  he  has  begotten  a  thousand  sons.  They  are  of  three 
different  kinds  ;  one  kind  of  them  are  as  tall  as  trees,  another 
kind  of  them  are  as  thick  as  they  are  tall,  and  neither  moun- 
tain nor  iron  can  resist  them  ;  and  the  third  kind  have  ears  so 
large,  that  they  spread  one  of  them  under  them  and  lie  upon 
it,  and  with  the  other  they  cover  themselves.    And  whatever 

*  This  is,  according  to  the  commonly  received  opinion,  Alexander  the 
Great.  He  is  in  the  Quran  as  well  as  in  tradition,  represented  as  a  true 
believer,  and  many  of  the  Muhammadans  make  him  one  of  their  124,000 
prophets. 


86 


Christian  Mission  to  Cabool. 


[Feb. 


animal  they  pass  by,  be  it  an  elephant,  a  camel,  a  pig  or  any 
other  animal,  they  will  kill  and  devour  it;  and  whoever  of 
them  dies  they  eat  him  up  instantly."  Haq  ul  Yaqin,  p.  177*« 
Many  such  stories  are  to  be  found  in  tradition,  especially  in 
the  Slua  traditions,  but  this  will  suffice  to  show  how  inventive 
the  authors  of  tradition  have  been  in  the  production  of  such 
tales ;  how  anxious  they  were  not  to  instruct,  but  merely  to 
entertain  and  to  amuse  their  followers  with  such  gross  fictions  ; 
and  how  much  the  taste  and  relish  for  simple  truth,  and 
even  the  good  sense  of  a  people,  must  be  corrupted  by  a  sys- 
tem of  such  traditions.  But  can  traditions  of  the  kind  men- 
tioned hitherto  exercise  no  other  but  a  degrading  influence  on 
the  minds  of  those  who  believe  in  them,  then  those  we  shall 
mention  under  the  subsequent  heads  must  do  it  still  more,  and 
greatly  tend,  not  only  to  corrupt  the  mind  and  judgment,  but 
also  the  heart  and  the  moral  feelings,  of  all  who  adhere  unto 
them. 

(To  be  Continued.) 


III. — A  Christian  Mission  to  Cabool, 

The  following  prospectus  or  recommendation  has  been  for- 
warded us  from  a  correspondent  iti  Cabool.  We  heartily 
unite  with  him  in  the  idea,  that  some  missionary  effort  should 
be  made  by  the  Church  of  Christ  for  improving  the  receDt  con- 
quests in  these  hitherto  unapproachable  regions  ;  and  while  it 
will  afford  us  sincere  pleasure  to  find  the  friends  of  the 
Church  Mission  responding  to  the  call,  it  will  still  more 
augment  that  pleasure  to  find  that  each  section  of  the  church 
is  vying  with  the  other  in  attempting  to  subjugate  this 
once  the  stronghold  of  Moslemism  unto  the  obedience  of 
Christ. — Ed. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 

Sirs, 

An  English  army  having  been  brought  in  peace  and  safety  to  the 
capital  of  Affghanistan,  watched  over,  protected,  and  preserved  by  the 
hand  of  the  Most  High  amidst  all  the  difficulties  by  which  its  course 
was  beset,  a  duty  of  first-rate  importance  presents  itself  before  us,  and 
a  question  replete  with  consequences  of  good  or  evil  demands  our 
most  solemn  consideration. 

For  what  purpose  has  an  army  of  a  Christian  nation  been  guided  and 
preserved  in  its  march  through  these  lands,  and  why  is  it  located  for  a 

*  Gog  and  Magog  will,  according  to  their  tradition,  appear  at  the  end 
of  time.  The  appearance  of  them  is  one  of  the  signs  of  the  approach  of 
the  day  of  judgment.  Their  advance  will  be  in  Syria  and  the  rear  of  their 
army  in  Khorasan,  so  large  shall  their  host  be.  The  Imam  Mahti,  as- 
sisted by  Christ,  will  destroy  them,  together  with  the  Dijal  or  antichrist, 


1840.")  Christian  Mission  to  Cabool.  87 


season  in  the  very  heart  of  a  Musalm6n  nation  ?  If  it  be  answered, 
that  the  cross  should  be  preached  to  the  subduing-  of  the  crescent,  our 
course  is  obvious  ;  it  is  then  beyond  a  doubt  our  duty  to  avail  ourselves 
to  the  utmost  of  the  high  privilege  vouchsafed  to  us  of  making  known 
the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  to  these  benighted  lands  :  if  considering- 
this  army  as  sent  forward  as  the  pioneers  of  the  army  of  the  Lord,  de- 
tained too  in  the  country  till  the  labourers  arrive  to  plough  tiie  land, 
to  sow  the  seed,  to  raise  a  harvest  to  the  Lord  ;  it  is  then  our  first  and 
foremost  duty  to  leave  no  stone  unturned  until  we  raise  a  temple  to 
our  God,  a  temple  of  living  stones  fitted  to  his  praise  and  glory  : 
should  we  neglect  so  high  an  honor,  despise  so  great  a  privilege,  what 
answer  can  be  made  to  Him,  who  in  mercy  selected  us  for  the  enlarge- 
ment of  Christ's  kingdom  upon  earth  ? 

But  should  it  be  answered  that  this  army  was  upheld  and  preserved 
that  the  stability  of  our  Indian  empire  might  be  increased  in  this  quar- 
ter against  all  that  might  seek  its  subversion,  the  line  of  conduct  still 
is  plain,  for  since  "  righteousness  exalteth  a  nation  and  sin  is  a  reproach 
to  any  people,"  it  becomes  our  first  consideration  how  can  we  make 
this  nation  righteous  ?  This  nation  now  degraded  in  the  mire  of  sin, 
can  alone  be  exalted  by  righteousness  ;  then  will  she  stand  firm  as  our 
barrier  against  every  foe.  Viewed  in  either  light  then  it  is  our  duty 
both  to  God  and  to  ourselves,  to  strive  to  rescue  this  benighted  land 
from  the  darkness  in  which  she  is  plunged. 

We  have  both  a  duty  to  perform  and  a  privilege  to  take  advantage 
of,  and  woe  betide  us  if  we  err,  seeing  the  light. 

How  are  we  then  to  exalt  this  nation  by  righteousness,  and  to  length- 
en the  cords  and  strengthen  the  stakes  of  the  tabernacle  of  the  Lord, 
The  path  is  opened  ;  let  us  then  unite  in  heart  and  hand,  and  follow 
where  the  Lord  has  led  :  let  us  send  forth  many  labourers  into  those 
fields,  white  unto  the  harvest ;  ere  the  crescent  wanes  let  the  banner  of 
the  cross  be  raised  on  high  ;  let  Jesus  and  him  crucified  be  preached 
boldly,  unflinchingly  throughout  these  lands,  till  rescued  from  the  power 
of  Satan  and  the  delusions  of  the  false  prophet,  these  people  may  with 
joyful  gratitude  confess  that  the  preaching  of  the  cross  is  the  power  of 
God  to  all  them  who  are  saved,  and  may  bless  the  Lord  Jehovah  that 
their  victors  were  their  friends. 

In  order  to  realize  so  glorious  a  result  it  is  proposed  under  the  divine 
favor  to  establish,  in  connection  with  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  if 
they  will  kindly  undertake  the  task, 

A  CABOOL  MISSION 

for  the  promulgation  of  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  to  the  perishing 
heathen  of  these  lands. 

That  the  Church  Missionary  Society  be  solicited  to  send  out  from 
time  to  time,  as  the  state  of  the  funds  will  admit,  zealous  labourers  in 
the  cause  of  Christ  well  skilled  in  the  Persian  and  if  possible  the 
Pooshtoo  languages. 

That  Cabool  be  considered  the  first  missionary  station,  and  that  a 
Christian  Temple,  adapted  to  the  wants  of  the  infant  mission  and  suited 
to  the  uature  of  the  land,  be  erected  in  some  convenient  spot  either  in 


88 


Missionary  Conference. 


[Feb. 


the  citadel  or  in  the  city,  with  a  mission-house  and  3chool-room  at- 
tached. 

That  as  soon  as,  under  God's  blessing  and  favor,  the  prosperity  of  the 
mission  will  enable  such  an  enlargement  to  be  made,  a  similar  mission 
be  fixed  in  the  city  of  Candahar.  From  both  stations  it  is  hoped  that 
ere  long  we  may  be  enabled  to  send  forth  labourers  through  the  length 
and  breadth  of  this  devoted  land,  and  even  into  those  adjacent,  from 
whence  m;iy  be  looked  for,  the  gathering  together  of  some  of  the  dis- 
persed of  Israel,  the  scattered  of  Judah. 

That,  the  Church  Missionary  Society  be  solicited  to  undertake  the 
superintendence  of  this  new  mission,  and  to  regulate  with  its  accustom- 
ed zeal  and  discretion  all  the  subordinate  details  of  management. 

To  all  our  Christian  friends  and  fellow-labourers,  to  all  who  love  the 
cross  of  Christ  we  would  offer  the  above,  with  an  earnest  solicitation 
that  they  will  assist  the  work  by  their  own  individual  offerings  to  this 
temple  of  the  Lord,  and  use  their  endeavours  amongst  their  Christian 
friends  and  neighbours  to  induce  them  also  to  lend  a  hand  to  the  work, 
and  that  all  and  each  will  beseech  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  to  send  forth 
labourers,  and  to  give  them  strength  and  grace  sufficient  for  the  work, 
adding  his  blessing  to  our  endeavours,  for  unless  the  Lord  give  the  in- 
crease the  husbandman  soweth  but  in  vain. 


IV. — Missionary  Conference — Observance  of  the  Sabbath. 

On  Tuesday  the  7th  of  January,  a  full  meeting  of  the  Missionary 
Conference  was  held  in  the  Town  Hall  on  the  invitation  of  J.  W. 
Alexander,  Esq.  The  subject  of  discussion,  introduced  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Macdonald,  and  fully  treated  by  the  members  present,  was  the 
following  :  "  Whether  any  measures  can  he  adopted  by  this  body  to 
promote  a  better  observance  of  the  Sabbath  in  this  country." 

The  breach  of  the  Sabbath  is  one  of  the  sins  which  cause  the  land 
to  mourn  ;  one  perhaps  more  widely  spread,  existing  under  a  greater 
variety  of  forms,  and  committed  by  a  greater  number  of  different  classes 
of  men  than  any  other  of  the  clamant  sins  which  avert  the  favour  and 
the  blessing  of  God  from  this  ruined  but  ransomed  world.  In  public 
offices  and  in  private  places  of  business,  in  places  of  public  resort  and 
in  domestic  circles,  by  masters  and  by  servants,  by  those  whom  in  the 
judgment  of  Christian  charity  we  are  required  to  regard  as  Christian 
men,  by  those  who  wear  the  Christian  name,  yet  by  habitual  disregard 
of  the  precepts  of  the  Gospel  belie  their  profession,  and  by  the  infidels 
and  heathens  who  do  not  acknowledge  the  obligation  of  the  Sabbath  as 
a  Christian  ordinance,  the  holy  rest  enjoined  to  be  observed  on  that 
day  is  violated  with  awful  frequency  :  so  that  if  we  were  required  to  say 
what  is  the  sin  of  which  the  Church  is  most  guilty  in  common  with  the 
world,  we  believe  we  should  specify  this  one  of  Sabbath  desecration. 

It  will  be  observed  that  we  speak  of  this  as  a  sin  on  the  part,  of  infidels 
and  heathens,  as  well  as  on  the  part  of  those  who  acknowledge  the 
Divine  authority  of  the  word  of  God ;  and  it  will  very  much  clear  our 


1840.] 


AT iss ion  a ry  Curt feren ce . 


way  towards  the  Betting  of  the  whole  subject  on  its  proper  basis,  if  we 
bestow  a  little  attention  on  the  establishment  of  this  as  a  preliminary 
point. 

While  the  Sabbath  is  an  ordinance  of  the  Christian  religion,  while 
it  was  one  of  the  positive  institutions  under  the  Jewish  dispensation,  it 
had  an  existence  before  either  of  these  dispensations  was  established. 
To  man  in  his  state  of  innocence  the  appointment  was  made,  to  rest 
from  all  work  on  the  seventh  day,  and  sanctify  it  as  a  Sabbath  to  the 
Lord.  During  the  antediluvian  period  the  obligation  of  the  Sabbath 
lay  upon  men,  and  we  can  have  no  doubt  that  it  was  acknowledged  and 
acted  up  to,  if  not  by  the  wicked  descendants  of  Cain,  at  least  by  the 
believing  of  the  chosen  race  of  Seth.  That  it  was  so  we  gather  with 
demonstrative  certainty  from  the  recorded  fact  that  Noah  divided  his 
time  into  periods  of  seven  days  ;  a  division  which  could  only  originate 
in  the  primary  institution  of  the  Sabbath,  and  could  scarcely  be  kept  up 
without  an  observance  of  that  ordinance.  Before  the  Law  was  given 
from  Sinai  the  people  of  Israel  observed  the  Sabbath  ;  and  the  mention 
of  it  is  so  introduced  as  to  warrant  the  belief,  that  even  in  Egypt  the 
observance  of  the  day  was  not  unknown  to  them.  But  if  this  were  so — 
if  they  were  permitted  in  the  land  of  their  bondage  to  cease  from  their 
labour  on  the  Sabbath  day,  it  is  not  for  a  moment  to  be  supposed  that 
their  iron-hearted  task -masters  vouchsafed  them  this  indulgence  merely 
out  of  respect  to  their  peculiar  opinions.  They  must  themselves  even 
in  the  midst  of  their  idolatry  have  retained  some  remembrance  of  the 
appointment  of  a  day  of  rest,  some  recognition  of  the  duty  of  regarding 
one  day  in  every  seven  as  separate  and  distinct  from  the  other  six. 
This,  we  admit,  is  a  hypothetical  supposition,  and  may  not  come  home  to 
the  minds  of  all ;  to  us  it  seems  to  be  a  well-founded  supposition.  And 
when  the  obligation  to  observe  the  Sabbath  was  embodied  in  the 
Sinaical  Code,  it  is  introduced  not  in  the  way  of  a  novel  and  hitherto 
unheard-of  ordinance,  but  as  the  enforcement  of  a  law  previously  known 
but  apt  to  be  violated.  The  Lord  said  not,  "  Keep  the  seventh  day 
holy  as  a  Sabbath  to  the  Lord ;"  but  the  commandment  runs  thus  : 
4i  Remember  the  Sabbath  day  to  keep  it  holy,"  that  day  which  you 
know  to  have  been  set  apart  from  the  beginning  as  My  peculiar  day, 
that  Sabbath  which  you  already  know  and  acknowledge  that  it  is  your 
duty  to  observe,  see  that  you  forget  not  your  duty  to  sanctify  it.  "  Six 
days  thou  sbalt  labour  and  do  all  thy  work  ;  but  the  seventh  day  is," 
as  you  are  well  aware,  "  the  Sabbath  of  the  Lord  thy  God,  &c."  It 
was  impossible  that  this  language  could  have  been  addressed  to  the 
Israelites,  had  they  been  unacquainted  with  the  nature  and  the  obliga- 
tion of  the  Sabbath  ;  but  at  this  time  they  had  not  learned  it  from  the 
sacred  writings,  and  it  clearly  follows  that  the  observance  of  the  duty 
had  never  ceased  during  the  ante-legal  economy. 

Thus  those  are  shewn  to  be  in  error  who  would  represent  the 
Sabbath  as  no  more  than  part  of  the  ceremonial  law  of  the  Jews,  and 
consequently  as  binding  on  no  other  people ;  and  they  also  are  shewn 
to  err  who  consider  it  as  obligatory  on  Christians  alone?  and  not  on 
those  who  reject  the  Christian  Revelation.  So  far  as  Jews  and  Chris- 
tians are  concerned,  the  law  of  the  Sabbath  is  re-enacted  with  additional 

VOL.  X.  N 


90 


Missionary  Conference. 


[Fed. 


sanctions,  but  its  original  enactment  is  independent  of,  and  antecedent 
to  the  Mosaic  and  the  Christian  law.  It  was  imposed  upon  Adam  as 
the  representative  of  all  his  race, — it  was  recognised  by  Noah  as  bind- 
ing upon  him  and  all  his  posterity.  If  the  mere  adoption  of  any  com- 
mand into  the  decalogue  confined  its  applicability  to  Jews  and  Christians, 
and  absolved  all  others  from  all  obligation  to  implement  it,  then  were 
murder  and  theft  and  falsehood  no  crimes,  if  perpetrated  by  heathens  or 
infidels. 

But  if  it  be  said  that  all  this  reasoning  is  founded  upon  the  Bible, 
and  therefore  cannot  be  applicable  to  any  but  those  who  have  received 
and  possess  the  Bible,  we  might  answer  that  we  have  only  proceeded 
upon  the  authority  of  the  Bible  as  an  authentic  history,  and  the  only 
authentic  history  of  those  times  regarding  which  our  inquiries  are 
employed.  But  further,  we  answer  that  it  is  clearly  the  duty  of  all 
men  to  commemorate  the  grand  display  of  the  attributes  and  perfec- 
tions of  God  exhibited  in  that  work  of  creation,  for  the  perpetuation  of 
the  recollection  of  which  the  Sabbath  was  originally  instituted;  and  that 
it  can  be  clearly  made  to  appear  to  reason,  as  it  is  also  confirmed  by 
all  experience,  that  the  setting  apart  of  stated  days  for  this  express 
purpose  is  the  best  possible  way  of  keeping  up  a  devout  and  grateful 
remembrance  of  this  astonishing  work.  Thus  the  duty  of  Sabbath 
observance,  as  a  duty  of  mere  natural  religion,  is  established  on  as  firm 
a  basis  as  any  duty  of  natural  religion  can  be. 

But  in  addition  to  all  this  we  are  able  to  establish  in  a  most,  satis- 
factory manner,  apart  altogether  from  sacred  history,  that  the  distinc- 
tion of  the  seventh  day  was  handed  down  among  the  Gentiles.  How 
else  can  we  account  for  the  universally  diffused  division  of  time  into 
weeks  ?  All  other  divisions  of  time,  as  days,  months  and  years  are  natural, 
but  this  one  is  quite  arbitrary,  and  yet  it  has  been  found  in  all  nations 
and  in  every  age.  A  week  is  not  a  multiple  of  any  of  the  greater 
divisions  of  time.  It  must  therefore  be  considered  as  quite  an  arbitrary 
division,  and  in  searching  for  its  origin  we  must  go  back  to  the  days 
when  the  human  family  inhabited  one  narrow  spot;  on  the  top  of 
Ararat  we  shall  find  the  birth-place  of  the  post-diluvian  Sabbath.  The 
bloody  sacrifices  of  the  holy  father  of  the  ark-saved  race,  blazing  to 
heaven  on  the  morning  and  evening  of  the  seventh  day,  must  be  acknow- 
ledged to  have  cast  a  light  over  the  whole  world,  distinguishing  that 
day  as  one  of  rest  and  devotion.  Nor  are  there  wanting  in  profane 
writers  testimonies  to  the  sacredness  of  the  seventh  day.  Witness  the 
following  : 

'E/38o/u7j,  Upov  i)fj.ap. — He.iiod. 
"  The  seveutli,  the  sacred  day." 
'EQSofiarr)  b"  eirttra  KaTr)hv8tv,  Upov  rj/xap. — Homer. 
"  Tlien  came  the  seventh,  the  sacred  day." 
'EpSo/AOf  rj/xap  iriv,  Kat  rep  TeTeAeoro  iravra. — Id. 
"  It  was  the  seventh  day,  and  in  it  all  things  had  been  perfected." 

These  quotations  are  sufficient.  We  consider  that  class  of  passages  of 
which  these  are  specimens  as  at  once  valuable  confirmations  of  the  sacred 
history,  and  convincing  proofs  of  the  universal  obligation  of  the  Sabbath. 
Nor  is  it  merely  to  incidental  allusions  in  the  writings  of  the  poets 


1840.] 


Missionary  Conference. 


91 


that  we  can  appeal  in  substantiating  this  position.  We  have  testimony 
of  the  actual  observance  of  the  seventh  as  a  sacred  day  on  the  part  of 
the  ancient  heathen  nations.  Thus  Josephus  testifies :  "  Neque  est 
ulla  civitas  Graecorum  aut  Harharorum,  neque  ulla  gens  ad  quarn  sep- 
timi  diei  in  quo  vacamus,  consuetudo  nimime  pervenerit."  And  Philo 
Judaeus  in  similar  terms  asks,  "  Quis  sacrum  ilium  diem,  per  singulas 
hebdomadas  recurrentem,  non  honorat  ?" 

Thus  then  we  think  no  step  is  wanting  to  make  out  the  conclusion 
that  it  is  the  duty  of  men  as  men,  independently  of  revelation,  to  con- 
secrate and  set  apart  from  common  purposes  a  seventh  part  of  their 
time ; — a  duty  acknowledged  by  ancient  writers,  and  commending  itself 
to  the  reason  of  men  themselves. 

We  have  devoted  so  much  space  to  the  establishment  of  this  point, 
not  only  because  it  is  in  itself  interesting,  but  because  it  possesses  a 
most  important  bearing  on  the  subject  of  Sabbath-observance  in  this 
Country,  where  the  native  heathen  population  are  so  associated  in  rela- 
tions of  business  with  professed  Christians.  If  it  has  been  established 
that  the  obligation  of  the  Sabbath  lies  upon  Heathens  as  well  as 
upon  Christians,  it  follows  as  a  necessary  consequence  that  every  viola- 
tion of  it  on  their  part  is  sin,  as  well  as  every  neglect  of  it  on  our  part. 
The  fact  that  they  do  not  perform  their  duty  does  not  lessen  their 
obligation  to  perform  it.  Their  responsibility  is  not  affected  even  by  the 
fact  that  they  do  not  generally  know  their  duty  ;  for  they  are  account- 
able for  that  knowledge  which  they  ought  to  have  possessed,  and  the 
want  of  which  is  due  to  their  sin.  If  then  it  be  a  sin  in  a  heathen  to 
violate  the  rest  of  the  holy  Sabbath  ;  then  if  we  impose  upon  heathens 
am  work  which  interferes  with  their  proper  observance  of  the  Sabbath, 
then  we  command  them  to  commit  sin.  No  matter  though  we  have  the 
belief  that  if  we  did  not  impose  that  work  upon  them,  they  would  spend 
the  day  in  committing  equally  great  or  even  greater  sins.  For  the 
command  to  perform  that  action,  that  is,  to  commit  that  sin,  we  are 
responsible.  Yea  more,  if  we  permit  them  to  do  any  of  our  worldly 
business  on  that  holy  day,  we  are  abettors  of  their  sin,  and  at  the  bar  of 
God  will  be  held  responsible  for  having  aided  and  countenanced  them 
in  their  transgression.  If  the  heathens  who  are  around  us  will  dese- 
crate that  day  which  God  hath  sanctified,  let  those  who  bear  the  name 
of  Christ  at  least  see  that  no  part  of  the  guilt  lie  at  their  doors.  Let 
all  Christians  take  a  decided  stand,  and  so  far  as  their  influence  extends, 
shew  to  the  heathen  who  are  under  their  control  that  if  they  will  com- 
mit sin,  the  guilt  of  it  must  be  upon  their  own  heads. 

But  while  we  have  dwelt  so  long  on  the  sin  conirnited  by  heathens 
in  violating  the  Sabbath,  we  would  not  be  understood  as  meaning  that 
they  are  the  only  Sabbath-breakers  in  this  country,  or  that  those  who 
profess  to  be  Christians  are  guilty  of  this  sin  only  in  the  way  of  con- 
senting to  its  commission  on  the  part  of  others.  Alas  !  No.  Would 
it  were  so  !  But  of  this  in  the  sequel. 

As  all  the  commandments  of  God  are  good  as  well  as  holy  and  just, 
we  may  be  assured  that  a  law  so  universally  binding  is  intended  for  the 
good  and  not  for  the  evil  of  those  who  keep  it.  And  it  requires  but 
little  thought  or  observation  to  convince  us  that  the  law  of  the  Sab- 

N  2 


92 


Missionary  Conference. 


[Feb. 


bath,  if  duly  observed,  would  tend  to  promote  to  an  incalculable  extent, 
the  spiritual,  mental  and  physical  well-being  of  men.  As  to  the  spiri- 
tual good  that  is  derived  to  men  from  the  right  observance  of  the  Sab- 
bath, every  Christian  can  testify  that  even  with  it  he  can  hardly  keep 
his  soul  free  from  the  taint  of  earthliness,  and  requires  a  large  measure 
of  the  grace  of  God  to  preserve  the  spirit  of  godliness  in  his  soul, 
whereas  without  it  he  should  be  utterly  overwhelmed  in  the  rubbish  of 
worldly  employments  and  worldly  cares.  The  anxious,  care-worn,  and 
we  might  almost  say  haggard  looks  of  most  of  our  men  of  business 
clearly  point  out  to  us  the  necessity  of  a  regularly  returning  day  of  rest 
as  a  restorative  of  the  mental  and  bodily  energies,  and  shew  us  that  the 
all- wise  contriver  of  our  frames  intended,  that  after  so  many  days  spent 
in  harassing  and  fatiguing  business  we  should  refrain  for  a  season  from 
our  ordinary  employments,  not  however  devoting  that  season  to  the 
still  more  enervating  labour  of  worldly  entertainments  and  dissipation, 
but  employing  it  in  some  calm  and  soothing  exercises.  British  mer- 
chants have  long  been  the  boast  of  their  country  ;  and  perhaps  in  intelli- 
gence and  uprightness  are  not  equalled  by  the  corresponding  class  of  any 
country  in  the  world.  And  this  we  believe  is  in  a  very  great  measure 
due  to  the  fact,  that  the  Sabbath  is  better  observed  in  Britain  than  in 
any  other  country;  for  how  can  we  expect  a  man  to  be  distinguished  for 
his  intelligence,  when  his  bodily  and  mental  powers  are  eaten  up  as  by 
a  canker  worm,  by  incessant  attention  to  business,  relieved  only,  if  re- 
lieved at  all,  by  the  excitements  of  gaiety  and  dissipation  ;  and  how  unrea- 
sonable is  it  to  expect  a  man  to  be  distinguished  for  uprightness,  who  is 
in  the  habit  of  setting  at  nought  one  of  the  most  important  precepts  of 
the  moral  law  ?  But  we  can  venture  to  predict  that  if  a  higher  tone  of 
feeling  in  regard  to  sacred  things,  and  especially  a  scriptural  mode  of 
observing  this  Divine  Institution  were  more  prevalent  among  them, 
their  reputation  and  with  it  their  success  would  be  greatly  increased. 
"  Godliness  has  the  promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  as  well  as  of  that 
which  is  to  come."  We  never  yet  heard  of  a  man  eventually  suffering 
even  in  his  worldly  interest  from  a  conscientious  regard  to  his  Sabbath- 
duties.  On  the  contrary  we  have  heard  of  multitudes  of  instances,  and 
have  known  of  some,  in  which  Sabbath-profanation  has  been  the  fore- 
runner of  worldly  ruin  and  crime.  If  we  can  conceive  it  possible  that 
all  mankind  should  agree  to  discontinue  the  observance  of  the  Sabbath  as 
a  day  of  rest  from  worldly  employments  and  worldly  cares,  as  a  day  of 
commemoration  of  the  finished  work  of  Creation  and  the  more  stupendous 
work  of  Redemption,  as  a  day  of  calm  and  devout  meditation  on  the  at- 
tributes of  God  as  manifested  in  these  two  great  works,  and  on  the 
duties  of  men  as  creatures  and  redeemed  creatures,  the  amount  of  hap- 
piness enjoyed  in  this  world  would  be  reduced  a  thousand-fold.  As 
says  one,  "  Wherever  the  Sabbath  is  not,  there  is  no  worship,  no  reli- 
gion. Man  forgets  God,  and  God  forsakes  man.  The  moral  world 
becomes  a  desert,  where  life  never  springs  and  beauty  never  smiles. 
Putrid  with  sin  and  shrunk  with  ignorance,  the  soul  of  man  loses  its 
rational  character,  and  prostrates  itself  before  devils,  men,  beasts,  and 
reptiles,  stocks  and  stones.  To  these  man  offers  his  prayers,  his  praises 
and  his  victims — to  these  be  sacrifices  his  children,  and  immolates  the 


1840.] 


Missionary  Conference. 


93 


purity  and  honour  of  his  wife.  A  brutal  worshipper  of  a  brutal  God, 
he  hopes  for  protection  and  blessing  from  the  assumption  of  every  folly 
and  the  perpetration  of  every  crime."  But  if  on  the  other  hand  Sab- 
bath observance  should  become  more  general,  every  other  blessing 
would  follow  in  its  train.  The  influence  of  the  pulpit  for  good  would 
be  indefinitely  multiplied.  There  would  be  no  empty  pews  in  our  churches, 
to  tell  of  those  who  are  spending  God's  holy  day  in  business  or  corre- 
spondence, in  pleasure  or  in  idleness — no  drowsy  hearers  giving  evidence 
of  the  divided  state  of  their  thoughts,  and  shewing  that  though  bodily 
present  in  the  courts  of  God's  house,  their  hearts  are  left,  behind  them  in 
their  offices  or  counting  houses,  on  the  hunting  field  or  the  parade.  The 
Holy  Spirit  would  love  to  descend  among  a  congregation  of  such  worship- 
pers ;  and  the  good  seed  sown  in  such  honest  hearts  would  spring  up  and 
bear  much  fruit.  The  holy  rest  and  sweet  soothing  exercises  of  medita- 
tion and  devotion  would  give  elasticity  to  the  mind,  and  increase  the 
health  and  vigour  of  the  body*.  That  part  of  the  animal  creation  which 
ministers  so  largely  to  the  comforts  of  man  would  come  in  for  a  share 
of  the  advantage,  and  the  groans  of  the  creation  subject  to  bondage 
would  become  less  loud  and  less  frequent,  and  the  labour  and  travail  of 
the  whole  creation  would  be  gradually  diminished  till  their  final  termi- 
nation at  the  period  of  the  manifestation  of  the  sons  of  God  and  the 
commencement  of  the  eternal  Sabbath,  the  perpetual  rest  that  remaineth 
for  the  people  of  God. 

In  one  effect  that  would  flow  from  the  better  observance  of  the  Sab- 
bath on  the  part  of  professed  Christians  in  this  country,  we  are  especi- 
ally interested.  By  the  blessing  of  God  it  might  be  expected  to  exer- 
cise a  most  favourable  influence  on  the  heathen  population.  What  is 
the  objection  that  is  more  frequently  than  all  others  thrown  in  the  teeth 
of  the  Missionary?  Is  it  not  the  irreligion  of  multitudes  who  are 
accounted  Christians  ?  This  to  be  sure  is  not  a  legitimate  objection 
against  Christianity  itself,  and  those  who  urge  it  act  just  as  foolishly 
as  if  a  man  should  condemn  some  noble  picture  of  which  he  had  only 
seen  some  daubed  and  disfigured  copy.  But  still  it  is  an  objection  that 
we  have  no  doubt  operates  very  powerfully  on  the  minds  of  heathens, 
and  it  were  far  better  that  the  Missionary  should  be  able  to  deny  their 
premises  than  that  he  should  require  to  correct  their  logic.  If  the 
Sabbath  were  observed  as  it  ought,  and  if  those  heathens  who  are  in  the 
employment  of  tltose  who  profess  to  be  Christians,  were  distinctly  made 
to  understand  that  none  of  the  work  of  their  employers  may  be  done  on 
the  Lord's-day,  we  are  persuaded  that  by  the  grace  of  God  it  would 
produce  a  most  salutary  influence  on  their  minds.  In  Ezekiel  xx.  12, 
God  thus  speaks  :  "  I  gave  them  my  Sabbaths,  to  be  a  sign  between  me 
and  them,  that  they  might  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  that  sanctify  them  ;" 

*  We  consider  it  as  a  strong  argument  in  favour  of  Sabbath  observance,  that  the 
bodily  frame  of  man  and  the  animals  who  assist  him  in  the  performance  of  his 
labour  actually  require  for  their  physical  well-being  a  periodically  returning  day  of 
rest.  We  have  before  us  the  evidence  given  before  the  Committee  of  the  House 
of  Commons  by  Dr.  J.  R.  Farre,  a  medical  practitioner  of  about  4n  years'  standing 
in  London,  from  which  it  clearly  appears  that  a  periodical  day  of  rtst  is  absolutely 
necessary  for  the  health  of  man.  Thus  does  physiology,  like  every  other  branch  of 
science,  bear  witness  to  the  truth  of  the  Bible — thus  it  is  shewn  with  the  force  of 
demonstration  that  He  who  made  man,  made  also  the  Sabbath  for  man. 


94 


Missionary  Conference. 


[Feb. 


and  again  in  verse  '20  :  "  Mallow  ray  Sabbaths  ;  and  they  shall  be  a  sign 
between  me  and  you,  that  ye  may  know  that  I  am  the  Lord  your  God." 
And  in  like  manner  if  Christians  would  faithfully  observe  the  day  of 
the  Lord,  it  would  be  to  them  also  a  perpetual  sign  of  the  Covenant 
into  which  they  have  entered  with  the  Lord  ;  nor  to  them  alone,  but  to 
all  those  aho  who  have  opportunities  of  observing-  the  mode  in  which 
they  observe  the  day  set  apart  for  the  commemoration  of  their  Lord's 
resurrection  from  the  dead.  Thus  to  their  heathen  servants  and  depend- 
ants Christians  would  act  as  witnesses  for  Christ,  and  their  testimony- 
would  be  given  in  the  way  most  acceptable  to  them.  The  permission 
to  cease  from  labour  on  one  day  in  every  seven,  would  be  just  such  an 
evidence,  as  would  best  come  home  to  the  mind  of  a  heathen  servant,  of 
the  value  set  by  his  master  upon  the  blessings  procured  by  the  death 
and  the  resurrection  of  our  blessed  Lord  ;  the  command  to  do  no  work 
on  that  day  would  form  to  him  the  most  powerful  exposition  of  the 
sacredness  of  that  day  which  God  claims  as  peculiarly  his  own.  "  By 
keeping  a  Sabbath  we  acknowledge  a  God,  and  declare  that  we  are  not 
Atheists;  by  keeping  one  day  in  seven,  we  protest  against  idolatry,  and 
acknowledge  that  God  who  in  the  beginning  made  the  heavens  and 
the  earth  ;  and  by  keeping  our  Sabbath  on  the  first  day  of  the  week, 
we  protest  against  Judaism,  and  acknowledge  that  God,  who,  having 
made  the  world,  sent  His  only  begotten  Son  to  redeem  mankind.  This 
observance  therefore  of  the  Sunday  in  the  Christian  Church,  is  a  pub- 
lic weekly  assertion  of  the  first  two  articles  in  our  creed — the  belief  in 
God,  the  Father  Almighty,  the  Maker  of  heaven  and  earth  ;  and  in 
Jesus  Christ,  His  only  Son,  our  Lord." 

Let  us  at  length  go  on  to  specify  some  of  the  forms  assumed  by  this 
sin  of  Sabbath-breaking  in  this  country,  and  state  the  means  proposed  in 
the  Conference  for  lessening  its  prevalence,  entreating  those  Christians 
into  whose  hands  this  report  may  fall  to  exert  themselves  to  the  utmost 
of  their  power  in  their  several  stations  to  forward  the  great  object. 

I.  At  the  head  of  the  dark  catalogue  stand  those  profanations  of 
God's  holy  day  perpetrated  under  the  sanction  of  Government. 

We  are  not  aware  that  any  of  the  servants  of  Government,  with  the 
exception  of  those  in  the  Post-office,  are  required  to  give  their  attend- 
ance in  their  offices  on  the  Lord's-day,  but  many  of  the  public  offices 
are  kept  open  so  that  all  who  will  may  go  to  them  and  perform  their 
ordinary  duties.  Many  native  sirkars,  and,  we  have  heard,  some  Euro- 
peans do  so  attend,  and  set  at  nought  the  appointment  of  God.  Thus 
according  to  the  principles  formerly  laid  down,  principles  which  cannot 
be  controverted,  the  Government,  the  Christian  Government  of  British 
India,  is  accessary  to  the  sins  of  these  men.  Surely  God  who  has  done 
so  much  for  the  extension  and  support  of  the  British  power  in  India 
does  not  deserve  such  ingratitude  at  the  hands  of  the  British  authorities. 

The  servants  of  Government  employed  in  the  Post  office  are  deprived 
of  the  rights  which  belong  to  them  as  creatures  of  God,  and  are  required 
to  sacrifice  the  rest  which  is  their  natural  birth-right.  There  has  of  late 
been  much  discussion  on  this  subject  in  England.  We  trust  that  some- 
thing good  will  be  done  there,  and  that  it  will  extend  to  this  distant  por- 
tion of  the  empire.   Letters  are  not  delivered  in  London  on  the  Sabbath  ; 


1840.] 


Missionary  Conference. 


95 


and  no  impediment  is  found  to  be  thrown  in  the  way  of  the  transac- 
tion of  business  ;  neither  would  it  be  so  here. 

In  the  Conservancy  department  it  is  possible  that  there  may  be  some 
works  of  necessity  or  mercy  which  may  require  the  employment  of  a 
small  section  of  the  men  during  a  small  portion  of  the  sacred  day.  But 
it  is  understood  that,  supposing  this  necessity  to  exist,  much  more  work 
is  done  than  can  by  any  means  be  brought  within  the  class  of  works  of 
necessity  or  mercy. 

The  Botanic  Gardens  are  kept  open  on  the  Lord's-day,  and  are  fre- 
quented by  multitudes  who  are  thus  exposed  to  the  temptation  of  com- 
mitting sin,  and  of  dissipating  that  strength  by  overmuch  mental  excite- 
ment which  it  is  one  of  the  ends  of  the  Sabbath  to  promote. 

Houses  licensed  by  Government  for  the  sale  of  intoxicating  liquors 
are  kept  open  on  the  Lord*s-day,  and  thus  Sabbath  breakers  are  tempt- 
ed to  add  drunkenness  to  their  other  sins. 

These  desecrations  committed  in  the  service  and  under  the  sanction 
of  Government  can  only  be  prevented  by  the  withdrawal  of  that  sanc- 
tion. We  can  scarcely  doubt  that  a  memorial  signed  by  all  the 
Christian  inhabitants  of  Calcutta  would  influence  the  Government  to 
wash  their  hands  of  so  flagrant  a  sin.  Such  a  memorial  has  been 
agreed  upon  by  the  Conference,  and  w  ill  soon  be  ready  for  receiving  the 
signatures  of  the  Christian  public. 

II.  Several  merchants  and  dealers  are  understood  to  keep  their 
places  of  business  open  on  the  Sabbath.  Now  this  is  partly  their  sin, 
and  partly  that  of  those  who  frequent  their  shops  on  the  Lord's-day. 
In  so  far  as  it  is  their  fault,  it  is  believed  that  it  may  be  thus  in  great 
measure  prevented.  Let  all  Christians  resolve  that  henceforth  they 
will  not  encourage  by  their  custom  those  who  pay  so  little  respect  to 
the  ordinance  of  God.  This  will  at  once  shew  these  dealers  the  esti- 
mation in  which  their  conduct  is  held,  and  will  hold  out  to  them  a 
strong  inducement  to  discontinue  the  sinful  practice.  Let  Chris- 
tians who  have  been  in  the  habit  of  employing  those  who  keep  their 
places  of  business  open  on  the  Lord's-day,  state  to  tlieni  fully  and 
fairly  that  they  shall  withdraw  their  support  till  such  time  as  this  prac- 
tice is  wholly  abandoned.  If  into  the  hands  of  any  person  in  business 
who  is  guilty  of  this  sin  this  report  may  come,  we  would  earnestly  en- 
treat him  to  consider  well  the  greatness  of  his  sin  against  God,  his 
fellow-men  and  himself.  And  if  there  be  any  Christian  who  has 
thoughtlessly  given  his  countenance  to  such  a  practice  by  actually  send- 
ing for  goods  on  the  Lord's-day,  we  would  faithfully  counsel  him  to 
think  for  a  moment  what  he  is  doing.  Why  should  he  be  laying  up  so 
much  matter  for  bitter  repenting  ? 

Builders  and  others  are  in  the  habit  of  letting  out  their  work  to  natives 
who  employ  men  to  perform  that  work  on  the  Sabbath  day.  It  is  the 
duty  of  every  such  man  to  introduce  a  special  clause  into  every  con- 
tract, that  the  work  shall  be  totally  discontinued  on  the  day  of  sacred 
rest.  This  lias  been  done  by  more  than  one  builder  in  Calcutta,  and 
in  a  worldly  point  of  view,  they  have  not  suffered*. 

*  Since  this  was  written  we  have  had  occasion  to  visit  a  lar»e  factory  in  the 
neighbourhood  ot  Calcutta,  in  which  1500  natives  are  employed.    The  present 


Missionary  Conference. 


[Fkb. 


These  abuses  are  to  be  corrected  by  the  diffusion  of  sounder  views 
respecting  the  nature  and  obligation  of  Sabbath  observance.  Ministers 
in  their  pulpits  are  the  prime  guardians  of  the  rest  and  devotion  of  the 
day  of  the  Lord.  Let  them  set  themselves  to  this  as  to  a  most  impor- 
tant part  of  their  work  All  Christians  who  are  alive  to  their  duty  in 
this  matter  ought  to  make  conscience  of  setting  forth  and  enforcing  the 
duty  to  all  those  over  whom  they  can  exercise  influence.  The  Mis- 
sionary Conference,  in  order  to  call  universal  attention  to  the  subject, 
will  shortly  issue  and  circulate  a  series  of  Tracts  to  be  prepared  by 
several  of  the  members. 

III.  In  very  many  private  families  there  is  a  miserably  low  standard 
of  Sabbath  observance. — Bazar-making — neglect  of  the  public  wor- 
ship of  God — reading  of  Newspapers  and  books  unfit  for  the  day — 
idleness  and  unprofitable  conversation — riding  and  driving — paying 
and  receiving  of  visits — all  these  seem  to  be  sins  fearfully  prevalent 
in  this  country.  As  to  the  employment  of  servants  in  any  work  that 
may  be  done  on  the  preceding  day,  or  may  be  left  over  to  the  next,  or 
in  any  work  which  is  not  absolutely  necessary  to  be  done,  we  have 
already  spoken  at  sufficient  length.  All  the  ways  usually  adopted  for 
killing  time,  as  it  is  called,  bespeak  a  fearfully  low  tone  of  Christian 
feeling.  If  a  man  cannot  spend  the  waking  hours  of  a  single  day  in 
exercises  fitted  to  the  day  of  the  Lord,  how  is  he  to  consider  himself  as 
possessed  of  the  feelings  and  tastes  and  sentiments  which  will  fit  him 
for  the  enjoyment  of  the  heavenly  state  ?  In  heaven  there  is  a  perpetual 
Sabbath. 

We  fear  that  even  amongst  Christians  there  is  a  sad  deficiency  in 
some  of  these  particulars.  If  they  would  only  make  an  experiment  of 
observing  the  Sabbath  according  to  the  way  laid  down  in  Scripture — if 
they  would  direct  and  require  their  servants  to  have  all  arrangements 
made  so  that  nothing  may  interfere  with  the  rest  and  the  duties  of  the 
Lord's-day — if  on  the  Sabbath  they  would  make  conscience  of  instruct- 
ing their  children  and  to  the  best  of  ability  their  servants — if  they  would 
*'  spend  the  day  in  the  public  and  private  exercises  of  God's  worship, 
except  so  much  as  is  to  be  taken  up  in  the  works  of  necessity  or  mercy," 
they  would  soon  find  how  pleasant  a  day  it  would  become,  and  they 
would  derive  from  it  all  the  spiritual,  mental  and  physical  good  which 
it  was  designed  by  its  Divine  Institutor  to  impart. 

In  advocating  the  cause  of  Sabbath-observance  we  feel  that  we  occupy 
an  honourable  position.  We  are  pleading  for  God,  for  the  cause  of  the 
Sabbath  is  the  cause  of  God.  We  are  pleading  the  cause  of  man — of 
all  men,  for  "  the  Sabbath  was  made  for  man,"  but  especially  of  the 
poor,  for  the  Sabbath  is  emphatically  the  poor  man's  day — of  the 
heathen,  who  have  few  indeed  to  care  for  their  interests — of  the  rising 
generation,  whom  we  would  deliver  from  the  banefnl  influence  of  evil 

superintendent  has  not  been  long  in  the  works,  but  he  has  already  stopped  one 
half  of  the  work  on  Sabbath,  and  hopes  soon  to  put  a  complete  stop  to  all  work 
throughout  the  whole  of  the  Lord's-day.  One  reason  he  mentioned  for  being 
anxious  to  do  so,  apart  from  the  sacredness  of  the  duty,  was  this  :  "  Neither  I,  nor 
any  of  my  European  assistants  ever  enter  the  works  on  Sunday,  and  1  cannot  have 
confidence  that  the  work  is  well  performed  when  the  natives  know  that  we  will  not 
go  in  upon  them." 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


97 


example,  and  put  under  the  influence  of  domestic  Sabbath  Instruction  : — 
we  had  almost  said  fire-side  instruction — hut  that  is  a  dream  of  the 
past — a  vision  of  the  far-off  land  of  our  childhood.  Scotland — all  our 
thoughts  of  Sabbath  observance  are  mixed  up  with  thoughts  of  thee — 
thy  village  churches  with  their  humble  spires — thy  simple  service 
meet  for  the  taste  of  thy  honest-hearted  and  unostentatious  peasantry, 
and  meet  also  for  the  worship  of  that  God  who  seeks  the  adoration  that 
cometh  fresh  from  the  breast — thy  modest  manses — 
"  Lent  to  mortals  just  to  shew 
A  specimen  of  heaven  below." 

Scotland,  "  whose  is  the  Sabbath  and  the  Sabbath-bard" — thy  sons  in 
multitudes  have  left  thy  shores  to  seek  riches  in  this  Eastern  world ; 
thy  manses  have  sent  forth  their  nurslings  to  this  clime  of  the  sun — for 
a  Scottish  manse  is  not  a  place  of  remaining — and  canst  thou  not  with 
them  send  out  the  Spirit  of  thy  Sabbath-observance  ?  Why  do  thy  sons, 
vwhen  they  come  to  sojourn  in  the  land  of  the  stranger,  so  oft  forget  the 
lessons  which  they  learned  in  their  father's  house  ?  Thou  canst  not  send 
us  out  thy  Spirit,  but  thy  Got!,  who  has  given  thee  the  blessing,  can  also 
give  it  to  us.  Oh  Lord  God,  who  didst  appoint  the  day  of  rest  for  man 
and  beast !  Jesus,  thou  Lord  of  the  Sabbath  !  Holy  Spirit,  by  whose 
influence  alone  the  Sabbath  can  be  called  and  felt  to  be  a  delight,  do 
thine  own  work  in  the  midst  of  us,  and  avert  from  us  the  condemnation 
of  those  who  disregard  thy  day  and  thine  ordinances. — Ed. 


1. — Missionary  and  Ecclesiastical  Movements. 

We  are  confident  it  will  afford  every  friend  to  the  cause  of  education 
and  religion  in  India  the  highest  satisfaction  to  learn,  that  letters  from 
Alexandria  have  been  received  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  Duff.  It  is  probable  he 
may  be  detained  there  about  one  month,  owing  to  the  want  of  accommoda- 
tion on  the  steamers,  or  other  means  of  conveyance  by  the  overland  route. 
He  may  (D.  V.)  be  expected  in  Calcutta  in  about  a  month. — Mrs.  Charles, 
the  esteemed  lady  of  Dr.  Charles,  senior  minister  of  the  Scotch  Church, 
together  with  her  family,  have  embarked  and  sailed  for  Europe.  We 
regret  to  find  that  Mrs.  C.'s  health  should  have  required  this  movement, 
but  we  trust  under  God  she  may  soon  be  restored  in  perfect  health  to  her 

circle  in  India.   

2. — School  at  Foht  Glo'ster. 

It  has  been  our  duty  this  month  to  chronicle  the  examinations  and  anni. 
versaries  of  several  of  our  city  schools  and  public  institutions.  This  to  us 
has  been  a  most  pleas  ing  labor  ;  but  we  have  not  less  pleasure  in  recording 
the  account  of  the  Annual  Examination  of  the  school  at  Fort  Glo'ster,  un- 
der the  superintendence  of  the  General  Assembly's  Mission.  If  it  be  true 
"  That  many  a  flower  is  born  to  blush  unseen, 
And  waste  its  fragrance  on  the  desert  air," 

it  is  no  less-  so  of  some  of  the  most  valuable  though  unostentatious 
efforts  of  man  to  better  the  condition  of  his  neighbour.  W e  think  this 
rule  fairly  applicable  to  the  school  at  Glo'ster.  It  is  entirely  under  the 
management  of  a  respectable  and  intelligent  young  native,  formerly  a  pu- 
pil of  the  General  Assembly's  Institution  in  Calcutta.  The  school  is  partly 
supported  by  the  Sirkars  (heathen)  connected  with  the  works  at  Glo'ster, 
VOL.  I.  O 


98  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Feb. 


partly  by  the  proprietors,  and  also  in  part  by  the  Assembly's  Mission, 
under  whose  control  it  is  placed  by  the  other  contributing  parties.  The 
school  was  first  patronized  by  W.  Patrick,  Esq.  merchant  of  this  city,  and 
is  now  fully  encouraged  by  C.  J.  Orr,  Esq.  the  resident  at  Glo'ster.  The 
examination  was  held  at  the  residence  of  the  latter  gentleman  on  Monday 
the  27th  of  January.  The  examination  was  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
D.  Ewart  and  T.  Smith,  of  the  Scottish  Mission,  and  the  Rev.  T.  Boaz  of 
the  London  Society  ;  also  by  C.  J. Orr,  Esq.  and  Balm  Hara  Shankar  Das,  the 
zealous  and  persevering  teacher  of  the  school.  The  pupils  underwent  a 
very  minute  examination  in  English  Grammar,  Geography,  Arithmetic, 
Astronomy,  the  use  of  the  Globes,  History  of  India,  Scripture  History, 
and  other  useful  branches  of  learning.  The  acquaintance  manifested  by 
them  with  the  various  topics  was  highly  creditable  to  their  industry,  and 
not  less  to  the  talent  and  attention  of  the  master.  After  the  examination, 
prizes  were  distributed  to  the  more  deserving  by  C.  J.  Orr,  Esq.  and 
the  pupils  addressed  by  the  gentlemen  present  on  the  importance  of  a 
diligent  and  persevering  improvement  of  the  means  placed  at  their  dis- 
posal. Here  we  have  a  little  oasis  in  the  midst  of  an  almost  (as  far  as 
education  is  concerned)  desert  country  ;  or  here  we  have  one  of  the  flower- 
beds of  learning,  opening  its  buds,  displaying  its  beauties  and  shedding  its 
odours  on  every  hand,  in  the  midst  of  a  people  who  have  been  accustomed 
only  to  have  presented  to  them  in  the  form  of  education  that  which  was 
calculated  to  repel  and  debase.  May  this  infant  institution  long  continue 
to  flourish  and  increase  under  the  fostering  care  of  the  Assembly's  Mission, 
to  which  this,  as  well  as  the  school  at  Taki,  is  under  the  highest  obligation 
for  the  efficient  superintendance  afforded  by  the  teachers  of  that  valuable 
seminary. 

3. — Examination  of  the  General  Assembly's  Institution. 

The  ninth  annual  examination  of  this  important  Institution  was  held 
on  Friday,  3rd  January.  We  were  delighted  to  see  it  so  well  attended 
by  both  European  and  Native  gentlemen.  The  large  and  respectable 
attendance  was  a  sure  indication  of  the  high  esteem  in  which  the  Institu- 
tion is  held  ;  and  the  presence  of  so  many  respectable  natives  proves  that 
superstition  and  prejudice  are  on  the  wane,  and  that  the  natives  of  Cal- 
cutta can  appreciate  the  advantages  of  a  good  education  even  when  cou- 
pled with  the  inculcation  of  a  faith  differing  from  their  own.  Many  of  the 
young  men  are  evidently  well  acquainted  with  the  doctrines  of  Christia- 
nity, as  well  as  conversant  with  our  science  and  literature  ;  their  minds 
are  enlightened,  their  prejudices  removed — some  have  boldly  come  out 
and  openly  professed  themselves  the  disciples  of  Jesus,  anxious  to  walk 
in  his  ordinances  and  commandments.  These  are  results  which  might  have 
been  anticipated  by  all  parties  ;  for  the  whole  course  of  instruction  pur- 
sued in  the  Institution  is  calculated  to  produce  them.  The  natives  are 
aware  of  these  facts,  yet  their  children  flock  to  the  Institution,  and  there 
are  at  present  in  daily  attendance  about  660  boys.  The  large  number  of 
natives  present  at  the  last  examination  also  shows  that  the  Institution  is 
still  rising  in  public  estimation. 

The  increasing  popularity  of  the  Institution  may  be  traced  to  the  follow- 
ing causes.  1st.  The  natives  are  beginning  to  perceive  that  so  far  as 
Hinduism  is  concerned,  they  have  as  much  to  fear  from  an  infidel  educa- 
tion as  from  a  Christian  one  ;  and  that  while  the  former  gives  nothing  in 
lieu  of  what  it  takes  away,  the  latter,  they  are  convinced,  inculcates  the 
principles  of  virtue,  and  fosters  a  spirit  of  benevolence.  2ndly.  The  In- 
stitution, while  it  aims  at  the  improvement  of  the  moral  feelings,  and  the 
conversion  of  the  soul  to  God,  is  second  to  none  in  India,  in  the  efficiency 
of  its  mode,  and  extent  of  its  system  of  literary  and  scientific  education. 


1840.]         Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


99 


The  deservedly  high  character  of  the  Institution,  and  the  advantages  it 
is  capable  of  affording,  might  be  easily  inferred  from  the  known  abilities  of 
its  conductors  ;  but  the  proficiency  of  the  scholars  at  the  last  examination, 
in  the  higher  branches  of  science,  proved  beyond  dispute  that  few  if  any 
Institution  in  the  country  could  compete  with  it.  A  mere  enumeration  of 
some  of  the  subjects  in  which  the  pupils  were  examined  will  show  to  those 
who  were  not  present,  the  extent  of  the  course  of  education  pursued  in 
the  Institution.  The  higher  classes  were  examined  in  the  Scriptures, 
Christian  Theology,  the  Evidences  of  Christianity,  Euclid's  Geometry, 
Conic  Sections,  Trigonometry,  Algebra,  the  Differential  Calculus,  Astro- 
nomy, Logic  and  Political  Economy,  &c.  &c.  With  all  these  subjects 
the  lads  appeared  to  be  quite  familiar.  The  readiness  and  accuracy 
with  which  they  answered  the  searching  questions  put  to  them  evidently 
showed  that  they  were  well  instructed,  particularly  in  scientific  subjects. 
They  appeared  to  be  familiar  not  only  with  the  results  of  philosophical 
investigation,  but  with  the  principles  of  science,  and  the  calculations  upon 
which  its  truths  may  be  demonstrated. 

We  were  much  pleased  with  the  Essays  which  were  read,  particularly 
one  by  Mahendra  Lai  Basak,  a  young  convert  who  was  lately  baptized. 
This  is  the  first  instance  which  we  have  witnessed  of  a  Native  Christian 
reading  his  own  productions  in  the  English  language  before  a  large 
assembly  of  his  countrymen.  May  we  not  hope  that  this  is  the  first 
fruits  of  a  large  and  abundant  harvest ! 

We  witnessed  a  new  and  interesting  feature  at  this  examination.  We 
were  gratified  by  listening  to  the  reading  of  two  essays  in  the  Bengali 
language.  This  is  a  decided  improvement,  and  although  the  compositions 
were  occasionally  deficient  in  point  of  idiom,  yet,  if  the  Institution  perse- 
veres in  pa)  ing  that  attention  to  the  native  languages,  which  it  has  for 
some  time  done,  it  will  ere  long  produce  as  good  Bengali  and  Hindustani 
scholars  as  it  has  heretofore  English  ones.  The  increased  attention  which 
this  department  of  education  is  exciting  throughout  the  country  augurs 
well  for  the  general  enlightenment  of  India.  The  vernaculars,  after  all,  are 
the  grand  medium  through  which  our  religion,  literature  and  science  must 
be  extensively  diffused.  It  is  with  great  satisfaction  therefore  we  see  the 
Assembly's  Institution,  adding  to  all  the  other  blessings  which  it  has  con- 
ferred upon  the  natives,  a  correct  knowledge  of  the  structure  and  use 
of  their  own  language.  The  Bengali  Essayists  were  rewarded  with  prizes, 
an  example  worthy  of  all  imitation  in  kindred  institutions.  The  business 
of  the  day  was  concluded  by  the  distribution  of  prizes  as  rewards  for  pro- 
ficiency and  good  conduct.  The  gold  medal  given  by  D.  Macfarlan,  Esq. 
to  the  best  of  the  highest  class,  was  gained  by  Banamali  De.  The  silver 
medal  given  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Charles  for  the  best  Essay  in  English  was 
gained  by  Mahendra  Lai  Basak.  His  Essay  referred  to  above  was  one  of 
the  best  compositions  we  have  ever  heard  coming  from  a  native.  Mahen- 
dra also  gained  the  silver  medal  given  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Ewart  for  the  best 
English  Essay  on  another  subject.  These  and  the  other  prizes  were  dis- 
tributed by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Meiklejohn,  who  presided  as  Moderator  of  the 
Presbyterial  Body  of  Calcutta. 


4. — Christian  Institution^  Bhowanipore. 
The  examination  of  the  Christian  Institution  under  the  superintend- 
ence of  the  Rev.  J.  Campbell  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  took 
place  at  Bhowanipore  on  the  24th  of  December.  We  attended  this  exami- 
nation and  derived  from  it  great  pleasure,  and  we  trust  not  a  little  profit. 
Who  that  has  a  just  estimate  of  the  value  of  Christian  instruction  can 
fail  to  derive  pleasure  from  the  mere  sight  of  four  hundred  boys  brought 
into  daily  intercourse  of  the  closest  kind  with  a  Christum  Missionary  ? 
o  2 


100  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Feb. 


Who  that  knows  any  thing:  of  the  painful  and  insinuating1  nature  of 
Idolatry  can  contemplate  without  a  glow  of  gratitude  the  spectacle  of  so 
many  sons  of  idolators  imbibing  the  antidote  to  that  soul-destroying 
poison?  Who  that  has  himself  experienced  the  power  and  sharpness  of 
the  word  of  God  can  fail  to  he  delighted  when  he  hears  this  word  intel- 
ligently read  and  explained  by  hundreds  of  heathens?  Who  that  looks 
forward  with  earnest  longing  to  the  day  when  this  mighty  land  shall  he 
added  to  the  kingdom  of  the  exalted  Messiah,  can  hesitate  to  hail  this 
spectacle  as  lie  who  watches  for  the  morning  welcomes  the  first  streak  of 
scarcely  perceptible  light  which,  though  little  and  dim,  he  knows  will 
brighten  and  expand,  till  the  heavens  shall  be  all  illuminated  and  the 
earth  shall  rejoice  in  the  effulgence  of  the  orb  of  day  ?  Who  that  knows 
the  value  of  the  gospel,  and  its  adequacy  to  supply  all  the  wants  and  to 
relieve  all  the  distresses  of  men,  does  not  feel  his  heart  burn  within 
him  even  when  he  hears  that  this  gospel  is  in  the  hands  and  in  the  heads, 
if  we  may  so  speak,  of  hundreds  whose  fathers  scarcely  know  the  name  of 
Jesus,  but  who  bow  down  to  stocks  and  stones,  and  give  that  worship  to 
the  works  of  their  own  hands  which  is  due  only  to  the  one  living  and 
true  God?  How  much  more  then  does  the  Christian  experience  a  trans- 
port of  holy  joy  when  with  four  hundred  youths  actually  before  his  eye, 
each  with  the  Bible  or  some  Christian  book  in  his  hand,  he  looks  back  to 
the  time,  not  so  long  a  retrospect,  when  from  the  one  end  of  the  land  to 
the  other  the  Bible  was  not  to  be  found,  and  forward  to  the  time,  God 
grant  the  prospect  may  not  be  distant,  when  scriptural  knowledge  shall  be 
multiplied,  and  the  gospel  shall  take  its  residence  not  in  the  heads  alone 
but  in  the  hearts  also  of  the  millions  of  India.  There  are  of  those  whom 
we  respect  and  love  who  think  that  the  Missionary  treasury  is  robbed  when 
any  portion  of  its  resources  are  expended  on  such  institutions  as  this  :  but 
we  freely  say  that  for  ourselves  we  cannot  conceive  a  more  legitimate 
application  of  Missionary  labour  and  Missionary  funds,  and  let  us  add  of 
Christian  prayer  ;  and  we  look  upon  it  as  a  token  of  great  good  for  this 
land,  that  Bible  schools  are  now  rising  up  over  the  length  and  breadth  of 
the  land,  and  the  Missionaries  of  the  cross  are  suffering  the  little  ones 
to  come  to  Jesus. 

The  examination  was  well  attended  by  ladies  and  gentlemen,  although 
Bhowanipore  is  at  a  rather  inconvenient  distance  from  Calcutta,  and  the 
lateness  of  the  hour  at  which  the  examination  commenced  must  have 
rendered  it  impossible  for  many  to  be  present,  without  risking  exposure 
to  the  heat.  The  llev.  Mr.  Boaz,  secretary  of  the  Bengal  Auxiliary  Mis- 
sionary Society,  presided,  and  amongst  the  visitors  we  observed  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Charles  and  Mr.  Meiklejohn,  Ministers  of  St.  Andrew's  Church  ;  Messrs. 
Ewart,  Macdonald  and  Smith,  Missionaries  of  the  General  Assembly,  and 
we  think  all  the  Missionaries  of  the  London  Society  resident  in  Calcutta, 
besides  Dr.  Somers  from  Banaras.  Besides  these  there  was  present  a 
goodly  number  of  ladies  and  laymen.  The  examination  was  chiefly  con- 
ducted by  Dr.  Charles,  Messrs.  Morton,  Piffard  and  Smith,  who  as  well 
as  all  the  visitors  were  in  the  highest  degree  satisfied  with  the  attainments 
of  the  pupils,  both  in  religious  and  in  what  has  been  called  sub-religious 
knowledge.  They  manifested,  according  to  their  several  standings  in  the 
school,  at  once  a  large  and  minute  acquaintance  with  sacred  history,  the 
evidences  and  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  and  the  elements  of  those  sciences 
which  truths  are  peculiarly  opposed  to  those  errors  which  are  sanctioned 
by  the  books  esteemed  sacred  by  the  Hindus,  as  Geography,  Astronomy, 
&c.  These  branches  of  knowledge  had  of  course  been  communicated 
through  the  medium  of  the  English  language;  but  the  cultivation  of  their 
mother-tongue  had  evidently  not  been  neglected,  as  was  evident  from 
their  readings  in  Bengali  and  their  translations  from  English  into  that 
language.    We  look  upon  this  as  a  matter  of  the  last  moment,  since 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  101 


under  God  their  future  usefulness  among  their  countrymen  must  in  a 
great  degree  depend  upon  their  correct  knowledge  of  their  vernacular 
tongue.  Short  English  essays  were  read  on  Female  Education  and  on  the 
History  of  Joseph.  The  former  was  a  very  creditable  performance, 
shewing  ;it  once  power  of  thought  and  freedom  of  expression.  At 
the  conclusion  of  the  examination  prizes  were  distributed  by  Mr. 
Boaz,  consisting  of  valuable  books  and  medals.  In  classes  consisting 
of  so  large  numbers,  and  where  all  were  so  well  acquainted  with  the  sub- 
jects of  study,  the  prizes  must  have  been  hardly  earned,  and  are  therefore 
the  more  honourable  to  the  successful  competitors  ;  while  from  what  we 
saw  of  the  talents  and  acquirements  displayed  by  some  of  the  prize-hold- 
ers we  should  say  of  those  who  were  foiled,  that  it  was  no  dishonour  to 
them  to  be  overcome  by  such  antagonists.  We  subjoin  the  programme  of 
the  examination  : — 

I. — J 2th  Class,  Instructor,  No.  I.  2.  — 11th  Class,  Instructor,  No.  II.  3.— 10th 
Class,  Introduction.  No.  II,  4.— 5th  Class,  History  of  Bengal.  5. — 2nd  Class, 
History  of  Rome,  Mechanics,  Geography.  6. — 7th  Class,  Introduction,  No.  III. 
Grammar.  7. —  1st  Class,  Astronomy,  Evidences  of  Christianity,  Natural  Philoso- 
phy, Geometry  and  Algebra,  Simple  Equations.  8. — 3rd  Class,  History  of  Greece, 
Geography,  Grammar.  9.  —  Essay  on  Advantages  of  Female  Education.  10.  —  1st  and 
2nd  Classes,  Scriptures,  the  Gospels  and  Acts.  II. — 4th  Class,  History  of  Bengal, 
Grammar,  Geography.  12— Essay  on  the  Character  of  Josepli.  13. — 6th  Class,  History 
of  Bengal,  Geography,  Grammar.  14. — 3rd  Class,  Bengali  Scriptures,  Genesis. 
15.— 9th  Class,  Introduction,  No.  III.  16,— 8th  Class,  Introduction,  No.  III. 
Grammar. 


5. — Ladies'  Society's  Schools. 
The  Annual  Examination  of  the  Ladies'  Society's  Schools  for  Native 
Female  Education  took  place  yesterday  at  the  Central  School,  Cornwallis 
Square.  Besides  the  girls  attached  to  the  Central  School,  now  placed 
under  the  superintendence  of  Miss  Missing,  the  children  attending  the, 
Mirzapore  School  under  Mrs.  Sandys,  the  Howrah  School  under  Mrs. 
Hampton,  and  the  Circular  Road  School  under  a  native  named  Pitamber, 
were  also  assembled.  The  number  in  all  would  be  about  five  hundred. 
Amongst  the  visitors  present,  we  noticed  the  Rev.  Messrs  Sandys,  Jones, 
Ewart,  Macdonald,  Smith,  Wenger,  K.  M.  Banerjie,  and  Mesdames  Eller- 
ton,  Wybrou ,  Jones,  Vos,  Pearce,  &c.  &c.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Sandys  examined 
the  classes  in  the  Gospels  and  Acts.  The  manner  in  which  they  acquit- 
ted themselves  was  highly  satisfactory,  and  reflected  much  credit  on  those 
who  have  the  charge  of  their  education.  Considering  the  many  difficul- 
ties which  Institutions  of  this  nature  have  to  contend  with,  the  result  of 
the  examination  was,  on  the  whole,  encouraging  to  those  who  seek  to 
emancipate  the  native  females  from  their  present  abject  state.  In  the 
utter  prostration  of  the  mind  now  visible  throughout  Hindustan,  the 
improvement  of  the  females  should  be  as  strenuously  sought  after  and 
promoted  as  that  of  the  male  population.  We  hope  the  benign  influence 
which  education  sheds  on  men,  will  induce  the  reformed  Hindus  to  make 
their  daughters  and  wives  the  recipients  of,  and  the  participators  in,  their 
enlightened  views  and  sentiments.  This  is  a  sine  qua  non,  without  which 
the  civilization  of  the  whole  body  of  native  population  cannot  be  complete. 
— Calcutta  Courier. 


6.— Colleges  and  Schools. 
During  the  past  month  not  only  have  the  more  direct  Missionary 
schools  held  their  anniversary  examinations,  but  also  the  other  Christian 
and  Hindu  establishments,  the  Parental  Academy,  High  school,  St. 
Xavier's  (Jesuits)  college,  and  Armenian  Philanthropic  Institution  have  all 
had  their  annual  examinations,  and  have  passed  through  the  ordeal  with 
VOL.  I.  P 


102  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Feb. 


the  usual  honors.  The  prominency  given  to  the  vernaculars  and  religion 
in  some  of  the  examinations  was  highly  encouraging.  The  general  state 
of  education  in  nearly  all  is  much  the  same  as  in  previous  years.  The 
annual  examination  of  the  pupils  of  the  Hindu  college  has  also  heen  con- 
ducted throughout  the  month,  hoth  in  the  European  languages  and 
sciences  as  well  as  in  Oriental  lore ;  the  Sanskrit  classes  have  heen  put 
through  a  searching  examination.  The  new  Patshala,  connected  with  the 
college,  in  which  the  junior  classes  are  to  he  taught  the  vernacular  in  its 
purest  form,  has  heen  publicly  opened.  Many  of  the  friends  of  education 
attended  on  the  occasion,  and  addressed  the  people  hoth  in  Bengali  and 
English.  We  understand  that  it  was  opened  not  in  the  name  of  Kali  or 
Kam  or  any  of  the  Hindu  deities,  hut  in  the  name  of  the  one  God.  We 
are  happy  to  hear,  that  Jehovah  was  recognised  at  the  opening  of  the 
school,  though  He  was  not  at  the  laying  of  the  foundation  stone.  We  have 
been  given  to  understand,  that  more  than  one  morning  school  has  been 
opened  for  the  children  of  indigent  natives  ;  these  schools  are  conducted  by 
educated  native  youth,  who  attend  them  early  in  the  morning  previously 
to  office-hours  and  at  their  own  expense.  This  is  a  good  omen,  one  of  the 
best  that  has  occurred  for  some  time.  When  the  natives  so  begin  to  feel 
the  force  of  education  themselves  as  to  teach  others,  a  better  day  is  evi- 
dently rising  on  them.  Several  individuals  in  the  Mofussil  have  also 
established  schools  in  their  villages  for  supplying  a  liberal  education  ;  in 
some  instances,  these  schools  have  been  taken  up  by  the  Government 
Board.  The  Board,  we  hear,  intend  to  establish  central  schoolsor  colleges 
in  every  district  under  which  the  superintendence  and  visitation  of  all 
local  schools  shall  be  placed.  Oh  that  the  Lord  the  Spirit  may  descend 
into  the  midst  of  all  these  efforts  and  movements,  and  seal  the  instruction 
home  to  the  heart,  so  that  it  may  end  in  true  conversion  to  Christ.  The 
examination  of  the  Hughly  college  has  also  been  held  during  the  month  : 
the  institution  continues  much  as  in  former  years. 


7. — Chinese  Converts,  Bankok. 
To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 

Sirs, 

It  may  he  interesting  to  some  of  your  readers  to  learn,  that  the  gospel 
is  beginning  to  produce  its  appropriate  effects,  though  to  a  very  limited 
extent,  upon  the  heathen  in  this  place.  Last  Sabbath  we  enjoyed  the 
privilege  of  administering  the  rite  of  baptism  to  one  Chinese  convert, 
and  of  extending  the  hand  of  Christian  fellowship  to  two  others  who  had 
received  the  ordinance  two  weeks  before.  Then  Mr.  Jones  welcomed 
Mr.  and  Mrs.  Slafter,  recently  from  America,  to  a  participation  in  the 
duties  and  privileges  of  the  Church,  when  we  all,  in  company  with  the 
native  brethren,  surrounded  the  table  of  our  Lord  to  commemorate  his 
dying  love.  The  services  at  the  water  were  witnessed  by  an  assembly  of 
Chinese  and  Siamese  in  connexion  with  our  English  and  American  friends, 
while  the  communion  season  is  to  be  numbered  with  those  which  consti- 
tute an  antepast  of  heavenly  joy.  This  little  Chinese  Church  is  now 
composed  of  nine  members,  eight  of  whom  were  with  us  on  the  occasion 
alluded  to,  and  one  has  recently  returned  to  his  native  town  in  China 
with  the  prospect  of  being  useful  to  his  countrymen.  Three  of  these 
were  baptised  in  1835,  three  in  1S38,  and  three  in  1839.  Our  assemblies 
for  religious  worship,  amidst  a  numerous  population,  are  small,  but  such 
as  to  afford  us  some  encouragement.  The  Roman  Catholics  are  making 
some  converts  to  their  faith  from  the  Chinese  here,  and  have  just  erected 
a  new  temple. 

Yours,  &c. 

Bankok,  Siam,  October  7th,  1S39.  Wm.  Dean. 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  103 


THE  MEETINGS. 

The  season  for  holding  the  anniversaries  of  the  different  religious  and 
benevolent  Societies,  and  the  examinations  of  the  colleges  and  schools  in 
Calcutta  has  now  come  to  a  close;  and  in  accordance  with  our  promise 
last  month,  we  shall  proceed  to  lay  before  our  readers  as  perfect  an 
outline  of  the  whole  as  our  space  and  means  will  permit.  We  have  availed 
ourselves  of  the  reports  of  the  meetings  and  examinations  as  they  have 
appeared  in  the  pages  of  our  contemporaries,  especially  the  Christian  Ad- 
vocate and  Courier  ;  by  carefully  picking  out  the  most  accurate  report  of 
speeches,  as  given  in  bo,h,  we  trust  we  have  presented  a  tolerably 
faithful  account  of  the  whole. 

1. — Seamen's  Friend  Society. 

The  13th  Anniversary  of  the  Seamen's  Friend  Society  was  held  on 
board  the  Bethel  on  the  evening  of  Dec.  17.  We  were  agreeably 
surprised  to  find,  on  entering  the  little  arlc,  that  it  was  almost  full,  and 
still  more  pleased  to  find  the  bulk  of  the  congregation  composed  of  seamen. 
J  t  was  indeed  a  gratifying  sight  to  see  men  noted  for  their  disregard  of 
every  tiling  serious  assembled  to  witness  the  Anniversary  of  a  Society 
which  has  for  its  object  the  promotion  of  their  spiritual  interests. 

The  meeting  was  opened  by  the  Hev.  Mr.  Boaz,  who  selected  an  appro- 
priate hymn  and  offered  a  prayer  suited  to  the  occasion.  A.  Grant,  Esq., 
on  being  called  to  the  chair,  informed  the  meeting  that  the  Reverend 
Secretary  would  read  the  report.  Before  doing  this,  the  Secretary 
informed  the  men  that  they  might  rest  assured  the  reading  would  not 
occupy  much  time.  The  report,  he  said,  was  only  about  the  size  of  a 
letter  which  they  were  accustomed  to  send  home. 

The  report  contained  no  instance  of  conversion  which  had  come  under 
the  observation  of  the  Committee  ; — it  stated  that  the  funds  were  low, 
that  the  past  year  was  literally  a  year  of  faith  with  the  Committee,  as 
they  very  often  did  not  know  how  they  were  to  defray  the  current  ex- 
pences  of  the  month.  The  report  gave  a  brief  outline  of  the  labors  of 
the  Society.  A  number  of  Bibles  and  Testaments,  and  no  less  than  6000 
tracts  had  been  distributed  ;  and  though,  as  before  stated,  no  immediate 
results  had  followed,  their  efforts  were,  the  Committee  trusted,  as  "  bread 
cast  upon  the  waters  to  be  found  after  many  days."  The  Society  was 
stated  to  be  400  or  500  rupees  in  debt. 

The  Rev.  G.  Gogerly  moved  the  first  Resolution  :  — 

1.    That  the  report  now  read  be  printed  and  circulated  by  the  Committee. 

The  Rev.  Gentleman  delivered  a  very  appropriate  address  to  the 
seamen.  He  noticed  a  peculiar  trait  in  the  character  of  seamen,  well  ex- 
pressed in  the  homely  adage  that  "  a  sailor  works  like  a  horse,  but  spends 
his  money  like  an  ass."  He  mentioned  a  circumstance  which  had  lately 
occurred  in  England  in  illustration  of  this.  A  seaman  was  brought  be- 
fore the  Lord  Mayor  for  creating  a  disturbance,  he  had  been  throwing 
handfuls  of  his  hard-earned  money  amongst  the  mob.  On  the  Lord 
Mayor's  reproving  him,  he  declared  he  was  very  unfortunate,  for  he  had 
more  money  than  he  could  spend,  and  begged  to  be  sent  to  sea  as  soon 
as  possible.  The  speaker  simply  but  forcibly  endeavoured  to  prove  to 
the  seamen  that  it  was  nothing  but  love  to  the  common  Saviour  of  all 
men,  and  to  them  in  particular,  which  induced  the  Committee  to  interest 
themselves  in  behalf  of  seamen.  He  touched  on  the  injury  which  British 
seamen,  the  professed  followers  of  Christ,  have  inflicted  on  religion  and 
morals  in  foreign  countries,  particularly  in  the  South  Sea  Islands,  by 
their  lax  and  unprincipled  behaviour,  and  urged  on  them  the  necessity  of 
making  themselves  dreaded  by  none  but  those  who  were  the  enemies  of 
their  country.    The  Rev.  Gentleman  concluding  by  exhorting  the  sailors 


104  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Feb. 


to  behave  well  in  tins  heathen  land.  He  pointed  out  to  them  how  inter- 
esting it  was  to  see  a  Bethel  floating  on  that  river  which  was  the  object 
of  adoration  with  the  natives,  and  recommended  them  to  be  as  punctual 
in  their  attendance  at  the  Bethel  as  they  must  have  seen  the  natives 
were  in  resorting  to  the  river  side  for  devotional  purposes. 

The  Resolution  having  been  seconded  by  J.  W.  Alexander,  Esq.,  was 
carried  unanimously. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  H'enger  rose  to  propose  the  2nd  Resolution  :  — 

II.  That  this  meeting  desires  to  offer  thanks  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  his 
continued  goodness  in  carrying  on  and  extending  the  work  of  grace  amongst  seamen 
in  this  and  every  land;and  would  also  unite  in  supplication  to  the  Father  of  Mercies, 
that  he  would  pour  out  the  blessing  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  all  the  efforts  of  his 
people  that  they  may  not  be  iu  vain  in  the  Lord. 

The  Rev.  Gentleman  spoke  of  the  peculiar  opportunities  which  sailors 
possessed  of  doing  good  to  mankind,  and  of  observing  the  works  of  Pro- 
vidence. He  called  their  attention  to  what  is  majestic  in  the  vast  deep, 
and  to  all  that  is  beautiful  in  the  starry  firmament.  He  exhorted  them 
to  be  mindful  of  God  in  storms  and  in  calms,  and  not  to  forget  to  glorify 
Him  when  looking  upon  the  worlds  that  twinkled  above  them.  He  said 
he  had  never  visited  the  South  Sea  Islands,  but  he  had  visited  Greece 
and  Turkey  ;  and  felt  sorry  to  say  that  the  impressions  produced  by  the 
conduct  of  Seamen  visiting  those  countries  was  very  unfavorable.  He 
was  often  told  to  go  to  England,  and  make  better  men  of  British  Sailors, 
before  preaching  toother  people  the  excellency  of  the  Christian  religion. 
The  Rev.  Gentleman  was  happy  to  observe  that  efforts  were  being  made 
for  the  reformation  of  British  Seamen,  and  he  prayed  that  under  God's 
blessing  they  may  prove  successful.  He  adverted  to  a  prophecy  of  scripture 
which  declares  ;  they  shall  be  as  doves  flying  to  their  windows.  The 
Rev.  Gentleman  hoped  the  day  was  at  hand,  when  Sailors  who  are  scat- 
tered over  the  face  of  the  whole  earth  shall  carry  with  them  the  message 
of  salvation,  and  be  living  epistles  of  the  religion  which  they  profess, 
known  and  read  of  all  men. 

The  Resolution  was  seconded  by  J.  M.  Vos,  Esq.  and  adopted 
unanimously. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Lacroix  rose  to  propose  the  3rd  Resolution  : — 

III.  That  this  meeting  appoint  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  the  following  individuals 
to  be  the  Officers  and  Committee  of  the  Society  for  the  ensuing  year, — witli  power 
to  add  to  their  number  : 

Treasurer,  A  Grant,  Esq. — Secretaries — Corresponding, — Rev.  T.  Boaz, 
Minute, — Mr.  Henry  Andrews.  Seamen's  Ministers, — The  Missionaries 
of  different  denominations.  Visiting  Agent, — Mr.  Chill.  Committee, — J.  F. 
Hawkins,  Esq  ,  J.  W.  Alexander,  Esq.,  H.  Woollaston,  Esq.,  J.  Muller, 
Esq,  D.  Clark,  Esq.,  J.  M.  Vos,  Esq.,  G.  C.  Owen,  Esq. 

The  Rev.  Gentleman  began  by  making  what  to  us  appeared  a  very  pro- 
per remark,  that  unless  the  members  were  regular  in  their  attendance  on 
all  the  meetings  of  the  Committee,  the  Society  would  in  all  probability 
languish.  Laxity  on  the  part  of  the  Members  he  compared  to  indolent 
sailors  rowing  against  the  tide;  if  any  or  all  ceased  to  pull,  the  boat 
would  naturally  take  a  backward  course.  He  said  he  made  this  remaak 
from  long  experience  in  the  affairs  of  other  Societies.  The  Rev.  Gentle- 
man observed,  that  religion  when  possessed  by  Sailors  or  Soldiers  made 
them  braver,  and  therefore  the  more  useful  men ; — he  said  he  knew  little 
about  sailors,  but  he  had  opportunities  of  learning  the  truth  of  his  remark 
amongst  soldiers.  He  instanced  the  men  of  two  particular  regiments 
that  had  fought,  one  in  the  siege  of  Bhurtpore  and  the  other  in  the  Bur- 
mese war,  on  the  testimony  of  Sir  Archibald  Campbell,  who  said  of  the 
pious  soldiers,  '•  Give  me  men  all  like  these,  and  I  care  for  no  one  men 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  105 


without  religion  he  said  may  be  brave,  but  their  bravery  is  induced  by 
either  temporary  excitement  or  the  wish  to  gain  the  approbation  of  their 
fellow-men.  Religion  on  the  other  hand  nerves  man  to  do  his  duty  from 
a  regard  to  duty,  and  the  conscious  observation  of  Him  who  has  enjoined 
upon  his  followers  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  duties.  A  soldier  or 
sailor  possessed  of  religion  is  happy  in  the  consciousness  that  he  is  in  the 
keeping  of  God  ;  and  death  to  him  is  bereft  of  its  terrors,  because  come 
when  death  may,  it  will  bring  him  to  the  possession  of  immortal  glory. 
The  Rev.  Speaker  said,  that  seamen  have  a  particular  claim  to  our  sym- 
pathy, being  removed  from  their  homes  in  childhood,  and  exposed  not 
only  to  the  dangers  of  the  sea,  but  what  is  infinitely  more  dangerous — bad 
company,  lie  congratulated  British  seamen  on  the  renown  of  their  prow- 
ess, and  he  hoped  the  day  was  not  far  distant  when  they  would  be  as 
illustrious  for  piety  as  they  are  for  valor,  and  then  we  need  care  for  no 
enemy,  no  not  even  for  Russians. 

The  Resolution  was  seconded  by  the  Rev.  XV .  Morton.  Fie  said  that 
during  the  evening  he  had  been  pursuing  nearly  the  same  train  of 
reflections  as  the  last  speaker.  He  was  reminded  of  the  text,  "  A 
righteous  man  is  merciful  to  his  beast  ;  "  and  he  said,  if  Providence 
has  enjoined  our  kind  treatment  of  the  beasts  that  perish,  with  how 
much  louder  voice  does  it  call  on  us  to  pity  immortal  men.  During  the 
course  of  his  past  life  the  Rev.  Gentleman  had  made  21  voyages,  (he  had 
been  shipwrecked  too,)  and  had  therefore  had  ample  opportunities  of  be- 
coming acquainted  with  the  character  of  the  seamen.  They  were  wild 
and  thoughtless  in  the  extreme,  he  had  seen  men  washed  oft'  the  deck  into 
the  wide  waste  of  waters  with  horrid  oaths  on  their  lips  ;  frequently  in  a 
state  of  brutal  intoxication.  The  Rev.  Gentleman  exhorted  the  sailors 
present  to  dread  an  oath,  and  to  avoid  drunkenness  and  immorality.  He 
pictured  to  them  the  bar  of  a  holy  and  just  God,  before  which  they  must 
answer  for  their  deeds  like  all  other  men.  The  speaker  adverted  to  what 
had  fallen  from  the  other  Gentleman  in  regard  to  British  valor;  but  he 
said,  Great  Britain,  and  especially  British  people  here,  were  no  less 
indebted  to  sailors  for  the  comforts  and  luxuries  of  life,  and  for  all  that  is 
cheering  in  intelligence  and  epistolary  communications.  He  said  that 
both  from  gratitude  and  duty  we  should  use  every  exertion  for  the  welfare 
of  sailors. 

The  Resolution  being  put  was  carried  nem.  con. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Boaz  now  rose  and  stated,  that  it  had  often  been  said 
that  no  meeting  could  be  called  a  sailor's  meeting  unless  there  was  some- 
thing disorderly  in  it ;  he  had  no  wish  to  be  disorderly,  but  he  would  move 
a  little  out  of  the  usual  course  in  making  a  few  remarks  without  any 
thing  like  a  Resolution,  which  the  other  Gentleman  had  shown  them. 
Having  had  many  opportunities  of  being  acquainted  with  the  carelessness 
and  thoughtlessness  of  seamen,  he  would  mention  a  circumstance  which  he 
had  beard  in  illustration  of  the  adage  referred  to  by  another  speaker,  that 
"a  sailor  works  like  a  horse,  and  spends  his  money  like  an  ass."  A  sailor, 
after  making  a  cruise  of  7  years,  returned  home  with  a  good  sum  of 
money.  He  determined  to  have  "  a  spree."  Having  obtained  liberty  to 
go  ashore,  it  fell  to  his  lot  to  remain  in  charge  of  the  boat  whilst  the 
other  hands  went  away.  Seated  in  the  stern  sheets  of  the  boat  and  vexed 
at  not  being  able  to  join  his  shipmates,  he  began,  having  nothing  better 
to  do,  to  throw  away  his  guineas  one  by  one  at  the  women  and  boys  on 
the  shore.  This  very  man  after  some  time,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  be- 
came a  converted  person,  and  he  determined  to  devote  the  remainder  of 
his  life  to  the  direct  service  of  God  as  a  minister:  and  he  often  regretted 
that  he  should  have  been  so  profligate  in  the  expenditure  of  his  cash  ;  for 


106  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Feb. 


he  used  to  observe,  I  could  have  supported  myself  as  a  minister,  or  hive 
supported  another,  had  I  but  known  the  value  of  these  things  before.  Mr. 
B.  exhorted  the  men  to  lay  up  a  shot  in  the  locker  for  a  rainy  day.  lie 
related  a  story  of  a  Scotchman  w  ho  had  been  many  a  year  in  this  country, 
but  who,  on  meeting-  with  a  missionary,  became  a  true  disciple,  and 
returned  to  England  with  a  view  to  the  ministry.  He  went  incog  to 
see  his  mother,  whom  he  found  almost  bent  down  with  age,  but  engaged 
as  a  poor  washerwoman.  He  sat  down  by  her  side,  and  thus  addressed 
her,  "  Old  woman,  had  you  not  a  son  ?"  "  Yes,"  said  she,  wiping  off  a 
tear  with  her  aged  hand  ;  "  yes,  I  had,  but  he  is  dead  long  ago."  "  But 
what  if  he  were  alive  ?"  said  he.  "  That  cannot  be,  for  the  minister 
said  he  was  dead."  "  But  what  would  you  say  if  he  were  not  dead  ?" 
"It  can't  be,"  said  the  mother  with  some  hesitation.  The  man  on  this 
shewed  her  a  particular  mark  on  his  breast  ;  seeing  which  the  poor  old 
woman  fell  on  his  neck  and  wept.  "  And  are  you  my  own  son  ?"  she 
said  ;  "  and  what  are  you  now,  man,  a  sailor  still  ?"  "  No,"  he  answered, 
"  I  am  a  minister."  "  A  minister  I"  said  she  with  surprise  :  "  you  a 
minister  !  !  Will  you  go  up  the  pulpit-stairs  like  another  minister  ? 
Will  you  hang  your  hat  on  the  pulpit  peg  like  another  minister  ?  Will 
you  read  out  the  text  like  another  minister  ?"  Yes,  was  the  reply  to 
these  general  queries.  She  was  overwhelmed  with  delight  ;  nor  was 
she  the  only  rejoicing  one  fortius  conversion, — the  angels  of  God  re- 
joiced over  him,  and  will  rejoice  over  every  returning  penitent. 

The  Rev.  Gentleman  related  the  anecdote  in  a  style  so  peculiar  to 
himself,  and  in  a  manner  which  to  judge  from  the  approbation  with 
which  it  was  received  by  the  sailors  present  was  so  well  adapted  to  com- 
mend  itself  to  the  class  he  was  addressing,  that  it  would  be  useless  for 
us  to  attempt  to  copy  his  expressions.  He  did  not  however  content  him- 
self with  amusing  ;  lie  stated  that  he  knew  they  were  peculiarly  suscep- 
tible of  any  thing  told  them  in  reference  to  their  families  and  friends. 
Often,  he  said,  he  had  stopped  a  sailor  "  half-seas-over"  in  the  streets 
of  this  city,  and  asked  him  how  he  would  like  to  be  seen  in  that  state 
by  a  father,  a  mother,  a  relative  or  a  minister  ?  This  question  had 
almost  always  elicited  a  serious  reply. 

Most  of  you,  said  the  ltev.  Gentleman,  (addressing  himself  to  the 
sailors  preseut,)  have  known  some  good  old  man  of  a  minister  who  has 
prayed  for  you.  Most  of  you  have  Bibles  too,  how  often  have  you  read 
them  ?  Let  me  entreat  you  often  to  read  and  pray  over  them.  I  heard, 
said  the  Rev.  Gentleman,  of  a  boy,  a  sailor  boy,  who  had  received  a 
Bible  from  his  mother,  which  in  order  to  forget  he  stowed  away  at  the 
very  bottom  of  his  chest.  He  fell  ill.  During  his  illness,  having  none 
near  to  console  or  nurse  him,  he  thought  of  his  mother's  Bible;  the 
moment  he  could  crawl  he  went  to  his  chest,  brought  out  his  long- 
neglected  Bible,  and  read  it  so  long  and  attentively  that,  as  he  often  said, 
he  knew  much  of  it  by  heart.  You  may  be  sure  he  never  lamented  this. 
Imitate  his  example,  and  you  will  undoubtedly  experience  a  like  benefit. 
The  Rev.  Gentleman  next  said  that,  as  was  remarked  by  the  previous 
speakers,  sailors  were  very  wild  and  thoughtless,  and  particularly  so 
with  reference  to  religion.  In  a  storm,  one  of  the  bravest  sailors  on 
board  was  ordered  to  go  on  the  lee-yard  arm  to  take  in  a  sail :  while 
doing  this,  the  gale  wrapped  him  up  in  the  sail  as  in  a  winding  sheet  ;  he 
w  as  then  rolled  out  by  the  loosing  of  the  sheet,  but  fortunately,  his  foot 
caught  the  foot  ropes,  and  there  he  hung  until  through  mercy  he  recover- 
ed himself.  In  a  little  time,  he  was  safe  on  deck.  "  Well,  my  man," 
said  Mr.  Boaz  to  him,  "  you  had  a  narrow  escape  ?"  "  Good  enough," 
answered  the  man.    "  You  should  go  down  on  your  knees  and  thank 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Relit/ious  Intelligence.  107 


God."  "I  can  do  that  another  time."  Another  time  never  came:  he 
was  drowned  in  a  calm  a  few  days  after.  The  speaker  after  making  sundry 
appropriate  comments  on  this  event  said,  that  the  gentlemen  who  had 
addressed  the  meeting  that  evening  chanced  to  he  natives  of  ditferent 
countries— Switzerland,  Scotland,  Ireland  and  England.  The  one  was  a 
judge,  the  other  a  lawyer,  another  a  minister  ;  this  union  of  nations  and 
professions  was  indicative  of  the  general  state  of  feeling  in  reference  to 
sailors.  Every  person  loved  sailors.  It  must  he  plain  to  the  sailors,  he 
remarked,  that  all  the  pieces  of  paper  which  were  handed  about  called 
resolutions,  and  all  the  speeches  which  had  been  made,  were  all  done  with 
the  single  object  of  doing  them  good.  But,  he  added,  tht.y  had  some- 
thing to  do.  When  they  got  aboard  their  several  ships,  they  should 
think  over  these  things,  they  should  pray  over  them — they  should  speak 
of  them  to  their  messmates.  Mr.  Boaz  did  not  doubt  but  that  many  of 
their  messmates  had  also  attended  meetings,  for  there  were  many  other 
kinds  of  meetings  held  on  that  evening,  some  at  Bow  Bazar  and  others 
elsewhere.  The  Rev.  Speaker  advised  them,  when  they  would  hear  their 
friends  speak  about  what  they  had  seen  and  heard,  to  let  them  know 
what  had  been  said  and  done  on  board  the  Bethel.  The  Rev.  Gentleman 
concluded  with  saying,  that  as  all  seemed  to  be  in  such  a  state  of  harmony 
and  good  feeling',  the  meeting  would  close,  as  it  had  begun,  with  a  hymn. 

A  collection  was  then  made.  Many  a  tar  expressed  his  sorrow  at  not 
having  been  apprised  before,  that  there  would  be  a  collection ;  some 
promised  to  bring  their  mite  next  Sabbath,  while  others  cheerfully  gave 
their  offering  at  the  time. 

2. — New  Year's  Day — Union  Chapel. 

A  very  solemn  service  of  united  Christians  of  different  denominations 
was  held  at  the  Union  Chapel  on  the  morning  of  New  Year's  day.  The 
attendance  was  full,  and  nearly  the  whole  body  of  missionaries  was  pre- 
sent. The  services  commenced  by  reading  the  93nd  Psalm  and  prayer 
by  the  Rev.  T.  Boaz,  after  which  the  Rev.  Mr.  Morton  delivered  an  ad- 
dress. 'I  his  address,  like  all  the  discourses  of  the  Rev.  gentleman,  was 
distinguished  for  soundness,  comprehensiveness  and  completeness.  He 
took  for  his  text  the  following  passage  :  The  end  of  all  things  is  at 
hand,  be  ye  therefore  sober  and  watch  unto  prayer."  The  preacher  drew 
attention  to  the  solemnity  of  the  season,  and  pathetically  dwelt  on  the 
expression,  "  the  end  of  all  things  is  at  hand."  He  then  entered  upon 
the  exhortation,  and  impressively  inculcated  on  his  hearers  the  duties  of 
sobriety,  watchfulness  and  prayer.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Ellis  next  read  a  por- 
tion of  scripture,  and  offered  a  simple  and  earnest  prayer. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Macdonald  then  preached  from  the  words,  "  Cut  it  down, 
why  cumbereth  it  the  ground."  In  explaining  to  whom  the  sentence  was 
applicable,  Mr.  M.  gave  certain  tests  by  which  our  state  before  God 
might  be  ascertained.  The  tests  proposed  were,  1.  A  lively  and  influen- 
tial sense  of  our  accountability  to  God  in  all  the  transactions  and  inter- 
course of  life.  2.  A  complete  surrender  in  all  matters  of  our  own  will  to 
that  of  God.  3.  A  preference  of  God  as  our  Father  to  all  his  gifts  how- 
ever dear  or  valuable  in  themselves.  4.  A  desire  to  observe  and  realize 
in  our  attendance  on  the  means  of  grace  the  end  designed  by  them  of  God 
the  Giver  of  all  grace.  5.  An  entire  and  heartfelt  reference  to  the  love 
and  glory  of  Christ  in  all  our  concerns  whether  secular  or  religious.  'I  he 
discourse  was  marked  by  acute  thought  and  stern  fidelity,  and  replete 
with  sound  instruction. 

The  concluding  sermon  was  delivered  by  Mr.  Sutton,  of  the  Orissa 
Mission.    He  selected,  as  best  adapted  to  the  occasion,  the  text,  "  God 


108  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Fe6. 


be  merciful  unto  us  and  bless  us,  and  cause  his  face  to  shine  upon  us,  that 
li is  way  may  be  known  upon  earth,  his  saving  health  among'  all  nations." 
Mr.  Sutton  showed  the  intimate  connexion  which  subsists  between  eminent 
personal  piety  and  the  success  of  the  Gospel,  resulting  in  the  present  and 
eternal  welfare  of  men.  He  exhorted  his  hearers  not  to  be  satisfied  with 
present  attainments,  and  pointed  out  that  the  only  way  to  attain  eminence 
was  by  deep  humiliation  and  constancy  in  prayer.  The  previous  speakers 
had  by  laying  down  searching  tests  and  exhorting  to  duty,  prepared  their 
audience  for  the  remarks  which  fell  from  Mr.  Sutton.  These  remarks 
were  seasonable  and  appropriate  to  the  object  of  the  meeting,  which  was 
humiliation  for  past  remissness  and  renewed  consecration  to  (iod. 

The  services  were  interspersed  with  hymns,  and  lasted  for  three  hours 
and  a  half.  The  concluding  benediction  was  pronounced  by  Mr.  Sutton 
from  Numbers  vi.  "  The  Lord  bless  thee,  and  keep  thee  :  the  Lord  make 
his  face  shine  upon  thee,  and  be  gracious  unto  thee:  the  Lord  lift  up  the 
light  of  liis  countenance  upon  thee,  and  give  thee  peace." 

In  the  evening,  a  service  in  the  Bengali  language  was  held  in  the  Cir- 
cular Road  Chapel.  Prayers  were  offered  by  two  native  converts,  and  the 
address  was  delivered  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Piffard.  There  were  present 
about  tiftv  natives,  with  many  missionaries  and  others.  The  comparative 
thinness  of  the  attendance  was  owing  to  notice  of  the  Meeting  having 
been  but  partially  made  public,  and  to  the  inconvenient  hour  fixed,  the 
native  Christians  residing  in  the  villages  and  the  more  distant  parts  of 
the  city  being  thereby  prevented  from  uniting  in  the  service. 

On  the  whole  it  was  a  day  long  to  be  remembered.  It  was  interesting 
for  the  season,  solemn  for  the  services,  and  hallowed  by  the  associations 
connected  with  both.  Many  who  met  last  year  met  again  ;  several  who 
were  once  unknown  by  sight  were  now  convened  in  one  place  ;  and  some 
who  were  present  on  the  last  occasion  now  either  sleep  in  the  dust  or  are 
removed  to  distant  lands. 

3. — Calcutta  Bible  Association. 

The  18th  Anniversary  of  this  Association  was  held  in  the  Town  Hall 
on  Tuesday  evening  the  7th  of  January.  The  Venerable  the  Archdeacon 
being  called  upon  to  preside,  opened  the  proceedings  by  observing  that 
he  felt  a  peculiar  pleasure  in  occupying  the  chair  on  such  an  occasion. 
In  his  opinion  an  Association  having  for  its  object  the  distribution  of  the 
Bible  was  deserving  of  more  support  than  any  other  institution  :  he  did 
not  intend  by  this  to  draw  disparaging  comparisons  between  this  and  the 
other  numerous  benevolent  institutions  in  the  city;  he  knew  that  all 
those  who  love  God  out  of  a  pure  heart  must  love  their  neighbours  as 
themselves  ;  but,  inasmuch  as  this  Society  had  the  good  of  man's  immor- 
tal part  in  view,  it  should  rank  high  in  our  estimation.  The  Association 
claimed  our  regard,  both  for  the  simplicity  of  the  means  employed,  and 
the  sublimity  of  the  object  at  which  it  aimed.  He  remarked  that  no 
Society  could  prosper  without  God's  blessing,  and  he  hoped  that  his 
auditors  had  come  to  the  meeting  in  the  spirit  of  prayer,  find  that  they 
would  make  the  prosperity  of  this  Association  a  matter  of  closet  prayer. 

'1  he  Rev.  Mr.  Sandys  being  called  upon,  read  the  most  interesting 
portions  of  the  Report :  it  gave  an  account  of  the  number  of  Bibles  which 
had  been  distributed  (luring  the  year,  and  entered  at  length  into  the 
details  of  the  Society's  operations.  As  we  hope  to  notice  this  Report  ere 
long,  we  shall  not  dwell  upou  its  contents  at  present. 

The  first  resolution, 

"  That  the  Report  now  read  be  published  and  circulated  for  general  information," 
was  proposed  by  the  Rev.  T.  Boaz,  who  remarked,  that  from  the  Report 
just  read  it  was  evident  the  Society  had  not  only  carried  on  its  usual 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  109 


operations  daring  the  past  year,  but  that  it  Lad  materially  increased  its 
exertions:  this  was  cause  for  thankfulness;  the  fact  that  many  of  the 
thousands  of  dying  idolaters  had  been  furnished  with  the  word  of  life 
should  encourage  us  to  thank  God  and  take  a  fresh  stand  at  the  com- 
mencement of  this  year,  with  a  determination  to  spread  further  and 
wider  the  Gospel  of  God.  lie  compared  the  moral  and  religious  state 
of  this  country  to  the  entangled  thick  jungle  which  we  see  on  every  hand  ; 
we  can  never  expect  to  see  this  jungle  removed,  if  we  do  not  unite 
vigorous  effort  w  ith  earnest  prayer.  The  speaker  adverted  to  the  Catho- 
lic nature  of  the  grants  of  Scriptures  indicative,  as  they  were,  of  the 
Catholicity  of  the  principle  of  the  Society.  We  are  debtors  to  all,  to 
Greek  and  Jew,  to  bond  and  free,  and  to  all  had  this  obligation  been 
discharged  during  the  past  year.  Thus  should  we  combine  prayer,  praise, 
and  a  Catholic  spirit,  and  go  forth  in  this  temper  to  the  work  of  God. 

C.  W.Smith,  Esq.  rose  to  second  the  Resolution.  He  said  he  was 
sure  all  would  be  glad  that  the  interesting  Report  just  read  should  be 
printed  and  widely  circulated.  He  said,  it  was  a  matter  of  great  grief 
that  the  cause  of  God  in  this  land  should  have  so  few  advocates,  while 
numbers  crowded  to  scenes  of  gaiety  and  dissipation ; — he  contrasted  the 
present  company  with  the  probably  greater  number  who  assembled  for 
the  purpose  of  amusement  in  that  very  hall  the  evening  before  (the 
reunion)  ; — he  feared  that  not  one  of  those  who  were  there  on  the  pre- 
vious evening  were  there  then ; — he  said  he  loved  to  take  an  interest  in 
matters  of  this  kind,  he  therefore  had  much  pleasure  in  seconding  the 
Resolution. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Wenger  rose  to  propose  the  second  Resolution, 
"  That  this  meeting  feels  particularly  called  upon  by  the  increasing  attention 
paid  to  the  education  of  the  rising  generation,  to  endeavour  to  communicate  to  the 
various  classes  of  their  fellow-men,  the  volume  of  divine  inspiration,  in  order  that 
they  may  thereby  be  preserved  from  infidelity  and  error,  and  be  led  to  an  acquaint- 
ance with  the  Gospel  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 

He  said  that  though  he  belonged  to  a  denomination  of  Christians 
unconnected  with  this  Association,  he  still  had  much  pleasure  in  having 
an  opportunity  of  pleading  the  Bible  cause.  He  remarked,  it  was  stated 
in  the  Resolution  that  unless  education  included  a  knowledge  of  the 
Bible  it  was  an  evil — it  was  a  sure  means  of  spreading  infidelity.  He 
said  this  was  the  case  in  France  and  Italy,  countries  in  which  unchris- 
tianized  learning  was  much  cultivated,  Christianity  only  being  known  in 
a  corrupted  form  amongst  the  Romish  clergy.  In  France,  through  the 
dissemination  of  Bible  truth,  this  thick  darkness  had  gradually  been 
breaking.  He  said  it  had  been  his  privilege  to  be  for  many  years 
stationed  in  a  country  which  bore  a  strong  moral  resemblance  to  this — he 
alluded  to  Greece.  He  there  became  acquainted  with  young  men  who, 
possessing  all  the  natural  talent  of  their  countrymen  in  early  days,  had 
obtained  through  British  agency  a  great  proficiency  in  literature  and 
science;  they  felt  desirous  of  being  acquainted  with  our  religious  opini- 
ons. As  Greek  Bibles  were  not  within  their  reach,  they  took  up  the 
w  orks  of  Voltaire  and  Rousseau,  whom  they  considered  as  the  representa- 
tives of  the  religious  opinion  of  Europe:  thus  were  they  for  want  of 
Bibles  driven  to  the  extreme  of  infidelity.  By  the  diffusion  of  Gospel 
truth  this  had  been  in  some  measure  removed.  He  remarked  that  the 
educated  Hindus,  seeing  the  gross  nature  of  their  religion,  reject  it,  and 
naturally  desire  some  other.  If  we  pull  down,  said  the  Rev.  gentleman, 
the  house  in  which  they  have  long  found  shelter,  we  should  in  justice 
give  them  another  and  a  better  :  if  not,  we  are  guilty  of  the  grossest 
cruelty.  The  Rev.  gentleman  made  a  number  of  interesting  remarks 
which  space  prevents  our  noticing. 
VOL.  I.  Q 


110  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Feb. 


Rev.  Mr.  Morton  in  seconding  the  Resolution  remarked — that  it  was 
asserted  by  some  that  it  is  superfluous  to  make  any  efforts  for  the  con- 
version of  souls,  it.  being  Solely  a  work  of  the  Holy  Spirit ;  this  he  said 
was  wrong.  God  no  doubt  could  work  without  human  agency,  but  he 
has  directed  us  to  exert  ourselves,  in  all  probability  to  keep  alive  our 
interest  in  the  matter.  He  then  adverted  to  an  interesting  native  school 
he  had  lately  visited,  supported  and  conducted  by  three  native  youths, 
without  any  hope  of  remuneration,  in  which  170  lads  are  receiving  a 
pretty  good  education.  This  school  was  opened  from  6  till  9  in  the 
evening. 

He  adverted  to  the  error  into  which  the  managers  of  the  Government 
schools  had  fallen,  by  excluding  Religious  studies  ;  he  said  the  natural 
obliquity  of  the  human  heart  would  render  the  most  complete  education 
a  great  evil,  it  would  lead  to  infidelity.  Religion  alone  could  correct 
this.  Religion,  he  said,  might  be  called  the  safety  valve  to  the  mighty 
steam-power  of  intellect.  He  said  that  there  was  a  great  demand  for 
Bibles  among  the  Hindus.  This  is  to  us  a  voice  from  God,  calling  us  to 
supply  this  demand.  The  Rev.  Speaker,  as  well  as  Mr.  Wenger,  entered 
at  length  into  the  subject  of  education,  and  we  regret  we  are  unable  to 
present  their  addresses  more  at  length. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Innes  proposed  the  third  Resolution, 

"  That  this  meeting,  feeling  that  all  its  endeavours  without  the  divine  blessing 
are  unavailing,  earnestly  prays  that  the  enlightening  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
may  be  so  vouchsafed,  that  those  Scriptures  which  are  distributed  by  it  may  prove 
instrumental  in  disseminating  abroad  a  knowledge  of  the  way  of  salvation,  through 
faith  in  our  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus  Christ." 

He  compared  the  society  to  a  ship — the  audience  to  its  crew  ; — he  said 
as  a  good  ship  is  often  becalmed  at  sea  for  want  of  the  breath  of  heaven, 
so  thisSociety  would  never  progress  without  God'sblessing ;  the  comparison 
failed,  he  remarked,  in  one  particular, — the  crew  of  a  ship  had  no  influence 
over  the  wind,  while  Christians  have  a  promise  that  the  Holy  Spirit  will 
be  given  to  those  who  ask  his  influences.  He  said  that,  if  we  only  attend- 
ed these  Meetings  and  gave  our  subscriptions,  we  had  done  nothing.  We 
know  nothing  can  be  done  without  God's  blessing,  and  still  we  do  not 
pray  for  it.  He  exhorted  the  audience  to  pray  over  the  Bibles  which 
were  distributed  ;  for,  said  he,  "  the  letter  killeth,  but  the  Spirit  giveth 
life." 

Rev.  Mr.  Ewart,  in  seconding  the  Resolution,  said,  that  he  felt  himself 
under  great  obligations  to  the  Society  for  the  donations  of  Bibles  he  and 
his  fellow-laborers  had  received.  He  remarked,  that  late  experience  has 
proved  the  fallacy  of  the  saying,  "  Hinduism  is  unchangeable."  The 
Rev.  gentleman  made  a  number  of  very  instructive  and  appropriate 
remarks  on  the  present  state  of  education.  The  Rev.  chairman  said  he 
would  not  pass  this  Resolution  in  the  usual  way,  but  requested  that  all 
would  offer  up  a  secret  prayer  to  God  for  his  blessing  :  a  pause  ensued, 
during  which  all  appeared  to  be  engaged  in  devotion.  It  was  a  very 
solemn  moment. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Sutton  then  proposed  the  fourth  Resolution, 

"  That  the  following  Gentlemen  be  the  Committee  and  Office-bearers 
of  the  ensuing  year: 

"President.    The  Ven'ble  Archdeacon  Dealtry. 

"Committee.  Rev.  C.  C.  Aratoon,  G.  E.  Henwood,  Esq.  A.  D.  Jones, 
Esq.  Rev.  T.  Boaz,  C.  Kerr,  Esq.  W.  Byrn,  Esq.  O.  Lindenner,  Esq. 
J.  T.  D.  Cameron,  Esq.  J.  Richardson,  Esq.  A.  G.  Coles,  Esq.  M.  D'Ro- 
zario,  Esq.  C.  N.  Cook,  Esq.  W.  Balston,  Esq.  Treasure);  J.  N.  Vant  Hart, 
Esq.  Bible  Secretary,  Rev.  '1'.  Sandys.  Cash  Secretary,  J.  M.  Vos,  Esq. 
Minute  Secretary,  Rev.  K.  M.  Banerjea." 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  Ill 


We  were  indeed  highly  interested  in  the  number  and  variety  of  the 
remarks  which  the  speaker  made  in  proof  of  the  benefits  the  Bible  can 
bestow,  but  space  prevents  their  insertion  : — we  may  find  room  for  them 
in  another  form.  He  closed  by  solemnly  advising  all  to  do  what  they 
had  to  do  quickly,  for  the  time  was  short. 

The  Rev.  G.  Pickance,  seconded  this  Resolution. 

VV.  Byrn,  Esq.  proposed  the  following  Resolution,  which  was  second- 
ed  by  the  Rev.  K.  M.  Banerjea,  and  adopted  by  the  meeting, 

"  That  the  thanks  of  the  meeting  be  voted  to  the  Chairman  for  kindly  presiding  on 
the  present  occasion." 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Sandys  in  conclusion  advised  the  people  present  to  keep 
the  things  they  had  heard  in  remembrance,  and  earnestly  entreated 
them  to  follow  the  advice  given. 

The  meeting  closed  by  singing  the  Doxology. 

4,. — Calcutta  Auxiliary  Baptist  Missionary  Society. 

The  19th  Annual  Meeting  of  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary  Baptist  Mission- 
ary Society — was  htld  on  Thursday  evening  the  9th  instant,  at  the 
Circular  Road  Chapel:  the  chair  was  taken  by  the  Rev.  W.  Morton. 
After  a  hymn  had  been  sung,  and  the  blessing  of  God  implored  by  the 
Rev.  F.  Tucker,  the  chairman  opened  the  business  of  the  evening  by 
observing',  that  the  work  in  which  the  Society  is  engaged  is  the  work  of 
God,  and  this  holds  out  the  strongest  reason  as  well  as  encouragement  why 
it  shall  ultimately  succeed.  It  is  also  the  work  of  faith  ;  it  tries  the  sin- 
cerity of  its  labourers.  It  is  the  work  of  love;  it  tests  their  benevolence. 
It  is  the  work  of  hope  and  patience,  that  they  may  not  despair  of  success  and 
persrir.re  in  their  labour.  God  has  given  to  his  beloved  Son  the  heathen 
for  his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possession. 
The  work  cannot  therefore  be  unsuccessful.  We  must  continue  to  labour 
—all  our  physical  energy  and  mental  strength  should  be  employed  in  this 
work.  But  the  number  of  labourers,  in  the  field  of  Missionary  enterprise, 
is  small  j  we  should  pray  for  an  increase  of  labourers,  and  God  has  pledged 
his  word  that  he  will  hear  our  prayers  and  prosper  his  own  cause  ;  insig- 
nificant labour  shall  not  be  unsuccessful;  slow  work  should  not  be  des- 
pised. As  the  first  streak  of  light  in  the  heavens  is  the  harbinger  of  the 
noon-day  splendour,  so  the  day  of  small  things  is  an  earnest  of  the  ful- 
ness of  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  Already,  observed  the 
chairman,  there  is  a  moving  of  the  waters  ; — the  number  of  converts  is 
increasing,  and  though  the  progress  of  the  work  is  imperceptible  to  sense, 
yet  we  oiiuht  ever  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  "kingdom  of  God  cometh  not 
with  observation."  Along  with  the  preaching  of  the  gospel,  education 
is  conveying  the  light  of  knowledge  into  the  minds  of  the  heathen  youth. 
A  thirst  after  human  knowledge  will  lead  them  to  seek  that  which  is 
divine  ;  and  we  are  confident  that  the  East,  where  dawned  the  light  of 
Christian  truth,  will  ultimately  be  filled  with  its  mid-day  radiance. 

The  chairman  then  called  upon  the  acting  secretary,  the  Rev.  J.  D. 
Ellis,  to  read  the  report  of  the  operations  of  the  Society  for  the  past  year. 
After  the  reading  of  the  report  the  following  resolutions  were  proposed 
and  seconded. 

1st  Resolution,  proposed  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Sutton,  and  seconded  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Bayne, 

"  That  the  report,  extracts  from  which  have  now  been  read,  be  adopted  and  circu- 
lated under  the  direction  of  the  Committee  ;  and  that  we  desire  to  return  to  the 
Father  of  mercies  our  humble  and  fervent  thanksgivings,  for  the  success  which  he  has 
granted  to  his  servants  both  in  this  and  iu  kindred  Societies  during  the  past  year." 

In  proposing  the  above  resolution  Mr.  S.  said,  the  operations  of  this 
Society  have  been  happily  extended  far  and  wide  among  the  heathen,  and 
Q  2 


112  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Fkb. 


as  they  have  heen  so  auspiciously  commenced  they  should  be  carried 
forward  among'  them.  He  was  glad  to  find  that  there  was  a  goodly  num- 
ber of  preachers  connected  with  the  Society,  and  that  native  youths  were 
training  up  for  the  ministry.  God  had  greatly  blessed  the  Society, 
observ  ed  Mr.  S.,  in  making  it  the  honored  instrument  of  translating  the 
Holy  Scriptures  upon  so  extensive  a  scale,  so  that  his  written  word  is  now 
circulated  from  Mount  Himalaya  to  Cape  Comorin,  He  (Mr.  S.)  had 
often  distributed  portions  of  the  Bible  and  religious  tracts,  with  feelings 
of  despondency  as  to  their  results,  but  was  glad  to  find  that  the  perusal 
of  them  by  the  heathen  was  rendered  effectual  to  their  conversion.  He 
mentioned  two  facts  in  confirmation  of  his  assertion.  The  spiritual  sleep 
to  which  the  heathen  were  yielding  their  souls  reminded  him  of  the  irre- 
sistible tendency  to  sleep  which  travellers  feel  who  visit  Mount  St.  Ber- 
nard, and  which  frequently  terminates  in  the  death  of  the  sleepers. 
On  this  mount,  continued  the  speaker,  there  is  a  monastery,  and  the 
monks,  to  lead  travellers  to  it  for  assistance  in  case  of  danger,  have 
planted  large  wooden  crosses  along  the  way.  Some  friends,  while  attempt- 
ing to  reach  the  summit  of  this  mount,  felt  a  great  drowsiness  coming 
over  them.  They  endeavoured  to  shake  it  off,  but  in  vain.  But  just  as 
they  had  made  up  their  minds  to  yield  to  the  influence  of  this  overwhelm- 
ing torpor  and  lay  themselves  down  to  sleep,  the  monks  rushed  forward 
with  the  exclamation,  The  cross  !  the  cross  .'  and  saved  them  from  cer- 
tain death.  If  the  heathen  around  us  then,  Mr.  S.  remarked,  are  about 
falling  into  a  spiritual  sleep,  the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  ought  to  point 
them  with  all  earnestness  to  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  thus  rescue  them 
from  inevitable  ruin. 

Mr.  Bayne,  in  seconding  this  resolution,  said,  we  ought  to  be  grateful 
to  God  for  what  had  been  done  for  the  advancement  of  his  own  cause  by 
the  means  of  this  Society.  Much,  indeed,  had  been  effected,  considering 
the  system  of  superstition  and  caste  which  the  Society  had  to  oppose. 
The  condition  of  the  heathen  should  produce  emotions  of  compassion  and 
pity  in  the  hearts  of  Christians.  How  indignant  would  a  parent  feel  if 
his  child  called  another  man  his  father  !  But  the  heathen  were  precisely 
guilty  of  this  sin,  inasmuch  as  they  called  idols  their  God.  They  were 
caricaturing  the  Supreme  Being  by  making  idols  his  representatives. 
When  we  behold  the  city  in  which  we  reside  given  to  idolatry,  our  spirit, 
like  that  of  Paul,  should  be  stirred  within  us.  The  spiritual  malady  of 
the  heathen  is  alarming  ;  their  physicians  are  their  murderers,  and  the 
medicine  they  administer  for  their  cure  is  rank  poison!  Mr.  B.  mentioned 
the  case  of  two  Hindus  who  had  been  brought  to  the  saving  knowledge 
of  Christ  through  reading  the  word  of  God.  One  of  these,  he  said,  was 
struck  with  the  fact  of  the  Saviour's  coming  to  the  world  to  save  his  enemies. 
The  other  said,  that  by  perusing  the  Gospel  he  was  convicted  of  being  a 
great  sinner  and  believed  in  the  Redeemer.  Mr.  B.  concluded  by  stating 
that  in  the  station  of  Narsingdarchok,  the  wives  of  some  of  the  converts 
went  about  declaring  the  tidings  of  salvation  among  their  own  sex. 

2nd  Resolution,  proposed  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Piffard,  and  seconded  by  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Urenger, 

"  That  while  the  duty  is  imperative  on  all  who  have  received  the  blessed  Gospel 
to  promulge  the  glad  tidings  among  their  fellow-men,  we  consider  that  the  position 
and  circumstances  of  Christians  resident  in  India  lay  them  under  &  peculiar  obliga- 
tion to  communicate  the  religious  privileges  they  enjoy." 

In  proposing  this  resolution  Mr.  Piffard  observed,  that  it  was  the  duty 
of  Christians  to  publish  the  truths  of  the  Gospel  to  all  around  them.  If 
Europeans  derived  so  much  temporal  benefit  from  the  land,  it  was  but 
just  that  they  should  make  a  return  to  the  nativ  es  in  spiritual  blessings. 
If  Christians  are  amassing  the  perishing  wealth  of  the  country,  they  should 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  113 


gladly  give  t!ie  people  the  imperishable  riches  of  Christ.  It  is  the  bounden 
duty  of  every  believer  to  aid  in  this  glorious  cause.  Christians  should 
speak  of  Christ  to  their  servants,  invite  them  to  attend  their  domestic 
altars,  and  carry  them  to  the  house  of  God  erected  for  the  heathen.  The 
natives  frequently  observe  that  the  two  religions,  viz.  Christian  and  Hindu, 
are  good  for  their  own  respective  votaries.  But  we  should  undeceive 
them  on  this  head.  We  should  tell  them  that  the  religion  of  Christ 
is  t he  religion  of  the  world — of  all  nations,  kindreds  and  tongues. 

Mr.  Wenger,  in  seconding  the  resolution,  observed,  that  an  allusion 
had  been  made  by  one  of  the  preceding  speakers  (Mr.  Bayne)  to  a  passage 
of  Scripture  peculiarly  calculated  to  illustrate  the  truth  of  what  the  reso- 
lution expressed.  It  was  the  one  referring  to  St.  Paul's  feelings  at  Athens  : 
"  when  he  saw  the  city  wholly  given  to  idolatry,  his  spirit  was  stirred 
within  him."  What  were  the  Apostle's  circumstances  at  that  time ?  He 
had  just  made  his  escape  from  Berea  ;  he  was  unknown  to  all  around  him  ; 
he  did  not  intend  to  stay  long  in  that  city,  but  simply  to  await  the  arrival 
of  Silas  and  Timotheus.  He  might  therefore  have  said:  "It  is  not 
worth  while  to  make  any  efforts  here  ;  I  know  no  one  here ;  I  shall  not 
even  stay  long  enough  to  be  allowed  to  see  any  fruit,  which  might  possi- 
bly arise  from  preaching  in  this  city.''  But  his  spirit  was  stirred  within 
him:  therefore  he  made  daily  endeavours,  even  during  his  short  stay,  to 
make  known  the  Gospel  of  Christ  in  the  very  place  where  heathenism 
appeared  more  attractive  both  to  the  eyes  and  the  mind  of  an  attentive 
observer,  than  anywhere  else,  and  where  it  had  reached  the  highest 
degree  of  polish  and  imposing  splendour,  which  it  is  capable  of  attaining. 
And  when  called  upon  publicly  to  explain  and  avow  his  sentiments  on 
Mars'  Hill,  he  shrunk  not  back  from  the  arduous  duty.  On  the  summit 
of  that  interesting  rock,  under  the  frown  of  the  colossal  statue  of  Minerva 
which  looked  down  upon  him  from  the  Acropolis — in  full  view  of  the 
temple  of  Victory,  which  adorned  the  entrance  of  the  Acropolis,  of  the 
exquisitely  elegant  structure,  called  the  Erechtheum,  and  of  that  unri- 
valled masterpiece  of  architecture,  the  Parthenon,  he  hesitated  not  to 
declare,  that  the  Godhead  is  not  like  unto  gold  or  silver  or  stone,  graven  by 
art  and  man's  device,  and  that  God  dwelleth  not  in  temples  made  with  hands. 
On  the  very  spot,  where  the  most  celebrated  tribunal  of  all  antiquity  used 
to  hold  its  sittings,  he  boldly  spoke  of  a  far  more  solemn  tribunal,  from 
which  no  appeal  would  be  permitted, — and  proclaimed  to  his  hearers  the 
message  of  Christ,  who  then  would  be  their  judge,  but  who  now  invited 
them  to  repent,  and  to  accept  the  pardon  he  had  wrought  out  for  them  on 
the  cross  and  sealed  by  his  resurrection.  What  made  the  apostle  so 
bold?  His  spirit  was  stirred  within  him.  Within  the  distance  of  a  stone's 
throw  the  Acropolis  with  all  those  splendid  temples  arose  before  his  eyes  : 
on  the  left,  at  the  foot  of  the  hill  stood  the  temple  of  Theseus,  whilst  he 
was  looking  down  upon  ttie  city  spread  out  in  the  plain  below.  In  that 
city  no  less  than  175  Christian  churches  and  chapels,  mostly  erected  on  the 
site  of  former  heathen  sanctuaries,  could  be  pointed  out  as  late  as  1822,  and 
of  many  of  them  the  ruins  are  visible  to  this  day.  Even  now,  whilst  some 
temples  have  entirely  disappeared,  the  grandeur  of  the  remains  of  others 
would  render  it  difficult  to  speak  with  the  freedom  of  Paul  before  the 
nominally  Christian  descendants  of  the  ancient  Athenians  on  Mars'  Hill; 
what  courage,  what  stirring  zeal  must  therefore  have  filled  the  man,  who 
in  those  days  could  so  boldly  proclaim  the  Gospel  of  Christ  ! 

From  this  bright  example,  Mr.  W.  said  all  Christians  might  learn, 
that  it  was  their  duty  to  make  known  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  to  their 
fellow-men.  But  the  resolution  called  upon  him  to  show,  that  his  hearers 
were  under  a  peculiar  obligation  to  do  so.  The  darkness,  which  surround- 
ed them  on  every  side,  had  been  described  by  previous  speakers.  As  the 
friends  of  man,  their  spirits  must  bestirred  within  them,  whilst  beholding 


114 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Feb* 


the  degradation,  the  misery,  and  the  guilt  invariably  connected  with  ido- 
latry, and  necessarily  leading  to  an  eternity  of  wretchedness.  As  the 
friends  of  God  their  spirits  must  be  stirred  within  them,  when  reflect- 
ing upon  the  melancholy  truth,  that  millions  of  immortal  beings  not  only 
were  unacquainted  with  God  and  with  the  way  of  salvation,  but  daily 
treated  their  Creator  and  Benefactor  with  ingratitude,  and  were  serving 
Satan,  instead  of  Him.  The  past  history  of  India  might  point  out  to  them 
the  place  they  were  to  occupy.  The  Portuguese,  the  Spaniards,  the 
Dutch,  the  French  were  once  much  more  likely  to  obtain  possession  of 
India  ;  but  Providence  had  put  that  vast  country  into  the  hands  of  Great 
Britain,  not  without  some  important  design.  Had  that  design  hitherto 
been  realized  ?  No,  the  annals  even  of  British  dominion  in  India  were 
frequently  stained  with  the  record  of  avarice  and  cruelty  :  and  although 
for  some  time  past  better  things  bad  begun,  yet  it  could  not  be  said,  that 
the  plan  of  God  had  been  executed.  India  was  yet  to  be  evangelized. 
Christianity  yet  remained  to  be  firmly  planted  in  it.  The  openings  and 
facilities  were  neither  few  nor  common  :  the  liberal  principles  of  govern- 
ment, the  dense  population,  the  fondness  of  the  natives  for  religious 
discussions,  their  politeness  of  address,  their  unquenchable  thirst  after 
knowledge,  were  so  many  calls  for  personal  exertion  ;  whilst  the  number 
of  tracts  and  books,  and  especially  of  copies  of  the  sacred  volume,  afforded 
some  of  the  means  which  might  be  employed. 

The  position  of  Christians  in  India  was  peculiar.  Those  who  were 
now  living  in  that  country  ought  to  reflect  upon  their  privilege.  The 
work  of  planting  Christianity  there  was  but  just  commenced,  and  they 
were  evidently  the  persons,  through  whom  it  was  to  be  carried  on.  If  it 
were  not  so,  God  would  have  sent  other  people  to  India  :  he  might  have  sent 
their  forefathers  :  he  might  have  reserved  the  honour  to  their  children, 
or  bestowed  it  upon  persons  entirely  unconnected  with  them.  But  it  was 
not  so  :  he  had  placed  them  here,  to  lift  up  the  standard  of  the  cross,  to 
be  the  patterns  of  the  churches  to  be  gathered  from  the  heathen.  We  all 
knew  how  to  appreciate  this  privilege  when  enjoyed  by  others.  We  all  felt 
the  force  of  the  name  "  Father  of  modern  Missions,"  aptly  given  to  one, 
(Dr.  Carey,)  to  whose  memory  a  tablet  was  erected  in  this  very  chapel.  In 
worldly  affairs  all  knew  how  to  value  the  honour  of  taking  the  lead  in  any 
great  enterprise.  One  of  the  previous  speakers  (Mr.  Sutton)  had  alluded 
to  the  scenery  of  his  country.  He  hoped  he  might  be  allowed  to  mention 
a  fact  recorded  in  the  pages  of  its  history.  In  1444.  the  French,  with  a 
view  to  disperse  the  council  of  Basle  and  thereby  to  secure  the  favour  of 
Pope  Eugenius  IV.,  suddenly  entered  Switzerland  with  an  immense  army. 
To  divert  their  attention,  and  arrest  their  further  progress,  a  body  of 
1600  men  were  dispatched.  They  met  the  enemy  sooner  than  they  ex- 
pected ;  but  at  once  resolved  upon  an  attack,  and  drove  the  numerous 
host  back  across  a  river,  which  they  had  just  passed.  But  not  content 
with  this  victory,  or  with  the  booty  they  had  secured,  they  likewise  push- 
ed on,  and  began  a  desperate  conflict  with  the  numerous  enemy.  Alt  the 
1600  (with  the  exception  of  10,  who  had  not  been  able  to  cross  the  river) 
died  on  the  field  of  battle  in  defence  of  their  beloved  native  land,  and  at 
the  price  of  their  lives  bought  its  security  :  for  the  French  immediately 
withdrew.  Those  1600  felt  the  privilege  which  they  enjoyed,  of  being 
the  first  to  devote  themselves  to  so  noble  a  cause  :  and  whilst  Switzerland 
remained,  their  valour  would  be  held  in  glorious  remembrance.  We  were 
called  upon  to  devote  ourselves  to  an  object  infinitely  more  exalted  and 
sublime:  we  had  the  promise  given  us,  that  no  real  loss  should  attend  our 
efforts;  but  that  they  were  to  be  accompanied  with  unspeakable  bless- 
ings to  ourselves.  Ours  was  the  honour  of  being  among  the  first  in  the 
lists ;  those  who  were  to  follow  us,  would  occupy  a  less  momentous  posi- 


1840.] 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


115 


tion ;  therefore  it  became  us  to  show  a  sacred  emulation,  and  zealously  to 
follow  Him,  who  endured  the  cross  and  despised  the  shame.  The  short- 
ness of  life  gave  additional  weight  to  the  exhortation  of  Scripture, 
"  Whatsoever  thine  hand  findeth  to  do,  do  it  with  all  thy  might." 

3rd  Resolution,  proposed  by  the  Itev.  Mr.  Tucker,  and  seconded  by 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Smith, 

"  That  the  present  state  and  circumstances  of  this  Society  ;  the  extent  of  its  pre- 
sent operations,  and  the  wider  field  opening  ail  around  and  inviting  its  occupancy  ; 
the  number  of  native  preachers  already  employed  in  it,  and  the  number  more  who 
are  now  under  training  for  employment  ;  the  heavy  debt  at  this  moment  pressing 
ou  it.  and  the  amount  of  its  current  disbursements  ;  call  loudly  for  the  prompt  and 
liberal  assistance  of  the  Christian  public." 

Mr.  Tucker  in  proposing  this  resolution  said  that,  not  having  time,  he 
would  not  make  any  lengthened  observations.  He  hoped  that  the  con- 
gregation, (among  whom  there  was  a  stir,)  would  wait  and  enjoy  the  pri- 
vilege of  giving  their  contributions  in  support  of  the  Society.  Mr.  T. 
very  facetiously  mentioned  an  anecdote  about  the  "  pegs  and  the  hats," 
in  allusion  to  the  practice  of  road  side  beggars  in  England.  Applying  this 
anecdote  to  the  subject  of  the  resolution,  he  said  that  an  argument  for  a 
collection  may  be  called  figuratively  a  peg  to  hang  his  hat  upon,  and  that  the 
resolution  contained  six  arguments  for  a  collection,  and  consequently  pegs 
enough  to  support  six  hats.  Mr.  T.  was  sorry  to  find  that  the  Society  was 
much  in  debt,  though  he  did  not  feel  unhappy  that  the  debt  had  been  in- 
curred in  so  good  a  cause.  He  hoped  that  it  would  be  soon  liquidated 
through  the  liberality  of  the  Christian  public.  As  the  field  of  the  opera- 
tions of  this  Society  too  was  extended,  more  aid  was  required.  He  was 
glad  to  find  that  there  were  109  labourers  in  the  vineyard,  both  European 
and  native,  and  that  several  Hindu  youths  were  under  training  for  the 
work  of  the  Christian  ministry.  Who  knows,  said  the  eloquent  speaker, 
but  some  one  among  these  (pointing  to  some  of  the  native  youths  alluded 
to,  present  on  the  occasion)  would  in  time  be  a  Luther  or  a  Wickliffe 
among  their  own  countrymen,  and  overthrow  the  errors  and  superstitions 
which  pollute  these  lands  ?  It  was  very  desirable,  said  he,  that  the  na- 
tive Christian  churches  should  be  under  the  care  of  native  pastors.  Mr. 
T.  concluded  by  observing,  that  India  owed  all  her  spiritual  privileges  to 
Missionaries. 

Mr.  Smith,  in  seconding  the  resolution,  said,  that  he  was  sorry  to  find 
that  the  Society  was  in  debt,  though  happily  it  was  incurred  in  the  fur- 
therance of  the  noblest  of  all  causes.  It  was  the  duty  as  well  as  the  pri- 
vilege of  Christians  to  forward  the  work  of  evangelizing  the  heathen  by 
all  the  means  in  their  power.  Christians,  Mr.  S.  observed,  promise  to  aid 
the  cause  of  God  by  their  prayers  ;  but  if  they  fail  to  do  it  also  by  their 
property,  the  sincerity  of  their  prayers  may  be  questioned.  Fervent 
prayers,  on  behalf  of  the  success  of  God's  cause,  are  more  valuable  than 
money,  yet  the  latter  is  a  means  which  must  be  availed  of.  The  Society 
who  sent  Dr.  Carey  out  to  India  began  their  operations  with  less  than  £7, 
which  proves  that  money  in  such  a  cause  was  not  of  the  first  importance. 
Yet  had  not  that  mission  received  subsequently  large  contributions,  their 
work  would  have  been,  in  a  great  measure,  impeded.  All  should  give 
cheerfully,  and  all  should  give  according  to  their  ability.  Those  that 
have  this  world's  goods  should  be  sensible  of  the  obligation  they  are  laid 
under  ot  enhancing  the  glory  of  God  with  their  substance  ;  and  those  who 
are  poor  may  give  what  they  can,  recollecting  that  the  widow's  mite  was 
not  only  not  despised,  but  considered  by  the  Saviour  as  the  richest  contri- 
bution into  God's  treasury,  because  it  was  given  with  a  willing  heart. 

4th  Resolution,  proposed  by  Rev.  Mr.  Campbell,  seconded  by  Rev. 
Mr.  Boaz. 

"  That  the  following  Ministers  and  Gentlemen  be  the  officers  and  Committee  of 
the  Society  for  the  ensuing  year. 


116  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


"  Treasurer,  Mr.  I.  B.  Biss.  Secretaries,  Rev.  F.  Tucker,  and  Rev.  J.  Thomas. 
Committee.  Rev.  Messrs.  C.  C.  Aratoon,  R.  Bayne,  J.  D.  Ellis,  T.  Morgan,  W. 
H.  Pearce,  J.  Wenger,  W.  Yates,  Messrs.  J.  S.  Biss,  W.  N.  Garrett,  15.  Grey, 
P.  Holmes,  C.  Holmes,  H.  Kemp,  J.  Rowe,  J.  Sykes,  M.  Wittinbaker,  and  S.  G. 
Wyatt." 

Mr.  Campbell,  in  proposing  this  resolution,  spoke  on  the  importance  of 
a  working  Committee  ;  on  the  very  heavy  responsibility  which  rested 
upon  all  persons  appointed  to  carry  on  the  work  of  God  ;  and  the  high 
degree  of  criminality  attached  to  the  neglect  of  the  duty.  He  also  advert- 
ed to  the  folly  and  criminality  which  attached  to  those  who  appointed 
such  Committee,  without  any  desire  and  feeling  to  sustain  them  in  their 
work.  The  Rev.  speaker  further  adverted  to  the  vast  importance  of  the 
Entally  Institution,  as  a  means  for  educating  pious  youth  for  the  Christian 
Ministry. 

Mr.  Boaz,  in  seconding  the  Resolution,  remarked,  that  although  late  in 
the  evening  he  could  not  refrain  from  offering  one  or  two  remarks,  espe- 
cially as  he  had  been  asked  to  take  an  earlier  part  in  the  proceedings, 
although  circumstances  had  prevented  him  from  complying  with  that  re- 
quest. He  could  most  fully  concur  in  the  remarks  of  the  last  speaker,  as 
it  regarded  the  indisposition  of  a  Committee  to  labor,  if  they  did  but  obtain 
a  working  Treasurer  or  Secretary.  He  hoped  it  would  not  be  the  case 
with  this  Society.  He  could  not  say,  however,  that  the  laity  were  ever 
backward  in  coming  forward  with  their  aid,  if  the  cause  was  good  and 
needed  support  ;  on  this  account  he  trusted  that  the  heavy  debt  under 
which  the  Society  labored  would  soon  be  wiped  off.  He  had  just  been  on 
a  vessel  parting  with  a  friend — it  was  a  scene  of  grief:  there  were  parent 
and  children,  husbands  and  wives  in  the  deepest  sorrow,  and  why  ?  They 
were  about  to  part,  perhaps  to  meet  no  more  on  earth,  and  yet  hope  did 
faintly  light  up  their  future.  One  parent  had  given  a  vast  sum,  amounting 
to  several  hundreds  of  rupees,  for  a  trust-worthy  person  to  take  care  of  the 
health  and  morals  of  his  child,  that  he  might  meet  it,  if  ever  he  should, 
with  joy  and  not  with  grief  :—  was  there  not  a  lesson  for  us  in  this  scene? 
We,  as  Christians,  are  daily  surrounded  by  thousands  of  those  who  are  of 
one  common  brotherhood  with  us, — hasting  to  an  awful  eternity  ; — many 
of  these,  it  is  to  be  feared,  unfitted  and  unblessed  :  and  shall  we  feel  less, 
shall  we  do  less  than  these  parting  friends  ?  Every  thing  conspires  to 
forbid  it  ;  let  us  do  every  thing  for  their  happiness,  and  give  amply  of 
our  substance  for  their  protection  in  the  highest  sense  of  the  term.  He 
said,  when  he  entered  the  sanctuary,  he  felt  very  chilly  and  cold  ;  and 
when  he  endeavoured  to  ascertain  the  cause  why  he  should  be  so  in  a  place 
so  apparently  cheerful  and  warm,  he  found  it  was  because  he  was  sitting 
alone  and  in  a  cold  place  :  when  he  came  forward  and  sat  in  the  midst  of 
his  brethren  and  the  assembly,  he  felt  immediately  warmed  and  cheered. 
Might  we  not  read  a  lesson  in  this  also? — Christian  effort  is  cheerless  and 
cold  when  carried  on  alone ;  we  should  unite,  and  then  shall  we  be  warm  ; 
we  should  come  together,  and  then  shall  we  he  cheered.  He  regretted  to 
hear  that  the  Society  was  so  deeply  involved — surely  this  ought  not  to 
remain  long  as  an  incubus  on  the  Society.  Many  had  left  the  place,  and 
the  collection  had  been  made  ;  hut  he  nevertheless  feared  that  the  col- 
lection would  not  co\er  the  insolvency:  he  would  therefore  suggest  that 
all  those  who  could  should  add  to  that  which  they  had  already  given,  and 
those  who  had  given  nothing,  should  give  now,  and  those  who  had  left 
should  be  denied  the  privilege.  The  reverend  gentleman  related  one  or 
two  instances  in  point  which  had  occurred  in  England,  and  proposed  that 
the  parties  present  should  endeavour  to  aid  the  Society  in  wiping  off  the 
debt,  that  the  Committee  might  pursue  the  even  tenour  of  their  way  with 
alacrity  and  peace. 

The  Chairman  offered  a  few  appropriate  observations  in  conclusion,  and 
the  meeting  concluded  with  prayer.  The  collection,  we  understand, 
amounted  to  nearly  four  hundred  rupees. 


THE 

CHRISTIAN  OBSERVER. 


(Neto  Series.) 
No.  3.— MARCH,  1840. 


I. — Hindu  Female  Education.  By  Priscilla  Chapman.  Lon- 
don, 1839. 

First  Report  of  the  Scottish  Ladies'  Association  for  the  ad- 
vancement of  Female  Education  in  India  under  the  Super- 
intendence of  Missionaries  of  the  Church  of  Scotland. 
Edinburgh,  1839. 

Few  objects,  if  any,  are  nearer  our  heart  than  the  Christian 
education  of  the  whole  people  of  India — rich  and  poor — male 
and  female.  But  if  we  were  to  examine  narrowly,  we  might 
perhaps  find  that  at  present  the  subject  of  female  education 
occupies  the  greater  share  of  our  attention  : — and  that  for  two 
special  reasons; — first,  because  of  its  own  intrinsic  importance, 
and  secondly,  because  of  the  comparatively  little  attention  that 
has  been  paid  to  it,  and  the  small  exertions  that  have  been  made 
to  overcome  the  mighty  obstacles  that  confessedly  lie  in  the 
way  of  introducing  a  general  system  of  Christian  Education 
among  the  females  of  this  vast  country. 

As  to  the  importance  of  female  education  we  might  fill  a 
volume,  without  saying  a  word  that  would  give  any  new  idea 
to  a  single  Christian  reader  :  for  the  subject  is  patent  to  ordi- 
nary observation,  and  cannot  fail  to  stand  out  in  its  vast  mag- 
nitude before  the  minds  of  all  who  shall  but  direct  towards  it 
the  eye  of  an  intelligent  and  Christian  regard.  As  well  as  the 
education  of  the  other  sex,  that  of  females  has  souls  for  its 
objects,  and  its  results  in  reference  to  these  souls  stretch  out 
into  the  duration  of  endless  ages.  As  in  every  community  the 
number  of  males  and  females  is  nearly  equal,  and  as  in  the 
estimation  of  God  and  of  every  rational  man,  a  woman's  soul 
as  well  as  a  man's  is  unspeakably  precious,  the  first  blush  of 
the  subject  presents  it  to  us  invested  with  an  importance  not 

VOL.   I.  R 


118 


Hindu  Female  Education.  [March, 


inferior  to  that  which  attaches  to  the  education  of  the  other  sex. 
But  when  we  consider  certain  other  hearings  of  the  case — as 
the  miserable  state  of  degradation  in  which  the  females  of 
India  are  sunk — their  seclusion  from  all  other  modes  of  men- 
tal enlightenment — and  the  vast  influence  which  the  female 
character  must  exercise  over  every  community,  the  subject  is 
invested  with  such  an  overwhelming  interest  that  we  cannot 
approach  it  without  a  feeling  allied  to  fear — that  kind  of  awe 
which  we  may  suppose  to  occupy  the  soldier's  mind  on  the  eve 
of  the  battle  which  is  to  decide  the  question  of  his  country's 
liberty — or  that  dread  solemnity  which  may  be  supposed  to 
be  felt  by  the  general  who  leads  an  army  to  the  base  of  some 
ancient  fortress,  which  he  sees  to  be  impregnable,  yet  knows 
that  he  must  take,  or  else  consign  the  expedition  to  irretrieva- 
ble failure.  With  what  feelings  does  he  sit  down  to  its  invest- 
ment, resolved  to  do  by  means  of  time  and  famine  what  cannot 
be  effected  by  the  power  of  active  warfare  !  And  does  not  the 
stronghold  of  female  ignorance  seem  at  present  impregnable  ? 
Garrisoned  by  veteran  hosts  of  prejudice  and  sin, — ruled  over 
with  strictest  discipline  and  defended  with  craftiest  policy  by 
Satan  himself,  it  raises  its  moss-clad  battlements  to  the  clouds, 
and  scowls  haughty  defiance  on  the  little  band  that  threatens 
to  beleaguer  it.  As  yet  the  least  important  outposts  are  scarcely 
taken  ;  the  fortress  stands  in  appearance  as  gloomy  and  in 
fabric  as  strong  as  in  other  days.  Time  which  changes  all 
else,  seems  to  make  no  impression  on  this  hell-built  pile  ;  and 
so  it  is  even  as  it  seems.  If  we  trust  that  time  will  work  any 
important  improvement,  we  shall  most  certainly  be  disappoint- 
ed. If  we  wait  till  the  natural  progress  of  events  shall  make 
female  education  an  easy  work,  we  shall  wait  for  ever.  And 
while  we  wait  the  souls  of  thousands  are  going  yearly  into  the 
presence  of  their  judge,  unjustified,  unsanctified,  unsaved. 
Thousands  of  children  are  yearly  born,  and  the  earliest  and  most 
important  part  of  their  education  is  committed  to  ignorant 
mothers,  who  rear  them  as  children  of  wrath.  The  end  of  the 
world  would  come  if  we  still  should  wait,  and  the  last  trumpet 
would  surprise  millions  of  immortal  souls  who  had  not  heard 
of  the  Saviour's  name.  But  this  may  not  be :  we  may  not, 
we  must  not  thus  wait :  the  gospel  must  be  preached  to  all, 
as  a  witness  to  all,  before  the  end  come. 

We  are  at  all  times  anxious  that  all  exertions  for  making 
known  the  truth  of  God  to  perishing  souls  should  be  based 
upon  the  right  foundation.  The  command  of  God  ought 
always  to  form  the  grand  motive  of  action,  the  indefeasible 
promises  of  God  are  the  only  sure  basis  on  which  to  rest  our 
hopes  of  success.    But  surely  to  creatures  constituted  as  we 


1840.]  Hindu  Female  Education. 


119 


are,  gifted  by  our  Creator  with  innumerable  sensibilities,  feel 
ings  and  desires,  it  is  not  forbidden  to  have  regard  in  a  subor- 
dinate degree  to  those  inferior  motives  which  are  calculated 
to  excite  the  various  sensibilities  of  our  souls,  and  which  con- 
spire with  the  command  of  God  to  propel  us  to  action  for  the 
good  of  the  souls  of  our  brethren.  Thu9  while  Paul,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  commandment  of  God  which  was  laid  upon  him, 
declares  regarding  himself,  "  Woe  is  me  if  I  preach  not  the 
gospel ;"  it  is  also  related  by  the  inspired  historian  regarding 
him,  that  his  spirit  was  stirred  within  him  when  he  saw  the 
Athenian  city  wholly  given  to  idolatry.  And  if  we  have  any 
portion  of  that  Spirit  which  actuated  the  Apostle,  we  shall  not 
remain  indifferent  spectators  of  the  spiritual  and  mental  de- 
gradation of  the  females  around  us.  What  though,  we  may  not 
see  their  degradation  and  misery  so  visibly  spread  out  before 
us,  as  was  the  idolatry  of  the  Athenians  before  the  eyes  of 
Paid  ?  What  though  the  greater  part  of  Indian  females  and 
their  sufferings  are  alike  unseen  ?  What  though,  sbut  out  from 
the  light  of  day  and  almost  from  the  air  of  heaven,  they  drag 
out  the  lives  of  slaves,  subject  to  the  despotic  rule  of  tyrants 
who  usurp  the  name  of  husbands  ?  What  though  they  have  no 
attentive  ear  or  sympathizing  heart  into  which  they  can  pour 
the  tale  of  their  heavy  woes  ? — is  their  suffering  on  that  account 
the  less  real  ?  Shall  we  on  that  account  refuse  to  shed  a  tear 
over  their  misery  ?  Shall  we  on  that  account  refuse  to  offer  up 
a  prayer  on  their  behalf  in  sincerity  and  faith  ?  Shall  we  on  that 
account  be  less  zealous  in  making  exertions  to  remedy  their 
condition?  If  we  cannot  benefit  them  materially  in  this  world, 
6hall  we  not  do  what  God  enables  us  to  do,  and  give  them  that 
which  will  make  all  their  afflictions,  though  for  the  present 
grievous,  work  out  for  them  an  exceeding  and  eternal  weight 
of  glory  ?  Shall  the  bolts  and  bars  of  the  zanana  shut  out  Chris- 
tian sympathy  ?  Shall  we.  turn  away  because  we  cannot  see 
that  misery,  of  which  we  know  that  it  is  at  once  an  element  and 
an  aggravation  that  it  is  not  permitted  to  be  seen  ?  God 
forbid  ! 

And  here  it  will  be  well  to  state  explicitly,  what  that  is 
which  in  our  estimation  is  the  main  constituent  in  the  com- 
position of  female  distress  in  India.  They  must  have  but 
little  knowledge  of  the  state  of  Hindu  females,  or  little  capa- 
bility of  estimating  those  distresses  which  lie  deeper  than  the 
mere  bodily  sensations,  who  deem  it  needful,  in  order  to  create 
sympathy  on  behalf  of  the  females  of  India,  to  rake  up  the 
embers  of  the  extinguished  sati,  or  dwell  upon  the  horrors 
of  the  prohibited  system  of  female  infanticide.  We  have  heard 
and  read  certain  declamations,  whose  tone  and  spirit  would 
r  2 


120 


Hindu  Female  Education. 


[March, 


almost  make  one  suppose  that  their  authors  regretted  the 
abolition  of  these  horrid  practices,  because  by  their  abolition 
the  said  declaimers  are  deprived  of  a  most  exciting  topic  for 
harrowing  the  souls  of  their  auditors,  and  producing  a  kind  of 
interest  which  might  haply  issue  in  the  gift  of  some  paltry 
gold,  and  it  may  be  the  effusion  of  some  sentimental  tears. 
With  what  art  do  they  strive  to  render  it  ambiguous  whether 
those  scenes,  which  with  pencils  dipped  in  blood  they  strive 
to  paint,  belong  to  the  past  or  the  present  day  !  What  poetic 
confusion  of  times  and  tenses  do  they  employ,  as  if  for  the 
purpose  of  presenting  to  the  eyes  of  their  auditors  as  being 
now  enacted,  which,  thanks  be  to  God,  are  closed  forever ! 
While  these  abominations  were  actually  being  practised,  no 
language  too  strong  could  be  employed  in  their  condemnation  ; 
but  now  they  are  abolished,  the  dwelling  upon  them  can  only 
excite  those  feelings  which  should  be  reserved  for  realities. 
The  human  mind  is  too  delicate  a  piece  of  mechanism  to  be 
wound  up  when  it  has  no  work  to  do ;  every  time  it  is  so 
wound  up  and  allowed  to  run  idly  down,  the  fine  edges  of  its 
sympathies  are  abraded,  and  it  becomes  at  last  unfit  for  active 
duty  altogether.  In  every  way  it  is  bad  policy  to  go  back 
upon  other  days,  and  represent  their  appalling  practices  as  if 
they  were  the  practices  of  the  present  day.  By  dwelling  upon 
these  fearful  effects  which  no  longer  exist,  we  are  apt  to  lose 
sight  of  the  cause  which  does  still  exist  in  undiminished  force. 
Those  practices  moreover,  when  they  did  exist,  were  proper 
subjects  for  legislative  interference  ;  the  legislature  did  inter- 
teifere,  and  did  abolish  the  inhuman  practices.  But  the  root 
of  female  misery  lies  in  a  region  into  which  legislative  enact- 
ments cannot  penetrate.  Great  as  is  the  honour  conferred 
by  God  upon  Civil  Governments,  and  upon  the  Government 
of  this  country  in  particular,  as  His  own  ministers  for  good, 
there  is  a  higher  department  of  His  work  which  He  reserves 
for  His  Church  :  and  to  this  department  clearly  belongs  the 
digging  out  of  the  root  of  female  misery  in  India.  When  the 
practices  in  question  existed,  they  were  but  a  few  twigs  more 
on  the  baneful  tree.  Now  that  they  are  lopped  off,  the  tree 
is  shorn  no  doubt  of  some  of  its  leaves,  but  scarcely  curtailed 
in  its  dimensions,  and  retaining  all  its  vigour  of  growth,  it  still 
spreads  far  and  wide  its  upas  shade. 

The  root  of  all  the  miseries  of  Hindu  females  is  ignorance, 
sinful  ignorance — ignorance  of  God  and  of  the  relation  in 
which  men  stand  to  God.  Now  if  we  could  paint  the  Egyp- 
tian darkness  in  which  the  females  of  this  land  are  sunk,  it 
would  be  admitted  that  we  needed  not  add  the  lurid  flames  of 
the  sati  in  order  to  give  a  horrifying  effect  to  the  picture. 


1 840.]  Hindu  Female  Education. 


J21 


Let  any  reader  retrace  step  by  step  the  journey  of  his  life ; 
let  him  at  every  step  endeavour  in  imagination  to  divest  him- 
self of  those  ideas  and  impressions  that  he  has  received  from 
books,  from  intercourse  with  enlightened  men,  and  from  what 
is  commonly  styled  education,  until  he  realizes  his  state  as  an 
untutored  babe,  with  his  mind  all  blank,  save  in  so  far  as 
filled  with  the  seeds  of  that  depravity  which  he  has  inherited 
from  the  founders  of  our  race.  Let  him  from  this  starting-point 
conceive  himself  to  begin  the  race  of  life  anew,  and  pursue 
it  under  the  influence  of  all  those  circumstances  which  are 
best  suited  to  give  development  to  his  innate  corruption,  and 
removed  from  all  mental  enlightenment  and  moral  training 
and  spiritual  discipline.    In  what  state  would  he  find  himself? 
An  idiot  ?  A  madman  ?  Yes,  an  idiot  in  ignorance,  a  madman 
in  outrage  ;  yet  an  idiot,  a  madman,  responsible  to  God  and 
man.    Such  are  the  native  females  of  this  country.    Shut  up 
from  the  period  when  reason  dawns  in  a  zauaua  whose  air  is 
often  tainted,  and  whose  moral  atmosphere  is  always  impreg- 
nated with  the  seeds  of  poison,  they  arrive  at  the  years 
of  womanhood  fit  for  nothing  else  (but  eminently  fitted  for 
this)  than  to  be  the  irrational  ministers  of  their  masters'  lusts. 
Their  condition  is  described  with  awful  vividness  by  a  single 
master-stroke  of  the  native  pencil.    A  young  man  not  long 
ago  determined  to  embrace  Christianity.    His  father  reasoned 
with  him,  entreated  him,  threatened  him  ;  but  all  in  vain. 
The  work  was  of  God,  and  man  could  not  prevail  against  it. 
"When  threats,  promises  and  entreaties  were  alike  unavailing, 
the  father  in  the  extreme  bitterness  of  his  soul  at  length  ex- 
claimed, "Well,  if  I  cannot  have  a  son  I  shall  at  least  have  a 
daughter."    Our  European  readers  may  not  understand  this, 
but  in  this  country  it  will  be  but  too  well  understood,  especially 
by  our  Missionary  brethren.    They  will  know  that  he  was 
expressing  his  resolution  to  destroy  the  intellect  of  his  son  by 
means  of  those  drugs,  which  have  been  more  than  once  admi- 
nistered with  fatal  success  to  tbose  who  could  not  in  any 
other  way  be  prevented  from  renouncing  the  superstitions  of 
their  fathers.    To  destroy  all  the  faculties  of  the  human  mind 
then,  and  to  convert  a  son  into  a  daughter,  are  one  and  the 
same  thing.  Oh  God,  is  this  the  creature  of  whom  thou  saidst, 
"  I  will  make  a  help-meet  for  man  ?"  Is  this  the  creature  that 
in  the  ascending  scale  of  thy  works  came  last  from  thy  creat- 
ing hand  ?    Is  this  the  creature  whom  thou  didst  at  first 
endow  with  thine  own  image,  and  make  fit  for  holding  com- 
munion with  thyself  ?    Is  this  the  creature  whom  poets  have 
in  all  ages  sung,  and  on  whom  they  have  impiously  lavished 
the  epithets  which  pertain  only  to  Thee  ?    Behold,  good  God, 
how  sin  has  marred  thy  best  and  fairest  works  ! 


122 


Hindu  Female  Education. 


[March, 


If  there  were  ten,  or  twenty,  or  a  hundred  of  our  fellow- 
creatures  in  this  melancholy  condition,  our  sympathy  might 
well  be  awakened,  and  our  most  strenuous  energies  called 
forth  for  the  alleviation  of  their  misery.  But  those  of  whose 
state  this  is  an  imperfect  description  are  the  women  of  a  vast 
nation  ;  they  are  to  he  numbered  by  tens  of  millions.  They 
are  those  who  are  to  be  chiefly  employed  in  moulding  the 
characters  of  future  generations  ;  thev  are  the  aggregate  of 
the  mothers,  and  of  those  who  are  to  be  the  mothers,  of  one  of 
the  largest  nations  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  They  are  those 
upon  whom  depends  in  an  incalculable  degree,  the  well-being 
of  millions  unborn.  In  a  word,  and  almost  without  a  figure, 
they  are  those  into  whose  hands  God  has  committed  the  des- 
tinies of  Hindustan.  No  one  will  think  this  language  too 
strong,  who  knows  aught  of  the  abiding  power  of  a  mother's 
lessons  and  a  Christian  mother's  prayers,  who  places  due  reli- 
ance on  the  promise  that  the  child  who  is  trained  in  the  way 
that  he  should  go,  shall  not  depart  from  it  when  he  is  old. 
We  have  heard  it  said  by  a  venerable  minister,  that  when 
India  shall  have  become  a  Christian  land,  it  will  be  found  that 
the  greater  proportion  of  the  work  of  its  evangelization  has 
been  accomplished  by  means  of  maternal  instructions. 

Such  a  view  of  the  matter  tends  to  alter  the  position  which 
the  subject  of  female  education  occupies  in  many  minds. 
Many  seem  to  look  upon  it  as  so  far  subordinate  to  the  other 
departments  of  Missionary  work,  that  it  must  be  deferred  till 
these  other  operations  have  so  far  wrought  their  way  as  to 
render  the  accomplishment  of  this  part  of  the  work  a  matter 
of  ease  ;  but  if  the  view  we  have  taken  be  correct,  it  ought 
clearly  to  be  regarded  as  one  of  the  first  of  Missionary  works, 
both  in  the  scale  of  importance  and  in  order  of  time.  No 
doubt  if  India  were  a  Christian  land,  many  of  the  grand  ob- 
stacles that  lie  in  the  way  of  female  education  would  be 
removed.  But  then  how  is  India  ever  to  become  a  Christian 
land  apart  from  the  influence  of  female  education  ?  It  would 
often  be  a  much  easier  matter  to  demonstrate  some  of  the 
theorems  of  geometry,  if  we  knew  beforehand  some  of  the 
succeeding  propositions ;  but  how  are  these  succeeding  propo- 
sitions to  be  demonstrated  without  the  aid  of  the  preceding  ? 
If  we  would  arrive  at  the  end,  we  must  begin  at  the  begin- 
ning. If  there  be  difficulties  in  the  way,  that  is  no  reason  for 
declining  the  work,  but  only  for  applying  to  it  the  greater 
energy.  We  confess,  however,  that  difficulty  is  a  word  that  we 
do  not  like  to  use  in  reference  to  Missionary  operations.  The 
work  is  God's  ;  it  is  to  be  performed  instrumentally  by  the 
Church  of  God.    But  God  is  omnipotent,  and  the  Church  can 


1840.] 


Hindu  Female  Education. 


123 


do  all  things  through  Christ  strengthening  her.  The  work  of 
female  education  is  pre-eminently  a  work  of  faith.  They  who 
undertake  it  are  constrained  perpetually  to  feel  and  acknow- 
ledge that  it  is  so.  Now  we  hold  every  thing  that  produces 
such  a  consciousness  of  human  imbecility  and  nothingness  to 
be  rather  a  facility  ;  hence  would  we  rather  glory  in  our 
infirmities. 

With  our  minds  filled  with  these  thoughts  we  are  in  the 
best  manner  prepared  for  proceeding  to  make  a  few  remarks 
on  the  small  works  under  review.  Mrs.  Chapman's  book  is 
very  pleasantly  written.  Free  from  pretension,  it  performs 
all  that  it  promises.  It  gives  a  very  fair  estimate  of  the  state 
of  the  native  women,  and  details  the  operations  of  Mrs.  Wilson 
and  the  ladies  connected  with  the  Church  Missionary  Society  for 
their  relief.  It  catalogues  the  operations  of  others  in  the  same 
good  cm  use,  and  is  altogether  well  fitted  to  give  to  European 
readers,  for  whose  use  we  presume  it  was  chiefly  intended,  a 
very  fair  idea  of  the  state  of  things  in  and  around  Calcutta.  It 
is  written  in  an  unassuming  style,  breathes  much  of  the  Spirit 
of  Christian  love,  and  pleases  us  by  its  simple  Wordsworth- 
like descriptions  of  manners  and  scenery.  Altogether  it  is  a 
pleasant,  and  we  hope  will  prove  a  useful  book. 

The  Report  of  the  Scottish  Ladies'  Society  contains  not  a 
little  interesting  matter  in  regard  to  proceedings  in  Western 
India,  where,  as  we  doubt  not  our  readers  are  all  aware,  ano- 
ther Mrs.  Wilson  was  honoured  of  God  to  begin  the  work, 
and  where  by  the  blessing  of  God  it  is  prospering,  now  that 
she  has  ceased  from  her  labours  and  entered  into  rest. 

From  the  former  work  we  learn  that  of  all  the  females  of 
Bengal  probably  not  more  than  five  hundred  (say  600)  are 
under  the  influence  of  Christian  Instruction  ;  while  we  learn 
from  the  latter,  that  the  Scottish  Society  have  not  yet  made  a 
beginning  of  the  work  in  this  part  of  India.  We  learn  more- 
over that  at  the  date  of  the  report  the  Society  had  in  its  trea- 
sury several  hundred  pounds  (£646  19  9^).  So  far  as  we 
have  learned  from  Scotland,  the  Society  has  had  no  consider- 
able outlay  since  that  time,  and  must  have  had  a  large  income  ; 
hence  we  may  presume  that  by  this  time  it  has  a  large  sum  of 
money,  given  by  God  to  be  expended  in  this  service,  hid  in  a 
napkin  and  buried  in  the  earth.  We  question  the  propriety 
of  this. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  grand  obstacle  to  female  educa- 
tion is  the  absence  of  all  secular  motives  to  prompt  the  natives 
to  seek  after  it.  The  boys  attend  our  schools  at  first,  merely 
in  the  hope  of  being  qualified  for  lucrative  employments ; 
while  those  girls  who  do  attend  school  have  generally  been 


124 


Hindu  Female  Education. 


[March, 


bribed  in  the  first  instance  to  attend  by  the  regular  or  occa- 
sional donation  of  a  few  pice,  given  either  directly  to  them- 
selves or  to  those  who  procure  their  attendance.  The  natives 
generally  do  not  yet  seek  knowledge  for  its  own  sake.  The  appe- 
tite for  it  has  yet  to  be  excited.  But  how  is  it  to  be  excited  ? 
Just  by  communicating  knowledge  itself.  There  is  a  natural 
instinct  in  the  human  breast,  which  prompts  every  individual 
to  seek  after  knowledge  when  once  he  has  tasted  its  sweet- 
ness. Up  to  a  certain  point  the  appetite  is  dormant ;  but  that 
point  once  passed,  and  the  appetite  called  into  action,  it  can 
never  be  allayed.  This  then  is  just  one  of  the  difficulties 
which  are  to  become  facilities  by  sending  us  direct  to  God, 
who  turns  the  hearts  of  men  as  the  rivers  of  water.  It  is 
believed  that  there  does  already  exist  in  the  native  mind  so 
much  of  something  like  a  due  appreciation  of  education,  as  will 
give  rise  to  a  demand  fully  commensurate  with  our  present 
means  of  supply.  Next  to  the  prevalent  indifference  as  to 
female  education,  is  the  custom  of  the  country,  sanctioned  by 
long  usage,  of  secluding  the  females  after  they  have  passed  the 
years  of  childhood.  This  custom,  save  in  respect  of  the  lowest 
classes,  it  seems  impossible  for  a  long  time  to  get  over.  The 
females  must  be  educated  before  it  can  be  got  over.  Here  then 
we  come  directly  to  this  conclusion,  if  it  be  impossible  to  get 
the  daughters  of  the  higher  classes  of  natives  to  attend  schools 
till  once  they  have  been  taught,  then  we  must  teach  them 
without  requiring  their  attendance  in  school.  If  the  men  of 
India  will  not  permit  their  female  relatives  to  come  to  us  for 
instruction,  we  must  become  all  things  to  all  men,  and  must 
send  our  teachers  to  them.  Again,  in  the  absence  of  prospects 
of  worldly  advantage,  we  must  endeavour  to  make  female  edu- 
cation a  respectable  thing ;  and  this  can  only  be  done  by 
vigorous  efforts  to  introduce  it  among  what  are  commonly  styled 
the  respectable  classes.  But  this  again  can  be  effected  only 
by  sending  European  ladies  to  teach  the  females  in  their  own 
apartments.  Although  there  is  not  so  much  desire  for  female 
education  that  natives  of  any  of  the  higher  classes  would  set  at 
defiance  the  custom  of  their  country,  and  send  their  daughters  to 
schools  in  order  to  procure  it,  nor  so  much  that  many  of  them 
would  pay  for  it  if  offered  them  in  their  own  houses,  yet  do  we 
confidently  believe  that  if  a  Society,  such  as  that  whose  report 
we  have  now  before  us,  would  send  out  several  well-qualified 
female  teachers  who  should  offer  gratuitous  instruction  to  the 
females  in  their  own  houses,  they  would  very  soon  have  their 
hands  full  of  employment.  And  in  a  few  years  the  cause  would 
by  that  means  so  far  gain  respectability,  that  the  middling  and 
lower  classes  would  with  tenfold  avidity  seek  after  instruction 


1840.] 


Hindu  Female  Education. 


125 


in  schools.  We  are  aware  that  at  first  there  would  be  much 
shuffling  and  evasion  ;  many  would  eagerly  seek  after  teachers, 
and,  when  they  found  that  they  were  attainable,  would  decline 
their  attendance.  Some  would  begin  with  alacrity  and  would 
soon  flag  in  their  zeal  ;  the  first  case  of  conversion,  if  God  were 
pleased  so  far  to  bless  the  work,  would  produce  a  temporary 
re-action,  and  many  doors  would  be  barred  against  the  ingress 
of  Christianity,  which  had  been  thrown  open  for  the  admittance 
of  European  accomplishments.  But  perseverance  and  faith 
would  surmount  all  these  and  every  other  obstacle.  e(  Pains 
and  prayer  (said  John  Elliott)  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus  can  do 
any  thing." 

As  a  beginning,  if  three  well  qualified  female  teachers  were 
sent  out,  they  might  undertake  the  instruction  of  8  or  10 
families  privately,  and  at  the  same  time  conduct  with  native 
assistance  a  public  school,  one  being  always  employed  in  the 
school  and  two  proceeding  from  house  to  house.  In  a  matter 
of  this  kind,  we  do  not  like  to  go  into  very  nice  calculations 
of  expenditure  and  return  ;  nor  in  this  case  is  it  possible.  But 
surely  it  is  no  visionary  expectation  that  three  ladies  at  an 
expense  to  the  Society  of  £600  to  £800  a  year  might  teach 
publicly  and  privately  150  native  females.  And  those  who 
would  grudge  this  outlay  for  the  purpose  of  opening  the  foun- 
tain of  knowledge  to  so  many  human  beings,  have  yet  to  learn 
the  meaning  of  the  Divine  declaration,  "  That  the  soul  be 
without  knowledge,  it  is  not  good." 

We  have  submitted  this  proposal  to  several  Christian  friends 
of  experience  in  this  matter,  and  shall  append  the  answers  of 
two  of  them  to  several  questions  proposed  to  them — those  of 
Mrs.  Wilson  and  those  of  the  Rev.  Krishna  Mohan  Banar- 
ji.  It  were  vain  to  multiply  favorable  opinions,  as  these  are 
in  themselves  a  host,  coming  as  they  do  from  one  of  the  most 
intelligent  natives  in  Calcutta,  well  acquainted  with  all  the 
customs  and  modes  of  thinking  and  acting  of  his  country-men, 
and  burning  with  desire  to  rescue  them  from  their  present  state 
of  bondage,  and  bring  them  to  the  enjoyment  of  that  Christian 
liberty  with  which  he  has  been  himself  made  free ;  and  from 
the  lady  of  whom  the  least  that  we  can  say  is,  that  she  has  done 
by  far  the  most  of  any  person  in  India  for  the  promotion  of 
this  great  work.  May  God  in  mercy  grant,  that  it  maybe  long 
before  we  or  our  successors  in  the  Editorial  chair  shall  be  call- 
ed upon  to  say  of  her  all  that  we  think. 

Questions  proposed  to  Mrs.  Wilson,  with  her  answers. 

1. —  What  do  you  suppose  may  be  the  whole  number  of  Bengali  females 
now  alive  that  have  received  what  may  be  culled  a  tolerable  education  ? 
I  cannot  venture  an  opinion. 
VOL.  I.  S 


126 


Hindu  Female  Education. 


[March, 


2.  —  What  may  be  the  number  of  females  in  Bengdl  actually  at  present 
under  instruction'? 

I  know  only  of  about  500  girls. 

3.  — Have  any  of  those  females  whom  you  have  educated,  afterwards  sent 
their  children  to  your  schools,  or  to  any  other  schools,  that  you  have  known  f 

Frequently  mothers  have  come  with  tlieir  little  girls,  reminding  us 
that  they  were  taught  in  our  schools  themselves,  and  appearing  delighted 
thus  to  renew  the  acquaintance. 

4.  — If  this  has  been  the  case,  have  you  observed  that  these  children  of  edu- 
cated mothers  have,  from  the  encouragement  given  them  at  home,  appreciated 
instruction  more  than  others  ? 

The  children  come  to  school  so  very  young  that  tlieir  teaching  begins 
with  us,  and,  it  may  be,  the  parents  are  never  known  to  us,  or  not  till 
months  after  the  daughter  has  been  at  school.  The  little  girls  are 
always  brought  to  school  and  taken  home  by  a  person  in  whom  the  parents 
confide. 

5.  — Have  you  ever  known  any  instances  of  mothers  and  daughters  being 
taught  in  the  same  school  at  the  same  time  ? 

In  the  small  detached  schools  this  has  occurred,  when  the  men  had  all 
gone  out  to  their  daily  occupations;  but  the  women  soon  lose  their 
patience,  and  declare  themselves  too  old  to  learn,  though  perhaps  not 
20  years  of  age. 

6.  — If  you  have  known  such  cases,  state  whether  any  jealousy  seemed  to 
exist  on  the  part  of  the  mothers  of  the  attainments  of  their  daughters ;  or  if 
any  system  were  introduced  by  which  mothers  and  daughters  should  be  taught 
at  once,  do  you  suppose  from  your  knowledge  of  the  native  female  character 
that  such  jealousy  woi<ld  result  ? 

Just  the  reverse,  the  parents  appearing  to  consider  it  pretty  much  the 
same  thing  whether  they  or  the  children  possess  the  learning,  so  that  it 
be  in  the  family ;  a  poor  mother  will  answer,  "  No,  I  cannot  read,  but  my 
girl  can."  Or,  "1  cannot  learn,  it  is  too  late  for  me,  I  have  too  much 
to  do,  but  teach  my  daughter." 

7.  — Have  the  goodness  to  stute  in  general  what  have  been  the  feelings  of  une- 
ducated natives  in  regard  to  the  education  of  their  female  relatives,  and  whether 
their  opposition  has  been  generally  removed  by  witnessing  its  results,  specify- 
ing at  the  same  time  any  marked  instances  that  may  have  come  to  your 
knowledge  of  the  effect  of  Christian  education  commending  itself  to  the  appro- 
bation of  the  prejudiced  by  improving  the  characters  and  dispositions  of  its 
subjects. 

1  conclude  native  gentlemen  have  a  jealous  fear  of  their  females  ever 
occupying  that  rank  or  standing  in  society  which  Christian  women  do  : 
they  also  dread  their  imbibing  Christian  principles;  and  they  are  neces- 
sarily too  far  removed  from  native  Christian  females  to  form  any  correct 
judgment  of  them. 

8.  — Supposing  that  at  present,  there  is  little  or  no  desire  on  the  part  of  the 
natives  generally  to  procure  good  education  for  their  wives,  sisters  and  daugh- 
ters, does  it  not  seem  to  you  that  if  such  a  desire  were  produced,  the  great 
obstacle  in  the  way  of  its  gratification  would  be  the  unwillingness  of  the  higher 
class  of  natives  to  allow  their  females  to  leave  their  own  apartments  ? 

Yes,  the  females  must  be  taught  in  their  own  apartments  ;  this  is  sure  ; 
and  perhaps  in  their  present  state  it  is  absolutely  necessary. 

9.  — How  many  females  do  you  suppose  may  be  on  an  average  in  one  dwel- 
ling? 

Probably  from  10  to  20  females  could  be  collected  in  large  houses  for 
instruction. 

10.  —  Would  a  European  lady  be  secure  against  annoyance  in  going  regu- 
larly at  a  stated  hour  into  the  house  of  a  native  ? 


1840.] 


Hindu  Female  Education. 


127 


Any  little  annoyance  would  be  the  result  of  ignorance,  not  design ;  and 
a  foreign  lady  would  take  an  elderly  one  of  this  country  with  her  for 
some  time,  at  least  till  matters  were  on  a  good  footing. 

1 1 .  — Have  the  kindness  to  detail  all  that  you  know  of  what  has  been  done  in 
regard  to  private  female  education,  staling  whether  the  experiments  have  been 
made  under  favourable  circumstances,  and  what  have  been  the  results  ? 

Coming  out  as  I  did  to  the  lowest  of  the  low,  my  ardent  desire  was, 
and  still  is,  to  teach  the  Bible  to  the  many  who  had  none  to  care  for  their 
60uls,  leaving  the  few  in  higher  life  to  others.  Still,  whenever  I  have 
met  respectable  natives  I  have  always  urged  their  duty,  and  my  readi- 
ness to  assist  them,  in  this  important  work,  and  many  a  fair  promise  of 
calling  Committees  and  consulting  together,  &c.  &c.  have  been  made,  but 
which  at  the  moment  they  had  not  the  slightest  intention  of  keeping. 

Seventeen  years  ago  a  native  gentleman  asked  for  a  "lady  teacher" 
for  his  females  ;  one  went  regularly  for  a  few  months  ;  after  which  he 
called  again  on  the  gentleman  to  say  he  must  give  it  up,  as  he  could  not 
bear  the  continual  taunts  he  had  to  endure  from  JBrahmans  and  other 
friends  for  allowing  a  Christian  lady  to  enter  his  house. 

Eleven  years  since  another  high  family  received  instruction  for  above 
a  year  from  a  Christian  female,  when  domestic  affliction  caused  the  family 
to  withdraw  from  all  Christian  intercourse. 

In  both  the  above  cases  the  females  were  most  promising  pupils  and 
hearers. 

12.  — In  one  word,  knowing  the  obligation  of  Christian  teachers  to  become 
all  thinys  to  all  men,  and  knowing  the  very  peculiar  position  of  women  in 
India,  do  you  or  do  you  not  think  that  a  Christian  Society,  striving  by  the 
blessing  of  God  to  produce  the  greatest  possible  amount  of  ultimate  good,  would 
act  wisely  were  they  to  expend  a  portion  of  their  resources  on  a  well-organized 
scheme  for  the  domestic  education  of  females  ? 

13.  — Favour  me  with  any  remarks  that  it  may  occur  to  you  to  make  bear- 
ing on  this  subject. 

Oh  !  Dear  Sir,  the  duty  of  Christians  cannot  for  a  moment  be  ques- 
tioned ;  every  lawful  means  should  be  tried.  Would  that  only  half  the 
zeal  were  displayed  for  native  female  education,  and  half  the  money  spent 
on  it,  by  Christians  that  has  been  spent  on  that  of  boys.  Still  it  is  and 
will  long  continue  to  be  eminently  a  work  of  faith.  The  female  may  be 
taught,  may  believe  and  be  saved  ,•  and  the  Christian  teacher  is  satisfied, 
but  not  so  the  world  ;  it  has  given  money  for  the  cause,  and  must  see 
what  is  done.  Pardared  females  must  not  only  be  taught  privately,  but 
nothing  on  the  subject  should  appear  in  print. 

Questions  proposed  to  the  Rev .  Krishna  Mohan  Banerjee  with  his  answers. 

1.  — Do  you  not  think  that  it  is  impossible  to  bring  the  greater  proportion, 
including  all  the  higher  classes  of  Hindu  females,  to  attend  public  Christian 
schools  ? 

1  do  not  think  the  respectable  classes  of  the  Hindus  will  at  present 
suffer  their  females  to  attend  any  public  school  where  pupils  may  be 
indiscriminately  received  without  consideration  to  caste  and  creed. 
Even  if  any  solitary  individual  may  feel  a  desire  of  doing  so,  still  the 
tone  of  society  which  would  pronounce  his  conduct  as  ungenteel,  if  not 
impious,  is  likely  to  deter  him  from  such  a  step. 

2.  —  While  this  is  to  be  partly  attributed  to  the  fact  that  the  same  worldly 
advantages  do  not  attend  the  instruction  of  females  that  are  seen  to  follow  the 
education  of  males,  is  it  not  also,  in  a  great  degree,  attributable  to  the  dislike 
of  suffering  the  females  to  leave  their  own  apartments  ? 

The  fact  of  a  liberal  education  being  as  it  were  lost  upon  their  women 
in  the  estimation  of  the  Hindus,  owing  to  the  absence  of  any  pecuniary 
s  2 


128 


Hindu  Female  Education.  [March, 


advantages  to  be  looked  for  therefrom,  will  of  course  continue  long  to 
indispose  the  natives  to  female  instruction.  The  alacrity  with  which 
they  allowand  the  importunity  with  which  they  seek  the  education  of  their 
boys  are  evidently  based  upon  mercenary  motives.  Their  desire  to  teach 
male  children  is  the  consequence  of  the  prospect  which  knowledge  opens 
of  wealth  and  honor ;  and  since  their  girls  cannot  enter  into  any  sphere 
of  active  labor  in  the  world,  they  do  not  feel  any  incentive  towards  their 
education.  Besides  this  absence  from  their  minds  of  a  sufficient  motive 
to  this  important  work,  there  is  also  the  presence  of  positive  aversion  to 
it,  caused  by  the  customs  and  notions  which  prevail  among  them.  Al- 
though they  do  not  forbid  their  girls  of  a  tender  age  to  appear  in  com- 
pany, yet  their  marriage,  which  usually  takes  place  between  the  years 
of  eight  and  ten  of  their  ages,  generally  puts  an  interdict  upon  this  free- 
dom, and  it  is  considered  disreputable  for  a  married  woman  to  make  her 
appearance  in  public.  This  sentiment  will  for  a  long  time  baffle  every 
effort  that  may  be  made  to  educate  them  in  public. 

3.  — Supposing  the  present  indifference  us  to  female  education  got  over,  would 
not  this  custom  of  secluding  the  females  present  an  almost  insurmountable 
barrier  to  their  instruction  in  public  ? 

The  custom  of  secluding  the  females  must  undoubtedly  prove  an  obsta- 
cle to  public  female  education,  inasmuch  as  no  Hindu  can  suffer  his  wife 
or  his  grown-up  daughter  to  be  seen  indiscriminately  by  any  person  with- 
out incurring  the  displeasure  of  his  fraternity,  and  entailing  much  odium 
upon  himself. 

4.  — Do  you  suppose  that  at  present,  but  for  this  custom,  any  considerable 
number  of  the  respectable  natives  would  permit  their  female  relatives  to  be 
educated  ? 

Many  Hindus  of  respectability  are,  I  know,  from  personal  observation, 
very  desirous  in  the  abstract  of  instructing  their  females.  They  see  the 
palpable  benefits  which  education  has  conferred  upon  their  Western  sisters, 
and  often  wish  they  could  boast  of  such  accomplished  wives  and  daugh- 
ters as  those  of  their  European  neighbours.  So  that  I  think  many  would 
instruct  the  female  sex,  if  their  reputation  and  perhaps  caste  were  not  at 
stake.  But  as  female  improvement  would  materially  increase  their 
expense,  (because  they  would  lose  to  a  certain  extent  many  servants  and 
hand-maids,  if  their  wives  and  daughters  were  capable  of  higher  employ- 
ment, and  disrelished  the  drudgery  of  the  house,)  I  cannot  say  to  what 
length  their  insufficient  salaries  may  not  teach  them  the  policy  of  keep- 
ing their  women  down  for  fear  of  swelling  their  expense.  In  proportion, 
however,  as  the  Government  and  the  Europeans  may  breathe  greater 
liberality  of  feeling  towards  the  Hindus,  and  discontinue  the  unchristian 
and  inhuman  practice  of  putting  lower  value  upon  native,  than  upon 
European  labour,  even  when  both  are  equally  useful  and  efficient,  the 
cause  of  female  emancipation  must  be  on  the  advance,  and  keep  pace  with 
the  general  progress  of  knowledge  and  civilization. 

5.  — For  this  purpose  would  they  be  willing  to  admit  English  ladies  into 
their  houses,  their  services  being  tendered  gratuitously  ? 

I  conceive  there  will  be  no  difficulty  in  persuading  many  natives  to 
accept  the  blessings  of  education  for  their  women,  when  these  shall  be 
offered  within  their  own  doors.  Few  are  so  grossly  insensible  to  the 
benefits  of  knowledge  as  not  to  confer  them  upon  their  daughters,  if  they 
can  do  so  at  home  without  any  expense  to  themselves ; — though  I  am  not 
sure  whether  they  will  allow  their  wives  to  reap  those  advantages.  In 
addition  to  the  indifference  which  will  be  caused  in  their  minds  from  the 
little  hope  that  they  will  have  of  educating  persons  that  have  grown  wild 
for  15  or  16  years,  the  great  disadvantages  under  which  a  wife  labours 
under  her  husband's  roof  while  the  elderly  branches  of  the  family  are 
alive,  must  prove  obstacles  to  the  cultivation  of  her  mind. 


18-10.] 


Hindu  Female  Education. 


129 


6.  — Same  as  No.  10  of  questions  proposed  to  Mrs.  Wilson. 

If  the  lady  referred  to  in  this  question  did  not  go  indiscriminately  to 
any  family  without  knowing  something  in  the  first  instance  concerning 
the  character  of  the  people  into  whose  house  she  went,  she  could  certainly 
be  secure  against  annoyance.  Besides,  the  natives  have  a  degree  of  re- 
spect for  European  ladies  which  would  always  deter  them  from  any  impu- 
dent or  inhospitable  act ;  and  it  is  only  in  very  rare  and  exceptionable 
cases  that  any  annoyance  may  be  experienced. 

7.  — If  a  number  of  influential  natives  would  give  their  countenance  to  a 
scheme  for  private  education,  do  you  think  their  example,  would  materially  in- 
fluence the.  lower  classes  to  send  their  daughters  to  schools  ? 

Such  appears  to  be  the  growing  feeling  in  favor  of  female  education, 
tli at  I  think  a  few  examples  of  the  kind  alluded  to  in  the  question  will 
be  very  extensively  followed  among  the  Hindus; — and  the  middling 
classes  will  then  gradually  wax  hold  and  venture  to  send  their  girls  to 
school.  The  lower  classes  (that  is,  those  who  are  not  much  under  the 
bonds  which  society  imposes,  and  whose  poverty  and  degradation  render 
them  invulnerable  so  far  as  infamy  is  concerned),  are  in  the  habit  even 
now  of  sending  girls  to  school  upon  the  presentation  of  sufficient  motives, 
such  as  a  few  pice  or  other  bakshis  being  occasionally  given  to  the  children. 

8.  — State  whether  you  know  of  any  instances  in  which  domestic  education 
has  been  tried,  whether  the  experiments  have  been  made  under  favourable  cir- 
cumstances, and  what  hare  been  the  results  ? 

I  remember  one  or  two  of  my  own  acquaintances,  who  had  successfully 
conducted  the  education  of  their  wives  in  the  Bengali  language  by 
teaching  them  privately  in  the  night.  I  know  also  the  case  of  one  nearly 
related  to  me,  who  failed  in  a  similar  endeavour.  The  circumstances 
under  which  such  attempts  were  made  were  by  no  means  fav  ourable  or 
auspicious.  While  the  other  women  in  the  family  railed  at  every  idea  of 
education,  the  wife  of  an  enlightened  husband  could  scarcely  venture 
to  act  according  to  his  better  advice  ;  and  therefore  the  success  in  the 
two  cases  abovementioned  was  extraordinary,  but  the  failure  in  the  other 
instance  was  natural.  I  know  that  many  are  deterred  from  attempt- 
ing to  teach  their  wives  privately  from  the  little  prospect  of  success  that 
is  before  them.  The  case  of  a  lady  visiting  and  instructing:  in  the  day 
with  permission  from  the  master  of  the  house  would  be  different  from 
those  that  I  have  just  adverted  to,  since  the  respect  which  such  a  lady 
will  command  must  protect  the  learner  from  the  scoffs  of  her  friends  at 
least  for  several  hours  in  the  day. 

9.  —  Same  as  corresponding  No.  of  Mrs.  Wilson's  questions  ? 

The  number  of  females  in  each  family  is  on  the  average  about  six  or 
eight,  including  grown  up  and  elderly  women. 

10.  — State  in  general  what  would  be  your  views  regarding  a  plan  for  send- 
ing a  number  of  well-qualified  female  teachers  from  Europie  for  the  purpose  of 
teaching  native  females  in  their  own  houses. 

1  should  think  if  a  number  of  well-qualified  European  females  could  be 
procured  for  the  purpose  of  instructing  the  Hindu  women  in  their  own 
houses,  they  would  succeed  under  God  in  doing  a  very  great  work.  The 
tutoresses,  however,  would  have  to  undergo  a  deal  of  fatigue  and  put  up 
with  many  inconveniences,  owing  to  the  diversity  of  habits  and  manners 
between  the  Europeans  and  the  natives. 

11.  — Favour  me  trith  any  other  remarks  that  may  occur  to  you  on  the  sub- 
ject in  general. 

No  experiment  of  the  kind  having  ever  been  tried  in  this  country,  it  is 
undoubtedly  the  duty  of  European  Christians  not  to  leave  it  untried,  and 
to  offer  knowledge  and  instruction  in  the  very  houses  of  their  heathen 
sisters,  since  they  will  not  be  persuaded  to  come  out  of  doors.    The  only 


130     Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [March, 


difficulty  appears  to  be  on  the  score  of  expense;  but  considering  how 
much  the  European  community  is  indebted  to  this  country  whence  they 
are  drawing  so  much  of  gold  and  silver,  and  where  they  exercise  as  it 
were  a  lordly  supremacy,  I  have  no  hesitation  in  saying  that  they  owe  it 
to  the  natives,  even  upon  moral  considerations,  to  instruct  and  enlighten 
their  sons  and  daughters  ;  and,  as  in  other  efforts,  so  in  this,  of  educating 
Hindu  females,  every  civil  and  military  officer,  every  merchant  and  trades- 
man ;  in  short,  every  individual  that  has  found  his  residence  in  India  a 
source  of  temporal  profit  and  earthly  aggrandizement,  ought  to  give  from 
a  sense  of  duty  whatever  aid  and  encouragement  he  can. 

12.  —  //  convenient,  talk  over  the  subject  with  some  of  your  Hindu  friends, 
and  detail  tome  their  sentiments  on  the  subject,  particularizing  how  far  you 
suppose  from  your  knowledge  of  the  native  character  that  they  will  be  prepared 
to  act  up  to  the  sentiments  which  they  may  express  to  a  Christian  minister. 

I  have  often  had  occasion  to  talk  on  the  subject  with  several  Hindu 
friends,  and  they  seemed  mostly  anxious  to  improve  the  minds  of  their 
females.  Hut  not  being  in  possession  of  any  feasible  plan  whereby  to 
attain  their  object,  and  being  restricted  by  prevalent  custom  from  sending 
women  out  of  doors,  they  generally  give  up  the  idea  of  their  education  as 
chimerical  and  fanciful.  But  1  am  decidedly  of  opinion,  that  a  goodly 
number  would  gladly  accept  the  services  of  a  lady,  if  they  could  get  them 
free  of  charge  within  their  doors. 

13.  — Have  the  goodness  to  favour  me  with  translations  of  any  passages  that 
may  occur  to  you  in  approved  native  books,  bearing  upon  the  subject  of  female 
education,  either  for  or  against. 

In  answer  to  this  question  we  have  been  furnished  with  a 
long  passage  in  Sanskrit  verse  with  an  English  translation, 
which  we  hope  to  be  able  to  turn  to  good  account  in  another 
quarter,  but  which  it  were  needless  to  insert  here. 

Upon  these  answers  we  need  not  make  a  single  remark. 
They  agree  in  the  general  with  one  another,  and  with  the 
opinions  we  had  previously  formed,  and  which  we  have  stated 
in  this  paper.  We  reckon  them  all  the  more  valuable  on 
account  of  the  unimportant  diversities  that  occur  in  them,  be- 
cause these  shew  that  the  general  agreement  is  not  caused  by 
the  questions  being  leading  ones. — Ed. 


II. — Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism. 

3. — On  the  Nature  of  Sin. 
A  religion  which  knows  nothing  of  a  holy  God,  or  where  the 
glorious  attribute  of  his  holiness  is  only  slightly  mentioned, 
where  it  is  merely  a  matter  of  dead  knowledge  or  metaphy- 
sical speculation,  and  not  the  vital  point  of  all  importance, 
not  the  foundation  and  center  of  all,  as  in  Christianity  ;  in 
such  a  religion  we  can  never  expect  to  meet  with  a  correct 
view  of  the  hateful  nature  of  sin,  or  of  its  internal  and  spiritual 
character.  And  this  is  just  the  case  with  Muhammadanism. 
The  Muhammadans,  as  mentioned  already,  know  in  fact 
nothing  of  the  living  and  holy  God ;  of  the  God  whose  nature 


1840.]    Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhamrnadanism.  131 


is  infinite  holiness,  as  revealed  in  scripture.  It  is  true  they 
have  heard  from  the  Jews  and  Christians  the  name  of  this 
glorious  attribute  of  God,  and  borrowed  it  from  them  ;  but 
neither  Muhammad  nor  any  one  of  his  followers  have  ever 
understood  its  meaning  or  its  practical  bearing.  They  are  quite 
unacquainted  with  the  import  of  the  divine  command,  "  Be 
ye  holy,  for  I  am  holy  f  and  as  a  natural  consequence,  they 
are  also  unacquainted  with  the  actual  nature  of  sin.  Sin  is 
understood  by  them  only  as  an  external  act;  with  the  sins  of 
the  heart,  with  this  world  of  unseen  actions  and  countless 
transgressions  they  are  quite  unacquainted,  or  when  observed, 
take  no  further  notice  of  them.  They  acknowledge  in- 
deed that  evil  thoughts  and  desires  are  sin,  but  this  confes- 
sion is  more  formal  than  real,  and  these  are  therefore  by  them 
never  regarded  as  bad  and  as  hateful  in  the  sight  of  God  as 
evil  acts  are,  nor  believed  to  be  of  the  same  consequence  ;  and, 
as  it  is  clearly  mentioned  in  several  traditions  that  evil 
thoughts  are  no  sin,  this  acknowledgment  loses  all  practical 
power  and  influence.  A  man  may  therefore  be  quite  a  good 
believer,  and  is  regarded  as  such,  if  he  only  confesses  to 
believe  in  God  and  Muhammad,  repeats  the  form  of  their 
creed,  and  performs  the  prescribed  prayers  and  ceremonies, 
whatever  the  state  of  his  heart  may  be.  With  them  faith 
can  exist  without  love  and  holiness,  and  has  in  fact  nothing 
to  do  with  it.  Sins,  therefore,  being  regarded  only  as  external 
acts,  are  counted  and  divided  into  small  and  great  sins,  and 
lying  and  false  swearing  for  certain  ends  or  for  good  purposes 
is  allowed,  as  will  be  seen  from  the  following  extracts.  It  is 
said  in  the  Mishcat  ul  Masabih,  "  God  passeth  over  the  for- 
getfulness  and  mistakes  of  my  sects,  and  forgives  them  what 
they  do  by  compulsion."  Mishcat,  vol.  ii.  p.  817-  At  another 
place  is  said  :  "  It  is  not  right  to  lie,  except  in  three  cases  : 
one,  a  man's  telling  lies  to  his  wife  to  please  her  :  the  second, 
in  war ;  the  third,  in  order  to  make  peace  between  men."  Ibid, 
p.  464. 

In  Ain  ul  Hayat,  leaf  242,  is  thus  written  :  e:  It  is  unlawful  to 
say  a  truth,  which  might  be  injurious  to  a  believer  or  endanger 
his  life ;  and  it  is  lawful  and  obligatory  to  tell  a  lie,  when  a 
believer  can  be  saved  by  it  from  death,  imprisonment  or  from 
any  loss.  And  in  the  case  of  a  believer  having  intrusted  us  with 
some  of  his  property,  and  an  oppressor  requiring  it  of  us,  we 
are  obliged  to  deny  having  it,  yea,  we  are  even  allowed  to  swear 
on  oath,  that  none  of  the  property  of  that  man  is  with  us. 
And  it  is  likewise  lawful  to  tell  a  lie  before  an  officer  of  customs, 
an  oppressor,  or  a  judge,  if  by  telling  the  truth  the  property 
would  be  taken  away  from  him."  In  the  next  page  of  the 
same  book  is  mentioned,  "  It  is  said  in  a  tradition  from  his 


132    Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [March, 


majesty,  that  there  are  three  cases  in  which  it  is  right  and 
good  to  tell  a  lie  ;  in  the  treachery  which  they  make  use  of  in 
war,  in  the  promises  made  to  a  wife,  and  in  making  peace 
among  men."  In  Haq  ul  Yaqin,  leaf  240,  is  said,  "  Takia  in 
the  land  of  Takia*  is  obligatory.  An  oath,  sworn  for  Takia 
and  to  escape  oppression,  is  no  sin,  nor  is  any  atonement  re- 
quired for  it."  And  at  another  place  of  the  same  book  (leaf 
261)  it  is  mentioned,  "  False  witness  on  account  of  Takia  is 
allowed  in  case  it  should  not  occasion  the  death  of  a  person  ; 
and  a  false  oath  to  remove  oppression  from  one's  self  or  from 
any  other  of  the  believers  is  lawful.  In  both  these  cases  it  is 
necessary  to  use  as  much  dissimulation  as  possible.  And 
Takia  is  allowed  even  in  speaking  blasphemous  words,  as 
Aaman  did,  and  the  Almighty  made  known  his  excuse  in  the 
Quranf." 

That  evil  thoughts  are  not  counted  sin  is  mentioned  at  large 
in  the  following  tradition  ;  where  is  said  :  "  It  is  related  that 
his  majesty  Muhammad  said  :  when  a  believer,  a  Banda,  forms 
the  intention  of  doing  a  good  work,  although  he  may  not  do 
it,  God  still  writes  down  for  it  one  good  work  in  the  book  of 
his  good  works.  And  if  he  forms  the  intention  of  doing  a  sin, 
but  does  not  actually  do  it,  he  does  not  write  down  any  thing 
against  him.  And  when  he  executes  his  evil  intention,  they 
give  him  time  seven  hours  :  and  the  angel  of  his  right  side, 
who  is  the  recorder  of  his  good  works,  says  to  the  angel  of  the 
left  sidej,  who  is  the  recorder  of  his  evil  deeds,  do  not  be 
hasty  in  writing  it  down,  peradventure  he  may  do  a  good 
work  which  will  blot  out  this  sin."  (Ain  ul  Hayat,  leaf  80.) 
And  at  another  place,  where  the  circumstance  of  Muham- 
mad's begging  God  to  reduce  the  number  of  prayers  is  related, 
it  is  thus  written  :  (God  speaking  to  Muhammad)  "  For  as 
thou  hast  assented  to  perform  as  many  as  five  prayers,  I  shall 
therefore  for  this  five  bestow  upon  thee  and  thy  people  the 
merit  of  50  prayers,  accepting  every  one  prayer  for  ten.  And 
whosoever  of  thy  people  shall  perform  one  good  work,  I  shall 
write  down  for  him  ten  ;  and  if  he  forms  the  intention  of 

*  Takia  means  religious  dissimulation,  with  the  view  to  escape  per- 
secution or  oppression  on  account  of  one's  religion.  The  land  of  Takia 
they  call  the  country  where  a  Muhammadan  is  exposed  to  religious  perse- 
cution. Hut  this  doctrine  is  not  approved  of  by  the  Sunnis,  only  the 
Shias  hold  it. 

t  The  passage  of  the  Quran  referred  to  in  this  tradition  is  found  in 
Sale's  Quran,  vol.  ii.  p.  88.  It  is  on  this  and  some  other  passages  of  the 
Quran  that  the  Shias  have  grounded  the  lawfulness  of  their  Takia. 

%  The  Muhammadans  believe  that  every  man  is  accompanied  by  two 
angels,  carrying  large  books  with  them  in  which  they  record  all  his 
doings.  The  good  intentions  produce  an  agreeable  and  the  evil  a  bad 
smell,  and  by  this  means  the  good  as  well  as  the  bad  intentions  of  a  man 
are  known  by  these  recorders,  and  they  are  enabled  to  record  the  former. 


1840.]    Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  133 


doing  a  good  work,  but  does  not  carry  it  out,  I  shall  write  for 
him  one  good  work.  And  whosoever  of  thy  people  forms  the 
intention  of  doing  a  sin,  but  does  not  actually  do  it,  I  shall 
not  write  it  down  against  him,  and  if  he  does  it  I  shall  write 
down  one  sin."    (Hayat  ul  Kulub,  vol.  ii.  leaf  177-) 

That  the  belief  in  Muhammad  or  Muhammadanism  has 
nothing  to  do  with  the  state  of  the  heart  and  does  not  require 
internal  purity,  is  clearly  implied  in  the  traditions  just  now 
mentioned  ;  but  it  is  still  more  distinctly  expressed  as  well  in 
many  of  those  Hadiths  which  speak  of  the  means  of  forgive- 
ness of  sin,  as  in  the  following  tradition  :  where  it  is  said  :  ie  It 
is  related  by  Kuleim,  according  to  a  tradition  to  be  relied  upon, 
that  there  was  an  oilman,  who  loved  Muhammad  very  much, 
and  who  never  went  to  his  daily  work  except  he  had  seen 
first  the  beauty  of  his  majesty.  When  he  therefore  for  several 
days  had  not  appeared,  Muhammad,  with  some  of  his  follow- 
ers, went  to  inquire  about  him,  but  was  told  that  he  had  died 
some  days  ago.  His  neighbours  said  then,  O  prophet,  he  was 
a  good  man  among  us,  but  he  had  one  bad  habit.  He  said, 
what  was  it  ?  they  said,  he  was  addicted  to  fornication.  The 
prophet  of  God  replied  :  I  swear  by  God,  he  loved  me  so 
much,  that  if  he  should  have  been  even  a  dealer  in  free  men, 
God  would  have  forgiven  him*/'    (Ibid.  370.) 

It  will  have  been  observed  that  the  Sunui  traditions  do 
not  go  quite  so  far  as  those  of  the  Slnas  in  justifying  and  recom- 
mending lying  or  false  swearing,  but,  as  they  also  approve  of 
a  lie  under  certain  circumstances,  they  likewise  justify  the 
principle. 

These  extracts  will  sufficiently  prove  that  Muhammadanism 
is  unacquainted  with  the  actual  nature  of  sin  ;  that  by  it  sin  is 
taken  only  as  an  external  act,  and  its  internal  character  lost 
sight  of  altogether;  and  this  will  be  still  more  established  by 
what  shall  be  mentioned  under  the  next  head. 

4.* — On  the  Means  of  Forgiveness  of  Sin. 

As  their  notions  of  the  nature  of  sin,  so  are  also  the  means 
which  the  Muhammadans  make  mention  of  to  attain  forgive- 
ness of  sin  by  them.  These  are  as  superficial  and  external 
as  the  other,  and  altogether  irreconcilable  with  divine  holi- 
ness and  justice,  and  incapable  of  exercising  a  purifying  and 
sanctifying  influence  on  man's  heart.  They  shew  clearly 
that  Muhammadanism  knows  nothing  of  a  holy  God,  and 
nothing  of  holiness  of  heart. 

One  kind  of  means  upon  which  they  rely  for  forgiveness  is 

*  To  kidnap  free  men,  especially  Musalmans,  and  sell  them  as  slaves, 
is  regarded  by  them  as  one  of  the  greatest  sins. 
VOL..  I.  T 


134    Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [March, 


God's  mercy,  faith  in  God  and  Muhammad,  and  repentance*. 
But  feeling  that  this  was  not  enough  to  satisfy  the  conscience, 
and  that  they  must  have  some  thing  else  to  ground  their  hope 
of  forgiveness  upon,  they  introduced  Muhammad's  interces- 
sion and  good  works,  of  which  the  repetition  of  certain  short 
formulas  of  prayer,  and  the  reading  of  parts  of  the  Quran  form 
the  most  prominent  part. 

It  is  to  be  remarked  that  nothing  is  mentioned  in  the  Quran 
of  Muhammad's  intercession  ;  only  his  prayer  for  the  believers 
and  the  efficacy  of  it  are  mentioned.  He,  having  rejected  the 
Christian  doctrine  of  mediation,  as  unnecessary  and  even  as  un- 
worthy of  an  all-merciful  and  all-powerful  God,  never  thought  of 
giving  himself  the  honour  of  being  a  mediator  between  man  and 
God.  But  his  followers  soon  felt  this  want,  and  trying  to  make 
up  for  it,  bestowed  on  him  this  honour  very  liberally  in  their 
traditions  ;  and  the  Shias  have  added  the  Imams  too,  at  least 
the  three  first,  that  is  Ali  and  his  two  sons,  together  with  Fati- 
ma.  They  even  view  the  sufferings  which  Hassan  and  Hussain, 
the  two  sons  of  Ali,  had  to  endure  from  the  other  party,  the 
Suniris,  as  highly  meritorious  for  them.  There  are  many  tra- 
ditions which  speak  of  the  great  efficacy  of  Muhammad's  inter- 
cession, and  some  even  go  so  far  as  to  make  it  the  principal 
ground  of  forgiveness  for  sin  and  salvation.  It  is  thus  related 
in  a  tradition  from  Anas:  "  Musalmans  will  be  prevented 
from  moving,  on  the  day  of  resurrection,  so  that  they  will  be 
sad  and  say,  would  to  God  we  had  asked  grace  from  our  che- 
risher,  and  produced  one  to  intercede  for  us.  Then  these  men 
will  come  to  Adam  and  say :  you  are  Adam  the  father  of  all 
men,  ask  grace  for  us  from  your  cherisher.  And  Adam  will  say, 
I  am  not  in  that  degree  of  eminence,  which  you  suppose  me." 
They  then  make  the  same  application  to  Noah,  Abraham  and 
Moses,  and  also  to  Jesus ;  but  all  decline  it,  saying,  that  they 
do  not  possess  that  high  degree  as  to  be  able  to  intercede  for 
them.   Jesus  will  then  direct  them  to  Muhammad  :  "  then  the 

*  The  word  faith  is  with  the  Muhammadans  only  ^  dead  letter,  and  not 
that  living  principle,  conveyed  through  the  word  of  faith,  which  sepa- 
rates from  sin  and  unites  to  God,  as  the  Christian  faith  may  be  termed. 
Under  faith  they  understand  nothing  more  than  the  dead  assent  to  their 
creed,  and  the  external  profession  and  repetition  of  it.  Such  a  faith  can 
therefore  never  satisfy  the  guilty  conscience,  for  this  wants  a  faith  in  an 
all-sufficient  atonement  and  in  a  divine  mediation  to  find  rest  and  peace. 
And  repentance  in  like  manner  is  but  a  dead  word,  and  consists,  as  they 
define  it,  in  the  acknowledgment  of  one's  sin,  connected  with  the  desire 
not  to  do  it  again,  and  in  restitution  where  it  is  practicable.  Of  the  con- 
trition of  heart  which  flows  from  faith  and  leads  to  faith,  and  in  which 
the  soul  perceives  the  hateful  nature  of  sin  and  learns  to  hate  it,  of  this 
the  only  true  repentance  the  Muhammadans  know  nothing.  And  how  could 
they  ?  as  they  do  not  believe  in  a  sanctifying  Holy  Ghost,  and  in  a  divine 
Mediator,  who  is  the  life  and  the  truth. 


1840.]     Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  135 


Musalmans  will  come  to  me,  said  Muhammad,  and  I  will  ask 
permission  to  go  into  God's  court,  which  will  be  given,  and  I 
will  see  Almighty  God,  I  will  prostrate  myself  before  him,  and 
he  will  keep  me,  so  long  as  he  will,  and  then  he  will  say  : 
Raise  up  your  head,  O  Muhammad  !  and  say  what  you  wish 
to  say,  it  will  be  heard,  and  approved ;  and  ask  grace  for  who- 
ever you  like,  it  will  be  approved.  Then  I  will  raise  up  my 
head,  and  praise  and  glorify  my  cherisher.  After  that  I  will 
intercede  for  them  ;  and  God  will  say,  Intercede  for  a  particu- 
lar class.  Then  I  will  come  out  from  the  presence,  and  bring 
that  particular  class  out  of  hell-fire,  and  will  bring  them  into 
paradise.  After  that  I  will  go  to  God^s  court,  to  ask  grace  for 
another  particular  class  ;  and  will  bring  them  out  of  hell,  and 
introduce  them  into  paradise.  After  that  I  will  go  again  into  pa- 
radise, and  in  this  way  will  I  do  for  all  Musalmans,  so  that  none 
but  the  infidels  will  remain  in  hell."  Mishcat,  vol.  ii.  p.  604 
and  99.  It  is  related  according  to  an  authentic  tradition  that 
Muhammad  said  :  "  The  Almighty  wrote  above  his  throne  my 
greatness  and  glory  in  ten  names,  and  through  every  prophet  he 
made  known  the  good  tidings  of  my  coming  to  that  people  to 
whom  the  prophet  was  sent ;  and  in  the  Old  and  New  Testa- 
ment my  name  is  mentioned  many  times.  In  the  Quran  he 
called  me  Muhammad  (the  illustrious,  the  glorious),  for  at  the 
day  of  judgment  every  people  and  sect  shall  pay  homage  to 
me,  because  no  one  except  myself  or  by  my  permission  shall 
make  intercession  at  the  last  day."  (Hayat  ul  Kuhib,  vol.  ii. 
leaf  60.)  In  another  tradition  it  is  mentioned  that  Muhammad 
said  to  Ali,  "  I  can  give  you  the  glad  tidings  of  which  Gabriel 
informed  me,  that  whosoever  of  my  people  sends  his  good 
wishes  and  prayers  to  me,  and  after  me  to  my  family  (that 
is,  to  the  Imams)  the  door  of  heaven  will  be  opened  for  him, 
and  the  angels  will  send  him  70  good  wishes  (congratula- 
tions), and  if  he  has  committed  any  sins,  his  sins  will  fall  off 
as  the  leaves  fall  from  a  tree."  (Ain  ul  Hayat,  leaf  184.) 
In  another  place  it  is  mentioned,  that  Muhammad  said, 
<J  There  are  four  classes  of  people  for  whom  I  shall  make  inter- 
cession at  the  day  of  judgment,  although  their  sins  should  be 
as  many  as  the  sins  of  all  the  people  in  the  world,  and  they 
are  those  who  assist  the  people  of  my  house,  viz.  the  Imams, 
who  afford  them  relief  when  needed,  who  love  them  with 
heart  and  mouth,  and  who  remove  danger  and  damage  from 
them.  (Ibid,  leaf  45.)  And  at  the  same  place  it  is,  according 
to  another  tradition,  thus  said  :  "  Whoever  loves  us  the  people 
of  the  house,  his  sins  shall  fall  off,  like  as  when  a  strong  wind 
shakes  the  leaves  from  the  trees."  The  excellency  and  mediato- 
rial merits  of  Fatima,  or  of  her  great  veil,  are  described  in  the 
t  2 


136    Remarks  oil  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [March, 


following  tradition  :  His  Majesty  said  :  "  Fatima  is  the  best  of 
all  women,  and  when  the  Almighty  shall  awake  all  the  crea- 
tures, the  first  and  the  last,  then  the  outcrier  of  heaven  shall 
call  out  from  the  Arsh  :  O  all  ye  creatures,  shut  your  eyes 
till  Fatima,  the  daughter  of  Muhammad  and  the  lady  of  the 
women  of  the  worlds,  has  passed  the  Serat  or  the  bridge*. 
Then  all  creatures  will  shut  their  eyes,  except  Muhammad 
and  Ali  and  her  children  the  Imams  ;  she  passes  then  the 
bridge,  having  spread  the  skirts  of  her  veil  over  it  in  such  a 
way  that  one  end  of  it  is  in  paradise  in  the  hand  of  Fatima 
and  the  other  end  on  the  plain  of  resurrection,  (that  is,  on  the 
plain  where  all  people  shall  be  collected  after  having  been 
raised  from  the  dead,  awaiting  their  judgment.)  Then  our 
God's  outcrier  calls  out  :  O  friends  of  Fatima,  adhere  to  the 
threads  of  Fatima's  veil,  who  is  the  best  of  all  women  !  Who- 
soever then  is  a  friend  of  this  glorious  lady  takes  hold  of  one 
of  the  threads ;  and  there  shall  adhere  to  it  more  than  ten 
Faams,  every  Faam  amounting  to  one  million  ;  and  all  these 
shall  be  saved  from  the  fire  of  hell  by  the  blessing  of 
the  veil  of  this  glorious  lady."  (Hayat  ul  Kulub,  leaf  105.) — 
This  is  clearly  an  imitation  of  what  the  Muhammadans  have 
heard  from  the  oriental  Christians  of  the  intercession  of  Mary 
the  mother  of  Christ.  The  idea  of  the  intercession  of  the 
Imams  seems  also  to  have  been  borrowed  from  the  same 
source. 

The  great  efficacy  of  prayers  and  reading  of  the  Quran  to 
take  off  and  blot  out  all  sins  is  described  in  the  following 
manner.  It  is  said  in  one  tradition:  "Whoever  reads  often 
the  Sura  Saia  sail  the  Almighty  will  take  no  account  of  any  of 
his  sins,  and  will  let  him  dwell  in  the  paradise  with  God's 
prophet."  In  another  tradition  is  said  :  "  One  who  reads  the 
Sura  Sejda  every  Friday  night,  the  Almighty  will  give  him  at 
the  day  of  the  resurrection  his  book  in  his  right  hand,  and  shall 
not  call  him  to  account  though  he  be  a  sinner."  (Ain  ul  Hayat, 
leaves  '208  and  211.)  Again  it  is  thus  written  :  "  It  is  related 
from  Imam  Baker,  that  whosoever  performs  two  Rukatf  of 
prayer  and  understands  what  he  is  saying,  when  he  has  finished 
his  prayer  not  a  sin  remains  more  upon  him."  (Ibid,  leaf 

*  The  Serat  is  the  bridge,  which  according  to  Muhammadan  doctrine 
is  suspended  above  hell.  It  is  as  thin  as  a  hair,  and  as  sharp  as  a  razor. 
Over  this  bridge  every  one  has  to  pass  :  the  unbeliever,  not  being  able  to 
pass,  it  will  tumble  down  into  hell  beneath;  but  the  believer  will  cross  it 
like  lightning,  and  then  enter  paradise. 

t  A  ttukat,  they  call  all  the  different  positions  and  motions  of  the  body, 
as  lifting  up  the  hands  to  the  head,  kneeling  down,  touching  the  ground 
with  their  forehead,  rising  up  again,  &c.  which  tliey  have  to  go  through 
each  time  they  repeat  certain  prayers  or  words  ;  four  of  these  Rukats 
they  have  to  perform  at  every  namaz,  or  daily  prayer. 


1840.]     Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  137 


14.)  Again  it  is  said  :  "  Any  one  who  is  a- whole  night  engaged 
in  prayer,  so  that  he  sometimes  is  occupied  in  reading  the 
Quran,  another  time  in  prayer,  and  another  time  in  adoration 
and  praise  of  God,  so  much  merit  will  be  bestowed  upon  him 
that  the  smallest  of  it  will  be,  that  he  will  be  as  free  from  all  sin, 
as  at  the  day  when  he  was  born  ;  and  in  the  record  of  his  works 
there  will  be  written  as  many  good  works  as  all  the  people  of 
God  have  ever  performed,  and  the  Almighty  shall  say  to  the 
angels :  O  my  angels,  look  at  this  my  servant,  who  has,  to 
obtain  my  favour,  been  through  a  whole  night  engaged  in 
worship.  He  shall  dwell  in  the  Firdaus  of  paradise  (this  is  in 
the  highest  paradise),  and  give  you  unto  him  100,000  towns 
in  that  paradise,  and  in  every  town  all  that  his  senses  may  re- 
quire." (Ibid,  leaf  189.)  Again  in  another  tradition  it  is  thus 
related  :  "  That  whosoever  reads  the  Sura,  Kul  huallah  ahad 
one  time,  the  Almighty  will  send  him  a  blessing ;  and  if  he  reads 
it  twice,  he  will  send  a  blessing  on  him  and  his  family ;  but  if  he 
reads  it  a  hundred  times,  the  Lord  of  the  universe  will  for- 
give him  the  sins  of  25  years.  And  he  who  reads  it  400  times, 
the  Lord  will  bestow  upon  him  the  merits  of  400  martyrs  ;  and 
he  who  reads  it  1000  times  in  one  day  and  night,  he  shall 
not  die  till  he  has  seen  his  place  in  paradise/'  (Ibid,  leaf 
215.)  Again  it  is  said:  "  It  is,  according  to  a  tradition  to  be 
relied  upon, related  by  Imam  Jafer,  that  every  believer  who  com- 
mits 40  great  sins  during  one  day  and  night,  and  says  with  peni- 
tent feelings  Istaghfir  alia  alazi  la  illaha  ilia  hu-alhai-ulkayum, 
&c.  that  is,  May  that  God  forgive  me  besides  whom  is  no 
other,  and  who  is  the  living  and  the  eternal,  &c.  in  truth  the  Al- 
mighty \i  ill  forgive  him  his  sins."  (Ibid,  leaf  2(31.)  And  again, 
at  another  place,  is  said,  "  It  is  according  to  an  authentic  tradi- 
tion related  by  Imam  Jafer,  that  whosoever  after  the  Namazi 
asser  (that  is,  after  the  afternoon  prayer)  says  100  times  Istigh- 
far,  the  Almighty  will  forgive  /00  sins  ;  and  if  he  should  not  have 
700  sins,  the  quantity  needed  to  make  up  the  number  will  be 
taken  from  the  sins  of  his  father  ;  and  if  his  father  also  should 
not  have  so  many,  then  they  will  be  taken  from  the  sins  of  his 
mother  ;  and  in  case  she  should  not  have  so  many,  then  the  sins 
will  be  taken  from  his  son,  and  then  from  the  nearest  relatives 
till  the  sum  be  made  up."    (Ibid,  leaf  165.) 

The  same  efficacy  to  procure  forgiveness  of  sin  is  also  in  the 
Mishcat  given  to  the  reading  of  parts  of  the  Quran  and  the 
repetition  of  certain  forms  of  prayer.  It  is  said,  "  That  the 
person  who  does  Wadu*  properly,  then  comes  to  the  Friday 

*  Wadu  is  called  the  washing  of  face,  hands  and  feet,  which  is  to  be 
performed  before  every  prayer,  and  without  which  the  prayer  is  inefficient. 


138    Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [March, 

prayers,  hears  the  Khutbah*  and  sits  silent ;  his  faults  will  be 
pardoned  between  that  Friday  and  the  next,  and  three  days 
in  addition."  (Mishcat,  vol.  i.  p.  301 .)  At  another  place  is  said, 
"  Verily  there  are  99  names  for  God,  and  whoever  counts  them 
shall  enter  paradisef."  (Ibid.  p.  542.)  Again  is  related  :  "  Who- 
soever says  Subhan  Allah  (praise  to  God)  and  Bahamdihi  (glory 
to  him)  a  hundred  times  in  a  day,  his  faults  shall  be  silenced, 
though  they  be  as  great  as  the  waves  of  the  sea."  And  at 
the  same  place  it  is  mentioned  in  another  tradition  :  "  His 
Highness  said  :  repeat  Subhan  Allah  a  hundred  times,  and 
then  a  thousand  virtues  shall  be  written  for  you,  ten  virtuous 
deeds  for  each  repetition,  or  a  thousand  faults  shall  be  put  away 
from  you."  (Ibid.  pp.  547  and  548.)  Again  at  another  place 
it  is  thus  written,  "Whoever  shall  say  when  wishing  to  go  to 
sleep,  I  ask  forgiveness  of  that  God  except  whom  there  is  no 
other,  thrice,  God  pardons  his  faults,  although  they  may  be 
numerous  as  the  waves  of  the  sea,  or  equal  to  the  sands  of 
the  desert,  or  in  number  equal  to  the  leaves  of  the  trees,  or  as 
many  as  the  days  of  the  world."  (Ibid.  p.  5J4.)  And  again 
in  another  tradition  it  is  mentioned  :  "  When  a  servant  says, 
La  ilaho  ill'allahi,  la  haula  wa  la  quwato  illa-billahi  ;  that  is, 
There  is  no  God  but  me,  and  there  is  no  power  and  strength 
except  in  me  ;  the  person  who  repeats  these  words  in  sickness, 
and  dies  in  it,  the  fire  of  hell  will  not  eat  him.'"  (Ibid.  p.  550.) 

Besides  these  means,  mention  is  made  in  the  Quran  and  tra- 
dition of  alms,  fasting,  and  pilgrimage  as  highly  meritorious, 
and  as  effective  to  procure  forgiveness  of  sin  as  the  means 
spoken  of  in  the  traditions  mentioned  above.  But  as  they  are 
of  the  same  nature  as  those  we  have  given  here,  and  as  it  would 
lead  us  too  far,  we  shall  not  give  any  extracts  from  them. 

It  must  at  the  first  sight,  be  to  every  one  a  matter  of  no 
small  surprise  how  the  -Muhammadans,  after  having  received 
or  borrowed  from  the  scriptures  some  knowledge  of  the  only 
true  God,  could  treat  thus  lightly  and  frivolously  the  na- 
ture of  sin  and  the  means  of  forgiveness.  But  here  is  the 
fact,  and  it  is  clear  that  by  doing  so  they  disavow  in  reality 
the  holiness  as  well  as  the  justice  of  God,  and  deny  practi- 
cally the  only  true,  holy  and  living  God,  however  much 
they  may  make  mention  of  His  own  name  and  glorious  at- 
tributes. But  as  they  have  rejected  Christ,  the  centre  of 
scripture  and  the  life  of  the  world,  their  borrowed  know- 
ledge could  not  otherwise  but  remain  a  dead  letter,  not  being 

*  Khutbah  is  the  repeating  of  the  praise  of  God  and  Muhammad  after 
the  prayer. 

f  For  the  purpose  of  repeating  and  counting  these  names  of  God,  the 
more  wealthy  of  the  Muhammadaus  carry  commonly  a  rosary  with  them. 


1840.]      Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  139 


able  to  give  them  any  spiritual  light  or  life,  and  could  there- 
fore not  preserve  them  from  believing  in  a  lie  and  trusting  in 
vanity. 

5. — On  the  Nature  of  the  Punishment  of  Hell. 

The  punishment  of  the  ungodly  or  unbelievers  begins  in  the 
grave  immediately  after  their  bodies  are  buried.  The  Muham- 
madans  call  this  the  Sawal  i  qabr,  or  the  examination  of  the 
grave,  which  is  thus  described  in  the  traditions  :  "  The  pro- 
phet of  God  said,  when  a  dead  body  is  placed  in  its  grave,  verily 
he  heareth  the  noise  the  people  make  in  walking  away ;  then 
two  black  angels  come  to  him  with  blue  eyes,  the  one  is 
Munkir  and  the  other  Nakir,  and  make  him  sit  up  in  the  grave 
and  ask  him  about  the  prophet  of  God.  If  the  dead  person 
be  a  Musalman,  he  will  bear  witness  to  the  unity  of  God  and 
the  mission  of  Muhammad,  when  the  angels  will  say  :  We 
knew  thou  wouldest  say  so ;  after  which  the  grave  will  be 
expanded  7000  yards  in  length  and  7000  in  breadth.  After 
that  a  light  will  be  given  for  the  grave,  and  it  will  be  said, 
Sleep  like  the  bridegroom,  till  God  shall  raise  thee  up  from  this 
grave  on  the  day  of  the  resurrection.  But  if  the  corpse  be 
that  of  a  hypocrite  or  unbeliever,  it  will  be  asked,  what  say- 
est  thou  about  Muhammad  ?  It  will  answer,  I  know  him  not. 
And  the  angels  will  reply,  we  knew  thou  wouldest  say  so. 
Then  the  ground  will  be  ordered  to  close  upon  it,  and  the  grave 
will  be  so  contracted  as  to  break  the  bones  of  each  side,  after 
which  an  angel  will  come  to  it,  deaf  and  dumb,  with  a  mace 
of  iron,  with  which  if  a  mountain  were  struck  it  would  turn  it 
to  dust.  Then  the  angel  will  strike  the  body  with  the  mace, 
the  noise  of  which  (that  is,  of  the  striking  of  the  body  and  the 
cry  of  the  dead  man)  will  be  heard  by  every  thing  between  the 
east  and  the  west  excepting  the  genii  and  man  ;  and  it  will 
turn  to  dust :  after  which  the  soul  will  be  returned  to  it  again, 
and  it  will  be  tormented  till  the  day  of  resurrection."  (Mish- 
cat,  vol.  i.  pp.  38 — 40.)  The  same  description  is  given  by  the 
Persian  writers  of  the  punishment  of  the  grave. 

Another  punishment  besides  that  of  hell,  will  be  the  dreadful 
heat  and  profuse  perspiration  of  the  people,  being  all  collected 
on  one  vast  plain  waiting  for  their  judgments.  This  has  been 
hinted  at  already  in  one  of  the  former  traditions,  and  mention  is 
made  of  it  as  well  by  the  Shias  as  by  the  Sunms.  It  is  described 
thus  in  the  Mishcat  ul  Musabih,  vol.  ii.  p.  592.  "  Makdad 
said  :  I  heard  his  Highness  say  :  the  sun  will  be  brought  near 
man,  at  the  day  of  resurrection,  the  distance  of  two  miles  ; 
and  men  will  perspire  agreeably  to  their  actions  :  some  of  them 
to  their  very  heels,  and  those  are  such  of  few  good  actions  ; 


140     Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [March, 


and  some  of  them  will  perspire  to  their  knees,  and  some  to 
their  waists,  and  some  to  their  mouths,  like  a  bridle."  And 
in  another  tradition,  at  the  same  page,  it  is  said  :  "  Men  will 
perspire  at  the  day  of  resurrection  to  such  a  degree,  that  it  will 
go  70  cubits  into  the  earth  ;  and  it  will  be  to  their  mouths 
like  a  bridle,  and  will  prevent  them  from  speaking." 

The  description  of  the  various  punishments  of  hell  is  thus 
given  in  their  traditions.  It  is  related,  that  Muhammad  asked 
the  angel  Gabriel  about  the  fire  of  hell,  who  replied  :  "  O  Mu- 
hammad, the  Almighty  commanded  that  they  should  blow  up 
with  the  bellows  the  fire  of  hell ;  and  they  blew  up  the  fire  of 
hell  for  a  thousand  years  till  it  became  white.  Then  they  blew 
it  up  another  thousand  years,  and  it  became  red  ;  and  again  they 
blew  it  up  for  a  thousand  years  till  it  became  black ;  and  now 
it  is  black  and  dark.  And  if  one  drop  of  the  matter,  collected 
from  the  sweat  and  the  dirt  of  the  people  of  hell,  which,  being 
boiled  in  the  caldrons  of  hell,  is  given  instead  of  water  to  the 
people  in  hell,  should  be  poured  in  the  water  drunk  by  the 
inhabitants  of  this  world,  all  the  world  would  die  of  its  bad 
taste.  And  if  one  link  of  the  chain,  which  is  JO  cubits  long, 
and  laid  upon  the  neck  of  the  people  in  hell,  were  to  be  put 
upon  the  earth,  the  whole  world  would  melt  from  its  heat. 
And  if  one  of  the  shirts  of  the  people  in  hell,  were  to  be 
hung  up  between  heaven  and  earth,  all  the  people  of  the  world 
would  die  away  from  its  bad  smell.  The  people  of  hell  after 
having  been  cast  into  it,  will  use  all  their  endeavours  for  70 
years  to  reach  the  top  of  it.  But  when  they  have  at  last  arrived 
at  the  boundary  of  hell,  the  angels  give  them  such  a  blow  on 
their  sculls,  with  their  iron  maces,  that  they  tumble  down 
again  to  the  bottom  of  hell.  Then  they  receive  a  new  skin 
over  their  body,  that  the  pains  of  hell  may  be  felt  the  more 
by  them."  (Ain  ul  Hayat,  leaf  164.)  In  another  tradition 
at  the  same  place  is  said  :  "  The  people  of  hell  cry  like 
dogs  and  wolves  on  account  of  the  great  pain  they  are  suffer- 
ing. In  the  midst  of  the  fire  they  are  hungry  and  thirsty,  and 
deaf  and  dumb  and  blind,  and  their  faces  are  black  :  they  give 
them  to  drink  the  hot  water  of  hell  instead  of  cooling  water ; 
and  instead  of  food  they  give  them  to  eat  the  fruit  of  the 
Sakkum  tree*.  With  hooks  they  tear  their  bodies,  and  with 
iron  maces  they  are  beaten ;  angels  stout  and  fierce  tor- 
ture them,  showing  no  mercy.  They  drag  them  into  the  fire 
of  hell,  and  chain  them  together  with  the  devils,  and  fasten 
their  necks  in  fetters.  They  wish  to  die,  but  cannot ;  and 
after  every  punishment  another  punishment,  still  more  severe, 

*  This  is  a  tree  in  hell  the  fruits  of  which,  they  say,  are  the  devils'  heads. 


1840.]       Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  141 


awaits  them.  When  the  watery  matter  of  hell  is  brought 
near  them,  the  skin  and  flesh  of  their  faces  gets  boiled,  and 
falling  off  mixes  up  with  their  drink  ;  and  when  they  drink  it, 
it  burns  and  destroys  all  their  entrails/5  In  another  tradition 
it  is  mentioned  :  "  There  are  such  in  hell  of  whose  sides  the 
angels  cut  off  the  flesh  with  scissors,  and  throw  it  into  their 
mouths."  (Hayat  ul  Kulub,  vol.  ii.  leaf  174.)  And  of  others  it  is 
said  :  that  "  they  have  shoes  of  fire  on  their  feet,  and  the  straps 
to  fasten  them  are  likewise  of  fire,  the  heat  of  which  is  so 
severe,  that  the  brain  is  boiling  by  it  in  their  sculls."  (Ain  ul 
Hayat,  leaf  166.)  Again  in  another  tradition  it  is  thus  related  : 
"  There  is  a  valley  in  hell,  in  which  are  330  castles,  and  in 
every  castle  300  houses,  and  in  every  house  40  cells,  and  in 
every  cell  a  black  serpent,  and  in  the  belly  of  every  serpent, 
330  scorpions,  and  in  the  sting  of  every  scorpion  330  buckets  of 
poison.  And  if  only  one  of  these  scorpions  should  pour  out 
his  poison  on  the  people  of  hell,  it  would  be  enough  to  destroy 
them  all."  (Ibid,  leaf  165.)  About  the  figures  of  the  people  in 
hell  it  is  said,  "  Their  lower  lip  hangs  down,  so  that  it  reaches 
the  navel,  and  the  upper  lip  reaches  up  to  the  forehead."  (Ibid, 
leaf  166.)  It  is  further  said  by  Abu  Hurairah,  according  to  a  tra- 
dition to  be  relied  upon,  "  that  the  distance  between  an  infidel's 
ears,  in  hell  fire,  is  a  three  days'  journey  for  a  man  on  horse- 
back galloping  all  the  way."  And  in  another  tradition  it  is 
said,  "  Verily  the  thickness  of  an  infidel's  skin  is  42  cubits  ; 
and  verily  his  teeth  are  like  the  mountain  of  Ohud  ;  and  his 
sitting  place  in  hell  is  the  same  distance  as  between  Mecca  and 
Medinah."  Mishcat,  vol.  ii.  pp.  635  and  636.  To  give  an  idea  of 
the  depth  of  hell  they  have  the  following  story :  "  According 
to  a  true  tradition  it  is  related,  that  his  majesty  the  prophet  said, 
In  the  night,  as  I  made  the  journey  to  heaven,  I  heard,  when 
on  the  road,  such  a  fearful  sound  that  I  got  quite  frightened. 
Gabriel  then  said,  Have  you  heard  it,  O  Muhammad  !  I  said, 
Yes  ;  he  said,  This  was  the  stone  which  has  70  years'  ago  been 
thrown  down  from  the  top  of  hell,  and  now  only  it  has  reached 
the  bottom."  (Ain  ul  Hayat,  leaf  166.)  Quite  the  same  de- 
scription of  hell  is  given  in  the  Sunn!  traditions,  as  contained  in 
the  Mishcat,  vol.  ii.  pp.  634  sqq.  ' 

We  might  have  added  many  more  traditions  of  this  descrip- 
tion, but  these  are  enough  to  show,  what  gross  materialism 
the  Muhammadans  have  sunk  into  as  it  respects  their  view 
of  the  punishments  of  sin,  and  how  much  they  have  corrupted 
and  how  grossly  misrepresented  the  ideas  and  figures  of  the 
scriptures  about  the  punishments  of  the  ungodly,  of  which 
they  no  doubt  have  heard  from  Christians  and  Jews.  But 
as  the  Christians  as  well  as  the  Jews,  at  the  time  of  Muham- 

vol.  i.  u 


142     Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [March, 


mad  and  subsequently,  were  sunk  in  great  ignorance  and  mate- 
rialism, we  are  not  to  be  surprised  at  seeing  the  Muhammadans 
treading  in  their  footsteps.  These  went,  however,  much  further 
than  the  former,  and  therefore  their  description  of  hell,  as  well 
as  of  paradise,  has  become  such  a  gross  material  and  sensual 
one  as  is  represented  in  their  traditions. 

6. — On  Paradise. 
As  we  have  found  prevailing  the  grossest  materialism  in  all 
that  has  hitherto  been  extracted  from  the  traditions,  so  we  meet 
with  still  more  of  it  in  the  traditions  describing  the  Behesht 
or  paradise  of  the  Muhammadans.  All  is  but  sensual  enjoy- 
ment there.  This  is  already  in  the  Quran  described  luxuri- 
ously enough,  but  the  authors  of  the  traditions  have  done  all  in 
their  power  to  make  it  still  more  agreeable  to  the  senses,  and 
have  gone  in  the  description  of  its  pleasures  beyond  all  bounds, 
as  will  be  seen  by  the  extracts  we  shall  here  give  from  those 
traditions. 

The  author  of  Haq  ul  Yakin,  begins  in  the  15th  chapter  of 
his  book,  the  description  of  the  Muhammadan  paradise  with 
these  words:  "  Paradise  is  the  mansion  of  perpetuity  and  rest; 
there  is  no  death,  there  they  do  not  get  old,  there  are  no  blind, 
no  deaf,  there  is  neither  pain  nor  sickness,  nor  any  other  kind 
of  distress,  neither  envy  nor  strife;  there  are  no  poor  or  needy; 
whatever  a  man's  soul  may  desire  and  whatever  may  delight  the 
eye,  this  is  prepared  therefor  him,  and  he  never  shall  go  out  of 
it."  And  at  another  place  it  is  thus  mentioned  by  the  same 
author :  "  It  is  related,  according  to  a  true  tradition,  that 
Abu  Bazir  said  to  his  highness  the  Imam  Jafer  :  O  son  of  the 
prophet  of  God,  relate  to  me  some  of  the  things  and  enjoy- 
ments of  paradise,  to  make  me  long  for  it.  He  said,  O 
Abu  Muhammad,  verily  the  scents  of  paradise  are  smelled  at 
a  distance  of  a  thousand  years'  journey,  and  to  the  lowest  of 
the  people  of  paradise,  they  give  so  much,  that  if  all  men  and 
gins  should  come  to  his  dwelling,  and  eat  of  his  food,  and 
drink  of  his  wine,  there  would  be  enough  for  all  of  them,  and 
still  his  stock  would  remain  undiminished.  And  when  the 
meanest  of  the  inhabitants  of  paradise  enters  it,  he  sees  three 
gardens  before  him  ;  and  entering  the  lowest,  he  finds  there 
wives,  and  servants,  and  rivers,  and  fruits  as  many  as  God  will. 
Then  after  having  offered  up  his  praise  and  thanksgiving  to 
God,  they  tell  him  to  look  upward,  when  he  beholds  many 
more  of  the  gifts  of  God  than  in  the  former  garden,  and  in  the 
third  garden  still  more  than  in  the  second  ;  and  abounding  in 
joy  he  says  :  Thou,  O  Lord,  art  worthy  of  praise,  for  thou  hast 
saved  me  from  the  fire,  and  placed  me  in  these  paradises.  I 


1840.]      Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  143 


said,  Tell  me  more,  that  my  desire  may  increase.  He  said,  O 
Abu  Muhammad  ;  there  is  a  river  on  both  banks  of  which  grow 
maidens  out  of  the  earth.  When  one  of  the  believers  passes  by 
one  of  these  maidens,  and  she  pleases  him,  then  he  plucks  her 
up,  and  the  Almighty  causes  another  to  grow  in  its  place.  Abu 
Bazir  said,  Pray  tell  me  more.  He  said,  God  will  in  paradise 
bestow  on  every  believer  800  girls  and  4000  wives  and  2  Huris*. 
These  girls  remain  always  virgins,  and  the  Huris,  the  girls  with 
the  black  eyes,  have  been  created  from  the  luminous  earth  of 
paradise.  Their  body  is  shining  through  their  70  dresses,  and 
their  heart  is  a  looking-glass  for  the  believer,  in  which,  on. 
account  of  its  exceeding  purity  and  clearness,  he  can  see  his 
face."  ( Ain  ul  Hayat,  leaf  1G7-)  In  another  tradition  it  is  said, 
that  Muhammad  informing  Ali  of  the  things  in  paradise  said, 
"  There  are  halls,  and  upon  these  halls  are  rooms  and  other 
still  larger  halls,  and  under  them  flow  the  rivers  of  paradise. 
He  said.  For  whom  have  these  halls  been  built,  O  prophet  of 
God?  His  majesty  said:  O  Ali,  these  halls  has  God  built 
for  his  friends  of  pearls  and  precious  stones.  Their  ceilings 
are  of  gold,  and  adorned  with  silver.  Every  hall  has  a  thou- 
sand doors  of  gold,  and  every  door  has  an  angel  as  door- 
keeper. And  in  these  halls  are  spread  the  finest  carpets  of 
silk  and  brocade  of  different  colours  ;  and  between  the  carpet- 
ing they  have  put  of  the  musk  and  amber  and  camphor  of 
paradise.  When  the  believer  enters  these  dwellings  they  put 
a  kingly  crown  on  his  head,  and  round  the  crown  they  place  a 
wreath  of  pearls  and  rubies,  and  clothe  him  with  70  fine  cloths 
of  different  colours,  bordered  with  borders  of  gold  and  silver, 
and  decorated  with  pearls  and  rubies.  When  the  believer 
sits  down  on  his  throne,  it  shakes  and  jumps  up  for  joy;  and 
when  the  believer  has  seated  himself,  then  the  angel,  who  is 
the  superintendant  over  his  gardens,  begs  leave  to  enter  to  pre- 
sent his  congratulations  for  the  mercies  of  God  bestowed  upon 
him.  Then  the  maid  and  men-servants  of  the  believer  tell 
him,  Stop  here  awhile,  for  the  friend  of  God  has  been  pleased 
to  recline  on  his  throne,  and  one  of  his  Huris  is  going  to  wait 
on  him  ;  wait  here  till  the  friend  of  God  has  seen  her.  Then 
the  Huri  comes  forth  from  her  tent,  and  walks  towards  the 
throne  of  the  believer,  accompanied  by  her  maid-servants,  and 
wearing  70  dresses  adorned  with  rubies  and  pearls  and  eme- 
ralds. Her  dresses  are  coloured  with  musk  and  amber,  on  her 
head  she  wears  a  precious  crown,  and  her  shoes  are  of  gold, 
inlaid  with  rubies  and  pearls.  When  she  comes  near  the 
friend  of  God  he  intends  to  get  up  out  of  affection  to  her,  but 
she  says  :  O  friend  of  God,  this  is  not  a  day  of  trouble  for  you, 

*  In  other  places  it  is  said  that  they  receive  70  Huris. 
u  2 


144     Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [March, 


do  not  get  up,  I  am  for  thee  and  thou  for  me  ;  then  they 
embrace  one  another  for  500  years  without  getting  tired 
of  one  another.    The  Almighty  sends  then  a  thousand  angels 
to  congratulate  him  on  his  arrival  in  paradise,  and  to  marry  the 
Huri  to  him ;  and  when  they  arrive  at  the  first  door  of  the 
paradise  of  the  believer,  they  say  to  the  angel  who  is  the 
keeper  of  this  door,  Go  and  inform  the  friend  of  God,  that 
the  Lord  of  the  universe  has  sent  us  to  congratulate  him  on 
his  arrival  in  paradise.  He  then  tells  it  to  the  next  door  keep- 
er, and  he  again  to  the  next  till  it  reaches  the  last,  who  says 
to  him,  The  messengers  of  God  the  Almighty  are  standing  at 
thy  door;  they  are  1000  angels,  sent  by  God,  to  congratulate 
you  ;  then  he  gives  orders  to  let  them  come  in.  Then  they  come 
in  every  one  at  one  of  the  doors  of  the  hall,  and  deliver  the 
mission  of  their  Lord.  And  to  this  refer  the  words  of  the  Quran 
where  it  is  said  :  The  angels  come  in  to  them  at  every  one  of  the 
doors  of  their  houses,  and  say,  The  peace  of  God  be  with  you." 
(Ibid. leaf  169.)  At  another  place  it  is  mentioned  that  Muham- 
mad said  :    "  The  castles  and  enclosures  of  paradise  are  built 
of  bricks,  of  which  one  is  of  gold,  another  of  silver  and  again 
another  of  ruby  ;  and  instead  of  mortar  musk  is  used,  and 
the  turrets  of   the  castles  are  of   red,  green   and  yellow 
rubies."    (Ibid.  171.)    Again  Ali  asked  Muhammad,  "When 
they  have  entered  paradise,  what  is  their  employment  there  ? 
He  answered,  They  sit  in  the  boats,  and  take  pleasure-trips  on 
the  two  large  rivers.    The  boats  are  of  rubies,  and  the  oars  of 
pearls  ;  and  in  those  boats  are  angels  of  light,  and  their  clothes 
are  green."  (Ibid.  17L)    Again  at  another  place  it  is  said : 
"  The  fruits  are  so  near  unto  them,  that  any  one  of  the  fruits 
for  which  the  believer  feels  a  desire,  he  can  take  with  his 
mouth,  without  being  obliged  to  move,  though  he  may  be  reclin- 
ing on  his  couch.    Verily  the  different  kind  of  fruits  shall 
begin  to  speak  and  call  out  to  the  friend  of  God  :  Take  and 
eat  me  first.    And  he,  Muhammad,  said,  There  is  not  one  of 
the  believers  who  has  not  many  gardens,  some  with  high 
trees,  and  others  with  trees  bending  down  to  the  earth.  He 
is  blessed  with  rivers  of  wine,  and  with  rivers  of  water,  and  of 
milk,  and  of  honey.    And  if  the  friend  of  God  wishes  to  take 
any  food,  without  ordering  they  bring  him  immediately  what 
he  wished*.    Sometimes  he  is  engaged  in  private  conversa- 
tion with  his  brother  believers ;  sometimes  they  go  and  call 
upon  one  another,  and  walk  in  their  garden  to  enjoy  the  air 

*  According  to  other  traditions,  the  Muhammadans  say,  that  their 
meals  in  paradise  consist  of  a  hundred  dishes,  and  that  wine  is  handed 
round  by  fair  youths  of  which  they  may  drink  without  bounds,  as  it  nei- 
ther inebriates  nor  produces  a  head-ache. 


1840.]     Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  145 


of  paradise,  which  is  like  the  air  between  the  dawn  of  the 
morning  and  the  rising  of  the  sun,  only  much  more  agreeable  ; 
and  sometimes  he  is  in  the  company  of  his  wives,  a  while  with 
the  Hun,  and  a  while  with  the  wife  of  this  world.  And  some- 
times when  reclining  on  his  couch,  he  gets  struck  by  a  sudden 
beam  of  light.  He  asks  then  his  servants  where  this  beam  of 
light  had  come  from  ?  They  say,  This  is  the  light  of  one  of  thy 
Huiis,  which  thou  hast  not  yet  seen  ;  she  has  put  out  her  head 
out  of  her  tent,  and  looked  towards  thee  with  great  love  and 
desire  for  thee;  and  when  she  saw  thee  reclined  on  the  couch, 
she  smiled  out  of  great  love  and  joy,  and  the  beam  which  thou 
hast  seen,  and  the  light  which  did  surround  thee,  was  from  the 
whiteness,  and  pureness,  and  beauty  of  her  teeth.  Then  the 
friend  of  God  says  :  Allow  her  to  go  out  of  her  dwelling  and  to 
come  to  me.  Then  thousands  of  men  and  maid-servants  run 
and  bring  the  tidings  to  the  Huri,  and  she  comes  out  of  her 
tent  dressed  with  70  of  the  finest  dresses,  through  which  her 
legs  can  be  seen,  and  adorned  with  pearls  and  rubies.  Her 
height  is  70  cubits,  and  the  breadth  of  her  back  10  cubits.  She 
presents  him,  in  approaching  him,  with  plates  full  of  pre- 
cious stones ;  and  then  they  remain  together  for  a  long  time, 
without  getting  tired  of  one  another."  (Ibid,  leaf  1/0.)  As 
according  to  the  tradition,  just  now  mentioned,  the  fruits 
of  paradise  reach  down  to  the  believer's  mouth,  so  the  fowls 
flying  about  in  paradise  come  down  roasted  and  boiled  upon 
the  believer's  plate  the  moment  he  wishes  for  them,  as  men- 
tioned in  the  following  tale.  It  is  related  that  Muhammad 
said,  "  Verily  there  are  birds  of  different  kinds  in  paradise, 
every  one  as  large  as  a  camel,  flying  about  in  the  fields  of 
paradise  ;  as  soon  as  one  of  the  friends  of  Muhammad  desires 
to  eat  one,  they  come  immediately  down  before  him,  the  fea- 
thers plucked  off  and  ready  dressed  without  the  need  of  fire, 
one  side  roasted  and  the  other  side  boiled  ;  and  when  he  has 
eaten  as  much  as  he  wanted,  and  said,  Alhamdu  lillah  rab  ul 
alamin,  that  is,  Praised  be  God  the  Lord  of  the  universe,  then 
the  bird  gets  quickened  again,  and  flying  up  in  the  air,  he 
glories  himself  above  the  other  birds  of  paradise,  and  says, 
Who  is  like  me,  for  of  me  has  the  friend  of  God  eaten  by  his 
permission."  (Hayat  ul  Kulub,  vol.  ii.  leaf  107.)  After  all  the 
believer  offers  up  also  his  thanks  and  prayers  to  God  for  all 
these  unbounded  enjoyments.  It  is  mentioned  "  that  his 
majesty  said  :  when  they  have  received  all  they  wanted,  and 
enjoyed  the  delights  of  eating  and  drinking  and  of  the  com- 
pany of  their  Huns  and  wives,  after  having  done  with  this, 
they  offer  up  the  praise  of  God  by  saying,  Alhamdu  lillah 
rab  ul  alamin."    (Ain  ul  Hayat,  leaf  170.)     As  the  Muham- 


146    Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [March, 


in  ad  an  s  eat  so  much  in  their  paradise,  they  tell  us  in  the 
following  tradition,  how  the  inconvenience  of  the  natural 
evacuations  of  the  body  is  removed.  They  relate  "that  his 
majesty  said  :  the  people  of  paradise  are  not  subject  to  any  of 
the  natural  evacuations  of  the  body,  but  all  is  removed  by 
perspiration,  which  smells  better  than  musk."  (Ibid,  leaf  170.) 
Another  pleasure  of  paradise  consists  in  the  wonderful  tree, 
called  Tuba,  which  is  described  in  the  following  manner: 
"  Tuba  is  a  tree  in  paradise,  the  trunk  of  which  is  in  the  house 
of  his  majesty  the  prophet,  and  there  is  no  believer  in  whose 
house  is  not  one  of  its  branches,  and  there  is  nothing  he  may 
wish  for,  which  he  cannot  get  from  this  branch.  If  a  swift 
horse  gallops  for  a  hundred  years  it  will  not  get  out  of  its 
shade,  and  if  a  crow  flies  up  from  its  bottom,  it  will  grow 
white  with  age  before  it  reaches  the  top  of  it.  From  the  top 
of  the  tree  grow  forth  fine  dresses,  and  from  the  bottom  pro- 
ceed horses  with  saddle  and  bridle  and  endowed  with  wings, 
and  free  from  the  inconvenience  of  evacuations.  The  friends 
of  God  mount  them,  and  fly  about  on  them  in  paradise  to 
whatever  place  they  wish."    (Haq  ul  Yakin,  leaf  204.) 

These  are  specimens  of  the  Shia  traditions  about  the  nature 
of  their  paradise,  respecting  which  they  have  a  great  number 
of  traditions  of  this  kind,  of  which  are  however  several  of  such 
a  nature  that  even  common  propriety  would  not  allow  the 
mention  of  them,  and  even  in  these  mentioned  we  have  been 
obliged  to  leave  out  several  improper  expressions,  and  change 
others  for  more  proper  ones.  We  shall  now  give  also  a  few  ex- 
tracts from  the  Sunni  traditions,  to  show  that  they  are  the  same 
and  of  no  better  nature  than  those  of  the  Shias.  It  is  said,  "  If 
a  woman  of  the  women  of  paradise  was  to  come  down  upon 
earth,  verily  she  would  give  splendor  to  every  thing  between 
heaven  and  earth,  and  would  fill  every  thing  between  them  with 
a  sweet  smell."  Again,  "  Verily  there  is  a  tent  for  a  Musalman 
in  paradise  of  one  pearl,  its  interior  empty,  its  breadth  60  cos, 
and  in  every  corner  of  it  will  be  his  wives ;  and  they  will  not 
see  one  another ;  and  he  will  go  round  to  each  of  them  to 
enjoy  their  company  :  and  there  are  two  paradises  with  silver 
vessels,  and  every  other  thing  of  silver ;  and  there  are  two 
paradises  with  every  thing  of  gold  in  them  ;  and  there  is  no 
curtain  between  men  and  their  beholding  their  cherisher, 
except  the  mantle  of  glory  and  greatness."  Again  is  men- 
tioned :  "  Asmaa  said  :  1  heard  his  majesty  say,  a  man  on  horse- 
back might  ride  under  the  branches  of  Sidrat  ul  muntaha* 
for  a  hundred  years  :  in  it  are  mothsf  of  gold,  and  its  fruit  is 

*  This  is  another  tree  besides  the  Tuba  already  mentioned. 

t  These  moths,  as  some  say,  are  a  kind  of  angels,  with  wings  like  gold. 


1840.]      Bemarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  147 


like  water-pots.  And  there  is  a  river  in  paradise,  the  water 
of  which  is  whiter  than  milk,  and  sweeter  than  honey,  and  on 
it  are  birds  whose  necks  are  like  the  necks  of  camels  ;  they  are 
fat  and  plump,  and  the  eaters  of  those  birds  are  plumper  and 
fatter  than  they.  A  man  said,  Are  there  horses  in  paradise  ? 
His  majesty  said,  Verily,  if  God  brings  you  into  paradise,  yon 
will  not  wish  to  ride  upon  a  rnby  horse,  which  will  fly  away 
with  yon  to  any  part  of  paradise  you  may  wish  to  go,  but  he 
will  be  given  to  you.  A  man  said  :  O  messenger  of  God  !  are 
there  camels  in  paradise  ?  His  majesty  said  :  if  God  takes  you 
into  paradise,  there  will  be  every  thing  for  you  which  your 
senses  can  desire,  and  which  can  delight  your  eye."  In  another 
tradition  it  is  said:  "Verily  there  is  a  bazar  in  paradise,  in  which 
there  is  no  buying  or  selling,  except  good  figures  of  men  and 
women  :  then  when  men  or  women  wish  for  good  figures,  they 
enter  it,  and  become  handsomer  than  before  :"  and  again  it  is 
related,  that  Sayad  ibn  Musaib  said  to  Muhammad,  "  O  mes- 
senger of  God  !  shall  we  see  our  Cherisher  ?  He  said,  Yes,  do 
you  doubt  about  seeing  the  sun  ?  We  said,  no.  His  majesty 
said,  in  like  manner  you  will  not  doubt  of  seeing  your  Cherisher, 
and  not  one  will  be  there  but  will  speak  to  God  without  an 
instructor.  Then  God  will  remind  him  of  his  sins  ;  and  the 
man  will  say,  O  my  Cherisher  !  did  you  not  pardon  my  sins  ? 
and  he  will  say  :  Yes,  I  forgave  you,  and  it  is  by  my  boundless 
kindness  that  you  have  arrived  at  this  eminence.  Then 
whilst  the  people  of  paradise  are  in  this  situation,  a  cloud  will 
come  above  them,  and  rain  down  perfumes  upon  them,  such 
as  they  had  never  met  with  before  :  and  our  Cherisher  will  say  : 
Stand  up  and  go  towards  the  thing  which  I  have  prepared  for 
you,  from  my  value  for  you.  Then  we  shall  come  to  a  bazar 
where  angels  are  assembled,  and  shall  see  such  things  as  eyes 
never  beheld,  nor  ears  heard,  or  the  like  of  which  ever  passed 
into  the  heart  and  mind* ;  and  we  shall  be  given  every  thing 
we  wished.  After  that  we  shall  return  to  our  habitations,  and 
our  wives  will  come  before  us,  and  say  ;  you  are  welcome.  And 
every  women  will  say  to  her  man  :  Verily  you  are  become 
handsomer  than  before  :  and  we  shall  say  to  them,  Verily  we 
sat  with  our  Cherisher  to-day,  who  is  the  maker  of  all  things 
beautiful,  and  this  beauty  which  we  have  obtained,  is  fitting 
for  us."    (Mishcat  ul  Masabih,  vol.  ii.  pp.  620 — 627. 

This  is  the  paradise  or  heaven  of  the  Musalmans,  but  such 
a  heaven  cannot  be  the  heaven  of  a  holy  God,  nor  the  place  of 

*  What  an  application  and  misconception  of  the  beautiful  and  spiritual 
passage  of  scripture;  1  Cor.  ii.  9.  But  this  affords  another  specimen 
of  the  gross  corruption  of  scriptural  expressions  and  ideas  by  Muham- 
madans. 


148    Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  [March, 


eternal  bliss  for  a  holy  soul.  It  would  be  blasphemy  to  attri- 
bute it  to  God,  and  it  would  be  hell  for  a  sanctified  spirit.  The 
Muhammadans,  though  they  have  not,  like  the  heathens,  made 
for  themselves  a  god,  after  their  own  lusts — from  this  they  were 
prevented  by  the  light  they  borrowed  from  scripture — they  have 
at  least  made  a  heaven  for  themselves  after  their  own  inclina- 
tions, and  according  to  the  lust  of  their  corrupted  hearts.  But 
by  doing  so  they  have  given  another  proof  that  they  know 
nothing  of  the  holy  God,  nor  of  holiness  and  purity  of  heart. 
It  is  true  God  is  mentioned  in  several  of  the  traditions  treat- 
ing on  paradise,  and  his  praise  and  adoration  is  spoken  of  as  a 
part,  and  according  to  some  traditions,  even  as  the  highest  hap- 
piness of  heaven  :  but  nowhere  is  this  brought  forward  as  the 
principal  and  the  only  source  of  eternal  felicity ;  on  the  con- 
trary, it  is  only  slightly  mentioned  and  immediately  passed 
over,  so  that  all  those  gross  sensual  enjoyments  form  every 
where  the  prominent  part,  and  appear  as  the  principal  subject 
of  their  paradise's  bliss.  Some  of  the  Muhammadans  feel 
indeed,  that  such  a  paradise  is  in  the  highest  degree  unworthy 
of  God,  and  altogether  incompatible  with  the  spiritual  happi- 
ness and  enjoyment  wanted  by  man's  eternal  spirit ;  and  say 
therefore,  that,  what  is  said  in  the  Quran  and  their  traditions 
about  paradise  must  be  taken  spiritually :  but  it  is  clear  that 
neither  the  passages  of  the  Quran  nor  these  traditions  allow 
of  such  a  rendering.  The  orthodox  belief  therefore  is,  as  well 
among  the  Shias,  as  among  the  Sunnis,  that  what  is  said  in  the 
Quran  and  in  the  traditions  of  their  paradise  is  to  be  taken 
literally.  The  author  of  the  Haq  ul  Yaqin  says,  leaf  157,  that 
resurrection,  paradise  and  hell  must  be  understood  literally 
and  materially  ;  and  then  goes  on  to  say,  that  though  in  the  pre- 
sent state  man  would  not  be  able,  on  account  of  the  weakness 
of  his  spirit,  to  unite  those  sensual  enjoyments  with  the  spiri- 
tual ones,  yet  in  the  next  world  God  will  bestow  this  power 
on  the  believers,  and  that  in  this  union  of  both  consists  the 
perfection  of  bliss  and  happiness. 

These  extracts  will,  to  every  enlightened  mind,  have  fully 
justified  the  assertions  we  made  at  the  beginning.  They  show 
clearly  how  foolish  the  Muhammadans  have  become,  when, 
thinking  themselves  wise,  they  rejected  the  wisdom  and  the 
power  of  God  revealed  in  the  cross  of  Christ,  and  how  little 
their  own  system  could  save  them  from  sinking  into  the  most 
appaling  errors  and  the  grossest  superstition.  It  is  true  that 
in  the  Quran,  as  well  as  in  their  traditions,  many  a  truth  and 
many  a  good  moral  precept  is  contained  ;  but  it  will  not  be 
necessary  to  mention  it  again,  that  all,  that  is  good  and  true 
in  their  religion,  has  been  either  literally,  or  according  to 


1840.]    Remarks  on  the  Nature  of  Muhammadanism.  149 


the  sense  borrowed  from  the  Jews  and  Christians,  that  is,  from 
the  holy  scriptures.  But  as  they  did  not  receive  the  whole  of 
divine  truth  and  rejected  Christ,  this  part,  thus  separated 
from  the  stock,  from  the  tree  of  life,  could  neither  actually 
enlighten  nor  save  them.  We  further  allow  that  the  ex- 
tract we  have  made  from  their  traditions,  is  a  partial  one  ; 
that  we  have  presented  only  one  side,  and  even  the  worst. 
But  this  was  just  our  ohject,  for  the  fair  side  of  Muhammad- 
anism has  been  presented  often  enough,  and  sometimes  even 
with  the  intention  to  darken  the  midday  sun  of  the  Christian 
revelation  ;  this,  where  it  did  not  spring  from  wicked  hatred 
to  the  truth,  may  in  some  cases  have  risen  from  the  imperfect 
knowledge  of  Muhammadanism,  from  being  acquainted  only 
with  one,  namely,  with  its  fair  side  ; — for  whoever  is  acquaint- 
ed also  with  the  dark  side  now  presented,  though  he  may  even 
reject  Christianity,  will  still  never  attempt  to  compare  or  to 
equal  Muhammadanism  with  the  pure  and  divinely  sublime 
doctrines  of  our  holy  faith.  If  the  Quran  had  not  already 
refuted  itself  and  the  religion  founded  upon  it,  these  traditions 
would  certainly  do  it  fully.  They  must  force  upon  every 
thinking  mind  a  conviction,  as  clear  as  midday,  that  a  religion 
containing  such  stories,  tales  and  doctrines  cannot  possibly  be 
a  divine  one,  however  many  good  things  it  may  otherwise  con- 
tain. These  traditions  afford,  therefore,  only  an  additional  proof 
of  the  truth,  that  error  as  well  as  truth  requires  only  to  be 
known  and  brought  to  light,  to  be  recognised  as  such.  There 
are  indeed  many  powerful  arguments  by  which  truth  may 
be  estahlished  and  error  disproved  ;  but  yet  the  strongest 
argument  for  the  one  and  against  the  other  is  found  within 
man's  own  heart.  As  the  eye  is  created  for  the  light,  so  man's 
spirit  for  truth  ;  and  as  soon  as  the  soul  is  alive  to  its  spiritual 
wants,  as  soon  as  the  eye  within  is  opened  and  the  light  of 
divine  truth  brought  near,  man  will  recognize  it  as  such  and 
believe  in  it,  if  love  of  sin  does  not  lead  him  to  wilful  opposition 
and  rejection.  These  wants  the  Muhammadans  too  have  within 
their  spirits,  but  the  light  of  divine  truth  did  not  in  former 
ages  shine  upon  them  in  its  original  and  heavenly  splendor;  it 
was  badly  reflected  and  greatly  darkened  by  the  ignorance  and 
ungodly  conduct  of  the  Jews  and  Christians  around  them. 
What  is  now  required  is,  that  the  light  of  the  Gospel,  reflected 
in  the  holy  walk  and  conversation  of  true  believers,  may  be 
made  to  shine  upon  them  in  its  unadulterated  heavenly  splen- 
dor. This  alone  can  break  their  bonds,  convince  them  of  their 
errors,  lead  them  to  truth,  and  induce  them  to  accept  the 
salvation  offered  in  the  Gospel. — P. 

VOL.  I.  X 


150 


Native  Press. 


[March, 


III. — Native  Press. 
To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer, 
Dfar  Friends, 

While  on  my  way  down  the  river,  I  take  my  pen  to  address 
you  a  few  lines,  in  order  to  notice  one  or  two  remarks  that 
have  heen  made  in  the  Calcutta  Journals  upon  my  article  on 
the  Native  Press  in  your  last  number.  Situated  as  I  am,  amid 
much  noise  and  bustle,  it  would  be  utterly  impossible  to  enter 
at  any  length  into  the  detail  of  matter  involved  in  this  question. 
I  must  content  myself  with  a  simple  expression  of  the  high 
satisfaction  I  have  derived  from  the  very  candid  and  liberal 
manner  in  which  my  article  has  been  noticed  generally.  I  am 
particularly  gratified  with  the  testimony  borne  to  the  accuracy 
and  usefulness  of  my  statistics  of  the  Native  Press,  and  not  less 
rejoiced  to  perceive  the  interest  taken  in  so  very  important  an 
element  in  the  improvement  of  Native  Society  by  the  Euro- 
pean population.  Already  have  the  humble  efforts,  it  was  my 
privilege  to  make  towards  drawing  attention  to  the  Native 
Press,  been  imitated  by  others  :  I  trust  the  European  Editors 
will,  one  and  all,  take  prompt  and  effectual  measures  for 
procuring  good  translations,  not  merely  of  a  few  cases  of 
accident  or  robber}',  of  the  reports  of  ordinary  trials  at  law  and 
police  investigations,  but  of  the  more  important,  often  highly 
interesting  editorials  and  other  original  matter  appearing  from 
time  to  time  in  the  pages  of  the  Native  Newspapers.  By  this 
means,  while  Europeans,  generally,  are  made  acquainted  with 
much  of  what  is  passing  in  the  Native  community,  of  which 
otherwise  they  would,  for  the  most  part,  be  wholly  in  igno- 
rance ;  the  progress  of  liberal  notions  and  just  opinions  among 
our  native  fellow-subjects  will,  at  the  same  time,  inevitably  be 
accelerated.  Already,  it  may  safely  be  asserted,  have  even 
the  limited  and  imperfect  attempts  in  this  way  which  an  indi- 
vidual has  been  enabled  to  make,  proved  in  no  trivial  measure 
beneficial  ;  as  appears  in  the  improved  and  improving  charac- 
ter of  the  most  important  of  the  Native  Newspapers. 

To  one  of  the  most  intelligent  of  the  Editors,  (the  conductor 
of  the  Purnachandroday,)  I  am  particularly  indebted  for  a 
very  handsome  notice  of  my  Review  ;  the  more  so  as  I  felt 
compelled,  by  the  impartiality  to  which  I  was  pledged,  to  say 
some  things  respecting  his  paper  which  were  not  likely  to  be 
acceptable.  Of  none  of  these  productions  has  the  improvement 
been  more  marked  or  more  rapid  than  of  the  one  he  so  ably 
edits.  1  feel  truly  obliged  also  by  his  assurances  of  personal 
esteem  and  good-will  ;  and  am  not  unwilling  to  avow  the 
satisfaction  which  I  derive  from  his  candid  estimate  of  the 


1840.] 


Native  Press. 


151 


utility  of  my  humble  endeavours  :  or  from  the  handsome  things 
he  has  been  pleased  to  say  of  myself  personally.  I  highly  value 
the  favourable  opinion  and  good  esteem  of  my  native  friends, 
especially  of  such  as  I  may  hope  to  influence  advantageously 
for  objects  of  public  benefit. 

Among  the  English  papers  of  the  presidency  the  Harkaru 
alone  has  taxed  me  with  inconsistency,  for  uniting  an  honest 
reproof  of  native  superstition  and  growing  infidelity  with  an 
expression  of  sentiments,  admitted  to  be  just  and  liberal,  in 
regard  to  general  education  and  national  improvement.  But 
I  fear  not  to  assert  the  only  inconsistency  to  be  in  the  author 
of  the  charge,  not  in  me:  and  am  confident  that  all  right 
thinkers  among  those  who  take  a  real  and  earnest  interest  in 
native  improvement,  will  view  matters  in  a  very  different  light 
from  the  writer  of  the  notice  in  the  Hurharu :  so  that  I  am 
not  by  any  means  over-anxious  to  support  myself  against  his 
insinuations:  they  sufficiently  rebut  themselves  when  viewed 
in  the  triple  light  of  historical  experience,  just  reason  and 
Divine  Revelation. 

To  the  Editor  of  the  Friend  of  India,  I  owe  no  measured 
thanks  for  his  very  candid  reply  to  certain  remarks  occurring 
in  my  Review  upon  the  conduct  of  the  Samdchar  Darpati. 
Substantially,  indeed,  he  admits  the  correctness  of  my  critique, 
when  he  proceeds  so  satisfactorily  to  account  for  a  deficiency 
of  native  idiom  and  propriety  in  the  editorials,  &c.  in  that  use- 
ful and  liberal  paper  ;  from  the  necessity,  namely,  which  exists 
for  keeping  the  English  and  Bengali  columns  always  of  equal 
length;  by  which  the  freedom  of  a  translation  is  unavoidably 
often  sacrificed  and  the  style  cramped.  The  other  merits  of 
the  Samachar  Darpan  abundantly  relieve  its  deficiency  as  a 
composition.  As  to  the  alleged  purity  of  style  which  the 
Friend  conceives  to  be  the  redeeming  feature  of  the  Chandrikd, 
I  can  only  reply,  I  differ  witlely  from  his  estimate  of  that 
organ  of  native  bigotry  and  ignorance. 

The  Friend  professes  to  supply  the  omission  which  he  dis- 
covers in  my  remarks  of  any  specific  statements  regarding  the 
political  bias  of  the  Native  Editors.  I  thank  him  for  his 
observations  on  that  head  ;  yet  beg  to  remark  that  my  article 
itself  gives  substantially  the  same  information,  implicitly  in 
some  places,  inferentially  in  others. 

Some  of  the  European  Editors  have  expressed  surprise  at 
finding  no  notice  in  the  remarks  of  the  Persian  newspapers 
and  others  not  Bengali.  I  have  only  to  observe  that  it  was 
no  part  of  my  object  to  go  beyond  Bengal,  nor  even  within  it 
to  venture  out  of  the  line  of  the  strictly  Native  Press,  that, 
namely,  which  is  conducted  in  the  vernacular  of  the  province. 


152 


The  Opium  Trade. 


[March, 


My  hope,  however,  always  was,  that  some  individual  compe- 
tent to  the  task,  (which,  from  ignorance  of  the  Persian  and 
Urdu,  I  assuredly  am  not.)  would  take  up  this  branch  of  the 
periodical  literature  of  the  country  likewise.  Of  the  import- 
ance of  noticing  it,  I  am  fully  sensible  ;  and  trust  no  long 
period  will  elapse  ere  it  be  fully  brought  before  the  public  ; 
although  it  is  properly  speaking  more  a  foreign  than  a  Nalive 
Press,  whether  we  consider  that  it  is  the  organ  of  an  exotic, 
though  long  naturalized,  Mahomedan  population,  or  that  it  is 
conducted  in  a  mixed  indigenous  and  imported  dialect  of 
Hindustani,  a  wholly  foreign  one,  of  Persian. 

Anxious  not  to  seem  indifferent  to  the  very  general  notice 
which  my  review  of  the  Native  Press  has  obtained,  I  have  in 
the  crowded  and  uncongenial  locality  of  a  ship's  cuddy  hastily 
put  together  these  few  loose  thoughts,  for  which  I  have  to 
solicit  the  indulgent  consideration  of  your  readers,  and  of  all 
those  who  have  favoured  my  more  elaborate  article  with  so 
gratifying  un  attention  :  and  am,  dear  Friends, 

Yours  faithfully, 

ClNSURENSIS. 


IV. — The  Opium  Trade. 

Some  of  the  most  popular  authors  and  authoresses  of  the 
day  have  written  a  series  of  volumes  for  the  purpose  of  teaching 
man  and  womankind  how  to  observe.  We  confess  to  have  been 
guilty  of  a  certain  proneness  to  this  said  observing  propensity, 
ere  the  works  in  question  made  their  appearance.  We  had  been 
taught  to  observe,  not  only  according  to  the  general  accepta- 
tion of  the  term,  but  as  Christian  Observers,  nor  are  we  willing 
that  this  propensity  should  fall  into  desuetude.  Many  things 
floating  on  the  surface  of  the  stream  of  events  demand  our 
observation  and  remark,  as  they  indicate  the  very  spirit  and 
manners  of  the  age  we  live  in,  and  may  serve,  if  noted  now 
and  here,  to  aid  those  who  shall  occupy  our  post  when  we 
shall  be  as  the  fallen  seared  leaves  of  autumn,  or  it  may  be, 
when  we  are 

','  alike  unknowing  and  unknown" 
in  the  cold  grave,  to  form  a  just  estimate  of  the  times  we  live 
in.  Without  the  t-lighest  pretensions  to  infallibility,  we  apply 
ourselves  to  the  task.  Some  time  back  we  announced  the 
extinction  of  the  Opium  trade — in  this  we  have  erred  ;  the  trade 
though  legally  suppressed  still  illegally  flourishes.  Nor  in 
a  moral  point  of  view  can  any  thing  be  more  lamentable  than 
the  present  state  of  this  question.    WAR  must  and  will  inevi- 


1840.] 


The  Opium  Trade. 


153 


tably  be  the  of  spring  of  the  Opium  trade.  As  men  and  Chris- 
tians we  must  ever  deplore  war  with  its  attendant  miseries,  be 
the  cause,  according  to  the  laws  of  man,  ever  so  just ;  but  when 
an  evil  so  dire  as  war,  finds  its  origin  in  a  struggle  between 
two  great  nations  respecting  the  use  of  a  deadly  poisonous 
drug,  forced  upon  a  people  half  destroyed  by  its  influence,  by 
a  professedly  more  enlightened  and  humane  people,  under  the 
express  sanction  of  their  own  Government,  and  against  the 
repeatedly  expressed  determination  of  the  Government  of  the 
injured  nation  to  prevent  its  introduction — when  war  finds  its 
origin  in  such  a  cause,  not  only  can  we  not  justify  it,  but  it 
is  a  duty  which  we  owe  to  the  benevolent  and  humane  people 
of  Britain,  to  enter  our  protest  against  it,  however  feeble  that 
protest  may  be,  and  however  impotent  to  restrain  the  pug- 
nacious measures  about  to  be  adopted.  In  every  war  there 
must  be  a  guilty  party,  a  party  who  must  and  will  be  amen- 
able to  the  law  of  God,  if  not  of  man,  for  all  the  misery  and 
suffering  and  death  which  must  necessarily  attend  its  progress  ; 
for  if  not,  we  shall  give  to  nations  an  irresponsibility  we  can- 
not concede  to  individuals.  Assuming  the  truth  of  this  posi- 
tion, the  question  in  this  matter  is,  Who  are  the  guilty  parties  ? 
Is  the  Chinese  Government  ?  the  Queen's  or  the  Company's 
Government  ?  or  are  the  Opium  Merchants  the  guilty  parties  ? 
A  brief  statement  of  events  as  they  have  occurred  will  best 
serve  to  set  this  matter  in  a  clear  and  distinct  light. 

For  many  a  year  the  Government  of  India  grew  and  sold  for 
exportation  purposes,  the  drug  in  question  ;  the  chief,  nay  the 
only  mart  for  it  was  China  and  the  islands  of  the  Archipelago  ; 
vessels  sailed  from  this  and  the  other  chief  ports  of  British 
India,  laden  with  this  dest.uctive  commodity;  the  Chinese 
Government  ever  and  anon  issued  edicts  against  the  traffic, 
which,  through  the  corruption  of  its  revenue  officers  both  high 
and  low,  were  always  evaded,  and  the  Opium  growers,  sellers 
and  traders  both  in  India  and  China  looked  upon  the  flowery 
edicts  of  the  celestials  as  so  many  official  pieces  of  waste 
paper.  That  this  was  the  general  impression  on  the  minds  of 
the  Opium  dealers  up  to  the  arrival  of  the  Commissioner  Lin, 
is  clear  from  the  expensive  line  of  conduct  they  were  pursuing 
at  the  very  moment  of  his  arrival.  From  what  has  since 
transpired  it  is  evident  that  the  Supreme  Government  of  China 
have  for  many  years  felt  determined  if  possible  to  suppress 
this  trade,  not  from  any  distaste  to  the  somnolent  influence  of 
the  drug  as  individuals,  but  from  a  deep  consciousness,  as 
a  wise  Government,  that  it  was  wasting  the  physical,  moral, 
and  pecuniary  resources  of  the  country.  Viewing  the  matter 
in  this  light,  the  forbearance  of  the  Chinese  Government  is 


154 


The  Opium  Trade. 


[March, 


without  a  parallel  in  the  history  of  nations.  The  policy  of 
China,  by  whatever  name  it  may  be  designated,  evidently  in- 
creased the  daring  of  the  merchant  smugglers  ;  the  whole 
trade,  illicit  as  it  was,  was  carried  on  under  the  very  eye  of  the 
authorities  appointed  to  suppress  it,  in  a  most  open  and  al- 
most official  manner.  Vessels  arrived  week  after  week  laden 
with  the  drug,  ships  were  ready  to  receive  it  in  exchange  for  good 
pure  silver,  which  was  again  borne  away  to  a  foreign  land,  while 
the  drug  was  left  to  cast  its  sterilizing  influence  over  the  bodies 
and  minds  of  one-third  of  the  human  race.  All  this  the 
Chinese  bore,  with  a  patience  unparalleled,  for  half  a  century. 
The  conduct  of  the  Chinese  Government  was  still  more  to  be 
commended,  when  we  remember  not  only  that  this  trade  was 
opposed  to  the  principles  of  wise  and  good  legislation,  but  also 
to  the  fundamental  laws  of  their  religious  system.  Sobriety 
is  one  of  its  commeudably  distinguishing  features.  At  length 
the  Chinese  authorities  determine  that  this  traffic  shall  not 
be,  if  they  can  prevent  it  ;  they  despatch  a  Commissioner 
vested  with  extraordinary  powers  to  the  chief  resort  of  the 
smugglers  :  he  issues  edicts,  in  which  he  with  but  too  much 
reason  indulges  in  remarks  at  the  expense  of  our  national 
morality  and  good  faith,  which  no  other  nation  than  a  guilty 
people  could  according  to  the  law  of  nations  tolerate.  Now 
what  is  the  substance,  the  finale  of  all  these  edicts  ? — we  believe 
this :  "  We  have  long  borne  with  the  introduction  of  Opium 
into  our  country,  we  are  determined  it  shall  now  cease.  We 
are  willing  to  trade  with  you  for  every  other  kind  of  produce 
but  Opium  ;  but  we  now  warn  you,  that  if  any  vessels  contain- 
ing this  drug  shall  be  found  within  our  waters,  they  will  be 
confiscated  and  exchequered."  The  edicts  containing  these 
sentiments  were  addressed  to  Captain  Elliott  (never  recog- 
nized as  Her  Majesty's  representative)  as  the  most  influential 
Briton  at  Canton,  urging  upon  him  the  propriety  of  using 
his  influence  with  his  countrymen  to  abandon  the  trade,  and 
still  further  threatening  death  to  any  subject  of  the  celes- 
tial empire  who  should  be  found  engaged  in  it.  The  trade  was 
still  pursued  and  the  local  authorities  gave  evidence  of  their 
decision  by  inflicting  capital  punishment  on  one  unfortunate 
Chinese  smuggler  in  the  very  face  of  the  British  factory,  and 
by  placing  a  cordon  round  the  factory  itself,  making  the  Opium 
dealers  piisoners  until  they  should  deliver  up  all  the  Opium 
in  their  possession.  All  the  Opium  was  delivered  up  to  Captain 
Elliott  by  the  merchants,  and  by  him  given  up  to  Lin,  with  an 
agreement  on  the  part  of  Captain  E.  that  Her  Majesty's 
Government  should  indemnify  the  Opium  merchants  for  their 
20,000  chests  of  the  drug.    The  contents  of  every  one  of  these 


1840.] 


The  Opium  Trade. 


155 


chests  was  destroyed  by  the  command  of  Lin,  every  ball  of 
which  bore  the  impress  of  the  British  Indian  Government.  As 
die  plot  begins  to  thicken  here  and  the  morality  of  the  ques- 
tion becomes  involved,  we  shall  pause  a  moment,  and  discuss 
briefly  nutters  at  this  period  in  the  history  of  this  drama. 
At  tins  critical  juncture  of  affairs,  Captain  E.  (the  unre- 
cognized representative  of  Britain's  Queen)  with  a  perfect 
knowledge  of  the  fact  that  every  Englishman  was  declared  a 
prisoner  who  should  set  his  foot  within  the  factory  bounds,  no 
doubt  with  the  best  and  most  humane  intentions,  but  still  with 
such  a  fact  staring  him  in  the  face,  and  without  the  most 
ordinary  means  of  defence  or  resistance  at  his  command, 
lands  and  makes  himself  the  prisoner  of  the  Chinese,  leaving 
again  when  he  choses—for  there  is  no  evidence  to  prove  that  he 
was  detained  beyond  what  he  might  naturally  have  expected,  nor 
was  any  violence  offered  to  him  in  any  way ;  and  yet  this  insult 
offered  to  our  representative,  never  recognized  by  them — this 
is  to  be  a  peg  on  which  to  suspend  all  the  horrors  of  a  war  with 
the  Chinese,  and  by  which  the  people  of  England,  not  the 
Company's  Government,  will  be  mulcted,  first,  in  the  loss  of 
all  the  revenue  derivable  from  the  tea  trade ;  secondly,  with  an 
enormous  debt  for  carrying  on  the  war  ;  and,  lastly,  with  a  moral 
disgrace  attached  to  the  national  character  of  having  begun 
a  war  in  defence  of  the  Opium  trade. 

We  say  the  morality  of  this  question  begins  to  be  mysterious, 
but  only  as  to  the  origin  of  the  war;  for  certainly  not  the  morali- 
ty, but  the  immorality  of  the  trade  has  progressed  with  a  rapi- 
dity and  to  an  extent  unparalleled  in  the  history  of  such  things. 
Now  what  is  the  plain  state  of  the  case  up  to  this  point,  what  but 
that  the  suspension  of  all  fair  trade  and  the  origin  of  war  must  be 
identified  with  Opium  ?  But  for  t  his  our  subjects  would  never 
have  been  incarcerated  or  our  representative  insulted  ;  nay,  so 
far  was  this  feeling  carried  that  a  distinction  was  drawn  be- 
tween the  Opium  merchants  and  others,  and  between  those 
more  distinguished  for  their  activity  in  the  trade  and  the  mere 
sleeping  partners  in  the  firms.  The  former  were  banished  from 
China,  the  latter  allowed  to  remain  for  a  while.  In  order  to 
form  a  correct  estimate  as  to  the  insult  offered  to  Captain 
Elliott,  we  should  remember  that  our  Residence  in  China  and 
all  our  trade  was  on  sufferance  ;  they  did  not  acknowledge  us  as 
other  nations  have  done,  nor  did  they  trade  with  us  but  on  the 
merest  sufferance;  and  had  insult  to  our  Sovereign's  representa- 
tive been  a  plea  for  war,  it  might  have  been  found  long  ere  the 
Opium  question  was  discussed  ;  for  we  suspect  not  one  of  all 
the  Consuls  of  Britain  ever  experienced  greater  affronts  than 
did  Captain  E.,  and  yet  they  were  borne  with  and  tolerated  in 


156 


The  Opium  Trade. 


[March, 


a  manner  which  we  think  reflected  the  highest  credit  on  his 
feelings  and  conduct  as  a  Christian  and  a  Briton.  Now 
if  it  be  true,  and  it  is,  that  the  Chinese  offered  to  trade 
with  us  for  all  other  commodities  but  this  Opium,  but  with 
the  understanding  that  we  must  cut  off  the  sinews  of  the 
trade,  cease  to  grow  it,  cease  to  export  it,  cease  to  make 
it  an  item  in  our  Government  exchequer,  and  place  our 
Opium  dealers  in  the  position  they  alone  ought  to  hold  in 
society  ;  if  this  was  the  alone  condition  on  which  they  would 
and  are  willing  still  to  trade  with  us,  and  we  will  not  accept 
it,  but  go  to  war  with  a  people,  nolens  volens,  after  having 
broken  its  laws,  political  and  religious,  for  many  a  year,  be- 
cause they  have,  in  defence  of  the  morals,  health,  and  exche- 
quer, manifested  a  courage  and  displayed  a  morality  which 
should  have  commanded  our  admiration  and  put  us  to  the 
blush — surely  such  a  war,  whatever  may  be  its  rise,  cannot 
be  deemed  just,  nor  will  it  reflect  any  honor  upon  the  escut- 
cheon of  Britain.  Such,  we  are  persuaded,  was  the  impression 
of  Captain  E.,  he  felt  the  national  morality  even  of  the  case 
was  defective ;  it  would  not  bear  to  be  weighed  in  the  balance 
of  national  law,  and  he  felt  himself  impotent  to  chastise  those 
who  he  was  convinced  had  not  nationally  and  as  a  Govern- 
ment transgressed;  if  not,  why  did  he,  under  the  influence  of 
a  wise  and  humane  policy,  collect  all  the  drug,  hand  it  over 
to  the  Chinese,  and  in  every  way  endeavour  to  curb  and  sup- 
press the  whole  trade  ?  why  did  he  place  his  own  character  and 
that  of  his  Government  in  jeopardy,  by  giving  bonds  which  he 
must  have  doubted  would  ever  be  honored  ?  Captain  E.  evi- 
dently is  not  the  guilty  party,  but  in  this  state  of  things  what 
is  the  conduct  of  the  Indian  Government?  Does  it  cease  to 
grow  the  drug  ?  No. — Does  it  cease  to  sell  it  ?  No. — Does  it 
say  to  the  Opium  dealers,  you  must  remove  your  offices  to 
sequestered  nooks  of  the  coast,  and  your  vessels  must  steal 
from  our  coasts  as  they  do  to  that  of  China,  under  every  flag 
but  ours  ?  No,  while  Captain  E.  is  at  the  one  end  seizing 
the  Opium,  and  the  Chinese  destroying  it,  we  here  are 
growing  it,  and  selling  it  to  the  highest  bidder;  we  are  char- 
tering ships  which  proceed  to  the  coasts  of  China,  armed  to 
the  teeth,  which  if  report  says  true,  rake  the  horizon  with 
their  grape-shot  to  prevent  the  approach  of  the  Government 
preventive  boats,  and  point  their  cannon  into  the  boats  of  the 
Chinese  Opium  smugglers,  while  they  make  such  a  bargain 
as  they  (the  British)  deem  best  for  themselves — and  this  under 
the  British  flag,  and  every  ball  of  Opium  stamped  with  the 
Company's  mark  !  !  !  This  might  have  happened  for  the  first 
season,  but  that  it  should  be  repeated  is  beyond  all  incredible, 


1840.] 


The  Opium  Trade. 


157 


and  yet  we  understand  the  order  and  the  advance  for  a  new 
crop  have  gone  forth.  Who  are  the  morally  guilty  parties  ? 
We  think  it  fairly  rests  but  upon  two  parties  ;  those  who  pro- 
vide the  Opium,  and  those  who  convey  it :  and  we  know  but  of 
two  views  which  can  at  all  extenuate  the  guilt  of  these  parties. 
The  one  is,  that  the  growers  and  sellers  of  the  Opium  are  not 
bound  to  know  whither  it  is  taken  ;  and  the  other,  that  it  is  too 
serious  an  item  in  the  Government  exchequer  to  give  up  at 
once.  In  reference  to  the  first  it  may  be  said,  if  Government 
is  to  be  responsible  for  the  acts  of  the  shippers  in  conveying 
it  to  China,  then  may  we  demand  satisfaction  from  almost 
every  Government  under  heaven  for  the  delinquency  of  their 
subjects  for  introducing  contraband  goods  into  our  ports.  The 
difference  is  just  this  : — in  the  present  case,  the  Government 
is  the  actual  grower  and  seller,  the  chief  merchant,  the  foun- 
tain from  whence  all  the  mischief  flows  ;  and  we  are  ready  to 
revenge  any  attempt  on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  to  take  and 
imprison,  or  exchequer  our  ships,  or  our  men.  Nay  more,  we 
charter  vessels,  armed  vessels,  whose  whole  business  it  is  to 
force  the  drug  into  the  coasts  and  ports  of  China.  To  say  that 
the  Government  do  not  know  whither  it  is  conveyed,  is  only 
the  veriest  quibbling ;  for  for  what  ports  are  the  ships  cleared  ? 
why  for  China  and  the  Straits  :  and  if  it  is  not  conveyed  to 
China,  where  is  there  a  mart  for  it  in  the  whole  world  ?  and  if  it 
be  sold  without  a  certainty  of  its  going  to  China,  then  does  the 
immorality  deepen,  for  then  must  it  be  sent  abroad  in  the  earth 
to  spread  its  withering  influence  on  other  lands — and  this  for 
gain  ! !  In  reference  to  the  second  observation.  Surely  the  ex- 
chequer of  the  Government  must  not  be  replenished  at  the  ex- 
pence  of  every  law  both  human  and  divine.  Besides,  the  reple- 
nishing of  the  coffers  of  the  Company  from  this  source  involves 
a  question  of  morality  towards  the  British  people,  for  whilst  the 
Opium  revenue  flows  into  this  treasury,  the  immense  revenue 
derivable  at  Home  from  the  importation  of  tea  is  stopped,  and 
the  whole  China  trade  turned  to  the  American  coasts.  Pre- 
viously to  declaring  war  even  now  the  authorities  have  had 
one  course  open  to  them  as  Christians,  and  that  is,  to  wash 
their  hands  entirely  of  the  whole  traffic  ;  for  without  this  it  is 
impossible  they  can  go  into  the  field  with  clean  hands,  if  they 
can  even  then.  There  is  yet  another  anomaly  in  this  case, 
which  may  soon  occur :  supposing  the  British  Government 
determine  to  chastise  the  Chinese  for  the  insult  offered  to 
Captain  E.  and  blockade  the  whole  coast,  it  is  clear  that  in 
maintaining  that  blockade  they  must  and  will  cut  off  all  the 
causes  of  irritation,  and  they  must  especially  suppress  all 

VOL.  I.  Y 


158 


The  Opium  Trade. 


[March, 


Opium  smuggling,  in  which  case  we  shall  have  our  naval  heroes 
slaughtering  their  smuggling  fellow-sailors,  who  will  be  em- 
ployed in  forcing  a  drug  grown  and  sold  to  their  owners  by  an 
integral  part  of  their  own  Government. 

The  other  party  involved  in  the  immoralities  of  this  traffic 
are  clearly  the  Opium  purchasers  and  shippers.     We  cannot 
bring  ourselves  to  call  them  merchants,  for  with  that  appella- 
tion we  have  been  accustomed  to  associate  only  the  most 
honorable   trade.     But   when   we   see  men,  Britons  and 
Christians,  forcing  this  drug  into  China  for  the  mere  sake  of 
gain,  we  can  find  but  one  idea  which  can  at  all  save  us  from 
classing  them  with  the  Dirk  Hattericks  and  other  daring  smug- 
glers, to  suppress  whose  trade  tbe  vigilant  preventive  service 
of  Britain  has^  been  established, — and  that  is,  that  they  are 
sanctioned  in  every  way  by  the  ruling  power.    Surely  these 
traders  cannot  for  a  moment  reflect  on  tbe  fact,  tbat  however 
ample  the  fortune  they  may  amass  in  this  traffic,  it  is  obtained 
at  the  expence  of  the  religious  and  national  character  of  their 
country,  and  at  the  expence  equally  of  the  morals,  health  and 
pecuniary  interest  of  the  Chinese.    It  is  the  enriching  of  a 
mere  handful  of  people  at  the  expence  of  every  thing  dear  to 
two  nations,  and  to  the  sacrifice  of  all  honorable  trade  between 
the  British  and  the  Chinese.    Badinage  and  sarcasm  are  quite 
out  of  place  on  such  a  subject ;  therefore,  we  have  not  stopped 
to  notice  mere  quibbling  regarding  it.     Neither  shall  we  be 
brought  to  see  the  justice  either  of  the  trade  or  the  war  from  the 
considerations,  that  the  Chinese  may  if  obliged  grow  the  drug 
themselves,  or  that  it  will  be  supplied  by  others  if  not  by  the 
Government;  nor  shall  we  feel  in  the  least  more  satisfied  with 
the  origin  of  the  war,  should  it  even  issue  in  the  opening  of 
China  to  every  good  purpose.    The  sin  of  growing  the  drug 
must  rest  with  those  that  grow  it,  and  the  sin  of  supplying  with 
those  who  supply  ;  and  all  the  bloodshed  and  misery  must  rest 
with  those  who  originate  the  war.   Our  duty  as  a  great,  moral, 
humane  and  honorable  people  is  to  wash  our  hands  of  every 
doubtful  traffic  ;  and  not  by  any  love  of  money,  or  for  the  inter- 
est of  a  wealthy  or  powerful  few,  sacrifice  that  which  is  to  us 
above  all  price — that  character  for  justice  and  uprightness 
which  has  generally  distinguished  our  acts  as  a  people  towards 
others  less  fortunate  than  ourselves.    One  argument  usually 
urged  in  defence  of  the  trade  is,  that  the  drug  can  do  but 
little  harm  when  scattered  amongst  so  many  millions  of  people. 
It  is  true  this  is  an  argument,  which  as  far  as  China  is  con- 
cerned must  remain  for  the  present  in  some  degree  of  doubt ; 
but  the  following  alarming  extract  will  show  what  must  be 
the  state  of  China,  where  it  is  as  much  used,  if  not  more  than 


1840.] 


The  Opium  Trade. 


159 


in  Assam.  The  extract  is  from  Mr.  Hruce's  account  of  the  tea 
tracts  of  Assam,  published  in  the  Asiatic  Journal : — 

"  I  might  here  observe,  that  the  British  Government  would  confer  a 
lasting  blessing  on  the  Assamese  and  the  new  settlers,  if  immediate  and 
active  measures  were  taken  to  put  down  the  cultivation  of  Opium  in 
Assam,  and  afterwards  to  stop  its  importation  by  levying  high  duties  on 
Opium  land.  If  something  of  this  kind  is  not  done,  and  done  quickly 
too,  the  thousands  that  are  about  to  emigrate  from  the  plains  into  Assam, 
will  soon  be  infected  with  the  Opium  mania, — that  dreadful  plague, 
which  has  depopulated  this  beautiful  country,  turned  it  into  a  land  of 
wild  beasts,  with  which  it  is  overrun,  and  has  degenerated  the  Assamese 
from  a  fine  race  of  people  to  the  most  abject,  servile,  crafty,  and 
demoralized  race  in  India.  This  vile  drug  has  kept,  and  does  now 
keep,  down  the  population;  the  women  have  fewer  children  compared 
with  those  of  other  countries,  and  the  children  seldom  live  to  become 
old  men,  but  in  general  die  at  manhood  ;  very  few  old  men  being 
seen  in  this  unfortunate  country,  in  comparison  with  others.  Few  but 
those  who  have  resided  long  in  this  unhappy  land  know  the  dreadful  and 
immoral  effects,  which  the  use  of  Opium  produces  on  the  native.  He 
will  steal,  sell  his  property,  his  children,  the  mother  of  his  children,  and 
finally  even  commit  murder  for  it.  Would  it  not  be  the  highest  of  bless- 
ings, if  our  humane  and  enlightened  Government  would  stop  these  evils 
by  a  single  dash  of  the  pen,  and  save  Assam,  and  all  those  who  are  about 
to  emigrate  into  it  as  Tea  cultivators,  from  the  dreadful  results  atten- 
dant on  the  habitual  use  of  Opium  ?  We  should  in  the  end  be  richly 
rewarded,  by  having  a  fine,  healthy  race  of  men  growing  up  for  our 
plantations,  to  fell  our  forests,  to  clear  the  land  from  jungle  and  wild 
beasts,  and  to  plant  and  cultivate  the  luxury  of  the  world.  This  can 
never  be  effected  by  the  enfeebled  Opium-eaters  of  Assam,  who  are  more 
effeminate  than  women.  I  have  dwelt  thus  long  on  the  subject,  think- 
ing it  one  of  great  importance,  as  it  will  affect  our  future  prospects  in  re- 
gard to  Tea  ;  also  from  a  wish  to  benefit  this  people,  and  save  those  who 
are  coming  here,  from  catching  the  plague,  by  our  using  timely  mea- 
sures of  prevention." 

Who,  on  reading  this  terrible  account,  but  must  pray  that 
all  the  Opium  lands  might  be  devoted  to  the  growth  of  tea, 
or  some  still  more  nutritive  and  yet  remunerative  plant ;  and 
that  the  energies  of  men,  and  especially  Britons,  were  directed 
into  such  a  channel,  as  might  tend  to  elevate  and  bless  the 
millions  of  China,  without  being  preceded  by  all  the  horrors 
of  war  ;  for  verily  we  may  say, 

"  Man's  inhumanity  to  man 
Makes  countless  thousands  mourn." 


Y  2 


Poetry. 


[March, 


rtNV  mrr 
JEHOVAH-J1REH. 

Gen.  xxii.  14. 

When  with  sore  tribulation 
The  saint  is  oppressed, 
When  grief  and  vexation 
Are  rending  his  breast, 
This  promise  supports  him, 
In  it  he  confides, 
Jehovah-Jireh, 
The  Lord  will  provide. 

When  temptations  assail  him 
And  trials  abound, 
What  plea  can  avail  him  ? 
What  help  can  be  found  ? 
This  plea  ne'er  shall  fail  him, 
This  hope  ne'er  deceive ; 

Jehovah-Jireh, 
The  Lord  will  relieve. 

When  the  world  is  the  strongest, 

When  Satan's  in  arms  ; 

When  their  trumps  sound  the  longest 

And  loudest  alarms — 

His  faith  sees  the  angels 

Arrayed  on  his  side. 

Jehovah-Jireh, 
The  Lord  will  provide. 

When  death  i9  approaching 
And  judgment  is  near, 
When  conscience  reproaching 
Excites  all  his  fears, 
Then  heavenly  raptures 
Break  in  like  a  tide ; 

Jehovah-Jireh, 
The  Lord  will  provide. 

And  when  in  the  judgment 

At  last  he  is  placed, 

No  fear  can  find  lodgement ; 

His  heart  is  at  rest. 

The  Brethren's  accuser 

Dares  no  longer  chide, 

Jehovah-Jireh, 
His  Saviour  has  died. 

In  tribulations  darkest  hour — 

When  most  exposed  to  Satan's  power — 

When  most  bowed  down  by  sorrows  great — 

When  most  oppressed  by  sin's  dire  weight — 

When  the  earth  reels  beneath  his  feet — 

When  placed  before  the  judgment-seat — 

This  is  his  joy,  his  boast,  his  pride, 

Jehovah-Jireh — Christ  has  died.  a 


1840.] 


Review. 


1C1 


REVIEW. 


The  Wujra  Soochi*,  or  Refutation  of  the  Arguments  upon  which 
the  Brahmanical  Institution  of  Caste  is  founded.  By  the 
learned  Boodhist  Ashwa  Ghoshu,  1839.  An  8vo.  pamphlet. 
No  press  named. 

This  admirable  pamphlet  includes  an  original  treatise  in 
Sanskrit  by  a  Buddhist  Pandit,  directed  against  the  notion  of 
a  primitive  distinction  of  castes,  and  especially  of  the  superi- 
ority of  the  Brahmin  above  the  other  sacro-civil  divisions  of 
Hindu  Society,  together  with  an  English  translation  by  the 
talented  resident  in  Nepal,  B.  H.  Hodgson,  Esq.  The  latter 
was  by  him  first  transmitted  to  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society  of 
Great  Britain  and  Ireland,  and  in  concert  with  L.  Wilkinson, 
Esq.  Political  Agent  at  Bhopal,  well  known  as  also  a  learned 
and  valuable  contributor  to  our  stock  of  oriental  knowledge,  is 
now  published  (at  what  press  is  not  said)  for  general  informa- 
tion. In  his  preface,  Mr.  Wilkinson,  to  whom  we  are  indebted 
for  the  suggestion  of  its  publication,  justly  deems  it  "  calcu- 
lated to  prove  of  great  benefit  to  the  enlightened  friends  of 
India,  as  well  native  as  European  ;  as  it  will  afford  them  argu- 
ments and  proofs,  in  great  number,  of  the  most  convincing 
nature  to  a  Brahman." 

To  the  work  announced  as  above,  is  appended  the  original 
Sanskrit  of  a  reply  entitled  "  The  TuNKtrf,  by  Soobajee 
Bapoo,"  the  learned  Brahmin  Shastri,  or  Pandit,  of  Mr. 
Wilkinson,  and  described  by  that  gentleman  as  "  distinguished 
among  his  countrymen  for  talent  and  learning ;  and,  all  things 
considered,  for  liberality  of  sentiment  and  regard  to  truth."  We 
think  the  Editor  has  done  well  to  publish  the  Tanka,  as  the  very 
best  comment  on,  and  enforcement  of,  the  Buddist  argument ; 
exhibiting  the  whole  strength  of  Brahminism,  all  that  one  of  the 

*  According  to  the  present  mode  of  romanized  spelling,  Vajra  Si'ichf, 
(•M^'-^,  from  ^  a  thunderbolt,  and  a  needle,)  q.  d.  arguments 
sharp  and  penetrating  as  a  needle,  while  powerful  and  destructive  (to 
the  contrary  position)  as  the  bolt  of  heaven. 

f  Or  Tanka  (bt^T  or  ^ms^f),  a  scimitar  or  short-sword,  q.  d.  the 
fine-edged  weapon  with  which  the  Brahman  combatant  meets  and  de- 
stroys his  infidel  opponent.  It  is  doubtless  known  to  such  of  our 
readers  as  take  an  interest  in  subjects  like  the  present,  that  Buddhist 
and  infidel  or  atheist,  (calw  and  •tt'se)  are  synonymous  in  the  estima- 
tion of  orthodox  Brahmans, 


1G2 


Review. 


[March, 


most  learned  among  orthodox  Hindus  was  able  to  put  forth  in 
support  of  the  equally  impious  and  unnatural  assumption  of  an 
almost  divine  superiority  in  one  above  tbe  other  tribes  of  their 
fellow-men.  With  the  Tanka  it  is  not  our  object  at  present  to 
meddle — its  style  and  course  of  argument  may  readily  be 
imagined  to  be  wholly  adapted  for  Hindu  intellect,  prejudice 
and  ignorance,  however  ably  maintained  on  Hindu  data.  We 
may  perhaps  notice  it  hereafter — but  pressed  for  time  on  the 
eve  of  embarkation  for  Europe,  shall  now  proceed  at  once  to 
furnish  a  few  specimens  of  the  far  more  elevated  and  conclusive 
reasoning  of  him  of  the  thunder-tipped  needle  or  sharp-pointed 
thunderbolt. 

In  a  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Royal  Asiatic  Society, 
Mr.  Hodgson  thus  speaks  of  the  work  : — 

"  It  consists  of  a  shrewd  and  argumentative  attack,  by  a  Bauddha,  upon 
the  Brahmanical  doctrine  of  caste :  and  what  adds  to  its  pungency  is, 
that  the  truth  of  the  Brahmanical  writings  is  assumed  throughout,  and 
that  the  author's  proofs  of  the  erroneousness  of  the  doctrine  of  caste  are 
all  drawn  from  those  writings.  He  possesses  himself  of  the  enemy's  bat- 
tery, and  turns  their  own  guns  against  them.  To  an  English  reader  this 
circumstance  gives  a  peurile  character  to  a  large  portion  of  the  Trea- 
tise, owing  to  the  enormous  absurdity  of  the  data  from  which  the  author 
argues.  His  inferences,  however,  are  almost  always  shrewdly  drawn,  and 
we  must  remember  that  not  he  but  his  antagonists  must  be  answerable 
for  the  character  of  the  data.  To  judge  by  the  effect  produced  upon  my 
Brahman  pandit — a  wise  man  in  his  generation,  and  accustomed  for  the 
last  four  years  to  the  examination  of  Bauddha  literature — by  this  little 
Treatise,  it  would  seem  that  there  is  no  method  of  assailing  Brahmanism 
comparable  to  that  of  "  judging  it  out  of  its  own  mouth  :''  and  the  reso- 
lution of  the  Committee  of  the  Serampore  college  to  make  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  Hindu  learning  the  basis  of  the  education  of  their  destined 
young  apostles  of  Christianity  in  India,  would  thence  appear  to  be  most 
wise  and  politic." 

Of  the  unknown  writer  of  this  concise  but  valuable  polemic 
treatise,  Mr.  H.  thus  speaks  : — 

"  Who  Ashu  Ghosha,  the  author,  was,  when  he  flourished  and  where,  I 
cannot  ascertain.  All  that  is  known  of  him  at  Nepal  is,  that  he  was  a 
Maha  pandit,  or  great  sage,  and  wrote,  besides  the  little  Treatise  now 
translated,  two  lager  Bauddha  works  of  high  repute." 

Much  of  the  argument  proceeds,  as  before  observed,  entirely 
upon  Hindu  notions,  and  however  forcible  and  conclusive  to  an 
intelligent  native,  would  make  but  little  impression  upon,  if  not 
often  seem  absurd  and  childish  to,  a  European  mind.  In  meet- 
ing an  adversary,  however,  it  is  a  just  principle  in  all  practical 
logic,  to  take  him  upon  his  own  ground,  and  addressing  him 
in  the  argumentuin  a  concesso,  or  ad  hominem,  to  effect  a  lodg- 
ment for  our  positions  obtainable  in  no  other  way  of  proceed- 
ing. The  entire  treatise,  therefore,  deserves  to  be  extensively 
circulated  among  the  natives  who  are  now  awakening  to  much 


1840.] 


Review. 


163 


mixed  religious  and  metaphysical  enquiry.  We  think  the  friends 
of  Christianity,  as  well  as  of  education  simply  considered,  would 
do  good  service  by  procuring  versions  of  it  into  the  several  ver- 
naculars of  the  country,  for  dispersion  among  the  pandits,  as 
well  as  among  the  alumni  of  our  numerous  schools  and  colleges. 
As  however,  the  pamphlet  in  its  present  form  may  not  reach 
many,  Missionaries  and  others  particularly,  who  would  be  hap- 
py to  be  furnished  with  at  least  its  general  principles  or  line  of 
argumentation,  we  proceed  to  make  a  few  extracts  from  the 
most  applicable,  in  ordinary  cases,  of  its  reasonings.  In  page 
7 — the  ingenious  author  proceeds  thus  : — 

"  If,  again,  you  say  that  Bralmianhood  depends  on  parentage  or  birth 
(jati)  ;  that  is,  that  to  be  a  Brahman  one  must  be  born  of  Brahman  pa- 
rents— this  notion  is  at  variance  with  the  known  passage  of  the  Smritt, 
that  Acliala  Muni  was  born  of  an  elephant,  and  Cesa  Pingala  of  an  owl, 
and  Agastya  Muni  from  the  Agusti  flower,  and  Cousika  Muni  from  the 
( 'usa  grass,  and  Capila  from  a  monkey,  and  Gautami  Rishi  from  a  creeper 
that  entwined  a  Saul  tree,  and  Drona  Acharya  from  an  earthen  pot,  and 
Taittiri  Rishi  from  a  partridge,  and  Parswa  Rama  from  dust,  and  Sringa 
Rishi  from  a  deer,  and  Vyasa  Muni  from  a  fisher  worn  ail,  and  Koshika 
Muni  from  a  female  Sudra,  and  Viswa  Mitra  from  a  Chandalni,  and  Va- 
sishtha  Muni  from  a  strumpet.  Not  one  of  them  had  a  Brahman  mother, 
and  yet  all  were  notoriously  called  Brahmans  ;  whence  I  infer  that  the 
title  is  a  distinction  of  popular  origin,  and  cannot  be  traced  to  parentage 
from  written  authorities. 

"  Should  you  again  say,  that  whoever  is  born  of  a  Brahman  father  or 
mother  is  a  Brahman,  then  the  child  of  a  slave  even  may  become  a  Brah- 
man ;  a  consequence  to  which  I  have  no  objection,  but  which  will  not 
consort  with  your  notions,  I  fancy. 

"  Do  you  say,  that  he  who  is  sprung  of  Brahman  parents  is  a  Brahman  ? 
Still  I  object  that,  since  you  must  mean  pure  and  true  Brahmans,  in  such 
case  the  breed  of  Brahmans  must  be  at  an  end  ;  since  the  fathers  of  the 
present  race  of  Brahmans  are  not,  any  of  them,  free  from  the  suspicion  of 
having  wives,  who  notoriously  commit  adultery  with  Sudras.  Now,  if  the 
real  father  be  a  Sudra,  the  son  cannot  be  Brahman,  notwithstanding  the 
Brahmauliood  of  his  mother.  From  all  which  I  infer,  that  Brahmanhood 
is  not  truly  derivable  from  birth  ;  and  I  draw  fresh  proofs  of  this  from 
the  Manava  Dhanna,  which  affirms  that  the  Brahman  who  eats  flesh 
loses  instantly  his  rank  ;  and  also,  that  by  selling  wax,  or  salt,  or  milk, 
he  becomes  a  Sudra  in  three  days;  and  further,  that  even  such  a  Brah- 
man as  can  fly  like  a  bird,  directly  ceases  to  be  a  Brahman  by  meddling 
with  the  flesh  pots. 

"  From  all  this  is  it  not  clear  that  Brahmanhood  is  not  the  same  with 
birth  :  since,  if  that  were  the  case,  it  could  not  be  lost  by  any  acts 
however  degrading.  Knew  you  ever  of  a  flying  horse  that  by  alighting 
on  earth  was  turned  into  a  pig? — 'Tis  impossible." 

Again,  in  page  8,  we  have  the  following  : — 

"  Say  you  that  wisdom*  constitutes  the  Brahman?  This  too  is  incor- 
rect. Why?  Because,  if  it  were  true,  many  Sudras  must  have  become 
brahmans,  from  the  great  wisdom  they  acquired.    I  myself  know  many 

*  '  Author's  note.  Perhaps  it  should  rather  be  translated  learning.  The  word  in  the 
original,  is  unyanu.'    better  written  jnyana. — lieviewer. 
t  Final  beatitude  or  absorption  into  the  Divine  fulness.— lieviewer. 


164 


Review. 


[March, 


Sudras  who  are  masters  of  the  four  vedas,  and  of  philology,  and  of  the 
Mimansa,  and  Sanc'hya  and  Vaisheshika  and  Jyotishika  philosophies  ;  yet 
not  one  of  them  is  or  ever  was  called  a  Brahman.  It  is  clearly  proved 
then,  that  Brahmanhood  consists  not  in  wisdom  or  learning.  Then  do 
you  affirm  that  the  Achdr  (performance  of  pious  acts)  is  Brahmanhood  ? 
This  too  is  false  ;  for  if  it  were  true,  many  Sudras  would  become  Brah- 
mans  ;  since-many  ATats  and  Bhdts  and  Kaivertas,  and  Bhands,  and  others, 
are  everywhere  to  be  seen  performing' the  severest  and  most  laborious 
acts  of  piety.  Yet  not  one  of  these,  who  are  all  so  pre-eminent  in  their 
Achdr,  is  ever  called  a  Brahman  :  from  which  it  is  clear  that  Achdr  does 
not  constitute  the  Brahman.'' 

Having  thus  given  the  negative  argument,  he  proceeds  posi- 
tively as  follows  : — 

"  What  then  is  this  creature  called  a  Brahman  ?  If  neither  reading 
the  Vedas,  nor  Sanskar,  nor  parentage,  nor  race  (Kula),  nor  acts 
(  Karam),  confers  Brahmanhood,  what  does  or  can?  To  my  mind 
Brahmanliood  is  merely  an  immaculate  quality,  like  the  snowy  whiteness 
of  the  Kuudh  flower.  That  which  removes  sin  is  Brahmanhood.  It  consists 
of  Vrutn  and  Tapas,  and  Niyuma,  and  Ripavas,  and  Dan,  and  Damn,  and 
Shama,  and  Sanyama.  It  is  written  in  the  Vedas  that  the  gods  hold  that 
man  to  be  a  Biahman  who  is  free  from  intemperance  and  egotism,  and 
from  Sanga,  and  Farigraha,  and  Praga,  and  Dwesha.  Moreover,  it  is 
written  in  all  the  Sastras  that  the  signs  of  a  Brahman  are  these  ;  truth, 
penance,  the  command  of  the  organs  of  sense,  and  mercy  ;  those  of  a 
Chdndalu  are  the  vices  opposed  to  those  virtues.  Another  mark  of  the 
Brahman  is  a  scrupulous  abstinence  from  sexual  commerce,  whether  he  be 
born  a  god,  or  a  man,  or  a  beast.  Yet  further,  Sukra  Acharya  has  said, 
that  the  gods  take  no  heed  of  caste,  but  deem  him  to  be  the  Brahman 
who  is  a  good  man,  although  he  belong  to  the  vilest.  From  all  which 
I  infer,  that  birth,  and  life,  and  body,  and  wisdom,  and  observance  of 
religious  rites  (achdr),  and  acts  (karam),  are  all  of  no  avail  towards 
becoming  a  Brahman." 

Next,  quoting  some  passages  from  the  Manava  Dharma  or 
Laws  of  Manu,  usually  interpreted  in  support  of  Brahmanieal 
superiority  and  depreciation  of  the  other  castes,  but  which 
this  writer  very  ingeniously,  and  we  think  justly,  turns  directly 
against  such  positions,  he  proceeds  : — (We  leave  the  author's 
Romanization  untouched.) 

"  From  all  these  assertions  of  the  Manava  Dharma)  it  is  clear  that 
Brahmanhood  is  nothing  indefeasibly  attached  to  any  race  or  breed,  but 
is  merely  a  quality  of  good  men.  Further,  it  is  written  in  the  Sastra 
of  Manu,  that  many  Sudras  became  Brahmans  by  force  of  their  piety  ; 
for  example,  Kathinu  Muni,  who  was  born  of  the  sacrificial  Hame  pro- 
duced by  the  friction  of  wood,  became  a  Biahman  by  dint  of  Tapas; 
and  Vasishtha  Muni,  born  of  the  courtezan  Urvasij  and  Vyasa  Muni, 
born  of  a  female  of  the  fisherman's  caste  ;  and  Rishiya  Sringa  Muni,  born 
of  a  doe  ;  and  Vishva  Mitra,  born  of  a  Chandalni ;  and  Nared  Muni, 
born  of  a  female  spirit-seller  ;  all  these  became  Brahmans  by  virtue  of 
their  Tapas.  Is  it  not  clear,  then,  that  Brahmanhood  depends  not  on 
birth  ?  It  is  also  notorious  that  he  who  has  conquered  himself  is  a  Yati ; 
that  he  who  performs  penance  is  a  Tapasya,  and  that  he  who  observes 
the  Brahma  churya  is  a  Brahman.  It  is  clear,  then,  that  he  whose  life  is 
pure,  and  his  temper  cheerful,  is  the  true  Brahman  ;  and  that  lineage 


1840.] 


Review. 


165 


(Kula )  has  nothing  to  do  with  the  matter.  There  are  these  alohas  in 
the  Man&va  Dharma.  "Goodness  of  disposition  and  purity  are  the  best 
of  all  things;  lineage  is  not  alone  deserving  of  respect.  If  the  race  he 
royal  and  virtue  he  wanting  to  it,  it  is  contemptible  and  useless." 
Kathina  Muni  and  Vyasa  Muni,  and  other  sages,  though  born  of  Sudras, 
are  famous  among  men  as  Brahmans  ;  and  many  persons  born  in  the 
lowest  ranks  have  attained  heaven  by  the  practice  of  uniform  good  con- 
duct fsilaj.  To  say  therefore  that  the  Brahman  is  of  one  particular 
race  is  idle  and  false."  Your  doctrine  that  the  Brahman  was  produced 
from  the  mouth,  the  Kshatriya  from  the  arms,  &c.  cannot  be  supported. 
Brahmans  are  not  of  one  particular  race.  Many  persons  have  lived  who 
belonged  to  the  Kaivarta  kul,  and  the  Rajaka  kul,  and  the  Chandal  kuf, 
and  yet,  while  they  existed  in  this  world,  performed  the  Chura  karan, 
and  'Mnnj-bnndan,  and  Darit-kushtha,  and  other  acts  appropriated  to 
Brahmans,  and  after  their  deaths  became,  and  still  are,  famous  under  the 
Brahmans." 

He  then,  passing  from  the  specific  argument  against  the 
exclusiveness  of  Brahmin  privilege,  to  the  case  of  caste  in  the 
abstract,  thus  continues  : — 

"  All  that  I  have  said  about  Brahmans  you  must  know  is  equally  appli- 
cable to  Kshatriyas;  and  that  the  doctrine  of  the  four  castes  is  altogether 
false.    All  men  are  of  one  caste. 

"  Wonderful !  You  affirm  that  all  men  proceeded  from  one,  i.  e.  Brah- 
ma ;  how  then  can  there  be  a  fourfold  insuperable  diversity  among  them  ? 
If  I  have  four  sons  by  one  wife,  the  four  sons,  having  one  father  and 
mother,  must  be  all  essentially  alike.  Know,  too,  that  distinctions  of 
race  among  beings  are  broadly  marked  by  differences  of  conformation 
and  organization  :  thus  the  foot  of  the  elephant  is  very  different  from  that 
of  the  horse  ;  that  of  the  tiger  unlike  that  of  the  deer  ;  and  so  of  the  rest  : 
and  by  that  single  diagnosis  we  learn  that  those  animals  belong  to 
very  different  races.  But  I  never  heard  that  the  foot  of  a  Kshatriya 
was  different  from  that  of  a  Brahman,  or  from  that  of  a  Sudra.  All  men  are 
formed  alike,  and  are  clearly  of  one  race.  Further,  the  generative  organs, 
the  colour,  the  figure,  the  ordure,  the  urine,  the  odour  and  utterance  of 
the  ox,  the  buffalo,  the  horse,  the  elephant,  the  ass,  the  monkey,  the  goat, 
the  sheep,  &c.  furnish  clear  diagnostics  whereby  to  separate  these  various 
races  of  animals:  but  in  all  those  respects  the  Brahman  resembles  the 
Kshatriya,  and  is  therefore  of  the  same  race  or  species  with  him.  I  have 
instanced  among  quadrupeds  the  diversities  which  separate  diverse  genera; 
I  now  proceed  to  give  some  more  instances  from  among  birds.  Thus,  the 
goose,  the  dove,  the  parrot,  the  peacock,  &c.  are  known  to  be  different  by 
their  diversities  of  figure,  and  colour,  and  plumage,  and  beak :  but  the 
Brahman,  Kshatriya,  Vaisya  and  Sudra  are  alike  without  and  within. 
How  then  can  we  say  they  are  essentially  distinct  ?  Again,  among  trees 
the  Bdta,  and  Bukula,  and  Palds,  and  Ashoka,  Tamal,  and  Nagkeswar ,  and 
Shirik,  and  Champa,  and  others,  are  clearly  contradistinguished  by  their 
stems,  and  leaves,  and  flowers,  and  fruits,  and  barks,  and  timber,  and  seeds, 
and  juices,  and  odours  ;  but  Brahmans,  and  the  Kshatriyas,  and  the  rest, 
are  alike  in  flesh, and  skin,  and  blood,  and  bones,  and  figure,  and  excrements, 
and  mode  of  birth.  It  is  surely  then  clear  that  they  are  of  one  species,  or 
race. 

"  Again,  tell  me,  is  a  Brahman's  sense  of  pleasure  and  pain  different  from 
that  of  a  Kshatriya?  Does  not  the  one  sustain  life  in  the  same  way,  and 
find  deatli  from  the  same  causes  as  the  other?  Do  they  differ  in  intellec- 
tual faculties,  in  their  actions,  or  the  objects  of  those  actions  ;  iu  the  man. 

VOL,.  I.  Z 


1GG 


Review. 


[March, 


ner  of  their  birth,  or  in  their  subjection  to  fear  and  hope  ?  Not  a  whit.  It 
is  therefore  clear  that  they  are  essentially  the  same." 

Ami,  finally,  he  shews  wherein  real  B  rah  manhood,  or  moral 
superiority,  consists  : — 

"  The  distinctions  between  Brahmans,  Kshatriyas,  Vaisyas  and  Sudras> 
are  founded  merely  on  the  observance  of  divers  rites,  and  the  practice  of 
different  professions ;  as  is  clearly  proved  by  the  conversation  of  Baisham 
Payana  Rishi  with  Yudhisthira  Raja,  which  was  as  follows  :  One  day  the 
son  of  Pandu,  named  Yudhisthira,  w  ho  was  the  wise  man  of  his  age,  joining 
his  hands  reverentially,  asked  Baisham  Payana,  Whom  do  you  call  a 
Brahman  ;  and  what  are  the  signs  of  Brahmanhood  ?  Baisham  answered — 
The  first  sign  of  a  Brahman  is,  that  lie  possesses  long-suffering  and  the 
rest  of  the  virtues,  and  never  is  guilty  of  violence  and  wrong-doing  ;  that 
he  never  eats  flesh  ;  and  never  hurts  a  sentient  thing.  The  second  sign 
is,  that  he  never  takes  that  which  belongs  to  another  without  the  owner's 
consent,  even  though  he  find  it  in  the  road.  The  third  sign,  that  he  mas- 
ters all  worldly  affections  and  desires,  and  is  absolutely  indifferent  to  earthly 
considerations.  The  fourth,  that  whether  he  is  born  a  man,  or  a  god,  or 
a  beast,  he  never  yields  to  sexual  desires.  The  fifth,  that  he  possesses  the 
following  five  pure  qualities:  truth,  mercy,  command  of  the  senses,  univer- 
sal benevolence,  and  penance'".  Whoever  possesses  these  five  signs  of 
Brahmanhood  I  acknowledge  to  be  a  Brahman  ;  and,  if  he  possess  them 
rot,  he  is  a  Sudra.  Brahmanhood  depends  not  on  race  (Kvla )  or  birth 
(Jati),  nor  on  the  performance  of  certain  ceremonies.  If  a  lihunddl  is 
virtuous,  and  possesses  the  signs  above  noted,  he  is  a  Brahman.  Oh! 
Yudhisthira,  formerly  in  this  world  of  ours  there  was  but  one  caste.  'Die 
division  into  four  castes  originated  with  diversity  of  rites  and  of  avoca- 
tions. All  men  were  born  of  woman  in  like  manner.  All  are  subject  to 
the  same  physical  necessities,  and  have  the  same  organs  and  senses.  But 
he  whose  conduct  is  uniformly  good,  is  a  Brahman  ;  and  if  it  be  otherwise, 
lie  is  a  Sudra  ;  aye,  lower  than  a  Sudra.  The  Sudra  who,  on  the  other 
hand,  possesses  these  virtues  is  a  Brahman. 

"Oh,  Yudhisthira!  If  a  Sudra  be  superior  to  the  allurements  of  the  five 
senses,  to  give  him  charity  is  a  virtue  that  will  be  rewarded  in  heaven. 
Heed  not  his  caste ;  but  only  mark  his  qualities.  Whoever  in  this  life 
ever  does  well,  and  is  ever  ready  to  benefit  others,  spending  his  days  and 
nights  in  good  acts,  such  an  one  is  a  Brahman  ;  and  whoever,  relinquishing 
worldly  ways,  employs  himself  solely  in  the  acquisition  of  Moksha,  such 
an  one  also  is  a  Brahman  ;  and  whoever  refrains  from  destruction  of  life, 
and  from  worldly  affections  and  evil  acts,  and  is  free  from  passion  and 
backbiting,  such  an  one  also  is  a  Brahman  ;  and  whoso  possesses  Kshemu, 
and  Daya,  and  Dama,  and  Dan  and  Satyd  and  Souchana,  and  Smritti,  and 
Ghrina,  and  Vidyn,  and  Vijnan,  &c.  is  a  Brahman." 

In  the  concluding  sentence  of  this  admirable  little  piece,  the 
judicious  author  thus  declares  his  object  in  its  composition  — 

"  Oh,  my  friend,  my  design  in  the  above  discourse  is,  that  all  ignorant 
Brahmans  and  others  should  acquire  wisdom  by  studying  it,  and  take  to 
the  right  way.  Let  them,  if  they  approve  it,  heed  it ;  and  if  they  approve 
it  not,  let  them  neglect  its  admonitions." 

*  "  The  word  in  the  original  is  Tapas,  which  we  are  accustomed  to  tranship 
'  penance,'  and  1  have  followed  the  usage,  though  '  asceticism'  would  be  a  better 
word.  The  proud  Tapasyi,  whom  the  very  gods  regard  willi  dread,  never  dreams  of 
contrition  and  repentance."    Author's  note. 


1840.] 


Review. 


167 


The  above  will,  we  think,  satisfy  our  readers  that  the  Vajra 
Suchi  is  a  work  of  large  merit  though  of  small  extent,  and 
that  it  is  well  deserving  of  the  estimation  in  which  the  joint 
editors  hold  it.  Our  Missionary  friends,  particularly,  will  be 
glad  to  be  furnished  with  the  principle,  as  well  as  with  some  of 
the  most  valuable  portions  of  the  detail,  of  its  arguments.  They 
are,  we  know,  fully  prepared  to  agree  with  Mr.Wilkinson  in  re- 
ference to  the  amazing  obstacle  which  this  most  unnatural  and 
perverse  institution  of  caste  opposes  to  the  progress  of  our 
divine  faith,  and  will  therefore  heartily  rejoice  in  the  appear- 
ance of  a  purely  native  work,  of  great  clearness  and  vigour, 
directed  against  its  supporters.  It  is  of  the  highest  moment 
unquestionably,  to  be  able  to  shew,  (even  from  those  shasters 
affected  at  least  to  be  so  much,  if  not  in  all  cases  really  revered,) 
the  human  and  recent  origin  of  an  institution  which,  while  it 
cramps  the  intellectual  energies  and  rivets  on  the  chains  of  an 
absurd  and  noxious  superstition,  at  the  same  time  so  debases 
the  human  character,  corrupts  the  moral  sense,  deadens  the 
best  affections  of  the  heart,  and  is  calculated  only  to  hold  the 
mass  of  men  in  a  condition  of  abject  mental  and  social  servi- 
tude to  a  crafty  and  oppressive  tribe  of  priestly  dominators. 

Mr.  W.'s  preface  thus  well  depicts  some  of  the  more  promi- 
nent mischiefs  resulting  from  the  rules  of  caste  : — 

**  There  is  no  evil  in  Indian  Society,  which  has  been  so  much  deplored 
hy  those  anxious  to  promote  the  enlightenment  of  the  people,  as  the 
institution  of  caste.  It  opposes  an  almost  insuperable  barrier  to  the  ad- 
vancement of  every  class  of  the  people.  Whenever  a  youth,  better  educated 
than  his  neighbours  or  naturally  gifted  with  keener  powers  of  discernment, 
begins  to  shew  his  contempt  for  any  debasing  and  superstitious  observance, 
or  a  heartfelt  desire  to  abandon  any  vicious  custom  by  which  he  observes 
the  morals  of  his  countrymen  to  be  corrupted,  or  to  remove  any  restriction 
on  the  freedom  of  men's  thoughts  and  actions,  his  caste  forthwith  taking 
alarm  at  these  dangerous  innovations,  assembles,  condemns  his  heterodoxy, 
and  passes  on  him  a  sentence  of  excommunication  more  severe  than  the 
"  aqua?  et  ignis  interdictio"  of  the  Romans,  and  only  less  so  than  the 
penalties  of  the  Papal  inquisition. 

"  If  our  young  Philosopher  possess  strong  nerves  and  an  unusual  degree 
of  independence  of  mind  and  spirit,  he  may  persist  in  maintaining" the 
eternal  truth  and  beauty  of  his  new  doctrine,  and  inveigh  against  the 
ignorance,  prejudice  and  injustice  of  his  fellows:  by  this  means  he  only 
exasperates  his  adversaries,  and  thus  forfeits  altogether  his  respect  (with) 
and  influence  over  them,  and  with  these  his  power  of  conferring  any  benefit 
upon  them. 

"If  our  young  Philosopher  be  made  of  softer  stuff,  he  yields,  out  of 
respect  to  the  feelings  of  parents,  brothers,  and  sisters,  that  submission  to 
the  requirements  of  custom  which  he  might  withhold  from  the  dictation 
of  his  caste.  His  submission  to  practices  which  his  heart  condemns  as 
foolish,  is  thus  liable  to  be  quoted  by  others  as  a  proof  of  their  reasonable- 
ness. Thus,  in  both  cases,  truth  is  sacrificed  or  despised,  the  spirit  ot 
improvement  is  overborne  and  repressed,  and  the  majority  of  the  ignorant, 
prejudiced  and  superstitious  triumph  in  the  sacrijicc,  of  those  who  would 
z  2 


168  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [March, 


be  their  saviours,  enacting  the  Jews  of  old,  who  stoned  them  that  were 
sent  to  them  and  slew  their  prophets." 

We  now  conclude  with  an  expression  simply  of  our  earnest 
hope  that  some  among  our  many  competently  qualified  Mis- 
sionary friends,  or  others,  zealous  in  the  cause  of  truth  and 
Christianity,  will  not  be  tardy  to  turn  this  valuable  tract  into 
the  vernacular  idioms  of  each  province  of  this  vast  empire. 
The  original  Sanskrit  is  in  a  very  easy  and  tolerably  pure 
style — at  all  events  the  English  Translation  is  so  accurate 
to  the  sense,  and  even  preserves  so  much  of  the  maimer  and 
spirit  of  the  original,  that  versions  from  it  would  answer 
every  necessary  purpose,  and  may  at  once  therefore  be  under- 
taken even  by  such  as  are  but  slightly  or  not  at  all  acquainted 
with  "  the  language  of  the  gods." 

ClNSURENSlS. 


iHufttaturrg  antr  3£Ultataug  EnteUt<jence. 


1. — Missionary  Movements. 

On  Saturday  the  15th  Jan.  the  Rev.  Mr.  Morton  and  family  proceeded 
on  board  the  Somersetshire  on  their  voyage  to  England.  In  noticing  Mr. 
Morton's  departure  we  must  be  allowed  to  acknowledge  the  services  he 
has  rendered  to  the  Observer  as  an  Editor  and  a  large  contributor.  We 
had  occasion  in  our  Introductory  Remarks  at  the  commencement  of  this 
year  to  allude  to  his  services  in  one  department.  Our  readers  are  indebt- 
ed to  his  pen  for  all  the  articles  that  have  appeared  in  the  Observer  under 
the  signatures  of  Havarensis  and  of  Cinsurensis.  His  articles  embrace 
many  subjects.  Resides  those  of  an  oriental  cast,  to  which  we  previously 
adverted,  his  signature  will  be  found  affixed  to  reviews  of  works,  western 
as  well  as  eastern,  and  treatises  theological,  critical  and  literary.  All 
his  productions  are  distinguished  by  the  same  characteristics,  liveliness 
of  thought  and  expression..  Altogether  we  have  lost  in  Mr.  Morton  a 
most  valuable  coadjutor. — The  Rev.  A.  Kreiss,  formerly  of  the  Basle 
Mission,  has  proceeded  to  Agra  to  labor  in  connection  with  the 
Church  .Mission  at  that  station.  The  Rev.  G.  l'ffander  remains  for  the 
present  in  Calcutta. — The  Rev.  Messrs.  Lacroix  and  Gogerly  have  re- 
turned to  Calcutta,  after  an  extensive  and  highly  interesting  ministra- 
tion in  the  north-east  of  Bengal. — We  understand  that  a  Missionary 
belonging  to  the  American  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  may  be  expected 
in  Calcutta  early  in  the  next  year.  A  new  mission  is  also  about  to  be 
established  at  Moorshedabad  in  connexion  with  the  London  Society; 
the  Missionary  appointed  to  this  station  is  now  on  his  voyage. —  W'e 
notice  with  pleasure  the  arrival  in  Calcutta  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Barker, 
Mrs.  Barker,  and  Miss  Bronson,  from  America,  on  their  way  to  join  the 
American  Mission  in  Assam. 


2. — The  United  Monthly  Missionary  Prayer  Meeting 
Was  held  hist  month  at  the  Lai  Bazar  chapel.    The  address,  delivered 
by  the  Rev.  J.  Thomas,  was  a  very  excellent  and  spirit-stirring  appeal  to 


1840.]         Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


109 


the  laity  on  behalf  of  Missions.  The  text  was,  "  Brethren,  pray  for  us." 
The  attendance  was  good. 


3. — The  Missionary  Conference. 
At  the  Missionary  Conference,  the  subject  of  Popery  was  discussed, 
.•Hid  a  very  able  report  read  on  the  present  state  of  popery  and  the  efforts 
of  its  emissaries  for  its  propagation. 


4. — Lord  Auckland  at  Brindabun. 
The  Native  papers  state,  that  Lord  Auckland,  in  his  way  down,  visited 
the  famous  Idol-shrine  at  Brindabun,  and  gave  1000  Co.'s  Rupees  to  the 
priests.    We  hope  this  is  false,  for  the  sake  of  our  common  Christianity. 

5. — Calcutta  Bible  Association. 
The  Eighteenth  Annual  Report  of  this  deserving  institution  has  just 
been  sent  us,  and  for  which  we  tender  our  best  thanks ;  but  as  we  have 
already  given  a  full  account  of  the  meeting  of  the  Association  and  in  that 
a  syllabus  of  its  labors  and  prospects,  we  need  not  do  more  than  state  that 
it  contains  some  very  interesting  matter,  and  will,  we  hope,  induce  the 
Christian  public  to  render  its  aid  to  promote  the  local  circulation  of  the 
Divine  volume  in  this  city,  almost  wholly  given  up  to  idolatry. 

6. — The  Report  op  the  Calcutta  Baptist  Missionary  Society. 

We  have  been  favored  with  the  Nineteenth  Report  of  the  Calcutta 
Baptist  Missionary  Society— &  most  important  and  instructive  document, 
and  one  which  we  are  confident  will  amply  repay  a  most  attentive  and 
diligent  perusal.  It  is  superior  in  the  amount  and  kind  of  information, 
and  the  general  views  which  it  contains  on  Missionary  operations,  to  the 
generality  of  such  documents.  We  gather  from  it,  that  the  Society  in 
northern  India  has  42  stations,  principal  and  subordinate  ;  27  Mission- 
aries, 48  Assistant  Missionaries  and  Native  Preachers;  24  Churches ;  757 
Members;  23  Schools,  706  scholars;  and  in  other  parts  of  the  world  80 
stations ;  about  30  Missionaries  ;  77  Churches  ;  21,000  Members,  6000 
day  scholars,  and  upwards  of  10,000  in  Sunday  schools.  We  regret  to 
find  that  the  Calcutta  Society  is  in  debt  upwards  of  1800  Co.'s  Rs.  We 
hope  this  will  not  be  allowed  to  rest  as  an  incubus  on  the  labors  of  the 
Committee.  We  postpone  to  our  next  No.  a  fuller  notice  of  this  inter- 
esting Report. 


7. — Calcutta  Missionary  Herald.  (Baptist.) 
A  new  monthly  Missionary  periodical  has  just  appeared  under  the 
above  title.  The  projectors  state,  that  a  similar  work  existed  previously 
to  the  appearance  of  the  Observer,  when  it  was  discontinued.  The  cause 
of  the  present  publication  is  the  lack  of  interest  in  many  minds  on  Mis- 
sionary subjects,  owing  to  the  want  of  more  widely  diffused  information 
on  the  progress  of  the  w  ork  of  God  amongst  the  heathen  ;  this  certainly 
would  imply  that  we  of  the  Observer  have  not  been  ample  in  our  informa- 
tion on  these  topics.  All  we  can  say  in  extenuation  is,  that  if  it  has  not 
been  so,  the  fault  has  not  been  ours  ;  we  have  published  all  that  has  been 
sent  to  us,  and  shall  be  happy  to  continue  to  do  so  when  it  is  of  a  catho- 
lic character.  We  sincerely  hope  that  this  new  vehicle  for  diffusing  Mis- 
sionary information  may  answer  the  largest  desires  of  those  who  have 
it  under  their  direction.  We  extract  the  following  letter  from  it  on  the 
interesting  subject  of  Missions  to  Aflfghauistan.  In  our  last  we  inserted  a 
call  from  an  Episcopalian ;  in  this  from  a  Baptist.  May  the  whole  Church 
be  thus  awakened  to  action. 


1/0  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [March, 


".  Knowing  that  you  have  the  best  interests  of  the  heathen  at  heart.  I  take  the 
liberty  of  addressing  you  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  your  serious  attention  towards 
the  perishing  multitudes  in  Afghanistan. 

"  There  are  two  large  cities  in  this  country.  Candahar  and  Cabul,  where  there  are 
some  hundreds  of  thousands  of  inhabitants  who  are  perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge. 
They  have  no  Christian  Minister  to  teach  them  the  errors  of  the  Musalman,  and 
the  truths  of  the  Christian  religion.  It  is  said  there  is  a  population  of  300,000  in 
Cabal,  which  is  a  much  larger  place  than  Caudahar.  No  doubt  great  good  would  be 
done  in  this  country  if  Missionaries,  who  were  well  skilled  in  the  Persian  and 
Pashtu  languages,  could  be  sent  into  it  for  the  blessed  purpose  of  teaching  the  peo- 
ple how  they  may  be  saved  from  the  wrath  to  come. 

"  An  accession  of  Missionaries  soon  entered  Burmah  after  a  British  Force  went  to 
that  country,  anil  their  labours  have  not  been  in  vain  in  the  Lord  ;  and  no  doubt 
were  you  now  to  send  Missionaries  into  Afghanistan,  the  fruit  of  their  labours 
would  soon  be  made  manifest  to  themselves  and  others.  '  Righteousness  exalteth 
a  nation,  and  sin  is  a  reproach  to  any  people.'  The  great  duty  then  for  Christians 
to  perform,  is  to  use  every  scriptural  means  for  the  gracious  end  of  teaching  the 
nations  how  they  may  become  righteous.  Preaching  Christ  and  him  crucified  must 
be  considered  the  first  and  most  scriptural  labour  for  the  conversion  of  sinners  to 
God.  The  command  is  '  Go  ye,  therefore,  and  teach  all  nations,  baptizing  them  in 
the  name  of  the  Father,  and  of  the  Son,  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost  ;  teaching  them  to 
observe  all  things  whatsoever  1  have  commanded  you.'  Further,  the  Scripture  saith, 
'  Whosoever  shall  call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord  shall  be  saved.  How  then 
shall  they  call  on  hiin  in  whom  they  have  not  believed  ?  and  how  shall  they  believe 
in  him  of  whom  they  have  not  heard  ?  and  how  shall  they  hear  without  a 
preacher?' 

"  Though  several  Baptist  Missionaries  have  lately  come  out  to  Calcutta,  I  am 
aware  that  many  more  are  required  for  Bengal  and  Hindustan,  and  it  is  likely  many 
more  will  be  sent  from  England  ere  long;  but  it  is  to  be  hoped  Affghauistan  will  be 
favoured  with  a  few  also,  so  that  the  people  in  this  benighted  land  may  be  enabled 
to  hear  the  joyful  souud,  and  receive  it  to  the  saving  of  their  souls.  We  pray  that 
nil  people,  from  the  least  to  the  greatest,  may  know  the  Lord  :  then  let  us  use  our 
endeavours  individually  and  collectively  to  send  forth  labourers  into  the  whole 
world,  that  the  knowledge  of  the  Lord  may  spread  from  east  to  west,  and  from 
north  to  south,  uutil  the  world  shall  be  filled  with  the  knowledge  of  God  the  Father, 
God  the  Son,  and  God  the  Holy  Ghost,  whom  to  know  is  life  everlasting," 


8. — The  Violation  of  thr  Sabbath. 

It  has  been  onr  painful  duty  for  some  lime  past  to  revert  to  the  seve- 
ral ways  in  which  the  Lord's  day  is  violated  in  this  country  by  profess- 
ing Christians.  One  of  the  most  painful  instances  of  such  violation  is 
recorded  in  the  Calcutta  Christian  Advocate  of  the  22nd  of  February  in 
the  following  letter,  which  we  have  transferred  to  our  pages,  in  the  hope 
that  should  it  have  escaped  the  observation  of  those  for  whom  it  was 
designed  in  that  journal,  it  may  meet  their  eye  in  this. 

"  To  the  Editur  of  the  Christian  Advocate. 

"  Sir, —  Not  only  the  title  of  your  paper,  but  the  spirit  and  temper  with  which  it 
is  conducted,  entitle  you  to  the  appellation  of  Guardiau  of  Christian  morals.  As 
such,  if  you  have  not  already  learnt,  allow  me  to  iuform  you  of  the  desecratiou  of 
last  Sabbath  by  a  British  judge  and  a  member  of  the  Law  Commission,  iu  occupying 
a  great  portion  of  the  day  examining  the  senior  department  of  the  Hindu  College 
boys  at  the  Supreme  Court  Chambers.  I  shall  do  little  more  than  state  the  fact, 
and  leave  you  as  well  as  every  right-minded  Christian  to  comment  on  or  draw  your 
own  conclusions  from  so  gross  an  outrage  on  Christian  morality.  When  a  judge  and 
a  commissioner  of  the  laud  thus  openly  set  at  defiance  the  commands  of  the  Almigh  - 
ty  to  keep  holy  the  Sabbath  day,  which  they  ought  equally  (if  not  indeed  pre-emi- 
nently) with  the  clergy  and  more  private  Christians,  in  a  heathen  land  especially, 
to  enforce,  by  example,  in  a  regular  and  consistent  attendance  at  the  house  of 
God — when  such  among  the  magnates  ol  the  laud,  I  say,  thus  demean  themselves, 
it  becomes  all  who  love  the  cause  of  Christ  sincerely,  to  redouble  their  vigilance, 
and  prayerfulness  that  God  in  mercy  would  turn  the  hearts  of  our  Rulers  to  the 
wisdom  of  the  just,  give  them  to  sec  the  error  of  their  wa>s,  and  lead  them  to  turu 
unto  Hun  with  a  true  heart,  that  they  may  henceforth,  by  u  holy  life  aud  couvti- 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  171 


sntion,  recommend  to  others,  and  adorn  themselves  that  cause  and  those  commands 
they  now  so  lamentably  set  at  naught. 

"  I  am,  &c. 

"  Calcutta,  Feb.  14,  1840.  "  A  CHRISTIAN  READER." 

Who  can  wonder,  when  the  magnates  of  the  land  thus  violate  one  of 
the  first  of  the  commands  of  God,  that  the  land  should  "  mourn  hecause 
of  sin." 


9. — Items  connected  with  the  state  op  feeling  on  Religious  and 
Moral  subjects  amongst  the  Indian  Community. 

Since  our  last  a  petition  has  been  presented  to  the  Bombay  Govern- 
ment on  the  subject  of  Mission  work  by  several  of  the  Native  commu- 
nity. The  prayer  is  for  Government  interference  with  Mission  labour. 
The  reply  of  the  Government  is,  that  it  is  neutral  and  cannot  interfere. 
The  petition  has  been  ably  replied  to  by  Dr.  Wilson,  and  the  whole  refer- 
red to  the  Supreme  Government. — A  new  Native  Unitarian  Society  has 
been  formed  in  Calcutta. — The  natives  of  Madias  have  petitioned  the 
Government  for  the  establishment  of  a  college  at  that  Presidency.  The 
reply  is  encouraging.—  Rajnarain  Roy  the  "  titled  ruffian"  has  been  fully 
committed  for  trial  for  contempt  of  court— and,  the  two  sons  of  Budi- 
nauth  Roy  have  been  committed  for  trial  for  the  supposed  murder  of  a 
poor  man  at  Patturghatta.-  Mutty  Lai  Seal  has  offered  a  lack  of  rupees 
for  the  establishment  of  a  lying-in  hospital  for  native  females.  It  is  to  be 
attached  to  the  Medical  college.  He  has  also  offered  1000  rupees  to 
any  native  widow  who  will  marry  again;  the  offer  we  hear  has  been 
accepted,  at  least  an  individual  of  the  same  caste  with  the  Balm  has 
offered  to  marry  any  widow  on  these  terms. — It  is  proposed  to  esta- 
blish a  Missionary  Society  at  Agra,  for  supplying  the  immediate  wants 
of  that  neighbourhood.  These  matters,  connected  with  the  following 
observations  from  the  Calcutta  Christian  Advocate  on  the  state  of  feel- 
ing  on  Religious  subjects  in  our  community,  shew  that  we  are  evidently 
living  in  an  important  crisis. 

"  The  state  of  feeling  on  the  subject  of  Religion  in  this  country,  both  amongst 
Natives  and  Europeans,  is  at  present  most  extraordinary  ;  nor  can  it  long  remaiu 
ns  it  is.  The  very  couflict.  of  opinion  must  soon  terminate  ;  tliat  it  will  be  brought 
to  an  issne  for  good,  we  doubt  not.  Amongst  our  native  fellow-subjects  there  are 
three  classes  of  opinions,  as  it  regards  their  own  and  the  Christian  faith — that  of  the 
orthodox  Hindus,  who  adhere  pertinaciously  to  things  as  they  have  been  ;  the  more 
enlightened,  but  sceptical,  who  are  disposed  to  reject  all  religion  :  and  the  enlight- 
ened but  searching,  who  would  find  truth  in  every  religious  system,  and  construct 
a  religion  which  should  combine  the  excellencies  contained  in  every  existing  creed  ; 
— all  and  every  one  of  these  parties,  however,  appear  desirous  of  keeping  out  the 
Christian  faith  as  a  whole,  and  yet,  we  believe,  the  general  impression  amongst 
themselves  is  that,  ultimately  Christianity  must  triumph.  The  first  class  is  fully 
represented  by  the  Bombay  petitioners  and  the  disciples  of  the  Dharma  Shabha; 
the  second,  by  large  classes  of  young  men  educated  in  the  different  Anti-chi  istian 
seminaries  ;  while  the  third  finds  representatives  in  those  who  would  form  the  New 
Theophilanthropic  School.  Amongst  the  European  or  Christian  community,  we 
find  those  who  would  deem  the  introduction  of  Christianity  a  great  bane,  the  scep- 
tical party  amongst  professing  Christians,  the  liberals  ;  another  party  would  intro- 
duce Christianity  in  a  Unitarian  dress;  while  a. third  would,  by  every  legitimate 
effort,  introduce  it  in  its  generally  received  or  Evangelical  form.  All  these  parties 
appear  united  for  the  overthrow  of  the  idolatries  and  follies  of  the  East.  The  first 
certainly  not  avowedly,  but  yet  assuredly  through  the  alune  medium  of  secular 
education  :  the  latter,  through  the  direct  and  purifying  principles  of  our  holy  faith. 
The  one  would  base  education  on  purely  Christian  principles  ;  the  other  would  ex- 
clude it  altogether  :  but  both  the  one  and  the  other,  (both  Native  and  European) 
arc  strenuous  for  the  promotion  of  education.  The  Hombay  and  the  Madras  Peti- 
tioners equally  demand  education  ;  and  thousands,  who  arc  represented  by  neither, 
cry  for  education,  and  are  willing  to  receive  it  even  through  a  Christian  medium. 
The  general  impression  on  the  native  mind  is,  that  the  Christian  religion  is  making 
rapid  advances.  In  the  letter  of  the  Theophilanthropic  Society,  it  is  said  that  Chris- 


1/2  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [March, 


tianity  is  making  terrible  progress  —  the  Bombay  petitioners  ask  for  the  safety  valve 
of  Government  influence,  to  check  the  progress  of  truth  ;  while  the  general  impres- 
sion in  the  mind  of  every  true  Christian  is  that  his  cause  must  triumph.  Such  we 
believe  to  be  the  state  of  feeling  on  the  subject  of  religion,  at  presput,  in  this  coun- 
try. The  end  and  the  fruit  it  does  not  require  much  foresight  to  predict.  The  con- 
flict must  terminate  in  a  full  and  complete  triumph  for  the  faith  of  Christ.  We 
shall  return  to  this  subject  in  an  early  number." 


10. — Education. 

We  have  this  month  devoted  considerable  space  to  the  Reports  of 
several  of  our  excellent  Missionary  and  Orphan  Schools*.  We  shall  be 
happy  in  being  made  the  medium  of  conveying-  aid  of  a  pecuniary  nature 
to  the  managers  of  any  of  these  truly  excellent  institution.  Nor  would 
we  forget  to  notice  also  the  claims  of  Mrs.  Wilson's  Refuge,  the  London 
Society's  Female  School  Society,  and  that  of  the  Calcutta  Baptist  Mission. 
Benevolent  Institution. 

"  In  the  last  Report  the  friends  of  the  Benevolent  Institution  had  to 
lament  the  loss  of  the  last  of  its  venerable  founders,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Marsh- 
man  ;  and  in  the  present  they  have  with  unfeigned  sorrow  to  record  the 
deatli  of  one  who  for  twenty-two  years  presided  over  it,  and  devoted  all 
his  energies  to  realize  the  object  for  which  it  was  founded.  The  Rev. 
James  Penney  came  to  this  country  in  the  year  1817,  on  purpose  to  take 
charge  of  the  Institution  ;  and  from  that  time  to  the  last  day  of  his  life, 
he  devoted  himself  almost  exclusively  to  the  benefit  of  the  children  of 
indigent  Christians,  connected  with  it.  By  giving  them  a  good  educa- 
tion suitable  to  their  condition  and  future  prospects,  and  calculated  to 
strengthen  their  mental  faculties  by  instilling  into  their  minds  the  prin- 
ciples of  science  and  general  useful  information,  and  the  knowledge  of 
true  religion,  he  endeavoured  to  prepare  them  for  filling  stations  of  re- 
spectability and  usefulness  in  this  world,  and  for  enjoying  pure  and  ever- 
lasting happiness  in  the  next.  He  was  admirably  qualified  for  this  work  ; 
himself  possessed  of  a  lively  imagination  and  of  an  extensive  knowledge 
of  men  and  things,  he  could  illustrate  any  subject  in  hand  with  wonder- 
ful facility  and  clearness,  and  pour  light  into  the  dullest  minds ;  and  be- 
ing always  lively  and  cheerful,  he  made  all  around  him  lively  and  happy 
too.  Combining  also  ardent  affection  with  manly  dignity  and  unbending 
integrity,  he  secured  for  himself  the  respect  and  love  of  all  his  pupils. 
They  felt,  by  his  exposing  and  banishing  their  ignorance,  that  lie  was 
their  instructor,  and  therefore  they  revered  him:  they  knew,  by  his 
anxiety  to  promote  the  welfare  of  those  who  were  in  school,  and  of  those 
who  had  left  it,  that  he  was  their  friend,  and  often  their  only  friend,  and 
therefore  they  loved  him.  How  far  he  was  successful  in  his  endeavours 
it  would  be  impossible  to  say,  but  that  he  was  eminently  so,  at  least  in 
reference  to  secular  education,  an  acquaintance  with  the  East  Indian  So- 
ciety in  general,  by  whom  he  was  universally  known  and  respected,  and 
an  appeal  to  many  of  the  public  offices  where  this  class  of  persons  are 
employed,  will  abundantly  testify. 

"  As  however,  neither  worth  nor  usefulness  can  ward  off  the  shafts  of 
death,  this  excellent  teacher  and  devoted  servant  of  God  was  attacked 
with  cholera  in  February  last,  and  thus  suddenly  torn  away  from  his 
family  and  friends,  and  from  this  institution  which  has  deeply  felt  his  loss. 

"  In  consequence  of  this  melancholy  event  the  Managers  did  their  utmost 
to  provide  a  proper  successor  ;  and  the  Rev.  Mr  Boaz  in  particular,  with 
his  usual  activity  and  zeal,  made  considerable  exertion,  with  very  great 
success,  to  pay  off  a  large  amount  of  arrears  due  to  the  teachers,  as  well 
as  to  extinguish  the  debt  accumulating  against  the  Institution,  and  per- 

*  Press  of  matter  has  obliged  us,  however  unwillingly,  to  omit  some  in  type  for 
insertion. — Ed. 


1840.] 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


173 


petuate  and  increase  its  efficiency.  They  have,  however,  now  transfer- 
red the  whole  of  the  premises  belonging  to  it,  in  trust,  to  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Yates,  Pearce,  and  Bayne,  as  Trustees  to  conduct  it  on  the  same  com- 
prehensive principles  on  which  it  has  been  always  conducted.  Thus, 
though  there  is  now  a  change  of  the  Managers,  there  is  no  change  in  the 
principles  or  the  plan. 

"  In  order  to  make  the  Institution  as  useful  as  possible,  the  Trustees 
have  written  to  the  British  and  Foreign  School  Society  in  London,  to 
supply  them  with  a  teacher  fully  qualified  and  regularly  trained  for  the 
work  ;  and  they  doubt  not  but  that  their  application  will  be  readily  com- 
plied with.  In  the  mean  time,  the  boys  will  be  carried  forward  in  their 
studies  by  Mr.  Roberts  and  the  girls  by  Mrs.  Baldwin,  who  are  both  active, 
intelligent  and  pious  teachers.  They  are  also  happy  to  state,  that  the 
Rev.  Messrs.  Boaz  and  W'enger,  and  J.  ^V.  Alexander,  Esq,  have  kindly 
allowed  themselves  to  be  appointed  Visitors  of  the  schools.  These  gentle- 
men will  carefully  look  into  the  mode  of  conducting  them,  and  suggest 
improvements  wherever  they  appear  necessary.  They  will  also  narrowly 
watch  the  progress  of  the  scholars,  and  by  their  frequent  presence  and 
adv  ice  endeavour  to  stir  up  all  to  attention  and  diligence.  Thus  the 
public  will  have  the  best  guarantee  that  can  be  given,  that  the  Institu- 
tion will  be  conducted  on  the  same  principles  as  before  :  we  trust  it  may 
be  with  equal  success. 

"  Notwithstanding  the  great  loss  which  it  has  sustained,  the  Trustees 
feel  a  pleasure  in  stating,  that  the  decrease  of  the  scholars  has  not  been 
so  great  as  might  have  been  expected.  As  it  regards  the  Male  Depart- 
ment,  the  number  of  boys  on  the  register  is  161,  and  the  daily  attendence 
averages  140.  These  embrace  the  following  classes,  viz.  Roman  Catho- 
lics, Protestants,  Hindus,  Mahomedans,  Jews,  Chinese  and  Armenians, 
though  by  far  the  greater  number  belong  to  the  first  three. 

"  There  has  been  latterly  a  considerable  diminution  of  Roman  Catholic 
children  in  attendance,  in  consequence  of  another  school  being  opened 
in  the  neighbourhood  by  their  own  denomination,  who  are  making 
vigorous  efforts  to  draw  away  the  children  from  this  Institution  to  their 
own.  It  is  rather  surprising,  however,  considering  all  the  changes  that 
have  taken  place,  that  so  many  yet  remain." 

The  school  is  divided  into  eleven  classes.  [TIere  follows  a  programme  of 
the  studies.]  Religious  instruction  is  also  communicated.  Both  the  schools 
are  daily  opened  with  singing,  reading  the  scriptures,  and  prayer  ;  and 
closed  with  prayer.  The  great  principles  of  the  oracles  of  God  are  un- 
folded to  the  rising  race,  and  piety  towards  God  and  justice  and  benevo- 
lence to  men  constantly  enjoined.  Thus  are  they  taught  to  connect  a 
sanctified  heart  with  an  enlightened  mind,  to  seek  for  moral  excellence 
as  well  as  mental  greatness  ;  and  while  the  utmost  attention  is  paid  to 
their  education  with  the  view  of  elevating  their  character,  and  raising 
them  in  society,  and  enabling  them  properly  to  discharge  the  duties  of 
friends  and  subjects,  great  care  is  taken  to  make  them  well  acquainted 
with  the  way  of  salvation,  and  the  necessity  of  true  holiness,  and  thus 
to  train  them  up,  as  far  as  possible,  in  preparation  for  a  happy  eternity. 
But  it  must  be  evident  to  every  one,  that  such  an  Institution  cannot  be 
carried  on  without  considerable  expence.  Although  it  is  conducted  with 
the  utmost  economy  consistent  with  efficiency,  yet  the  subscriptions  and 
donations  have  not  been  equal  to  the  current  expenditure.  In  addition 
to  this,  the  debt  mentioned  in  last  Report  has  been  discharged,  other 
arrears  have  been  partly  paid  up,  and  the  premises  have  undergone  very 
extensive  repairs.  Another  debt  has  consequently  been  incurred  of  near- 
ly 2000  Rs. 

In  addition  to  discharging  this,  it  will  be  necessary  to  defray  the  ex- 
VOL.  I.  2  A 


174  Missionary  and  Religions  Intelligence.  [MatiCh 


pence  of  tlie  new  teacher's  outfit  and  passage  from  England;  which  will 
considerably  embarrass  the  trustees,  unless  they  receive  even  more  than 
usual  aid.  But  conscious  that  they  themselves  have  no  other  object  in 
view  than  the  general  good,  they  can  appeal  with  confidence  to  the 
generosity  of  a  liberal  and  enlightened  public.  They  would  take  thrs 
opportunity  also  of  expressing  their  regret  that,  in  consequence  of  tbe 
unsettledness  occasioned  by  various  causes  connected  with  the  Institution, 
the  regular  subscriptions  have  not  been  called  for  during  the  past  year, 
and  they  would  earnestly  request  that  they  may  now  be  paid. 

]f  the  friends  of  education  will  only  bear  in  mind  that  this  was  the 
first  Institution  which  was  devoted  to  the  improvement  of  the  East  India 
population, — a  large,  important  yet  neglected  class  ;  and  that  it  has 
been  the  means  of  rescuing  more  than  a  thousand  of  young  men  and 
women  from  idleness,  vice  and  misery,  and  making  them  happy  and  use- 
ful members  of  society,  and  many  of  them  true  Christians ;  and  that 
thousands  more  may  still  realize  the  same  blessing,  the  Trustees  doubt 
not  but  that  it  will  continue  to  receive  that  support  which  it  has  for 
thirty  years  so  liberally  enjoyed. 

ROBERT  BAFNE,  Secretary. 


Berhampore  Native  Orphan  Asylum. 

The  Origin,  Objects  and  lloutine  of  the  Berhampore  Native  Orphan 
Asylum,  having  been  fully  explained  in  the  "  Statement"  published  by 
the  Rev.  M.  Hill  at  the  close  of  last  year,  on  these  points  we  have  no- 
thing new  to  lay  before  the  friends  of  the  Institution. 

The  inmates  of  the  Asylum,  however,  have  received  a  considerable  ad- 
dition to  their  number,  since  the  publication  of  Mr,  Hill's  statement. 
The  Cawnpore  Famine  Relief  Society,  sent  us  last  cold  season  24  orphan 
children,  of  whom  two  died,  and  one  ran  off  before  reaching  this  station. 
'I  he  emaciated  forms  and  haggard  looks  of  these  poor  sufferers,  showed 
how  deeply  they  had  drunk  of  the  cup  of  misery,  before  the  hand  of 
Christian  charity  could  avail  to  rescue  them  from  the  horrors  of  a  famine 
which,  like  an  overflowing  scourge,  had  swept  away  parents,  brothers, 
friends,  and  all  who  would  "  naturally  care  for  their  state."  Though 
the  regular  supply  of  food  and  clothing  which  they  enjoyed  on  their  pas- 
sage down  the  river,  at  the  most  bracing  season  of  the  year,  had  greatly 
contributed  to  their  restoration  to  health  ;  many  of  them  on  their  arrival 
were  still  laboring  under  various  diseases,  which  ultimately  carried  off 
four  more  of  their  number.  The  remaining  17,  through  the  Divine 
blessing  on  the  kind  exertions  of  the  surgeon  and  assistant  surgeon-  of 
the  station,  have  returned  from  the  Native  Hospital  m  good  health,  and 
are  now  perfectly  naturalized,  many  of  them  already  speaking  the  Ben- 
galee language  as  fluently  as  if  it  were  their  mother-tongue. 

But  besides  these  orphans  from  the  North  Western  Provinces,  we  have 
also  received'  a  few  from  our  own  district,  from  Patna,  Hazaribaugh  and 
the  zillah  of  Kishnagur.  The  number  of  our  orphan  children  at  this 
date  (not  including  the  girls  referred  to  in  Mr.  Hill's  statement  as  hav- 
ing been  sent  to  the  Bhowanipore  Christian  Institution,  in  Calcutta),  is 
35,  of  whom  seven  are  girls. 

As  it  was  found  inexpedient  to  educate  the  children  of  both  sexes  on 
the  same  premises,  the  girls,  with  those  of  the  boys  whose  tender  age 
required  such  an  arrangement,  were  formed  into  a  separate  department. 
A  Native  Christian  matron  resides  constantly  with  them,  teaching  the 
elder  girls  the  various  branches  of  Bengalee  housewifery,  and  acting  as 
a  mother  to  the  younger  children,  by  which  name  indeed  she  is  known 
among  them  all  and  loved.  This  department  of  the  institution  ia-at 
Babulbona,  in  the  compound  of  Mr.  Lessel. 


1840.] 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


175 


The  elder  boys  remain  in  the  original  Asylum  on  the  Mission  Premises 
as  before,  under  the  immediate  management  of  Mr.  LTIerondelle,  who 
lives  in  the  Asylum,  directs  their  work,  assists  in  their  education,  and 
exercises  a  general  superintendence  overall  their  conduct.  Both  depart- 
ments of  the  Institution  are  under  the  daily  control  of  the  missionaries 
and  their  wives,  who  assist  by  their  personal  efforts  wherever  the  teachers 
appear  to  require  counsel,  encouragement  or  aid. 

We  are  happy  in  being  able  to  add,  that  the  orphans  generally  have 
given  us  satisfaction,  by  their  good  behaviour  and  attention  to  their  les- 
sons and  their  work  :  but  we  mourn  that  so  few  of  them  seem  to  regard 
what  is  our  main  object,  our  hearts'  desire  and  prayer  for  them,  the 
salvation  of  their  souls.  Over  at  least  two  of  them,  however,  we  are 
rejoicing  yet  with  fear  and  trembling.  They  are  amongst  the  senior  boys, 
though  not  the  oldest.  For  some  months  past  they  have  of  their  own 
accord  accompanied  us  and  the  catechists  to  the  bazars,  with  the  view  of 
qualifying  themselves  for  the  work  of  preaching  the  gospel  to  their 
countrymen. 

In  addition  to  the  orphans  there  are  four  boys  and  two  girls,  children 
of  the  farm  laborers,  being  educated  in  the  Asylum  :  so  that  the  inmates 
of  both  departments  united  amount  to  41,  viz.  24.  boys  on  the  mission 
premises,  and  nine  girls  and  eight  young  boys  at  Babulbona.  Seven  men 
of  the  agricultural  class  from  the  neighbouring  district,  professing  to  be 
in  search  of  employment  and  at  the  same  time  desirous  of  embracing  the 
Christian  faith,  last  hot  season  were  engaged  as  stated  laborers  on  the 
farm,  as  they  seemed  to  us  to  come  under  the  description  of  persons  for 
whose  benefit  the  farm  was  originally  designed,  (vide  Statement,  p.  6.) 
In  a  short  time  they  solicited  and  obtained  permission  to  bring  their 
families,  amounting  in  all  to  28  souls.  They  were  so  very  poor,  that  we 
w  illingly,  at  their  request,  admitted  such  of  their  children  as  were  of  a 
suitable  age,  into  the  orphan  school.  The  parents,  with  their  infant 
children,  are  located  on  the  farm,  and  with  them  we  have  placed  a  Chris- 
tian sirkar,  to  conduct  their  morning  and  evening  worship,  and  instruct 
them  in  the  true  faith.  They  also  attend  the  regular  Bengalee  services 
at  the  mission  house  on  the  Sabbath  day,  along  with  the  Native  Chris- 
tians and  orphans  ;  and  though  deplorably  ignorant,  they  appear  willing 
— some  of  them  anxious— to  learn,  and  attentive  to  the  means  of  grace. 
One  of  the  old  farm  servants,  also,  has  thrown  off  his  caste,  and  attends 
worship,  &c.  with  the  others,  with  the  avowed  design  of  becoming  a 
Christian.  We  should  not,  however,  think  ourselves  justified  in  baptiz- 
ing any  of  them  yet. 

Two  of  the  orphan  girls  have  just  been  married — one  to  a  young  man 
(one  of  the  above  laborers),  and  the  other  to  the  eldest  of  the  orphan 
lads.  We  should  have  gladly  kept  them  at  school  two  years  longer,  as 
they  had  been  only  a  few  months  in  the  Asylum  ;  but  considering  their 
mature  age,  we  did  not  think  it  prudent  to  oppose  their  wishes.  Both 
couples  are  now  located  on  the  farm. 

In  concluding  this  Report,  we  would  desire  to  express  our  humble 
gratitude  to  God,  for  the  measure  of  support  which  he  has  graciously 
vouchsafed  to  us,  in  our  endeavours  to  benefit  the  temporal  and  spiritual 
condition  of  those  destitute  children,  who  by  his  all-wise  providence 
have  been  placed  under  our  care.  We  also  return  our  sincere  thanks  to 
those  very  kind  friends  of  the  Institution,  by  whose  liberality  we  have 
hitherto  been  enabled  to  carry  on  our  efforts,  without  embarrassment. 
We  shall  doubtless  be  excused  from  naming  individual  benefactors,  but 
we  feel  their  favors  not  the  less  on  this  account.  May  He  who  is  the 
Father  of  the  fatherless  bless  them,  and  return  their  kindness  into  their 
own  bosoms  a  thousand-fold  ! 

2  a  2 


176 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [March, 


We  subjoin  the  balance  sheet  of  accounts  for  the  last  year  and  a  half. 

JAS.  PATERSON. 
THOS.  L.  LESSEL. 

Berhampore,  Dec.  31,  1839. 

P.  S.  The  adults,  who  have  renounced  the  errors  of  their  fathers,  and 
placed  themselves  with  their  families  under  our  protection  and  religious 
training,  and  the  children  who  are  being  initiated  in  the  rudiments  of 
learning  and  the  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of  God,  form  an  aggregate 
of  upwards  of  eighty  souls,  known  among  the  heathen  by  the  name  of 
Christians. 


II.— Murder  op  the  Rev.  J.  Willtams. 
We  regret  having  to  record  the  loss  of  one  of  the  most  indefatigable 
and  successful  of  modern  Missionaries,  the  Rev.  J.  Williams  of  the  South 
Sea  Mission, — well  known  to  the  world  as  the  author  of  a  most  interest- 
ing work  on  Missions  in  that  region  of  the  world.  Mr.  W.  it  is  well  known, 
went  out  in  command  of  the  Camden,  a  missionary  ship,  for  the  purpose 
of  exploring  the  islands  of  the  southern  Pacific  as  yet  unvisited  by  mis- 
sion influence.  In  the  course  of  the  voyage  the  vessel  touched  at  the  islaud 
of  Aramanga,  when  the  inhabitants  rushed  upon  the  party  and  massa- 
cred Mr.  W.  and  a  yonng  man  named  Harris,  !who  was  proceeding  to 
England  with  a  view  to  study  for  mission  labor  at  the  Marquesas.  The 
companions  of  Mr.  W.  (two)  escaped  unhurt,  but  without  even  rescuing 
the  bodies  of  the  murdered  saints  from  the  grasp  of  these  lawless  island- 
ers. The  sensation  which  this  tragical  event  will  produce  in  Britain  is 
beyond  calculation,  since  our  deceased  brother  was  personally  known  as 
a  useful  and  holy  Missionary  from  the  Sovereign  down  through  all 
grades  to  the  lowliest  peasant.  May  that  God  whose  servants  we  are, 
impress  upon  our  hearts  the  utter  impotence  of  all  human  effort,  and 
that  all  success  depends  upon  the  strong  and  ever-living  arm  of  Jehovah. 

THE  MEETINGS. 

In  our  last  issue  we  gave  an  account  of  the  anniversaries  of  several  of 
our  public  institutions ;  we  now  complete  the  series  by  the  insertion  of 
an  account  of  the  anniversaries  of  the  Tract  and  Book  Society,  and  the 
Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bible  Society.  We  are  indebted  to  the  Courier  for 
the  substance  of  the  reports. 

Tract  and  Book  Society. 

A  Meeting  of  the  friends  of  the  Christian  Tract  and  Book  Society  was  held  on 
Tuesday  evening,  January  2],  at  the  Town  Hall,  but  rather  thinly  attended.  The 
Chair  was  taken  by  J.  A.  Hawkins,  Esq.  A  short  prayer  was  offered  up  by  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Ewart,  and  then  after  a  few  remarks  from  the  Chairman  the  Secretary  was 
called  upon  to  read  the  Report. 

The  following  is  an  abstract  of  the  Report  as  read  by  the  Secretary  : 

First,  as  to  the  funds  of  the  Society  during  the  past  [twelve  months  ;  the  report 
states  that  they  have  experienced  a  slight  decrease  in  the  receipts  of  subscriptions 
and  donations  compared  to  former  years  : 

Income  for  1839. 


Balance  of  last  year   4,159   6  2 

Subscriptions  and  Donations,    4,599    0  0 

Sale  of  Books,   4,960   o  o 


Rs.  13,738    6  2 


Expenditure. 

Tract  Expences,    4,476  11  4 

Depository,    3,017    8  5 


Rs.    7,494    3  9 
Balance,  Rs.   6,244    2  5 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


177 


The  greater  pnrt  of  this  balance  is  nominal— as  there  are  bills  on  hand  to  dis- 
charge which  will  reduce  the  balauce  to  less  than  Hs.  2000. 

There  has  been  a  great  increase  in  the  circulation  of  books  through  the  Deposi- 
tory during  the  past  year,  especially  among  the  European  portion  of  the  residents, 
which  is  very  encouraging: 

Receipts.—  1,  Bengali  Tracts  printed  146,000,  of  which  50,000  are  a  gift  from 
Mr.  Hawkins  and  20,000  from  the  Baptist  Mission  Press,  the  whole  being  only  a 
portion  of  220,000  ordered  by  the  Committee.  2,  Hindosthanee  reprinted  4,000,  being 
the  commencement  of  an  order  to  the  amount  of  upwards  of  200,000  now  on  hand. 
3,  Promiscuous  grant  in  English  and  other  European  languages  from  the  London 
Tract  Society,  32,000.  1,  from  Messrs.  J.  W.  Alexander,  Hawkins,  Sutton,  &c. 
nearly  15,000  in  English,  Persian  and  Ooriya  ;  making  in  all  about  200,000  received 
into  the  Depository. 

Issues. — The  issues  for  the  year  have  been  273,000.  Thus  the  receipts  have  beea 
about  18,000,  and  the  issues  100,000  greater  than  during  the  former  year. 

In  the  work  of  book-translation  little  has  been  done.  The  first  part  of  Barth's 
Church  History  has  been  translated  into  Bengali  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Piffard  ;  also 
Doddridge's  Rise  and  Progress,  abridged  and  altered  in  some  measure,  translated 
into  Bengali  and  printed  ;  and  the  life  of  Daniel  into  Bengali  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Morton.  Several  little  works  have  been  prepared  in  Persian  by  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Pffander  for  the  benefit  of  Mahommedans  understanding  or  speaking  that  language . 
Mr.  Pffander  was  for  some  time  engaged  in  the  Georgian  Mission,  but  through 
the  bigotted  jealousy  of  the  Government  of  that  country  was  expelled  from  thence, 
but  not  until  he  had  become  well  versed  in  the  delusions  and  language  of  the  peo- 
ple. After  having  acquired  this  important  object  his  steps  were  directed  to  this 
city,  where  his  acquisitions  have  been  turned  to  a  valuable  result.  During  the 
past  year  the  various  works  have  made  their  appearance  :  they  comprehend  the 
chief  points  at  issue  in  the  controversy  between  Christians  and  Musulmans,  and 
those  who  are  able  to  judge  their  merits,  speak  very  highly  of  their  value. 

The  Report  goes  on  to  notice  that  "  silent  knowledge  is  rapidly  though  secretly 
spreading — inquiries,  in  many  cases,  are  incited  into  action — conviction,  produced 
under  a  sermon  or  address,  is  urging  on  towards  conversion,  by  the  hidden  supplies 
of  a  tract  or  a  book  read  privately  and  by  hidden  snatches." 

In  consequence  of  the  large  demands  for  the  Society's  books,  especially  from 
Agra,  an  Auxiliary  Depository  has  been  formed  there  under  Capt.  Wheler,  to  whom 
an  extensive  supply  of  books  has  been  sent  up. 

This  Society  have  corresponded  with  the  Madras  and  Bombay  Tract  Societies  for 
translations  of  their  chief  native  tracts,  promising  in  return  translations  of  their 
principal  tracts — the  request  has  been  readily  acceded  to. 

During  the  past  year  a  cognate  society  has  been  established  in  Calcutta,  called 
the  Christian  School  Book  Society,  whose  object  is  to  promote  the  sanctification 
of  the  educational  literature  of  India. 

The  Report  concludes  with  some  very  excellent  remarks  on  what  should  constitute 
the  duty  of  every  one  in  stirring  up  his  energies  for  the  service  of  Christ.  "  Time 
is  speeding  on — year  after  year  passes  away — the  close  of  each  man's  stewardship  to 
God  is  hastening  towards  him — soon  will  it  be  here.  What  shall  our  account  then 
be  ?"  *  *  *  *  "  Let  us  then  awake  more  than  ever  ; — let  us  open  our  eyes 
on  the  fearful  rapidity  of  time's  revolution.  Let  him  that  can  teach,  teach  now — let 
him  that  can  give,  give  now — let  him  that  can  ivrite,  write  now — let  him  that  can 
translate,  translate  now — let  him  that  can  distribute,  distribute  now — let  him  that 
can  pray,  pray  now — let  him  that  can  do  any  of  these,  do  it  noiv — let  him  that  can  do 
alt  of  these,  do  all  now  ;  for  the  time  is  short,  and  the  end  of  all  is  at  hand  1" 

The  Reverend  Mr.  Boswell  proposed  the  first  resolution,  which  was — 

First. — "  That  the  Report  now  read  be  adopted  and  circulated  as  a  pledge  of  our 
continuance  in  brotherly  love,  and  as  a  medium  of  exciting  increased  interest  in  this 
Society's  special  depaitment  of  evangelical  operation." 

In  putting  it  he  dwelt  some  time  on  the  importance  of  unity  and  brotherly  love  in 
all  Christian  undertakings.  But  there  could  be  no  brotherly  love  without  divine 
truth  as  its  foundation.  The  most  delightful  feature  of  such  an  association  as  this 
is,  that  it  includes  amongst  its  friends  and  supporters  Christians  of  all  denomina- 
tions in  a  holy  union  The  Rev.  speaker  illustrated  this,  by  supposing  the  pil- 
lars which  support  the  roof  of  the  Hall  to  be  all  of  marble,  which  though  of  differ- 
ent and  various  colours,  will  still,  if  contrived  on  the  same  principles  of  architecture, 
yield  equal  support  to  the  building.  So  may  every  class  of  pious  Christians  mutu- 
ally render  assistance  in  the  great  edifice  of  Christianity,  and  be  its  support.  In 
conclusion  he  commended  union  in  prayer  to  Almighty  God,  that  he  would  unite  with 
his  servants  in  the  extension  of  His  Kiugdom. 

Mr.  J.  W.  Alexander  seconded  the  above  motion. 


178 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [March, 


The  second  resolution,  viz. 

Second. — "  That  the  spiritual  exigencies  of  India,  the  inadequate  amount  of 
personal  agency  provided  for  its  conversion  to  God,  and  the  evident  blessing  which 
has  ever  attended  the  circulation  of  written  truth — call  for  sustained  and  increased 
activity  on  our  part  in  the  diffusion  of  Christian  Tracts  and  Books  over  this  whole 
land'' — 

Was  put  by  Mr.  Morton,  who  followed  it  up  with  some  appropriate  remarks  ;  in 
the  course  of  which  the  speaker  gave  an  anecdote  of  a  young  lady  who  having  gone 
to  a  ball  was  struck  with  the  awful  word  '  eternity,'  which  so  affected  her  that  she 
became  serious. 

Mr.  Beattie  seconded  the  Resolution  with  a  few  earnest  expressions  of  delight 
in  being  privileged  to  do  so. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Wybrow  after  moving  the  Third  Resolution,  which  was: 
Third. — "  That  the  unbelief  and  impenitence  under  the  various  means  of  grace, 
by  which  we  are  beset  on  every  hand,  claim  from  us  earnest  intercessory  prayer 
before  the  Lord,  and  special  supplication  for  the  immediate  and  effectual  interpo- 
sition of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  communicate  saving  power  to  all  our  operations  as  a 
Society," — observed  with  much  earnestness  on  the  still  prevailing  stubbornness  of 
heart,  and  obstinate  perseverance  in  wickedness  by  the  people,  notwithstanding  the 
knowledge  that  they  could  not  fail  to  possess  concerning  the  riches  of  the  gospel. 
Even  in  this  city  where  such  intense  exertions  are  being  made  for  their  enlighten- 
ment, he  could  not  help  thinking  of  what  Davis  says,  that  although  the  truth  is  self- 
evident  of  the  two  sides  of  an  isosceles  triangle  being  equal,  if  that  truth  were  to 
affect  any  of  the  religious  prejudices  of  mankind,  its  infallibility  would  instantly  be 
questioned  and  perversely  denied.  So  it  is  in  regard  to  Christianity  and  the  hea- 
then's acceptance  of  it  :  their  superstitions  and  prejudices  render  them  utterly  blind 
and  deaf  to  the  perception  of  truth.  It  is  a  lamentable  fact,  their  existing  hardness 
of  heart  seems  to  be  almost  beyond  redemption.  The  speaker  then  related  a  striking 
instance,  which  had  lately  come  under  his  own  observation,  of  a  young  native,  who 
from  a  scoffer  at  Christianity,  at  length  professed  to  believe,  and  seemed  so  earnest 
that  he  was  received  into  the  church  ;  but  he  fell  :  soon  after  his  baptism,  he  pre- 
sented himself  to  the  speaker,  and  giving  an  exaggerated  statement  of  the  illness  of 
his  mother,  expressed  his  intention  of  instantly  going  to  see  her,  the  result  was 
feared  ;  he  was  earnestly  advised  not  to  go,  but  he  would  and  he  did.  He  returned 
to  the  Mirzapore  Mission  no  morel  He  had  been  since  seen,  but  had  shrunk  from 
the  Missionaries.  Such  things  were  sorrowful  and  deeply  humiliating.  More  union 
in  prayer — more  earnestness  in  it — was  called  for  from  Christians.  As  Elisha  in  his 
earnest  prayer  to  God  for  the  restoration  to  life  of  the  Shunamite's  son,  made  the 
child's  case  his  own,  by  placing  his  hands  on  the  child's  hands,  and  so  also  his  arms, 
and  his  limbs;  in  like  manner  should  we,  by  making  the  case  of  the  heathen  our 
own,  pray  more  unceasingly  and  more  earnestly  for  their  conversion  and  regeneration 
to  life  eternal. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Mieklejohn  seconded  the  resolution  with  some  very  appropriate  re- 
marks, in  the  course  of  which  he  observed  that  the  very  fact  of  the  obstinacy  to 
receive  the  truth,  ought  to  be  a  reason  for  our  increased,  united,  and  persevering 
exertion  to  spread  the  knowledge  of  the  means  of  grace  ;  and  if  there  were'any  one 
way  in  which  that  end  could  be  arrived  at,  that  way  was  the  mode  adopted  by  this 
Association  of  diffusing  Christian  knowledge.  Observe,  said  the  Rev.  speaker, 
how  the  operations  of  nature  proceed  :  now  plants  spring  forth  and  bud  ;  the  thistle 
with  its  downy  filaments,  each  of  which  contains  a  seed,  is  made  to  spread  far  and 
wide,  by  the  winds  of  heaven  wafting  the  downy  seed  over  the  tops  of  mountains 
as  well  as  in  the  vallies.  Some  fall  on  rocks  and  stony  places,  and  produce  nothing  ; 
but  much  falls  on  good  ground,  and  fructifies  and  multiplies.  Tracts  and  other  reli- 
gious publications  are  our  winged  messengers,  anTl  although  much  may  fail  of  produc- 
ing good,  still  will  some  take  root  and  bring  forth  fruit  in  due  season  through  the 
grace  of  God.  In  this  confidence  we  circulate  tracts — and  deem  it  a  privilege  to  do 
so  : — let  us  do  it  as  a  work  of  faith,  and  do  it  with  earnest,  and  affectionate,  and 
above  all  united  prayer,  for  it  is  this  which  will  ensure  the  help  of  the  Almighty. 

The  last  resolution  was  put  by  Mr.  J.  F.  M.Reid,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  C. 
Tucker, — 

Fourth. — "  That  for  the  management  of  the  affairs  of  this  Society  during  the 
ensuing  year,  the  Committee  of  last  year  be  reappointed,  with  power  to  add  to 
their  number,  agreeably  to  the  printed  regulations  of  the  Society." 

After  which  the  Doxology  was  sung,  and  the  meeting  broke  up. 


Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bible  Society. 
A  General  Meeting  of  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bible  Society  was  held  in  the  Town 
Hall,  on  Dec.  3rd,  — the  attendance  of  ladies  and  gentlemen  on  the  occasion  was  very 


1840.]         Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  179 


respectable.  The  Chair  was  taken  by  C.  W.  Smith,  Esq.  After  prayer,  and  a  few 
words  from  the  Chairman,  the  Acting  Secretary  was  called  upon  to  read  the  report 
of  the  year's  proceedings. 

The  report  was  an  exceedingly  interesting  one.  The  following  are  the  most  in- 
teresting items  which  we  could  gather  from  the  Report. 

From  the  1st  December  1837,  to  the  31st  October  1839,  there  were  issued  from  the 

Calcutta  Public  Depository,  volumes,   20,628 

Received  same  period  from  Home  Society  and  the  different  Presses,  ..  ....  60,628 

Amount  of  Subscriptions  and  Donations  during  same  period,....  Co.'s  Rs.  Jl,130 
Amount  realized  by  sale  of  Scriptures,      4,903 

Co.'s  Rs.  19,043 

Bible  Depositories  in  connection  with  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary  have  now  been  form- 
ed at  Agra,  Allahabad,  Benares,  Burdwan,  Cawnpore,  Chittagoug,  Chunar,  Cuttack, 
Dacca,  Dinapore,  Dum-Dum,  Futtehghur,  Goruckpore,  Jessore,  Ludhiana,  Luck- 
now,  Meerut,  Midnapore,  Mirzapore,  Monghyr,  Nusseerabad,  Patna,  Saharunpoie, 
Sabathu,  and  Sudiya.  By  these  Depositories  have  been  distributed  volumes 
12,109. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  reading  of  the  Report  the  Rev.  R.  B.  Boyce  briefly  pro- 
posed the  first  resolution,  "  That  the  Report,  an  abstract  of  which  has  now  been 
read,  be  printed  and  circulated." 

It  was  seconded  by  Mr.  A.  Beattie,  who  addressed  the  Meeting  somewhat  to  the 
following  effect,  that  when  he  looked  back  at  the  period  of  the  first  institution  of 
this  Auxiliary  in  1811,  when  the  revered  names  of  Brown,  Martin,  and  Thomason, 
were  amongst  its  founders,  and  considered  its  successful  and  useful  progress  since 
then,  he  could  not  but  see  reason  for  thankfulness  to  God  for  the  success  with  which 
He  had  crowned  their  labours.  The  measure  of  success  afforded,  should  not  only  be 
u  matter  of  thankfulness,  but  should  induce  an  increasing  zeal  in  Christians  who 
ought  to  feel  excited  to  persevere  in  the  good  cause — the  best  cause  in  which  mortals 
could  engage  on  earth — viz.  the  distribution  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  the  words  of 
everlasting  life  to  their  fellow-creatures.  The  Bible  is  the  source  of  eternal  happi- 
ness, glory,  and  honor  :  and  as  long  as  translations  of  that  Book  are  needed,  all 
Christians  ought  to  exert  themselves  that  every  soul,  every  intelligent  being  in  India 
should  possess  a  Bible.  He  knew — he  felt  he  was  justified  in  hoping  that  there  was 
not  one  present,  but  would  feel  the  importance  of  renewed  exertions  towards  the 
objects  of  the  Society.  The  Chairman  concurred  in  all  that  the  above  speaker  had 
said, and  hoped  that  every  heart  would  be  warmed  with  zeal  in  the  distribution  of  the 
Scriptures. 

Reverend  Mr.  Lacroix  rose  to  move  the  second  resolution — "  That  this  Meeting 
would  earnestly  call  upon  their  fellow  Christians  throughout  India,  to  consider  it 
as  their  responsibility  and  privilege  to  aid  in  the  distribution  of  that  blessed  volume 
which  alone  can  make  men  wise  unto  salvation  through  faith  which  is  in  Christ 
Jesus." — He  spoke  largely  of  the  comfort  of  the  gospel  when  in  affliction  or  in 
adversity — immeasurable  benefit  in  reforming  men's  minds,  in  forming  their  morals 
— nations  even  benefitted  from  its  distribution,  it  turned  many  from  the  worship  of 
dumb  idols  to  the  worship  of  the  living  God,  it  mended  their  morals — knowing  all 
this,  said  the  speaker,  you  will  feel  a  lively  interest  in  its  dissemination,  and  better 
fulfil  the  Lord's  will  than  by  selfishly  keeping  these  blessings  to  yourselves.  It  is 
a  privilege  we  possess  in  having  the  scriptures  in  our  hands — the  apostles  when  in 
affliction,  rejoiced  at  their  stripes  and  counted  it  ^.privilege  to  suffer.  All  men  should 
become  wise  unto  salvation,  should  become  ennobled  for  mansions  in  the 
skies  ;  and  this  object  can  only  be  attained  by  the  scriptures — you  are  convin- 
ced of  this,  said  the  speaker,  I  *ara  sure  ;  every  Christiau  knows  it,  and  it  needs 
not  that  I  should  tell  you  of  it.  Allow  me  here  to  mention  the  case  of  a  man 
who  was  not  a  Christian,  who  resided  in  Calcutta  some  years  ago,  Kammohun 
Roy.  Three  days  before  his  leaving  this  country  for  England,  I  visited  him, 
and  in  the  course  of  conversation  he  told  me —"Sir,  my  countrymen  are  a  dege- 
nerate race  and  grovelling  people  :  but  in  my  observation  on  men  and  things  I 
have  found  that  it  matters  very  much  what  you  believe  in  order  that  your  morals  be 
good  and  proper."  The  Hindu  system  he  considered  absurd,  the  Mahomedan 
somewhat  better  ;  and  said  he,  "  I  am  ashamed  of  my  countrymen  when  I  say  it, 
there  is  in  them  not  a  single  virtue — in  the  Musalmans  on  the  contrary  I  have 
found  it,  and  the  following  instance  is  a  sample  ;  a  rich  Hindu  zemindar  having 
some  cause  in  the  court  offered  a  bribe  of  20,000  rupees  to  the  Moulovie,  a 
Musulman,  if  he  would  decide  it  in  his  favor— the  bribe  was  refused  I  Such  an  act 
of  virtue  is  uot  to  be  found  iu  the  Hindu  character.   The  Musalmans  have  more 


180  Missionary  and  ReUyioas  Intelligence. 


honor  anil  virtue  in  tliem  than  any  other  infidel  nation  in  the  world,  and  much  supe- 
rior to  my  countrymen.''  How  different  was  this  to  the  morals  of  Englishmen.  Yet 
Sir  C.  Malcom  and  Sir  Charles  Forhes  had  lately  said,  that  England  would  he  the 
gainer  if  she  would  exchange  her  morals  for  the  morals  of  India.  If  that  were  true, 
ye  Englishmen,  I  say,  give  up  your  charitable  institutions,  your  schools,  your  do- 
mestic happiness,  your  sublime  religion,  and  exchange  it  for  all  the  degrading 
system  of  the  Hindus,  with  their  caste  which  would  let  a  fellow-creature  starve  like 
a  dog  rather  than  put  forward  a  hand  to  help  him.  When  we  see  these  things  our 
minds  must  fall  back  with  disgust  at  a  religion  (!)  which  can  sanction  such  things  ; 
away,  ye  Missionaries,  ye  are  not  required  here — no  ;  Hindu  priests  are  required 
to  go  to  England  to  teach  them  t here .'  The  speaker  then  said  that  he  had  attentive- 
ly examined  the  Shasters  and  the  Koran,  and  was  ready  to  prove,  if  necessary,  and 
had  proved  it  several  times  already,  that  there  was  scarcely  a  single  doctrine,  or  a 
precept  which  inculcated  the  pursuit  of  morality  and  a  holy  life. 

The  duties  of  Missionaries  called  them  into  very  frequent  and  close  contact  with 
the  natives.  They  had  thus  an  opportunity  of  knowing  more  of  their  virtues 
and  vices  than  any  other  Europeans.  And  as  an  object  at  a  distance  seemed  well 
proportioned  and  consistent,  but  when  viewed  closely,  and  scanned  in  all  its  parts,  its 
deformities  and  defects  were  fully  apparent  ;  so  was  it  with  regard  to  the  observa- 
tion of  English  residents  in  general,  and  that  of  Missionaries  ou  native  manners  and 
morality.  Were  England  indeed  to  exchange  morals  with  such  a  people,  then  would 
he  no  longer  be  holding  the  paper  containing  the  resolution  which  he  had  to  propose, 
and  which  he  now  did  with  sincere  pleasure. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Tucker  rose  to  second  the  above  resolution — and  in  doing  so 
reverted  to  the  days  of  David  when  the  scriptures  were  scarce — those  days  had  passed, 
and  now  every  one  had  the  privilege  of  possessing  the  bible.  Had  1  come  (continu- 
ed he)  to  tell  you  of  a  tale  of  woe  or  famine,  the  doleful  tale  would  in  all  probability 
affect  you  greatly;  and  were  I  to  take  you  to  see  the  bones  of  the  victims  as  they 
lie  whitening  the  road  side,  that  tale  and  this  sight  would  stir  your  benevolence  to 
acts  of  charity  :  we  come  with  no  tale  of  this  nature,  but  we  come  with  one  of  a  far 
worse  kind — your  fellow-men  are  starving  around  you,  not  with  starvation  from 
want  of  food  for  the  body,  but  with  the  famine  of  the  soul—  and  the  death  of  the  soul 
is  worse  than  that  of  the  hody.  What  would  you  think  of  an  executor,  who  was 
entrusted  with  a  legacy  which  he  was  to  administer  for  the  benefit  of  the 
widow  and  children  of  a  deceased  friend,  if  he  were  to  make  away  with  all  the  proper- 
ty for  his  own  benefit — thus  is  it  with  us,  we  are  left  as  executors,  the  gospel  is  the 
legacy  which  we  are  to  distribute  to  our  starving  neighbours  let ;  us  not  therefore 
hoard  it  up  for  our  benefit  alone,  but  fulfil  our  trust  to  our  master  in  the  best  man- 
ner. 

In  putting  the  resolution  from  the  chair,  Mr.  Smith  adverted  to  the  small  despis- 
«dcolony  which  Calcutta  once  was,  and  that  in  its  advancement  from  darkness  to  light 
the  hand  of  Providence  was  to  be  seen  very  prominent. 

The  Reverend  Mr.  Morton  proposed  the  third  Resolution, — "  That  this  Meeting 
adopts  the  rules  of  the  Auxiliary  as  revised  hy  the  Committee  and  now  read,  aud 
that  they  be  substituted  in  the  forthcoming  report  as  the  rules  of  the  Calcutta 
Auxiliary  Bible  Society."  Mr.  Morton  spoke  to  the  purpose,  but  we  have  not  time 
to  give  any  part  of  his  speeeh.  The  resolution  was  seconded  by  W.  Bainbridge, 
Esq. 

The  Reverend  Mr.  Boaz  proposed  the  fourth  resolution, — "That  the  following 
be  the  list  of  Office-bearers  of  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary  for  the  ensuing  year  : 

Patron.— The  Bishop  of  Calcutta.  President— C.  W.  Smith,  Esq.  Vice-Presi- 
dents— Hon.  W.  W.  Bird,  Esq.  and  Ven.  Archdeacon  Dealtry.  Committee — Alexan- 
der. J.  W.  Esq.,  Beattie,  A.  Esq.,  Boaz,  Rev.  T.,  Boswell,  Rev.  R.  B.,  Boyes,  Rev. 
R.  B.,  Cragg,  J.  W.  Esq,  Fisher,  Rev.  H.,  Haeberlin,  Rev.  Dr.,  Hawkins,  J.  A.  F. 
Esq.,  Lacroix,  Rev.  Mr.,  Lowis,  John,  Esq.,  Millett,  F.  Esq.,  Morris,  G.  Esq., 
Morton,  Rev.  W.,  Pearce,  Rev.  W.  H.,  Pickance,  Rev.  G.,  Pitfard,  Rev.  J.,  Rox- 
burgh, Capt.,  Thomas,  Rev.  J.,  Yates,  Rev.  W.  Ireasura — Bank  of  Bengal. 
Captain  Roxburgh,  Cash  Secretary ;  Rev.  T.  Boaz,  Secretary  for  correspondence 
with  England  and  America.  Rev.  R.  B.  Boswell,  Acting  Sea  elury  for  general  business. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Gogerly  seconded  the  above  resolution. 

J.  A.  F.  Hawkins,  Esq.  moved  the  fifth  Resolution,  in  which  he  was  seconded  by 
the  Rev.  T.  Sandys, — "  That  thanks  be  returned  to  the  office-bearers  of  the  last  two 
years  for  their  labours  in  the  cause  of  this  Auxiliary." 

Moved  by  John  Lowis,  Esq.  seconded  by  J.  W.  Alexander,  Esq. — "  That  the  best 
thanks  of  the  Meeting  be  returned  to  the  Chairman  :"  aud  the  interesting  Meeting 
then  broke  up. 


Till? 


CHRISTIAN  OBSERVER. 


No.  4.— APRIL,  1840. 


I. — Remarks  on  the  omission  of  certain  passages  in  an  Urdu 
translation  of  the  New  Testament  recently  published  by  the 
Missionaries  of  the  London  Society  at  Benares. 

We  trust  never  to  be  chargeable  with  introducing  into  this 
country  the  controvei'sies  which  have  long  agitated  so  unhap- 
pily the  European  churches ;  but  as  confidently  do  we  trust 
by  the  grace  of  God  never  to  be  chargeable  with  a  cowardly 
dereliction  of  duty  in  neglecting  to  strive  for  the  faith  once 
delivered  to  the  saints.    "  Seek  not  thou,  my  son,  the  battle, 
nor  shun  it  when  it  comes,"  is  our  rule  in  regard  to  controversy. 
"  The  wisdom  that  is  from  above  is  first  pure,  then  peace- 
able."   While  then  we  are  resolved  by  the  grace  of  God  if 
it  be  possible,  to  live  at  peace  with  all  men,  we  are  as  firmly 
resolved  to  oppose  what  in  our  conscience  we  believe  to 
be  error,  let  its  supporters  be  who  they  may ;  and  with 
double  earnestness  do  we  think  it  our  duty  to  oppose  the 
errors  that  are  countenanced  by  those  whose  tried  Christian 
character  gives  importance  and  authority  to  their  opinions. 
When  such  a  case  occurs,  we  hold  ourselves  bound  by  love 
towards   our  erring  brethren,  as  well  as  by  love  to  the 
truth  of  God,  to  stand  boldly  forward  in  behalf  of  the  faith. 
True  it  is  unpleasant  to  enter  into  controversy  with  those  whom 
we  believe  to  be  members  of  Christ,  but  conscious  of  beinar 
animated  with  feelings  of  brotherly  love,  and  hoping  that  our 
Christian  brethren  will  receive  our  remarks  in  the  same  spirit 
in  which  we  trust  to  be  enabled  to  make  them,  we  shrink  not 
from  the  unpleasantness  of  controversy,  in  order  to  establish 

vol.  i.  2  B 


182 


Remarks  on  an  Urdu  translation 


[April, 


the  purity  and  integrity  of  our  holy  faith.  If  earnestness  be 
proper  in  the  defence  of  any  particular  doctrine  of  the  faith, 
how  much  more  is  it  proper  in  the  defence  of  the  rule  of  faith 
itself !  When  any  difference  arises  within  the  church  as  to  a 
point  of  doctrine,  the  appeal  is  straight  to  the  law  and  to  the 
testimony,  and  we  apprehend  that  this  agreement  as  to  the 
ultimate  appeal,  is  that  which,  amidst  all  the  dissensions  that 
subsist  amongst  Christians,  is  the  chief  external  mark  of  the 
Catholic  unity  of  the  church.  So  long  as  the  unity  of  the 
Scriptures  is  preserved,  the  church  possesses  within  herself 
the  means  of  detecting  and  rectifying  all  the  errors  into  which 
her  members  may  fall.  But  when  violent  hands  are  laid  upon 
the  Bible  itself,  then  is  the  very  citadel  and  fortress  of  Chris- 
tianity assailed  ;  and  the  watchman  on  Zion  may  not  without 
treason  be  silent.  So  long  as  the  Bible  is  preserved  pure  and 
entire,  the  church,  however  corrupt  she  may  be,  possesses 
within  herself  the  seeds  of  reformation, — seeds  which  may  re- 
quire to  be  sown  in  the  good  and  honest  heart  of  a  Luther, 
and  to  be  watered  with  the  dews  of  heaven,  before  they  will 
spring  up,  but  seeds  which,  so  sown  and  so  watered,  will  in- 
fallibly produce  a  harvest  rich  and  abundant  to  the  praise  and 
glory  of  God.  But  with  the  purity  and  integrity  of  the  Scrip- 
tures perishes  the  hope  of  the  church.  The  light  that  is  in  her 
has  become  darkness,  and  how  great  is  that  darkness  !  Is  not 
the  Scripture  the  light  of  the  church  ?  And  is  not  the  church 
charged  by  all  the  most  solemn  sanctions  to  keep  this  heavenly 
light  purely  and  brightly  burning  ?  Is  there  any  more  legiti- 
mate or  rather  more  necessary  subject  of  controversy  than  this 
integrity  of  holy  writ  ? 

With  the  authors  of  the  translation  before  us  we  are  per- 
sonally all  but  unacquainted,  but  we  honour  them  highly  for 
their  works'  sake.  The  highness  of  their  character  as  Christian 
men  and  Christian  missionaries,  goes  at  once  to  convince  us 
more  strongly  of  the  importance  of  taking  up  the  subject  and 
to  inspire  us  with  confidence  in  its  treatment,  being  assured 
that  errors  are  never  so  hurtful  as  when  they  are  supported 
by  men  of  tried  worth  ;  and  being  assured  at  the  same  time 
that  if  by  grace  we  are  enabled  to  speak  the  truth  in  love, 
those  whose  errors  we  impugn  will  gratefully  feel  and  candidly 
acknowledge  that  the  wounds  of  a  friend  are  faithful. 

The  passages  which  we  have  observed  to  be  omitted  are  the 
following — John  v.  4,  vii.  53  to  viii.  11,  and  1  John  v.  7» 

We  have  cause  to  complain  that  these  omissions  are  made  in 
a  popular  version,  without  any  reason  being  assigned  for  the 
absence  of  the  passages  ;  this  renders  it  impossible  for  us  to 
know  to  what  arguments  we  ought  especially  to  address  our- 


1840.] 


of  the  New  Testament. 


183 


selves  in  order  to  answer  the  objections,  which  may  have  pre- 
vailed with  the  translators  in  favour  of  their  omission.  If  the 
omissions  had  been  made  in  a  critical  edition,  and  the  reasons 
for  the  rejection  of  the  passages  clearly  given,  we  should  have 
had  a  much  easier  task  ;  we  should  only  have  had  a  negative 
argument  to  maintain,  and  if  we  could  have  answered  the  objec- 
tions stated,  our  work  would  have  been  done.  As  it  is,  a  more 
difficult  task  devolves  upon  us,  but  we  do  not  waive  the  onus 
probandi.  We  proceed  therefore  to  consider  the  passages  in 
order,  with  a  view  of  coming  to  a  decision  as  to  their  claims 
to  be  retained  in  the  book  of  holy  writ. 

John  v.  4.  This  passage,  or  part  of  it,  is  omitted  by  a  few 
MSS.  of  high  authority.  Of  these  the  chief  are  the  Alex- 
andrian (A.  Griesb.),  Vatican.  1209  (B.),  Regius  9,  (C),  Ste- 
phani  n  (L.),  and  the  Cambridge  or  Beza's  MS.  (D.) 

The  Alexandrian  and  Vatican  MSS.  are  two  of  the  high- 
est authority  ;  but  in  estimating  the  value  of  their  joint  testi- 
mony, we  ought  to  bear  in  mind  that  according  to  Dr.  Scholz 
the  latter  is  of  the  same  recension  and  indeed,  excepting  in 
the  Gospel  of  Matthew,  is  almost  a  literal  transcript  of  the 
former.  C.  or  the  Codex  Ephraemi  is  also  of  the  Alexandrine 
recension.  Stephani  tt,  though  highly  praised  by  some  critics, 
is  admitted  by  all  to  be  very  incorrect  in  many  passages  5 
errors  in  orthography  occur  in  every  page  ;  moreover  on 
account  of  its  almost  undeviating  agreement  with  the  Alex- 
andrian it  can  scarcely  be  allowed  to  have  any  authority  apart 
from  it  in  regard  to  those  readings  in  which  they  agree.  The 
Cambridge  MS-,  though  acknowledged  by  all  critics  to  be  of 
very  high  antiquity,  is  not  generally  considered  capable  of  giv- 
ing much  weight  to  its  readings.  Mattheei  calls  it  editio  scur- 
rilis.  Bishop  Middleton,  who  used  the  greatest  care  in  collat- 
ing it,  while  he  considers  that  it  is  a  copy  of  a  lost  MS.  of  the 
very  highest  antiquity,  admits  that  for  critical  purposes  its 
readings  are  not  of  great  value.  We  have  mentioned  A.  and 
C.  as  wanting  it,  although  it  is  written  in  their  margins.  Dif- 
ferent scholars  may  attach  different  degrees  of  importance  to 
these  emendations.  We  believe  the  generality  of  critics  will 
not  set  much  value  by  them  and  therefore  we  shall  not. 
The  other  MSS.  quoted  by  Griesbach  in  favour  of  the 
omission,  belong  to  the  10th,  11th,  12th  and  13th  centuries, 
and  therefore  make  nothing  for  the  argument  one  way  or 
other. 

The  authority  for  the  omission  then  resolves  itself  into  that 
of  the  Alexandrian  MS.  alone,  one  of  the  best  MSS.  un- 
questionably, but  by  no  means  sufficient  to  warrant  such  a 
violation  of  the  sacred  text,  supported  as  the  passage  is  by  a 
2  b  2 


184 


Remarks  on  an  Urdu  translation  [April, 


host  of  other  MSS.  of  equal  or  scarcely  inferior  value*,  by 
quotations  in  the  Fathers,  and  by  all  the  oldest  versions. 

The  passage  is  marked  with  an  asterisk  or  obelus  in  the 
following  manuscripts  ;  viz.  S.,  21,24,36,  145,  161,  166,  230, 
Regius  3423,  3424,^  Reg.  2242.  This  mark  may  mean  any 
thing  whatsoever,  as  well  as  a  doubt  concerning  the  genuineness 
of  the  reading.  Indeed  as  the  MS.  copies  of  the  scriptures 
were  written  for  ordinary  daily  use,  though  now  only  consulted 
for  critical  purposes,  it  is  very  much  more  likely,  that  a  passage 
inserted  cum  notd  should  be  so  marked  for  many  other  rea- 
sons than  a  doubt  of  its  genuineness.  The  passage  in  ques- 
tion is  one  of  considerable  difficulty  in  regard  to  its  interpre- 
tation, and  it  might  very  probably  be  marked  by  parties  pos- 
sessing the  various  MSS.  with  a  view  to  further  conside- 
ration, or  consultation  with  others,  as  to  its  meaning.  We 
have  little  doubt  that  Griesbach  had  his  own  elaborate  system 
of  notation  so  thoroughly  engrafted  in  his  mind,  that  he  occa- 
sionally forgot  that  an  obelus  in  a  MS.  has  not  necessarily  the 
same  value  that  it  possesses  in  his  own  system.  We  have 
often  thought  that  critics  have  fallen  into  errors  from  over- 
looking the  fact,  that  MSS.  were  originally  written  for  the 
purpose  of  ordinary  practical  and  devotional  reading.  Though 
they  have  been  providentially  preserved  to  us  as  the  most  im- 
portant critical  apparatus,  this  was  not  their  original  purpose, 
and  we  believe  some  of  the  conclusions  drawn  from  them 
would  be  considerably  modified,  were  this  fact  borne  in  mind. 

Both  Mill  and  Griesbach,  it  ought  not  to  be  concealed, 
express  suspicion  of  the  genuineness  of  the  verse.  The  former 
in  his  Prolegomena  writes  thus  in  regard  to  it.  "Mihi  quidem 
veheinens  suspicio  est,  irrepsisse  eum  ex  evangelio  secundum 

Hebraeos  Utcunque  se  res  habet,  certum  est 

eum  in  corpus  contextus  admissum  fuisse  ante  tempora  Ter- 
tulliani."  Now  how  is  Dr.  Mill's  "vehement  suspicion"  borne 
out  by  his  premises  ?  Had  he  any  MS.  so  old,  or  nearly  so  old, 
as  the  time  of  Tertullian  ?  He  knew  only  of  two  MSS.  in  which 
it  is  omitted ;  viz..  the  Cambridge  and  Colbert.  8,  and  surely 
the  want  of  it  in  these  two  was  not  sufficient  ground  on  which 
to  base  a  vehement  suspicion.  Griesbach,  who  had  so  much 
better  opportunity  of  examining  manuscripts,  is  much  more 
moderate  ;  he  admits  the  passage  with  the  mark  of  an  inferior 
degree  of  uncertainty.  Those  who  are  well  acquainted  with  the 
work  of  this  most  laborious  and  profound  scholar,  are  aware 
that  his  theology  is  sometimes  allowed  to  gain  the  ascendancy 

*  "  The  verse  (says  Valpy)  is  wanting  in  some  MSS.  and  is  repudiated 
by  some  as  being  supposed  to  have  been  a  marginal  gloss.  But  it  is  found  in 
the  most  celebrated  MSS.  and  its  authenticity  is  fully  established." 


1840.] 


of  the  Neiv  Testament. 


185 


over  his  criticism,  and  that  this  is  precisely  a  passage  of  that 
kind  that  he  would  have  been  most  desirous  to  omit.  But  he 
was  too  honest  a  man  and  too  rigorous  a  critic  to  take  so  bold, 
and  by  his  own  shewing,  so  unwarranted  a  step.  The  perpe- 
tration of  this  atrocity  was  left  to  the  Benares  translators, 
who  have  perpetrated  it  on  their  own  responsibility,  in  defiance 
of  the  highest  critical  authority. 

In  addition  to  the  external  arguments  for  retaining  the  pass- 
age, the  necessity  of  the  context  imperatively  demands  it. 
All  MSS.  and  versions  have  the  seventh  verse  of  the  chapter 
entire  ;  now  this  latter  verse  depends  so  intimately  upon  the 
former,  that  for  our  part  we  find  it  impossible  to  conceive  that 
the  one  should  be  genuine  and  the  other  spurious.  We  con- 
sider this  argument  as  decisive  of  the  question.  When  it  is 
said  that  we  can  get  no  information  from  any  other  quarter 
respecting  the  healing  virtue  communicated  to  this  bath,  and 
that  Dr.  Lightfoot  has  read  many  Hebrew  works  with  direct 
reference  to  this  point,  and  has  found  not  the  least  allusion  to 
it,  and  when  all  this  is  brought  as  an  argument  against  the 
passage,  we  must  take  leave  to  say  that  we  cannot  see  the 
conclusiveness  of  the  argument;  yea  more,  we  think  the  legi- 
timate conclusion  is  all  in  our  favour.  There  is  in  the  7th 
verse  an  allusion  to  the  moving  of  the  waters  ;  this  cannot  be 
denied.  But  in  the  Jewish  writings,  no  mention  is  made  of 
such  a  thing ;  now  we  hold  it  impossible  to  conceive  that  the 
Spirit  of  God  should  have  left  such  a  verse  as  the  7th  of  this 
chapter  in  a  state  of  perfect  inexplicability  (for  we  maintain 
that  without  the  4th  verse,  the  7th  is  inexplicable)  ;  and  there- 
fore we  hold  it  as  demonstrated  that  the  verse  in  question  is 
part  of  the  inspired  word  of  God.  It  is  easy  to  account  for 
the  absence  of  the  verse  from  some  MSS.  It  is  confess- 
edly a  difficult  text.  The  fact  stated  in  it  does  seem  at  first 
sight  to  bear  affinity  to  some  heathenish  legends  and  Jewish 
traditions  ;  and  therefore  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  some 
of  the  early  Christians  should  have  shrunk  from  the  defence 
of  it,  and  unjustifiably  omitted  it  in  transcribing  the  autographs 
or  old  copies  of  the  gospel.  But  the  watchful  providence  of 
God  has  not  allowed  the  record  of  such  a  miracle  to  be  lost 
to  the  church  ;  nor  will  it  ever  be  lost,  despite  the  efforts  of 
such  men  as  the  authors  of  the  translation  before  us. 

John  vii.  53 — viii.  11.  This  passage  is  marked  with  an 
asterisk  in  some  MSS.  and   omitted  in  A.*,  B,  C,  L,  (in 

*  We  have  stated  the  Alexandrian  MS.  as  one  of  those  that  omit  the 
passage,  although  we  might  well,  if  so  inclined,  dispute  the  point.  Two 
leaves  are  altogether  lost,  and  it  is  only  by  counting  the  words  in  other 
two  leaves,  that  it  is  supposed  to  be  found  that  the  MS.  did  not  contain  it. 


186  Remarks  on  an  Urdu  translation  [AmiL, 


which  there  is  a  vacant  space  left,  no  doubt  in  order  to  shew 
the  uncertainty  of  the  transcriber  as  to  the  propriety  of  the 
omission)  T.,  3,  9,  (which  has  it  on  a  separate  leaf),  15  (has  it 
in  the  margin),  18  ap.  Wetst.,  and  about  70  small  letter  MSS. 
of  no  antiquity  or  authority.  It  is  found  entire,  or  with  trifling 
variations  of  reading,  inD;  G;  H;K;  M;  U;2;  5;6;7j 
10  ;  11;  12  ;  16  ;  17 ;  Colb.  22,  23,  and  26 ;  25  ;  27  ;  28,  and 
about  140  of  less  authority,  but  each  quite  as  good  as  each  of 
the  70  that  omit  the  verses. 

Thus  the  authorities  in  favour  of  the  passage  greatly  pre- 
ponderate over  those  which  make  against  it.  Accordingly,  Dr. 
Mill,  in  his  notes  ad  locum,  defends  the  passage,  although 
we  ought  not  to  conceal  that  with  most  singular  and  unac- 
countable inconsistency,  he  states  in  his  Prolegomena  a  strong 
suspicion  that  it  has  crept  into  the  text  from  the  spurious 
gospel  according  to  the  Hebrews.  Michaelis  strenuously  de- 
fends the  passage.  Bishop  Pearce  (whose  work  we  do  not 
possess)  is  said  by  Dr.  Campbell  to  answer  the  objections  of 
Wetstein  and  others.  Dr.  Campbell  himself  does  not  give 
any  opinion,  though  we  suppose  that  he  was  inclined  to  be 
against  it.  Whitby,  in  a  few  sentences,  ably  defends  it ;  Gries- 
bach  gives  the  passage  as  probably,  though  by  no  means  cer- 
tainly, to  be  rejected.  Beza  and  Wetstein  are  the  only  cri- 
tics of  great  name  that  oppose  it,  for  we  attach  no  manner  of 
importance  to  its  rejection  by  Rosenmuller  and  the  whole 
race  of  modern  German  Neologians.  Rosenmuller's  scholar- 
ship we  admire,  and  have  very  often  consulted  his  commentary 
with  advantage;  but  on  many  points  he  is  deceptive,  and  in 
none  is  he  to  be  really  confided  in.  Beza's  objections  (quoted 
apparently  with  approbation  by  Campbell)  are  unworthy  of 
both  these  accomplished  critics ;  they  are  sufficiently  an- 
swered by  the  writers  named.  They  are  chiefly  internal  objec- 
tions. The  external  are  conclusively  set  aside  by  Griesbach's 
citation  of  MSS. 

We  wish  we  could  afford  space  to  present  our  readers  with 
the  convincing  defence  of  the  narrative  taken  by  Dr.  Bloom- 
field  from  Stanlin  and  Kuinoel ;  and  by  them  taken  chiefly 
from  a  dissertation  by  Lampe.  We  beg  to  refer  our  readers 
to  Dr.  Bloomfield's  work,  and  shall  content  ourselves  with  a 
brief  abridgment  of  the  chief  arguments  employed,  not  restrict- 
ing ourselves  to  the  arguments  used,  but  substituting  others 
if  we  think  proper. 

Tliis  cnn  be  at  the  best  but  n  suspicion  ;  because  granting'  that  there  is 
not  room  in  the  space  of  two  leaves  for  the  whole  matter,  that  is  in  the 
textus  receptus,  the  want  may  be  in  any  other  verses  as  well  as  these. 


1840.] 


of  the  New  Testament. 


187 


I.  INTERNAL  ARGUMENTS. 

Obj.  I.  It  is  improbable  that  the  Pharisees  and  lawyers 
would  so  far  honour  Jesus  as  to  make  him  judge  of  a  matter 
which  the  law  placed  under  their  jurisdiction. 

Ans.  The  question  was  not  proposed  by  the  chief  priests 
and  Pharisees,  but  by  the  Scribes  and  Pharisees ;  therefore 
there  is  no  necessity  for  supposing  that  they  who  proposed  it, 
were  members  of  the  Sanhedrin.  It  was  not  referred  to  him 
in  order  to  do  him  honour,  but  for  the  purpose  of  insulting 
and  tempting  him. 

Obj.  2.  It  is  improbable  that  such  a  crime  should  have 
been  committed  during  the  festival  ;  or  if  it  had,  it  is  not 
likely  that  the  Pharisees  would  have  instituted  the  process  at 
this  time. 

Ans.  The  first  part  of  the  objection  is  frivolous,  as  those 
who  are  willing  to  break  through  one  of  the  most  solemn 
commands  of  the  moral  law,  are  not  likely  to  be  restrained  by 
respect  to  any  ceremonial  ordinances  ;  provided  they  entertain 
the  hope  that  their  crime  shall  not  be  known.  As  to  the  latter 
part  of  the  objection,  it  is  all  but  certain  on  comparing  chap, 
vii.  37j  with  the  first  verses  of  chap,  viii.,  that  the  occurrence 
took  place  after  the  feast  was  ended  and  not  during  the  feast, 
as  the  objection  presupposes. 

Obj.  3.  It  is  said  that  there  was  nothing  captious  in  the 
question;  thai  if  Jesus  had  answered  that  she  ought,  according 
to  the  law  of  Moses,  to  be  put  to  death,  but  that  in  the  exist- 
ing state  of  the  Jewish  polity,  the  sanction  of  the  Roman  pro- 
curator must  be  obtained,  else  the  punishment  could  not  be  in- 
flicted, the  Jews  could  neither  accuse  him  of  setting  aside  the 
law  of  Moses,  nor  delate  him  before  the  magistrate  as  refus- 
ing the  jurisdiction  of  the  Romans. 

Ans.  The  Roman  law  did  not  admit  of  death  by  stoning. 
If  therefore  Jesus  had  said  that  the  culprit  ought  to  be  dealt 
with  according  to  the  Mosaic  law,  he  might  have  been  accused 
before  the  Roman  governor;  if  he  had  recommended  to  hand 
over  the  case  to  the  Roman  authorities,  he  would  have  lost 
credit  with  the  Jews  as  acknowledging  the  jurisdiction  of  a 
Gentile  power  in  opposition  to  their  own  judicial  ordinances. 
Thus  it  appears  that  the  question  was  exactly  similar  in  its 
import  and  design  to  that  proposed  to  him  regarding  the  pay- 
ment of  tribute  to  Caesar. 

Obj.  4.  It  is  said  that  stoning  was  not  ordered  by  the  law 
of  Moses  as  the  punishment  of  an  unfaithful  wife. 

Ans.  Although  the  law  says  no  more  than  that  the 
adulteress  should  be  put  to  death,  yet  it  can  be  proved  that 
stoning  was  intended.    In  Exod.  xxxi.  the  punishment  of 


188 


Remarks  on  an  Urdu  translation 


[April, 


death  is  denounced  against  the  Sabbath-breaker,  and  in  Num. 
xv.  an  instance  is  related  of  this  punishment  having  been 
inflicted  by  stoning. 

Obj.  5.  Jesus  by  writing  on  the  ground  instead  of  imme- 
diately answering  the  question,  seemed  to  hesitate  and  take 
time  for  consideration,  which  is  inconsistent  with  his  custom 
as  well  as  with  what  we  know  of  his  infinite  wisdom. 

Ans.  He  rather  intended  to  express  to  them  that  he  did 
not  choose  to  interfere  in  the  judgment  of  a  civil  cause.  "  It 
was  a  custom  with  the  Jews,  when  any  disagreeable  matters 
were  brought  forward,  to  which  they  wished  not  to  answer, 
either  by  affirmation  or  negation,  to  employ  themselves  in 
writing  something  as  if  otherwise  engaged.  This  has  been 
proved  and  illustrated  by  Schoettgen  Hor.  Hebr.  in  loc. 

Obj.  6.  The  reply  of  Christ  v.  J,  is  not  to  the  point,  for  it 
is  not  necessary  that  the  judge  or  accuser  be  sinless,  in  order 
that  the  culprit  be  a  proper  object  of  punishment. 

Ans.  The  woman  was  not  brought  before  Christ  as  a  judge  : 
and  he  as  a  moral  teacher  took  occasion  to  point  out  to  them 
the  fact  that  they  were  themselves  no  better  than  she.  Just 
as  almost  any  preacher  would  do  were  any  hearer  to  interrupt 
him  with  a  narration  of  some  act  of  vice  ;  just  as  Jesus  him- 
self, when  he  was  told  of  those  whose  blood  Pilate  had  mingled 
with  their  sacrifices,  promptly  replied,  "  Unless  ye  repent  ye 
shall  all  likewise  perish." 

Obj.  7-  It  is  incredible  that  all  the  people  present  in  the 
temple  were  guilty  of  the  sin  of  adultery. 

Ans.  Of  this  we  are  by  no  means  certain  :  so  corrupt  were 
morals  at  this  time  that  Jesus  styled  his  contemporaries  a 
wicked  and  adulterous  generation.  But  further,  it  was 
ordained  by  the  law  that  the  witnesses  of  the  crime  should 
throw  the  first  stone.  If  then  they  were  not  able  to  accept 
the  challenge,  then  the  object  of  the  captious  inquirers  would 
be  effectually  baffled,  and  all  would  be  filled  with  shame  and 
vexation  at  having  participated  in  such  an  affair. 

Obj.  8.  It  is  not  probable,  considering  the  constant  resort  to 
the  temple,  that  Jesus  and  the  woman  should  be  left  alone  there. 

Ans.  It  is  only  meant  in  respect  of  the  woman's  accusers. 
The  whole  party  who  had  come  in  order  to  raise  the  discussion 
of  this  question  went  away,  and  so  far  as  they  were  concerned, 
Jesus  and  the  woman  were  left  alone.  This  would  be  admitted 
in  the  narration  of  any  ordinary  historian.  Besides,  that  this 
was  the  intention  of  the  writer  of  this  narrative  is  plain,  since 
the  woman  is  said  to  have  been  left  standing  ne<rv,  in  the 
middle  of  the  people  :  Jesus  and  she  alone  in  the  midst  of 
the  spectators. 


1840.] 


of  the  New  Testament. 


189 


Obj.  9.  The  style  of  this  narrative  is  more  "  ornate"  than 
that  of  John. 

Ans.  It  is  not  a  whit  more  so  than  that  of  some  other  pas- 
sages of  this  gospel. 

Obj.  10.  If  this  story  be  removed,  Chap.  viii.  12,  seqq. 
will  be  connected  with  vii.  52,  &c. 

Ans.    We  think  the  connexion  is  more  probable  as  it  stands. 

II.  EXTERNAL  ARGUMENTS. 

Obj.  1.  The  story  is  omitted  in  several  MSS.,  and  is  noted 
with  asterisks  by  others. 

Ans.  This  objection  we  have  already  answered,  by  shew- 
ing that  the  authority  of  MSS.  in  favour  of  the  passage  greatly 
exceeds  that  of  the  opposite  kind.  The  citations  of  the  fathei's 
are  of  a  highly  satisfactory  description.  It  is  found  in  Tatian, 
Ammonius,  referred  to  in  the  Constitutiones  Apostolicae, 
(which  though  apocryphal  as  a  portion  of  scripture,  were 
certainly  written  in  the  3rd  cent.,)  and  noticed  by  Ambrose, 
Jerome  and  Augustine. 

Obj.  2.  If  this  passage  be  genuine,  it  must  have  been 
omitted  in  so  many  copies  either  accidentally,  or  intentionally  : 
now  both  these  suppositions  are  very  improbable. 

Ans.  We  do  not  think  either  of  them  very  improbable  ;  the 
latter  we  think  scarcely  improbable  at  all.  Some  of  the  early 
Christians  "  found  there,  it  seems,  many  difficulties,  to  them 
almost  inextricable,  and  fancied  they  saw  something  hardly 
reconcilable  with  the  wisdom  of  Jesus.  They,  it  seems,  espe- 
cially stumbled  at  this  circumstance,  namely,  that  Jesus  did 
not  pass  a  severe  condemnation  on  the  adulteress  :  or  at  least 
feared,  lest  any,  concluding  from  thence  an  impunity  to  the 
crime,  should  have  been  encouraged  in  its  commission.  Hence 
it  would  be  omitted  in  the  Lectionaria,  and  finally  in  the  MSS. 
of  the  gospel.  On  the  same  principle  the  fathers  chose  to 
pass  it  over  in  their  homilies,  which  has  led  to  a  false  suspicion 
that  they  had  it  not  in  their  copies."  But  if  it  be  difficult  on 
the  supposition  of  its  genuineness  to  account  for  its  omission 
in  some  copies  (which  we  think  it  is  not),  it  must  be  acknow- 
ledged that  it  is  greatly  more  difficult  on  the  supposition  of 
its  spuriousness  to  account  for  its  admission  into  so  many 
others.  This  also  must  either  have  been  intentional  or  acci- 
dental :  but  how  the  latter  should  be,  it  is  impossible  for  us 
to  conceive  ;  and  what  object  there  could  be  for  the  former,  it 
is  equally  difficult  to  imagine. 

Obj.  3.  The  great  variety  of  readings  is  an  argument 
against  the  authenticity  of  the  passage. 

VOL.  I.  2  c 


190 


Remarks  on  an  Urdu  translation.  [April, 


Ans.  We  know  not  how  any  such  argument  can  be  sup- 
ported. None  of  the  various  readings  have  at  all  altered  the 
import  of  the  story.  "  Those  who  maintain  that  it  is  spuri- 
ous, can  no  more  account  for  the  various  readings  than  those 
who  defend  its  authenticity."  For  our  part  we  are  quite 
unable  to  comprehend,  why  there  should  be  more  various  read- 
ings in  a  suppositious  than  in  a  genuine  passage. 

1  John  v.  7« — We  have  sometimes  thought,  on  reading  Mill 
and  Whitby  on  this  verse,  that  Trinitarian  writers  are  too 
facile  in  giving  it  up,  as  they  now  generally  do.  Still,  as  it  is 
unquestionably  a  doubtful  passage,  it  is  for  translators  to  de- 
termine how  it  shall  be  treated.  For  our  own  part  we  should 
insert  it  with  a  mark  to  point  out  that  its  genuineness  is  not 
completely  established,  and  should  thus  escape  the  danger  of 
keeping  back  a  portion  of  the  word  of  God  on  the  one  hand,  and 
of  adding  to  that  word  on  the  other  :  or  we  should  omit  it, 
and  state  in  a  marginal  note  that  such  a  passage  is  found  in 
some  MSS. — But  what  we  have  to  complain  of  throughout,  in 
regard  to  all  the  three  passages,  but  more  especially  in  regard 
to  the  two  former,  is  their  omission  in  a  popular  translation, 
without  so  much  as  an  advertisement  having  been  given  of 
the  fact.  Had  the  translators  any  doubt  as  to  the  propriety 
of  rejecting  the  passages  in  question  ?  If'so,  why  did  they  not 
state  their  doubts  in  some  form  or  other  ?  Or  were  they  per- 
fectly and  completely  satisfied  that  the  passages  are  spurious  ? 
Then  were  they  not  bound  by  common  courtesy  to  state  the 
grounds  of  their  conviction,  for  the  satisfaction  of  such  as  might 
hold  an  opposite  opinion  ?  Did  they  think  the  opinion  of 
almost  all  critics  unworthy  of  the  smallest  recognition  ?  Did 
they  expect  that  the  church  should  receive  their  implied  asser- 
tion, as  sufficient  demonstration  that  the  textus  receptus  and 
all  who  have  defended  it,  are  in  error  ?  If  so,  they  were  mis- 
taken. The  church  cannot  and  dares  not  give  up  any  portion 
of  that  which  she  esteems  her  most  sacred  trust,  upon  the  un- 
supported authority  of  a  thousand  times  more  men,  each  pos- 
sessed of  a  thousand  times  more  erudition,  than  the  Benares 
Missionaries  can  collectively  boast. 

To  our  Christian  readers  we  need  offer  no  apology  for  hav- 
ing occupied  so  many  of  our  pages  with  this  discussion. 
True  it  is  all  about  three  short  passages,  and  these  not  of  much 
moment  for  the  purposes  of  systematic  theology.  But  if  they 
were  inspired  by  God,  then  it  is  our  duty  to  defend  them,  let 
the  defence  cost  what  it  will  ;  and  no  one  who  duly  appreciates 
the  word  of  God,  will  think  any  labour  misspent,  whose  object 
is  to  preserve  it  entire  to  the  church  till  the  end  of  time. 
Especially  no  one  who  knows,  how  the  rationalism  of  Germany 


1840.J 


Al  Quran. 


191 


began,  and  how  far  it  has  proceeded,  and  where  it  is  likely 
to  end,  will  look  with  indifference  upon  the  beginning  of 
such  evils. 

Although  we  believe  we  are  pledged  not  to  say  any  thing 
editorially  for  or  against  the  Romanizing  system,  we  may  surely 
be  allowed  to  say,  that  we  should  have  rejoiced  to  see  a  fair 
experiment  of  it  made  under  more  favourable  circumstances, 
and  that  we  are  sorry,  that  the  first  version  of  the  scriptures 
printed  in  that  character,  should  have  been  one  which  shuts 
itself  out  from  the  possibility  of  a  favourable  reception  by  the 
universal  church. — T.  S. 


II. — Al  Quran*. 
SURA'T  UL  FA'TIHAH. 
[Chapter  I.] 
The  Prologue. 
(Of  Makka  and  Madina  ;  containing  seven  signs.) 
In  the  Name  of  God,  the  gracious,  the  merciful.  Col.  iii.  17. 

1 .  f  All  praise  unto  God,  the  Lord  of  all  worlds  !  2,  the  gracious, 
the  merciful !  3,  the  master  of  the  day  of  judgment !  4,  Thee  do  we 
worship,  and  thee  do  We  supplicate.  5,  Direct  us  in  the  right  way,  6, 
the  way  of  those  thou  hast  favored  ;  7,  not  of  those  beneath  thy  wrath, 
nor  the  bewildered.  [Amen.] 

Al  Qcra'n]  The  word  Qura'n  is  derived  from"*!^  (the  same  as  the 
Hebrew  *op)  signifying  reading  or  what  is  to  be  read.  The  book  is  also 
called  Al  Kita'b,  Kala'm  U'llah,  Al  Moshaf,  and  Al  Furqa'n,  which 
last  name  is  also  given  to  the  Books  of  Moses.  (See  v.  50.  Ch.  2.)  It  is 
divided  into  114  sowar  (chapters),  thirty  ajza  or  siparah  (sections),  sixty 
ahzab  (semi-sections),  and  above  6000  ayat  (verses)  ;  but  what  the  precise 
number  of  these  last  is,  has  not  been  determined  by  the  commentators. 

The  Quran  is  said  to  have  been  written  by  God  on  a  table  near  his 
throne  from  all  eternity,  and  a  copy  of  it  was  sent  down  to  the  lowest  of 
the  seven  heavens  on  the  night  Al  Qadr  in  the  month  Ramzan,  from 
whence  portions  of  it  were  brought  to  Muhammad  by  Gabriel  as  circum- 
stances rendered  expedient,  during  three  and  twenty  years.  When  thus 
revealed,  some  expert  writer  was  employed  to  transcribe  them  in  the  chap- 
ters indicated  by  Muhammad.  The  passages  were  then  either  retained  in 
the  memory  or  were  copied  by  his  followers,  but  as  the  originals  were  left 
in  a  chest  with  his  wife  Hafsah,  without  any  previous  attempt  at  arrange- 
ment, the  whole  was  found  by  Abu  Bakr,  Omar,  and  Osma'n  to  require 
revision,  and  a  Committee  was  appointed  to  edit  the  work,  which  duty 

*  This  paper  has  been  sent  to  us  as  a  specimen  of  a  new  translation  of  the  Quran 
with  notes.  The  ultimate  object  of  the  translator,  should  he  continue  his  labors, 
is  to  shew  the  uninspired  character  of  the  book.  — Ed. 

t  l]  Gen.  i.  1  ;  Dan.  iv.  35;  Heh.  i.  2;  Rev.  iv.  11.— 2  and  title]  Exod. 
xxxiv.  6  ;  Neh.  ix.  31  ;  Ps.  ciii.  8  ;  cxvi.  5  ;  Jonah  iv.  2. — 3]  John  v.  22  ;  2nd  Tim. 
iv.  1  ;  Matt.  xix.  28.-4]  Ps.  xcv.  6 ;  Matt.  xv.  8,  9.-5]  1  Sam.  xii.  23 ; 
1  Kings  viii.  36  ;  Ezra  viii.  21  ;  Prov.  xvi,  25  ;  Matt.  vii.  13,  14.— 6  and  7]  Isa. 
iii.  12  ;  lix.  8;  Prov.  iv.  19. 

2  c  2 


192 


A I  Quran. 


[April, 


they  performed  in  a  manner  which  has  created  much  dissension  amongst  the 
sects,  and  greatly  perilled  the  claims  to  authenticity  of  their  edition.  One 
chapter  (if  not  more),  which  favors  the  Shiah  sect,  has  been  omitted ;  but 
has  otherwise  been  preserved  and  may  be  found  in  the  Dabistan  Mozahib. 
Many  ayats  have  been  lost ;  and  others  that  are  contradictory  have  been 
preserved.  All  parties  are,  however,  ready  to  excuse  these  discrepancies 
on  the  plea,  that  God  sometimes  saw  fit  to  abrogate  commands  and  rules 
which  he  had  previously  enjoined.  Some  verses  are  obscure  or  incomplete; 
others  have  been  altered  by  mistake  in  transcription  ;  and  the  various 
readings  produced  by  the  different  methods  of  adding  the  vowel  points 
are  innumerable.  The  notes,  as  we  proceed,  will  indicate  the  peculiarities 
of  the  work,  some  of  which  may  be  gathered  from  the  following  extracts. 

Besides  the  names  above  given,  which  are  the  usual  titles  of  the  Quran, 
the  following  are  also  ascribed  to  it:  Tazkira  and  Zikru,  remembrancer; 
TunzV,  descended  ;  Ahsan  ul  Had'is,  best  tradition  ;  Moizah,  admonition  ; 
Hukrn,  command;  Hakim,  philosopher;  Hikmut,  mystery;  Mhokam, 
strength  ;  Shaffa,  health  ;  Ralimat,  mercy  ;  Hudi,  guide;  Serat  ul  Masta- 
qin,  the  right  »ay  ;  Hablulluh,  the  cord  of  God  ;  Jluh,  spirit ;  Jissasulhaq, 
true  narrative  ;  Buydn  and  Tiby&n,  and  Mobin,  exposition ;  Basdlr,  per- 
spicuous ;  Quul  fast,  plain  speech;  Najum,  stars;  31  a  sum,  repetition; 
31utushdba,  uniformity ;  Burhan,  evidence ;  Busliir  and  Nazir,  promise 
and  threatening;  Qiam,  orthodoxy;  Mohaimin,  protecting;  Nur,  light; 
Huq  and  Huq  ul  yaqin,  truth  and  the  truth  of  faith;  Azis,  glorious; 
Ninmut,  favor. — Tafsir  Fathul  Azis. 

Nama'n  bin  Bashir.  A.  G.  S.  Verily  God  wrote  a  book  two  thou- 
sand years  before  creating  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  and  sent  two  reve- 
lations down  from  it,  which  are  the  two  last  chapters  of  the  cow  ;  if  they 
are  not  repeated  in  a  house  for  three  nights,  the  devil  will  be  near  that 
house.    Mishcat  ul  Masabih,  Book  VIII.  Ch.  I.  Part  2. 

Aayeshap.  Verily  the  Prophet  said,  Repeating  the  Quran  in  prayers  is 
better  than  at  other  times  ;  and  repeating  it  at  other  times  is  better  than 
Tasbih  (praising  God  by  repeating  Sabhan  Allah),  and  Takbir,  (repeating 
the  words  Allaho  Akbar.)  Ibid.  Book  VIII.  Ch.  I.  Pt.  3. 

It  was  said,  O  messenger  of  God,  what  causes  an  unsullied  heart?  He 
said.  Remembering  death  very  much,  and  repeating  the  Quran.  Ibid. 

Aifa  Abdu'l  Kala'ai  said,  that  a  man  said,  O  Prophet  of  God  !  What 
is  the  greatest  chapter  of  the  Quran?  He  said,  The  declaration  of 
God's  unity.  The  man  said,  Which  is  the  greatest  section  of  the  Quran? 
He  said,  The  revelation  of  the  throne.    Ibid.  Part  3. 

Abuhurairah.  A.  G.  S.  Learn  the  Quran  and  read  it;  for  verily 
the  condition  of  him  who  has  learnt  the  Quran  and  read  it,  and  stood  up 
at  night  by  it,  is  like  that  of  a  bag  filled  with  musk,  which  diffuses  its 
scent  in  every  place;  and  the  state  of  him  who  has  learnt  the  Quran,  and 
slept,  and  not  stood  up  at  night,  whilst  having  the  Quran  in  his  belly, 
(i.  e.  remembering  it,)  is  like  a  bag  of  musk  with  its  mouth  tied.  Ibid. 
Part  2. 

Abuhurairah.  A.  G.  S.  He  is  not  of  my  followers  who  does  not 
read  the  Quran  with  a  good  voice.    Ibid.  Part  1. 

Ibn  Omer  said,  The  prophet  has  prohibited  travelling  with  the  Quran, 
that  is,  that  it  should  be  carried  towards  the  land  of  the  enemies  of 
religion.  Ibid. 

Ibn  Juraih  relates  from  Ibn  Abi  Malaikah,  and  he  from  Om  Salmah, 
that  she  said,  "  The  prophet  used  to  read  (repeat)  the  words  of  the  Quran 
separately,  and  his  highness  would  read,  '  Praise  be  to  God,  the  Lord  of 
all  worlds,'  and  after  stopping  a  little  would  say,  '  the  gracious,  the  mer- 
ciful ;'  then  he  would  stop,  then  say  1  the  master  of  the  day  of  judg- 


1840.] 


Al  Quran. 


193 


ment,'  and  in  this  way  to  the  end  of  the  chapter."  Ibid.  Part  3.  [Note. 
Muhammad  was  apparently  making  sure  of  his  memory,  as  he  sometimes 
made  mistakes,]  ,  , 

Omer  bin  al  Kha'tta'b  said,  I  heard  Hisham  bin  Hakim  bin  Hizam 
read  the  chapter  entitled  Farqan  (25)  in  another  manner,  than  I  had 
read  it  and  the  prophet  taught  me  that  chapter  ;  and  when  I  read  it  as 
he  taught  it  me,  and  when  he  read  it  differently,  I  was  near  being  angry 
with  him;  after  that  I  watched  till  he  had  finished  reading;  then  I  threw 
my  garment  upon  his  neck,  and  pulled  him  and  brought  him  to  the  pro- 
phet, and  said,  "O  Prophet!  verily  I  heard  this  man  read  the  chapter  Far- 
qan In  a  different  way  from  that  which  you  taught  me."  And  the  prophet 
said  "  let  Hisham  go ;"  and  he  said  to  Hisham,  "  read  the  chapter."  And 
he  read  it  in  the  manner  he  had  done  ;  and  his  highness  said  "  thus  has 
this  chapter  descended;"  after  that  he  said  to  me  "read  it,"  which  I  did 
as  I  remembered.  Here  also  he  said  "  thus  was  this  chapter  sent  down." 
And  as  we  were  confounded  when  he  said  of  both,  thus  it  was  sent  down, 
the  prophet  said,  "  Verily  the  Quran  was  sent  down  in  seven  dialects; 
then  read  what  is  easy  and  agreeable  to  you."    Ibid.  Part  1. 

Ibn  Abbas  said,  the  prophet  did  not  know  the  division  between  two 
chapters  until  the  words,  "  In  the  name  of  the  gracious,  the  merciful," 
came  down  to  him.    Ibid.  Ch.  III.  Pt.  2. 

Zaid  Ibn  Sabit  said,  "  Abu  Bakr  sent  a  person  to  me  and  called  me 
to  him,  at  the  time  of  the  battle  with  the  people  of  Yemanah,  and  I  went 
to  him  and,  behold,  Omar  was  with  him  ;  and  Abu  Bakr  came  to  me  and 
said,  "  Verily  a  great  many  of  the  readers  of  the  Quran  were  slain  on  the 
day  of  the  battle  with  the  people  of  Yemanah;  and  really  I  am  afraid,  if 
the  slaughter  should  be  great,  much  will  go  from  the  Quran ;  because 
every  person  remembers  something  of  it ;  and  verily  I  see  it  advisable  for 
you  to  order  the  Quran  to  be  collected  into  one  book.  I  said  to  Omar, 
How  can  I  do  a  thing  which  the  prophet  has  not  done  ?  He  said,  I  swear 
by  God,  this  collecting  the  Quran  is  the  best  way.  And  Omar  used  to  be 
constantly  returning  to  me  and  saying,  You  must  collect  the  Quran,  till 
at  length  God  opened  my  heart  to  do  so,  and  I  saw  what  Omar  had  seen 
advisable.  Zaid  Ibn  Sabit  says,  that  Abu  Bakr  said  to  me,  You  are  a  young 
and  sensible  man,  and  I  do  not  suspect  you  of  forgetfulness,  negligence 
or  perfidy;  and  verily  you  used  to  write  for  the  prophet  his  instructions 
from  above;  then  look  for  the  Quran  in  every  place  and  collect  it. 
Then  I  sought  for  the  Quran  from  the  leaves  of  the  date,  and  white  stones, 
and  the  hearts  of  people  that  remembered  it,  till  I  found  the  last  part  of 
the  chapter,  entitled  Repentance,  with  Abu  Khazaima  Ansari  and  with  no 
other  person.  Then  these  leaves  were  in  the  possession  of  Abu  Bakr  till 
God  caused  him  to  die ;  after  which  Omar  had  them  in  his  lifetime;  after 
that  they  remained  with  his  daughter  Hafsah  ;  after  that  Osman  compiled 
them  into  one  book.  Anas  Ibn  Maltk  relates  that  Hadhaifah  came  to 
Osman,  and  he  had  fought  with  the  people  of  Syria  in  the  conquest  of 
Armenia,  and  had  fought  in  Athurbaijan,  with  the  people  of  Irak,  and  he 
was  shocked  at  the  different  ways  of  people  reading  the  Quran.  And 
Hadhaifah  said  to  Osman,  "  O  Osman !  assist  this  sect,  before  they  differ 
in  the  book  of  God,  like  as  the  Jews  and  Christians  differ  in  their  books." 
Then  Osman  sent  a  person  to  Hafsah,  ordering  her  to  send  the  leaves 
which  she  had ;  and  saying,  "  I  shall  have  a  number  of  copies  of  them 
taken,  and  will  then  return  them  to  you."  And  Hafsah  sent  the  leaves 
to  Osman.  Then  Osman  ordered  Zaid  Ibn  Sabit  Ansari,  and  Abdullah 
bin  Zubair,  and  Zaid  Ibn  Al  Aas,  and  Abdullah  Ibn  Al  Haris  bin  Hisham, 
(and  these  were  all  of  the  Koraish  tribe,  except  Zaid  Ibn  Sabit,)  and 
Osman  said  to  the  three  Koraishites,  "  When  you  and  Zaid  Ibn  Sabit  dif- 


194 


Al  Quran. 


[April, 


fer  about  any  part  of  the  dialect  of  the  Quran,  then  do  ye  write  it  in  the 
Koraish  dialect;  because  it  came  not  down  in  the  language  of  any  tribe 
but  theirs  ;  (and  by  the  petition  of  his  highness  it  was  permitted  to  every 
person  to  read  it  in  his  own  dialect  ;  but  Osman,  fearful  of  the  difference 
which  might  arise  amongst  people,  ordered  all  other  dialects  to  be  expunged 
from  the  Quran  except  the  Koraish.)  Then  they  did  as  Osman  had  ordered ; 
and  when  a  number  of  copies  had  been  taken,  Osman  returned  the  leaves 
to  Hafsah.  And  Osman  sent  a  copy  to  every  quarter  of  the  countries  of 
Islam  ;  and  ordered  all  other  leaves  of  it  to  be  burnt.  Ibn  Shahab  said 
then,  Kharijah,  son  of  Zaid  ibn  Sabit,  informed  me,  saying,  "  I  did  not 
find  one  section  of  the  chapter  entitled  The  Confederates,  when  I  was 
writing  the  Quran,  which  veiily  I  heard  from  the  prophet ;"  then  I  looked 
for  it  and  found  it  with  Khuzaimah  Ansari,  and  entered  into  the  chapter 
of  Confederates.  Ibn  Abbas  said,  "I  said  to  Osman,  '  what  possessed  you 
that  you  had  the  chapter  entitled  The  Spoils  written,  and  the  chapter 
entitled  The  Declaration  of  Immunity,  and  joined  them,  and  did  not  have 
the  words,  "  in  the  name  of  the  most  merciful  God,"  written  between  ; 
and  so  classed  these  chapters  of  the  Spoils  and  the  Declaration  of  Immu. 
nity  with  the  seven  long  chapters?'  "    Ibid.  Book  VIII.  Ch.  III.  Pt.  3. 

Abuhurairah.  The  prophet  said,  The  Quran  consisteth  of  five  heads  ; 
things  lawful,  things  unlawful,  clear  and  positive  precepts,  mysteries,  and 
examples.    Ibid.  Book  I.  Ch.  VI.  Pt.  2. 

Jabir  said,  I  heard  his  majesty  relating  the  commencement  of  the  in- 
structions from  above,  saying,  "  whilst  I  was  walking  along,  I  heard  a 
voice  from  the  heavens,  and  raised  up  my  eyes,  and  behold,  I  saw  the 
angel,  who  had  come  to  me  at  the  mountain  of  Hiraa,  sitting  upon  a  throne 
between  the  heavens  and  the  earth  ;  and  I  feared  him  so  that  I  fell  upon 
the  ground.  Then  I  went  home  and  said,  "  Wrap  me  in  a  cloth,  wrap  me  in 
a  cloth;"  and  they  wrapped  me  up,  when  God  sent  this  revelation  "O 
thou  wrapped  up,  arise,"  &c.  (Quran.  Ch.  73.)  Ibid.  Book,  XXIV.  Ch.  V. 
Pt.  1.  [Note.  It  will  be  observed  that  the  Quran  is  truly  a  book  that 
begins  at  the  end."] 

Aayesha  said,  Haris  bin  Hisham  asked  his  majesty  "  How  did  these 
instructions  come  to  you?"  His  majesty  said,  "  Sometimes  like  the  noise 
of  a  bell;  and  these  were  the  most  difficult  for  me  to  understand ;  and 
the  angels  would  go  away  and  I  remembered  the  instructions ;  and  some- 
times the  angel  would  come  in  the  shape  of  a  man,  and  converse  with  me, 
all  of  which  1  remembered."  Ibid.  Book  XXIV.  Ch.  V.  Pt.  1. 

Abuhurairah.  A.G.  S. There  is  no  prophet  but  what  appealed  to  mira- 
cles, which  when  the  sects  saw  they  believed ;  I  mean,  their  miracles  were 
particularly  confined  to  their  own  time ;  and  my  miracle  is  the  Quran,  which 
was  sent  to  me  and  will  remain  for  ever.  Then  I  am  hopeful  of  hav- 
ing more  followers  than  any  of  the  other  prophets.  Ibid.  Book  XXIV.  Ch. 
II.  Pt.  1.  £Note.  As  Muhammad  asserted  that  Adam,  Enoch,  Moses, 
David,  Jesus,  and  others  received  books,  the  Quran  (were  it  true)  is  not  a 
miracle  different  from  theirs ;  and  as  it  is  asserted  that  their  books  were 
lost  or  corrupted,  the  same  liability  attached  to  the  Quran,  as  we  see  has 
happened  to  it  ] 

Fatihah]  Prologue.  Abuhurairah.  A.  G.  S.  That  person  who  does 
not  say  the  Am  ul  Quran,  (i.  e.  Surah  Fatihah,)  his  prayers  will  be  defec- 
tive.   Mishcat  ul  Masabih,  Book  IV.  Ch.  XIII.  Pt.  1. 

Abuhurairah  said,  the  prophet  said  to  Ubai  ibn  Hab,What  parts  of  the 
Quran  do  you  repeat  in  your  prayers  ?  He  said,  The  introductory  chapter. 
And  the  prophet  said,  I  swear  by  God  that  there  has  not  been  sent  down, 
either  in  the  Bible  or  Evangelists,  Psalms  or  Quran,  any  thing  so  excel- 
lent as  the  introductory  chapter  ;  and  veiily  it  consists  of  seven  signs 


1840.] 


Al  Quran. 


195 


which  descended  twice ;  and  this  chapter  is  like  the  great  Qur6n  which 
has  been  given  to  me.  Ibid.  Rook  VIII.  Ch.  I.  Pt.  2.  {Baizawi  gives  a 
similar  tradition  of  Abuhurairah  Abu  Zaid  Ibn  Malic:  I  said,  "  O  mes- 
senger of  God  !  verily  you  said,  I  will  teach  you  the  greatest  chapter  in  the 
Quran."  He  said,  It  is  the  introductory  chapter;  and  it  consists  of  seven 
signs  which  came  down  twice  ;  once  in  Mecca  and  once  in  Medina,  on 
which  account  it  is  called  Sabd-ul.Matsdni.  Ibid.  Book  VIII.  Ch.  I. 
Pt.  1. 

According  to  Baizawi,  the  following  are  the  names  of  this  chapter. 
Surat-ul-Fatah-ul-kitab  ;  Um-ul-quran ;  Surat-ul-Asas  ;  Surat-ul-kanz  ; 
Surat-ul-wafiyah  ;  Surat-ul-shafiyah  ;  Surat-ul-hamd  ;  Surat-u-shukra  ; 
Surat-ul-duaa,  and  Saba-ul-Masani.  Muhammad  said  that  the  reading  of 
it  was  a  cure  for  every  pain  and  disease. 

There  is  a  dispute  as  to  its  revelation,  the  common  opinion  being  that 
it  descended  at  Mecca  when  prayer  was  enjoined  by  God.  Some  however 
think  it  descended  at  Medina  when  the  Tiblah  was  changed.  Buizuwi. 

Ibn  Abbas  said,  that  he  was  seated  near  the  prophet,  when  suddenly  an 
angel  came  and  said,  I  give  thee  tidings  by  two  lights  which  were  given  to 
no  prophet  before  thee  ;  one  is  Fatihat  ul  kitab  and  the  other  the  letters 
prefixed  to  the  Sura-ul-Baqr.  Baizawi. 

Yaqu'b  Chahkhi  says,  1  heard  from  the  chief  of  the  faithful,  AH,  and 
from  Abdullah  bin  Abbas,  that  this  chapter  descended  at  Mecca  in  the  follow- 
in};:  manner.  The  prophet  related  it  thus  :  When  I  was  going  into  the  forest, 
I  heard  a  voice  cry,  •'  O  Muhammad  !"  and  I  beheld  a  glittering  person  on  a 
throne  of  gold,  balanced  between  heaven  and  earth.  Terrified  at  the  voice, 
I  fled.  When  this  spectacle  presented  itself  on  various  occasions,  I  spoke 
of  it  to  Warakah  bin  Mafil,  the  son  of  the  uncle  of  Bibi  Khadija,  and  he  was 
a  man  learned  in  the  Law  and  Gospel,  and  bad  received  much  knowledge 
from  the  learned  Christians.  He  said,  when  you  hear  that  voice,  fly  not,  but 
hearken  to  what  is  said.  I  did  so.  When  the  voice  came  again  saying,  "  O 
Muhammad,  "I  replied,  "  Labbaiyak"  £a  word  implying  submission  or  at- 
tention]. He  said,  '  I  am  Gabriel,  and  thou  art  the  prophet  of  this  people.' 
A  second  time  he  said,  "  I  testify  that  there  is  no  deity  besides  God,  and  I 
testify  that  Muhammad  is  his  servant  and  messenger."  A  third  time  he 
said,  "  All  praise  unto  God,"  and  repeated  to  the  end  of  the  chapter.  Tafsir 
Futhul  Azis.  ["Note.  I  believe  that  the  Warakah  here  mentioned  was 
the  first  who  planned  the  imposture,  for  if  it  be  true,  as  is  said,  that  he 
translated  our  Scriptures  into  Arabic,  he  must  have  left  the  originals  and 
his  version  in  the  family,  and  Muhammad  by  his  marriage  with  Khadija 
must  either  have  inherited  them,  or  bad  access  to  them*.  This  tradition, 
contrary  to  what  the  Muhammadans  usually  say,  shows  that  Warakah  did 
not  die  while  Mahammad  was  a  mere  child,  and  that  be  explained  to 
Muhammad  by  his  knowledge  of  our  Scriptures,  matters  of  which  his 
pupil  would  otherwise  have  been  ignorant.  More  will  be  said  of  this 
Warakah  on  a  fitting  opportunity.] 

It  is  requisite  that  this  Surah  should  be  repeated  at  the  time  of  prayer. 
There  are  seven  fundamental  points  in  prayer,  as  in  this  chapter  there 
are  seven  verses;  1st,  standing  ;  Sod.  kneeling  ;  3rd,  prostration;  4th, 
standing  between  two  prostrations  ;  oth,  the  second  prostration;  6th,  sitting 
between  two  prostrations  ;  and  7th,  the  final  fitting  ;  and  these  seven  are 
according  to  the  seven  parts  of  a  body,  without  soul,  but  the  Surah  added 
thereto  becomes  the  soul.  Tafsir  Futhul  Azis.  In  addition  to  the  names 
given  above  from  Baizawi,  the  following  titles  are  found  in  the  Futhul 
Azis,  Surat-ul-Manajat,  Surat-ul-Tafviz,  Surat-us-sbafa,  Surat-us-Ruaiya, 

*  We  do  not  exactly  understand  what  connection  there  is  between  possessing  or 
translating  our  Scriptures,  and  planning  the  imposture  of  Muhammadanism.— Ea. 


196 


Al  Quran. 


[April, 


Surat-us-salat,  Quran  Azun,  Surah  Tah'm-ul-Masalah,  Surah  Kafivah 
Um-ul-kitab. 

In  the  Sahih  Muslim,  and  Nisaie,  and  Ibn  Haban  and  Tabrani,  and  Hakim, 
a  tradition  of  Ibn  Abbas  is  given,  viz.  that  one  day  Gabriel  was  seated 
near  Muhammad,  when  they  heard  the  noise  of  the  opening  of  a  great  door; 
and  looking  towards  heaven,  Gabriel  said,  An  angel  is  now  descending 
who  from  the  time  of  Adam  till  now  has  never  descended  to  the  earth. 
The  angel  approached  and  congratulated  Muhammad,  saying;  Rejoice,  for 
this  sight  granted  unto  thee  lias  never  been  granted  unto  any  prophet 
before  thee.  That  was  the  Surah  Fathul  kitab  and  Amin  ul  rasiil,  to  the 
end  of  the  chapter  Surah  Biiqr.  No  one  reads  a  letter  of  them  but  shall 
have  a  reward.  In  Bokhari,  and  Muslim,  and  Sehaha  Settah,  it  is  stated 
that  the  companions  of  the  Prophet  cured  men  stung  by  snakes  and  scor- 
pions, and  such  as  were  epileptic,  and  madmen,  by  reading  the  Surah 
Ruqaiya,  [which  name  is  given  to  the  Fatihah  on  account  of  Ruqaiya,  one 
of  the  friends  of  Muhammad  having  performed  many  notable  cures  by 
the  reading  of  it.]    Fathul  Azis. 

Signs]  This  word  is  used  indifferently  for  miraculous  performances 
and  the  verses  of  the  Quran,  each  of  which  is  a  stupendous  miracle. 

In  the  name  of  God,  &c]  This  heading  belongs  to  the  Fatihah,  as  the 
readers  of  Makkah  and  Kufa,  and  Ibn  Mubarak  and  Shafai  have  decided  ; 
but  the  readers  in  Medina  and  Basia  and  Sham;  and  also  Malik  and  Lau 
Narai  differ  from  them;— and  Abu  Hanifa  finding  no  sufficient  proof, 
doubts  its  belonging  to  the  Surah  Fatihah.  Muhammad  Ibn  Hasan  of 
Shaiban  said  that  it  is  the  word  of  God.  Abuhurairah  said  that  the  first 
verse  of  the  Fatihat  ul  kitab  is  the  Bismillah  (as  above).  Ummo  Salmah 
says,  the  messenger  of  God  counted  from  the  Bismillah  to  Rabbil  alamin 
(worlds)  as  one  verse.  Thus  there  is  a  variance  as  to  whether  it  is  a 
separate  verse,  or  is  conjoined  with  what  follows.  Baizawi. 

Whatever  work  is  begun,  the  expression  Bismillah  should  be  used.  They 
say  that  when  Noah  had  embarked,  he  became  much  perturbed  for  fear  of 
foundering  and  said,  Bismillah  Majriha  O  Mursaha,  In  the  name  of  God, 
I  start  and  set  sail ;  and  hence  his  ark  continued  safe.  Some  relate  that  a 
saint  wrote  Bismillah  and  in  his  will  directed  that  it  should  be  put  in  his 
shroud.  Another  person  required  his  reasons,  and  he  replied,  "  1  observed 
a  faqir  standing  near  a  lofty  gateway  begging,  and  they  gave  him  only  a 
trifle.  He  then  obtained  a  spade  and  commenced  digging  down  the  gate. 
The  owner  of  the  house  came  and  said,  What  are  you  about  ?  He  replied, 
Make  your  door  to  correspond  with  your  small  gift,  or  your  gift  suitable 
to  your  great  door.  So  this  verse  is  the  door  of  his  book,  by  which  in  the 
day  of  resurrection  I  shall  have  a  suitable  document  on  which  to  claim  his 
mercy."  It  is  observed  that  the  Bismillah  contains  19  letters,  and  the 
angels  in  charge  of  hell  are  19,  who  are  severally  repelled  by  these  letters. 
It  is  also  noticed  that  there  are  24  hours  in  a  day  and  night,  and  for  five 
of  the  hours  five  prayers  are  appointed,  and  for  the  other  19  these  letters 
are  given  ;  so  that  whether  we  be  sitting  or  standing,  in  business  or  at  rest 
during  the  19  hours,  the  remembrance  of  God  contained  in  these  19  letters 
is  sufficient.  The  chapter  Buraat  contains  the  command  to  kill  infidels, 
and  therefore  has  not  this  heading  ;  and  when  sacrifice  is  offered,  the  Bis- 
millah Allaho  Akbar  is  used  instead,  because  sacrifice  has  the  semblance  of 
vengeance,  and  mercy  is  not  then  regarded.  This  form  should  be  used  17 
times  a  day,  and  then  it  is  certain  that  the  person  will  be  saved  from  the 
w  rath  of  God,  and  be  blessed  through  the  mercy  of  God.  It  is  said  under 
certain  circumstances  to  be  as  a  veil  between  man  and  the  evil  genii  on 
earth  ;  and  if  it  be  a  veil  between  man  and  his  enemies  in  this  world,  then 
it  will  be  a  veil  between  man  and  the  punishment  of  the  last  day.  Fathul 
Azis. 


1840.] 


Al  Qurdn. 


197 


Gracious  and  merciful]  The  words  Rahmin  and  Rahim  being  from 
the  same  root,  it  is  supposed  that  one  indicates  quantity  and  the  other 
quality,  or  measure  and  manner.  Baizuwi.  [Note.  From  the  many  expla- 
nations given  of  these  words,  it  would  appear  that  the  Muhammadans  are 
exceedingly  sensitive  regarding  the  liability  of  the  book  to  be  charged 
with  tautology  at  its  commencement.] 

1st  Verse]  Hazifa  Ibn  ul  Veman  says,  the  prophet  said  there  was  a 
tribe  on  whom  God  sent  down  great  torment,  in  which  they  continued 
till  a  child  was  born  among  them  who  repeated  this  first  verse,  which  God 
hearing,  he  removed  their  punishment  for  40  years.  Baizawi.  [Note. 
This  indicates  a  previous  revelation  of  the  verse.] 

Praise]  The  word  Hamd  indicates  the  praise  of  those  moral  perfections 
which  are  brought  into  exercise  by  the  operation  of  the  will.  Buizuwi, 
The  words  Al  hamdu  lilluh  contain  eight  letters  answering  to  the  eight 
gates  of  paradise.  This  compound  word  is  of  great  excellence,  and  should 
be  spoken  only  in  suitable  places.  Thus  it  is  related  by  Siri  Saqti  who 
says,  I  have  been  much  downcast  for  30  years,  when  I  uttered  the  word 
Al  hamdu  lilluh,  and  ever  since  I  crave  pardon  of  God.  In  the  city  of  Bag- 
dad the  shops  and  houses  took  fire  and  all  were  burned  except  mine. 
Meanwhile  a  man  came  to  me  saying,  All  the  market  has  been  burned  ex- 
cept your  shop.  1  then  said,  praised  be  God  ;  but  on  consideration  I  un- 
derstood that  it  was  not  proper  to  say  so  at  such  a  time,  because  the  loss 
to  the  people  was  great,  though  my  little  property  was  saved.  It  is  related 
that  when  the  spirit  of  Adam,  being  breathed  into  him,  reached  down  to 
his  navel,  he  sneezed  and  said  Al  hamdu  lil/ahe  rabbil  dlamin.  This  word  is 
the  chief  exercise  of  those  who  are  in  paradise.  Tafsir  Fathul  Az'is. 

Lord]  The  creator,  provider,  protector,  and  teacher,  and  the  doer  of  all 
work  ir.  the  worlds  of  angels,  genii  and  men,  and  of  wild  animals,  fowls,  beasts 
of  prey,  and  the  living  things  of  the  waters  and  all  else.  Tafsir  Hosaint. 
The  word  Rab  is  appropriated  as  a  name  of  God,  and  it  is  never  used  but 
in  this  way.  Buiznwi.  [Note.  The  Musalmans  argue  that  the  apostles 
considered  our  Lord  as  only  a  human  master  or  teacher,  because  when  he 
was  called  Rabbi,  these  words  are  annexed  to  indicate  its  meaning.  This 
objection  is  forcibly  urged  in  a  recent  work  called  Marghub,  but  it  is 
sufficiently  refuted  by  their  own  books.] 

All  worlds] — Pharaoh  asked  Moses,  who  is  the  Lord  of  .ill  worlds? 
He  replied,  the  Lord  of  heaven  and  earth,  and  of  whatever  is  between. 
Pharaoh  was  astonished  at  this.  Then  Moses  again  said,  "  He  is  thy 
Lord  and  the  Lord  of  thy  forefathers.  From  the  first  declaration  it  was 
shewn,  that  He  is  the  Lord  of  every  place,  and  from  the  second,  that 
He  is  the  Lord  of  every  era."  When  Pharaoh  understood  this,  he  was 
surprised  how  one  Being  should  exercise  dominion  in  all  places,  and  in 
every  time.  Then  he  supposed  that  Moses  was  a  madman.  Moses  spoke 
the  third  time  and  said,  "  He  is  the  Lord  of  the  east  and  of  the  west,  and 
of  whatever  is  between,"  meaning  that  his  dominion  was  uhiquitary. 
Hence  it  appears  that  the  word  is  appropriated  to  God.  Fathul  Az'is. 
The  meanings  of  the  word  Rub  are  owner,  inventor  and  creator,  chief, 
guardian,  and  regulator.  Fathul  Az'is.  The  words,  the  worlds,  mean  all 
creatures  and  their  properties ;  but  some  restrict  the  term  to  intelligent 
beings,  as  angels  and  mortals  (men  and  genii),  and  include  the  rest  only 
as  subordinate  to  them,  and  others  hold  that  only  mankind  are  intended. 
Buiznwi.    [Worlds,  systems  of  beinirs,  vide  Johnson.] 

V.  2.  The  gracious,  &c]  "  There  is  a  great  difficulty  in  this,  for  if 
God  be  gracious  and  merciful,  why  were  things  evil  and  grievous  created, 
and  wicked  works  and  improper  habits,  and  sorrow  and  care,  given  unto 
us?"    In  reply  to  this  it  is  argued,  that  all  things  work  together  for  our 

VOL.  I.  2d 


198 


A I  Quran. 


[April, 


good,  as  illustrated  by  the  severities  to  which  a  child  is  subjected  for  its 
benefit.    Vide  Fathul  Avis. 

V.  3.  Mastkii]  The  people  of  the  sacred  places  (Makka  and  Madina) 
read  instead  of  the  word  malik  (master  or  owner),  malak  (director  or  king). 
Baizawi.  The  conservator  of  the  works  of  his  servants,  so  that  in  re- 
ceiving and  delivering  the  reports  of  the  angels  there  may  be  no  mistake. 
Hosniut.  |  No™.  The  additional  humza  in  this  word,  is  one  of  the  in- 
stances in  which  the  Quran  has  been  altered  ] 

V.  4.  We  woiishipJ  Certain  abandoned  persons  inquire  how  it  is,  that 
when  God  is  superior  to  necessity,  lie  should  require  worship  ;  why  men 
should  be  put  to  so  much  useless  trouble,  and  what  advantage  results  from 
acts  of  devotion,  which  are  alike  observed  in  every  religion?  The  answer 
to  this  is,  that  the  Almighty  being  perfect  in  his  nature,  attributes  and 
works,  requires  that  whatever  is  not  devoid  of  imperfection  shall  be  abased 
before  him  and  exalt  his  greatness.  Therefore,  as  each  should  have  his 
due,  submission  in  devotion  is  a  mark  of  true  wisdom  ;  but  it  is  not  designed 
to  supply  any  wants  or  necessities  in  God.  It  is  evident  that  what  is  per- 
fect, must  have  what  is  inferior,  subordinate  ;  otherwise  perfection  and  im- 
perfection would  be  equal,  which  is  contrary  to  right  reason.  Hence  per- 
fection of  character  is  respected  in  this  world.  Futhul  Axis.  The  pronoun 
We  applies  to  the  speaker  and  those  who  may  be  with  him.  Baizawi.  Sup- 
plicate] Two  objections  have  been  raised  to  this.  First,  if  worship  be 
predestined,  help  must  be  supplied;  where  then  is  the  need  of  supplica- 
tion? We  reply,  those  will  receive  assistance  who  ask  it,  as  has  been 
experienced,  and  what  is  a  matter  of  experience  is  no  longer  questionable. 
Secondly,  they  say,  that  supplication  should  be  made  for  aid  to  worship 
aright,  before  the  worship  be  commenced,  not  afterwards.  We  answer, 
devotion  is  the  medium  and  supplication  is  the  requisite;  and  the  medium 
must  pre-exist.  Besides,  supplication  is  the  end  of  devotion,  and  the 
completion  is  naturally  subsequent  to  the  commencement ;  therefore  the 
word  supplicate  occurs  after  that  of  worship.    Futhul  Azis. 

Supplicate]  There  are  in  this  world  three  classes  ;  the  first,  Jalrian, 
who  say  we  have  no  will,  but  are  like  stocks  and  stones,  our  actions  not 
being  the  result  of  volition.  The  second,  Qadrian,  who  say  we  have  perfect 
will,  our  actions  and  works  being  the  effect  of  our  own  designs.  Both  of 
these  are  heterodox,  and  approve  not  the  right  way,  because  the  former 
reject  the  ordinances  and  austerities,  and  the  latter  claim  to  be  partners 
in  the  workhouse  of  creation.  Hence  this  word  is  given  to  confute  them. 
The  right  way  belongs  to  the  third  class,  that  is  the  Sunnis.  Fathul  Azis. 
Sbekh  Sufian  Suri  once  at  the  time  of  evening  prayer  acted  as  Imam,  and 
when  he  repeated  this  verse,  he  fainted.  When  he  recovered,  the  rest  asked 
him  the  cause,  and  he  said,  When  I  repeated  the  verse,  1  was  alarmed  lest 
others  would  accuse  me  of  falsehood,  saying  to  me, Oh  liar,  say  you  this, and 
yet  ask  physic  from  the  physician,  provision  from  the  great,  and  help  from 
the  king?    Fathul  Azis. 

V.  5.  Right  way,  &c]  The  way  in  which  Musalmans  go  ;  some  say 
it  is  that  of  the  prophets  ;  others  that  of  the  followers  of  Moses  and 
Christ,  before  they  grew  corrupt.  Baizawi. 

V.  6.  In  some  copies,  instead  of  the  words  Al  Azin  the  word  man  has 
been  inserted,  which  would  make  it,  "  him  thou  hast  favored,"  and  thus 
refer  to  Muhammad.  Baizawi. 

Favored]  The  favors  were:  light,  prophecy,  sanctity,  righteousness, 
martyrdom  and  peace.  Hosami. 

The  persons  spoken  of,  are  the  prophets,  or  the  followers  of  Moses  and 
Jesus,  before  they  were  perverted  and  corrupted.  Baizawi  midAbdul  Qddir. 
f_NoTE.  I  never  find  the  Christians  called  Isdi  in  the  Muhammadan  books ; 


1840.]      Description  of  the  Netherlands'  territory. 


190 


indeed  great  cavilling  is  employed  regarding  our  use  of  the  name.  The 
proper  term,  they  say,  is  Nuzarenes,  for  which  they  supply  various  deriva- 
tions.] 

V.  7.  Wrath]  They  who,  before  they  existed,  were  under  the  wrath  of 
God,  iind  on  that  account  progressed  in  infidelity  ;  or  the  Jews,  who  by  their 
rebellion,  slaying  the  prophets,  and  perverting  the  Scriptures,  were  seized 
bv  the  wrath  of  God.  Bewildered.]  They  who  after  they  had  come  into 
existence  fell  into  courses  of  contrariety;  or  the  Tursa  (Christians)  who 
have  gone  astray  in  their  endeavors  to  add  to  the  rites  of  Christ,  and  to 
lessen  those  of  the  friend  [i.  e.  Muhammad].  Hosaini.  The  Jews  and 
Christians  ;  Baizawi,  Abdul  Qddir,  &c. 

It  is  related  by  Hatim  Tai  named  Adi,  that  he  asked  the  prophet,  to 
whom  these  words  referred?  and  he  replied,  that  the  Maghzub  are  the 
Jews,  and  the  Zalin  are  the  Christians.  Baizawi. 

Amen]  One  party  says  that  whatever  is  within  the  cover  of  the 
Quran  are  the  words  of  God;  therefore  they  omit  the  writing  of  the  word 
Amen  at  the  end  of  the  Surah  Fatihah.  Ibn  Abbas  relates  that  he  ques- 
tioned the  prophet  about  the  sense  of  this  word,  and  was  told  it  meant, 
God  shew  mercy  unto  men.  Baizawi.  The  word  Amen  means,  Let  the 
prayer  be  approved,  or,  Be  it  so.  Muntakhab  Rusliiae.  The  prophet  said, 
Gabriel  taught  me  the  word  Amen,  when  I  completed  the  Suratul  Fatihah, 
and  said,  It  is  by  way  of  conclusion  to  Scripture  ;  and  Ali  also  stated 
that  that  Surah  and  every  prayer  should  be  so  finished.  Baizawi.  Abu 
Hanifa  declares  that  the  prophet  never  used  the  word.  Ibid. 

X. 


III. — Short  Description  of  the  Netherlands'  territory  on  the 
West  Coast  of  Sumatra.  183/. 

[Translated  for  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer,  from  the  Journal  of  the  Nether- 
lands' India.] 

BOUNDARIES,  DIVISION   AND  POPULATION. 

Before  proceeding  to  a  description  of  the  extent  and  boun- 
daries of  this  territory,  I  have  thought  it  useful  to  give  a 
brief  account  of  the  position,  the  extent  and  political  govern- 
ment of  the  island  of  Sumatra,  to  present  the  particulars  of 
the  west  coast  of  this  island  in  a  more  succinct  form  with  the 
other  parts  of  it  and  the  subjects  to  be  treated  of. 

It  is  well  known  that  the  island  of  Sumatra  is  situated 
under  the  equator,  and  extends  itself  from  N.  W.  to  S.  E. 
5°  40y  northern,  to  5°  3'  southern,  latitude,  and  95°  30'  and  105° 
407  longitude  east  of  Greenwich,  making  a  length  of  1004 
English  miles,  and  a  breadth  of  142  English  miles  :  equal  to 
a  surface  of  136,800  square  English  miles,  which  shews  Suma- 
tra to  be  by  93,U5b"  square  English  miles  larger  than  Java. 

The  boundaries  of  this  island  are  :  the  straits  of  Sunda  to 
the  south-east,  the  straits  of  Banka  to  the  east,  the  straits  of 
Malacca  to  the  north-west,  and  the  Indian  sea  to  the  south 
and  west,  which  with  many  natural  advantages,  give  it  a  more 
2  d  2 


$00        Description  of  the  Netherlands'  territory.  [April, 


ndvantageous  situation  for  general  trade,  than  the  other  islands 
of  the  Indian  archipelago. 

In  the  ancient  descriptions  of  this  island  it  is  mentioned, 
that  when  the  princes  governed  Menangkabau,  it  was  divided 
into  three  parts,  named  Bataugharie,  Menangkabau  and 
Batla. 

Bataugharie  was  the  south-eastern  part  of  this  island,  and 
contained  the  states  of  Palembang,  Sampongs,  Basang-an,  (pro- 
bably Radjaug-an,)  Sillebar  and  Bencoolen. 

Menangkabau  contained  all  the  country  between  Palembang, 
and  Siac  to  the  east,  and  Mandjutta  and  Sinkel  on  the  west 
coast,  and  was  subdivided  into  the  states  of  Djambie,  Indra- 
giri,  Siac,  Menangkabau  and  Tndrapura. 

Batta  constituted  the  states  of  Acheen,  Pedir,  Pahan  and 
Dellie. 

Of  this  early  division,  however,  mention  is  only  made  by  the 
ancient  historians,  and  nothing  can  be  said  of  the  present  divi- 
sion but  that  the  island  consists  of  many  independant  states 
and  districts,  with  different  constitutional  institutions,  lan- 
guages, morals  and  usages. 

The  population  of  Sumatra  is  estimated,  after  that  of 
Palembang,  Sampongs  and  Bencoolen,  at  about  four  millions 
and  a  half  of  souls,  giving  33  souls  to  every  geographical  square 
mile,  and  consequently  67  souls  per  mile  less  than  Java. 

It  is  beyond  the  limits  of  this  work  to  search  after  the 
causes,  why  Sumatra,  which  possesses  so  many  natural  ad- 
vantages over  Java,  is  inferior  in  population  and  prosperity. 
I  consider  it,  however,  useful  to  make  a  few  observations 
regarding  this. 

The  climate  is  one  of  the  natural  causes  which  promote  the 
increase  of  population. 

Sumatra  is  supposed  to  possess  a  climate  equally  destructive 
to  Europeans  as  to  natives ;  experience  has  however  taught 
us,  that  this  is  not  the  case.  Java  and  Sumatra  may  be  con- 
sidered the  same  in  this  respect.  Unevennesses  in  the  surface 
of  the  soil,  and  extensive  marshes  and  wildernesses  on  the  east 
coast  of  Sumatra,  where  the  water  is  stagnant,  may  infect 
the  air  in  some  places,  and  occasion  local  diseases  ;  it  may 
however  be  observed,  that  in  general  it  does  not  influence  the 
increase  of  population  in  Sumatra.  It  may  also  be  taken 
as  a  proof  that  seldom  a  general  mortality  reigns  in  this 
island.  The  thermometer  sometimes  rises  to  92°  Fahrenheit 
in  the  low  lands,  and  descends  to  55°  in  the  higher ;  but  usually 
it  may  be  considered  from  80  to  90°  for  the  low  lands,  and  for 
the  high  lands  from  65  to  70°.  Neither  the  climate,  nor  the 
natural  causes  of  disease  in  the  island,  are  the  reasons  for  ita 


1840.]      Description  of  the  Netherlands'  territory.  201 


small  population ;  it  can  be  ascribed  to  nothing  else  than  the 
deficient  social  institutions  of  the  different  tribes  of  Sumatra, 
whereby  the  increase  of  population  is  impeded. 

If  the  whole  of  this  island  were  to  come  into  the  possession 
and  under  the  direction  of  a  wise  government,  then  it  would 
soon  rise  to  a  higher  degree  of  welfare  and  population  than 
Java  ;  and  although  such  a  prospect  is  yet  distant,  this  predic- 
tion may  perhaps  be  fulfilled  at  some  future  period. 

The  entire  population  of  Sumatra  may  be  considered  as 
of  one  origin,  which,  however,  through  the  circling  of  time  and 
other  local  circumstances,  is  divided  and  formed  into  different 
tribes,  and  from  mingling  with  strangers,  has  given  to  their 
language  and  morals  such  a  direction,  that  in  consequence 
five  large  tribes  are  found  on  this  island,  which  appear  to  be 
of  distinct  origin,  namely : 

1st.  Acheenese  inhabiting  the  coast  of  Baroos  to  Siac, 
numbering  600,000  souls. 

2nd.  Battas,  inhabiting  the  interior  of  Acheen  to  Rau, 
numbering  1,200,000  souls. 

3rd.  Malays,  inhabiting  the  coasts  of  Baroos  to  Indra- 
pura  on  the  west,  and  of  Siac  to  Palembang  on  the  east, 
numbering  2,000,000  souls. 

4th.  Medjangers  and  Passamas,  inhabiting  the  country  of 
PaUmbang  and  the  coast  of  Bencoolen  to  Cawor,  numbering 
600,000  souls. 

5th.  Lampongers,  inhabiting  the  south-east  portion  of 
Sumatra,  numbering  150,000  souls  :  making  together  4,550,000 
souls. 

The  territory  of  the  Netherlands  on  the  west  coast  of 
Sumatra,  consists  of  a  great  portion  of  this  interesting  island, 
reaching,  on  the  coast,  from  Tanajong  Blimbing  on  the  flat 
corner  to  the  south-east,  as  far  as  Sinkel  on  the  north-west, 
having  in  the  interior  the  country  of  Siac  on  the  east,  and  the 
independant  districts  of  Siegablas,  Pottas,  Sungie,  Pagoo, 
Corintjie  on  the  south,  and  several  others,  which  are  so  many 
hindrances  in  the  way  of  connecting  this  territory  to  that  of 
Palembang. 

A  chain  of  mountains,  or  the  well  known  Booklet  Barissan, 
which  crosses  the  island,  gives  to  this  territory  a  natural  divi- 
sion into  two  regions,  which  are  named  by  us  the  high  and 
low  lands,  and  are  distinguished  by  the  inhabitants  by  the 
names  of  Tana  Dare  and  Mataun. 

These  mountains  pass  along  the  west  coast,  at  a  distance 
of  15  to  25  geographical  miles  in  the  interior,  with  many 
turns  and  windings,  which  reach  the  sea  at  a  distance  and 
impede  communication  by  land  along  the  coast. 


202         Description  of  (he  Netherlands' territory.  [April, 


These  two  divisions  were  governed  in  ancient  times  by  the 
princes  of  Menangkabau  and  Indrapura,  the  first  of  whom 
governed  the  highlands  and  the  latter  the  lowlands,  from 
Mandjutia  to  Sinkel. 

The  influence,  however,  of  the  Acheenese,  Javanese  and 
Europeans  soon  annihilated  the  power  of  Indrapura  over 
this  coast,  whilst  the  fall  of  the  throne  of  Menangkabau, 
through  family  and  religious  differences,  has  also  deprived 
this  power  of  the  sovereignty  over  the  highlands;  in  conse- 
quence, that  part  of  the  Netherlands'  territory,  which  formerly 
was  subject  to  the  government  of  these  princes,  is  now  divided 
into  a  great  number  of  separate  provinces,  which  recognise  no 
other  supreme  power  than  the  Netherlands'  government. 

On  our  re-establishment  on  this  coast  at  Padang,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  transfer  of  the  government  from  the  British  pow- 
er on  the  12th  May,  1819,  this  territory  did  not  reach  further 
along  the  coast  than  from  Priaman  to  Indrapura,  whilst  at 
Simaioang  in  the  Padang  highlands  a  small  troop  of  30  men 
is  found. 

This  territory  was  then  divided  into  three  parts ;  from 
Tikoo  to  the  mouth  of  the  river  Ane  was  the  northern,  from 
hence  to  Bayang  was  the  territory  of  Padang,  and  from  Salida 
to  the  corner  of  Indrapura  made  the  southern  part.  After- 
wards more  extension  was  given  to  the  territory  in  the  high- 
lands, from  which  a  fourth  part  originated,  named  the  Padang 
highlands. 

In  1825  this  territory  obtained  another  extension  in  con- 
sequence of  the  London  treaty  of  the  IJth  March,  1824,  the 
English  possessions  on  this  coast  being  added,  whereby  the 
earlier  division  experienced  a  certain  alteration,  and  the  whole 
former  territory  was  united  into  one,  whilst  Nattal  became 
the  northern,  and  Bencoolen  the  southern  division,  to  which 
was  added  another  territory  through  the  later  conquests 
of  the  Batta  lands,  llau  and  other  states  in  the  Padang  and 
Bencoolen  highlands.  Dividing  this  extent  of  territory  into 
three  parts,  the  jurisdiction  of  the  northern  part  is  confined 
from  Sinkel  to  Oodjang  Massong  along  the  coast,  and 
Mandheling  and  Rati  inland. 

The  middle  part  reaches  from  Tandjang  Mapang  to  Mand- 
jutta  along  the  coast,  bounded  on  the  interior  by  the  pro- 
vince of  Siac,  Indragiri  and  the  thirteen  Kottas.  The 
southern  part  is  from  Mandjutta  to  Tandjang  Blimbing,  bound- 
ed on  the  interior  by  the  presidency  of  Palembang. 

We  shall  now  proceed  to  give  a  brief  description  of  the 
number  of  districts  in  each  part,  to  render  the  division  of  this 
territory  more  clear.    The  northern  division  contains : 


1840.]      Description  of  the  Netherlands'  ^rritory.  203 


1st.  Pinhel.  This  district  is  bounded  on  the  north  by  the 
territory  of  Taraeman,  and  inland  by  the  Batta  Alias.  It 
has  no  good  seaport,  and  the  coast  is  marshy,  very  far  in- 
land. A  fine  river,  which  has  its  origin  in  the  mountains  of 
Dahalie,  situated  in  the  Acheenese  territory,  unites  itself  with 
the  lake  of  Sekere  ;  and  subsequently  passing  through  a  portion 
of  the  Batta  lands,  with  a  sufficient  depth  of  water  for  mode- 
rate-sized vessels,  runs  here  with  two  mouths  into  the  sea, 
and  renders  this  place  very  important  for  trade. 

In  167*2  this  district  submitted  itself  to  the  authority  of  the 
East  India  Company,  but  the  means  of  government  at  Pa- 
dang  being  insufficient  to  maintain  this  newly  obtained  power, 
the  Acheenese  made  some  encroachments  on  it. 

The  trade  consists  in  salt,  opium,  long-cloth  and  other 
useful  articles  which  are  imported  by  the  Americans,  and  the 
merchants  of  the  west  of  India  ;  and  the  annual  exports  con- 
sist of  8  pekels  camphor,  4000  ditto  benzoin,  500  ditto 
pepper,  40  ditto  tripangs,  2  ditto  birdnests,  10  katties  gold 
dust,  100,000  bundles  ratans,  and  20,000  cocoanuts*. 

2nd.  Tapoos.  This  district  is  situated  about  twenty 
English  miles  south  of  Sinkel,  and  is  to  be  considered  an 
Acheenese  colony,  the  same  as  Sinkel.  It  contains  a  popula- 
tion of  about  2000  souls,  mostly  Acheenese  who  are  under  the 
authority  of  a  chief  named  Raja  Hooda  recognized  by  the 
prince  of  the  Acheenese. 

One  day's  journey  inland  this  district  is  bounded  by  a 
numerous  Battanese  population,  who  are  governed  by  their 
own  superiors.  The  trade  here  flourishes  pretty  well ;  the  ex- 
ports consist  of  about  1500  pekels  benzoin  and  3  camphor. 

3rd.  A  few  miles  south  of  Tapoos  is  the  territory  of  Baras, 
under  the  authority  of  a  Raja,  a  Bandara  and  four  Datoos. 

The  rajas  of  Baras,  whose  authority  reached  in  former 
days  to  Nattal,  but  who  now  have  no  influence  beyond  the 
boundaries  of  their  own  territory,  were  chosen  by  turns  from 
the  families  of  Ooloo  and  Hier,  assuming  by  turns  the  rank  of 
Bandara  :  so  when  he  of  Ooloo  is  Raja,  he  of  Hier  is  Bandara  ; 
the  population  of  this  district  is  estimated  at  about  3,000 
souls,  among  whom  are  200  Acheenese. 

In  the  interior,  Baras  is  bounded  by  a  numerous  population 
of  Battas,  who  are  governed  by  one  of  their  own  Rajas  and 
eight  Panghooloos.  Baras  became  subject  to  the  East  India 
Company  in  1668.  Its  most  northerly  factory  was  establish- 
ed on  this  coast,  for  whose  safety  a  fort  of  stone  was  erected, 
the  remains  of  which  are  still  found. 

*  This  account  regarding  the  trade  and  population  in  this  province  and  the 
following,  is  for  the  greater  part  derived  from  the  information  of  intelligent  natives. 


204        Description  of  the  Netherlands'  territory.  [April, 


4th.  A  few  miles  south  of  Baras  is  the  province  of  Sogkam, 
which  has  a  population  of  about  1000  souls,  and  is  governed 
by  one  Raja  and  two  Datoos,  who  are  under  the  authority 
of  the  post-holder  of  Tappanolie.  One  day's  journey  inland 
this  province  borders  on  a  numerous  Battas  population  of  the 
tribe  of  Passarieboo,  and  produces  annually  for  the  trade 
about  4000  pekels  benzoin,  5  pekels  camphor,  and  20  horses. 

5th.  Further  south  is  the  province  of  Kolang,  with  a 
Battas  population  of  about  200  souls,  who  are  subject  to  the 
Chiefs  of  Sorkam. 

6th.  South  of  Kolang  is  the  province  of  Semawang  or 
Tappanolie,  with  a  population  on  the  coast  of  about  200 
Malays,  who  formerly  were  governed  by  a  Raja  and  two 
Panghooloos,  but  only  have  one  raja  at  present. 

We  have  established  our  most  northern  possessions  on  the 
borders  of  a  small  island  named  Ponljam,  in  a  fine  bay,  where 
hundreds  of  ships  .are  safely  anchored  against  all  storms. 

This  island  is  361)  paces  long,  280  broad,  and  about  25 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

There  is  on  it,  besides  our  possessions,  a  native  population 
of  about  300  souls,  under  the  authority  of  two  Datoos  who 
are  paid  by  this  government. 

Tins  station  serves  at  present  to  watch  the  movements  of 
the  Acheenese,  who  always  disturb  the  peace  and  impede  the 
trade  by  pillage,  and  to  prevent  them  from  committing  any 
depredations  on  our  territory  and  carrying  on  any  clandestine 
trade  in  our  possessions. 

7th.  Further  south  is  the  province  of  Sie  Boga,  or  Sie 
Ambon,  with  a  population  of  about  300  souls  of  the  Battas 
tribe,  governed  by  one  raja.  Inland  this  province  borders  on 
the  Battas  population  of  the  tribe  of  Sie  Tooka,  numbering 
3000  souls. 

8th.  Further  south  is  Sie  Bielooan,  with  a  population  of 
1000  souls,  most  Battas  of  the  tribe  of  Odabarat,  who  are 
governed  by  two  rajas,  subject  to  the  post-holder  of  Tap- 
panolie. 

9th.  South  of  Sie  Bielooan  is  the  province  of  Kalangan, 
with  a  population  of  300  Malays,  who  are  governed  by  one 
Datoo.  One  day's  journey  inland  this  province  borders  on 
the  Battas  population  of  the  Papas  tribe,  numbering  3000 
souls,  over  whom  four  rajas  exercise  authority. 

10th.  Further  south  is  the  province  of  Badierie,  with  a 
population  of  600  souls,  Battas  and  Malays,  who  are.  under 
the  authority  of  a  Malay  chief,  subject  to  the  post-holder  of 
Tappanolie.  Half  a  day's  journey  inland  this  province 
borders  on  the  Battas  population  of  the  Pangaliean  tribe, 
numbering  2000  souls,  and  governed  by  one  raja. 


1840.]     Description  of  the  Netherlands'  territory. 


205 


1 1th.  Pinang  Soorie,  a  small  province  with  a  population  of 
about  2000  souls,  and  a  navigable  river. 

12th.  Battang  Tero  is  little  known  ;  the  territory  of  Tap- 
panolie  ends  here. 

We  now  proceed  to  the  description  of  the  provinces  un- 
der the  jurisdiction  of  Nattal. 

13th.  South  of  Battang  Tero  is  the  province  of  Singkooan, 
which  borders  inland  on  Mandheling,  with  a  population  of 
about  3000  souls,  Ma/ays  and  Battas,  governed  by  one  raja. 

14th.  Further  south  is  the  province  of  Batoo  Mundom, 
bordering  inland  on  Mandheling,  with  a  population  of  about 
2000  souls,  and  governed  by  one  raja. 

15th.  Further  beyond  is  the  province  of  Tabooyung  with  a 
population  of  about  2000  souls,  most  Battas,  who  are  under 
the  authority  of  a  Malay  raja.  This  province  possesses  a  fine 
river,  which  is  navigable  far  inland  for  moderate-sized  vessels, 
and  deep  enough  at  the  mouth  during  high  water  for  merchant- 
men. 

About  half  a  mile  from  the  mouth  of  this  river  is  the 
beautiful  island  of  Tabooyung,  which  affords  safe  anchorage 
for  large  vessels. 

This  place  may  be  considered  very  important,  from  the 
advantages  which  it  offers  for  trade  and  internal  communica- 
tion ;  consequently  it  is  a  question  whether  it  would  not  be  bet- 
ter to  establish  the  presidency  of  the  northern  division  here, 
instead  of  at  Nattal. 

16th.  Runcan  has  a  population  of  about  500  souls  under 
the  authority  of  one  raja. 

l/th.  Nattal,  situated  about  73  English  miles  south  of 
Tappanolie,  is  our  second  possession  in  the  northern  division 
and  at  present  its  presidency.  This  province  borders  inland 
on  Lingabaya,  and  has  a  trading  population  of  3000  souls, 
who  are  under  the  authority  of  one  Raja  and  six  Datoos. 

This  population  is  probably  a  collection  of  different  nations, 
who  first  established  themselves  as  traders,  and  subsequently 
obtained  the  privileges  of  citizens.  They  are  now  divided  into 
six  different  tribes  or  Sookoos,  namely  : — 

1.  Sookoo  Menangkabau.    Menangkabau  tribe. 

2.  Sookoo  Barat,  western  tribe. 

3.  Sookoo  Padang,  tribe  of  Padang. 

4.  Sookoo  Bandar  Sepooloo,  tribe  from  the  places  situated 
between  Padang  and  Bencoolen. 

5.  Sookoo  Atje,  tribe  of  Acheen. 

6.  Sookoo  Rau,  tribe  of  Rau. 

These  tribes  have  each  one  of  the  above  mentioned  Datoos  as 
vol.  i.  2  E 


U06        Description  of  the  Netherlands'  territory.  [April, 


for  their  superior.  They  again  are  the  advisers  of  the  raja, 
who  has  supreme  authority  and  the  title  of  Twanku  Bezoar. 

Nattal  subjected  itself  to  the  East  India  Company  in  1668, 
as  a  part  of  Bar  as  ;  but  having  revolted,  the  English,  without 
paying  any  attention  to  the  rights  of  the  (Dutch)  East  India 
Company,  established  themselves  there  in  1/55 — 60,  by  which 
means  it  was  separated  from  the  authority  of  Barns,  and  now, 
through  the  influence  of  the  European  government,  holds  the 
hist  rank  among  the  provinces  of  the  northern  division. 

The  unfavorable  situation  of  this  place  with  regard  to  its 
physical  constitution,  as  well  as  to  trade  and  cultivation,  must 
necessarily  prevent  Nattal  from  ever  becoming  an  interesting 
country,  and  points  out  distinctly,  that  the  English  only 
established  themselves  there,  because  at  the  time  of  their  esta- 
blishment on  this  coast,  no  other  choice  was  left  to  them. 
Ships  never  touch  at  this  place  without  the  most  urgent  ne- 
cessity, and  never  venture  to  remain  here  longer  than  three 
days  on  account  of  the  heavy  N.  W.  winds,  which  occur  du- 
ring every  change  of  moon,  and  generally  continuefrom  three  to 
seven  days  with  great  violence.  During  such  weather  they  are 
necessitated  to  quit  the  roads,  and  to  sail  to  a  small  island,  12 
English  miles  south  of  Nattal,  named  Tammong.  A.  small 
canal,  about  three  quarters  of  an  English  mile  in  breadth  and 
from  6  to  10  fathoms  in  depth,  situated  between  it  and  the 
continent,  affords  a  safe  anchorage  to  four  or  five  ships  in 
all  winds.  Little  use  is  made  of  it  however,  on  account 
of  the  great  distance  from  the  usual  roads,  and  the  difficul- 
ty of  communication  with  the  capital. 

The  river  at  Nattal  has  its  origin  in  the  hills,  four  or  five 
days*  journey  east  of  the  mouth,  and  is  navigable  for  vessels 
drawing  five  feet  water  as  far  as  the  Bazoar,  situated  fifteen 
minutes  walk  from  the  coast,  and  for  prows  ( SampangsJ  draw- 
ing two  feet,  as  far  as  Lingabaya  situated  two  days'  journey 
inland. 

The  entrance  is  difficult,  and  in  bad  weather  even  danger- 
ous, there  being  a  bank  at  the  mouth,  on  which  at  low  water 
only  two  feet  water  remains. 

At  the  rising  of  the  N.  W.  winds  a  great  and  broken  surf  is 
occasioned,  which  often  upsets  ship's  boats,  and  prevents  all 
communication  between  the  shore  and  the  roads. 

This  establishment  is  situated  on  the  north  side  of  the 
river,  immediately  on  the  strand.  Close  on  the  bank  of  the 
river  there  is  a  square  fort  of  stone,  212  feet  in  length  and  150 
feet  in  breadth,  with  four  bastions  of  10  guns  each,  and 
surrounded  by  a  ditch  of  10  feet  in  depth  and  14  feet  in 
breadth,  which  can  be  flooded  by  means  of  a  sluice.    In  the 


1840.]         Description  of  the  Netherlands'  territory.  207 


fort  are  three  water  troughs,  with  a  Resident's  house  built  on 
pillars  of  stone  ;  besides  which  there  were  formerly  six  other 
buildings  for  the  purpose  of  warehouses,  powder-magazines, 
laboratory,  &c.  most  of  them  with  flat  stone  roofs.  At  the 
time  of  the  transfer  this  possession  was  found  in  a  very 
neglected  condition,  and  its  insignificancy  rendered  the  ex- 
pense of  rebuilding  it  useless  :  the  walls  are  rent  and  threaten 
to  fall.  Of  the  Resident's  house  only  the  skeleton  remains, 
and  a  plank  barrack  with  a  small  infirmary.  Outside  the  fort, 
at  a  distance  of  about  200  paces,  the  houses  of  the  officers  and 
servants  form  a  straight  line  of  buildings  along  the  strand. 
They  all  are  necessitated  from  want  of  accommodation  to  reside 
outside  the  fort.  The  house  of  the  Assistant  Resident  is  the 
last  of  this  line.  Further  on,  the  hospital,  now  no  longer  in 
existence,  formerly  stood,  being  situated  on  a  small  elevation 
at  the  back  of  a  hill,  whereon  used  to  be  placed  the  flag-staff, 
and  from  which  the  fort  can  be  surveyed. 

At  the  foot  of  this  hill  there  was  also  a  Government  or 
Botanical  garden  of  which  nothing  remains  at  present.  A 
little  above  the  fort,  east  of  the  river,  the  bazar  is  situated, 
containing  about  200  houses.  On  the  west,  immediately 
on  the  strand,  is  a  small  but  well  planned  warehouse,  the 
only  building  worthy  of  notice;  on  the  other  side  of  the  fort 
and  the  right  side  of  the  river  there  is  an  Indian  village.  In 
consequence  of  the  dilapidated  state  of  the  buildings  and 
environs,  Nattal  does  not  present  from  any  side  that  view, which 
one  would  exoect  from  a  place  which  has  been  the  capital  of 
the  north  coast  of  Sumatra  since  the  English  established 
themselves  there. 

This  possession  was  established  by  the  English  Company  in 
the  year  1/55  or  1756,  with  the  understanding  that  they  would 
protect  the  population  against  all  their  enemies  both  by  sea 
and  land,  and  in  compensation  enjoy  the  privilege  of  exclusive 
trade,  free  of  all  duties  ;  it  was  also  agreed  that  the  chiefs 
should  insist  on  their  subjects  growing  such  productions  of 
the  soil,  as  the  said  Company  would  consider  most  advanta- 
geous for  its  interests. 

18th.  Beyond  Natfal'is  the  province  of  Lingabaga  bounded 
by  Ma/idheling,  with  a  population  of  about  3000  souls,  who 
are  governed  by  one  Raja  and  six  Panghooloos. 

19th.  South  of  Nattal  is  the  province  of  Battahan,  border- 
ing inland  on  Mandheling  and  inhabited  by  2500  souls, 
governed  by  one  raja.  Here  is  also  found  the  small  island 
Tumor,  of  which  mention  has  been  made  before. 

20th.  Further  south  is  found  our  third  possession  on  this 
coast,  named  Ayer  Bangies,  which  borders  inland  on  Man- 
2  e  2 


208        Description  of  the  Netherlands' territory.  [April, 


dheling,  with  a  population  of  about  3000  souls,  and  govern- 
ed by  one  Raja  and  six  Panghooloos. 

dyer  Bangies  possesses  a  fine  harbour,  at  a  distance  of 
four  English  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river  behind  Poolon 
Pandjang,  in  which  many  ships  may  ride  safely  in  all  winds, 
whilst  the  river  here  presents  the  same  facilities  and  advan- 
tages as  that  of  Padang. 

These  advantages,  added  to  the  healthy  situation  of  Ayer 
Bangies  and  the  many  facilities  of  communication  with  the  in- 
terior of  Nat  tat,  render  this  place  far  preferable  to  any  other 
as  the  capital  of  the  Netherlands1  possessions  among  the 
northern  population. 

To  the  jurisdiction  of  Ayer  Bangies  belong  the  follow- 
ing provinces,  namely : 

21st.  Siekielang,  bounded  in  the  interior  by  Bondjol,  with 
a  population  of  3000  souls,  who  are  under  the  authority  of 
two  Rajas  and  Panghooloos. 

22nd.  Passaman,  with  a  population  of  about  200  souls,  is 
governed  by  one  Raja  and  four  Panghooloos,  and  bounded 
on  the  interior  by  Bondjol. 

23rd.  Kienillie,  bounded  in  the  interior  by  Bondjol  with  a 
population  of  about  3000  sou!s,  governed  by  one  Raja  and 
four  Panghooloos,  is  the  last  province  on  the  coast,  belonging 
to  Ayer  Bangies. 

Eight  days  inland  from  Ayer  Bangies,  and  much  further 
from  Nattal,  is  our  fourth  possession  in  the  northern  division, 
viz.  Mandheling  in  the  Batta  loads,  which  comprised  the 
following  provinces,  bounded  on  the  south  by  Rau  and  on 
the  east  by  Tambooan. 

24th.  Mandheling,  contains  38  large  kampongs  with  one 
Raja  and  six  Panghooloos  in  each,  and  a  population  of 
about  40,000  souls,  all  belonging  to  the  Battas,  and  of 
whose  morals  and  usages,  as  quite  distinct  from  the  other 
Muhammadan  population  of  this  Presidency,  we  shall  speak 
more  at  length  hereafter. 

25th.  Looboo,  contains  ten  large  kampongs  with  four 
Rajas,  sixty  Ponghooloos,  and  a  population  of  1U,000  Battas. 

26th.  Ankola,  contains  ten  large  Batta  kampongs,  each  with 
one  Raja  and  ten  Panghooloos,  having  together  a  population 
of  10,000  souls. 

27th.  Padang  Lawe,  contains  eight  large  Batta  kampongs, 
each  having  a  Radja  and  ten  Panghooloos,  and  all  together 
containing  a  population  of  about  8000  souls. 

28th.  Rau  has  twenty  large  kampongs  with  one  Raja  of 
the  tribe  of  Menangkabau  and  fifteen  Panghooloos,  and  each 
kampong  has  ten  Panghooloos  besides. 


1840.]  Nineteenth  Report  of  the  C.  B.  M.  S.  209 


The  population  of  this  province  may  be  estimated  at  25,000 
souls. 

In  1832  this  population,  of  its  own  free  will,  became  sub- 
ject to  this  government,  and  in  1834  rebelled:  but  was  again 
reduced  to  obedience  in  1835. 

29th.  Tambussey  is  a  small  province,  situated  to  the  east  of 
MandJieling  and  Rau,  bounded  by  Aracan.  It  is  under  the 
authority  of  the  much  fumed  Tocankoo  tambussey,  who  often 
disturbs  our  peace  at  Mandheling,  and  who  was  the  cause  of 
the  insurrection  in  Rau. 

30th.  Bondjol  or  AJlahan  Pandjang  had  formerly  one 
Raja  and  seven  Panghooloos,  but  having,  under  the  authority 
of  the  Padris,  become  the  capital  of  the  government  of  the 
Malay  sect,  the  government  was  managed  by  four  priests 
named  Tocankoo  nan  barampe.  In  1832  this  province  be- 
came subject  to  this  government,  but  rebelled  again  in  1833, 
and  declared  themselves  independent,  after  having  by  gross 
treason  destroyed  our  possession,  being  then  governed  by  four 
chiefs,  who  named  themselves  Raja  nan  berampat.  The 
population  of  this  province  and  some  others  connected  with 
it,  is  estimated  at  8000  souls.  The  occurrences  that  have 
since  taken  place  in  this  country  are  known. 

Having  said  as  much  as  was  necessary,  of  the  provinces 
belonging  to  the  northern  division,  we  shall  now  proceed  to 
speak  of  those  of  the  middle  division. 

f_To  be  continued.] 


IV. — Nineteenth  Annual  Report  of  the  Calcutta  Baptist  Mis- 
sionary Society. 

There  is  something  exceedingly  gratifying  in  the  hasten- 
ing in  of  so  many  Reports  of  Christian  operations.  They  seem 
like  couriers  in  the  day  of  battle  carrying  tidings  from  all 
portions  of  the  conflict,  and  conveying  or  exciting  friendly 
sympathies,  as  they  pass  through  the  several  divisions  of  the 
mighty  host.  We  would  indeed  that  all  our  reports  were  as 
simple  and  faithful  as  must  be  the  tidings  of  those  couriers 
whose  mouths  are  fraught  with  life  or  death,  in  the  day  of 
eventful  contest :  still,  we  believe,  that  much  if  not  most  of  the 
practical  deceptiveness  complained  of  by  many,  arises  not  from 
Reports  themselves  so  much  as  from  the  use  made  of  them ; 


210  Nineteenth  Report  of  the  C.  B.  M.  S.  [April, 


and  that  a  correct  view  of  at  least  the  operations  of  the  Church 
of  Christ  may  he  formed  from  a  combination  of  the  annual 
documents  sent  out  for  information  by  the  several  divisions  of 
the  one  Catholic  body.  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  the  press  is  now 
so  far  enlisted  in  this  service,  that  it  brings  out,  in  its  best 
typography,  the  glorious  tidings  of  the  progress  of  Messiah's 
kingdom,  and  that  multitudes  of  men  are  constantly  employed 
in  printing  forth  the  wonders  of  a  diffused  and  extending 
salvation  !  How  blessed  will  be  the  day,  when  all  the  printing 
presses  of  this  globe  shall  be  in  the  hands  of  our  Great  Lord — 
and  when  the  daily  news  that  men  shall  look  for,  will  be  con- 
cerning the  progress  of  human  salvation,  and  the  overthrow  of 
Satan's  kingdom  of  sin  ! 

In  the  meanwhile  we  would  rejoice  even  in  the  "  small 
things"  of  our  day,  remembering  that  there  was  a  time,  when 
they  were  smaller  than  they  now  are,  and  not  forgetting  that 
the  sniallness  of  the  mustard  seed  will  expand  itself  into  the 
largeness  of  the  mustard  tree. 

The  Report  quoted  in  our  title  is  an  interesting  one.  We 
have  already  given  a  short  notice  of  it,  and  we  now  recur  to 
the  subject  (as  we  promised  in  our  last  number)  chiefly  for  the 
purpose  of  giving  a  few  extracts  from  the  document,  which 
may  speak  for  themselves.  We  fear  it  is  too  long  for  the 
bulk  of  readers  ;  and  we  think  that  a  good  deal  of  the  de- 
tails might  have  been  thrown  into  the  appendix,  so  as  not  to 
have  presented  any  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  impatient  peru- 
sers of  such  records,  who  prefer  a  bird's-eye  view  to  a 
finished  landscape  painting.  But  this  is  a  mere  matter  of 
opinion  ; — and  in  it  we  must  succumb  to  prevailing  custom, 
in  a  case  of  simple  expediency. 

We  are  reminded  at  the  outset  of  the  vanity  of  life,  and  of  the 
duty  of  exerting  ourselves  whilst  it  is  called  to-day.  The  death 
of  our  late  esteemed  brother,  Mr.  Penney,  was  indeed  a  sudden 
and  affecting  one  ;  and  calculated  to  teach  to  the  whole  body 
of  his  surviving  fellow-labourers  the  value  of  time.  But 
what  shall  we  now  say  to  the  repetition  of  that  lesson  which 
has  just  taken  place,  in  the  sudden  removal  of  our  beloved 
friend  and  brother  Pearce  !  We  have  just  seen  his  dust  com- 
mitted to  the  tomb,  in  all  that  solemn  suddenness  with  which 
death  and  burial  are  invested  in  this  land  of  physical  and 
spiritual  trial.  May  the  Lord  who  hath  so  dealt  with  his  ser- 
vants, give  corresponding  grace,  so  that  the  seed  of  death 
may  produce  the  fruit  of  life  !  In  Pearce  the  Missionary  cause 
has  lost  one  of  those  solid  ornamental  characters  in  grace, 
which  are  as  the  embossed  flowers  and  pomegranates  former- 
ly in  the  house  of  the  Lord,  and  which  were  as  much  the 


1840.]       Nineteenth  Report  of  the  C.  B.  M.  S. 


211 


subjects  of  divine  direction  and  appointment  as  were  the  pillars 

and  seas  of  brass. 

B nt  we  proceed  to  make  a  few  extracts  of  interest, — 
First,  a  specimen  of  the  primary  and  radical  operation  of 

proaching  to  the  Heathen  in  Calcutta  : 

"  This  most  important  part  of  Missionary  labour  has  been  constantly 
attended  to.  Mr.  C.  C.  Aratoon,  Shujaatali,  Bishwanath,  Ganga- 
narayan  Sil,  and  the  elder  students  of  the  Native  Christian  Institu- 
tion have  been  more  or  less  regularly  engaged  in  the  Chapels  for  the 
heathen  or  on  the  highways  and  public  places.  These  engagements  of 
course  differ  very  much  from  the  regular  and  quiet  service  of  a  Christian 
congregation.  Many  of  the  hearers  often  pass  away  during  the  sermon, 
and  others  take  their  places.  Questions  of  all  kinds  and  from  every 
class  of  objectors  have  to  be  answered,  and  the  service  usually  ends  with 
a  distribution  of  Tracts  and  portions  of  the  Scriptures,  and  a  friendly 
conversation  with  any  who  remain,  on  the  truths  which  have  been  pre- 
sented to  them.  In  Jan  Bazar  Chapel  services  have  been  held  almost 
daily  during  a  greater  part  of  the  year,  and  mostly  to  well  attended  con- 
gregations. In  April  last  a  new  Chapel  was  erected  at  Sedlduh,  the 
north-east  part  of  Calcutta.  Two  services  have  been  held  there  weekly, 
and  the  hearers,  chiefly  Hindus,  have  averaged  from  60  to  90.  The  dif- 
ferent festivals,  at  which  immense  crowds  are  usually  collected,  have  also 
been  attended  ;  and  large  numbers  of  tracts  and  scriptures  have  been 
given  to  all  who  could  read  them.  Regular  visits  have  also  been  made 
to  the  houses  of  pious  friends,  which  have  given  the  opportunity  of  close 
and  impressive  appeals  to  the  consciences  of  the  heathen  servants  ;  while 
in  the  masters  and  mistresses  themselves  a  missionary  spirit  has  been 
cherished  and  strengthened.  Another  numerous  and  important,  but 
degraded  and  neglected  class,  the  Roman  Catholics,  have  also  received 
attention.  One  house  in  Buitakkhdnah  has  been  rented  for  preaching, 
and  another  has  been  voluntarily  opened  by  its  Roman  Catholic  inmate. 
In  each  of  these  places  weekly  meetings  are  held,  and  the  truth  as  it  is 
in  Jesus  is  preached  to  them  ;  while  another  Roman  Catholic  family 
have  lately  requested  that  meetings  might  be  held  in  their  house,  and 
arrangements  have  consequently  been  made  to  meet  there  on  the  Sabbath 
evening.    All  these  services  are  held  in  Bengali." 

Next,  let  us  take  a  specimen  of  Native  Church  work  : 

"  During  the  past  year  the  Church  has  been  under  the  pastoral  care  of 
Mr.  C.  C.  Aratoon,  who  has  laboured  assiduously  and  affectionately  for 
the  welfare  of  its  members.  Mr.  Pearce,  however,  for  whom  he  officiat- 
ed, having  now  returned  to  India,  has  consented,  at  the  request  of  the 
members,  seconded  by  Mr.  A.,  to  resume  his  engagement  as  their  pastor 
from  the  commencement  of  the  present  year. 

"  Till  October  last  the  acting  pastor  was  assisted  by  our  valued  native 
brother  Shujaatali  ;  but  the  state  of  health  of  the  latter  rendering  ne- 
cessary a  change  of  air,  he  accompanied  Messrs.  Parsons  and  Phillips 
to  Monghir,  from  which  place  he  hopes  to  return  in  a  few  weeks.  We 
regret  to  say  that  he  is  still  suffering  from  indisposition  ;  but  re- 
joice to  add,  that  under  it  he  manifests  a  patience  and  fortitude  highly 
honourable  to  the  Christian  character.  During  his  absence,  his  duties  as 
assistant  to  the  pastor  have  been  performed  by  our  native  brother  Gan- 
ganarayan,  who  manifests  a  pleasing  degree  of  zeal  and  activity  in  the 
service  of  the  Gospel. 


212        Nineteenth  Report  of  the  d  B.  M.  S.  [April, 


"  At  the  date  of  the  last  Report  the  number  of  members  composing  the 
church  in  Kalingd,  independant  of  persons  under  suspension,  was  stated 
at  twenty.  During  the  year  it  has  received  an  accession  of  ten  members; 
nine  by  baptism,  and  one  by  letter  of  dismission  :  while  on  the  other 
hand  it  has  been  reduced  by  the  loss  of  five  ;  two  by  dismission  to  other 
churches,  with  two  by  exclusion  and  one  by  suspension,  for  unchristian 
conduct  ;  making-  a  total  in  full  communion  at  the  present  time  of 
twenty-five  persons.  Besides  these,  there  are  several  under  suspension, 
who  express  a  wish  to  be  restored  to  the  communion  of  the  church  ;  but 
as  they  do  not  manifest  that  deep  repentance  for  sin,  and  that  earnest 
desire  Jd  obey  the  Divine  commandments  which  characterize  the  true 
penitent,  the  church  do  not  feel  justified  at  present  in  complying  with 
their  wishes. 

"  The  number  of  regular  attendants  on  the  Lord's-day  (all  of  whom 
are  professing  Christians)  is  encouraging.  Including  the  children  of  the 
Female  Department  of  the  Native  Christian  Institution,  it  averages  90 
in  the  morning,  and  60  in  the  afternoon.  We  regret  to  say,  that  the 
week-day  services,  which  are  still  continued,  are  not  so  well  attended. 
There  does  not  appear  among  the  members  generally,  that  concern  to 
avail  themselves  of  these  privileges  which  we  could  desire.  We  are 
happy  to  add,  however,  that  in  some  instances  the  case  is  very  different. 
It  is  worthy  of  notice,  that  several  members  of  this  church,  some  of 
them  converted  Hindus  and  Muhammadans,  have  exerted  themselves 
during  the  year  for  the  conversion  of  those  who  are  professed  Christians. 
They  have  attended  frequent  meetings,  held  in  the  week-day  evenings 
at  the  houses  of  Roman  Catholics,  for  the  purpose  of  friendly  discus- 
sion on  those  important  subjects  on  which  they  differ  from  the  Protes- 
tants. These  discussions  have  been  often  prolonged  to  a  late  hour,  and 
have  excited  considerable  interest  in  the  neighbourhood.  They  have  also 
been  blessed  to  the  real  conversion  of  several  attendants,  some  of  whom 
have  already  joined  the  church,  and  are  among  its  most  active  members. 

"  Mr.  I'eabce  has  of  late  been  frequently  visited  by  an  up-country 
brahman,  whose  mind  is  evidently  becoming  more  and  more  convinced 
of  the  truth  of  Christianity',  and  more  impressed  with  the  excellency 
and  suitability  to  himself  of  the  Gospel  plan  of  salvation.  He  has  gain- 
ed courage  enough  to  avow  to  his  friends  his  intention  of  becoming  a 
Christian,  and  throw  off  the  appendages  of  idolatry  ;  and  at  last  to 
attend  with  the  Christian  brethren  at  the  Native  Chapel.  He  suffers 
much,  however,  from  the  derision  and  reproaches  of  his  friends,  and  is  a 
striking  exhibition  of  the  difficulty  with  which  a  Hindu  has  to  contend 
on  determining  to  embrace  the  Saviour.  As  an  instance  we  may  men- 
tion, that  in  a  late  conversation  one  of  his  friends  said  to  him,  "  What 
a  fool  you  are,  to  give  up  your  caste  as  a  brahman,  and  instead  of 
being  called  great  king  (Muhdrdj),  and  lord  (Thdlcvr),  to  be  despised 
of  all  men  !  Did  you  get  plenty  of  money  for  the  sacrifice,  it  might  be 
worth  your  while  to  make  it  ;  but  to  do  it  without  the  hope  of  gaining 
any  thing,  shews  you  indeed  to  be  a  fool  !"  What  forcible  arguments 
are  these  to  a  carnal  heart,  and  what  grace  does  it  require  in  a  new  and 
timid  believer  to  count  all  earthly  advantages  but  dross  and  dung,  so 
that  he  may  be  found  in  Christ  .'  Such  appears,  at  present,  the  state  of 
mind  of  our  Hindu  inquirer.  May  he  have  grace  to  endure  even  unto 
the  end  !" 

There  is  an  interesting  passage  as  to  the  death  of  a  young 
native  christian.  How  cheering  to  see  the  grace  producing 
the  same  effects  in  the  young  Convert,  as  in  the  aged  pastor  ! 


1840.] 


Nineteenth  Report  of  the  C.  B.  M.  S.  213 


"Ramkrishna  Siramani,  our  deceased  friend,  was  a  young-  man  edu- 
cated in  Mr.  Thomas's  school  at  Hawaii.  The  instruction  he  ther"e 
received  was  blessed  of  God  to  his  conversion,  and  in  December  I83G, 
he  wholly  renounced  Hinduism,  and  avowed  his  Christian  discipleship, 
by  being  publicly  baptized  in  the  presence  of  many  of  his  early  friends 
and  associates,  to  whom  he  addressed  a  full  statement  of  his  reasons  for 
the  step  he  then  took.  Early  in  1837,  he  was  received  into  the  Theolo- 
gical Class  of  the  Native  Christian  Institution,  whereby  his  devout  piety 
and  diligent  attention  to  study  he  secured  the  highest  esteem  of  all  con- 
nected with  him.  During  the  two  years  he  was  in  the  Institution,  there 
was  a  simplicity,  loveliness,  and  progressive  maturity  of  Christian  cha- 
racter; and  no  one  could  know  him  in  the  every  day  matters  of  life  with- 
out admiring  the  uniform  consistency  of  his  spirit  and  conduct.  At  the 
close  of  1838  he  suffered  severely  from  an  attack  of  bilious  fever,  and 
for  many  following  weeks  disease  made  rapid  progress.  The  whole 
of  his  Buffering,  how  ever,  was  marked  by  submissive  patience  and  cheer- 
ful resignation  to  the  Divine  will.  Even  in  bis  worst  seasons  of  weakness 
and  pain  a  murmur  never  escaped  him  ;  and  he  would  often  say,  that  al- 
though he  knew  not  the  reason  of  bis  afflictions,  he  was  sure  they  were 
for  the  best  ends.  In  December,  1838,  he  proceeded  to  Cutwa  and 
Mong'hir,  hoping  the  change  might  restore  him.  Such,  however,  was  not 
its  effect,  and  he  gradually  became  worse.  During  his  absence  he  wrote 
as  often  as  he  could,  and  his  letters  breathed  the  same  spirit  of  lovely 
piety  which  he  had  shewn  when  present  with  us,  and  often  expressed  his 
strong  desires  after  perfect  holiness  and  love.  Knowing  that  death  was 
near,  he  wished  to  return  home,  and  once  more  see  his  friends  in  Cal- 
cutta. He  did  reach  home,  though  he  lived  but  one  day  after  his  arrival. 
It  appeared  as  if  he  was  allowed  to  return  among  us,  that  we  might  hear 
his  dying  testimony  to  the  preciousness  of  Christ  and  the  faithfulness  of 
God,  and  be  witnesses  of  his  triumphantly  happy  death.  To  all  who  saw 
him,  he  spoke  of  the  goodness  of  the  Lord.  His  increasing  weakness  and 
the  approach  of  death  occasionally  drew  a  cloud  over  his  hopes;  but 
these  were  very  transient,  and  he  again  rejoiced  in  his  God  and  Saviour, 
often  saying,  'Come,  Lord  Jesus,  come  quickly.'  His  prayer  was  soon 
answered,  and  after  a  short  period  of  speechless  insensibility  he  ceased 
to  breathe.  Such  an  exhibition  of  the  overcoming  and  triumphant  power 
of  faith  in  the  hour  of  dissolution  is  seldom  witnessed.  Devoutly  pious 
and  consistent  in  the  time  of  health,  in  sickness  patiently  submissive  and 
resigned,  in  death  peaceful  and  gloriously  happy,  and  now  before  the 
throne  of  God, — lean  only  say,  Dear  friend  and  brother,  may  my  end  be 
like  thine,  and  may  our  friendship  and  affection  be  renewed  and  perpe- 
tuated in  the  abodes  and  blessedness  of  heaven." 

We  are  glad  to  find  the  system  of  Christian  education  for 
the  young  so  vigorously  carried  on  amongst  our  Entally 
friends.  If  this  system  be  well  "seasoned  with  salt/5  the  salt 
of  grace,  it  cannot  but  result  in  blessings  many  and  great 
ultimately ;  but  oh,  let  us  take  heed  not  to  suffer  the  splendour 
of  our  plans  and  the  completeness  of  our  details  to  obscure 
the  eye  of  our  faith,  or  usurp  the  place  of  dependence  !  Is 
there  not  reason  to  believe  that  it  will  be  through  a  multitude 
of  disappointments,  and  not  of  successes,  that  Christian  edu- 
cation shall  at  length  reach  to  the  glorious  point  of  winning 
many  souls  to  Christ  ?    We  think  it  will  be  so  : — and  for  this 

VOL.   I.  2  F 


214  Nineteenth  Report  of  the  C.  B.  M.  S.  [April, 


reason,  that  the  details  of  school  calculation  are  so  much 
matters  of  reasoning  and  reckoning  as  to  final  result,  that 
we  are  all  the  more  strongly  tempted  to  rest  in  thes£  details, 
and  so  we  need  to  be  graciously  checked.    But  to  the  point. 

We  extract  the  following  account  of  the  Christian  Insti- 
tution at  Entally. 

"The  present  number  of  boys  and  young  men  in  this  Institution  is 
fifty  four.  Each  department  lias  pursued  its  studies  in  English  and  Ben- 
gali with  pleasing  improvement.  During  the  year  five  from  the  Institu- 
tion have  been  baptized  and  added  to  the  church,  while  two  others  have 
for  some  months  stood  proposed,  and  it  is  hoped  will  shortly  be  received. 
As  a  distinct  Report,  in  detail,  of  the  Institution  will  soon  be  published, 
it  is  not  now  necessary  to  do  more  than  relate  its  general  character. 
The  inmates,  all  children  of  Christian  parents,  are  received  from  6 
to  10  years  of  age,  and  given  up  to  the  entire  care  of  the  Missionaries 
to  educate  for  a  number  of  years  The  great  design  of  the  Institu- 
tion is  to  furnish  well-educated  and  pious  men,  either  as  preachers 
of  the  Gospel  or  teachers  in  Christian  schools ;  w  hile,  as  some  may  not 
possess  talents  qualifying  them  for  mental  labour,  it  is  intended,  after 
a  certain  period  of  elementary  education,  to  teach  them  on  the  premises 
some  useful  art,  by  which  tliey  may  be  enabled  respectably  to  support 
themselves  through  life,  and  possibly  teach  their  knowledge  of  some 
manual  art  toothers,  and  furnish  them  with  employment.  After  a  period 
of  8  or  10  years'  general  study,  those  who  are  pious  and  qualified,  and 
desirous  of  devoting  themselves  to  the  w  ork  of  evangelists,  are  received 
into  the  Theological  Department,  where  a  course  of  4  or  5  years'  theologi- 
cal study  is  set  before  them.  There  are  now  seven  young  men  in  this 
class,  which  is  open  to  all  pious  and  talented  natives,  who  may  possess 
the  required  preliminary  education  in  English,  and  be  fitted  to  enter  at 
once  on  theological  studies.  This  class  has  just  completed  the  studies 
of  its  first  year  in  Systematic  and  Exegetical  theology,  the  composition 
of  Sermons,  Mental  and  Moral  Science,  Bengali  and  Sanskrit,  together 
with  other  departments  of  knowledge,  useful  in  the  great  work  for  which 
they  are  preparing.  W  e  are  happy  to  state,  that  their  Sanskrit  and 
Bengali  studies  will  be  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Yates,  and  exegetical 
theology  and  ecclesiastical  history  will  be  attended  to  under  Mr.  VVenger. 

"As  the  Institution  is  about  to  be  increased  to  70  or  80,  some  altera- 
tions are  proposed  in  its  arrangements,  which  when  effected  will  classify 
the  Institution  into  three  divisions. 

"  1st.  The  Preparatory  School,  into  which  the  boys  are  received  young, 
and  when  qualified  by  a  good  knowledge  of  Bengali,  and  an  ability  to 
read  with  ease  the  New  Testament  in  English,  they  will  be  fitted  for 
admission  into  the 

"2nd,  or  Seminary  Department,  to  become  students  in  which  their  pa- 
rents or  guardians  are  required  to  give  an  agreement  allowing  them  to 
continue  for  six  years,  during  which  time  it  is  thought  they  may  acquire 
a  good  education  in  English  and  Bengali.  From  the  seminary  the  young 
men  will  be  elected,  on  the  grounds  of  piety,  fitness  and  previous  acquire- 
ments, into  the 

"  3rd,  or  Theological  Department,  where  they  pursue  a  course  of  4  or  5 
years  study,  as  before  specified. 

"  The  great  desire  of  the  Missionaries  is,  that  all  their  attainments  in 
knowledge  may  be  made  subservient  to  simple  and  fervent  piety  ;  since 
they  deeply  feel  that  the  education  of  the  intellect,  without  a  correspond- 
ing care  and  cultivation  of  the  heart,  may  he  a  curse  instead  of  a  blessing : 


1840.  J 


Nineteenth  Report  of  the  C.  B.  M.  S. 


215 


and  their  great  endeavour  is  to  combine  mental  endowments  with  the 
education  of  the  heart  in  the  ways  of  God,  looking  to  Him  for  that  bless- 
ing without  which  the  best  means  are  powerless  and  ineffective.  O  that 
his  Spirit  may  continue  to  rest  on  the  Institution  in  a  much  larger  mea- 
sure, and  that  from  it  many  may  be  trained  to  holy  devotedness  and 
signal  eminence  in  the  evangelization  of  those  now  given  up  to  the  abo- 
minations of  heathenism  ! 

"  This  Institution  has  hitherto  been  supported  by  the  kind  contribu- 
tions of  Christian  friends  in  India  and  in  England.  The  annual  sub- 
scription for  the  entire  maintenance  and  education  of  a  boy  is  fifty  rupees. 
On  account  of  the  enlargement  of  the  Institution  an  increased  support 
is  now  necessary,  and  while  the  Missionaries  urgently  appeal  to  all  who 
have  been  blessed  with  the  means  of  giving,  we  rely  with  confidence 
on  the  benevolence  of  those  who  are  privileged  with  a  spirit  of  holy 
liberality,  and  blessed  with  devotedness  to  the  cause  of  Him  by  whose 
blood  they  are  redeemed,  and  by  whose  grace  they  are  numbered  with 
the  sanctified  in  Christ  Jesus." 

Once  more,  we  are  glad  to  see  such  progress  made  in  the 
publication  of  the  scriptures  in  the  native  languages,  as  is 
indicated  in  the  list  of  translations  which  follows.  We  have 
but  one  regret,  and  that  is,  that  at  least  in  one  instance  (the 
Bengali  l2mo.),  if  not  in  more,  our  brethren  should  have 
deemed  it  incumbent  to  interfere  with  the  catholicity  of  their 
Translations  by  the  exclusive  manner  in  which  the  word 
Paimo-nos  is  rendered  in  conformity  with  the  peculiar  views 
entertained  concerning  that  term.  We  rejoice  that  such 
immense  good  is  done  by  our  brethren  in  the  form  of  Trans- 
lations ;  but  in  that  very  measure  must  we  regret  any  inferior 
preventive  to  the  general  circulation  of  such  valuable  boons. 
The  following  table  is  one  of  incalculable  importance  to  India. 

"  The  following  list  will  shew  the  Scriptures  at  present  in  the  Deposi- 
tory, or  which  will  shortly  be  available  for  distribution.  Missionaries 
and  others  desirous  of  obtaining  supplies  by  purchase,  or  for  gratuitous 
distribution,  are  requested  to  apply  to  Mr.  Thomas,  Secretary  to  the 
Translation  Fund,  No.  10,  Lower  Circular  Road. 

Sanskrit. 

The  Psalms  in  Sanskrit  Verse. 
The  Gospel  of  Matthew. 

 of  Mark. 

 of  Luke. 

 of  John. 

The  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 

The  Four  Gospels  and  Acts  together. 

Bengali. 

The  Psalms. 

The  Gospel  of  Matthew. 

 of  Mark. 

 of  Luke. 

 of  John. 

The  Acts  of  the  Apostles. 
2  f  2 


216  Nineteenth  Report  of  the  C.  B.  M.  S.  [April, 


The  Four  Gospels  and  Acts  together. 
The  New  Testament,  8vo.  size,  calf. 

 ,  12mo.  cloth. 

 ,  calf. 

Hindu*. 

The  Gospel  of  Matthew,  Nagri  character. 

Hindustani. 
The  Gospel  of  Matthew. 

 of  Mark. 

 of  Luke. 

 of  John. 

The  Acts  of  the  Apostles 
The  Four  Gospels  and  Acts  together. 
The  New  Testament  with  Marginal  references,  8vo.  size. 
The  New  Testament,  without  references,  12mo.  size. 
Armenian. 

The  New  Testament,  with  numerous  marginal  references,in  cloth. 
Ditto  ditto  ditto,  ditto,  in  calf. 

Oriya. 

Scripture  Selections,  being  part  of  Genesis,  &c. 
The  Gospel  of  Matthew, 

 of  Mark. 

 of  Luke. 

 of  John. " 

The  hitter  part  of  the  Report  consists  of  a  long  and  interest- 
ing account  of  k£  The  operations  conducted  hy  Missionaries  of 
the  Parent  Society  in  other  parts  of  India."  Our  brief  limits, 
on  which  we  have  largely  trespassed  already,  forbid  our  enter- 
ing on  its  contents — but  we  commend  it  to  our  readers  as 
being,  in  our  opinion,  the  most  interesting  part  of*  the  Report. 

The  variety  of  details,  scattered  over  a  wide  country,  and 
concentrated  within  a  brief  compass  in  annual  narration,  must 
always  be  refreshing  to  those  who  are  immured  in  the  com- 
parative monotony  of  town  operation.  The  whole  Report 
manifests  a  care  and  labour  worthy  of  the  subject  involved. 
May  our  Brethren  have  many  "living  epistles"  as  well  as 
annual  Reports,  and  may  the  Lord  bind  up  the  painful  wounds 
inflicted  on  them  by  the  removal  of  such  men  as  Penney  and 
Pearce  ! 

We  conclude  with  the  following  "  Statement  of  Funds" — 
"  Having  thus  given  an  account  of  the  operations  of  the  Baptist  Mission 
in  India  and  elsewhere,  during  the  year  just  closed,  your  Committee 
would  now  revert  to  what  more  immediately  concerns  themselves  and 
this  Auxiliary,  and  request  attention  to  the  state  of  the  funds. 
Balance  against  the  Society  at  the  date  of  the  last  Report,  31 4  5  0 
Expenditure  during  the  year,    30i8    3  11 

Rs....     5332    8  11 

The  receipts  during  the  same  period  have  been,    3503  15  0 


Balance,  Rs....     1828    9  11 


1840.] 


Desecration  of  the  Sabbath. 


217 


"  From  this  statement  it  will  be  seen,  that  there  is  a  balance  against 
the  Society  of  Co.'s  Its.  1828-9-11  to  be  provided  for,  in  addition  to  the 
current  expences,  from  the  contributions  of  the  year  just  commenced. 
This  balance  appears  large,  but  the  number  of  agents  employed,  and  the 
extent  of  the  operations  carried  on,  have  rendered  the  expenditure  neces- 
sary ;  and  not  to  have  incurred  it,  would  have  required  a  reduction  in 
the  already  too  small  amount  of  means  employed  to  enlighten  and  save 
the  people  ;  while  every  thing  in  their  couduct  and  circumstances  com- 
bined with  every  feeling  in  the  renewed  mind  to  call  for  their  enlarge- 
ment. The  brethren  employed  in  conducting  the  operations  of  the  Soci- 
ety have  felt  themselves  encouraged  to  go  forward  in  their  prosecution 
from  the  persuasion  that  their  Christian  friends,  and  the  religious  commu- 
nity at  large,  would  not  refuse,  when  put  in  possession  of  the  information 
presented  in  this  Report,  to  supply,  out  of  the  abundance  wherewith 
God  has  enriched  them,  the  funds  required  to  clear  off  the  debt  incurred, 
and  to  enable  them  to  carry  forward  the  important  labours  in  which  they 
are  engaged.  To  those  friends,  and  to  that  community,  under  God, 
this  cause  is  now  committed.  And  your  Committee  would  ask,  Shall  the 
work  go  on  in  its  integrity,  and  enlarge  as  Divine  Providence  may  indi- 
cate ?  or  shall  these  indications  be  disregarded,  the  present  but  too 
small  amount  of  labour  be  reduced,  and  souls  ready  to  perish  be  denied 
the  bread  of  life  ?  Surelv  not." 

J.  M.  D. 


V. — Desecration  of  the  Sabbath. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Christian  Observer. 

Dear  Sib, 

In  reply  to  the  letter  of  a  "Christian  Reader"  which 
appeared  in  the  "  Calcutta  Christian  Advocate"  of  the  22nd 
of  February  last,  copied  in  your  number  of  March,  and  headed 
"  The  Violation  of  the  Sabbath,"  I  think  it  but  right  to  state 
to  you  the  real  facts. 

Two  days  had  been  devoted  by  a  "British  Judge"  and  a 
"Law  Commissioner"  in  examining  the  senior  class  of  the 
Hindu  College  in  Literature.  The  examination  was  most 
satisfactory,  but  they  found  that  there  were  a  few  of  the 
first  students  that  were  so  equal  that  they  found  a  difficulty 
in  awarding  the  prize.  They  could  not  devote  another  day 
to  the  examination  ;  they  found  a  difficulty  in  finding  time  to 
visit  the  Hindu  College  to  make  the  examination,  and  they 
therefore  requested  those  students  to  call  at  the  Supreme 
Court  Chambers  after  church  hours,  when  they  again  read  and 
explained  a  passage  in  Bacon  and  Milton.  This  was  "  the 
head  and  front  of  the  offending" — and  although  one  of  the 
gentlemen  remonstrated  against  the  final  examination  taking 
place  on  Sunday,  it  was  alone  the  necessity  of  the  case  that 
decided  them  to  meet  on  that  day.    It  was  wrong ;  but  I 


218 


Poetry. 


[April, 


should  ask  you  whether  it  is  right  and  proper  to  drag  before  the 
public  tribunal  such  improprieties,  or  to  hold  up  the  "  Mag- 
nates0 of  the  land  for  doing  what  was  difficult  to  avoid  !  when 
it  was  done  privately  ;  and  when  the  object  ought  in  a  certain 
degree  to  have  formed  the  excuse.  But,  Mr.  Editor,  when  we 
find  a  "  Christian  Reader"  exaggerating  facts  and  the  "  Chris- 
tian Advocate"  permitting  such  statements  to  be  inserted 
into  his  paper,  we  are  apt  to  suppose  there  was  some  other 
motive  than  the  mere  statement  of  the  truth  ! — When  we  find 
the  Christian  Reader  stating  that  the  above  desecration  of 
last  Sabbath  by  a  British  Judge,  and  a  member  of  the  Law 
Commission,  in  occupying  a  greut  portion  of  the  day  in 
examining  the  senior  department  of  the  Hindu  College  boys 
at  the  Supreme  Court  Chambers,  I  think,  Mr.  Editor,  the 
Christian  Advocate  should  have  inquired  into  the  truth  of  this 
bold  and  most  unjust  statement  of  the  above  simple  facts, 
before  publishing  thein. 

Another  Christian. 

\6th  March. 

Note. — This  letter  leaves  the  matter  just  as  it  was,  confirming  the 
statement  of  the  correspondent  of  the  Christian  Advocate  in  every  point. 
That  the  desecration  of  the  Sabbath  took  place  is  fully  admitted.  That 
a  great  portion  of  the  day  was  occupied  in  secular  work  seems  to  be 
denied ;  but  at  the  same  time  it  is  stated  that  the  work  required  so 
much  time  that  it  was  impossible  to  spare  so  much  from  the  duties  of 
a  week  day.  We  are  informed,  which  we  did  not  know  before,  that  one 
of  the  parties  remonstrated  against  the  proceeding  and  so  acknowledged 
its  sinfulness  or  its  impropriety.  The  "  head  and  front"  of  the  offend- 
ing— is  just  as  stated  in  the  former  letter.  It  was  an  offence  against 
God  and  against  the  proprieties  of  Christian  society. — Ed. 


'D3  mrr 

JEHOVAII-NISSI— THE  LORD  MY  BANNER. 

Exod.  xvii.  15. 

When  hosts  are  encamping 

His  soul  to  destroy, 

In  midst  of  their  tramping 

The  saint  smiles  with  joy, 

Though  their  swords  be  the  sharpest 

That  hell  can  afford — 

Jehovah-nissi, 
His  banner's  the  Lord. 


1840.] 


Poetry. 


219 


He  too  1ms  a  weapon, 
A  double-edged  brand, 
Whatever  may  happen 
Its  temper  will  stand  ; 
'Tis  the  sword  of  the  Spirit, 
God's  own  holy  word  ; 

Jehovah-nissi, 
His  banner's  the  Lord. 

A  shield  too  he  weareth, 
By  trial  proved  good, 
All  onsets  it  beareth 
But  still  hath  withstood  ; 
It  quenches  the  arrows 
In  fiery  showers  poured  — 

Jehovah-nissi, 
His  banner's  the  Lord. 

His  helmet's  salvation, 
His  girdle  is  truth  — 
With  man's  moderation — 
With  vigour  of  youth — 
He  "seeks  not  the  combat, 
Nor  shuns  it  the  more — 

Jehovah-nissi, 
His  banner's  the  Lord. 

With  greaves  he  is  furnished 

That  never  will  fail  ; 

His  breastplate  is  burnished, 

Of  seven-fold  mail  ; 

And  behind  and  before  him 

His  God  is  his  guard— 

Jehovah-nissi, 
His  banner's  the  Lord. 

And  thus,  in  celestial  panoply  clad, 
By  Jesus  his  captain  to  battle  he's  led  ; 
He  dreads  not  the  thousands  that  vainly  oppose  ; 
He  that's  with  him  is  greater  than  legions  of  foes. 
He  knows  that  his  Saviour  trode  on  the  head 
Of  Satan,  the  day  that  he  rose  from  the  dead  ; 
And  by  grace  he's  enabled  to  tread  in  like  manner: 
Jehovah-nissi,  The  Lord  is  his  banner. 

2. 


220  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [April, 

itfftddtornar!)  antr  5Ultst0utf  £nteUtg;eiTce. 


1. — Missionary  Movements. 

We  are  happy  to  announce  the  safe  arrival  of  the  Rev.  W.  S.  Mackay 
from  Van  Dienian's  Land,  whither  he  had  repaired  for  the  benefit  of  his 
health  :  which  is,  we  are  happy  to  say,  much  improved.  May  he  be  long 
spared  to  labor  in  this  land  of  heathenism. — We  have  the  mournful  task 
imposed  upon  us  this  month  of  announcing  the  death  of  the  Rev.  W.  H. 
J'e  arce  of  the  Baptist  Mission  in  this  city.  A  short  notice  will  be  found 
below  :  we  hope  to  be  able  to  supply  a  fuller  account  in  our  next. 

Mr.  Jacol)  Samuel  has  proceeded  to  the  coasts  of  Arabia,  with  a  view  to 
the  circulation  of  the  Holy  Scriptures,  of  which  he  has  been  furnished  with 
a  supply  by  the  Bombay  Auxiliary  Bible  Society.  The  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  has  contributed  £100  in  aid  of  the  expence  of  his  agency. — 
The  llev.  A.  Stackhouse  has  sailed  for  Aden,  where  he  will  officiate  as 
chaplain  to  the  troops  at  that  station. — The  Rev.  R.  K.  Hamilton,  ap- 
pointed Junior  Chaplain  of  the  Scotch  church  at  Madras,  officiated  with 
great  acceptance  as  he  passed  through  Bombay,  to  join  the  scene  of  his 
labours. — The  Rev.  Dr.  Duff  of  the  General  Assembly's  Mission  has 
arrived  in  Bombay,  on  his  way  to  Calcutta.  During  his  late  sojourn  in 
Scotland,  he  has  most  ably,  eloquently,  and  effectively  advocated  the 
cause  of  Missions,  and  published  several  most  interesting  and  important 
works,  to  some  of  which  we  shall  embrace  an  early  opportunity  of  direct- 
ing the  attention  of  our  readers. — The  Rev.  George  Candy  was  ordained 
a  priest  by  the  Bishop  of  Bombay  on  the  22nd  of  December.  The  sermon 
which  the  Bishop  preached  on  the  occasion  was  remarkably  faithful  and 
appropriate. — A  new  religious  periodical,  we  understand,  is  about  to  be 
started  in  Bombay.  It  will  be  denominated  the  Church  Missionary 
Magazine,  and  if  conducted  in  the  spirit  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 
as  we  doubt  not  it  will  be,  it  will  merit  and  receive  adequate  support. — The 
Bishop  of  Bombay  has  proceeded  on  a  visit  to  Khandesh. — We  recommend 
to  our  readers  the  Christian's  Almanack,  lately  published  at  the  American 
Mission  Press.  The  selection  of  texts  which  it  contains  is  admirable.  It 
contains  the  only  complete  list  which  we  have  seen  of  the  different  Protes- 
tant ministers  in  this  presidency,  and  the  adjoining  territories. — A  new 
series  of  the  Friend  of  India,  publishedat  Serampurwas  commenced  at  the 
beginning  of  the  year.  It  is  the  most  valuable  newspaper  which  issues 
from  the  Indian  Tress. — We  have  received  the  two  first  numbers  of 
the  Protestant  Guardian  and  Church  of  England  Mag-izine,  published  at 
Madras.  The  best-written  articles  in  it,  are  those  containing  the  sum- 
mary of  European  intelligence.  We  say  nothing  of  their  evident  political 
bias." — Oriental  Christian  Spectator. 


2. — Death  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce. 

We  have  made  the  following  excerpts  on  the  sorrowful  event  of  the 
death  of  our  once  excellent  friend  and  colleague  from  an  article  which 
appeared  in  the  C.  C.  Advocate  on  the  21st  instant. 

"  It  is  our  mournful  duty  to  announce  to  the  friends  of  Missions,  the 
death  of  one  of  the  most  devoted  and  useful  laborers  in  the  mission  field 
— the  Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce  of  the  Baptist  Mission  in  this  city.    We  are 


1840.]         Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


221 


confident  this  announcement  will  be  received  by  every  missionary  and 
every  friend  to  missions  with  sincere  regret.  His  simple  but  sincere 
piety,  the  suavity  of  his  manners,  the  amenity  of  his  disposition,  the  hos- 
pitality of  his  conduct,  bis  varied  talents,  and  the  constant,  faithful  and 
efficient  discharge  of  the  many  duties  which  devolved  upon  him,  served 
but  to  endear  him  to  all.  Though  a  firm  and  decided  Baptist,  he  was 
catholic  in  his  feelings  and  conduct:  he  loved  all  who  loved  our  Lord  in 
sincerity  and  truth.  As  the  Pastor  of  a  native  church,  the  Composer 
and  Translator  of  several  useful  tracts  and  books;  as  Secretary  to  the 
School  Book  Society,  and  Conductor  of  the  Mission  Press  ;  as  an  efficient 
adviser  in  all  public  Societies,  and  as  a  judicious  counsellor  and  sincere 
friend  in  private  life,  Mr.  Pearce  has  lived  in  the  midst  of  this  people  for 
nearly  twenty-three  years,  inclusive  of  his  late  visit  to  England. 

"In  his  own  Mission  his  loss  will  be  deeply  and  mournfully  felt.  To  bis 
estimable  and  devoted  partner  the  loss  can  only  be  repaired  by  him  who 
is  a  father  to  the  fatherless,  and  a  husband  to  the  widow. 

"  Mr.  Pearce  fell  under  the  influence'  of  that  dreadful  scourge,  the 
cholera.  He  was  seized  late  on  Monday  night  (March  16th),  after  an 
evening  drive,  and  expired  about  nine  o'clock  on  the  following  evening. 
He  was  evidently  aware  that  his  labors  were  fast  coming  to  a  close.  On  a 
friend  addressing  him  in  the  language  of  inspiration.  "  Well  done,  good 
and  faithful  servant,"  he  replied  in  language  indicative  of  his  extreme 
unworthiness,  and  the  unprofitableness  of  all  his  labors  in  the  cause  of 
Jesus.  On  being  asked  as  to  the  state  of  his  mind  on  the  approach  of 
death,  be  answered,  "  I  trust  in  Christ."  He  was  tolerably  collected  and 
reasonable,  and  expressed  himself  in  confidence  and  peace,  until  a  few 
hours  before  he  fell  asleep  in  Jesus  without  a  sigh  or  a  groan. 

"He  was  interred  on  Wednesday  evening,  at  the  Scotch  Burial  ground. 
The  funeral  was  attended  by  a  vast  concourse  of  ministerial  and  other 
friends — we  may  add,  we  believe,  by  almost  every  convalescent  Missionary 
in  the  city.  The  deep  feeling  manifested  by  all  parties,  showed  how 
much  he  had  been  respected  while  living,  and  how  evidently  be  was  sor- 
rowed for  in  death.  Previously  to  the  removal  of  the  corpse  from  the 
mission  premises,  suitable  portions  of  scripture  were  read  by  the  Rev.  J. 
D.  Ellis,  and  an  affecting  prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  W.  Yates.  Mr. 
Yates  is  by  this  mournful  event  left  the  last  of  those  who  originally 
formed  the  Calcutta  Mission.  He  was  evidently  much  affected  by  the 
severing  of  this  last  link  which  connected  him  with  his  early  Mission 
work.  At  the  grave's  mouth  a  striking  and  affecting  address  was  deliver- 
ed, and  prayer  offered  by  the  Rev.  P.  Tucker.  The  pall  was  borne  by 
the  following  Missionaries:  the  Rev.  VV.  S.  Mackay,  of  the  Scottish  Mis- 
sion; the  Rev.  F.  Wybrow,  of  the  Church  Mission;  the  Rev.  Messrs. 
Gogerly,  Lacroix,  and  Boaz,  of  the  London  Mission,  and  others'.  The 
scene  at  the  grave  was  very  affecting.  There  were  gathered  around  the 
last  sleeping-place  of  this  good  man,  the  converted  Hindu,  Musalman, 
Armenian,  Portuguese,  Eurasian,  and  European,  lay  and  clerical,  of  all 
the  different  shades  of  opinion  in  the  Christian  church,  all  gathered 
together  to  pay  the  last  mark  of  respect  to  departed  worth  ;  a  faint  type 
of  that  morning  when  the  same  grave  shall  be  opened,  and  all  the  just 
shall  stand  around  the  throne  of  Christ,  with  their  differences  healed, 
united  in  heart  and  soul,  to  pay  all  homage  not  to  man,  however  excel- 
lent, but  to  that  blessed  Lord  who  hath  redeemed  them  by  his  own 
precious  blood." 

3.  —  Lent  Lkctures. 
The  usual  lectures  for  the  Lent  season  have  lieen  and  are  now  in  course 
of  delivery  at  the  Cathedral  by  the  Venerable  the  Archdeacon.  The 
VOL.   I.  2  G 


222 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [April, 


subjects  for  discourse  were  Death,  Resurrection,  Judgment,  Doom  of  the 
Ungodly,  the  Blessedness  of  the  Godly,  and  the  Sufferings  of  our  Lord, 
whereby  that  blessedness  can  alone  be  procured.  They  have  been  well 
attended. 


4. — M  ISCELLANEA. 

A  new  religious  periodical  devoted  to  the  support  of  the  Protestant  faith 
under  the  title  of  the  Madras  Weekly  Protestant  Visitor,  has  been  started 
at  that  Presidency ;  we  have  received  two  numbers  of  it  and  can  most 
cordially  recommend  it  to  our  readers. — A  new  native  paper  has  been 
started  at  Bombay,  entitled  The  Native  Enquirer.  It  is  devoted  to  the 
discussion  of  native  subjects  by  natives. — The  Raja  Rajnarayan  Ray  has 
been  brought  up  to  the  Supreme  Court  and  fined  1000  Company's  Rupees 
for  his  contempt  of  the  writ  of  that  Court,  and  this  in  addition  to  the  im- 
prisonment he  has  undergone  :  we  hope  the  lesson  which  has  been  read  this 
raja  will  not  be  lost  either  on  him  or  others  of  his  countrymen,  who  may 
be  disposed  to  play  the  tyrant  with  the  liberty  of  their  poorer  neighbours. — 
Where  is  the  Editor  of  the  Bhuskar? — The  two  Native  Balms  who  were 
indicted  for  murder  have  been  acquitted;  it  is  reported  that  some  of 
the  witnesses  contradicted  the  evidence  originally  given  by  them  at  the 
Inquest  or  Police.  We  have  no  doubt  but  that  this  case  will  have  a  ten- 
dency to  check  the  violence  which  is  too  often  resorted  to  by  the  natives 
for  the  gratification  of  private  piques. 

5. — Dissolution  of  Government  Connexion  with  the  Idolatries  op 

India. 

The  Act  declaring  all  connexion  between  idol  shrines  and  the  Govern- 
ment of  British  India  at  least  as  far  as  this  Presidency  is  concerned  to  be 
dissolved,  has  at  length  appeared  ;  at  present  all  parties  appear  to  be  sa- 
tisfied with  the  arrangement  connected  with  this  important  measure. 
To  us  who  have  long  laboured  in  this  cause,  it  is  a  matter  of  sincere  gra- 
tification ;  we  lift  up  our  hearts  to  Jehovah  and  bless  bis  name,  for  it  is 
his  own  right  hand  and  his  own  holy  arm  that  hath  gotten  him  the  victory. 

6. — The  Administration  op  Heathen  and  Muhammadan  Oaths 

abolished. 

The  Act  declaring  simple  affirmation  in  the  name  of  the  living  and  true 
God  to  be  binding  on  all  as  on  oath,  instead  of  the  former  swearing  on 
the  sacred  waters  of  the  Ganges  and  on  the  Koran,  has  been  issued  by  the 
Supreme  Council.  We  rejoice  that  the  land  will  no  longer  mourn  because 
of  the  swearing  by  false  gods  and  a  lie,  and  cannot  but  feel  grateful  to 
the  Government  that  under  God  they  have  so  promptly  and  wisely 
conceded  this  matter  to  the  strongly  expressed  wishes  of  that  section 
of  the  Christian  and  Native  community,  who  felt  aggrieved  by  the  former 
method  of  administering  oaths. 

7. — Christian  Tract  and  Book  Society  at  Singapore. 
We  have  just  received  the  first  report  of  the  Singapore  Christian  Tract 
and  Book  Society.  The  number  of  tracts  distributed  in  the  various  lan- 
guages spoken  in  the  archipelago  is  very  considerable  ;  a  depot  for  the  sale 
of  books  has  been  established,  agencies  corresponding  and  otherwise  have 
been  appointed  at  the  different  islands  and  stations  throughout  the  archi- 
pelago, and  other  measures  adopted  for  rendering  Singapore  a  central  point 
from  whence  the  little  messengers  of  mercy  may  be  sent  with  order  and 
expedition  to  many  parts  of  that  increasingly  (to  Christians)  interesting 
portion  of  the  globe.  Our  friends  at  Singapore  will  have  a  fine  opportu- 
nity for  usefulness  during  the  stay  of  the  fleet  at  that  port,  and  also  for 
conveying  Bibles  and  Tracts  to  the  coast,  and  we  hope  to  the  interior  of 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  223 


China,  through  the  medium  of  those  devoted  servants  of  Christ  who  are 
accompanying  the  expedition.  The  Singapore  Tract  Society  has  our  hest 
wishes  and  most  ardent  prayers  for  its  success. 

8. — The  Oriental  Seminary — Annual  Examination. 
The  Annual  Examination  of  the  Oriental  Seminary,  under  the  Superin- 
tendence of  the  Babu  Addy,  was  held  at  the  Town  Hall  during  the  last 
month.  The  Chief  Justice  presided.  Several  of  the  friends  to  native  edu- 
cation attended.  The  number  of  scholars  at  present  in  attendance  is  about 
500.  The  progress  of  the  pupils  has  been  very  creditable  during  the  year. 
The  examination  passed  off  tolerably  well  ;  two  essays  were  read,  the  one 
on  Marriage  and  the  other  on  Female  Education;  they  have  already  ap- 
peared in  the  Advocate;  they  reflect  credit  on  their  authors,  both  for  the 
feeling  which  dictated  them  and  the  manner  of  their  execution.  This 
school,  it  will  be  remembered  is  entirely  under  Hindu  Superintendence, 
and  is  a  paying  school.  The  worthy  projector  and  proprietor  deserves 
much  praise  for  his  continued  perseverance  in  the  good  work  of  education. 


9. —  Annual  Examination  op  the  Infant  School. 
The  Annual  Examination  of  this  interesting  School  was  conducted  by  the 
Venerable  the  Archdeacon  and  others  at  the  Town  Hall  during  the  past 
month,  the  attendance  of  visitors  was  very  thin  :  the  little  people  acquitted 
themselves  with  much  credit.  Since  the  departure  of  Mr.  Perkins  the 
School  has  been  under  the  superintendence  of  a  Native  youth,  a  pupil  of 
Mr.  P.'s.  The  Society  appears  to  be  in  a  languishing  condition,  and  it  will, 
we  fear,  continue  so  until  it  be  based  on  Catholic  principles ;  this  would  in- 
fuse new  life  into  it  and  cause  it  to  send  forth  its  branches  into  every 
part  of  the  land. 


10.— The  Parental  Academic  Institution. 

The  Anniversary  of  the  above  institution  was  held  at  the  School  house 
on  the  2nd  of  March.  We  extract  the  following  account  of  the  meeting 
from  the  Advocate. 

"The  Anniversary  of  the  Parental  Academic  Institution  was  held  on 
the  evening  of  Monday  the  2nd  instant.  The  Rev.  T.  Sandys  in  the 
chair.  The  report  read  by  W.  Byrne,  Esq.,  the  Honorary  Secretary, 
represented  the  institution  as  in  a  tolerably  prosperous  condition.  The 
meeting  was  addressed  by  the  Rev.  A.  Garstin,  the  Rev.  T.  Boaz,  Messrs. 
Speed,  Crow,  Kirkpatrick,  D.  Clarke,  Kellner  and  Rose.  It  appears  that 
the  institution  has  been  the  subject  of  attack  during  the  past  year.  The 
several  charges  were  adverted  to  by  the  speakers,  and  evidently  an- 
swered to  the  satisfaction  of  the  meeting.  The  only  charge  which 
appeared  at  all  proved,  was  an  excess  of  kindness  on  the  part  of  the 
managers,  which  certainly  in  the  general  estimation  of  mankind  is  not 
a  very  great  crime ;  we  would  advise  the  Committee  in  future  to  be 
somewhat  severer  in  their  mercies,  especially  in  the  collection  of  bills  and 
the  clearing  up  of  the  arrears  due  to  the  Institution.  The  Committee 
have  by  the  removal  of  the  establishment  from  Park  Street  to  Free 
School  Street,  economized  the  funds  upwards  of  200  Co.'s  Rs.  per  mensem  : 
the  number  of  pupils  at  present  on  the  books  is  177.  The  health  of  the 
boys  has  been  remarkably  good  during  the  year,  and,  according  to  the 
testimony  of  all  parties,  their  progress  very  creditable  to  all  concerned." 


11. — The  Oratorio. 
This  method  of  profaning  God's  Holy  Word  and  name  is  again  being 
resorted  to.   During  the  season  of  Lent,  under  the  sanction  of  the  highest 
2  g  2 


224  "         Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [April3 


names,  the  sufferings  of  our  blessed  Lord,  as  pour t rayed  by  the  pen  of  inspi- 
ration, and  the  hopes  and  sorrows  of  his  Church,  as  depicted  by  the  same 
pen,  are  to  be  made  the  subject  of  amusement  and  profit;  plaudits  and 
disapprobations  will  attend  the  vocal  and  instrumental  execution  of  these 
sacred  subjects.  The  friends  of  Christ  have,  we  perceive,  republished  in 
a  tract  form,  several  papers  appropriate  to  the  occasion ;  and  we  do  trust 
that  the  manner  in  which  the  subject  is  treated,  will  in  due  time  win  its  way 
into,  and  effect  its  influence  over  the  hearts  of  the  majority  of  our  fellow- 
citizens,  so  that  they  will  cease  to  patronize  in  any  form  this  fashionable, 
fascinating,  and  professedly  benevolent  method  of  profaning  God's  word 
and  name. 


12. — The  Monthly  Missionary  Prayer  Meeting 
was  held  at  the  Circular  Road  Chapel  on  the  evening  of  Monday  the  2nd 
instant.  The  address,  delivered  by  the  Rev.  F.  Tucker,  was  founded 
on  Luke  xiv.  23.  The  attendance  was  very  good,  and  the  address  well 
adapted  to  stir  up  Christian  people  to  active  exertion  for  the  conversion 
of  sinners. 


13. —  Sermons  in  Bengali. 
The  Rev.  K.  M.  Banaiji',  Minister  of  Christ's  Church,  Corn  wall  is  Square, 
has  determined  (D.  V.)  to  publish  a  volume  of  Sermons  in  Bengali.  The 
subjects  to  be  treated  of  are,  the  Evidences,  Doctiines  and  Duties  of  the 
Christian  faith.  The  ten  Commandments  will  also  be  expounded  and  illus- 
trated. The  volume  is  to  have  especial  application  to  the  more  enlightened 
Christian  and  other  Hindu  youth.  We  heartily  wish  every  success  to  the 
undertaking.    The  price  is  three  rupees. 

14. — The  Anniversary  of  the  General  Assembly's  Institution  at 

Bombay 

was  held  there  during  the  last  month.  The  Rev.  Dr.  Duff  presided  on  the 
occasion.  The  excitement  consequent  on  the  Pars!  conversion  case  has 
begun  to  subside  and  the  attendance  again  to  improve.  The  progress  of 
the  pupils  is  such  as  we  might  expect  under  the  able  and  judicious  govern- 
ment of  Dr.  Wilson.  Dr.  Duff,  with  his  usual  eloquence  and  zeal,  address- 
ed the  visitors  and  pupils  on  the  importance  of  a  liberal  education  and 
regeneration  of  heart. 

15. — Translation  of  Marshman's  History  of  Bengal  into  the 
Bengali  Language. 

The  Babu  Govindchandar  Sen,  nephew  to  Ramcomal  Sen,  has  with  a 
praiseworthy  zeal  translated,  with  the  permission  of  the  author,  Mr.  Marsh- 
man's  History  of  Bengal  into  Bengali.  The  style  and  manner  of  the  trans- 
lation is,  v\e  understand,  highly  creditable  to  our  young  friend.  He  de- 
serves encouragement  in  his  praiseworthy  undertaking ;  we  hope  he  will 
have  many  imitators  in  this  good  work  of  translating  useful  English  works 
into  the  vernacular  tongue. 

16. — Gha't  Murders. 
The  Editor  of  the  Bhdskar,  with  a  zeal  very  commendable,  has  taken  up 
the  subject  of  Ghat  murders,  and  calls  upon  all  Christian  people  to  aid 
him  in  his  efforts  to  suppress  a  practice  at  once  so  disgraceful  to  religion 
and  revolting  to  humanity.  The  abominations  and  cruelties  connected 
with  the  exposure  of  the  sick  on  tlte  banks  of  the  Ganges  have  been  so 
often  discussed  and  reprobated,  that  any  detail  of  them  from  us  would  be 
superfluous  ;  suffice  it  to  say  that  at  our  very  doors,  and  in  this  whole  district, 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  225 


there  are  daily  practices  carried  on  under  the  holy  sanction  of  religion, 
which  deserve  no  better  or  milder  designation  than  wilful  and  deliberate 
murder,  and  if  ever  the  humane  interference  of  Government  could  be 
warranted  in  an  immediate  and  total  suppression  of  a  custom  so  destruc- 
tive to  the  best  social  feelings  of  our  nature,  (let  them  be  implanted  in  what 
bosom  they  may,  whether  Hindu  or  others,)  this  is  that  case.  The  Sati 
was  bad  enough,  Infanticide  sufficiently  revolting,  but  we  doubt 
whether  either  the  one  or  the  other  were  so  fraught  with  evils  as  this 
terrible  practice,  of  what  has  been  properly  designated  Ghat  murders. 
We  notice  the  subject,  to  show  the  friends  of  humanity  that  while 
much  is  done, much  yet  remains  to  be  accomplished,  ere  India's  sons  stand 
erect  amongst  the  nations  of  the  earth. 


17.— The  Ciiaiiak  Puja. 
This  most  horrid  Puja  is  again  on  the  eve  of  occurring,  without  the 
slightest  effort  on  the  part  of  either  the  Christian  or  Native  population 
to  suppress  it.  Surely  this  will  not  be  allowed  to  continue;  year  after 
year  must  not  roll  away  without  the  slightest  attempt  being  made  to 
reason  with  the  wealthy  Babus,  who  supply  the  sinews  of  this  most  revolt- 
ing practice.  Is  there  not  one  amongst  the  many  professedly  enlightened 
natives  who  will  move  in  this  matter  ?  Unauthorized  even  by  the  shastras 
and  revolting  to  reason  and  all  right  feelings,  surely  it  cannot  be  allowed 
to  continue  another  year  in  ull  its  horrid  deformity.  Let  that  success  which 
has  attended  past  efforts  on  the  part  of  Christian  philanthropists,  urge 
them  at  least  to  attempt  the  melioration,  if  not  the  suppression,  of  the 
barbarous  deeds  of  the  Charak. 

18. — The  Moharbam  and  the  Huli'. 
These  two  popular  festivals  of  the  Musalm£n  and  Hindu  community 
have  passed  over  this  year  with  a  smaller  number  of  those  disgraceful 
riots  which  but  too  often  attend  their  celebration.  The  practices  attendant 
on  both  these  festivals  are  such  as  to  lead  us  to  blush  for  human  nature, 
sunk  as  it  is  in  the  deepest  shame.  We  know  not  whether  most  to  pity 
the  fierce  and  savage  Musalman  or  the  libidinous  and  fallen  Hindu  ;  whether 
to  pity  most  the  poor  deluded  beings  who  raise  their  wailings  for  Hossein 
and  Hassein,  or  those  who  chaunt  the  praises  of  the  abominable  Krishna; 
for  the  sins  of  both  we  do  sorrow,  the  scenes  attendant  on  these  and  other 
similar  festivals  call  forth  our  strongest  sympathies  and  most  ardent 
prayers  to  God,  that  he  would 

"  His  own  all-saving  arm  employ" 
and  turn  these  wandering  children  of  men  to  his  own  true  and  peaceful 
fold.    In  such  a  condition,  Christians, 

"  The  heathen  perish  day  by  day," 
come  quickly  to  their  rescue,  come,  lift  up  your  prayers,  exert  your 
faith,  put  forth  your  energies,  and  do  thou,  O  Lord,  save  them  from  going 
down  to  the  pit. 


19- — Orphan  Asylum,  Futteiigurh. 
In  consequence  of  the  ill  health  and  subsequent  death  of  Mrs.  Mad- 
den, wife  of  Charles  Madden,  Esq.,  at  Futtehpoor,  the  Orphan  Insti- 
tution under  the  care  of  those  excellent  persons,  was  broken  up  in 
October,  1838.  A  part  of  these  orphans  found  a  comfortable  home  with 
the  Church  Missionaries  of  Banaras,  whilst  the  remainder  (48  in  num- 
ber) were  made  over  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Wilson,  of  the  American  Mission. 
Yhese  were  brought  on  to  Futtehgurh,  under  the  care  of  Babu  Gopi- 


226  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [April, 


nath  Nandi,  a  Christian  native,  who  had  been  for  years  in  the  em- 
ployment of  Dr.  Madden  as  teacher.  Here,  18  others  were  added,  who 
had  been  kindly  rescued  from  starvation  by  the  liberality  of  the  Eu- 
ropeans of  this  Station,  and  placed  under  the  watchful  care  of  Captain 
Wheler.  The  Futtehgurh  Asylum  was  then  opened  with  66  pupils,  22 
of  whom  were  girls. 

It  was  not  intended,  that  this  number  should  he  augmented  ;  but  se- 
veral interesting  applications  being  made  from  various  quarters,  and  a 
number  of  parentless  children  being  found  in  the  Poor  House  at  this 
place,  our  feelings  would  not  suffer  us  to  reject  them.  Our  number  was 
soon  increased  to  95.  The  establishment  of  such  an  Institution  not  hav- 
ing been  anticipated,  no  provision  of  a  permanent  kind  had  been  made 
for  its  support.  We  were  therefore  obliged  to  cast  ourselves,  with  this 
helpless  group,  upon  the  Christian  kindness  of  those  around  us,  to  whom 
we  were  entire  strangers.  Nor  did  we  look  to  them  in  vain.  Their 
liberality  promptly  furnished  us  with  all  that  was  necessary,  for  the  com- 
fortable maintenance  and  instruction  of  these  poor  children. 

It  is  but  due  from  us  to  say,  that  the  cheerfulness  with  which  these 
"  free-will  offerings"  were  made  (in  most  instances,  unsolicited),  merits, 
and  has  our  most  sincere  and  grateful  praise.  May  the  blessing  of  Him 
who  is  "  the  Father  of  the  fatherless  and  the  orphan's  friend,"  be  their 
reward. 

In  the  early  part  of  May  1839,  at  the  earnest  and  repeated  solicita- 
tion of  a  large  number  of  the  European  residents  in  Rohilcund,  we  con- 
sented to  form  the  "  Rohilcund  Branch  Asylum  for  orphan  girls" — the 
children  and  means  for  their  support  to  be  furnished  by  them.  Twenty 
girls  were  first  sent  to  us  in  May,  and  subsequently  13  others  ;  making 
in  all  33,  and  swelling  our  whole  number  to  128 ;  of  these,  however,  a 
number  have  been  removed  by  death,  so  that  our  average  number  has 
not  exceeded  1 10. 

Our  object  lias  been  to  combine  manual  labour  with  study  ;  to  teach 
the  children  industrious  habits,  as  well  as  the  use  of  books ;  so  that  in 
future  they  may  be  able  to  provide  comfortably  and  honestly  for  them- 
selves. With  this  object  in  view,  we  have  established  the  Carpet  manu- 
facture, similar  to  that  at  Mirzapur.  This  furnishes  employment  for 
the  girls  (spinning)  as  well  as  the  boys,  and  being  a  profitable  one,  pro- 
mises them  the  sure  means  of  support  in  after  life.  The  materials  for 
this  fabric  are  brought  from  the  bazar  in  the  rough  state.  The  cotton 
and  wool  are  cleaned  by  theyounger  boys,  spun  by  the  girls,  and  then 
wove  into  carpets  and  rugs  by  the  older  boys.  The  dye  stuffs  are  pre- 
pared and  the  colouring  also  done  by  the  boys,  as  a  branch  of  their  trade. 
As  this  employment — with  which  all  are  pleased  — is  productive  and  ad- 
mits of  a  division  of  labour,  so  as  to  suit  the  different  ages  and  capaci- 
ties of  the  children,  we  have  given  up  several  other  branches  of  trade, 
and  bent  our  entire  force  to  this  one  object. 

It  is  our  wish,  as  these  children  grow  up,  to  settle  them  in  a  Christian 
colony,  around  us.  For  this  purpose,  we  have  applied  to  Government  for 
a  piece  of  unappropriated  land,  without  cantonments.  Should  this  be 
obtained,  we  purpose  to  erect  buildings  for  ourselves,  together  with 
school-rooms,  work-shops,  dormitories,  &c,  for  the  children.  As  the 
boys  grow  and  become  masters  of  their  trade,  they  may  (with  their  own 
consent)  be  married  to  some  of  the  older  girls  ;  and,  furnished  with  a 
little  cottage  on  our  premises,  they  may  still  have  employment  in  the 
factory,  the  women  spinning  and  their  husbands  weaving.  By  this  means 
they  will  be  rendered  independent  of  the  heathen  around  them,  saved 
from  their  contaminating  influence,  and  still  kept  within  reach  of  the 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  227 


means  of  grace.  Their  combined  influence,  too,  will  be  more  likely  to 
have  a  salutary  effect  upon  the  heathen,  than  if  they  were  turned  loose 
amongst  the  herd,  one  by  one,  in  which  case  they  would  most  likely 
revert  to  heathenism. 

These  children  have  all  been  baptized*  and  our  chief  desire  concern- 
ing all  is,  under  the  guidance  of  the  blessed  Spirit,  to  make  them 
"  wise  unto  salvation." 

The  order  of  the  Institution  and  the  regulations  of  the  schools  are  as 
follows  : — 

There  are  two  departments,  male  and  female,  which  are  kept  entirely 
distinct. 

At  gun-fire,  in  the  morning,  the  children  all  rise,  repeat  the  Lord's 
prayer,  and  then  go  to  work.  Some  of  the  boys  draw  and  carry  water, 
others  cook,  others  sweep  and  clean  up  their  apartments,  a  few  weave 
tape,  whilst  the  greater  part  go  to  the  carpet  shop. 

The  girls  are  divided  into  two  sets.  Whilst  the  one  grind  wheat  into 
ata,  for  their  bread  and  that  of  the  boys,  the  other  sit  to  spin  wool  and 
cotton,  and  in  the  evening  vice  versa.  At  8  o'clock  a.  jr.,  the  bell  gives 
the  signal  for  bathing,  when  all  work  is  suspended.  At  8|  breakfast. 
At  9,  all  assemble  in  the  chapel-room  for  prayers,  when  a  portion  of 
Scripture  is  read  and  explained  ,  from  which  questions  are  asked,  follow- 
ed with  prayers — all  in  the  native  language.  Immediately  after  worship, 
the  boj's  and  girls  repair  to  their  respective  school-rooms,  except  the 
older  boys,  who  spend  two  hours  more  in  the  work-shops,  before  going 
to  school.  At  noon,  both  schools  are  dismissed  for  one  hour,  which  is 
the  only  recreation  allowed  during  the  day.  At  1  p.  M.,  they  are  resum- 
ed. At  4  the  bell  rings  for  dinner,  after  which  work  is  resumed  and 
continued  until  dark.  A  class  of  the  older  boys,  who  are  in  the  work- 
shop the  greater  part  of  the  day,  read  by  candle-light. 

Hitherto,  their  studies  have  been  principally  confined  to  the  native 
language,  using  the  native  and  not  the  Roman  character.  Our  plan  is, 
to  make  them  thoroughly  acquainted  with  their  own  language,  before 
attempting  to  introduce  the  English  ;  and  then  with  a  view  to  make 
them  understand  the  English,  so  as  to  speak  it  readily. 

The  1st  class  of  boys  and  the  1st  class  of  girls  have  lately  commenced 
English,  and  are  now  reading  easy  sentences,  and  translating  into 
Hindi  as  they  advance.  They  are  also  writing  English  and  studying 
Arithmetic. 

The  second  class,  both  of  the  boys  and  girls,  are  reading  the  New 
Testament  in  Hindee,  and  writing  on  slates.  They  have  committed  to 
memory  the  Lord's  prayer,  the  ten  commandments,  and  other  portions 
of  Scripture. 

The  third  classes  are  spelling  and  reading  easy  sentences  in  Hindi, 
multiplication  table,  &c. 

The  boys'  school  is  taught  by  Mr.  Wilson,  with  the  assistance  of  a 
pandit.  The  girls'  school  is  under  the  joint  care  of  Mrs.  Wilson  and 
Mrs.  Scott,  assisted  by  an  educated  Christian  female,  the  wife  of  Babu 
Gopinath  Nandi,  she  is  an  exemplary  Christian,  and  speaks,  reads 
and  vyrites  the  English  language.  Two  hours  in  each  day,  are  spent  by 
the  girls  in  fine  and  coarse  needle-work,  knitting,  &c.,  under  the  inspec- 
tion of  Mrs.  Scott  and  Mrs.  Wilson.  Their  proficiency  in  this  branch 
is  very  encouraging.  The  girls  make  and  mend  their  own  clothes,  as 
well  as  some  of  the  clothes  for  the  boys.  One  of  the  boys  is  a  darzS 
and  spends  his  hours  out  of  school,  in  making  clothes  for  the  boys. 

On  Sunday,  there  is  service  in  Hindustani  for  the  children;  after 
which,  the  Ladies  have  a  Bible  class,  for  the  purpose  of  giving  Biblical 
instruction  to  the  girls. 


228 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [April, 


The  girls  occupy  a  part  of  our  house,  and  have  a  little  compound  of 
their  own.  The  hoys  are  in  a  separate  building,  under  the  eye  of  Bahu 
Gopinath.  The  children  all  sleep  on  charpoys  ;  each  charpoy  being 
furnished  with  a  blanket  and  ruzaee.  Each  child  is  furnished  with  four 
suits  of  clothes,  so  that  a  clean  suit  is  always  on  hand.  Their  clothing- is 
adapted  to  the  season  ;  in  summer  the  plain  white  domestic  cotton  cloth, 
and  in  winter  lined  and  wadded  chintz.  Their  food  consists  of  rice  and 
dal  in  the  morning,  and  in  the  evening  leavened  bread  baked  in  an  oven, 
together  with  vegetables.  Twice  in  the  week  they  have  animal  food  ; 
either  meat  broth  or  mutton  curry.  Their  food  is  eaten  out  of  brass 
thalis  and  kattorahs,  instead  of  earthen  dishes,  which  are  difficult  to 
be  kept  clean,  and  are  constantly  liable  to  be  broken. 

Theorphanshave  suffered  much,  during  the  last  season,  from  ophthalmia 
and  other  affections  ;  but  are  now  quite  healthy,  and  have  vastly  improv- 
ed in  their  appearance,  since  they  were  admitted  to  the  Institution. 

It  does  not  become  us  to  speak  in  praise  of  these  children,  or  the 
means  used  for  their  improvement;  but  the  Institution  is  open,  at  all 
times,  for  the  inspeciion  of  those  who  contribute  to  its  support,  or  feel 
interested  in  its  prosperity. 

H.  R.  Wilson  and  J.  L.  Scott. 


20. — Native  Female  Orphan  School,  Vizagapatam. 
Under  the  care  of  Mrs.  Por  ter. 

This  school  was  established  in  December  1835  for  the  purpose  of  board- 
ing and  educating  destitute  heathen  children  in  the  principles  of  the 
Christian  Religion  and  training  them  up  to  habits  of  cleanliness  and  in- 
dustry. Since  the  commencement  of  the  institution  upwards  of  50  poor 
heathen  children  have  been  received  into  the  school,  many  of  whom  have 
been  rescued  from  scenes  of  the  greatest  misery  and  distress. 

They  are  now  entirely  separated  from  the  sad  influence  of  heathen 
customs  and  habits,  and  are  daily  brought  under  the  influence  of  Christian 
instruction  and  example.  The  infant  school  system  of  education  has  been 
pursued  amongst  them  with  pleasing  success.  They  are  taught  to  read 
their  own  language  ;  and  English,  if  they  desire  it;  they  are  also  instruct- 
ed in  the  Holy  Scriptures,  singing,  simple  arithmetic,  needle  and  household 
work,  &c.  and  Mrs.  P.  is  happy  to  state  that  many  of  them  have  made 
pleasing  progress  in  learning,  as  all  who  have  visited  the  school,  are  able 
to  testify. 

Since  Mrs.  Gordon's  departure  from  Vizagapatam  the  children  formerly 
under  her  care  have  been  united  to  Mrs.  Porter's  school,  making  the 
total  number  now  in  the  institution  59  :  a  school-house  sufficiently  large 
to  accommodate  the  whole  is  nearly  finished.  The  expense  attendant 
upon  its  erection  has  nearly  exhausted  the  funds  of  the  institution,  on 
which  account  Mrs.  P.  is  compelled  to  make  an  appeal  to  the  friends  of 
Indian  female  education  for  their  assistance.  It  has  hitherto  been  de- 
pendent upon  local  support,  excepting  the  contributions  of  private  friends 
in  England. 

Miss  Machill,  an  agent  of  the  "Society  for  Promoting  Female  Education 
in  the  East,"  has  lately  arrived  from  England  to  assist  in  the  school,  and 
there  is  no  doubt  the  school  will  be  greatly  benefitted  by  her  instructions. 

In  addition  to  the  above  named  school  another  for  hoys  has  been  esta- 
blished on  the  same  principle,  and  is  now  under  the  care  of  Mr.  John- 
stone, an  assistant  Missionary.  There  are  now  in  that  school  15  boys, 
making  in  the  whole  74  children,  dependent  for  their  support  on  the 
funds  of  the  institution. 

As  the  prejudices  of  the  natives  against  female  education  are  so  great, 
and  as  schools  established  on  these  principles  are  the  only  effectual  means 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  229 


of  benefitting  this  degraded  class  of  our  fellow-creatures,  we  hope  that 
all  who  feel  interested  in  tbe  cause  of  female  education  in  this  country, 
will  kindly  aid  us  in  this  benevolent  undertaking. 

Vizagapatam,  February  13/A,  1840. 

We  shall  be  happy  to  convey  any  pecuniary  aid  to  our  friends  at 
Vi  zagap  atam. — Ed. 

21. — The  Mission  School  at  Baraset. 

It  was  sometime  ago  noticed  in  this  paper  that  the  Mission  School  at 
Baraset  was  suddenly  deserted  by  almost  all  the  boys,  in  consequence  of, 
we  suppose,  the  open  and  undisguised  abjuration  of  Hinduism  by  one  of 
the  teachers  attached  to  the  Bengali  department  of  the  school.  We  are 
now  happy  to  be  able  to  announce,  that  most  of  the  pupils  have  since 
returned,  and  are  now  receiving  instruction  under  the  superintendence  of 
Babu  Kalikumar  Ghos,  an  educated  Hindu  convert.  Another  school 
has  lately  been  established  in  the  same  district,  with  the  evident,  if  not 
the  avowed,  object  of  supplanting  tbe  Christian  Institution.  It  is  supported 
by  tbe  wealthy  inhabitants  of  the  place,  who  uphold  the  notion  that 
religious  instruction  is  rather  inimical  than  conducive  to  the  happiness, 
both  spiritual  and  temporal,  of  the  pure  Hindus. 

This  notion — the  offspring  of  prejudice  and  bigotry — will,  we  hope,  be 
generally  exploded,  when  the  people  of  this  country  begin  to  feel  more  fully 
the  paramount  importance  of  a  system  of  education,  which  combines  tbe 
improvement  of  the  understanding  with  the  purification  of  the  moral 
principles. — Calcutta  Courier. 

22. — Examination  of  the  Students  of  the  Delhi  Institution. 
The  annual  examination  of  the  students  of  the  Delhi  Institution,  took 
place  on  Monday  last.  The  examination,  which  was  a  pretty  strict  one,  was 
upon  the  whole  very  satisfactory,  especially  in  the  higher  branches.  The 
reading  and  pronunciation  of  English  was  certainly  defective,  particular- 
ly in  accentuation,  but  this  may  be  partly  accounted  for  by  the  fact  of 
most  of  the  Students  having  joined  the  institution  at  an  advanced  period 
of  their  age.  In  fact,  there  are  some  of  the  commencants  about  30  or  40 
years  old,  and  a  Fakir,  who  has  joined  the  College  for  five  months  and 
lias  already  gained  a  tolerable  proficiency  in  English,  and  who  writes  a 
good  hand,  appears  to  be  at  least  50.  He  is  a  native  of  Calcutta  and  is 
represented  as  indefatigable  in  his  studies.  As  the  Students  do  not  now 
receive  any  stipend,  the  inclination  for  study,  at  his  age,  is  surprising. — 
Delhi  Gazette. 


23. — The  Singapore  Institution. 
We  are  happy  to  have  it  in  our  power  to  state,  that  contributions  have 
been  raised  at  Bangkok  to  the  amount  of  194  Spanish  Dollars  to  assist  in 
the  erection  of  a  wing  to  the  Singapore  Institution — no  less  a  personage 
than  his  Royal  Highness  Prince  Momfanoo,  or  Choo-foo,  figuring  at  the 
head  of  the  list  with  a  donation  of  50  dollars,  and  another  of  the  Siamese 
nobility  with  one  of  30  dollars.  The  Prince,  it  gives  us  pleasure  to  add, 
has  also  promised  to  send  down  two  Siamese  youths  of  respectable  families 
to  be  educated  at  the  Institution — and  from  such  a  commencement  we 
hope  that  Seminary  may  begin  to  date  the  prospects  of  a  more  extended 
reputation  among  the  Siamese. — Singapore  Free  Press. 

24. —  The  Annual  Report  of  the  London  Missionary  Society. 
We  have  just  received  the  Annual  Report  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society,  from  which  we  find  the  Society  is  pursuing  its  usual  course  of 
VOL.   I.  2  H 


230 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [April, 


faithful  industry  and  success.  The  missions  of  the  Society  most  success- 
ful are  those  of  the  South  Seas  and  the  West  Indies  ;  the  most  trying1  and 
those  which  call  for  the  largest  amount  of  faith  and  patience,  are  those 
of  this  country  and  the  island  of  Madagascar.  The  losses  sustained  during 
the  year  in  laborers  are  comparatively  small,  while  the  number  sent  into 
the  field  amounts  to  16.  The  total  number  of  agencies  and  agents  in  the 
employ  of  the  Society  throughout  the  world  is  follows  : 
General  Summary. 

"  In  the  several  parts  of  the  world  connected  with  the  Society's  operations,  there 
are  55+  stations  and  out-stations  ;  151  Missionaries  ;  39  European,  and  3S2  Native, 
assistants  ;  making  a  total  of  572  Missionaries  and  assistants.  Under  the  care  of 
the«e  are  101  churches,  with  62S7  communicants,  and  634  schools,  containing 
41,79'?  scholars  ;  being  an  increase  during  the  year,  of  16  Missionaries,  8  churches, 
940  communicants,  66  schools  and  4S 18  scholars,  but  a  decrease  in  the  number  of 
native  airents,  of  68. 

"  There  are  15  printing  establishments,  the  details  of  whose  operations  are  embo- 
died in  the  reports  of  the  respective  stations  to  which  they  beloug." 

Missionary  Students. 

"  The  number  of  students  who  are  at  present  pursuing  a  course  of  preparatory 
studj,  with  a  view  to  Missionary  labour,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Society,  is 
Thirty-one." 

Funds. 

"In  relation  to  the  funds,  the  Directors  have  to  report  that  the  amount  of  Legacies 
received  during  the  year  has  been  £6*55,  2s. 

The  contributions  for  the  ordinary  and  special  objects  of  the  Society  have  been 
.£59,035,  Si.  5d,  making,  with  the  Legacies,  a  total  of  £65,490,  10s.  5d.  The  expen- 
diture for  the  year  has  been  £75,855,  17s.  lid.,  being  an  excess  beyond  the  income 
of  £10,365,  7s.  6d. 


25. — Popery. 

Poperv  has  during  the  last  few  years  been  making  rapid  advances  not 
less  in  India  than  in  other  parts  of  our  world.  Within  the  short  space 
of  six  or  seven  years  they  have  resuscitated  the  expiring  power  of  their 
system,  and  established  a  conclave  of  Jesuits  in  our  city.  A  college  and 
other  institutions,  calculated  to  foster  and  propagate  the  soul-destroy- 
ing doctrines  of  the  papacy,  have  already  been  set  up,  and  now  we  are 
threatened  with  a  nunnery  !  ! — and  other  measures  equally  subversive 
of  the  principles  of  the  Protestant  faith.  We  have  to  witness  against 
this  progress  of  so  dreadful  a  heresy,  and  to  pray  that  God  would 
send  forth  His  Spirit  to  strive  with  the  children  of  men  in  the  midst 
of  this  overspreading  of  error  and  superstition. 

26. — Annual  Meeting  of  the  Bombay  Auxiliary  Church  of  Scotland's 
Mission  Society. 

This  Anniversary  was  held  in  St.  Andrew's  Church  on  the  17th  of 
December  ;  and  was  more  numerously  attended  than  any  other  of  a  similar 
kind  which  we  have  witnessed  in  this  place.  The  proceedings,  it  is  gene- 
rally allowed,  were  characterized  by  a  spirit  of  holiness  and  power,  the 
effects  of  which,  wre  trust,  will  be  long  apparent  in  increased  supplications 
and  endeavours  for  the  advancement  of  the  great  cause  of  the  conversion 
of  India. 

The  chair  was  occupied  by  Major  F.  P.  Lester  ;  and  after  prayer  by  the 
Rev.  R.  W.  Hume,  the  following  motions  were  unanimously  carried. 

I.  Moved  by  the  Reverend  D.  O.  Allen  and  seconded  by  Lieutenant  Thornbury, 
— That  the  report  which  has  just  been  read  be  adopted  as  the  report  of  the  Society, 
and  be  printed  and  circulated  among  the  members  and  Iriends  of  Missions  generally. 

II.  Moved  by  the  Reverend  Dr.  Stevenson,  and  seconded  by  J.  P.  Larkins, 
Esq. — That  this  meeting  desires  more  especially  to  express  feelings  of  deep  sympa- 
thy with  those  converts  and  members  of  the  Mission,  who  have  been  called  to  wit- 
ness a  good  confession  before  the  civil  tribunals,  and  before  many  witnesses. 


1840.] 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


231 


III.  Moved  by  Mr.  F.  Stuart  and  seconded  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Payne,— That  to 
number  III.  of  the  regulations,  relative  to  members,  there  be  added:  "  Such  per- 
sons as  have  rendered  important  services  to  the  Society  while  in  India,  may  be  elect- 
ed, after  leaving  the  country,  as  Honorary  Members  for  life  :  and  that  the  Rever- 
eud  James  Clow,  J.  A.  Maxwell,  Esq.  M.  D.  and  G.  Sinyttan,  Esq.  M.  D.,  be  so 
elected. 

IV.  Moved  by  Mr.  N.  Spencer  and  seconded  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wilson, — That 
the  following  persons  be  requested  to  be  office-bearers  of  the  Society  for  the  ensu- 
ing year  : 

Hon'ble  J.  Farish,  Esq.  President;  Rev.  J.  Laurie,  Vice-President. 

Directors. — Capt.  G.  I.  Jameson  ;  Lieut.  Thornhury  ;  Rev.  Dr.  Wilson  ;  Mr.  N. 
Spencer;  J.  P.  Larkins,  Esq. ;  Capt.  W.  M.  Webb;  Mr.  A.  Fallon  ;  Mr.  W.  H.  Payne  ; 
Rev.  Dr.  Stevenson,  Secretary;  Messrs,  Forbes  &  Co.,  Treasurers. 

The  substance  of  the  report,  which  consisted  principally  of  letters  from 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Wilson,  and  the  Rev.  James  Mitchell,  giving-  an  account  of 
the  operations  in  Bombay  and  Puna  of  the  General  Assembly's  Mission, 
to  which  the  Society  is  Auxiliary,  we  shall  insert  in  our  next  number. 
At  present,  however,  we  request  particular  attention  to  its  conclusion: 

"The  very  interesting  details  now  read,  show  what  have  been  the  circumstances 
of  the  Mission  during  the  past  year.  They  are  such  as  should  excite  us  to  gratitude 
to  the  Giver  of  every  good  and  perfect  gift,  and  awaken  us  to  more  devotedness,  and 
stir  us  up  to  more  fervent  prayer  for  the  prosperity  of  the  Mission. 

"  The  receipts  of  this  Auxiliary  for  the  year,  have  only  amounted  to  Rs.  3296- 
]  2-6,  only  about  half  the  sum  that,  three  years  ago,  we  stated  to  the  General  Assem- 
bly's Committee,  we  hoped  to  be  able  to  raise.  More  than  double  this  has  been 
expended  in  one  law-process  by  the  advocates  of  Heathenism  in  endeavouring  to 
oppose  the  Mission,  and.  attempting  to  withdraw  two  converts  from  the  means  of 
Christian  Instruction.  Iu  the  cause  of  heathenism  no  stone  has  been  left  unturned. 
The  glory  of  the  empire  of  Satan  has  been  tarnished,  and  the  zeal  of  his  votaries 
aroused.  Some  of  his  captives  have  escaped,  and  the  strong  man  has  awakened 
from  his  slumber. 

'•  Christianity!  which  they  were  content  formerly  to  despise,  must  now  be  perse- 
cuted, as  far  as  the  laws  of  the  empire  will  permit.  This  is  not  a  time  to  let  our 
zeal  flag.  After  having  mounted  the  breach,  this  is  not  the  moment  for  Christians 
to  turn  back  or  to  seem  to  flinch,  on  account  of  the  host  in  array  that  presents  itself 
within.  No  1  The  violence  of  this  opposition  is  a  sign  of  weakness.  It  shows  either 
the  weakness  of  a  cause,  or  the  weakness  of  its  defenders,  or  both.  Christianity 
needs  no  weapons  but  the  zeal  and  devotedness  of  the  followers  of  Jesus.  Let  us 
abound  in  these,  and  whether  Israel  be  gathered  in  our  day  or  not,  we  shall  be  ac- 
cepted of  the  Lord,  nor  shall  we  iu  the  meantime  want  evidence  of  his  mercies  in 
seeing  a  remnant  according  to  the  election  of  grace  uniting  themselves  to  the  Lord. 

"  There  are  some  persons  who  to  be  induced  to  aid  in  the  Missionary  enterpiize, 
need  to  persuade  themselves  that  they  shall  live  to  see  all  the  heathen  turn  unto  the 
Lord.  They  conceive  that  to  be  the  only  due  return  to  the  thousands  of  rupees  which 
are  annually  expended  in  the  support  of  missionary  institutions.  When  they  hear 
only  of  tens  and  twenties  of  converts,  they  console  themselves  next  with  the  idea, 
that  most  of  the  hundreds  and  thousands  of  children  that  attend  Missionary  schools, 
will  prove  in  the  end  Christians.  Nothing  less  than  such  an  idea  could  support  their 
zeal.  But  what,  if  such  persons  would  take  the  trouble  to  compute  the  value  of  an 
immortal  soul  I  What,  if  they  would  only  weigh  all  the  thousand s  and  tens  of  thou- 
sands of  gold  and  silver ,  that  have  been  expended  by  this  Society,  since  its  com- 
mencement, against  the  joy  of  those  whom  this  report  mentions  as  having  died  in 
the  Lord  during  the  year,  and  who  but  for  the  Gospel  brought  to  them  by  us,  in  all 
probability  would  not  have  heard  of  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  1  If  such  a  reflec- 
tion were  allowed  to  rest  upon  the  mind,  how  magnificent  would  all  these  earthly 
treasures  seem,  when  balanced  against  that  eternal  weight  of  glory  !  If  converts 
have  hitherto  been  few,  have  not  the  members  of  the  professing  Church  who  have 
entered  with  any  proportionate  zeal  into  the  subject  of  the  conversion  of  the  heathen, 
been  few  also  ?  If  the  faith  of  converts  has  been  weak,  have  not  the  prayers  that 
have  been  put  up  for  them,  been  cold  and  languid  ?  The  conversion  of  the  world  is 
not  to  be  effected  by  their  dealing  out  their  censures  against  the  reputations  of 
converts,  or  giving  utterance  to  complaints  about  the  fewness  of  their  numbers,  but 
by  their  aiding  with  heart  and  hand  in  the  work,  and  doing  so  not  from  reference  to 
their  own  fame  or  credit  in  the  world,  but  as  looking  to  Him  who  is  invisible,  acting 
as  under  the  eye  of  Him  who  has  sent  to  them  the  Gosnei  of  salvation,  bestowed  on 

2  h  2 


232  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [April, 


them  superior  advantages  of  both  education  and  possession  of  property,  which  he  has 
denied  to  others,  and  has  entrusted  them  with  these,  as  talents  which  they  are  to 
improve  to  His  Glory,  as  they  shall  give  an  account  when  he  comes  to  judge  the  quick 
and  the  dead." 

The  falling  off  of  the  funds  above  adverted  to,  is  partly  owing'  to  the 
payments  which  have  been  made  during  the  past  year  to  the  Building 
Fund  of  the  General  Assembly's  Institution.  We  trust  that  the  love  of 
Christ  will  constrain  the  friends  of  his  cause  to  contribute  what  is  needful, 
more  especially  when  it  is  considered  that,  in  the  hope  that  adequate 
support  will  in  due  time  be  forth-coming,  the  opposition  of  the  heathen, 
unparalleled  to  this  day  in  India,  has  led  the  Missionaries  rather  to 
extend  than  contract  their  operations. 

The  meeting,  we  may  mention,  was  addressed  by  the  Rev.  D.  O.  Allen, 
Dr.  Stevenson,  J.  P.  Larkins,  Esq.,  Mr.  F.  Stuart,  R.  T.  Webb,  Esq.,  and 
Dr.  Wilson. —  Oriental  Spectator. 

2?. — Annual  Meeting  of  the  Auxiliary  Bible  Society  of  Bombay. 

The  Anniversary  of  the  Bombay  Bible  Society  was  held  in  the  Town- 
hall  on  the  evening  of  Friday  the  '20th  December. 

The  Right  Reverend  the  Lord  Bishop  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  the 
Meeting  was  opened  by  reading  a  portion  of  Scripture. 

The  Annual  Report  was  read  by  the  Reverend  Dr.  Wilson,  one  of  the 
Secretaries. 

1st.  It  was  moved  by  the  Hon'ble  J.  Farish,  and  seconded  by  the 
Reverend  Dr.  Stevenson,  that  the  report  which  has  now  been  read,  be 
received,  printed,  and  circulated  under  the  direction  of  the  Committee. 

2nd.  Moved  by  Major  Lester,  and  seconded  by  Lieutenant-Colonel 
Moore,  that  six  copies  of  the  Report  be  forwarded  to  the  Honorable  the 
Governor  in  Council,  and  that  copies  be  transmitted  to  the  Parent  Society, 
•whose  continued  liberality  to  this  institution  is  gratefully  acknowledged, 
to  the  Edinburgh  Bible  Society,  and  to  the  Auxiliary  Societies  of  Calcutta, 
Madras,  Ceylon,  Singapore  and  Australia,  and  to  the  American  Bible 
Society. 

3rd.  Moved  by  the  Reverend  Dr.  Wilson,  and  seconded  by  J.  P.  Lar- 
kins, Esq.,  that  copies  of  the  Report  be  forwarded  to  the  friends  of  the 
cause  at  Out-stations,  accompanied  with  the  request,  that  they  will  use 
their  endeavours  to  promote  in  their  neighbourhood  the  objects  of  the 
Society. 

4th.'  Moved  by  Captain  Chapman,  and  seconded  by  J.  S.  Law,  Esq. 
that  the  thanks  of  the  meeting  are  due  to  the  Patron,  President,  Vice- 
Presidents,  and  other  office-bearers  of  the  Society,  for  their  support  and 
exertions  during  the  past  year,  and  that  the  following  gentlemen  be  ap- 
pointed the  office-bearers  for  the  ensuing  year : 

Patron — The  Hon'ble  Sir  James  Carnac,  Bart.  Governor  ;  President — The  Risrht 
Rev.  Thomas  Carr,  D.  D.,  Lord  Bishop  of  Bombay  ;  Vice-Presidents — The  Hon'ble 
Sir  John  Awdry,  Chief  Justice  ;  The  Hon'ble  James  Farish,  Esq.,  Member  of 
Council;  Hon'ble  W.  Anderson,  Esq.,  Do.  ;  Hon'ble  J.  A.  Dunlop,  Esq.,  Do.  ;  Sir 
Henrv  Roper,  Knight,  Pumie  Judge.  Committee — Major  F.  P.  Lester,  J.  P.  Lar- 
kins,Esq.,  Mr.  N.  Spencer,  Colonel  Griffiths,  Captain  W.  M.  Webb,  J.  Williams, 
Esq.,  Colonel  J.  Moore,  Lieutenant  N.  H.  Thornbury,  E.  Lyon,  Esq.,  G.  S.  King, 
Esq.,  T.  Lanraster,  Esq. — Treasurers — Messrs.  Forbes  and  Co. — Secretaries — 
Venerable  Archdeacon  Jeffreys,  A.  M.,  Rev.  John  Wilson,  D.  D.— Assislant-Secre- 
tary — Mr.  J.  Hurst. 

5th.  It  was  moved  by  the  Right  Reverend  the  Lord  Bishop,  and 
seconded  by  Captain  Johnson,  that  the  general  Regulations  of  the 
Society  shall  in  future  be  as  follows: 

I.  This  Society  is  formed  under  the  name  of  the  "  Auxiliary  Bible  Society  of 
Bombay,''  for  the  purpose  of  co-operating  with  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  So- 


1840.]         Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  233 


cicty  in  promoting  the  distribution  of  the  Holy  Scriptures  on  the  Western  side  of 
the  Peninsula  of  India. 

2.  Couforraahly  to  the  principles  of  the  Parent  Institution,  the  Bibles  and  Tes- 
taments to  be  circulated  by  the  Society  shall  be  without  note  or  comment;  and 
those  of  the  lauguages  of  the  United  Kingdom,  of  the  authorized  versions  only. 

3.  All  persons  subscribing  12  Rupees  per  annum,  or  upwards,  or  Ks.  200,  or 
upwards,  at  onetime,  shall  be  members  of  this  Society. 

4.  The  business  of  this  Society  shall  be  conducted  by  a  President,  Vice-Presi- 
deuts,  a  Treasurer,  two  Secretaries,  and  a  Committee,  to  be  elected  annually.  Every 
clergyman  or  other  minister  who  is  a  member  of  the  Society,  shall  be  entitled  to 
attend  and  vote  at  the  Meetings  of  the  Committee. 

5.  The  Committee  shall  meet  in  the  Cathedral,  on  the  first  Tuesday  of  every 
mouth,  at  eleven  o'clock  in  the  forenoon,  and  when  and  where  business  may  require. 

6.  The  general  Meeting  of  the  Society  shall  be  held  annually  about  the  close 
of  the  year. 

6th.  Moved  by  the  Reverend  James  Mitchell,  and  seconded  by 
Captain  Bagshawe,  that  this  meeting  feel  it  their  duty  to  be  fervent  in 
prayer,  that  the  Holy  Spirit  may  accompany  the  circulation  of  the  word 
ot  God,  so  that  it  may  have  free  course  and  be  glorified. 

?th.  Moved  by  Mr.  Giberne,  and  seconded  by  Mr.  Lancaster,  that 
Colonel  Moore,  and  Mr.  Payne,  be  appointed  a  Committee  to  audit  the 
accounts  of  the  Society. 

8th.  Moved  by  Mr.  King,  and  seconded  by  the  Reverend  D.  O.  Allen, 
that  the  best  thanks  of  the  Meeting  be  given  to  the  Right  Reverend 
the  Lord  Bishop  for  his  kind  and  able  services  in  the  chair. 

The  meeting  was  closed  by  reading  a  portion  of  Scripture. 

The  attendance  was  highly  respectable,  and  a  general  interest  was  felt 
in  the  proceedings.  The  speakers  were  the  Lord  Bishop,  the  Rev.  Dr. 
Stevenson,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Wilson,  J.  P.  Larkins,  Esq.,  Captain  A.  Chap- 
man, the  Rev.  James  Mitchell,  and  the  Rev.  D.  O.  Allen.  The  report 
we  shall  notice  after  it  has  been  published. — Ibid. 


28. — Convert  to  Christianity  from  Judaism,  in  Jamaica. 

In  the  Scottish  church  of  this  city,  on  Sabbath  last,  the  Rev.  Mr  Wor- 
die  announced  that  he  would,  on  the  Sabbath  after  next,  publicly  baptize 
a  young  man,  who  had  become  a  convert  to  Christianity  from  Judaism, 
and  that  at  the  end  of  the  service  a  collection  would  be  made  in  aid  of  the 
deputation,  which  is  about  leaving  Scotland  for  Palestine,  to  report  on  the 
most  proper  means  to  be  employed  to  afford  the  Jews  resident  there,  an 
opportunity  of  embracing  the  Christian  faith.  The  public  renouncement 
of  Judaism,  and  baptism,  and  receiving  into  the  Christian  Church,  of  a 
young  man,  cannot  but  excite  the  most  lively  interest  amongst  the  Jews 
and  Christians  in  this  city.  In  former  days  (and  perhaps  even  at  this  time 
by  a  great  many)  apostacy  has  been  looked  upon  with  jealousy,  and  the 
person  has  been  subject  to  the  derision  of  those  he  has  left — but  we  know 
there  is  a  powerful  influence  exerting  itself  over  the  minds  of  many  of  the 
Jews  in  this  city,  inclining  them  to  embrace  Christianity,  which  we  trust 
will  be  strengthened  by  this  instance  of  moral  courage,  which  will  do  much 
to  pave  the  way  for  others  to  follow  so  glorious  an  example.  The  inter- 
marriages which  have  taken  place — the  anxiety  for  parents  to  bring  up 
their  children  to  the  Christian  religion — and  the  gradual  secession  of  the 
rising  generation  from  Judaism,  is  an  earnest  of  the  great  change  which 
will  take  place  in  that  body — a  change  w  hich  can  no  longer  be  ascribed  to 
ambitious  motives  to  secure  place  or  power,  and  the  glory  of  which  must 
therefore  be  given  to  God  alone. — Jamaica  Gazette. 


234 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [April, 


29. — Report  of  the  Deputation  from  the  Church  of  Scotland  to 
the  Jews  in  Palestine  and  elsewhere. 

My'dear  Sir, 

We  have  accomplished  what  remained  of  our  inquiries  into  the  cities 
of  Israel.    Dr.  Black  and  Dr.  Keith  left  us  on  the  7th  of  July,  and  next 
day,  Mr.  M'Cheyne  and  I,  in  company  with  Mr.  Caiman,  who  has  con. 
sented  to  go  with  us  in  our  journeyings,  set  out  to  proceed  southward 
once  more.     We   slept    that   night  at  a  place  called  Nab  Jounes, 
"  Prophet  Jonas,"  said  to  be  the  spot  where  he  was  cast  ashore.  We 
reached  Zidon,  now  Saide,  next  morning.    We  found  it  a  plain,  quiet, 
sea-coast  town,  frequented  only  by  a  few  fishing-boats.    AVe  found  no 
such  company  of  holy  believers  as  Paul  did,  (Acts  xxvii.  3  ;)  but  there 
is  a  small  synagogue  of  the  Jews,  into  which  we  entered,  though  we 
met  with  nothing  remarkable.    They  did  not  avoid  direct  conversation 
regarding  their  hope  of  salvation,  and  their  Rabbi,  lately  come  from 
Barbary,  afterwards  invited  us  to  his  house.    Next  day  we  came  to 
Tyre,  now  Sour,  and  there  too  found,  not  an  assembly  of  saints,  (Acts 
xxi.  3,)  but  a  synagogue  of  Jews.    Of  these,  five  families  have  lately 
come  from  Algiers,  and  the  rest  are  from  Safet  and  other  places  of 
Palestine.    The  Rabbi  conversed  freely  with  us  at  his  own  house  on 
every  point  in  dispute, — referring  to  the  works  of  his  Commentators,  of 
which  he  had  a  few  on  a  shelf  beside  him.    His  house  was  by  the  sea, 
commanding  from  its  window  a  view  of  the  modern  town, — a  town  with- 
out traffic,  marked  out  as  once  renowned,  by  broken  pillars  and  carved 
stones  that  lie  on  its  shore  and  in  its  streets.    There  were  two  or  three 
boats  there  when  we  passed  ;  but  there  are  no  remains  of  Old  Tyre  > 
"it  is  no  more  found,"  Ezek.  xxvi.  21.  We  had  passed  between  these  two 
places  the  ancient  Sarepta,  now  Sarphand,  situated  on  a  hill  a  little  way 
from  the  coast,  where  they  still  point  out  the  widow's  house ;  and  our 
way  was  thus  full  of  pleasant  associations  as  we  traversed  not  only  the 
territories  of  might)'  cities,  but  "  the  coasts,"  out  of  which  multitudes 
used  to  come  to  Jesus, — the  Syrophenician  woman  was  one.    After  this, 
our  way  turned  eastward  into  the  heart  of  the  country.    It  was  the 
borders  of  the  tribe  of  A  slier  that  we  were  traversing.    The  road  as- 
cended a  hill  for  many  miles ;  but  yet  at  every  opening  we  looked  back 
and  saw  the  sea,  as  if  at  our  feet.    All  was  hilly,  and  some  of  the  hills 
about  fifteen  hundred  feet,  high  ;  and  yet  we  remarked,  that  the  hills 
which  bound  that  tribe  on  this  point,  bore  marks  of  having  been  clothed 
with  trees  to  their  summit.    Many  of  these  remain  ;  the  olive-tree  has 
been  the  chief,  for  it  still  abounds,  showing  how  exactly  true  has  been 
Gen.  xlix.   20,  "Out  of  Asher  his  bread  shall  be  fat  "  and  Deut. 
xxxiii.  24,  "  He  shall  dip  his  foot  in  oil;"  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
we  had  seen  in  the  purple  fish  still  found  at  the  foot  of  Carmel, 
and  in  the  splendid  plains  stretching  from  thence  to  Acre,  how  he 
had  "  yielded  royal  dainties."    The  distinct  variety  of  the  land  has 
repeatedly  struck  us  as  astonishing.  Among  these  hills  of  Asher,  where 
they  open  out  into  a  surface  of  some  extent,  we  found  a  large  village 
called  Kunah.    I  have  little  doubt  this  is  the  Kana  of  Asher,  mentioned 
Josh.  xix.  28.    It  is  beautifully  situated  amidst  the  olive-trees,  with 
some  considerable  spots  around  it  laid  out  in  corn.    We  then  crossed  a 
deep  valley,  which  may  be  the  Jipthtah-el  of  Josh.  xix.  14  and  27,  the 
boundary  of  Zebulon.    The  descent  is  very  precipitous  :  we  scarcely 
believed  we  had  plunged  into  so  deep  a  glen,  till  we  looked  up  and  saw 
on  each  side  of  us  hills  of  about  two  thousand  feet  in  height.    We  rode 
along  this  pass  for  about  an  hour  and  a  half,  the  road  level,  but  appa- 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  235 


rently  the  dried  up  channel  of  a  brook,  amidst  a  variety  of  thick-set 
busties  and  trees,  wild  flowers,  honeysuckle,  and  especially  woodbine, 
(which  the  Arabs  call  "  the  Jessamine  of  the  desert,")  scenting  the  air, 
and  fire-flies  streaming  their  light  on  all  sides.  We  came  up  from  the 
valley  and  reached  a  village  named  Jettar,  a  little  after  sunset.  The 
villagers  told  us,  that  to  a  pool  which  is  there,  herds  of  gazelles,  and 
also  herds  of  leopards  and  wolves,  often  came  from  the  valley  to  quench 
their  thirst.  Our  passage  through  this  spot,  suggested  to  me  the  subject 
of  Zechariah's  valley  of  myrtle-trees  (i.  8)  wherein  he  shows  Israel  hid 
from  view  in  such  a  retired  bottom,  till  the  Leader  comes  to  guide  them 
up  out  of  it  into  eminence  and  safety.  At  noon,  on  the  succeeding  day, 
we  rested  at  Knfir-birchom,  under  some  spreading  fig-trees,  and  unex- 
pectedly found  in  it  interesting  ruins.  They  are  the  ruins  of  an  old 
synagogue,  to  which  the  Jews  still  occasionally  repair  to  pray.  There 
are  remains  of  a  very  elegant  doorway  and  two  windows.  The  windows 
are  fluted  and  wide  at  the  foot,  in  the  Grecian  style;  the  doorway  has 
pillars  of  the  simplest  form,  and  above  is  festooned  with  vine  leaves, 
grapes,  and  the  pomegranate.  We  could  not  ascertain  the  date  of  its 
erection;  it  is  now  a  ruin.  We  began  now  to  hear  much  of  the  dangers 
of  the  road  from  the  Bedouin  Arabs:  but  the  kindness  of  the  God  of 
Israel  led  us  on  next  evening  safe  to  Safet.  I  cannot  ascertain  the  name 
of  this  town  in  ancient  times.  It  is  generally  believed  to  be  "  the 
citv  set  on  an  hill"  in  full  view,  of  our  Lord,  when  he  preached  the 
sermon  on  the  Mount.  It  stands  on  the  very  top  of  a  high  hill — at 
least  two  thousand  feet;  it  is  visible  on  every  side ;  it  commands  a  mag- 
nificent prospect  of  the  Lake  of  Galilee,  the  hills  Tabor,  Hermon,  and 
Gilboa,  the  mountain  of  Beatitudes;  and  opposite  is  the  noble  hill  of 
Naphtali,  full  of  associations  of  what  God  has  done  for  Israel,  (Judg. 
iv.)  with  the  plain  Zaanirim  at  its  foot.  The  height  of  the  situation 
renders  the  climate  the  coolest  in  Palestine,  quite  like  a  pleasant  sum- 
mer dav  with  us.  Among  the  ruins  of  several  buildings,  we  saw  ser- 
pents gliding,  and  vultures  were  flying  over  our  heads  in  great  numbers. 
But  we  found  the  Jews  of  this  place  very  miserable.  The  town  is  not 
yet  recovered  from  the  effects  of  the  earthquake  which  two  years  ago 
made  it  almost  a  heap  of  ruins;  ruins  still  meet  the  eye  on  every  side. 
It  was  however  the  moral  stute  of  the  people  that  to  us  appeared  most 
impressive.  Nothing  could  more  fully  answer  the  description  of  Moses, 
"  thy  life  shall  hang  in  doubt  before  thee,  and  thou  shalt  fear  day  and 
night,  and  shalt  have  none  assurance  of  thy  life."  (Deut.  xxviii.  60.) 
This  arises  from  the  circumstance,  that  in  the  absence  of  the  Pacha's 
troops, — who  are  all  withdrawn  to  his  armies  in  the  north, — the  Jews, 
always  defenceless  and  an  object  of  prey,  are  threatened  daily  with  the 
attacks  of  the  Arabs.  They  were  keeping  watch  when  we  were  among 
them: — four  soldiers  and  ten  Jews  patrolled  the  town  during  night. 
They  had  buried  their  best  clothes  and  precious  articles  under  ground  ; 
and  many  were  preparing  to  flee.  We  heard,  while  with  them,  that  the 
Bedouins  had  plundered  the  village  Medjel,  (supposed  to  be  the  ancient 
Magdala )  on  the  side  of  the  lake  :  and  next  day  we  saw  the  place  ac- 
tually deserted  and  left  empty.  Such  was  the  state  of  things  around,  and 
these  externally  sufficient  to  move  compassion.  Yet  there  was  more  by 
far  to  move  pity  towards  the  people  when  you  saw  their  worship,  and  the 
indications  of  their  state  of  soul.  On  Friday  evening,  at  sunset,  you 
might  see  the  Sabbath-lamp,  newly  lighted,  shining  through  the  windows 
of  every  house  in  the  Jewish  quarter.  Soon  after,  all  were  met  in  the 
synagogue,  the  women  occupying  their  assigned  compartment,  or  hover- 
ing round  the  door  with  their  children,  leaving  the  care  of  their  souls 


236  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [April, 


to  the  men, — for  tliey  are  quite  ignorant,  and  deem  it  a  duty  to  let  others 
act  for  them.  We  had  never  witnessed  any  tiling'  so  earnest  as  the 
devotion  exhibited  here.  The  majority  of  those  present  were  old  men, 
some  of  them  tottering'  with  age,  their  white  hairs  covering  their  emaciat- 
ed temples  ;  yet  the  intense  vehemence  with  which  they  sent  up  their 
prayers  was  most  affecting.  They  used  every  action  and  intonation  of 
voice  that  could  extort  pity  ;  some  lifted  up  both  hands  to  heaven  in  the 
most  imploring  attitude,  some  clasped  their  hands,  or  wrung  them  toge- 
ther like  people  entreating  for  something  which  they  despaired  of  obtain- 
ing ;  others,  again,  bent  their  bodies,  and  bowed  their  heads,  and  struck 
their  breasts.  In  many  there  was  the  look  and  the  expression  of  angry 
expostulation,  as  if  saying  to  God  "Wherefore  have  we  afflicted  our 
souls,  and  thou  takest  no  knowledge?"  (Isa.  lviii.  3.)  A  few,  more  vio- 
lent and  extravagant  than  their  brethren,  remained  behind,  and  con- 
tinued about  half  an  hour  longer  in  prayer,  stamving  on  the  ground, 
leaping,  and  striking  the  wall,  so  that  we  at  first  imagined  them  insane. 
When  the  service  was  over,  they  really  seemed  exhausted  by  the  bodily 
exertion  undergone.  At  present,  there  are  just  one  thousand  nine  hun- 
dred Jews  in  Safet ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  the  number  will  rapidly  increase 
so  soon  as  the  present  cause  for  alarm  is  past  ;  there  used  to  be  seven 
thousand.  They  have  four  synagogues,  and  several  reading-rooms.  We 
had  not  much  intercourse  with  them,  because  of  their  natural  bigotry,  and 
also  because  they  had  been  specially  warned  beforehand  of  the  object  of 
our  coming.  With  some  we  did  get  into  conversation,  and  found  them 
most  interesting  in  regard  to  their  real  belief  of  what  they  practise;  but 
in  general  they  kept  aloof  from  us.  There  was  one  among  those  we  met 
of  a  strange  class;  he  was  a  Russian,  who  had  become  a  Jew  a  few  years 
ago.  Of  this  there  are  occasional  instances,  though  not  many.  Next 
day,  we  rode  out  to  a  village,  named  Merona,  two  hours  distant,  and  on 
the  slope  of  the  hill  of  Naphtali,  where  are  many  tombs  of  the  Rabbies 
and  illustrious  men  that  have  made  Safet  a  holy  city.  The  tombs  are 
not  interesting ;  but  we  found  in  the  village  remains  of  a  building,  in  the 
very  style  of  that  at  Kafir-birchom,  said  to  bean  ancient  synagogue.  But 
more  interesting  still :  we  rode  on  an  hour  farther,  by  a  path  that  led  in- 
to the  hill,  and  further  up,  —  a  delightful  road,  from  the  myrtles  and 
other  shrubs  that  lined  it, — to  a  village  Jermach.  Here  are  ten  or 
twelve  Jews  settled,  dwelling  in  the  unwalled  village,  a  thing  very 
rare  at  present  in  Palestine.  We  wished  to  have  gone  three  hours 
farther  to  see  another  village,  Bereeah,  where  it  is  said  there  are 
nearly  twenty  Jews  settled,  supporting  themselves  by  cultivating  the 
soil, — a  thing  new  in  Israel,  though  soon  to  be  universal  among  them. 
(Ezek.  xxxviii.  8,  11,  12.)  We  had  not,  however,  time  to  get  to  it  that 
day  ;  and  next  day  was  the  Sabbath,  which  we  spent  at  Safe/,  often 
looking  down  upon  the  lake,  and  around  on  the  hills  which  Christ  had 
once  made  his  place  of  rest.  On  Monday,  we  left  the  city  "  set  upon 
an  hill."  Our  way  was  by  the  banks  of  the  lake  of  Tiberias,  and  nothing 
could  be  more  pleasant,  than  to  be  at  every  step  reminded  of  the  words 
and  works  of  Jesus  by  the  places  we  passed.  The  Plain  of  Gennesareth 
first  meets  you.  It  is  the  only  plain  of  any  extent  along  the  lake,  and 
must  have  been  above  measure  delightful  in  the  days  when  Capernaum 
raised  its  head  to  heaven,  amidst  the  luxuriant  gardens,  and  groves,  and 
fields  that  are  known  to  have  flourished  there.  Now  it  is  waste, — like 
Israel,  scattered  and  peeled,  in  order  that  even  their  external  state  may 
declare  the  guilt  of  rejecting  an  offered  Saviour  ; — here  you  see  not  a 
tree  of  any  beauty,  and  scarcely  a  cultivated  field,  for,  "  it  has  been  cast 
down  to  hell."  We  soon  felt,  especially  at  evening,  the  peculiar  calm- 
ness and  retirement  that  invests  the  lake,  and  could  perceive,  we  thought 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  237 


why  Jesus,  when  vexed  by  an  unbelieving  generation,  "  withdrew  him- 
self with  his  disciples  to  the  sua."  (Mark  iii.  7.)  No  place  except 
Jerusalem  has  so  deeply  impressed  us.  Jerusalem  presents  those  scenes 
of  intense  importance,  that  show  the  saint  the  beginning  and  end  of  his 
hope,  the  work  of  Christ  from  his  first  to  his  second  coming;  while  the 
Sea  of  Galilee,  ever  referring  back  to  what  was  accomplished  there,  brings 
before  the  soul  the  common  and  quiet  scenes  of  life,  pervaded  and  hal- 
lowed by  the  Redeemer's  work.  In  complete  contrast,  however,  to  these 
associations,  we  found  the  men  of  Israel  at  Tiberias  in  a  state  of  misery, 
fitted  to  move  us  to  prayer  and  labour.  The  town  was  overthrown  by 
the  earthquake  two  years  ago  and  not  a  house  left  uninjured.  Hence 
the  daughter  of  Zion  is  here  literally  sitting  in  dust.  We  went  to  the 
synagogues  over  heaps  of  ruins.  At  the  same  time,  the  Jews  are  the 
most  cleanly  of  the  population,  and  their  synagogues,  like  those  of  Su/et, 
especially  clean,  and  well  furnished  with  simple  but  elegant  lamps.  Their 
reading-rooms  also,  (of  which  they  once  had  above  thirty,  and  relics 
of  which  still  exist  throughout  the  town,)  are  kept  cool  and  pleasant; 
we  visited  one  that  opened  out  to  the  lake.  The  Jews  were  very  reserv- 
ed towards  us,  for  the  same  reason  as  at  Safet.  They  knew  why  we  came, 
and  they  are  even  more  superstitious  and  bigoted  than  those  at  Safet, 
using  gestures  more  extravagant  and  vehement  in  their  worship.  They 
have  five  synagogues,  none  of  them  large.  They  were  in  the  same  state 
of  fear  from  dread  of  the  Arabs  as  elsewhere ;  many  had  already  fled  to 
more  secure  places,  such  as  Acre  and  Khaipha.  We  saw  plainly  their 
temper  and  state  of  mind  ;  they  are  sincere  in  their  superstition  and 
bigotry.  And  this  very  fact  may  prove  the  best  opening  to  real  mission- 
ary work  among  them.  For  all  earnest  and  sincere  Jews  are  restless  in 
search  of  salvation,  and  to  such  peculiarly  may  the  words  of  life,  spoken 
by  this  sea,  apply  with  power,  "  Come  unto  me  all  ye  that  are  heavy  laden." 
It  has  been  our  conviction,  as  it  was  also  of  our  brethren  who  have  left 
us,  from  the  reports  they  heard,  that  this  spot, — "  the  land  of  Zebulon, 
and  the  land  of  Naphtali,  by  the  way  of  the  sea,  beyond  Jordan,  Galilee 
of  the  Gentiles,"  where  the  light  first  sprang  up,  (Matt.  iv.  15,16,) — 
may  be  the  most  eligible  spot  for  a  mission  from  the  Church  of  Scotland. 
In  the  region  where  Jesus  himself  began,  at  \ns  first  coming,  to  proclaim 
"  The  kingdom  of  heaven  is  at  hand,''  heralds  of  salvation  from  Scotland 
may  raise  the  same  cry  in  prospect  of  his  second  coming.  I  may  mention, 
as  an  illustration  of  Scripture,  that  while  conversing  with  a  very  respec- 
table and  intelligent  Jew  regarding  the  sea,  we  asked  him  about  the 
squalls  that  sweep  over  it ;  and  he  said,  that  in  winter  time,  a  it  was 
often  more  stormy  far  than  the  great  sea." 

We  now  prepared  to  turn.  We  paid  a  visit  to  the  remarkable  springs 
near  the  town,  as  we  had  done  to  a  singular  pool  of  water,  like  the  ex- 
tinguished crater  of  a  volcano,  near  Safet,  and  then  set  out  for  Nazareth. 
In  our  way  we  crossed  Mount  Tabor,  where  experience  taught  us  what 
shall  be  the  blessedness  of  the  promise,  "  violence  shall  no  more  be  heard 
in  thy  land."  (Isa.  lx.  18.)  We  had  reached  the  foot  rather  late  in  the 
day ;  fearing,  therefore,  that  we  might  lose  the  magnificent  view  from  the 
summit  if  we  did  not  use  all  speed,  we  did  not  go  round  by  the  regular 
path,  but  pressed  up  through  bushes  and  rocks  with  great  difficulty  to 
the  top.  We  had  time  to  see  where  Christ,  hid  from  the  eyes  of  all 
others,  is  believed  to  have  been  transfigured  before  his  three  disciples,  and 
to  look  down  on  the  vast  and  splendid  plain  of  Esdraelon,  where  the  foes 
of  Israel  and  of  God  are  yet  to  be  gathered  to  the  slaughter.  But  sunset 
forced  us  to  hasten  down  without  making  the  circuit  of  the  hill.  At  the 
foot,  on  the  other  side,  we  came  upon  a  company  of  villagers  who  were 
VOL.  I.  2  I 


238  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [April, 


watching  their  heaps  of  corn  ;  and  from  them  we  learned,  that  simply  in 
consequence  of  our  taking  a  trackless  path  and  then  hasting  down,  we 
had  escaped  a  hand  of  Arabs  who  were  lurking  on  the  hill,  and  had 
plundered  and  killed  several  persons  the  day  before.    On  reaching  the 
village  Deberah,  where  our  baggage  was,  we  found  our  servants,  who  had 
gone  before  us,  despairing  of  our  safety.    But  He  that  keepeth  Israel 
preserved  us,  and  put  a  song  of  praise  into  our  lips.    We  felt  a  little  of 
the  force  of  Psalm  xxvii.  5,  when  safely  at  rest  again  in  our  tent  prais- 
ing the  Lord.  Next  day,  a  similar  peril  and  deliverance  awaited  us.  We 
reached  Nazareth  early,  and  having  surveyed  the  city  where  the  Redeem- 
er lived,  "  as  a  root  ( Nezer)  out  of  dry  ground,"  proceeded  onward  by 
Sepphoris.    About  five  in  the  afternoon  we  entered  a  valley,  which  forms 
the  road  to  Acre,  and  at  the  end  of  which  stands  a  village,  Abilene,  in  a 
beautiful  situation,  answering,  I  think,  to  the  once  well-known  city 
Zabulon.    In  this  valley  we  were  told  Arabs  were  lurking  :  but  our  only 
road  lay  through  it.    One  of  our  attendants  meanwhile,  had,  unknown 
to  us,  returned  to  the  village  we  had  just  left,  and  in  trying  to  join  us, 
missed  the  common  road  and  entered  the  valley  a  short  time  before  us. 
At  the  very  entrance,  he  was  met  by  eight  armed  Arabs  on  horseback, 
who  seized  him,  led  him  up  to  the  hills,  bound  him  hands  and  feet,  and 
plundered  him  of  every  thing,  and  of  the  horse  he  rode.    It  was  at  the 
very  moment  they  were  thus  occupied  with  him,  that  we  passed  by  the 
spot,  and  escaped  their  notice.    We  found  his  stick  upon  the  road,  but 
did  not  know  what  had  become  of  him, — and  knew  our  danger  only 
after  it  was  over,  when  the  servant  reached  us  next  day  at  Acre.  Thus, 
again,  we  felt  the  immediate  providence  of  our  God.    We  thought  of 
Ezra  viii.  22 ;  for  we  had  never  carried  arms,  nor  travelled  with'a  guard  ; 
and  we  were  taught  to  desire  Israel's  salvation  yet  more,  on  account  of 
the  blessing  it  will  bring  to  these  tribes  of  Ishmael,  as  written  fully  in 
Isaiah  Ix.  6,  7,  "  The  flocks  of  Kedar  shall  come,''  &c.    At  Acre,  we 
visited  the  small  synagogue  of  the  Jews ;  it  is  perhaps  the  poorest  in  the 
land,  because  there  are  very  few  to  support  it.    We  saw  in  it  one  aged 
man,  who  spends  six  hours  in  prayer  every  day  for  his  soul.    It  is  the 
actual  sight  of  such  devout,  but  mistaken  men,  that  most  of  all  excites 
us  to  pray,  "  O  that  the  salvation  of  Israel  were  come  out  of  Zion."  For 
we  feel  that  their  very  prayer  is  sin :  "  there  is  a  way  that  seemeth 
right  unto  a  man,  but  the  end  ;  hereof  is  the  way  of  death."    (Prov.  xiv. 
12.)    Two  days  after  we  reached  Bcyroot  in  safety,  by  the  road  we  came, 
only  turning  aside  to  see  the  pools  close  by  Tyre,  said  to  have  been  built 
by  Solomon  for  king  Hiram.    While  there,  resting  at  the  waters,  we 
met  an  individual,  who  told  us  that  a  vast  number  of  the  Jews  of  Safet 
had  actually  come  clown  for  refuge  to  Tyre,  to  wait  till  the  danger 
passes.    They  will  then  return  ;  for  they  have  a  deep  affection  for  their 
holy  cities,  and  count  it  a  merit  to  raise  the  voice  of  prayer  even  amidst 
their  ruins.    They  may  truly  cry,  "  Thy  holy  cities  are  a  wilderness!" 
(Isaiah  lxiv.  10.) 

VVe  have  thus,  through  the  good  hand  of  our  God  upon  us,  visited 
every  town  in  Palestine  (except  Jaffa)  where  is  a  synagogue  of  the  Jews, 
or  where  we  heard  of  any  Jews  being  resident;  and  we  have  collected 
all  kinds  of  information  respecting  them.  We  left  Beyroot  on  the  28th, 
in  an  Austrian  steam-boat,  and  reached  this  city  on  August  1st.  We 
passed  Cyprus,  where  no  Jew  is  permitted  to  reside,  on  account  of  the 
intolerant  bigotry  of  the  Greek  inhabitants,  occasioned  by  the  treatment 
which  tbe  Jews  gave  the  dead  body  of  the  Patriarch  at  the  Revolution. 
We  sailed  along  that  coast  of  Asia  where  Paul  and  Barnabas  visited 
every  synagogue  and  proclaimed  Christ;  and  we  read  the  seven  epistles 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  239 


with  great  interest  as  we  sailed  along.  And  we  saw  Patmas,  where  the 
heloved  disciple  saw  the  visions  of  God,  and  heard  so  often  from  the 
Saviour  himself,  "  Behold,  1  come  quickly."  It  was  evening,  when  we 
saw  it ;  but  its  rocks  seemed  the  more  significant  on  that  account,  as 
if  saying,  "there  is  darkness  and  shadows  over  the  book  written  there, 
that  require  a  coming  morning."  I  thought  of  Christ  seen  there  last  of 
all  on  earth,  and  speaking  there  for  the  last  time  on  earth  till  the  day 
of  his  glory.  It  was  singularly  interesting  to  be  here  at  a  time,  when 
political  events  seem  to  indicate  the  speedy  "  drying  up  of  the  waters  of 
Euphrates,"  as  foretold  by  the  sure  word  of  prophecy.  In  passing  the 
island  of  Scio,  (see  Acts  xx.  15,  Chios,)  we  were  reminded  by  four  Jews 
who  were  with  us  in  the  ship,  that  the  famous  rabbi,  Baal-ha-Turirn, 
was  buried  there.  These  four  Jews  were  the  same  with  whom  we  had 
the  interview  on  board  the  vessel  on  our  way  to  Alexandria.  U'e  had 
met  them  in  Palestine,  at  Naplouse,  and  again  as  they  returned  home. 
They  asked  us  for  Bibles,  as  a  memorial  of  one  another.  I  have  not 
room  to  write  at  present  regarding  Smyrna,  but  shall  soon  do  so,  if  the 
Lord  prosper  our  way.  "  Ye  that  make  mention  of  the  Lord,  keep  not 
silence,  and  give  him  no  rest,  till  he  make  Jerusalem  a  praise  in  the 
earth."    Believe  me,  &c. 

Lake  of  Galilee,  July  16th. 
We  are  now  in  our  tents  by  the  side  of  this  memorable  lake,  close  by 
the  town  of  Tiberias.  We  washed  in  its  waters,  and  got  into  the  only 
boat  upon  it,  and  now  we  have  just  seen  the  last  tint  of  the  setting  sun 
fade  from  the  hills  of  Bashan,  which  are  full  in  our  view,  and  there  is  a 
deep  stillness  and  serenity  on  the  surface  of  the  lake.  We  sat  in  quiet 
and  thoughtful  meditation  till  near  midnight,  remembering  how  Jesus 
twice  came  to  deliver  his  disciples  at  the  darkest  hour;  how  he  walked 
over  the  waves  and  spoke  peace.  "  It  is  I," — Is  he  not  thus  saying  to  a 
sinner,  "  I  am  thy  salvation?"  We  could  fancy  it  was  on  such  a  night  as 
this,  that  Peter  and  the  others  (John  xxi.)  went  out  to  fish  and  caught 
nothing  till  next  morning.  Jesus  came  and  stood  on  the  shore,  and  said 
to  them  as  they  slowly  sailed  along,  "  Children,"  reavm,  "  Dear  chil- 
dren, have  ye  any  meat?"  That  chapter  of  John  seemed  to  us  intense- 
ly interesting,  as  we  sat  together  and  beheld  the  scene.  We  got  some  of 
the  fish  of  the  lake — "  broiled  fish,"  to  our  evening  meal.  The  lake  is 
clear,  and  its  channel  is  not  muddy,  but  pebbly.  The  water  is  sweet  and 
soft.  The  edge  is  generally  either  bare  or  fringed  with  reeds,  but  occa- 
sionally rhododendrons  in  full  bloom  and  a  species  of  convolvulus  form  a 
beautiful  border.  Part  of  the  plain  of  Gennesaret  is  full  of  these,  and 
in  the  stream  of  water  that  issues  from  a  fountain  in  the  heart  of  the 
plain,  we  saw  tortoises  swimming  in  abundance.  The  hills  on  the  opposite 
side  are  very  steep,  just  such  as  the  swine  might  run  down.  At  the  foot 
of  Tabor  and  other  places  where  we  slept,  we  heard,  during  night,  the 
cry  of  wolves,  jackals,  and  leopards,  sometimes  filling  the  whole  region 
with  their  bowlings  at  midnight,  illustrating  Ezekiel  xxxi v.  2a,  "  1  will 
cause  the  evil  beasts  to  cease  out  of  the  laud,  and  they  shall  dwell  safely 
in  the  wilderness  and  sleep  in  "the  woods."  We  visited  Nazareth.  It  is  a 
town  shut  in  with  hills,  and  when  in  it,  you  look  round  on  white  limestone 
cliffs;  it  calls  to  mind  "  the  dry  ground,"  out  of  which  the  root  (Nezer) 
of  Jesse  sprung.  Its  retired  obscurity  struck  me, — the  Saviour  thus  teach- 
ing his  people  to  be  willing  to  be  unknown  even  thirty  years  of  their  life  or 
all  their  lives,  if  he  choose  so  to  appoint.  I  wish  I  had  space  to  tell  you 
illustrations  derived  from  the  fountains  we  daily  came  to,  where  men, 
women,  and  children  came  at  noon  to  drink,  and  be  revived  and  enjoy  the 
coolness  that  is  round  it ;  a  beautiful  type  of  thirty  souls,  men,  women,  and 

2  i  2 


240 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [April, 


children,  coming  to  "  the  fountain  of  living  waters."  And  the  "  dew" 
"  resting  all  night  on  the  branches"  (Job),  and  on  the  grass,  reviving  the 
withered  leaves,  and  keeping  them  moist  and  preparing  ihem  for  the 
coming  heat  of  next  day, — lil<e  the  sweet  influence  of  the  Lord's  presence 
with  the  saint  at  evening  and  morning,  when  He  sheds  the  truth  over 
the  soul,  while  it  reads  and  prays. 

Constantinople,  August  20,  1839. 

We  have  been  of  late  in  regions  of  the  world,  where  once  the  light  of 
Christ  shone  most  clearly,  but  where  now  there  is  darkness  that  may  be 
felt.  Is  it  the  case,  that  when  the  candlestick  is  once  removed  from  a 
place,  God  thereby  gives  over  that  region  to  hopelessness?  Is  it  not  like 
the  case  of  an  apostate  individual? — "  It  is  impossible  for  those  who  were 
once  enlightened  and  have  tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift,  and  were  made 
partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  and  have  tasted  the  good  word  of  God,  and 
the  powers  of  the  world  to  come,  if  they  shall  fall  away,  to  renew  them 
again  unto  repentance,  seeing  they  crucify  to  themselves  the  Son  of  God 
afresh,  and  put  him  to  an  open  shame."  And,  in  confirmation  of  this,  the 
Jews,  scattered  under  the  curse  to  this  hour,  are  sent  as  terrible  wit- 
nesses among  the  Churches.  We  were  led  to  think  of  the  awful  danger 
of  apostacy,  not  only  by  traversing  Palestine,  and  the  part  of  Asia  where 
the  seven  Churches  stood,  but  also  by  personally  ascertaining  the  fact, 
that  in  no  part  of  the  world,  perhaps,  has  there  been  less  success  among 
missions.  There  have  been  missions  to  the  East  uninterruptedly  for 
about  thirty  years,  at  Beirout,  in  Cyprus,  at  Smyrna,  at  Trebizond,  at 
Constantinople,  and  yet  we  ascertained  it  to  be  true,  that  they  cannot,  in 
all  that  time,  mention  a  Mahometan  convert  known  to  them  !  Indeed  the 
Mahometan  law  positively  prevents  missionaries  seeking  their  conver- 
sion ;  and  of  Greeks,  Syrians,  and  Armenians,  only  a  very  few, — perhaps 
under  twenty,  have  been  converted.  Now,  while  God  leaves  other  apo-- 
state  lands  to  be  examples  of  his  severity,  remember  how  expressly  he  lias 
promised  to  reserve  the  case  in  regard  to  the  Jews,  e.  g.,  in  chapter  xxx. 
of  Isaiah,  verse  18,  "  And  therefore  will  the  Lord  wait  to  be  gracious ;" 
and  yet  more,  Jer.  xxxi.  20. 

Since  I  last  wrote  from  the  foot  of  CarmeJ,  we  have  visited  many  other 
parts  of  the  Holy  Land,  and  have  been  in  every  synagogue  of  the  Jews 
within  its  bounds  excepting  Jaffa.  We  had  a  delightful  journey  to  the 
Lake  of  Tiberias,  Nazareth,  and  the  coasts  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  out  of  which 
the  people  used  to  come  in  multitudes  to  Jesus  ;  and  in  these  parts  we 
found  Jews  of  a  more  devout  and  more  strict  character  than  in  any  other 
part.  At  Safet,  one  of  their  four  holy  cities,  (you  know  Jerusalem,  He- 
bron, and  Tiberias,  are  the  other  three,)  we  witnessed  synagogues  filled 
with  aged  men,  who  there,  every  week,  try  to  make  out  their  claim  to 
heaven  by  prayers  uttered  with  intense  earnestness.  They  cry  aloud, — 
they  use  all  kinds  of  supplicatory  tones,  fitted  to  move  to  pity,  as  if  they 
could  thus  change  the  mind  of  God.  They  smite  the  breast,  and  clap 
the  hands  together ;  and  through  the  week  some  of  the  old  men  spend 
their  day  in  poring  over  the  Talmud,  and  other  books, — but  you  never  find 
them  reading  the  pure  Word  of  God  alone.  At  Tiberias  they  are  so  extra- 
vagant in  their  worship,  that  occasionally  they  leap  and  stamp  on  the 
ground,  like  what  we  have  heard  of  the  Jumpers  among  the  Methodists; 
and  not  long  ago,  hearing  of  one  man  that  had  received  a  New  Testa- 
ment, some  of  them  got  into  his  house,  and  tore  out  as  far  as  the  epistles, 
(beginning  at  the  end,  viz.,  Revelations)  when  the  man  snatched  it  from 
them,  and  saved  the  remainder.  One  lad,  at  another  place,  (1  think  it 
was  at  Zidon,)  told  us  that  he  had  no  doubt  that  his  sins  were  pardoned. 
We  asked  how  he  knew, — "  Because  I  cannot  walk  six  steps  on  this  land 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  241 


without  being  forgiven  !"  Yet,  at  the  same  time,  it  is  really  wonderful 
how  much  access  Christians  may  have  to  them,  and  how  much  of  a  genial 
impression  has  of  late  been  made  on  them.  The  circumstance,  too,  of  an 
English  consul  protecting  them,  opens  up  a  way  for  British  influence  par- 
ticularly. Did  you  ever  wonder  how  I'aul  and  others  went  into  the  syna- 
gogues, and  conversed  and  disputed  there?  It  strikes  me  that  they  did 
as  missionaries  or  visitors  do  now, — they  went  in  and  waited  till  service 
was  over,  and  then  the  Jews  flocked  around  the  strangers,  just  as  they 
do  now;  and  often  they  would  stand  talking  on  the  floor  of  the  syna- 
gogue for  hours  at  a  time.  1  should  mention,  that  they  are  now  very 
generally  aware  of  the  difference  between  Protestant  Christianity  and 
T'ouish  ;  and  this  has  had  a  great  effect  in  lessening  their  abhorrence  of 
Christians.  The  region  round  the  Lake  of  Galilee  would  be  a  fine  field 
for  a  mission  from  Scotland.  It  would  not  interfere  with  the  English 
missionaries  at  Jerusalem  ;  it  would  occupy  a  part  of  the  land  which  at 
present  is  only  occasionally  visited  at  long  intervals  by  missionaries  ;  it 
would  come  to  a  people  devout  and  sincere,  though  utterly  deluded,  and 
hence  would  be  more  likely  to  be  blessed  than  among  careless,  sceptical 
souls  ;  and  it  would  find  a  people  who  are  in  fear  and  affliction,— for  such 
is  their  state  at  present.  And  is  not  that  a  time  of  favour  very  often 
more  than  other  times?  Mr.  Caiman  accompanied  us  in  this  tour,  so 
that  we  had  means  of  thoroughly  ascertaining  their  state  of  mind.  One 
important  means  of  blessing  Israel  that  is  still  wanting,  would  be  the 

Jmblication  of  tracts  suited  to  the  state  and  circumstances  of  different  loca- 
ities.    Missionaries  complain  of  the  want  of  this. 

In  regard  to  the  country,  this  portion  of  it  was  delightful ;  it  was  full 
of  associations  which  Christ's  ministry  in  Galilee,  and  his  residence  there 
has  left.  Jehovah  in  the  flesh  dwelt  with  men  at  JVasareth  nearly  thirty 
years,  and  walked  with  them  round  the  lake,  and  stood  still  from  time  to 
time  to  speak  such  words  as  these  :  "  Come  unto  me."  These  recollections 
have,  on  the  spot,  overwhelming  interest ;  and  the  simpler  they  are,  the 
more  solemn  and  the  more  impressive.  At  the  sea-shore,  on  the  other 
side,  where  Tyre  and  Sidun  stand,  the  deep  broad  sea  washing  silent 
shores,  conveys  the  feelinu  of  desolation  in  a  very  striking  way,  although 
you  still  see  before  you  houses  and  dwellings,  that  occupy  the  site  of 
these  cities.  The  view  of  Tabor  and  Herman,  and  that  of  Lebanon,  brings 
another  quite  distinct  series  of  remembrances  ;  but  all  impressing  the 
soul  with  the  accurate  truth  and  majesty  of  the  Word  of  God.  I  have  no 
room  to  dwell  on  all  the  places  we  have  seen  ;  and  I  must  tell  you  some- 
thing of  Asia  Minor. 

At  Beirout,  owing  to  the  great  heat,  Mr.  M'Cheyne  caught  a  fever, 
but  was  able  to  sail  to  Smyrna.  We  reached  Smyrna  on  the  1st  of 
this  month.  Between  the  Jews  and  Greeks  here  there  is  deadly 
enmity :  as  a  proof  of  which  I  may  mention  that,  just  a  few  days 
before  we  arrived,  a  respectable  Jew  was  walking  before  a  common 
Greek,  when  the  Greek  made  up  to  him,  and  struck  him  a  severe  blow 
with  his  fist.  An  English  resident  immediately  asked  the  cause,  for 
the  Jew  felt  so,  that  he  turned  round  and  burst  into  tears,  but  made 
n«  resistance.  The  Greek  said,  "  Oh,  he  is  one  of  those  that  hate  Christ." 
(Deut.  xxviii.  37,  Lam.  iii.  15.)  We  attended  worship  at  the  English 
chapel.  Above  the  pulpit  there  is  most  appropriately  written,  from 
the  Epistle  to  the  Church  of  Smyrna,  "Be  thou  faithful  unto  death, and 
1  will  give  you  the  crown  of  life."  The  very  reading  of  this  one  verse 
sent  a  flood  of  strength  to  us  that  day  like  a  very  message  from  God  ex- 
horting us  to  continue  to  the  end.  The  whole  Epistle  to  Smyrna  is  full 
of  strengthening  words,  and  perhaps  Po/ycarp  was  the  minister  who  first 


242  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


felt  their  power,  for  he  is  helieved  to  have  been  "  the  angel  of  the  Church." 
The  place  where  his  church  stood  is  still  pointed  out;  it  is  on  arising 
ground,  but  the  Turks  have  carried  off  the  stones  to  help  in  some  of  their 
buildings.  I  heard  a  curious  fact.  Yon  remember  Polycarp  was  burnt 
to  death  in  the  Stadium  here,  and  it  is  said  the  Jews  were  his  chief  perse- 
cutors, and  brought  torches  to  kindle  the  fire.  Now  the  Stadium  exists 
still,  and  the  Jewish  quarter  is  directly  under  it;  and  the  Jews  are  in  the 
habit  of  selling  torch-wood  to  the  inhabitants  at  this  day.  The  Epistle  to 
the  Church  of  Smyrna  in  Revelations,  confirms  the  truth  of  the  Jews  being 
great  persecutors  ;  but  the  Christians  of  Smyrna  must  recompense  good, 
iike  their  Master  touching  the  ear  of  Malchus.  We  have  found  Smyrna 
a  place  most  favourable  for  a  mission.  There  are  about  nine  thousand 
Jews,  having  free  intercourse  with  Christians,  if  treated  kindly  ;  and  there 
is  only  one  missionary  for  them,  and  this  one  likely  to  leave.  Many  things, 
besides,  make  it  a  desirable  station,  and  schools  opened  here  would  be  at- 
tended. At  Salonika  (the  ancient  Church  of  Thessalonica)  there  are  no  less 
than  fifty  thousand  Jews,  and  very  like  those  mentioned  Acts  xvii.  5-13, 
— strict,  bigoted,  and  exclusive.  No  missionary  has  ever  sought  their 
salvation.  We  met  a  gentleman  who  had  just  come  from  the  Crimea, 
where  the  greatest  number  of  Karaite  Jews  reside.  He  told  us  there  are 
five  thousand  of  them, —  all  respectable,  honest,  and  held  in  high  esteem. 
They  have  prided  themselves  from  age  to  age  in  their  honesty.  They  are 
cleanly,  and  dress  well.  The  Russian  Government  show  them  much  favor, 
but  no  missionary  would  be  permitted  to  go  among  them  by  Russia,  al- 
though no  class  of  Jews  seem  so  near  Christianity,  holding,  as  they  do, 
the  pure  Old  Testament  as  the  only  basis  of  their  faith.  At  Constanti- 
nople there  are  eighty  thousand  Jews  ;  they  are  suspicious  of  Christians, 
and  watch  inquirers  of  their  brethren;  but  the  common  people  are  weary 
of  this  tyranny,  and  the  English  missionary,  Mr.  Farman,  offers  to  esta- 
blish schools  that  would  be  attended  by  both  hoys  and  girls,  if  we  only 
send  him  the  means.  We  ascertained,  too,  that  both  here  and  elsewhere 
a  considerable  number  of  Jews  are  willing  to  throw  off  the  Talmud  and 
acknowledge  Christ,  if  permitted  to  retain  their  national  Sabbaths,  and 
some  other  rites  ;  but  1  fear  this  class  is  very  like  the  German  New 
Temple,  not  anxious  about  their  souls,  only  weary  of  separation. 

This  city  is  a  most  splendid  place;  in  point  of  situation,  you  could  not 
imagine  a  finer  city.  We  arrived  the  week  after  the  great  fire,  which  has 
cast  out  fifty  thousand  people  from  their  houses.  We  saw  many  of  the  Arme- 
nian merchants  pitching  their  tents  on  the  spot  where,  a  few  days  before, 
their  spacious  dwellings  had  stood.  We  have  not  yet  had  time  to  go  much 
into  the  town,  and  I  write  to-day,  in  order  to  send  this  by  the  English 
post,  which  goes  to-morrow.  We  are  with  the  American  missionary,  Mr. 
Goodell.  Mr.  Lewis  at  Smyrna  was  exceedingly  kind  to  us  and  to  Mr. 
M'Cheyne  in  bis  illness,  who  remained  there  a  week  after  us  to  recover 
strength,  and  means  to  join  us  here  on  Monday.  If  all  is  well,  we  sail  on 
that  day  for  Galatz  on  the  Danube.  Our  sail  from  Smyrna  to  Constanti- 
nople occupied  us  only  a  day  and  a  half.  We  were  in  an  Austrian 
steam-boat, ,  commanded  by  an  English  captain,  and  had  a  delightful  sail, 
pa-sing  Mityltne  and  the  coast  of  Troy,  where  we  saw  the  English  and 
French  fleets  at  anchor,  and  were  told  that  the  English  officers  spend 
much  of  their  time  in  fishing  in  the  Simois  and  Scamander.  We  thought 
of  Paul  at  Troas  and  Eutychus  as  much  as  of  Homer  and  Achilles.  The 
passage  of  the  Dardanelles  is  a  delightful  sail.    Believe  me,  &c. 


THB 


CHRISTIAN  OBSERVER. 

(Ncto  Series.) 
No.  5. — MAY,  1840. 


I. — A  few  facts  connected  with  the  late  Mela  at  Allahabad. 

It  having  been  "  noised  abroad"  by  the  "  Pragwalls"  (brah- 
mans  who  are  supported  by  the  contributions  of  the  pilgrims 
who  visit  this  place),  that  the  "  Company"  was  about  to  reim- 
pose  the  tax  on  Pilgrims  who  resort  to  this  mela,  it  produced 
quite  a  rush  from  the  villages  in  the  neighbourhood  at  an  early 
period  of  the  mela.  The  people  came  and  bathed  for  a  day  or 
two  and  returned  to  their  villages.  The  "  Sakrant,"  (the  sun's 
entering  a  new  sign,)  which  constitutes  the  first  great  day,  and 
from  which  the  Hindus  consider  the  mela  as  fairly  begun, 
occurred  on  the  20th  of  January. 

Previous  to  that  time  people  began  to  encamp  in  large  num- 
bers on  the  beach.  Several  sects  of  religious  mendicants,  be- 
gan at  an  early  period,  to  fit  up  quarters  for  themselves. 
Among  these  were  two  sects  of  "  Nagas,"  who  come  only 
once  in  six  years.  One  of  these  sects  is  called  <c  Nirbam," 
meaning,  "  without  speech/'  or  language  :  an  epithet  which 
they  apply  to  the  Supreme  Being,  seeming  to  imply  that  He  is 
"  without  speech." 

The  other  is  called  "  Niranjan,"  meaning,  "  invisible."  It 
is  also  applied  to  the  Divine  Being,  expressive  of  his  in- 
visibility. Both  parties  tell  us  that  they  are  "  sons  of  one 
father,"  viz.  intimately  connected.  They  are  divided  into  two 
sects,  rather  for  sake  of  convenience  in  their  begging  peregri- 
nations, than  from  any  difference  of  opinion  among  them. 
Members  of  the  former  sect  told  us,  that  they  at  present  num- 
ber in  their  fraternity  about  5000  persons,  and  of  the  latter 
that  they  number  about  2000.  I  suspect  the  former  exagge- 
rated a  little,  as  we  did  not  perceive  much  difference  in  their 

vol.  i.  2  k 


244 


The  late  Mela  at  Allahabad. 


[May, 


appearance  as  to  numbers.  The  present  "  Parana  Mahant" 
(principal  Abbot)  named  "  Lai  Gin,"  is  a  man  of  ordinary  ap- 
pearance, but  rather  of  a  friendly  disposition.  The  two  sects 
make  regular  tours  to  several  different  shrines,  viz.  Alla- 
habad, Gaya,  Jagannath,  the  Godavan,  Rameshwar,  Sagar, 
Hardwar,  and  a  few  other  places.  They  complete  their  cir- 
cuit in  six  years. 

Their  Doctrines. — They  believe,  or  rather  affect  to  believe, 
that  they  are  themselves  portions  of  the  "  Divine  Being." 
They  consider  themselves  as  having  obtained  high  privileges 
by  the  force  of  fasting  and  other  penances  and  works  of 
merit.  They  assert  that  they  possess  His  attributes  and  pro- 
perties as  fully  as  He  does  himself.  That  God  eats,  drinks, 
sleeps,  &c.  &c.  just  as  all  others  do.  Many  persons  would 
probably  exclaim,  "  It  is  not  possible  that  they  can  believe  so." 
But  such  persons  have  not  comprehended  the  extent  of  Satan's 
tact  at  managing  the  human  heart,  nor  the  facility  with  which 
the  mind  in  certain  states  is  clouded,  and  £C  carried  captive  by 
Satan  at  his  will."  When  appealed  to  in  a  calm  and  impressive 
manner  for  some  proof  of  their  possessing  Divine  attributes — 
to  "  make  one  hair  white  or  black  ;"  or  when  God  gives  the 
command  for  their  Mahant  '/  to  die,  if  they  can  arrest  the 
approach  of  death  for  a  moment  ?"  If  they  are  not  too  much 
excited,  or  have  no  especial  motive  for  maintaining  their  consis- 
tency, they  will  admit  frankly  that  they  cannot  do  any  such 
thing,  that  it  is  absurd.  They  seem  to  be  candid  in  admitting 
the  absurdity  of  such  pretensions,  and  in  a  short  time  are 
found  assuming  their  ground  again  without  seeming  to  be 
conscious  at  all  of  the  impiety  involved  in  their  pretensions. 
They  profess  to  be  worshippers  of  "  Mahadeo,"  i.  e.  Shiva. 
They  perform  their  worship  sometimes  alone,  sometimes  in 
company.    They  make  but  little  use  of  images. 

Dress. — They  pride  themselves  in  going  without  clothes,  yet 
many  of  them  have  not  yet  attained  that  degree  of  merit  that 
they  can  dispense  with  all  dress.  Yet  a  sufficient  number 
have  attained  this  point.  They  have  their  heads  covered  with 
a  large  mass  of  shaggy,  unshorn  hair,  which  is  covered  with 
cowdung,  and  every  thing  that  can  make  it  look  abominable. 
Their  faces  are  generally  smeared  with  a  white  composition 
prepared  for  the  purpose ;  their  bodies  are  covered  with 
ashes  :  thus  they  go  strolling  about  in  companies  of  20  to  50 
in  a  state  of  grotesque  and  hateful  nudity.  No  pen  in  earthly 
hand  can  adequately  describe  the  mingled  feeling  of  disgust, 
sympathy,  and  sadness  which  fills  the  heart  that  has  to 
come  into  daily  contact  with  crowds  of  human  beings  in  such 
a  state. 


1840.] 


The  late  Mela  at  Allahabad. 


245 


Accommodations. — They  marked  out  for  themselves  ground 
in  a  somewhat  tasty  style  ;  on  this  they  erected  in  two  lines, 
little  grass  huts  facing  each  other  at  a  distance  of  about  50 
paces.  These  were  built  in  neat  rooms.  In  front  of  each  hut 
is  a  mound  of  earth  about  four  feet  high,  having  a  little  para- 
pet, or  wall  of  a  few  inches  high,  extending  all  round  the  top. 
This  is  neatly  smoothed  over  with  cowdung.  On  the  top  of 
these  chalwertras,  or  mounds,  they  bask  in  the  sun  during 
the  day,  and  read  their  sacred  books,  or  talk,  or  sleep  as  they 
feel  inclined. 

Near  the  centre  of  each  encampment  they  have  a  rather 
splendid  flag,  suspended  on  a  very  high  bambu,  which  waves 
with  all  the  beauty  and  grace  of  nature  over  their  heads. 
Alongside  the  flagstaff  is  erected  a  kind  of  pyramid  of  earth 
about  20  feet  square  at  its  base,  and  15  feet  high,  ascended  by 
flights  of  steps  on  the  four  sides.  On  the  apex  of  this  are 
placed  a  few  sea  shells,  a  dish  of  flowers,  a  small  image  of 
"  Mahadeo,"  and  a  few  rather  elegantly  polished  brass  can- 
dlesticks. This  place  is  regarded  as  too  sacred  for  us  to 
ascend  so  as  to  see  fully  what  is  on  it.  Over  it,  at  a  well-ad- 
justed distance,  is  a  large  awning,  suspended  by  the  four  cor- 
ners. It  consists  of  four  separate  awnings  of  beautifully  fringed 
pink  silk  and  crimson  velvet ;  each  one  diminishing  in  size  as 
its  place  is  lower  in  the  series,  so  as  to  suggest  the  idea  of  an 
inverted  pyramid,  and  to  form  a  pretty  good  counterpart  to 
the  platform  below.  All  this  if  it  could  be  viewed  apart  from 
the  unearthly  appearance  of  the  occupants,  would  leave  rather 
a  pleasing  impression. 

Parade. — When  they  go  out  on  public  days,  &c.  the  princi- 
pal men  of  the  "  Nirbani"  sect  go  paraded  on  seven  large  and 
splendidly  caparisoned  elephants,  over  which  are  spread  a 
number  (which  I  did  not  count),  of  splendid  flags.  Others 
are  mounted  on  the  finest  horses  and  camels,  some  of  them 
armed.  The  whole  is  preceded  by  mace-bearers  carrying 
enormous  silver  sticks,  and  much  of  the  insignia  of  royalty ; 
then  all  this  is  followed  by  the  mass  of  the  sect  clothed  in 
their  uncouth,  and  ashy,  and  odious  nakedness,  strolling  along 
like  what  no  man  ever  described,  and  surrounded  on  all  sides 
by  an  almost  innumerable  multitude  of  men,  women  and 
children,  all  rushing  to  get  on  the  highest  places,  and  even 
trying,  to  get  upon  each  others  shoulders  to  obtain  a  good 
view  of  them.  Thus  they  go,  and  the  other  sect  follows  them 
in  about  equal  parade,  to  the  river  side  where  they  all  bathe. 

As  we  stood  by  their  flag-staff  this  morning,  they  pressed  us 
to  make  an  offering  of  a  few  rupees  on  their  shrine,  assuring 
us  that  a  few  days  ago  an  English  gentleman  of  high  standing 
2  k  2 


'24(5 


The  late  Mela  at  Allahabad. 


[May, 


in  the  civil  service  did  make  an  offering  of  a  gold  mohur 
on  the  same  shrine,  and  thought  if  he  did  so,  we  who 
are  "  smaller  folks,"  might  with  all  safety  do  so  too.  They 
gave  his  name,  his  office  and  his  place  of  residence.  I 
suppress  the  name :  would  that  the  curtain  could  be  drawn 
over  the  deed  and  its  results,  as  I  draw  my  pen  over  hi9 
name  ! 

Feast. — The  Paratn  Mahant,  or  Ahbot,  of  a  sect  of  "  Gosains" 
whose  head-quarters  are  here  at  Allahabad,  died  a  short  time 
since,  and  the  sect  fixed  upon  the  time  of  the  mela  to  place 
another  upon  the  "  Gaddi,"  (seat  of  state.)  As  a  matter  of 
course,  or  of  etiquette,  they  had  to  invite  the  whole  tribe  of 
Nagas,  Gosains,  Udasis,  &c.  to  a  feast.  This  was  prepared, 
and  on  the  appointed  day  they  all  assembled  on  an  elevation 
extending  from  the  corner  of  the  fort.  They  seated  them- 
selves naked  as  they  were  generally,  in  six  rows,  two  and  two 
facing  each  other  on  the  smooth  ground.  When  "  all  things 
were  ready"  they  served  out  to  each  person  two  balls  of  a 
sweetmeat  composed  of  flour  and  sugar,  and  one  or  two  other 
ingredients,  fried  in  ghi.  These  rolls,  or  balls,  were  about 
three  inches  in  diameter.  They  had  each  a  kind  of  platter 
made  of  leaves  stitched  or  fastened  together  by  wooden  pegs, 
no  other  furniture.  After  they  had  all  received  their  portion 
of  sweetmeat,  they  ate  them  together.  Afterwards  a  portion 
of  "  Dhai"  was  served  out  to  each  in  a  cup  made  of  the  same 
kind  of  leaf.  This  was  all  the  food  and  furniture  and  parade 
which  appeared  in  the  festival. 

The  next  morning,  the  sweetmeats,  &c.  that  remained  from 
the  feast  were  distributed  as  "charity"  to  the  brdhrnans, 
Nagas,  Gosains,  &c.  There  passed  by  our  place  20  men  with 
full  baskets  on  their  heads  on  their  way  to  the  quarters  of 
the  Nagas.  These  were  preceded  by  mace-bearers  and  two 
men  blowing  trumpets  for  the  purpose  of  calling  public 
attention  to  the  supposed  munificent  alms.  I  never  before 
saw  such  force  in  the  Saviour's  precaution  on  that  subject. 
e(  When  thou  doest  thine  alms,  do  not  sound  a  trumpet  before 
thee  as  the  hypocrites  do,  in  the  synagogues,  and  in  the 
streets,  that  they  may  have  glory  of  men.  Verily  I  say  unto 
you,  they  have  their  reward."  Again  the  fact  of  one  poor 
mendicant  beggar  feeding  one  or  two  thousand  beggars,  and 
then  dispensing  the  fragments  that  were  left  with  the  clangor 
of  trumpets  and  the  parade  of  nobility,  shewed  in  strong 
colors  the  readiness  of  the  human  mind  to  be  captivated  by 
appearances,  and  led  away  from  facts,  else  it  would  have 
struck  themselves  as  inconsistent  that  one  who  professed 
himself  to  be  a  houseless,  pennyless  beggar,  dependant  on  the 


1840.] 


The  late  Mela  at  Allahabad. 


247 


chanties  of  others  for  a  bare  subsistence,  should  make  such  a 
display  of  wealth  in  the  presence  of  myriads  ! 

Both  parties  of  the  "  Nagas"  prepare  at  certain  intervals  of 
time,  or  on  certain  occasions,  what  they  call  "  Horn"  (burnt 
offering.)  In  this  they  burn  incense  with  various  rather  un- 
meaning ceremonies  and  reading  shlokas  from  their  sacred 
books.  The  incense  is  composed  of  gin  and  various  kinds  of 
grain  and  flowers,  &c.  all  vegetable  substances,  except  the 
gin.  The  ceremony  of  burning  is  performed  by  the  Param 
Mahant,  aided  by  others  high  in  rank.  But  the  ceremony 
is  not  worth  detailing.  They  were  either  unable  or  unwilling 
to  give  us  any  intelligent  account  of  the  object  of  the  Horn. 
How  far  the  idea  of  sacrifice  enters  into  their  Horn  I  could 
not  learn. 

Among  them  a  very  important  personage  was  paraded 
about  during  nearly  the  whole  of  the  mela.  This  was  a  man 
who  has  one  of  his  legs  cut  off,  and  its  place  supplied  by  a 
wooden  one.  He  has  held  both  his  hands  at  full  stretch 
above  his  head  until  they  have  both  become  stiffened  and 
indurated,  so  that  he  cannot  take  them  down.  Nature  after 
bearing  long,  had  forced  herself  to  come  to  his  aid  by  forming 
large  protuberances  under  his  arms  and  inside  his  elbows 
to  sustain  his  arms  in  their  new  position.  Thus  with  both 
hands  projecting  far  above  his  head,  and  in  a  state  of  entire 
nudity,  he  was  paraded  nearly  every  day  past  our  tent  on  the 
shoulders  of  others,  who  seemed  to  esteem  it  a  high  honor 
to  carry  such  a  holy  man  upon  their  backs.  He  was  usually 
followed  by  a  vagrant  crowd  of  admirers.  And  although  he 
professes  to  have  perfectly  subdued,  by  the  power  of  devotion 
and  penance,  every  earthly  emotion,  it  was  very  manifest 
that  he  felt  flattered  if  we  noticed  him  by  looking  at  him  as 
he  passed,  and  that  he  felt  disappointed  if  we  did  not  notice 
him  as  he  rode  in  triumph  past  our  tent. 

With  all  this  devotion  and  victory  over  earthly  propensities 
and  emotions,  his  temper  is  so  very  irritable  that  the  natives 
deprecated  our  having  any  thing  to  say  to  him.  Mr.  S.  en- 
countered him  once  in  Banaras  and  found  him  quite  as  violent 
and  irascible  as  the  people  had  said  he  was. 

The  "  Nagas"  at  one  time  assert  that  c<  there  is  no  difference 
between  their  guru  and  the  Divine  Being at  another  that 
"  there  is  no  difference  between  themselves  and  God."  They 
charge  the  "  Gosdins''1  and  other  sects  with  atheism.  But 
they  are  generally  so  ignorant  as  not  to  know  very  much 
about  atheism,  except  that  it  is  opposed  to  them,  opposed  to 
their  lofty  claims  of  union  with  the  Divine  Being. 

They  accustom  themselves  to  go  strolling  about  the  mela 


248 


The  late  Mela  at  Allahabad. 


[May, 


in  companies  of  from  10  to  15,  with  their  bodies  and  hair 
smeared  with  ashes,  and  their  faces  daubed  with  various 
colored  paints,  each  having  an  empty  gourd  in  his  hand, 
and  following  each  other  at  the  distance  of  two  or  three  rods, 
singing  in  a  loud  and  mournful  tone  "ang,"  "  ang,"  "  ang," 
each  man  in  a  different  tone,  and  at  a  different  key.  Their 
music  at  a  distance  would  fall  on  the  ear  with  a  soothing, 
saddening,  influence,  were  it  not  connected  with  the  idea  of 
their  religious  delusions  and  assumption.  Of  the  word  <c  ang," 
which  forms  the  subtance  of  their  song,  I  could  get  no  satis- 
factory account.  The  Sanskrit  word  "  ang"  means  "  body," 
but  they  must  have  some  other  idea  connected  with  it. 

The  Bairdgis. — They  occupy  a  district  of  the  mela  ground 
by  themselves.  There  are  about  2000  or  2500  of  them  on 
the  ground  as  they  suppose.  Elephants  are  numerous  among 
them.  They  visit  all  the  places  deemed  sacred  by  Hindus. 
In  their  peregrinations  they  go  singly,  or  in  small  parties  as 
convenience  or  inclination  may  happen  to  lead  them.  They, 
as  the  Nagas,  depend  entirely  on  begging  for  their  daily  food, 
and  are  seldom  suffered  to  feel  the  pressure  of  want.  Indeed 
the  appearance  of  the  whole  tribe  of  mendicants  proclaims  that 
they  live  on  the  te  fat  of  the  land."  The  Bairagis  profess  to 
worship  Sita  Ram  and  Saliq  Ram.  Idols  of  brass  and  stone  and 
wood  are  numerous  among  them.  They  play  on  cymbals  and 
other  instruments,  and  sing  before  their  shrines  ;  they  seem  to 
pay  especial  honors  to  the  incarnation  of  Ram.  They  generally 
wear  large,  coarse  ropes  round  their  waists,  and  seem  to  vie 
with  each  other  in  disfiguring  their  appearance  and  giving  to 
themselves  an  unearthly  aspect.  One  of  their  Mahants  told 
us  "  they  wear  these  ropes  around  their  waist  simply  as  a 
kamarband,"  but  this  was  manifestly  a  mere  evasion.  One 
of  their  number  assured  us  with  all  possible  gravity,  that  a  they 
were  so  entirely  freed  from  sin,  and  so  holy,  that  even  the 
holy  Ganges  is  made  more  pure  by  bathing  their  feet/5 

Ndnakshdhis. — They  are  a  sect  of  ft  Sikh  Bairagis,'*  who 
adopt  the  principles  and  doctrines  of  Nanak  Shah.  They 
number  about  1000  at  the  mela.  They  have  four  principal 
Mahants.  They  visit  all  the  sacred  places  of  note  among  the 
Hindus.  They  travel  generally  in  small  parties,  for  the  sake 
of  convenience  in  begging.  They  tell  us  that  "  all  persons  of 
family  give  them  food ;  sometimes  wealthy  persons  make 
them  considerable  presents."  It  seems  to  be  a  kind  of  admitted 
principle  among  the  Hindus,  and  which  these  people  are  very 
sedulous  in  cultivating,  that  where  a  man  inclines  to  prefer 
the  endearments  and  conveniences  of  social  life  by  marrying 
and  cherishing  any  of  the  family  relations,  he  is  under  obliga- 


1840.] 


The  late  Mela  at  Allahabad. 


249 


tions,  as  an  offset  against  this  indulgence,  to  give  liberally  of 
the  best  that  he  possess  to  those  who,  denying  themselves  all 
these  earthly  conveniences,  and  living  a  life  of  religious  aus- 
terities, pray  for  them,  and  thus  become  their  intercessors. 
With  this  assumed  and  admitted  superiority  over  those  who 
consent  to  partake  in  the  enjoyments  of  social  and  domestic 
life,  these  mendicants  traverse  the  country  claiming  as  a  pur- 
chased right,  a  portion  of  the  best  products  of  the  labors  of  the 
grihasts,  (family  folks.) 

The  Ndnakshdhis  worship  Nanak  Shah.  They  profess  to 
have  occasional  interviews  with  the  Divine  Being,  yet  when 
this  is  sifted  a  little,  it  appears  so  be  only  with  some  of  the 
deotds.  They  however  profess  to  worship  only  Nanak  Shah, 
and  the  Granth  sacred  book  which  he  prepared  for  them. 

As  we  stood  by  one  morning  they  were  engaged,  as  some  of 
them  said,  in  worshipping  the  Granth,  as  others  said  in  "  bless- 
ing food  which  was  about  to  be  distributed  to  brahmans,  &c." 
They  had  a  platform  of  earth  erected  about  three  feet  high,  and 
30  feet  square  :  over  this  was  a  canopy  of  broidered  cloth.  They 
were  ranged  in  a  circle  or  row  around  the  edge  of  the  platform 
as  close  as  they  could  stand  together.  The  principal  Mahant 
was  repeating  shlokas  from  the  Granth,  while  at  certain  inter- 
vals, or  certain  expressions,  they  all  joined  their  hands  toge- 
ther and  made  a  respectful  bow  towards  the  book.  The 
persons  engaged  in  conversation  with  us,  seemed  light  and 
cheerful,  and  to  have  their  whole  attention  taken  up  with  what 
they  were  saying  to  us ;  still  at  the  regular  period  they  did  not 
fail  to  place  the  palms  of  their  hands  together  and  pay  their 
respects  to  the  Granth.  This  sect  although  calling  themselves 
Uddsis,  (penitents,)  like  all  the  other  mendicant  sects,  look  full 
and  fresh  in  their  appearance,  and  as  though  the  piety  of  the 
laboring  people  would  not  suffer  them  to  want  any  thing  in  the 
line  of  eatables.  In  a  word,  it  is  too  plain  to  be  mistaken  that 
the  principal  reason  with  the  greater  number  of  those  mendi- 
cants for  continuing  in  their  sect  and  their  profession,  is  the 
superior  ease  and  security  with  which  they  procure  an  abun- 
dant supply  of  all  that  they  consider  good  to  eat,  whilst  they 
can  live  an  easy,  indolent  life,  free  from  care  and  free  from 
exertion.  Aside  from  this,  many  of  them  seem  to  be  bound  to 
their  profession  by  a  very  slender  cord. 

Early  in  the  mela,  as  we  were  engaged  in  discussions  with 
the  pandits  and  others,  a  large  overgrown  Bairagi  with  a  shag- 
gy head  and  naked  body,  pressed  his  way  through  the  crowd 
and  seated  himself  on  a  morha  just  in  front  of  Mr.  M.  and 
myself,  in  a  most  conspicuous  position.  He  drew  up  his  feet 
on  the  morha,  and  commenced  singing  to  himself  in  an  under 


250 


The  late  Mela  at  Allahabad. 


[May, 


tone,  to  show  that  he  was  not  paying  any  attention  to  what 
we  were  saying.  We  endeavoured  to  show  him  from  the  word 
of  God  that  in  thus  throwing  off  his  clothes  and  exposing  him- 
self he  violated  not  only  the  command  of  God  but  also  all  the 
finer  and  better  feelings  of  our  common  nature.  He  did  not 
assent  to  the  justness  of  any  thing  which  we  said,  and  we 
thought  we  had  qviite  failed  in  reaching  his  mind.  But  we 
were  surprised  a  day  or  two  afterwards  to  see  the  same  man 
come  into  the  midst  of  us  and  sit  down  <£  clothed"  and,  in 
some  respects  like  "  one  in  his  right  mind." 

As  we  stood  by  to  see  the  course  of  things  at  the  K  bara 
khana"  given  to  the  Nagas  and  other  naked  folks,  there  sat  near 
us  an  old  and  shrivelled  and  feeble  woman  who  had  tottered 
here  from  a  distance.  She  had  one  hand  full  of  dry  sand,  some 
of  us  expressed  some  curiosity  as  to  what  she  meant  to  do 
with  it ;  she  immediately  explained  what  she  intended  to  do 
with  it  by  commencing  to  eat  it ;  at  the  same  time  telling  us 
it  was  sand  which  she  had  taken  up  by  the  side  of  the  holy 
Ganges,  and  that  it  would  take  away  all  her  sins  if  she  would 
eat  it,  and  that  she  held  it  as  a  most  precious  treasure.  In 
the  mean  time  she  kept  throwing  it  into  her  mouth  in  small 
quantities  dry  as  it  was,  and  toiling  and  stretching  her  face  to 
gulp  it  down  and  actually  succeeded  in  swallowing  nearly  all 
of  it  while  we  stood  by.  The  "  Pragwalls"  (brahmans,  sup- 
ported by  pilgrims  resorting  to  Allahabad),  seem  now  to  regret 
much  that  the  "  Company's  Tax"  has  been  taken  off  at  this 
place.  They  came  to  us  several  times  during  the  mela  with 
this  complaint  that "  the  taking  off  the  tax  had  grealty  injured 
them."  'f  Formerly,"  said  they,  "when  the  Company  took  a 
rupee  as  tax  from  each  man,  the  people  thought  nothing  of 
paying  us  six  or  eight  annas.  But  now  that  the  tax  is  taken 
off  and  the  road  to  the  sacred  waters  laid  open  freely  to  all, 
the  people  have  found  that  they  are  too  poor  to  pay  us  any 
thing !  They  say  now  the  way  is  open  to  every  body,  we  can 
go  and  bathe  as  much  and  as  often  as  we  please  and  no  body 
can  prevent  us  ? 

Thus  the  brahmans  deprecate  the  free  access  of  every  body 
to  the  water  as  likely  in  the  end  to  ruin  their  prospects. 

The  "  Pragwalls"  seem  exceedingly  anxious  to  prevent  the 
people  from  hearing  us  preach,  and  from  seeing  our  books. 
Whilst  the  people  are  coming  in  large  crowds  about  the  height 
of  the  mela  they  go  out  to  meet  the  people  at  some  distance 
and  conduct  them  in  in  large  companies,  and  take  especial 
pains  when  they  come  near  us,  to  conduct  them  by  "  on  the 
other  side,"  lest  haply  some  of  them  should  pause,  and  hear 
and  have  their  confidence  in  the  Ganges  shaken.    1  have  seen 


1840.] 


The  Mela  at  Allahabad. 


251 


one  individual,  conducting  as  many  as  three  or  four  companies, 
past  us  in  one  day,  always  showing  deep  solicitude  lest  any  of 
them  should  even  incidentally  hear  us. 

The  impression  on  my  mind  from  the  whole  of  the  mela 
is,  that  the  more  intelligent  among  the  Hindus  themselves  are 
persuaded  that  their  system  cannot  stand  before  Christianity, 
and  that  one  day  it  must  yield.  And  I  think  this  impression 
on  their  minds  would  be  greatly  strengthened,  if  in  their 
discussions  with  Missionaries  and  others,  they  were  drawn 
over  more  to  the  broad,  firm  ground,  which  the  word  of  God 
takes  in  this  matter.  Discussions  with  them  are  exceedingly 
apt  to  run  off  into  the  labyrinths  of  Hindu  science.  And  the 
shlokas  and  counter-shlokas  of  the  shastras,  and  metaphysical 
discussions  about  the  attributes  or  absence  of  attributes  in  the 
Divine  Being,  consume  the  time  and  usurp  the  place  of  the 
solemn  strong  appeals  of  the  Bible,  and  the  developments  of 
the  Divine  character  and  attributes,  which  are  set  forth  in  the 
word  of  God  with  a  clearness  and  power  that  can  disturb  the 
most  callous  conscience.  Besides  God  has  not  promised  to 
convert  or  sanctify  men  by  Sanskrit  shlokas  or  the  doctrines 
of  the  Puians.  His  own  word  is  that  by  which  he  has  taught 
us  to  hope  for  their  sanctification.  I  know  it  is  necessary  at 
times  to  follow  them  through  the  mazes  of  the  shastras,  to 
ferret  out  all  their  subterfuges,  but  it  is  hard  to  keep  from 
being  hurried  there  too  soon,  and  spending  too  long  a  time  in 
wandering  through  such  dark  and  unfruitful  fields,  and  I  have 
often  seen  them  bow  to  the  majesty  of  truth  as  it  is  presented 
in  the  Bible  after  a  long  and  fruitless  battling  over  the  cur- 
rent phraseology  of  their  metaphysical  sciences. 

The  Jews  required  a  sign  (to  prove  that  Jesus  was  the  Christ), 
and  the  Greeks  sought  after  wisdom  (demanded  a  system  of 
religion  that  would  accord  with  the  principles  of  their  science), 
and  so  do  the  Muhammadans  and  Hindus  ;  but  our  work  is 
to  "preach  Christ  crucified,  to  the  Jews  a  stumbling  block, 
and  to  the  Greeks  foolishness" — to  the  Muhammadans  impiety 
and  to  the  Hindus  nonsense — but  to  those  who  are  called  and 
enlightened  from  above,  "  Christ  the  power  of  God  and  the 
wisdom  of  God."  And  while  we  are  often  thrown  back  on 
the  question,  "Who  hath  believed  our  report  ?  and  to  whom  is 
the  arm  of  the  Lord  revealed  ?"  We  are  not  without  evidence 
that  the  word  of  God  is  going  forward  and  showing  to  the 
people  the  majesty  of  its  power. 
Allahabad,  March  1st,  1840. 

W. 

VOL.  I.  2  L 


252 


The  Orissa  Mission,  fyc. 


[May, 


II. — The  Orissa  Mission — Need  of  more  labourers. 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  that  we  have  re- 
ceived from  the  Rev.  J.  Stubbins. 

"  While  there  are  those  who  are  ready  to  risk  their  fortunes  in  Lotteries 
and  different  worldly  amusements,  who  contribute  their  hundreds  and 
thousands  towards  the  erection  of  theatres,  &c.  it  is  matter  of  fervent 
rejoicing  that  there  are  those  who,  with  much  less  questionable  ambition 
and  infinitely  more  important  objects,  contribute  liberally  of  what  God 
has  graciously  given  them  for  the  promotion  of  his  glory  and  the  welfare 
of  their  fellow-men.  This  is  a  benevolence  which  will  stand  the  scrutiny 
of  him  w  ho  hath  said  '  Occupy  till  I  come' — one  over  which  they  will 
not  mourn  in  the  closing  scenes  of  life,  nor  through  eternal  ages. 

"  Amidst  the  various  claims  upon  Christian  sympathy  and  liberality 
perhaps  none  are  greater  than  are  presented  by  Orissa,  so  long  the 
seat  of  vice  in  its  most  degraded  forms — of  every  thing  shocking  to 
humanity,  pernicious  to  Society  and  ruinous  to  the  eternal  interests 
of  the  immortal  soul.  It  however  demands  our  gratitude  and  praise 
as  Christians,  that  the  awful  and  infernal  gloom  which  has  for  ages- 
settled  down  upon  this  unhappy  province,  is  gradually  being  dispersed 
by  the  rising  beams  of 'the  Sun  of  Righteousness,'  and  we  do  trust 
the  day  is  comparatively  not  far  distant,  when  this  light  of  life  shall 
shine  forth  in  all  its  radiant  and  meridian  splendour.  In  the  neighbour- 
hood where  I  reside,  it  is  almost  as  common  as  possible  for  the  people 
openly  to  acknowledge  that  'idols  and  idolatrous  worship  are  false  and 
delusive — that  the  religion  we  preach  to  them,  is  the  only  one  that  can 
make  them  happy  for  time  and  eternity.'  Under  these  impressions,  many 
with  deep  seriousness  frequently  inquire  more  fully  about  the  plan  of 
salvation  ;  our  hopes  are  raised  respecting  some  who  seem  almost  to  have 
made  up  their  minds  to  become  the  disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
and  we  do  trust  they  will  soon  declare,  '  this  people  shall  be  my  people 
and  their  God  my  God.'  1  was  not  unfrequently  delighted,  in  some  of 
my  tours  during  the  last  cold  season,  to  witness  the  fixed  and  affected 
looks  of  many  who  had  never  before  heard  the  word  of  life,  while  with 
eyes  glistening  with  tears  they  exclaimed  '  Aha !  this  is  truth— this  is 
the  religion  of  God,'  &c. 

"But  how  does  my  soul  melt  within  me,  when  I  reflect  upon  the  limited 
number  of  laborers  to  cultivate  this  extensive  field — that  efforts  are  at 
present  necessarily  so  contracted  to  pluck  these  perishing  myriads  as 
brands  from  the  eternal  burnings  !  Surely  something  more  will  shortly 
be  done  for  the  salvation  of  their  deathless  souls,  that  we  shall  not  long 
be  left  with  perhaps  not  one  Missionary  to  a  million  Oriyas !  But  we 
rejoice  in  the  increase  of  effort  being  made  at  home  to  send  out  others  to 
join  us.  A  letter  recently  received  from  our  Secretary  states,  that '  a  gentle- 
man in  Birmingham  has  offered  to  pay  a  third  part  of  the  outfit  and  pas- 
sage of  four  Missionaries,  if  sent  out  within  a  year.'  We  do  earnestly  hope 
the  offer  will  be  accepted  by  the  remaining  portion  of  the  expense  being 
raised.  It  has  occurred  to  me  that  some  persons  in  India  would  rejoice 
to  assist,  in  connexion  with  the  gentleman  who  has  already  so  liberally 
contributed  200  rupees,  in  bringing  out  some  of  the  young  men  who  have 
offered  themselves  as  candidates  for  Missionary  labor  in  Orissa.  Should 
any  feel  disposed  to  assist  in  a  matter  of  such  eternal  importance  to  the 


J  840.] 


Urdu  New  Testament. 


253 


inhabitants  of  tliis  benighted  province,  their  contributions  will  be  most 
thankfully  received  and  acknowledged  and  transmitted  to  the  Home 
Committee  by  any  of  the  Orissa  Missionaries.  It  appears  measures  are 
being  taken  for  the  abolition  of  that  iniquitous  impost  the  pilgrim  tax. 
Surely  Government  does  not  intend  again  mocking  our  expectations  on 
this  subject,  but  effect  an  everlasting  and  satisfactory  abolition,  and  wash 
its  hands  from  all  the  filth  of  idolatry  whether  in  countenance,  interfe- 
rence or  support*. 

"  Bcrhamporc  via  Ganjum,  MarvJi  17,  18t0." 


III. — On  the  Urdu  New  Testament,  translated  by  the  Mission- 
aries of  the  London  Society  at  Bandras. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 

Sirs, 

In  your  last  number  you  have  given  us  some  faithful,  intel- 
ligent, and  well-timed  remarks  on  the  omission  of  some  pas- 
sages of  the  New  Testament  in  the  translation  made  by  the 
Missionaries  of  the  London  Society  at  Banaras.  The  writer, 
however,  seems  not  to  have  been  aware,  that  scores  of  other 
passages  are  similarly  omitted,  and  not  a  few  altered  in  their 
readings.  I  believe  the  most  of  those  omitted  and  altered, 
have  the  authority  of  Griesbach,  an  authority  now  very  gene- 
rally disputed  by  the  most  eminent  orthodox  Biblical  critics, 
and  an  authority  which  your  correspondent  has  shewn  is  not 
to  be  depended  on.  Knowing,  as  I  do,  the  independent- 
mindedness  of  the  Banaras  translators,  I  have  been  astonished 
at  their  slavish-mindedness  in  reference  to  Griesbach. 

The  following  list  contains  some  of  the  omitted  and  altered 
passages,  but  by  no  means  all  of  them,  as  observed  by  me. 
As  there  are  other  translations  of  the  New  Testament  in  cir- 
culation among  the  natives,  containing  all  the  omitted  passages, 
it  is  for  every  one  to  conceive  what  must  he  the  effect  upon 
the  native  mind  of  this  sad  diversity.  How  long  is  such  a 
state  of  things  to  continue?  And  can  no  remedial  measure 
be  adopted  ?  When  I  look  at  the  various  translations,  I  am 
filled  with  wonder.  We  have  in  the  Banaras  translation  the 
Greek  words  presbyter,  deacon,  episcopus,  baptism,  &c.  left 
untranslated,  and  we  have  in  Mr.  Bowley's  bard  pddri  for 
high-priest,  and  ghusal  for  baptism  !  !  ! — translations  issued 
from  the  Bible  Society's  Depository,  a  Society  which  main- 
tains it  as  a  principle  to  issue  no  translation  which  does  not 

*  Our  correspondent's  letter  reached  us  before  the  intentions  of  the  Supreme 
Government  were  made  officially  known.— Ed. 

2  L  2 


254 


Urdu  New  Testament. 


[May, 


conform  to  the  English.  I  wish  some  of  your  able  writers  in 
the  Observer  would  take  up  the  subject,  and  endeavour  to 
bring  the  translators  to  something  like  unanimity ;  a  hard 
task,  you  will  perhaps  say. 

The  italic  words  in  the  following  list  exhibit  the  omitted 
and  altered  passages.  Those  who  peruse  it,  will  see  that  some 
not  very  unimportant  sentences  are  not  forthcoming.  As  the 
Banaras  Missionaries  are  now  engaged  in  a  translation  of  the 
Old  Testament,  it  will  behove  the  public  of  the  Bible  Society 
(who,  I  believe,  stand  engaged  by  the  Committee  to  support 
the  translators,*)  to  see  that  such  another  book  of  gaps  and 
alterations  is  not  palmed  upon  the  world  from  their  deposi- 
tory. 

Matthew  v.  47.    "  Do  not  even  the  tribes  the  same,"  instead  of  "  the 
publicans.'' 

vi.    I.    "  Take  heed  that  ye  do  not  your  religiousness  before 

men/'  instead  of  "  your  alms." 
ix.  13.    "  I  am  not  come  to  call  the  righteous,  but  sinners,  to 

repentance." 

xii.  35.    "  A  good  man  out  of  the  good  treasure  of  his  heart." 
xv.    8.    "  This  people  draweth  nigh  unto  me  with  their  mouth." 
xviii.  35.    "  If  ye  from  your  hearts  forgive  not  every  one  his 
brother  their  trespasses." 
xix.  17.    "  He  gave  answer,  Why  dost  thou  ask  me  concerning  right- 
eousness ?  One  indeed  is  righteous,"  instead  of  "  And 
he  said  unto  him,  Why  callest  thou  me  good? 
There  is  none  good  but  one,  that  is  God." 
xx.  22,  23.  "  Are  ye  able  to  drink  of  the  cup  that  I  shall  drink  of, 
and  to  be  baptized  with  the  baptism  that  I  am  baptized 
with  ?    They  say  unto  him,  we  are  able.    And  he 
saith  unto  them,  ye  shall  drink  indeed  of  my  cup, 
and  be  baptized  with  the  baptism  that  I  am  baptized 
with." 

xxv.  13.  "  Watch,  therefore,  for  ye  know  neither  the  day  nor 
the  hour  wherein  the  Son  of  man  cometh." 
xxvii.  35.  "And  they  crucified  him,  and  parted  his  garments, 
casting  lots:  that  it  might  be  fulfilled,  which  was 
spoken  by  the  prophet,  They  parted  my  garments 
among  them,  and  upon  my  vesture  they  cast  lots." 
Mark  i.  2.  "  As  it  is  written  in  Isaiah  the  prophet,"  instead  of  "in 
the  prophets." 

iii.  5.    "  His  hand  was  restored  whole  as  the  other." 

iv.  5.    "  And  the  fowls  of  the  air  came  and  devoured  it  up." 
iv.  25.    "  And  unto  you  that  hear,  shall  more  be  given." 

*  The  translation  referred  to  by  our  correspondent  is  not  in  the  hands 
of  the  translators  of  the  edition  on  which  he  has  felt  it  his  duty  to  animad- 
vert. The  Banaras  Auxiliary  Bible  Society  are  the  parties  to  whom  it 
is  entrusted,  and  every  precaution  has  and  will  be  taken  to  render  it  as 
perfect  and  faithful  a  translation  of  the  whole  Bible  as  possible.  The 
Calcutta  Bible  Society  have  not,  we  believe,  sanctioned  the  translation  of 
some  of  the  London  Missionary  Society's  Missionaries  at  Banaras. — Ed. 


1840.] 


Urdu  New  Testament. 


255 


vi.  11.  "  Verily  I  say  unto  you,  It  shall  be  more  tolerable  for 
Sodom  and  Gomorrah  in  the  day  of  judgment  than 
for  that  city." 

xi.  10.    "Blessed  be  the  kingdom  of  our  father  David  that 
cometh  in  the  name  of  the  Lord." 
xiii.  14.    "  But  when  ye  shall  see  the  abomination  of  desolation, 

spoken  of  by  Daniel  the  prophet." 
Luke  iv.  18.    "  He  hath  sent  me  to  heal  the  broken-hearted." 

ix.  56.    "  For  the  Son  of  man  is  not  come  to  destroy  men's  lives,  but 
to  save  them." 

xi.    2.    "  When  ye  pray,  say,  Our  Father,  who  art  in  heaven." 

Verse  4.  "  But  deliver  us  from  evil."  Verse  29. 
"But  the  sign  of  Jonas  the  prophet."  Verse  44. 
"  And  he  said,  Woe  unto  you,  scribes  and pharisees, 
hypocrites." 

xvii.  36.    "  Two  men  shall  be  in  the  field ;  the  one  shall  be  taken  and 
the  other  left." 

John  i.  27.    "  He  it  is,  who  coming  after  me,  is  preferred  before  me." 
vi.  22.    When  they  saw  "that  there  was  none  other  boat  there, 
save  that  one  whereinto  his  disciples  were  entered." 
Verse  69.    "  Thou  art  the  holy  one  of  God,"  instead 
of  "  Thou  art  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God." 

vii.  53.    "And  every  man  went  unto  his  own  house." 
viii.  ]  — 12.    The  whole  of  this  is  omitted. 

59.    "  Going  through  the  midst  of  them,  and  so  passed  by." 
ix.    8.    "  That  he  was  a  beggar,"  instead  of  "  that  he  was  blind." 
xi.  41.    "Then  they  took  away  the  stone  from  the  place  where  the 
dead  was  laid." 
Acts  i.  14.    "  In  prayer  and  supplication." 

ii.  30.    "  According  to  the  flesh  he  would  raise  up  Christ."  Verse 

31.    "  His  soul  was  not  left  in  hell." 
vi.    8.    "  And  Stephen,  full  of  grace,"  instead  of  "full  of  faith." 

viii.  37.    "  And  Philip  said,  If  thou  believest  with  all  thine  heart, 

thou  mayest.  And  he  answered  and  said,  I  believe 
that  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Son  of  God." 

ix.  5,  6.   "  It  is  hard  for  thee  to  kick  against  the  pricks.    And  he, 

trembling  and  astonished,  said,  Lord  what  wilt  thou 
have  me  to  do  ?    And  the  Lord  said  to  him." 

x.  6.    "He  shall  tell  thee  what  thou  oughtest  to  do."    Verse  21. 

"  Then  Peter  went  down  to  the  men  who  were  sent 

unto  him  from  Cornelius.'' 
xiii.  33.    "As  it  is  written  in  the  first  Psalm,"  instead  of  "the 

second  Psalm.''    Verse  42.    "  When  they  were  gone 

out,  all  the  people  besought  them,"  instead  of  "  And 

when  the  Jews  were  gone  out  of  the  synagogue, 

the  Gentiles  besought  them." 
xv.  18.    "  From  eternity  all  has  become  known  to  him,'"  instead  of 

"  known  unto  God  are  all  his  works  from  the 

beginning  of  the  world." 

xvii.  5.    "But  the  Jews  took  some  of  the  people  of  the  bazars,"  in- 

stead of  "  But  the  Jews  who  believed  not,  moved 
with  envy,  took  unto  them  certain  lewd  fellows  of 
the  baser  sort." 

xviii.  5.    "  Paul  was  employed  in  the  word,"  instead  of  "  was  pressed 

in  spirit." 

xx.    7.    "  When  we  came  together  to  break  bread"  instead  of 


256 


The  Theological  Library. 


[May, 


"  when  the  disciples  came  together."    Verse  26. 
"To  feed  the  Church  of  the  Lord  which  he  hath 
purchased  with  his  own  blood;,"  instead  of  "  the 
Church  of  God." 
xxi.    8.    "  We  that  were  of  Paul's  company  departed." 
xxiii.    9.    "  Let  us  not  fight  against  God." 
Rom.  i.  16.    "  For  I  am  not  ashamed  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ." 

vi.  11.    "Through  Jesus  Christ  our  Lord."    Verse  12.  "That 
ye  should  obey  it  in  the  lusts  thereof 
viii.    1.    "  TT7jo  walk  not  after  the  flesh,  hut  after  the  Spirit." 
xi.    6.    "But  if  it  be  of  works,  then  it  is  no  more  of  grace  ;  other- 
wise work  is  no  more  work." 
xiii.    9.    "  Thou  shalt  not  bear  false  ivitness." 

xv.  24.  "  Whensoever  1  t;ike  my  journey  into  Spain,  I  will  come 
to  you."  Verse  29.  "  I  shall  come  to  you  in  the 
fulness  of  the  blessing  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ." 

1  Cor.  vi.  20.    "  And  in  your  spirit,  which  are  God's." 

vii.    5.    "  That  ye  may  give  yourselves  to  fasting." 
x.  28.    "  For  the  earth  its  the  Lord's  and  the  fulness  thereof" 

xi.  24.    "  He  brake  it,  and  said,  Take,  cat." 

2  Cor.  ix.    4.    "  In  this  same  confident  boasting." 
Gal.  iii.    1.    "  That  ye  should  not  obey  the  truth." 
Eph.iii.    9.    "  Who  created  all  things  by  Jesus  Christ." 
Phil. iii.  16.    "  Let  us  mind  the  same  thing." 

Col.  ii.  2.  "  The  mystery  of  God,  and  of  the  Father,  and  of  Ch  rist." 
1  Tim.  i.  17.    "  The  only  wise  God." 

ii.    7.    "  I  say  the  truth  in  Christ." 
iii.    3.    "  JVot  greedy  of  filthy  lucre." 

v.    4.    "  For  this  is  good  and  acceptable." 
Heb.  ii.    7.    "  And  didst  set  him  over  the  works  of  thy  hands." 

xii.  20.    "  Or  thrust  him  through  with  a  dart." 

1  John  v.    7.    "  The  Father,  the  W  ord,  and  the  Holy  Ghost ;  and  these 
three  are  one.    And  there  are  three  that  bear  witness 
in  the  earth."    Verse  13.  "  Who  believe  on  the  name 
of  the  Son  of  God." 
Jude  25.    "  To  the  only  wise  God." 
Rev.   i.    9.    "  The  beginning  and  the  ending."  Verse  11.  "  I  am  Alpha 
and  Omega,  the  first  and  the  last,   ....  which 
are  in  Asia." 
v.  14.    "  Him  that  liveth  for  ever  and  ever." 


IV. — The  Theological  Library. 

We  are  anxious  under  this  title  to  present  our  readers  with 
a  catalogue  of  the  principal  writers,  who  have  in  different  ages 
of  the  Church  devoted  their  labours  to  the  defence  or  elucida- 
tion of  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  accompanied  with  such  ex- 
tracts from  their  works  as  may  tend  to  give  a  tolerable  idea  of 
their  mode  of  thinking  and  writing,  and  induce  our  readers  to 
extend  their  acquaintance  with  the  works  of  such  of  them  as 
are  really  excellent. 


1840.]  The  Theological  Library.  257 


While  it  is  true  that  of  making  many  books  there  is  no  end, 
it  is  equally  true  that  the  reading  of  too  many  hooks  is  end- 
less and  unprofitable.  Not  only  is  much  study  a  weariness  to 
the  flesh,  but  overmuch  reading  is  hurtful  also  to  the  mind. 
Whatever  is  merely  read,  without  being  made  the  subject  of 
serious  meditation,  is  not  profitable,  but  the  reverse.  Yet  we 
may  be  assured  that  God  would  not  have  preserved  to  his 
Church  so  vast  a  store  of  sacred  literature,  unless  He  had  de- 
signed it,  when  properly  used,  to  be  a  great  boon  :  and  so  we 
find  that  the  judicious  student,  who  is  directed  by  the  Spirit  of 
God  to  the  right  use  of  the  works  of  the  pious  of  former  times, 
does  not  fail  to  derive  from  them  much  mental  and  spiritual 
advantage.  We  therefore  hope  to  perform  a  useful  service  by 
presenting  our  readers  with  such  short  notices  of  the  principal 
writers,  and  such  short  extracts  from  their  best  works  as  may 
supply  some  hints  for  their  guidance  in  Theological  reading. 
We  are  not  without  hopes  also  that  if  kindly  assisted  and 
supported  in  the  undertaking  by  our  friends,  our  notes  may 
serve  as  the  basis  of  what  we  believe  does  not  exist  in  any 
language,  and  what  has  been  often  declared  to  be  a  desidera- 
tum,— -"  A  history  of  Theological  Literature." 

For  the  task  which  we  thus  undertake  we  are  free  to  con- 
fess ourselves  very  inadeqaate,  but  we  trust  to  receive  such 
assistance  from  numerous  friends  as  shall  make  that  work 
comparatively  easy,  which  would  be  quite  impracticable  for 
any  one  individual,  how  well  qualified  soever. 

Various  modes  of  arrangement  suggest  themselves  to  us  as 
severally  possessing  various  advantages  and  disadvantages. 
We  might  divide  the  authors  according  to  the  times  in  which 
they  lived,  the  countries  in  which  their  works  were  published, 
or  the  subjects  on  which  they  chiefly  wrote.  It  is  unnecessary 
to  enter  upon  the  advantages  and  disadvantages  of  these  seve- 
ral methods.  We  shall  endeavour  to  combine  the  advantages 
of  them  all,  by  taking  the  chronological  order  as  our  basis, 
deviating  however  occasionally  from  its  strictness  in  favour  of 
the  geographical  mode,  and  inserting  sometimes  a  supplemen- 
tary paper  as  to  the  different  modes  of  treating  theological 
questions  at  different  eras.  Thus  for  example  we  may  mention 
a  dozen  English  writers  side  by  side,  although  there  may  have 
flourished  many  Dutch  and  French  writers  at  the  same  time  ; 
and  again  we  may  mention  such  writers  as  Clarke  and  Aberne- 
thy  alongside  of  such  as  Paley  in  order  to  contrast  their  modes 
of  treating  the  questions  which  form  the  subjects  of  their 
principal  writings.  Still  we  shall  never  deviate  very  far  from 
chronologial  order,  one  of  whose  chief  recommendations  is  that 
it  will  be  the  easiest  for  ourselves.    We  begin  then  with  the 


258 


The  Theological  Library. 


[May, 


first  ages  of  the  New  Testament  church,  and  proceed  without 
further  preamble  to  introduce  our  readers  to  the  earliest  unin- 
spired Christian  writers. 

A.  THE  FATHERS. 
This  term  is  by  different  writers  taken  in  different  significa- 
tions in  regard  to  its  extent :  while  some  confine  the  title  to 
writers  of  the  first  four  centuries,  others  extend  it  so  as  to 
make  it  include  all  Christian  writers  down  to  the  twelfth  or 
thirteenth  century.  We  shall,  for  a  reason  that  shall  hereafter 
appear,  adopt  a  limited  application  of  the  term,  and  shall  not 
apply  it  to  any  writer  who  flourished  after  the  fifth  century. 
Of  the  first  centuries  we  have  not  very  many  Christian  re- 
mains ;  yet  not  fewer  than  we  should  expect,  when  we  consi- 
der the  comparatively  small  number  of  literary  men  that  had 
then  embraced  the  Christian  faith,  and  the  numbers  of  then- 
works  that  must  have  been  lost  before  reaching  our  times. 
We  ought  also  to  bear  in  mind  that  the  circumstances  of  the 
church  in  these  early  ages  were  by  no  means  favourable  to  the 
cultivation  or  exercise  of  literary  talents.  "  To  believe,  to 
suffer,  and  to  love,  (says  the  pious  Milner),  not  to  write,  was 
the  primitive  taste."  But  shall  we  regret  this  even  in  a  lite- 
rary point  of  view  ?  How  much  more  valuable  may  we  expect 
those  writings  to  be  which  took  their  birth  in  a  believing,  suf- 
fering, loving  age,  than  those  that  originate  in  one  like  the 
present,  when  book-making  has  become  a  profession  ?  Then 
men  wrote  from  the  abundance  of  full  hearts  ;  now,  it  is  to  be 
feared,  many  write  only  because  others  do,  and  because  it  is 
expected  by  the  church  and  the  world,  that  men  who  have 
attained  any  eminence  or  distinction  should  give  to  the  world 
in  the  form  of  a  book  their  opinions  regarding  some  subject 
or  other. 

From  this  it  will  be  seen,  that  we  do  not  in  any  degree  sym- 
pathize with  the  prejudice  that  many  Christians  entertain 
against  the  writings  of  the  Fathers.  Neither  however  do  we 
attribute  to  them  any  portion  of  that  authority  which  some 
have  claimed  for  them.  We  look  upon  them  as  men  who  wrote 
without  inspiration  in  an  age  which  was  favorable  to  the 
development  of  piety,  but  which  wanted  the  benefit  of  that 
enlightenment  which  diffused  Christianity  has  produced  in 
later  times,  and  that  experience  which  is  always  increasing  as 
the  world  grows  older. 

All  our  specimens  we  shall  present  to  our  readers  in  an 
English  dress  ;  when  the  works  were  not  originally  written  in 
English,  we  shall  adopt  the  approved  translations  of  others 
when  we  can  procure  them,  translating  for  ourselves  only 
when  we  cannot  avail  ourselves  of  the  labors  of  others. 


1840.]  The  Theological  Library. 


259 


O.    WRITERS  OF  THE  FIRST  CENTURY,   COMMONLY  CALLED 
APOSTOLIC  FATHERS. 

a. — Clemens  Romanus. 
This  is  he  regarding  whom  we  have  the  testimony  of  an  in- 
spired apostle  that  his  name  is  in  the  book  of  life.  Respecting 
his  history  there  is  not  much  certainly  known.  He  is  said  to 
have  sprung  from  the  royal  race  of  the  Caesars,  to  have  been 
educated  at  Rome  with  great  care,  to  have  begun  early  in  life 
to  make  anxious  inquiries  regarding  the  immortality  of  the 
soul  and  a  future  state,  and  to  have  consulted  on  these  sub- 
jects, without  receiving  any  satisfaction,  the  schools  of  philo- 
sophers and  the  Egyptian  Hierophants.  While  in  this  state 
of  suspense,  he  is  said  to  have  heard  of  the  Son  of  God's 
appearing  in  the  world,  and  to  have  sought  and  received  in- 
structions from  Barnabas  and  Peter.  All  ancient  writers  agree 
that  Clement  was  at  one  time  Bishop  of  Rome,  but  they  differ 
widely  as  to  the  time  of  his  appointment  and  the  order  of  his 
succession. 

The  only  extant  work  that  is  undoubtedly  his,  is  an  epistle 
to  the  Corinthians.  The  fragment  of  another  epistle  addressed 
to  the  same  church  is  by  some  believed  also  to  be  his,  and 
may  be  considered  as  doubtful.  The  other  works  that  have 
been  ascribed  to  him,  are  certainly  supposititious.  Such  are  the 
"  Epistle  to  James  the  Lord's  brother" — "  Recognitions" — 
"  Clenientia" — "  Apostolic  Constitutions,"  and  u  Apostolic 
Canons." 

The  Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  which  (as  we  have  said)  is  the 
only  extant  production  of  Clement,  whose  genuineness  is  un- 
doubted, seems  to  have  been  written  about  A.  D.  95  or  96,  on 
occasion  of  some  unhappy  dissensions  which  had  arisen  in  the 
Church  of  Corinth.  It  had  long  been  supposed  to  be  utterly 
lost,  but  was  at  last  found  written  at  the  end  of  a  MS.  of  the 
Septuagint  Version  of  the  Old  Testament,  in  the  possession  of 
Charles  I.  of  England.  This  is  the  only  MS.  of  the  epistle 
known  to  be  in  existence.  There  is  one  deficiency  near  the 
end  which  will  probably  never  be  supplied. 

We  extract  as  a  specimen  of  the  epistle  the  following  pas- 
sage from  the  translation  published  by  Mr.  Chevallier.  It 
forms  the  20th,  21st,  and  22nd  chapters,  and  is  a  passage  of 
much  beauty  and  sublimity. 

XX.  The  heavens,  peaceably  revolving  by  his  appointment,  are  sub- 
ject unto  him.  Day  and  night  perform  the  course  appointed  by  him,  in 
no  wise  interrupting  one  another.  By  his  ordinance,  the  sun  and  moon, 
and  all  the  companies  of  stars,  roll  on,  in  harmony,  without  any  devia- 
tion, within  the  hounds  allotted  to  them.  In  obedience  to  his  will,  the 
pregnant  earth  yields  her  fruits  plentifully  in  due  season  to  man  and 

VOL.  I.  2  M 


260  The  Theological  Library. 


[May, 


beasts  and  to  all  creatures  that  are  therein  ;  not  hesitating,  nor  changing 
any  thing,  which  was  decreed  by  him.  The  unsearchable  secrets  of  the 
abyss,  and  the  untold  judgments  of  the  lower  world,  are  restrained  by 
the  same  commands.  The  hollow  depth  of  the  vast  sea,  gathered  toge- 
ther into  its  several  collections  by  his  word,  passes  not  its  allotted 
bounds  ;  but  as  he  commanded,  so  doth  it.  For  he  said,  "  Hitherto  glial t 
thou  come,  and  thy  waves  shall  be  broken  within  thee*."  The  ocean, 
impassable  to  mankind,  and  the  worlds  which  are  beyond  it,  are  governed 
by  the  same  commands  of  their  master.  Spring  and  summer,  and  autumn 
and  winter,  give  place  peaceably  to  one  another.  The  winds,  in  their 
stations,  perform  their  service  without  interruption,  each  in  his  appoint- 
ed season.  The  overflowing  fountains,  ministering  both  to  pleasure  and 
to  health,  without  ceasing  put  forth  their  breasts  to  support  the  life  cf 
man.  Nay,  the  smallest  of  living  creatures  maintain  their  intercourse 
in  concord  and  peace.  All  these  hath  the  great  Creator  and  Lord  of  all 
things  ordained  to  be  in  peace  and  concord  ;  for  he  is  good  to  all ;  but 
above  measure  to  us,  who  flee  to  his  mercy,  through  our  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,  to  whom  be  glory  and  majesty,  for  ever  and  ever.  Amen. 

XXI.  Take  heed,  beloved,  that  his  many  blessings  be  not  turned  into 
condemnation  to  us  all.  (For  thus  it  will  surely  be,)  unless  we  walk 
worthy  of  him,  and  with  one  consent  do  that  which  is  good  and  well- 
pleasing  in  his  sight.  For  he  saith  in  a  certain  place,  "  The  Spirit  of 
the  Lord  is  a  candle,  searching  out  the  inward  parts  of  the  bellyf."  Let 
us  consider  how  near  he  is,  and  that  none  of  our  thoughts  or  reasonings, 
which  we  frame  within  ourselves  are  hid  from  him.  It  is  therefore  just 
that  we  should  not  desert  our  ranks  (by  declining)  from  his  will.  Let  us 
choose  to  offend  men,  who  are  foolish  and  inconsiderate,  lifted  up,  and 
glorying  in  the  pride  of  their  reasoning,  rather  than  God.  Let  us  rever- 
ence our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  whose  blood  was  given  for  us.  Let  us  honour 
those  who  are  set  over  us;  let  us  respect  our  elders,  let  us  instruct  our 
young  men  in  the  discipline  and  fear  of  the  Lord.  Our  wives  let  us  direct 
to  that  which  is  good.  Let  them  shew  forth  the  lovely  habit  of  purity 
(in  all  their  conversation)  with  a  sincere  affection  of  meekness.  Let 
them  make  manifest  the  government  of  their  tongues  by  their  silence. 
Let  their  charity  be  without  partiality^,  exercised  equally  to  all  who  reli- 
giously fear  God.  Let  our  children  partake  of  the  instruction  of  Christ ; 
let  them  learn  of  how  great  avail  humility  is  before  God,  what  power  a 
pure  charity  hath  with  him,  how  excellent  and  great  his  fear  is,  saving 
such  as  live  in  it  with  holiness  and  a  pure  conscience.  For  he  is  a  search- 
er of  the  thoughts  and  counsels  (of  the  heart) :  whose  breath  is  in  us, 
and  when  he  pleases,  he  takes  it  away. 

XXII.  All  these  things  the  faith,  which  is  in  Christ,  confirms.  For  he 
himself  by  the  Holy  Ghost  thus  speaks  to  us§.  "  Come,  ye  children, 
hearken  unto  me;  1  will  teach  you  the  fear  of  the  Lord.  H'hat  man  is 
he  that  desireth  life  and  loveth  to  see  good  days?  Keep  thy  tongue  from 
evil,  and  thy  lips  from  speaking  guile.  Depart  from  evil,  and  do  good  ; 
seek  peace,  and  ensue  it.  The  eyes  of  the  Lord  are  upon  the  righteous  ; 
and  his  ears  are  open  unto  their  prayer.  But  the  face  of  the  Lord  is 
against  them  that  do  evil,  to  cut  off  the  remembrance  of  them  from  the 
earth.  The  righteous  cried,  and  the  Lord  heard  him  ;  and  delivered  him 
out  of  all  his  troubles.  .Many  are  the  plagues  of  the  wicked:  but  they 
that  trust  in  the  Lord,  mercy  shall  compass  them  about||." 


Job  xxxviii.  11.    f  See  Prov.  xx.  27.    t  1  Tim.  v.  21.    §  Ps.  xxxiv.   11  —  17. 
11  Ps.  xxxiii.  lu. 


1840.] 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


261 


V. — The  Hill  Tribes — New  and  important  field  for  Missions. 

We  have  been  favoured  with  the  perusal  of  a  most  interest- 
ing Missionary  Journal,  containing  an  account  of  a  tour  to  the 
north-east.  We  have  gathered  much  interesting  information 
from  it  respecting  those  regions,  which  will,  we  hope,  be  of 
service  to  us,  and  interesting  to  our  readers  in  future  numbers. 
We  have  this  month  culled  a  few  observations  in  reference  to 
the  Garrows,  one  of  the  Hill  tribes,  evidently  a  bold  and  enter- 
prising people.  They  occupy  the  western  extremity  of  the 
range  of  hills  of  which  the  Khasias  are  the  east ;  and  in  some 
measure  they  resemble  that  singularly  interesting  tribe.  A 
lengthened  and  interesting  account  of  the  Khasias  appeared  in 
the  Observer  for  March  1838.  The  account  of  the  Santals, 
by  a  resident  among  them,  fully  confirms  all  the  statements 
of  our  correspondent  in  the  Observer  for  June  1839.  The  ac- 
count of  the  Coles  from  the  Advocate  shows  us  that  the  field 
of  Missions  is  opening  on  every  hand  with  brightening  pros- 
pects of  success.  We  have  before  us  for  the  present,  as  sub- 
jects for  prayer,  faith  and  labor,  the  Hill  tribes  of  the  Khasias, 
Garrows,  Coles  and  Santals.  We  shall  continue  this  subject 
as  opportunity  offers. 

The  Santals. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Dear  Sirs, 

The  accompanying  are  a  few  recollections  of  the  Santals  of  the  West- 
ern Hills.  A  residence  among  them  of  two  years  in  different  parts  of  the 
country  enables  me  to  relate  thus  of  them  from  personal  knowledge  ;  from 
the  hands  of  a  ready  writer  I  am  sure  it  would  interest  many  of  your 
readers. 

Yours  sincerely, 

A  Late  Mofussimte. 

A  residence  among  the  Oriyas  and  Santals,  for  a  period  of 
upwards  of  two  years,  ought  to  be  cause  of  interest  in  ob- 
serving the  manners  and  customs  of  a  people  so  little  known 
as  the  latter  class  are. 

The  Santals  are  an  athletic  and  good-humoured  race  ;  in 
the  presence  of  a  stranger  they  are  very  much  disposed  to 
boast  and  try  the  power  of  limb  with  each  other,  but  in  the 
best  humour :  indeed,  the  violent  rage  and  bazar  language,  so 
common  among  their  neighbours,  is  rarely  witnessed  among 
them. 

Fondly  attached  to  hunting,  in  the  cold  and  hot  seasons 
they  quit  their  villages  for  two  weeks  at  a  time,  leaving  the  old 
men  and  women  in  charge.     The  bow  and  tomakh  (tauqi)  of 
2  m  2 


262 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


[May, 


various  shapes  are  their  usual  arms  ;  the  matchlock  is  an  arti- 
cle of  some  value  and  therefore  rare.  In  numerous  bodies 
they  scour  the  jungles,  beating  drums,  shooting  and  killing  all 
kinds  of  birds  and  animals,  even  tigers,  bears,  and  hogs,  which 
they  freely  eat;  the  best  portions  are  despatched  to  their  homes, 
where  they  are  beaten  into  a  small  bulk,  then  dried  in  the  sun 
till  the  flesh  is  of  the  consistency  of  wood  ;  it  is  afterwards 
hung  up  to  the  inside  rafters,  and  eaten  along  with  such 
jungle  herbs  as  Oriyas  are  careful  not  to  partake  of,  during 
the  rainy  season,  when  rice  is  not  to  be  procured  among 
them  for  nearly  five  months.  They  are  passionately  fond  of 
venison  :  at  night  they  bivouac  under  the  shade  of  a  large  tree, 
staking  a  space  all  round  ;  the  song  goes  round  in  which  a  dozen 
or  more  join,  it  is  low  noted  and  with  much  musical  sweetness. 
A  kind  of  spirituous  liquor  is  freely  indulged  in,  but  although 
too  often  in  a  state  of  intoxication,  they  rarely  commit  any 
excess.  Brandy  is  a  name  familiar  among  them,  they  say  it  is 
the  drink  of  Englishmen,  that  it  makes  them  strong  and  pre- 
vents fevers.  In  the  morning  the  drum  is  again  beaten,  the 
warwhoop  sung  to  excite  to  the  chase,  and  they  sally  forth  with 
their  pack  of  dogs,  each  in  a  leash,  to  follow  the  wounded 
boar,  who  when  brought  to  bay,  is  quickly  despatched  by  a 
shower  of  arrows.  A  European  who  is  a  good  sportsman,  is 
held  in  considerable  estimation,  and  they  very  gladly  accom- 
pany any  person  on  an  excursion  which  promises  this  sport 
even  without  pay ;  yet  if  remuneration  is  offered,  it  is  thank- 
fully accepted.  The  skins  of  the  animals  are  brought  to  their 
homes  and  hung  up  as  trophies  of  their  success.  Passing 
through  miles  of  jungle,  a  tuft  of  dried  grass  will  very  fre- 
quently be  seen  hanging  from  the  branches  close  to  the  road 
side  ;  this  they  reckon  an  omen  of  safety  ;  it  lessens  their  dread 
of  the  prowling  tiger.  After  returning  to  their  villages,  for  some 
time  they  pass  a  sleepy  inactive  life :  each  house  is  staked  all 
round  with  wattle ;  over  this  fence  they  assert  the  tiger  never 
will  leap.  The  sardars  or  principal  men  (who  are  collectors 
of  rent)  generally  have  several  apartments  with  a  square  in- 
side :  if  they  fortunately  possess  a  large  sum  of  money,  it  is  con- 
cealedunder  ground.  One  apartment  is  allotted  to  the  buffaloes. 
The  roofs  of  the  houses  are  thatched  with  straw.  The  women 
and  girls  sit  spinning  and  pounding  grain  the  greater  part  of 
the  day  at  the  door  or  under  the  shade  of  a  neighbouring  tree, 
while  the  men  are  either  lounging  on  chai  pais,  or  chatting. 
The  women  are  not  fearful  ;  the  eastern  custom  of  concealing 
the  face  is  not  much  practised.  They  do  not  hesitate  quickly 
to  give  a  reply  to  any  inquiry  a  stranger  may  make ;  strange 
to  say,  the  men  are  more  timid  at  the  appearance  of  strangers. 


1840.] 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


263 


The  wives  are  said  to  be  faithful  to  their  husbands  and  are 
never  beaten  ;  a  wealthy  sardar  often  has  two  or  three.  An 
insult  offered  to  a  female  is  sometimes  revenged  by  the  death 
of  the  offender.  Such  a  sad  occurrence  happened  to  the  son- 
in-law  of  a  Zemindar  who  lived  near  me  ;  he  was  dragged  from 
his  house  during  a  dark  night,  put  to  death  by  arrows,  and  his 
poor  wife  indignantly  treated.  So  fatal  a  retaliation  alone 
seemed  to  appease  their  ire  and  blot  out  the  disgrace.  They  are 
fond  of  going  to  a  market,  and  when  treated  to  jalpan  and  sweet- 
meats, they  are  all  glee  and  seem  happy  ;  they  do  not  hesitate 
to  eat  these  from  the  hand  of  the  "  white  stranger/'  The 
articles  of  sale  they  bring,  are  chairs,  stools,  hatchets,  jungle 
iron,  and  very  durable  ropegrass  used  in  building  huts  :  also 
spinning-wheels  rudely  made.  Men  and  women  adjust  their 
hair  very  tastefully  in  a  knot  close  to  the  left  ear,  decorated 
with  a  garland  of  white  flowers,  sometimes  with  three  twigs, 
a  foot  in  length,  with  flowers  made  fast  at  the  tip,  waving  grace- 
fully in  front ;  it  is  a  piece  of  gallantry  to  be  allowed  to  place 
a  flower  upon  the  head  of  a  girl.  They  are  frank  and  commu- 
nicative with  each  other,  and  coyness  is  in  small  degree  among 
them.  During  the  occasion  of  some  Hindu  festivals  the 
young  men  and  girls  dance,  with  hands  united,  to  the  sound  of 
a  shrill  fife  and  drums,  the  dancers  singing  at  the  same  time ; 
they  have  then  (with  a  mountain  air  of  freedom  about  them) 
an  interesting  appearance,  all  which  invariably  gains  the  good 
will  of  Europeans :  this  is  done  in  front  of  the  temple,  into 
which  they  are  not  permitted  to  enter,  the  tamasha  alone  seems 
to  have  attraction  for  them. 

An  image  or  object  of  worship  is  never  seen  about  their 
domiciles,  a  brahman  is  not  an  object  of  veneration,  and  they 
prefer  living  apart  from  an  Oriya  village.  The  zemindars 
do  not  depend  upon  their  settling  permanently  on  their  rented 
lands,  as  they  are  so  fond  of  moving  about ;  they  are  always 
forced  to  uphold  and  assist  the  zemindar  in  his  frequent  quar- 
rels with  his  neighbours  :  many  retain  lands  rent-free  for  such 
services,  a  practice  which  existed  in  Scotland  in  the  feudal  ages. 
When  oppressed,  they  remove  to  a  neighbouring  taluk,  when 
a  dark  night  favors  their  escape.  When  one  or  two  persons 
die  suddenly  in  a  house,  they  quit  it  as  if  it  were  a  plague,  leav- 
ing behind  their  little  furniture  ;  it  is  imagined  that  death  has 
been  the  work  of  some  malignant  spirit,  and  that  by  quitting 
that  place  its  fatal  influence  cannot  for  a  time  reach  them. 
The  dead  are  carried  into  the  jungles  and  laid  upon  the  ground, 
when  the  foul  jackal  soon  leaves  it  a  skeleton,  although  in  the 
midst  of  a  forest,  where  fallen  timbers  could  in  a  very  short 
time  be  piled. 


264 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


[May, 


A  jest  and  a  smile  are  general  among  them,  and  they  are  not 
backward  to  appeal  to  a  resident  European  in  a  matter  of 
injustice.  At  night  their  villages  resound  with  the  song  of 
mirth  and  the  dance,  while  both  sexes  partake  rather  freely  of  a 
spirituous  liquor.  In  the  Dulboom  and  Sumbulpore  hill  coun- 
tries it  is  said,  that  Jugghaism  is  not  known  among  them, 
dacoity  seldom.  Swine  run  in  numbers  about  the  villages. 
On  the  occasion  of  a  feast  a  sow  is  killed,  put  into  the  midst 
of  a  large  heap  of  burning  straw,  and  at  night  the  carcase  is 
eaten.  The  Oriyas  speak  well  of  the  Santals  ;  in  business  and 
other  matters  they  are  invariably  found  to  speak  the  truth. 
Bengali  Gomastahs  engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  Indigo  are 
known  to  assert  that  these  tribes  are  not  given  to  falsehood, 
and  that  their  word  can  be  depended  upon  :  their  Oriya  neigh- 
bours likewise  speak  well  of  their  veracity.  If  supported,  they 
do  not  hesitate  to  bring  in  the  serious  charge  of  extortion  and 
oppression  against  the  stationed  Darogahs,  whose  interest  it  is 
to  give  these  simple  people  a  bad  character.  The  evidence  of 
the  Santals  is  received  in  the  Mufassal  courts  with  considera- 
ble confidence  by  the  Bench.  Their  language  is  not  under- 
stood by  the  Oriyas,  the  sound  is  nasal  and  somewhat  similar 
to  the  Gipsy  tongue,  they  also  converse  in  Bengali.  Their 
language  knows  no  written  character  :  for  each  day's  work  a  tie 
is  put  upon  a  string,  which  is  attached  to  their  bodies,  or  on  a 
notch  upon  a  piece  of  wood.  Among  the  wealthy  their  culti- 
vations are  extensive,  and  they  labour  very  hard  when  the  rains 
set  in.  Buffaloes  are  preferred  to  oxen.  They  delight  in  having 
a  well  made  plough.  The  garry  wheels  are  composed  of  a 
solid  piece  of  wood  ;  these  they  are  never  disposed  to  sell  even 
at  a  price  considerably  higher  than  their  value.  Their  villages 
are  to  be  found  in  the  jungle  clearances,  or  on  the  skirts  of  a 
wood  to  which  their  families  fly,  if  they  apprehend  danger  to 
their  persons  or  their  crops*.  They  do  not  seem  to  have  any 
religious  rites  ;  the  swearing  upon  the  skin  of  a  tiger  is  deemed 
an  act  of  solemnity.  They  are  quiet  and  well  disposed  people, 
very  averse  to  have  any  quarrel  with  their  neighbours  ;  they  de- 
light very  much  in  wandering  from  day  to  day  in  the  jungles  with  a 
small  hatchet,  humming  a  wild  sweet  air,  and  pulling  fruit  from 
the  trees.  Great  quantities  of  black  ebony,  rough  wrought  into 
rulers  and  native  clubs,  are  procured  by  the  Midnapore  mer- 
chants and  transferred  to  the  Calcutta  market.  The  high  parts 
of  the  mountains  are  free  of  jungle,  and  the  population  is  said 
to  be  very  scant.     Being  only  about  three  days'  dak  from 

*  Along  the  foot  of  the  Kunjur  mountains  on  the  E.  side  their  village* 
very  much  abound.  Some  seemed  to  contain  a  great  deal  of  grain  :  the 
country  is  undulating  and  highly  interesting. 


1840.] 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


265 


the  metropolis,  the  locality  is  thought  to  be  well  adapted  for  a 
sanatarium  :  it  is  exposed  to  a  strong  sea  breeze  in  the  evening, 
and  the  proposed  Bombay  post  road  will  run  not  far  from  the 
S.  range.  They  rise  in  the  Orissa  country  near  Tiakatta,  the 
residence  of  the  Marbanja  raja,  an  independent  prince,  stretch- 
ing far  westward  to  the  source  of  the  large  Soohenricca  river, 
and  then  extending  to  the  N.  in  an  easterly  direction.  Upon 
the  summit  of  the  highest  a  large  stone  temple  lifts  it  grey  head, 
bidding  defiance  to  the  tornadoes  of  centuries,  possibly  at  no 
late  period  the  dark  scene  of  human  sacrifice.  During  the  rains 
the  torrents  can  be  seen  with  the  naked  eye,  pouring  down 
their  foaming  waters  to  the  rich  open  plains  below.  In  the 
foreground  of  this  beautiful  amphitheatre  two  hills  of  less  size 
rise  covered  with  wood.  Very  thin  ice  is  said  to  be  seen  upon 
the  pools  in  the  cold  season.  Large  bodies  of  able  men  are 
employed  atlndigo Factories,  where  they  are  comfortable  ;  they 
are  reckoned  steady  and  willing  workmen ;  their  little  savings 
are  carefully  stored  up.  One  or  two  deputed  by  the  body  de- 
part to  their  homes  to  see  how  the  several  families  fare.  Some 
have  gone  to  the  Mauritius,  deceived  by  the  flattering  tale  of 
some  wily  Daffadar  to  earn  lis.  7  or  8  per  month  ; — no  intelli- 
gence of  their  welfare  to  gladden  the  hearts  of  a  sorrowing 
family — no  promised  remittance  comes,  and  the  miserable  mo- 
thers and  children  live  upon  the  little  pittance  to  be  spared 
from  the  hand  of  a  poor  neighbour. 

Their  history  is  said  to  be  obscure  and  from  themselves  no 
intelligence  or  tradition  can  be  obtained  ;  they  say  that  for 
aees  back  they  have  been  resident  in  the  country. 

w.  s. 

Calcutta,  April,  1840. 

The  Coles. 

The  propriety  of  establishing  a  Christian  Mission  amongst  the  Coles 
iias  been  advocated  in  the  pages  of  one  of  our  contemporaries  ;  the  desir- 
ableness of  such  a  step  and  its  importance  will  not  be  disputed,  the  sur- 
prise is  that  it  has  not  long  since  been  effected  :  attempted  it  has  been, 
but  without  success,  death  having  laid  his  hand  upon  the  devoted  Mis- 
sionary jilmost  at  the  commencement  ofhis  labours,  t  he  Country  and  its 
inhabitants  appear  equally  adapted  for  hopeful  Mission  labor.  The  Cole 
country  is  an  extensive  table-land  :  its  elevation  above  the  level  of  the 
sea  from  2000  to  2200  feet.  It  contains  about  3000  square  miles.  The 
ground  is  slightly  undulating;  rocks  and  hills  covered  with  low  jungle, 
rising  to  an  elevation  of  from  300  to  400  feet,  are  scattered  over  the 
whole  surface  of  the  country :  these  contribute  much  to  diversify  and 
improve  the  scenery.  Except  on  these  hills,  there  is  scarcely  any  jungle 
to  be  seen,  though,  strange  as  it  may  appear,  this  table-land  is  encircled 
by  a  belt  of  high  and  thick  jungle,  which  may  be  seen  on  ascending  the 
6mall  hills  in  every  direction  at  a  distance  of  80  or  90  miles.  The  cli- 
mate, according  to  the  testimony  of  those  who  have  resided  there,  is  one 


266 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


[May, 


of  the  most  delightful  in  all  India,  the  elevation  of  the  laud  rendering 
the  nights  cool  and  refreshing,  and  this  all  the  year  round.  New  arri- 
vals are  however  suhject  to  fevers  and  agues.  The  whole  land  is  in  a 
state  of  high  cultivation,  which  strikes  the  traveller  the  more  on  his  fir9t 
arrival,  after  having  passed  through  the  immense  and  dreary  forests  by 
which  it  is  approached.  Itice,  oil,  cotton  and  wheat  are  the  chief  products 
of  the  soil ;  nearly  all  kinds  of  European  vegetables  and  fruits  might  be 
raised.  Teak,  toon  and  mango  trees  are  very  plentiful  ;  they  grow  to 
an  amazing  height  in  this  region  of  plenty.  They  are  almost  always 
planted  in  rows,  forming  fine  groves,  which  contrast  very  beautifully 
with  the  cultivation  around. 

The  population  consists  chiefly  of  Coles.  They  live  in  small  hamlets,  of 
from  20  to  30  families  in  each.  There  are  a  few  Hindus  and  Musalmans 
amongst  them.  The  Coles  have  a  language  of  their  own,  perfectly  dis- 
tinct from  the  Bengali  or  Hindustani  The  following  are  a  few  speci- 
mens of  the  language: — Horo,  a  man.  Airu,  a  woman.  Hon,  a  child. 
Sadom,  a  horse.  Oonie,  a  cow.  Hapa,  a  stick.  Persons  conversant  with 
Hindustani  can  make  themselves  understood  amongst  them.  They  have 
no  books,  no  letters,  no  priests,  no  caste,  and  on  these  accounts  are 
more  accessible  to  Christian  instruction  than  the  generality  of  the  Na- 
tives of  India.  Their  religious  ideas  are  very  few  and  crude  ; — the  only 
religious  ceremonies  in  which  they  indulge,  area  kind  of  sacrifices  offered 
in  order  to  propitiate  evil  spirits.  Like  all  hill  people  they  believe  in 
witchcraft  and  ghosts.  They  are  a  comparatively  intelligent  race  of 
people ;  their  aptness  to  learn  is  evident  from  the  progress  which  has 
been  made  by  the  pupils  of  the  English  School  established  amongst  them 
by  the  worthy  resident,  Major  Wilkinson,  at  Dorando.  The  readiness  with 
which  they  can  reply  to  questions  put  to  them  in  English  on  Grammar, 
Geography,  History,  &c.  shows  that,  with  good  instructors,  they  might 
easily  be  brought  under  the  influence  of  education  and  religious  impres- 
sions. The  propriety  of  establishing  a  Mission  amongst  a  people  so  primitive 
in  their  habits,  and  so  separate  from  the  surrounding  idolatries,  must  at 
once  commend  itself  to  the  Christian  Church.  The  establishment  of 
Christian  Schools,  conversing  with  the  people,  and  preaching  to  them  in 
the  simplest  form,  are  at  present  evidently  the  best  means  for  effecting 
the  benevolent  intentions  of  the  Church.  The  formation  of  grammars, 
dictionaries,  the  preparation  of  school-books,  the  translation  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  giving  to  the  people  settled  habits  of  life,  will  all  be  the 
work  of  time ;  but  we  trust  an  attempt  will  at  once  be  made  by  some 
section  of  the  Church  to  give  the  light  and  blessedness  of  the  Christian 
faith  to  the  Coles. — Cal.  Christ.  Advocate. 

The  Garrows. 

The  Garrows  are  quite  a  distinct  race  from  the  Bengalis  ;  they 
have  a  wild  and  fierce  appearance  ;  their  country  is  hilly,  the 
hills  and  jungle  extending  to  the  very  water's  edge.  The  hills 
are  not  above  250  or  300  feet  above  the  level  of  the  plain.  Each 
Garrow  family  lives  separately  in  the  midst  of  the  desert  jun- 
gle ;  their  huts  are  generally  situated  in  a  little  valley  close  by 
a  rivulet  which  is  fed  from  the  neighbouring  hills.  Each 
family  has  two  huts,  one  for  the  use  of  the  family,  the  other 
for  the  cattle  and  provisions.  The  huts  are  built  of  bamboos, 
thatched  with  dried  grass;  they  look  very  neat.    The  hut 


1840.] 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


267 


intended  for  the  family,  is  raised  on  a  stage  of  bamboos  about 
eight  feet  from  the  ground.  The  room  above  is  not  more  than 
3  feet  high.  In  the  immediate  vicinity  of  the  houses  the  jun- 
gle is  cleared  away.  Cotton  trees,  pepper  plants  and  pump- 
kins grow  in  great  profusion.  Objects  and  places  of  worship 
may  be  seen  near  the  dwelling-houses.  The  places  of  wor- 
ship are  constructed  of  reeds,  hung  over  by  way  of  ornament 
with  cotton  bushes ;  they  have  the  appearance  of  trees  rather 
than  temples.  The  friend  from  whose  journal  we  have 
obtained  our  information,  says,  "  On  an  altar  constructed 
In  the  shape  of  a  house  about  a  foot  square,  I  saw  the 
remains  of  a  fowl  which  had  been  sacrificed  not  long 
before."  They  offer  worship  to  their  gods,  especially  dur- 
ing the  time  of  sickness.  Their  clothing  is  very  scanty  ;  in 
fact  it  scarcely  deserves  the  name.  The  men  wear  a  piece  of 
cloth  about  four  fingers'  broad  round  the  waist ;  this  appears 
to  be  their  only  garment.  Many  of  them  adorn  themselves  by 
wearing  a  rude  crown  on  their  heads,  ornamented  with  pieces, 
of  white  shells.  The  women  are  not  secluded,  as  among  the 
Bengalis ;  they  go  about  in  matters  of  business  the  same  as 
the  men.  Their  clothing  is  equally  indecent  with  that  of  the 
men.  They  only  wear  a  piece  of  cloth  about  one  foot  broad: 
round  the  waist,  while  with  another,  a  little  broader, 
they  make  a  turban  ;  they  adorn  their  bodies  with  coarse 
ornaments.  Some  amongst  them  have  however  adopted  the 
Bengali  custom,  which  indicates  an  approach  towards  civili- 
zation. The  men  are  all  armed  with  swords.  They  exchange 
cotton,  pepper,  &c.  for  rice,  salt,  plantains  and  other  produce 
of  the  plains,  with  the  Bengalis.  The  following  is  an  account 
of  a  funeral  ceremony  amongst  the  Gjarrojvs. 

Dec.  18.  We  reached  to-day  again  the  Garrow-hills  and  went  ashore. 
The  people  had  seen  our  boat  from  a  distance  and  had  assembled  on. 
the  bank.  There  were  about  50  men,  women,  and  children  present. 
They  did  not  run  away,  when  we  approached,  as  they  had  done  the 
first  time,  but  called  us,  saying,  Come,  come.  I  went  with  them. 
They  took  me  to  one  of  their  houses,  situated  on  the  sloping  hill  of  a 
small  valley;  whilst  I  was  going  along,  one  of  them  said  in  Bengali, 
"  Sir,  my  father  died  to-day."  And  indeed,  when  I  arrived  at  his  house, 
the  ceremonies  were  still  going  on.  There  were  about  6  or  8  men  per- 
forming music  with  copper- plates  and  tomtoms  ;  one  blew  in  a  long  buffalo 
horn  ;  on  one  side  was  a  sort  of  a  neatly  built  cage  in  the  shape  of  a  coffin, 
and  in  it  I  saw  plantain  leaves  and  cooked  rice,  with  other  articles  of 
food.  I  asked  them  what  it  meant ;  they  answered,  "  bap  morchee,  jom. 
dhorche,"  meaning  by  it,  1  suppose,  that  he  had  prepared  this  food  and 
this  cage  for  jom,  that  he  might  not  carry  off  his  father.  Near  a  fire  we 
saw  two  legs,  the  head,  and  some  other  pieces  of  a  killed  cow,  which  they 
were  about  to  devour.  I  went  afterwards  to  a  little  hut,  situated  on  the 
top  of  a  small  hill  and  belonging,  as  they  said,  to  the  wife  of  the  deceased. 
It  was,  as  other  houses,  built  on  bamboos,  6  or  8  feet  high,  and  provided 
with  a  ladder  of  the  same  material  to  ascend  to  it.    I  asked  my  new 

VOL.  I.  2  N 


268 


Versions  of  Scripture. 


[May, 


friends,  if  I  might  go  up  to  it.  They  said,  Go,  go  ;  so  I  climbed  up. 
It  consisted  of  a  single  room  about  3  feet  high,  and  contained  nothing  but 
a  fire-place,  a  heap  of  paddy  and  two  bottles  made  of  pumpkins.  '1'he 
side  against  the  river  had  been  left  quite  open,  just  as  if  those  wild  peo- 
ple had  a  taste  for  the  beauties  of  nature  ;  for  the  view  from  within  the 
house  on  the  Brahmaputra  below  and  the  immense  plain  through  which 
it  winds  its  course,  was  really  very  pleasant.  When  we  left  these  people, 
we  made  them  a  present  of  a  little  wine  and  sugar.  We  arrived  in  the 
night  again  at  Akrah. 

They  are,  like  all  rude  people,  very  much  attached  to  their 
children.  Their  notions  of  religion  are  very  crude,  and  their 
prejudices  against  the  truth  not  at  all  strong:  they,  as  well  as 
the  Coles  and  the  Santals,  form  a  good  field  for  Mission  la- 
bour. May  every  tribe  and  tongue  soon  hear  qi  the  glorious 
gospel  in  their  own  language. 


VI. — On  the  duty  of  omitting  Apocryphal  passages  in  a 
popular  version  of  the  Holy  Scriptures. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Dear  Sirs, 

Your  Observer  for  the  month  of  April  has  just  come  to  hand, 
in  which  I  see  some  "  Remarks  on  the  omission  of  certain 
passages  of  the  New  Testament  recently  published  by  the 
Missionaries  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  at  Banaras," 
by  T.  S.  The  article  is  written  in  a  style  which  is  not  usu- 
ally adopted  by  able  and  respectable  critics,  and  which  I  will 
not  imitate,  because  it  proves  nothing  in  a  literary  controversy. 
The  author  speaks  of  us  as  "  erring  brethren, accuses  us  of 
having  laid  "  violent  hands"  on  the  Bible  itself,  of  having 
"  perpetrated  an  atrocity  on  our  own  responsibility  in  defiance 
of  the  highest  critical  authority."  There  could  have  been  no 
objection  to  T.  S.'s  reviewing  our  version,  pointing  out  and 
animadverting  on  its  faults,  for  it  is  not  perfect  •  but  I  ask  a 
candid  Christian  public,  whether  he  is  warranted  to  set  out 
on  a  religious  crusade  against  a  body  of  Missionaries  whose 
orthodoxy  has  never  been  impeached  ?  There  has  lately 
sprung  up  in  Calcutta  a  certain  class  of  writers  who,  with  the 
shout  of  "  Sword  of  the  Lord  and  of  Gideon  \"  break  through 
all  the  rules  of  Christian  propriety,  charging  and  attacking 
men,  and  often  the  best  of  men,  right  and  left,  which  they  call 
fighting  for  their  Zion. 

For  this  spirit  I  have  the  utmost  contempt — it  is  "of  the 
earth,  earthly,"  though  it  wishes  to  pass  for  heavenly-born. 


1840] 


Apocryphal  passages. 


2G9 


The  Calcutta  Christian  Observer,  once  a  periodical  of  which 
the  Missionary  hody  in  India  might  he  proud,  once  enlisting 
the  piety  and  talent  of  the  hest  men  in  all  parts  of  India,  once 
being  iilled  every  month  with  correspondence  and  interesting 
matter,  by  which  it  has  taken  such  a  deep  hold  upon  the  affec- 
tions of  those  who  supported  it  in  its  better  days,  has  not 
gained  by  infusing  too  much  of  this  spirit  into  its  pages.  I 
was  at  first  doubtful  whether  I  should  reply  to  a  writer  of 
this  class,  but  as  the  subject  is  important,  and  as  silence  might 
be  misconstrued,  I  will  honor  him  with  arguing  him  down  in 
a  friendly  manner.  "  To  speak  the  truth  in  love"  is  our  rule 
in  regard  to  controversy,  which  we  hope  to  observe  also  in  the 
present  instance,  though  I  see  beforehand  that  I  shall  some- 
times be  obliged  to  animadvert  freely  on  my  opponent's  mis- 
takes. 

It  is  an  acknowledged  fact,  that  at  an  early  period  the  canon 
of  the  Scriptures  was  marred,  by  admitting  into  it  whole 
apocryphal  books,  which  are  still  considered  canonical  by  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church,  and  as  such  sincerely  and  adroitly 
defended.  Whenever  an  abuse  or  an  error  has  been  once 
established,  it  will  assuredly  be  upheld  by  a  certain  class  of 
persons.  Origen  may  be  considered  their  representative,  and 
he  has  nearly  said  every  thing  that  can  be  said  on  their  side 
of  the  question.  When  Julius  Africanus  told  him  that  the 
story  of  Susanna  was  apocryphal,  he  said,  "  Should  God, 
who  gave  the  Scriptures  to  all  the  Churches  of  Christ  for  their 
edification,  not  have  cared  for  those  for  whom  Christ  died  V 
&c.  &c.  This  was  as  rational  as  to  say,  "  Should  God,  who 
gave  us  eyes  to  see  with,  not  have  made  provision  that  no  one 
shall  be  able  to  injure  it,  or  alter  a  humour  in  it,  either  by 
negligence  or  by  instruments  sharp  or  blunt  ?"  We  may  be 
sure  that  God  has  made  such  provision  for  the  eyes  of  men,  as 
well  as  for  the  Scriptures ;  but  no  one  can  a  priori  say  what 
this  provision  is.  "  Moreover  consider,"  said  Origen,  "whe- 
ther it  will  not  be  well  to  remember  the  words,  e  Remove 
not  the  ancient  landmark  which  thy  fathers  have  set.'  Proverbs 
xxii.  28."  These  two  arguments  have  at  all  times,  with  various 
modifications,  been  opposed  to  those  who  have  stood  out  for 
the  purity  of  the  canon.  But  thanks  be  to  God,  the  Church 
has  never  wanted  men,  who  opposed  the  admission  or  reten- 
tion of  apocryphal  books  or  passages,  and  who  would  copy, 
and  read  in  Churches,  and  translate,  and  publish  nothing  but 
the  inspired  word  of  God  ;  who,  to  adopt  the  style  of  T.  S., 
reasoned  in  this  way  : — So  long  as  the  purity  of  the  Scriptures 
is  preserved,  the  Church  possesses  within  herself  the  means  of 
detecting  and  rectifying  all  the  errors  into  which  her  members 
2  n  2 


270 


Versions  of  Scripture. 


[May, 


may  fall.  But  when  the  Bible  is  interpolated  with  the  fancies 
of  men,  then  is  the  very  citadel  and  fortress  of  Christianity 
assailed,  and  the  watchman  on  Zion  may  not  without  treason 
be  silent.  So  long  as  the  Bible  is  preserved  pure,  the  Church, 
however  corrupt  she  may  be,  possesses  within  herself  the  seeds 
of  reformation ;  but  with  the  purity  of  the  Scriptures  perishes 
the  hope  of  the  Church.  If  the  very  fountain  be  polluted,  how 
can  the  stream  be  pure  ?  Are  not  most  of  the  errors  of  the 
Roman  Catholic  Church  supported  by  apocryphal  writings 
admitted  into  their  canon,  such  as  Tobit,  Bel  and  the  Dragon, 
Judith,  Maccabees  ?  &.c.  &c.  The  light  that  is  in  her,  has 
become  darkness;  and  how  great  is  that  darkness  !  Is  not  the 
Scripture  the  light  of  the  Church  ?  and  is  not  the  Church 
charged  by  all  the  most  solemn  sanctions  to  keep  this  heavenly 
light  purely  and  brightly  burning  ?  Has  not  God  threatened 
to  punish  him  that  adds-,  as  well  as  him  that  takes  away  ?  Are 
the  watchmen  on  Zion  not  bound  to  expunge  from  the  Sacred 
Canon  things  apocryphal  and  spurious,  though  the  illiterate 
oppose  and  the  bigot  cry  out  against  it  ?  Is  not  every  truth 
better  than  error,  even  the  most  devout  ?  Can  we  give  more 
unambiguous  proofs  of  our  reverence  for  the  Bible  than  by 
unwearied  efforts  to  purify  it  from  human  additions,  mutila- 
tions and  corruptions  ? 

The  translators  of  the  versiou  in  question  belong  to  a  Society 
whose  fundamental  principle  is  "  not  to  send  Presbyterianism, 
Independency,  Episcopacy,  or  any  other  form  of  Church  order 
and  government,  but  the  glorious  Gospel  of  the  blessed  God, 
to  the  heathen."  We  have  no  Creed,  no  Common  Prayer 
Book,  no  authorized  Catechism  or  anything  of  that  kind.  The 
Bible,  and  the  Bible  alone,  is  our  creed  and  our  guide  in  doc- 
trine and  in  practice.  .  Over  its  purity  we  ought  to  watch  with 
a  zealous  and  constant  care. 

Our  Directors  have,  in  a  printed  letter  of  instructions,  laid 
down  for  our  guidance  the  following  rules  in  reference  to 
translating  the  Sacred  Scriptures  : 

"  Let  your  translation  be  made  from  the  best  editions  of  the 
Hebrew  and  Greek  originals,  with  such  helps  from  versions 
ancient  and  modern,  as  can  be  obtained. 

"Let  your  version,  as  far  as  possible,  be  in  conformity  to 
the  style  and  manner  of  our  authorized  English  translation ; 
we  refer  particularly  to  its  simplicity,  its  dignity,  and  its 
general  faithfulness. 

"  Translate  the  inspired  and  canonical  books  only,  and  that 
fin  the  first  instance  at  least)  without  note  or  comment" 

Agreeably  to  these  rules  we  made  our  version  from  the 
large  critical  edition  of  Dr.  Griesbach's  Greek  New  Testa- 


1840.] 


Apocryphal  passages. 


271 


went,  because  it  is  by  common  consent,  on  the  whole,  the 
best  edition  of  the  Greek  original.  But  we  have  not  invariably 
and  implicitly  followed  him.  We  have  in  many  places  deviat- 
ed from  him,  for  an  example  of  which  see  1  Tim.  iii.  15, 
where  we  have  translated,  "  God  was  manifest  in  the  flesh," 
though  Griesbach  in  his  text  has  preferred  65  to  6toj  ;  for  Dr. 
Henderson's  masterly  pamphlet  on  the  passage  convinced  us 
that  6to?  was  the  true  reading.  In  conformity  with  our  instruc- 
tions we  published  our  version  "in  the  first  instance"  without 
preface,  without  note  or  comment.  If  therefore  T.  S.  has 
"  cause  to  complain  that  these  omissions  are  made  in  a  popu- 
lar version,  without  any  reason  being  assigned  for  the  absence 
of  the  passages,"  he  will  see  that  we  have  in  this  case  merely 
acted  according  to  our  instructions. 

I  felt  a  little  vexed  to  see  that  T.  S.  in  his  remarks  on  the 
passages,  turns  round  upon  Dr.  Griesbach,  after  having  taken 
most  of  his  critical  lore  from  that  illustrious  scholar,  and  insi- 
nuates that  he  was  after  all  so  ignorant  as  not  to  know  what 
an  obelus  means  in  the  MSS.,  or  for  what  purpose  these  were 
written,  and  so  dishonest  as  to  allow  his  theology  to  gain  the 
ascendancy  over  his  criticism  !  Surely  T.  S.  might  have 
remembered  the  injunction  of  Scripture :  "  Thou  shalt  not 
cook  the  calf  in  the  milk  of  the  mother."  He  will  find  it  a 
much  easier  task  to  bring  discredit  upon  his  own  judgment 
than  to  upset  the  firm  foundation  on  which  rests  the  fame  of 
Dr.  Griesbach.  He  has  shown  no  tendency  to  heterodox 
views  either  in  his  text  or  in  his  notes,  and  T.  S.  should  know 
this  and  acknowledge  it. 

The  Calcutta  critic  has  made  a  singular  mistake.  We  have 
not,  as  he  asserts,  left  out  John  v.  4,  either  in  the  Persian 
character  or  in  the  Romanized  edition  !  That  a  man  should 
never  have  looked  at  the  book  he  was  criticizing,  is  a  proof 
that  he  is  a  critic  of  the  true  school.  Such  reckless  conduct 
is  a  disgrace  to  literature.  It  vitiates  his  whole  article  ;  it  will 
vitiate  whatever  he  says  hereafter.  It  is  on  this  very  passage 
that  he  says,  "  Griesbach  who  had  so  much  better  opportunity 
of  examining  manuscripts,  is  much  more  moderate  ;  he  admits 
the  passage,  with  the  mark  of  an  inferior  degree  of  certainty. 
Those  who  are  well  acquainted  with  the  work  of  this  most 
laborious  and  profound  scholar,  are  aware  that  his  theology  is 
sometimes  allowed  to  gain  the  ascendancy  over  his  criticism, 
and  that  this  is  precisely  a  passage  of  that  kind  that  he  would 
have  been  most  desirous  to  omit.  But  he  was  too  honest  a 
man  and  too  rigorous  a  critic  to  take  so  bold,  and  by  his  own 
showing,  so  unwarranted  a  step.  The  perpetration  of  this 
atrocity  was  left  to  the  Banaras  translators,  who  have  perpe- 


2/2 


Versions  of  Scripture. 


[May, 


trated  it  on  their  own  responsibility  ;  in  defiance  of  the  highest 
critical  authority."  Let  our  readers  say  who  has  perpetrated 
an  atrocity  on  his  own  responsibility,  we  or  the  Calcutta  scribe  ? 
Is  such  recklessness  not  altogether  disreputable  ?  But  the 
worst  of  all  is  that  he  says,  "  The  passages  which  we  have 
observed  to  be  omitted  are  the  following — John  v.  4,  &c."  I 
hope  he  will  frankly  acknowledge  that  he  has  not  "  observed" 
John  v.  4,  to  be  omitted,  and  stated  what  was  not  true.  But 
the  less  we  say  on  this  point  the  better  :  it  is  too  bad  ! 

We  have  omitted  the  story  of  the  adulteress  ;  and  in  defend- 
ing the  course  we  have  taken,  I  must  in  the  first  place  entreat 
my  readers  to  turn  up  the  passage  in  Dr.  Griesbaclv's  large 
critical  edition,  as  I  do  not  wish  to  make  here  a  display  of  my 
erudition  to  astonish  the  ignorant,  though  I  have  here  the  best 
opportunity  of  doing  so.  The  story  is  wanting  in  the  oldest 
MSS.  It  is  told  in  different  ways  in  those  that  have  it.  I 
think  every  unprejudiced  mind  must  come  to  the  conclusion 
that  the  passage  is  spurious,  after  considering  it  in  Griesbach. 
Dr.  Tholuck,  one  of  the  most  able  and  pious  men  of  the 
present  age,  has  in  his  commentary  on  John  a  long  disserta- 
tion on  this  passage,  of  which  the  following  is  an  epitome. 
The  story  is  not  found  in  A,  B,  C  ;  (it  is  defective  from  ch.  vi. 
50,  till  viii.  12 ;  but  the  space  shows  that  this  story  was  not  in 
it.)  D  has  it,  but  as  it  has  other  apocryphal  additions  to  Mat- 
thew xxviii.  28,  and  Luke  vi.  5,  it  is  of  little  authority  in  this 
particular.  Some  of  the  MSS.  put  the  story  at  the  end  of 
the  Gospel  of  John,  others  at  the  end  of  the  Gospel  of 
Luke.  It  is  not  found  in  Cyrill,  Origen,  Chrysostom,  Non- 
nus,  Theophylact,  Apollinaris,  Basil,  Theodore  of  Mopsuestia. 
These  fathers  never  even  make  any  allusion  to  it,  which  they 
would  no  doubt  have  done  in  the  controversy  on  penitential 
discipline,  if  they  had  known  it  or  considered  it  as  genuine. 
It  is  wanting  in  the  oldest  MSS.  of  the  Syriac,  Coptic  and 
Armenian  versions. 

T.  S.,  after  putting  on  paper  a  certain  number  of  MSS.,  says, 
Tims  the  authorities  in  favour  of  the  passage  greatly  pre- 
ponderate over  those  which  make  against  it."  Is  T.  S.  so 
ignorant  as  not  to  know  that  not  the  number  of  MSS.,  but 
their  antiquity  decides  critical  questions  ?  Or  if  he  be  not  so 
ignorant  himself,  does  he  wish  to  preach  up  the  fears  and 
prejudices  of  the  ignorant  against  our  version  ?  Both  would 
be  equally  reprehensible.  Can  he  tell  us  why  the  oldest  MSS., 
the  oldest  fathers,  and  the  oldest  MSS.  of  the  oldest  versions 
have  it  not  ?  Here  the  question  turns,  and  here  it  must  be 
decided.  Dr.  Tholuck  most  positively  decides  against  the 
genuineness  of  the  story,  though  he  thinks  it  may  contain  a 


1840.] 


Apocryphal  passages. 


273 


fact  handed  down  by  tradition,  but  not  written  by  any  of  the 
evangelists. 

Dr.  Olshausen,  Professor  at  the  University  of  Erlangen, 
whom  Professor  Robinson  of  America  considers  the  most  pious 
scholar  of  Germany,  is  at  present  publishing  a  very  elaborate 
commentary  on  the  New  Testament,  which  is  also  being  trans- 
lated in  the  United  States.  The  substance  of  a  long  article  on  the 
passage  is  this  :  The  story  of  the  adulteress  evidently  destroys 
the  whole  connexion  ;  ch.  viii.  12,  compared  with  ch.  viii.  21, 
30,  59,  shows  that  the  discourse,  begun  in  ch.  vii.  37,  is  con- 
tinued ;  and  not  only  the  connexion  of  ideas  proves  its  unity, 
but  also  ch.  viii.  20,  59,  shows  that  the  whole  was  delivered  in 
the  temple.  We  meet  in  ch.  vii.  53,  all  at  once  the  strange 
remark  :  "  Every  man  went  unto  his  own  house,  but  Jesus  went 
unto  the  Mount  of  Olives,"  with  which  ch.  viii.  59,  does  not  at 
all  agree,  according  to  which  the  Lord  taught  in  the  temple  as 
in  ch.vii.37.  Thewords:  "Every  man  went  unto  his  own  house" 
are  very  dark.  If  the  chief  priests  and  pharisees  in  ch.  vii.  45,  be 
meant,  the  remark  that  they  went  home  after  their  session, is  use- 
less, and  the  context  does  not  allow  us  to  refer  it  to  the  strangers 
who  had  come  to  the  festival.  The  expressions  irns  6  Actor;  KaOuras  ', 
efiiScHTKev  ;  ol  <bapt<ratot  icai  of  ypafi/xarea ;  and  the  continually  recurring 
86  c'ie  not  the  style  and  language  of  John.  The  decision,  says 
Dr.  Olshausen,  of  most  of  the  ablest  critics  of  the  present 
age  against  the  genuineness  of  the  story  is  so  uniform,  that  we 
may  consider  the  controversy  as  ended. — Thus  far  these  two 
eminent  critics,  Tholuck  and  Olshausen.  Perhaps  some  of  our 
readers  will  not  be  at  the  trouble  of  comparing  all  the  passages 
to  which  these  scholars  direct  us.  I  will  therefore  treat  the 
subject  in  a  more  popular  manner.  In  ch.  vii.  37,  the  evangelist 
ushers  in  a  discourse  of  our  Lord  with  these  important  words  : 
"  In  the  last  day,  that  great  day  of  the  feast,  Jesus  stood  and 
cried,  saying,  If  any  man  thirst,  let  him  come  unto  me  and 
drink.  He  that  believeth  on  me,  as  the  Scripture  has  said, 
out  of  his  belly  shall  flow  rivers  of  waters."  After  having 
uttered  these  two  sentences,  a  dissension  arose  among  the 
people ;  and  the  priests  and  pharisees,  who  held  their  sessions 
in  one  of  the  out-offices  of  the  temple,  were  thereby  encou- 
raged to  send  officers  for  his  apprehension.  This  is  merely 
mentioned  by  the  evangelist  to  sketch  the  scene.  It  appears 
that  the  whole  discourse  was  delivered  in  the  presence  of  the 
officers  who  were  to  apprehend  him,  while  the  chief  priests 
and  pharisees  remained  sitting  in  council.  It  is  utterly  incre- 
dible that  the  officers  sent  for  his  apprehension  would  on  their 
return  have  said,  "  Never  man  spake  like  this  man,"  if  they 
had  only  heard  the  two  sentences  in  ch.  vii.  37,  38.  But  if  they 


274 


Versions  of  Scripture. 


[Mxxr 


heard  the  whole  discourse,  we  can  easily  account  for  the 
impression  which  they  received.  Now  if,  according  to  the 
textus  receptus,  Christ  went  to  the  Mount  of  Olives,  and  every 
man  to  his  own  house,  the  continuation  of  the  discourse  from 
ch.  viii.  12 — 59,  was  delivered  on  the  day  after  the  festival,  when 
the  people  had  dispersed.  Is  this  likely  ?  On  the  other  hand 
if  the  text  of  the  most  ancient  MSS.  and  the  text  of  the  most 
ancient  MSS. of  the  most  ancient  versions  be  adopted,  in  which 
the  story  of  the  adulteress  is  omitted,  the  whole  is  consistent 
and  beautiful. 

We  have  rejected  the  passage  on  account  of  the  overwhelm- 
ing external  evidences  against  it,  but  it  must  be  allowed  that 
this  story  has  also  internal  marks  of  spuriousness.  It  is  difficult 
to  interpret  it  in  consistency  with  the  tenor  of  Christ's  teach- 
ing. The  reply  in  v.  7  is  very  startling,  for  if  it  be  necessary 
that  the  judge  or  accuser  be  sinless,  in  order  that  the  culprit 
be  punished,  no  crime  could  be  punished,  as  no  one  is  sinless. 
T.  S.  says,  "  The  woman  was  not  brought  before  Christ  as 
a  judge  ;  and  he  as  a  moral  teacher  took  occasion  to  point 
out  to  them  the  fact,  that  they  were  themselves  not  better  than 
she  :  just  as  almost  any  preacher  would  do,  were  any  hearer 
to  interrupt  him  with  a  narration  of  some  act  of  vice  ;  just  as 
Jesus  himself,  when  he  was  told  of  those  whose  blood  Pilate 
had  mingled  with  their  sacrifices,  promptly  replied,  "  Unless 
ye  repent,  ye  shall  all  likewise  perish."  There  is  no  analogy 
between  the  two  cases.  Christ  did  not  say,  Let  him  that  is 
sinless  among  you,  speak  against  Pilate's  atrocity,  but  took 
occasion  from  the  melancholy  fate  of  the  victims  to  remind 
them  of  their  own  impending  ruin.  I  ask  T.  S.,  whether  he 
would  give  a  similar  reply,  if  an  adulteress  were  taken  in  the  very 
act,  or  a  murderer  or  any  other  criminal  who  according  to  law 
had  deserved  capital  punishment  ? — would  he,  as  a  moral 
teacher,  not  instinctively  shrink  back  from  laying  down  such 
a  doctrine  ?  This  objection  is,  to  my  mind,  very  momentous. 
How  often  have  these  words  been  misquoted  and  misapplied 
by  a  licentious  and  wicked  world  !  Christ  is  represented  as 
saying,  "  Neither  do  I  condemn  (Karaicptva)  thee,"  though  she 
shows  no  signs  of  either  repentance  or  faith.  This  is  contrary 
to  the  analogy  of  either  cases  in  the  gospel.  This  Karaicpivttv 
cannot  have  the  meaning  here  of  accusing,  as  it  is  generally 
interpreted  by  those  who  consider  the  story  as  forming  part  of 
the  canon,  partly  because  KaraKptvw  is  not  used  in  the  story  for 
accusing,  but  chiefly  because  only  eye-witnesses  could  be 
accusers  in  such  a  case,  which  Christ  was  not.  T.  S.  in  stat- 
ing the  internal  objections  against  the  passage,  fights  with 
shadows  which  he  himself  has  conjured  up,  and  he  has  des- 


1840.] 


Apocryphal  passages. 


patched  them  with  extraordinary  ease.  When  engaged  in 
this  laudable  work,  he  makes  the  bold  assertion  that  the  ques- 
tion was  tempting,  because  the  Roman  law  did  not  admit  of 
death  by  stoning.  We  learn  from  John  xviii.  31  and  Josephu's 
Ant.  xx.  9,  §  1,  and  Whiston's  note  on  the  last  passage,  that 
the  Sanhedrin  could  pass  sentence  of  death  upon  a  criminal, 
but  could  not  put  it  into  execution  without  the  consent  of  the 
Roman  Procurator,  but  not  that  the  Roman  law  was  applied 
to  Judea,  butjust  the  contrary. 

After  carefully  and  attentively  considering  and  weighing  all 
the  external  and  internal  evidences  against  the  story,  we  came 
to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  no  part  of  the  inspired  word  of 
God ;  and,  as  honest  and  conscientious  men,  could  not  admit 
it  into  our  translation  of  the  N.  T.  How  could  we  adopt  into 
our  creed  what  we  do  not  believe  ? 

The  passage  in  1st  John  v.  7>  is  now  so  universally  consi- 
dered an  interpolation,  T.  S.  himself  being  witness,  that  we 
must  look  upon  the  controversy  as  closed.  What  he  says  on 
this  passage  is  vox  et  prceterea  nihil.  Luther  did  not  trans- 
late the  spurious  words.  If  T.  S.  will  bring  forward  argu- 
ments in  support  of  their  genuineness,  I  will  answer  him,  but  I 
do  not  wish  to  imitate  him  in  beating  the  air.  But  I  entreat 
you  to  republish  in  the  Observer  the  very  able  article  on 
this  passage  by  the  late  Mr.  Orme,  whose  orthodoxy  was 
never  questioned,  published  in  the  Congregational  Magazine 
for  1829,  where  the  whole  controversy  from  beginning  to  end 
is  put  in  the  clearest  light  and  treated  in  the  most  masterly 
manner.  If  T.  S.  can  refute  that  article  and  prove  the  pas- 
sage to  be  genuine  or  even  doubtful,  his  name,  as  the  natives 
say,  will  spread  through  the  whole  world.  If  you  have  no 
copy  of  the  Congregational  Magazine  for  1829, 1  can  send  you 
one. 

When  translating,  we  attentively  considered  the  passages 
in  question  with  the  best  editions  of  the  Greek  original,  with 
commentaries  in  Latin,  English  and  German.  We  had  not 
only  those  helps  which  T.  S.  mentions  in  his  article,  but  a 
great  many  more.  We  have  come  to  a  conclusion  different 
from  that  of  our  respected  critic.  I  cannot  possibly  divest 
myself  of  the  pleasing  idea  that  our  opinion  is  just  as  good 
as  his. 

As  our  version  has  sold  and  is  selling  well,  there  was  no 
need  for  us  to  begin  the  discussion,  nor  do  we  wish  to  conti- 
nue it  just  now,  as  little  good  would  result  from  it.  But  as  the 
subject  has  once  been  brought  forward,  I  respectfully  call  upon 
the  Committee  of  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bible  Society  to 
publish  their  sentiments  on  the  subject  in  the  Calcutta  Chris- 
tian Observer  and  Intelligencer,  to  say  whether  popular  ver- 

VOL.  I.  2  o 


276 


Versions  of  Scripture. 


[May, 


sions  shall  be  made  "from  the  best  editions  of  the  Hebrew 
and  Greek  originals"  as  our  Society  has  instructed  us  to  make 
them,  or  from  the  textus  receptus  only ;  whether  they  agree 
with  Origen,  that  the  ancient  land-mark  which  our  fathers 
have  set,  should  not  be  removed,  or  with  those  who  think  that 
the  results  of  the  laborious  and  extensive  researches  of  the 
most  able  and  indefatigable  scholars  of  the  Christian  world 
should  be  made  use  of  in  popular  translations.  I  do  not  call 
upon  them  to  decide  between  us  and  T.  S.  as  to  the  passages 
discussed  in  this  paper,  but  to  declare  their  views  on  the  ge- 
neral principle.  If  translations  shall  be  made  from  the  textus 
receptus  only,  if  such  apocryphal  passages  as  1st  John  v.  7, 
shall  be  stuck  in,  with  marks  of  spuriousness  on  their  fore- 
heads to  perplex  the  people,  translators  will  then  know  what 
course  to  pursue. 

In  the  few  months,  since  an  edition  of  1000  copies  has  been 
published  of  our  version  by  Mr.  P.  S.  D'Rozario,  600  copies 
have  already  been  sold  and  paid  for.  We  want  the  remain- 
ing 400  immediately  for  our  own  mission.  The  first  edition 
may  therefore  be  considered  as  out  of  the  market.  Nothing 
will  be  easier  than  to  stick  the  spurious  passages  into  a  second 
edition,  if  we  should  be  convinced  of  the  propriety  of  doing  so. 

T.  S.  says  in  his  concluding  remarks,  "  Although  we  be- 
lieve we  are  pledged  not  to  say  any  thing  editorially  for  or 
against  the  Romanizing  system,  we  may  surely  be  allowed  to 
say  that  we  should  have  i-ejoiced  to  see  a  fair  experiment  of  it 
made  under  more  favorable  circumstances,  and  that  we  are 
sorry  that  the  first  version  of  the  scriptures  printed  in  that 
character  should  have  been  one  which  shuts  itself  out  from 
the  possibility  of  a  favorable  reception  by  the  universal 
Church."  I  have  to  make  several  remarks  on  this  passage. 
Our  version  is  not  the  first  in  the  Roman  character,  both  the 
Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bible  Society  and  private  individuals  hav- 
ing previously  published  portions  ofv  the  S.  S.  in  that  charac- 
ter. Christians  belonging  to  the  Roman  Catholic  and  Greek 
Churches  will  not  use  Protestant  versions :  so  none  can  be 
made  at  present  for  the  Universal  Church.  It  seems  that  the 
Baptist  Churches  in  India  will  also  have  their  own  versions, 
and  I  for  one  think  that  they  are  perfectly  correct  in  the 
course  which  they  are  pursuing.  And  the  course  that  seems 
to  be  pursued  by  the  Bible  Society  in  endeavouring  to  force 
the  premature  production  of  a  version  for  the  Universal 
Church  in  India,  will  either  lead  to  no  version  at  all  being 
made,  or  to  the  establishment  of  separate  Bible  Societies  for 
each  denomination.  We  have  already  Roman  Catholic  and 
Baptist  Bible  Societies,  and  we  may  soon  have  Episcopal, 


1840.J 


Apocryphal  passages. 


277 


Presbyterian  and  Congregational  ones.  Our  Society  is  founded 
on  the  same  Catholic  principle  as  that  of  the  Bible  Society, 
and  therefore  we  hope  to  go  on  harmoniously  with  it,  unless 
the  principle  of  both  or  of  either  be  upset. 

I  leave  it  to  your  own  judgment  whether  a  version,  sold  in 
so  short  a  time  after  its  publication,  has  advanced  or  prejudiced 
the  Romanizing  scheme.  As  to  pledging  yourselves  editorially 
for  or  against  Romanizing,  it  is  all  the  same.  You  might  as 
well  pledge  yourselves  against  the  Persian  or  Deva-Nagari 
letters.  Roman  Character  books  are  used  in  all  Missions  and 
Missionary  schools  of  Hindustan  with  perhaps  a  solitary 
exception  here  and  there  ;  books  are  written,  published  and 
sold  in  it ;  the  Allahabad  Press  has  at  present  four  or  five  on 
hand.  So  you  may  pledge  yourselves  just  as  you  please.  A 
little  opposition  might  perhaps  do  good  just  now,  and  I  hope 
you  will  take  the  hint. 

I  am  sorry  that  I  do  not  know  who  the  writer  of  the 
Remarks  on  our  version  is,  as  it  prevents  me  from  repaying  the 
compliments  to  his  character,  which  he  has  paid  to  ours.  To 
judge  from  his  article  he  seems  to  be  a  sincere  and  good  man, 
though  quite  mistaken  in  the  remarks  which  he  has  advanced. 
I  take  leave  of  him  with  feelings  of  great  respect. 

Yours, 

One  of  the  Translators* 

Benares,  12th  April,  1840. 

P.  S. — I  wish  to  make  a  few  more  remarks  on  the  general  subject  of  the 
translation  of  the  New  Testament  into  the  Hindustani  language.  About 
five  years  ago  we  and  the  Church  Missionaries  attempted  to  make  a  united 
version  of  the  New  Testament,  but  we  could  not  go  on  with  them,  partly 
because  we  thought  that  there  was  an  unnecessary  delay,  partly  because  we 
could  not  agree  on  translating  the  terms  referring  to  Church  Government 
in  a  uniform  manner  in  all  places,  and  partly  because  we  could  not  agree 
on  the  text  to  be  adopted.  They  have,  I  believe,  given  up  translating 
the  New  Testament  for  the  present,  after  having  published  Luke  and  the 
Acts,  and  made  some  alterations  in  Matthew,  but  they  may  intend  to  re- 
sume the  work  at  some  future  time,  and  they  therefore  keep  up  the  origi- 
nal title  of  "  The  Banaras  Translation  Committee"  in  tei'rorem  over  us.  If 
they  go  on  with  the  same  zeal  and  speed  as  they  have  done  hitherto,  their 
version  may  be  ready  after  twenty  years,  when  we  all  shall  likely  rest  in 
our  graves.  The  Baptist  translation  will,  of  course,  be  adopted  by  that 
mission,  and  our  version  by  our  mission.  Now  I  ask,  is  it  proper  for  the 
Church  Missionaries  at  Banaras,  after  we  have  separated,  after  two  ver- 
sions have  been  published  and  put  into  circulation,  to  keep  up  the  original 
title  of  "  The  Banaras  Translation  Committee?"  Is  it  proper  for  the 
Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bible  Society  to  recognize  them  as  such  ?  Do  the 
Church  Missionaries  at  Banaras  intend  to  make  at  some  future  diiy  a  ver- 
sion for  the  Universal  Church  of  India?  Does  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bi- 
ble Society  intend  to  wait  for  this  projected  version,  sanction  it  and  force 
it  upon  the  Universal  Church?  Do  the  Church  Missionaries  and  the  Cal- 
cutta Auxiliary  Bible  Society  suppose  that  the  Baptist  Missionaries  and  the 


2/8 


Versions  of  Scripture. 


[May, 


London  Society's  Missionaries  will  throw  their  versions  to  the  moles  anil 
to  the  bats  as  soon  as  an  Episcopalian  one  appears,  after  their  versions 
have  been  for  years  in  circulation  and  taken  firm  root  in  their  missions? 
Or  do  the  Church  Missionaries  and  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bible  Society, 
in  this  emergency,  intend  to  take  again  refuge  to  Mr.  Martyn's  version, 
which  has  been  condemned  by  all  the  Missionaries  in  India,  the  Church 
Missionaries  included  ?  Or  will  the  Church  Missionaries  imitate  the 
steward  in  the  parable,  who  fearing  that  his  stewardship  was  about  to  be 
taken  from  him  and  who,  having  serious  objections  to  digging  and  being 
ashamed  of  begging,sat  down  to  make  some  alterations  in  the  existing  docu- 
ments? Will  the  Church  Missionaries,  "  The  Banaras  Translation  Com- 
mittee," take  the  Baptist  version  or  our  own,  make  some  alterations  in  it, 
and  then  publish  it  for  the  money  and  under  the  sanction  of  the  Calcutta 
Auxiliary  Bible  Society  as  a  translation  for  the  Universal  Church  of  In- 
dia? By  this  method  they  will  escape  both  the  trouble  of  digging  and  the 
disgrace  of  legging,  and  men  of  all  ranks  and  conditions  will  praise  them 
for  having  "done  wisely;"  but  the  fairness  of  the  proceeding  might  be 
questioned  by  "  such  men  as  the  authors  of  the  translation  before  us." 

I  should  be  glad  to  see  this  point  cleared  up.  Is  their  translation  of 
Luke  and  the  Acts  superior  to  our  version  of  the  two  books?  A  careful 
comparison  of  the  two  versions  of  these  two  books  will  decide  the  question, 
and  we  are  not  afraid  of  challenging  this  careful  comparison.  It  will  be 
found  that  some  renderings  are  better  in  their  version  and  some  in 
ours. 

We  intend  to  revise  our  version  with  the  translations  which  have  ap- 
peared since  ours  was  published,  and  with  all  the  other  helps  at  our  com- 
mand. We  will  discard  the  new  division  of  chapters  and  verses,  and 
throw  the  old  one  into  the  margin,  as  Bishop  Lowth  has  done  in  his  transla- 
tion of  Isaiah  and  Dr.  Griesbach  in  his  Greek  Testament.  We  have  no 
objection  to  translating  all  the  terms  referring  to  Church  Government. 
Let  (KKXritria  be  Jamaat,  67nV/co7roy  Nigahban  or  Nazir,  Siaxwos  Khadim, 
7rpe<rj3i>Tepos  Shaikh,  Pa-n-Tiafxoi  Isnan,  but  we  insist  on  the  uniform  render- 
ing of  these  terms  in  all  places.  In  the  disputes  about  Church  Government 
our  version  must  make  a  reference  to  the  Greek  original  quite  unnecessary 
and  superfluous.  We  cannot  follow  the  textus  receptus,  as  long  as  our 
Directors  do  not  alter  our  Instructions,  which  they  will  never  do.  Such  an 
alteration  would  undo  many  things  done  by  their  Missionaries  in  the 
South  Sea  Islands  and  other,  parts  of  the  world.  We  may  be  sure  that  our 
Directors  have  given  us  no  instructions  which  are  contrary  to  the  rules 
and  principles  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society.  It  must  rest  with 
the  translators,  not  with  the  Bible  Society,  what  readings  shall  be  adopted 
or  rejected.  Translators  dare  not  sell  their  consciences  to  any  Bible  So- 
ciety, and  those  who  will  do  so,  are  not  fit  for  making  a  version  for  the 
Universal  Church.  To  interpolate  the  records  of  one's  creed,  to  adopt 
them  to  the  prejudices,  opinions  and  consciences  of  other  persons,  for  the 
base  purpose  of  getting  them  published  and  circulated  by  their  money, 
would,  to  my  own  mind,  be  so  enormous  a  crime,  beside  which  every  other 
crime  would  appear  as  a  virtue,  I  am  glad  to  see  that  T.  S.  agrees  with  me 
on  this  point.  "  It  is  for  translators  to  determine  how  it  (John  v.  7)  shall 
be  treated."  On  reading  T.  S.'s  article  one  might  be  misled  to  suppose 
that  he  has  found  fault  with  us  for  acting  on  his  own  principles.  This  is 
only  appearance.  We  agree  very  well.  We  as  translators  have  determined 
how  1  John  v.  7,  shall  be  treated.  We  have  thrown  it  out.  We  could 
not  be  accessary  to  the  commission  of  a  pious  fraud,  which  lias  made  more 
Socinians  than  the  Athanasian  creed  itself,  (which  by  the  bye  the  Ameri- 
can Episcopalians  have  omitted  in  their  Common  Prayer  Book.)  We  might 


1840.] 


Apocryphal  passages. 


279 


as  well  stick  the  whole  Athanasian  creed  into  the  Epistle  of  John,  "  with 
a  mark  to  point  out  that  its  genuineness  is  not  completely  established,"  as 
1  John  v.  7. — "  If  this  verse  be  really  genuine,  notwithstanding  its  ab- 
sence from  all  the  visible  Greek  MSS.  except  two,  one  of  which  awk- 
wardly translates  the  verse  from  the  Latin,  and  the  other  transcribes  it 
from  a  printed  book  ;  notwithstanding  its  absence  from  all  the  versions 
except  the  Vulgate,  and  even  from  many  of  the  best  and  oldest  MSS.  of 
the  Vulgate  ;  notwithstanding  the  deep  and  dead  silence  of  all  the  Greek 
writers  down  to  the  thirteenth  century,  and  most  of  the  Latins  down  tp 
the  middle  of  the  eighth  century  ;  if  in  spite  of  all  these  objections  it  be 
still  genuine,  no  part  of  Scripture  whatsoever  can  be  proved  either  spuri- 
ous or  genuine  ;  and  Satan  has  been  permitted  for  many  centuries,  mira- 
culously to  banish  the  finest  passage  in  the  New  Testament  from  the  eyes 
and  memories  of  almost  all  the  Christian  authors,  translators,  and  tran- 
scribers."— 1'orson. 

We  have  taken  our  stand  on  the  broad  Catholic  principle  of  two 
noble  institutions,  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  and  the  London 
Missionary  Society.  All  writings  which  do  not  convince  us  of  having 
violated  that  principle,  will  not  in  the  least  affect  us,  nor  will  we  take  any 
notice  of  them,  after  this  full  and  frank  statement  of  our  opinions  on  the 
subject  of  translation.  The  sooner  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bible  Society 
cordially  act  on  this  broad  Catholic  and  truly  Christian  principle,  the  bet- 
ter ;  otherwise  they  will  exist  for  the  sole  purpose  of  being  an  incubus  upon 
Hindustan,  of  preventing  us  from  obtaining  the  Hindustani  Scriptures, 
after  the  Bengtlli  Scriptures  have  already  slipt  out  of  their  hands  into  the 
hands  of  our  excellent  brethren,  the  Baptist  Missionaries,  where  I  wish 
them  to  remain. 

Note  by  the  Editors. — Our  correspondent  has  requested  that  we  will 
insert  his  communication  without  note  or  comment.  So  far  as  the  question 
at  issue  is  concerned,  we  shall  do  so ;  because  it  is  our  rule,  "  except  where 
the  appending  a  brief  note  may  save  much  and  very  injurious  misapprehen- 
sion :"  but  we  cannot  allow  the  opportunity  to  pass  without  offering  one  or 
two  remarks.  1st. — As  it  regards  his  remarks  on  the  temper  in  which  the 
Observer  has  been  lately  conducted.  We  have  now  had  the  conduct  of  the 
periodical  for  some  time  devolved  upon  us,  and  from  a  careful  review  of  what 
has  been  written,  from  the  success  which  has  accompanied  our  advocacy  of 
the  subjects  to  which  reference  alone  can  be  made,  the  amount  of  circulation 
and  correspondence  with  which  we  have  been  favored  up  to  the  latest  date  ; 
these  things  considered,  combined  with  a  consciousness,  that  while  endea- 
vouring to  maintain  the  neutral  and  Catholic  principles  of  the  Observer 
amidst  often  very  warring  opponents,  together  with  the  fact  of  our  present 
correspondent's  being  the  only  complaining  and  condemning  communica- 
tion, which  has  reached  us,  as  to  the  temper  in  which  our  labors  have  been 
conducted : — all  these  lead  us  to  the  conclusion,  that  without  intending  to 
offend  even  one  brother,  we  must  pursue  the  even  tenor  of  our  way  in  the 
same  spirit,  and  we  hope  with  the  same  success  as  heretofore.  2ndly. — 
Neither  can  we  allow  the  opportunity  to  pass,  without  suggesting  to  our 
correspondent,  and  all  others  who  may  deem  it  their  duty  to  engage  in 
Biblical  controversy,  the  propriety  of  employing  the  mildest  and  most 
courteous  language  consistent  with  the  interests  of  truth.  Should  a  different 
course  be  pursued,  we  must  suspend  our  rule,  anent  the  use  of  the  editorial 
pen  in  omissions  and  emendations ;  for  we  cannot  allow  the  pages  of  the 
Christian  Observer  to  be  the  medium  of  reckless  reflections,  whether  per- 
sonal or  sectarian. 

"  Think  twice  before  you  write  once,  and  you  will  not  write  that  last 
which  you  penned  first,"  was  the  remark  of  a  wise  parent  to  a  good  but 


280 


Letter  to  a  Friend. 


[May, 


impetuous  child.  It  may  be  applicable  in  most  cnses  of  controversy.  We 
eschew  the  subject  of  Romanizing,  for  a  burnt  child  dreads  the  fire :  and  it 
is  our  recollection  of  the  controversy  in  connection  with  that  subject  which 
induces  us  at  the  opening  of  this,  which  promises  to  be  a  prolific  one,  to 
suggest  adherence  to  the  useful  motto  :  Suaviler  in  modo  et  forlitcr  in  re. 
— Ed. 


VII. — Letter  to  a  Friend. — IV.  The  Saviour. 

May  1st,  1840. 

My  dear  Friend, 

Although  some  months  have  elapsed  since  my  last  was  addressed  to  you, 
yet  has  this  seeming  neglect  arisen  from  no  indifference  to  your  eternal 
welfare  or  to  the  paramount  importance  of  the  subject  of  Salvation.  If 
we  would  serve  God  faithfully  and  diligently  in  this  world,  we  have  to 
contend  with  the  element  of  limited  time :  many  things  are  to  be  done, 
and  each  requires  its  own  allotment  of  moments.  Some  things  may  be 
done,  other  things  ought  to  be  done,  but  a  third  class  must  be  done,  Thus 
have  I  been  drawn  aside  for  a  little  space.  Are  you,  my  friend,  willing 
now  to  hear  from  me  on  the  continuation  of  my  former  letter  ?  Does  my 
proposal  to  write,  kindle  within  you  a  desire  to  read,  to  know,  and  to  con- 
sider ?  Is  Salvation  an  interesting  subject  still  ?  Have  you  taken  heed 
against  the  snares  of  the  world,  as  I  formerly  warned  you  to  do?  or 
have  you  gone  into  its  vortex,  and  are  you  now  sunk  into  the  centre 
of  its  folly  ?  I  shall  suppose  that  you  have  not  played  the  fool  with  eter- 
nity, or  masqueraded  with  the  silly  hypocrites  of  the  world,  who  pre- 
tend that  they  think  themselves  safe  when  they  know  they  are  not.  I 
shall  suppose  that  you  are  still  making  that  most  reasonable  inquiry, 
"  What  must  I  do  to  be  saved  ?"  and  that  what  you  have  learned  in  the 
past,  has  created  a  thirst  to  learn  more  in  the  future.  I  shall  then  at 
once  plunge  into  my  subject  of  communication  in  this  letter,  and  speak 
to  you  of  a  Saviour. 

Salvation  is  not  an  abstraction — this  we  have  already  seen.  Neither 
is  it  the  fruit  resulting  from  contact  between  a  sinful  soul  and  a  holy 
creed.  No,  it  is  the  work  of  a  Saviour,  it  is  the  result  of  a  personal 
agency.  That  which  is  the  noblest  mode  of  operation,  is  employed  in  the 
work  of  human  salvation  ;  and  we  are  directed  to  a  person  who  saves. 
Official  and  professional  distinction  is  not  overlooked  here  ;  it  is  the  very 
office,  or  special  name  of  our  Saviour,  that  he  saves — "  Thou  shalt 
call  His  name  Jesus,  because  He  shall  save  His  people  from  their  sins." 
Here  are  no  grounds  for  speculation  or  doubt ;  there  is  a  person,  an  office, 
a  name,  "Jesus,''  the  "Saviour!"  Blessed  assurance!  Herein  is  the 
simplicity  of  the  sun,  "  the  ruler  of  the  day,"  of  the  moon,  "  the 
ruler  of  the  night !"  As  light  from  those,  so  is  salvation  from  Jesus. 
Neither  is  there  another  Saviour  but  He.  God  hath  revealed  none  else  ; 
and  man  can  discover  none  other  but  this.  It  is  relief  to  have  but  one 
resource,  one  only  alternative  ;  for  then  there  is  no  entanglement  of 
choice,  no  incurring  of  painful  risk.  The  object  being  one,  the  act  may 
be  one,  immediate  and  direct ;  and  the  result  one  also,  sure  and  instant 
in  its  production.  Oh  how  sweet  to  a  soul  seeking  immediate  salvation, 
to  know  that  there  is  but  one  Saviour,  and  one  salvation!  How  does  the 
soul  throw  itself  on  this  oneness  of  salvation  as  on  the  oneness  of 
Godhead,  and  say  "  my  only  God,  my  only  Saviour— my  Lord  and  my 
God  1" 


1840.] 


Letter  to  a  Friend. 


281 


This  Saviour  is  Divine,  my  beloved  friend  ;  one  of  the  Blessed  Trinity. 
He  is  the  Son  in  the  Godhead.  What  is  comprehended  in  this  divine 
relationship,  we  cannot  understand.  It  is  a  Divine  peculiarity,  and  un- 
derstood only  where  it  exists.  But  the  fact  itself  is  fraught  with  bliss 
to  sinners.  Our  Saviour  is  the  Son  of  God — God  the  Son.  The  first 
chapter  of  the  gospel  by  John  asserts  and  illustrates  this  in  the  most 
sti'iking  and  irresistible  manner  ;  leaving  doubt  to  none  but  to  those 
who  from  pride,  vanity,  or  prejudice  prefer  the  wishes  of  the  reader  to  the 
plain  and  direct  words  of  the  writer.  Our  Saviour  is  God  !  the  Creator 
and  Upholder  of  the  worlds.  What  can  be  too  hard  then  for  Him  ?  what 
too  difficult  for  Him  to  accomplish  ?  "Jehovah  is  my  salvation/'  say  we, 
"  therefore,  will  we  trust  and  not  be  afraid." 

This  Saviour  is  the  Gift  of  Love.  It  was  Love  that  sent  Him,  it  was 
Love  that  brought  Him,  to  save  us.  "God  so  loved  the  world  that  He 
gave  His  only  begotten  Son:"  and  Christ  loved  us  and  therefore  "gave 
Himself  for  us."  This  is  a  most  important  element  in  the  mission  and 
character  of  the  Saviour;  and  when  well  understood,  removes  a  world  of 
difficulty  from  the  path  of  the  returning  sinner.  Does  God  love  to  save 
sinners?  Yea,  does  He  so  love  to  save  them,  as  to  give  His  own  Son  to 
be  their  Saviour?  Does  Jesus  love  to  save  sinners?  Yea,  does  He  so  love 
to  save  them,  that  He  gave  Himself  to  be  their  Saviour  ?  Is  love  the 
mainspring  of  salvation  ?  "  Then  why  should  I  doubt  that  I  may  be  ac- 
cepted, or  that  I  may  be  saved  ?"  saith  the  believing  penitent.  Oh,  what 
an  inducement  is  this  to  accept  of  the  Saviour,  and  to  honour  Him,  that 
He  is  the  gift  of  love  !  They  are  considered  as  the  brutes  of  the  human 
race,  nay  rather  as  the  devils  of  our  world,  who  despise  the  love  and 
trample  on  the  proffered  affection  of  an  earthly  heart  ?  But  what  shall 
we  s;> y  to  a  heavenly,  an  infinite,  a  Divine  heart  visiting  us  on  the  wings 
of  love,  and  carrying  to  us  the  gift  of  everlasting  salvation?  Shall  not 
this  gain  your  confidence,  my  hesitating  friend  ?  Can  you  refuse  to  con- 
fide  yourself  to  the  Son  of  God  when  He  loves?  Ah,  no,  relax  that  arm 
of  pride,  smooth  that  doubtful  brow,  still  that  beating  heart,  yield  thy- 
self to  love,  love  infinite  and  eternal ;  and  be  at  peace  for  ever  and 
for  ever ! 

This  Saviour  is  also  Man,  true  man.  He  who  came  to  save  us,  became 
one  of  us:  He  who  loved,  joined  Himself  with  those  whom  He  loved. 
This  is  a  deep  mystery,  but  it  is  also  a  glorious  fact.  He  became  an  in- 
fant of  the  womb,  a  child  of  woman,  a  youth  of  years,  a  man  in  the  world. 
He  breathed,  He  ate,  He  drank,  He  walked,  He  suffered,  He  died,  like 
men.  He  subjected  Himself  to  the  same  law,  submitted  Himself  to 
the  same  trials,  was  tested  by  the  same  temptations,  was  surrounded  by 
the  same  persons,  passed  through  the  same  circumstances,  obeyed  the 
same  God,  and  took  upon  Him  the  same  curse  and  penalty  with  men. 
lie  made  Himself  the  same  with  each  one  of  us  in  every  thing  but  sin. 
That  He  had  not ;  that  He  could  not  have  ;  else  He  could  be  no  Saviour, 
but  must  Himself  have  needed  to  be  saved.  Being  "  bone  of  our  bone, 
flesh  of  our  flesh,"  He  was,  and  is  our  very  kinsman.  We  have  none 
nearer  of  kin  to  us  within  the  universe,  than  is  the  Son  of  God  Himself. 
Even  now,  when  glorified,  He  sits  in  our  kindred  body  at  the  right  hand 
of  God  in  the  heavens.  He  is  our  brother,  our  very  brother,  our  elder 
brother,  the  first-born  amongst  many  brethren.  Our  Saviour  is  our  bro- 
ther:  Oh  blessed  truth  !  He  is  so,  not  by  necessity  of  nature  or  birth, 
hut  by  free  choice,  and  by  deliberate  assumption,  by  voluntary  incarna- 
tion. Oh  how  near  is  Christ  to  us,  my  friend !  how  is  He  a  very  part  of 
us !  Muster  courage  then ;  gather  up  affectionate  confidence  ;  fix  your 
eye  upon  His  and  our  common  humanity ;  plead  your  kindred  claim  ; 
you  are  of  His  kin  ;  say  so:  "  Son  of  God  !  Son  of  Man  !  kinsman  Re- 


Letter  to  a  Friend. 


|May, 


deemer  !  behold,  my  very  flesh,  and  blood,  and  bones,  behold  my  tears, 
hear  my  sighs  !  Am  1  not  one  of  that  race  of  which  Thou  becamest  one  ? 
1  by  necessity  of  birth,  Thou  by  blessed  incarnation  ?  Oh  look  upon  me, 
thy  poor,  mean,  sinful,  wretched,  perishing  kinsman  !  Oh  art  Thou  not 
Man,  even  as  Thou  art  God  I" 

Thus  cry  unto  the  blessed  Saviour,  and  He  will  not  despise  His  poor 
kindred.  He  has  not  forgotten  former  days  of  humiliation  and  suffering 
on  this  earth.  He  has  not  forgotten  the  night  of  the  bloody  sweat  in  the 
garden,  nor  the  day  when  lie  hung  as  the  crucified  curse  on  Calvary.  He 
remembers,  and  loves  to  be  reminded  as  a  kinsman  of  the  manger  and  the 
tomb,  of  His  birth,  of  His  life,  and  of  his  death,  of  the  labours  of  His 
body,  of  the  travail  of  His  soul.  Go  in  this  confidence  to  Jesus's  feet  and 
there  sit  weeping — for  he  too  hath  wept ;  and  he  will  say  to  thee  "  why 
weepest  thou  ?"  Then  say  to  II  im,  "  because  Thou  art  my  kinsman  and 
I  disowned  and  despised  Thee:  Have  mercy,  Oh  have  mercy,  on  me,  my 
Redeemer,  my  kinsman,  the  beloved  of  my  soul  I" 

You  will  easily  perceive,  my  dear  friend,  from  what  I  have  said  already, 
how  our  Saviour  is  a  Mediator.  He  is  intermediate  betwixt  two  parties 
as  to  his  work  ;  but  he  is  also  intermediate  as  to  the  constitution  of  His 
person,  for  He  represents  two  natures  in  His  own  self.  As  man  repre- 
sents matter  and  spirit  in  one  person,  so  does  Jesus  in  a  far  more  myste- 
rious manner  represent  God  and  man  in  one  person.  The  possibility  of 
such  intimate  union  is  a  question  for  God  and  not  for  man  to  determine  ; 
for  the  former  is  the  infinite  superior  of  the  two,  and  with  Him  that 
matter  rests.  The  fact  is  enough  for  us.  With  what  confidence  may  you 
rely  on  Him,  who,  being  God,  represents  and  sustains  Godhead  ;  and  who 
being  man,  represents  and  sustains  at  the  same  time  our  common  huma- 
nity !  How  certainly  may  we  know  that  God's  glory  and  man's  safety  are 
now  compatible ;  and  that,  where  the  natures  themselves  so  agree  in 
personal  union,  the  interests  of  those  natures  cannot  but  become  also  one. 
If  Godhead  and  humanity  are  united,  then  surely  God  and  man  may  be 
reconciled.  See  then  the  sure  pledge  of  salvation  given  in  the  very 
person  of  the  Mediator.  His  name  is  "  Immanuel,  God  with  us."  It  is 
unreasonable,  therefore,  to  have  any  doubt  as  to  reconcilement  and  conse- 
quent salvation  through  such  a  Mediator,  who  combines  in  Himself  the 
very  natures  of  the  offended  and  the  offenders.  How  simple,  yet  how  glo- 
rious a  contrivance  this,  in  order  to  furnish  a  basis,  a  pledge,  a  medium, 
of  reconciliation !  Oh,  let  us  dwell  in  this  doctrine  of  the  Mediation  of 
Christ ;  let  us  enter  into  the  glory  of  the  constitution  of  His  person  ! 
Then  shall  we  be  at  home  in  the  very  recesses  of  redemption  ;  and  delight 
to  roam  through  the  deepest  caverns,  and  the  profoundest  retreats  of  the 
manifold  wisdom  of  God.  He  represents  my  God,  and  He  represents 
myself;  God  to  me,  and  me  to  God,  Oh  how  blessed  this  Jesus  !  How 
excellent  this  Saviour  !  my  perfect  Mediator  ! 

Mark  this  well  also,  my  friend  ;  how  Jesus  the  Saviour  is  the  perfect 
Representative  of  those  whom  he  saves.  He  has  come  into  their  very 
place,  and  substituted  Himself  for  them.  Am  I  a  fallen  man  ?  He  is  an 
unfallenman.  Have  I  committed  sin  ?  He  has  committed  none.  Have  I 
never  done  any  thing  perfect  ?  He  never  did  any  thing  imperfect.  Have 
I  dishonoured  God's  sovereignty?  He  has  honoured  it.  Have  I  broken 
God's  law?  He  has  fulfilled  it.  Havel  a  sentence  of  death  on  me  ?  He  has 
taken  it  on  Himself.  Is  the  penalty  of  death  mine?  He  has  endured  it 
in  His  own  body.  All  this  He  has  done,  not  in  a  private  or  personal  capa- 
city, but  as  a  substitute.  His  incarnation,  righteousness,  death,  resurrec- 
tion, were  all  vicarious,  or  the  acts  of  a  representative  substitute.  Their 
very  design,  their  very  end  is  suretyship.  Now  if  this  be  so,  and  if  you, 
my  dear  friend,  feel  that  in  order  to  acceptance  before  God  you  need  a 


1840.] 


Letter  to  a  Friend. 


283 


representative  to  act  for  you,  then  behold  this  Saviour  is  Me:  "lie 
shall  justify  many,  for  He  shall  hear  their  iniquities."  "He  hath  borne 
our  griefs  and  carried  our  sorrows."  "  The  chastisement  of  our  peace  was 
laid  upon  Him,  and  by  His  stripes  we  are  healed."  Surely  we  may  have 
ineffable  confidence  in  Him  who  voluntarily  became  our  representative 
to  discharge  the  law  penalties  which  we  had  entailed,  and  to  redeem  the 
inheritance  of  life  eternal  which  we  had  forfeited.  This  is  the  doctrine 
which  the  serpent  and  his  seed  have  laboured  hard  to  root  out  from  this 
perishing  world ;  but  in  vain — God  w  ill  never  permit  this  gospel  of  the 
vicarious  righteousness  and  true  sacrifice  of  Christ  to  be  lost  or  forgotten 
in  the  earth.  Lay  hold  of  this  then  in  seeking  salvation.  Behold  Christ 
is  the  representative  of  sinners  on  the  cross,  and  make  Him  your  own  by 
acceptance  and  trust. 

This  leads  me  in  conclusion,  to  speak  of  Jesus  as  an  everliving  and 
present  Interckssor.  He  ascended  up  on  high,  and  is  now  within  the 
Holy  of  Holies,  procuring  and  communicating  the  benefits  of  His  sacri- 
fice which  He  offered  on  earth.  He  lives  and  He  saves  now  ;  yea,  to  the 
very  uttermost  does  He  save  now  ;  for,  "  He  ever  liveth  to  make  interces- 
sion for  those  who  come  to  God  by  Him."  He  was  dead,  but  is  alive 
again  and  liveth  forevermore.  He  is  accessible  now  as  of  old.  He  is 
within  hearing  as  of  old:  He  is  as  near  to  you  by  His  Divine  presence 
as  ever  He  was  to  His  disciples  when  He  tabernacled  in  Judea ;  and  He 
is  now  as  much  a  Saviour  in  His  exalted  and  intercessory  state,  as  He  was 
ever  in  His  state  of  humiliation  and  suffering.  There  is  no  distance  to 
be  removed,  no  space  to  be  overcome,  there  is  no  new  office  to  be  created, 
no  new  plea  to  be  devised;  the  Jesus  of  the  gospels  is  our  Jesus,  the 
Christ  that  died  on  Calvary  is  the  Christ  of  whom  now  I  write.  To  apply 
to  Him  is  in  itself  as  simple  (I  do  not  say  as  easy)  an  act  as  to  eat  the 
food  or  drink  the  water,  or  breathe  the  air  that  God  hath  given  you. 
You  are  a  sinner  perishing — He  is  a  Saviour  given ;  will  you,  do  you 
accept  of  Him  ? 

My  object  has  been  to  introduce  you  somewhat  to  the  knowledge  and 
acquaintance  of  our  blessed  Saviour.  I  have  acquitted  myself  in  a  very 
imperfect  and  inadequate  manner.  I  have  almost  broken  down  in  the 
attempt.  1  have  left  much  unsaid  about  the  glory  of  my  Lord  and  Savi- 
our. He  will  forgive  me,  I  know,  for  I  intended  it  not  in  dishonour  or 
neglect  of  His  majesty.  Even  the  world  itself  could  not  contain  all  the 
books  that  might  be  written  on  this  subject.  I  should  like  to  say  some- 
thing more  of  the  character  of  Christ  as  a  Saviour,  and  also  direct  your 
attention  a  little  more  to  the  sacrifice  which  he  offered  up  of  Himself, 
but  I  may  not  now — perhaps  1  may  again. 

I  close  this  epistle  with  beseeching  you  to  enter  into  immediate  fellow- 
ship with  the  Son  of  God.  Lose  not  a  day,  lose  not  an  hour,  lose  not  a 
moment.  Even  now  lift  up  your  heart  to  Him.  He  heareth  the  whis- 
pers of  the  soul  ;  and  He  loveth  to  meet  with  us  in  secret.  Oh,  my 
friend,  separate  yourself  from  this  time-murdering  world.  Join  not  in 
its  ruinous  trifling.  "  Jesus  waits  for  me,"  say  thou  to  thyself,  and  then 
droj)  thy  toys  and  baubles,  and  go  meet  with  Him  who  waiteth  for  thy 
coming.  Oh  did  men  know  the  sweetness  of  friendship  and  fellowship 
with  Jesus,  soon  would  peace,  righteousnsss  and  joy  fill  their  souls,  and 
overspread  their  land  !  May  the  Lord,  the  Spirit  lead  you  and  guide  yoa 
unto  the  Saviour,  and  may  you  in  union  to  Him  enjoy  salvation,  eternal 
Salvation  ! 

Yours  with  love  lasting  and  sincere, 

J.  M  IX 


VOL.  I.  2  P 


284  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce.  [Mat, 


VIII. — A  Short  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce. 

In  drawing  up  a  short  account  of  the  life,  death  and  cha- 
racter of  Mr.  Pearce,  the  writer  finds  himself  called  to  the  dis- 
charge of  a  very  mournful  duty.  He  enters  upon  it  with 
feelings  of  grief  and  disappointment — of  grief  for  the  loss  of  a 
most  sincere  and  affectionate  friend  ;  and  of  disappointment 
from  the  expectation  he  had  entertained  that  one  better  fitted 
to  describe  the  loss  sustained  by  the  Mission  and  the  Public, 
would  have  spared  him  the  painful  task.  It  is  not  however 
the  first  time  he  has  been  constrained  to  duties  of  this  mourn- 
ful kind.  In  1838,  he  Mas  called  to  lament  the  loss  of  an 
affectionate  and  faithful  wife  ;  in  1839,  of  his  beloved  brother 
and  companion  Mr.  Penney;  and  now  in  1840  of  his  long-tried 
and  ever-devoted  friend  Mr.  Pearce.  Thus,  one  after  another 
and  in  this  quick  succession,  has  he  witnessed  the  departure 
of  his  dearest  associates  ;  and  now,  of  all  those  who  commenced 
the  Mission  with  him  in  Calcutta  upwards  of  twenty  years 
ago,  none  are  left  beside  himself  and  the  widow  of  his  last 
deceased  friend  ;  all  have  been  removed  from  this  field  of  action, 
either  by  the  providence  of  God  to  other  parts  of  the  world, 
or  bv  the  stroke  of  death  to  the  spirits  of  the  just  made  perfect. 
This  last  bereavement  is  to  the  writer  peculiarly  distressing, 
and  brings  forcibly  to  his  mind  Young's  Apostrophe  to  Death.  , 

Insatiate  archer  !  could  not  one  suffice? 

Thy  shaft  slew  thrice,  and  thrice  my  peace  was  slain. 

He  knows  not  how  to  express  his  feelings  for  the  loss  of  one 
so  dear  to  him,  except  in  the  words  of  David  when  lamenting 
over  his  dearest  friend  slain  in  the  high  places  :  "  I  am  dis- 
tressed for  thee,  my  brother  Jonathan  :  very  pleasant  hast  thou 
been  unto  me :  thy  love  to  me  was  wonderful ;  passing  the 
love  of  women." 


Mr.  Pearce  was  a  most  interesting  character,  being  loved  by 
all  who  knew  him  for  his  own  excellencies,  and  rendered  con- 
spicuous by  the  virtues  of  his  parents.  He  was  the  eldest 
son  of  the  Rev.  S.  Pearce  of  Birmingham,  whose  praise  is  in 
all  the  Churches.  No  one  can  read  the  life  of  his  Father  with- 
out being  struck  with  his  eminent  piety  and  ardent  desire  to 
do  something  for  the  welfare  of  India ;  and  no  one  can  review 
the  life  of  the  son  without  perceiving  how  completely  he  was 
animated  by  his  father's  spirit,  and  how  steadily  he  pursued 
the  great  object  on  which  his  heart  was  fixed.  It  is  almost 
impossible  to  reflect  on  what  the  father  devised,  and  what  the 
son  executed,  without  being  reminded  of  the  case  of  David  and 


1840.]  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce. 


285 


Solomon.  David  said,  "  I  had  it  in  my  heart  to  build  a 
house  of  rest  for  the  ark  of  the  covenant  of  the  Lord,  and  for 
the  footstool  of  our  God,  and  had  made  ready  for  the  building  ; 
but  God  said  unto  me,  Thou  shalt  not  build  a  house  for  my 
name  :  Solomon  thy  son,  he  shall  build  my  house  and  my 
courts:  for  I  have  chosen  him  to  be  my  son,  and  I  will  be  his 
father." 

Mr.  Pearce  was  born  at  Birmingham  on  the  14th  of  January, 
1794,  and  before  he  was  six  years  of  age  was  deprived  of  his 
father,  the  guide  of  his  youth.  In  the  edition  which  he  pub- 
lished of  his  father's  life,  the  following  are  his  remarks  in 
reference  to  that  event.  'f  Having  lost  his  beloved  father 
before  he  was  six  years  of  age ;  almost  the  only  recollection 
of  his  person  and  character,  possessed  by  the  editor,  is  asso- 
ciated with  his  coffin  ;  and  he  is  therefore  necessarily  incom- 
petent to  add  any  thing  of  importance  to  the  memoirs  from 
his  acquaintance  with  the  subject.  He  has,  however  gathered 
up  some  fragments  of  value  which  might  have  been  lost ;  and 
hopes  that  in  doing  so,  he  has  performed  an  act  of  public 
utility,  as  well  as  of  filial  gratitude." 

By  the  death  of  his  father,  he  with  his  mother,  brother  and 
sister  were  thrown  upon  the  care  of  the  Church  of  God.  The 
sympathies  of  the  religious  public  were  greatly  excited  on  the 
occasion,  and  plans  were  soon  devised  by  which  the  widow's 
and  the  orphans1  wants  were  all  supplied.  On  this  Mr.  Fuller 
offers  these  excellent  remarks  : — 

"  The  situation  in  which  he  left  his  family  we  have  seen  already,  was 
not  owing  to  an  indifference  to  their  interests,  or  an  improvident  dispo- 
sition, or  the  want  of  opportunity  to  have  provided  for  them ;  but  to  a 
steady  and  determined  obedience  to  what  he  accounted  the  will  of  God. 
He  felt  deeply  for  them,  and  we  all  felt  with  him,  and  longed  to  be  able 
to  assure  him  before  his  departure  that  they  would  be  amply  provided 
for:  but  owing  to  circumstances  which  have  already  been  mentioned, 
that  was  more  than  we  could  do.  This  was  a  point  in  which  he  was 
called  to  die  in  faith :  and  indeed  so  he  did.  He  appears  to  have  had  no 
idea  of  that  flood  of  kindness  which  immediately  after  his  decease  flowed 
from  the  religious  public ;  but  he  believed  in  God  and  cheerfully  left  all 
with  him.  'O  that  1  could  speak  (said  he  to  Mrs.  Pearce  a  little  before 
his  death)  ;  I  would  tell  the  world  to  trust  a  faithful  God.  Sweet  afflic- 
tion ;  now  it  worketh  glory,  glory!'  And  when  she  told  him  the  working 
of  her  mind,  he  answered,  '  O  trust  the  Lord!  If  he  lift  up  the  light 
of  his  countenance  upon  you,  as  he  has  done  upon  me  this  day,  all  your 
mountains  will  become  mole-hills.  1  feel  your  situation,  1  feel  your  sorrows, 
but  he  who  takes  care  of  sparrows  will  care  for  you  and  my  dear  children." 

"  The  liberal  contributions  which  have  since  been  made,  though  they 
do  not  warrant  ministers  in  general  to  expect  the  same,  and  much 
less  to  neglect  providing  for  their  own  families  on  such  a  presumption,  yet 
they  must  needs  be  considered  as  a  singular  encouragement  when  we  are 
satisfied  that  we  are  in  the  path  of  duty,  to  be  inordinately  'careful  for 
nothing,  but  in  every  thing  by  prayer  and  supplication,  with  thanks- 
giving to  let  our  requests  be  made  known  unto  God.'  " 
2  p  2 


286 


Memoir  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  rearce". 


[May, 


From  his  infancy  he  was  trained  to  religious  reflexion.  This 
appears  from  a  letter  written  by  his  mother  to  a  frh?nd  when 
he  was  sick ;  in  it  we  see  the  tenderness  of  the  mother,  and 
the  first  dawnings  of  piety  in  the  mind  of  her  son. 

"  My  dear  boy  has  <i  fever,  the  symptoms  of  which  are  alarming.  The 
physician  assures  me  his  lungs  are  not  at  present  affected  ;  though  I  much 
fear  it  will  so  terminate.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  N.  are  unbounded  in  their  ten- 
derness and  attention:  I  know  not  what  is  before  me.  God  is  a  sovereign, 
and  has  a  right  to  do  with  me  and  mine  as  seemeth  good  to  him.  I  have 
long  ago  in  words  acknowledged  his  right;  nor  will  I  now  retract  should 
he  remove  the  delight  of  my  eyes  from  me.  No,  though  he  slay  me,  yet 
will  1  trust  in  Him.  I  feel  an  unbounded  confidence  in  Him.  He  will,  I 
am  persuaded,  do  all  things  well.  He  has  been  very  gracious  to  me. 
My  dear  William  is  a  very  desirable  child.  1  feel  all  the  mother  yearning 
over  him  ;  yet  I  have  not  had  the  least  disposition  to  think  hard  of  God  ; 
but  have  viewed  it  as  the  rod  in  the  hand  of  a  father  who  knows  the 
end  from  the  beginning,  and  who  doth  not  afflict  willingly,  nor  grieve 
the  children  of  men.  Pray  for  me,  my  dear  friend,  that  it  may  be  sancti- 
fied. My  love  to  our  friends.  1  hope  they  will  not  forget  us  when  they 
how  before  the  great  Physician  ;  for  as  our  dear  boy  says,  It  is  of  no  use 
to  apply  to  earthly  physicians  without  the  help  of  the  great  One." 

After  the  death  of  his  father,  Mr.  Pearce  was  placed  under 
the  care  of  Mr.  Nichols,  a  kind  and  benevolent  gentleman, 
whose  heart  was  touched  with  sympathy  for  the  bereaved  family, 
.and  who  came  forward  and  offered  to  adopt  the  eldest  son  of 
his  deceased  friend  as  his  own  child.  Great  was  the  attention 
which  Mr.  Nichols  paid  to  the  formation  of  his  character.  In 
his  education  he  acted  upon  the  principle  laid  down  by  the 
wise  man  :  "Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go  and 
when  he  is  old  he  will  not  depart  from  it."  Through  all  his 
life  did  Mr.  Pearce  carry  with  him  the  savour  of  those  truths 
which  were  here  first  instilled*  into  him,  and  to  the  day  of 
his  death  exhibited  the  lovely  virtues  of  the  man  who  took 
the  charge  of  him  in  his  early  youth.  Mr.  Nichols  died  only 
a  few  years  before  our  friend,  so  that  he  was  amply  rewarded 
for  all  his  care  of  him  in  his  youthful  days,  by  living  to  see  in 
him  a  moral  likeness  of  himself,  a  worthy  son  devoted  to  objects 
of  benevolence  and  willing  to  make  any  personal  sacrifice  for 
their  accomplishment.  A  regular  correspondence  was  kept  up 
between  them  as  long  as  they  both  lived,  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  that  it  contains  much  that  will  illustrate  the  character 
of  our  friend  if  permitted  to  be  made  public. 

After  Mr.  Pearce  was  removed  from  Birmingham  to  Notting- 
ham and  committed  to  the  care  of  Mr.  Nichols,  he  was  placed 
in  the  school  of  one  Mr.  Gooilacre,  which  was  at  that  time 
the  best  seminary  in  the  place.  Though  his  tender  spirit  was 
scarcely  fitted  to  contend  with  the  rough  manners  of  many 

*  "  Quo  semel  est  imbuta  recens,  servabit  odorem 
'1  etta  diu." — Hor. 


1810.]  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce. 


287 


around  him,  yet  by  the  sharpness  of  his  intellect  he  made  his 
way  among  them  and  Commanded  their  respect ;  whilst  his 
more  gentle  manners  softened  the  minds  of  some  and  made 
him  an  object  of  admiration. 

While  residing  at  Nottingham  he  used  to  accompany  Mr.  Nic- 
hols on  the  LordVday  to  Arnold,  a  village  at  a  short  distance, 
and  to  listen  to  the  gospel  as  preached  by  him  to  an  attentive 
congregation.  The  discourses  he  there  heard,  the  acquain- 
tance he  there  formed,  and  the  conversation  into  which  he 
entered  in  going  and  returning,  were  blessed  to  his  soul  by 
the  Spirit  of  God ;  and  though  they  did  not  produce  a  decid- 
ed change  of  heart,  they  prepared  him  for  higher  communi- 
cations of  divine  grace.  Conversion  is  very  diversified  in  the 
manner  in  which  it  is  effected,  though  always  the  same  in  its 
end.  Some,  like  the  apostle  Paul  and  the  jailor  at  Philippi,  are 
convicted  and  converted  in  a  short  space  of  time ;  while  others 
pass  through  a  series  of  gradual  changes  from  year  to  year 
before  they  become  decided  Christians.  "  But  all  these  worketh 
that  one  and  the  self  same  Spirit,  dividing  to  every  man  seve- 
rally as  he  will  ?"  Where  habits  of  vice  have  been  contracted 
the  operations  of  the  Spirit  become  notorious  by  leading  the 
individual  to  abandon  those  habits  and  enter  on  a  new  course  ; 
but  where  no  such  habits  have  been  formed  and  the  depravity 
of  the  heart  only  is  to  be  opposed,  the  workings  of  the  Spirit 
are  then  like  the  leaven  that  is  hid  in  three  measures  of 
meal,  operating  till  the  whole  is  leavened. 

Being  now  well  disposed  and  inclined  to  imitate  those  whom 
he  saw  active  in  doing  good,  he  was  encouraged  to  take  a  part  in 
conducting  the  Sunday  school,  and  to  assist  Mr.  N.  by  giving 
out  the  hymns.  The  dread  of  leading  unconverted  characters 
to  engage  in  the  most  sacred  and  solemn  of  all  duties,  has  led 
many  to  discourage  all  youthful  beginnings  ;  while  others, 
sensible  how  much  piety  is  increased  by  exercise,  have  encou- 
raged the  first  appearances  of  piety.  It  is  right  indeed  that 
unconverted  characters  should  not  be  employed  as  ministers 
of  the  word  ;  but  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  many,  humanly 
speaking,  have  been  driven  to  a  worldly  calling,  who  would 
have  been  shining  lights  in  the  church,  had  they  at  the  first 
received  due  encouragement. 

There  seems  reason  to  believe  that  the  indications  of  piety 
now  manifested,  added  to  an  acute  understanding,  and  uncom- 
mon quickness  of  perception  and  comprehension,  led  Mr.  N. 
and  others  of  Mr.  Pearce's  friends  to  entertain  the  idea  that  he 
might  one  day  be  engaged  in  the  work  of  the  ministry.  It  was 
therefore  thought  right,  in  addition  to  a  good  common  educa- 
tion, that  he  should  receive  such  a  one  as  is  commonly  given  to 


288 


Memoir  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce. 


[May, 


candidates  for  the  sacred  office  ;  for  this  purpose  he  was  placed 
under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Ryland  of  Bristol,  and  with  the 
exception  of  sermonising,  went  through  the  regular  course  of 
four  years*  studies  required  at  the  Bristol  college.  By  this 
means  he  became  well  acquainted  with  the  classics  and  sacred 
literature,  and  also  had  an  opportunity  of  forming  an  acquain- 
tance with  many  who  afterwards  occupied  important  stations 
in  the  churches. 

After  passing  through  his  college  studies,  he  appears  to  have 
come  to  the  conclusion  that  he  was  not  possessed  of  the  qua- 
lifications, either  natural  or  moral,  that  were  essential  to  fit 
him  for  the  work  of  an  English  preacher.  His  voice  was  rather 
weak,  and  his  utterance  rapid,  and  these  natural  defects  seemed 
insuperable.  It  is  remarkable,  however,  that  afterwards  in 
the  Bengali  language  in  which  every  vowel  is  pronounced,  and 
which  consequently  compels  a  slower  enunciation,  he  overcame 
this  defect  and  was  able  to  preach  with  the  greatest  clearness 
and  acceptability.  It  was  the  defect,  however,  which  he  at  this 
time  felt  in  the  spirituality  of  his  mind  that  induced  him  to 
decline  the  arduous  work  of  the  ministry.  The  studies  of 
the  college  are  seldom  favourable  to  the  life  of  God  in  the 
soul,  and  few  pass  through  them  without  experiencing  a  dimi- 
nution in  the  ardour  of  their  piety.  Our  friend  knew  that  the 
ministerial  life  among  those  he  should  be  called  to  serve,  would 
be  intolerably  irksome,  if  not  altogether  impracticable,  unless 
supported  by  eminent  piety  and  self-devotion,  he  therefore  for 
the  present  thought  it  his  duty  to  decline  those  heavy  responsi- 
bilities which  he  did  not  feel  himself  prepared  to  sustain. 

Thus  far  the  stream  of  time  had  run  smoothly  and  regularly 
on,  without  exciting  any  particular  emotion,  but  it  had  now 
conducted  to  an  important  crisis.  There  are  periods  in  the 
life  of  every  individual  when  he  is  brought  to  pause  and  ponder 
on  the  way  he  shall  go  ;  when  the  pillar  of  cloud  that  has 
conducted  him  stops,  and  he  knows  not  which  way  it  will  next 
turn  ;  and  when  he  is  called  to  verify  the  scripture  declara- 
tion "  a  man's  heart  deviseth  his  way,  but  the  Lord  directeth 
his  steps."  Our  friend  felt  he  was  now  come  to  a  turning 
point  in  life,  and  his  guardians  felt  so  too,  and  were  very 
anxious  to  ascertain  what  course  to  recommend  to  him  as  an 
honourable  means  of  gaining  a  livelihood.  Just  at  this  time 
an  apparently  trifling  incident  occurred  which  determined  his 
future  steps  through  life.  One  day  when  at  the  house  of 
Mr.  Potts  of  Birmingham,  who  was  one  of  his  guardians,  Mr. 
Collingwood,  the  printer  to  the  University  of  Oxford,  paid 
the  family  visit,  and  while  sitting  in  the  study,  a  youth  came 
singing  into  the  room  with  a  book  in  his  hand,  and  having 


1840.]  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce. 


289 


placed  it  on  the  shelf  and  taken  another  went  out  blithe  and 
gay  as  he  entered.  Mr.  C.  was  struck  with  the  appearance  of 
the  youth,  and  with  his  good  temper  and  cheerfulness,  and 
was  led  to  make  inquiries  respecting  him.  The  precise  cir- 
cumstances in  which  he  was  placed  were  related  to  him  by 
Mr.  Potts,  and  they  led  him  to  make  the  offer,  that  if  his 
friends  thought  it  right  for  him  to  enter  on  the  business  of  a 
printer,  he  would  gladly  take  him  under  his  own  care  and 
instruction.  Mr.  King,  Mr.  Potts  and  even  Mr.  Nichols  all 
agreed  in  thinking  this  an  opening  made  by  divine  providence, 
though  they  were  perfectly  ignorant  of  the  way  in  which  it 
was  to  be  overruled  to  the  increase  of  religion.  If  they  could 
have  guided  events,  this  is  not  the  way  the)'  would  have  chosen  ; 
they  submitted  to  it  because  it  appeared  to  be  of  divine  appoint- 
ment ;  but  we  now  see  it  was  one  of  those  links  in  the  chain 
of  providence  which,  by  connecting  the  past  with  the  future, 
secured  our  friend's  future  happiness  and  usefulness. 

When,  removed  from  Bristol  to  Oxford,  placed  in  the  fami- 
ly of  Mr.  Collingwood,  and  engaged  in  the  active  duties  of 
life,  Mr.  Pearce  seems  to  have  been  quite  sensible  of  his  pri- 
vileges and  anxious  to  improve  them.  It  would  be  difficult 
even  to  fancy  a  situation  in  which  he  could  have  been  more 
advantageously  located.  His  master  was  all  that  could  be  de- 
sired as  a  scholar,  a  gentleman  and  a  Christian  ;  and  the  Claren- 
don press  afforded  him  every  advantage  calculated  to  fit  him 
for  that  extensive  sphere  of  usefulness  which  he  was  destined 
to  fill  in  India.  In  writing  to  one  of  his  guardians  soon  after 
he  was  settled  at  Oxford,  he  remarks, 

<<  It  is  with  pleasure  that  I  now  address  you,  to  announce  the  safe 
arrival  of  my  indentures  and  the  satisfaction  I  feel  on  entering  upon  my 
present  situation  for  so  long  a  time. 

"The  advantages  of  the  situation  are  certainly  great:  an  amiable, 
learned  and  kind  master,  an  accomplished  and  agreeable  family,  a  faithful 
and  affectionate  minister,  every  thing  of  this  nature  which  deserve  my 
gratitude— gratitude  to  that  Providence  which  has  fixed  my  lot  in  a 
situation  possessing  such  manifest  advantages,  and  gratitude  to  those 
friends  whose  kindness  and  concern  for  my  welfare  will,  I  trust,  forever 
endear  them  to  my  heart.  Such  friends,  real,  disinterested  friends,  are 
not  granted  to  every  one,  nor  are  the  advantages  which  they  have  pro- 
cured, bestowed  upon  many  of  the  children  of  men.  Truly' I  have  felt 
the  accomplishment  of  the  promise  '  When  thy  father  and  mother  for- 
sake thee,  then  the  Lord  will  take  thee  up.'  <  I  will  be  a  Father  to 
the  fatherless.'  U  may  the  advantages  which  I  enjoy  produce  their 
suitable  effects." 

m  It  was  at  Oxford  that  Mr.  Pearce  became  decided  in  his  reli- 
gious views  and  character.  Here  the  seed  which  had  been  sown, 
and  long  concealed,  began  togrow  and  put  forth  vigorous  shoots. 
1  he  eldest  daughter  of  Mr.  Collingwood  appears  to  have  exerted 
great  influence  over  him  in  bringing  him  to  a  decision.  She 


290  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce.  [May, 


obtained  from  him  a  faithful  promise,  that  he  would  read  a  por- 
tion of  his  Bible,  of  Doddridge's  Rise  and  Progress,  and  other 
books  of  a  similar  nature,  every  day.  While  his  mind  was  thns 
exercised,  a  sermon  was  preached  by  Mr.  Hinton,  whose  minis- 
try he  constantly  attended,  which  produced  a  most  powerful 
effect  upon  him,  and  led  him  to  devote  himself  body,  soul  and 
spirit  to  that  Saviour  who  had  redeemed  him  with  his  precious 
blood:  and  having  given  himself  first  unto  the  Lord,  he  gave 
himself  next  to  his  people  by  the  will  of  God. 

No  sooner  had  he  experimentally  learned  the  value  of  his 
own  soul  and  of  the  salvation  which  is  by  faith  in  Jesus  Christ 
than  he  immediately  inquired,  '  Lord,  what  wilt  thou  have  me 
to  do  ?'  and  what  can  I  do  to  promote  the  welfare  of  those  who 
are  perishing  for  lack  of  knowledge  ?  This  desire  to  be  useful  to 
others  led  him  to  take  an  active  part  in  conducting  the  Sunday 
school  established  at  Oxford,  and  others  in  the  villages.  The 
most  pleasing  testimony  was  given  to  his  conduct  as  a  Sunday 
school  teacher,  by  a  vote  of  thanks  addressed  to  him  by  all 
the  teachers  on  his  removal  from  Oxford.  It  was  during  the 
latter  part  of  his  time  at  Oxford  that  Mr.  Pearce  first  began 
to  direct  his  thoughts  to  the  East,  and  to  make  inquiries  whe- 
ther there  was  any  opening  in  which  he  could  subserve  the  inter- 
ests of  the  mission.  He  now  entered  into  all  his  father's  views 
and  feelings,  and  like  him  panted  for  the  opportunity  of 
declaring  to  the  heathen  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ. 
His  example  was  not  without  its  effect  upon  others.  His  in- 
quiries were  communicated  to  Mr.  Fuller  and  Dr.  Ryland,  and 
made  the  subject  of  conversation  among  several  of  the  students 
under  the  care  of  the  latter.  Two  of  these  were  led  into  the 
same  train  of  thought  and  inquiry,  and  were  induced  to 
offer  themselves  to  the  Society  for  foreign  service.  One  of 
these,  then  entirely  unacquainted  with  Mr.  Pearce,  subse- 
quently became  his  most  intimate  friend  and  colleague,  his 
brother  and  companion  in  tribulation,  and  in  the  kingdom  and 
patience  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  time  appointed  for  Mr.  Pearce's  remaining  at  Oxford 
having  expired,  and  no  definite  news  having  been  received  from 
India,  as  to  the  way  in  which  he  could  serve  the  mission,  he 
removed  to  Birmingham,  and  there  commenced  business  for 
himself.  He  had  the  fairest  prospects  of  establishing  himself 
there,  and  of  being  useful  in  the  church  over  which  his  father 
had  presided  ;  but  when  intelligence  was  received  from  Mr. 
Ward  of  Serampore,  signifying  how  happy  he  should  be  to 
receive  the  son  of  his  beloved  friend  Samuel  Pearce,  and  to 
have  him  as  his  companion  and  assistant  in  printing  the 
Scriptures,  Tracts,  &c.  he  renounced  all  other  prospects  for  the 


1840.]  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce. 


291 


purpose  of  devoting  his  life  to  these  important  objects  ;  and 
it  is  believed,  would  have  done  so,  even  had  those  prospects 
been  a  thousand  times  more  flattering. 

'At  Birmingham,  Mr.  Pearce  allied  himself  by  marriage  with 
a  respectable  and  pious  family.  On  the  3rd  of  April  1817  he 
married  Martha,  second  daughter  of  Mr.  Blakemore,  merchant; 
and  among  all  the  temporal  blessings  bestowed  upon  him  by  a 
gracious  providence,  he  ever  acknowledged  that  of  a  kind  and 
devoted  wife  as  the  chief.  The  last  few  lines  of  poetry,  which 
he  wrote  only  a  short  time  before  his  death,  testify  in  the  most 
lively  manner  his  affection  for  his  partner,  and  his  gratitude  to 
God  for  their  union.  May  He  who  is  a  Father  to  the  father- 
less and  a  Husband  to  the  widow,  sustain  the  mind  of  the 
bereaved,  and  fill  with  his  presence  the  aching  void  occasion- 
ed by  the  loss  of  one  endeared  by  so  many  years  of  friendship, 
and  so  many  acts  of  kindness. 

Arrangements  having  been  made  with  the  Baptist  Mission- 
ary Society  for  Mr.  Pearce's  proceeding  to  Serampore,  he  left 
England  on  the  7th  of  May,  181/,  and  arrived  in  India  on  the 
26th  of  August,  in  the  same  year.  When  just  on  the  eve  of 
his  departure,  he  had  addressed  to  him  an  affectionate  and 
interesting  letter  by  his  young  friends,  with  whom  he  had 
laboured  in  acts  of  benevolence  at  Oxford.  As  it  exhibits  in  so 
amiable  a  light  their  kind  feeling  and  good  wishes,  no  apology 
is  deemed  necessary  for  its  insertion. 

At  a  Meeting  of  the  Teachers  of  the  Oxford  Sunday  School  Society, 
held  March  6,  1817,  it  was  unanimously  Resolved, 

That  although  this  Society  passed  a  vote  of  thanks  to  Mr.  W.  H.  Pearce 
on  his  removal  from  Oxford,  they  are  desirous  of  expressing  in  a  more 
especial  manner  (antecedently  to  his  leaving  his  native  country)  the  very 
high  regard  in  which  they  hold  his  endeavours  to  promote  their  interests. 

They  particularly  call  to  mind  his  having  been  one  of  the  earliest  and 
principal  promoters  of  the  institution,  his  acceptance  of  the  office  of 
secretary,  which  he  held  from  its  establishment,  till  his  leaving  Oxford  ; 
his  uniting  with  the  secretaryship  the  no  less  important  duties  of  sub- 
treasurer  and  depositary,  his  valuable  assistance  in  the  superintendence 
of  two  of  their  schools  ;  his  anxiety  to  aid  in  the  formation  of  the  male 
and  female  Adult  schools:  his  assiduity  in  promoting  their  interests  when 
established,  his  punctual  discharge  of  the  office  of  visitor  to  the  schools, 
in  which  his  judicious  conversation  with  the  parents  greatly  contributed 
to  the  prosperity  of  the  children  individually  and  of  the  Society  collec- 
tively ;  and,  finally,  his  excellent  and  highly  beneficial  example,  to  which 
the  Teachers  in  general  refer  much  of  their  zeal,  constancy  and  delight 
in  their  work. 

The  Society  feel  deeply  interested  in  the  direction  which  Infinite 
Wisdom  has  given  to  his  views,  and  unite  in  most  ardent  supplication, 
that  great  success  may  attend  his  labours  in  that  glorious  work,  which 
was  seldom  absent  from  his  parent's  heart ;  and  respecting  which,  if  his 
happy  spirit  could  let  fall  a  wish  from  the  realms  of  glory,  it  would  meet 
its  fulfilment  as  his  son  enters  the  vessel  in  which  he  is  about  to  embark 
to  accelerate  the  triumphs  of  Christianity  on  the  shores  of  India.  O  may 

VOL.  I.  2  Q 


292 


Memoir  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce.  [May, 


"  Soft  airs  and  gentle  heavings  of  the  wave 
Impel  the  ship  whose  errand  is  to  save. 
Let  nothing  adverse,  nothing  unforeseen, 
Impede  the  bark  that  plows  the  deep  serene, 
Charged  with  a  freight  transcending  in  its  worth 
The  gems  of  India,  nature's  rarest  birth, 
That  flies  like  Gabriel  on  his  Lord's  commands 
An  herald  of  God's  love  to  pagan  lands." 
In  addition  to  these  heartfelt  desires  the  Teachers  beg  Mr.  Pearce's  ac- 
ceptance of  the  Rev.  Hugh  Pearson's  memoirs  of  Dr.  Buchanan,  once  a 
faithful  labourer  in  the  same  cause.  They  feel  much,  while  thus  express- 
ing their  affection  for  an  endeared  friend,  and  direct  most  ardent  wishes 
to  the  divine  throne  that  he  may  (at  a  far  distant  period)  meet  in  heaven 
the  subject  of  these  Memoirs,  together  with  those  holy  men  with  whom 
they  hope  he  will  shortly  be  a  companion  in  labour,  and  every  other 
Missionary  who  shall  have  been  found  "faithful  unto  death." 

Though  they  expect  to  see  the  countenance  of  their  friend  no  more  on 
earth,  they  hope  in  the  honoured  band  of  Missionaries  to  behold  it  with 
joy  at  the  resurrection  of  the  just. 

Signed  on  behalf  of  the  Teachers, 
EDW.  STEANE,  )  c 
J.  W.  SLATTER,  J  ^ecretartes- 

Immediately  on  his  arrival  in  India,  Mr.  Pearce  proceeded 
to  Serampore,  and  laboured  in  connection  with  Mr.  Ward  in 
the  Printing  office.  His  progress  in  the  study  of  the  Bengali 
language  was  rapid,  and  his  talents  and  exertions  highly  valued, 
and  there  was  every  prospect  of  his  being  long  useful  and 
happy  at  Serampore.  Before  one  year  had  elapsed,  however, 
these  prospects  were  beclouded.  At  this  time  a  difference  of 
opinion  had  arisen  between  the  senior  Missionaries  and  the 
Society  as  to  the  relation  existing  between  them,  and  the  en- 
gagements by  which  they  were  bound  to  each  other.  On  this 
occasion  Mr.  P.  took  part  with  the  Society,  and  in  acting  up 
to  what  he  believed  to  be  right,  he  had  sacrifices  to  make ;  he 
had  to  give  up  the  brightest  prospects  of  usefulness,  to  risk 
the  good  opinion  of  those  whom  he  highly  esteemed  and  loved, 
and  to  commence  operations  in  Calcutta,  under  every  disad- 
vantage, dependent  entirely  upon  his  own  energies  and  the 
divine  blessing. 

On  his  removal  to  this  city  he  united  himself  with  the  junior 
Missionaries  of  the  Society,  and  took  a  most  active  part  in  all 
the  measures  they  adopted  for  the  establishment  and  exten- 
sion of  the  mission.  In  the  printing  department  he  com- 
menced operations  on  a  very  limited  scale,  with  only  one  press, 
in  a  contemptible  mat  hut  adjoining  the  house  where  he  lived. 
This  establishment  he  continued  to  enlarge  as  Providence 
enlarged  his  means,  and  raised  it  from  the  most  insignificant 
to  one  of  the  most  efficient  in  the  city.  To  the  honour  of  Mr. 
Pearce  it  must  be  said,  that  this  office,  belonging  as  it  does 
entirely  to  the  Society  in  England,  never  cost  them  one  far- 


1840.]  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce. 


293 


thing,  from  its  commencement  to  the  death  of  its  founder- 
On  the  contrary,  it  every  year  contributed  to  the  objects  they 
were  engaged  to  support.  Our  friend  consented  to  carry  on. 
the  arduous  duties  of  the  Printing  office  precisely  upon  the  same 
principle  as  the  apostle  Paul  consented  to  labour  in  making 
tents,  that  he  might  have  the  satisfaction  of  being  able  to  say,. 
"  Ye  yourselves  know  that  these  hands  have  ministered  to  my 
necessities,  and  to  them  that  were  with  me.  I  have  shewed 
you  all  things,  how  that  so  labouring  ye  ought  to  support  the 
weak,  and  to  remember  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus,  how  he 
said,  It  is  more  blessed  to  give  than  to  receive." 

While  conducting  the  business  of  the  office,  he  was  not  un- 
mindful of  the  state  of  the  Heathen,  but  was  continually  plan- 
ning something  for  their  temporal  good,  or  writing  something 
for  their  spiritual  instruction,  o'r  persuading  others  to-  exert 
themselves  on  their  behalf.  In  the  early  part  of  his  course,, 
he  often  addressed  the  Bengalis  in  the  different  Native  Cha- 
pels in  this  city;  though  his  chief  exertions  were  directed  to> 
teaching  and  preaching  in  a  more  private  manner. 

After  Mr.  Pearce  had  laboured  assiduously  for  about  five 
years  in  Calcutta,  his  health  began  to  fail,  and  in  1823  it  was 
found  necessary  for  him  to  take  a  short  voyage  for  the  recruit- 
ing of  his  health.  In  this  voyage  to  Penang  he  was  accompa- 
nied by  his  beloved  sister,  and  the  charms  of  her  society 
greatly  relieved  its  tedium.  He  appears  to  have  felt  uncom- 
mon delight  in  the  scenery  of  the  Islands  as  viewed  from 
Government  Hill.  This  hill,  independent  of  the  two  Bungalows 
reserved  for  the  use  of  the  Governor,  contains  a  third  called 
the  convalescent  Bungalow,  erected  by  Government  for  the 
temporary  accommodation  of  invalids,  to  whom  the  change 
of  climate  is  generally  found  to  be  of  essential  service.  It  is 
2500  feet  above  the  Level  of  the  town.  One  of  the  longest 
pieces  of  poetry  he  ever  composed,  and  the  best  as  to  descrip- 
tion, was  penned  on  this  hill,  beginning  with  these  lines : 

"  Near  where  the  equator  parts  the  torrid  zone,  * 
There  lies  an  island  called  from  royal  race, 
The  Prince  of  Wales's  Island  ;  or  by  those 
Who  knew  it  earlier,  and  whose  name  survives 
The  lapse  of  rolling  years,  Pulo  Penang,"  &c. 

During  his  stay  at  Penang  he  received  the  greatest  atten- 
tion and  kindness  from  the  religious  friends  he  found  on  the 
spot ;  and  after  enjoying  for  several  months  their  society  and 
the  scenery  of  the  lovely  place,  he  returned  to  Calcutta  with 
his  health  greatly  improved. 

On  his   return  to  Calcutta,  from  the  commencement  of 
1824  to  1829  he  was  diligently  engaged  in  the  duties  of  his 
2  <a  2 


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office  and  in  occasional  preaching  to  the  natives.  Within  this 
period  also  he  began  to  render  valuable  assistance  in  the  work 
of  translating  the  scriptures.  He  never  undertook  to  translate 
any  part  himself,  but  his  assistance  was  peculiarly  valuable  in 
the  final  correction  of  the  proofs.  He  had  the  eye  of  a  Chris- 
tian, a  Critic  and  a  Printer.  He  could  see  at  once,  if  passages 
contained  any  thing  contrary  to  the  analogy  of  faith — he  could 
perceive,  if  justice  had  been  done  to  disputed  texts- — and  no  eye 
was  ever  quicker  than  his  in  discovering  a  typographical  error. 
These  qualifications  rendered  his  aid  in  the  Bengali  version  of 
the  scriptures  invaluable,  and  those  deprived  of  it  feel  them- 
selves called  to  double  diligence  and  care,  to  supply  his  lack  of 
service.  The  two  last  works  on  which  his  heart  was  set,  and 
which  he  hoped  to  see  completed,  were  the  Bengali  Bible  with 
headings  to  the  chapters  and  references  and  renderings  at  the 
foot  of  the  page  ;  and  a  reprint  of  Martyn's  version  of  the  New 
Testament  in  Persian ;  but  instead  of  living  to  see  them  finished, 
he  did  not  live  to  see  the  first  form  of  either  of  them  through 
the  press.  The  Bengali  had  been  kept  waiting  for  him  three 
years,  while  he  was  seeking  in  his  Native  Isle  renovated  health 
to  engage  in  it ;  and  when  he  had  returned  with  health  in  some 
degree  restored  and  fitted  for  the  work,  he  was  removed 
before  the  first  sheet  had  been  struck  off.  Truly  may  we  say  ill 
reference  to  this  event  of  Providence,  "  How  unsearchable 
are  His  judgments  and  His  ways  past  finding  out  !" 

In  the  year  1829,  upon  Mr.  Yates's  being  called  from  the 
Native  Church  to  take  the  pastoral  charge  of  the  English  Church 
in  Circular  Road,  Mr.  Pearce  was  requested  by  the  Native 
brethren  to  supply  the  vacancy.  His  mind  had  for  several  years 
previously  been  engaged  in  reflecting,  whether  he  could  not  do 
something  more  for  their  spiritual  welfare ;  yet  so  fearful  was 
he  of  thrusting  himself  into  the  sacred  office  of  Pastor  without 
suitable  qualifications,  that  after  receiving  a  pressing  invita- 
tion to  accept  the  charge,  he  first  required  a  year's  trial  to  be 
given  him  ;  and  after  that,  when  at  the  expiration  of  the  year 
the  call  was  repeated,  he  required  the  sanction  of  all  his  Mis- 
sionary brethren  and  of  the  English  church  to  which  he  belong- 
ed, before  he  would  accept  it.  When  all  had  testified  they  were 
perfectly  satisfied, that  he  possessed  those  gifts  and  graces  which 
eminently  fitted  him  for  the  office,  he  consented  to  undertake 
it,  and  was  set  apart  for  it  in  the  Circular  Road  Chapel.  The 
account  of  his  experience  and  his  confession  of  faith  which  he 
read  at  the  service,  gave  great  satisfaction  to  all  who  heard 
them.  The  ordination  prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  J.  Hill 
and  the  charge  given  by  the  Rev.  W.  Yates  from  1  Tim.  iv.  6. 
*'  Take  heed  to  thyself  and  to  the  doctrine,"  &c.   It  may  be 


1840.]  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce. 


295 


truly  said  that  through  his  whole  pastoral  course,  a  period  of 
about  10  years  with  one  of  probation,  he  acted  up  to  the  spirit 
ofthe  charge  that  was  then  delivered.  His  heart  was  intent  upon 
the  instruction  and  spiritual  improvement  of  those  committed  to 
his  care.  He  allowed  them  access  to  him  at  all  hours,  entered 
into  all  their  complaints  and  griefs,  and  never  failed  to  impart 
to  them  the  best  advice,  and  to  secure  for  them  assistance 
where  it  was  absolutely  needed.  His  last  hour  of  labour  upon 
earth  was  in  the  midst  of  them,  and  he  may  be  said  to  have 
died  seeking  the  increase  and  establishment  of  his  beloved 
Native  church. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  from  the  preceding  remarks  that 
all  his  energies  were  devoted  to  the  welfare  of  his  church,  and 
that  he  was  indifferent  to  the  wants  of  the  heathen.  Though 
through  the  feebleness  of  his  voice  many  could  not  hear  him, 
yet  he  had  the  care  of  several  Native  preachers,  who  supplied  his 
deficiency  in  preaching,  and  it  was  his  concern  to  make  them 
scribes  well  instructed  in  the  kingdom  of  God,  and  able  to  bring 
out  of  the  divine  treasury  things  new  and  old  ;  and  in  addition 
to  what  he  did  in  preparing  others  to  preach  the  word,  he  by 
the  use  of  his  pen  communicated  divine  truth  to  a  very  great 
extent.  His  Satya  Ashray  or  True  Refuge,  a  tract  printed  in 
Bengali,  Oriya,  and  Hindi,  has  been  circulated  and  read  more 
extensively  than  almost  any  other,  and  by  that,  though  now 
dead,  he  yet  continues  to  speak  to  the  thousands  and  millions 
of  Bengal  and  Hindustan. 

In  1836,  after  a  residence  in  India  of  nineteen  years,  it 
was  judged  desirable  by  Mr.  Pearce  himself,  as  well  as  his 
friends  and  medical  attendant,  that  he  should  be  released  for 
a  season  from  his  arduous  duties  to  enjoy  the  benefit  of  a  colder 
climate.  Had  it  been  possible  for  him  to  relax  his  efforts 
without  removing  from  this  climate,  it  was  thought  by  many 
that  his  health  would  have  been  improved,  but  there  seemed 
no  possibility  of  his  desisting  from  strenuous  exertion,  except 
by  going  away  altogether  from  the  scene  of  labour.  He  left 
Calcutta  on  the  1st  of  January,  1837,  in  the  ship  Mount  Stuart 
Elphinstone,  and  arrived  in  England  May  the  4th.  In  the  busy 
scenes  of  active  benevolence  in  England,  Mr.  P.  found  it  as 
impossible  to  be  quiet  as  in  India.  Though  he  had  not  strength 
to  stand  forth  and  address  large  congregations,  he  soon  made 
himself  heard  through  the  medium  of  the  press  to  a  much 
greater  extent.  His  heart  was  first  set  on  the  words  of  the 
Saviour  :  "  The  harvest  truly  is  plenteous,  but  the  labourers 
are  few ;  pray  ye  therefore  the  Lord  of  the  harvest  to  send 
forth  labourers  into  his  harvest."  This  was  his  prayer,  and  his 
actions  corresponded  with  his  prayer.    He  sat  down  and 


296  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce.  [Mat, 


composed  a  powerful  appeal  to  the  religious  public  for  ten  fresh 
labourers  to  be  sent  forth  into  the  harvest.  The  appeal  was 
not  in  vain,  the  sum  required  for  the  purpose  was  subscribed, 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  agents  speedily  engaged.  He 
made  a  similar  appeal  to  the  Tract  Society,  which  was  crown- 
ed with  the  like  success,  so  that  he  had  the  satisfaction  of 
seeing  that  his  visit  to  England  had  not  been  without  benefit 
to  India. 

The  former  appeal,  however,  with  the  labour  of  correspon- 
dence and  journeying  which  it  involved,  was  too  much  for  an 
eastern  invalid.  The  severity  of  the  cold  too  was  more  than 
his  weak  frame  could  endure  ;  so  ill  was  he  during  the  last 
winter  of  his  stay,  that  but  little  hope  was  entertained  of  his 
ever  being  able  to  return  to  India.  Through  the  mercy  of  God 
however  he  was  restored,  and  on  the  20th  of  June,  1839,  was 
permitted  with  four  new  Missionaries  to  sail  for  Calcutta. 
His  health  during  the  passage  was  somewhat  improved,  though 
he  never  seemed  to  be  perfectly  recovered.  It  had  been  fondly 
hoped  by  his  friends  here,  that  after  an  absence  of  three  years 
from  his  office  and  his  church,  he  would  be  prepared  to  resume 
his  labours  with  fresh  vigor,  and  to  carry  them  on  with  delight 
for  many  years  to  come.  But  the  Lord  had  otherwise  ordained  t 
before  six  months  had  elapsed,  he  was  attacked  by  a  disease 
which  his  constitution  was  unable  to  sustain,  and  in  less  than 
twenty-four  hours  removed  from  his  labours  to  his  rest. 

It  appears  that  our  friend,  like  his  father,  had  a  sort  of  fore- 
boding as  to  the  kind  of  death  he  should  die.  What  his  father 
felt  and  said  of  consumption,  he  felt  and  said  almost  verbally 
of  cholera.  "  Of  all  the  ways  of  dying  that  which  I  most 
dreaded  was  by  a  consumption,  in  which  it  is  now  highly  pro- 
bable my  disorder  will  issue.  But,  O  my  dear  Lord,  if  by  this 
death  I  can  most  glorify  thee,  I  prefer  it  to  all  others,  and 
thank  thee  that  by  this  means  thou  art  hastening  my  fuller- 
enjoyment  of  thee  in  a  purer  world. "  When  that  which  he 
feared,  came  upon  him,  he  was  enabled  to  meet  the  last  enemy 
in  his  most  terrible  array  without  alarm,  and  to  say,  "  Rejoice 
not  against  me,  O  mine  enemy,  though  I  fall,  I  shall  rise, 
though  I  sit  in  darkness,  the  Lord  shall  be  a  light  unto  me." 

The  day  before  his  death  was  spent  just  in  the  manner  his 
friends  could  have  wished  it  to  be  spent,  had  they  known  it  to 
be  the  last.  He  had  written  to  the  Society  in  England,  drawn 
up  an  appeal  to  the  American  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  and 
conversed  with  the  members  of  his  church.  In  his  appeal,  the 
last  thing  he  wrote,  there  is  one  passage  truly  remarkable. 
Speaking  of  his  return  to  India  and  of  others  now  engaged 
with  him  in  Missionary  labours,  he  observes,  <*  How  long  we 


1840.]  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce. 


297 


may  all  be  spared  together,  or  how  soon  disease  or  death  may 
remove  the  most  efficient  labourers  from  the  scene  of  action,  is 
to  us  quite  unknown  ;  but  we  feel  these  circumstances  to  be  a 
solemn  call  to  us,  to  work  while  it  is  called  to-day,  and  to  do 
with  all  our  might,  whatever  work  God  in  his  providence  may 
seem  to  put  in  our  hands."  O  what  would  his  feelings  have 
been,  could  he  have  certainly  foreknown  that  the  very  day  on 
which  he  was  dictating  these  lines,  was  to  be  the  last  in  which 
they  were  all  to  be  spared  together  ! 

The  account  we  have  to  give  of  the  last  hours  of  our  friend's 
life,  is  necessarily  short,  and  cannot  be  better  expressed  than 
in  the  words  of  Mr.  Tucker  at  the  close  of  the  funeral  sermon 
which  he  preached  on  the  mournful  occasion.    He  observes, 

"  You  will  be  desirous,  however,  of  hearing  something  concerning  the 
close  of  Mr.  Pearce's  life.  Short  was  the  warning  which  his  Lord  thought 
fit  to  give  his  devoted  servant.  On  Monday,  the  16th,  after  corresponding 
with  friends  in  England  and  America  on  things  pertaining  to  the  kingdom 
of  God,  he  was  engaged  to  a  late  hour  in  religious  conversation  with  some 
of  the  members  of  his  Church.  The  next  evening,  before  that  hour 
arrived,  his  course  was  finished,  and  he  had  entered  into  the  joy  of  his  Lord. 
During  the  intervening  night  he  was  attacked  by  cholera — and  as  his 
feeble  constitution  had  been  much  weakened  by  recent  sickness,  he  seem- 
ed almost  immediately  to  sink  beneath  the  shock.  In  the  forenoon, 
conscious  that  his  end  was  approaching,  he  said  to  his  beloved  partner 
and  another  dear  friend  who  were  giving  him  some  assistance:  'Love 
one  another  ;  live  near  to  God  ;  win  souls  to  Christ.'  A  Christian  friend 
observing  to  him  that  he  had  been  commended  to  God  and  that  his  will 
would  be  done,  he  replied,  '  Serve  God  in  your  day  and  generation.' 
His  beloved  partner  then  asking  for  a  parting  word,  he  said,  *  Stay  in  the 
Mission,  and  do  what  good  you  can,  and  the  peace  of  our  Lord  Jesu9 
Christ  be  with  thy  spirit.'  As  his  strength  proceeded  very  rapidly  to 
diminish,  his  most  intimate  Christian  brother  asked  him,  if  he  thought 
the  disorder  would  terminate  his  earthly  career.  He  said,  there  could 
be  no  doubt  of  it.  He  then  asked  him,  if  he  felt  peaceful  in  the  prospect. 
He  replied  '  Peaceful,  but  not  joyful— peaceful  but  not  joyful.'  Hi9 
friend  asked  him,  why  he  was  not  joyful  in  the  prospect  of  entering  into 
glory  ?  He  said,  '  Why  I  thought  there  was  something  more  for  me  to  do 
for  the  good  of  India  before  departing.'  His  friend  rejoined—'  God  has 
work  for  his  people  in  another  world  besides  this.'  He  replied  by  nodding, 
and  seeming  to  whisper  «  very  true.'  At  this  point  the  Doctor  came  in, 
and  looking  at  him  said,  I  hope  Mr.  Pearce,  you  feel  happy.  He  replied, 
holding  him  by  the  hand,  '  Doctor,  1  have  a  good  hope  through  grace.' 
A  little  after,  another  friend  came  in,  and  after  quoting  some  consolatory 
passages  of  Scripture,  to  which  he  responded  by  occasionally  raising  his 
hand,  asked  him  how  he  felt.  He  replied,  '  I  hope  in  Christ— I  hope  in 
Christ.'  His  friend  quoted,  •  Unto  you  that  believe,  He  is  precious.'  He 
answered  '  I  know  him  to  be  so, — infinitely.'  Perceiving  that  all  would 
soon  be  over,  his  friend  said,  *  You  are  going  to  your  Lord  and  Master.' 
He  instantly  replied  '  A  most  unworthy  servant.'  These  were  nearly  the 
last  words  he  spoke  audibly.  The  powerful  medicines  he  had  taken, 
seemed  to  confuse  his  mind  and  impair  his  utterance.  There  was  one 
incident,  however,  which  occurred  soon  afterwards,  which  some  who  were 
present,  will  not  soon  forget.  Being  raised  suddenly  in  bed  to  relieve  the 


298 


Memoir  of  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce. 


[May, 


oppression  on  his  chest,  his  eye  fell  on  one*  who  stood  at  the  foot  of  the 
bed,  who  had  been  born  and  reared  in  all  the  delusions  of  Muhammadanism, 
but  who  has  for  many  years  proved,  through  the  grace  ofGod,  a  very  consis- 
tent and  devoted  Christian.  A  heavenly  smile  instantly  broke  over  the  wan 
face  of  the  sufferer,  which  was  instantly  responded  to  by  the  converted 
Musalman  in  the  true  spirit  of  our  text — Bhay  karxo  na,  bhay  karto  nd, 
Prabhu  nilcate  ddnraitechhen — (Fear  not,  fear  not,  the  Lord  is  standing 
by  thee.)  The  dying  saint  nodded  his  assent,  and  deeply  were  all 
around  affected  with  the  spectacle  of  one  in  the  garb  and  mien  of  an 
Oriental,  and  in  a  strange  tongue,  helping  to  soothe  the  death-bed  of  a 
British  Christian  with  the  sublime  consolations  of  the  word  of  God.  After 
this,  Mr.  Pearce  seemed  gradually  to  sink  into  insensibility,  and  about 
9  o'clock  the  scene  was  closed." 

The  following  account  of  the  funeral,  taken  from  the  Cal- 
cutta Christian  Advocate,  we  think  worthy  of  insertion  in 
this  place,  as  it  seems  to  say  to  all  emphatically,  "  Behold  the 
perfect  man,  and  mark  the  upright,  the  end  of  that  man  is  peace." 

"  The  funeral  was  attended  by  a  vast  concourse  of  ministerial  and  other 
friends — we  may  add,  we  believe,  by  almost  every  convalescent  Missionary 
in  the  city.  The  deep  feeling  manifested  by  all  parties,  showed  how  much 
he  had  been  respected  while  living,  and  how  evidently  he  was  sorrowed 
for  in  death.  Previously  to  the  removal  of  the  corpse  from  the  mission 
premises,  suitable  portions  of  scripture  were  read  by  the  Rev.  J.  D.  Ellis, 
and  an  affecting  prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  W.  Yates.  Mr.  Yates  is  by 
this  mournful  event,  left  the  last  of  those  who  originally  formed  the  Cal- 
cutta Mission.  He  was  evidently  much  affected  by  the  severing  of  this 
last  link  which  connected  him  with  his  early  Mission  work.  At  the  grave's 
mouth  a  striking  and  affecting  address  was  delivered,  and  prayer  offered  by 
the  Rev.  F.  Tucker.  The  pall  was  borne  by  the  following  Missionaries  : 
the  Rev.  W.  S.  Mackay,  of  the  Scottish  Mission ;  the  Rev.  F.  Wybrow,  of 
the  Church  Mission  ;  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Gogerly,  Lacroix,  and  Boaz,  of  the 
London  Mission,  and  others.  The  scene  at  the  grave  was  very  affecting. 
There  were  gathered  around  the  last  sleeping  place  of  this  good  man,  the 
converted  Hindu,  Musalman,  Armenian,  Portuguese,  Eurasian,  and  Euro- 
pean, lay  and  clerical,  of  all  the  different  shades  of  opinion  in  the  Christian 
church,  all  gathered  together  to  pay  the  last  mark  of  respect  to  departed 
worth  ;  a  faint  type  of  that  morning  when  the  same  grave  shall  be  opened, 
and  all  the  just  shall  stand  around  the  throne  of  Christ,  with  their  differ- 
ences healed,  united  in  heart  and  soul,  to  pay  all  homage  not  to  man,  how- 
ever excellent,  but  to  that  blessed  Lord  who  hath  redeemed  them  by  his 
own  precious  blood.  But 

K  Why  should  we  mourn  departed  friends, 
Or  start  at  Death's  alarms  ?" 

For  him  to  die  was  gain.  What  a  blessed  change  has  passed  over  our 
friend  !  What  a  reception  must  his  happy  spirit  have  experienced  on  its 
arrival  at  the  heavenly  Canaan! — To  meet  with  his  devoted  parents,  with 
Lawson,  and  Chamberlain,  and  Penney,  and  other  friends  endeared  to  him 
by  a  host  of  most  sacred  associations,  and  with  many,  of  whom  he  could 
say :  "  Behold  these  the  children  whom  thou  hast  given  me  V — the  crown 
of  his  rejoicing  and  his  reward  : — but  above  all  to  see  Him  whom  unseen 
he  had  adored,  and  present  these  converts  as  trophies  at  His  feet,  what 
joy — how  full  and  complete !"  % 

•  Shujiat  All. 


1840.  J  Memoir  of  the  Rev.  W.  II.  Pearce. 


299 


On  Lord's-day  the  29th  of  March,  two  funeral  sermons  were 
preached  in  Calcutta,  on  account  of  Mr.  Pearce's  death  :  one 
in  the  morning,  at  the  Chapel  in  Intally,  to  the  Native  church, 
in  Bengali,  hy  Mr.  Yates  ;  from  Heb.  xi.  4  :  "  He  being  dead 
yet  speaketh and  the  other  in  the  evening,  at  the  Dharamtala, 
Chapel,  in  English,  by  Mr.  Tucker,  from  Rev.  i.  17,  18  :  «  And 
when  I  saw  him,  I  fell  at  his  fee't  as  dead.  And  he  laid  his 
right  hand  upon  me  saying,  Fear  not ;  I  am  the  first  and  the 
last :  I  am  he  that  liveth  and  was  dead  ;  and  behold,  I  am 
alive  for  evermore,  Amen  ;  and  have  the  keys  of  hell  and  of 
death."  The  attendance  on  the  occasion  was  such  as  to  evince 
how  well  he  was  known  and  how  much  he  was  beloved*. 

The  above  brief  historical  outline  of  Mr.  Pearce's  life  and 
death  occupying  all  the  space  that  could  be  given  in  this  num- 
ber, the  delineation  of  his  character  is  reserved  to  the  next. 

Resolution  passed  at  the  Monthly  Missionary  Conference. 

At  tbe  monthly  Missionary  meeting  for  prayer  and  conference,  held  at 
Mirzapore  on  Tuesday,  7th  April,  1840,  the  brethren  unanimously  agreed 
not  to  separate  on  the  present  occasion,  without  placing  on  record,  in  the 
minutes  of  their  proceedings,  their  united  testimony  to  the  high  christian 
worth  and  truly  Missionary  spirit  of  their  lamented  brother,  the  late  Rev. 
W.  H.  Pearce,  whom  it  has  pleased  the  great  Head  of  the  church  to  call 
unto  himself,  since  they  List  met  together.  To  all  was  he  endeared  by 
many  amiable  Christian  qualities.  Those  who  had  the  privilege  and  plea- 
sure of  intimate  intercourse  with  him,  felt  that  in  him  they  possessed  a 
kind  and  affectionate  friend,  a  brotherly  and  judicious  counsellor— one  who 
in  the  true  spirit  of  Catholic  Christianity  sympathized  with  his  brethren 
of  all  denominations  in  their  difficulties,  and  rejoiced  with  them  in  the 
success  of  their  labours.  In  his  departure,  the  Missionary  body  generally, 
throughout  this  Presidency,  have  sustained  a  loss  which  may  not  soon  be 
repaired.  His  house  was  the  Missionary's  home, — ever  open  to  receive 
with  kind  hospitality,  and  into  Christian  fellowship,  those  who  in  the  course 
of  their  Missionary  pilgrimage,  required  a  resting  place  in  this  city.  But 
the  Missionary  body,  of  which  he  Was,  for  upwards  of  twenty  years,  an 
efficient  and  laborious  member,  have  lost  in  him  a  Father  and  a  Brother. 
Their  brethren  of  other  denominations  desire,  to  sympathize  with  them  in 
the  loss  which  their  Mission  has  sustained,  and  to  pray  that  the  Lord  of  the 
vineyard  would  raise  up  other  labourers  to  fill  up  the  breach,  which  in 
his  all-wise  Providence,  he  has  seen  it  meet  to  make.  With  the  bereaved 
widow  would  the  Missionary  brethren  also  desire  to  mingle  their  sorrow. 
She  has  sustained  a  loss  which  He  alone,  who  is  the  Husband  of  the  widow, 
can  compensate.  May  the  God  of  Israel  be  her  stay  and  her  rock  ;— may 
his  grace  be  vouchsafed  to  her,  in  rich  abundance,  and  may  she  be  comfort- 
ed by  those  consolations  which  He,  in  whom  she  trusts,  and  who  has  called 
his  servant  into  the  blessedness  of  eternal  rest,  can  bountifully  give. 

By  desire  of  the  members  of  the  Missionary  Conference,  the  Chairman 
and  Secretary  of  the  Meeting  beg  to  forward  the  above  resolution  to  the 
bereaved  partner  of  their  beloved  and  lamented  Brother,  and  to  his  col- 
leagues in  the  Missionary  cause.      (Signed)       Thomas  Boaz,  Chairman. 

David  Ewart,  Sec. 

*  We  ate  sorry  that  there  is  one  omission  of  no  small  amount  in  the  detail  of  the  labors 
of  our  lamented  friend.  We  refer  to  his  literary  exertion  as  Editor  of  this,  and  a  contribulor 
to  at  least  one  other  Magazine.  We  trust  the  compiler  will  supply  the  omission  in  his  next 
article. — Ed. 

VOL.  I.  2  R 


300 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [May, 


"KNOW'ST  THOU  THE  LAND. 

( In  imitation  of  Goethe.) 


"  They  desire  a  better  country." — "  He  looked  for  a  city." — "  In  my  Father's  house 
are  many  mansions." — Sacred  Scriptures. 


KNOw'sTthou  the  land  where  transcendently  bloom 
Immortality's  joys  with  a  deathless  perfume  ? 
Its  delectable  pleasures  no  mortal  can  tell, 
For  God  in  that  land  will  eternally  dwell. 
Know'st  thou  it  ? 

Thither,  O  thither, 
Ye  "  strangers  and  pilgrims,"  with  you  would  I  go. 

Know'st  thou  the  city  whose  builder  is  God, 
Prepared  as  a  bride  for  the  sight  of  her  lord  ? 
No  thing  that  defileth,  nor  maker  of  strife 
Can  enter — but  those  in  the  "  Lamb's  book  of  life." 
Know'st  thou  it  ? 

Thither,  O  thither, 
Ye  blood-purchased  myriads,  with  you  would  I  go. 

Know'st  thou  the  house  with  its  mansions  of  rest, 
Where  the  wonders  of  Heaven  are  revealed  to  the  blest  ? 
Where  the  seraphim  join  with  the  numberless  throng 
To  swell  the  loud  strains  of  the  Conqueror's  song  ? 
Know'st  thou  it  ? 

Thither,  Oh  thither, 
Triumphant  Redeemer !  with  Thee  would  I  go. 

W, 


1. — Missionary  and  Ecclesiastical  Movements. 
The  Bishop  of  Calcutta  proceeds  on  his  visitation  tour  in  the  pos- 
session of  health  and  strength. — Letters  have  been  received  from  the 
Cape  from  the  Rev.  W.  P.  Lyon,  who  sailed  in  the  Owen  Glendower. 
We  are  glad  to  report  the  improving  state  of  Mrs.  L.'s  health.  The 
other  Missionary  connexions,  and  in  fact  all  on  board,  were  well ;  they 
had  had  rather  a  tedious,  but  otherwise  agreeable  passage  to  the  Cape. 
The  Rev.  A.  Gros,  formerly  of  the  Mauritius  Mission,  whose  departure 
under  painful  circumstances,  as  it  respected  his  health,  was  noticed  in  a 
recent  number,  has  materially  recovered  by  his  voyage  to  Europe.  Mr. 
G.,it  is  believed,  will  be  employed  in  future  as  a  Missionary  to  his  coun- 
trymen in  France  and  Switzerland. — W e  regret  to  learn  that  the  entire 
failure  of  the  health  of  the  Rev.  W.  Buyers,  of  the  Banaras  Mission, 
renders  it  imperatively  necessary  that  he  should  proceed  immediately  to 
Europe. — The  Rev.  Mr.  Moore  of  Agra  has  been  appointed  to  the  office 
of  translator  to  the  North  Western  Provinces. 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  301 


3. — The  Charak  Puja'. 
The  Charak  Puja,  concerning  the  debasing  practices  of  which  we  have 
raised  our  voices  every  year,  has  again  been  practised  (with  some  slight 
modifications)  in  the  midst  of  this  city  of  palaces,  seat  of  the  Supreme 
Government  and  fountain  of  education. — Can  it  be  possible,  (is  an  inquiry 
which  may  well  be  instituted  by  many,)  that  here  in  Calcutta— in  the 
sight  of  Government  House,  the  Native  subjects  of  our  most  gracious 
Queen  shall  be  permitted,  under  the  sanction  of  superstition,  to  cut 
and  maim  and  lacerate  one  another  in  a  manner  which  is  perfectly  re- 
volting to  reflect  upon,  and  involving  consequences  which  deserve  no 
milder  designation  than  murder  !  It  is  not  only  possible  or  probable, 
but  it  is  actually  the  case :  hundreds  have  within  the  very  site  of  the 
seat  of  Government,  perpetrated  atrocities  on  one  another,  at  which  civi- 
lized humanity  shudders,  and  at  which  every  thing  worthy  of  the  name  of 
religion  hides  its  head.  This  Puja,  reprobated  by  the  whole  press,  and 
by  many  Hindus,  and  by,  we  should  suppose,  all  Christians — this  Puja 
has  existed  long  enough  (far  too  long) — it  is  a  blot  upon  the  lowest 
order  of  human  beings,  and  a  deep  disgrace  to  every  thing  Christian  in  the 
land,  that  it  has  not  long  since  ceased.  VVe  do  trust,  that  all  persons 
interested  in  the  real  welfare  of  the  people  will  unite  in  collecting  in- 
formation, and  placing  it  speedily  before  the  Supreme  Government  with 
a  view  to  the  suppression  of  the  Puja  at  the  earliest  possible  period.  Some 
surely  may  endeavour  to  influence  the  wealthy  Babus  on  whose  aid  it 
materially,  if  not  altogether,  depends.  How  disgraceful  is  it,  that  men 
who  can  squander  their  money  for  such  barbarous  purposes  should  be 
amongst  the  regular  visitants  at  Government  House,  or  be  elected  mem- 
bers of  any  enlightened  Society,  or  specially  should  be  ranked  amongst 
the  friends  of  education  and  enlightenment !  We  sincerely  hope  that 
ere  another  year  it  will  almost  cease  to  be. 


3.— The  Brahma  Shabh-s. 
This  Hindu  Star  Chamber  is,  we  are  given  to  understand,  on  the  eve 
of  dissolution.  Some  of  the  most  respectable  of  its  members  have  inti- 
mated their  intention  to  resign  all  connexion  with  it,  if  they  have  not 
already  done  so ;  thanks  to  the  well-timed  and  pungent  exposes  of  the 
press  for  this  fresh  triumph  over  ignorance  and  superstition.  It  is 
matter  of  astonishment,  that  such  a  Society  should  have  been  allowed  to 
exist  under  the  very  eye  of  the  Government  so  long,  containing  as  it  did 
a  power  unconstitutional  and  far  too  potent  for  any  Society  in  such 
a  country  under  a  foreign  Government.  But  the  chief  matter  of  as- 
tonishment is,  that  the  natives  should  have  so  long  borne  with  the  arro- 
gance and  assumed  authority  of  this  conclave  :  the  end  is,  however,  we 
believe,  at  hand.  At  such  an  event  there  can  be  but  one  feeling  and 
that  one  of  rejoicing,  to  think  that  a  Society  which  originated  in  a  desire 
to  perpetuate  the  Sati,  and  continued  but  to  sow  the  seeds  of  domestic 
discord  on  every  hand,  is  nearly  defunct. 

4. — The  Mauritius. 
From  the  late  arrivals  we  find  that  the  state  of  things  at  the  Mauritius 
is  not  a  whit  more  settled  than  the  atmosphere  of  that  district  of  storms. 
The  subject  of  Cooly  importation  nolens  volens  appears  to  have  occupied 
much  of  the  attention  of  the  inhabitants.  A  Committee  for  procuring 
laborers  or  slaves  had  been  appointed,  but  it  does  not  seem  to  have 
met  with  the  entire  approbation  of  the  planters.  They  appear  to  wish 
to  deal  directly  in  human  beings  themselves — an  agent  has  been  des- 
patched to  England  to  facilitate  the  business  of  enslaving  the  Coolies  of 
India.  In  the  meantime  a  vessel  has  been  despatched  by  some  private 
2  R  2 


.'502 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [May, 


individuals  to  the  const  of  Madagascar  and  the  Mozambique  channel, 
with  a  view  to  provide  slaves  for  the  Mauritius  market.  The  attempt 
of  the  Legislature  to  pass  a  law  for  the  better  observance  of  the  Sabbath, 
with  a  view  to  protect  the  apprentices,  alias  free  laborers,  alias  slaves,  has 
met  with  the  opposition  and  ridicule  of  the  planters'  press.  '  We  are 
natives  of  a  Catholic  country,'  says  the  principal  journal,  'and  in  such 
countries  the  Sabbath  ceases,  when  the  morning  worship  closes.'  Admira- 
ble reasoning!  and  is  this  the  mercifulness  of  popery — to  make  the  day  of 
rest  cease  in  Mauritius  at  the  close  of  morning  worship,  to  the  poor  slave 
under  a  politer  name?  The  departure  of  Sir  William  Nicolay,  a  man 
who  for  his  neutrality  and  humanity  has  earned  for  himself  the  dislike 
of  the  many,  is  marked  by  insult ;  while  the  return  of  M.  D'Epinay,  the 
agitator  of  Mauritius,  is  celebrated  in  the  most  marked  manner.  The 
man  who  represents  Her  Most  Gracious  Majesty,  is  insulted  for  carrying 
into  effect  her  humane  intentions  ;  the  man  who  beards  her  representative, 
is  flattered  and  caressed.  In  a  word,  the  present  state  of  feeling  at  the 
Mauritius  is  soon  told — it  is  a  desire  to  maintain  the  old  slave-holding 
pseudo  French  system  ;  or  in  other  words,  the  pecuniary  and  politi- 
cal influence  of  the  very  very  few,  at  the  expense  of  the  many.  We  hope 
the  friends  of  the  Cooly  will  not  sleep  at  their  post,  but  watch  most  vigi- 
lantly the  every  movement  of  the  Mauritians  in  this  matter. 

5. —  The  Coolies  in  the  West  Indies. 
The  last  Overland  contains  an  item  to  this  effect.  One  sentence  in  it  says 
that  the  Coolies  are  contented,  cheerful  and  happy ;  another,  that  they 
have  expressed  their  determination  to  return  to  this  country,  and  this 
most  decidedly,  at  the  expiration  of  their  apprenticeship.  It  is  said, 
their  repugnance  to  Christianity  has,  in  a  great  measure,  ceased,  and 
they  are  anxious  to  assume  the  Europo-African  dress  and  to  intermarry 
with  the  Africans.  One  sentence  already  hints  at  the  probability  of 
the  coolies  finding  their  way  to  Texas.  Surely  this  cannot  be.  Will  this 
be  taking  their  labor  to  the  best  market?  On  the  whole,  we  cannot  re- 
concile the  idea  of  a  happy,  cheerful,  contented  Cooly  determining  to 
come  back  to  his  monkey  estate,  and  all  the  discomforts  so  constantly 
described  by  the  Gladstonites  as  existing  in  the  hills  of  the  Santals  and 
Coles — descriptions  of  which  will  be  found  in  another  page,  exhibiting  the 
present  real  monkey  condition  of  the  former  companions  of  these  kidnap- 
ped people.  We  leave  our.  readers  to  draw  their  own  inference  on  this 
subject — but  we  do  once  more  ask,  Where  is  the  Cooly  Report  ? 


6. — Society  for  the  Suppression  of  the  Opium  Trade  with  China. 

A  Society  having  for  its  object  the  suppression  of  the  destructive  and 
contraband  trade  of  Opium  with  China  has  been  formed  in  England. 
We  fear  it  is  too  late  in  the  day,  at  least  that  its  operation  must  be  held 
in  abeyance  pending  the  waging  of  war  with  the  celestials.  In  the  mean 
time  from  all  accounts  of  the  fearful  increase  of  the  use  of  this  health- 
destroying  drug  in  England,  the  efforts  of  the  Society  may  well  be  ap- 
plied there :  for  every  Overland  but  brings  intelligence  of  the  increased 
use  of  opium  by  all  classes — than  which  scarcely  a  greater  evil  could 
befal  that  country. 


7. — The  Marriage  of  the  Queen. 
Her  Most  Gracious  Majesty  Queen  Victoria  has,  as  our  readers  will 
long  since  have  been  informed,  entered  into  the  marriage  relation  with 
Prince  Albert  of  Saxe  Coburg  and  Gotha.  We  chronicle  this  event  as 
one  of  interest  to  all  who  feel  for  the  welfare  of  our  youthful  Sovereign 
and  the  best  interests  of  the  country,  to  express  our  unfeigned  plea- 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


303 


sure  on  the  occasion,  and  to  entreat  all  true  Christians  to  lift  up  their 
hearts  in  prayer  to  God  that  the  lives  of  both  Her  Majesty  and  His 
Royal  Highness  may  be  long  preserved  and  be  distinguished  by  every 
connubial  blessing;  and  that  the  example  afforded  by  them  in  this  impor- 
tant relation  may  be  worthy  the  imitation  of  all  their  subjects  and  every 
crowned  head  in  the  world. 


8. — British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society's  increased  Exertions. 

It  affords  us  the  sincerest  pleasure  to  announce  the  cheering  intelli- 
gence, that  that  noble  Institution,  the  B.  and  F.  Bible  Society,  is  pursuing 
its  course  amid  good  and  evil  report  with  enlarged  prospects  of  success. 
The  issues  of  Scriptures  in  France  has  increased  very  much  during  the  last 
year,  (36,000,)  and  in  Britain  the  Society  has  adopted  a  new  rule  to  afford 
the  Scriptures  at  a  lower  rate  even  than  before,  and  by  this  arrangement 
a  vast  increase  has  taken  place  and  will  take  place  in  the  diffusion  of  the 
w  ord  of  God,  an  order  for  500,000  English  Scriptures  for  England  alone 
having  been  just  issued.  The  funds  of  the  Society  continue  to  increase, 
and  its  friends  to  stand  firm  amidst  much  that  is  calculated  to  discourage. 
The  operations  of  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary  will,  we  doubt  not,  be  materially 
enlarged  by  the  appointment  of  Dr.  Haeberlin  as  the  Society's  Agent  in 
Northern  India  and  Secretary  of  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary.  The  pecuniary 
engagements  of  the  Society  for  printing,  &c.  amounted,  according  to 
our  last  letters,  to  £92,000. 


9. — Agra  Missionary  Society. 
The  friends  of  Missions  at  Agra  have  formed  an  independent  local 
Missionary  Society  at  that  station ;  the  object  of  which  is,  to  preach  the 
Gospel  to  the  Natives  by  the  most  economical  agency,  without  reference 
to  sect  or  party.  It  is  in  fact  the  London  Missionary  Society  in  minia- 
ture.   We  wish  it  every  success  in  the  name  of  the  Lord. 


10. — Institution  for  the  Education  of  the  Daughters  of  Missionaries 
of  all  denominations,  established  at  w alth amstow,  1838. 
Regulations  I.  That  in  the  commencement  of  the  Institution,  it  be 
limited  to  the  daughters  of  Missionaries.  (This  limitation  is  not  propos- 
ed without  regret ;  but  found  expedient  from  the  uncertainty  of  there 
being,  at  first,  funds  adequate  for  both  boys  and  girls.) 

II.  That  there  be  provided  a  comfortable  residence,  education,  board, 
washing,  ordinary  medicines,  and  books;  and  that  the  total  charge  to 
the  parents  or  guardians  shall  not  exceed  twelve  pounds  per  annum  for 
each  child  under  ten  years  old,  and  fifteen  pounds  for  all  above  that 
age  ;  if  clothing  be  included,  five  pounds  per  annum  extra.  The  educa- 
tion to  be  liberal  and  respectable ;  attention  to  domestic  affairs  to  be 
taught  at  a  suitable  age.  The  whole  to  be  conducted  with  a  strict  regard 
to  utility,  habits  of  economy,  and  comfort. 

III.  That  all  the  arrangements,  (domestic  and  educational,  for  girls) 
be  under  the  direction  of  a  Committee  of  fifteen  Ladies,  with  power  to 
add  to  their  number,  one  of  whom  shall  act  as  gratuitous  Secretary. 

IV.  That  during  short  vacations  at  Midsummer  and  Christmas  the 
children  be  not  required  to  leave  the  Institution,  but  shall  be  allowed  to 
leave  in  cases  mutually  approved  and  arranged  by  the  Committee  and 
the  parents  or  parents'  representatives. 

V.  That  no  children  be  admitted  under  five  years  of  age,  nor  after 
twelve,  nor  retained  after  sixteen,  except  in  special  cases,  to  be  agreed 
on  by  the  Committee. 

VI.  That  in  every  case  of  admission  to  the  Institution  the  parents 
provide  a  guardian  or  representative,  who  will  undertake  to  receive  the 


304  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [May, 


chjld  whenever  the  Committee  may  determine  on  its  removal  from  the 
Institution,  and  find  it  expedient  to  transfer  the  child  to  such  guardian 
or  representative. 

VII.  That  half-yearly  examinations  of  the  children's  progress  he  made 
and  reported  faithfully  to  the  parents,  with  whom  a  frequent  correspon- 
dence is  to  be  maintained,  so  far  as  circumstances  admit. 

VIII.  That  the  education  and  arrangements  be  carefully  planned 
with  a  view  to  future  foreign  services,  whether  strictly  missionary  or  not. 

IX.  That  the  Committee  endeavour  to  meet  the  parents'  wishes,  in 
reference  to  the  actual  destination  of  the  children  at  the  close  of  the 
period  of  their  education,  so  far  as  they  correspond  with  the  views  enter- 
tained by  the  Committee,  (formed  on  their  local  knowledge  of  the  cha- 
racter, capacities,  and  qualifications  of  the  children.)  Should  they  not 
succeed  in  effecting  such  arrangements,  the  Committee  are  at  liberty  to 
act  on  the  provisions  of  Rule  the  sixth,  and  are  exonerated  from  further 
responsibility. 

"  I  have  only  lately,"  writes  a  lady  in  England,  "  had  any  hope  of 
seeing  this  school  or  rather  home  (for  the  children  of  Missionaries)  esta- 
blished. It  is  intended  for  the  daughters  of  those  devoted  persons,  who, 
leaving  all  that  might  reasonably  attach  them  to  their  native  land,  go 
out  to  carry  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  through  Jesus  Christ,  to  the 
perishing  heathen.  We  know  that  in  many  cases,  climate,  and  perhaps 
in  many  more,  the  contaminating  influence  of  heathenism  must  prevent 
the  parents  from  keeping  their  children  with  them.  They  are  not  in 
circumstances  to  provide  a  liberal  education  for  them  in  their  native 
land,  and  even  were  this  difficulty  met,  the  ordinary  routine  of  instruc- 
tion at  school,  would  but  ill  prepare  them  for  the  difficulties,  self-denial 
and  devotedness,  a  Missionary's  life  should  involve.  Neither  could  they 
be  trained  in  those  domestic  habits,  which  every  wise  mother,  in  the 
middle  walks  of  life,  would  desire.  Deeply  impressed  with  these  sen- 
timents, and  believing  that  nothing  was  too  hard  for  the  Lord,  a  few  of 
us  have  been  led  to  make  the  effort  to  establish  an  Institution  on  the 
principles  detailed  in  the  little  book  which  accompanies  this.  Last 
November,  the  school  was  opened  at  Walthamstow  with  many  fears,  but 
I  trust  in  faith.  An  excellent  lady,  desirous  of  helping  us  effectually, 
offered  to  reside  in  the  house,  if  we  could  spare  her  two  rooms,  for  which 
she  pays  £110  a  year,  and  labours  for  the  good  of  the  children,  as  much, 
as  if  her  support  depended  on  her  exertions.  We  desire  it  for  all  parties  ; 
and  I  believe  that  party  feeling  is  but  little  known  amongst  Missionaries : 

1  am  sure  at  least  it  should  be.   We  have  now  twelve  little  girls  in  all. — 

2  from  Berhampore :  3  from  Malacca :  1  from  Corfu  :  1  from  Madagascar  : 
2  from  Jamaica  :  2  from  Lattakoo  :  and  1  from  the  Cape.  We  have  a  nice 
convenient  house,  a  truly  devoted  teacher,  and  I  trust  I  may  say, 
the  blessing  of  God  has  visibly  rested  on  our  labours ;  for  the  dear  chil- 
dren are  becoming  more  and  more  interested  in  the  best  things,  and 
three  mothers,  who  have  returned,  or  are  about  to  return  to  their  spheres 
of  foreign  labour,  assure  me,  they  go  with  lightened  hearts,  and  hands 
strengthened  for  future  services. —  Oriental  Christian  Spectator. 

[Note. — We  sincerely  rejoice  at  the  formation  of  this  truly  valuable 
and  long  much  needed  institution.  The  friends  of  missionaries  who 
have  thus  been  mindful  of  the  best  interests  of  their  offspring,  demand 
the  warmest  thanks  and  most  cordial  co-operation  of  the  whole  body  for 
this  fresh  token  of  their  sympathy  with  them  in  their  manifold  labors  and 
anxieties.  We  need  not  say  that  we  pray,  that  the  institution  may  long 
abide  and  flourish,  and  be  a  nursery  from  whence  many  a  devoted  fe- 
male Missionary  may  be  sent  to  the  glorious  work  of  Missions  to  the 
heathen.— Ed.  C.  C.  O.] 


1840.)        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  305 


11.— Society  fob  Promoting  Female  Education  in  the  East. 

The  fifth  year  of  the  Society's  labours  having  closed,  the  Committee 
present,  as  usual,  to  their  friends  and  subscribers,  a  summary  of  their 
proceedings  during  that  period. 

Within  the  last  year,  four  new  labourers  have  been  dismissed  to  their 
respective  stations,  viz : — Miss  Giberne  and  Miss  Metcalfe  to  Ceylon  ; 
Miss  Machell  to  Vizagapatam  ;  and  Miss  M'Laren  to  South  Africa.  To 
these  must  be  added  Miss  Combe,  sent  out  through  the  Parent  Commit- 
tee, by  the  Geneva  Society,  to  Batavia,  to  assist  Miss  Thornton.  This 
makes  the  number  sent  out  from  the  commencement  of  the  Society, 
twenty-four ;  but  two  of  these  have  been  removed  to  a  better  world,  and 
the  more  immediate  service  of  their  Saviour ;  and  some  are  no  longer  in 
direct  connexion  with  the  Society.  Several  others  are  in  course  of  pre- 
paration, among  whom  may  be  mentioned  one  intended  for  Smyrna,  an 
application  for  an  infant  school  teacher  having  been  made  by  the  Mis- 
sionaries there. 

Batavia. — Miss  Thornton,  assisted  by  Miss  Hulk,  continues  her  labours 
with  patience  and  perseverance.  The  last  reported  numbers  of  her  own 
school  were,  nineteen  boarders,  and  ten  day-scholars.  The  arrival  of 
Miss  Combe  will  enable  her  to  accomplish  a  long-cherished  plan  of  esta- 
blishing a  Chinese  boarding-school.  For  this,  preparations  were  already 
in  progress  at  the  date  of  her  last  communications. 

Singapore. — The  Huddersfield  Auxiliary  having  undertaken  to  raise 
£100  per  annum  for  the  support  of  an  agent  of  the  Society  at  this  station", 
the  Committee  had  expected  ere  this  to  announce  her  departure.  Various 
circumstances  have,  however,  hitherto  concurred  to  delay  their  hopes. 
They  now  trust  that  the  right  individual  has  been  found,  and  that  she 
will  very  shortly  be  enabled  to  prepare  for  her  departure. 

Macao. — The  Committee  have  with  regret  to  report,  that  disappoint- 
ment and  failure  have  here  for  the  present  attended  their  efforts.  Cir- 
cumstances, which  it  is  needless  to  detail,  having  compelled  Miss  Barker 
to  relinquish  her  situation  as  assistant  to  Mrs.  Gutzlaff,  she  is  now  the 
wife  of  the  Rev.  XV.  Deane,  American  Missionary  at  Bankok.  The  Com- 
mittee trust  that  an  opening  will  soon  present  itself  for  resuming  their 
labours  in  this  interesting  field  on  a  different  footing. 

Bengal. — Miss  Barlow  (Mrs.  Wybrow)and  Miss  Warren  are  now  station- 
ed at  Burdwan,  as  assistants  to  Mrs.  Weitbrecht.  Miss  Jones,  having 
resigned  her  situation  upon  the  arrival  of  Miss  Barlow  as  her  successor, 
is  now  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  J.  Leupolt,  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 
at  Banaras.  The  schools  a  Burdwan  continue  to  flourish.  In  the  Orphan 
School  there  are  thirty  children  ;  and  in  the  infant  and  day-schools  about 
a  hundred  and  forty.  Miss  Missing  having  arrived  at  Calcutta,  to  take 
the  superintendence  of  the  Central  school,  where  she  is  now  established, 
Miss  Thomson  resigned  her  situation  there,  and  joined  Mrs.  Wilson,  at 
the  Orphan  Refuge,  at  Agarparah,  near  Calcutta.  A  promising  Orphan 
Asylum  had  been  formed  at  Futtehpore,  by  Mrs.  Madden,  formerly  Miss 
Carter,  and  a  hundred  children  of  both  sexes  collected,  whose  parents  had 
perished  by  famine.  There  was  every  appearance  that  this  was  the 
beginning  of  a  most  useful  work,  but  it  has  pleased  an  all-wise  God  to 
order  it  otherwise,  and  to  call  away  Mrs.  Madden  from  her  labours  on 
earth,  to  that  rest  for  which  she  was  well  prepared.  This  promising 
institution  has  consequently  been  broken  up,  and  the  children  placed 
under  the  care  of  the  Church  Missionaries  at  Banaras. 

Madras. — The  boarding-school  for  East  Indian  children,  which  Miss 
Hale  and  Miss  Pennington  were  sent  out  to  establish,  was  opened  in 
September  last,  and  in  February  there  were  sixteen  boarders,  and  fifteen 
day-boarders.  Miss  Austen's  schools,  for  the  lower  class  of  East  Indian 


306  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


children,  was  opened  in  February,  and  the  last  accounts  stated  the  number 
of  children  to  he  fifteen.  Miss  Craven  has  ceased  to  be  connected  with 
the  Society,  in  consequence  of  marriage.  Miss  Machell  sailed  for  this 
Presidency  the  end  of  April.  Her  destination  is  Vizagapatam,  as  assistant 
to  Mrs.  Gordon,  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  in  the  charge  of  an 
orphan  school. 

Bombay. — Miss  Smith  arrived  in  November  last,  having  been  sent  out 
to  assist  Mrs.  Farrar,  of  Nasik,  at  that  lady's  request.  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Farrar  having  found  it  necessary  to  pay  a  temporary  visit  to  England, 
Miss  Smith  remained  for  four  months  at  Bombay,  in  the  family  of  the 
Rev.  Mr.  Candy.  She  then  proceeded  to  Nasik,  where  she  was  received 
by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Stone,  and  took  charge  of  the  girls  of  the  native  boarding- 
school.  A  brief  sojourn  of  six  weeks  was  all  that  was  permitted  her,  just 
sufficient  to  evince  her  worth  to  gain  the  esteem  and  affection  of  all 
around  her,  and  to  make  her  loss  deeply  felt.  She  died  of  small-pox, 
April  30.  Her  end  was  peace,  and  the  last  words  that  passed  her  lips 
were  those  of  praise.  A  successor  will  probably  be  applied  for  and  the 
Committee  have  every  reason  to  believe  that  other  claims  will  soon  he 
urged  from  this  presidency. 

Ceylon. — The  Committee  refer  to  the  account  of  the  first  anniversary 
of  the  Colombo  Branch  Society,  published  in  their  last  sheet  of  correspon- 
dence. The  success  which  has  attended  this  experiment,  and  the  willing- 
ness and  anxiety  of  the  natives  to  have  their  daughters  educated,  afford 
pleasing  evidence,  in  addition  to  other  testimony,  that,  in  this  favoured 
island,  a  rich  harvest  awaits  the  labourer.  Miss  Crosthwaite's  school 
contained  twenty-four  girls,  all  of  the  highest  class  of  natives,  of  various 
ages,  from  twenty-five  downwards.  Miss  Giberne  and  Miss  Metcalfe 
arrived  about  the  middle  of  March.  A  school  for  the  burgher  children,  or 
descendants  of  Europeans,  was  opened  by  the  former,  April  5  ;  and  at  the 
date  of  her  last  letter,  April  23,  she  had  one  boarder  and  twelve  day- 
boarders,  with  the  expectation  of  several  others,  and  was  already  desir- 
ous of  a  helper.  Miss  Metcalfe  is  to  assist  in  the  schools  established  by 
the  VVesleyan  Missionaries  at  Jaffna. 

South  Africa. — Miss  Hanson,  having  arrived  at  Cape  Town  in  Septem- 
ber last,  has  been  placed  in  charge  of  the  school  connected  with  the  La- 
dies' Benevolent  Society.  Her  last  report  stated  the  daily  attendance  to 
be  from  thirty-five  to  forty.  Application  having  been  made  by  the  Glas- 
gow African  Missionary  Society,  for  an  agent  of  this  Society  to  assist 
in  their  missions  in  Caffraria,  Miss  M'Laren  has  been  appointed  to  that 
post.  She  will  be  received  into  the  family  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Niven,  sta- 
tioned at  Iggibigha,  near  Bavian's  river. 

Egypt. — Mrs.  Lieder,  late  Miss  Holliday,  continues  her  labours  at  the 
Missionary  school,  and  the  harem  of  the  Pasha.  A  letter,  addressed  by 
her  royal  pupils  to  the  Committee,  will  be  found  in  the  last  extracts, 
affording  pleasing  evidence  of  the  esteem  in  which  she  is  held.  It  may 
be  hoped  that  a  preparation  is  being  made  for  the  introduction  of  abetter 
knowledge  than  she  has  hitherto  been  able  to  impart.  She  has  been 
permitted  to  recommend  several  books  for  translation  into  Arabic,  and 
publication  at  the  Government  press.  Among  those  in  course  of  prepara- 
tion are,  Paley's  Natural  Theology,  Abbott's  Mother  at  Home,  Dunn's 
Normal  School  Manual,  and  Buckland*s  Britlgewater  Treatise.  It  is 
probable  that  in  the  course  of  the  ensuing  year  it  may  be  found  expedient 
to  send  an  assistant  to  Mrs.  Lieder. — Bombay  O.  C.  Spectator. 


THE 


CHRISTIAN  OBSERVER. 


(Neb  SteviU.) 
No.  6. — JUNE,  1840. 


I. — Brdhmans  and  the  Aborigines  of  India*. 

My  dear  Friend, 

Some  time  ago  T  hinted  to  you  that  it  was  my  impression  that 
the  brahmans  of  India  originally  emigrated  from  Egypt,  since 
which  time  they  have  converted  the  Hindus  to  their  faith.  As 
it  is  a  day  of  canvassing  new  subjects,  it  may  perhaps  not  be 
uninteresting  to  my  friends  to  give  them  some  of  the  reasons 
upon  which  I  ground  the  opinion. 

A  point  like  this  can  only  be  proved  by  direct  history  or 
by  some  points  of  resemblance  in  the  characters  of  the  people  ; 
but  as  all  Hindu  history  is  such  a  mixture  of  inconsistency, 
I  shall  confine  myself  to  the  latter  method,  which  to  my  mind 
affords  evidence  amounting  almost  to  certainty. 

1st.  By  referring  to  Gen.  xliii.  32,  you  will  perceive  that 
the  ancient  Egyptians  had  something  of  that  singular  custom 
called  caste,  which  is  so  peculiarly  distinctive  of  the  inha- 
bitants of  India,  the  rules  of  which  are  denned  and  enforced 
by  the  brahmanical  priesthood.  It  appears  from  this  passage 
that  the  Egyptians  considered  it  an  abomination  to  eat  bread 
with  the  Hebrews,  and  that  this  prejudice  was  carried  so  far 
that  even  a  separate  table  was  set  for  Joseph,  though  at  that 
time  lord  of  the  land.  The  reason  why  they  could  not  eat 
with  Joseph,  it  is  clear,  was  because  he  was  a  Hebrew,  and  not, 
as  some  might  suppose,  because  the  prince  could  not  conde- 
scend to  eat  with  the  common  people,  for  according  to  histo- 
rians every  Egyptian  was  considered  of  noble  birth,  and  might 

*  We  have  been  politely  favored  with  this  letter  designed  for  a  friend 
in  America.  The  account  of  the  Santals  referred  to  by  the  writer 
appeared  in  a  former  number  of  the  Observer. — Ed. 

VOL.  I.  2  s 


308  Brdhmans  and  the  Aborigines  of  India.  [June, 


on  certain  occasions  sit  at  the  table  of  the  king.  Now  it  is  a 
singular  fact  that  amongst  the  Hindus,  elevation  in  rank  can 
have  no  effect  to  elevate  a  man's  caste.  If  alow  caste  man  is 
exalted  to  a  throne,  his  own  brahman  domestics  will  still  refuse 
to  eat  at  his  table.  It  cannot  be  presumed  that  at  that  early 
age  the  Egyptians  had  that  completelyregulated  system  of  caste 
which  now  exists  in  Hindustan,  but  the  fact  that  they  exclud- 
ed foreigners  from  their  tables,  and  considered  shepherds  such 
an  abomination  that  the  Israelites,  who  were  of  that  occupation, 
were  obliged  to  dwell  in  the  land  of  Goshen,  indicates  that  they 
had  amongst  them  the  germ  from  which  caste  has  sprung. 

2nd.  The  Egyptians  believed  in  three  principles  that  accom- 
plished the  work  of  creation  and  pervade  all  nature.  These 
three  principles  were  deified  under  the  names  of  Osiris,  Isis  and 
Typhon.  The  first  was  supposed  to  be  that  principle  of  intel- 
ligence which  gives  form  to  matter,  the  second  matter,  and 
the  third  the  imperfect  state  of  matter.  Now  this  is  the  very 
doctrine  of  the  Hindu  Vedas,  and  in  several  Hindu  shastras  it 
is  represented  by  the  mystical  word  >s.  The  dot  above  this 
word  ong  is  said  to  have  sprung  from  the  Divine  Light,  and 
is  the  symbol  of  the  first  male,  and  the  half  circle  below,  the 
symbol  of  the  first  female  energies.  From  these  two  sprang 
the  letter  which  has  three  points,  (  35  )  and  is  said  to  be 
symbolical  of  all  that  exists  in  this  world,  and  hence  every  thing 
should  be  reckoned  by  threes.  Thus  spirit,  matter  and  corrupti- 
bility ;  the  father,  the  seed,  and  the  mother ;  the  God,  the 
teacher,  and  the  disciple ;  the  true  attribute,  the  worldly  and 
the  wicked.  These  symbolical  representations  are  also  deified 
into  the  forms  of  Brahma,  "Vishnu  and  Shiva,  which  images 
are  said  so  exactly  to  resemble  some  of  the  ancient  Egyptian 
images,  that  a  company  of  Hindu  soldiers  who  were  not 
long  since  conducted  through  that  country,  recognized  in  them 
the  images  of  their  own  deities,  and  fell  down  and  worshipped 
them. 

3rd.  Another  argument  may  be  drawn  from  the  peculiar 
resemblance  that  the  brahmans  bear  to  the  Egyptian  priests. 
Instead  of  directly  reproving  the  king,  the  Egyptian  priest  was 
in  the  habit  of  proclaiming  aloud  the  excellencies  of  a  virtu- 
ous prince,  that  by  these  means  be  might  he  reminded  of  his 
duty  and  not  offended  by  the  sharpness  of  rebuke.  Now  no- 
thing is  more  common  when  a  Hindu  Raja  travels  through  the 
country  than  to  see  several  brahman  attendants  running  by  his 
side  proclaiming  the  glories  of  a  good  ruler.  But  the  Indian 
brahmans  bear  a  more  striking  resemblance  to  the  Egyptian 
priests  in  the  secret  doctrines,  which  were  thought  by  the 
Egyptians  to  be  more  excellent  than  the  common  doctrines 


1840.]       Brdhmans  and  the  Aborigines  of  India. 


309 


which  were  taught  to  the  ignorant  part  of  the  community. 
The  same  kinds  of  doctrines  are  taught  by  the  biahmans  of 
India,  and  it  is  a  fundamental  principle  in  their  creed  that 
there  are  two  kinds  of  religion,  one  for  the  wise  man,  and  the 
other  for  the  fool.  In  the  Yujar  Veda,  Yama  says  to  his  dis- 
ciple, "  Knowledge  of  God  which  leads  to  absorption  is  one 
thing,  and  rites  which  have  fruition  for  their  object,  another ; 
each  of  these  producing  different  consequences,  holds  out  to 
man  inducements  to  follow  it.  The  man  who  of  these  two 
chooses  knowledge  is  blessed,  and  he  who  for  the  sake  of 
rewards,  practises  rites  is  excluded  from  the  enjoyment 
of  eternal  beatitude,"  (Rammohan  Ray's  translation  of  the 
Vedas.)  From  Gen.  xlvii.  22  and  26,  it  appears  that  the 
priests  of  Egypt  had  portions  of  land  assigned  to  them  by 
the  king,  and  so  very  sacred  were  they  deemed  to  be,  that 
Joseph  in  the  time  of  the  famine  could  not  purchase  them 
with  the  rest  of  the  land  of  Egypt.  How  much  resembling 
these  lands  are  those  which  have  been  given  to  the  brah- 
nians  by  the  princes  of  India  for  religious  purposes,  and  ex- 
empted from  all  taxation  !  These  lands  are  well  known  through- 
out the  country  by  the  name  Brahmatwar,  &c.  The  British  Go- 
vernment, much  to  the  dissatisfaction  of  these  usurpers,  have 
of  lale  wisely  commenced  resuming  such  as  have  been  claimed, 
but  to  which  no  title  can  be  proved,  and  it  is  to  be  hoped 
they  will  soon  put  an  end  to  many  of  these  unjust  claims  and 
establish  greater  equality  amongst  their  Indian  subjects.  It 
is  only  to  be  lamented  that  they  do  not  resume  the  whole,  for 
if  the  country  is  their  own,  why  should  the  land  of  one  man 
be  exempted  from  taxation  any  more  than  that  of  another  ? 

4th.  There  is  a  striking  resemblance  between  the  Egyp- 
tian objects  of  worship  and  those  used  in  this  country.  Moses 
alleged  it  as  the  reason  why  the  Israelites  could  not  sacrifice 
to  their  God  in  Egypt,  that  by  so  doing  they  must  sacri- 
fice the  abominations  of  the  Egyptians  before  their  eyes.  It 
is  well  known  that  those  beasts  which  the  Egyptians  worship- 
ped, such  as  oxen,  cows  and  calves,  were  sacrificed  by  the 
children  of  Israel ;  therefore,  in  slaying  before  their  eyes, 
such  animals  as  were  held  most  sacred  by  the  Egyptians  they 
must  have  incurred  their  displeasure.  Now  it  is  well  known 
how  sacred  the  cow  is  held  throughout  India,  and  in  no  way 
could  Europeans  and  Musalmans  so  successfully  sacrifice  the 
abominations  of  the  brahmans  as  by  eating  the  flesh  of  that 
animal. 

The  crocodile  was  another  object  of  Egyptian  worship. 
These  huge  animals  were  fed  and  ornamented  by  the  priests 
2  s  2 


310 


Brdhmans  and  the  Aborigines  of  India.  [June, 


and  regarded  with  profound  veneration.  This  very  custom 
exists  in  many  parts  of  India,  and  in  fact  all  Hindus  who  re- 
gard the  religion  of  brahmanism  pay  the  crocodile  divine 
honours.  Besides  the  worship  of  those  animals,  it  is  stated  by 
travellers  that  the  images  of  the  Hindus  bear  a  striking  resem- 
blance to  those  still  extant  in  Egypt. 

5th.  The  doctrine  of  transmigration,  which  formed  a  part 
of  the  Egyptian  theology,  and  which  accounts  for  their  em- 
balming the  dead,  as  they  held  that  the  spirit  did  not  seek 
another  abode  till  the  former  had  become  corrupted,  is  also 
most  strenuously  maintained  by  the  brahmanical  priesthood. 
"  Now  birth,  and  now  death"  is  a  most  favourite  verse  we 
often  hear  them  repeat  from  their  shastras>  which  signifies 
that  there  is  a  constant  change  from  one  body  to  another. 
This  change  they  believe  will  continue  till  one  has  through 
voluntary  suffering  secured  sufficient  merit  to  entitle  him  to 
absorption  into  the  Deity.  It  is  a  question  if  ever  any  other 
two  nations  so  much  resembled  each  other  in  the  manner  of 
teaching  this  doctrine  as  the  Egyptians  and  Hindus. 

6th.  Again,  Egypt  in  the  book  of  Psalms  is  called  the  land 
of  Ham  who  was  the  son  of  Noah,  and  whose  son  Mizraim  is 
supposed  to  have  been  the  first  who  inhabited  that  country  after 
the  flood,  and  hence  in  the  sacred  writings  it  is  generally  called 
Mizraim.  Now  Mizraim  or  Misara  is  the  name  by  which 
this  country  is  known  throughout  India,  and  it  is  a  circum- 
stance that  in  no  small  degree  favours  our  argument,  that  this 
is  one  of  the  most  common  surnames  amongst  brahmans  in 
every  part  of  India.  Bhagaban  Misara  is  the  name  of  one  of 
our  converts.  When  asked  to  give  the  signification  of  the 
name,  they  usually  say  they  know  no  more  about  it  than  that 
it  is  a  name  applied  to  the  whole  family,  and  which  they 
inherited  from  their  fathers.  Is  it  not  indeed  an  interesting 
fact  that  at  this  day  so  many  of  these  Indian  priests  bear  the 
very  name  of  Noah's  grandson  Mizraim  ? 

7th.  There  is  still  a  tradition  amongst  the  brahmans  that 
they  came  from  a  foreign  country  and  taught  the  people  of 
India  religion,  and  some  say  that  that  foreign  country  was 
Egypt.  My  native  brother  has  told  me  that  he  was  taught 
by  his  father  that  he  originated  from  Egypt,  from  which  coun- 
try he  received  the  name  of  Misara.  Now  if  this  idea  of  the 
brahmans  be  correct,  it  follows  that  as  long  as  they  have  no 
interest  in  Christ,  in  whom  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  are 
blessed,  they  are  under  that  curse  pronounced  by  Noah : 
"  Cursed  be  Canaan*,  a  servant  of  servants  shall  he  be  unto 

*  Mr.  Noyes,  like  m;tny  others,  seems  to  forget  that  the  curse  was 
pronounced,  not  upon  flam  but  on  Canaan. — Ed. 


1840.]       Brdhmans  and  the  Aborigines  of  India. 


311 


his  brethren."  Although  the  brahmans,  as  priests  of  religion, 
exercise  almost  unlimited  influence,  yet  all  political  power  has 
long  since  passed  from  them  into  the  hands  of  the  Rajputs, 
who,  though  with  the  most  of  all  other  classes  of  Hindustan, 
they  are  converts  to  their  faith,  are  evidently  of  a  different 
origin. 

8th.  To  conclude  this  argument,  it  gives  me  pleasure  that 
I  am  not  alone  in  the  supposition  that  the  brahmans  are  not 
the  original  inhabitants  of  India.  Mr.  Maurice,  a  gentleman 
who  has  written  much  about  this  country,  supposes  that  "  the 
first  migration  of  mankind  took  place  before  the  confusion  of 
tongues  at  Babel,  from  the  region  of  Ararat  where  the  ark 
rested.  By  the  time  the  earth  became  sufficiently  dry,  either 
Noah  himself  or  some  of  the  descendants  of  Shem,  gradually 
led  on  the  first  journey  to  the  western  frontiers  of  India  ;  that 
this  increasing  colony  flourished  for  a  long  succession  of  ages 
in  primitive  happiness  and  innocence  ;  practised  the  purest 
rites  of  the  patriarchal  religion  without  images  and  temples, 
till  at  length  the  descendants  of  Ham  invaded  and  conquered 
India,  and  corrupted  their  ancient  religion/'  (From  the 
American  Encyclopedia  of  religious  knowledge.) 

These  descendants  of  Ham  I  hold  to  be  the  brahmans,  and 
from  the  foregoing  reasons  believe  they  emigrated  from  Egypt. 
According  to  the  history  of  this  country  they  once  held  politi- 
cal sway,  but  were  at  length  overpowered  by  the  Rajputs,  and 
being  unable  to  maintain  the  character  of  princes,  they  became 
the  priests  of  India. 

A  very  interesting  inquiry  now  suggests  itself.  If  the  brah- 
mans have  obtained  their  power  through  conversion,  are  there 
still  remaining  any  Hindus  who  have  never  yet  become  con- 
verted to  their  creed  ?  To  this  question  it  may  be  answered, 
there  are  in  almost  every  part  of  India,  those  who  though 
situated  at  an  immense  distance  from  each  other  and  known 
by  different  names,  such  as  Coles,  Khunds,  Santals  and 
Bhumijas,  yet  have  a  striking  resemblance  to  each  other  in 
features,  language,  manners,  customs  and  religion. 

The  particular  tribes  in  the  vicinity  of  which  providence 
has  cast  my  lot,  are  the  Santals  and  Bhumijas,  a  brief  account 
of  which  singular  and  highly  interesting  people,  I  have  already 
communicated  to  you.  The  simple  character  of  their  religion, 
destitute  of  images  and  all  other  appendages  of  brahmanism, 
indicates  the  correctness  of  their  claim  to  be  the  original  pro- 
prietors of  the  soil. 

1  am  of  opinion  that  these  people  are  the  descendants  of 
Shem,  and  the  late  noble  interference  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment to  prevent  the  Cooly  trade  (which  is  only  another  name 


312  Brdhmans  and  the  Aborigines  of  India.  [June, 


for  slavery)  may  be  regarded  as  a  fulfilment  of  prophecy. 
"  And  Noah  said,  blessed  be  the  Lord  God  of  Shem,  and 
Canaan  shall  be  his  servant.''  There  is  not  a  people  to  be 
found  who  would  be  more  averse  to  slavery  than  the  San- 
tals  and  Bhumijas.  While  the  haughty  brahman  who  would 
not  condescend  to  eat  with  the  king,  will  still  do  some  of  the 
most  menial  services,  such  as  cooking  the  food  and  rubbing 
the  limbs  of  his  master,  the  poor  Santal  or  Bhumija  had 
rather  die  than  submit  to  such  services.  Though  willing  to 
work  as  day  labourers,  they  at  the  same  time  manifest  all  the 
independence  of  English  or  American  workmen,  and  though 
for  two  years  past  I  have  made  repeated  trials,  offering  dou- 
ble and  treble  wages,  I  have  been  unsuccessful  in  getting 
one  to  serve  as  a  domestic. 

The  brahmans  have  by  no  means  been  negligent  in  attempts 
to  convert  these  people  to  their  own  faith,  and  though  gene- 
rally unsuccessful,  they  have  often  through  their  influence 
with  the  Rajas,  compelled  them  to  bear  the  expenses  and  do 
the  drudgeries  of  their  pujas. 

It  also  must  be  confessed  that  the  Santals  and  Bhumijas 
have  received  a  little  tincture  of  the  brahmanical  creed.  They 
usually  admit  the  doctrine  of  transmigration,  though  they 
almost  invariably  declare  themselves  to  be  very  doubtful  as  to 
what  will  become  of  the  soul  after  death.  I  wrote  you  last 
year  that  they  buried  their  dead  ;  but  I  have  of  late  learned  that 
they  burn  them  and  throw  some  of  the  bones  into  the  Ganges. 
A  few  days  since  I  understood  that  they  practise  both  bury- 
ing and  burning  ;  so  it  is  natural  to  suppose  that  the  custom 
of  burning  and  paying  a  kind  of  respect  to  the  Ganges,  is  but 
an  adopted  custom  and  extends  only  to  some  tribes. 

Of  late  we  have  taken  eight  or  ten  of  their  children  into  our 
Boarding-school,  but  they  do  not  like  to  associate  with  our 
Oriya  children,  on  which  account  we  have  much  to  do  to  keep 
them  from  running  away.  They  also  appear  determined  to 
keep  up  their  native  language  amongst  each  other. 

On  account  of  the  famine  this  year,  these  people  are  greatly 
distressed  ;  and  hundreds  are  obliged  to  forsake  their  villages 
in  search  of  food.  Many  have  come  to  us  to  beg  rice.  I  have 
made  use  of  these  opportunities  to  secure  their  confidence,  and 
with  some  success  ;  but  they  always  express  great  fears  lest  I 
should  learn  their  language,  which  they  say  would  prove  the 
destruction  of  their  race.  They  however,  become  more  fami- 
liar every  day,  and  there  is  good  reason  to  believe  that  should 
a  Missionary  settle  amongst  them  he  would  soon  reap  a  rich 
harvest  of  souls. 

Now,  we  are  supposed  to  be  the  descendants  of  Japheth, 


1840.  J  Conversion  of  the  Females  of  India. 


313 


concerning  whom  Noah  said,  "  God  shall  enlarge  (persuade) 
Japheth  ;  he  shall  dwell  in  the  tents  of  Shem."  Is  not  God 
now  persuading  us  to  dwell  with  these  Santals  that  we  may 
communicate  to  them  a  knowledge  of  eternal  love  ? 

"Who  knows  but  these  people,  so  long  neglected,  may  be  the 
most  prepared  to  hail  the  good  news  of  salvation  with  delight? 
Do  send  us  the  men  and  the  means  by  which  we  shall  be  ena- 
bled to  try  this  glorious  experiment. 

Yours  in  the  gospel, 

E.  Noyes. 

Balasore,  April  \7lh,  1840. 


II. — An  effort  worthy  of  universal  imitation  for  the  Conversion 
of  the  Females  of  India. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Dear  Sirs, 

From  the  reports  of  institutions,  contained  in  your  valuable  miscel- 
lany, I  have  observed  with  much  pleasure  the  increased  attention  paid 
to  the  subject  of  Native  Female  Education,  and  have  perused  with  the 
deepest  interest,  the  article  contained  in  the  Observer  for  March,  on 
affording  private  gratuitous  instruction  to  those  females,  whose  caste 
will  not  permit  them  to  attend  public  schools.  In  every  respect  such  a 
plan  seems  highly  desirable.  May  it  be  abundantly  blessed  by  the  great 
Head  of  the  Church  ! 

No  feeling  mind  can  reflect  on  the  long  dark  night,  which  has  obscur- 
ed the  fair  east  without  the  most  painful  emotions  ;  but  the  first  beams 
of  the  morning  have  opened,  and  (with  the  word  of  God  in  our  hands), 
we  feel  assured,  that  the  degraded  females  of  India  will,  ere  long,  be- 
hold the  Sun  of  righteousness  in  his  meridian  splendour:  still  we  would 
not  forget  that  much,  very  much  remains  to  be  done  !  While  successfully 
engaged  in  the  instruction  of  children,  I  would  ask,  can  nothing  be  done 
for  their  degraded  mothers  ?  While  in  their  heathen  state  there  is,  gene- 
rally speaking,  little  hope  of  teaching  them  to  read.  As  has  been  justly 
observed,  "  women  of  sixteen  or  eighteen  plead  as  an  excuse  that  they 
are  too  old  to  learn  but  shall  we  on  this  account  suffer  them  to  launch 
into  eternity  without  making  an  effort  to  save  them  ?  At  present  the  only 
efficient  mode  of  instruction  seems  to  be,  to  visit  them,  and  in  their  veran- 
dahs, or  lowly  huts,  hold  friendly  conversations  with  them  on  the  sub- 
ject of  religion.  It  is  true  there  are  discouragements*  arising  from  their 
extreme  ignorance,  and  the  too  general  impression  that  knowledge  is 
only  necessary  for  the  other  sex.  To  teach  these  long  neglected  females 
the  way  of  life  may  be  an  arduous  but  is  not  a  hopeless  task.  Only  let 
them  be  frequently  visited,  point  out  to  them  affectionately  the  folly  of 
idolatry,  and  tell  them  in  simple  strains  of  the  love  of  Him  who  left  his 
throne  to  save  them.  Such  visits  cannot  be  entirely  useless.  The  promise 
is,  "  my  word  shall  not  return  unto  me  void,"  &c. ;  whether  in  public,  or 
in  private,  "  the  Gospel  is  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation."    So  far  as 

*  Hindu  females  in  conversation  with  each  other  use  a  low  kind  of  language 
which  renders  it  difficult  for  Europeans  to  make  themselves  understood  :  familiar 
intercourse  with  them  soon  obviates  this  difficulty. 


314 


Conversion  of  the  Females  of  India.  [June, 


my  acquaintance  extends,  the  ladies  who  have  heen  thus  engaged  have 
met  with  sufficient  encouragement  to  induce  them  to  persevere.  Except 
when  detained  at  home  by  rain  or  other  unavoidable  circumstances,  I 
have  during  the  last  twelve  months  visited  one  or  more  families,  morn- 
ing and  evening.  I  give  the  result  of  my  experience  simply  with  the 
hope  that  it  may  excite  some  who  have  not  made  the  attempt  to  try 
the  experiment  for  themselves.  I  may  observe  that  the  scene  of  my  la- 
bours has  been  partly  in  villages,  and  partly,  and  I  must  add  principally, 
in  a  city  where  the  prejudices  of  caste  run  high,  and  idolatry  exists 
in  all  its  abominations.  Occasionally  I  have  visited  Musalmans,  but 
generally  Hindus  of  different  castes.  On  visiting  a  new  place  it  is  some- 
times the  case,  that  females  unaccustomed  to  Europeans,  are  afraid  to 
enter  into  conversation,  but  their  fears  are  easily  dissipated.  Except  in 
a  very  few  instances,  I  have  met  with  a  cordial  reception,  and  am  often 
invited  to  sit  down  in  their  verandahs,  or  open  courts,  and  not  unfre- 
quently  to  enter  their  houses,  but  I  never  think  of  doing  so,  without 
permission.  On  an  average  I  meet  with  from  three  to  five  females,  in 
each  house,  but  frequently  ten  or  twenty  collect  together  for  the  pur- 
pose of  conversation.  Doubtless  curiosity  often  operates  in  the  first 
instance,  but  many  appear  glad  to  receive  such  visits,  long  after  such  a 
motive  has  ceased.  After  a  little  familiar  chat  by  way  of  introduction*, 
I  frequently  inquire  what  they  worship  ;  what  advantages  they  have 
derived  from  worshipping  idols,  &c.  In  most  cases  they  admit  that  they 
are  sinners,  and  that  the  various  rites  and  ceremonies  they  have  per- 
formed, have  not  cancelled  sin ;  this  leads  to  a  conversation  on  the  folly 
of  idolatry,  the  advantages,  and  absolute  necessity  of  worshipping  the 
true  God,  and  of  trusting  in  Him  who  alone  can  cleanse  them  from  all 
iniquity.  I  have  met  with  several  females  who  disavow  their  belief  in 
idols,  and  express  a  desire  to  worship  the  true  God,  one  of  whom  ob- 
served, "  I  have  long  worshipped  idols  and  have  not  obtained  the  slight- 
est benefit,  and  now  if  you  will  teach  me  how  to  worship  the  true  God, 
I  will  serve  him  ;  but  except  some  one  teach  me,  how  can  I  know  the 
way  ?'"  The  other  day  when  telling  a  woman  of  good  caste  of  the  love 
of  Christ,  she  said,  "  Go  on,  these  words  afford  me  great  pleasure." 

A  few  weeks  ago,  I  visited  for  the  first  time,  a  populous  village.  While 
some  appeared  indifferent,  except  when  the  conversation  turned  on  food, 
and  raiment,  others  entered  into  conversation  on  sin,  and  its  conse- 
quences with  much  apparent  interest.  In  the  course  of  my  visit,  the  Son 
of  God  was  spoken  of  as  a  propitiation  of  sin.  A  woman  who  was  stand- 
ing in  the  doorway  immediately  responded  to  the  sentiment  by  mention- 
ing the  name  of  Christ.  To  hear  that  name  from  the  lips  of  one  whom 
I  imagined  had  never  heard  of  the  Saviour,  was  indeed  "music  to  mine 
ears."  1  inquired,  "  Where  did  you  hear  of  Jesus  Christ?"  She  replied, 
"  Several  years  ago  I  went  on  pilgrimage  to  Jagannath  and  saw  the 
Padr'is  giving  away  books  ;  from  thence  1  travelled  to  Cuttack  to  visit 
some  relatives;  while  spending  a  few  days  with  them  I  heard  a  man 
read  a  little  book  which  spoke  of  Jesus  Christ.  Since  that  time  I  have 
lost  all  my  children,  which  lias  occasioned  me  much  distress  ;  what  I  now 
most  desire,  is  to  know  how  my  sins  can  be  pardoned,  and  my  salvation 
secured."  She  requested  me  to  go  with  her  to  her  dwelling,  in  an  adjoin- 
in»-  street;  1  did  so,  and  found  a  number  of  women  sitting  in  an  open 
court.  The  woman  referred  to  appeared  to  be  in  good  circumstances,  and 
about  thirty  years  of  age.  She  spoke  with  much  simplicity  of  the  depra- 
vity of  her  heart,  and  said  it  was  so  wicked,  that  she  could  not  avoid 
daily  committing  sin.    She  knew  little  of  the  nature  of  God,  or  of  justi- 

*  Many  express  surprise  that  Missionaries  should  leave  their  native  land  and 
friends,  and  travel  thousands  of  miles  for  the  purpose  of  instructing  them. 


1840.]  Urdu  Version  of  the  New  Testament. 


315 


i'uation  by  faith,  but  deeply  felt  that  she  needed  something  more  than 
the  Hindu  system  could  impart.  The  whole  of  her  inquiries  were  cha- 
racterized by  deep  seriousness,  and  in  answer  to  my  inquiries,  she  observ- 
ed, that  her  visit  to  Jagannath  had  only  served  to  increase  her  load  of 
guilt,  and  that  for  the  last  two  years,  she  and  her  husband  had  ceased  to 
worship  idols  and  partook  their  food  in  silence. 

On  rising  to  leave  the  house  she  said,  when  will  you  come  again  ?  Who 
will  tell  me  more  of  these  things? 

Hoping  this  subject  will  commend  itself  to  all  who  sympathize  with 
the  degraded  females  of  India. 

I  am,  yours  sincerely, 

B.  S.  E. 

[We  sincerely  hope  that  the  praise-worthy  effort  of  our  fair  correspon- 
dent will  be  universally  imitated  by  those  who  in  whatever  work  they 
engage  are  highly  influential. — Ed.] 


III. — Urdu  Version  of  the  New  Testament.  Reply  to  the  letter 
of  "  One  of  the  Translators'"  in  last  Number. 

We  must  commence  our  reply  to  the  letter  of  "  One  of  the 
Translators"  of  the  Banaras  version  of  the  New  Testament  by 
a  free  and  frank  acknowledgment  of,  and  an  expression  of  deep 
and  unfeigned  regret  for,  the  mistake  we  committed  in  our 
former  article  in  representing  John  v.  4  as  one  of  the  passages 
omitted  in  the  said  version.  We  had  been  told  by  a  Missionary 
brother  that  he  understood  the  passage  was  omitted.  Possess- 
ing ourselves  a  very  scanty  knowledge  of  the  Urdu  language, 
we  searched  out  the  passage  with  some  difficulty,  and  certainly 
thought  that  the  omission  was  made  as  we  had  been  told. 
Distrustful,  however,  of  our  knowledge  of  the  language,  we 
put  the  book  into  the  hands  of  a  friend,  and  understood  him 
to  say,  that  there  was  nothing  in  the  translation  corresponding 
to  the  fourth  verse  of  the  fifth  chapter.  How  the  mistake  on 
his  part  originated,  or  whether  in  reality  the  mistake  was 
altogether  on  our  part,  we  cannot  tell.  All  that  we  can  now 
say  is  that  we  deeply  regret  the  occurrence  both  on  our  own 
account,  on  that  of  our  readers,  and  on  that  of  the  Translators. 
To  both  the  readers  of  the  Observer  and  to  the  Translators  we 
beg  to  offer  our  sincere  and  unrestricted  apology. 

And  now  the  matter  at  issue  between  us  is  reduced  to 
smaller  dimensions.  The  question  now  is  all  about  John  viii. 
1 — 12,  and  1  John  v.  7- 

As  to  the  former  of  these  passages  we  can  do  little  more 
than  reiterate  what  we  have  already  said.  Notwithstanding 
the  letter  of  the  Translator,  our  conviction  is  rather  strength- 
ened than  shaken  that  the  passage  is  part  of  the  inspired 
word  of  God. 

vol.  i.  2  T 


316 


Urdu  Version  of  the  New  Testament.  [June, 


Let  us  confine  ourselves  at  present  to  a  view  of  the  autho- 
rity of  the  Uncial  MSS.  for  and  against  the  passage.  Those 
quoted  by  Griesbach  as  omitting  the  passage  are  A,  B,  C,  L 
and  T. 

A,  (the  Alexandrian  MS.)  is  by  all  admitted  to  be  of  the 
highest  antiquity  and  authority ;  but  it  is  only  by  vague  in- 
ference that  it  is  quoted  against  this  passage,  seeing  that  it  is 
deficient  from  John  vi.  50,  to  viii.  12.  Wetstein  indeed  by 
counting  the  number  of  words  contained  in  two  leaves  has 
concluded  that  the  passage  was  omitted  in  the  MS.  This 
however  is,  at  the  best,  unsatisfactory,  and  gives  but  a  slight 
degree  of  probability  that  the  passage  was  not  written  in  the 
Alexandrian  MS.  Even  if  it  were  certain  that  the  whole 
quantity  of  matter  contained  in  the  textus  receptus  could  not 
have  been  written  on  the  lost  leaves,  the  omission  might  have 
been,  for  aught  that  any  one  can  tell,  in  any  other  passage  as 
well  as  this.  For  example  the  passage  omitted  might  have 
been  ch.  vii.  40  to  the  end. 

C.  (The  Codex  Ephremi.)  The  authority  of  this  invalu- 
able MS.  is  just  of  the  same  kind  with  that  of  the  former. 
There  is  a  chasm  from  John  vii.  3,  to  viii.  34.  So  that  no  one 
is  entitled  positively  to  say  that  the  passage  in  question  was 
not  in  that  MS. 

L.  (Codex  Reg.  62  or  Stephani  «).  This  MS.  omits  the 
passage,  but  it  leaves  a  vacant  space,  clearly  shewing  at  the 
least  that  the  transcriber  knew  of  the  existence  of  the  pas- 
sage, and  most  probably  that  it  was  found  in  his  own  copy,  but 
that  he  had  doubts  as  to  the  propriety  of  its  insertion. 

T.  (Codex  Borgianus)  is  a  mere  fragment  containing  on- 
ly John  vi.  28 — 67,  and  John  vii.  6 — 8,  and  31.  To  quote 
the  authority  of  this.  MS.  against  the  passage  therefore  is 
utterly  unfair,  and  we  cannot  tell  why  Griesbach  put  it  into 
the  list  of  MSS.  in  which  the  passage  is  omitted,  unless  for 
the  purpose  of  swelling  the  scanty  number. 

Thus  then  B,  (the  Vatican  MS.)  is  the  only  one  of  all  the 
Uncial  MSS.  that  can  be  received  in  testimony  against  the 
passage. 

In  opposition  to  this  we  have  the  passage  without  note  in 
D,  G,  H,  K,  M.  Of  these  D  is  said  by  some  to  be  the  oldest 
MS.  extant.  It  contains  some  false  readings  and  apocry- 
phal additions,  as  we  stated  in  our  former  article  and  as  the 
translator  also  mentions  ;  but  regarding  these  it  is  to  be  ob- 
served that  "  they  are  very  far  shorter  than  this  passage  and 
are  usually  mere  glosses."  It  is  also  to  be  remembered  that 
this  MS.  though  of  the  western  recension,  contains  very  many 
Alexandrian  readings  ;  so  that  its  authority  reduces  somewhat 


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317 


more  the  value  of  the  already  very  uncertain  probability  af- 
forded against  the  passage  by  the  Alexandrian  MS. 

Thus  then  stands  the  argument  so  far  as  Uncial  MSS.  are 
concerned.  It  is  vain  to  go  into  the  small  letter  MSS.  since 
we  have  already  stated  that  by  the  shewing  of  Griesbach,  the 
passage  is  found  entire  in  twice  as  many  as  the  number  of 
those  which  omit  it. 

It  is  said  by  Staudlin  (quoted  by  Bloomfield)  that  the  pas- 
sage is  found  in  most,  though  not  in  all,  of  the  most  ancient 
MSS.  of  the  most  ancient  versions.  Such  as  the  Ethiopic 
and  Armenian.  These  versions  it  ought  to  be  remembered 
are  of  the  Alexandrian  recension,  and  therefore  all  go  to 
weaken  the  probability  of  the  Alexandrian  MS.  having  omit- 
ted the  passage. 

As  to  the  Fathers  and  early  writers,  the  passage  is  found  in 
Tatian  and  Ammonius,  both  of  the  2nd  century,  and  in  the 
Constitutiones  Apostolic*  written  in  the  3rd,  or  at  the  latest 
in  the  beginning  of  the  4th  century.  That  it  is  not  quoted  by 
writers  whose  orthodoxy  is  much  better  established  than  that 
of  any  of  these  is  admitted ;  but  for  this  it  is  not  difficult  in 
some  degree  to  account,  since  it  may  very  probably  have  pro- 
ceeded from  a  fear  of  lessening  in  the  minds  of  the  simple  people 
the  impression  of  the  heinousness  of  the  sin  of  adultery ;  for 
it  is  not  to  be  denied  that  this  is  one  of  the  passages  which  the 
licentious  are  most  apt  to  wrest  to  their  own  destruction.  We 
could  shew  passages  in  some  of  the  early  Fathers  in  which 
Christians  are  charged  to  keep  certain  most  important  doc- 
trines secret  from  the  unbelievers,  and  how  much  more  anxious 
may  we  not  suppose  must  these  pious  but  often  mistaken  men 
have  been  to  prevent  the  unbelievers  from  getting  hold  of  a 
passage  of  Scripture  which  they  would  no  doubt  have  quoted 
as  supporting  the  malicious  charges  that  were  brought  against 
the  Christians,  as  an  adulterous  and  incestuous  sect?  This 
may  fully  account  for  the  non-quotation  of  the  passage,  and 
even  for  its  rejection  from  the  copies  of  the  Scripture. 

The  Translator  has  given  a  very  strange  account  of  matters 
in  his  popular  treatment  of  the  question  as  to  the  connexion 
of  the  whole  passage.  So  far  as  we  can  understand  him  he 
seems  to  say  that  the  officers  who  had  been  sent  by  the  San- 
hedrim to  apprehend  Jesus,  must  have  heard  the  whole  dis- 
course contained  in  the  eighth  chapter,  else  they  could  not 
have  given  in  the  report,  "  No  man  ever  spake  like  this  man.'5 
Now  does  he  not  read  in  ch.  vii.  40 — 41,  that  many  of  the 
people  when  they  heard  the  proclamation  of  Jesus  contained 
in  v.  37,  38  said,  "  Of  a  truth  this  is  the  prophet,"  and  others 


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said,  "  This  is  the  Christ."  If  then  the  address  contained  in 
these  two  verses  was  sufficient  to  call  forth  these  exclama- 
tions from  the  people,  why  should  it  not  have  been  also  suffi- 
cient to  justify  the  declaration  of  the  officers  ?  And  why 
should  the  Translator,  with  this  fact  before  him,  have  written 
such  a  sentence  as  this  ?  "  It  is  utterly  incredible  that  the 
officers  sent  for  his  apprehension  would  on  their  return  have 
said  e  Never  man  spake  like  this  man/  if  they  had  only  heard 
the  two  sentences  in  ch.  vii.  37,  38." 

Thus  far  as  to  what  the  Translator  calls  the  external  objec- 
tions to  the  passage.  As  to  the  internal  objections,  we  think 
them  of  still  less  value,  if  it  be  possible,  than  the  external.  Let 
the  reader  take  Dr.  Campbell's  translation  of  the  Gospels,  and 
having  read  the  passage  as  rendered  by  him,  let  him  say  what- 
ever there  be  in  the  narrative  any  thing  inconsistent  with  the 
Divine  morality  of  Jesus.  As  to  the  few  expressions  remarked 
upon  by  the  Translator,  we  submit  that  even  if  it  be  granted 
that  they  are  unusual  with  John,  no  one  is  entitled  to  say 
that  he  might  not  have  made  use  of  them.  We  smile  when 
we  read  of  a  critic  saying  that  if  Horace  did  not  write  in  a 
particular  way  he  ought  to  have  done  so  ;  but  the  case  is  alter- 
ed when  a  critic  takes  upon  him  so  dogmatically  to  take 
exception  to  the  expressions  of  an  inspired  writer.  On  this 
principle  we  should  reject  every  passage  in  which  a  \tyonevov 
occurs  in  Scripture.  Well  does  Dr.  Olshausen  say,  that  "  nei- 
ther will  dissonance  of  style  nor  harmony  in  style  and  sen- 
timent make  the  question  of  authenticity  clear." 

And  now  as  to  the  other  passage,  1  John  v.  7>  We  think 
it  proper  to  state  to  those  of  our  readers  who  have  not  given 
much  attention  to  this  subject,  that  the  arguments  in  favour  of 
this  passage  are  not  so  contemptible  as  perhaps  they  may  have 
been  led  to  suppose.  We  are  quite  aware  that  chiefly  through 
the  sarcasm  of  Porson,  every  Greekling  now  thinks  it  almost 
a  disgrace  not  to  be  able  to  talk  magniloquently  on  the  gross- 
ness  of  the  imposture  by  virtue  of  which  this  verse  was  intro- 
duced into  the  Sacred  text;  and  every  embryo  critic  thinks  it 
necessary  to  shew  his  independence  by  decidedly  making  up 
his  mind  as  to  the  propriety  of  rejecting  the  verse.  Now 
while  we  know  that  we  have  all  this  prejudice  to  contend 
against,  yet  having  a  higher  end  in  view  than  that  which  the 
Translator  sets  before  us,  we  shrink  not  to  set  forth  a  few  of 
the  arguments  in  favour  of  the  passage,  by  which  in  our  esti- 
mation, the  spuriousness  of  the  passage  is  rendered  at  least  a 
matter  of  doubt.  It  ought  certainly  to  modify  the  prejudice 
that  exists  in  the  minds  of  many  against  the  passage,  that 
Erasmus  admitted  the  verse  after  he  had  most  strenuously 


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319 


opposed  it,  that  it  is  supported  by  the  conviction  of  such  men 
as  Mill,  Ernesti  and  Horsley,  and  that  the  pious  and  learned 
Bishop  Burgess  wrote  no  fewer  than  six  separate  works  to 
prove  its  authenticity.  From  a  review  of  one  of  these  works 
we  shall  freely  borrow  in  our  statement  of  various  arguments 
in  favour  of  the  verse. 

The  Bishop  divides  the  external  evidence  into  three  peri- 
ods, the  first  embracing  the  three  first  centuries,  the  second 
embracing  the  time  from  the  beginning  of  the  fourth  to  the 
end  of  the  ninth  century,  and  the  third  extending  down  till  the 
printing  of  the  text  of  the  New  Testament. 

In  the  first  period  there  is,  according-  to  Bishop  Burgess,  no 
evidence  against  the  verse,  since  no  Greek  MS.  of  that  period 
is  extant. 

In  favour  of  the  passage  is  adduced  the  Ante-Vulgate  Latin 
version  as  ascertained  by  the  writings  of  Tertullian,  and 
Cyprian,  who  quoted  from  that  version. 

But  the  evidence  on  which  Bishop  Burgess  seems  to  place 
most  dependence  is  the  existence  of  a  sect  called  the  A\oyoi 
who  existed  during  this  period,  and  who,  as  we  learn  from 
Epiphanius,  rejected  the  writings  of  John  on  account  of  their 
teaching  the  existence  and  Divinity  of  the  Aoyos,  Now  if  they 
rejected  the  Epistles  of  John,  it  must  it  would  appear  have 
been  on  account  of  this  verse,  for  there  is  no  other  passage  in 
which  the  term  Ao?0*  is  applied  in  an  unqualified  manner  to  the 
Son  of  God.  We  confess  this  mode  of  arguing  is  to  us  some- 
what pleasing,  and  resembles  not  a  little  in  its  principle  that 
employed  by  Paley  in  his  Horse  Paulinae. 

In  the  second  period  we  have  a  prologue  to  the  canonical 
epistles  written,  according  to  Mill  and  Bengelius,  in  the  6th 
century,  and  according  to  Bishop  Marsh  (one  of  the  most 
strenuous  opponents  of  the  verse)  in  the  7th  or  8th.  Now  in 
this  prologue  there  is  the  following  remarkable  complaint. 
"  Quae  (epistolse)  si  sicut  ab  eis  (Grsecis)  Digestae  sunt,  ita 
quoque  ab  interpretibus  fideliter  in  Latinum  verterentur 
eloquium  ;  nec  ambiguitatem  legentibus  facerent,  nec  sermo- 
num  sese  varietas  impugnaret,  illo  prcecepue  loco  ubi  de  uni- 
tate  trinitatis  in  prima.  Johannis  epistola  positum  legimus  :  in 
qua  etiam  ab  infidelibus  translatoribus  multum  erratum  esse 
a  fidei  veritate  comperinius,  trium  tantummodo  vocabula,  hoc 
est,  aquas,  sanguinis  etspiritus  in  ipsa  sua  editione  ponentibus: 
et  Patris  Verbique,  ac  Spiritus  omittentibus."  Here  then 
it  is  very  plain  that  some  of  the  Greek  MSS.  existing  in  the 
days  of  the  author  of  this  prologue  read  the  verse,  else  how 
could  he  complain  of  the  unfaithfulness  of  those  translators 
who  omitted  it  in  their  Latin  version. 


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In  this  period  also  there  is  the  authority  of  Fulgentius, 
Cassiodorus,  Vigilius  Tapsensis,  Eucherius  and  the  Council 
of  Carthage. 

From  the  beginning  of  the  period  the  differences  between 
the  Greek  and  Latin  churches  were  ripening,  and  in  451,  the 
date  of  the  Council  of  Chalcedon,  the  schism  may  be  regarded 
as  having  been  consummated.  From  this  time  the  most  bitter 
animosity  and  jealousy  prevailed  between  the  eastern  and 
western  churches.  Now  we  have  no  statement  in  any  Greek 
writer  that  the  Latinists  had  interpolated  the  passage.  Yea 
we  find  the  passage  in  the  Liturgies  of  both  churches  ;  but  it 
has  been  by  some  of  the  opponents  of  the  verse  supposed  that 
it  has  been  inserted  in  the  Greek  Liturgy  at  a  late  period.  If 
it  could  be  proved  to  be  genuine  as  it  stands  in  the  liturgy  it 
were  almost  decisive  of  the  whole  question,  as  we  know  that 
the  state  of  feeling  between  the  two  churches  was  such  that 
it  is  inconceivable  the  Greeks  would  have  borrowed  the  verse 
from  the  Latins  had  it  not  been  found  in  their  own  MSS. 

The  third  period  contains  the  Codex  Montfortianus,  whose 
authority  was  at  least  sufficient  to  weigh  with  Erasmus  for  the 
insertion  of  the  verse  after  he  had  rejected  it  from  the  previous 
editions  of  his  New  Testament. 

The  internal  evidence  is  in  our  estimation  greatly  in  favour 
of  the  passage.  Both  the  grammar  and  the  context  seem 
imperatively  to  demand  the  reading.  As  to  the  former  we 
should  have  expected  to  read,  on  the  supposition  that  the  dis- 
puted Words  are  Omitted,  not  TpcTs  iiaiv  bi  naprvpovvrts,  to  wuevfia,  Kai 
to  vSwp  Kai  ro  ai^obut  rather  ^pia  eo-Tt  to  tiaprlpowra,  &c.  but  the  7th 

verse  being  retained,  the  masculine  participle  is  first  intro- 
duced for  the  purpose  of  agreeing  with  the  masculine  nouns 
naT?jpand  \0yos  and  then  we  can  easily  account  for  its  being 
retained  in  the  eighth  verse  for  the  sake  of  completing  the 
parallelism  . 

Again  the  number  of  the  earthly  witnesses  seems  to  be 
limited  to  three  in  order  to  support  the  comparison  between 
them  and  the  heavenly  witnesses. 

As  to  the  reason  of  the  omission  of  the  passage  in  all  the 
most  ancient  Greek  MSS.  it  may  have  been  either  design  or 
accident.  Most  probably  it  was  the  latter,  a  supposition  which 
the  homceoteleuton  renders  very  natural. 

We  do  not  say,  nor  did  we  ever  say  from  the  first,  that  the 
authenticity  of  this  passage  is  established  beyond  doubt.  We 
admit  that  there  are  strong  arguments  against  it,  but  still  we 
think  those  which  have  been  adduced  in  its  favour  have  not 
been  satisfactorily  disposed  of,  and  they  are  certainly  of  such 
a  nature  as  not  to  warrant  the  bare  rejection  of  the  verse. 


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321 


We  have  hitherto  kept  this  discussion  us  free  as  possible  of 
any  allusion  to  the  letter  of  the  Translator,  because  we  think  it 
of  much  importance  that  nothing  of  a  personal  nature  should 
be  mixed  up  with  arguments  on  such  a  subject  as  that  before 
us.  Let  us  now  however  make  some  remarks  on  the  Transla- 
tor's letter. 

The  Translator  tells  us  that  there  has  lately  arisen  in  Cal- 
cutta a  class  of  writers  who  engage  in  an  exercise  which  they 
call  "  fighting  for  their  Zion,"  and  that  they  are  in  the  habit, 
when  they  go  to  engage  in  the  said  exercises  of  ei  shouting"  cer- 
tain words  taken  from  Scripture.  The  Translator  pretty  plainly 
intimates  that  we,  even  T.  S.,  belong  to  that  class,  and  vouch- 
safes to  inform  us  that  he  has  the  utmost  contempt  for  our 
spirit.  There  is  such  a  thing  as  being  "  fierce  for  moderation" 
and  truly  we  may  venture  to  challenge  the  Translator  to  shew 
in  our  article,  or  in  any  other  article  that  has  appeared  for  a  long 
time  in  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer,  any  expression  more 
inconsistent  with  "  the  rules  of  Christian  propriety"  than 
this  very  sentence,  in  which  he  expresses  his  contempt  for  the 
spirit  by  which  we  are  actuated,  and  declares  that  "  it  is  of 
the  earth,  earthly. "  Yet  strange  to  tell,  after  all  this,  and 
after  heaping  upon  us  several  epithets  such  as,  to  say  the 
least  of  them,  one  gentleman  does  not  usually  apply  to  ano- 
ther, he  ends  all  by  declaring  that  he  takes  leave  of  us  with 
feelings  of  great  respect !  !  Ah  !  well,  it  is  not  unpleasant 
to  think  that  our  character  has  so  risen  in  the  Transla- 
tor's estimation  during  the  intercourse  that  he  has  held 
with  us. 

The  Translator  then  makes  a  remark  to  the  prejudice  of  the 
Calcutta  Christian  Observer,  with  which  the  Editors  rather 
than  we  have  to  do.  But  let  us  just  say,  that  a  former  Editor 
of  the  Observer,  one  of  those  under  whose  conduct  it  was  "  a 
periodical  of  which  the  Missionary  body  in  India  might  be 
proud,"  in  remarking  upon  our  article  said  that  the  writer  of  it 
had  done  wrong  in  not  stating  in  far  stronger  terms  the  enor- 
mity of  the  offence  committed  by  the  Translators  in  omitting 
the  passages.  We  can  tell  the  Translator  that  had  he  put  forth 
his  Translation  in  those  days  he  would  have  been  subjected  to 
another  sort  of  treatment  than  that  he  has  received  from  the 
Observer  of  the  present  day. 

"  We  will  honour  him  (T.  S.)  with  arguing  him  down  in  a 
friendly  manner."  Would  Paul  have  spoken  in  this  way  of 
the  most  virulent  and  most  insignificant  of  the  opponents 
whom  he  had  to  encounter?  We  trow  not. 

Then  follows  a  long  dissertation  as  to  a  remark  of  Origen 
concerning  the  preservation  of  the  Scriptures.    With  this  we 


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Urdu  Version  of  the  New  Testament.  [June, 


have  nothing  at  all  to  do — Origen  is  not  our  Bishop,  we  are 
not  in  any  way  responsible  for  his  sentiments. 

Then  does  the  Translator  endeavour  to  lay  the  blame  of 
his  conduct  upon  the  Directors  of  that  noble  Society,  the  Lon- 
don Missionary  Society,  and  quotes  three  of  the  Instructions 
of  these  Directors  in  reference  to  translations.  Now  we  thank 
him  for  calling  our  attention  to  these  instructions;  his  refer- 
ence has  caused  us  to  look  into  them,  and  most  excellent 
directions  they  are.  But  there  is  one  which  the  Translator 
did  not  quote,  which  we  think  it  will  be  difficult  for  him  to  shew 
that  he  and  his  colleague  (or  colleagues)  have  obtempered :  it 
is  as  follows  : 

"  In  India,  it  will  be  proper  to  submit  these  Translations  to 
the  local  committee  of  the  Bible  Society ;  in  which  case  if  fully 
approved  they  xvill  commend  themselves  to  the  wonted  liberal 
patronage  of  the  Parent  Society  at  home." 

Did  the  Translators  submit  their  translation  to  the  Local 
Committee  of  the  Bible  Society,  before  sending  it  to  press  ? 
Did  they  consider  in  the  course  of  preparing  it,  whether  the 
omissions  they  made  would  be  likely  to  recommend  their  ver- 
sion to  the  approval  of  that  Committee  ?  Since  the  version  was 
published,  have  the  Bible  Society's  Committee  expressed 
approbation  or  disapprobation  of  it  ?  True  the  Directors  recom- 
mend that  translations  be  published  in  the  first  instance  with- 
out note  or  comment,  and  most  properly  so ;  but  we  venture 
to  say  that  when  this  instruction  was  drawn  up,  it  never  once 
entered  into  the  minds  of  its  framers- that  it  could  be  inter- 
preted into  a  prohibition  of  such  a  mark  as  would  express  the 
doubt  of  the  Translators  as  to  the  genuineness  of  any  verse 
or  passage. 

There  is  a  passage  in  reference  to  Dr.  Griesbach  which  we 
shall  not  venture  to  give  in  our  own  words,  and  which  we  shall 
therefore  transcribe  verbatim  : — 

"  I  felt  a  little  vexed  to  see  that  T.  S.  in  his  remarks  on  the  passages, 
turns  round  upon  Dr.  Griesbach,  after  having  taken  most  of  his  critical 
lore  from  that  illustrious  scholar,  and  insinuates  that  he  was  after  all  so 
ignorant  as  not  to  know  what  an  obelus  means  in  the  MSS.,  or  for  what 
purpose  these  were  written,  and  so  dishonest  as  to  allow  his  theology  to 
gain  the  ascendancy  over  his  criticism  !  Surely  T.  S.  might  have  remem- 
bered the  injunction  of  Scripture  :  "  Thou  uhalt  not  cook  the  calf  in  the 
milk  of  the  mother.''  He  will  find  it  a  much  easier  task  to  bring  discre- 
dit upon  his  own  judgment  than  to  upset  the  firm  foundation  on  which 
vests  the  fame  of  Dr.  Griesbach.  He  has  shown  no  tendency  to  heter- 
odox views  either  in  his  text  or  in  his  notes,  and  T.  S.  should  know  this 
and  acknowledge  it." 

Now  in  reference  to  this  paragraph  we  have  various  remarks 
to  make.    In  the  first  place,  we  never  meant  to  say,  nor  ever 


1840.]  Urdu  Version  of  the  New  Testament. 


323 


did  say,  a  single  word  to  the  prejudice  of  Dr.  Griesbach's  good 
name  as  a  scholar  and  a  critic.  Did  we  not  on  the  contrary 
speak  of  him  as  an  honest  man  and  a  rigid  critic  ?  What 
higher  commendation  could  his  warmest  admirers  bestow  upon 
him  ?  But  we  did  say,  what  we  believe  we  may  repeat,  that  it 
was  possible  his  mind  might  be  somewhat  biassed  on  some 
points,  and  in  particular  that  he  might  sometimes  by  reason 
of  the  common  infirmity  of  our  nature,  forget  that  the  manu- 
scripts of  the  Scripture  were  prepared  for  a  very  different  end 
than  that  noble  one  to  which  he  and  others  have  applied  them. 
The  reference  which  the  Translator  makes  to  Dr.  Grieshach 
in  the  paragraph  preceding  that  which  we  have  quoted,  is  ra- 
ther an  unhappy  one.  Can  the  Translator  tell  us  why  it  was 
that  in  the  first  edition  of  his  New  Testament  Dr.  G.  gave  the 
reading  Qto;  in  1  Tim.  iii.  16,  and  altered  it  in  his  second 
edition  into  o?  ?  We  do  not  profess  to  give  a  reason  for  the 
change,  but  we  have  at  least  heard  Unitarians  claim  Dr.  G.  as 
a  partizan  on  the  ground  of  the  alteration  ;  while  we  have  heard 
Trinitarians  lament  that  in  this  instance  at  least  he  had 
merged  the  Critic  in  the  Theologian. 

We  must  confess  that  in  writing  the  remarks  referred  to  by 
the  Translator  we  did  not  remember  the  injunction  "Thou 
shalt  not  cook  the  calf  in  the  milk  of  his  mother,"  nor  are  we 
able  even  now  it  has  been  suggested  to  us  to  see  its  applica- 
bility to  the  matter  in  hand.  We  have  thought  of  various 
interpretations  and  applications  of  it,  but  cannot  satisfy  our- 
selves with  any  of  them.  Does  the  Translator  mean  to  com- 
pare Dr.  Grieshach  to  a  calf  ?  But  if  so,  then  what  is  the  arche- 
type of  the  milk  ?  or  what  of  the  cow  his  mother  ?  The  Trans- 
lator may  have  had  some  idea  attached  to  his  words,  when  he 
made  use  of  them,  and  of  course  he  is  not  bound  to  furnish  us 
with  powers  of  understanding  or  imagination  to  apprehend 
the  application  of  his  tropes.  But  further  on  this  subject, 
where  did  the  Translator  find  this  injunction  ?  In  what  scrip- 
ture ?  We  deny  that  there  is  any  such  injunction  contained  in 
Scripture  from  Genesis  to  Revelation.  Such  a  loose  mode  of 
quoting,  and  such  a  perversity  in  applying  Scripture  we  deeply 
regret  to  see  manifested  by  one  who  bears  the  honoured  name 
of  a  Translator  of  the  word  of  God. 

Next  to  this  comes  the  paragraph  in  which  is  pointed  out 
our  error  in  representing  John  v.  4,  as  one  of  the  passages 
omitted  in  the  translation.  We  have  already  referred  to  this 
error, and  have  expressed  our  unfeigned  regret  a,t  its  occurrence. 
We  wish  not  now  to  qualify  in  the  slightest  degree  that  ex- 
pression of  regret.  On  the  contrary,  if  we  have  not  previously 
made  the  admission,  we  are  willing  now  to  make  it,  that  the 

vol.  i.  2  u 


324 


Urdu  Version  of  the  New  Testament.  [June, 


mistake  into  which  we  fell  was  a  culpable  one.  But  we  cannot 
agree  in  our  Translator's  opinion  that  the  committal  of  this 
mistake  vitiates  either  the  whole  of  our  former  article  or  any 
portion  of  the  present.  Would  the  Translator  not  hav  e  deemed 
it  cruel  and  unchristian  if  we  had  said  that  his  letter  and  all 
that  he  may  ever  say  or  write  hereafter  is  and  will  be  vitiated 
by  his  declaring  that  to  be  Scripture  which  is  not  Scripture,  and 
inferentially  stating  that  that  is  the  meaning  of  Scripture 
which  is  not  the  meaning  of  Scripture  ?  The  Translator  might 
well  have  complained  if  Ave  had  done  so,  and  we  should  have 
had  cause  to  complain  of  ourselves  if  we  had  allowed  our- 
selves so  to  belie  our  starting  declaration,  that  our  rule  is  to 
speak  the  truth  in  love. 

The  Translator  seems  to  rest  much  on  the  authority  of  Drs. 
Tholuck  and  Olshausen.  These  are  names  which  from  our 
childhood  we  have  been  accustomed  to  hear  with  respect  and 
admiration.  The  former  especially  is  associated  in  our  mind 
with  the  idea  of  all  that  is  valiant  in  piety.  And  were  the 
point  at  issue  between  us  one  regarding  the  grand  doctrines 
or  duties  of  the  gospel  we  should  have  lamented  grievously  to 
find  ourselves  on  the  opposite  side  from  these  good,  and  learn- 
ed and  truly  great  men.  But  on  such  points  as  that  at  issue 
between  the  Translator  and  us,  we  feel  less  reluctance  to  differ 
with  these  respected  men.  One  who  writes,  as  Dr.  Tholuck 
has  done  in  his  commentary  on  the  Romans,  such  a  sentence 
as  the  following,  is  not  to  be  brought  forward  as  a  very  high 
authority  regarding  the  inspiration  of  any  passage:  "Whoso- 
ever (says  he  on  Rom.  i.  14)  is  inclined  to  seek  in  outward 
occasions  the  cause  of  a  negligent  construction,  (the  only 
source  of  which  however  was  undoubtedly  the  liveliness  of 
the  Apostle's  character)  may  imagine  that  Paul  was  here  called 
away,  and  that  upon  resuming  his  pen,  he  supposed  that  he  had 
began  a  new  sentence  with  xaQw?  !"  We  bless  God  that  Tho- 
luck is  what  he  is,  and  that  he  has  been  enabled  to  do  what  he 
has  done,  but  we  must  not  forget  that  he  too  is  a  man. 

Of  Dr.  Olshausen's  history  we  do  not  know  so  much,  but 
it  is  somewhat  remarkable  thatjust  two  or  three  days  before  the 
Translator's  letter  was  printed,  we  met  with  the  following  pas- 
sage in  a  translation  of  one  his  writings:  "Some  will  rejoice 
not  a  little,  if  they  seem  to  themselves  to  have  made  out,  at 
least  with  some  plausibility,  the  spuriousness  of  nearly  all  the 
sacred  books :  others  fear  lest  the  least  trace  of  suspicion 
should  attach  to  any  the  least  book  of  the  New  Testament,  as  if 
the  foundations  of  Christianity  depended  on  the  integrity  of  the 
New  Testament,  which,  notwithstanding,  flourished  gloriously 
when  the  New  Testament  canon  tvas  not  in  existence."  Now 


1840.]  Urdu  Version  of  the  New  Testament.  325 


is  a  man  who  virtually  states  that  there  is  no  occasion  for  very 
much  exertion  to  preserve  the  integrity  of  the  New  Testament, 
since  Christianity  nourished  gloriously  in  the  clays  of  the  Apos- 
tles before  the  New  Testament  was  written  at  all — is  this  the 
man  whose  authority  is  to  be  much  set  by  as  to  the  genuine- 
ness of  any  passage  in  the  inspired  gospel  ?  What  is  it  to  him 
whether  John's  gospel  contains  13  verses  less  or  more  ?  Chris- 
tianity flourished  gloriously  when  John's  gospel  was  not  in  ' 
existence  ! 

It  is  an  ungracious  task  thus  to  make  abatements  from  the 
character  of  men  whom  we  so  highly  esteem.  Besides  we 
are  of  opinion  that,  while  the  Translator  in  several  places  quotes 
the  very  words  of  these  commentators,  he  has  unintentionally 
failed,  by  being  under  the  necessity  of  greatly  abridging  their 
remarks,  to  give  a  correct  idea  of  the  general  spirit  of  their 
remarks. 

We  think  any  one  reading  the  Translator's  account  of  the 
sentiments  of  Di  s.  Tholuck  and  Olshausen  would  suppose  them 
to  have  decided  unconditionally  against  the  passage  in  question. 
Now  we  apprehend  that  the  only  point  on  which  they  are  com- 
pletely agreed,  is  that  the  passage  does  not  stand  in  its  proper 
place  :  but  we  do  not  think  Tholuck  denies  that  it  is  of  "  evan- 
gelical deliverance,"  while  Olshausen  gives  full  weight  to  many 
of  the  arguments  in  favour  of  the  passage,  though  he  thinks 
that  the  arguments  of  a  contrary  kind  are  stronger. 

The  Translator  asserts  that  the  Roman  law  was  not  applied 
to  Judea  at  this  time,  and  therefore  that  death  by  stoning,  the 
punishment  awarded  by  the  law  of  Moses  to  certain  classes  of 
adulterers,  might  have  been  inflicted  by  the  Sanhedrin  with 
consent  of  the  Roman  procurator.  On  this  point  we  beg  to 
refer  our  readers  to  Lardner's  Credibility,  Part  I.  Chap.  2. 

We  must  hasten  to  a  conclusion,  and  shall  therefore  only 
further  call  attention  as  briefly  as  possible  to  a  few  sentences 
and  expressions  in  the  letter  of  the  Translator. 

"  I  cannot  possibly  divest  myself  of  the  pleasing  idea  that 
our  opinion  is  just  as  good  as  his."  See  Rom.  xii.  10,  last 
clause,  and  1  Cor.  viii.  2. 

"  Christians  belonging  to  the  Roman  Catholic  and  Greek 
Churches  will  not  use  Protestant  versions.  So  none  can  be 
made  at  present  for  the  universal  church."  Where  did  the 
Translator  learn  the  phrase  "  the  Roman  Catholic  Church  ?" 
It  was  not  in  Scripture. 

As  to  the  postscript  to  the  Translator's  letter,  we  think  it  bet- 
ter to  make  no  remarks.  In  our  estimation  it  had  hetter  never 
been  published, containing  as  it  does  an  unprovoked  attack  upon 
a  body  of  Missionaries  ;  and  doing  any  thing,  as  it  seems  to 
us,  rather  than  speaking  the  truth  in  love.  T.  S. 

2  u  2 


326 


Description  of  the  Netherlands'  Territory.  [June, 


IV. — Short  description  of  the  Netherlands'  Territory  on  the 
West  Coast  of  Sumatra,  1837. 

BOUNDARIES,  DIVISION  AND  POPULATION. 

(Continued  from  page  209.) 

In  a  former  number  we  considered  the  districts  of  the  northern  divi- 
sion, we  shall  now  enumerate  those  of  the  centred  division.  The}'  con- 
sist of, 

1.  Tiekoo,  divided  into  two  districts  Mongoppo  and  Gragahan.  This 
district  is  governed  by  one  Raja  and  five  Panghooloos,  and  contains  alto- 
gether a  population  of  about  4,000  souls.  We  have  our  northern  pos- 
sessions in  this  division.  This  place  has  the  advantage  of  a  good  har- 
bour for  ships  and  small  craft,  which  may  safely  anchor  here  at  about  a 
mile  from  the  shore  and  be  sheltered  from  all  winds,  with  a  good  strand 
which  is  easily  approached.  It  is  also  very  well  situated  for  communica- 
tion with  the  interior. 

2.  Dunauw,  consisting  of  ten  districts,  named  the  six  and  four 
Cottas,  with  ten  principal  and  a  great  number  of  inferior  chiefs,  and  a 
population  of  about  10,000  souls. 

3.  Duablas  Cottas,  otherwise  named  the  Tiegalooras,  ampat  dengan 
Gassang,  has  a  population  of  about  8,000  souls  and  is  governed  by  three 
Orang  hayas — (one  of  whom  is  appointed  by  the  government,)  sixteen 
chief  Panghooloos,  many  lesser  Panghooloos  and  Orang  kayas. 

4.  Lima  Cottas  has  a  population  of  about  4,000  souls,  and  is  govern- 
ed by  one  Raja  and  six  Panghooloos. 

5.  Sichara  di  Ooloo,  or  Barras,  or  also  Mangong,  has  a  population  of 
about  1,000  souls,  and  is  governed  by  one  Raja  and  six  Panghooloos.  The 
above  named  five  provinces  make  a  separate  division,  which  is  named  by 
the  natives  Tioga  Sure,  ampat  dengan  Mangong.  Here  follows  another 
division  named  Lima  Tumpoo,  consisting  of  the  following  districts. 

C.  Priaman  with  a  population  of  about  2,000  souls,  has  one  Raja  and 
six  Panghooloos.  We  have  here  our  second  possession  in  the  interior  of 
the  central  division. 

7.  Tudjoo  Cotta  with  a  population  of  about  6,000  souls,  has  one  Raja, 
one  Pamontja  and  six  Panghooloos. 

8.  U/ahkan,  with  about  1,500  souls,  has  one  Raja,  four  Orang  Tooas, 
and  six  Panghooloos.  The  Raja  of  this  province  has,  through  the  in- 
fluence of  the  government,  obtained  some  degree  of  authority  over  the 
following  minor  provinces,  namely: 

Soonoor,  having  one  Raja,  one  Pamontja,  six  Panghooloos  and  a  popu- 
lation of  about  800  souls. 

Cooretaday,  with  one  Raja  one  Pamontja,  six  Panghooloos,  and  a 
population  of  about  1,500  souls. 

Pacomca,  having  one  Raja,  six  Panghooloos,  and  a  population  of  about 
250  souls. 

Bcntungan  Tengy,  having  one  Raja,  six  Panghooloos,  and  a  population 
of  about  200  souls. 

Tola,  having  one  Raja,  six  Panghooloos,  and  a  population  of  about 
800  souls. 

Tapakie,  having  one  Raja,  four  Orang  tooas  and  five  Panghooloos,  with 
a  population  of  about  800  souls. 

Sugel  Labong,  with  one  Pamontja,  six  Panghooloos,  and  a  population  of 
about  600  souls. 

Kapat/a  Cotta,  with  four  Panghooloos  and  a  population  of  about  500 
souls. 


1840.]       Description  of  the  Netherlands'  Territory.  327 


9.  Pakandangan  or  negcn  Cottas,  is  under  the  authority  of  one  Chang 
kaya,  with  a  population  of  about  4,000  souls.  It  has  some  degree  of 
supremacy  over  the  following1  minor  provinces: 

Gade  with  four  Panghooloos ;  Cottamerapc  with  seven  Panghooloos  ; 
Pariet  Melintong  with  six  Panghooloos ;  Sungie  Assam  with  live  Pan- 
ghooloos; Looloopadang  with  five  Panghooloes ;  Tooboo  Betooa  with  five 
Panghooloos  ;  Cheencheen  of  Kopalla  Illayang  with  eleven  Panghooloos, 
with  a  population  of  about  2,000  souls ;  Cayoo  Tanam  do  Ooloo  and  de 
Letter  with  eleven  Panghooloos  and  a  population  of  2,000  souls. 

10.  Sintoo  Lubawalong  has  twelve  Panghooloos,  with  a  population  of 
about  2,000  souls. 

11.  Pudung,  where  the  seat  of  the  Residency  is  established,  has  one 
Twnnkoo  Pungaliema  (governor),  one  Bandhnra  and  seven  Panghooloos, 
who  rule  over  the  following  provinces,  namely: 

Nartyallo  with  six  Panghooloos ;  Nan  Dupuloo  with  twenty  Panghoo- 
loos ;  Lima  Mamis  with  five  Panghooloos ;  Lonboo  Kielangan  with  six  Pan- 
ghooloos ;  Bungoos  with  ten  Panghooloos  ;  Tiendakie  with  one  chief  and 
four  Panghooloos ;  Tet/ok  Cacang  with  one  chief  and  four  Panghooloos. 
This  whole  territory,  including  the  capital,  has  a  population  of  about 
1,400  souls. 

12.  Pau  has  fourteen  Panghooloos,  who  are  named  nan  Samhelan  and 
nan  Lima,  in  consequence  of  a  separation  which  exists  in  the  govern- 
ment of  this  province:  it  is  bounded  in  the  interior  by  Ticgublas  Cottas, 
and  has  a  population  of  about  4,000  souls. 

13.  Cotta  Taiga  situated  between  Pau  and  Padang,  has  ten  Panghoo- 
loos and  a  population  of  about  3,000  souls.  The  chiefs  of  this  province 
exercise  supremacy  over  the  neighbouring  minor  province  named  Gas- 
ang. 

1 1>.  Trapan  has  one  Raja  and  four  Panghooloos,  who  exercise  supre- 
macy over  the  following  minor  provinces,  viz.  Baroong  Maloonte  with 
eight  Panghooloos ;  Sie  Guntoor  with  one  chief  and  four  Panghooloos  ; 
having  together  a  population  of  about  4,000  souls.  Now  follow  the  pro- 
vinces which  are  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  postholder  of  Pula  Chiriko, 
named  the  Sapooloo  Boo  Bangohar. 

15.  Boyang  with  fifteen  Panghooloos  and  a  population  of  2,500  souls. 

16.  Saliedo  with  one  Raja  and  eight  Panghooloos,  who  exercise  supre- 
macy over  the  following  minor  provinces,  viz.  Tambaugan  with  one  Raja 
and  four  Panghooloos ;  Saliedo  kicheel  with  one  Raja  and  four  Panghooloos, 
hav  ing  together  a  population  of  about  2,000  souls. 

17.  Pagnan  has  one  Raja  and  three  Panghooloos,  and  a  population  of 
about  3,000  souls. 

18.  Battang  kappe  or  Delapan  Cotta  has  35  Panghooloos,  of  which  four 
are  principal  and  31  inferior;  population  3,000  souls. 

19.  Tatlo  has  one  Kapala,,  and  four  Panghooloos;  population  about 
500  souls. 

20.  Taratta  has  seven  Panghooloos,  and  a  population  of  about  500 
souls. 

21.  Sierantie  has  one  Raja,  seven  Panghooloos  and  a  population  of 
about  1000  souls. 

22.  Priangpara  or  Ampivgpara  with  one  Raja,  four  Panghooloos,  and 
a  population  of  about  500  souls. 

23.  Kambang  or  Simbalan  Cotta  has  one  Raja,  four  Panghooloos,  and  a 
population  of  about  2500  souls. 

24.  Palanyui  has  one  Raja  and  four  Panghooloos;  and  a  population 
of  about  200  souls. 

25.  Sungie  Toonoo  has  four  Panghooloos,  and  a  population  of  about 
2,500  souls. 


328 


Description  of  the  Netherlands'  Territory.  [June, 


26.  Pangapan  has  seven  Panghooloos,  and  a  population  of  about  .500 
souls. 

27.  Ayer  Hadji  lias  one  Raja,  and  seven  Panghooloos,  and  a  popula- 
tion of  about  1500  souls. 

28.  Indrapoora  has  one  Sultan,  one  Mougkoo  boomie,  twenty  Martries 
and  a  population  of  about  2500  souls. 

We  now  proceed  to  describe  the  highland-  districts  of  the  central  divi- 
sion, which  contain, 

29.  Lvouh  Tana  Datar,  contains  the  following  fourteen  districts 
independent  of  each  other ;  viz.  1,  Sungie  trap  ;  2,  Soorwassa  ;  3,  Padang 
Ganting  ;  4,  Soomanie.k  ;  5,  Sungie  djamba  ;  6,  Priangan  ;  7,  Ga/oo  Gan. 
dan;/;  8,  Tallau  ;  9,  Gooroon ;  10,  Pagar  rugong  ;  11,  Limakawan ;  12, 
Toudjong  ;  13,  Rau  liau  ;  14,  Koomango. 

This  province  has  a  population  of  about  80,000  souls,  and  is  now  go- 
verned by  fourteen  chiefs,  paid  by  the  government,  named  Kapala  lares, 
and  a  great  number  of  Panglioolous,  Kopallas  and  chiefs  of  Sookoos. 

30.  Agam,  or  the  six  and  four  Cottas  ;  containing  twelve  independent 
provinces,  viz.:  1,  Ampa  anke'  ;  2,  Booklet  kamang  ;  3,  Sungiepua  ; 
4,  Four  Cottas  ;  5,  Koorai ;  6,  Boonoo  ampo  ;  7,  Taudjong  ;  8,  Chelatang  ; 
9,  Kapou  ;  10,  Sallo  ;  11,  Aloge  ;  12,  Cotta  baroo  ;  having  twelve  Kapala 
lares  paid  by  government,  and  a  great  number  of  minor  chiefs,  and  a 
population  of  about  80,000  souls. 

31.  The  Sambielan  Cottas,  containing  nine  independent  districts,  viz. 
1,  Cotta  lawas ;  2,  Tendieke ;  3,  Pundja  layan  ;  4,  Sengalang  ;  5,  Ayer 
ange ;  6,  Cotta  baroo;  7.  Goonung  ;  8,  Panidjama ;  9,  Djawe  ;  10,  Tarn- 
bangan  ;  having  two  Kapala  lares  paid  by  government,  a  great  number 
of  minor  chiefs  and  a  population  of  about  20,000  souls. 

32.  The  Limapooloo  Cottas,  containing  ten  independent  districts,  viz. 
1,  Paya  komba  ;  2,  Soomootoogang  ;  3,  Ayer  tahier  ;  i,  Tar  am  ;  5,  Sierie 
lama;  6,  Googoo ;  7,  Sierie  lawes ;  8,  Monkar ;  9,  Sielickie ;  10,  Cotta 
lowe,  with  thirteen  chiefs  and  a  great  number  of  minor  chiefs  paid  by 
government,  and  a  population  of  about  50,000  souls. 

33.  A/laban  with  four  independent  districts  ;  1,  Allaban  ;  2,  Ampallo  ; 
3,  Gadong ;  4,  Tubing  tengie.  This  province  has  eight  chiefs  paid  by 
government,  a  great  number  of  minor  chiefs  and  a  population  of  about 
10,000  souls. 

34.  Lintouw  has  four  districts  and  one  chief  paid  by  government, 
with  a  population  of  about  4,000  souls. 

35.  Taudjong  Allam  has  three  districts,  viz. ;  Salempau,  Toodjoo  batoo 
and  Pantjoran  Setoodjoo,  with  three  chiefs  paid  by  Government,  and  a 
population  of  about  15,000  souls. 

36.  Twenty  Cottas,  containing  fifteen  districts,  viz  :  1,  Soolie  Ayer;  2, 
Taudjong  balliet ;  3,  Sangkara  ;  4,  Sungie  baka ;  5,  Simowang ;  6,  Cotta 
Toodjoo;  7,  Padangse  Boosoo  ;  8,  Tielookung ;  9,  Cotta  baroo;  10,  Tal/a, 
with  four  smaller  districts;  11,  Aner  kenaree  ;  12,  Sienjan  apang ;  13, 
Googoo  Padang  Lawe  ;  14,  Moko  Moko ;  15,  Palanke  Mewara  Loodie,  hav- 
ing fourteen  chiefs  and  a  great  number  of  minor  chiefs  paid  by  govern- 
ment ;  population  about  100,000  souls. 

37.  Batiepoo  has  one  Governor,  one  Pamontja  with  four  paid  chiefs, 
and  a  population  of  about  12,000  souls. 

38.  Twelve  Cottas  Matwa.  This  province  is  divided  into  four,  and 
eight  Cottas,  the  formei-  belonging  to  Matwa  and  having  three  chiefs, 
ami  the  latter  or  eight  Cottas  eight  chiefs,  and  the  Twankoo  Ahui  Tni- 
gie,  with  a  population  of  about  12,000  souls. 

39.  Toodjoo  Looras,  with  a  population  of  about  6,000  souls. 

Here  follows  Bondjol  and  the  provinces  now  connected  with  it,  of 
which  we  have  already  spoken. 


1840.]        Description  of  the  Netherlands'  Territory.  329 


The  southern  division  or  the  territory  of  Bencoolcn  contains  the  follow- 
ing provinces,  viz.: 

1.  Moco  Moco  consisting  of  the  following  districts  ;  I,  The  territory 
of  the  Mantrie  Ampablas ;  2,  Lima  Cottn;  3,  Perwntien  koorangaso  lima 
puloo,  numbering  together  89  villages,  with  a  population  of  9,448  souls. 

2.  Sungie  Lamau,  contains  the  following  districts  ;  1,  Lais  ;  2,  Palle  ; 

3,  Ayer  bessie  ;  4,  Ayer  padie  ;  5,  Bertoonan  ;  6,  Lungie  Lamau  ;  7,  Ooloo 
Bancooloo,  having  together  143  dupoons,  with  a  population  of  12,817  souls. 

3.  Sungie  Jetam,  containing  the  following  districts:  1,  Lumba  Sela- 
pan  ;  2,  Perwatien  arablas  die  Tape,  Ayer  and  Dari,  having  together  42 
dupoons,  and  a  population  of  4,122  souls. 

4.  Sillebar,  consisting  of  the  districts,  1,  Andulas  ;  2,  Fagaragoo  ;  3, 
Sillebar,  having  fifty  dupoons  and  a  population  of  6,942  souls. 

5.  Suluma,  containing  the  districts,  1,  Agallam,  2,  Saluma  ;  3,  Tullo  ; 

4,  Alias,  having  together  119  dupoons  and  a  population  of  7,832  souls. 

C.  Manna,  containing  the  districts,  1,  Papoma  ooloo  mana  ;  2,  Pienoo  ; 
3,  Mana  ;  4,  Bakonang ;  5,  Kadoorung ;  6,  Padang  Gutch,  having  together 
152  dupoons  and  13,348  inhabitants. 

7.  Cawor,  containing  the  districts,  1  Kcnal ;  2,  Lewas  ;  3,  Bentwan ;  4, 
Sab/at;  5,  Mangormanor  ;  6,  Sinau  ;  7,  Nupal,  making  together  59  dupoons 
and  a  population  of  5,350  souls. 

8.  Croey,  consisting  of  the  following  provinces:  \,Barras;  2,  Toad- 
jong  Seharie ;  3,  Pagong  tenga ;  4,  Pagong  Tappe ;  5,  Parykal  lima;  6,  Usen- 
die  ;  7,  Passar  Croey  ;  8,  Tanaembong  ;  9,  Merang  ;  10,  Mungbadar  ;  11,  Gar- 
deo  ;  12,  Benhoonat;  13,  Blembing,  having  together  a  population  of  about 
10,000  souls. 

In  the  highlands  of  Bencoolen  are  the  provinces  of  the  Palembang  ter- 
ritory which  were  lately  given  up  ;  viz. : 

9.  Ampat  Lewang,  containing  the  districts ;  1 ,  Tedatoheen ;  2,  Siekap  ;  3, 
Ooloo  Raja ;  4,  Lintang  kanan;  5,  Lintang  kerie,  numbering  together 
65  dupoons  with  14,016  inhabitants. 

10.  Redjang,  containing  the  districts;  1,  Chento  Mandie  ;  2,  Kaloeba  ; 
3,  Kasambe;  4,  Tahupahe,  having  together  a  population  of  about  10,000 
souls. 

Having  enumerated  all  the  districts  of  the  several  provinces,  the  con- 
clusion is  that  the  entire  territory  of  the  Netherlands  on  the  Western  coast 
of  Sumatra,  is  divided  into  three  divisions,  consisting  in  all  of  7  8  separate 
provinces,  each  of  which  is  again  subdivided  into  a  great  number  of  sepa- 
rate districts,  the  entire  Presidency  containing  a  population  of  725,000 
souls,  (besides  the  following  islands  which  also  belong  to  it.  Omitting 
the  numerous  small  islets  which  are  strewed  along  the  coast,  we  will  only 
mention  the  principal  ones. 

1.  Pulo  Nias,  containing  by  estimation  a  population  of  about  200,000 
souls. 

In  1669,  and  1693  treaties  of  friendship  were  concluded  between  the 
Dutch  East  India  Company  and  the  chiefs  of  this  island,  which  were 
solemnly  ratified  in  1755,  when  a  small  fort  was  erected  at  Goonong 
Sitollie  with  a  view  to  counteract  the  influence  of  the  English.  This 
fort,  however,  was  abandoned  after  two  years,  because  it  afforded  no 
advantage  to  trade. 

2.  Pulo  Batu  with  fifty-six  islands  and  a  population  of  about  30,000 
souls,  who  occupy  twenty  of  them,  and  consist  of  Niapers,  Malays,  Boo- 
gineza  and  Chinese. 

3.  The  Pagie-is/ands.  The  interior  condition  and  the  inhabitants 
of  these  islands  (consisting  of  wild  men)  are  not  yet  known. 


330  Description  of  the  Netherlands'  Territory.  [June, 


The  History  of  the  country,  with  the  laws  and  customs  of 
the  inhabitants. 

As  it  is  difficult  to  form  a  correct  idea  of  the  origin  of  the  customs  of 
the  different  inhabitants,  who  occupy  the  extensive  Presidency  of  the 
Western  Coast  of  Sumatra,  whose  different  origins  we  have  already  spoken 
of,  we  will  divide  the  history  of  the  country,  laws,  atid  customs  into  three 
separate  heads : 

«.  The  Malay  population,  established  along  the  coast,  and  in  the  divi- 
sion of  the  Padang  highlands. 

h.     The  Hattas,  residing  in  the  northern  part  of  the  presidency. 

c.  The  different  inhabitants  of  the  several  islands,  principally  of  the 
Batoo  islands,  helonging  to  this  Presidency.  It  is  to  he  observed  that 
the  following  account  must  necessarily  be  very  imperfect,  the  origin  of 
these  tribes, as  indeed  that  of  most  nations,  being  lost  in  remote  antiquity, 
when  the  art  of  writing  and  engraving  was  not  yet  invented,  or  at  least  had 
not  obtained  that  importance  in  the  civil  institutions  which  has  made 
it  the  means  of  presenting  all  occurrences  and  observations  clearly  and  in 
their  entire  compass,  and  of  transferring  them  to  posterity  with  the  great- 
est truth  and  accuracy,  but  when  oral  tradition,  handed  down  from  one 
generation  to  another,  furnished  the  only  means  of  conveying  informa- 
tion to  subsequent  ages. 

a.  History,  laws  and  customs  of  the  Malay  population  dwelling  along  the 
Coast  and  in  the  Padang  highlands. 

This  history  commences  with  a  brief,  childish,  and  to  enlightened 
minds  entirely  incomprehensible  fable,  which  however  has  taken  deep 
root  in  the  greater  part  of  the  population,  and  much  faith  is  placed  in  its 
having  even  now  full  relation  with  the  manners  and  laws  of  the  country. 

It  however  bears  the  character  of  having  originated  at  a  period,  when 
the  population  had  not  yet  embraced  Islamism,  but  followed  the  faith  of 
the  brahmans.  It  begins  when  the  Mahammadan  doctrine  had  no  influence, 
and  again  is  mixed  with  traditions  of  those  times,  principally  in  relation 
to  the  Turkish  empire,  known  to  the  Mahammadans  by  the  name  of 
Room,  which  each  Malay  forms  an  idea  of  as  the  greatest  and  most  power- 
ful empire  of  the  globe  ;  the  whole  presents  a  confused  idea  of  which 
it  is  difficult  to  obtain  a  clear  and  distinct  conception.  According 
to  this  fable  Adam  should,  have  had  89  children,  of  which  15  were  sons 
and  44  daughters,  who  to  populate  the  world  (for  its  establishment  is  here 
intended)  married  each  other,  with  the  exception  of  the  youngest,  who 
found  no  partner,  and  therefore  would  have  been  obliged  to  spend  his  life 
in  solitude,  if  the  divine  protection  had  not  immediately  been  extended 
to  him,  taking  pity  on  his  forlorn  condition,  and  giving  the  angels 
charge  to  carry  him  under  the  Payong  oebor  ocbor  and  the  colours  of 
Paedjin  Pandjie  to  heaven,  where  he  was  received  amid  the  melodious 
and  charming  music  of  the  drum  Sie  Raja  nobot,  and  of  the  trumpet 
Seroene  Sierandang  katjang,  and  of  the  dulcimer  kctjape,  by  the  goddess 
IJed  a  da  itis.  He  amused  himself  very  much  for  some  time  in  the  illustri- 
ous company  of  the  inhabitants  of  heaven  and  returned  to  earth,  assumed 
the  name  of  Iskandar  Zulkarnyn,  adorned  with  two  golden  horns  named 
ajatie  ajatie,  (who  does  not  think  here  of  Jupiter,  or  of  Moses  on  the 
mount  Sinai  ?)  He  brought  with  him  one  goddess,  in  the  garb  Kain  sang 
sunkollo,  and  eight  male  children  of  the  giant  Indradjatie,  who  were 
named  Tjatie  Neno  Soeda.  Having  alighted  on  the  country  of  Room 
(Turkey),  which  seems  to  be  the  land  of  promise  to  the  Muhammadans, 
lie  was  united  in  marriage  in  the  presence  of  four  persons  sent  by  God 
from  heaven,  to  the  goddess  referred  to,  by  whom  he  had  three  sons, 
who  were  named  Sultan  Serie  Maharaja  Alief,  Sultan  Serie  Maharaja  Die 


1840.]       Description  of  the  Netherlands'  Territory.  331 


Raja,  and  the  third  Sultan  Serie  Maharaja  die  Djiepaung.  Having 
reached  manhood,  these  three  sons  went  on  board  ship,  taking  with 
them  their  wives  and  princely  crown,  named  Makotla  Sangkaharie.  But 
disagreeing  amongst  themselves,  regarding  the  possession  of  the  crown,  and 
wishing  to  deprive  each  other  of  it  by  force,  it  fell  into  the  sea,  and  all 
efforts  to  obtain  it  again  were  in  vain ;  wherefore  one  of  their  followers, 
named  Tjatie  Bilang  Pander,  who  was  charged  to  re-obtain  it,  seeing  it 
was  impossible,  constructed  another  crown  of  gold  and  handed  it  to  Serie 
Maharaja  die  Raja,  whilst  both  the  other  brothers  were  asleep.  Being 
awakened  they  also  desired  to  have  a  similar  crown  made  for  each  of 
them,  but  they  were  disappointed  in  their  expectations,  as  Serie  Maharaja 
die  Raja  had  deprived  the  maker  or  smith  of  his  life.  This  increased 
the  already  existing  discord  of  the  three  brothers,  and  was  the  cause  of 
their  separation,  Serie  Maharaja  die  Djiepaung  departed  to  China,  Serie 
Maharaja  Alief  to  Room,  and  Serie  Maharaja  die  Raja  to  the  island  Jawie 
{Sumatra.)  The  last  named  manned  a  vessel  with  16  persons,  they  took 
with  them  a  dog  named  Moe  Allam,  a  cat  named  Sikam,  a  tiger  named 
Tjampoe,  and  a  wild  goat.  The  vessel  went  on  shore  on  the  mount 
Serang  and  suffered  so  much  injury  that  she  could  go  no  further,  when 
Serie  Maharaja  die  Raja  promised  those  of  his  companions  who  would 
excel  and  work  most  in  restoring  her,  to  adopt  them  as  li is  grandsons. 
Five  persons  went  to  work  with  so  much  strength  and  energy,  that  they 
not  only  merited  the  distinction,  but  also  enabled  their  lord  and  master 
to  depart.  He  soon  came  to  the  Goenoeng  Merapis,  near  Pagar  Roeyoeng 
where  he  found  five  girls,  whom  he  married  to  the  above  mentioned 
persons,  who  had  excelled  in  restoring  the  vessel  at  Serang.  After  these 
new  married  people  had  been  together  for  some  time,  the  prince  asked  the 
husbands  if  they  had  paid  attention  to  the  manner  of  living  amongst  their 
wives:  they  answered  that  only  one  of  them  conducted  herself  like  a 
woman;  whilst  the  others  ate  nothing  but  flesh,  bones  and  leaves,  from 
which  it  was  concluded,  that  the  first  originated  from  a  princely,  or  at  least 
human  generation,  and  the  others  from  tigers,  dogs,  cats  and  goats. 

In  the  meanwhile  mount  Merapie  became  more  dry  all  round,  and 
the  sea  appeared  to  have  receded  entirely  from  it:  by  which  means  three 
large  plains  had  apparently  originated,  named  Rana  Tana  Antar,  Rana 
Liemapollo  and  Soeboe  Agam,  which  yet  constitute  the  division  of  the 
different  plains  in  the  Padang  highlands. 

The  man  who  married  the  woman  of  princely  origin,  was  sent  to  Tana 
Dalar,  where  he  fixed  his  residence.  The  tiger  family  went  to  Agam  ,• 
the  goat  family  to  Rana  Liemapoeloe.  The  cat  family  to  Tjoedeng  kotta 
Laiee,  and  the  dog  family  to  Koeboeng  Tiegablas,  the  entire  population  of 
Sumatra,  according  to  this  fable,  having  originated  from  these  families. 

The  prince  himself,  Serie  Maharaja  die  Raja  came  down  from  the 
mount,  and  established  his  seat  at  Lagoendie  Basillo,  which  place  was 
afterwards  named  Priungan  {Padang  Pandjang)  or  the  residence  of  plea- 
sure ;  it  is  situate  two  leagues  east  of  Pagyer  Moeygong  on  the  great  road, 
where  remains  are  still  seen  of  the  residence  of  this  prince. 

Here  was  erected  a  Baly  (town-hall),  the  pillars  of  which  were  con- 
structed of  djielatang  wood,  which  could  not  be  touched  without  occa- 
sioning an  itching  all  over  the  body.  The  hedging  was  of  the  root  loen. 
dang,  and  its  roof  of  the  ledjoe  Sagar  Djanton.  There  was  also  construct, 
ed  a  drum  (  Taboo  J  of  the  wood  of  the  Poo/oot  Pooloot  plant,  and  the  small 
drum  (Gendang)  of  the  shrub  Saligoorie,  the  hide  of  the  Jange  Toomo 
being  used  for  the  leather.  The  prince  also  became  possessor  of  the  Tja- 
nang  (beng  bengj  of  Sultan  Djadjahata,  which  was  constructed  by  the 
chief  of  the  evil  spirits,  out  of  a  spear  Toembuk  tutaran  from  a  branch  of 
the  Tojoc  Sagur,  named  Djantan,  and  of  the  Ijukmpang  Taheir.  (Gamma- 

VOL.  I.  2  X 


332 


Description  of  the  Netherlands'  Territory. 


[June, 


tang)  put  together  by  the  god  Soekoe  Lamhey  Toengal.  Of  these 
things  consisted  the  wonderful  state  ornaments  of  the  princes  of  Manang. 
kabow  which,  as  long  as  they  existed,  were  enumerated  in  the  preface 
to  their  letters.  Afterwards  a  temple  was  erected  at  this  place  ( Missid- 
jietj, — (which  must  have  been  when  Mahammadanism  was  first  introduc- 
ed,) in  which  all  spiritual  matters  were  transacted,  according  to  the 
rules  of  that  religion.  All  affairs,  touching  the  habits  and  the  govern- 
ment of  the  land  were  arranged  and  concluded  at  this  Baly.,  which  obtain- 
ed the  name  of  Buli/rong  pandjang.  This  condition  was  also  made  ;  "  That 
the  appointing  of  the  prince  or  other  chiefs  was  to  take  place  by  gene- 
ral con«ent  and  choice  of  the  people  or  the  subjects,  and  that  all  affairs 
should  be  decided  according  to  Shara  and  Adut  (laws  and  customs)." 

After  this  the  prince  Maharaja  die  Raja  went  with  his  family  to 
Boenga  sekamkan,  in  the  district  of  Soengie  Trap,  and  obtained  by  his 
first  wife  Poetrie  a  son  ;  afterwards  he  went  further  inland  and  took,  at 
Priangar,  Indo  Tjalita  for  his  second  wife,  and  obtained  by  her  also  a 
son  : — and  these  were  the  three  first  princes  of  the  kingdom  of  Manang- 
kabow. 

The  father  then  became  Raja  Allam  or  Commander-in-Chief;  the  first 
son  Raja  Adatt  or  Director  of  the  Habits  :  and  the  second  son  Raja  Hadat, 
or  Director  of  Religion. 

Upon  this  followed  the  death  of  the  prince  Serie  Maharaja  die  Raja  : 
he  was  buried  at  Prangan.  His  widow  Indo  Tjalita  married  Tjatie  Bilang 
Pander  who  followed  the  prince  from  Room.  They  obtained  two  sons  and 
four  daughters. 

The  people  raised  both  the  first  mentioned  to  the  dignity  of  Panghoo- 
loos ;  the  eldest  obtained  the  name  of  Sultan  Padoeka  Bezoar  or  key 
Tamangu  joengan,  and  the  second  was  appointed  as  Sultan  Samaning  and 
afterward  Perwatie  Sabatang.  These  were  the  first  fathers  of  the  two 
great  tribes  of  this  country  ;  namely,  key  Tamangoen  of  the  tribe  Lare 
kotta,  pliang  and  key  Perwatie  Sabatang  of  the  tribe  Tjtenieago.  However 
fabulous  and  dark  this  account  may  appear,  it  is  however  true,  that  in  the 
highlands,  as  has  already  been  remarked,  traces  are  found  of  the  early 
residence  of  kingly  personages,  whose  history  or  the  current  story  of 
the  people,  stands  in  connection  with  the  fable  which  has  been  related. 

At  Priarigan  and  Tana  Datar  there  is  a  three-cornered  stone  of  un- 
wrought  trachiet  to  the  north  of  the  road,  two  yards  in  length  and  half  a 
yard  in  breadth,  with  an  inscription  the  characters  of  which  are  mostly 
effaced,  but  they  still  bear  the  signs  of  the  Javanese  letters.  At  Sintoo 
there  is  found  on  the  north  side  of  the  road  a  square  stone  of  four  yards, 
covered  with  stones,  some  of  which  serve  as  seats.  To  the  west  is  a  square 
height  of  two  yards  and  one  and  a  half  in  height ;  in  the  midst  of  this  there 
is  found  a  cubic  stone  of  half  a  yard,  with  a  long  narrow  opening  in  the 
middle,  which  therefore  is  named  Butoc  Batrekam  by  the  natives.  This 
Batoe  Batrekam  is  of  trachiet,  which  appears  to  have  been  in  a  liquid  state, 
and  hardened  round  a  pointed  stone,  which  afterwards  having  fallen  out 
of  it,  left  the  mark  as  if  the  stone  had  been  pierced  with  a  dagger 
or  kreiss. 

The  story  of  the  people  regarding  this  stone  explains  somewhat  the 
origin  of  the  fable  ;  yet  the  confusion  regarding  the  origin  of  the  people  is 
not  lessened  but  rather  increased  by  it.  In  ancient  times  there  resided  a 
prince  or  father  who  established  his  seat  at  Priangan  (Padang  Pandjang.) 
He  had  three  children,  two  sons  and  one  daughter,  the  fable  says  four  : 
the  eldest  son  was  named  key  Tamongon-Gan,  the  second,  a  daughter, 
Indradjatie;  and  the  third  a  son,  Perpattie  Se  Batang. 

The  youngest  brother  soon  left  the  parental  roof,  and  found,  on 
returning  from  a  voyage  after  some  time,  that  Indradjatie,  who  had 


1840.]      Description  of  the  Netherlands''  Territory.  333 


become  estranged  from  him,  was  on  the  point  of  entering  into  marriage 
with  one  of  the  respectable  women  of  the  land.  But  Perpattie  Se  Ba- 
tang  surpassing  the  bridegroom  in  beauty  and  riches,  knew  how  to 
manage  not  to  allow  the  marriage  to  take  place,  and  married  her  himself 
without  their  knowing  that  they  stood  in  any  relation  to  each  other.  Af- 
terwards however  Indradjatie  discovered  a  scar  on  the  head  of  her 
husband,  much  like  one,  which  was  occasioned  by  a  blow  of  her  mother's 
on  the  head  of  her  brother  Perpattie  Se  Batang.  Tracing  the  cause 
of  it,  it  was  found  that  Perpattie  Se  Batang  had  married  his  own  sister, 
which  enraged  his  brother  key  Tamongon-Gan  so  much,  that  lie  declar- 
ed war  with  Perpattie  Se  Batang,  and  carried  on  a  disastrous  war  against 
him.  The  victory  seemed  to  be  on  the  side  of  the  latter,  when 
his  mother,  the  ancient  princes,  and  his  sister  and  spouse  Indradjatie 
appeared  on  the  field  of  battle,  and  placed  themselves  between  the  armies. 
Not  wishing  to  injure  them,  he  fled  through  Lima  Jtowan  to  Sintoe  and 
halted  there.  However,  still  elevated  by  the  desire  for  war  and  strife 
which  raged  on  him,  he  lifted  up  a  dagger  exclaiming:  "  If  my  mother 
had  not  interfered,  I  would  have  pierced  the  hearts  of  my  enemies, 
even  as  I  do  now  this  stone,"  and  stuck  it  into  the  stone  as  far  as  the 
handle  which  is  the  opening  now  seen  in  the  Batoe  batcekan.  As  in  other 
places  the  graves  are  honoured,  so  the  Malay  honor  this  stone,  make 
offerings  on  it,  and  implore  favors  on  occasions  of  sickness  and  the  plant- 
ing of  Saums. 

East  of  Sintoe,  past  the  market  place  of  Lima  kawan,  there  is  a  place 
named  Koeboer  Raja  where  is  found  a  square  of  25  yards  in  length  and 
100  yards  in  breadth,  which  stretches  itself  east  and  west  along  the  road, 
and  is  surrounded  by  a  wall  of  rockstones  piled  one  on  the  other,  one 
yard  high.  To  the  north  of  the  river  Lante  Batoe  there  are  several  large 
6tones  of  which  three  are  of  some  interest.  On  the  first  there  is  some 
indistinct  carved  work  ;  on  the  second  a  confused  inscription,  much  like 
the  Javanese  characters,  and  on  the  third  there  is  also  some  carved  work. 
All  are  of  trachiet. 

On  this  plain  the  great  people  of  Lama  kawan  assemble  to  consult 
on  the  affairs  of  the  country.  On  the  east  there  stands  a  Katappang  tree, 
and  on  the  west  some  groves,  one  of  which  is  that  of  a  king;  wherefore 
this  place  bears  the  name  of  Roeboer  Rnja. 

On  the  stone  to  the  northwest  are  carved  several  lines,  probably  in 
the  old  Javanese  character.  From  certain  characters  which  are  found  on 
some  stones  titPagar  Roeyong,  it  appears  that  the  Javanese  may  have  had 
some  power  over  the  state  of  Manangkabow,  and  this  is  besides  confirm- 
ed by  their  writings,  which  mention,  that  in  the  13th  century  there  was 
a  prince  named  Perb  Dejoijo  Bodjo  of  the  district  Raalirie,  who  came  with 
a  Ratoe  Pegadangan  to  Manangkabow,  and  died  at  Padang.  From  all  we 
have  related  regarding  the  fabulous  history  of  the  probable  origin  of  the 
Malay  population,  it  appears,  that  its  obscurity  will  ever  leave  their 
origin  in  obscurity,  and  becomes  the  more  difficult,  as  this  story  can  only 
be  taken  as  the  basis  of  the  same  fable,  which  in  every  quarter,  in  every 
place,  in  every  kampong,  is  dressed  with  variations  according  to  the  inter- 
est of  the  relaters ;  a  knot  which  can  only  be  solved  by  cutting  it  and 
supposing  it  true  and  certain,  that  the  Malay  population  on  the  west  coast 
of  Sumatra  has  had  two  fathers,  key  Tamongdogan  and  key  Perpattie 
Sebatang,  who  had  established  their  residence  at  Priangan  (Padang 
Pandjang),  not  far  from  the  fort  of  Vonder  Copellen,  and  were  buried  in 
the  tiegalloo  Kotta's,  the  first  at  Kotta  Anau,  and  the  second  at  Sat/o. 

The  fathers  of  the  Malay  lawgivers  divided  the  country  into  Locaks, 
divisions,  kottas,  districts,  kampangs,  villages  or  hamlets;  and  the  popu- 
lation into  Laries,  tribes,  Sockas,  parts  of  tribes,  and  Boeaproets,  families. 
2x2 


334         Description  of  the  Netherlands'  Territory.  [June 


It  has  already  been  stated  that  the  whole  Malay  population  descend 
from  these  two  fathers.  At  present  they  still  distinguish  themselves  as 
two  different  tribes,  by  the  name  of  tare  kotta  pliang  and  tare  tjieneago, 
Icey  Katananging-an  being  the  father  of  the  first,  and  Perpattie  Seba- 
tang  of  the  second. 

The  number  of  Soekoes  in  every  tare,  and  the  number  of  Boeaproets  in 
every  Soekoe  is  undefined,  and  their  name  not  fixed  by  any  certain  rules ; 
but  whatever  may  be  the  name  of  a  Soekoe  it  always  belongs  to  one  of 
the  above  named  tribes,  Kotta  pliang  or  Tjineago,  whilst  the  Boeproets 
always  follow  the  Soekoes,  from  which  they  descend.  So  there  are  at 
Padang  eight  Soekoes,  namely  : 


The  tribe  or  Soekoe-right  is  always  vested  in  the  descent  of  the  wo- 
men, so  that  the  right  of  inheritance  is  fully  recognised  to  belong  to  the 
sister  or  to  her  son,  and  this  because  the  above  named  fathers,  on  occa- 
sion of  a  voyage  by  sea,  received  more  obedience  from  the  nephew  than 
from  the  son.  According  to  this  right  of  inheritance  the  lawful  son  has 
no  title  to  the  estate  of  his  father,  but  to  that  of  his  mother's  brother. 
If  the  deceased  has  no  sisters  or  sister's  children,  his  estate  devolves  on 
his  brother  of  the  same  Soekoe,  and  by  default  of  him  the  property  is  for  the 
advantage  of  the  entire  family  of  the  deceased  or  of  his  Soekoe  ;  an 
unnatural  son  may  be  the  heir  of  his  father,  if  he  attaches  himself  to  his 
father's  Soekoe,  whilst  the  mother  has  no  Soekoe.  Seldom  however  advan- 
tage is  taken  of  this  privilege,  as  the  shame  attached  to  their  birth  would 
then  too  clearly  appear.  In  the  highlands  along  the  coast,  where  the 
adats  (manners)  are  more  adulterated,  at  present  a  few  instances  are 
found,  that  the  son  is  appointed  by  will  as  universal  heir,  according  to  the 
Mahammadan  rule  ;  but  such  arrangements  are  accompanied  with  much 
opposition  from  the  heirs,,  who  afterwards  may  claim  it  by  law. 

The  heirs  remain  responsible  for  the  debts  of  the  deceased,  and  provide 
for  the  burial. 

At  marriages,  the  man  follows  the  woman,  she  being  the  stamholder 
may  not  leave  her  Soekoe ;  he  keeps  his  residence  fixed  with  his  sister, 
who  with  her  children,  have  a  right  to  his  assistance  and  the  fruit  of  his 
labour  ;  to  his  wife  and  her  children  he  gives  nothing,  whilst  he  is  treated 
at  her  residence  as  a  stranger. 

Men  are  asked  to  marry  by  the  women  with  presents  of  money  and 
other  things,  which  custom  is  known  by  the  name  of  Mundjapoet  kalm. 


I. 

2. 
3. 
4. 
5. 
6. 
7. 
8. 


Kotta, 
Tandjang, 
Balle  massiang, 


Malayoe, 
Djamba, 


Mandalieka, 
Lamage, 
Panyhooloo, 


(To  be  continued.) 


1840.] 


Translations  of  the  Scriptures. 


335 


V. — The  Bandras  Translators  and  the  London  Missionary 

Society. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Dear  Sirs, 

I  have  been  requested,  in  the  name  of  all  my  brethren,  the 
London  Missionary  Society's  Missionaries  in  Calcutta,  to  ex- 
press our  regret  at  the  appearance  in  the  pages  of  the  Observer, 
of  a  letter  signed  "  One  of  the  Translators"  of  the  controverted 
Banaras  version  of  the  Urdu  New  Testament,  made  by  the 
London  Missionary  Society's  Missionaries  at  Banaras. 

In  the  communication  referred  to,  your  correspondent  en- 
deavours to  shew  that  the  version  in  question  has  been  con- 
ducted on  the  Catholic  principles,  and  according  to  the  printed 
instructions  of  the  London  Missionary  Society.  It  is  now, 
however,  well  known  that  this  version  does  not  contain  some 
passages,  as  they  have  been  and  are  now  received  by  the  Uni- 
versal Protestant  Church,  and  that  those  omissions  have  been 
made  on  the  alone  responsibility  of  two  Missionaries  belong- 
ing to  the  London  Society  at  Banaras,  and  without  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  Bible  Society,  or  any  other  equally  accredited  Ca- 
tholic Society  in  the  country.  Without  at  all  entering  into 
the  merits  of  the  version  as  a  translation  generally,  or  these 
omissions  in  particular,  we  feel  it  but  just  to  ourselves  as  Mis- 
sionaries of  the  London  Society,  which  Society  we  think  has 
been  unnecessarily  brought  into  the  discussion,  to  disown  any 
connection  with,  or  sanction  of,  this  or  any  version  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures  from  which  portions  of  the  text,  approved  and 
received  by  the  Universal  Protestant  Church,  may  be  omitted, 
unless  such  omission  shall  have  received  the  fullest,  most  deli- 
berate and  prayerful  consideration  and  sanction  of  the  whole 
Protestant  Church,  or  its  accredited  agents  in  this  or  any 
other  country.  We  think  it  but  just  also  to  the  London 
Missionary  Society,  until  they  shall  be  put  in  full  possession 
of  the  whole  merits  of  the  case,  as  it  regards  the  principle  on 
which  the  translation  has  been  conducted,  and  the  mode  of  its 
execution  in  the  matter  of  omissions,  to  place  before  the 
Christian  public  the  whole  of  the  instructions  of  the  Society 
on  the  subject  of  Translations,  leaving  the  friends  of  the  Bible 
to  judge  whether  or  no  the  London  Society  can,  from  either 
the  letter  or  spirit  of  their  instructions,  be  held  responsible 
for  the  omissions  in  this  version.  We  should  not  have  felt 
called  upon  to  perform  what  to  us  is  a  painful  duty,  which 
we  think  we  owe  to  ourselves  and  the  Society,  had  not  your 
correspondent  written  in  such  a  manner  as  to  involve,  if  not 
by  express  declaration,  at  least  by  implication,  the  London 
Society  and  its  Missionaries  in  a  tacit  or  apparent  approval 
of  the  version.  This  we  have  good  reason  to  believe  was  the 
general  impression  produced  by  your  correspondent's  letter ; 


330 


Translations  of  the  Scriptures. 


[June, 


and  it  is  our  wish  to  remove  that  impression,  and  to  declare 
most  fully  that  the  whole  responsibility  rests  on  the  Transla- 
tors themselves. 

We  also  trust  that  our  brethren  of  every  denomination  who 
hold  the  truth  in  love,  will  believe  that,  as  heretofore,  we  shall 
be  ever  ready  to  co-operate  with  them  in  the  generous,  catho- 
lic spirit  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  around  whose 
standard,  while  differing  in  minor  matters,  we  deem  it  our 
privilege  to  gather,  as  that  which  best  accords  with  our  views 
of  the  Catholic  Church. 

I  need  scarcely  add  that  in  these  views  of  my  brethren  I 
fully  concur,  and  remain,  in  the  name  of  the  Missionaries 
belonging  to  the  London  Missionary  Society  now  in  Calcutta, 

May  22,  1840.  Geo.  Gogerly,  Senior  Missionary. 

The  following  are  the  rules  of  the  Society  as  to  translations. 

XXI 1 1.  Perhaps  you  may  be  called  to  the  important  and  responsible 
work  of  translating  the  Scriptures  into  the  language  of  the  country  or 
district  in  which  you  are  to  sojourn.  A  higher  office  than  this  you  cannot 
sustain,  or  one  which  will  require  more  of  dependence  on  God,  and  more 
diligent  and  enlightened  application  on  your  own  part.  It  cannot  be 
expected,  that  we  should  here  lay  down  critical  rules  for  your  guidance 
in  such  an  undertaking  ;  but  we  suggest  for  your  consideration  the  fol- 
lowing counsels. 

"  Do  not  engage  in  the  work  till  you  are  conscious  of  having  adequately 
mastered  the  language,  and  acquired  a  competently  critical  knowledge  of 
its  structure  and  idiomatical  peculiarities;  nor  till  the  need  of  it  has  been 
properly  ascertained,  and  you  have  obtained  the  sanction  of  your  col- 
leagues, and  of  other  judicious  persons,  at  the  station,  or  that  of  the 
Directors  at  home,  to  your  undertaking  it. 

"  Let  your  translation  be  made  from  the  best  editions  of  the  Hebrew 
and  Greek  originals,  with  such  helps  from  versions,  ancient  and  modern, 
as  can  be  obtained. 

"  Let  your  version,  as  far  as  possible,  be  in  conformity  to  the  style  and 
manner  of  our  authorised  English  translation ;  we  refer  particularly  to 
its  simplicity,  its  dignity,  and  its  general  faithfulness. 

"  Translate  the  inspired  and  canonical  hooks  only,  and  that  (in  the 
first  instance  at  least)  without  note  or  comment. 

"  Endeavour  to  execute  the  work  well,  rather  than  rapidly  ;  let  it  be  as 
perfect  as  possible  before  it  is  put  to  the  press.  Begin  with  the  books  of 
the  New  Testament,  which  are  not  only  the  easiest,  but  the  most  import- 
ant, gradually  advancing  to  other  parts  of  the  Scriptures,  in  proportion 
as  they  stand  connected  with  the  great  discoveries  of  redemption,  and 
personal  edification. 

"  In  India,  it  will  be  proper  to  submit  these  translations  to  the  local 
Committees  of  the  Bible  Society;  in  which  case,  if  fully  approved,  they 
will  commend  themselves  to  the  wonted  liberal  patronage  of  the  Parent 
Society  at  home." 

By  attending  to  these  general  recommendations,  should  you  be  called 
to  engage  in  this  work,  we  trust  you  will  be  enabled  to  convey  the  water 
of  life,  from  the  original  fountain,  in  a  stream  approaching,  at  least,  to 
its  native  purity,  its  clearness  and  its  heavenly  nature  ;  and  that  thus 
you  may  be  ranked  among  the  best  benefactors  of  your  species,  in  the 
coming  ages  of  light  and  of  truth,  to  which  your  labours  will  have  contri- 
buted to  prepare  the  way. 


1840.] 


Revivals  in  Scotland. 


337 


VI. — Revivals  in  Scotland. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 

Deah  Sins, 

I  have  lately  received  letters  from  home,  which  contain  accounts  of  a 
very  remarkable  revival  of  religion  in  St.  Andrew's  and  in  some  other 
places  in  Scotland,  of  which  no  notice  has  hitherto  appeared  in  any  of  the 
Calcutta  periodicals.  Intelligence  such  as  is  contained  in  the  accom- 
panying extracts,  cannot  fail  to  be  interesting  to  the  majority  of  your 
readers;  and  many,  1  have  no  doubt,  will  share  the  delight  which  1  felt 
on  perusing  this  "  good  news  from  a  far  country." 

why  have  we  not  similar  awakenings  in  this  land,  among  professing 
Christians?  Is  the  Lord's  arm  shortened  that  it  cannot  save,  or  his  ear 
heavy  that  it  cannot  hear  ? 

Yours,  &c. 

21  s<  May,  1840.  J.  P. 

"  I  have  been  unusually  busy  for  some  weeks  past,  (writes  the  Rev.  Wm. 
Lothian  of  St.  Andrew's)  in  consequence  of  a  revival  of  religion  which 
has  taken  place  among  us.  This  happy  change  was  brought  about  chiefly 
through  the  labours  of  Messrs.  Wight  of  Edinburgh,  Cornwall  of  Leven, 
and  Napier  of  Dalkeith.  Meetings  were  held  twice  a  day  for  move  than 
two  weeks,  and  about  150  persons  were  awakened.  Of  these  24  have 
already  applied  for  fellowship  with  the  church,  among  whom  you  will  be 
happy  to  hear  are  the  four  sisters  of  your  old  friend  T.  M.  ;  and  1  hear  of 
others  who  are  contemplating  the  same  step.  The  former  members  of  the 
church  are  also  much  revived.  The  town  is  filled  with  prayer-meetings 
in  every  direction,  some  of  females  alone,  others  of  young  boys.  Indeed 
the  effects  produced  are  truly  wonderful,  and  I  can  only  look  on  and  say, 
'  What  hath  the  Lord  wrought !'  Your  dear  sister  I.  has  also  been  united 
to  Mr.  Eraser's  church,  and  has  returned  here  for  some  time.  Pray  for 
me,  my  dear  brother,  that  I  may  be  fitted  for  the  arduous  work  I  have 
to  perform.  Remember  also  the  case  of  the  newly  awakened.  Similar 
meetings  are  being  held  in  various  parts  of  the  country,  with  similar 
results  ;  but  I  hear  of  no  place  where  the  effect  has  been  so  general  and 
obvious  as  in  this.  Our  church  had  been  much  engaged  in  prayer  for 
the  Holy  Spirit's  influences  for  some  months  previously :  I  trust  a  greater 
degree  of  Missionary  zeal  will  be  produced  by  this  revival." 

Another  correspondent  from  the  same  place  writes :  "  It  has  been  hitherto 
out  of  my  power  even  to  spare  half  an  hour  to  inform  you  of  the  great 
and  glorious  work  carrying  on  here.  Our  bands  are  completely  filled 
with  religious  and  prayer-meetings,  examining  persons  applying  for 
church-fellowship,  &c.  It  would  take  me  a  day  to  give  you  an  account  of 
our  late  meetings,  so  greatly  blessed  have  they  been  for  the  glory  of  God 
and  the  good  of  souls.  (Then  follows  an  enumeration  of  persons  newly 
converted  ;  of  others,  backsliders,  reclaimed,  &c.)  Miss  R.'s  case  was 
somewhat  remarkable.  When  the  revival  meetings  were  first  mentioned 
she  felt  interested  about  them,  but  it  pleased  God  to  deprive  her  of  the 
privilege  of  attending  them.  She  was  seized  with  a  violent  fever  about 
the  time  they  began  ;  but  she  was  visited  on  her  sick  bed  by  Messrs.  W. 
and  C.  and  by  the  blessing  of  God  on  their  faithful  application  of  the 
truth  to  her  conscience,  she  was  in  the  hour  of  her  affliction  converted  to 
himself.  There  are  also,  among  others,  three  sisters,  the  daughters  of 
the  late  Col.  B.  of  H.  Our  meeting  for  prayer  of  a  Sabbath  morning  is 
well  attended,  though  at  so  early  an  hour.  Let  the  sons  of  sloth  among 
God's  people  consider  this.  I  am  sure  they  are  great  losers.  We  have 
another  prayer-meeting  after  the  evening  sermon,  and  a  good  attend- 


338 


Revivals  in  Scotland. 


[June, 


ance:  this  is  not  a  new  meeting.  On  Monday  night  at  7  o'clock  at  It. 
K.'s,  and  at  8  the  same  evening  in  the  chapel.  On  Tuesday  at  8  p.  m.  a 
prayer-meeting  in  our  house,  another,  same  hour,  in  Mr.  B.'s.  There  are 
also  a  number  of  prayer-meetings  for  females  alone.  M.  keeps  one  in  our 
house  every  Sabbath  night  at  9  o'clock,  and  another  on  Friday  night  at  8. 
Mrs.  P.'s  daughter  and  A.  S.'s  granddaughter,  and  some  other  girls 
about  the  age  of  M.  appear  to  be  blessed  with  a  change  of  heart,  but 
time  will  make  all  manifest.  There  are  other  prayer-meetings,  con- 
ducted by  boys  alone,  such  as  It.  In  the  meeting  he  attends  there  are 
six  boys.  They  assemble  regularly,  and  take  Mr.  L.'s  advice  about  their 
affairs,  who  encourages  them  to  go  on,  and  thinks  it  will  turn  out  well. 
His  hands  are  very  full  indeed,  &c.  The  churches  in  Anstruther,  Leven 
Ely,  and  Edinburgh  have  all  held  extraordinary  prayer-meetings  on  our 
behalf." 

A  correspondent  in  Edinburgh  writes  thus  : 

"  You  will  be  much  gratified  to  learn  something  of  the  revival  of  reli- 
gion that  has  taken  place  at  St.  Andrew's.  A  few  weeks  ago,  Mr.  Lothian, 
assisted  by  various  ministers,  viz.  Mr.  Wight,  from  Edinburgh,  Mr. 
Napier  of  Dalkeith,  Cornwall  of  Leven,  Watson  of  Cupar,  and  Taylor 
of  the  Secession  church,  St.  Andrew's,  held  a  series  of  protracted  meet- 
ings. A  desire  to  hear  appeared  general.  In  the  evenings  both  Mr. 
Lothian's  and  the  Secession  chapels  were  filled,  and  addresses  were  given 
by  two  or  three  ministers  in  succession  ;  and  thus  by  the  continuous  appli- 
cation of  the  gospel  to  the  conscience,  through  the  divine  blessing,  many 
have  given  evidence  of  conversion  to  God,  and  his  people  have  been 
stirred  up  and  quickened  in  the  ways  of  the  Lord.  The  spirit  of  prayer 
pervades  the  people.  Every  hour  of  the  day  during  that  time  was  mostly 
occupied  either  in  the  church  or  in  private  houses  in  meetings  for  prayer  ; 
and  in  some  instances  so  many  assembled  in  one  house  that  they  were 

obliged  to  divide  and  form  two  meetings.  I  saw  last  night,  who  is  a 

member  of  Mr.  L.'s  church  ;  and  he  tells  me  that  the  meetings  for  prayer 
still  continue  in  different  districts  of  the  town,  and  many  young  people 
from  12  to  14  years  of  age  assemble  together  two  or  three  times  a  week  for 
reading  the  scriptures  and  prayer.  Among  them  are  our  young  friends  M. 
and  It.  Their  case  is  very  hopeful.  I  saw  a  letter  yesterday  from  a  daugh- 
ter of  G.  B.'s,  a  girl  of  .about  13  years  of  age,  to  an  acquaintance  in  Edin- 
burgh, in  which  she  describes  in  a  very  interesting  manner  the  peace  and 
joy  she  finds  in  the  ways  of  God,  and  in  meeting  with  her  young  friends 
for  prayer  and  mutual  improvement  in  spiritual  things.  Surely  we  may 
say,  '  This  is  the  doing  of  the  Lord,  and  it  is  wondrous  in  our  eyes.'  A 
great  awakening  has  also  been  produced  by  the  labours  of  the  same  minis- 
ters in  Cupar,  chiefly  among  the  dissenting  denominations.  This  week 
meetings  are  being  held  every  day  in  Dalkeith  for  the  same  object.  A 
number  of  friends  deeply  interested  in  St.  Andrew's,  have  met  twice  of 
late  in  our  house  for  prayer  in  behalf  of  the  old  city,  that  the  good  work 
there  may,  under  the  divine  blessing,  go  forward,  and  that  those  who  have 
lately  professed  their  faith  in  Christ,  may  be  enabled  to  hold  the  begin- 
ing  of  their  confidence  stedfast  unto  the  end." 

Another  writes  from  Auchtermuchty  :  "  God  hears  prayer,  and  He  has 
given  in  many  cases,  and  in  a  very  great  many  places,  the  spirit  of  prayer  ; 
and  the  answer  has  been  showered  down  in  such  a  manner  as  to  fill 
us  with  wonder  and  joy.  It  is  scarcely  credible  even  to  those  who  witness 
it;  and  the  people  of  God  seem  to  themselves  '  like  those  who  dream.' 
Your  native  land  never  has  been  so  visited  before.  Throughout  the 
length  and  breadth  of  it,  the  spirit  of  revival  seems  to  spread.  All  deno- 
minations share  in  the  blessed  effusion,  teaching  the  pride  and  wisdom 


1840.] 


Urdu  New  Testament. 


339 


of  men  this  humiliating  lesson  of  divine  love,  that  God  is  no  respecter  of 
persons,  hut  that  in  ever}'  communion,  as  well  as  in  every  nation,  he  that 
feareth  God  and  worketh  righteousness  is  accepted  of  him/    I  begin 

with  ,  where  was  no  gospel  ministry,  and  no  Sabbath  school,  and 

where  the  people  wereproverbially  wicked  and  profane.  Mr.  B.,  now  of  the 
Baptist  Mission,  Calcutta,  opened  a  place  of  worship,  which  had  been  built 
for  the  seceders,  who  had  not,  however,  been  able  to  effect  a  footing  in  the 
place.  We  rented  it  for  three  months,  and  met  regularly,  though  some- 
times friends  and  strangers  amounted  to  not  more  than  13.  Mr.  B.  visit- 
ed and  conversed  with  the  people.  They  saw  a  new  thing,  a  minister 
visiting  and  seating  himself  at  their  firesides,  and  talking  with  them  with 
earnest  affection  about  their  souls.  He  opened  a  Sabbath  school,  which 
soon  numbered  90  scholars.  The  Bible  classes  were  numerously  attend- 
ed through  the  week,  and  in  public  and  in  private  his  tears  mingled 
with  his  prayers,  affectionate  warnings  and  expostulations.  The  Lord 
blessed  his  labors ;  for  although  no  church  was  formed,  and  no  case  of 
decided  conversion  (except  one)  was  known  to  him,  still  many  seemed 
affected  by  the  truths  preached,  and  the  chapel  was  crowded  to  excess. 
The  change  among  the  youth  of  the  town  was  marked,  especially  in  the 
way  the  Sabbath  was  kept.  Still  Mr.  B.'s  heart  was  oppressed,  not  only  by 
what  appeared  want  of  success,  but  by  the  coldness  of  some  of  those  who 
ought  to  have  been  constant  and  warm  in  his  support.  When  it  was 
known  he  was  about  to  leave  them  for  a  foreign  field  of  labour,  the  inha- 
bitants seemed  to  awaken  to  a  sense  of  the  loss  they  were  to  sustain. 
Since  his  departure  from  amongst  them,  a  supply  of  preachers  has  been 
regularly  afforded  them  by  the  Congregational  Union,  and  a  church  was 
formed  in  Oct.  1838,  of  twelve  members,  in  twelve  months.  God  has  tripled 
that  number.  Among  them  are  some  striking  and  pleasing  instances  of 
conversion  to  God.  We  hope  that  He  will  do  greater  things  for  Falk- 
land. We  are  anxious  to  have  a  pastor,  and  have  been  using  means  to 
obtain  one,  which  we  know  not  yet  if  God  will  prosper. 

"  The  Lord's  work  lias  also  been  revived  in  a  wonderful  manner  in  and 
about  Kilsyth.  The  chief  instrument  in  this  movement  was  Mr.  Wm. 
Burns,  the  son  of  the  minister  of  the  parish,  who  was  then  intending 
soon  to  proceed  to  the  Mission  field.  In  the  village  of  Alexandria,  near 
Dumbarton,  where  18  months  ago  there  was  not  any  place  of  worship, 
nor  even  so  much  as  a  prayer-meeting,  a  church  of  120  members  has  been 
formed  by  the  instrumentality  of  the  students  of  the  Glasgow  Theologi- 
cal Academy.  In  Denholm,  where  my  beloved  friend  Robert  Wilson  is 
settled,  (this  was  the  first  remarkable  awakening,)  great  good  has  been 
effected — also  in  Glasgow,  Dumfries,  Dundee,  and  Cupar,  but  I  pass 
over  all  these,  as  you  will  have  heard  of  them  by  the  periodicals  you  get 
from  home." 


VII. — Reply  to  an  article  in  the  last  Observer  "  On  the  Urdu 
New  Testament,  translated  by  the  Missionaries  of  the  London 
Society  at  Bandras*." 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 

Dear  Sirs, 

I  have  not  compared  the  list  of  omitted  or  altered  passages 
in  that  article  with  our  version,  hecause  a  few  more  or  less 

*  Note. — We  have  after  much  pruning  of  irrelevant  and  personal  mat- 
ter determined  to  insert  so  much  of  the  following  paper  as  is  strictly  in 
VOL.  I.  2  Y 


340 


Urdu  New  Testament. 


[June^ 


passages  altered  or  omitted  would  not  affect  the  argument. 
Your  correspondent  says,  "  I  believe  the  most  of  those  omitted 
and  altered  have  the  authority  of  Griesbach,  an  authority 
now  generally  disputed  by  the  most  eminent  orthodox  Bihlical 
critics,  and  an  authority  which  your  correspondent  has  shewn 
is  not  to  be  depended  on.  Knowing,  as  I  do,  the  indepen- 
dent-mindedness  of  the  Banaras  Translators,  I  have  been 
astonished  at  their  slavish-mindedness  in  reference  to  Gries- 
bach." My  friend  T.  S.  to  whom  your  correspondent  refers, 
charged  us  with  the  perpetration  of  an  atrocity  in  defiance 
of  the  highest  critical  authority,  i.  e.  Grieshach.  Thus  one 
writer  accuses  us  of  "  slavish-mindedness"  for  having  in  many 
places  agreed  with  Grieshach,  and  the  other  charges  us  with 
the  perpetration  of  atrocities  for  supposing  that  we  had 
omitted  one  passage  which  Griesbach  has  admitted ;  T.  S. 
calls  Dr.  G.  the  highest  critical  authority,  and  your  corre- 
spondent says  that  T.  S.  has  shewn  him  to  be  an  authority 
not  to  be  depended  on  !  *  *  *  *  *  Dr. 
Griesbach  has  laid  down  the  excellent  rule  in  sacred  criticism, 
that  we  must  always  suspect  spuriousness  when  we  meet  with 
strong  terms,  and  very  shrewdly  adds,  te  Erudituli  emphases 
amabant  ac  captabant"  If  your  correspondents  *  *  * 
will  keep  these  excellent  words  in  mind  they  will  not  use 
again  such  strong  terms. 

You  and  the  Christian  Public  will  surely  sympathise  with  us 
for  being  treated  so  hardly  by  your  correspondents  who  agree 
not  among  themselves.  *  *  *  Surely  we  may  say  in  our 
present  state  of  persecution  and  affliction,  with  the  translators 
of  the  English  authorised  version  in  the  preface  to  the  reader  : 
<£  Whosoever  attempteth  any  thing  for  the  public  (especially 
if  it  pertain  to  religion,  and  to  the  opening  and  clearing  of 
the  word  of  God),  the  same  setteth  himself  upon  a  stage  to 
be  gloated  upon  by  every  evil  eye ;  yea  he  casteth  himself 
headlong  upon  pikes,  to  be  gored  by  every  sharp  tongue. 
For  he  that  meddleth  with  men's  religion  in  any  part, 
meddleth  with  their  custom,  nay,  with  their  freehold  ;  and 
though  they  find  no  content  in  that  which  they  have,  yet  they 
cannot  abide  to  hear  of  altering."  Your  correspondent  says 
Dr.  Griesbach's  authority  is  "  now  very  generally  disputed 
by  the  most  eminent  orthodox  Biblical  critics."  This  is  most 
extraordinary.    Who  are  the  most  eminent  orthodox  Biblical 

reply  to  a  paper  commenting  on  the  Banaras  Translation  and  ourselves. 
AVe  must  however  repeat  that  all  papers  on  this  suhject  must  be  free 
from  personalities,  references  to  Church  government  and  sectarian  re- 
flections; they  must  be  strictly  to  the  point  or  they  can  have  no  place 
in  the  pages  of  the  Observer, — Ed. 


1840.] 


Urdu  Neiv  Testament. 


341 


critics  that  now  dispute  Griesbach's  authority  ?  Have  the 
most  eminent  orthodox  Biblical  critics  in  communion  with 
the  Church  of  Rome,  Jahn  and  Hug,  the  authors  of  the  best 
introductions  to  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  done  it  ?  No. 
Have  Neander,  Tholuck,  Olshausen  and  Hengstenberg,  the 
most  eminent  orthodox  Biblical  critics  of  the  German  Pro- 
testant Churches  done  it  ?  No.  Have  Stuart,  Robinson, 
Turner,  Beecher,  the  most  eminent  orthodox  Biblical  critics 
of  America  done  it  ?  No.  Have  Home,  P.  Smith,  Hender- 
son, the  most  eminent  orthodox  Biblical  critics  of  Britain 
done  it  ?  No.  Then  who  have  done  it  ?  Dr.  Bloomfield 
and  others  have  done  it  ?  *  *  *  *  *  * 
But  has  Dr.  Bloomfield  given  his  authorities  ?  Does  he  never 
confound  ancient  and  modern  Greek  MSS.  ;  ancient  and 
modern  MSS.  of  the  old  versions  ?  How  far  does  Dr.  Bloom- 
field's  authority  extend  ?  Griesbach  has  credit  with  all 
churches  and  denominations. 

All  attacks  on  him  have  recoiled  and  ever  will  recoil  back 
on  their  authors.  His  work  is  beyond  all  attack.  His  system 
of  Recensions  may,  as  every  thing  can,  be  questioned,  which 
I,  however,  do  not,  for  it  is  so  natural  and  obvious;  but  this 
does  not  affect  his  great  work.  Do  you,  with  me,  attach  the 
highest  authority  to  the  old  versions  which  were  made  previ- 
ous to  any  existing  MS.  ?  You  may  use  Griesbach  still.  Have 
you  much  faith  in  the  Alexandrine,  or  in  the  Occidental,  or  in 
the  Byzantine  MSS.  or  Recensions  ?  or  in  none  ?  or  in  all?  or 
in  the  Vulgate  ?  Still  you  may  use  Griesbach.  Has  he  sup- 
pressed or  falsified  his  authorities  ?  Not  in  one  single  instance. 
He  makes  you  the  judge  and  he  merely  acts  as  one  whose 
duty  it  is  to  bring  forward  the  witnesses.  Can  any  critic  act 
more  honestly  ?  I  say  Dr.  Griesbach's  great  work  is  beyond 
all  attack.  I  am  sorry  that  there  are  some  Christians  among 
whom  you  cannot  pass  as  orthodox  until  you  will  allow  some 
insinuations  against  Dr.  Griesbach,  for  manly  attacks  you 
cannot  make  upon  him,  because  his  authorities  are  those 
which  you  cannot  dispute,  and  to  which  you  yourselves  may 
attach  as  much  or  as  little  authority  as  you  please.    *     *  * 

Your  correspondent  says  that  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bible 
Society  "  maintains  it  as  a  principle  to  issue  no  translation 
which  does  not  conform  to  the  English."  For  the  sake  of 
the  Calcutta  Bible  Society,  I  hope  this  is  not  true  ;  and  if  not, 
that  Society  should  publicly  declare  that  this  principle  is 
falsely  ascribed  to  them.  *  *  *  *  Protestants 
of  all  denominations  have  constantly  cried  out  against  the 
Church  of  Rome  for  having  in  the  Council  of  Trent  declared 
2  y  2 


342 


Urdu  Neiv  Testament. 


[June, 


the  Vulgate  authentic :  will  Protestants  in  the  nineteenth 
century  imitate  them  in  this  particular  ? 

5j»  ijfi  5^  J$C  sjc  5^  jji  *|C  jjl 

If  the  English  version  be  declared  authentic  and  it  be  laid 
down  as  a  principle  to  issue  no  translation  which  does  not 
conform  to  that  version,  the  great  principle  of  Protestantism 
has  been  violated.  *  *  *  Your  correspondent  says 
"  As  there  are  other  translations  of  the  New  Testament  in 
circulation  among  the  natives,  containing  all  the  omitted 
passages,  it  is  for  every  one  to  conceive  what  must  be  the 
effect  upon  the  native  mind  of  this  sad  diversity/' 

The  Musalmans  and  Hindus  have  abundance  of  different 
readings  in  their  own  books  which  they  read  in  MSS.,  and  are 
perfectly  familiar  with  the  process  of  collating  different  ones. 
We  can  easily  explain  to  them  that  our  version  was  made  from 
a  text  more  perfect  than  that  from  which  the  English  version 
was  made,  and  that  there  is  a  great  difference  between 
abolishing  abuses  and  errors,  and  establishing  them.  Are  the 
natives  destitute  of  common  sense  ?  Will  we  tell  them, 
in  direct  opposition  to  truth,  that  Providence  miraculously 
preserved  all  the  MSS.  of  the  New  Testament  from  different 
readings  ?  Will  such  conduct  not  one  day  be  discovered  ? 
And  will  the  consequences  not  be  tremendous  ?  Is  it  not  far 
better  to  tell  the  truth  at  once  ?  *  *  *  The  English 
version  was  made  from  a  very  imperfect  text,  the  text  of  Beza. 
Your  correspondent  has  pointed  out  sixty-six  places  in  which 
our  version  differs  from  the  English.  What  will  your  readers 
say,  if  we  tell  them  that  Beza's  text,  from  which  the  English 
version  was  made,  differs  from  the  textus  receptus  in  about 
fifty  places  ?  But  the  translators  of  the  English  version  had 
no  better  text  to  translate  from,  for  Wetstein,  Mill  and  Gries- 
bach  had  not  then  published  their  labours  to  the  world.  If 
they  had,  I  am  persuaded  the  English  translators  would  have 
made  use  of  them,  for  they  were  really  enlightened  men. 
They  had  neither  the  fears  about  different  versions  nor  about 
different  readings  which  your  correspondent  expresses.  Let 
them  speak  for  themselves. 

1.    On  different  versions. 

"  But  the  difference  that  appeareth  between  our  translations 
and  our  often  correcting  them,  is  the  thing  that  we  are 
especially  charged  with ;  let  us  see  therefore  whether  they 
themselves  be  without  fault  this  way,  (if  it  be  to  be  counted  a 
fault  to  correct)  and  whether  they  be  fit  men  to  throw  stones 
at  us:  O  tandem  major parcas  insane  rninori.  They  that  are 
less  sound  themselves  ought  not  to  object  to  infirmities  in 
others.     If  we  should  tell  them,  that  Valla,  Stapulensis, 


1840.] 


Urdu  Neiv  Testament. 


343 


Erasmus  and  Fives,  found  fault  with  their  vulgar  translation, 
and  consequently  wished  the  same  to  he  mended,  or  a  new  one 
to  be  made  ;  they  would  answer  peradventure,  that  we  produced 
their  enemies  for  witnesses  against  them ;  albeit  they  were 
in  no  other  sort  enemies,  than  as  St.  Paul  was  to  the  Galatians 
for  telling  them  the  truth  ;  and  it  were  to  be  wished,  that 
they  had  dared  to  tell  it  them  plainlier  and  oftner.  But  what 
will  they  say  to  this,  that  Pope  Leo  the  Tenth  allowed 
Erasmus'  translation  of  the  New  Testament,  so  much  different 
from  the  vulgar,  by  his  apostolic  letter  and  bull  ?  That  the 
said  Leo  exhorted  Pagnine  to  translate  the  whole  Bible,  and 
bare  whatsoever  charges  was  necessary  for  the  work  ?  Nay, 
we  will  yet  come  nearer  to  the  quick.  Doth  not  their  Paris 
edition  differ  from  the  Louvain,  and  Hentenius  from  them 
both  ?  Nay,  doth  not  Sixtus  Quintus  confess  that  certain 
Catholicks  .  .  were  in  such  a  humour  of  translating  the 
Scriptures  that  .  .  Satan  did  strive  out  of  so  uncertain 
and  manifold  a  variety  of  translations,  so  to  mingle  all  things 
that  nothing  might  seem  to  be  left  certain  and  firm  in  them  V 
2.    On  different  readings. 

(C  Therefore,  as  St.  Augustine  saith,  that  variety  of  trans- 
lations is  profitable  for  the  finding  out  of  the  sense  of  the 
Scriptures  :  so  diversity  of  signification  and  sense  in  the  mar- 
gin, where  the  text  is  not  so  clear,  must  needs  do  good,  yea 
is  necessary  as  we  are  persuaded.  We  know  that  Sixtus 
Quintus  expressly  forbiddeth  that  any  variety  of  readings  of 
their  vulgar  edition  should  be  put  in  the  margin  ;  (which 
though  it  be  not  altogether  the  same  thing  to  that  we  have  in 
hand,  yet  it  looketh  that  way  ;)  but  we  think  he  hath  not  all 
of  his  own  side  his  favourers  for  this  conceit.  They  that  are 
wise  had  rather  have  their  judgments  at  liberty  in  differences 
of  readings,  than  to  be  captivated  to  one,  when  it  may  be  the 
other.  If  they  were  sure  that  their  high  priest  had  all  laws 
shut  up  in  his  breast,  as  Paul  the  second  bragged,  and  that 
he  were  as  free  from  error  by  special  privilege,  as  the  dicta- 
tors of  Rome  were  made  by  law  inviolable,  it  were  another 
matter;  then  his  word  were  an  oracle,  his  opinion  a  decision. 
But  the  eyes  of  the  world  are  now  open,  God  be  thanked,  and 
have  been  a  great  while  ;  they  find  that  he  is  subject  to  the 
same  affections  and  infirmities  that  others  be,  that  his  body  is 
subject  to  wounds ;  and  therefore  so  much  as  he  proveth,  not 
as  much  as  he  claimeth,  they  grant  and  embrace." — Preface 
to  the  Readers.    *    *  * 

Simple  Christians  who  are  quite  unacquainted  with  Bibli- 
cal criticism  must,  after  seeing  your  correspondent's  list  of 
altered  or  omitted  passages,  regard  the  Banaras  Translators 


344 


Urdu  Neiv  Testament. 


[June, 


as  dreadful  corrupters  of  the  word  of  God,  and  I  believe 
that  list  does  not  contain  one-fifth  of  the  passages  in  which 
words  are  either  altered  or  omitted.  The  Translators  may 
congratulate  themselves  on  living  in  a  heathen  land  where 
no  bigotted  Christian  populace  can  be  stirred  up  against 
them.  I  am  persuaded  that  the  passages  which  we  have 
omitted  are  spurious  and  apocryphal,  and  if  they  be  admit- 
ted into  our  version  with  my  consent,  I  act  contrary  to  my 
honest  convictions,  sin  against  my  own  conscience,  against 
light  and  truth,  and  am  henceforth  unworthy  of  the  confidence 
of  the  public  in  general,  and  of  the  confidence  of  the  Direc- 
tors of  the  London  Missionary  Society  in  particular  ;  neither 
their  money,  nor  their  books,  nor  any  thing  belonging  to  them, 
is  safe  in  my  hands.  *  *  *  *  To  palm  upon  the  cre- 
dulity of  the  natives  such  passages  as  John  viii.  1 — 12,  Acts  viii. 
37.  1st  John  v.  7>  as  part  of  the  inspired  word  of  God,  which 
I  am  persuaded  and  convinced  are  no  part  of  the  Sacred  Canon, 
would  be  such  a  species  of  deception  beside  which  all  others 
would  brighten  into  something  like  honesty  and  propriety.  I 
say  with  Julius  Africanus  "  God  forbid  that  it  should  ever  be 
rumoured  in  the  Church  that  pious  frauds  have  been  con- 
cocted to  the  praise  of  Christ (py  8w  xparciyj  toiovto;  ).oyo<;  h 

******  ***  * 
You,  the  Editors,  have  appended  to  the  article  a  brief 
note  calculated  to  occasion  "  much  and  very  injurious  mis- 
apprehension," which,  I  see  in  page  297  of  the  same  num- 
ber, it  is  your  object  to  prevent  by  appending  such  brief 
notes.  You  say,  "  the  Calcutta  Bible  Society  have  not,  we 
believe,  sanctioned  the  translation  of  some  of  the  London 
Missionary  Society's  Missionaries  at  Banaras."  We  never 
asked  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bible  Society  to  sanction  our 
version.  We  translated,  sanctioned  and  published  the  New 
Testament  ourselves,  just  as  Jerome,  Luther,  Beza,  our 
brethren,  the  Baptist  Missionaries,  and  others  have  done. 
We  did  not  wish  to  trouble  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bible 
Society  with  sanctioning  our  version.  If.  the  missions,  and 
Churches,  and  the  public  of  Hindustan  in  general  will  sanc- 
tion our  version,  we  shall  be  very  glad.  *  *  * 
If  that  Society  will  buy  copies  of  the  version  for  our  own 
mission  or  for  others,  we  shall  be  thankful. 

By  saying  "  the  translation  of  some  of  the  London  Mission- 
ary Society's  Missionaries  at  Banaras,"  you  seem  to  insinuate 
that  we  are  not  agreed  among  ourselves.  We  are  agreed. 
Mr.  Mather  who  wasformerly  a  Missionary  of  Banaras  did  not 
quite  agree  with  us,  and  one  might  almost  say,  disagreed 


J  840.] 


Urdu  Neio  Testament. 


345 


with  us ;  but  he  has  been  for  the  last  two  years  a  Missionary 
at  Mirzapur,  which  is  28  miles  from  Banaras. 

You  say  "  The  translation  referred  to  by  our  correspondent 
is  not  in  the  hands  of  the  Translators  of  the  edition  on  which 
he  has  felt  it  his  duty  to  animadvert.  The  Banaras  Auxiliary 
Bible  Society  are  the  parties  to  whom  it  is  entrusted.,  and 
every  precaution  has  and  will  be  taken  to  render  it  as  perfect 
and  faithful  a  translation  of  the  whole  Bible  as  possible." — 
There  are  at  present  three  missionaries  of  the  London  Society, 
and  three  Missionaries  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society  at 
Banaras,  who  form  the  Committee  of  the  Banaras  Auxiliary 
Bible  Society  ;  and  the  projected  version  of  the  O.  T.  is  as 
much  entrusted  to  us  as  to  the  Church  Missionaries;  but 
whether  that  version  will  or  can  ever  be  made  by  the  present 
Committee  is  another  question  which  I  cannot  discuss  here. 

am  glad  that  you  have  appended  the  brief 
note  which  is  brimful  of  mistatements,  because  it  affords  me 
an  excellent  opportunity  of  giving  you  and  the  public,  once 
for  all,  full  and  correct  information  on  "  The  Banaras  Auxi- 
liary Bible  Society,"  the  parties  of  which  it  is  composed,  and 
the  version  of  the  Old  Testament  which  is  expected  to  be 
made  by  it.  "  The  Banaras  Auxiliary  Bible  Society,"  must  not 
be  confounded  with  "  The  Banaras  Translation  Committee," 
which  for  several  years  past  has  promised  to  translate  the  New 
Testament.  None  of  the  Missionaries  of  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society  at  Banaras  has  any  thing  whatsoever  to  do 
with  "  The  Banaras  Translation  Committee"  and  its  projected 
version  of  the  Neio  Testament.  This  subject  has  hitherto 
been  involved  in  a  cloud  of  darkness,  but  has  now  for  the  first 
time  been  put  in  its  true  light,  that  there  can  be  no  darkness, 
no  mystification,  no  misapprehension  hereafter,  either  in  re- 
ports or  in  other  publications. 

Yours, 

One  of  the  Translators. 

Banaras,  lith  May,  1840. 

Note  by  the  Editors. — Our  correspondent  says  that  our  note  was 
brimful  of  error,  and  that  he  has  set  the  matter  right.  We  cannot  see 
that  he  has  at  all  altered  or  cleared  up  the  affair.  We  stated  that  some 
of  the  London  Missionaries  had  made  the  version.  Our  correspon- 
dent says  that  out  of  the  three  then  present,  one  did  not  approve 
of  the  version ;  the  two  London  Missionaries,  in  opposition  to  their 
one  brother,  and  the  whole  of  their  brethren  of  the  church,  adopted 
this  version  and  separated  from  them  on  the  subject.  AV~e  stated 
that  that  version  of  the  Scriptures — meaning  the  New  Testament 
alluded  to  by  our  other  correspondent — was  not  under  the  superin- 
tendence of  the  Translators  of  the  disputed  version.  It  appears  we 
are  right  in  this  also:  the  Translator  says  it  is  not,  but  that  they 
take  part  in  the  translation  of  the  Old  Testament  in  common  with  the 


346 


Native  Education. 


[June, 


rest  of  the  brethren  at  Banaras.  We  did  not  refer  to  the  translation 
of  the  Old  Testament,  because  as  the  New  Testament  was  alone  the  sub- 
ject of  discussion,  it  could  be  alone  understood.  The  only  difference  is 
this.  We  stated  that  the  version  of  the  New  Testament,  now  in  progress 
under  the  sanction  of  the  C.  B.  S.,  was  under  the  direction  of  the  Banaras 
Auxiliary  Bible  Society.  Our  correspondent  says  it  is  under  that  of  the 
B.  Translation  Committee.  We  stated  that  the  Calcutta  Society  were 
not  responsible  for  the  disputed  version.  Our  correspondent  not  only 
confirms  this,  but  declares  himself  indifferent  on  the  subject.  We  stated 
that  the  C.  B.  S.  had  not  sanctioned  the  version.  He  also  says  the  same  ; 
and  we  now  repeat,  the  Bible  Society  in  Calcutta  have  not  and  cannot 
sanction  this  or  any  version  of  the  Sacred  Scriptures  from  which  omissions 
of  the  text  received  by  the  Universal  Protestant  Church  are  allowed  on 
the  responsibility  of  one  or  two  individuals. 


VIII. —  The  British  Indian  Government  defective  in  its  plan 
of  Native  Education. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 

Sirs, 

There  has  been  much  writing  upon  the  subject  of  Native  Education. 
By  education  we  are  calling  into  existence  a  gigantic  force  ;  more 
powerful  than  ten  thousand  steam-engines.  It  behoves  us  to  look  to 
the  ultimate  result  of  our  operations — what  benefits  do  we  propose  by 
education?  With  some  the  object  appears  merely  to  be  to  communicate 
Knowledge  without  Religion — but  what  blessing  will  spring  from  mere 
knowledge  ?  Let  us  consider  what  good  resulted  from  mere  knowledge 
in  the  horrors  of  the  French  Revolution. — Science  and  know/edge  were 
there  in  the  highest  perfection — and  how  awful  was  the  proof  that  the 
wisdom  of  the  wise  is  foolishness  !  There  learned  men  banished  Chris- 
tianity and  Divine  Worship  from  the  land,  overturned  all  authority, 
and  drenched  the  country  with  innocent  blood. 

If  the  reformation  of  the  heart  and  principles  be  not  the  object  of 
instruction,  the  communication  of  knowledge  will  only  be  to  sharpen 
the  edge  of  vice,  to  arm  the  unprincipled  with  ten-fold  power  to  do 
evil,  to  rear  up  a  discontented  race,  to  weaken  and  not  support  the 
Government. 

Christians,  and  a  Christian  Government  should  be  very  careful  that 
they  oppose  not  the  designs  of  Providence.  We  exist  in  this,  and  every 
country  merely  by  the  support  of  the  great  Governor  of  the  Universe.  He 
has  given  Hindustan  to  our  care,  and  the  moment  we  attempt  to  thwart 
Him,  and  to  set  up  our  own  judgment  in  opposition  to  His,  we  can  only 
expect  to  reap  the  consequences  of  our  folly — to  be  forsaken  and  to 
crumble  and  fall  before  his  displeasure! — Why  should  He  support  us 
when  we  cease  to  do  His  pleasure  and  work  out  his  purposes  ?  But  so 
long  as  we  are  doing  His  will, — we  can  look  with  confidence  that  all  is  safe, 
that  the  Great  Governor  is  ruling  the  nations  by  us,  His  instruments. 
Let  us  beware  to  attempt  a  rule  independent  of  Him  ! 

The  Government  of  a  great  Christian  nation,  Britain,  has  awarded  a 
considerable  sum  of  money  for  the  instruction  of  its  native  subjects,  thus 
acknowledging  the  duty  of  communicating  to  the  Heathen  people,  given 
to  its  care,  the  blessings  of  real  wisdom.    Surely  it  would  be  falling  short 


1834.] 


Native  Education. 


347 


of  that  duty  to  communicate  deteriorated  instruction,  to  give  a  part,  and 
withhold  the  best— carefully  10  veil  from  the  people  the  only  true  wisdom, 
which  comcth  from  above  !  Is  not  this  to  tell  God — We  will  not  give  thy 
wisdom  to  the  Heathen,  we  will  give  our  own!  We  will  rather  walk 
alone  than  trust  to  thy  support,  in  teaching  what  thou  hast  revealed. 
Is  not  this  the  system  now  pursued  ?  The  only  real  wisdom  which  the 
great  Governor  of  the  World  would  wish  to  he  taught,  is  most  carefully 
concealed  from  the  people!  The  money  is  expended  in  communicating 
knowledge,  whilst  an  interdict  has  gone  forth  against  the  knowledge 
of  God,  which  alone  he  will  hless ! 

The  great  Moral  Governor's  wishes  in  this  particular  appear  to  have 
been  set  aside.  Are  we  not  very  bold  in  endeavouring  in  our  precarious 
position  to  stand  alone  in  this  matter,  and  to  teach  his  people  committed 
to  our  care  in  a  manner  of  which  he  cannot  approve,  for  "unless  the 
Lord  build  the  city,  the  builder  buildeth  in  vain." 

As  a  Christian  Government  we  seem  to  shew  very  little  reverence  to 
the  Great  Supreme,  for  whilst  idolatry  and  cruel  superstition  is  openly 
taught  at  the  Company's  expense  in  their  own  idolatrous  Colleges  ;  at 
Banaras,  Puna  nnd  perhaps  many  other  places,  salutes  from  British 
Ramparts  are  fired  in  honor  of  Heathen  and  Moslem  Worship*.  What 
as  a  Government  is  the  British  Nation  doing  towards  teaching  the 
benighted  people  to  worship  the  one  true  God?  It  may  be  said,  it  is 
dangerous  for  the  Government  to  engage  in  Christian  instruction.  It 
may  be  so,  but  is  it  not  more  dangerous  to  provoke  God,  by  whose  daily 
supporting  power  we  have  sway  over  these  realms?  The  moment  He 
withdraws  His  support,  we  shall  surely  crumble.  Are  we  so  simple 
as  to  suppose  that  our  own  arms  have  gotten  us  this  power?  We  are 
merely  instruments  of  God,  and  let  us  beware  how  we  cease  to  be  His 
instruments. 

Surely  Providence  has  not  brought  us  from  afar  as  a  Christian 
Nation  possessing  the  knowledge  of  His  truth,  and  placed  us  firmly  in 
authority  over  these  heathen  lands,  without  an  object.  Surely  he  expects 
us  individually  and  as  a  nation  to  shew  forth  his  glory,  and  to  spread 
the  knowledge  of  His  name  to  this  benighted  people.  In  such  a  work  we 
sh;ill  be  doing  His  pleasure;  in  refusing  to  do  His  work,  can  we  expect 

*  Garrison  Orders  issued  at  Fort  St.  George,  Madras. 

Madras  Garrison  Orders— General  Orders,  2fith  May,  1839,  (Sunday.)  !  f  /  i 
A  royal  salute  to  be  held  in  readiness  to  be  fired  from  the  saluting  battery  at 
sun  rise  to-morrow,  in  answer  to  one  winch  will  be  fired  from  the  Chepauk 
Gardens  on  the  occasion  of  "  the  anniversary  of  the  Rubbee  ool  Uuwul  festival." 
General  Orders,  15th  October  1839. 

A  royal  salute  to  be  fired  from  the  saluting  battery  to-morrow  on  the  occa- 
sion of  the  Dusserah  festival. 

G.  General  Orders,  7th  December,  1839. 

A  royal  salute  to  be  fired  from  the  saluting  battery  at  1  o'clock  p.  M.  to- 
morrow on  the  occasion  of  the  Rumzan  festival. 

Fort  St.  George,  Madras,  12Lh  Jan.  1840,  (Sunday)  Garrison  orders. 

A  royal  salute  to  be  fired  from  the  saluting  battery  at  noon  to-morrow  on 
the  occasion  of  the  Pungal  festival. 

Garrison  orders,  14ih  February,    1810.    A  royal  salute  to  be  fired  from  the 
tainting  battery  at  12  o'clock  this  day  on  the  occasion  of  the  Bukreed  festival. 
.  Many  other  instances  of  direct  patronage  to  idolatry  could  be  given,  io  di- 
rect violation  of  the  instruction  sent  by  the  Court  of  Directors  to  the  Supreme 
Government,  dated  20th  February,  1833,  para.  62. 

Ought  the  National  Flag  of  Great  Britain  to  be  used  on  such  melancholy  oc- 
casions as  these  ?  Has  the  Campany's  Madras  Government  no  private  black  flag 
of  its  own  which  it  could  use  ? 
VOL.  I.  2  z 


348 


Native  Education. 


[June, 


his  support  ?  and  without  his  continued  support,  can  we  stand  for  a 
moment  ? 

The  Politician  may  doubt,  and  say,  it  is  dangerous  to  speak  of  Religion  ; 
hut  let  him  ask  himself,  as  a  Christian — is  it  not  more  dangerous  as  a 
Nation  in  the  administration  of  the  sacred  charge  entrusted  to  us  by  Pro- 
vidence to  neglect  what  seems  to  be  the  evident  purpose  and  intent  of  God  ? 
Is  it  not  dangerous  as  a  Nation  to  be  weighed  in  the  balance  and  found 
wanting  in  performing  God's  will  ? 

What  then  as  a  Christian  Government  is  to  be  done  ?  Can  we  err  in 
endeavouring  to  fulfil  the  will  of  God,  by  whose  mighty  power  alone 
we  rule  ?  Can  aught  shake  where  he  approves  and  upholds?  We 
are  apt  to  exaggerate  obstacles  from  native  prejudices.  Let  us  take 
example  from  native  governments.  What  would  a  Hindu  or  a  Musal- 
man  government  do,  if  in  power? — Would  not  all  expect  them  to  rear 
the  temples  of  their  Religion,  to  read  therein  the  Shastras  or  the  Quran, 
and  to  afford  instruction  to  all  who  freely  sought  it  ?  Would  this 
offend  any  one  ?  No,  it  would  be  natural,  and  all  would  expect  it. 
Would  it  politically  do  harm  ? — why  should  it  ?  for  none  would  go  for 
instruction,  but  those  who  chose  it.  Free  as  air,  they  would  retire  at 
pleasure. 

But  what  line  does  the  British  Government  pursue  ? — does  it  follow  this 
natural  process  of  opening  in  like  manner  Christian  temples  and  schools 
where  all  may  go  for  instruction  ? — does  it  support  a  single  Christian 
School,  where  its  Native  subjects  may  go  for  instruction  on  the  sacred 
truths  of  its  Holy  Religion  ? — Might  not  the  very  natives  themselves  ap- 
prove were  there  attached  publicly  and  openly  to  each  Christian  temple 
throughout  the  land,  a  Christian  School ;  and  as  in  the  instructions  from 
tli e  pulpit,  the  doors  thrown  open  and  all  made  welcome  to  attend. 
Here  would  be  no  deceit  — no  compulsion — nothing  to  offend.  As  the 
Moslem  in  the  mosque,  as  the  Hindu  in  the  temple,  so  the  Chris- 
tian minister  in  his  temple,  with  open  doors  and  public  tuition,  ready  to 
instruct  all  who  came  in  the  truths  of  his  sacred  religion,  as  well  as 
in  all  useful  worldly  knowledge.  Would  not  the  declaration  of  Govern- 
ment appear,  even  to  the  Natives,  natural  and  proper,  that  the  Govern- 
ment owed  it,  as  a  duty  to  its  Native  subjects,  to  communicate  to  all 
such  as  desired  instruction,  the  knowledge  of  the  mother-country,  which 
led  to  the  blessings  of  civilization — namely,  the  arts  and  sciences,  the 
theory  and  practice  of  Government,  the  advantages  of  commerce,  &c. ; 
hut  that  as  it  would  be  a  slight  to  the  Deity  to  teach  worldly  wisdom 
alone,  and  to  exclude  the  knowledge  of  His  Laws  and  Will,  the  whole 
should  be  taught  together — His  truths,  and  all  the  wisdom  which  he 
had  enabled  man  to  attain. 

Let  the  experiment  be  tried  at  some  of  our  Christian  Churches 
under  chosen  ministers  of  approved  discretion.  Let  the  ministers 
publicly  communicate  that  as  from  the  pulpit  so  in  the  school  attached 
to  the  Church,  they  were  ready  to  follow  their  vocation  and  teach 
and  superintend  instruction.  They  would  of  course  teach  English 
and  the  vernacular  languages.  It  seems  very  probable  that  (as  in 
the  admirable  and  crowded  schools  of  the  General  Assembly  in  Calcutta 
and  elsewhere)  many  would  seek  a  sound  education  there,  and  even  if  none 
went,  a  Christian  Government  under  such  a  system,  would  feel  the 
satisfaction  of  having  discharged  a  duty  in  giving  to  its  subjects  the 
opportunity  of  instruction. 

And  supposing  that  such  schools  should  give  offence,  they  could  at 
any  moment  be  discontinued.  Ifitbesaid,  that  we  stand  pledged  not 
to  interfere  with  the  religion  of  the  people — this  is  no  interference 
where  the  people  are  free  as  the  air  they  breathe,  to  go,  or  slay  away.  In- 


1840.] 


Poetry. 


349 


struction  goes  not  to  seek  them — they  of  their  own  free  will,  would  go 
to  seek  it.  Are  we  as  a  Christian  Government  blameless,  as  in  the  system 
now  pursued,  in  deliberately  putting  the  sacred  commands  of  God,  under  a 
bushel,  and  hiding  them  from  the  Heathen  ?  Are  we  justified,  is  it  safe, 
to  set  aside  the  counsel  of  God,  to  raise  up  as  we  seem  now  to  be  doing, 
a  race  of  intelligent  sceptics,  if  not  athiests,  who  despising  all  Religion, 
will  be  in  a  great  measure  set  loose  from  the  restraints  of  conscience  ? 
It  seems  a  fearful  experiment — one  in  which  we  can  scarcely  expect  the 
support  of  God,  by  which  alone  we  exist  as  a  Government.  In  the  other 
plan  of  openly  giving  Christian  instruction  to  all  who  chose  of  their  own 
free  will  to  seek  it,  we  should  feel  secure,  that  we  were  not  following 
our  own  short-sighted  plans  but  were  doing  God's  will  ;  the  knowledge 
and  truths  we  taught,  would  be  His  ;  and  under  this  sure  and  safe  guid- 
ance also  would  be  the  hearts  of  those  to  whom  His  truths  were 
communicated. 

The  subject  is  one  of  deep  importance,  and  is  well  worthy  of  serious 
discussion. 

May  11,  1840,  AN  OBSERVER. 


LINES  ON  THE  SECOND  ADVENT. 

Matt.  xxiv. 

Surely  waving  o'er  this  world 
The  banner  of  God's  wrath  unfurled 

Doth  now  appear  ; 
As  yonder  gleam  foretells  the  morn, 
Or  gathering  clouds  presage  the  storm, 

Signs  of  the  times  draw  near. 

War's  trumpet  peals  from  land  to  land, 
And  echoes  forth  the  dread  command, 

"  For  strife  prepare," 
Legions  on  legions  hear  the  call 
And  marshalling  for  the  contest,  all 
Their  warrior  joy  declare. 

With  glorious  hope  each  heart  beats  high 
And  laurelled  crowns  before  each  eye 

As  bright  rewards  arise ; 
Each  sword  is  whetted  for  the  fray, 
And  each  longs  for  the  battle  day 

To  grasp  his  prize. 

Oh,  little  dream  these  haughty  hearts 
How  soon  each  visioned  hope  departs 

At  his  command, 
Whose  sway  creation  owns  ; 
Who  nations,  powers,  and  thrones 

Holds  in  his  hand  ; 

2  z  2 


350 


Poetry. 


[June, 


Who  makes  them  as  a  beacon-light 
To  guide  his  church  amid  the  night 

Of  darkness  and  of  cloud  ; 
Now  gathering  round  her  earthly  way, 
And  from  her  sight  her  only  stay 

Threatening  to  shroud. 

But  raise  your  heads  ye  scattered  few, 
Redemption's  day-dawn  breaks  on  you  ; 

The  message  of  your  God 
Announced  by  wars  and  rumoured  wars, 
"  By  rushing  waves  and  falling  stars," 

Makes  straight  Messiah's  road. 

Oh  then  the  glad  Hosannas  sing 
To  welcome  your  Redeemer-king 

Who  hastens  here ; 
Though  lightnings  pierce  our  clouded  sky, 
The  thought  his  coming  draweih  nigh 

Ilis  drooping  church  shall  cheer. 

He  comes  !  he  comes  !  with  saints  attending. 
Powers  of  Earth  and  Heaven  are  bending 

At  his  feet ; 
Ten  thousand  Halleluias  send 
The  summons  to  earth's  utmost  end 

Our  coming  Lord  to  greet. 

Come,  Jesus,  come — my  soul  doth  long 
To  join  thy  Blessed  Spirit  throng 

To  meet  thee  in  the  air  ; 
And  all  the  glories  of  the  throne 
Thou  hast  provided  for  thine  own 

With  Thee  to  share. 

September  \0th,  1839. 


INFANTICIDE. 

Formerly  practised  by  Hindu  mothers  to  a  great  extent,  and  occasionally,  it  is  to 
be  feared,  now,  although  very  severe  laws  are  passed  against  it. 

Is  there  a  mother  lives,  whose  tender  love 
Sweet,  smiling  infancy  can  fail  to  move  ? 
Whose  breast  expands  not  at  the  happy  sight, 
Nor  throbs  with  soft  emotions  of  delight? 
What  wonder,  too,  that  Woman,  gentle,  fair, 
By  nature  kind,  should  fond  affection  bear 
For  helpless  childhood,  which  from  her  derives 
Its  nourishment,  and  by  her  care  survives  ? 


1840.] 


Poetry. 


351 


Oh  !  how  unnatural,  how  passing  strange, 

That  cruelty  can  woman's  love  derange  ; 

Can  drown  her  feelings  of  humanity, 

And  steel  her  heart  against  her  progeny  ! 

Alas !  (with  sorrow  is  the  truth  confest)" 

Oft  from  the  Indian  mother's  savage  breast 

Parental  love  departs  ;  affection  thence 

Expelled,  regards  not  childhood's  innocence! 

Bone  of  her  bone,  flesh  of  her  flesh  to  deatli 

She,  fiend-like,  hurries,  with  its  first-drawn  breath  ! 

Oh  !  murder  foul,  most  foul !    Oh  !  monstrous  crime  ! 

By  God  detested,  uneffac'd  by  time  ! 

Vile  murderer  !  thy  infant  daughter's  blood 

For  vengeance  cries  to  Him  who  wills  all  good. 

Such  horrid  rites  do  heathen  laws  decree, 

T'appease  the  monster  of  Idolatry. 

Oh  !  God,  with  holy  arm  and  strong  right  hand, 

This  base  dishonour  to  thy  name  withstand  ! 

Thy  righteous  vengeance,  Lord,  thy  pow'r  alone 

Can  hurl  the  idol  tyrant  from  his  throne. 

Almighty  Lord  !  Thou  God  of  Hosts,  arise  ! 

Maintain  thy  cause  ;  scatter  thine  enemies  ; 

The  idol  altars  level  with  the  dust ; 

Is  there  not  cause  ?  Ah  !  sure  thy  wrath  is  just, 

When  wicked  men,  who  "  glory  in  their  shame," 

Blaspheme  thine  honour,  and  insult  thy  name. 

Then  purge  this  heathen  land,  and  set  it  free 

From  bloody  rites,  and  idol  tyranny. 

Salvation,  Oh  salvation  !  may  that  word  >• 

Ere  long  by  Pagan  ears  be  gladly  heard. 

On  this  devoted  land  may  rays  divine, 

Enkindled  by  the  blessed  Gospel,  shine ! 

Jesus,  Redeemer !  may  thy  praise  be  sung 

By  Moslem  and  Hindu,  by  every  tongue. 

May  infants  lisp  thy  name,  may  joyous  youth, 

And  hoary  age,  be  wise  in  Heav'nly  truth  ! 

On  India  then  shall  drop  the  dew  of  love 

From  streams  which  lave  thy  Zion,  Lord,  above  ! 

Then  snapped  shall  be  the  spear,  dread  war  shall  cease, 

And  happiness  go  hand  in  hand  with  peace  ! 

Then  India's  ransom'd  son,  when  lite  may  end, 

His  parting  spirit  shall  to  God  commend, 

Supported  by  the  hope  well-founded,  sure, 

With  saints  immortal  ever  to  endure ! 


352  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [June, 


1. — Missionary  and  Ecclesiastical  Movements. 
Since  our  last  the  Rev.  A.  Duff,  D.  D.  together  with  Mrs.  Duff,  have, 
through  the  good  mercy  of  God,  arrived  safely  in  Calcutta.  Dr.  Duff 
visited  Bombay  and  Madras  on  his  way  to  ihe  city  of  palaces.  His  health 
we  are  happy  to  state,  is  materially  improved  by  his  visit  to  Europe,  and 
his  spirit  and  zeal  unabated  for  the  salvation  of  souls.  May  he  be  long 
spared  to  live  and  labour  as  a  faithful  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  amongst  the 
millions  of  pagans  in  India. — The  Rev.  XV.  Glen  arrived  on  the  Elizabeth 
on  the  13th  of  May.  Mr.  Glen  is,  we  believe,  appointed  to  labour  amongst 
the  Musalmans  at  Moorshedabad.  His  honoured  father  has  been  for 
many  years  a  diligent  Mission  laborer  in  Astrachan,  especially  in  the 
department  of  Translations.  May  the  son  follow  in  the  steps  of  his 
father  even  as  he  has  followed  Christ. — Letters  received  from  the  Rev. 
M.  Hill  of  Berhampore,  state  it  to  be  his  intention  (D.  V.)  to  return  to 
India  in  1841. — Letters  received  from  London  announce  the  safe  arrival 
of  the  Owen  Glendower  on  which  our  good  friends  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lyon,  Mrs. 
G.  Pearce,  and  Mrs.  Paterson  of  Berhampore  sailed.  Mrs.  Lyon's  health 
is  completely  restored  by  the  voyage. — The  other  passengers  were  all 
well.  Mr.  Lyon  expresses  a  hope  that  he  may  speedily  return  to  the 
scene  of  his  former  labours. — The  Rev.  J.  Kreiss  of  the  Church  Mission 
has  arrived  in  safety  at  Agra,  the  scene  of  his  future  labours. 


2. — Items. 

Two  new  newspapers  in  Bengali  have  been  started  at  this  Presidency— 
the  one  at  Calcutta,  the  other  at  Berhampore. — The  examination  of  the 
pupils  of  the  Medical  College  and  the  distribution  of  prizes  took  place  a 
few  weeks  back.  The  progress  of  the  students  is  highly  creditable  to 
them  as  well  as  to  their  tutors.  The  Governor  General  presided. — 
Rajnarayan  Ray,  the  native  so  distinguished  for  his  barbarous  treatment 
of  the  Editor  of  the  Bhdskar,  was  admitted  to  the  last  levee  at  Govern- 
ment House,  as  well  as  to  the  examination  of  a  native  school  held  at  the 
Bishop's  palace  !  !  ! — The  Editor  of  the  Bhaskar  has  been  liberated. 
He  says  he  intends  to  prosecute  his  oppressor  :  we  are  inclined  to  doubt 
this. — A  new  medical  work  in  Bengali  by  a  native  is  reported  as  in  pro- 
gress.— Several  educated  native  youth  have  determined  to  translate  the 
best  works  of  the  western  world  into  the  vernaculars. — The  pupils  of 
Babu  Gaurmohan  Adi's  Seminary  are  to  be  examined  by  the  Committee 
of  Public  Instruction  in  future,  and  certificates  are  to  be  granted  accord- 
ing to  their  proficiency.  We  are  glad  that  encouragement  is  to  be  afforded 
to  this  enterprising  native  friend. — The  District  Charitable  Society  have 
determined  to  do  away  in  great  measure  with  grants  of  money ;  and  to 
erect  an  alms  and  work-house  in  Calcutta  for  the  destitute  but  industri- 
ous.— The  Report  of  the  Committee  on  Municipal  Institutions  recommends 
a  vagrant  law  for  Calcutta,  and  that  strict  attention  be  paid  to  the 
cleansing  and  purifying  of  the  city. — We  are  happy  to  find  that  our  Na- 
tive contemporaries  are  engaged  in  the  discussion  of  interesting  and  im- 
proving topics. — A  new  native  paper  has  started  at  Madras,  entitled, 
The  Enquirer.  It  is  conducted  in  the  Native  and  English  languages. — 
A  Magazine  in  the  Native  language  has  heen  commenced  at  Bombay. 
It  proposes  to  discuss  scientific  as  well  as  religious  and  other  subjects. 
— Part  of  the  fleet  destined  for  China  has  reached  Singapore  in  safety. — 
A  fearful  storm,  commencing  at  Mauritius  and  sweeping  the  whole  of 
the  Bay  of  Bengal  and  beyond  Calcutta,  has  committed  great  ravages 
both  at  sea  and  on  shore.    The  whole  country  below  Calcutta  has  been 


1840.]         Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


353 


inundated,  and  the  natives  have  heen  severe  sufferers. — The  Cholera  has 
been  very  fatal  during  the  last  month.  We  hope  now  that  the  rains 
have  set  in  that  this  dreadful  scourge  will  be  stayed  in  its  course. 


3. — The  Indian  Journal  of  Science. 
The  first  number  of  the  new  quarterly  periodical  edited  by  J. 
McClelland,  Esq.,  devoted  to  natural  and  scientific  objects,  has  been 
forwarded  to  us.  It  is  replete  with  interesting  and  instructive  matter 
and  well  sustains  the  high  character  of  Dr.  M.  a's  a  naturalist  and  a  lover 
of  science.  It  contains  a  proposal  for  a  new  institution,  the  objects  of 
which  shall  be  the  encouragement  of  science.  We  heartily  wish  it  suc- 
cess, but  fear  it  will  not  succeed.  The  Doctor  has  entered  at  large  into 
the  merits  of  the  controversy  connected  with  the  curatorship  of  the 
Asiatic  Society,  in  which  we  think  he  has  decidedly  the  best  of  the 
argument.  To  fetter  a  scientific  man  with  rules  and  bye-laws  for  the 
regulation  of  his  conduct  is  certainly  not  the  way  to  advance  the  pur- 
poses of  science.  Where  confidence  ceases,  there  all  connection  should 
terminate.    We  wish  the  new  Journal  every  success. 


4. — The  Cooly  Trade. 
This  new  slave-trade  is  in  danger  of  being  revived.  Lord  John 
Russel  in  the  House  of  Commons  expressed  the  determination  of  minis- 
ters to  re-open  the  trade  on  the  testimony  of  the  Mauritians.  His  rea- 
sons were  of  the  most  puerile  order,  and  such  as  the  poorest  Dhangar  with 
all  his  ignorance  might  easily  answer.  From  all  we  can  gather  on  this 
subject  the  Indian  and  British  Governments  are  playing  with  the  interests 
of  thousands  of  people,  to  suit  their  political  scheming.  The  West- 
Indian,  Mauritius,  Cape,  or  in  other  words  the  pro-slavery  people  are  to  be 
kept  quiet  ;  the  religious  or  anti-slavery  party  are  not  to  be  offended. 
What  we  fear  is  that  without  great  diligence,  in  this  clashing  of  interests, 
in  this  attempt  to  please  every  body,  the  new  slave-trade  will  be  revived, 
and  the  helpless  Indian  be  a  substitute  for  the  too-long  injured  African. 
Will  the  public  of  India  believe  it,  that  the  Report  of  the  Cooly  Commit- 
tee appointed  by  the  public  Meeting  more  than  eighteen  months  ago,  had 
not  been  forwarded  to  England  up  to  the  last  overland.  Our  advice  is 
if  it  is  not  at  once  forwarded  that  the  original  requisitionists  call  on  the 
Committee  for  an  account  of  their  stewardship. — (It  has  appeared  since 
this  was  penned). — Ed. 


5. — New  Works  in  Sanskrit. 
The  religious  stillness  which  for  some  time  past  has  pervaded  the  up- 
per classes  of  the  Hindus,  has  latterly  been  broken  up  by  the  appearance 
of  two  or  three  pamphlets  in  Sanskrit  by  J.  Muir,  Esq.  C.  S.  They  are 
a  Description  of  England  after  the  plan  of  Miss  Bird's  work  ;  an  Ac- 
count of  Christian  Doctrine  ;  and  a  Refutation  of  Hinduism.  In  reply 
to  the  last  an  answer  has  appeared  by  a  brahman  in  which  he  has  at- 
tacked Christianity  on  the  common  ground  of  western  infidelity.  His 
work  bears  evidence  of  assistance  from  other  than  Hindu  hands.  We 
hope  to  be  able  to  give  a  more  extended  review  of  the  whole  in  an  early 
number.  A  small  tract  containing  a  summary  of  the  Christian  faith 
is  in  course  of  preparation  in  Sanskrit  by  the  Tract  Society  :  it  will,  we 
believe,  be  accompanied  by  a  Bengali  and  Urdu  translation.  The  Gos- 
pels and  Acts  in  Sanskrit  by  the  Rev.  W.  Yates  are.  we  believe,  now 
ready  for  distribution. 


354  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [June, 


6. — War  with  China — the  Opium  Trade. 

The  grounds  of  the  war  witli  China  are  at  length  propounded  by  the 
home  officials,  and  more  untenable  reasons  could  not  be  well  assigned. 
The  first  is,  to  chastise  the  Chinese  for  the  insults  offered  to  C'apt. 
Elliot  as  the  representative  of  Britain.  The  reply  to  this  is  very  simple. 
Capt.  E.  was  never  acknowledged  as  the  representative  of  Britain  by  the 
Chinese.  He  received  no  ill  treatment  save  that  which  he  might  have 
anticipated  from  the  circumstances  in  which  he  placed  himself  previous- 
ly to  the  actual  commencement  of  the  war,  when  of  course  he  could 
not  expect  much  courtesy. 

The  second  reason  assigned  for  the  war  is,  to  redress  the  grievances  of 
the  British  Merchants  and  to  obtain  indemnification  for  the  seizure  of 
Opium.  To  this  we  may  reply  with  Lord  Sandon,  that  if  any  one  had 
cause  for  waging  war  on  account  of  insults  great  and  long  continued,  it 
was  the  Chinese  and  not  the  British.  And  on  what  grounds  the  British 
Government  can  seek  indemnification  from  the  Chinese  authorities  for 
the  Opium  smugglers,  we  are  at  a  loss  to  conceive — certainly  not  on  the 
grounds  of  commercial  equity,  for  they  were  long  warned,  not  in  dreams, 
but  in  open  and  plain  language  that  such  would  be  the  punishment 
which  awaited  them  should  they  continue  their  contraband  traffic.  "They 
gambled  at  high  chances  and  lost  the  game" — and  now  they  come  upon 
the  British  people  for  indemnification — but  on  what  plea?  —  We  certainly 
think  that  whatever  may  have  been  the  course  pursued  by  the  opium 
dealers,  that  they  should  be  indemnified  (for  they  were  encouraged 
by  the  Indian  Government  to  the  last),  but  not  by  the  British 
Government.  The  Government  that  grew  the  drug— derived  the  profits 
from  its  sale  for  half  a  century,  and  gave  its  amplest  commercial  and 
political  sanction  to  the  whole  trade,  is  alone  the  source  from  whence 
indemnification  should  be  sought ;  and  that  Government  is  the  Govern- 
ment of  British  India. 

The  third  reason  is  the  only  tenable  one  for  a  mere  demonstration  of 
war,  which  we  trust  the  present  will  only  be  ;  viz.  to  place  the  future 
trade  with  China  on  a  more  permanent  and  satisfactory  footing.  If  this 
can  be  effected  even  at  some  pecuniary  cost  without  the  shedding  of 
blood,  it  will  be  a  great  good  gained.  May  God  grant  a  speedy  and 
peaceful  termination  to  this  expedition,  for  nis  own  name's  sake. 

7. — New  Works  on  India. 
The  deep  interest  which  is  evidently  felt  in  the  welfare  of  India  is  in 
nothing  more  manifest  than  in  the  number  and  kind  of  works  on  her 
past  and  present  condition  and  future  prospects.  During  the  last  monih 
not  less  than  three  works  of  this  description  have  reached  India;  one 
by  Dr.  Duff  of  the  Scottish  Mission,  a  very  able  and  lucid  work ;  another 
by  the  Rev.  W.  Massie,  formerly  of  the  London  Missionary  Society's 
mission  at  Madras — this  is  a  work  of  considerable  interest,  as  it  regards 
the  detail  of  Indian  movements;  and  the  third  is  by  the  Rev.  W. 
Campbell  of  the  London  Society's  mission  at  Bangalore — this  latter  is 
a  very  masterly  production.  By  the  bye,  a  fourth  work  has  appeared  by 
J.  Thornton,  Esq.  which  well  merits  an  attentive  perusal.  The  whole, 
taken  together,  with  not  a  few  pamphlets  on  different  subjects  which 
serve  to  agitate  the  public  mind  on  Indian  affairs,  cannot  fail  to  give  the 
British  people  a  much  more  comprehensive  and  clear  view  of  India  in 
all  her  relations  than  they  have  ever  possessed  before.  We  sincerely 
rejoice  at  this,  and  hope  that  under  the  guidance  of  the  Holy  Spirit  this 
increase  of  intelligence  may  be  the  means  of  inducing  the  Church  of 
Christ  to  put  forth  new  energy  on  behalf  of  the  best  interests  of  India. 
We  hope  to  notice  the  whole  more  at  length  soon. 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  355 


8. — Ordination  at  Bangalore. 
On  Friday  evening  tlie  I Oth  instant,  Mr.  Kegel  received  ordination 
in  the  Mission  Ohapel  at  Bangalore.  The  congregation  was  large  and 
respectable  and  seemed  much  interested  in  the  Service.  The  brethren 
of  the  Wesleyan  Society  here,  kindly  afforded  their  aid.  Rev.  S. 
Hartley "  road  the  Scriptures  and  prayed;  Rev.  B.  Rice  delivered  the 
introductory  Discourse  ;  Rev.  J.  Sewell  asked  the  questions  and  received 
Mr.  Hegel's  confession  of  Faith  ;  Rev.  J.  Hands,  offered  up  the  ordina- 
tion prayer  and  delivered  the  charge  from  Rev.  ii.  10  :  "  Be  thou 
faithful  unto  death  and  1  will  give  thee  a  crown  of  life  and  Rev.  J. 
Jenkins  concluded  with  prayer.  Rev.  J.  Garrett*,  gave  out  the  hymns. 
The  statements  of  Mr.  Regel  were  most  interesting  and  satisfactory. 
He  has  taken  charge  of  the  Tamil  Department  of  the  Mission  at  this 
station. 

Mr.  Regel  was  originally  from  Chinsurah  and  received  his  first  religi- 
ous impression  when  a  child  from  the  labours  of  our  excellent  brother 
May  at  that  station.  How  cheering  is  this  to  all  Mission  labourers.  Mr. 
May  has  been  dead  now  about  20  years,  yet  the  seed  sown  by  him  is  now 
yielding  blessed  fruit. — Ed. 

*  Wesleyan  Missionaries. 


9. — State  of  Relioious  feeling  in  the  Churches  or  England  in  March 
1810,  communicated  in  a  letter  received  by  the  last  Overland 
Mail 

"  Amid  much  formality,  lukewarrnness,  and  mere  profession  in  this 
country,  the  iimbassadors  of  Christ  have  much  to  stimulate  and  encou- 
rage them.  A  conviction  daily  becoming  more  deep  and  extensive  is 
fastening  itself  upon  the  Christian  mind  of  England  of  the  importance 
and  necessity  of  persevering  and  importunate  prayer.  In  one  or  two 
places  in  Scotland  there  have  lately  been  remarkable  and  powerful 
revivals,  while  English  Churches  and  pastors  in  many  directions  around 
us  are  holding  special  Services  to  pray  for  the  out-pouring  of  the  Holy 
Spirit.  These  in  several  instances,  have  been  efficient  as  a  means  of 
spiritual  vivification.  Let  this  conviction  become  universal,  and  as 
operative  as  it  is  general ;  let  the  church  only  assume  the  attitude  of 
the  importunate  suppliant,  wrestling  and  agonizing  for  the  salvation 
of  the  world  ;  then  we  shall  no  longer  have  to  complain  of  the  languish- 
ing and  inefficient  state  of  the  church  ;  the  flame  of  sacred  love  will 
arise  from  its  altar  ;  the  stream  of  benevolence  will  flow  forth  from 
its  bosom,  with  a  freedom,  a  majesty,  a  fulness,  and  a  volume  that  shall 
be  adequate  to  the  moral  necessities  and  destitution  of  the  human 
race,  and  shall  produce  that  transformation  striking  but  predicted, 
wonderful  but  certain — a  transformation  from  a  state  of  ignorance  to 
knowledge,  from  a  state  of  pollution  to  holiness,  when  "  one  shall  not 
have  to  say  to  another,  '  know  the  Lord  ;'  but  all  shall  know  him,  from 
the  least  of  them  unto  the  greatest  of  them."  Yea,  "  when  the  whole 
earth  shall  be  filled  with  his  glory,  and  all  flesh  shall  see  it  together." 


10. — The  Bhowanipore  Female  Christian  Boarding  School  and  Or- 
phan Asylum. 

On  Thursday,  May  the  21st,  an  examination  of  the  girls  belonging  to 
this  Institution  took  place,  and  afforded  great  pleasure  to  those  who  were 
present.  The  attention  of  the  Missionaries  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society,  has  been  directed  to  the  education  of  Native  females  in  Calcutta 
nearly  20  years.  Several  schools  have  been  established,  and  many 
hundred  girls  have  been  instructed  by  the  wives  of  the  Missionaries 
in  reading,  writing,  and  the  doctrines  and  precepts  of  the  Gospel. — 

VOL.  I.  3  A 


356  Missionary  and  Religions  Intelligence.  [June, 


Difficulties,  arising  from  the  indifference  of  both  parents  and  children, 
as  well  as  the  early  age  at  which  the  latter  were  removed  from  the 
schools  in  order  to  he  married,  led  to  the  abandonment  of  the  schools, 
and  the  establishment  of  the  present  Female  Christian  Boarding  School 
and  Orphan  Asylum,  under  the  superintendence  of  Mrs.  Campbell  and  her 
sister,  Miss  Smart.  The  girls  are  either  the  children  of  native  converts, 
or  orphans.  They  are  boarded,  clothed  and  educated  at  the  expence  of 
the  Institution,  and  while  entirely  separated  from  all  association  with  their 
heathen  or  Muhammadan  friends  or  former  companions,  are  daily  in- 
structed in  the  truths  of  our  holy  faith.  At  the  examination  on  Thursday 
the  visitors  were  delighted  with  the  ready  answers  of  the  girls,  and  the 
clear  and  satisfactory  knowledge  they  possessed  of  Gospel  truth.  The 
ease  with  which  they  all  read  the  Scriptures  and  other  books  in  their  own 
language,  and  the  fluency  with  which  the  elder  girls  could  read  and  con- 
verse in  English,  was  very  pleasing.  Specimens  of  their  work  were  ex- 
hibited, and  for  beauty  both  of  design  and  execution,  the  worsted  rugs, 
&c.  equalled  any  thing  we  ever  saw  either  in  this  country  or  in  England. 
Great  praise  is  due  to  Mrs.  Campbell  for  the  pains  she  has  bestowed  on 
her  pupils  ;  and  we  hope  and  pray  that  many  of  the  girls  may  be  her 
crown  of  rejoicing  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus. 

We  are  authorized  to  say  that  Mrs.  C.  will  be  happy  to  receive  any 
orphan  girls.  If  the  parties  recommending  them,  are  able  to  pay  for 
their  support,  three  rupees  a  month  will  be  charged  for  each  girl ;  but 
if  unable  to  pay,  the  Orphans  will  be  received  gratuitously. 

G. 


11. — First  Annual  Examination  of  tiic  Balasore  School. 

We  have  great  pleasure  in  laying  before  our  readers  the  following 
notice  of  the  first  annual  examination  of  the  Balasore  School,  communi- 
cated by  a  correspondent.  The  school  was  established  about  twelve 
months  ago,  and  is  supported  by  the  subscriptions  of  a  few  enlightened 
promoters  of  native  improvement,  resident  at  Balasore.  The  teacher  is 
a  young  man,  who  received  his  education  at  the  General  Assembly's 
Institution  in  Calcutta.  We  give  the  account  of  the  examination  as 
nearly  as  possible  in  the  words  of  our  correspondent. 

"The  examination  of  the  Balasore  School  took  place  this  day  ( April  14th 
1840).  The  magistrate  and  other  gentlemen  of  the  station  were  present, 
who  all  highly  approved  of  the  progress  the  boys  had  made;  especially 
the  boys  of  the  1st,  2nd,  and  3rd  classes,  who  read  very  well,  and  ap- 
peared to  understand  what  they  had  read.  The  first  class  was  examined 
in  Clift's  Geography,  Woollaston's  Grammar,  Elements  of  Natural  Phi- 
losophy, and  the  two  first  chapters  of  Matthew,  and  Arithmetic  (simple 
Division).  The  2nd  class  were  examined  in  the  1st  and  2nd  Spelling 
Book,  2nd  Instructor,  and  writing:  —  the  3rd  class  in  Spelling  Book,  &c. 
also  in  their  Uriya,  Bengali  and  English  reading  and  writing.  All  which 
much  gratified  the  subscribers  to  the  school,  especially  as  it  was  the  first 
annual  examination  under  the  present  teacher  Debi  Krishna  Manna's 
superintendence,  who,  all  acknowledged,  was  deserving  of  great  praise  for 
his  attention  to  the  boys.  It  appeared  very  strange  and  greatly  amused 
the  auditors  to  hear  the  pupils  speak  of  the  form  of  the  earth,  and  then 
to  give  the  Hindu  idea  of  it.  Some  of  the  boys  are  very  quick,  and  very 
retentive  in  their  memories,  and  I  have  no  doubt  but  that  the  school  will 
be  the  means  of  instilling  good  morals  into  their  minds,  instead  of  those 
horrid  and  indecent  superstitions  which  they  learn  from  their  native 
instructors.  The  managers  of  the  school  are  introducing  gradually  all  they 
can,  leaving  it  to  the  natives  to  make  objections,  if  they  have  any." 

It  is  most  gratifying  to  witness  not  only  the  efforts  which  are  begin- 
ning to  be  made  by  private  individuals,  in  various  parts  of  the  country, 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  357 


for  promoting  the  education  of  the  rising  generation ;  but  also  the 
avidity  with  which  the  native  population  embrace  the  opportunities  which 
such  efforts  open  up  to  them  for  procuring  the  elements  of  useful  know- 
ledge. Our  best  wishes  are  with  the  effort  which  has  been  made  at  Bala- 
sore,  and  we  hope  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  similar  attempts  will 
be  made  at  every  European  station  where  schools  have  not  already  been 
established. 


12. — A  Martyr  Spirit*. 

 "  They  never  fail  who  die 

In  a  great  cause  :  the  flock  may  soak  their  gore, 
Their  heads  be  sodden  in  the  sun  ;  their  limbs 
Be  strung  to  city  gates  and  castle  walls 
But  still  their  spirit  walks  abroad." 

Byron. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Messrs.  Editors, 

Could  Protestants  drop  a  tear  sometimes  on  the  record  of  the  persecu- 
tions, which  have  been  suffered  by  Roman  Catholics,  they  might  perhaps 
occasionally  discover  that  they  have  other  brethren  in  that  communion 
besides  Fenelon  and  Thomas  a  Kempis. 

A  gentleman  lately  sent  the  writer  a  French  pamphlet  entitled  "  A 
Notice  of  the  Life  and  Death  of  J.  C.  Cornay,  priest  of  the  Diocese  of 
Poictiers,  beheaded  for  the  Faith  at  Tonquin,  September  20,  1837."  It 
contains  so  much  of  the  Martyr  Spirit  of  the  primitive  ages,  that  a  few 
extracts,  though  hastily  translated,  may  not  be  uninteresting  to  your 
readers. 

John  Charles  Cornay  was  born  in  the  Diocese  of  Poictiers,  February 
27,  1809,  and  while  studying  for  the  priesthood,  his  attention  was  di- 
rected to  Foreign  Missions  by  the  preaching  of  a  Missionary,  who  visited 
the  scene  of  his  studies.  Expressing  his  feelings  to  the  Editor  of  the 
Memoir,  he  said,  "  Since  the  sermons  that  I  have  heard  these  last  days, 
I  can  bold  no  longer.  God  calls  me  to  the  conversion  of  the  infidels.  He 
bids  me  depart.  Give  me,  I  beseech  you,  the  means  to  quit  France." 
To  the  remark  that  he  went  to  martyrdom,  he  replied,  "  I  know  it  well. 
I  have  thought  much  of  it ;  but  that  is  the  very  thing  that  awakens  in 
me  a  strong  desire  to  depart.  It  is  so  grand  to  pour  out  one's  blood  for 
the  glory  of  God,  and  the  salvation  of  one's  brethren." 

In  due  time  lie  departed  for  China  and  entered  upon  his  labours  in  the 
midst  of  furious  persecutions  in  the  year  1833.  One  of  his  letters  that 
he  wrote  to  France,  gives  a  graphic  picture  of  the  circumstances  in 
which  those  labours  were  prosecuted.  "  Last  year,"  he  writes,  "  I  gave  you 
an  account  of  all  the  troubles  that  had  come  upon  me.  I  have  subsequent- 
ly languished  in  the  most  painful  uncertainty  of  my  f;ite.  Since  the  per- 
secution has  broken  out  in  a  manner  so  lamentable,  and  procured  the 
martyrdom  of  many  of  my  brethren,  I  am  obliged  to  hide  myself  all  the. 
day  in  an  excavation  six  feet  square,  exposed  to  the  humidity  of  the 
earth,  and  encompassed  with  weeds.  I  come  forth  every  night  to  afford 
the  consolations  of  my  ministry  to  the  poor  Christians,  who  devote  them- 
selves to  my  preservation,  and  return  every  morning  to  my  kind  of  den. 
1  have  had  thus  far  for  my  consolation,  my  breviary,  the  imitation,  and 
a  crucifix.    There  are  some  pains  in  this  mode  of  life ;  but  it  has  its 

*  We  have  much  pleasure  in  giving  insertion  to  the  accompanying  ;  the  subject  of 
it  is  indeed  one  of  deep  interest  to  every  Christian  heart.  Such  are  the  Lord's  peo- 
ple in  whatever  communion  they  are  found  :  constrained  by  Christ's  love,  and 
strengthened  by  Christ's  grace  ;  they  willingly  go  forth  to  suffer  for  his  name's  sake, 
wherever  they  live,  wherever  they  die  we  hail  them  brethren  and  shall  meet  them 
in  the  skies.  What  a  noble  spirit  would  this  devoted  man  have  been  had  he  been 
free  from  the  errors  of  the  Romish  system. 

3  a  2 


358  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [June, 


charms.  The  view  of  n  crucifix  is  fraught  with  so  much  good,  and  the 
word  of  God  renders  so  much  of  sweetness  !  But  providence  is  ahout  to 
take  from  me  this  last  consolation.  My  eyes  refuse  more  and  more  every 
day  to  perform  their  service  ;  and  while  I  am  writing  to  you  now,  per- 
haps for  the  last  time,  1  am  obliged  to  rest  after  two  or  three  lines.  I 
think  the  dampness  of  my  hahitation  is  the  cause  of  this  infirmity.  Judge 
of  the  kind  of  life  I  lead  in  the  midst  of  an  idleness,  so  wearisome,  and 
among  a  people  whose  language  I  understand  with  difficulty.  Still,  if  it 
please  God,  1  shall  remain  here  and  suffer  with  resignation  till  he  deli- 
vers me  from  the  evils  of  this  life  ;  for  to  return  to  my  native  country  is 
the  last  of  evils  with  which  1  pray  him  to  threaten  me." 

His  associate,  M.  Marette,  learning  the  state  of  his  health,  contrived 
to  remove  him  to  a  more  healthy  region,  where  the  people  were  in  a 
great  measure  exempt  from  persecution.  "  The  village  of  Bun-No,"  con- 
tinues the  narrative,  "which  i\l.  Cornay  went  to  inhabit,  contained  ahout 
five  hundred  Catholics  and  two  hundred  Pagans.  It  was  for  a  long  time 
the  chief  place  of  a  Christian  region  containing  three  thousand  five  hun- 
dred souls,  scattered  in  some  thirty  villages  ;  and  was  regarded  as  the 
metropolitan  church  of  this  little  Christian  community."  "  Here  were 
also  a  parsonage  house,  and  a  convent  containing  fifteen  inmates.  After 
M.  Cornay  had  resided  in  this  place  some  two  or  three  months,  a  rehel, 
who  had  fallen  into  the  hands  of  the  government  officers,  devised  a  plan 
with  the  aid  of  his  wife  to  escape  the  punishment  due  to  his  crimes,  by 
accusing  the  Christians  as  plotting  rebellions  under  the  direction  of 
their  European  teacher.  The  accusation  was  readily  received,  and  on 
the  morning  of  June  '20,  1837,  the  village  was  surrounded  by  fifteen  hun- 
dred soldiers.  The  head-man  of  the  village  was  immediately  summoned 
to  give  up  the  ringleaders  of  the  revolt,  and  was  tortured  to  discover 
the  retreat  of  the  missionary,  who,  at  the  commencement  of  the  tumult, 
had  been  hidden  in  a  thick  hedge.  For  a  while  their  efforts  were  una- 
vailing, but  finally  the  man's  fortitude  did  not  prove  equal  to  the  tor- 
tures to  which  he  was  subjected,  and  he  revealed  his  pastor's  hiding- 
place.'' 

We  pass  over  the  circumstances  of  his  apprehension  and  subsequent 
treatment  and  sufferings,  to  the  period  when  the  mandarins  were  about 
to  depart  with  him,  chained  in  a  cage,  for  the  capital  of  the  province. 
"  The  moment  of  his  departure,"  says  his  biographer,  "  was  prolonged 
in  an  indefinite  manner,  and  a  sentiment  of  hesitation  seemed  to  prevail 
throughout  the  military  cohort.  At  this  time  the  chiefs  and  soldiers 
pressed  around  the  cage  of  M.  Cornay,  and  regarding  him  stedfastly 
with  lively  curiosity  testified  by  their  attention,  that  they  considered 
him  as  some  extraordinary  object.  The  courageous  Missionary  saw  it, 
and  as  he  possessed  a  great  serenity  of  soul,  and  a  perfect  calmness  of 
spirit,  he  determimed  to  continue  his  apostolic  preaching  before  those 
whom  natural  curiosity  appeared  to  bind  within  his  power.  Singular 
destiny  of  human  things!  that  from  this  cage  which  had  been  made  to 
stifle  the  truth,  she  should  make  her  oracles  to  be  heard  with  a  noble 
independance,  and  a  majestic  eloquence,  and  those  charms  of  interest 
which  awakened  to  so  high  a  degree,  their  persecution  and  violence. 
He  seized  at  that  moment  the  book  of  the  Evangelists,  and  translated 
with  a  loud  voice  into  their  language  the  passage  of  the  passion,  where 
Jesus  Christ  speaks  before  Pilate.  He  recounted  to  them  the  life,  the 
sufferings,  and  the  sacrifice  of  the  Son  of  God.  Pie  explained  to  them 
how  he  died  for  all  men,  and  that  men  ought  to  be  sensible  of  these  things 
and  of  his  love.  In  continuation,  betook  up  the  imitation,  and  fell  by 
hazard  on  the  passage,  '  If  you  take  refuge  in  the  stripes,  and  wounds 
of  Jesus  Christ,  you  will  obtain  great  power  in  tribulation.'  He  endea- 
voured to  make  them  comprehend  why  he  was  so  calm  in  his  sufferings." 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence-  5559 


After  lie  was  carried  to  the  city  of  Doai,  the  capital  of  the  province,  M. 
Marette  came  and  established  himself  at  some  distance  from  the  city,  and 
sent  a  catechist  in  disguise  to  contrive  with  him  some  means  for  secret 
correspondence.  Two  nuns  also  devoted  themselves  to  his  service.  The 
one  prepared  him  food  ;  and  the  other  travelled  a  distance  of  six  leagues 
twice  a  day  to  carry  letters  to  and  from  M.  Marette,  who  rolled  up  his 
notes  on  a  crayon,  which  the  cook  hid  in  the  food.  Half  the  paper  was 
written  upon  and  the  other  half  left  blank,  that  it  might  serve  for  tho 
answer. 

We  pass  on  to  one  of  his  examinations  before  the  chief  Mandarin,  in 
which  they  demanded  seventy-five  thousand  francs  to  ransom  him  and 
his  people.  He  refused  to  make  any  efforts  to  obtain  money  for  himself, 
hut  promised  to  endeavour  to  obtain  the  ransom  required  for  the  Native 
Christians.  Paper  and  ink  was  brought  and  he  immediately  dictated  in 
the  Anamitish  language  the  following  letter:  "  Father  Tan  sends  salu- 
tation to  his  brethren,  the  Christians  of  Ban-No,  praying  to  God  that  he 
would  give  them  power  to  suffer  all  the  tribulations  that  he  may  send 
them.  From  the  day  that  I  was  taken  I  have  had  much  joy  in  being 
able  to  suffer  for  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  willing  to  suffer  first 
as  our  example  ;  when  1  have  seen  all  the  Christians  tried,  and  beaten 
I  have  not  been  able  to  keep  from  tears ;  above  all,  seeing  the  head-man 
that  assisted  me  beaten  beyond  measure.  I  am  now  chained  in  a  cage. 
If  I  only  had  to  suffer,  I  should  make  but  little  of  it  because  1  hope 
that  the  grace  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  will  give  me  power  to  suffer 
willingly  all  the  ^afflictions  of  this  life,  to  be  admitted  into  heaven  after 
my  death,  and  enjoy  eternal  happiness  with  God.  But  I  cannot  forget 
my  brethren  bound  with  me,  and  who  suffer  more  than  I  do  in  another 
prison.  1  cannot  forget  all  the  Christians  of  Ban-ATo,  who,  having  lost 
every  thing,  suffer  hunger  and  thirst  and  have  to  apprehend  the  burning 
of  the  whole  village.  It  is  desiring  that  you  be  re-established,  1  pray  God 
to  deliver  you  from  the  evils  which  press  you  down.  The  great  mandarin 
causes  me  to  announce,  that  if  I  can  give  one  hundred  bars  of  silver  he 
will  pardon  the  village  of  Ban. No,  the  eleven  Christians  arrested  with 
me,  and  will  engage  to  send  me  to  Europe  with  all  my  effects.  My  dear 
brethren,  were  I  taken  only,  1  would  refuse  this  offer,  preferring  to  die 
for  the  faith  and  go  to  heaven;  but  in  consequence  of  my  love  to  you,  I 
am  obliged  to  listen  to  these  propositions.  So  then,  if  you  can  gather 
together  one  hundred  bars  of  silver,  all  will  be  done ;  but  I  know  that 
having  lost  all,  though  you  sold  your  rice,  your  clothes,  and  your  fields 
this  sum  is  too  large  for  you  to  be  able  to  furnish.  This  then  be  your  task, 
to  procure  twenty  or  thirty  bars  of  silver ;  then  the  mandarin  will  pardon 
the  village  and  the  imprisoned  Christians.  As  for  me,  not  having  enough 
for  my  ransom,  from  the  moment  I  shall  know  that  you  are  in  peace,  and 
that  I  am  only  to  suffer,  I  shall  rejoice.  All  that  I  shall  have  to  bear 
will  give  me  but  little  inquietude.  1  commit  myself  into  the  hands  of 
God  who  will  provide  for  and  recompence  me." 

"  Vou  fear  not  to  die  then,"  said  one  of  the  mandarins  to  him :  "  No, 
without  doubt exclaimed  M.  Cornay ;  "  and  should  I  be  fastened  to  the 
stake  to  take  my  life,  I  would  sing  a  hymn  of  thanks,  if  it  were  required 
of  me."  "  Do  it  then  this  moment,"  replied  the  mandarin.  "  Then/' 
said  this  generous  confessor,  "  it  came  into  my  mind  to  sing  before  these 
poor  pagans  the  fine  song  of  France  : 

'  We're  ready  at  religion's  call : 

Conquer  we  know,  we  know  to  fall. 

For  her  a  Christian  ought  to  live. 

For  her  his  life  he  ought  to  give.'" 
He  was  subsequently  subjected  to  a  succession  of  torments  to  make 
him  confess  sedition,  and  apostatize  from  his  religion  by  treading  on  the 


360 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


[June, 


crucifix  ;  but  all  proving-  in  vain,  they  passed  a  liasty  sentence  of  death 
upon  him  provoked  at  his  pertinacity.    Ue  bid  farewell  to  his  parents 

in  the  following  terms: 

"  My  dear  Father,  and  my  dear  Mother, 

"  My  blood  has  already  been  poured  out  in  torments,  and  must  be  poured 
out  again  two  or  three  times,  before  I  am  quartered  and  beheaded.  The 
thought  of  the  pain  you  will  feel  when  you  read  these  details,  has  alrea- 
dy liuide  me  weep  ;  but  the  thought  again  that  1  shall  be  in  heaven  to 
intercede  for  you,  when  you  read  this  letter,  consoles  me.  Do  not  be 
afflicted  on  the  day  of  my  death,  it  will  be  the  happiest  of  my  life:  it 
will  put  an  end  to  my  sufferings,  and  be  the  commencement  of  my  hap- 
piness. My  torments  are  not  absolutely  insupportable :  they  do  not  beat 
me  on  my  reins  until  the  former  wounds  are  cicatrized. 

"  1  shall  not  be  pulled  and  torn  to  pieces  like  M.  Marchand  ;  and  sup- 
posing that  they  quarter  me,  four  men  will  do  it  at  one  time,  and  a 
fifth  will  strike  off  my  head.  I  shall  then  have  no  more  to  suffer:  so  be 
consoled.  In  a  little  time  my  sufferings  will  terminate,  and  1  shall  wait 
on  you  in  heaven. 

Your  respectful  and  affectionate  son, 

In  cage,  Aug.  18,  1837.  Ch.  Cornay." 

The  following  extracts  are  from  the  last  letter  he  ever  wrote  :  it  was 
addressed  to  his  friend  M.  Marette,  who  being  acquainted  with  all  that 
was  passing,  wrote  him  that  the  day  of  his  martyrdom  approached. 
The  day  of  the  exaltation  of  the  Holy  cross. 

"  Laetatus  in  his  quae  dicta  sunt  mihi,  in  domum  Domini  ibimus."  I 
was  glad  when  they  said  unto  me,  let  us  go  into  the  house  of  the  Lord. 

"  I  got  my  good  friend,  and  companion  brother,  your  notes  which  tells 
me  that  peace  is  not  of  this  world.  If  the  thought  that  all  was  termi- 
nated in  my  being  set  at  liberty,  fills  me  with  joy;  it  is  the  joy  of  the 
Lord,  regarding  his  greatest  glory.  You  will  know  how  I  have  desired 
to  be  delivered  from  this  body  of  death.  I  believe  1  have  not  been  an 
instant  without  offering  my  life  to  the  Lord.  "  Consummatum  est:" 
iniquity  has  done  her  work.  Your  charity  is  perfect  in  advertising  me 
of  the  time,  that  I  might  not  be  surprised  by  the  announcement  of  death, 
which  will  doubtless  follow  at  once  lest  I  give  it  to  myself. 

"  So  then  let  your  note  be  the  last ;  to  speak  of  nothing  else,  you  would 
have  nothing  more  for  me  to  read.  Though  there  is  no  more  apparent 
vigilance  in  watching  me,  yet  there  is  under  the  masque.  They  watch 
me  so  closely,  that  1  shall  be  no  more  able  to  write  you  by  night,  as  I 
am  obliged  to  do  now.  Seeing  the  danger,  let  this  then  be  the  last  note 
for  you  and  for  me. 

"  Adieu  then,  Adieu,  my  good  friend  ;  my  brethren  all,  Adieu. — As  to 
confession,  I  much  desire  absolution,  but  if  it  be  impossible,  '  O  my  God,' 
I  often  say,  '  contrition  for  confession — blood  in  the  place  of  extreme 
unction.'    (Contritionem  pro  confessione,  sanguinem  pro  unctione.) 

"  Adieu,  Adieu,  pray  and  offer  the  sacrifice  for  my  happy  death.  Adieu, 
this  is  the  last  time  that  I  write  you.  Let  this  also  be  the  last  time  for 
you,  I  conjure  you.    Every  thing  to  you,  both  in  this  life  and  the  other. 

"  Ch.  Cornay,  an  unworthy  soldier  of  Jesus  Christ." 

Would  to  God,  that  to  a  church  which  produces  such  soldiers  for  Jesus 
Christ  we  could  say,  "  Esto  perpetua."  M. 

13. — Special  Prizes  awarded  to  Pupils  op  the  General  Assembly's 

Institution. 

In  February  last  year,  J.  Muir,  Esq.  of  Saharunpore,  a  well  known  en- 
courager  of  Native  improvement,  offered  to  the  Superintendant  of  the 
General  Assembly's  Institution  to  give  a  premium,  in  value  fifty  rupees, 
for  the  best  English  Essay  on  "  The  principles  of  Historical  evidence,  and 


1840.]       Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


361 


their  application  to  an  examination  of  the  Scriptures  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment, and  the  Hindu  shastras,  and  the  conclusions  which  we  are  thus 
led  to  form,  in  regard,  1st,  to  the  Genuineness  and  2nd,  to  the  Authen- 
ticity of  the  Hebrew  and  Hindu  hooks,  respectively."  Notwithstanding 
the  difficulty  of  the  theme,  arising-  chiefly  from  the  limited  acquaintance 
which  native  young  men  have  with  the  literature  of  their  country,  the 
superintendents  proposed  it  to  the  senior  pupils  of  the  Institution.  Three 
essays  were,  after  some  months  received,  and  the  premium  has  been 
awarded  to  Mahesh  Chandra  Bankii.jya,  at  present  employed  as  Eng- 
lish teacher  in  the  Persian  department  of  the  Hughly  College.  The 
preference  was  given  to  Mahesh's  Essay,  both  on  account  of  the  superi- 
ority of  his  English  composition  over  that  of  the  other  competitors,  and 
because  his  essay  was  the  only  one  received  within  the  stipulated  time 
for  giving  them  in. 

We  embrace  the  present  opportunity  of  mentioning  other  special  prizes 
awarded  at  the  last  annual  examination  of  the  General  Assembly's  Insti- 
tution, as  they  were  not  noticed  in  the  account  of  the  examination  in 
our  Februry  No. 

Banama'li  De,  as  the  best  scholar  in  the  highest  class,  gained  the 
gold  medal  given  annually  to  the  best  scholar  in  the  Institution,  from  a 
fund  set  apart,  for  that  purpose,  by  David  MacFarlan,  Esq.  Chief  Ma- 
gistrate of  Calcutta. 

Mahendra  Lal  Basak,  received  two  silver  medals,  the  one  given  by 
the  Rev.  Dr.  Charles,  for  the  best  English  Essay  on  "  Christianity 
and  Hinduism  contrasted  in  their  doctrines  and  practical  effects," 
and  the  other  given  by  Mr.  Ewart  for  the  best  English  Essay  on  "The 
principles  of  the  evidence  to  be  derived  from  prophecy  for  the  Divine 
Inspiration  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments." 

Ta'ra'  Charan  Sikda'r  and  Jaganna'th  Sen,  received  each  a  prize 
given  by  Mr.  Macdonald,  for  the  best  Bengali  Essays  on  the  character 
and  attributes  of  God. 

Kshetra  Mohan  Chatterjya,  received  the  prize  given  by  Mr.  Ewart 
for  the  best  English  Essay  on  "  the  best  method  of  promoting  the  Edu- 
cation of  Native  Females  in  the  present  state  of  Hindu  Society." 

14. — Recent  Baptism — Faithfulness  of  God  to  the  Children  of 
Believers. 

It  is  our  delightfnl  privilege  to  have  to  record  a  very  interesting  addi- 
tion recently  made  to  the  church  usually  meeting  in  the  Circular  Road 
Chapel,  hut  now  temporarily,  in  that  recently  erected  in  fatally.  On 
Lord's-day  morning,  the  3rd  Ult.,  four  young  persons,  publicly  professed 
their  faith  in  and  love  to  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ  by  baptism.  All  of  them 
are  the  children  of  pious  parents  :  two  are  grandchildren  of  the  late  vene- 
rable Dr.  Carey,  and  the  other  two  daughters  of  the  late  Rev.  J.  Lawson*. 
In  their  conversion  we  see  the  faithfulness  of  God  to  his  promise:  the 
seed  of  the  righteous  is  still  blessed,  and  the  children  rise  up  instead  of 
the  parents  to  shew  that  the  Lord  is  gracious.  How  delightful  are  these 
instances  of  youthful  conversion,  and  how  encouraging  to  pious  parents  to 
go  on  labouring  and  praying  for  the  conversion  of  their  offspring.  They 
may  not  in  all  cases  live  to  witness  the  change  in  which  their  endeavours 
may  terminate,  or  by  which  the  prayers  they  now  offer  will  be  answered, 
but  the  connection  of  the  one  and  the  other  with  that  all-important  event, 
will  not  he  the  less  real  and  certain  on  that  account.  In  training  up 
children  for  God  and  heaven,  parents  as  well  as  ministers  must  labour  in 
hope  and  pray  in  faith,  expecting  the  blessing  from  Him  who  has  said 
"  Train  up  a  child  in  the  way  he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will 
not  depart  from  it."  Our  desire  on  behalf  of  our  young  friends  is,  that 
as  they  have  put  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  so  they  may  walk  in  him.— Calcutta 
Missionary  Herald. 

*  Formerly  pastor  of  the  Circular  Roatl  Chapel. 


362 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


15. — Printing  the  Scriptures. 
We  feel  much  pleasure  in  stating,  as  we  know  the  information  will  he 
interesting  to  not  a  few  of  our  friends,  that  in  consequence  of  a  very 
liberal  offer  made  by  a  gentleman,  whose  name  we  are  not  at  liberty  to 
mention,  it  has  been  resolved  to  print  an  edition  of  the  Persian  Testament, 
(Henry  Martyn's  Translation)  in  the  Persian  character.  The  work  is 
already  in  the  press,  and  will  be  carried  through  with  as  little  delay  as 
possible,  compatible  with  correctness  of  execution.  The  edition  will 
consist  of  1000  copies,  for  the  kind  friend  already  alluded  to : — the  same 
number  of  the  entire  Testament,  1000  of  the  Gospels  and  Acts  together, 
with  extra  copies  of  the  same  books  in  a  detached  form,  for  our  own 
Mission.  The  former  will  be  simply  a  reprint,  but  in  the  latter  a  few 
verbal  alterations  will  be  made  when  thought  necessary. — Ibid. 

1G. — Tavoy — American  Baptist  Mission. 

The  following  is  an  extract  of  a  letter  from  the  Rev.  F.  Mason  ;  it  was 
addressed  to  our  late  friend  and  brother,  the  Rev.  \V.  H.  Pearce,  but  did 
not  arrive  until  after  he  had  entered  into  rest. 

"  We  are  pursuing  the  even  tenor  of  our  course  in  our  work  among 
the  Karens.  Every  year  witnesses  a  goodly  number  ridded  to  the 
churches.  Since  the  dry  season  commenced  the  Mergui  brethren  have 
baptized  fifteen  or  more:  brother  Wade  has  baptized  twenty-three  east 
and  north  of  Tavoy,  and  I  have  baptized  twenty-nine  between  Tavoy  and 
Mergui.  In  relation  to  Maulmain  and  Rangoon  your  correspondents  at 
those  places  probably  keep  you  informed.  With  the  contributions  of 
some  of  the  Epistles  from  my  brethren,  I  have  completed  the  translation 
of  the  New  Testament  ;  and  all  the  historical  books  have  been  printed. 

"  I  wish  I  could  take  the  wings  of  the  morning  and  sit  down  with  you 
to  one  of  your  Missionary  breakfasts.  My  experience  among  the  heathen 
would  help  me  to  enter  with  more  interest  into  your  discussions  than  1 
did  ten  years  ago.  I  never  think  of  the  little  phalanx  of  Missionaries  in 
Calcutta,  and  the  worse  than  Egyptian  darkness  that  surrounds  them, 
without  feelings  of  the  deepest  sympathy,  and  thankfulness  to  God  that 
'  these  are  my  brethren,  and  these  are  my  sisters.'  " — Ibid. 

17. — Christian  School  Book  Society's  Poetical  Instructor. 

We  have  much  pleasure  in  announcing  that  the  Calcutta  Christian 
School  Book  Society  have  just  issued  a  new  Poetical  Instructor,  which 
consists  of  selections  from  the  best  Christian  poets.  It  contains  298 
pages,  12mo.  printed  at  the  Baptist  Mission  Press,  in  its  best  style,  and 
on  good  paper ;  the  price  is  somewhat,  we  believe,  below  the  cost  to  the 
Society;  it  is  one  rupee.  We  hope  it  will  have  an  extensive  circulation. 

—Cal.  Chr.  Adv.   

18. — Tract  Society's  Publications. 

The  Calcutta  Christian  Tract  and  Book  Society  have  just  received  a 
large  investment  of  the  publications  of  the  London  Tract  Society.  The 
Calcutta  Committee  have  reduced  the  prices  of  nearly  all  the  publications 
of  the  London  Society  to  the  London  retail  prices  ;  so  that  books  may  now 
be  actually  purchased  iu  Calcutta  at  the  same  reduced  rate  as  they  can 
be  at  the  Parent  Society's  depot  in  Parternoster  Row.  We  would  call 
the  attention  of  Reading  Societies,  Libraries  and  Schools  to  two  of  the 
Monthly  publications  of  the  Society—  The  Visitor  and  the  Truct  Maga- 
zine ;  the  former  containing  40  pages  of  closely  and  elegantly  printed 
matter  on  history,  science,  and  religion,  accompanied  generally  by  three 
or  four  wood  engravings  ;  may  be  obtained  in  Calcutta  if  regularly 
ordered  for  the  incredibly  small  sum  of  one  rupee  eight  anas  per  annum. 
The  Trad  Magazine  contains  20  pages,  and  is  usually  occupied  by  nc- 
counts  of  the  progress  of  the  tract  cause,  and  may  be  had  for  8  anas  per 
annum.  It  is  a  very  instructive  -  and  interesting  little  periodical  for 
young  people. — Ibid. 


THE 

CHRISTIAN  OBSERVER. 


(Nrto  jrcms.) 
No.  7- — JULY,  1840. 


I. — Sacred  Literature  of  the  Hindus*. 

(For  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer.) 
My  dear  Friend, 

As  you  wish  me  occasionally  to  give  you  some  account  of 
the  Hindu  sacred  books,  I  have  selected  the  following,  princi- 
pally from  the  Bhagabat,  the  best  known,  and  held  the  most 
sacred  of  any  of  the  shastras  in  the  Oriya  language.  I  shall 
notice  some  of  the  popular  sentiments  of  the  Hindus  which 
are  contradicted  by  this  highly  esteemed  book,  from  which 
you  will  see  that  codes,  to  be  received  as  Divine,  and  senti- 
ments which  are  to  be  practised,  are  two  different  things  even 
amongst  the  heathen. 

1.  It  is  a  saying  in  the  mouths  of  all,  that  the  Hindus,  espe- 
cially the  caste  of  brahmans,  never  suffered  under  their  own 
princes  that  which  they  do  under  the  British  administra- 
tion. As  an  instance  the  brahmans  refer  to  the  resumption  of 
their  charity  lands,  which  they  say  is  without  an  example  in 
the  four  ages. 

Now  of  the  many  passages  that  may  be  selected  from  their 
own  beloved  Bhagabat,  contradictory  of  this  false  dogma,  we 
may  select  the  following  ;  (Book  6,  Chap.  16,  verses  23 — 34,) 
"  Hear,  all  ye  subjects,  even  all  ye  brahmans  of  the  four  castes  ; 
you  shall  perform  no  sacrifices  in  my  country.  You  shall  not 
worship  the  gods  of  the  fathers.  No  gifts  shall  be  put  into 
your  hands.  No  one  shall  perform  pilgrimages  to  the  brah- 
man's feet.  As  many  as  are  the  religious  services  in  the  world, 
you  are  to  give  all  up  to  me.    No  one  is  greater  than  myself. 

*  These  letters  addressed  to  a  friend  in  America  are  kindly  allowed 
us  in  their  transit  by  the  author. — J£i>. 
VOL..  I.  3  B 


364  Sacred  Literature  of  the  Hindus.  [July, 


I  who  am  evidently  the  Lord,  command  you  to  jap  my  name, 
and  worship  me  with  the  fiery  furnace,  (that  is,  with  the  sacred 
fire.)  He  who  will  not  regard  my  word  shall  not  remain  in 
my  country  a  dunda,  (24  minutes.)  Whose  life  remains  I 
will  take  all  his  property  away.  Thus  in  villages,  towns  and 
countries,  he  proclaimed  this  order  with  the  sound  of  the 
trumpet.  Hearing  which,  all  were  terrified,  and  regarding  the 
words  of  Bana  raja,  renounced  all  religion.  Brahmans  japed 
his  name  daily,  and  fearing  served  at  his  feet."  We  would  ask, 
where  was  the  dignity  of  the  brahmans  under  such  princes,  of 
whom  Bana  is  hut  a  fair  specimen  ?  Is  there  nothing  deroga- 
tory in  the  idea  of  renouncing  all  religion  for  fear  of  perse- 
cution ? 

2.  That  it  is  sinful  to  take  animal  life  is  another  popular 
Hindu  sentiment,  though  all  castes  from  highest  to  lowest 
are  occasionally  in  the  habit  of  feasting  upon  flesh.  Now  it  is 
well  known  that  there  were  many  sages  who  made  deer-shoot- 
ing a  favourite  amusement ;  but  as  I  do  not  wish  to  deal  in 
general  assertions  without  proof,  I  will  refer  to  the  case  of 
Ram,  the  7th  incarnation.  (Ananza  Panda,  Chap.  1,  from  the 
37th  verse.)  He  is  represented  as  hunting  deer,  at  the  very 
time  Rabana  stole  his  wife  Sita,  and  when  he  returned,  he 
brought  many  that  he  had  slain.  And  as  for  Durga,  whose 
praise  is  frequently  and  highly  celebrated  in  the  Bhagabat, 
there  is  no  telling  what  she  did  not  eat.  Men  and  demons 
with  corrupted  corpses  could  not  suffice  to  satisfy  her  rapaci- 
ous appetite.  To  refer  to  an  instance  it  is  said,  (Bk.  5,  Chap.  9, 
85,)  "  Hear,  great  monarch,  she  (Durga)  took  the  sword  from 
his  hand,  and  having  a  mind  to  drink  blood,  cut  off  his  head. 
For  the  purpose  of  giving  them  supreme  pleasure,  she  called 
together  her  attendants,  and  they  all  drinking  the  flowing 
blood,  became  much  pleased.  And  soon  all  the  attendants 
of  the  goddess  began  to  sing  for  joy/'  Should  it  be  objected 
by  the  Hindu,  that  these  persons  were  gods  and  goddesses, 
and  hence  had  a  right  to  do  such  things  ;  it  may  be  replied, 
that  at  that  time  they  were  in  human  bodies,  and  hence,  on 
the  Hindu  principle  that '  God  is  the  soul  of  all  men/  they  were 
no  more  gods  and  goddesses  than  what  all  are.  To  the  quibble, 
that  persons  of  character  are  always  allowed  to  do  acts  for 
which  inferior  persons  would  be  blamed,  it  may  be  answered, 
that  we  claim  a  character  for  ourselves  superior  to  that  of 
Ram  or  Durga,  and  they  may  have  the  same  exaltation  when 
they  renounce  their  foolish  superstitions. 

3.  Another  idea  is  that  females  ought  not  to  be  educated. 
It  is  usually  affirmed  that  if  females  learn  to  read  they  will 
become  prostitutes,  and  hence  it  is  sinful  to  instruct  a  woman 


1840.] 


Sacred  Literature  of  the  Hindus. 


365 


in  any  branch  of  knowledge.  Though  this  objection  is  per- 
fectly reasonable  as  far  as  reading  the  Hindu  shastras  is  con- 
cerned— as  the  obscenity  they  contain  must  have  a  most  bane- 
ful effect  upon  the  female  mind — yet  the  idea  is  opposed  by  the 
shastras  in  which  are  given  the  histories  of  many  women  emi- 
nent for  wisdom  and  piety.  It  is  said,  (Bk.  6,  Chap.  23,  102,) 
"  That  Orchee  goddess  was  a  mere  woman,  hence,  she  com- 
posed her  mind  upon  the  death  of  her  husband."  (Bk.  6, 
Chap.  27,  127,)  "The  daughter  of  Malaya  Dhaga  had  a 
mind  established  in  wisdom." 

It  is  also  said,  (Bk.  6,  Chap.  15,  23  and  24,)  «  Sute  Dheta, 
which  was  the  name  of  his  lady,  was  deep  in  the  learning  of 
astronomy,  and  she  gave  birth  to  four  sons,  who  were  all 
celebrated  for  learning." 

Here  is  an  account  of  a  married  woman,  and  a  mother,  who 
was  learned,  and  as  we  may  generally  expect,  her  children 
resembled  herself.  These  are  a  few  of  the  passages  which 
certainly  prove  that  Hindus  are  by  no  means  justified  in 
hooting  at  female  education,  even  by  those  books  which  they 
receive  as  divine. 

4.  It  is  asserted  that  men  cannot  remember  what  took 
place  in  a  former  birth,  any  more  than  a  person  in  sleep  can 
remember  what  took  place  when  awake.  This  answer  is 
thought  to  be  quite  enough  to  silence  all  our  doubts,  in  regard 
to  the  pre-existence  of  human  souls  ;  but  we  shall  feel  that  it 
is  quite  unsatisfactory  when  we  see  how  often  Kangsa  is 
represented  as  recounting  and  bewailing  the  misfortunes  of  a 
former  birth.  This  we  find  was  also  the  case  with  the  most 
eminent  characters  that  figure  in  the  Bhagabat.  It  is  said 
of  Bharat  raja,  (Bk.  5,  Chap.  8,  79,)  "  In  that  time  he  de- 
parted from  life  and  obtained  the  body  of  a  deer.  And  the 
monarch,  remembering  the  history  of  his  former  birth,  knew 
for  what  reason  he  had  found  the  birth  of  a  deer."  If  a  beast 
can  know  the  transactions  of  a  former  birth,  may  not  a  man 
know  ?  This  same  Bharat  raja  was,  according  to  the  history, 
afterwards  born  in  the  body  of  a  brahman,  and  then  it  is 
said,  (Bk.  5,  Chap.  9,  67?)  "  He  remembering  the  history  of 
his  past  birth,  feared  to  associate  with  wicked  people."  Thus 
we  have  quoted  these  two  great  extremes,  a  beast  and  a  brah- 
man, who  alike  knew  the  transactions  of  a  former  birth  ;  and 
as  such  instances  in  the  shastras  are  not  rare,  it  will  not  do 
for  the  Hindu  to  explain  why  we  have  not  all  the  same  know- 
ledge, upon  such  untenable  principles. 

5.  It  is  another  popular  sentiment  that  we  must  perform 
various  outward  ceremonies,  in  order  to  obtain  salvation. 
Now  it  is  said,  (Bk.  5,  Chap.  1,  73,)  "  Sabala  raja,  who  was 

3  b  2 


36G 


Sacred  Literature  of  the  Hindus. 


[July^ 


a  holy  man  threw  away  all  outward  religion."  It  is  also  said, 
(Bk.  5,  Chap.  11,5 — 8,)  "Hear  again,  O  monarch,  they  who 
remain  in  society,  walking  according  to  correct  knowledge 
and  preserve  the  truth  in  their  minds,  are  righteous  in  the 
midst  of  this  evil  world.  I  call  them  wise.  Their  names  are 
excellent  in  the  earth  if  merciful  to  their  fellows."  Against 
this  idea  we  may  also  bring  a  passage  from  Book  10, 
Chap.  3,  from  verse  49,  the  substance  of  which  is,  that  in  the 
Satya-juga,  religion  went  on  four  legs  ;  in  the  Treta-juga,  one 
was  cutoff;  in  the  Dwapara,  another ;  and  in  this  present 
Kali-juga,  the  third  was  cut  off ;  leaving  religion  with  only 
one  leg,  which  leg  is  called  mercy.  Now  we  may  ask  if  mercy 
is  the  whole  of  religion  in  this  dispensation,  then  of  what  use 
are  bathings,  pilgrimages,  incantations,  and  idolatries.  They 
certainly  contain  no  mercy.  These  texts  give  a  very  different 
impression  from  the  teaching  of  the  brahmaus,  at  the  present 
day,  which  makes  all  merit  to  consist  in  self-mortification. 
There  are  not  only  numerous  passages  of  this  kind  in  the  Bha- 
gabat,  but  in  other  books  of  which  the  text  was  taken  from  the 
Bhagabat.  In  a  book  called  Tula  Bhena,  which  is  looked  upon 
with  great  veneration  by  all  the  Oriyas,  such  sentiments  as 
these  are  to  be  found  (page  67)  :  c:  The  necklace  is  nothing." 
"  The  tilaka  (a  mark)  is  nothing."  "  Clean  and  unclean  are 
nothing."  "  Touching  or  not  touching  is  nothing."  "  Bath- 
ing is  nothing."  "  Outward  pilgrimages  are  nothing."  "  The 
worship  of  the  Almighty  is  true,  but  all  other  worship  is  no- 
thing." "  Caste  is  nothing."  "  All  are  one  caste."  "  Reli- 
gious austerities  are  nothing."  "  Repeating  the  names  of  the 
gods  is  nothing."  Thus  it  appears  that  even  those  books 
received  by  the  Hindus  as  divine  condemn  all  their  ceremonies 
as  useless. 

6.  The  Hindus  also  maintain  that  it  matters  not  what  a 
man's  character  may  be,  if  he  only  adores  the  gods.  One 
may  be  impenitent,  hypocritical,  covetous  and  envious,  and 
if  he  is  only  a  warm  devotee  of  Ram  or  Krishna,  all  will  be 
well.  However  clearly  this  doctrine  is  taught  in  the  native 
shastras,  it  is  also  as  clearly  contradicted.  It  is  said,  (Bk.  6, 
Chap.  9,  59,60,)  "  He,  who  will  not  remember  his  former  sins 
shall  find  no  help,  but  will  spend  his  days  in  pleasure  and 
pain,  and  at  last  fall  into  hell."  No  less  expressive  is  the  pas- 
sage against  covetousness,  (Bk.  0,  Chap.  6,  123-4,)  "They 
who  are  subject  to  covetousness  live  like  beasts.  They  shall 
not  obtain  thee  (Shiba),  but  shall  wander  through  the  world." 

Covetousness  is  also  condemned  in  these  words,  (Bk.  6, 
Chap.  24,  106-7,)  "They  who  are  covetous  and  lustful  are 
bound  in  wickedness  and  are  like  demons."    As  it  regards 


1840.] 


Sacred  Literature  of  the  Hindus. 


367 


hypocrisy  it  is  said,  (Bk.  6,  Chap.  22,  85,)  "Whose  mind  is 
not  upon  thee  (Krishna),  he  is  a  poor  hypocritical  devotee. 
His  heart  is  unclean  with  lust,  is  denominated  a  wicked  wor- 
shipper, and  shall  not  cross  the  sea  of  this  world." 

Envy  is  also  condemned  in  the  worshipper  in  these  words, 
(Bk.  6,  Chap.  22,  117})  "  Whosoever  remains  in  an  uuenvious 
religion  will  obtain  Brahma's  knowledge."  All  sins  great  in 
their  nature  are  said  to  suhject  one  to  great  punishment.  Thus 
it  is  said,  (Bk.  10,  Chap.  3,  103 — 5,)  "Amongst  sins,  injuring 
our  fellows,  killing  the  foetus  in  the  womb,  and  the  murder  of 
children,  these  three  works  whoever  shall  do,  his  life  remain- 
ing he  shall  die.  At  the  time  of  his  death  he  is  reviled  by 
all.  In  this  world  he  is  without  respect  and  goes  into  hell  at 
death."  Again  it  is  said,  (Bk.  10,  chap.  11,  92,)  "  They  who 
call  their  bodies  their  own  and  do  not  fear  sin,  ignorant  in 
fascination,  they  will  be  slain  and  fall  into  an  eternal  hell." 
These  quotations  will  certainly  suffice  to  shew  that  even  the 
Hindu  religion  does  not  entirely  disregard  the  state  of  the 
heart. 

7-  That  the  spirits  of  all  men  are  God.  Though  this  sen- 
timent is  proved  from  the  Bhagabat,  yet  the  passages  adduced 
in  its  support  are  often  far  from  the  point,  and  we  have 
reason  to  believe  that  the  poets  never  meant  any  such  thing 
as  the  people  understand  their  words  to  signify.  As  an  exam- 
ple we  may  refer  to  that  famous  passage  where  the  image  of 
God  in  his  creatures  is  compared  to  the  reflection  of  the  sky 
from  the  surface  of  water,  (Bk.  10,  Chap.  2,  51,)  "  Place  100 
cisterns  of  water  and  the  sky  will  be  seen  in  all.  Now  pour 
all  the  water  into  one  cistern,  and  but  one  sky  will  be  seen. 
The  sky  is  not  separated  when  the  cisterns  go  to  destruction. 
This  is  the  nature  of  spirit  and  is  known  only  to  the  wise." 
Now  the  most  this  figure  proves  is,  that  the  image  of  God 
is  reflected  by  his  creatures  ;  but  as  the  image  of  the  sky  is  not 
the  sky  itself,  so  the  image  of  God  is  not  God  himself. 
There  is  a  passage  in  the  11th  book  of  the  Bhagabat  which 
says,  "  God  is  a  Spirit,  and  there  is  no  creature  like  him.  If 
Spirit  will  meditate  upon  his  Spirit,  then  one  may  know 
they  are  blessed." 

8.  We  are  often  told  that  the  religion  of  the  Hindus  will 
never  come  to  nought.  But  if  this  be  true  Byasadeb  was  a  false 
prophet ;  for  he  says,  (Bk.  12,  Chap.  1,  179)  :  "The  Turks 
shall  reign  fourteen  generations  without  discretion  ;  after  which 
the  Phiringis  (a  name  applied  to  Europeans)  shall  remain 
thirteen  generations.  In  this  time  all  religion  shall  go,  caste 
and  conduct  shall  not  remain."  Again  it  is  said,  (Bk.  12, 
Chap.  2,  1 15,)  speaking  of  the  same  time  :  "  All  castes  shall 


368 


Canon  of  Scripture. 


[July, 


sit  and  eat  in  one  place  with  excellent  minds.  The  brdhtnans 
shall  sell  the  veds,  and  in  process  of  time  their  knowledge 
shall  he  lost.  No  one  will  support  the  religion  of  his  family, 
but  will  forsake  all  distinctions  of  caste.  Even  in  marriage 
caste  shall  not  be  regarded,  for  all  shall  become  one  class. 
In  this  manner  will  end  the  Kali-juga  after  having  re- 
mained 10,000  years."  Thus  according  to  this  word  of  Hin- 
du prophecy,  their  religion  is  to  fall  before  the  close  of  this 
vile  age,  and  before  the  Europeans  leave  the  country. 

Balasore,  June  \'2th.  E.  Noyes. 


II. — On  the  absence  of  all  constitutional  power  in  the  Protes- 
tant Churches  to  legislate  on  the  Canon  of  the  Sacred 
Scriptures*. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Dear  Sirs, 

You  know  that,  according  to  all  historical  accounts,  the  Canon  of  the 
Old  Testament  was  finally  arranged  and  closed  in  the  time  of  Ezra, 
Nehemiah,  Haggai,  Zachariah  and  Malachi.  The  Jewish  Church  una- 
nimously maintains  that  after  the  death  of  these  inspired  men,  the 
uninterrupted  succession  of  prophets  ceased  ;  and  her  testimony  against 
herself  is  as  conclusive  as  that  of  Epimanides  against  the  Cretians.  We 
read  in  chap.  ix.  27,  of  the  first  book  of  Maccabees,  which  is  a  most 
valuable  historical  monument  written  with  great  accuracy  and  fidelity, 
that  "  There  was  great  tribulation  in  Israel,  such  as  had  not  been  since 
no  prophet  more  appeared  among  them  ;"  c.  iv.  46  :  "  And  they  (the  Jews) 
put  the  stones  (of  the  altar  which  had  been  defiled  by  the  heathen)  in  a 
convenient  place  upon  the  mountain  of  the  temple,  until  a  prophet  should 
arise,  who  could  give  directions  about  them.'"  And  c.  xiv.  41  :  "  The  Jews 
and  the  priests  determined  that  Simon  should  be  chief  and  high  priest 
for  ever,  until  an  accredited  prophet  ((ppoT-qTriu  ttkttov)  should  arise."  A  time 
which  felt  itself  so  destitute  of  prophecy  and  divine  direction,  as  to  be 
unable  to  determine  concerning  such  comparatively  trifling  matters, 
could,  of  course,  decree  nothing  in  respect  to  the  canonicalness  of  a  book. 
That  this  was  really  the  case  Josephus  informs  us  in  the  clearest  terms 
in  his  work  against  Apion,  Book  I.  8. 

"  For  we  have  not  an  innumerable  multitude  of  books  among  us,  dis- 
agreeing from  and  contradicting  one  another  (as  the  Greeks  have),  but 
only  twenty-two  books,  which  contain  the  records  of  all  the  past  times; 
which  are  justly  believed  to  be  divine ;  and  of  them,  five  belong  to 
Mo=es,  which  contain  his  laws  and  the  traditions  of  the  origin  of  man- 
kind till  his  death.    This  interval  of  time  was  little  short  of  three 

*  Note. — The  subject  embraced  by  this  paper  is  one  of  the  deepest 
interest  at  the  present  crisis.  We  are  glad  our  correspondent  has  left 
the  field  of  mere  criticism  to  discuss  the  great  principle  on  which  the 
question  hangs,  and  by  which  it  can  alone  be  decided.  May  the  good 
Spirit  of  God  guide  his  Church  into  all  truth  in  this  matter.  We  are 
not,  however,  to  be  understood  as  sanctioning  all  the  sentiments  contain- 
ed in  this  article. — Ed. 


1840.] 


Canon  of  Scripture. 


369 


thousand  years;  but  .is  to  the  time  from  the  death  of  Moses  till  the 
reign  of  Artaxerxes,  king  of  Persia,  who  reigned  after  Xerxes,  the  pro- 
phets, who  were  after  Moses  wrote  down  what  was  done  in  their  times 
in  thirteen  books.  The  remaining  four  books  contain  hymns  to  God, 
and  precepts  for  the  conduct  of  human  life.  It  is  true,  our  history  hath 
been  written  since  Artaxerxes  very  particularly,  but  has  not  been 
esteemed  of  like  authority  with  the  former  by  our  fore-fathers,  because 
there  hath  not  been  an  exact  succession  of  prophets  since  that  time  ;  and 
how  firmly  we  have  given  credit  to  those  books  of  our  own  nation,  is 
evident  by  what  we  do ;  for  during  so  many  ages  as  have  already  passed, 
no  one  has  been  so  bold  as  either  to  add  any  thing  to  them,  to  take 
any  thing  from  them,  or  to  make  any  change  in  them  ;  but  it  becomes 
natural  to  all  Jews,  immediately  and  from  their  very  birth,  to  esteem 
those  books  to  contain  divine  doctrines,  and  to  persist  in  them,  and,  if 
occasion  be,  willing  to  die  for  them." 

Josephus  does  not  at  all  deny  in  this  important  passage,  that  some 
pious  men  also  in  later  times  enjoyed  the  influence  of  the  divine  Spirit 
in  composing  their  writings  ;  on  the  contrary  he  says  in  his  "  Wars  of 
the  Jews."  Chapter  ii.  8,  of  Hyrcanus.  "  He  it  was  who  alone  had  three  of 
the  most  desirable  things  in  the  world,  the  government  of  his  nation  and 
the  high  priesthood  and  the  gift  of  prophecy:  for  the  deity  conversed 
with  him  ;"  but  the  reason  why  the  historical  and  other  writings  of  later 
times  were  not  "  esteemed  of  the  like  authority  with  the  former  by  their 
forefathers"  was  "  because  there  has  not  been  an  exact  succession  of 
prophets  since  that  time,"  of  which  the  successors  could  always  give 
testimony  to  the  divine  inspiration  of  their  predecessors,  so  that  the 
Jewish  Church  could  never  be  in  uncertainty  whether  a  book  was  to  be 
deemed  inspired  and  canonical  or  not. 

As  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  had  not  "  the  spirit  by  measure,"  but 
was  more  "  than  any  prophet,"  and  his  inspired  Apostles,  never  pointed 
out  any  book  in  the  Canon  of  the  Old  Testament  as  uncanonical  and  unin- 
spired, it  is  clear  that  we  must  not  do  so ;  and  I  wonder  that  some 
profound  and  truly  venerable  scholars  in  England  should  express  doubts 
about  the  Song  of  Solomon.  If  the  husband  be  Jehovah,  the  plural 
spouse  the  Jewish  Church,  who  came  "  out  of  the  wilderness  like  pillars 
of  smoke,"  who  enjoyed  his  nearness  when  faithful,  and  endured  his- 
absence  when  unfaithful ;  the  watchmen  who  smote  her,  the  false  pro- 
phets, the  threescore  queens,  and  fourscore  concubines  and  virgins 
without  number,  the  heathen  nations,  and  proper  allowance  be  made  for 
the  exuberance  of  poetic  decoration,  the  whole  is  worthy  of  the  Divine 
Spirit  and  edifying. 

But  the  history  of  the  Canon  of  the  New  Testament  is  quite  different 
from  that  of  the  Old  Testament.  It  was  not  finally  arranged  and  closed 
by  any  inspired  Apostle.  To  our  short-sightedness  it  appears  that  it 
would  have  been  exceedingly  desirable  if  the  last  Apostle,  John,  the 
disciple  of  love,  would  have  closed  and  authenticated  the  Canon  of  the 
N.  T.  before  his  departure.  But  Providence  thought  otherwise.  And 
why  ?  None  can  say.  The  wonderful  works  of  God  were  not  done  in  a 
corner  and  were  in  fiery  tongues  proclaimed  to  the  world  by  a  host  of 
witnesses.  The  mythological  age  had  given  way  to  the  historical.  How 
natural  that  the  history  of  the  Saviour,  and  the  writings  of  his  Apostles 
should  stand  on  their  own  authority,  in  the  same  rank  and  on  the  same 
footing  with  other  historical  writings.  Perhaps  it  was  intended  that  the 
Christian  Church  should  not  settle  down  in  a  cold  lifeless  orthodoxy,  but 
eat  her  bread  by  the  sweat  of  her  brow.  How  has  the  intellect  of  her 
members  been  quickened  by  the  profound  and  extensive  investigation  of 
the  writings  of  the  N.  T. !    The  genuineness  of  the  four  Gospels  has 


3/0 


Canon  of  Scripture. 


[July, 


been  repeatedly  proved,  and  by  none  more  triumphantly  than  by  Dr. 
Olshausen.  After  reading,  or  I  should  rather  say,  studying  such  works 
as  Neander's  Apostolic  Age,  Paley's  Horae  Paulina?,  &c.  &c,  we  feel 
satisfied  that  it  was  unnecessary  to  authenticate  the  Acts  and  the  Apos- 
tolic Epistles  by  the  authority  of  any  inspired  man.  All  (he  books  of 
the  New  Testament  have  been  proved  to  be  canonical  except  a  few  of 
those  on  which  the  church  has  always  disagreed  as  II  Peter,  Jude,  and 
the  Revelation.  The  latter  is  undoubtedly  canonical,  and  will  be 
acknowledged  as  such,  if  the  true  interpretation  to  which  Bossuet  and 
Hug  have  given  us  the  key,  becomes  more  prevalent,  according  to  whom 
the  grand  outlines  of  this  sublime  book  are  three  cities  :  Sodom  where 
the  Lord  was  crucified,  representing  Judaism,  the  persecutrix  of  the  in- 
fant Christian  Church — it  has  fallen ;  Babylon  built  on  seven  hills, 
idolatrous  Rome,  a  beast  with  many  crowns  and  the  name  of  blasphemy 
on  her  head ;  and  supported  by  another  beast,  the  idolatrous  priesthood, 
that  bad  two  horns  like  a  lamb,  and  spake  as  a  dragon — it  has  fallen  ;  Gog 
and  Magog,  all  the  barbarian  nations  which  are  now  brought  into  subjec- 
tion to  Christ  ;  and  at  last  the  new  Jerusalem  descends  from  heaven, 
the  millennial  glory  of  the  Christian  Church  begins,  and  "  Behold  the 
tabernacle  of  God  is  with  men,  and  lie  will  dwell  with  them,  and  they 
shall  be  his  people,  and  God  himself  shall  be  with  them,  and  be  their 
God  ;"  but  the  two  former  books  must  still  be  numbered  among  the 
antilegomena  as  contradicted,  because  the  most  eminent  orthodox  and 
pious  Biblical  critics  are  not  yet  agreed  on  them,  and  why  should  we  give 
up  the  old  division  of  Homoloyoumena  and  Antilegomena  ?  Dr.  Olshausen 
has  lately  written  several  masterly  Latin  Essays  on  the  Antilegomena 
some  of  which  have  been  translated  for  and  published  in  the  American 
Biblical  Repository. 

It  is  a  well  known  fact  that  at  an  early  period,  the  Christian  Church 
was  confounded  with  the  Jewish  hierarchy,  theoretically  by  Cyprian  in 
his  book,  "  On  the  Unity  of  the  Church,"  and  practically  by  proud  and 
arrogant  ecclesiastics.  But  these  men  even  surpassed  the  Jewish  priests 
in  their  assumptions.  We  have  seen  that  the  Jewish  Church  unani- 
mously maintained,  that  the  last  prophets  had  no  successors,  and  that 
since  their  departure  none  could  decide  on  the  canonicalness  of  any  book  ; 
but  these  men  maintained  that  the  Apostles  had  successors,  yea,  that 
they  themselves  were  their  successors,  and  were  invested  with  power 
and  authority  to  decide  on  any  book  as  they  thought  proper.  When  all 
was  ripe  the  councils  began  to  legislate  on  the  word  of  God.  But  the 
decision  of  these  councils  have  never  been  acknowledged  by  the  Protes- 
tant Churches.  Luther,  who  knew  that  no  inspired  Apostle  had  finally 
arranged  and  closed  the  Canon  of  the  New  Testament  exercises  his  pri- 
vate judgment  in  studying  and  translating  it,  and  returned  to  the  ancient 
and  proper  division  into  Homoloyoumena  and  Antilegomena.  As  Biblical 
criticism  was  then  in  its  infancy,  and  the  helps  at  his  command  were  so 
few  and  so  imperfect,  it  is  no  wonder  that  his  bold  spirit  sometimes 
misled  him.  When  coming  to  the  Epistle  of  the  Hebrews  he  says, 
"  Hitherto  we  have  had  the  chief  and  most  important  books  of  the  New 
Testament.  Those  which  follow  were  in  former  times  considered  in  a 
different  light.  And  that  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  was  not  written  by 
Paul  or  any  other  Apostle  is  clear  from  Chapter  ii.  2,  where  the  author 
says,  '  How  shall  we  escape,  if  we  neglectso  great  salvation  ;  which  at  the 
first  began  to  be  spoken  by  the  Lord  and  was  confirmed  unto  us  by  them 
that  heard  him,'  which  shows  that  he  speaks  of  the  Apostles  as  a  disciple 
upon  whom  the  doctrine  of  the  Apostles  came,  perhaps  a  considerable 
time  afterwards."  "  He  then  ventures  the  opinion  that  Apollos  was  the 
author"  in  which  many  pious  scholars  of  the  present  day  agree  with  him. 


1840.] 


Canon  of  Scripture. 


371 


And  this  truly  great  man  agreeing  with  Paul  that  "though  we  or  an 
angel  from  heaven  preach  any  other  Gospel  unto  you  than  that  we  have 
preached  unto  you,  let  him  be  accursed,"  and  supposing  that  James  did 
not  agree  with  Paul  he  says,  "  This  James  does  nothing  but  driving  to 
the  law  and  to  good  works,  and  so  confounds  and  commingles  all  things 
that  in  my  opinion  he  was  some  unknown,  but  sincere  and  good  man, 
who  having  picked  up  some  sayings  and  phrases  of  theA  postles  has 

thrown  them  so  disorderly  upon  paper,    James'  Epistles  is  a  very 

strawy  Epistle,  for  no  Evangelical  spirit  breathes  in  it."  And  on  Re- 
velation he  says,  "  1  have  more  than  one  objection  to  this  book,  fori 
can  neither  deem  it  Apostolical  nor  Prophetical.  In  the  first  place,  the 
Apostles  do  not  converse  in  visions,  but  prophecy  in  clear  and  plain 
language,  as  Peter,  Paul,  and  Christ  in  the  Gospel,  do  ;  and  it  behoves 
the  Apostolic  office  to  speak  plainly  and  without  figure  or  vision  of 
Christ  and  his  work.  Secondly,  he  appears  to  me  overdoing  the  thing 
when  he  straitly  threatens,  that  if  any  man  shall  take  away  from  the 
words  of  his  own  book,  God  shall  take  away  his  part  out  of  the  book  of 
life,  which  the  other  sacred  books  do  not,  though  they  are  of  much 
greater  importance.  Again  all  those  shall  be  blessed  who  keep  what  is 
w  ritten  in  the  book,  though  nobody  knows  what  it  is,  not  to  speak  of 
observing  it ;  and  we,  having  much  better  books  which  are  to  be  observ- 
ed, should  be  as  well  off  if  we  had  it  not  at  all ;  in  short,  every  one  may 
think  of  it  as  his  mind  directs  him,  (or  as  he  pleases.)  My  mind  can  not 
be  broken  in  to  the  book,  and  that  is  sufficient  reason  for  me  not  to  think 
highly  of  it.'' 

Why  do  I  quote  Luther,  the  illustrious  Reformer?  To  prove  He- 
brews, James  and  Revelation  to  be  spurious  ?  No.  1  most  fully  believe 
in  the  authenticity  and  inspiration  of  these  books,  though  I  must  be 
alloweu  to  think  that  Paul  is  not  the  author  of  the  Epistle  to  the  He- 
brews notwithstanding  Moses  Stuart's  celebrated  commentary.  The 
Gospels  of  Luke  and  Mark  and  the  Acts  are  canonical,  though  not  writ- 
ten by  any  of  the  Apostles.  I  have  quoted  Luther  to  show  with  what 
utter  disregard  of  all  councils,  with  what  independence  of  mind  the 
glorious  reformation  began.  In  the  same  spirit  it  was  carried  on  by  the 
Reformers  themselves;  but  alas!  their  mantle  fell  on  men  who  were 
unworthy  of  it.  Just  as  the  Apostles  had  no  successors,  or  at  least  very 
unworthy  ones,  so  the  Reformers  had  no  worthy  successors. 

1  fear  the  large  Religious  Societies  are  at  present  too  much  encroach- 
ing upon  individual  action,  and  the  inviolability  of  private  judgment,  the 
fundamental  principle  of  Protestantism,  and  are  doing  much  to  produce 
that  state  of  things  in  the  Churches  in  which  Protestantism  will  not  be 
able  to  cope  with  Roman  Catholicism,  which  has  the  advantage  over 
us  in  the  majority  of  members,  in  more  daring  assumption,  and  bolder 
denunciation,  and  in  claims  to  uniformity  and  infallibility,  in  virulence 
and  abuse;  to  which  we  have  nothing  to  oppose  but  the  inviolability  of 
private  judgment,  independence  of  mind,  free  investigation :  against  these 
it  can  not  stand,  before  these  it  has  invariably  fallen  and  ever  will  and 
must  fall. 

But  the  public  must  not  withdraw  their  support  from  the  large  Reli- 
gious Societies,  because  some  have  power  to  do  wrong.  We  might 
as  well  abolish  the  House  of  Commons,  the  British  Parliament,  because 
it  has  the  power  and  the  resources  to  do  mischief  on  a  grand  scale. 
Why  does  that  body  not  oftener  abuse  its  power?  Because  Britain 
watches  over  it  with  a  zealous  and  constant  care.  Thus  they  must 
watch  over  the  large  Religious  Societies  which  can  do  and  have  done 
immense  good.  Without  them  slavery  would  not  have  been  abolished; 
without  them  millions  would  not  be  able  to  hear  and  read  the  word  of 

VOL.  I.  3  c 


372 


Theological  Library. 


[July, 


God.  Thns  they  must  particularly  watch  over  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  which  is  the  Congress  of  the  Protestant  Churches,  to 
whose  hands  the  document  of  their  federal  Union  and  Constitution  is 
entrusted.  Each  State,  each  denomination,  may  legislate  for  itself 
as  it  pleases ;  but  the  powers  of  Congress  should  be  well  denned, 
and  as  much  as  possible  be  merely  executive.  All  their  attempts  at 
legislating  on  the  word  of  God  should  be  promptly  met  at  the  very 
outset,  however  well  intentioned  such  attempts  may  be. 

I  maintain  that  neither  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society,  nor  the 
Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bible  Society,  nor  any  man  or  body  of  men  whatsoever, 
have  any  power  or  right  to  legislate  on  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  to  say  what 
books  are  canonical  and  what  not  ;  what  readings  must  be  adopted  and 
what  rejected  ;  what  passages  spurious  and  what  passages  genuine ; 
except  they  can  give  the  most  satisfactory  proofs  of  enjoying  divine 
inspiration.  I  further  maintain  it  as  a  principle,  that  when  a  body  of 
Missionaries  who  enjoy  the  confidence  of  their  Society  and  the  Churches, 
and  whose  orthodoxy  is  unimpeached  and  unimpeachable,  are  agreed 
among  themselves,  and  have  determined  bow  the  Sacred  Scriptures  shall 
be  translated  for  their  own  mission  for  which  they  are  responsible  to 
God,  as  the  Baptist  Missionaries  at  Calcutta,  and  the  London  Society's 
Missionaries  at  Banaras  have  done,  the  Bible  Society  has  no  right  what- 
soever to  encroach  upon  the  private  judgment  or  conscience  of  such  a 
body  of  Missionaries  ;  but  is  bound  in  duty,  and  by  it's  own  fundamental 
Protestant  principle  and  constitution  to  sanction  and  publish  such  a  ver- 
sion for  that  particular  Mission*.  If  no  version  in  the  present  state  of  the 
Churches  can  be  made  for  the  Universal  Church,  the  Bible  Society  must 
entirely  give  up  all  idea  of  making,  sanctioning  and  publishing  universal 
versionst.  I  would  rather  see  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  fall 
into  a  thousand  pieces  than  see  Protestantism,  see  free  investigation, 
private  judgment,  independence  of  mind,  conscience,  and  every  thing  truly 
good  and  noble,  fall. 

Yours, 

Ban4ras,  ISth  Mag,  1840.  J.  A.  S. 


III. —  Theological  Library. 
A.  FATHERS. 

a.      FIRST  CENTURY. 

6.  Ignatius. 

Ignatius  is  commonly  reckoned  a  writer  of  the  second  cen- 
tury, as  most  if  not  all  of  his  extant  writings  were  composed 
near  the  period  of  his  death,  and  therefore  probably  in  the 
beginning  of  the  second  century.  But  as  the  greater  part  of  his 
life  was  spent  in  the  first  age,  we  have  included  him  in  the 
list  of  fathers  of  that  century.    Nothing  is  certainly  known 

*  If  the  argument  of  J.  A.  S.  goes  to  prove  that  neither  the  British  and  For- 
eign Bible  Society,  &c. — surely  it  proves  much  more — that  no  one  or  two  men, 
however  excellent,  can  without  enjoying  divine  inspiration  leg islate  or  determine 
for  the  whole  church.  The  choice  in  this  case  is  hetween  the  Missionaries  of  the 
London  Society  at  Ban&ias  and  the  Bible  Society  ;  viz.  whether  one  or  two  men 
shall  determine  the  text  for  the  many  or  the  many  for  themselves.  With  the 
Missionaries  of  any  particular  body  publishing  special  versions,  the  Society  has  no 
wish  nor  has  it  any  power  to  interfere. — Ed. 

t  We  cannot  see  the  difficulty  and  sincerely  hope  the  B.  S.  will  not  give  up  the 
attempt  in  despair.    We  believe  it  will  not. — Ed. 


1840.] 


Theological  Library. 


373 


respecting  the  time  or  place  of  his  birth.  In  the  commence- 
ment of  all  his  epistles,  he  styles  himself  Theophorus,  on  which 
some  of  his  successors  founded  a  relation  that  he  was  the 
child  whom  our  blessed  Lord  took  in  his  arms  and  set  in 
the  midst  of  the  people  as  an  illustration  of  childlike  humility. 
Though  such  a  tradition  seems  to  have  existed  in  the  Church 
at  an  early  period,  yet  we  can  trace  it  to  no  good  authority. 
The  name  itself  does  not  necessarily  give  the  smallest  coun- 
tenance to  the  supposition.  According  to  the  accent  the  word 
may  signify  "  bearing  God,"  or  "  borne  by  God."  If  taken 
in  the  latter  sense  it  still  may  signify  no  more  than  is  true 
of  every  Christian,  that  he  is  supported  and  sustained  by  the 
grace  of  God.  But  he  himself  is  said  to  have  explained  it  to  the 
Emperor  Trajan  according  to  the  former  sense.  Theophorus, 
said  he,  is  *"  O  tov  Xpcrcov  cv  urt  weptytpwv*."  He  ivho  bears 
Christ  in  his  soul.  Chrysostom  expressly  affirms  that  Ignatius 
never  saw  our  Saviour.  He  however  conversed  familiarly  with 
the  Apostles  Peter,  Paul  and  John.  In  about  A.  D.  70  he 
was  ordained  successor  to  Euodius  as  Bishop  of  Antioch,  the 
capital  of  Syria.  For  40  years,  more  or  less,  he  continued 
in  this  most  important  and  difficult  office,  performing  with 
zeal  the  office  of  a  pastor,  "  like  a  skilful  pilot  by  the  helm 
of  prayer  and  fasting,  by  the  constancy  of  his  doctrine  and 
spiritual  labour,  withstanding  the  raging  floods,  fearing  lest 
he  should  lose  any  of  those  who  wanted  courage  or  were  not 
well  grounded  in  the  faith." 

Iu  the  year  107,  (or  according  to  others  11G)  he  was  called 
to  seal  with  his  blood  his  testimony  to  the  faith  of  that  Lord 
who  had  borne  him  so  long.  It  was  when  Trajan  visited 
Antioch  on  his  return  from  victorious  war  over  the  Scythians 
and  Dacians,  that  Ignatius  presented  himself  before  him, 
probably  with  the  view  of  representing  to  him  the  interests  of 
his  flock,  and  remonstrating  against  that  persecution  which 
though  not  expressly  enjoined  by  the  "  darling  of  mankind," 
was  permitted  with  certain  restrictions  to  be  carried  on  by 
the  procurators  in  the  provinces.  A  long  conference  ensued 
between  the  Emperor  and  the  Bishop,  the  result  of  which 
was  that  the  latter  was  thrown  into  prison  and  subjected  to 
grievous  torments.  He  was  daily  scourged  with  thongs  loaded 
with  leaden  bullets  at  the  ends,  "  forced  to  hold  fire  in  his 
hands,  while  his  sides  were  burnt  with  paper  dipped  in  oil ; 
his  feet  stood  upon  live  coals,  and  his  flesh  was  torn  off  with 
burning  pincers."  None  of  these  things  moved  him,  and  in  con- 
sequence sentence  of  death  was  pronounced  upon  him  by  the 

*  Stoyopo;  Bearing  God.  Qufyopo^  Borne  by  God. 
3  c  2 


374 


Theological  Library, 


[July, 


Emperor.  It  was  decreed  that  he  should  he  straightway 
bound  with  a  chain,  carried  captive  to  Rome,  and  then  thrown 
as  a  prey  to  wild  beasts.  "  I  thank  thee  O  Lord,"  was  the 
exclamation  of  Ignatius  on  receiving  announcement  of  the  sen- 
tence, "  that  thou  hast  condescended  thus  perfectly  to  honor 
me  with  thy  love,  and  hast  thought  me  worthy  with  thy 
Apostle  Paul  to  be  bound  with  iron  chains."  From  this  and 
from  various  passages  in  the  writings  of  Ignatius,  many  have 
accused  him  of  seeking  ambitiously  for  the  honour  of  mar- 
tyrdom. For  ourselves  we  cannot  see  that  such  a  charge  is 
borne  out.  All  or  nearly  all  of  his  writings  that  have  come 
down  to  us  were  written  after  he  was  under  sentence  of 
death,  and  actually  on  his  journey  to  the  place  of  his  execution. 
It  was  thus  fixed  (as  certainly  as  any  thing  can  be  fixed  by 
the  decree  of  man)  "  by  what  death  he  should  glorify  God," 
and  thus  those  expressions  which  in  other  circumstances  might 
have  betokened  an  inordinate  desire  for  the  glory  of  martyr- 
dom ought  in  his  actual  circumstances  to  be  regarded  as  nothing 
more  than  the  effusions  of  an  ardent  mind  (as  Ignatius  un- 
questionably had)  acquiescing  and  rejoicing  in  what  he  could 
not  doubt  was  the  appointment  of  God.  All  the  Ecclesiastical 
historians  with  whom  we  are  acquainted,  seem  to  favour  this 
charge,  and  many  of  them  to  extend  it  to  the  whole  church  of 
the  second  century;  but  we  do  think  without  sufficient  ground. 

Going  to  Seleucia  under  the  escort  often  soldiers,  he  there 
set  sail,  and  after  a  stormy  voyage  landed  at  Smyrna.  There 
he  embraced  once  more  on  earth  Polycarp,  the  companion  of 
his  youthful  years,  and  his  fellow-disciple  of  the  Apostle 
John.  Often  have  we  imagined,  not  with  tearless  eyes,  this 
meeting  of  these  two  holy  men.  Different  they  were  in 
natural  temperament,  but  they  had  both  drunk  in  much  of  the 
Spirit  of  their  Master,  himself  the  beloved  disciple  of  our 
blessed  Lord.  And  is  it  possible  to  picture  these  two  aged 
saints  meeting  after  so  long  a  time,  and  after  having  witnessed 
such  events  as  had  occurred  in  the  Church  since  providence 
had  cast  their  lots  asunder,  without  feeling  that  there  must 
have  been  a  solemn  sacredness  in  their  long  embrace  and  a 
world  of  interest  in  their  communings  with  one  another  ?  Ah  ! 
but  there  will  be  another  meeting  time  when  all  the  disciples  of 
the  master  of  John  shall  with  ecstasy  receive  the  embrace  of 
their  glorified  teacher  and  Redeemer,  and  sit  down  with  Abra- 
ham and  Isaac  and  Jacob  in  the  kingdom  of  God.  Here  depu- 
tations from  all  the  neighbouring  Churches  waited  on  the  Mar- 
tyr, to  receive  his  blessing,  and  encourage  him  to  hold  on  in 
stedfastness  to  the  end.  Hence  also  he  wrote  epistles  to 
various  Churches,  viz.  to  the  Ephesians,  the  Magnesians,  the 
Trallians  and  the  Romans. 


1840.] 


Theological  Library. 


375 


His  progress  towards  Rome  was  very  protracted,  his  keepers 
seeming  to  have  got  instructions  to  make  as  wide  a  circuit  as 
possihle,  for  the  sake  of  impressing  the  people  through  the 
midst  of  whom  they  passed  with  a  salutary  terror.  At  last 
they  arrived  at  Rome,  when  during  the  feast  of  the  Saturnalia, 
the  aged  Bishop  was  thrown  to  the  lions,  and  so  much  of  him 
as  was  mortal  was  speedily  devoured. 

The  writings  of  Ignatius,  besides  the  epistles  already  men- 
tioned, are  three  others  which  he  wrote  from  Troas,  addressed 
to  the  Churches  of  Philadelphia  and  Smyrna  and  to  Polycarp. 
But  whether  that  to  Polycarp  was  not  one  with  the  Epistle  to 
the  Church  of  Smyrna,  and  whether  that  now  existing  under 
the  name  of  the  Epistle  of  Ignatius  to  Polycarp  be  not  a 
forgery  we  think  not  sufficiently  determined.  We  are  in- 
clined in  opposition  to  Usher  and  Cave  to  suspect  this 
Epistle,  and  should  make  the  list  of  his  writings  as  follows  : 
Genuine. — Epistles  to  the  Ephesians,  Magnesians,  Trallians, 
Romans,  Philadelphians,  Smyrneans.  Doubtful. — Epistle  to 
Polycarp.  Spurious. — Epistles  to  Mary  Cassobolita,  the 
Church  of  Tarsus,  the  Church  of  Antioch,  the  Church  of 
Philippi,  to  Hero,  to  the  Virgin  Mary,  and  two  Epistles  to  the 
Apostle  John.  He  intended  to  write  another  Epistle  to  the 
Ephesians,  but  if  his  intention  was  ever  carried  into  effect  the 
Epistle  has  been  lost. 

The  Epistles  of  Ignatius  that  have  come  down  to  us  must 
be  regarded  as  most  interesting  documents.  The  circum- 
stances in  which  they  were  written,  their  author  chained  to  ten 
leopards,  so  he  calls  the  inhuman  soldiers  who  seem  to  have 
been  selected  for  his  guard,  in  his  progress  to  the  scene  of  his 
martyrdom,  ready  to  be  offered  up.  "  They  are,"  says  Mr. 
Chevallier,  "  the  unstudied  effusions  of  an  ardent  and  deeply 
religious  mind,  and  bespeak  a  man  who  was  superior  to  this 
world  and  anxious  to  finish  his  course  with  joy.  It  is  an 
internal  mark  of  their  genuineness  that  their  style  is  harsh 
and  unpolished,  and  occasionally  not  untinctured  with  some 
degree  of  oriental  exaggeration. 33  Twelve  Epistles  were  print- 
ed and  published  in  1557  «is  the  works  of  Ignatius,  but  as 
Eusebius  mentions  only  seven  and  as  those  now  published 
did  not  correspond  with  the  quotations  made  by  ancient 
writers,  great  doubt  rested  upon  the  genuineness  of  the  book. 
Archbishop  Usher  found  many  quotations  in  English  writers, 
apparently  made  from  the  text  from  which  the  ancient  Chris- 
tian writers  had  quoted,  and  therefore  he  thought  it  highly 
probable  that  some  MS.  must  exist  in  England.  This  was 
enough  to  set  him  to  work ;  and  accordingly  after  much  in- 
quiry he  found  two  Latin  MSS.  one  in  one  of  the  Libraries 


376 


Theological  Library.  [July, 


of  Cambridge,  the  other  in  the  collection  of  the  Bishop  of 
Norwich.  In  1644  he  published  a  Greek  edition,  taking  the 
text  of  the  printed  edition  of  1557,  and  printing  in  red  ink 
tbe  passages  which  were  not  found  in  his  Latin  MSS.  and 
which  he  supposed  to  be  interpolations.  Shortly  after  this, 
a  Greek  MS.  was  found  at  Florence,  and  an  edition  published 
from  it  by  Isaac  Vossius.  The  agreement  of  this  text  with 
that  of  Usher  proves  all  that  can  be  desired  of  the  correct- 
ness of  our  present  text. 

The  Epistle  to  the  Romans  was,  as  we  have  said,  written 
from  Smyrna  ;  its  object  was  to  intimate  his  approach  to  the 
brethren  at  Rome,  and  to  warn  them  against  dissuading  him 
from  his  purpose  of  remaining  stedfast  unto  the  end.  From 
this  Epistle  we  make  an  extract,  borrowing  from  the  transla- 
tion of  it  lately  published  by  Mr.  Bickersteth. 

"  Now  I  begin  to  be  a  disciple  ;  nor  sball  any  tiling  move  me,  wbether 
visible  or  invisible,  that  I  may  attain  to  Christ  Jesus.  Let  lire  and  the 
cross  ;  let  the  companies  of  wild  beasts  ;  let  breaking  of  bones  and  tear- 
ing of  members  ;  let  the  shattering  in  pieces  of  the  whole  body,  and  all 
the  wicked  torments  of  the  devil  come  upon  me ;  only  let  me  enjoy 
Jesus  Christ. 

"  VI.  All  tbe  ends  of  the  world,  and  the  kingdoms  of  it,  will  profit 
me  nothing:  1  would  rather  die  for  Jesus  Christ,  than  rule  to  the  utmost 
ends  of  the  earth.  Him  I  seek  who  died  for  us;  Him  I  desire 
who  rose  again  for  us.  This  is  the  gain  that  is  laid  up  for  me. 
Pardon  me,  my  brethren  ;  ye  shall  not  hinder  me  from  living  :  nor, 
seeing  I  desire  to  go  to  God,  may  you  separate  me  from  him  for  the 
sake  of  this  world  ;  nor  seduce  me  by  any  of  the  desires  of  it.  Suffer 
me  to  enter  into  pure  light ;  where  being  come,  I  shall  be  indeed  the 
servant  of  God.  Permit  me  to  imitate  the  passion  of  my  God.  If  any 
one  has  Him  within  himself,  let  him  consider  what  I  desire  ;  and  let 
him  have  compassion  on  me,  as  knowing  how  I  am  straitened. 

"  VII.  The  prince  of  this  world  would  fain  carry  me  away,  and  cor- 
rupt my  resolution  towards  my  God.  Let  none  of  you,  therefore,  help 
him;  rather  do  ye  join  with  me,  that  is,  with  God.  Do  not  speak  with 
Jesus  Christ,  and  yet  covet  the  world.  Let  not  envy  dwell  with  you  :  no 
not  though  I  myself,  when  I  shall  be  come  unto  you,  should  exhort  you  to 
it,  yet  do  not  ye  hearken  to  me,  but  rather  believe  what  I  now  write  to 
you.  For  though  I  am  alive  at  the  writing  this,  yet  my  desire  is  to  die. 
My  love  is  crucified  ;  ,£and  the  fire  that  is  within  me  does  not  desire 
any  water;  but  being  alive  and  springing  within  me,  says,]  Come  to  the 
Father.  I  take  no  pleasure  in  the  food  of  corruption,  nor  in  the 
pleasures  of  this  life.  I  desire  the  bread  of  God,  which  is  the  flesh  of 
Jesus  Christ,  [of  the  seed  of  David ;]  and  the  drink  that  I  long  for  is 
his  blood,  which  is  incorruptible  love. 

"  I  have  no  desire  to  live  any  longer  after  the  manner  of  men ; 
neither  shall  I  if  you  consent.  Be  ye  therefore  willing,  that  ye  your- 
selves also  may  be  pleasing  to  God.  I  exhort  you  in  a  few  words  ;  I 
pray  you  believe  me.  Jesus  Christ  will  show  you  that  I  speak  truly. 
My  mouth  is  without  deceit,  and  the  Father  hath  truly  spoken  by  it. 
Pray  therefore  forme,  that  I  may  accomplish  what  I  desire.  1  have  not 
written  to  you  after  the  flesh,  but  according  to  the  will  of  God.  If  I  shall 
suffer,  ye  have  loved  me,  but  if  I  shall  be  rejected  ye  have  hated  me." 


1810.]       Native  Christian  Temporal  Aid  Society. 


377 


IV. — Native  Christian  Temporal  Aid  Society. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Gentlemen, 

Your  valuable  periodical  appears  to  me  the  best  medium  through 
which  to  advocate  an  institution  like  the  one  above  described  ;  but  in 
venturing  to  send  you  the  following  observations,  my  object  is  not  so 
much  to  obtain  immediate  relief  from  the  difficulties  complained  of  in 
this  paper,  as  to  bring  the  subject  of  some  general  plan  of  relief  before 
vour  able  correspondents  for  deliberate  and  thorough  discussion. 

I  have  long  been  convinced,  and  my  impression  is  strengthened  by 
the  experience  of  every  month,  that  many  of  the  excellent  institutions 
of  the  present  day  are  exceeded  in  importance  by  a  Native  Christian 
Temporal  Aid  Society  :  and  considering  the  many  and  serious  disabili- 
ties with  which  Hinduism  visits  a  defection  from  its  doctrines  and 
customs  in  the  cases  of  native  Christian  converts,  it  is  matter  of  sur- 
prise, that  long  ere  this,  such  an  association  has  not  been  brought 
before  the  Christian  public  for  its  approbation  and  support. 

It  may  be  that  the  paucity  of  converts  in  some  cases,  and  the  pos- 
session of  some  extent  of  means  to  meet  immediate  necessities  in 
others,  have  rendered  the  agitation  of  the  question,  less  necessary 
hitherto;  now,  however,  that  converts  are  becoming  more  numerous, 
and  the  limited  means  in  the  immediate  possession  and  command  of 
Missionaries  are  exhausted,  the  most  pressing  necessity  is  felt  for  aid 
like  that  which  a  Native  Christian  Temporal  Aid  Society  would 
bestow. 

1  am  fully  aware  that  objection  is  deeply  and  extensively  felt  to 
affording  temporal  aid  to  native  Christians,  lest  anti-industrious  habits 
should  be  fostered,  and  the  heathen  for  hope  of  gain  be  tempted 
to  assume  the  Christian  profession.  Both  these  evils  are  undoubtedly  to 
be  strenuously  guarded  against ;  yet  in  avoiding  Scylla  we  may  easily, 
on  this  question  in  particular,  glide  into  the  vortex  of  Charybdis. 
The  natural  love  of  money,  and  consequent  pain  at  parting  with  it, 
have  magnified  beyond  all  due  proportion  the  real  evils  of  imparting 
temporal  aid  to  native  converts.  The  repugnance  felt  to  the  bestow- 
ment  of  such  relief  moreover,  has  been  strengthened  by  the  very  cha- 
racter of  the  aid  solicited ;  for  being  merely  temporal,  and  having 
therefore  no  immediate  reference  to  the  spiritual  well-being  of  the 
subject,  it  does  not  produce  that  strong  degree  of  complacency  and 
self-gratification,  which  form  a  kind  of  immediate  recompence  for  the 
disbursement  of  money. 

Could  the  evils  arising  from  the  bestowment  of  temporal  aid  on  native 
Christian  converts  be  viewed  apart  from  the  magnifying  medium 
furnished  by  the  root  of  all  evil,  more  than  half  the  dread  which  is  felt 
on  the  subject  would  be  dessipated ;  and  by  being  permitted  a  glance 
at  opposite  happy  effects  in  cases  of  sincere  and  deserving  Christians, 
our  conduct  would  soon  assume  a  character  more  strictly  Christian, 
and  exhibit  a  conformity  to  His,  who,  though  he  knew,  that  in  many 
instances,  his  kindness  would  be  perverted  to  evil  purposes,  fed  the 
multitude  with  miraculously  multiplied  loaves  and  fishes. 


378 


Native  Christian  Temporal  Aid  Society. 


[July, 


Nevertheless,  though  it  must  be  admitted  that  the  amount  of  pure 
benevolence  bears  little  proportion  to  that  of  a  spurious  character, 
there  are  Christians  in  India,  who  have  not  only  the  means  but  the 
disposition  to  do  good  from  disinterested  motives  ;  though,  it  may  be, 
at  the  hazard  of  having  their  good  evil  spoken  of,  or  in  some  instances 
perverted  to  evil  ends  :  and  to  such  an  appeal  on  behalf  of  ruined,  but 
pious  and  deserving  native  Christians  will  never  be  made  in  vain. 

But  what  are  the  objections  so  deeply  and  widely  felt  to  bestowing 
temporal  aid  on  native  Christians  ?  It  is  thought  that  by  granting  such 
assistance,  anti-industrious  habits  would  be  fostered;  that  native  Chris- 
tians instead  of  employing  themselves  with  industry  to  procure  their 
own  maintenance  would  be  encouraged  in  idleness ;  and  also  that  an 
inducement  would  be  held  out  to  heathen,  from  a  hope  of  gain  to  make 
a  profession  of  Christianity.  The  first  of  these  objections  goes  on  the 
supposition  that  money  is,  or  is  proposed  to  be  given  apart  from  and 
independantly  of  labour.  To  expose  the  fallacy  of  this  objection  it  is 
only  necessary  to  say  that  money  is  not  given,  and  is  not  intended  to 
be  given  except  as  hire  for  labour,  or  to  furnish  Christian  natives  with 
the  means  of  labouring  to  support  themselves  and  families,  so  that  in 
fact  such  aid,  instead  of  tending  to  foster  idle  habits  is  directly  calcu- 
lated to  promote  industry. 

There  is  more  plausibility  in  the  other  objection  ;  namely,  that  such 
aid  holds  out  an  inducement  to  heathen,  from  the  hope  of  gain,  to 
assume  a  Christian  profession.  It  is  likely  that  persons  may,  in  some 
instances  have  attempted  to  impose  themselves  upon  Missionaries  with 
no  better  motives  than  to  secure  some  temporal  good.  And  allowing 
this  to  be  true,  what  does  it  prove?  Only,  that  like  every  other  method 
of  doing  good,  this  also  is  liable  to  abuse.  This  appears  to  be  the 
amount  of  its  condemnation.  But  ought  we  therefore  to  be  deterred 
from  this  kind  of  labour?  Certainly  not;  because  by  the  same  rule 
we  must  withdraw  all  exertion  from  every  useful,  benevolent,  and 
Christian  institution,  which  distinguishes  the  present  day,  seeing  that 
every  one  of  these  institutions  is  liable  to  abuse.  How  many  of  the 
gospels  and  tracts  which  are  distributed  all  over  India,  are  converted 
into  play-kites  and  wrappers  ?  But  do  we  argue  thence  that  the  Bible 
Society,  and  the  Tract  Society  should  not  be  supported  ? 

But  there  are  many  circumstances  connected  with  the  bestowment 
of  aid  on  native  Christian  converts  which  go  very  much  to  check  the 
evil  complained  of.  Where  the  heathen  see  one  native  Christian 
assisted  with  aid  of  a  pecuniary  kind,  they  see  many  turned  back  from 
the  mission  station  to  their  villages  covered  with  disappointment  and 
shame  at  having  failed  in  their  attempt ;  to  remain  months  and  years 
the  butt  of  ridicule  and  sarcasm  to  their  neighbours  and  caste-mates, 
narrowly  escaping  a  serious  pecuniary  fine  to  purchase  their  restoration 
to  their  caste  and  place  in  society.  So  that  upon  the  whole,  viewing 
the  subject  of  Christianity  in  a  pecuniary  point  of  view,  the  heathen 
are  much  more  likely  to  be  induced  to  remain  where  they  are  than  seek 
advantage  at  such  fearful  hazard.  After  all,  should  one  now  and  then, 
uninstructed  by  so  many  failures,  and  hoping  he  shall  succeed  better 


1840.]       Native  Christian  Temporal  Aid  Society.  379 


than  others,  ventuve  to  act  the  hypocrite,  and  succeed  in  the  attempt  ; 
if  he  be  of  idle  habits,  he  will  soon  consume  the  small  amount  of 
benevolence  he  may  have  obtained,  and  be  involved  in  a  degree  of 
wretchedness  well  calculated  to  warn  others  of  the  folly  of  acting-  so 
uncertain  a  part  ;  for  of  all  situations  in  which  an  idle  person  can  be, 
that  of  the  community  of  native  Christians  is  the  most  undesirable  ; 
and  should  he  prove  industrious,  and  use  the  means  obtained  in  the 
way  for  which  they  were  communicated,  then  the  amount  of  evil  is, 
that  an  industrious  man,  through  hypocritical  motives,  has  brought 
himself  under  instruction  which  may  result  in  his  present  reformation 
and  eternal  salvation  ;  for  the  hypocrisy  of  his  motives  will,  soon 
most  assuredly  be  detected. 

But  not  to  trespass  further  upon  your  pages  by  apologies  for  such 
an  institution,  as  facts  serve  a  much  better  purpose  than  many  argu- 
ments, and  speak  at  once  to  our  feelings,  I  shall  proceed  to  detail  a  few 
cases  among  many  which  will  illustrate  the  necessity  for  a  Native  Chris- 
tian Temporal  Aid  Society  :  and  as  Hinduism  is  much  the  same  all 
over  India,  similar  cases  I  apprehend  exist  at  every  mission  station  where 
any  considerable  number  of  converts  has  been  realized. 

A  person  named  Prosu-rahut,  an  inhabitant  of  the  Athgur  r&juary, 
a  farmer  and  a  man  of  good  caste,  and  respectable  worldly  circum- 
stances, about  eight  months  ago  became  a  Christian.  Prosu's  father, 
a  man  who  had  never  bowed  down  to  an  idol,  became  towards  the 
close  of  his  life  acquainted  with  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  ;  and 
when  dying  lamented  to  his  weeping  family  that  he  had  not  when 
opportunity  served  embraced  the  gospel.  His  dying  advice  to  his  son 
Prosu  was,  that  after  he  had  disposed  of  his  father's  remains  he  should 
prosecute  his  inquiries  about  the  true  religion,  and  become  a  Christian. 
At  the  period  of  his  venerated  father's  death,  Prosu  was  an  inquirer, 
and  had  for  some  years  been  acquainted  with  our  native  preachers. 
By  them  he  was  frequently  visited  and  instructed,  and  every  succeed- 
ing report  they  gave  of  him  was  increasingly  favourable.  He  long 
counted  the  cost ;  but  at  length  resolved  to  come  forward,  and  if  per- 
mitted, profess  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ.  After  some  time  of  probation 
he  was  unanimously  received  into  the  church  and  was  baptised.  His 
baptism  however  was  the  signal  for  an  attack  upon  him.  Of  course  it 
involved  him  in  the  loss  of  caste,  his  raja  deprived  him  of  his  farm, 
and  gave  it  to  another  man  ; — while,  at  the  same  time,  he  authorized 
his  people  to  drive  the  outcast  from  his  territories.  During  his  absence 
from  home,  in  attendance  upon  Christian  worship,  his  enemies  entered 
his  house  and  carried  away  part  of  bis  dhan  reserved  for  the  support 
of  his  family  till  the  next  harvest.  The  amount  of  his  year's  rent  was 
demanded  and  paid,  though  as  was  the  case  all  over  the  district  his 
crops  had  almost  entirely  failed.  Under  these  wrongs  Prosu  had  no 
means  of  redress,  for  the  government  regulations  extend  not  to  the 
tributary  mahals  except  in  cases  of  murder  and  personal  torture. 
The  little  property  Prosu  had  in  money  he  spent  in  providing  for  his 
family,  and  when  that  was  exhausted  the  sale  of  his  bullocks,  brass 
vessels,  and  such  like  property  conducted  his  family  to  the  verge  of 

VOL..  i.  3d 


S80  Native  Christian  Temporal  Aid  Society.  [July, 


ruin.  Prosu  still  clings  to  the  place  of  his  birth,  but  is  about  coming 
away  in  a  state  of  entire  worldly  destitution. 

Banamali  was  an  inhabitant  of  Gannipur,  a  farmer,  and  of  a  good 
caste.  His  worldly  circumstances  were  not  equal  to  Prosu's,  but  by  the 
cultivation  of  his  farm  he  was  able  comfortably  to  support  his  family. 
He  occupied  and  cultivated  his  land  in  conjunction  with  his  brothers, 
a  custom  common  in  this  province,  and  which  without  the  possession  of 
much  personal  property  enables  people  to  support  themselves  and 
family.  Banamali  like  Prosu,  had  been  long  acquainted  with  the 
gospel  and  the  Christian  natives.  As  soon  as  he  was  baptised,  his 
brothers,  though  no  ways  vindictively  inclined,  were  obliged  to  exclude 
him  from  their  partnership.  Having  lost  caste  he  was  disqualified  to 
hold  his  place  in  the  community;  his  house  happening  to  join  that  of 
another  man,  he  was  obliged  to  quit  it,  even  by  the  decision  of  a 
magistrate;  and  he  was  forbidden  the  use  of  the  village  wells.  After 
adjusting  his  affairs  with  them,  his  brothers  bring  him  debtor  to  them 
about  four  rupees,  and  kept  his  bullocks  in  payment;  to  which  arrange- 
ment, having  no  property  in  money,  he  was  obliged  to  submit.  At 
length,  deprived  of  his  land  and  refused  other,  Banamali,  brought 
away  his  little  stock  of  rice,  and  quitted  his  native  place  to  seek  for 
coolie  hire  among  Christians,  destitute  of  a  house  in  which  to  shelter  his 
wife  and  family,  and  destitute  moreover  of  the  means  of  providing  one. 

Damodar  was  by  caste  a  mahanti,  and  of  a  family  much  respected. 
He  with  his  brothers  obtained  their  livelihood  by  land-measuring 
under  the  revenue  survey  officer.  The  produce  of  Damodar's  labours 
being  thrown  into  the  family  coffer,  he  had  no  individual  property  ; 
and  when  he  became  a  Christian,  and  cutoff  from  his  family,  lie  retired 
from  his  home  and  village  with  no  other  earthly  possession  than  the 
clothes  he  wore.  Damodar  was  greatly  attached  to  his  aged  parents, 
and  they  in  very  affecting  lamentations  bewailed  the  disgrace  and  loss 
of  their  son. 

The  other  and  last  case  I  shall  mention  is  that  of  Rogu-roul,  a 
weaver  from  a  village  called  Kusalpur  near  Khunditta  in  Olassa. 
He  hesitated  long  on  the  threshold  of  Christianity,  appalled  by  the 
difficulties  in  which  a  profession  of  Christ  would  involve  him,  but  his 
inquiries  had  gone  too  far  to  permit  him  to  remain.  At  length  Rogu, 
with  the  agreement  of  his  wife,  took  courage  and  publicly  joined  some 
Christian  acquaintance  at  Khunditta,  and  there  waited  for  baptism. 
After  about  a  month  of  trial  he  was  baptised  in  the  Kursua  which  runs 
near  his  village.  The  same  evening  Rogu  went  to  his  village  to  bring 
away  his  wife  and  children  who  he  believed  were  anxiously  waiting 
for  him.  In  this  expectation  he  was  mistaken,  for  when  he  arrived 
at  his  house,  his  wife  and  children  were  gone,  and  his  little  property 
carried  of,  and  his  house  given  over  to  the  keeping  of  the  village 
chaukidars  by  the  Pradan  of  the  place,  and  they  demanded  what  he 
wanted  there.  As  Rogu  and  his  Christian  friends  retired  from  the 
place  a  messenger  was  sent  after  them  by  the  Pradan  to  say  that  lie 
was  ready  to  settle  the  affair,  why  were  they  going  away  ?  On  the 
receipt  of  this  invitation  the  Christian  party  returned,  but  had  no 


1840.]       Native  Christian  Temporal  Aid  Society.  381 


sooner  arrived  under  the  village  tree,  than  the  two  police  cliaukidars, 
and  the  rabble  of  that  and  several  other  villages,  under  the  direction 
of  the  Pradan,  commenced  a  furious  and  unprovoked  attack  upon 
thetn.  Resistance  would  under  sucli  circumstances  have  been  im- 
proper, and  they  had  no  alternative  but  to  retire  by  degrees.  This 
therefore  they  did,  assailed  as  they  drew  off,  by  the  people,  with  every 
weapon  they  could  avail  themselves  of,  and  even  the  shrubs  which 
formed  the  hedgerows  they  tore  up  and  converted  into  missiles,  the 
Pradan  all  the  while,  at  the  top  of  his  voice,  exciting  the  people  and 
directing  the  attack.  Rogu  had  recourse  to  the  Magistrate ;  but 
such  is  the  delay  in  obtaining  redress,  owing  to  the  indolence  and 
corruption  of  native  officers,  that  eight  months  passed  away  before  the 
man  could  recover  aught  of  his  own  ;  during  this  time  he  could  of 
course  attend  to  little  else  besides  his  lawsuit.  At  length  his  wife 
and  child  were  delivered  to  him,  and  an  inconsiderable  confinement  in 
prison  awarded  to  the  persecutors  ;  but  his  property  either  given 
away  or  sold  by  his  wife  during  his  absence,  was  all  squandered  and 
lost.  After  this  loss,  and  the  suspension  of  his  ordinary  employ  for  so 
long  a  period  it  need  not  be  added  of  a  labouring  Hindu,  that  he  is 
reduced  to  extremity  and  ruin.  Rogu-roul  is  a  young,  and  industrious 
man,  who  had  always  supported  his  family  by  his  own  labour  in 
comfort,  and  is  now  receiving  four  pice  a  day  for  labour  not  required, 
and  is  living  in  a  hut  formed  by  three  bamboos  and  an  old  mat. 
These  cases  will,  I  think,  suffice  to  illustrate  the  necessity  for  a  Native 
Christian  Temporal  Aid  Society  ;  for  what  shall  men  circumstanced 
like  those  above  described  do  ?  Had  they  remained  idolators  they 
would  have  retained  their  place  in  society,  and  reached  the  advantages 
of  the  family,  social,  and  national  compact ;  but  having  embraced  the 
gospel  the  genius  of  Hinduism  has  cast  them  out,  branded  their 
names  with  infamy,  deprived  them  of  the  means  and  opportunity  of 
their  own  support;  and  has  made  it  criminal  to  hold  intercourse 
with  them,  or  do  any  thing  to  help  them ;  so  that  in  self-defence 
every  person  avoids  them  lest  his  own  credit  and  character  should 
suffer  thereby.  Christian  sympathy  cannot,  I  think,  withhold  that 
measure  of  aid  from  its  abundance  which  such  men  need  to  enable 
them  to  earn  their  own  support. 

Such  men  are  not  deceiving  their  Christian  instructors  ;  they  have 
not  assumed  the  Christian  profession  for  gain ;  they  did  not  need  to 
do  so  ;  and  therefore  to  help  them  would  not  be  confirming  them  in 
their  deceptive  attempts,  or  gratifying  an  evil  desire  for  money. 
They  give  as  good  testimony  of  conversion  as  new  converts  in  other 
climates  and  in  much  more  favourable  circumstances.  If  objectors  to 
the  verity  of  the  Christian  experience  of  native  converts,  would  allow 
themselves  to  make  more  intimate  inquiries  and  inquiries  of  those 
who  possess  the  best  means  of  imparting  information — if  they  would, 
moreover,  direct  their  inquiries  to  the  possession  of  Christian  prin- 
ciples, rather  than  to  the  perfect  exemplification  of  moral  propriety, 
(an  acquisition  difficult  of  attainment  under  the  most  ^favourable  cir- 
cumstances, and  not  to  be  reasonably  expected  at  present  among 
3  d  2 


382  Native  Christian  Temporal  Aid  Society.  [July, 


native  converts,)  they  would  retire  perfectly  satisfied,  and  greatly 
delighted  to  perceive,  that  in  hearts  hitherto  filled  with  every  vice, 
with  vice  which  has  luxuriated  from  age  to  age  without  a  single 
check  ;  yea  with  vice  fostered  and  practised  under  the  sanctions  of 
religion  ; — they  would  retire  delighted  that  in  hearts  where  such  vice 
had  dwelt,  the  seeds  of  Christian  virtues  had  taken  root,  and  were 
proceeding  to  expand,  gradually  indeed,  but  surely  in  the  pleasing 
fruits  of  Christian  morality. 

But  all  those  testimonies  of  sincere  attachment  to  Christ  which 
young  converts  are  wont  in  all  climes  to  exhibit,  and  which  are  consi- 
dered decisive  of  their  sincerity,  the  native  converts  have  exhibited  : 
they  have  denied  themselves  ;  they  have  taken  up  their  cross  and  have 
followed  Christ;  they  have  counted  all  things  loss  for  Him,  (for 
many  for  Him  have  lost  much ;)  they  have,  comparatively  speaking, 
hated  father,  mother,  brother,  sister,  husband,  wife,  son,  and  daughter, 
and  the  possessions  and  prospects  of  life  for  the  sake  of  Christ  and 
his  gospel.  These  crosses  and  losses  may  appear  little  to  us  ;  our 
scale  is  exalted  ;  but  they  are  much  to  them.  The  love  of  parents, 
children,  brethren,  and  sisters  dwells  as  strongly  and  tenaciously  in 
the  native  bosom  as  in  our  own,  notwithstanding  the  ravages  of 
unbridled  depravity,  and  I  had  like  to  have  said  the  more  fearful 
influences  of  Hinduism.  Indeed  I  have  thought  that  it  is  to  India 
a  person  must  come  if  he  would  see  that  self-denial  exhibited  in 
perfection  which  the  sacred  Scriptures  enjoin,  if  necessary  ;  for  in 
many  lands  it  could  not  be  exacted  so  completely  as  it  is  here.  Nor 
have  the  native  converts  made  these  sacrifices  without  counting  the 
cost ;  they  have  not  professed  Christ  ignorant  of  what  would  be  the 
result,  any  more  than  they  have  made  them  with  a  callous  heart. 
They  have  come  to  the  cross,  and  have  taken  it  up  knowingly  and 
deliberately.  Hence,  admitting  that  there  is  much  ignorance,  much 
weakness  and  imperfection  of  Christian  conduct  in  the  native  converts, 
yet,  they  possess  the  principles  of  the  truth  ;  and  they  have  given  and 
continue  to  give  the  timely,  and  natural  evidences  of  the  sincerity  of 
their  profession  ;  and  it  follows  that  in  affording  them  assistance,  we 
shall  not  be  confirming  them  in  deception  ;  we  shall  not  he  doing  that 
which  tends  to  make  them  worse  than  they  were  in  a  heathen  state; 
but  we  shall  be  clothing  the  Saviour  in  nakedness,  feeding  him  in 
hunger,  giving  him  drink  in  his  thirst,  and  administering  comfort  and 
help  to  him  in  circumstances  of  sorrow  and  bereavement ;  and  O 
may  we  be  saved  from  despising  one,  even  of  these  the  least  of  Christ's 
disciples  ;  or  from  closing  the  bowels  of  mercies  to  their  necessities  1 
And  what  object  possesses  more  pleasing  interest  than  that  proposed 
to  be  assisted  in  these  observations,  to  a  pious  and  unprejudiced  mind? 
A  sincere  native  convert !  the  expression  viewed  in  its  various  asso- 
ciations, involuntarily  excites  a  thrill  of  pleasure  in  the  mind.  Native 
converts  gather  interest  in  our  apprehension  from  the  dark  and 
degraded  state  in  which  the  gospel  found  them,  and  from  which  its  light 
has  conducted  them  ;  they  are  peculiarly  interesting  as  the  Jirst-Jruits 
to  God,  frcm  this  wide,  and  thickly  populated  laud— that  interest 


1840.]       Native  Christian  Temporal  Aid  Society.  383 


rises  as  we  contemplate  them  in  the  character  of  the  first  materials 
of  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  in  these  vast  regions,  to  which 
additions  will  now  be  made  until  idolatry  shall  totally  disappear,  and  God 
become  the  object  of  universal  love  and  worship.  But  we  experience 
a  feeling  of  triumph  when  we  view  them  as  exhibitions  of  divine  grace. 
That  grace,  operating  in  their  conversion,  opposed  by  a  union  of 
philosophy,  prejudice,  education,  caste,  and  interest ;  has  displayed  an 
energy  which  nothing  else  ever  yet  exhibited,  in  contact  with  the 
well-compacted,  and  very  ancient  system  of  idolatry  prevalent  in  this 
country. 

Assistance  to  native  converts  afforded  as  recommended  in  this 
paper,  would  tend  immediately  to  give  locality  to  the  Christian  cause. 
Christians  are  the  "  salt  of  the  earth,"  and,  "  the  light  of  the  world  ;" 
and  notwithstanding  much  imperfection  and  weakness  of  experience  and 
conduct,  this  is  true  of  the  native  converts,  as  well  as  of  others,  their 
feebler  light  shines  the  brighter  as  the  surrounding  darkness  is  denser  ; 
and  hence  the  great  importance  of  having  Christian  locations  among  the 
heathen.  The  compounds  of  missionaries  or  scattered  habitations,  are 
not  the  situations  best  suited  for  usefulness  in  settling  Christian  con- 
verts ;  they  require  to  be  where  they  can  be  seen,  visited,  and  conversed 
with ;  they  require  to  engage  before  the  heathen  in  the  various 
business  and  pursuits  of  life,  that  they  may  exhibit  their  principles, 
and  display  their  conduct,  as  well  as  attend  to  the  means  of  religious 
improvement  and  divine  worship  in  the  presence  of  mankind.  To 
locations  of  Christians,  idolaters  would  look  for  the  exemplification  of 
Christian  truth,  union,  and  kindness  ;  and  though  they  would  not  find 
them  to  the  extent  we  might  wish,  they  certainly  would  find  them  ; 
and  could  not  fail  to  acknowledge  the  superiority  of  the  Christian's 
faith.  To  such  locations,  moreover,  inquirers  would  direct  their  steps  ; 
inquirers  who,  unused  to  appear  before  a  European,  would  in  many 
instances  live  down  their  convictions  before  they  could  muster  courage 
to  appear  before  him. 

In  such  locations  moreover  a  house  would  be  erected  for  the  worship 
of  God;  and  a  native  preacher  probably  fixed;  by  which  means,  in 
the  surrounding  neighbourhood,  the  gospel  would  be  proclaimed,  and 
the  worship  of  the  true  God  become  known  among  the  people. 

To  assist  Christian  natives  in  forming  such  locations,  would  be  to 
form  a  community  in  the  country  associated  with  us  in  almost  every 
interest,  sentiment,  and  tie.  Heathenism  gives  an  unfavourable  as- 
pect towards  Christians,  in  whatever  character  they  may  appear;  and 
hence  the  government  of  India,  by  England,  is  one  of  fear ;  Hindu- 
ism forbids  any  better  association  :  Christianity  has  just  the  contrary 
effect ;  and  Christian  converts  are  attached  to  the  government  both 
from  sentiment,  interest,  and  affection  ;  hence  whatever  efforts  tend  to 
give  existence  and  stability  to  such  a  community,  are,  even  in  a  political 
point  of  view,  of  importance  sufficient  to  afford  us  encouragement. 

The  amount  of  funds  sufficient  to  do  much  good  in  such  a  cause, 
would  be  much  less  than  we  may  perhaps  apprehend.  Only  a  few  of 
the  converts  of  any  given  station  would  require  aid.    Some  are  able  to 


384 


Era  of  Vivid  Religious  Interest. 


[July, 


retain  their  property  and  their  means  of  subsistence,  and  require 
nothing.  Others  are  fitted  for  little  beside  common  coolie  labour  ; 
and  they  would  require  little  or  no  help.  Others  are  employed  in 
schools,  &c.  and,  being-  able  to  subsist  thereby,  they  can  contribute 
towards  the  employment  of  others,  and  by  their  means  some  are  able 
to  get  forward  :  and  as  soon  as  the  Christian  community  should,  by 
these  means,  and  some  help  from  a  Temporal  Aid  Society,  increase  to 
the  extent  of  four  or  five  hundred  souls,  it  would  without  extraneous 
help,  be  able  to  assist  its  new  members  itself. 

Temporal  aid  should  in  no  case  be  imparted  except  to  assist  native 
converts  in  commencing  some  useful  honest  occupation  for  their  own 
and  families'  support;  and  having  assisted  them  to  commence,  this 
help  should  be  final.  There  are  several  methods  of  life  in  which 
converts  could  engage;  but  the  cultivation  of  land,  the  strength  of 
a  nation,  is  the  best  in  which  they  could  be  encouraged  and  assisted. 

This  would  be  more  especially  suitable,  not  only  because  the 
majority  of  converts  are  cultivators  of  the  soils  ;  but  because  of  its 
simplicity,  almost  any  person  is  equal  to  its  management. 

The  amount  requisite  in  this  province  for  a  family  to  cultivate  four 
acres  of  land,  a  quantity  equal  to  the  maintenance  of  five  or  six 
persons,  would  be  about  45  or  50  rupees.  With  this  sum  might 
be  provided  a  house,  a  pair  of  bullocks,  seed  corn,  implements  of 
husbandry,  a  hackery,  and  support  for  a  family  of  three  or  four  mem- 
bers, for  5  or  6  months,  till  the  first  harvest  was  reaped.  The  amount 
of  course  would  vary  in  different  parts  of  the  country  ;  but  local 
information  would  be  obtained. 

The  Committee  of  such  a  Society,  fixed  in  a  central  position  would 
receive  applications  from  all  parts  ;  and  be  the  means  of  affording 
comfort  and  advantage  to  many  deserving  and  pious  native  Chris- 
tians ;  while  it  would  relieve  missionaries  of  one  source  of  their  keenest 
anxiety,  and  remove  a  burden  from  them,  which,  with  increasing 
weight  presses  upon  them. 

Cuttack,  June  \0th,  1840.  C.  Lacey. 


V. — The  Era  of  Vivid  Religious  Interest. 

Not  having  it  in  our  power  at  present  to  afford  our  readers 
a  Review  of  Dr.  Duff's  able  work  on  India,  and  as  many  may 
not  have  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  work  itself  for  a  while  at 
least,  we  are  anxious  to  place  before  them  an  extract  from 
which  they  may  obtain  an  idea  of  its  contents.  The  portion 
selected  for  extract  is  a  very  stirring  and  eloquent  passage. 
The  author  has  been  treating  of  the  introduction  of  European 
influence  and  the  consequences  which  followed,  this  is  di- 
vided into  three  eras — the  era  of  romantic  imaginative  inter- 
est ;  the  era  of  romantic  literary  interest;  and  lastly,  the  era 


1840.] 


Era  of  Vivid  lidiyious  Interest. 


385 


of  vivid  religious  interest,  which  is  the  one  dwelt  upon  in  the 
following  passage,  we  are  confident  it  will  be  acceptable 
to  all.— Ed. 

But,  as  the  era  of  romantic  literary  interest  began  to  wane,  the  era  of 
vivid  religious  interest  began  to  emerge  in  splendour  from  the  shadowy 
twilight  of  a  long  protracted  dawn.  And  was  it  not  for  the  manifesta- 
tion of  this  brighter  era  and  the  realization  of  its  promised  blessings, 
that  all  else  which  preceded  it  was  overruled  by  Divine  Providence  as 
subservient  and  preparatory  ?  Can  it  he  that  a  power  so  tremendous  over 
an  empire  so  vast  and  a  people  so  countless,  has  been  placed  in  the  hands 
of  a  few  Britons  for  no  higher  end  than  that  of  enabling  them  to  gratify 
their  ambition,  their  avarice,  their  vain-glorious  tastes,  and  lawless  ap- 
petites? No.  Reason,  philosophy,  sound  theism,  Revelation ; — all  must 
unite  in  repelling  the  insinuation,  as  not  Jess  dishonourable  than  false. 
Whatever  man  may  think,  He  who  guides  the  course  of  providence,  with 
whom  one  day  is  as  a  thousand  years,  and  a  thousand  years  as  one  day, 
has  respect  to  the  everlasting  covenant, — the  mercies  of  which  are  sure; 
and  the  privileges  of  which  shall  one  day  be  extended  to  all  the  kindreds 
of  the  nations.  The  march  of  His  dispensations  may  appear  slow,  and 
their  development  obscure,  to  a  creature  like  man  whose  term  of  being 
is  so  swiftly  run  out,  and  whose  power  of  vision  is  so  feeble  and  so  faint ; 
— nevertheless  there  is  a  progress  that  is  stedfast,  a  development  th/it 
is  clearly  defined  ;  —  and  there  shall  be  a  glorious  consummation.  The 
decree  hath  gone  forth — and  who  can  stay  its  execution? — that  India 
shall  be  the  Lord's  ; — that  Asia  shall  he  the  Lord's ; — yea,  that  all  the 
kingdoms  of  this  world  shall  become  the  kingdoms  of  onr  God  and  of 
His  Christ ! 

Andean  it  be,  that  Britain,  the  most  central  kingdom  of  the  habitable 
world — inasmuch  as  of  all  existing  capitals,  its  metropolis  is  that  which 
would  form  the  centre  of  the  largest  hemisphere  tenanted  by  man, — Bri- 
tain, the  most  highly  favoured  with  the  light  and  life  of  Revelation, — 
Britain,  the  most  signally  privileged  with  the  ability,  and  the  will,  and 
the  varied  facilities  for  dispensing  blessings  among  the  nations: — can 
it  be  without  a  reference  to  the  grand  designs  of  Providence  and  of  grace 
that  Britain,  so  circumstanced  and  endowed,  lias,  in  a  way  so  unparallel- 
ed, been  led  to  assume  the  sovereignty  of  India  ?  —  India,  that  occupies 
the  same  commanding  position  in  relation  to  the  densely  peopled  regions 
of  southern  and  eastern  Asia  that  Palestine  does  to  the  Old  World  ; 
and  Britain,  to  both  Old  and  New  ? — India,  which, — itself  containing  a 
fifth  of  the  world's  inhabitants, — when  once  thrown  open,  may  thus  be- 
come a  door  of  access  to  two-fifths  more  ? — India,  which,  whenonce  lighted 
up  by  the  lamp  of  salvation,  may  become  a  spiritual  Pharos,  to  illumine 
more  than  half  the  population  of  the  globe?  No:  it  cannot  be. 

Mark  the  singular  concatenation  of  events.  The  treasures  of  India, 
by  awakening  the  cupidity,  had,  for  ages,  summoned  forth  the  energies 
of  successive  nations  of  the  W  est.  As  the  emporium  of  commerce  was 
gradually  transferred  to  countries  more  remote,  the  difficulties  of  direct 
communication, — from  the  trackless  deserts  and  unknown  oceans  that 
intervened, — became  increasingly  multiplied.  Then  it  was  that  the  tide 
of  enthusiasm,  which  had  so  long  found  its  proper  outlet  in  crusades  and 
chivalry,  was  turned  into  the  channels  of  maritime  discovery  with  a  spe- 
cial view  to  India.  Hence  the  extraordinary  series  of  voyages  which 
terminated  in  doubling  the  Cape.  Once  landed  on  the  longed-for  shores, 
tlie  Europeans  soon  perceived  that  in  order  to  secure  uninterruptedly  the 
advantage  of  Indian  commerce,  they  must  become  masters  of  the  Indian 


386 


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[July, 


soil.  Hence  the  unprecedented  series  of  conquests  which  terminated  in 
the  unrivalled  supremacy  of  the  British.  Possessed  of  the  Indian  ter- 
ritory, the  British  soon  found  that,  in  order  to  retain  it,  they  must  con- 
ciliate the  natives  hy  a  due  attention  to  their  customs,  manners,  and  laws. 
Hence  the  remarkable  series  of  investigations  which  terminated  in  un- 
locking the  mysteries  of  Sanskrit  lore. 

All  things  being  now  ready,  there  began  to  spring  up  in  the  bosom  of 
the  British  churches  a  wide  and  simultaneous  sense  of  the  solemn 
responsibility  under  which  they  had  been  laid  by  the  events  of  Provi- 
dence, to  avail  themselves  of  so  favourable  an  opening  for  the  diffusion  of 
the  Gospel  throughout  the  Eastern  World.  Men  qualified  to  undertake 
the  high  commission,  must  be  sent  across  the  ocean  ;—  and  have  not  the 
toils,  and  perils,  and  sucesses  of  Vasco  De  Gama  and  other  navigators 
opened  up  a  safe  and  easy  passage?  That  their  labours  might  pervade 
the  country  and  strike  a  deep  and  permanent  root  into  the  soil,  they 
must  be  delivered  from  the  caprices  of  savage  tyranny  and  the  ebulli- 
tions of  heathen  rage; — and  have  not  our  C'lives  and  our  Wellingtons 
wrested  the  rod  of  power  from  every  wilful  despot  ;  and  our  Hastings 
and  Wellesleys  thrown  the  broad  shield  of  British  justice  and  British 
protection  alike  over  all?  In  order  that  they  might  the  more  effec- 
tually adapt  their  communications  to  the  peculiarities  of  the  people,  they 
must  become  acquainted  with  the  learned  language  of  the  country,  and 
through  it  with  the  real  and  original  sources  of  all  prevailing  opinions 
and  observances,  sacred  and  civil ; — and  have  not  our  Joneses,  and  our 
Colebrookes  unfolded  the  whole,  to  prove  subservient  to  the  cause  of  the 
Christian  philanthropist  ?  In  this  way,  have  not  our  navigators,  our  war- 
riors, our  statesmen,  and  our  literati,  been  unconsciously  employed,  under 
an  overruling  Providence,  as  so  many  pioneers  to  prepare  the  way  for  our 
Swartzes,  our  Buchanans,  our  Martynes,  and  our  Careys? 

Nor  is  this  conclusion  in  the  least  degree  affected  by  the  consideration, 
that  the  sacred  cause  of  Gospel  propagation  was  directly  opposed  by  so 
many  of  those  who  indirectly  laboured  most  to  insure  its  ultimate  triumph. 
The  indifference  or  opposition  of  individuals  or  governments,  as  well  as 
their  immediate  aid,  God  has  often  made  instrumental  to  the  advance- 
ment of  His  purposes.  How  often  is  it  adduced  as  a  powerful  argument 
in  defence  of  Christianity,  that  it  was  not  espoused,  but  resisted  to  the 
uttermost,  hy  the  Jews  as  a  nation?  And  why?  Because,  if  it  had  been 
so  espoused,  it  might  be  reckoned  a  fabrication  of  State  policy.  The 
same  remark  applies  in  its  fullest  force  to  India.  Had  our  merchant 
princes,  or  literary  savans,  or  those  armed  with  political  and  martial 
power,  been  seized  with  a-  proselyting  zeal ; — and  had  thousands,  out- 
wardly at  least,  been  brought  to  confess  the  name  of  Jesus, — then,  not 
only  might  their  motives  have  been  thrown  open  to  suspicion, — but,  to 
the  influence  of  wealth  and  learning  and  power/would  all  the  credit  and 
the  glory  be  ascribed :— man  alone  would  be  exalted,  and  the  great  God 
concealed  from  our  view.  But  when  the  work  has  been  left  to  humble 
missionaries  of  the  Cross,  who  are  destitute  of  wealth  and  unarmed  with 
power,  and  who  habitually  subordinate  human  learning  to  the  "  wisdom 
of  God;" — yea,  when  the  men  of  wealth  and  learning  and  power  have 
been  arrayed  in  fierce  and  threatening  attitude  against  them, — then, 
in  the  acknowledged  weakness  of  the  instrument,  is  there  a  mighty 
demonstration  that  success  must  be  the  result  of  a  higher  agency, — even 
that  of  the  Almighty  Spirit  of  all  grace,  whose  alone  is  the  excellency  of 
the  wisdom  and  the  power. 

Let  the  men  of  wealth,  of  learning,  and  of  power,  therefore,  pursue 
their  own  specific  ends, — their  own  darling  projects.  Let  them  despise 
or  neglect  the  only  means  of  effectually  ameliorating  the  millions  of 


1840.] 


Era  of  Vivid  Religious  Interest. 


387 


India.  Let  them  continue  to  plead  "the  testimony  of  ancient  history, 
the  climate,  the  usages,  the  tastes,  the  religious  and  political  institutions 
of  the  Eastern  people," — in  order  to  shelter  themselves  from  the  plea 
of  indifference  and  neglect,  on  the  score  that  improvement  is  impractica- 
ble. Let  them  muster,  in  formidable  array,  the  strong  hosts  of  caste  and 
prejudice,  so  stoutly  opposed  to  innovation,  and  so  "resolute  to  maintain 
what,  from  age  to  age,  the  people  have  been  accustomed  to  venerate." 
Let  them  not  cease  to  reiterate  the  conclusion  of  the  celebrated  author 
of  the  Spirit  of  Laws,  that  "  India  has  always  been,  and  India  always  will 
be,  what  it  now  is," — in  order  to  paralyze  every  attempt  to  ameliorate 
its  condition  ;  and  let  them  stigmatize  those  who  labour  in  its  behalf  as 
entertaining  extravagant  ideas,  and  sanguine  theories,  and  idle  imagina- 
tions. Let  them  brand  the  effort  to  change  "  the  character  and  habits  of 
the  people,  and  new-model  the  whole  mishapen  structure  of  society"  as 
chimerical, — on  the  old  principle,  that  "  because  an  elephant  is  an 
elephant,  and  a  Hindu  a  Hindu,  we  ought  to  leave  them  both  on  the 
plains  of  Hindustan  where  we  found  them."  Let  them  do  all  this  and 
much  more.  Their  indifference  and  opposition  will  only  render  the 
final  triumphs  of  Christinity  over  the  idols  of  heathenism  more  signally 
the  work  of  God.  For,  "the  loftiness  of  man  shall  be  bowed  down, 
and  the  haughtiness  of  man  shall  be  brought  low :  and  the  Lorfl  alone 
shall  be  exalted  in  that  day." 

Whatever  the  views  and  the  conduct  of  the  men  of  this  world  may  be, 
wo  must  never  forget,  that,  as  Christians,  the  Divine  injunction  laid 
upon  us  is,  to  do  good  to  all  men  as  we  have  opportunity  !  Here,  opportunity 
is  made  the  measure  of  our  expected  well-doing.  And  when,  or  where  has 
art  opportunity  of  doing  good  to  man,  in  the  highest  and  noblest  sense  of 
that  expression,  ever  been  presented  to  any  Christian  people,  similar  to 
that  which  British  Christians  now  enjoy,  in  reference  to  the  millions  of 
India?  The  facilities  now  afforded  in  that  distant  land  for  the  propaga- 
tion of  Gospel  truth  on  a  scale  so  broad  and  extensive,  have  seldom  been 
equalled,  never  surpassed,  in  any  of  the  realms  of  Gentilism.  It  is  this 
circumstance  which,  above  all  others,  ought  to  determine  the  sphere, 
and  regulate  the  amount  of  more  immediate  duty.  Look  to  other  heathen 
nations.  Except  China,  there  is  none  that  remotely  approximates  to 
India,  either  in  extent  of  territory  or  in  denseness  of  population.  But, 
if  China  exceed  India  in  both,  may  it  not  be  thought  that  it  demands  the 
first  place  in  the  calculations  of  the  missionary  enterprise?  Here,  how- 
ever, other  elements  must  be  taken  into  our  reckoning.  Here  magnitude, 
either  as  to  territory  or  population,  is  not  enough  towards  the  formation 
of  a  sound  decision.  Facility  of  access  and  liberty  of  operation  must  be  held 
among  the  conclusive  and  determining  elements  in  solving  the  problem  of 
duty.  Now,  it  must  be  confessed  that,  notwithstanding  certain  favourable 
appearances  and  over-sanguine  expectations,  China  seems,  up  to  the  pre- 
sent time,  in  regard  to  direct  missionary  operations,  nearly  as  much  shut 
against  us,  as  if  encompassed  with  an  unscalable  wall  of  brass.  The  same 
may  be  said  of  Madagascar  and  other  portions  of  the  earth.  It  is  our  duty 
to  watch  and  pray  that  all  impediments  may  every  where  be  speedily  re- 
moved ; — for  these  heathen  lands,  as  much  as  any  other,  are  included  in  the 
inheritance  of  the  Son.  But  how  different  at  this  moment  is  the  condition 
of  India !  There,  we  are  met  by  no  thundering  edicts  of  a  Celestial  Emperor 
to  scare  us  away  from  its  shores, — no  exterminating  decrees  of  a  capricious 
"Madagascar  savage  to  expel  us  from  a  territory  already  partially  possess- 
ed. Every  harbour  along  its  extended  coast  is  thrown  open  for  our 
reception : — every  province,  every  city,  and  every  village  to  its  utmost 
boundaries,  prepared  to  tolerate,  if  not  to  welcome,  our  Gospel  ministra- 
VOL.  I.  3  E 


388 


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[July, 


tions.  Over  the  whole  of  that  region  of  moral  darkness,  stahle  and 
uncontrollable  power  presides; — and  that  is  the  power  of  a  Christian 
monarchy.  There  Christian  governors  legislate  ;  Christian  judges  and 
magistrates  decree  justice  ;  and  Christian  captains,  wielding  the  sword 
of  power,  guarantee  security  of  person  and  of  property.  All,  all  conspire 
to  open  up  a  free  and  unfettered  course  to  the  herald  of  the  Cross  ;  and 
serve  to  throw  over  him  a  broad  and  invulnerable  aegis.  How  are  we  to 
interpret  the  final  cause  of  such  a  state  of  things  ?  Surely,  if  ever  Jehovah 
spoke  by  infallible  signs  through  the  leadings  of  His  providence,  it  is  here 
that  He  has  uttered  His  voice — -and  the  announcement  of  the  oracle  seems 
to  be  : — "  Behold,  without  any  forethought,  cost  or  trouble,  on  your  part : 
behold,  the  key  of  Asia  is  placed  in  your  hands.  A  door  great  and  ef- 
fectual hath  been  opened  there  for  you  :  —  enter  ye  in,  and  take  posses- 
sion of  the  land.  If  India  has  been  allowed  to  continue  for  ages  the 
theatre  of  one  of  Satan's  mightiest  triumphs,  it  is  only  that,  in  these  lat- 
ter days,  it  may  become  the  theatre  of  one  of  his  most  disastrous  defeats. 
If,  in  the  pride  of  sinful  independence,  India  has  long  refused  to  yield 
allegiance  to  Him  who,  on  Zion's  holy  hill,  has  been  anointed  King  and 
Governor  of  the  nations,  it  is  only  that, — when  made  captive  and  willing 
in  the  day  of  His  power  and  merciful  visitation, — she  may  enrich  and 
adorn,  with  more  than  the  spoils  of  orient  magnificence,  the  triumphal 
car  of  the  conquering  lmmanuel." 

In  order  still  farther  to  exhibit  and  enforce  the  duty  of  the  British 
churches  towards  India,  let  us  endeavour  to  illustrate,  by  analogy,  the 
striking  peculiarity  of  its  present  position,  from  its  parallelism  witli  the 
most  remarkable  epoch  in  ancient  history. 

What  was  the  history  of  the  world  between  the  flood  and  the  coming 
of  Christ?  Was  it  not  a  history  of  the  up-setting  and  down-putting  of 
kingdoms; — until  at  length,  a  power  arose,  great,  and  mighty,  and  ter- 
rible, and  exceeding  strong,  w  hich  ground  into  atoms  the  kingdoms  of  the 
earth  ?  After  ages  of  conquest  and  of  bloody  strife,  the  Roman  emperor 
was  enabled  to  proclaim  universal  peace  ;  and  in  token  thereof  shut  the 
temple  of  Janus, — the  open  gates  of  which  so  long  bespoke  to  the  eyes  of 
every  Roman  citizen  that  war  had  not  ceased  to  convulse  the  nations  ! 
"  Then,"  say  our  biblical  critics  and  ecclesiastical  historians,  "  Then, 
was  the  fulness  of  time  ; — and  then  did  the  hosts  of  heaven,  commissioned 
on  the  joyous  errand,  announce  the  advent  of  the  incarnate  Deity." 
What,  in  like  manner,  we  would  ask,  has  been  the  history  of  India  for 
the  last  three  thousand  years?  What  but  a  history  of  the  up-setting  and 
down-putting  of  kingdoms?  At  one  time,  divided  into  a  thousand  petty 
States,  scowling  defiance  at  each  other:  here,  the  parricide,  basely  usurp- 
ing the  father's  throne ;  and  there,  the  fratricide,  wresting  the  lawful 
crown  from  his  brothers.  At  another  time,  split  up  and  parcelled  into 
groups  of  confederacies, — cemented  by  the  bond  of  indomitable  hate, — 
and  leaving  the  retaliation  of  fell  revenge  as  a  legacy  to  their  children's 
children.  After  ages  had  rolled  their  course, — in  the  tenth  century  of 
the  Christian  era— our  eyes  are  turned  away  from  the  interior  to  the  far 
distant  north.  There,  the  horizon  is  seen  thickening  with  lurid  clouds, 
that  roll  their  dense  masses  along  the  troubled  atmosphere.  Suddenly, 
the  tempest  bursts;  and  one  barbarian  conqueror  issues  forth  after  ano- 
ther. At  length,  the  greatest  and  the  mightiest  of  them  all, — from  the 
hyperborean  regions  of  Tartary,  from  the  gorges  of  the  Indian  Caucasus, 
— descends  upon  the  plains  of  poor  unhappy  India, — proclaiming  himself" 
the  scourge  of  God,  and  the  terror  of  men.  His  path  is  like  the  red 
lightning's  course.  And  speedily  he  blasts  the  flower  of  India's  chivalry  ; 
and  smites  into  the  dust  her  lordly  confederacies.    Her  villages,  and 


1840.] 


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389 


cities,  and  temples,  and  palaces,  lie  smoking  in  their  ruins.  Through 
fields  of  carnage,  and  rivers  of  blood,  he  hastens  to  grasp  the  sceptre  of  a 
universal  but  transient  dominion.  AH  India  is  made  profusely  to  bleed  ; 
and,  ere  her  old  wounds  are  healed,  all  India  is  made  to  bleed  afresh.  In 
swift  and  destructive  succession  new  imperial  dynasties  spring  up  out  of 
the  blood  and  ashes  of  the  old. 

Such  is  the  melancholy  epitome  of  India's  tragic  history  for  nearly 
three  thousand  years.  Oh  !  how  different  the  scene  now  !  About  two 
hundred  years  ago,  a  band  of  needy  adventurers  issue  forth  from  this  our 
native  land, — from  this,  one  of  the  remotest  islets  of  the  ocean; — and 
they  sit  down  in  peaceful  settlements  on  India's  fertile  shores.  By  a 
strange  and  mysterious  dispensation  of  Providence,  these  merchant-sub- 
jects were  destined  to  become  sovereign  princes.  In  opposition  to  their 
own  expressed  wishes — in  direct  contravention  of  the  imperative  mandates 
of  the  British  Parliament, — district  was  added  to  district,  and  province 
to  province,  and  kingdom  to  kingdom,  till  at  length  all  India  lay  prostrate 
at  the  feet  of  Britain.  During  the  twelve  years  preceding  that  which  has 
last  terminated,  for  the  first  time  in  the  course  of  thirty  centuries  univer- 
sal peace  did  reign  in  India  ; — and  if  there  were  a  thousand  temples  of 
.Janus  there,  the  thousand  temples  might  then  be  shut.  Who  now  can 
resist  the  inference  which  analogy  supplies?  Were  the  Roman  legions 
commissioned  by  an  overruling  Providence  to  break  down  the  barriers  to 
intercommunion  between  the  states,  and  nations,  and  kingdoms  of  Anti- 
quity, to  prepare  the  way  for  the  ambassadors  of  the  Cross  to  announce 
the  advent  of  the  Prince  of  Peace  ?  And  have  not  the  British  legions 
been  commissioned  in  our  day,  by  the  same  overruling  Providence,  to 
break  down  the  barriers  to  intercommunion  between  the  tribes,  and  states, 
and  principalities  of  Hindustan  ?  Have  they  not  levelled  mountains  and 
filled  up  valleys, — to  prepare  a  highway  for  the  heralds  of  salvation  who 
proclaim  the  message  that  ought  ever  to  fall  upon  the  sinner's  ear  more 
enchanting  far  than  the  softest,  sweetest  strains  of  earthly  melody? 
Ought  we  bhen  to  have  shut  our  eyes,  and  to  have  steeled  our  hearts 
against  an  opportunity  so  favourable  for  extending  the  boundaries  of  the 
Redeemer's  kingdom  ?  If  we  did,  what  ought  we  to  have  anticipated  as 
the  necessary  consequence?  What,  but  the  usual  retribution, —even  the 
removal  of  the  trust  that  had  been  neglected  or  abused?  And  did  it  not 
seem,  about  a  twelvemonth  ago,  as  if  the  Divine  patience  had  been 
exhausted,  and  the  knell  of  British  connection  with  India  bad  been  rung 
out?  While  all  were  shouting  their  peans  of  triumph  about  the  omnipo- 
tence of  British  sway,  and  the  passing  of  legislative  enactments  that  were 
to  consolidate  and  perpetuate  our  empire  ; — lo,  in  a  moment,  in  the 
twinkling  of  an  eye,  the  tidings  readied  us  from  afar,  that,  within,  a 
mine  of  discontent  was  ready  to  explode  in  universal  rebellion  ;  and  that, 
without,  enemies  on  every  side  were  marshalling  their  forces,  to  seize 
upon  the  spoil  !  Every  one  looked  pale.  For  no  one  knew  whether  the 
next  intelligence  might  not  be,  that  the  proud  fabric  of  British  power 
had  suddenly  dissolved, — like  the  apparently  massive  walls  and  turreted 
battlements  of  the  clouds  before  the  blast  of  the  north  w  ind.  But  of 
late,  the  prospect  has  once  more  brightened.  When  the  decree  was  about 
to  go  forth,  "  cut  down  this  unprofitable  connection  between  Britain  and 
the  millions  of  India, — why  does  it  continue  to  blight  and  wither  the  best 
interests  of  that  mighty  people?" — it  would  seem  as  if  the  Angel  of  the 
'  n\  enant  had  interposed,  saying,  "  Spare,  oh  spare,  a  little  longer ;  and 
see  whether  this  hitherto  profitless  connection  be  not  yet  improved  for 
the  grand  end  for  which  it  was  instituted  and  designed,— even  the  esta- 
blishment of  that  kingdom  of  righteousness,  that  shall  never  be  moved." 


390 


fira  of  Vivid  Reliyious  Interest. 


[July, 


And  now,  that  the  period  of  stewardship  has,  to  all  appearance,  been 
prolonged,  shall  we,  by  again  wrapping  up  the  talent  of  the  national 
guardianship  of  that  distant  realm  in  a  napkin,  once  more  provoke  the 
Almighty  in  His  displeasure  to  deprive  us  altogether  of  the  trust?  Now 
is  the  set  time  for  diffusing  the  light  of  the  Gospel  through  the  length 
and  breadth  of  India.  Say  not  that  we  have  not  means.  The  wealthy 
have  the  means  in  abundance,  and  to  spare, — if  they  had  only  the  large 
Christian  heart  to  communicate.  The  poorest  have  something ;  even 
the  widow  has  her  mite,  and  if  she  have  not,  she  has  her  closet; — and 
thence,  in  communion  with  all  the  saints  on  eartb,  may  thousands  of 
prayers  be  made  to  ascend  into  the  ears  of  the  Lord  God  of  Sabaoth, 
more  grateful  and  more  acceptable  far  than  the  incense  of  a  thousand 
sacrifices  offered  upon  a  thousand  hills.  Shall  we  then  refuse  to  redeem 
the  time — refuse  to  employ  the  means,  now  placed  so  abundantly  within 
our  reach,  of  extending  the  renovating  principles  of  the  Cross  among  the 
millions  of  our  fellow-subjects  in  idolatrous  India  ? — India,  which  is  link- 
ed to  so  many  of  us  by  being  the  temporary  home  or  the  perpetual  grave 
of  beloved  friends! — India,  which  is  linked  to  all  of  us  nationally,  by  be- 
ing the  brightest  diamond  in  the  British  crown !  Oh  !  if  we  neglect 
such  a  golden  opportunity  of  advancing  the  cause  of  the  Divine  Redeem- 
er, how  shall  we  be  able  to  stand  before  the  bar  of  heaven,  and  plead 
guiltless  of  the  blood  of  the  perishing  millions  that  now  lie  conquered, 
prostrate,  weeping  at  our  feet  ?  Surely,  methinks,  this  awful  responsibi- 
lity ought  to  paralyse  into  weakness  many  of  the  best-laid  projects  of  life, 
and  crush  many  of  its  busiest  occupations  beneath  the  weight  of  an 
oppressive  burden.  Methinks  it  ought  to  introduce  the  pall  and  the  shroud 
into  the  gayest  of  our  noisy  revelries  ;  and,  like  the  handwriting  on  the 
wall  of  the  palace  of  Babylon,  suddenly  freeze  the  flowing  current  of  our 
festive  excitements.  Methinks  it  should  follow  us  as  an  ever-present 
tormentor  into  the  solitary  chamber  ;  and  render  restless  and  feverish 
the  repose  of  night ;  and  haunt  its  fleeting  visions  with  images  of  terror 
more  alarming  than  the  fabled  ghosts  of  the  murdered  !  Oh  !  if  it  do 
not,  rest  assured  it  is  not  for  want  of  a  cause  more  than  adequate. 

But  why  should  we  appeal  to  duty  and  responsibility  alone?  why  not 
to  the  exquisite  enjoyment  experienced  by  those  who  know  and  value 
the  privilege  of  being  fellow-workers  with  the  Great  God  Himself,  in 
advancing  that  cause  for  which  the  world  was  originally  created,  and  for 
the  development  of  which  the  world  is  still  preserved  in  being?  .  We  ap- 
peal to  all  present  who  have  basked  in  the  sunshine  of  the  Redeemer's 
love,  whether  the  enjoyment  felt  in  promoting  the  great  cause  for  which 
He  died  in  agonies  on  the  cross,  that  He  might  see  of  the  travail  of  His 
soul  and  be  satisfied, — be  not  ineffable  ?  Oh  !  it  is  an  enjoyment  which 
those  who  have  once  tasted  it,  would  not  exchange  for  all  the  treasures 
of  the  Indian  mines; — for  all  the  laurels  of  civic  success  ; — for  all  the 
glittering  splendour  of  coronets.  It  is  a  joy  rich  as  heaven, — pure  as  the 
Godhead, — lasting  as  eternity ! 

In  the  midst  of  troublous  times,  when  the  shaking  of  the  nations,  and 
the  heaving  of  the  earthquake  that  may  ere  long  rend  asunder  the 
mightiest  empires,  have  commenced,  what  stay,  what  refuge,  what  hiding- 
place  can  be  found  like  the  faith  and  hope  which  are  the  stronghold  of 
the  righteous  ?  They  whose  faith  has  been  firmly  planted  on  the  rock 
of  Jehovah's  promises,  can  look  across  the  surges  of  the  tempestuous 
ocean  to  the  bright  regions  that  lie  beyond.  Yea,  should  still  greater 
dangers  rise,  and  greater  terrors  frown,  and  days  of  greater  darkness  fall 
upon  them  ;  oh,  is  there  not  enough  to  cheer  and  exhilarate  their  spirits 
in  the  believing  contemplation  of  the  hatter-day  glory?    Think  of  the 


1840.] 


Bandras  Translator  and  Dr.  Griesbach. 


391 


earth,  as  it  now  is,  rent  with  woe  and  burdened  with  a  curse  :  think  of 
the  same  earth,  in  the  radiance  of  prophetic  vision,  converted  into  glad- 
some bowers, — the  abodes  of  peace  and  righteousness.  View  the  empire 
of  Satan,  at  present  fast  bound  by  the  iron  chains  of  malignant  demons 
that  feed  and  riot  on  the  groans  and  perdition  of  immortal  spirits.  Be- 
hold, from  the  same  dark  empire, — in  the  realization  of  prophetic  im- 
agery,— the  new-clad  myriads  rise,  chaunting  the  chorus  of  a  renovated 
creation — the  jubilee  of  a  once-groaning  but  now  emancipated  universe. 
Over  the  slaughter  of  undaunted  heroes,  and  the  smoking  ruins  of  some 
citadel  that  long  held  out  as  the  last  asylum  of  a  country's  indepen- 
dence, poets  have  sung  of  freedom's  shriek.  Over  the  fall  and  ruin  of  im- 
mortal spirits,  and  a  world  dismantled  by  the  fall,  we  might  covet  the 
tongue  of  an  angel  to  tell  of  creation's  shriek.  But  surely  with  an 
ecstasy  of  fervour  might  we  long  for  the  voice  of  an  archangel  to 
celebrate  creation's  3hout  of  joy  over  a  world  of  sinners— saved — restored, 
through  grace,  to  light  and  liberty.  Oh  that  the  blessed  era  were  great- 
ly hastened  !  Oh  that  the  vision  of  that  mitred  minstrel  who  erewhile 
sung  so  sweetly  of  "  Greenland's  icy  mountains,  and  India's  coral 
strand,"  were  speedily  realized! — that  glorious  vision,  wherein,  rapt  into 
future  times,  he  beheld  the  stream  of  Gospel  blessings  rise  and  gush  and 
roll  onwards,  till  it  embraced  every  land  and  circled  every  shore  ; — aye, 
till,  "  like  a  sea  of  glory,  it  spread  from  pole  to  pole."  Even  so,  Lord 
Jesus,  come  quickly  ;  even  so.  Amen. 


VI. — The  Bandras  Translator  and  Dr.  Griesbach. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Dear  Sirs, 

"  One  of  the  Translators/'  in  his  reply  to  me,  has  questioned 
the  accuracy  of  my  statement  relative  to  the  fact  of  Gries- 
hach's  system  being  disputed  by  the  most  eminent  orthodox 
Biblical  critics  of  the  present  day.  From  the  contemptuous 
manner  in  which  he  writes  of  Dr.  Bloomfield,  (a  man  whose 
learning  is  generally  acknowledged  to  be  pre-eminent,)  I  do 
not  suppose  that  he  will  give  mnch  heed  to  the  following 
extracts.  Others,  however,  may  give  heed  to  them,  and  they 
will  learn  from  them,  that  some  no  mean  men,  both  in  Eng- 
land and  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  are  at  variance  with 
Griesbach  in  his  system  of  recensions. 

In  the  preface  to  the  first  edition  of  Dr.  Bloomfield's  New 
Testament  we  have  the  following  paragraph  and  note  : 

"  And  here  the  Editor  [Dr.  B.]  must  avow  his  total  dissent,  though 
not  from  the  Canons  of  Criticism  professedly  acted  upon  by  Griesbach 
in  his  edition  of  the  New  Testament,  yet  altogether  from  the  system  of 
Recensions  first  promulgated  by  him,  and  founded,  as  the  editor  appre- 
hends, upon  a  misapplication  of  these  canons.  The  perpetual,  and, 
for  the  most  part,  needless  cancellings*,  and  alterations  of  all  kinds, 
introduced  by  Griesbach,  evince  a  temerity  which  would  have  been 


392  Bandras  Translator  and  Dr.  Griesbach.  [July, 


highly  censurable  even  in  editing  a  profane  writer;  but,  when  made  in 
the  sacred  volume,  they  involve  also  a  charge  of  irreverence  for  the  book 
which  was  intended  to  make  men  '  wise  unto  salvation.'  In  most 
respects  the  editor  coincides  with  the  views  of  Matthsei  (whose  edition 
of  the  N.  T.  is  pronounced  by  Bishop  Middleton  to  be  far  the  best  yet 
seen),  and,  in  a  great  measure,  with  those  of  the  learned  and  indefati- 
gable Scholz. 

*  "  In  justification  of  these,  [the  cancellings],  it  has  generally  been 
urged,  that  the  words,  phrases,  or  clauses,  so  thrown  out  are  glosse- 
matical,  and  therefore  spurious.  On  this  point,  however,  the  present 
editor  is  entirely  at  issue  with  the  Griesbachian  School ;  and  he  has 
much  pleasure  in  referring  his  readers  to  a  masterly  Commentatio  by 
C.  C.  Tittman  de  Glossematiss  N.  T.  recte  investigandis,  (at  p.  501 
sqq.  of  his  Opusc.  Theolog.  Lips.  1803;)  as  also  an  able  and  instructive 
Dissertation  of  Bornemann  de  Glossematis  N.  T.  caute  dij udicandis, 
Lips.  1830,  who  there  completely  refutes  the  rash  assertion  of  Wassenberg, 
in  a  Dissertation  on  the  Glossis  appended  to  Valch-Scholia  ad  N.  '1'.,  and 
ably  distributes  these  pretended  Glosses  undev  Jive  classes." 

In  the  second  edition  we  have  the  same  sentiments  repeated 
in  the  following  words  : — 

"  To  pass  on  to  the  text  itself, — it  will  be  found,  with  a  few  excep- 
tions, the  same  as  in  the  preceding  edition  ;  and  with  reason  ; — since 
the  editor's  opinions,  as  to  the  origin  and  character  of  the  Greisbachian 
text,  are,  after  much  further  research,  precisely  the  same  as  before. 
He  is  still  firmly  persuaded,  that  the  most  ancient  MSS.  of  the  Western 
and  Alexandrian  family,  do  not  present  so  pure  a  text,  as  that  of  some 
comparatively  modern  ones,  of  the  Constantinopolitan  family ;  and  re- 
presented, with  few  exceptions,  in  the  invaluable  Editio  Princeps,  for 
which  we  are  indebted  to  the  munificence  of  cardinal  Ximenes.  In 
short,  he  has  no  doubt  that  the  texts  of  the  first  mentioned  MSS.  were 
systematically  altered,  for  various  reasons,  by  the  early  Biblical  critics  : 
thus  exemplifying  what  Lord  Bacon  says  (de  Augm.  Scient.  i.  D), 
that  "  the  most  corrected  copies  are  commonly  the  least  correct*." 

*  "  On  this  important  subject  the  author  refers  his  readers,  for  proofs 
and  particulars,  to  the  learned  Prolegomena  of  Prof.  Scholz,  to  his  critical 
edition  of  the  New  Testament  with  various  readings,  now  in  progress, 
and  on  the  point  of  being  completed — the  result  of  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury's unwearied  labours  in  collating  MSS.  in  every  part  of  Europe, — a 
monument  of  diligence  and  erudition  rarely  surpassed,  and  by  which 
he  has  laid  the  Christian  world  under  greater  obligations  than  any 
critical  editor  since  the  time  of  the  illustrious  Wetstein.  See  also  the 
able  and  instructive  Prolegomena  to  Bagster's  Polyglott,  by  Professor 
Lee." 

As  the  Banaras  Translator  has  placed  Home  in  an  honor- 
able niche  in  his  temple,  perhaps  he  will  give  heed  to  the 
following  extracts  from  that  laborious  man's  excellent  In- 
troduction to  the  study  of  the  Scriptures,  and  he  will  learn 
from  him  that  others  besides  Dr.  Bloomfield  have  differed 
from  Dr.  Griesbach,  and  that  even  Home  himself  differs  from 
him. 

"  The  system  of  recensions,  above  proposed  by  Bengel  and  Semler, 
and  completed  by  the  late  celebrated  critic  Dr.  Griesbach,  has  been 
subjected  to  a  very  severe  critical  ordeal ;   and  has  been  formidably 


1840.]       Bandras  Translator  and  Dr.  Griesbacli. 


393 


attacked  on  the  continent  by  the  late  M.  Matthau,  and  in  this  country 
hy  the  Rev.  Dr.  Laurence,  and  the  llev.  Frederic  Nolan. 

"  The  last  system  of  recensions  which  remains  to  he  noticed  is  that 
of  the  Rev.  T.  Nolan.  It  is  developed  in  his  "  Inquiry  into  the  integrity 
of  the  Greek  Vulgate  or  received  tex  t  of  the  New  Testament,  in  which  the 
Greek  manuscripts  are  newly  classed,  the  integrity  of  the.  authorised  text 
vindicated,  and  the  various  readings  traced  to  their  origin  (8vo..  London, 
1815.)  That  integrity  he  has  confessedly  established  hy  a  series  of 
proofs  and  connected  arguments,  the  most  decisive  that  can  he  reason- 
ably desired  or  expected. 

"  We  may  therefore  safely  adopt  the  system  of  recensions  proposed 
by  Mr.  Nolan  in  preference  to  any  other:  not  only  on  account  of  its 
comprehensiveness,  but  also  because  (independantly  of  its  internal  con- 
sistency, and  the  historical  grounds  on  which  it  is  exclusively  built),  it 
embraces  the  different  systems  to  which  it  is  opposed,  and  reconciles 
their  respective  circumstances.  But,  notwithstanding  the  strong — we  may 
add,  indisputable — claims  to  precedence  which  his  system  of  recensions 
l„,sspsses,  it  is  greatly  to  be  feared  that  the  classification  of  recensions 
proposed  by  Griesbach  has  obtained  such  a  general  reception  as  will 
prevent  the  adoption  of  Mr.  Nolan's  system  much  beyond  the  limits  of 
this  country." 

Not  having  any  of  the  writings  of  any  of  the  German  critics 
mentioned  hy  the  Bandras  Translators,  I  cannot  say  how  far 
they  either  agree  with  or  differ  from  Dr.  Grieshach  ;  hut  I 
happen  to  have  the  edition  of  Stuart's  Commentary  on  the 
Romans  which  was  published  in  England  with  the  recommen- 
dations of  Drs.  Smith  and  Henderson.  In  this  commentary 
Dr.  Stuart  says  : 

"  I  am  grieved  to  add,  that  Griesbach,  in  attempting  to  account  for 
the  variation  of  manuscripts  in  regard  to  xvi.  25,  27  lias  advanced  sup- 
positions not  less  visionary  and  gratuitous  than  those  of  Eichhorn. 
This  is  the  more  to  be  wondered  at,  since  Griesbacli  is  not  much  prone 
to  phantasies  of  this  nature.  The  reader  of  Eichhorn  is  not  surprised  to 
find  such  a  conceit  in  him  ;  for  a  critic  who  could  add  on  the  last 
twenty-six  chapters  of  Isaiah  (which  he  names  Pseudo-Isaiah),  to  the 
genuine  works  of  that  prophet,  because  the  copyist  happened  to  have 
room  to  spare  in  his  parchment  and  wanted  to  fill  it  out,  may  well  be 
imagined  not  to  he  incapable  of  making  suppositions  like  those  above 
related." 

I  am  not  sanguine  enough  to  believe  that  the  above  extracts 
will  convince  the  Banaras  Translator  that  Dr.  Griesbach's 
system  is  disputed  by  some  at  least  of  the  most  eminent 
orthodox  Biblical  critics  of  the  present  day  ;  but  I  think 
others  will  be  convinced  by  them.  I  think,  too,  that  others 
will  come  to  the  conclusion,  that  as  there  are  so  many 
eminent  men  in  favor  of  the  Textus  lleceptus,  that  nothing 
which  it  contains  should  be  omitted  in  any  translation.  If 
the  translators  really  in  their  consciences  believe,  that  any 
passage  is  an  interpolation,  let  them  attach  a  mark  to  it;  but 
for  the  sake  of  others,  who  have  consciences  as  well  as  they 
of  Banaras,  let  the  suspected  words  still  appear. 


394        Description  of  the  Netherlands'  Territory.  [July, 


I  have  no  idea  what  opinion  the  Banaras  Translator  has 
formed  of  Dr.  Jndson  and  Mr.  Yates.  Others,  however, 
think  them  hoth  learned  and  good  men.  The  latter  has  given 
a  place  to  all  the  "  omitted  passages"  in  his  translations  ; 
and  the  former,  who  (as  I  have  been  informed)  in  his  first 
translation  into  the  language  of  Burmah,  had  heen  led  to 
follow  Griesbach,  has  seen  cause  to  retrace  his  steps,  and  has 
retraced  them.  I  fear,  however,  the  Banaras  Translator,  in 
his  present  temper  and  spirit,  will  not  be  his  imitator. 

I  deeply  lament  to  learn  from  the  Translator  himself,  that 
though  I  have  detected  sixty-six  omissions  or  alterations  from 
the  received  text  in  his  translation,  yet  that  I  have  not  detected 
the  ONE-FIFTH  of  the  passages  omitted  and  altered.  I 
stated  that  I  had  observed  more  than  I  had  noted  down  ;  but 
I  had  no  idea  that  I  had  discovered  such  a  small  proportion 
as  a  fifth  only.  Such  a  statement  as  this  will,  I  think, 
prevent  the  Christian  world  (unless  we  except  the  Soci- 
nians,  who  love  Griesbach  dearly)  from  either  buying  or 
using  a  single  copy  of  any  edition  the  Banaras  translators 
may  from  this  time  send  forth.  I  would  advise  them,  there- 
fore, to  lay  down  their  pens,  or,  like  Dr.  Judson  (much  to  his 
honor),  retrace  their  steps. 


Note. — As  the  principal  parties  in  this  controversy  have  unitedly  agreed  that 
it  should  come  to  a  close  with  the  present  number,  and  as  all  the  parties  have 
written,  have  been  replied  to,  and  replied  again,  we  must  decline  all  further 
communications  on  the  subject,  as  little  more  can  be  said  to  edification. — Ed. 


VII. — Short  Description  of  the  Netherlands'  Territory  on  the 
West  Coast  of  Sumatra,  1837- 

BOUNDARIES,   DIVISION  AND  POPULATION. 

(Continued  from  page  334.) 

Having  given  in  a  preceding  number  a  brief  description  of  the  origin 
of  the  Soekoes,  we  shall  now  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  Malay 
form  of  government.  This  was  founded  by  the  beforenamed  fathers  or 
partially  modelled  by  them  after  the  earlier  institutions  of  their  mother's 
first  husband,  Serie  Maha  R;ija,  under  the  direction  of  their  father,  Ijattie 
Bielong  Pande'.  The  immediate  government  of  the  people  is  committed  to 
Panghoeloes  in  civil  matters,  to  Pagawes  in  spiritual  affairs  and  to  Palavmns 
or  Oeloebalangs  for  the  defence  of  the  land  and  the  maintenance  of  the 
right  of  Government,  whilst  the  nominal  supreme  power  is  vested  in  the 
house  of  Manangkabow,  (which  however,  as  will  appear  hereafter,  is  not 
very  material,)  under  three  princes,  named  Rajas,  viz. 


1840.]       Description  of  the  Netherlands'  Territory.  395 


1,  Raja  Allam,  supreme  commander.  2,  Raja  Hadat,  chief  of  religious 
worship.  3,  Raja  Had.it,  chief  of  the  manners.  The  first  had  his  seat  at 
Paggerroegong,  the  second  at  Saetnpoe  Koedoes,  and  the  third  at  Boea.  This 
division  corresponds  pretty  nearly  with  the  one  produced  in  the  fable, 
the  power  of  these  princes  was  principally  maintained  through  the  influ- 
enceof  the  three  principal  districts  of  Tuna  Dutar,  Toenhoe,  Nantoenyie,  the 
three  pillars  of  support,  named  Soengie  Trap,  Soerocasso  and  Pudavg  Gan- 
ting.  The  chiefs  of  these  places  subject  to  the  princes  of  Manangkubow, 
exercised  the  chief  authority  in  Toria  Dutar,  and  were  named  Dutoe  Pa- 
monlya  die  Soengie  Trap,  Datoe  Tudamo  die  Soerocasso  and  Toean  Kallie 
die  Padung  Ganting. 

The  power  of  the  Manangkabow  princes  over  the  people  has  however, 
never  been  considerable,  their  power  not  reaching  beyond  offering  relief  or 
shelter  to  unhappy  people  or  to  those  persecuted  by  the  law,  or  as  arbi- 
trators between  quarrelling  parties.  From  this  it  appears  that  the  real 
power  over  the  people  rested  with  the  Soekues,  this  will  more  clearly 
appear  from  the  following  example  of  the  arrangements  of  one  of  the 
provinces. 

At  Matoea,  a  small  province  in  the  highlands  with  a  population  of  about 
3,000  souls.  There  are  found  three  Soekoes,  viz.  Tjieningo,  Siekoenbang 
and  Tandjung.  These  three  Soekoes  or  tribes  are  further  divided  into 
ninety  lesser  tribes  or  families,  named  Bceaprats.  The  government  of  all 
the  above  named  greater  and  lesser  tribes  consists  of 


3  Palawans,  for  the  defence  of  the  country  and  the  maintenance  of 
civil  power. 

To  the  Panghoeloes,  their  revenue  secured  from  Tailamas,  Dando  and 
Settle,  being  a  certain  fine  for  deciding  differences  and  fines  arising  out 
of  the  violations  of  customs.  The  Imams  and  Cliatips  draw  the  Zukat 
Pietra,  Sedeka  oepa  kawing,  oepa  Sura,  oepa  Talil  and  Mengadjie  koran, 
being  according  to  the  koran  their  fixed  annual  collection  for  their  income 
(2|  by  10  id.)  for  each  person,  for  divorce  and  prayer,  fees  for  the  dead, 
and  for  giving  instruction  in  the  Quran.  The  Palawans  share  about  one- 
third  of  the  income  with  the  Pang/ioeloes. 

All  civil  differences  are  first  decided  by  the  Pang/ioeloes  Baaproets,  but 
parties  not  satisfied  with  their  decision,  appeal  to  the  Panghoeloe  Soekoe, 
and  if  his  judgement  is  not  satisfactory,  an  appeal  is  made  to  the  Mappat, 
which  is  a  council  of  the  chiefs  of  the  provinces.  If  satisfaction  is  not 
found  there  the  applicants  proceed  to  the  right  of  the  strongest,  named 
Prang  Batoe,  which  generally  puts  an  end  to  the  strife,  after  one  or  two 
have  been  killed  or  wounded ;  for  the  prevention  of  further  accidents,  the 
subject  is  settled  by  disinterested  parties. 

On  this  footing  the  internal  government  has  been  for  many  centuries, 
when,  if  1  am  well  informed,  tljfse  things  and  especially  the  spiritual 
matters  were  placed  under  more  equitable  regulations  and  obtained  greater 
security  by  the  introduction  of  the  Muhammadan  religion,  in  the  year 
1177;  there  having  appeared  at  Oelakhon  a  certain  Berhanoedien,  dis- 
ciple of  Sheik  Abdullah  Arief,  who  had  introduced  the  Muhammadan  doc- 
trine at  Acheeti  from  which  place  they  spread  over  the  entire  population 
of  Again  Among. 

True  it  is,  however,  that  since  the  first  appointment  of  the  Hadats,  the 
original  tribes  of  which  the  people  consisted,  have  experienced  many  changes 
and  divisions.    This  has  arisen  from  an  increase  of  population  as  well  as 


3  Panghoeloes  Soekoe 
90  Ditto,  Bceaproets 


for  all  civil  affairs. 


3  Imams,    >for  spiritual  matters. 


VOL.  I. 


3  F 


390  Description  of  the  Netherlands'  Territory.  [July, 


from  religious  differences  and  other  circumstances,  in  consequence  of  which 
some  separated  themselves  from  their  mother  tribe  and  formed  in  different 
places,  in  the  high  and  low  lands,  small  companies  under  different  forms 
of  government  after  those  of  the  chief  trihes,  but  directed  according  to  the 
circumstances,  which  caused  their  removal,  or  were  considered  necessary 
for  the  maintaining  of  their  social  rights. 

These  occurrences  may  have  exercised  great  influence  on  the  social  in- 
stitutions of  the  mother  tribes,  and  may  have  served  to  divide  them  from 
those  of  their  forefathers  and  to  give  to  them  the  present  irregular 
appearance,  in  which  we  find  the  internal  management  of  the  coast. 

Of  the  present  form  of  government  nothing  can  be  said  except  that  it 
is  patriarchal,  in  which  every  member  of  society  lias  equal  rights,  and  is 
his  own  master,  whilst  he  to  whom  the  executive  power  is  entrusted,  is 
only  considered  as  the  eldest  member  with  no  higher  authority,  than  to  give 
the  necessary  explanations  of  their  social  institutions  or  usages,  ( Hadat  s J 
nor  can  he  decide  anything  without  the  general  consent  of  the  members 
of  the  Society  or  their  representatives  ;  and  further,  there  is  demanded 
and  expected  of  him  protection  for  the  safety  of  the  members  of  the  So- 
ciety, (of  which  he  is  the  Head,)  against  all  foreign  power,  in  consequence 
of  which  it  often  occurs,  that  when  a  Malay  is  spoken  to,  or  persecuted 
on  account  of  an  affray,  he  always  finds  a  defender  in  the  Head  of  the 
society  or  Soehoe  to  which  he  belongs. 

This  also  is  the  cause  of  such  a  number  of  independent  provinces,  with 
different  social  institutions,  which  are  met  with  on  this  coast,  and  the 
great  variety  which  is  introduced  in  the  naming  of  the  chiefs  since  the 
original  institutions,  there  being  now  recognised,  besides  those  already 
named,  Yung  die  portoeans,  Panghoeloes,  Pagawes  and  Palawana,  a  great 
number  of  other  names,  viz.,  the  Sultun  at  Indrupurn  and  Moco  Moco, 
who  has  Mdukoe  Boemies  and  Mantrie  under  him.  Rajas  at  Oelahhan 
and  Kemullie  ;  Pangei  angs  at  Bencoolen  ;  Pamontjas  over  the  entire  coun- 
try Paugalifna ;  at  Padahg  Toeanhoes.  This  title  was  formerly  only 
given  to  principal  priests,  but  at  present  the  Punghoetoes  who  stand  in 
immediate  connection  with  the  Netherlands'  government,  have  also  taken 
this  appellation. 

Kapella  Lares  are  the  usual  Panghoeloes,  Soehoe,  who  by  means  of  the  Euro- 
pean government  assume  a  supremacy  over  their  colleagues.  The  chiefs 
are  always  chosen  from  the  tribe  of  Panghoeloes,  and  the  dignity  descends 
to  the  nephew,  if  be  possesses  the  necessary  ability. 

In  former  centuries  the  princes  of  Marian ghabow  exercised  a  great 
supremacy  over  these  different  princes  and  chiefs.  The  seats,  where  the 
three  different  princes  or  governors  were  established,  were  named  Roema 
die  Koedum,  Roema  die  Tcnga,  and  Roema  die  Bocliit,  of  which  the  first 
belonged  to  Raja  Allan,  the  second  to  Raja  Hadat,  and  the  third  to  Raja 
Hadat.  At  present  the  first  house  only  exists;  the  tribe  of  the  second  is 
entirely  extinct  ;  and  Bagagar  Schaah  appointed  by  us  and  now  removed 
to  Batavia  belongs  to  the  tribe  of  the  third  house.  At  that  time  he  had 
an  uncle,  named  Toeanko  Pa'tta,  who,  according  to  the  inland  usage  had 
more  title  to  some  power  in  the  government  than  Bagagar  Schaah,  and 
more  so  because  before  the  revolution  of  the  Padries,  he  was  already 
placed  in  the  government  by  the  people :  he  is  since  dead. 

The  incomes  and  profits  of  the  princes  of  Mananghabow  were  not  very 
great;  they  had  their  own  rice  fields  which  were  cultivated  by  their  own 
servants  or  by  criminals,  whom  they  had  pardoned  hut  who  in  consequence 
became  their  slaves,  (for  which  they  had  the  power  according  to  the  exist- 
ing custom.)  But  they  could  claim  no  drudgery  from  the  people,  with 
the  exception  of  the  furnishing  of  building  materials,  which  however  was 
demanded  in  a  friendly  manner.    Besides  they  had  the  revenue  of  three 


1840.]       Description  of  the  Net  her  lands'  Territory.  o9/ 


tolls,  viz.  every  traveller  was  to  pay  for  every  karbow  half  a  gilder,  for 
a  cow  four  two-penny  pieces,  and  for  every  load  two  two-penny  pieces, 
with  the  exception  of  the  districts  of  Soengie  Trap,Soerocasso  and  Padang 
Ganting,  who  enjoyed  the  privilege  of  being  free  from  toll,  as  they  were 
considered  the  pillars  of  the  state. 

One  of  these  tolls  was  established  at  Socmpoe  Koedoes,  appertaining  to 
the  first  princely  house  of  Roeina  die  Iloednm,  and  one  at  Boewa,  apper- 
taining to  the  second  princely  house,  or  Hoenm  die  Tengu,  and  one  at 
Pager  Roeyong,  appertaining  to  the  third  princely  house  or  Roema  die 
liocket.  Besides  they  had  the  revenue  or  tribute  of  the  states  of  Sine, 
Djambie,  Botangharie,  Indragirie  and  Palembang,  from  which  places  they 
received  every  two  and  a  half  years  one  chest  of  opium,  or  its  value  in 
cash  or  gold. 

The  incomes  which  those  princes,  by  contract  with  the  E.  I.  Company 
enjoyed  every  three  years  from  Padang  to  the  amount  of  1.000  reals 
(2,000  gilders)  were  ceded  to  the  districts  of  Soengie  Trap  and  Soeracasso. 

The  explanation  of  the  laws,  the  nature  of  crimes,  and  the  application 
of  punishments  among  the  inlanders  of  this  coast,  takes  place  according 
to  the  different  ideas  of  the  chiefs,  and  the  particular  institutions  of  each 
society,  tried  by  the  Hadats  according  to  the  tradition  and  the  prescribed 
rules  of  the  koran,  which  they  name  Hadut  bersander  shera,  and  shera  ber. 
sander  Hadut,  which  means,  the  customs  support  the  laws,  and  the  laws 
support  the  customs.  The  degeneration  which  those  customs  however 
experienced  after  a  lapse  of  so  many  centuries  ;  the  evading  of  the  laws, 
which  was  so  easy,  and  the  too  little  power  of  the  chiefs,  had  so  great  an 
influence  on  the  moral  state  of  the  people,  that  they  soon,  and  especially 
during  the  last  iifty  years,  fell  to  the  lowest  grade,  so  that  a  provision 
became  necessary  for  restoring  them.  This  provision  was  made ;  it 
originated  from  peculiar  circumstances,  but  received  a  wrong  direction 
and  became  the  source  of  uproar  and  distresses,  which  have  existed  for 
more  than  thirty  years,  and  the  end  of  which  cannot  be  seen.  Force  and 
oppression  first,  instead  of  mild  reasoning  was  employed,  and  to  this 
may  he  ascribed  the  origin  of  that  sect  which  have  made  themselves  so 
famous  under  the  name  of  Padries,  that  a  short  deviation  on  their  origin 
will  not  be  out  of  place. 

A  certain  Naw  Mentje  of  Agam,  residing  at  Boelriet  kamang,  having 
obtained  a  higher  degree  of  civilization  than  his  compatriots,  lamented 
the  state  of  morals  in  his  country,  and  being  desirous  of  improving  them, 
he  ordered  his  people  strictly  to  attend  to  religion  with  prayer  and  other 
prescribed  rules  of  the  Muhammadan  faith,  forbidding  at  the  same  time 
gambling,  cock-fighting,  the  chewing  of  opium,  drunkenness  and  the  use  of 
tobacco  ;  which  was  much  exercised  by  the  inlanders  even  to  excess.  The 
Agamcrs  were  also  at  that  time  immersed  in  the  greatest  barbarity  (now 
more  than  30  years  ago),  even  so  far  t hat  they  could  not  distinguish 
between  prepared  and  unprepared  spices,  theft  was  much  in  vogue, 
murder  and  stealing  and  selling  human  flesh  were  mere  pastimes  among 
them. 

The  appointment  of  Toeankoe  Nan  Renje  (the  last  word  signifies  learn- 
ed or  clever,  he  died  in  1832  at  Mejang,  belonging  to  the  Lavas  Boekiet) 
was  first  accepted  in  his  own  village  and  further  powerfully  carried, 
so  strong  even  that  he,  to  give  a  good  example,  deprived  his  own  mother 
of  ber  life,  because  she  had  privately  made  use  of  tobacco,  and  acted 
contrary  to  his  prohibition. 

This  unheard-of  cruelty  frightened  the  inhabitants  of  the  neighbouring 
villages,  who  in  consequence  embraced  the  new  faith,  and  those  who  did 
not  wish  to  submit  willingly,  were  forced  by  arms.  Soon  after  the  whole 
3  f  2 


398  Description  of  the  Netherlands'  Territory.  [July, 


of  Agam  obeyed  the  new  institutions  after  much  bloodshed  ;  a  priestly 
instead  of  a  patriarchal  form  of  government  was  then  introduced  into  this 
country,  and  in  every  village  a  Padfie  (divine)  was  appointed  to  each 
village,  who  exercised  the  supreme  voice  in  the  government.  To  distin- 
guish these  people  from  the  unconverted  it  was  ordered  that  all  of  them 
be  clothed  in  white. 

At  the  same  time  appeared  a  certain  inhabitant  of  IAntow,  Siedoe 
Moerrien  who  had  studied  divinity  in  Passaman,  situated  on  the  coast 
near  Padang,  and  Passaman.  He  joined  with  the  second  prince  of 
Pagger  Roe.jong  or  Manangkabow,  Yang  die  Pertoean  Nan  Bagoemae  or 
surnamed  Yang  Tahat,  he  made  him  observe  the  defects  in  the  morals 
and  customs  of  the  people  of  Tana  Datar  and  solicited  the  consent  of 
government  to  amend  them  strictly  after  the  institutions  of  the  Muhamma- 
dan  faith.  This  prince  not  only  accepted  these  propositions  with  readi- 
ness, but  insisted  also  that  both  the  other  princes,  who  were  with  him  at 
the  head  of  government,  should  embrace  them  ;  and  at  the  same  time 
ordered  the  entire  population  of  Tana  Datar  to  submit  themselves  to  the 
new  rules,  and  to  clothe  themselves  the  same  as  the  Agamers. 

Toeankoe  Passaman  afterwards  departed  to  his  birth-place  Lintow  with 
the  full  consent  and  power  of  government,  to  introduce  there  and  in 
other  subordinate  places  the  rules  of  the  new  doctrine.  But  here 
it  was  not  so  readily  accepted  ;  wherefore,  to  establish  a  good  example, 
he  killed  with  his  own  hands  a  Pangkocloe  whom  he  had  already 
met  three  times  with  a  fighting  cock  under  his  arm,  and  suffered 
him  not  to  be  buried.  This  measure  made  a  frightful  impression  on  the 
refractory  people,  who  immediately  submitted  themselves  to  him,  with 
the  exception  of  the  district  of  Tandjong  Baroeloe  ;  this  district  pertina- 
ciously resisted  his  doctrine,  and  induced  him  to  make  war  with  it,  and 
bring  it  to  obedience  by  force.  After  this  he  solicited  a  meeting  of  all 
the  princes  and  grandees  of  Tana  Datar  at  fCottu  Tcnga,  and  having  col- 
lected them  he  caused  to  be  put  to  death  jang  die  pertoean  Raja  Narro, 
jiing  die  pertoean  Raja  Tallang,  brother  to  the  present  banished  regent  of 
ManangkaboW,  and  the  son  .of  the  ancient  prince  of  Manangkabow,  Raja 
Moening,  declaring  them  to  be  heretics,  who  had  sinned  against  religion, 
because  the  first  had  made  war  with  him  at  Tandjong  Baroeloe,  and  the  other 
two  had  assisted  in  it.  A  great  dispute  then  arose  in  the  assembly  ;  they 
began  fighting  and  several  of  the  nobles  of  Pagger  Roeyong  were  wounded  ; 
the  retired  prince  Raja  Moening,  who  could  not  be  hurt  according  to  general 
opinion,  and  the  uncle  of  the  present  removed  regent,  Raja  Goempieta,  also 
named  Toeankoe  Patta,  escaped,  but  have  since  died.  After  this  followed 
a  war  between  the  Padries  and  the  Princes  of  Tana  Datar,  in  consequence 
of  which  the  princes  were  necessitated  to  quit  the  land  and  to  save  them- 
selves by  flight.  At  this  time  Toeankoe  Passaman  must  have  made  himself 
master  of  a  daughter  of  Toeankoe  Moening ;  whom  lie  probably  married. 
Raja  Moening  went  to  Loeboe  Djambie,  whilst  the  princes  of  both  the 
other  seats  died  shortly  before.  The  regent  Bagagar  Alam,  son  of  the 
princes  of  the  third  seat,  who  is  now  removed  to  Batavia  went  to  Padang. 
and  his  uncle,  who  was  already  elevated  by  the  people  to  the  third  throne, 
went  to  Oelakhun.  Now  the  government  of  Taivi  Datar  became  entirely 
priestly;  every  village  obtained  a  priest  (Padrie)  as  head,  who  however 
soon  after  commenced  to  misuse  the  power  which  was  entrusted  them, 
as  well  at  Tana  Datar  and  Agam,  and  under  the  cloak  of  religion  made  the 
most  arbitrary  laws,  wliereby  the  people  were  prohibited  the  wearing  of 
ornaments,  the  chewing  of  betel-nuts  and  similar  other  things,  in  con- 
sequence of  which  many  more  trespasses  were  committed,  which  by  the 
paying  of  fines  gave  a  large  field  to  covetousness  and  self-interest. 

(To  be  concluded  in  our  next.) 


1840.] 


Urdu  Version  of  the  New  Testament. 


399 


VIII. — Urdu  Version  of  the  Neio  Testament.    Reply  to  the 
article  of  T.  S.  in  the  last  number. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Dear  Sirs, 

T.  S.'s  free  and  frank  acknowledgment  of  his  mistake  in  reference 
to  the  omission  of  John  v.  4  is  quite  satisfactory,  and  his  sincere  and 
unrestrained  apology  readily  accepted.  His  mistake  has  been  admitted 
into  the  official  correspondence  of  the  Bombay  Bible  Society,  but  his 
acknowledgment  and  apology  will  set  all  right  again.  Errare  huma- 
num  est. 

I  should  be  under  great  obligation  to  T.  S.  if  he  had  convinced  me 
that  John  viii.  1 — 12  is  not  spurious,  for  the  omission  of  this  passage  will 
considerably  injure  our  version  in  the  estimation  of  many.  We  have, 
as  far  as  I  recollect,  not  rejected  any  passage  which  Dr.  Griesbach  has 
admitted  into  his  text  except  this  which  he  has  admitted  with  the 
mark  of  its  being  probably  to  be  rejected.  If  we  admit  this  passage, 
we  shall  have  Dr.  Griesbach  entirely  on  our  side,  and  to  stand  and  fall 
with  him  will  always  be  honorable.  As  to  MSS.  the  passage  is 
wanting  in  all  the  old  ones,  except  D  ;  for  G,  is  according  to  Scholz 
of  the  10th,  according  to  Griesbach  of  the  12th  century  ;  H.  is  of  the 
11th  century,  K.  in  which  the  celebrated  passage  constitutes  a 
distinct  character,  is  according  to  Scholz  and  Hug  of  the  9th,  and  to 
Simon  of  the  10th  century  ;  M.  is  of  the  10th  century.  Now  T.  S. 
allows  that  the  MSS.  of  the  10th,  11th,  12th  and  13th  centuries 
make  nothing  for  the  argument  one  way  or  other:  vide  page  183 
of  the  Observer,  "  D.  is  a  very  ancient  and  excellent  codex,  and 
if  it  contained  no  other  apocryphal  addition  I  would  say  the  passage 
is  doubtful,  and  we  dare  not  omit  doubtful  portions  of  Scripture. 
These  additions  are  not  so  very  short  and  not  mere  glosses." 
I  copy  the  remarkable  addition  of  this  Codex  to  Luke  vi.  4  from  Dr. 
Olshausen's  commentary,  vol.  I.  p.  382  :  T5)  abrrj  eeo.o-dp.ev6s  rtva  ipya- 
£6fxevoi>  to)  ao.t30a.Ta>,  eiirev  out^i,  HvOpoiire,  el  )xev  oT5os  r't  ■woie^s  fiaxapios  el,  el  Se 
fir]  oloas,  eiriKaTaparos   ko.i  Trapa/Harris  el  tov  v6pov.    In  English  thus  :   "  Oil 

that  same  day  he  saw  a  man  working  on  the  Sabbath  and  said  unto 
him,  If  thou  knowest,  man,  what  thou  art  doing,  thou  art  blessed  ; 
but  if  thou  dost  not  know  it,  thou  art  cursed  and  a  transgressor  of 
the  law."  See  on  the  meaning  of  this  passage  Ilom.  xiv.  5.  Now 
this  passage  may  be  defended  with  nearly  the  same  arguments  with 
which  T.  S.  and  Dr.  Bloomfield  defend  John  viii.  1 — 12.  It  is  not 
found  in  A.  B.  C.  "  but  in  estimating  the  value  of  their  joint  testimo- 
ny, we  ought  to  bear  in  mind  that  according  to  Dr.  Scholz,  &c.  &c.  (see 
the  whole  of  T.  S.'s  remarkable  paragraph  in  page  183  of  the  Obser- 
ver J  the  passage  was  omitted  by  the  Fathers  because  they  feared  that 
it  would  give  countenance  to  Sabbath-breaking.  "  The  fabricated 
stories  found  in  the  apocryphal  gospel  are  quite  of  a  different  charac- 
ter, and  are  almost  always  founded  on  the  most  severe  and  ascetic  views. 
And  had  this  paragraph  been  of  that  character  it  would,  I  will  venture 
to  say,  never  have  been  omitted,  or  removed  by  any."    "  In  short,  all 


400 


Urdu  Version  of  the  Neiv  Testament. 


[July, 


the  arguments  put  together,  founded  on  internal  evidence  against  the 
authenticity  of  this  paragraph,  will  not  counterhalance  one  which  may 
be  adduced  for  it ;  namely,  that  while  we  can  easily  imagine  why  it 
should  have  been  omitted,  no  tolerable  reason  can  be  assigned  why  the 
story  should  have  been  fabricated  at  all. 

T.  S.  says,  "  It  is  said  by  Stanidlin  (quoted  by  Bloomfield)  that  the 
passage  is  found  in  most  though  not  in  all,  of  the  most  ancient  MSS. 
of  the  most  ancient  versions.  Such  as  the  Ethiopic  and  Armenian." 
To  this  I  oppose  Dr.  Tholuck's  testimony.  "  As  to  versions,  the  para- 
graph is  wanting  in  the  oldest  MSS.  of  the  Syriac,  Coptic,  Armenian 
(in  which  it  is  put  as  an  appendix  to  the  gospel)  and  the  Gothic."  Dr. 
Tholuck  is  one  of  the  most  pious  and  able  men  of  the  present  age. 
He  was  for  several  years  Chaplain  to  the  Prussian  Embassy  at  Rome, 
where  he  bad  the  best  opportunity  of  inspecting  ancient  MSS.  He  has 
been  twice  in  England.  In  short,  Tholuck  is  acquainted  with  nearly  all 
the  MSS.  in  the  best  European  Libraries,  and  with  the  languages  in 
which  they  are  written.  The  American  scholars  have  expressed  a  wish 
that  Tholuck  should  write  a  book  on  the  history  of  the  doctrine  of  the 
Logos,  because  there  is  no  other  man  living  who  has  access  to  so  many 
sources  of  information.  I  am  personally  acquainted  with  Tholuck,  and 
it  was  chiefly  through  his  recommendation  and  that  of  Neander  and 
Hengstenberg,  that  I  became  a  Missionary  of  the  London  Society.  I 
can  never  speak  of  these  truly  great  men  but  with  filial  affection  and 
reverence,  and  I  am  grieved  when  reproach  is  put  upon  their  bright 
names,  not  for  their  own  sakes,  but  for  the  sake  of  the  persons  who 
do  it. 

T.  S.  says,  that  "  the  passage  is  found  in  Tatian  and  Ammonius, 
both  of  the  second  century."  See  a  detailed  account  of  Tatian  and 
his  writings  in  Neander's  Church  History,  vol.  iii.  1131,  &c.  &c.  and  of 
Ammonius  in  the  same  work,  vol.  iii.  1183.  I  never  learnt  that  these 
writers  have  the  paragraph,  either  from  Griesbach,  or  Neander,  or 
Tholuck  or  Olshausen.  Dr.  Tholuck  says,  "  We  find  the  first  traces 
of  this  paragraph  in  the  Constitutiones  Apostolicae  (towards  the  end  of 
the  third  century)  by  Ambros.  August.  Hieron."  T.  S.  says  in  his 
first  article,  "  We  wish  we  could  afford  space  to  present  our  readers 
with  the  convincing  defence  of  the  narrative  by  Dr.  Bloomfield,  &c." 
A  more  unsatifactory  piece  of  criticism  than  that  of  Dr.  Bloomfield 
on  this  passage  I  have  never  met  with.  Augustine  De  Adulterinis 
Conjugiis  ii.  7,  says,  "I  believe  or  suppose  (credo)  that  many  have 
removed  it  from  their  copies."  This  is  merely  the  private  opinion,  per- 
haps polemical  accusation,  of  Augustine  ;  but  after  this  influential  Father 
had,  in  the  4th  century,  publicly  stated  his  apprehension,  the  paragraph 
is  not  removed  from  the  copies.  This  is  merely  a  conjecture  and  sup- 
position of  an  individual  ;  and  if  these  shall  have  any  weight  in  critical 
investigation  I  will  venture  the  opinion  that  the  story  was  fabricated  and 
afterwards  defended  by  the  Carpocratians  !  Now  Dr.  Bloomfield  gives  the 
conjecture  of  Augustine  as  an  Historical  fact  !  So  Augustine  de  Conjug. 

Adul.  ii.  7,  says,  "  that  many  removed  it  from  their  copies."  Is  it 

fair  to  state  in  a  book,  which  professes  to  be  a  critical  work,  the  belief 
or  opinion  of  a  man  as  an  historical  fact  ?    I  am  sure  the  simple  state- 


1840.] 


Urdu  Version  of  the  Neiv  Testament. 


401 


ment  of  this  fact  will  fix  the  character  of  that  article.  A  greater  jum- 
ble of  MSS.  and  versions  and  more  arrogant  decision  I  have  never 
seen.  If  I  had  time  I  would  write  a  criticism  on  a  work  in  which  the 
spurious  passages  are  put  in  the  text  and  proved  in  the  notes  to  be 
false,  which  is  well  calculated  to  establish  Christian  Brahmanism  in  the 
church.  See  Matthew  xxvii.  35  ;  Acts.  ix.  5,  6  ;  Heb.  xii.  20,  in  that 
work. 

I  can  and  will  not  enter  upon  the  discussion  of  1st  John  v.  7.  The 
passage  is  now  rejected  by  all  critics  of  any  name,  and  if  we  must  wait 
till  all  agree,  no  reform  in  any  department  could  be  carried.  This  pas- 
sage is  no  part  of  the  oldest  Protestant  version,  namely,  Luther's  ex- 
cellent translation.  He  never  translated  it  or  admitted  it  as  long  as 
lie  lived.  The  last  editition  printed  under  Luther's  superintendence 
was  that  of  1546,  in  the  preface  to  which  he  requests  that  no  person 
will  make  any  alterations  in  it.  But  this  great  and  good  man  had  not 
been  dead  thirty  years,  when  the  passage  was  interpolated  in  his  Ger- 
man translation.  The  Wittenberg  edition  remained  true  to  Luther's 
text  till  1607.    See  Home's  Introduction,  vol.  iv.  p.  457. 

It  remains  only  for  me  to  setT.  S.  right  on  my  quotation  of  scripture. 
I  see  in  my  Hebrew  Concordance  that  the  injunction  idn  nbm  m  bunn-sb  is 
repeated.three  times  in  the  Pentateuch,  viz  Ex.  xxxiii.  19  ;  xxxiv.  26  and 
Deut.  xiv.  21.  The  English  authorized  version  has  translated  it  "  Thou 
shalt  not  seethe  a  kid  in  his  mother's  milk,"  but  na  Is  also  understood 
by  the  Jews  to  mean  a  calf.  "  ltajum  R.  Isaac  idem  putasse,  "n  non 
significare  hoedum,  sed  pullurn  ex  omni  animalium  genere."  As  to 
meaning,  Bochartus  putat ...Mosen  autem.  Israelitis  hue  consuetu- 
■dine  interdixisse,  quod  crudele  esset,  si  lac  matris  quod  hoedo  in  nu- 
trimentum  datum  est,  adhibeatur  ad  carnis  ipsius  consumptionem." 
Jiosenmuller.  I  have  quoted  from  memory;  the  Apostles  have  done  so 
too  ;  every  Biblical  scholar  and  almost  every  attentive  reader  of  the  Bible 
knows  that  more  than  one  half  of  all  the  quotations  in  the  N.  T.  are 
quotations  from  memory.  See  Home's  Introduction,  vol.  ii.  p.  28 1.  Paul 
uses  scripture  in  the  same  allegorical  way  ;  for  instance,  see  1  Cor. 
ix.  9.  For  it  is  written  in  the  law  of  Moses,  "  Thou  shall  not  muzzle 
the  mouth  of  the  ox  that  treadeth  out  the  corn  ?"  T.  S.  might  ask,  Are 
the  ministers  of  the  Gospel  compared  to  oxen  ?  Is  preaching  com- 
pared to  treading  out  the  corn  ?  What  does  the  muzzling  of  the  mouth 
mean  ?  Omne  simile  claudicat.  If  T.  S.  deeply  regrets  to  see  such 
a  loose  mode  of  quoting,  and  such  a  perversity  in  applying  Scripture, 
by  one  who  bears  the  honoured  name  of  a  translator  of  the  word  of  God, 
he  must  also  regret  to  see  it  done  by  the  Apostles.  I  wished  to  convey 
to  T«  S.  a  serious  admonition  ;  namely,  not  to  run  down  great  men  in 
the  Church  to  whom  we  are  so  much  indebted,  and  who  do  not  belong 
to  any  country,  as  Dr.  Bloomfield  has  done  in  the  preface  to  his  edition 
of  the  N.  T. — I  like  to  see  a  man  acknowledge  that  he  is  under  great 
obligation  to  the  great  men  whom  the  head  of  the  Church  raises  up 
from  time  to  time.  I  dare  not  apologize  for  having  quoted  Scripture 
from  memory,  lest  blame  might  be  brought  upon  the  New  Testament. 
If  I  have  erred,  my  error  is  countenanced  by  the  highest,  that  is  by 
inspired  authority. 


402  Urdu  Version  of  the  Neiv  Testament.  [July, 


T.  S.  informs  me  that  the  former  Editor  of  the  Observer  would 
have  subjected  us  to  another  sort  of  treatment  than  he  has  done. 
He  has  accused  us  of  error,  of  the  corruption  of  Scripture,  of  the 
perpetration  of  an  atrocity.  I  am  at  a  loss  to  conceive  how  the  former 
Editor  could  have  expressed  himself  in  stronger  terms  of  our  offence 
of  having  translated  the  N.  T.  according  to  our  own  and  not  other 
men's  consciences,  and  sold  a  first  edition  in  a  short  time.  We  can  put 
in  the  spurious  passages  whenever  we  like. 

I  am  astonished  to  hear  T.  S.  complain  of  being  treated  harshly  by 
me,  when  he  has  deliberately  thrown  the  first  stone  at  us,  and  is  so  very 
valiant  in  giving  blows.  I  suppose  he  will  have  to  throw  the  last  stone 
at  us  also. 

The  P.  S.  to  my  last  letter  I  am  prepared  to  defend  ;  it  does  not  con- 
tain an  unprovoked  attack  upon  a  body  of  Missionaries.  I  hope  it  will 
do  a  great  deal  of  good  in  one  way  or  other. 

I  am  now  heartily  tired  of  the  controversy  because  it  is  quite  useless 
to  discuss  such  matters  in  this  country.  We  never  intended  to  have 
done  so  ;  but  as  T.  S.  came  forward  with  such  warmth,  I  received  him 
in  the  same  cordial  manner.  I  now  propose  that  we  give  up  the 
controversy  for  the  present  and  separate  as  Christian  scholars. 

The  first  edition  of  our  Romanized  Testament  is  sold.  So  neither 
our  publisher  nor  any  body  has  lost  by  it.  We  would  immediately 
sanction  and  publish  and  sell  a  greatly  revised  and  corrected  edition,  if 
our  esteemed  colleague  and  beloved  brother,  Mr.  Buyers  were  not  ob- 
liged to  go  home.  We  have  entrusted  him  with  finally  fixing  the  text  for 
the  version  of  our  Mission*.  He  can  in  England  confer  with  such  men 
as  Dr.  P.  Smith  and  Dr.  Henderson  and  others.  We  are  quite  at  ease 
about  the  final  fate  of  our  version.  As  long  as  we  had  the  fixing  of  the 
text  we  acted  according  to  our  conscience  and  best  knowledge.  Have 
we  deserved  to  be  charged  for  the  conscientious  discharge  of  an  im- 
portant public  duty  with  corruption  of  Scripture,  with  the  perpetration 
of  atrocities  ?  If  T.  S.  will  consider  the  subject  calmly  he  will  agree 
with  me.  Does  T.  S.  mean  to  say  that  we  should  have  admitted  pas- 
sages which  we  consider  spurious  ?  or  have  left  the  translation  of 
the  Scriptures  altogether  alone  ?  Or  have  left  the  fixing  of  the  text  to 
the  Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bible  Society  ?  If  we  be  entrusted  with  the 
performance  of  evert/  ministerial  duty,  why  not  with  the  fixing  of  the 
text  ?  If  we  be  heterodox  men  let  the  London  Society  withdraw  its  confi- 
dence from  us.     I  have  always  preferred  principle  to  expediency,  and 

*  We  cannot  avoid  calling  the  attention  of  our  readers  to  the  remark- 
able position  maintained  by  the  Translator  in  this  paper  in  reference 
to  the  determining  of  the  text.  The  translator  objects  to  the  decisions  of 
the  Bible  Society  and  yet  he  will  submit  the  fixing  of  the  text  to  the  Rev. 
W.  Buyers  and  Drs.  Henderson  and  Pye  Smith — so  that  the  question  re- 
solves itself  into  this :  In  which  party  are  the  Church  disposed  to  put 
the  most  confidence — the  persons  named,  or  the  Bible  Society  ;  for  that 
the  text  should  be  fixed  is  admitted  by  our  correspondent,  for  if  not,  it  is 
evident  that  should  our  Bible  fall  into  the  bands  of  Unitarians  and  infidels, 
it  will  soon  become  a  very  small  volume.  VVe  should  not  have  been 
tempted  to  append  this  note,  had  not  the  controversy  ceased  in  our  pages 
witli  this  number. — Ed. 


1810.]         Urdu  Version  of  the  New  Testament. 


403 


ever  will  do  so  with  the  divine  help.  All  the  Protestant  Churches 
consider  the  Original  Greek  Testament  authentic,  and  their  versions 
which  differ  from  each  other,  of  secondary  importance.  That  popular 
versions  should  be  made  and  conformed  to,  the  best  editions  of  the 
Greek  Original,  is  a  position  too  plain  for  proof.  "  This  position 
there  is  a  difficulty  in  maintaining  on  account  of  its  exceeding  obvious- 
ness. To  defend  it  is  like  trying  to  confirm  a  self-evident  truth.  To 
find  argument  is  not  easy,  because  an  argument  is  something  clearer 
than  the  proposition  to  be  sustained." 

I  take  leave  of  the  controversy  for  the  present  with  the  excellent 
words  of  my  favorite  Editor,  the  venerable  Dr.  Griesbach. 

At  enim  vero  verbum  Dei  incertum  redditur,  si  unicuique  editori  tex- 
tual sacrum  refringere  licet  I  Eis  qui  ita  sentiunt,  respondeo,  primum  non 
licere  cuipiam  quicquam  mutare  pro  Hbitu.  Nil  mutatur,  nisi  quod 
mutare  jubent  partim  documenta  et  testimonia  vetustissima  ac  fide  dig- 
nissima,  partim  regular  criticae  certae,  indubiis  observationibus  super- 
structae,  et  a  viris  criticae  artis  peritissimis  admissae  et  pro  veris 
agnitac. .  . .  Nemo  itaque  verbum  Dei  se  defendere  ideo  jactet,  quia 
textum  Elzevirianum  tuetur.  Nam  aequo  jure  ii,  qui  inanuscriptorum 
codicum  textum  defendunt,  dicere  possunt,  verbi  divini  integritatem  a 
se  propugnari  contra  corruptorum  interpolationes.  Si  verbum  Dei 
salvum  esse  non  potest,  nisi  salvo  textu  Stephanico  aut  Elzeviriano, 
ubi,  quaeso,  erat  verbum  Dei  ante  procuratas  istas  editiones  ?  Immo 
ubi  fuit  ante  tempora  Erasmi  et  Complutensium  ?  Nusquam  profecto 
istis  temporibus  reperiebatur  nisi  in  iis  ipsis  codicibus  vetustis. .  Verbum 
Dei  manet  in  eeternum  !  Nec  incertum  fit  studiis  criticorum  modera- 
torum  atque  piorum,  qui  unice  id  agunt,  ut  Deo  auxiliante,  quam 
possunt  maxime,  verbum  divinum  reddant  certissimum. 

One  of  the  Translators. 

Bandras,  \2th  June,  1840. 

Notes  by  T.  S. — As  it  seems  exceedingly  desirable  that  the  matter  of 
the  Urdu  version  of  the  New  Testament  should  here  cease  and  determine, 
I  have  been  asked  by  the  Editors  of  the  Observer  with  consent  of  the 
writer  of  this  paper  to  append  to  it  a  note.  I  have  only  to  state  four  pro- 
positions. 

1.  The  Translator  has  not  shewn  and  cannot  possibly  shew  that  the 
MSS.  A.  and  C.  make  for  the  omission  of  the  verses  John  viii.  1 — 12. 

2.  According  to  his  own  principle  expressed  in  his  first  paper,  that  not 
the  number  but  the  antiquity  of  MSS.  proves  any  tiling,  he  ought  to  ad- 
mit the  passage  on  the  single  authority  of  the  Codex  D.  seeing  that  it  is 
admitted  by  all  but  unanimous  consent  to  be  the  oldest  MS.  extant. 

3.  The  Translator  has  not  attempted  to  vindicate  Griesbach's  giving  T. 
as  one  of  the  MSS.  that  make  against  the  passage,  which  1  have  asserted 
to  be  "  utterly  unfair." 

4.  The  Translator  has  not  ventured  to  allude  to  my  remarks  on  his 
statement  as  to  the  connection  of  the  passage. 

The  vindication  by  the  translator  of  his  misquotation  and  misapplica- 
tion of  Scripture  savours  more  of  the  school  of  Semler  and  De  Wetto 
than  of  that  of  Tholuck.  Regarding  the  principle  of  accommodation  I 
beg  to  be  permitted  to  recommend  to  his  most  careful  perusal  some  brief 
remarks  by  Moses  Stuart  at  the  conclusion  of  his  letters  to  Dr.  (Jhan- 
ning. 

vol.  i.  3  G 


404 


Poetry. 


[July, 


THE  INTERCESSOR. 

"  It  is  Christ  that  is  risen  again  who  is  even  at  the  right  hand  of  God,  who  also 
maketh  intercession  for  us.  Who  shall  separate  us  from  the  love  of  Christ  ?"  Rom. 
viii.  34,35. 

Though  clothed  in  majesty  and  might, 
And  circled  by  celestial  light, 
God  rests  upon  his  holy  throne — 
Blest  thought !  he  rests  not  there  alone  ; 
On  his  right  hand  a  throne  of  gold 
Is  held  by  one  of  mortal  mould, 
Who  bends  in  love  a  listening  ear 
The  melodies  of  Heaven  to  hear. 
Yet  calm  his  brow,  and  still  his  eye, 
Familiar  sounds  that  minstrelsy  ; 
For  well  he  knows  that  bliss  inspires 
The  music  of  those  angel  choirs. 

Hut  hark  !  a  mourner's  cries  ascend 
To  him,  our  Saviour  and  our  Friend. 
Forward  he  bends — a  Brother's  eye 
Looks  from  the  glory  seat  on  high, 
And  in  a  lowly  cot  he  sees 
A  weeping  sinner  on  bis  knees ; 
Mid  all  the  burst  of  heavenly  song 
liaised  by  the  "  bright  angelic''  throng, 
That  still  small  voice  of  newborn  love 
Sounds  sweetest  in  the  realms  above. 

Soon  Jesu  leaves  his  lofty  seat 
And  kneels  before  his  Father's  feet ; 
For  every  lamb  his  Spirit  feeds, 
The  watchful  Shepherd  swiftly  pleads  ; 
"  Father  of  light,  of  love,  of  hope, 
Another  wandering  sheep  is  brought 
Within  Christ's  Fold,  his  pardon  seal, 
The  sorrowing  mourner's  doom  repeal. 
The  Father  smiles  !  the  mandate's  given 
To  light  with  joy  the  halls  of  heaven. 
Sun,  moon  and  stars,  creation's  train, 
Swell  with  their  song  the  holy  strain. 
Sin  tainted  mortals  !  can  ye  hear 
Man's  soul  is  held  in  heaven  so  dear 
That  hallowed  Spirits  bless  the  hour 
It  yields  beneath  redeeming  power, 
And  yet  cold  as  the  darksome  grave, 
Forget  ye  have  these  souls  to  save  ? 
Think,  O  but  for  a  moment  think, 
While  yet  ye're  hovering  on  life's  brink  ; 
Probe  deep  your  hearts  with  searching  eye, 
For  time  fast  nears  eternity. 
And  if  the  canker  worm  within 
Still  holds  you  in  the  bonds  of  sin, 


1840.] 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


405 


Burst  from  its  fetters— rend  its  chain — 
Be  free — and  call  on  Jesu's  name. 
O'er  flowery  paths,  o'er  fields  of  light 
His  Spirit  e'er  will  guide  ye  right ; 
Each  cloud  of  sin  shall  flee  away 
Before  the  dawning  star  of  day. 
And  bright  as  yonder  setting  sun, 
Whose  measured  course  of  glory's  run, 
A  radiance  o'er  thy  path  shall  shine, 
Brightening  as  thy  days  decline. 

So  shall  the  Christian's  hour  of  rest 
Be  bless'd  in  Thee— Sun  of  the  blest ! 
And  long  thy  glorious  rays  shall  light 
The  regions  where  shall  end  his  flight. 

June  6th,  1840. 


1. — Missionary  and  Ecclesiastical  Movements. 
Since  our  last  the  following  movements  have  taken  place  in  the  Mis- 
sionary circle.  The  Rev.  F.  AVybrow  and  Mrs.  Wybrow  have  left 
Calcutta  for  Goruckpore,  the  Rev.  J.  Wilkinson  at  that  station  being 
obliged  to  seek  for  health  in  a  change  of  clime.  We  sincerely  regret 
Mr.  Wybrow's  departure  from  Calcutta. — The  Rev.  W.  Glen  has  left 
for  his  station  at  Moorshedabad.  May  the  Lord  bless  him  in  his  work. 
— The  Rev.  Geo.  Pickance,  formerly  of  the  General  Baptist.  Communion, 
is  a  candidate  for  holy  orders  in  the  Episcopal  Church. 

2. — Hinduism  and  Vedantism  Missionary. 
The  general  impression  is  that  Hinduism  is  Anti-missionary  and 
unambitious  of  conversions.  This  may  be  applicable  to  the  system  but 
certainly  not  to  individuals.  The  brahmans  have  ever  been  zealously 
employed  in  propagating  their  tenets  amongst  the  numerous  hill  tribes 
of  India,  and  in  many  instances  with  complete  success.  Their  efforts 
and  success  are  much  more  extensive  than  we  are  at  present  aware  of, 
and  it  behoves  Christian  people  to  be  up  and  doing  amongst  the  hill 
people  before  they  be  converted  from  Deism  to  the  idolatries  of  the 
country.  The  last  and  most  novel  movement  on  the  part  of  the  Hindu 
is  that  of  the  Vedists.  They  have,  we  understand,  determined  to  send 
out  Missionaries  to  preach  the  doctrines  of  the  Vedas  amongst  the  peo- 
ple. They  also  design  to  establish  a  patshala  for  the  vernaculars  in 
which  the  Vedas  shall  alone  be  taught.  This  even  is  good  ;  it  will 
serve  to  set  the  lethargic  minds  of  the  people  at  work — which  is  a  great 
end  gained. 


3. — Educated  and  Wealthy  Native  Youth. 
The  number  of  well-educated  and  wealthy  Hindu  youth  in  and  about 
Calcutta  is  now  very  considerable,  and  the  question  which  seriously 
suggests  itself  to  a  reflecting  mind  is,  what  part  will  they  enact  in  the 
promotion  of  their  country's  welfare  when  they  attain  to  the  rights  of 
manhood  and  heirship.  This  is  a  far  more  serious  matter  than  it  may 
3  g  2 


406  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence*  [July, 


Appear  to  a  superficial  observer.  These  young  men  will  in  a  few  years 
be  the  leading  members  of  society — how  will  they  lead  it  ?  They  will 
not,  cannot  follow  in  the  footsteps  of  their  less  educated  and  more 
idolatrous  fathers.  They  will  doubtless  aspire  after  the  character 
of  liberals ;  they  will  seek  to  imitate  the  habits  of  the  western 
aristocracy — we  would  fain  hope  their  virtues.  The  circles  into  which 
they  have  been  thrown  however  almost  destroys  that  hope.  Gambling, 
horse-racing,  dinners,  inebriation,  and  the  like,  are,  we  fear,  too  inti- 
mately bound  up  with  their  western  associations  to  leave  much  room  for 
the  hope  that  they  will  be  found  taking  the  lead  or  even  aiding  others 
in  effecting  practical  reform  in  Hindu  Society.  We  would,  if  it  were 
possible,  warn  the  rising  race  of  Hindu  gentlemen  to  eschew  the  associ- 
ations of  dissipated  and  infidel  Europeans,  strive  to  leave  the  low  plea- 
sures of  even  civilized  lands  for  the  higher  walks  of  usefulness,  and  the 
more  improving  and  healthful  connection  of  those  who  are  in  many 
ways  proving  themselves  the  friends  of  India. 


4. — The  Cooly  Report. 
This  document,  so  long  sought  by  the  press,  has  at  length  made  its 
appearance.  We  propose  to  analyze  it  for  our  next  issue.  In  the  mean 
time  we  would  remark  that  it  contains  enough  to  startle  even  legisla- 
tors bent  on  the  revival  of  the  slave-trade,  and  develops  the  evils 
connected  with  the  traffic  in  such  a  way  as  to  induce  in  our  minds 
the  impression  that  if  its  statements  be  fairly  weighed,  India  will  not  be 
a  nursery  for  the  future  vassals  of  British  slave  colonies.  We  pray  that 
England  may  not  add  to  the  evils  already  inflicted  on  her  colonies  the 
additional  one  of  serving  the  justly-blighted  interests  of  a  mere  handful 
of  monied  oppressors,  by  enslaving  the  before  happy  and  free  though  poor 
hill  tribes  of  India. 


5. — Efforts  for  the  Abolition  of  the  Ciiarak. 
When  the  abominations  of  the  Charak  are  before  us,  all  are  agog  for 
its  abolition  ;  but  no  sooner  have  its  sights  and  sounds  passed  away 
than  it  is  forgotten  until  another  year  revives  our  feelings  and  strength- 
ens our  resolutions.  So  has  it  been  with  other  years ;  we  trust  it  will 
not  be  so  with  this.  Let  the  friends  of  humanity  collect  information 
form  every  quarter  on  the  subject,  and  hand  it  over  to  those  inter- 
ested in  the  matter,  and  it  will  then  be  likely  to  assume  a  more  tangible 
form.  We  understand  a  Committee  has  been  formed  in  Calcutta  for 
this  purpose,  to  whom  we  shall  be  happy  to  forward  any  documents  or 
facts  on  the  subject. 


6. — Scriptures  in  Persian. 
The  Old  Testament  Scriptures  in  Persian  so  long  under  translation  by 
Mr.  Glen  of  Astrachan  are  now  completed  and  in  process  of  printing. 
Mr.  G.  has  repaired  to  Tabreez  for  this  purpose,  that  he  may  avail 
himself  of  the  aid  of  the  best  Persian  scholars  in  carrying  the  work 
through  the  press. 


7. — The  Monthly  Missionary  Prayer  Meeting 
was  held  at  the  Baptist  Chapel,  Intally,  last  month.  The  address 
delivered  by  Dr.  Duff  was  characterized  by  his  usual  energy  and  elo- 
quence. The  points  primarily  adverted  to  were  the  present  state  of 
society  in  Britain — the  influence  of  infidelity,  politics  and  popery  on 
the  masses  ;  and  the  blessed  effects  of  revivals — a  most  interesting  and 
stirring  account  of  which  was  afforded  by  the  Reverend  speaker,  who 
had  been  an  eye  and  ear-witness  of  some  of  the  recent  revivals  in  Scot- 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  40/ 


land.   The  address  was  listened  to  by  a  deeply  attentive  and  crowded 
audience  with  the  most  intense  interest. 

8.  — Popery  and  Puseyism. 

It  is  with  the  sincerest  regret  we  announce  that  Popery  is  suc- 
cessfully cheating'  nominal  Protestants  to  give  it  their  support  to  gain 
ascendancy  once  more  over  the  minds  of  men,  which  it  most  assured- 
ly has,  for  during  the  last  month  we  have  read  that  many  of  the 
leading  members  of  professedly  Protestant  principles  have  subscribed 
to  a  fund  for  the  establishment  of  an  Ursuline  Nunnery  in  Calcutta — 
amongst  whom  are  to  be  found  members  of  council,  judges,  church 
officers  and  other  equally  prominent  members  of  Society.  Surely  this  is 
one  of  the  signs  of  the  times,  and  one  too  that  should  set  all  sincere  Chris- 
tir.ns  a  thinking,  and  make  them  unite  against  the  common  enemy  of 
heavenly  truth.  But  not  only  have  we  to  regret  the  spread  of  the  influ- 
ence of  Popery,  but  also  the  appearance  and  advocacy  of  its  twin  sister, 
Puseyism.  This  Protestant-Popery  has  found  its  way  to  India,  and 
advocates,  we  fear  have  sprung  up  for  it  in  the  very  fountain  of  episco- 
pal learning.  Feasts  and  fast-days,  rites,  ceremonies,  and  externals 
are  being  put  in  comparison  with  the  great  truths  of  our  holy  faith.  The 
fathers  are  added  to  the  authority  of  Scripture,  and  the  fundamental 
principle  of  the  Reformation,  the  Scriptures  the  only  rule  of  the  Christian 
faith,  sapped  to  its  very  base.  May  there  not  be  wanting  men  who  shall 
be  valiant  to  defend  Christ's  truth,  both  from  the  open  assaults  of  Popery 
without,  and  the  insidious  attempts  to  bring  the  Protestant  church  into 
the  bondage  of  Popery  within.  The  Bishop  of  Calcutta  deserves  thanks 
at  the  hands  of  the  whole  church,  for  his  lucid  and  firm  expose  of  the 
errors  which  are  mixed  up  with  this  new  form  of  Popery.  It  is  to  be 
found  in  his  last  charge  and  will  well  repay  a  careful  perusal.  Our 
contemporary  the  Intelligencer  republished  it  in  his  last  issue. 

9.  — The  China  Expedition. 

The  whole  of  the  expedition  destined  for  war  with  China  has  arrived 
in  safety  at  Singapore.  The  casualties  had  been  few  ;  the  troops  were 
veil  and  in  high  spirits.  Nothing  definite  had  transpired  as  to  the 
destination  of  the  expedition :  all  is  mystery  as  yet.  Our  hope  for  the 
speedy  and  bloodless  termination  of  the  threatening  war  is  alone  in  God. 

10. — The  Calcutta  School  Book  Society. 
The  meeting  of  the  .above  Society  for  reading  the  report  of  the  Com- 
mittee for  the  last  three  or  four  years,  was  held  at  the  Town  Hall  on 
Saturday  the  6th  of  June.  Sir  E.  Ryan  presided  and  read  the  Report. 
We  gather  from  the  speeches  delivered  on  the  occasion,  that  the  Society 
has  risen  from  its  slumbers  and  is  now  about  to  take  the  lead  in  pro- 
viding instruction  for  the  youth  of  India — a  resolution  curious  enough, 
since  there  are  other  societies  in  the  field.  While  this  has  slumbered 
and  slept  others  have  endeavoured  to  provide  school-books  from  which 
the  Gospel  shall  not  be  excluded  and  references  to  Christianity  systema- 
tically opposed.  The  meeting  itself  beyond  the  reading  of  the  Report  and 
a  very  high  eulogy  passed  by  Sir  E.  Ryan  on  the  late  indefatigable  Secre- 
tary, Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce,  was  destitute  of  interest  as  it  regards  the  grand 
theme  of  educating  the  natives  of  this  country ; — the  report  of  the 
meeting  at  least  consists  of  little  beyond  a  few  complimentary  resolutions 
and  speeches. 

11. — Vernacular  Schools. 
During  the  last  few  months  several  vernacular  schools  have  been  esta- 
blished by  wealthy  Baboos  in  different  parts  of  the  presidency,  and  some 


408 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


[July, 


of  the  men  educated  in  the  public  seminaries  in  Calcutta.  This  is  so  far 
a  good  omen.  It  shows  a  thirst  for  knowledge  amongst  the  people,  and 
a  desire  on  the  part  of  some  at  least  to  afford  it  even  at  their  own  cost. 
When  will  Christian  people  possess  the  means  and  disposition  to  establish 
through  the  whole  country,  schools  in  which  that  alone  will  be  taught 
which  can  bless  the  people,  the  knowledge  of  Christ— knowledge  without 
Christianity  will  be  no  blessing. 

12. — Rev.  Mr.  Tucker's  Funeral  Sermon  for  the  Rev.  W.  H.  Pearce. 

We  have  been  favored  with  a  copy  of  the  excellent  funeral  discourse 
delivered  by  the  Rev.  F.  Tucker  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  the  Rev. 
W.  H.  Pearce.  The  author  states  that  "  the  following  Sermon  was  preach- 
ed at  the  request  of  Mr.  Pearce's  friends;  and  at  their  request  it  is  now- 
published,  its  publication  has  been  somewhat  delayed  in  the  hope  that 
it  might  appear  in  the  same  volume  with  a  Memoir  of  Mr.  Pearce  : 
but  as  the  Rev.  W.  Yates,  who  is  preparing  the  Memoir,  has  found  the 
quantity  of  the  material  for  it  larger  than  was  expected,  and  the  time 
required  for  its  arrangement  consequently  longer,  it  has  been  thought 
desirable  to  publish  the  Sermon  in  the  interval.  May  the  Lord  be  pleas- 
ed to  make  it  useful!" — We  have  neither  time  or  space  in  our  present 
number  to  do  more  than  unite  in  the  prayer  of  the  esteemed  author,  that 
the  Lord  may  be  pleased  to  make  it  useful,  and  to  cordially  recommend 
it  to  all  our  readers. 

The  reason  assigned  for  its  publication  in  a  separate  form  will  also 
account  for  the  non-appearance  of  the  remainder  of  the  Memoir  of  Mr. 
Pearce  in  the  pages  of  the  Observer. 


13. — The  Late  Capt.  Joseph  Richardson. 

[We  are  not  willing  that  so  worthy  a  disciple  as  Capt.  Richardson 
should  pass  from  amongst  us  without  some  notice  appearing  in  the  pages 
of  the  Observer  ;  and  though  it  he  late  it  is  not  the  less  sincere.  We  had 
hoped  to  have  obtained  a  memoir  of  this  good  man,  (for  such  he  was)  and 
full  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  In  the  absence  of  other  and  ampler  information 
we  have  extracted  the  following  from  the  Intelligencer.  For  such  of 
our  readers  as  may  not  have  had  acquaintance  with  Capt.  Richardson 
we  would  simply  state,  that  he  was  attached  to  the  Honorable  Company's 
Marine,  and  for  many  years  had  the  command  of  one  of  the  pilot  vessels, 
in  which  station  he  ever  maintained  a  truly  Christian  deportment,  as 
many  whom  sickness  may  have  taken  there  can  testify.  He  was  a  man 
who  had  become  familiar  with  affliction,  and  to  whom  the  Lord  had  most 
graciously  revealed  himself  under  many  trials.  We  regret  the  death 
of  Capt.  R.  the  more  because  he  is  one  of  the  last  of  the  first  of  those 
who  aided  missions  and  the  cause  of  Christ  generally  in  Calcutta,  when 
such  aid  was  needed  indeed  and  not  so  readily  afforded  as  now.  May 
God  raise  up  many  who  in  their  lives,  shall  as  effectively  glorify  God 
as  he  did,  and  in  death  like  him  be  accompanied  to  his  burial  by  devout 
men  of  all  grades  in  society. — Ed.] 

"  Christianity  in  Calcutta  has  lost  one  of  her  most  consistent  children 
in  the  death  of  this  excellent  man.  He  was  called  to  his  rest  at  Colombo, 
Ceylon,  on  the  9th  April  last,  after  Jong  continued  bodily  sufferings, 
which  he  bore  with  edifying  patience,  looking  for  endless  rest,  and  lean- 
ing on  the  all-sufficiency  of  Christ.  He  was  for  many  years  a  member  of 
the  Old  Church  Congregation,  and  walked  in  the  ordinances  of  the 
Lord,  as  well  as  the  duties  of  his  profession,  blameless.  Humility  of 
mind  and  firmness  of  principle  were  admirably  blended  in  his  character — 
and  though  many  were  His  afflictions,  yet  the  great  Angel  of  the  Cove- 
nant was  manifestly  with  him  in  the  furnace,  and  has  at  last  "  delivered 
him  out  of  them  all." 


1840.]  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  409 


"  The  following  Extracts  from  the  Calcutta  Newspapers  will  shew  the 
estimation  in  which  this  worthy  man  was  held  : 

"  We  have  really  very  great  pleasure  in  giving  insertion  to  the  an- 
nexed tribute  by  the  District  Charitable  Society,  to  the  memory  of  one 
of  their  members,  the  late  Mr.  Joseph  Richardson,  a  Branch  Pilot,  who 
died  lately  at  Colombo,  whither  he  had  proceeded  for  the  benefit  of  his 
health : — 

"  In  recording  the  death  of  Mr.  Joseph  Richardson,  the  Members  of 
the  Old  Church  District  Charitable  Society  cannot  restrain  the  expres- 
sion of  their  deep  sorrow  at  the  severe  and  irreparable  loss  which  they 
have  sustained  by  this  melancholy  event,  an  event  which  has  deprived 
this  society  of  one  of  its  most  efficient  and  invaluable  members,  thereby 
causing  a  blank  which  cannot  easily  be  supplied.  While  Mr.  Rich- 
ardson's distinguished,  yet  unaffected  zeal,  and  vigilant  scrutiny  always 
protected  the  society  from  imposition,  his  unremitting  exertions  in  pro- 
moting its  objects  and  advancing  its  interests,  rendered  him  eminently 
conspicuous  as  one  of  its  firmest  supporters,  and  the  members  feel  they 
are  discharging  a  duty  which  is  justly  due  to  their  late  lamented  coadju- 
tor, in  recording  this  brief  but  sincere  tribute  to  his  memory,  in  grateful 
acknowledgment  of  the  assistance  they  derived  from  his  co-operation.'' 
— Englishman. 

"  We  have  great  pleasure  in  publishing  the  following  testimonial  to 
the  worth  of  one,  who  was,  for  a  period  of  seventeen  years,  a  great  sup- 
porter and  friend  of  the  Church  Missionary  Association — the  resolution 
was  passed  at  a  meeting  of  the  body  on  Monday  last: 

"  It  was  unanimously  resolved, — 'That  the  Committee  has  heard  with 
much  regret,  of  the  decease  of  Captain  Joseph  Richardson,  one  of  its  most 
efficient  co-adjutors,  who  ever  since  the  formation  of  the  Association  to 
the  time  of  his  last  departure  from  Calcutta,  had  contributed  by  his  sound 
advice — his  personal  contributions — his  exertions  among  his  friends  and 
acquaintance — and  his  intercessions  at  the  throne  of  grace — to  promote 
the  w  ell-being  of  this  Institution. 

"  The  heart's  desire  of  their  valued  friend  was  to  promote  the  honour 
and  glory  of  God  by  the  extension  of  the  Redeemer's  Kingdom  among 
his  fellow-creatures,  and  he  was  always  ready  to  embrace  every  oppor- 
tunity presented  to  him  of  interesting  his  friends  in  the  welfare  of  those 
institutions,  which  have  for  their  object — the  making  known  to  the 
perishing  heathen  the  way  of  salvation  through  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ. 

"  In  the  departure  of  their  friend,  the  Committee  experience  a  great 
loss  ; — but  they  bless  God  that  they  have  the  confident  assurance  that 
their  loss  is  his  gain — and  that  he  has  now  entered  upon  the  enjoyment 
of  that  heavenly  inheritance  which  is  "  uncorrupted,  undefiled,  and  fadeth 
not  away." — Courier. 

"  We  subjoin  a  very  interesting  account  of  the  last  hours  of  this  excel- 
lent man,  kindly  communicated  to  us  : 

"  Richardson  has  gone  to  glory,  even  to  that  glory  which  remaineth  for 
the  people  of  God.  The  Lord  speedily  raised  up  good  and  excellent 
friends  for  him  at  Colombo,  so  that  he  had  ten  Christians  at  last  waiting 
on  him  and  doing  him  every  office  of  kindness.  1  had  a  most  sweet  let- 
ter from  him  about  a  week  before  his  death,  saying  that  every  earthly 
want  had  been  supplied,  and  that  he  only  needed  more  grace  to  praise 
his  Heavenly  Father  for  such  rich  mercies  He  suffered  most  intensely 
during  the  last  three  months  of  his  life.  The  severe  spasms  which  he 
endured  became  of  daily  occurrence,  and  sometimes  lasted  for  a  long  time, 
and  even  for  two  or  three  days  with  more  or  less  pain.  During  all  this 
he  meekly  and  calmly  submitted  to  his  Father's  will,  and  .appeared  a 


410  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [July, 


singular  monument  of  grace  ;  latterly  his  feet  and  legs  swelled  so,  that 
he  could  not  move,  but  he  remained  cheerful  till  the  last.  The  day  he- 
fore  his  death  he  sat  up  in  bed,  endeavouring  to  write  to  one  of  his 
children  which  letter  was  left  unfinished,  for  on  the  morning  of  the  9th 
instant,  death  came  suddenly  upon  him.  His  most  attentive  Christian 
friend  was  sent  for,  and  found  him  much  dejected,  as  the  usual  remedy 
for  his  spasms  giving  him  no  relief;  and  worn  out  by  constant  pains  and 
sufferings,  he  was  weeping  and  appeared  afflicted  from  bodily  distress. 
His  friend  knelt  down  and  prayed  to  Almighty  God  to  help  His  suffering 
saint  at  the  last,  and  to  make  him  more  thau  conqueror.  Richardson 
became  calm  and  placid,  saying  emphatically  '  Can  death  be  conquered  ?' 
'  Yes.'  Can  the  grave  ?  c  Yes,'  was  replied  to  him.  '  Can  hell  be  con- 
quered?' 'Yes,  certainty,  all  have  been  conquered,'  added  the  gentle- 
man, '  praise  God.'  By  this  time  friend  II.  assumed  a  joyful  expression 
and  in  a  triumphant  manner,  and  with  great  animation  went  through  the 
whole  verse  of  the  Uoxology  '  Praise  God  from  whom,'  &c.  He  appeared 
to  be  meditating  on  the  exceeding  great  and  precious  promises  of  victory 
over  death  and  the  grave,  and  acting  faith  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  rather 
than  asking  questions  of  his  friend,  and  thus  he  triumphed  and  seemed  to 
enjoy  a  foretaste  of  that  bliss  which  was  soon  waiting  him.  He  got  him- 
self raised  up  in  bed,  his  countenance  assumed  a  most  pleasing  aspect 
(usually  the  case  with  him)  and  constantly  and  confidently  affirmed  his 
trust  and  reliance  on  his  Saviour.  He  appeared  not  to  have  had  any 
doubts  or  conflicts  on  his  mind,  and  all  the  dejection  evidently  arose  from 
the  poor  suffering  body  weighing  down  the  immortal  spirit.  He  sunk 
down  after  this  and  lay  without  power  of  speaking,  but  evidently  con- 
scious for  some  time,  as  appeared  from  his  looking  up  for  two  hours,  and 
then  without  the  least  apparent  suffering  fell  asleep  in  Jesus:  he  passed 
almost  imperceptibly  away,  and  thus  entered  into  the  joy  of  his  Lord. 
His  simple  and  great  faith,  and  his  love,  and  his  astonishing  long-suffer- 
ing were  very  remarkable,  his  humility  was  equally  so.  He  was  buried 
in  Colombo,  several  Civilians,  Merchants  and  Officers  following  his  re- 
mains; which  were  carried  to  the  grave  by  a  party  of  H.  M.  95th  Regt. : 
the  union  flag  was  used  as  a  pall,  and  his  friends  did  all  in  their  power  to 
shew  their  respect  for  him  by  thus  honoring  the  burial." — Christian 
Intelligencer. 

14. — Proposal  for  the  Erection  of  a  New  Baptist  Chapel  at  Dacca. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Dear  Sirs, 

You  will  greatly  oblige  us,  by  publishing  the  following  statement  with 
the  annexed  list  of  subscriptions,  and  receiving  any  further  contributions, 
which  may  be  offered  for  the  object,  which  we  have  in  view. 

Yours  very  sincerely, 

W.  Robinson. 

Dacca,  June  \0th,  1840. 

Though  the  Baptist  Mission,  at  Dacca,  has  existed  more  than  twenty 
years,  there  has  not  been  erected  any  place  for  English  worship.  Many 
persons,  Europeans,  Indo-Biitons,  and  others,  capable  of  understanding 
English,  have  availed  themselves  of  the  labours  of  Mr.  Leonard,  the  now 
aged  Missionary  there,  in  that  language;  and  there  is  reason  to  believe, 
that  a  considerable  number  have  been  essentially  benefited.  It  is  now 
thought,  by  the  friends  of  the  mission  there,  very  desirable,  that  a  place 
of  worship  should  be  erected,  in  a  convenient  situation,  as  the  present 
place,  Mr.  Leonard's  house,  is  objected  to  by  some,  on  account  of  its 
being  a  private  dwelling-house,  and  in  a  very  inconvenient  situation. 
Accordingly,  those  interested  in  this  object,  at  Dacca,,  have  done  their 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  411 


utmost  to  raise  subscriptions ;  but  they  liave  succeeded  in  raising 
only  half  of  the  amount  required;  four  thousand  Rupees  being  the 
lowest  sum,  with  which  a  building,  not  constructed  of  combustible  ma- 
terials, can  be  erected.  This  statement  is  therefore  laid  before  the 
public,  in  the  hope  of  obtaining  aid  from  the  friends  of  missions  in  other 
parts  of  the  country.  Any  sums  contributed  to  this  object,  will  be  receiv- 
ed by  G.  Lamb,  Esq.  Dacca,  Treasurer  ;  by  the  Editors  of  the  Christian 
Observer,  Calcutta  ;  by  the  Rev.  J.  Thomas,  Baptist  Mission  Press,  Circular 
Road,  Calcutta,  and  by  the  Editors  of  the  Friend  of  India,  Serampore. 
[See  cover  for  a  list  of  Subscribers  to  the  Chapel  Fund. — Ed.] 

15. — Madras  Univhrsity. 
The  Government  of  Madras  have  determined  to  establish  a  University 
at  that  presidency.  The  professors  are  to  be  the  most  enlightened  and 
intelligent;  the  council  is  to  consist  of  all  colors  and  creeds ;  and  the 
course  of  instruction  is  to  be  of  the  highest  and  best  order.  From  this  in- 
stitution God  is  alone  to  be  excluded,  and  the  knowledge  of  God  alone  is 
not  to  be  taught.  The  following  is  the.  rule  on  this  subject — a  rule,  re- 
member, calmly  and  deliberately  adopted  at  the  foundation  of  a  new 
University  : — 

"6th. — It  shall  form  no  part  of  the  design  of  this  Institution  to  inculcate  doc- 
trines of  religious  faith,  or  to  supply  books  with  any  such  view." 

So  now  Madras  and  Calcutta  can  boast  that  they  possess  each  a  col- 
lege over  the  doorway  of  which  is  written,  "  God  and  the  knowledge  of 
God  must  cease  to  be  mentioned  by  every  professor  and  pupil  as  he  steps 
over  this  threshold."  Rome  and  Greece  in  their  heathenism  never  at- 
tempted any  thing  like  this.  A  knowledge  of  the  gods  was  inseparable 
from  all  education;  but  the  Christian  rulers  of  India  have  arrived  at  the 
conclusion  neither  to  teach  the  knowledge  of  Him  on  whom  their  own 
hopes  for  salvation  rest,  nor  yet  the  knowledge  of  the  gods  in  whom  the 
heathen  repose  their  hopes.  In  short,  it  is  virtually  adopting  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  French  savans,  and  erecting  a  temple  to  reason  alone  without 
the  aid  of  revelation,  and  worshipping  the  intellect  of  man  instead  of 
paying  homage  to  God,  and  looking  up  to  Him  as  the  source  of  all  wis- 
dom and  knowledge,  who  giveth  to  every  man  liberally  and  upbraideth 
not.  The  authorities  of  course  have  it  in  their  power  to  do  this  or  that 
as  they  please.  They  may  sanction  a  new  slave-trade — cast  the  mantle 
of  their  protection  over  the  opium  trade —or  establish  seats  of  learning 
from  which  God  is  excluded,  and  where  his  knowledge  is  not  taught ; 
but  that  which  is  chiefly  to  be  mourned  over  is  that  the  people  wish  to 
have  it  so  by  common  consent :  and  even  the  Lord  Jehovah  might  say, 
Even  my  people— many  of  my  nominal  people  suggest  and  sanction  this 
thing,  they  will  have  it  so, — and  so  they  may  ;  but  can  it  go  unpunished  by 
Him  who  is  jealous  for  Hisown  glory  ?  The  subject  is  too  painful  in  its 
issues  to  the  present  and  future  millions  of  India  to  pursue  it  further 
for  the  present. — Calcutta  Christian  Advocate, 


16. — Madras  Tract  and  Book  Society. 

We  have  been  favored  with  the  Twenty-first  Report  of  the  Madras 
Tract  and  Book  Society,  from  which  we  gather  that  the  last  has  been  a 
year  of  "  usual  prosperity."  The  Committee  have  pursued  their  course 
with  alacrity  and  success.  The  Report  contains  much  interesting 
matter,  and  the  Appendix  is  full  of  statements  calculated  to  cheer  the 
Christian's  heart.  The  Committee  have  wisely  given  a  brief  abstract  of 
each  of  their  tracts  in  the  native  language,  "from  which  persons  desir- 
ous of  disseminating  the  tracts,  but  who  are  unacquainted  with  the 
native  languages,  may  be  enabled  to  select  those  they  may  deem  most 

VOL.  I.  3  H 


412  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [July, 


appropriate  to  their  purpose.  We  hope  to  give  an  extract  or  two  from 
the  Report  in  our  next.    Want  of  space  alone  prevents  us  this  month. 

17. —  London  Religious  Tract  Society. 

The  Fortieth  Annua]  Report  of  this  truly  excellent  Institution  has 
reached  us.  It  is  as  usual  replete  with  most  interesting  and  cheer- 
ing intelligence  in  reference  to  the  spread  of  Divine  truth  through  the 
medium  of  tracts.  We  have  only  space  to  extract  one  or  two  items 
from  the  Report.  The  first  relates  to  the  publications  circulated, 
concerning  which  the  Committee  says  : — 

"  The  publications  which  have  been  issued  from  the  depository  during 
the  year,  amount  to  eighteen  millions  and  forty-two  thousand  five  hun- 
dred and  thirty-nine,  being  an  increase  on  the  preceding  year  of  two  mil- 
lions one  hundred  and  two  thousand  nine  hundred  and  seventy-two; 
making  the  total  circulation  of  the  Society,  in  about  eighty-five  languages, 
including  the  issues  of  Foreign  societies,  assisted  by  this  Institution, 
amount  to  upwards  of  two  hundred  and  ninety-three  millions. 

"  The  gratuitous  issues  for  the  year,  in  money  grants,  paper,  and  publi- 
cations, together  with  the  grants  for  libraries,  amount  to  £7,740.  4s.  3d., 
being  £2,257.  18*.  Id.  beyond  the  total  benevolent  income  of  the  Institu- 
tion, from  subscriptions,  donations,  and  contributions  from  auxiliaries, 
and  all  other  sources. 

"  The  amount  of  sales  has  been  £50,  447-1-4.  The  total  receipts  for 
the  past  year  amounted  to  £G<2,  219-7-5  being  an  increase  of  £164-1-4 
on  the  former  year.  In  the  concluding  language  of  the  Report  we  most 
fully  concur. 

"  In  concluding  the  Report,  the  Committee  have  one  duty  to  discharge, 
which  they  do  with  cheerful  gratitude  to  Him  who  is  head  over  all  things, 
to  his  body,  the  church, — that  duty  is  to  congratulate  their  numerous 
friends,  that  in  these  times  of  excitement,  the  receipts  and  circulation 
of  the  Society  have  been  larger  than  in  preceeding  years ;  a  fact  which, 
they  think,  clearly  shows,  that  its  principles  are  valued  by  a  large  pro- 
portion of  the  church  of  Christ.  If,  in  some  few  cases,  the  Committee 
have  not  been  able  to  meet  the  wishes  of  former  friends,  by  raising  what 
must  have  become  the  standard  of  sectarianism  over  the  Institution,  they 
can  truly  say,  that  anxious  as  they  have  been  to  be  guided  in  all  things 
by  the  Holy  Spirit,  and  seeking,  as  they  have  done,  the  direction  of 
'  the  wisdom  which  cometh  down  from  above,'  they  have  not  discovered 
'a  more  excellent  way'  for  the  management  of  the  Institution,  than  the 
one  laid  down  at  first  by  its  venerated  and  departed  founders.  They 
feel  that,  in  humble  and  constant  dependance  upon  God,  it  is  their  so- 
lemn duty  to  maintain  inviolate,  the  truly  Christian  principles  of  the 
Society  ;  trusting  that,  ere  long,  by  mutual  forbearance,  all  the  members 
of '  the  household  of  faith'  will  '  stand  fast  in  one  spirit,  with  one  mind, 
striving  together  for  the  faith  of  the  gospel.'  " 

May  the  Committee  of  the  Tract  and  every  other  Catholic  Society, 
ever  be  enabled  to  lift  up  the  standard  of  Scriptural  truth  against  all  the 
efforts  of  all  sectarians  to  rend  and  divide  the  one  true  and  holy  Church 
of  the  Lord  Jesus. 


18. — Missions  at  thk  Cape. 
By  recent  arrivals  from  the  Cape  we  have  been  put  in  possession  of  the 
accounts  of  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the  London  Missionary  Society's 
Missions  in  that  country.  They  are  in  a  flourishing  condition  notwith- 
standing the  constant  attacks  to  which  they  are  subjected  by  political 
antagonists.  They  have  outlived  many  a  slander,  covert  and  open,  and 
bid  fair  under  God's  blessing  to  prove  the  truth  of  the  Scripture,  that 


1840.]         Missionary  and  Reliyious  Intelligence.  413 


"Wisdom  will  be  justified  in  all  her  children."  The  venerable  Dr.  Philip 
still  continues  a  terror  to  evil-doers  and  a  praise  to  such  as  do  well. 
May  he  be  long  spared  to  perfect  the  work  he  has  so  nobly  carried  on 
for  many  a  year. 

19. — Interview  with  Hjcji  Kakar. 

Extract  of  a  letter  from  Rev.  J.  T.  Thompson  of  Delhi. 

I  had  nearly  omitted  to  mention  that  when  the  Detachment  of  the  Ca- 
bul  Army  with  the  state  prisoner,  Haji  Kakar,  passed  through  this,  a 
much  esteemed  friend,  asked  me  for  a  Persian  Testament  top  resent  to 
him,  and  the  next  day  he  asked  me  to  go  and  see  the  Hajl,  which  I  did  ;  and 
conceiving  that  being  now  come  into  Hindustan  he  might  at  no  distant 
period  become  acquainted  with  its  language,  I  carried  and  presented  to 
him  one  of  your  Urdu  Testaments  with  marginal  references,  read  to  him 
out  of  it  and  the  Persian,  and  finding  the  venerable  old  man  deeply 
affected  and  in  tears,  I  proposed  prayer,  when  he  stood  up  and  continued 
in  the  attitude  of  prayer,  and  responded  to  every  petition.  After  prayer 
he  embraced  me,  said  he  could  remain  a  twelvemonth  listening  to  me, 
but  since  he  must  part,  begged  that  if  he  wrote  to  me  I  would  reply  ; 
and  added,  '  if  my  prayers  for  myself  are  accepted,  I  w  ill  not  fail  to  in- 
tercede for  you,  and  if  your  prayers  are  accepted,  do  not  fail  to  pray  for 
me.'  On  seeing  him  weep  profusely,  I  tendered  him  my  pocket-hand- 
kerchief ;  he  wiped  his  eyes  and  regretting  he  was  in  the  condition  of  a 
prisoner,  he  begged  me  to  keep  his  in  return,  having,  he  said,  nothing 
better  to  offer  for  my  acceptance. — Herald. 

20. — Distribution  op  the  Scriptures  at  Dacca. 
Extract  of  a  letter  from  Rev  W.  Robinson. 

On  Monday  the  21th,  the  long  expected  packages  of  books  and  tracts 
arrived.  Without  loss  of  time,  I  placed  the  well  bound  books  on  shelves, 
which  had  been  prepared  for  them.  So  neat  was  their  appearance  when 
thus  arranged,  that  I  thought  my  book-shelves  almost  rivalled  those  of  a 
Calcutta  bookseller.  We  went  in  the  evening  to  the  suspension  bridge 
to  preach,  taking  a  few  of  the  new  books  and  tracts  with  us.  As  soon 
as  we  appeared,  a  poor  man  cried  out  :  "Sir,  have  you  got  the  holy  shas- 
tar?"  "  Yes,"  said  I,  "here  is  a  part  of  it,"  1  gave  him  the  gospel  of 
John,  which  he  received  with  great  pleasure.  We  had  much  disputing, 
but  I  must  omit  that  to  tell  you  another  story. 

On  the  following  morning,  i.  e.  Tuesday  the  25th,  I  sent  a  number  of 
the  books,  perhaps  a  quarter  of  them,  to  brother  Leonard's  and  the  house 
of  our  native  brethren.  About  twelve  o'clock  a  scene  commenced  to 
which  I  had  never  witnessed  a  parallel.  Respectable  people  began  to 
come  for  books,  and  I  determined  to  keep  an  account  of  the  number  of 
applicants.  I  put  down  2,  1,  1,2,  13,  19  ;  but  here  my  arithmetic  failed: 
a  large  crowd  had  collected,  all  anxious  for  books.  I  was  obliged  to  stand 
in  the  doorway,  to  keep  them  in  the  verandah  :  for  had  they  come  into 
the  house  and  got  a  sight  of  the  books,  no  order  could  have  been  pre- 
served. My  children  brought  the  books  and  tracts  to  me,  and  I  distri- 
buted them  till  1  felt  quite  exhausted.  1  then  begged  the  people  to  de- 
part, that  1  might  take  some  refreshment.  Many  went,  but  some  re- 
mained. As  soon  as  I  rose  from  the  table,  which  I  did  in  about  half  an 
hour,  my  verandah  was  again  filled,  and  in  a  few  minutes  every  copy  of 
the  Gospel  and  the  Acts,  every  copy  of  the  Psalms,  and  every  copy  of  the 
New  Testament  was  gone.  I  had  then  nothing  to  offer  but  the  single 
gospels  and  tracts-.  About  a  hundred  of  the  former  were  taken,  and  of 
the  latter  more  than  I  could  number.  I  again  begged  the  people  to 
retire,  for  I  was  not  only  weary,  but  very  uneasy  in  mind.  1  shut  myself 
3  h  2 


414  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [July, 


up  in  my  room,  and  began  to  reflect.  "  I  have,"  thought  I,  "  in  three 
hours  given  away,  the  single  gospels  excepted,  every  copy  of  the  Scrip- 
tures, which  I  have  just  received.  In  the  morning  I  had  one  book  case 
and  half  another  filled  with  very  handsome  books,  in  the  preparation  of 
which  a  large  sum  of  money  had  been  expended  ; — and  now  every  shelf 
is  empty.  Have  I  done  right?  Will  not  our  good  friends  in  England 
and  America  censure  me  for  imprudence?  They  may,  but  I  will  tell 
them,  The  kingdom  of  heaven  suffereth  violence,  and  the  violent  take  it 
by  force.  These  books,  I  thought  again,  have  been  given  to  respectable 
people,  to  brahmans,  to  sirkars,  to  persons  of  the  writer  caste,  to  officers 
of  the  civil  courts,  to  persons  living  in  distant  parts  of  the  zillah,  and 
some  to  persons  from  other  zillahs.  All  of  them,  as  far  as  I  can  judge, 
have  been  given  to  persons  who  can  read  well."  Thus  1  was  a  little 
cheered  ;  but  I  felt  that  so  much  seed  having  been  sown  in  one  day,  it 
ought  to  be  watered  with  very  much  prayer.  At  the  prayer,  meeting  in 
the  evening,  Ramchandra  said,  "  I  was  in  the  court  part  of  the  day,  and 
I  saw  many  people  come  in  with  books  which  they  had  received  from 
you.  They  all  took  great  care  of  the  large  books,  but  I  saw  a  man  burn 
two  of  the  tracts." 

On  Wednesday  the  2Gth,  though  I  had  only  single  gospels  to  dispose 
of,  the  crowd  was  greater,  at  my  house,  than  the  day  before.  People  be- 
gan to  come  early  in  the  morning,  and,  by  eleven  o'clock,  two  or  three 
came  every  few  minutes.  Chand,  who  was  with  me  on  that  day,  pro- 
posed putting  a  table  in  the  verandah  with  books  on  it  for  distribu- 
tion. We  did  so  :  and  he  sat  by  it  to  serve  our  customers.  But  the 
sight  of  so  many  books  occasioned  a  tumult,  each  man  insisting  upon 
having  one  of  every  sort ;  and  my  poor  table  having  got  a  fracture  in  its 
leg,  we  were  obliged  to  dispense  witli  its  services.  I  now  sent  for 
Ganganarayan,  and  we  were  all  three  engaged  in  distributing  for  about 
two  hours,  when  we  were  quite  exhausted.  The  crowd  had  become  very 
great,  perhaps  1.50  people ;  the  noise  and  confusion  very  unpleasant :  I 
therefore  told  them,  that  I  would  give  away  no  more  books  that  day. 
We,  however,  continued  to  talk  with  the  people,  discussing  the  merits  of 
Hinduism  and  Christianity,  and  now  and  then  giving  a  tract,  for  it  was 
impossible  to  refuse  every  application.  By  three  o'clock  full  half  the 
single  gospels  and  tracts  were  gone ;  then,  in  good  earnest,  1  determined 
to  stop  for  the  day. — I  am  afraid  this  extravagance  will  produce  a  fa- 
mine, but  what  can  we  do  ?  The  books  and  tracts  were  sent  to  be  given 
to  those  who  can  read,  and  to  such  they  have  been  given. 

On  Thursday  the  27th,  great  numbers  came  again  for  books.  By  two 
o'clock  all  the  single  gospels  in  Bengali  were  gone,  those  in  Sanskrit  and 
a  few  in  Hindustani  only  remained.  Of  tracts  only  a  few  hundreds  re- 
mained, chiefly  in  Hindustani. 

You  will  now  perceive  that  I  used  no  hyperbole,  when  I  said,  in  a 
former  letter,  "  We  can  dispose  of  all  the  books  you  print,  and  exhaust 
the  Depot  of  the  Tract  Society."  1  have  not  begged  the  people  to  ac- 
cept these  books  ;  they  have  come  to  my  house  and  solicited  them,  and 
that,  in  many  cases,  with  surprising  importunity  ;  nor  have  they  been 
given  to  a  bazar  rabble,  but  to  respectable  people,  who  are  likely  to 
read  them. 

On  Friday  the  28th,  many  persons  came  for  books,  but  finding  that  I 
had  only  tracts  to  give,  the  concourse  was  less  than  on  the  preceding 
days.  I  commenced  by  giving  about  twenty  tracts  to  a  man  from  the 
zillah  of  Backer-ganj.  Me  begged  that  I  would  give  him  a  number  to 
take  home  with  him,  "because,"  said  he,  "there  are  none  procurable 
where  1  live,  and  I  want  to  shew  them  to  my  neighbours,  as  well  as  read 
them  myself."  I  told  him,  he  might  get  more  by  applying  to  Air.  Bareiro 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  415 


at  the  zillah  town.  I  had  to  refuse  many  to-day,  who  came  to  beg  parts 
of  the  Scriptures.  Sorrow  and  disappointment  were  depicted  on  their 
countenances. 

The  hooks,  which  were  sent  to  brother  Leonard's  and  to  the  house  of 
Our  native  brethren,  are  also  gone,  and  brother  Leonard  has  even  been 
obliged  to  encroach  on  his  old  stock.  Thus  about  a  thousand  and  one 
hundred  copies  of  different  parts  of  the  Scriptures,  and  an  innumerable 
number  of  tracts,  have  been  given  away  at  the  earnest  solicitation  of  the 
natives  in  four  days. 

The  Musalmans  have  now  become  eager  for  books,  every  Hindustani 
gospel  is  gone,  and  many  of  the  Hindustani  tracts. 

Can  you  send  us  another  stock  immediately  ?  Let  us  have  a  good 
number  of  gospels  and  Testaments  in  Hindustani.  The  books  already 
distributed  have  only  whetted  the  public  appetite. — Ibid. 

21. — Abolition  of  Sati'  in  the  Barooa  State. 

It  is  with  much  pleasure  that  we  give  our  confirmation  to  a  piece  of 
intelligence,  which  a  few  weeks  ago  appeared  in  some  of  the  public 
prints,  respecting  the  abolition  of  Sati  throughout  the  extensive  terri- 
tories of  His  Highness  the  Gaikawar.  We  have  made  particular  inqui- 
ries into  the  circumstances  in  which  this  arrangement,  so  satisfactory  to 
every  philanthropist,  originated  ;  and  we  are  happy  to  be  able  to  state 
that  they  are  highly  creditable  to  all  the  parties  concerned. 

It  appears  that  about  the  beginning  of  December  last,  the  Honorable 
James  Sutherland,  Esq.,  the  Political  Commissioner  for  Gujarat  and 
Resident  at  the  Baroda  Court,  reported  to  the  Bombay  Government 
the  occurrence  of  a  Sati  in  the  capital,  the  sufferer  being  the  widow  of 
a  Deshasth  brahman,  originally  an  inhabitant  of  Ratnagiri  in  the  South- 
ern Konkan.  He  also  stated,  with  regret,  that  one  or  two  occurrences 
of  a  like  nature  annually  took  place  in  the  town,  with  the  permission 
of  the  native  authorities.  The  sentiments  which  he  expressed  on  this 
subject  were  immediately  reciprocated  by  the  Governor  in  Council ;  and 
the  expediency  was  suggested  to  him  of  embracing  the  opportunity, 
when  the  British  Government  might  come  to  a  final  settlement  with  the 
Baroda  Darbar,  of  endeavouring  to  induce  His  Highness  the  Gaikawar 
of  his  own  accord  to  prohibit  the  performance  of  Sati  within  his  terri- 
tories. Before  the  communication  from  the  Government,  however,  had 
reached  Baroda,  Mr.  Sutherland  had  remonstrated  with  the  Gaikawar, 
both  by  written  correspondence  and  conversation,  in  such  terms,  as  led 
His  Highness  to  inform  him,  on  the  12th  of  February,  that  he  had  deter- 
mined to  cause  proper  arrangements  to  be  made,  conformably  to  the 
usages  of  his  government,  to  prevent  the  practice  of  Sati.  The  congra- 
tulation of  the  Bombay  Government  followed;  and  the  advice  was  judi- 
ciously tendered  by  it  to  His  Highness,  to  the  effect  that  he  should  issue 
a  proclamation  prohibiting  the  rite  under  the  severest  penalties.  His 
Highness  has  agreed  to  give  notice  of  his  intentions  in  such  terms  as 
will  accomplish  the  object  in  view. 

The  example  of  Mr.  Sutherland,  the  Bombay  Government,  and  the 
Gaikawar,  we  trust,  will  encourage  other  high  functionaries  and  native 
chiefs  to  support  the  cause  of  benevolence  and  humanity,  by  their  zeal- 
ous advocacy,  and  faithful  use  of  their  authority.  The  funeral  pile,  we 
expect  soon  to  see  deprived  of  the  living  victim  throughout  the  Native 
states,  as  it  has  been,  for  the  last  ten  years,  throughout  our  own  domi- 
nions. Can  no  more  decided  effects  than  have  lately  been  report- 
ed, be  made  for  the  prevention  of  a  crime,  kindred  to  that  which  we 
have  now  noticed, — the  practice  of  infanticide  throughout  the  Rajput 
states  ?    The  high  character  of  the  gentlemen  in  civil  employ  in  these 


416  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [July, 


districts,  warrants  us  to  expect  the  fulfilment  of  the  anticipations  too 
prematurely  formed  in  the  days  of  Walker  and  Duncan.  The  vigorous 
measures,  first  originated  by  Mr.  Willoughby,  in  Katiawar,  we  hear, 
are  still  beneficially  persevered  in  by  his  successors.  Sir  James  Carnac, 
who  has  lately  enforced  treaties  too  long  suffered  to  be  disregarded  by 
the  parties  concerned  in  them,  we  confidently  believe,  will  refresh  the 
memories  of  the  chiefs  both  in  the  Gujarat  peninsula  and  the  principa- 
lity of  Kach.  It  is  reported  that  His  Excellency  intends  to  visit  Bhuj 
with  some  benevolent  object  in  view,  early  next  cold  season. — Bombay 
Christian  Spectator. 


22. — Bombay  Auxiliary  Bible  Society. 
From  the  last  Report  we  gather  the  following  information. 

1.  English  Scriptures.  From  the  Parent  Society,  there  have  been 
received  200  Bibles,  and  400  New  Testaments.  This  grant  was  solicit- 
ed principally  to  meet  the  demands  for  the  sacred  volume,  which  have 
been  created  by  different  educational  institutions  in  the  Northwest  of 
India;  but  till  the  stock  be  exhaused,  copies  can  be  obtained  for  miscel- 
laneous circulation,  by  purchase  from  the  deposiiory,  or  an  application 
to  the  Secretaries.  The  Committee  have  lately  petitioned  the  Parent 
Society  for  an  additional  grant  of  200  Bibles,  and  500  Testaments, 
"  for  circulation  among  native  youth,"  and  for  a  "  small  supply  of  Bibles 
and  Testaments  in  superior  bindings,  and  with  marginal  references,  for 
sale  to  the  public.'' 

2.  Portuguese  Scriptures.  The  Committee  has  lately  solicited  a  grant 
of  200  copies  of  the  New  Testament,  according  to  Pereira's  translation, 
which,  though  capable  of  much  improvement,  is  more  intelligible  and 
acceptable  to  the  Portuguese  of  India,  than  that  of  D'Almeida,  to  which 
the  supply  on  hand  has  long  been  exclusively  confined. 

3.  Hebrew  Scriptures.  To  the  Parent  Institution,  the  Society  is  in- 
debted for  200  New  Testaments,  which  supply  the  place  of  those  copies 
which  are  mentioned  in  the  last  report  as  having  been  recalled  on  account 
of  some  errors  in  the  printing  and  binding,  which  were  detected  by  one 
of  the  Secretaries  of  this  Auxiliary.  400  Bibles,  and  the  same  number 
of  New  Testaments,  have  been  lately  asked  from  London.  They  are 
intended  to  meet  demands  in  behalf  of  Jews  resident  not  only  in  India, 
but  in  Arabia  and  Persia. 

4.  Persian  Scriptures.  Though  the  supply  at  present  in  the  deposi- 
tory, is  not  yet  exhausted,  200  Old  Testaments,  500  Genesis,  200  Pen- 
tateuchs,  500  Psalms,  and  300  Isaiah,  have  been  solicited  from  London. 

5.  Arabic  Scriptures.  400  Bibles,  600  New  Testaments,  and  500  Gos- 
pels have  been  asked  from  the  Parent  Society. 

6.  Armenian  Scriptures.  As  the  language  of  the  Old  Armenian  ver- 
sion has  become  in  a  great  measure  obsolete,  500  copies  of  a  translation 
of  the  New  Testament  lately  made  into  the  modern  dialect,  and  200 
Psalters,  have  been  ordered,  to  meet  demands  which  may  be  made  in 
behalf  of  the  people  speaking  that  language,  scattered  throughout  the 
countries  of  Asia  to  which  the  influence  of  this  Society  extends. 

7.  Turkish  Scriptures.    25  New  Testaments  have  been  ordered. 

8.  Hindustani  Scriptures.  Of  the  edition  of  the  London  Missionary 
Society's  Missionaries  at  Banaras,  mentioned  in  the  last  report,  200  New 
Testaments,  300  of  the  Gospel  according  to  John,  and  300  of  the  Acts 
of  the  Apostles,  have  been  received  into  the  depository.  They  were 
obtained  by  purchase.  At  a  late  meeting  of  the  Committee,  it  was  agreed 
to  solicit  from  the  Calcutta  Bible  Society,  the  following  Scriptures  : — 

700  of  each  of  the  Gospels,  in  Urdu. 
2000  copies  of  the  New  Testament,  in  Urdu. 


1840.]       Missionary  and  lielii/ious  Inlelliyence.  417 


200  Hindu!  Now  Testaments. 

300    Gospels  (each.) 

50    Old  Testaments. 

loo    Psalms. 

200  Urdu  Old  Testaments, 

200  Romanized  Urdu  New  Testaments. 
Though  the  demand  thus  made  is  large,  it  ishelieved  that  it  is  not  larger 
than  circumstances  require.  The  Musalman  population  of  the  provinces 
more  immediately  connected  with  this  Society,  as  has  heen  stated  in 
former  reports,  is  in  great  want  of  copies  hoth  of  the  Old  and  New  Tes- 
taments. 

9.  Maruthi  Scriptures.  With  the  publication  of  the  Scriptures  in  the 
Marathi  language,  the  Committee  has  had  most  to  do  during  the  past 
year. 

The  printing  of  an  edition  of  1500  copies  of  Genesis,  according  to  the 
former  edition  with  such  verbal  alterations  as  have  appeared  manifest 
improvements  to  the  members  of  the  Translation  Committee  in  Bombay, 
will  speedily  be  completed*. 

Respecting  the  booh  of  Psalms,  the  following  notice  is  contained  in 
last  report.  "  The  opinions  of  eleven  Marathi  scholars  having  been 
obtained  on  the  comparative  merits  of  the  versions  of  the  book  of  Psalms 
by  Messrs.  Graves  and  Dixon,  it  was  unanimously  resolved  by  the  Com- 
mittee, that  Messrs.  Graves  and  Uixon,  be  respectfully  requested  to 
make  a  revision  of  the  respective  versions,  availing  themselves  of  the 
hints  furnished  to  them  by  the  letters  now  read,  and  such  correspond- 
ence with  the  Committee  for  translations  as  they  may  choose  to  intimate, 
and  that  the  Society  publish  2000  copies  of  their  versions  when  so  revis- 
ed, leaving  the  question  of  future  reprints  to  future  consideration.  It 
was  agreed  that  in  communicating  the  preceding  resolution  to  Messrs. 
Graves  and  Dixon,  the  Secretaries  should  warmly  thank  them  in  the 
name  of  the  Society,  for  their  past  labours  in  the  translation  of  the  Di- 
vine Word."  Messrs.  Graves  and  Dixon  have  both  been  addressed  on 
the  subjects  here  adverted  to.  Mr.  Graves  has  revised  his  translation, 
and  submitted  it  to  the  Translation  Committee  for  their  remarks  ;  and 
the  printing  of  a  new  edition  has  advanced  as  far  as  the  40th  chapter*. 
From  Mr.  Dixon,  no  communication  has  yet  been  received. 

The  examination  and  revision  of  the  books  both  of  the  New  and  Old 
Testaments  with  which  the  Committee  for  translations  were  engaged 
at  the  date  of  last  report,  owing  to  the  indisposition,  absence,  and  occu- 
pation of  some  of  the  members,  have  not  advanced  as  far,  perhaps,  as 
might  have  been  expected.  The  Gospel  according  to  John,  the  second 
Epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  the  Epistle  to  the  Galatians,  are  about  half 
finished.  The  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews  has  been  commenced  upon.  The 
Historical  books  of  the  Old  Testament  meet  with  attention,  when  parts 
of  the  New  Testament  with  which  there  is  the  most  urgent  call  to  pro- 
ceed, are  not  in  the  hands  of  particular  members.  The  attention  of  the 
Translation  Committee  has  been  occasionally  distracted  by  the  multi- 
tude of  parts  of  the  Bible  claiming  their  notice  at  the  same  time. 

200  complete  Marathi  New  Testaments  have  been  bound  during  the 
past  year. 

The  Committee,  at  a  late  meeting,  agreed  to  solicit  from  the  Parent 
Society,  a  grant  of  paper  and  money  to  enable  this  Society  to  print  the 
following  Scriptures  in  Marathi : — 

5,000  copies  of  the  New  Testament,  according  to  the  translation  and 
revision  at  present  proceeding  under  the  care  of  the  Committee  for  Trans- 
lations. 

*  It  Las  now  left  the  press. 


418         Missionary  and  Religions  Intelligence.  [July, 


5,000  copies  of  the  Gospels  and  Acts  according  to  the  same  version. 
4000  2nd  Corinthians. 
2000  copies  of  the  other  Epistles. 
1000  Revelation. 

1000  copies  of  a  Gospel  in  the  Roman  character,  according  to  the 
system  of  Sir  William  Jones  adopted  at  Calcutta. 

The  Gospel  in  Roman  characters  is  intended  principally  for  the  use 
of  the  Native  Roman  Catholic  Christians,  in  Bombay,  Salsette,  and  Bas- 
seen,  who  speak  the  Marathi  language,  hut  are  unacquainted  with  the 
letters  in  which  it  is  commonly  written.  The  system  of  oriental  nota- 
tion propounded  hy  Sir  William  Jones,  does  not  essentially  differ  from 
that  adopted  by  the  Roman  Catholic  priests  in  our  neighbourhood. 

10.  Gujarathi  Scriptures.  No  portion  of  the  Bible  has  been  printed 
during  the  past  year.  The  Secretary  lately  submitted  to  the  Committee 
a  proposal  from  the  Rev.  XV .  Fyvie,  for  the  publication  of  an  edition  of 
the  Gospel  of  St.  Matthew,  with  the  verses  alternately  given  in  English 
and  Gujarathi.  The  Committee  considering  the  probable  usefulness  of 
such  a  work  among  the  natives  studying  English,  agreed  to  print  1000 
copies,  and  also,  on  the  motion  of  the  Rev.  XV.  K.  Fletcher,  to  print,  in 
the  same  manner,  the  same  number  of  copies  of  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
when  revised  by  the  Translation  Committee. 

100  bound  Gujarathi  New  Testaments  were,  in  April  last,  received 
into  the  depository  from  Surat,  and  88  bound  copies  of  all  the  books  of 
the  same  Testament,  with  the  exception  of  Luke  and  John,  were  received 
from  the  same  place  about  two  months  ago. 

It  will  he  observed  from  the  preceding  notices,  that  the  demands  which 
this  Auxiliary  has  lately  ventured  to  make  on  the  Parent  Society  are 
very  considerable.  Should  they  be  granted,  as  there  is  reason  to  believe 
they  will,  the  bounty  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  will  re- 
quire a  special  acknowledgment.  It  should  call  forth  a  corresponding 
liberality  of  contribution  from  the  friends  of  Bible  circulation  in  India. 

The  Committee  gratefully  acknowledge  the  encouragement  in  refer- 
ence to  the  extension  of  its  operations,  which  it  has  received  from  a 
late  visit  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  Hfeberlin,  appointed  agent  of  the  Parent  Socie- 
ty for  Bengal,  and  for  the  valuable  counsel  which  lie  has  communicated 
relative  to  the  efficiency  of  the  Society's  operations. 

The  funds  have  somewhat  increased  during  the  past  year  ;  but  it  is  to 
be  hoped  that  ere  long  they  will  considerably  improve.  With  a  view  to 
the  right  disposal  of  the  stores  of  the  Society,  for  which  accommodation 
could  no  longer  be  found  in  the  Cathedral,  after  it  underwent  the  late 
repairs,  the  house  opposite  that  building  has  been  rented  as  a  depository 
at  a  charge  of  ninety-five  rupees  per  mensem.  With  a  view  to  facilitate 
the  transaction  of  the  business  of  the  Society,  it  is  intended  that  an  Assis- 
tant Secretary,  capable  of  transacting  the  secular  business  of  the  Society 
under  the  direction  of  the  Committee  and  Secretaries,  should  reside  on 
the  premises,  and  be  always  accessible  to  the  public  during  the  usual 
business  hours.  The  care  which  should  be  taken  of  the  Society's  pro* 
perty,  and  the  contemplated  extension  of  its  operations,  have  required 
that  these  arrangements  should  be  made.  The  Parent  Society,  it  is 
expected,  will  share  in  the  expense,  by  making  an  annual  contribution 
to  the  general  agency.  The  friends  of  this  Auxiliary,  however,  are  re- 
quired, on  their  part,  to  extend  their  liberality. — Ibid. 


23. —  Extract  of  a  Letter  from  Cabul. 
"  I  have  been  trying  hard  to  do  something  for  this  benighted  yet  highly 
interesting  land  :  here  are  the  children  of  Abraham  according  to  the 
flesh,  the  children  of  Judah  and  Benjamin;  here  is  a  people  thirsting 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence*  419 


for  knowledge,  yet  no  one  will  give  them  a  cup  of  cold  water.  Fancy 
a  congregation  in  a  Mosque,  after  hearing  a  passage  from  the  New  Tes- 
tament read,  weeping  and  lamenting  that  they  had  not  any  one  to  teach 
them  the  Book.  1  have  been  extremely  anxious  respecting  this  land,  and 
proposed  a  place  for  a  Mission,  but  although  I  sent  copies  of  it  to  two 
papers  at  and  near  Calcutta  for  publication,  months  have  worn  away, 
and  1  hear  nothing  of  them.  1  hardly  know  to  what  to  attribute  this 
silence*.  We  endeavour  to  keep  up  a  small  congregation.  The  largest 
number  of  our  little  congregation  has  been  twenty-four,  but  twelve  to 
sixteen  is  the  average.  Drinking  has  been  carried  on  to  a  great  extent : 
thirty  have  fallen  victims  to  it,  but  still  the  warning  seems  thrown 
away'.  They  have  no  one  to  speak  to  them,  in  fact  there  is  none  who 
cares  for  them.  We  are  getting  Testaments  printed  fortius  land:  so 
by  God's  blessing,  something  may  yet  he  done." — Ibid. 


24. — Revivals  at  Kilsyth. 
To  the  Editors  of  the  Cacutta  Christian  Observer. 
Die  ah  Sirs, 

The  following  is  an  extract  from  a  letter  recently  received  from 
Scotland,  and  may  perhaps  prove  interesting  as  a  sequel  to  those  extracts 
contained  in  Art.  6  of  your  June  Observer. 

Yours,  &c. 

S.  A. 

l<Uh  June,  1840. 

"  In  Kilsyth  and  Dundee  the  number  of  young  persons  who  have 
undergone  a  saving  change  is  very  great.  When  I  was  at  Kilsyth  the  whole 
aspect  of  the  place  struck  me  ;  there  were  no  idle  people  in  the  streets, 
no  gossipping  at  the  doors  ;  and  coming  home  each  night  to  our  lodging 
about  ten  o'clock,  we  seemed  to  lie  the  only  people  out  of  the  house  ;  in 
many  houses  we  beard  the  sound  of  family  worship,  but  the  generality 
seemed  shut  up  for  the  night.  There  was  service  in  the  Church  daily  at 
9  o'clock  (the  breakfast  hour  of  the  people  employed  in  manufactories), 
and  at  8  at  night ;  the  service  was  short  and  attended  by  people  in  their 
working  dresses,  women  without  bonnets  and  children  in  their  arms.  The 
testimony  of  the  master  of  the  factory  proved  that  godliness  has  the 
promise  of  the  life  that  now  is,  as  well  as  that  which  is  to  come:  he  is 
not  a  friend  to  religion,  but  when  his  men  asked  leave  to  have  a  sermon 
preached  at  the  dinner  hour,  he  agreed  ;  and  on  his  friends  remonstrating 
with  him,  he  observed,  '  I  do  not  know  whether  it  is  good  for  them,  but  it 
is  for  me,  formerly  my  men  worked  only  nine  days  in  a  fortnight,  but 
since  they  took  to  these  ways,  they  are  never  off  work.'  I  had  many 
interesting  conversations  with  those  who  had  been  converted,  and  observed 
that  it  was  some  passage  of  scripture  that  had  been  brought  home  to  their 
conscience  to  convince  them  of  sin,  and  then  some  other  portion  that 
brought  peace  to  their  minds." 


25. — Revival  of  Religion  in  Finland,  and  Persecution. 
[We  are  confident  the  following  account  of  a  remarkable  revival  in 
Finland  will  be  highly  acceptable  to  our  readers  ;  while  the  persecution 
endured  by  our  brethren  in  that  district  of  the  world  will  doubtless  call 
forth  the  liveliest  sympathy  and  most  earnest  prayer  that  they  may 
stand,  and  having  done  all  may  stand  fast  in  the  liberty  wherewith  Christ 
hath  made  them  free.  The  extract  is  from  the  London  Wesleyan  Maga- 
zine.— Ed.] 

*  We  published  the  letter  and  proposal  and  it  w.is  copied  into  several  of  the  leading 
Journals  of  this  and  the  other  presidencies.    It  had  not  reached  our  good  friend 
doubtless,  when  this  was  written.— Ed.  C.  C.  0. 
VOL.  I.  3  I 


420  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [July, 


Stockholm,  October  Sth,  1839. 

A  blessed  revival  of  religion  has  for  some  time  been  in  progress  in  va- 
rious parts  of  Finland  ;  many  have  been  aroused  out  of  their  sinful  slum- 
ber, and  constrained  to  inquire,  "  What  must  we  do  to  be  saved  i"  and 
as  at  the  beginning,  so  now,  the  message,  "  Believe  on  the  Lord  Jesus 
Christ,"  has  been  found  to  be  the  power  of  God  unto  salvation.  Several 
enlightened  and  truly  devoted  Clergymen  of  the  Lutheran  Church  have 
been  blessed  of  Cod  to  the  conversion  of  numbers,  and  labour  most  abun.. 
dantly  in  the  work  of  the  Lord.  All  this,  as  might  be  anticipated,  has 
attracted  the  notice  of  self-righteous  Pharisees,  and  worldly-wise  Greeks, 
and  led  them  to  oppose  and  persecute,  where  they  ought  to  have  acknow- 
ledged the  finger  of  God,  and  adored  his  loving-kindness. 

The  following  translated  extracts  of  letters  received  by  me,  from  a 
Clergyman  in  the  north  of  Finland,  explain  more  fully  the  state  of  things 
there  ;  and  having  his  expressed  permission  to  communicate  this  informa- 
tion to  friends  in  England,  that  "  the  servants  of  Christ  may  be  induced 
to  present  faithful  intercessions  to  God  on  behalf  of  their  brethren  in  Fin- 
land," (James  v.  16.)  I  send  them  to  you,  that  such  use  may  be  made  of 
them  as  you  consider  desirable. 

George  Scott. 

"  Having  recently  had  the  opportunity  of  becoming  acquainted,  by 
means  of  printed  documents,  with  the  proceedings  of  the  Consistory  of 
Stockholm,  whereby  it  appears  that  that  Consistory  has  been  necessitated 
to  use  all  the  might  of  its  spiritual  authority,  to  crush,  at  its  first  appear- 
ance, the  Wesleyan  Methodist  sect,  inasmuch  as  (according  to  the  judg- 
ment of  that  Court)  these  Methodists,  if  allowed  to  take  root  in  the  com- 
munity, would  draw  the  nation  from  the  '  pure  evangelical  doctrine,'  and 
so  change  the  people,  that,  becoming  Methodists,  they  would  '  no  longer 
be  Swedes  I  am  induced  by  this  intelligence,  though  personally  un- 
known, to  give  you  some  information  regarding  the  progress  of  secta- 
rianism (as  Christianity  is  called  by  the  pharisaical)  in  this  neighbourhood. 
And  1  am  persuaded  that  correct  information  regarding  the  persecutions 
■which  from  the  worldly  authorities  have  been  directed  against  the  little 
flock  who,  with  seriousness,  seek  salvation  in  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  will 
to  you  be  especially  interesting.  It  is  not  necessary  to  enlarge  on  the 
cold-heartedness  as  regards  Christianity,  kthe  deep-seated  disregard  for 
all  true  religion,  which  among  the  many,  is,  alas  !  the  distinguishing  and 
most  unhappy  feature  of  the  times  in  our  land  ;  inasmuch  as  the  same 
afflictive  experience  is  so  general  in  Christendom.  Blindness  is  great, 
ungodliness  most  lamentable  ;  but  the  grace  of  God,  '  who  will  have  all 
men  to  be  saved  and  to  come  unto  the  knowledge  of  the  truth,'  has  moved 
upon  this  chaos  of  spiritual  darkness  which  covers  our  dwellings,  and 
awakened  a  handful  of  immortal  beings  to  take,  at  least,  the  first  step  in 
the  path  of  conversion,  and  to  inquire,  with  the  Philippian  jailer, '  What 
must  we  do  to  he  saved  ?'  These  have  clearly  seen  that  the  world  lieth 
in  the  wicked  one  ;  and  in  consequence  of  their  separation  from  that 
friendship  with  the  world,  which  is  enmity  against  God,  they  have  exposed 
themselves  to  the  hot  displeasure  of  the  spirit  that  now  worketh  in  the 
children  of  disobedience.  The  enemy,  with  his  faithful  ones,  has  sallied 
forth  to  attack  these  '  monsters  with  colourless  complexion,  and  half- 
extinguished  eyes,'  as  our  learned  foes  have  in  public  print  denominated 
such  as  by  the  grace  of  God  are  awakened  to  a  concern  for  their  salva- 
tion. And  the  common  evidences  of  an  experienced  Christianity,  namely, 
contempt,  abuse,  and  persecution  from  the  world,  have  not  been  wanting. 
We  can  therefore  congratulate  ourselves  that,  in  this  respect,  we  have 
been  placed  in  the  same  circumstances  as  yourself.  But  this  great  dif- 
ference exists, — you  are  allowed,  as  is  right  and  fitting,  to  defend  your 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


421 


cause  publicly,  and  in  this  way,  l>y  the  grace  of  God,  to  defend  divine 
truth  itself;  a  privilege  of  which  we  are  deprived,  being  dragged  from 
one  court  to  another,  as  if  we  were  gross  offenders.  The  Lord  grant 
unto  each  of  us  his  grace,  that  we  may  be  enabled  to  bear  up  against  the 
hosts  of  the  enemy  ! 

"  That  you  may  form  some  conception  of  our  circumstances,  I  insert  a 
literal  copy  of  the  document,  on  which  the  prosecution  against  us  is  found- 
ed.   It  is  as  follows  : — 

Humble  Memorial. 
"  '  The  Crown  Officer  for  the  lower  district  of  K  parish  has  re- 
ported that, 

"<  1.  Collecting-boxes,  neatly  made  of  wood,  and  painted  w  ith  green 
oil-paint*,  are  suspended  in  the  lobby  of  the  house  occupied  by  the  Chap- 
lain of  Y  ,  in  the  lobby  of  the  Clergyman's  house  at  K  ,  in 

the  lobby  of  Inspector  R.'s  house  at  K  ,  as  also,  according  to  in- 
formation received,  in  the  house  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  M.  at  P  .  In  con- 
sequence of  these  boxes,  (which  have  on  them  an  inscription  in  the  Finnish 
language,  intimating  a  collection  for  promoting  the  spread  of  Christianity 
among  the  Heathen,)  a  great  number  of  the  poorest  among  the  peasan- 
try, principally  females,  are  induced  to  oifer  for  this  purpose  their  most 
valuable  property,  such  as  gold,  silver,  silks,  &C. 

"  '  a.  People  are  collected  from  several  parishes  on  the  Sunday  after- 
noons, to  the  number  of  several  hundreds,  on  some  farm  or  other  in  this 
parish,  to  sing  '  the  songs  of  Zion,'  and  read  divers  books,  among  which, 
'  The  Voice  of  one  crying  in  the  Wilderness/  deserves  to  be  named,  the 
consequence  of  which  is,  that  those  who  attend  such  meetings  believe 
that  they  are  awakened,  and  born  again,  despise  their  fellow-Christians, 
neglect  their  work,  and  such  like. 

"  '  And  as  thelast-mentioned  circumstance  operates,  in  a  highly  injuri- 
ous manner,  as  regards  the  maintenance  of  order  and  uniformity  among 

the  peasantry  in  the  parish  of  K  ,  notwithstanding  that  the  holding 

of  these  meetings  may  have  a  very  good  design  ;  and  as  the  exhibition  of 
such  collecting-boxes  is  without  proper  authority,  being  granted  unlaw- 
ful, therefore  these,  inasmuch  as  even  supposing  they  have  a  good  object 
in  view,  cannot  but  fail  of  accomplishing  it,  and  only  lead  to  disorder  and 
confusion,  seeing  many  indigent  persons,  misled  by  false  zeal,  sacrifice, 
not  unfrequently  by  robbing  their  dwellings,  to  such  object  their  most 
valuable  property,  without  knowing  where  the  most  necessary  support  of 
life  is  the  next  moment  to  come  fr  om  i  and  as  all  control  over  the  em- 
ployment of  the  money  collected  is  restricted  to  the  person  receiving,  I 
have  felt  myself  called  upon  to  bring  these  disorders  which  threaten  the 
peace  and  comfort  of  the  community,  before  the  Governor  of  the  province, 
that  such  steps  may  be  taken  as  are  according  to  justice,  and  as  the  na- 
ture of  the  case  demands. 

"  '  To  the  Governor  of  ' 

"  From  this  document  it  appears  that  the  persecutions  against  us  flow 
from  two  sources.  1.  When  we,  as  Teachers  of  religion,  have  laboured 
on  the  Sabbath-afternoon  to  arouse  such  of  our  hearers  as  were  slumber- 
ing in  sinful  security,  and  instruct  them  in  Christianity,  these  our  endea- 
vours have  been  characterized  as  illegal  meetings,  and  the  prosecutor 
urges  neither  more  nor  less  than  a  fine  of  three  hundred  rubles,  besides 
ecclesiastical  penalties,  and  the  usual  fine  for  Sabbath-breaking.  And,  2. 
Because  we  have  listened  to  the  exhortations  which,  time  after  time,  have 
been  published  in  the  Swedish  '  Missionary  Journal,'  and  also  in  our 
'  Spiritual  Journal,'  calling  on  all  to  assist  the  labours  of  Missionaries  in 

*  Made  according  to  the  pattern  received  by  me  from  Hull,  some  years  ago,  which 
was  first  copied  here,  and  then  imitated  in  Finland. — G  S, 

3  k  2 


422  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [July, 


heathen  lands,  and  have  for  this  purpose  placed  Missionary-boxes  in  our 
rooms  ;  we  are  now  represented,  hy  the  so-called  adherents  of  justice,  to 
out  Government,  in  the  most  unfavourable  light,  as  if  we,  moved  hy  a 
base  selfishness,  had  attempted  to  lay  burdens  on,  and  levy  contributions 
from,  the  subjects  of  His  Imperial  Majesty  the  Emperor  of  Russia.  Such 
are  the  crimes  for  which  we  are  now  proceeded  against,  and  of  which  we 
shall  most  probably  be  declared  guilty. 

"  If  the  accompanying  Memorial  be  read  with  attention,  a  world  of 
reflections  press  themselves  on  mere  reason,  allowing  it  to  be  blind  as 
regards  spiritual  things.  There  among  other  things  the  individuals  aimed 
at  are  charged  with  believing  themselves  '  awakened  and  born  again.' 
The  ordinary  feelings  of  our  nature  are  shocked  at  the  thought  of  per- 
sons in  a  so-called  Christian  land,  being  brought  before  a  worldly  tribu- 
nal, to  answer  to  the  charge  of  considering  themselves  converted  from  sin 
to  God,  yea,  born  again.  This,  among  many  other  things,  affords  a  clear 
evidence  that  the  scriptural  doctrine  of  conversion  does  not  accord  with 
the  spirit  of  this  '  enlightened  age a  spirit  which,  if  it  allows  the  theory 
as  a  branch  of  theological  science,  condemns  every  practical  application 
thereof  as  enthusiasm,  sectarianism,  and  the  like  ;  while,  at  the  same 
time,  the  champion  of  the  alehouse,  with  his  intoxicating  glass  in  the  one 
hand,  and  cards  in  the  other,  is  not  charged  with  heterodoxy,  but  consi- 
dered as  a  true  Christian,  a  virtuous  member  of  society.  The  complaints 
specified  in  the  Memorial  are  as  old  as  Christianity  itself ;  for  so  soon  as 
any  have  been  roused  from  their  slumber  in  sinful  security,  the  world  has 
uniformly  cried  out,  '  They  despise  their  fellow-Christians,  neglect  their 
work,  and  such  like  :'  they  are  beside  themselves. 

"  A  proof  of  the  excessive  zeal  of  these  friends  of  order,  in  painting  in 

such  lively  colours  the  unhappy  consequences  of  sectarianism  in  K  ,  is 

furnished  by  the  first  paragraph  of  the  Memorial ;  where  it  is  most  un- 
advisedly stated,  that  the  poorest  among  the  peasantry  are  induced  to 
offer  their  most  valuable  property,  such  as  gold,  silver,  silks,  &c.  &c. 
The  logical  conclusion  to  be  drawn  from  this  is,  that  Finland,  particular- 
ly the  parish  of  K  ,  must  be  a  place  of  unexampled  wealth,  when  the 

poorest  (mark  '  the  poorest')  of  the  peasantry  have  gold,  silver,  &c,  to 
dispose  of.    What  then  must  the  possessions  of  the  rich  be  ? 

"The  case  has  already  been  brought  forward  at  three  extraordinary 
meetings  of  the  sessions ;  and  although  the  Memorial,  as  far  as  regards 
the  holding  of  meetings,  does  not  directly  apply  to  the  Clergy,  yet  five 
of  these,  besides  about  one  hundred  farmers,  and  several  persons  of  rank, 
who  have  either  allowed  such  meetings  on  their  property,  or  attended 
them,  have  been  summoned  to  attend.  At  whose  instance  the  Clergy- 
men named  have  been  called  to  appear,  remains  a  profound  secret.  W'e 
have  requested  to  be  informed  of  this,  but  hitherto  without  success. 

"  That  the  minds  of  our  opponents  are  in  a  state  of  violent  fermenta- 
tion, which  shuts  their  ears,  and  blinds  their  eyes,  is  very  evident,  when 
we  consider  that  they,  although  'learned  in  the  law,'  have  entirely  for- 
gotten what  the-Koyal  Ordinances  of  January  12th,  1726,  and  March 
20th,  1735,  as  also  the  Clerical  Oath  and  other  Government  statutes 
require  ;  (1  must  not  of  course  refer  to  the  contents  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles 
to  Timothy  and  Titus ;)  and  now  drag  Ministers  of  religion  before  the 
temporal  Court,  because  they,  in  fulfilling  their  official  duties,  instruct 
their  hearers  on  Sabbath-afternoons.  The  historical  records  of  our 
country  cannot  exhibit  an  instance  of  a  similar  proceeding.  The  case 
was  brought  forward  again  on  the  25th  of  September  last,  and  adjourned 
sine  die.  About  one  hundred  witnesses  were  examined,  of  whom  the 
greater  part  had  to  travel  one  hundred  miles  to  the  sessions,  to  testify 
that  they  had  been  occasionally  present  when  the  Clergyman  gaveChris- 


1840. J  Missionary  and  Reliyious  Intelligence. 


423 


tian  instruction  to  his  flock.  O  tempora  !  O  mores  !  During  tlic  examin- 
ation of  the  witnesses,  a  characteristic  discovery  was  made,  which  awa- 
kened the  astonishment  even  of  our  enemies.  The  witnesses  who,  with 
few  exceptions,  are  universally  known  as  incorrigible  drunkards,  and  such 
like  persons,  who  scarcely  know  the  first  rudiments  of  the  Catechism, 
were  required  by  the  prosecutor,  on  (heir  oath,  to  give  their  subjective  and 
objective  views  of  our  meetings,  and  of  the  doctrines  there  promulgated  ; 
as,  if  we  taught  '  the  pure  word  of  God,  and  the  like.' 

"  In  order,  we  presume,  to  cool  an  excessive  zeal,  it  has  been  so  ar- 
ranged, that  the  subordinate  Clergymen  charged  have  all  been  removed 
from  the  neighbourhood — one  even  to  beyond  Tornea.  The  last  men- 
tioned has  had  full  opportunity  to  reduce  his  temperature,  (if  journeying 
in  the  open  air  can  do  this,)  seeing  he  was  ordered,  only  three  months 
after  his  arrival  at  the  far-distant  Tornea,  to  attend  the  sessions  at 

K  ;  and  had  to  travel  two  hundred  and  eighteen  miles  Swedish, 

(nearly  fourteen  hundred  English  !)  to  answer  to  the  charge  of  encou- 
raging, not  drinking  and  dancing  assemblies,  but  meetings  for  godly  edi- 
fication. Melancholy,  indeed,  would  be  the  condition  of  the  Heathen,  if 
the  rest  of  the  civilized  world  took  the  same  view  of  efforts  to  send 
the  Gospel  to  the  dark  places  of  the  earth,  which  is  taken  by  our  lower 
authorities.  Christians,  in  other  hands,  think  and  act  differently.  The 
Lord  grant  them  greater  success  in  their  endeavours,  than  we  in  our 
father-land  have  met  with  !  The  hope  of  increasing,  by  our  small  con- 
tributions, the  funds  of  the  Swedish  Missionary  Society  has,  for  the 
present  at  least  vanished." 

"  The  religious  awakening  which  has,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  taken 
place  in  the  nortli  of  Finland,  has,  I  am  told,  been  reported  sub  secreto  to 
the  Imperial  Senate, as  entirely  of  a  political  character,  and  the  Clergymen 
connected  therewith  have  been  represented  as  leaders  of  an  association 
most  dangerous  to  the  public  weal.  The  consequence  of  such  misrepre- 
sentations may  easily  be  anticipated.  But  I  am  too  well  acquainted  with 
Acts  xxiv.  2 — 8,  to  allow  myself  to  feel  astonishment  or  alarm  at  the  most 
raging  storms  of  Satanic  wrath.  '  If  God  be  for  us,  who  can  be  against 
us?'  General  experience  testifies,  that,  when  the  spirit  of  darkness  is 
conquered  in  the  theological  field,  he  removes  the  strife  within  the  poli- 
tical sphere,  and  fancies  he  has  then  reached  his  proper  vantage-ground, 
in  contending  against  the  servants  of  Christ.  The  Jews  could  not  obtain 
the  crucifixion  of  our  Saviour  as  a  heretic  ;  hut  they  accomplished  their 

end  by  charging  him  with  sedition.   The  case  comes  on  again  at  K—  , 

the  19th  of  next  month,  and  the  Clergyman,  referred  to  in  my  last,  must 
anew  take  his  long  journey  to  appear  there.  He  fearlessly  continues 
holding  meetings,  and  collecting  for  the  Missions,  to  the  great  surprise 
of  his  opponents.  May  the  God  of  peace  strengthen  us  in  our  weakness  !'' 

"  In  consequence  of  an  unavoidable  journey  in  another  direction,  for 
the  performance  of  official  duties,  the  Clergyman  residing  at  Tornea  had 
it  not  in  his  power  to  be  present  at  the  sessions  last  month.  He  sent  in 
a  Memorial,  explaining  the  reason  for  his  absence,  as  also  containing  his 
defence;  but  all  this  was  of  no  avail.  The  Court,  in  direct  opposition  to 
existing  laws,  has,  de  jure,  deprived  this  servant  of  God  of  his  personal 
liberty,  by  ordering  that  he  shall,  by  legal  measures,  be  brought  before 
the  sessions  next  April.  It  depends  therefore  on  the  Crown  Officer  of  the 
district,  in  whose  power  he  is  now  left,  whether  or  not  this  Clergyman 
of  the  national  Church  shall  as  a  prisoner,  be  conveyed  to  the  next  meet- 
ing of  Court.  Only  Pastor  M  has  been  charged  with  promulgating 

erroneous  doctrines.  Such  as  personally  know  M  -,  a  man  of  good  com- 
mon sense,  and  richly  gifted  with  spiritual  knowledge  and  wisdom,  on  the 


424  Missionary  and  Reliyious  IntcU'ujcnce.  [July, 


one  hand  ;  and,  on  the  other,  the  prosecutor,  a  man  sunk  into  intemper- 
ance, and  utterly  destitute  of  literary,  much  more  of  religious,  culture  ; 

cannot  hut  consider  his  attack  on  M  as  most  absurd,  and  unfortunate 

tor  his  own  ohject.  The  Lord,  whose  ways  are  unsearchable,  has  so  order- 
ed it,  that  our  enemies  have  ventured  upon  a  field  of  contest,  where  they 
are  by  no  means  a  match  for  us.    To  help  the  prosecutor  out  of  the 

dilemma  into  which  he  was  thrown  by  the  natural  question  of  M  , 

1  What  are  the  errors  which  I  am  charged  with  disseminating  ?'  the  Court 
decided  that  the  prosecutor  could  not  state  particulars,  the  general  charge 

being  sufficient.    M  is  therefore  charged  with  heresy,  without  being 

informed  as  to  the  doctrines  deemed  heretical." 

"  The  action  against  the  Finnish  Clergyman  was  resumed  at  the  K — 
sessions,  and  continued  for  several  days.    On  the  evidence  of  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  witnesses,  we  had  established  the  fact,  that  our  meetings 
had  no  other  object  than  the  instruction  of  the  people  in  Christianity  ;  the 
promoters  of  the  scheme  perceiving  that  their  gatherings  from  the  politi- 
cal mine  were  by  far  too  meagre  to  support  the  wished-for    charge  of 
sedition,  turned  their  attention  to  another  course  of  proceeding,  which 
they  hoped  would  be  more  successful.    A  scrutiny  was  commenced  re- 
garding our  private  and  domestic  life  ;  and  circumstances,  having  not  the 
most  distant  connexion  with  meetings  or  Missionary-boxes,  were  inquired 
into.  All  that  we  have  said  for  years  gone  by,  on  any  subject,  so  far  as 
the  memory  of  the  witnesses  extends,  is  carefully  entered  in  the  minutes 
of  evidence,  without  any  reply  being  made  to  our  inquiry  as  to  why  this 
is  done.    The  following  are  among  the  general  interrogations  addressed 
to  the  witnesses  : — '  Have  these  Clergymen  delivered  the  pure  doctrines 
of  the  Gospel  ?'  '  Have  they  been  burdensome  to  their  congregations?' 
'  Have  they  persuaded  any  to  put  money  in  the  Missionary-box  ?'  '  Have 
you  seen  what  they  have  in  their  chests  of  presses  ?'  '  Have  you  observed 
any  intolerance  in  them  ?'  &c.  &c.    To  show  whether  our  doctrine  is 
consistent  with  the  Bible,  and  the  symbols  of  our  Church,  and  whether 
our  conduct  diverges  in  any  respect  from  that  of  the  multitude,  servants 
are  called,  and  even  drunkards  from  the  spirit-shops.    Can  any  one  ven- 
ture to  say  that  the  witnesses  against  us  are  competent  ?  Many  of  them, 
who  are  thus  examined  regarding  our  orthodoxy,  cannot  read  with  any 
correctness  ;  and  they  are  asked  if  the  defendants  are  free  from  erroneous 
opinions  !    It  would  be  less  surprising  if  such  witnessesas  have  been  pre- 
sent at  our  meetings,  and  seen  the  Missionary-boxes,  were  allowed  to 
testify  to  much  irrelevant  matter  ;  but  our  amazement  knows  no  bounds 
when  we  perceive  that  many  witnesses  who  have  never  seen  either  the  one 
or  the  other,  are  allowed,  according  to  the  words  of  one  of  our  opponents, 
'  to  make  general  reflections,'  all  which  are  inserted  in  the  minutes, 
whether  connected  with  the  charges  or  not.    One  of  these  reflecting 
friends  was  a  brother  Clergyman.    His  evidence  had  no  immediate  refer- 
ence to  any  of  the  persons  charged  ;  but  he  gladly  embraced  the  oppor- 
tunity of  pouring  out  a  flood  of  invective  against  all  vital  godliness,  which 
he  designated  enthusiasm.    During  his  extended  fulminations,  one  of 
the  defendants  was  reminded  of  the  prayer  of  David,  2  Sam.    xv.  31. 
Nor  did  he  lift  his  soul  to  Gud  in  vain.    The  witness,  in  the  heat  of  his 
zeal,  forgot  where  lie  was,  and  the  oath  he  had  taken,  departing  most 
grievously  from  the  truth.  It  turned  out  so,  that  he  cited  a  certain  docu- 
ment in  support  of  his  statements,  which,  by  the  marvellous  arrangements 
of  the  God  of  grace,  was  actually  in  the  possession  of  one  of  the  defen- 
dants; and  the  production  of  which  in  Court  convicted  the  unguarded 
witness  of  perjury.  This  seemed  to  operate  as  a  check  on  our  persecutors. 
The  case  was,  however,  again  adjourned,  to  give  the  prosecutor  time  for 
p  ro  d  u  c  i  n  g  fu  rth  er  evidcn  ce. " 


1840.]         Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


425 


"  I  referred  in  a  former  letter  to  a  religions  awakening  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  N  C  ,  where  a  young  Clergyman,  Mr.  O  ,  has 

zealously  endeavoured  to  fulfil  his  spiritual  engagements.  He  also  has 
been  prosecuted  before  the  Court,  and  I  have  now  the  opportunity  of 
stating  the  result.  The  charge  against  him  is,  that  he  has,  on  seven 
several  Sabbath-days,  had  meetings  of  the  people,  to  examine  them  in  the 
Catechism,  and  promote  their  Christian  improvement.  For  this,  and  no 
other  crime,  he  is  fined  two  hundred  and  eighty-eight  rubles  ;  and  inas- 
much as  the  meetings  were  held  on  the  Lord's-day,  he  is  fined  one  hun- 
dred rubles  eighty  kopecks  for  Sabbatu-brbaking  !  O  having  pre- 
sented a  memorial  to  the  Court,  demonstrating  that  it  was  his  unavoidable 
official  duty  as  a  public  Teacher,  thus  in  season  and  out  of  season  to  in- 
struct his  people,  he  is  fined  for  this  act  twenty-eight  rubles  eighty 
kopecks.  Of  the  other  persons  charged,  a  farmer  is  fined  three  hundred 
rubles  ;  and  the  others,  some  fifty,  some  thirty.  The  case  is  carried  to 
the  High  Court  at  \V  ,  and  the  Consistory  of  A  . 

"The  examinations  against  us  at  K  were  continued  and  adjourned 

more  than  once,  to  afford  time  '  for  further  evidence.'  That  we  may  ex- 
pect a  much  more  severe  sentence  than  O  ,  is  clear,  inasmuch  as  we 

nave  held  more  numerous  meetings.  The  general  opinion  is,  that  we 
shall,  for  our  meetings  and  Missionary-boxes,  be  fined  heavily,  and 
deprived  of  our  clerical  office.  In  the  midst  of  all  these  storms  and  hinder- 
ances,  the  work  of  the  Lord  proceeds  gloriously.  With  heartfelt  joy  I 
can  assure  you,  that  the  God  of  love  has  employed  these  persecutions  as 
a  means  of  awakening  not  a  few  to  a  concern  for  their  souls.  Praised  be 
His  gracious  name  for  ever!  Many  young  Clergymen  in  the  north  and 
south  of  Finland  have  listened  to  the  call  of  God,  seek  eternal  life  for 
themselves  and  others,  and  conduct  regularly  such  meetings  as  these  for 

holding  which  we  suffer.    Among  the  students  in  \V  ,  many  have 

been  quickened  by  the  Spirit  of  God.  The  mind  which  was  in  Christ 
Jesus,  is  rooted  in  many  directions,  and  spreads  ;  so  that  Satan  will  re- 
quire much  time,  labour,  and  pains,  to  darken  that  sun  of  righteousness, 
which  has  arisen,  after  a  glorious  dawning,  upon  a  people  sitting  in  dark- 
ness.   The  Lord  help  and  strengthen  us  now  and  ever!  Amen." 

"  F  ,  September  ISth,  1839. 

"  At  length,  the  long-continued  and  oft-adjoumed  prosecution  against 

us  has  been  brought  to  a  close  at  the  K  sessions.    The  prosecutor 

craved  a  sentence  against  the  Clergymen  charged,  condemning  them  to 
double  penalties,  and  urged  that  M  ,  U  ,  and  L  should  be  de- 
prived of  their  office,  and  banished  from  the  country.  The  Court,  in 
passing  sentence,  remitted  the  whole  case,  as  regards  the  Clergymen,  to 

the  decision  of  the  Consistorial  Court  in  A  .   But  the  farmers  and 

others  who  had  either  opened  their  rooms  for,  or  attended,  the  so-called 
illegal  meetings,  were  amerced  in  fines  amounting  to  a  total  sum  of  not 
less  than  twelve  thousand  rix-dollars  (about  £700).  Both  prosecutor 
and  defendants  complained  of  the  sentence,  and  appealed  to  the  High 
Court.  One  farmer  was  fined  fourteen  rubles  forty  kopecks  for  the  crime 
of  having  a  Missionary-box  in  his  house.  A  peasant  was  fined  fourteen 
rubles  forty  kopecks,  because  he  had  sung  one  of  the  '  songs  of  Zion,'  on 
a  Saturday  evening,  at  home  in  his  own  house,  and  an  equal  sum  for  Sab- 
bath-breaking; it  being  carried  that  the  Sabbath  begius  at  6.  p.  M.  on 
Saturday.  Various  articles  which  had  been  contributed  to  the  Mission 
cause,  and  the  proceeds  arising  from  the  sale  of  which  would  have  been 
transmitted  to  the  Swedish  Missionary  Society,  were  confiscated,  and 
ordered  to  be  sold  by  public  auction,  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  of  the 
parish  of  K  . 


42G 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [July, 


"  Is  it  possible  that  we  live  in  ;i  Christian  land,  and  experience  such 
things  ?  The  Teacher  is  visited  with  pains  and  penalties,  because  he  in- 
structs his  hearers  ;  the  hearers  are  amerced  in  unheard-of  heavy  fines, 
because  they  listen  to  the  instructions  of  their  Teachers  !  It  is  now 
established  in  our  country,  that  a  Crown  Officer  can  set  at  nought  the 
Clergy's  liberty  of  teaching, — a  liberty  secured  to  our  forefathers,  by  the 
Kings  of  Sweden,  and  solemnly  pledged  to  us  by  the  Emperor  of  Russia. 
We  need  not  go  further  in  search  of  the  cause  of  all  this,  than  the  truth, 
that  as  in  the  beginning,  so  now,  he  that  is  born  after  the  flesh  per- 
secutes him  that  is  born  after  the  Spirit.  The  original  enmity  between 
the  Seed  of  the  woman  and  the  seed  of  the  serpent  continues  to  operate. 
But  praised  be  the  God  of  grace,  who  has  counted  us  worthy  to  suffer 
shame  for  the  name  of  our  Lord  Jesus.  A  time  of  refreshing  from  the 
Lord  has  certainly  been  sent  to  our  land.    We  had  deeply-interested 

hearers  at  the  sessions  of  K  ,  from  numerous  and  far-distant  places  ; 

for  the  most  part  Ministers  of  the  Gospel,  burning  with  zeal  to  contend 
manfully  against  Satan  and  his  hosts.  Pray  for  us,  that  we  may  be  faith- 
ful unto  death." 


26. — American  .Mission  to  the  Nestorians  at  Ooroomiah. 

[The  following  pleasing  account  of  the  American  Mission  to  the 
Nestorian  Churches  will,  we  think,  be  interesting  to  our  readers.  The 
first  extract  is  from  the  valedictory  address  of  the  Board  to  the  devoted 
Missionaries  previously  to  their  embarkation  for  Persia.  The  other 
portion  of  the  statements  speaks  for  itself. — Ed.] 

Though  you  are  to  reside  in  the  land  of  the  Moslems,  your  labours 
will  be  specially  directed  to  one  of  the  oriental  churches,  the  Church  of  the 
Armenians.  There  are  perhaps  200,000  Armenians  in  Constantinople, 
and  as  many  as  2,000,000  in  different  parts  of  Asia.  They  originated  in 
the  country,  not  far  from  the  shores  of  the  Mediterranean,  Black,  and 
Caspian  Seas,  which  is  supposed  to  have  cradled  the  human  race.  Many 
of  them  are  still  found  in  that  country ;  but  the  nation  is  widely  dispersed, 
as  the  result  of  the  wars  of  Togruhl,  Timoor,  Shah  Abbas,  Mohammed 
II.,  and  other  conquerors,  in  ages  long  since  past  ;  and  also  as  the  result  of 
their  peculiar  fondness  for  trade  and  commerce,  which  has  made  them  the 
richest,  if  not  the  most  intelligent,  of  the  Christian  sects  in  the  East.  The 
other  oriental  sects  are  the  Greek,  the  Coptic  oi  Egyptian,  the  Jacobite, 
and  the  Nestorian.  The  last  two  of  these,  the  Jacobite  and  Nestorian, 
belong  to  the  Syrian  nation,  and  seceded,  in  the  fifth  century,  from  the 
church  of  Autioch,  then  forming  a  part  of  the  Greek  church  ;  as  its  small 
remnant,  found  in  Damascus  and  Mesopotamia,  now  does.  It  was  also  in 
the  fifth  century,  that  the  Armenians  were  separated  from  the  Greek 
church.  The  differences  in  doctrine  and  ritual  between  these  various 
sects  are  on  no  points  of  vital  importance,  though  regarded,  of  course,  as 
of  serious  magnitude  by  the  sects  themselves. 

The  Board,  under  whose  patronage  you  go  forth,  has  missions  among 
the  members  of  the  Greek,  the  Nestorian,  and  the  Armenian  churches.  Our 
missionaries  to  the  Greek  church  occupy  two  stations  in  Greece,  three  in 
Asia  Minor,  two  in  Syria,  and  one  in  Cyprus.  Those  to  the  Nestorians 
occupy  a  station  in  Persia,  near  the  eastern  base  of  the  Koordish  moun- 
tains ;  and  a  second  station  is  about  being  occupied  on  the  western  side  of 
the  same  mountains.  The  Missionaries  to  the  Armenians  are  at  Constan- 
tinople, and  at  three  stations  in  Asia  Minor;  and  a  station  is  about  being 
formed  at  Erzerooni,  within  the  bounds  of  the  ancient  Armenia  itself. 

The  object  of  our  missions  to  the  oriental  churches,  is  first,  to  revive  the 
knowledge  and  spirit  of  the  gospel  among  them  ;  and  secondly,  by  this 
means,  to  operate  upon  the  Mohammedans.    At  the  same  time,  this  does 


1840.]         Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  427 


not  preclude  the  idea  of  direct  missions  to  the  Mohammedans  themselves, 
which  we  also  have — one  missionary  to  them  being  resident  in  Constanti- 
nople, and  another  in  Persia.    But  to  think  of  exerting  much  influence 
upon  the  Mohammedan  mind,  while  the  native  Christian  churches  remain 
as  they  are,  is  out  of  the  question,  without  such  a  divine  interposition  as 
we  are  not  authorized  to  expect.    The  Mohammedans  look  upon  the  na- 
tive Christians  as  living  exemplifications  of  what  Christianity  is.   They  see 
that  these  Christians  are  no  better  than  themselves  ;  they  think  them  to 
he  even  worse  ;  and  this  opinion  is  said  to  be  correct  by  the  Europeans  ge- 
nerally who  have  resided  in  Turkey.    The  consequence  is  inevitable  and 
unquestionable  ;  the  Mohammedan  confidently  asserts  the  Koran  to  be 
more  excelled  than  the  Bible,  and  his  own  religion  than  the  gospel.  In 
rain  do  we  reply  that  the  native  Christians  have  lost  the  knowledge  and 
spirit  of  the  gospel,  and  that  their  immoral  lives  are  therefore,  in  no  sense, 
the  effect  of  the  gospel.    The  Mohammedan  has  never  seen  any  other 
effect,  and  he  will  not  read  the  Bible  to  correct  the  evidence  of  liis  senses, 
and  perhaps,  too,  of  his  painful  experience.   He  treats  that  holy  book  with 
the  contempt  he  feels  for  its  professed  followers.    Hence  a  comprehensive 
and  wise  system  of  efforts  for  the  conversion  of  the  Mohammedans  of 
Western  Asia,  will  embrace  a  system  of  efforts  for  the  spiritual  preserva- 
tion of  the  oriental  churches.    These  churches  must  be  reformed.  Lights 
must  be  made  to  burn  once  more  upon  those  candlesticks  that  remain.  The 
fire  of  a  pure  Christianity  must  be  rekindled  upon  those  Christian  altars. 
In  all  the  professedly  Christian  communities  of  Western  Asia,  there  must 
be  living  examples  and  proofs  of  the  holy,  happy  influence  of  the  religion 
of  Jesus.    There  must  be  the  warning,  reproof,  correction,  and  instruction 
in  righteousness,  so  powerfully  influential  in  a  holy  life.    In  the  mind  of 
the  Moslem,  Christianity  must  cease  to  be  associated  with  all  that  is  mean 
and  contemptible.    It  must  rise  in  its  proper  intelligence  and  spiritual 
dignity,  and  ceasing  to  act  merely  on  the  defensive,  must  commence  ag- 
gressive movements  on  the  surrounding  empire  of  darkness  and  delusion. 
As  the  relative  position  of  the  Christian  and  the  Moslem,  in  the  social 
system,  is  changing  every  day,  and  the  changes  are  all  in  favour  of  the 
Christian,  the  time  is  near,  if  it  has  not  come,  when  this  may  be  done. 

The  existence  of  these  numerous  bodies  of  Christians  among  the  Moham- 
medan nations,  is  one  of  the  most  remarkable  facts  whicli  meets  the  at- 
tention of  the  religious  observer  of  the  world.  They  constitute  more  than 
one-third  part  of  the  population  of  Constantinople,  which  is  believed  to 
exceed  a  million,  and  they  are  found  in  all  the  provinces  of  the  empire. 
They  are  found  in  Persia,  and  in  the  countries  beyond.  Their  number  in 
the  Mohammedan  nation  is  supposed  to  be  five  millions.  Being  so  numer- 
ous and  so  dispersed,  were  the  mighty  power  of  God  at  once  to  revive  the 
spirit  of  the  gospel  in  all  of  them,  a  flood  of  light  would  burst  upon  almost 
the  whole  Turkish  empire,  and  would  shine  far  up  on  the  great  central 
high  lands  of  Asia.  The  followers  of  the  false  prophet  would  look  on  with 
wonder — perhaps  with  hatred  and  persecution  ;  but  new  ideas  of  the  gos- 
pel would  be  forced  upon  them,  and  no  longer  could  they  boast  of  the 
more  excellent  nature  and  influence  of  their  own  religion.  Thus  the  gos- 
pel would  at  once  be  proclaimed  to  them,  most  convincingly  proclaimed,  in 
thousands  of  places.  It  would  shine  upon  them  from  every  quarter.  It 
would  no  longer  be  a  candle  under  a  bushel.  It  would  he  a  city  on  a  hill, 
which  could  not  he  hid.  It  would  be  a  "  voice  crying  in  the  wilderness." 
It  would  cry'without,  and  utter  its  voice  in  the  streets,  and  in  the  chief 
place  of  concourse,  in  the  openings  of  the  gates.  Every  where  it  would  cry, 
to  the  amazed  followers  of  the  false  prophet,  "  How  long,  ye  simple  ones, 
will  ye  love  simplicity?  and  the  scorners  delight  in  their  scorning,  and 
VOL.  I.  3  K 


428  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [July, 


fools  hate  knowledge?    Turn  you  at  my  reproof.    Behold  I  will  pour  out 
my  Spirit  unto  you,  I  will  make  known  my  words  unto  you." 

Letter  to  Mr.  Glen,  dated  Ooroomiah,  "2Uh  October,  1838. 
My  dear  Brothbr, —  In  your  kind  favour  of  the  13th  inst.,  you  request 
me  to  send  you,  for  the  gratification  of  your  patrons,  a  short  sketch  of  the 
history  of  our  mission  to  the  Nestorians.  It  gives  me  great  pleasure  to 
comply  with  your  request,  and  in  doing  so,  I  can  in  no  way  better  meet 
your  object,  than  by  briefly  replying  to  the  inquiries  contained  in  your  let- 
ter, and  in  the  order  in  which  they  there  occur.    You  inquire — 

I.  The  origin  of  the  Mission  ut  Ooroomiah. — The  American  Board  of 
Commissioners  for  Foreign  Missions,  were  induced  to  establish  the  mission 
among  the  Nestorians,  by  the  very  favourable  report  respecting  them, 
presented  to  the  Board  by  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Smith  and  Dwight,  who  visited 
the  Nestorian  Christian  of  this  province,  in  the  course  of  their  tour  of  ex. 
ploration,  which  they  made  in  Asia  Minor  and  Armenia,  and  into  Georgia 
and  Persia,  in  the  years  1829-30.  These  gentlemen  were  most  heartily 
welcomed  by  the  Nestorians,  in  their  visit  among  them  ;  and  they  received 
such  demonstrations  of  artlessness  and  kindness  from  all  classes  of  the 
people,  and  enjoyed  such  a  ready  access  to  them,  that  Mr.  Smith,  in  his 
report  to  the  Board,  published,  in  his  '  Researches,'  says—'  The  week  that 
we  passed  among  them  (the  Nestorians)  was  among  the  most  intensely  in- 
teresting of  our  lives.  For  myself,  I  felt  a  stronger  desire  to  settle  among 
them  at  once,  as  a  missionary,  than  among  any  people  I  have  ever  seen.' 
Permit  me  to  refer  you  to  the  interesting  Researches  of  Messrs.  Smith  and 
Dwight,  for  a  good  account  of  the  Nestorians,  which  occurs  in  vol.  ii.  of 
that  work,  commencing  with  page  186  (American  edition). 

Ooroomiah  was  selected  as  the  location  of  our  mission,  from  the  fact  of 
its  being  a  secure,  residence,  in  the  midst  of  a  considerable  Nestorian  po- 
pulation, and  near  the  wild  Koordish  Mountains,  which  are  the  home  of 
the  mass  of  the  Nestorian  Christians,  supposed  to  be  several  hundred 
thousands  in  number.  The  province  of  Ooroomiah  contains  about  20,000 
Nestorians  ;  and  the  city  of  Ooroomiah  stands  just  at  the  base  of  the  Koor- 
dish mountains.  In  addition  to  the  advantages  of  this  location,  in  refer- 
ence to  the  Nestorians,  it  is  also,  on  some  accounts,  in  itself  quite  an  ele- 
gible  residence.  The  province  of  Ooroomiah  is  almost  unrivalled  in  the 
charms  of  its  scenery,  combining  at  once  those  of  lake*,  mountain,  and 
plain,  on  a  grand  and  beautiful  scale.  Its  soil  is  also  extremly  fertile,  its 
productions  most  abundant,  and  comfortable  living  here  is  consequently  very 
cheap.  Our  experience  of  the  climate  hitherto  leads  us,  however,  to  ap- 
prehend consideable  danger  from  febrile  affections.  The  members  of  our 
mission  have  suffered  a  great  amount  of  sickness  ;  but  our  hope  is  that  we 
shall  suffer  much  less,  as  we  become  more  accustomed  to  the  climate. 

2.  The  special  object  of  the  Mission,  as  understood  by  the  Society  and  the 
Persian  government  respectively. — The  object  of  the  American  Board,  in  the 
establishment  of  this  mission,  is,  by  the  prudent  use  of  judicious  means,  to 
revive  the  spirit  and  practice  of  the  gospel  among  the  Nestorians.  The 
Board,  at  the  same  time,  cherish  the  hope  and  expectation,  that  the  light 
of  the  gospel,  thus  enkindled  and  shining  forth  in  the  consistent  and  holy 
lives  of  native  Christians,  will  also  prove  the  most  advantageous  and  effec- 
tual means  of  preparing  the  way  for  the  introduction  of  Christianity  among 
the  Mohammedans,  in  the  midst  of  whom  these  Christians  dwell.  Our 
Board  view  the  native  Christians  of  these  Mohammedan  countries  as 
almost  the  only  medium  through  which  they  can  hope  favourably  to  affect 
the  Mohammedan  population,  as  will  appear  from  a  paragraph  in  their  last 
annual  report,  which  is  as  follows,  viz. — "  It  is  indeed  a  question  worthy  of 
*  The  Lake  of  Ooroomiah  is  about  seventy  miles  long  and  thirty  broad. 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


429 


consideration  whether,  under  existing  circumstances,  missions  directly  and 
professedly  to  the  Mohammedans  are  not  premature ;  and  whether  the 
most  effectual  method  of  publishing  the  gospel  to  that  people,  is  not  by 
raising  the  oriental  churches  from  their  deep  spiritual  degradation.  To 
the  Mussulmans,  these  churches  are  the  representatives  of  the  Christian 
religion,  and  they  are  scattered  over  the  countries  of  Western  Asia.  The 
ignorance,  idolatry,  and  scandalous  lives  of  their  members,  preach  louder 
and  more  effectually  against  Christianity,  than  the  united  voices  of  all 
Protestant  missionaries  in  its  favour.  These  churches  are  all  accessible  to 
us.  Their  Moslem  rulers  are  indifferent  to  our  efforts,  so  long  as  we  do 
not  interfere  directly  with  their  own  religious  prejudices.  With  discretion 
on  our  part,  they  may  be  expected  even  to  protect  us  against  lawless  violence 
from  our  false  brethren  of  the  Christian  name.  Let  the  light  and  spirit  of 
the  gospel  be  restored  to  the  numerous  fragments  of  the  Greek,  Armenian, 
and  Syrian  churches,  which  are  scattered  over  the  East,  and  they  will  be 
so  many  cities  set  upon  a  hill  that  cannot  be  hid.  Every  movement  indeed 
towards  reform  among  the  Mohammedans  should  of  course  be  encouraged  ; 
but  it  is  a  question  whether  missions  to  them  directly,  in  the  present  stage 
of  our  operations  among  the  oriental  churches,  would  not  on  the  whole 
diminish  the  amount  of  our  influence  and  usefulness." 

The  views  here  expressed  are  undoubtedly  in  the  main  correct.  Our 
Board  have,  however,  as  you  are  aware,  a  missionary,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Merrick-, 
sent  directly  to  the  Mohammedans  of  this  country.  And  our  own  opinion 
is,  that  while  it  would  be  highly  inexpedient  and  hazardous  for  a  missionary 
to  attempt  at  present  to  preach  the  gospel  openly  to  the  Mohammedans  in 
Persia,  he  may  do  much  preparatory  work  here  in  the  way  of  translation 
and  instruction.  We  greatly  rejoice  in  being  permited  to  welcome  you  to 
this  country  for  the  very  interesting  and  important  object  of  translating 
the  Holy  Scriptures  into  the  Persian  language.  We  believe  your  patrons 
could  not  perform  better  service  for  the  great  cause,  than  by  engaging  in 
this  undertaking. 

The  objects  of  our  mission,  were  never  very  formally  explained  to  the 
Persian  government  ;  but  they  are  understood  by  the  authorities  and  by 
the  Persians  generally  to  be  the  instruction  and  benefit  of  the  Nestorians ; 
which  are  in  fact  our  immedinte  object. 

3,  The  facilities  granted  by,  or  anticipated  from,  the  Persian  government 
for  securing  these  objects. — We  have  never  made  a  very  formal  application 
to  the  Persian  government  for  patronage  or  protection.  A  remark  of  the 
Rev.  Mr  Smith,  author  of  the  '  Researches/  struck  me  with  much  force  at 
the  time  it  was  made,  and  my  subsequent  experience  and  observation  have 
only  confirmed  my  conviction  of  its  correctness.  I  inquired  of  him  whe- 
ther he  thought  it  would  be  expedient  for  me  before  entering  upon  my 
labours,  to  petition  the  Persian  government  for  permission  to  do  so.  He 
replied,  '  If  you  petition  you  will  most  likely  only  petition  a  denial.  I 
would  rather  advise  that  you  assume  the  right,  which  the  gospel  certainly 
gives  us,  and  enter  quietly  upon  your  work,  and  I  have  little  apprehen- 
sion that  you  would  be  interrupted.  I  adopted  the  course  here  recom- 
mended. 

Without  making  any  formal  application,  however,  we  have  enjoyed  the 
efficient  protection,  and  even  the  encouragement  of  Persian  authorities. 

We  have  English  protection ;  and  the  English  ambassador  and  other 
English  gentleman,  particularly  our  excellent  friend  Dr  Riach,  have  from 
time  to  time  written  to  the  authorities  of  this  province,  charging  them  to 
protect  us.  They  have  also  requested  Persian  nobles  of  this  city  residing 
at  Teheran,  to  write  to  their  friends  here,  commending  us  to  their  kindness 
and  these  letters  have  been  duly  regarded.  These  precautions  on  the 
part  of  our  English  friends,  and  their  value,  will  be  understood  when  it 
3  l  2 


430  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [July, 


is  recollected  that  the  people  of  Ooroomiah  had  seen  little  of  Europeans 
before  we  came  here — that  no  Europeans  besides  ourselves  reside  among 
them — and  that  this  city  and  province  are  noted  as  the  residence  of  the 
lawless  Lootee,  the  professional  ruffians  of  Persia. 

Providence  has  also  favourably  disposed  Persian  authorities  towards  our 
object.  During  the  first  year  of  our  residence  here  Kohranian  Mirza,  a 
brother  of  the  king  of  Persia,  and  regent  of  Aderbijan,  came  to  Ooroomiah 
on  his  return  from  an  expedition  against  the  Koords.  When  he  reached 
this  city  he  directed  his  uncle  Malek  Kassim  Mirza,  who  was  in  his  suite, 
to  request  permission  to  visit  us  and  our  boarding  school,  of  which  they 
had  previously  heard.  This  request  was  of  course  readily  granted.  Prince 
Malek  Kassim  Mirza.  on  a  day  appointed,  visited  and  dined  with  us. 
He  also  visited  our  boarding-school,  expressed  himself  much  gratified  with 
the  performances  of  the  scholars — highly  commended  them,  and  exhorted 
them  to  diligence  and  perseverance  in  their  studies.  And  the  impression 
which  his  report,  respecting  us  and  our  object,  made  on  the  mind  of 
Kohraman  Mirza,  may  be  inferred  from  the  tenor  of  a  firman  which  that 
prince,  entirely  unsolicited,  issued  immediately  in  our  favour. 

The  following  is  a  Translation  of  the  Firman. 

The  command  of  his  Highness  is: — '  Whereas  the  very  honourable  and 
respected  gentlemen,  Mr.  Perkins  and  Mr.  Grant,  at  Ooroomiah,  are  attend- 
ing to  the  education  of  the  people,  and  render  the  people  useful,  by  teach- 
ing them  European  science,  the  grace  of  our  Excellency  and  Highness, 
having  become  favourably  disposed  towards  them,  we  order  and  command 
three  soldiers  for  their  safety,  during  this  harvest  season  and  onward;  and, 
in  accordance  with  his  grace,  we  command  that  they  shall  be  honoured, 
and  have  occasion  to  praise  our  beneficence.  It  is  our  command  ttiat  the 
respected  and  noble  lord,  Nadjeff  Kooly  Khan,  governor  of  Ooroomiah, 
shall  take  care  to  protect  them  in  every  respect  ;  and  he  shall  give  to  each 
of  the  three  soldiers,  the  guard  of  their  safety,  the  sum  of  twelve  tomans 
(£6),  and  never  shall  he  neglect  it.  It  is  ordered  that  the  trusty  secreta- 
ries arrange  and  execute  the  sum  of  this  blessed  command. 

Written  in  the  month  Jemadeal,  in  the  year  1252  (of  the  Hegira). 

This  firman  bears  the  seals  of  the  prince,  and  two  of  his  secretaries  ;  and, 
while  we  know  that  '  it  is  better  to  trust  in  the  Lord,  than  to  put  confi- 
dence in  princes,'  we  still  feel  constrained,  if  the  Lord  make  them  nursing 
fathers  to  his  Church,  to  rejoice  and  give  thanks  for  it.  That  the  above 
firman  has  been  duly  respected  by  the  governor  and  people  of  Ooroomiah, 
a  single  fact  will  sufficiently  show.  Not  long  after  it  was  issued,  I,  with 
my  colleagues,  was  on  a  visit  to  one  of  our  schools,  situated  in  a  village 
about  fifteen  miles  distant  from  this  city.  While  walking  through  that 
village,  we  were  rudely  and  frightfully  attacked  by  some  drunken  Mussul- 
mans. One  of  them  suddenly  drew  his  dagger,  and  stabbed  me  with  in- 
describable fury. 

I  was  just  recovering  from  a  fever,  and  still  so  weak,  that,  in  springing 
from  him,  I  fell  to  the  ground,  and  thus  evaded  the  violence  of  the  weapon. 
It  however,  slightly  entered  my  body;  and,  but  for  Divine  interposition, 
would  in  all  probably,  have  done  fatal  execution.  As  the  assault  seemed 
to  be  the  result,  not  at  all  of  popular  prejudice,  but  merely  of  the  raging 
of  strong  drink,  we  felt  inclined  to  do  little  more  in  reference  to  it,  than 
praise  God  for  the  striking  deliverance, — a  thing  which,  as  you  know,  every 
missionary  has  frequent  and  strong  occasion  to  do. 

Scarcely,  however,  had  we  arrived  at  our  homes,  when  the  affair  having 
reached  the  ears  of  the  governor,  he  sent  a  messenger  to  us,  with  the 
preatest  solicitude,  to  inquire  into  the  circumstances  of  the  case.  We 
gave  them,  and  without  any  complaint  or  application  on  our  part,  he  ap- 
prehended the  principal  assailant,  and  caused  250  lashes,  to  be  laid  upon 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


431 


his  naked  back,  in  the  presence  of  a  large  concourse  of  people.  We  report- 
ed the  assault  to  the  English  ambassador,  and  lie  represented  it  to  the  king, 
who  immediately  sent  orders  to  the  prince  of  this  province,  to  apprehend 
and  punish  the  offenders.  About  two  months  after  the  occurrence,  a  mes- 
senger came  therefore  from  the  prince,  to  seize  the  assailants,  whose  ap- 
proach being  known,  both  assailants  and  their  connexions  absconded. 

The  impression  was  thus  strongly  made  upon  the  minds  of  the  people 
here,  that  any  annoyance  offered  to  us  would  be  promptly  and  efficiently 
redressed.  And  the  assault  detailed  above,  is  the  only  one  of  serious  con- 
sequence which  we  have  ever  experienced  from  Mohammedans,  since  we 
entered  this  country.  Indeed  it  would  be  doing  them  injustice  not  to 
acknowledge,  that,  with  this  single  exception,  which  arose  from  intoxication, 
they  have  treated  us  with  uniform  kindness  and  great  respect.  And  our 
own  experience  leads  us  fully  to  believe,  that  both  rulers  and  people  will 
protect  a  missionary,  labouring  prudently  in  this  country,  for  the  benefit  of 
the  native  Christians,  or  even  engaged  in  indirect  efforts,  as  translation, 
instruction,  &c.  for  the  Mohammedan  population. 

4.  The  measures  actually  adopted  by  the  Missionaries  for  turning  these 
facilities  to  account.  —  I  was  the  first  missionary  appointed  to  this  mission. 
I  left  America  on  the  21st  of  September,  1833,  and  reached  Constantino- 
ple in  December  of  the  same  year,  with  no  companion  save  Mrs.  Perkins. 
Our  society  had  earnestly  desired  to  send  with  us  a  medical  associate,  but 
were  unable  to  procure  one  before  our  embarkation.  We  lingered  at 
Constantinople  until  the  following  spring,  in  the  hope  of  being  joined  there 
by  a  physician,  but  in  this  we  were  disappointed  ;  and,  on  the  17th  of 
May,  1834,  we  started  for  Persia  alone.  The  limits  of  this  communication 
forbid  me  to  narrate  the  incidents  of  that  journey.  Even  a  brief  historical 
sketch  of  our  mission,  however,  would  be  too  imperfect,  were  I  not  to  allude 
to  the  untold  sufferings  and  annoyances  which  we,  particularly  Mrs.  Per- 
kins, then  in  delicate  health,  encountered  from  the  rude  and  oppressive 
conduct  of  Russian  officers,  in  Georgia,  especially  at  the  town  of  Gumry, 
and  at  the  quarantine  ground,  on  the  southern  frontier.  And  equally  de- 
fective would  my  communication  be,  were  I  to  omit  to  acknowledge  the  very 
kind  and  prompt  measures  taken  by  the  gentlemen  of  both  the  Russian 
and  the  English  embassies,  in  this  country,  to  effect  our  relief,  as  soon  as 
our  circumstances  were  made  known  to  them. 

We  reached  Tabreez,  August  23,  1834.  The  almost  miraculous  recovery 
of  Mrs.  Perkins  from  a  very  severe  sickness,  which  carried  her  quite  to  the 
brink  of  the  grave,  immediately  after  our  arrival,  induced  probably  by  her 
sufferings  and  exposure  in  Georgia,  can  never  cease  to  be  to  us  a  matter  of 
tender  and  heartfelt  thanksgiving  to  God. 

I  deemed  it  imprudent  to  locate  my  family  at  this  remote  station,  with 
no  missionary  associate  and  therefore  resolved  to  reside  at  Tabreez,  until 
a  physician  should  join  us.  I  soon  made  a  journey  to  Ooroomiah  myself, 
to  procure  a  competent  teacher,  and  reconnoitre  the  field.  The  Nesto- 
rians,  on  learning  my  object,  welcomed  me  most  cordially  to  my  missionary 
work.  'I  wo  of  their  most  intelligent  ecclesiastics,  a  bishop  and  a  priest, 
readily  engaged  to  go  and  reside  with  me  at  Tabreez,  until  I  should  bring 
my  family  to  Ooroomiah.  They  went  with  me  to  Tabreez,  and  were 
successfully  occupied,  in  studying  the  English  language,  and  teaching  me 
their  own,  about  one  year,  when  our  first  associates,  Dr.  and  Mrs  Grant, 
joined  us  at  Tabreez.  Soon  after  their  arrival,  we  all  removed  to  Ooroo- 
miah.   Our  families  reached  this  city,  on  November  20,  1835. 

On  our  first  arrival  at  Ooroomiah,  Dr.  Grant  opened  a  medical  dispensary, 
which  was  resorted  to  by  great  numbers  of  the  sick  of  all  classes  of  both 
NestorianS  and  Mohammedans.  In  the  course  of  two  months  after  our  ar- 
rival, we  opened  a  boarding-school,  with  the  particular  design  of  rearing 


432 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [July, 


up  teachers  and  preachers,  which  was  immediately  filled  with  promising 
young  Nestorians.  Among  the  first  scholars  were  several  young  priests  and 
deacons.  Ahout  the  same  time  I  commenced  translating  the  Scriptures 
from  the  ancient  Syriac  into  the  modern  or  spoken  language  of  the  Nesto- 
rians. 

During  the  first  year  of  our  residence  here,  we  also  opened  three  free- 
schools  among  this  people.  The  Nestorians  had  no  schools  when  we  reached 
them.  W e  employed  copyists  to  construct  reading  cards  for  our  schools, 
from  parts  of  the  Bible  which  I  was  translating.  Happily  too,  the  entire 
Scriptures  exist  in  the  ancient  Syriac;  and  we  were  thus  enabled  from  the 
first,  to  furnish  reading  matter  for  our  schools,  in  both  the  ancient  and  the 
modern  languages.  We  have  also  circulated  these  Scripture  cards  in  the 
form  of  tracts,  and  have  distributed  the  Syriac  Scriptures  among  such  of 
the  people  as  can  read.  We  have  had  free  and  extensive  intercourse  with 
the  people,  and  have  made  it  an  object  in  such  intercourse  to  impart  directly 
and  indirectly  religious  instruction.  Soon  after  our  arrival  we  took  into 
our  families  several  of  the  most  influential  Nestorian  ecclesiastics — two 
bishops,  three  priests,  and  one  or  two  deacons,  who  have  been  occupied  in 
study,  in  teaching  us  their  language,  and  in  translation,  and  have  thus 
been  brought  under  our  immediate  influence  and  control. 

On  the  Sabbaths  we  hold  religious  services,  with  the  natives  connected 
with  our  families,  and  the  members  of  our  boarding-school,  making  a  con- 
gregation of  about  sixty  persons,  and  preach  to  them  the  gospel  in  their 
own  language.  We  have  a  printing  press  on  the  way  to  this  country, 
which,  when  put  in  motion,  will  of  course  greatly  facilitate  and  give 
efficiency  to  our  educational  and  religious  operations.  We  have  also  made 
it  an  object  to  teach  Nestorian  mechanics  the  construction  of  comfortable 
articles  of  household  furniture,  and  other  points  likely  to  advance  the 
people  in  civilization. 

5.  The  working  of  the  measures  you  have  been  led  to  adopt. — Our  object 
among  the  Nestorians  has  not  been  to  introduce  among  them  new  creeds, 
nor  induce  individual  converts  to  abandon  their  own  communion,  and  attach 
themselves  to  us,  or  any  Protestant  denomination;  but  rather  to  affect  the 
whole  mass,  by  diffusing  among  them  the  light  of  knowledge,  and  the  light 
of  divine  truth,  in  the  hope  that  they  may,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  be  thus 
gradually  raised  from  their  deep  degradation,  and  brought  to  the  knowledge 
and  practice  of  the  pure  gospel. 

The  measures  which  1  have  detailed  above,  having  this  object  in  view, 
have  hitherto  been  graciously  succeeded  beyond  our  most  sanguine  expec- 
tations. Our  medical  dispensary  has  done  much  to  conciliate  all  classes  of 
the  natives  towards  us  and  our  object,  in  addition  to  the  great  amount  of 
relief  from  physical  suffering,  which  it  has  extended  to  this  suffering  peo- 
ple. Our  opinion  is  decidedly  in  favour  of  medical  practice,  in  connexion 
with  Christian  missions,  alike  for  the  comfort  of  missionary  families,  the 
relief  of  the  sick  among  the  natives,  and  the  success  of  missionary  labours. 
Our  schools  have  been  full  and  flourishing,  the  progress  of  the  scholars  has 
been  highly  encouraging,  and  the  schools  are  exerting  a  very  beneficial  in- 
fluence on  the  villages  in  which  they  are  situated.  The  ecclesiastics  con- 
nected with  our  families  afford  still  stronger  evidence  of  proficiency  in  know- 
ledge and  general  improvement ;  and  some  of  them,  we  hope,  give  increas- 
ing indications  of  serious  concern  for  their  eternal  well-being,  and  that  of 
their  people. 

There  are  many  things  in  the  Nestorians  peculiarly  favourable  to  the 
successful  operation  of  the  system  of  means  which  we  have  commenced 
among  them.  They  are  naturally  a  very  kind,  hospitable  people, — very 
artless  for  Asiatics, — remarkably  liberal  toward  other  sects  of  nominiil 
Christians,  and  strongly  desirous  of  improvement.    The  patriarch,  Mar 


1840.] 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


433 


Shimon,  who  resides  in  the  heart  of  the  Koordish  Mountains,  has  repeatedly 
written  us,  expressing  his  joy  and  satisfaction,  that  we  have  come  among 
his  people,  his  gratitude  for  our  efforts  for  their  benefit,  and  his  earnest 
desire  for  our  prosperity  ;  and  such  has  been  the  language,  and  apparently 
the  feelings,  of  all  his  people. 

The  religious  character  of  the  Nestorians  also  presents  much  fewer  obsta- 
cles to  their  becoming  enlightened,  than  that  of  other  oriental  Christians. 
Their  religious  belief  and  practices  are  much  more  simple  and  accordant 
with  Scripture.  They  have  the  greatest  abhorrence  of  all  image- worship  and 
auricular  confession,  and  many  other  corrupt  pratices  of  the  Papal,  Greek, 
and  Armenian  churches,  while  they  cherish  a  high  reverence  for  the  Holy 
Scriptures,  and  place  them,  in  theory  at  least,  far  above  all  human  tradi- 
tions. Indeed,  the  Nestorians  may  not  improperly  be  denominated  the 
Protectants  of  Asia. 

With  all  these  facilities,  however,  there  are  also  formidable  obstacles  to 
our  work.  The  Nestorians  are  much  under  the  influence  of  human,  and 
many  childish,  traditions.  They  attach  great  importance  to  their  numerous 
fasts  and  external  ceremonies,  to  the  neglect  of  purity  of  heart,  and  even  of 
external  morality.  They  are  deeply  degraded  in  morals.  The  vice  of  lying 
is  almost  universal,  among  both  ecclesiastics  and  people.  Intemperance  is 
fearfully  prevalent ;  the  Sabbath  is  reckoned  a  holiday,  and  profaneness 
and  other  vices  are  very  common.  The  Nestorians  seem  literally  to  have 
a  name  to  live,  while  they  are  dead. 

The  political  condition  of  the  Nestorians,  in  this  province,  is  also  un- 
favourable to  their  improvement.  They  are  sorely  oppressed  by  their 
Mohammedan  masters.  The  fruits  of  their  hard  and  honest  toil  are  wan- 
tonly and  mercilessly  extorted  from  them.  Their  daughters  are  often 
seized,  and  compelled  to  become  the  wives  of  Mussulmans,  and  profess  the 
Mohammedan  religion.  The  whole  population  are  thus  ground  down  to 
the  dust  under  a  rigorous  and  galling  bondage.  This  oppression  renders 
them  constantly  restless  and  unquiet.  Some  earnestly  desire  to  emigrate  to 
the  Russian  provinces,  hoping  that  they  might  find  a  better  condition  un- 
der nominally  Clrristian  masters  ;  and  all  are  ready  to  urge  their  oppression 
as  an  apology  for  their  deep  degradation,  and  even  for  their  appalling  im- 
moralities. The  political  condition  of  many  of  the  Nestorians,  amongst 
the  Koordish  mountains,  is,  according  to  their  own  testimony,  even  less 
eligible  than  that  of  the  people  of  Ooroomiah,  exposed  as  they  constantly 
are  to  the  lawless  depredations  of  the  savage  Koords.  The  difficulty  and 
danger  of  travelling  among  the  Koords,  will  also  prove  a  great  hindrance 
to  our  gaining  access  to  the  Nestorians.  There  are,  however,  some  inde- 
pendent districts  of  Nestorians  among  the  mountains,  so  thickly  populated, 
as  to  enable  the  inhabitants  to  defend  themselves  against  the  Koords, 
which  present  to  us  very  promising  fields  for  cultivation,  whenever  we 
shall  be  able  to  make  our  way  through  the  marauding  Koordish  tribes 
which  surround  them.  The  spoken  language  of  the  Nestorians,  scattered 
and  oppressed  as  they  are,  is  naturally  and  necessarily  a  barbarous  jargon. 
Originally  the  noble  ancient  Syriac,  it  is  now  greatly  corrupted  by  con- 
tractions and  inversions,  and  by  tha  introduction  of  almost  innumerable 
Turkish,  Persian,  and  Koordish  words,  as  a  given  district  is  situated  in 
the  vicinity  of  those  respective  nations.  To  reduce  such  a  language  to 
writing,  and  harmonize  the  various  conflicting  dialects,  so  as  to  form  an 
intelligible  and  acceptable  common  medium,  is,  as  you  well  know,  no  small 
nor  easy  undertaking.  But  notwithstanding  these  difficulties,  our  efforts 
have  been  prosperously  commenced,  and  have  hitherto  succeeded  in  a  man- 
ner that  encourages  us  to  continue  vigorously  to  prosecute  our  work,  in 
the  hope  that  we  shall  reap  in  due  time,  if  we  faint  not. 
.  6.    Present  state  and  future  prospects  of  the  Mission. — These  points  have 


434  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


necessarily  been  in  a  measure  anticipated,  in  replying  to  your  previous 
inquiries.  1  may,  however,  more  particularly  remark,  that  the  general 
prospects  of  our  mission  were  never  more  encouraging  than  at  the  present 
time.  We  seem  to  possess  the  entire  confidence  of  all  classes  of  Nestorians. 
They  manifest  a  strong  attachment  to  us  as  missionaries,  and  an  increas- 
ing interest  in  our  operations.  We  have  many  more  applications  for 
schools,  than  our  means  will  enable  us  to  sustain.  Our  schools  continue 
to  meet  our  most  sanguine  expectations  ;  especially  considering  the  limit- 
ed supply  of  books,  and  other  apparatus,  which  we  are  able  to  furnish  for 
them  ;  and  the  natives  connected  with  our  families  are,  we  have  reason  to 
hope,  becoming  more  and  more  interested  in  the  study  of  the  Bible,  more 
evangelical  in  their  views,  and  increasingly  serious  in  regard  to  their  eter- 
nal concerns.  Being  influential  ecclesiastics,  we  hope,  through  them,  to 
exert  a  strong  and  salutary  influence  on  their  people. 

Oar  mission  now  consists  of  four  members,  two  clergymen  (the  Rev.  A. 
L.  Holladay  and  myself),  a  physician  (Dr.  Grant),  and  a  superintendent 
of  schools  (Air.  William  R.  Stocking),  with  our  families.  A  printer  is  ere 
long  expected  to  join  us.  The  press — that  mighty  engine  of  moral  power 
— will,  we  trust,  here  as  elsewhere,  prove  a  most  important  auxiliary  in 
promoting  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord. 

A  dark  cloud,  that  excites  our  apprehensions  in  reference  to  this  peo- 
ple, has  just  gathered  in  our  horizon.  Since  I  commenced  this  communi- 
cation, two  Papal  emissaries  have  entered  this  province,  with  the  design 
of  attempting  to  subject  the  Nestorians  to  the  dominion  of  their  master, 
the  Pope.  The  Papal  hierarch  has  long  been  anxious  to  bring  under  his 
withering  sway  the  entire  Syrian  church.  In  the  region  of  Mosul,  on  the 
western  side  of  the  Koordish  mountains,  the  wiles  of  Jesuit  emissaries 
have  succeeded  in  leading  the  whole  Nestorian  population  to  submit  to 
Catholic  rule.  But  in  this  province,  and  among  the  mountains,  Catholic 
influence  has  hitherto  been  very  limited.  The  Nestorians  of  these  regions 
have  nobly  resisted  ;  and  our  hope  and  our  prayer  is,  that  they  may  con- 
tinue to  resist  the  intrigues  and  assaults  of  the  "  Man  of  Sin." 

It  is  delightful  to  contemplate  the  attitude  of  the  Nestorian  church,  and 
we  hope  that  it  is  to  be  enlightened  and  resuscitated  by  the  spirit  and  light 
of  the  pure  Gospel,  situated,  as  it  is,  in  the  heart  of  Mohammedan 
dominion.  Is  it  too  much  to  hope,  that  this  venerable  church,  once  so 
renowned  for  its  missionary  efforts,  will  again  awake  from  its  slumber  of  ages, 
and  become  "  fair  as  the  moon,  clear  as  the  sun,  and  terrible  as  an  army 
with  banners,"  to  achieve  victories  for  Zion.  That  it  will  again  diffuse  such 
floods  of  the  light  of  truth,  as  shall  put  for  ever  to  shame  the  corrupt  abo- 
minations of  Mohammedanism,  and  send  forth  faithful  ministers  of  the 
Cross  in  such  numbers  and  animated  by  such  holy  zeal,  as  shall  bear  the 
tidings  of  salvation  to  every  corner  of  this  benighted  continent.  For  the 
blessing  of  God  on  our  feeble  instrumentality,  that  our  labours  may  con- 
tribute, in  some  humble  measure,  to  so  glorious  a  consummation,  permit 
us  to  request  you  and  British  Christians  fervently  to  pray.  And  I  trust 
we  need  not  assure  you,  that  it  is,  and  shall  ever  be,  our  unceasing  prayer, 
that  like  blessings  may  richly  crown  your  efforts,  and  the  efforts  of  the 
Society  under  whose  patronage  you  labour.  The  blessed  cause  is  one,  and 
may  our  hearts,  our  prayers,  and  our  desires  for  its  advancement,  never 
cease  to  be  one. 

May  the  God  of  all  grace  smile  especially  upon  the  very  important  un- 
dertaking in  which  you  are  now  engaged,  and  cause  his  Holy  Word  to 
have  free  course  and  be  glorified,  in  this  and  other  lands,  through  your 
instrumentality.  So  prays  your  affectionate  brother  in  the  labours  and 
hopes  of  the  Gospel. 

(Signed)  Justin  Pkrkins, 

Missionary  nfthcA.B.  C.  F.  M. 


THB 


CHRISTIAN  OBSERVER. 

(Neto  Serits.) 
No.  8.— AUGUST,  1840. 


I.— The  Hill  Tribes. 

(With  a  Map.) 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Dear  Sirs, 

I  have  been  truly  rejoiced  to  observe  that  your  atten- 
tion has  recently  been  directed  to  the  subject  of  missions 
amongst  the  Hill  Tribes  of  India — a  class  of  our  subjects 
so  exceedingly  distinct,  that  to  do  them  justice  it  ap- 
pears to  me  essential  that  they  should  be  considered  apart. 
This  I  think  has  not  heretofore  been  sufficiently  the  case.  Of 
late,  however,  indications  have  been  afforded  in  various  quar- 
ters of  a  disposition  to  regard  these  simple  people  with  more 
of  interest  and  affection.  The  progress  of  our  Missionaries 
in  Barmah  and  the  Tenasserim  Provinces,  and  the  extension 
of  our  possessions  in  the  direction  of  the  eastern  mountain 
ranges,  have  brought  us  in  contact  with  new  members  of  this 
brotherhood,  if  we  may  so  call  them.  The  insurrection  a  few 
years  ago  of  the  Kols,  and  the  changes  of  territorial  manage- 
ment in  the  Kolhan  which  resulted  therefrom  at  the  same  time, 
tended  to  bring  us  much  better  acquainted  with  that  particular 
family  of  them,  than  we  had  previously  been  ;  by  introducing 
into  the  midst  of  their  country  a  number  of  European  officers 
under  circumstances  of  connexion  which  cannot  fail  to  beget 
both  intimacy  and  interest.  To  which  may  be  added  that  the 
enterprising  spirit  of  these  people  themselves  in  seeking 
employment  in  foreign  lands,  has  attracted  towards  them  the 
observation  of  all  countries  ;  while  the  dread  of  danger  and 
evil  thus  befalling  them  has  especially  excited  on  their  behalf 
the  sympathies  of  philanthropists  in  this  country.  How  blessed 
were  the  end  of  these  things,  if  the  fate  so  much  dreaded  by 

VOL.   I,  3  Li 


436 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


[Aug. 


their  friends  should  hasten  the  coming  to  them  of  the  tidings 
of  the  gospel  ! 

It  is  highly  worthy  of  attention  that  in  numerous  parts  of 
the  world,  where  the  labours  of  the  Missionary  have  been 
exercised  amongst  these  primitive  races,  they  have  been 
attended  with  the  most  encouraging  success.  Whether  in  the 
islands  of  the  Pacific  ocean,  on  the  plains  of  Africa,  or  amidst 
the  hills  and  forests  of  Hindustan,  they  have  been  found 
alike  free  from  those  bonds  which  lay  so  fatal  a  hold  upon  the 
victims  of  other  idolatries  ;  no  venerated  literature  records  the 
deeds  or  characters  of  their  deities ;  no  powerful  and  sagaci- 
ous priesthood  holds  them  in  a  state  of  mental  or  moral 
vassalage,  but  led  simply  by  feelings  of  mysterious  awe  and 
dread,  which  sin  has  given  us  as  our  heritage,  to  deprecate  by 
sacrifices  and  mystic  ceremonies  the  supposed  wrath  of  an 
unknown  God,  they  have  ever  evinced  a  disposition  to  listen 
to  the  soothing  assurances  of  the  gospel ;  to  be  charmed  by 
the  beauties  of  knowledge  and  of  truth  as  it  is  unfolded  to 
them  ;  and  to  return  the  most  ardent  gratitude  to  those  who 
have  turned  aside  with  Christian  affection  to  raise  them  in  the 
scale  of  being. 

If  these  encouraging  results  suffice  to  invite  the  exertions 
of  the  Missionary  in  behalf  of  the  aborigines  of  other  lands, 
there  are,  I  conceive,  exclusive  of  the  consideration  that  this 
land  has  been  especially  entrusted  to  us  by  the  will  of  the 
Almighty,  other  reasons  which  call  upon  us  even  yet  more 
imperatively  to  rouse  ourselves  in  behalf  of  the  Hill  Tribes 
found  scattered  throughout  Hindustan.  In  the  first  place, 
a  close  inspection  of  their  actual  condition,  feelings,  and  pro- 
gress, will  lead,  I  believe,  to  the  conclusion  that  delay  must 
increase  our  difficulties  in  regard  to  them.  Notwithstanding 
the  assertion  so  frequently  made  that  Hinduism  is  not  a  pro- 
selytizing creed,  it  has  been  found  that  wherever  the  Hindus 
have  been  brought  into  close  connexion  with  Hill  Tribes  for 
any  length  of  time,  it  has  become  the  endeavour  of  the  latter 
to  assimilate  themselves  as  much  as  possible  with  the  former; 
to  which  they  are  urged  no  less  by  the  interested  counsels  of 
the  brahmans,  than  by  their  own  desire  to  raise  themselves 
from  a  condition  esteemed  to  be  the  most  debased,  to  one 
which  gives  them  something  of  conventional  respectability. 
Thus  the  Tribes  to  the  eastward  are  described  by  those  who 
know  them  as  rapidly  assimilating  in  all  respects  to  the 
Bengalis.  While  amongst  all  those  with  which  I  am  myself 
acquainted,  this  predilection  for  Hinduism  has  very  decidedly 
developed  itself  amongst  the  higher  ranks.  In  Kolhan  or 
Chhutia  Nagpur  the  chiefs  call  themselves  "  Nagbansis,"  alto- 


1840.] 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


437 


gether  repudiating  the  name  of  K61 ;  and  further  to  the 
westward  the  Gond  chiefs  and  all  who  have  affinity  with  them, 
denominate  themselves  "  Raj-Gonds"  or  "  Gond  Thakurs  ;" 
wear  the  "  janeu"  or  thread  allowed  only  to  the  three  pure 
orders  of  Hindus ;  keep  purohits  or  brahman  priests  ;  and 
perform  most  of  the  mummeries  of  Hinduism. 

In  the  second  place,  let  us  reflect  upon  the  results  that 
would  follow,  as  far  as  human  reasoning  or  experience  can 
enable  us  to  judge,  from  success  in  our  ministrations  amongst 
these  wide  spread  races.  Let  us  suppose  that  Christian 
colonies  have  been  established  among  them  ;  that  they  have 
flocked  round  the  standard  of  the  gospel ;  and,  having  become 
to  some  extent  the  subjects  of  mental  as  well  as  moral 
culture,  have  exchanged  the  devilish  ferocity  of  their  idolatrous 
revelries  for  the  comparatively  sober  and  respectable  demean- 
our of  a  more  or  less  educated  Christian  community  ;  and  can 
we  then  doubt  that  the  existence  of  such  communities  scat- 
tered here  and  there  in  the  midst  of  the  millions  of  our  Hindu 
subjects,  must  produce  a  most  important  effect  in  impressing 
the  minds  of  these  last  ?  To  witness  the  exercise  of  brotherly 
love,  forbearance,  and  charity  (though  in  but  a  few  instances) 
in  lieu  of  every  thievish  and  marauding  propensity  ;  a  desire 
for  knowledge  and  the  arts  and  comforts  of  civilized  life  in 
the  place  of  the  most  grovelling  and  filthy  barbarism  ;  and,  as 
regards  the  most  of  these  tribes,  the  substitution  of  indus- 
trious habits  for  a  roving  life ;  all  this  would  afford  to 
them  a  practical  exhibition  of  the  aim  of  Christianty,  of  which 
with  few  exceptions  they  have  hitherto  enjoyed  no  adequate 
means  of  forming  a  just  conception.  And  apart  from  this,  I 
conceive  that  the  time  is  approaching  when  it  may  prove  a 
point  of  great  importance  thus  to  secure,  at  every  brief  interval, 
a  nucleus  around  which  the  weaker  Hindu  proselytes  may 
assemble  to  screen  themselves  from  the  storm  which  it  must 
be  expected  will  beat  upon  them.  Obloquy  and  persecution 
the  convert  in  all  parts  of  the  world  must  doubtless  be  pre- 
pared to  meet ;  yet  it  cannot  be  doubted  that  the  tyranny  of 
society  in  various  forms,  is  one  of  Satan's  readiest  and  most 
constantly  employed  instruments  for  the  destruction  of  true 
religion ;  and  it  surely  cannot  be  undeserving  of  our  consi- 
deration to  strive  after  the  establishment  of  a  breakwater 
which  may  mitigate  the  violence  of  the  billows  when  at  the 
highest. 

Supposing  it  then  to  be  admitted  that  these  races  emi- 
nently deserve  our  most  anxious  and  prayerful  exertions,  one 
of  my  principal  objects  in  addressing  to  you  these  hurried 
lines  has  been,  to  lead  vour  readers  to  reflect  whether  it  is 
3  l  2 


438 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


[Aug. 


judicious  in  us  to  go  in  search  of  them  to  the  uttermost 
extremes  of  our  territories  ;  into  those  of  foreign  princes  ; 
nay  even  to  the  most  remote  parts  of  the  earth,  and  at  the 
same  time  entirely  neglect  that  portion,  not  exceeded  pro- 
bahly  in  interest  by  any  other,  who  are  awaiting  us  at  our 
very  threshold.  In  the  accompanying  rough  sketch  I  have 
delineated  the  locality  of  those  to  whom  I  allude  with  suffici- 
ent correctness  perhaps  for  our  purpose,  and  from  this  it  will 
be  seen  that,  exclusive  of  the  paternal  government  under  Bri- 
tish officers  established  in  the  very  heart  of  them,  they 
are  girt  on  two  sides  and  a  portion  of  the  third  by  the 
thickly  studded  stations  of  our  most  favoured  provinces, 
while  our  Narbadda  territories  hem  them  in  on  the  fourth. 
I  have  marked  by  a  flag  those  stations  at  which  I  am 
aware  of  European  officers  being  located,  and  tinged  with  red 
those  where  I  understand  that  missionaries  are  established, 
though  it  is  not  improbable  that  some  have  been  omitted  by 
me  in  both  respects  which  you  may  be  able  to  supply;  and  I 
would  beg  of  your  readers,  after  inspecting  this,  to  say  whether 
it  were  possible  to  desire  circumstances  more  admirably  calcu- 
lated for  an  effective  and  immediate  concentration  of  our 
efforts  upon  this  highly  interesting  region. 

"With  the  direction  of  the  hill  ranges  on  the  eastern  extre- 
mity of  this  tract  I  am  not  sufficiently  acquainted  to  attempt 
their  delineation.  And  of  the  two  parallel  ranges  of  cliffs 
which  I  have  laid  down  as  forming  this  portion  of  the  great 
central  belt  of  elevated  table-land,  the  southern  is  the  only 
one  for  which,  as  far  as  here  delineated,  I  can  personally 
vouch  for  tolerable  correctness  ;  though,  as  I  have  before 
said,  I  believe  that  no  error  exists  of  such  a  character  as  to  be 
of  material  importance  in  this  place.  To  the  north  I  believe 
that  the  aboriginal  tribes  will  be  found  no  where  to  extend 
beyond  their  cliffs  ;  nor  indeed,  in  any  considerable  numbers 
even  beyond  the  Son  river  and  the  cliffs  marked  as  skirting  the 
north  bank  of  the  Narbadda  and  looking  down  on  Sohagpur 
and  Jabbalpur ;  but  to  the  south,  the  cliffs  by  no  means  form 
their  boundary.  Singhbhum,  Gangpur,  Udepur,  Kanwaran 
(adjoining  the  Hasto),  Sambhalpur,  and  other  districts,  besides 
the  whole  of  the  country  inhabited  by  the  Kunds,  lie  to  the 
south  of  this  range  ;  extending  I  believe  even  considerably  to 
the  south  of  the  Mahanaddi  ;  and  although  from  the  reduced 
level  of  this  region,  the  extensive  plains  which  constitute 
the  greater  portion  of  its  forest  land,  the  appellation  of  "  hill 
tribes"  may  be  considered  as  a  misnomer  in  regard  to  a  great 
proportion  of  its  inhabitants  ;  yet  they  are  undoubtedly  of 
similar  origin,  and  possess  the  same  characteristics  :  so  that 


1840.] 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


439 


for  our  purposes  they  cannot  well  be  separated  from  those 
inhabiting  the  adjoining  more  elevated  regions. 

I  have  not  leisure,  nor  does  it  appear  necessary  that  I  should 
enter  in  detail  upon  a  consideration  of  the  stations  skirting 
this  tract  which  might  be  most  advantageously  occupied 
for  the  especial  prosecution  of  this  work  ;  as  a  glance  at  this 
sketch,  or  what  will  be  still  better,  at  a  larger  map  of  this  part, 
will  enable  the  reader  to  judge  with  sufficient  correctness  for 
himself  on  this  point,  and  as  the  zealous  and  energetic  mission- 
aries of  Mungir,  Burdwan,  Kattak,  (and  Banaras  also  if  I 
mistake  not)  have  already  directed  their  thoughts  and  exer- 
tions to  this  matter,  though  without  that  systematic  co-ope- 
ration which  I  think  is  so  much  to  be  desired  ;  it  may  be 
presumed  that  the  advantages  of  position  have  in  some  mea- 
sure brought  those  points  prominently  forward,  whilst  since  the 
day  of  Cleveland  and  the  enlistment  of  the  hill  rangers,  Bha- 
galpur  has  been  even  more  distinguished.  Much  information 
may  be  derived  from  the  fragments  which  they  have  already 
made  public  on  the  subject ;  and  I  shall  rejoice  if  this  notice 
induce  them  to  furnish  such  further  facts  as  they  may  have 
succeeded  in  collecting,  or  to  express  the  views  which  they 
may  have  been  led  to  form. 

Stations  thus  situated,  however,  I  conceive  can  be  included 
in  the  work  only  as  outposts  or  connecting  links,  for  main- 
taining communication  with,  and  affording  encouragement  and 
aid  in  various  ways  to,  those  more  immediately  engaged  in  the 
work ;  for  these  last,  I  apprehend  to  be  at  ^11  effective,  must  be 
located  in  the  heart  of  the  tribes  ;  and  the  points  which  I  should 
myself  be  disposed  to  recommend  being  first  taken  up  for  this 
purpose  are  Doranda,  Amarkant,  and  Mandla,  as  forming  a 
central  line  throughout  the  tract;  and  Sambhalpur  for  the 
southern  portion,  as  connecting  it  with  Kattak.  Doranda  is 
the  head  quarters  of  the  Political  Agency  and  Commissionership 
of  the  K61  country  ;  having  attached  to  it  the  stations  of  Haza- 
ribagh,  Lohardagga,  Purulia,  and  Chaibasa  (in  Singhbhum)  ; 
and  the  Zemindaris  of  Sirguja,  Sambhalpur,  &c.  subordinate 
to  it.  At  this  station  a  commencement  has  been  already  made 
by  the  establishment  of  schools  first  instituted  by  the  lamented 
Lieut.  Awdry,  and  it  is  situated  in  the  very  centre  of  the 
Kolhan,  so  as  to  be  in  every  respect  a  most  eligible  locality. 
Amarkant  is  a  central  point  between  the  Kolhan,  Chattisgarh 
or  Gondwana  proper,  and  the  hill  parganahs  of  Garra-mandla; 
and  from  its  great  elevation  seems  worthy  even  of  being 
regarded  as  a  sanatarium  ;  while  Mandla,  from  having  been 
formerly  the  capital  of  the  principal  Gond  dynasty,  and  being 
surrounded  on  every  side  by  that  race  ;  at  the  same  time  that 


440 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


[Aug. 


it  has  a  considerable  number  of  Hindu  and  Musalman  inhabi- 
tants, is  the  residence  of  one  of  our  Tahsildars,  beautifully 
situated  on  a  fine  reach  of  the  Narbadda,  and  but  a  short  dis- 
tance from  either  Jabbulpur,  Seoni,  or  Nagpur,  appears  to 
possess  many  recommendations  as  a  missionary  post. 

If,  however,  there  be  any  one  point  in  connexion  with  this 
undertaking  of  which,  from  my  intercourse  with  the  classes 
treated  of,  I  have  become  thoroughly  convinced,  it  is  this,  that 
humanly  speaking  by  far  the  most  effective  method,  nay,  I 
would  even  say,  the  only  practicable  one,  by  which  the  mis- 
sionary can  hope  to  obtain  familiar  access  to  these  people,  is  by 
the  establishment  of  an  agricultural  settlement  in  the  midst 
of  them,  somewhat  after  the  manner  of  the  Moravians  ;  or  as 
has  been  tried  I  believe  with  the  most  cheering  success  by 
Dr.  Philip  and  others  at  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope.  As  these 
races  are  never  to  be  found  congregated  in  considerable  num- 
bers in  cities  or  large  towns  ;  and  for  the  most  part  (except- 
ing in  Chhutia  Nagpur  proper)  even  their  villages  are  widely 
separated,  and  thinly  peopled  in  consequence  of  their  very 
desultory  and  insufficient  modes  of  cultivation ;  I  do  not 
perceive  how  by  any  other  means  they  could  be  collected  in 
sufficient  numbers  or  with  sufficient  frequency  to  admit  of 
their  being  effectively  impressed ;  while  it  seems  to  me  that 
the  advantages  which  this  course  offers  are  so  apparent  to  all 
who  will  reflect  on  the  subject ;  and  the  modes  it  would  afford 
of  enlisting  the  affections  and  the  interests  of  a  simple  and 
neglected  people  so  numerous,  that  I  will  refrain  from  enlarg- 
in  on  this  branch  of  the  subject.  But  it  may  be  well  to  men- 
tion that  although  (especially  in  newly  occupied  stations)  the 
climate  of  this  region  has  been  found  unfavourable  generally 
speaking  to  feverish  subjects ;  it  is  from  its  elevation  through- 
out much  more  temperate  and  bracing  than  the  Gangetic 
provinces  ;  so  much  so,  indeed,  in  some  parts  as  to  be  highly 
invigorating  to  an  enervated  European  constitution ;  while, 
with  the  exception  of  Chhutia  Nagpur,  which  is  throughout 
highly  cultivated,  I  am  acquainted  with  no  part  of  it  in  which 
the  most  beautiful  and  productive  tracts  of  waste  and  virgin 
land  may  not  be  obtained  at  the  most  trifling  rent ;  and  of  a 
character  suitable,  in  conjunction  with  the  mildness  of  the 
climate,  for  the  production  of  a  vast  variety  of  valuable  pro- 
ducts, to  an  extent  as  yet  but  most  imperfectly  developed. 

I  am  unwilling  to  close  this  hasty  address  without  advert- 
ing briefly  to  the  entire  neglect  which  has  hitherto  been  expe- 
rienced, as  regards  its  spiritual  necessities,  by  the  country 
which  bounds  this  region  on  the  west.  It  is  now  upwards  of 
20  years  since,  by  the  decree  of  the  Almighty,  we  obtained 


1840. j 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


441 


possession  of  the  Narbadda  territories,  a  region  highly  fertile, 
in  most  parts  well-peopled,  and  now  exceedingly  thriving;  but 
above  all,  one  which,  situated  as  it  is  in  the  midst  of  native 
states,  should  be  the  cynosure  to  win  us  the  attention  and  respect 
of  their  rulers  ;  and  an  ensample  to  direct  them  in  all  which 
amongst  civilized  nations  is  considered  to  be  the  duty  of 
potentates,  yet  to  this  day,  the  voice  of  the  Missionary  has 
never  been  heard  in  them  ;  and  while  our  Sabbaths  are  devoted 
to  visiting  or  pleasure,  and  the  members  of  European  society, 
left  to  the  uncontrolled  dictates  of  human  nature  (save  at 
S&gar  where  alone  a  Chaplain  is  stationed),  but  too  universally 
surrender  themselves  to  the  allurements  of  a  worldly  life,  I 
have  found  the  natives  in  most  parts  incredulous  when  told 
that  the  sons  of  Britain  are  wont  to  bend  the  knee  before  the 
Creator,  and  to  set  apart  a  day  for  his  especial  worship.  Will 
nothing  signal  be  attempted  to  remove  this  dire  reproach  ? 

I  would  further  observe  that  Jabbalpur  appears  to  me  to 
be,  of  all  our  stations  not  actually  in  the  midst  of  the  hill  tribes, 
the  one  most  favourable  of  all  from  whence  to  commence 
our  approach  to  them.  It  is  situated  close  upon  the  confines 
of  tracts  exclusively  peopled  by  them  ;  and  numerous  indivi- 
duals of  the  Gond  and  K61  tribes  are  to  be  found  in  the  town 
itself  and  the  villages  around  it,  at  the  same  time  that  there 
is  a  dense  Hindu  population  affording  an  untrodden  field  for 
ministration  strictly  analogous  to  the  Missionary's  previous 
experience,  and  likewise  a  considerable  European  community, 
on  whom  I  need  not  say  how  banefully  the  total  privation  of 
all  Christian  ordinances  continues  to  operate.  Situated  also 
in  the  valley  of  the  Narbadda,  it  forms  a  connecting  point 
between  the  hill  region  described  in  this  letter,  and  the  forest 
tracts  extending  continuously  onwards  to  the  west  on  either 
bank  of  that  river,  which  are  inhabited  by  similar  races  ;  until 
after  passing  Mau  and  Mandleser  we  reach  successively  the 
Bhils,  the  Minas,  the  Kulis,  Thoris,  Baoris,  Ramusis,  and 
other  similar  races  of  western  India.  Let  us  hope  then  that 
our  day  is  at  hand,  and  affectionately  will  we  hail  the  messen- 
gers who  shall  bring  to  us  the  tidings  of  the  gospel. 

Yours  faithfully, 

D.  M. 


442 


Rath  Jdtrd  at  Puri. 


[Aug. 


II. — Journal  of  Missionary  labour  at  the  Rath  Jdtrd  at  Purl 
for  J  840,  being  the  first  Rath  festival  after  the  abolition  of 
the  pilgrim  tax. 

June  27th,  1840.  After  commending  my  sick  family  to  God,  I  set  out 
for  Puri  about  half-past  4  o'clock,  to  attend  the  Rath  festival.  It  is 
predicted  that  there  will  be  a  large  concourse  of  pilgrims  in  consequence 
of  the  pilgrim  tax  having  been  abolished.  This  was  an  objection  which 
was  urged  by  the  friends  of  the  tax  against  the  abolition  ;  but  like  many 
arguments  used  to  defend  a  bad  cause,  it  will  most  likely  prove  falla- 
cious; for  heretofore  a  tax  has  been  levied  from  none  but  those  who 
could  afford  to  pay  it ;  and  therefore,  the  inducement  of  such  to  under- 
take the  pilgrimage,  will  not  be  greatly  increased  ;  and  as  to  those  who 
could  not  afford  to  pay  ;  why  they  were  always  let  through  free  ;  and 
that  class  of  people  will  have  no  extra  inducement  to  go.  The  number 
of  Bengali  pilgrims,  chiefly  widows,  has  been  considerable  for  some 
days  past,  but  very  few  Hindustanis.  I  passed  a  good  many  Bengali 
jatris  on  my  way  to  Puri.  The  night  was  cool  and  pleasant,  but  little 
of  interest  occurred.  Save  the  jangling  and  disagreement  of  the  bearers, 
with  the  wild  howl  of  the  jackal  and  the  wild  dog,  there  was  little  to 
break  the  uniform  stillness  of  the  night. 

28th.  This  morning  about  8  o'clock  I  arrived  at  this  celebrated  place 
of  Hindu  worship.  Our  own  house,  rendered  sacred  by  the  death  in  it  of 
Mr.  Bampton  and  Charlotte  Sutton,  with  many  other  houses,  lay 
strewed  upon  the  sand  ;  being  completely  demolished  by  the  late  furious 
hurricane  with  which  a  part  of  this  coast  was  visited.  The  chakra  on  the 
top  of  Jagannath's  temple,  was  bent  and  injured,  many  lives  were  lost 
and  much  property  was  destroyed.  It  is  singular  that  this  hurricane  oc- 
curred just  about  the  time  when  the  order  was  finally  passed  in  the  su- 
preme council,  for  the  abolition  of  the  pilgrim  tax:  and  as  the  chakra 
is  the  emblem  of  Jagannath's  power,  it  being  injured  is  considered  to  be 
an  ill  omen  by  the  people.  Some  time  ago,  moreover,  a  vile  swine,  made 
its  way  by  the  Singha-dwara  into  the  temple  at  Puri.  This  also  is 
considered  ominous,  and  has,  I  understand,  cost  the  establishment  a 
thousand  rupees  in  the  loss  of  all  the  holy  food  and  in  the  purification  of 
the  temple.  I  saw  but  two  dead  bodies  on  the  sand,  and  apprehend 
there  will  be  but  a  small  festival  and  little  mortality.  Having  no  house 
of  our  own,  I  accepted  the  kind  invitation  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shave  to 
spend  the  time  of  my  visit  under  their  roof,  I  had  a  fit  of  sickness  which 
indisposed  me  for  exertion  for  the  whole  day.  We  had  family  worship, 
and  in  the  evening  I  rode  into  the  town.  The  native  brethren  Ram- 
chandra,  Baniadeb  and  Lakhan-das  had  arrived  before  me  ;  and  had 
located  themselves  in  a  small  outhouse  on  the  premises  of  our  fallen 
Bungalow.  They  were  out  among  the  people  to-day,  but  met  with  a 
rough  reception,  and  were  pelted  out  of  the  street  with  sand  and  broken 
pots. 

29th.  Early  this  afternoon,  I  went  to  the  large  road  in  the  middle  of 
the  town,  where  I  immediately  collected  a  crowd  of  people  to  whom  I 
preached.  The  congregation  being  chiefly  made  up  of  towns-people, 
was  very  refractory  and  I  had  much  ado  to  keep  the  attention  of  my 
hearers  steady.  The  people  were  rendered  worse  by  the  occasional  in- 
terruption of  the  vile  pandas,  who,  putting  their  heads  forward  into  the 
crowd  cried  out  "  Hari  bol!"  "  Jagannath  Swami  ki  jay!"  and  set 
the  whole  multitude  in  an  uproar.  I  commenced  my  address  by  several 
quotations  from  the  shastras,  which  though  not  strictly  applicable  to 


1840.] 


Hath  Jutrd  at  Puri. 


443 


God,  or  descriptive  of  his  character,  yet  served  to  arrest  attention,  and 
expose  the  grossncss  of  idolatry  :  as, 

Nor  eyes  of  gods,  nor  eyes  of  men  have  seen, 
The  spirit  pure,  the  supreme  Niranjan; 
Yet  as  the  ether  fills  the  ethcrial  space 
His  subtle  essence  lives  through  every  place. 

I  next  enlarged  upon  the  divine  goodness  to  mankind,  and  thence  inferred 
their  obligation  to  love  and  serve  him,  and  the  wickedness  of  idolatry.  I 
closed  by  intreating  them  to  turn  their  minds  from  sin  and  idolatry,  to 
consider  their  eternal  interests,  and  take  refuge  in  Jesus  Christ  for  pardon 
and  everlasting  salvation.  I  was  followed  in  my  address  by  B;imadeb  and 
Lakhan-das.  The  former  spoke  with  much  feeling,  and  the  people  lis- 
tened with  apparent  interest.  Lakhan-das  is  a  young  preacher,  and 
confined  himself  to  reading  some  passages  from  a  Christian  poem.  We 
closed  the  opportunity  by  the  distribution  of  about  a  hundred  tracts. 
On  returning  we  were  assailed  with  Haribol!  handfuls  of  sand  and 
broken  pots.  The  people  were  encouraged  in  this  attack  by  the  pandas 
of  the  place.  We  now  retired  lower  down  in  the  street,  where  I  renewed 
the  attack,  by  carefully  and  deliberately  reading  over  a  tract  called, 
"  The  gate  thrown  open,"  by  the  composition  and  printing  of  which, 
we  have  celebrated  the  abolition  of  the  pilgrim  tax.  A  page  or  two  will 
suffice  to  show  the  character  of  this  small  but  useful  tract. 

"  By  order  of  the  government,  the  tax  which  has  heretofore  been  col- 
lected, at  the  entrance  of  the  eighteen-arched  bridge  is  abolished  :  and 
henceforth  there  will  be  nothing  taken  from  the  pilgrims,  but  all  will  be 
free  without  payment  to  enter  into  the  city.  It  is  likely  that  when  you 
hear  this  news,  you  will  say,  Well,  this  is  good  news  !  long  live  the  Com- 
pany !  But  some  of  you  may  be  disposed  to  ask,  wherefore  is  it  that  at 
the  ghats  at  Prayag  and  Gaya,  and  Purushuttam  by  abolishing  taxes  on 
pilgrims,  the  government  has  renounced  so  much  lucrative  advantage? 
The  answer  is  this,  the  government  know  very  well  that  what  you  call 
Jagannath,  is  nothing  better  than  a  piece  of  wood,  and  can  do  neither 
good  nor  harm,  and  that  for  his  worship,  to  take  money  from  the  people 
is  a  great  sin,  and  the  means  of  deluding  them  into  hell :  hence  the  go- 
vernment dare  not  longer  delude  you — they  dare  not  any  longer  put  the 
juice  of  your  lost  souls  into  their  treasury.  These  are  the  reasons 
why  the  government  have  abolished  the  tax ;  and  if  any  person  should 
give  you  a  different  reason,  then  believe  him  not. 

Again  in  this  country  there  are  many  systems  of  religion,  and  it  is  not 
conceived  just  to  help  one,  and  discourage  another  ;  or  to  raise  one  and 
depress  another  ;  but  to  have  the  devotees  of  each  and  every  system  of 
religion  to  maintain  that  religion  they  like  best  by  their  own  voluntary 
efforts.  The  consequence  is  that  now  a  person  may  become  a  Hindu  or 
a  Musalman  or  a  Christian,  just  when  he  pleases,  and  you,  notwith- 
standing that  the  government  have  abolished  the  tax,  have  full  liberty 
to  maintain  and  worship  Jagannath  if  you  wish  to  do  so. 

But  some  of  you  call  Purl  heaven,  whereas  from  a  glance  at  the 
place  it  looks  much  more  like  hell.  I  say  so  because  in  the  city  of 
Puri,  blasphemy,  falsehood,  extortion,  adultery,  fornication,  and  every 
sort  of  unclean  speech  exist  in  a  state  of  perfection  no  where  else  to  be 
found.  These  vices  are  signs  of  hell  rather  than  of  heaven.  But  a 
devotee  of  your  own,  named  Sundara-das,  has  well  described  the  city 
of  Puri.  He  says,  Puri  is  the  heaven  of  .the  Hindus,  and  there  we 
have,  adultery,  theft,  murder  of  the  innocent,  whoremongery,  blasphe- 
my of  fathers  and  mothers,  unclean  speech,  the  destruction  of  mothers', 
sisters',  and  daughters'  virtue  ;  and  much  more  of  the  same  kind  of  crimes 
VOL.  I.  3  M 


11 1 


Hath  Jdtrd  at  Pari. 


[Aug. 


As  tlic  proper  fruits  of  this  sort  of  conduct  the  discuses  of  rheumatisms, 
elephantiasis,  leprosy,,  the  foul  disease,  and  the  rotting  off  of  noses,  lips, 
and  other  members — all  this  is  seen  in  abundance  there.  Also  footless 
persons,  handles*  persons,  and  persons  otherwise  defective  ;  such  are 
many  of  the  devotees  of  Jagannath.  Hear  now  also  the  names  and 
characters  of  the  gods  of  the  Hindus:  there  are  their  golden  gods, 
their  silver  gods,  their  brazen  gods,  their  iron  gods,  their  stone  gods, 
their  wooden  gods,  and  their  earthen  gods ;  as  well  as  their  godly  trees, 
their  godly  water  and  their  godly  tire.  In  the  service  of  these  dead 
gods,  the  people  expend  much  wealth,  afflict  their  bodies,  make  wearisome 
pilgrimages,  and  in  various  other  modes  of  affliction  destroy  their  own 
lives.  The  brahmans  do  not  understand  the  vedas ;  the  devotees  have 
forsaken  mercy;  the  wise  have  left  the  path  of  wisdom,  and  are  become 
depraved  by  wicked  practices.  Giving  up  the  practice  of  virtue  the 
professors  of  religion  at  Puri,  in  the  temple,  and  in  their  own  houses, 
destroy  the  virtue  of  good-looking  female  pilgrims  who  resort  to  that 
shrine.  This  is  the  glory  of  the  celebrated  city  of  Purushuttam  !  How 
then  do  the  people  call  this  place  heaven  ?  Moreover  at  Puri  the 
curse  of  the  cholera  morbus  exists,  and  there  you  may  sometimes  see  a 
succession  of  dead  bodies  of  pilgrims  lying,  and  the  bones  of  dead 
jatris  are  scattered  about,  while  the  foul  smell  from  the  dirty  habits 
of  the  people  on  the  sands,  scarcely  permits  you  to  eat  and  drink 
with  comfort.  How,  reader,  do  the  pandas  designate  this  place  as 
heaven  ?  Hence  we  see  that  Puri  is  a  vile  place,  .and  that  the  people 
also  are  vile,  and  depend  upon  it  no  person  will  get  good  by  going  there. 

But  now  I  will  give  a  description  of  heaven.  In  heaven  on  a  throne 
of  light  and  glory,  sits  the  great  and  supreme  God,  your  own  shastras 
speak  of  the  residence  of  the  Supreme  Being  as  light,  and  of  that 
Being  himself  as  the  essence  of  light ;  hence, 

These  slues  above,  the  skies  supreme  appear, 
Midst  which  nectarian  breezes  ever  blow; 
And  light  essential  dwells  forever  more ; 
And  Bhagawau  that  light  essential  know. 

In  this  glorious  world  of  light  God  dwells,  and  all  round  his  throne 
holy  angels  and  holy  saints,  continually  worship  crying,  Blessing!  bless- 
ing !  blessing  be  to  God  !  Then  there  is  no  more  birth,  no  more  death,  no 
more  sin,  no  more  disease,  no  more  pain ;  no  more  hunger  or  thirst, 
no  more  cold  or  heat ;  but  there  God's  people  shall,  in  the  possession  of 
immortality,  enjoy  their  uttermost  wish  of  happiness.  Hence  the  scrip- 
tures say,  God  shall  be  in  their  midst,  and  shall  be  their  God ;  he  shall 
wipe  away  all  tears  from  their  eyes  ;  and  there  shall  be  no  more  death, 
neither  sorrow,  nor  crying,  nor  any  other  pain.  This  heaven  moreover 
is  never  fading.  Brahmalok  and  Shibalok,  and  Debalok,  and  all  the 
seven  heavens  of  the  shastras  are  fading,  and  are  destined  one  day  to 
be  destroyed.  They  are  within  the  reach  of  the  effects  of  works.  But 
the  true  heaven  of  the  true  God  is  unfading,  and  the  waves  of  destruction 
will  never  reach  to  it.  And  now  hear  what  is  the  enjoyment  of  that 
peace.  There  is  the  sight  of  God.  There,  there  is  eternal  rest  in  a 
sense  of  God's  favour  and  smile.  There  is  the  eternal  love  and  friend- 
ship of  God.  There  is  the  communion  of  all  the  holy  and  the  good,  and 
the  accomplishment  of  every  desire  of  the  soul.  Thus  shall  the  servants 
of  God  swim  in  the  ocean  of  pleasure.  Hear  !  hear,  O  ye  people  !  I  bring 
you  good  news  !  The  gate  to  this  heaven,  to  this  inheritance  of  eternal 
life  is  now  thrown  open,  and  whosoever  will,  may  enter  in  without 
money  and  without  price." 

This  little  tract  goes  on  to  explain  who  is  the  way  to  this  heaven ; 
and  how  it  must  be  entered ;  and  the  people  appeared  to  listen  with 


1840.] 


Ruth  Jdtrd  ul  Pun. 


445 


interest,  And  to  understand  it  readily.  After  rending  and  explaining 
some  pages  we  came  away,  and  that  without  further  Uari  bol  !  Ram- 
chandra  had  preached  nearer  to  the  temple  than  we  were. 

30  th.  This  morning  I  rose  early  and  proceeded  to  the  town,  but  the 
people  were  streaming  through  the  temple,  and  to  and  from  the  various 
bathing-places  :  so  that  they  had  neither  time  nor  inclination  to  attend  to 
me.  There  are  numerous  sacred  bathing-places  about  the  city  of  Puri, 
and  some  of  them  are  really  beautiful.  They  are  held  very  sacred  by 
the  people,  and  are  much  praised  in  the  Hindu  books.  A  small  poem 
called  the  Dari  Brahma-gita  speaks  of  them  in  the  following  strains,  after 
it  has  described  and  eulogized  the  temple  and  the  sacred  enclosure. 

Now  listen  farther  to  my  closing  lay, 

While  the  surrounding  Khyetra  I  survey  ; 

The  following  tirths  surround  the  Nillanchae, 

Their  worth  nor  tongues  of  men  or  gods  reveal  : 

Mar-kundi  first,  then  Swataganga,  then 

The  Chakratirth  and  the  Indra-damman; 

In  all  these  tirths  divine  your  bodies  lave, 

Honour  their  rites,  aud  endless  merit  prove. 

Then  Swarga-dwira  see,  called  heaven's  door, 

It  lies  between  the  temple  and  the  shore  : 

The  tilth  of  milk  and  honey  it  is  called  ; 

Both  upon  earth,  and  in  the  heavenly  world. 

The  gods  in  heaven  the  privilege  desire, 

To  visit  these,  and  all  their  merits  share  ; 

Their  language  thus,  is  constantly  exprest, 

As  the  desire  arises  in  their  breast : 

O  might  we  once,  on  earth,  a  birth  obtain  ! 

To  serve  the  Kaibalga,  the  favour  gain  ! 

That  we  might  bathe  in  those  blest  tirths  aud  know, 

The  lengthening  merit  which  their  rites  bestow  1 

How  would  we  put  all  worldliness  away, 

Think  on  Sri  Han,  aud  his  worship  pay. 

Uninterruptedly  his  name  repeat, 

Nor  know  a  heaven  beyond  Gobinda's  feet. 

Early  in  the  afternoon,  I  proceeded  to  the  town  of  Matti'ya-pura,  a 
place  in  which  for  many  years  Mrs.  Bampton  conducted  a  native  school 
The  people  all  remember  it,,  and  some  of  the  school-boys,  now  grown 
into  young  men,  came  around  me  and  formed  part  of  my  congregation. 
They  cannot  but  be  better  hearers  for  what  they  learned  in  that  school. 
I  sat  upon  the  tiilsi  mound,  in  the  middle  of  the  village  and  heard 
the  native  brethren  address  the  people,  and  afterwards  1  spoke  unto 
them  myself.  We  distributed  about  30  tracts  and  came  away.  The 
people  heard  tolerably  well.  A  few  interested  persons  were  disposed  to 
cavil.  Mattiya-pura  is  near  the  Indra-damman  tank,  about  two  miles 
from  Puri,  and  close  to  the  Gundicha  temple  to  which  Jagannath 
makes  a  yearly  visit.  This  temple  is  ornamented  with  the  most  obscene 
images  I  ever  saw ;  they  are  utterly  beyond  description.  To-day  the 
natra-uchob  is  celebrated.  As  I  went  out  to-day  1  visited  the  tomb  of 
Bampton.  The  late  hurricane  has  blown  it  nearly  over,  and  so  violently 
was  the  sand  driven  by  the  wind,  that  it  has  cut  away  two  inches  of 
the  solid  masonry  on  the  side  exposed  to  the  gale.  The  motto  on 
Bampton's  tomb  is—"  We  preach  Christ,"  and  this  motto  well  describes 
what  was  his  practice.  I  have  heard  the  people  of  Puri  say  of  him 
in  derision,  He  is  always  saying,  Jesus  Christ!  Jesus  Christ! 

July  1st.    This  morning  I  was  joined  at  Puri  by  brethren  Sutton, 
Stubbins,  and  Wilkinson,  and  two  native  preachers.    We  form  therefore 
a  strong  party,  four  European  and  five  native  labourers.    About  four 
o'clock  p.  M.  the  three  idols  were  walked  out  of  the  temple,  and  placed 
3  m  2 


446 


Ruth  Jdtrd  at  Pur!. 


[Aug. 


in  their  cars.  Their  appearance  was  the  signal  for  a  loud  and  long 
murmur  of  Maha  prabhu  jay!  through  the  large  assembly.  The  gaily 
attired  cars  standing  abreast  of  each  other,  lifting  their  heads  high 
above  the  multitude ;  the  waving  of  pankas  and  rich  chauris  about 
the  idols  ;  the  gaily  caparisoned  elephant,  bearing  Europeans  or  rich 
natives,  the  people  studding  the  outside  and  tops  of  the  adjacent  temples, 
and  crowding  in  one  mass  about  the  cars;  and  above  all  a  fine  afternoon's 
sun  pouring  his  moderated  rays'  upon  a  multitude  dressed  out  in  their 
holiday  attire  ;  all  this  conspired  to  form  a  scene  of  no  small  interest  and 
excitement.  But  that  it  exhibited  the  worship  of  a  foul  block  of  wood 
to  the  dishonour  and  robbery  of  the  blessed  God,  that  it  exhibited 
thousands  and  tens  of  thousands  of  souls  rushing  deeper  into  guilt  and  so 
deeper  into  misery,  were  considerations  which  could  not  be  avoided,  and 
more  than  sufficient  to  quench  any  rising  sensations  of  pleasure  from 
viewing  such  a  scene.  We  formed  parties  lower  down  in  the  street, 
•where  we  preached,  and  argued,  and  conversed  with  the  multitudes 
which  crowded  around  us.  The  native  brethren  also  took  their  turn  in 
addressing  the  people.  Ever  and  anon  we  ceased  speaking  and  dis- 
tributed tracts,  but  such  was  the  violence  of  the  crowd  to  obtain  books, 
that  we  could  do  little  good  in  distributing  them.  Give  me  a  book,  sir  ! 
Give  me  a  book,  sir !  issued  .at  once  from  a  hundred  tongues,  and  a 
hundred  hands  were  raised  to  snatch  it  away  ere  it  could  be  presented. 
After  a  long  opportunity  here,  we  proceeded  somewhat  nearer  to  the 
cars,  and  there  brother  Sutton  and.  myself  held  an  argument  with  a 
number  of  intelligent  people,  and  gave  away  a  few  more  books.  Fairly 
worn  out,  and  with  sore  throats  from  long  and  loud  speaking,  we  retired 
from  the  scene  of  confusion  and  sin,  and  sought  our  quiet  habitation  on 
the  sea  shore  solemnized  by  the  rumblings  of  the  eternal  ocean. 

It  now  appears  that  the  confident  prophecy  of  the  friends  of  the 
pilgrim  tax,  that  in  case  the  tax  should  be  abolished,  the  rush  of  pil- 
grims would  be  so  great,  as  to  produce  a  famine  and  create  a  dreadful 
mortality,  was  altogether  fallacious.  The  abolition  of  the  tax  was  ex- 
tensively known,  and  yet  with  all  its  novelty  and  interest  the  people 
have  not  moved  ;  and  instead  of  a  large  influx  of  pilgrims,  there  has  not 
been  so  small  a  festival  for  at  least  17  years  to  our  own  knowledge  ;  and 
there  is  hardly  a  dead  pilgrim  to  be  seen.  In  the  street  where  the  people 
could  be  seen  at  one  view,  they  could  not  be  estimated  at  more  than 
50,000 ;  some  Europeans  present  estimated  them  at  30,000,  and  others  at 
40,000,  but  no  one  estimates  them  at  more  than  50,000  ;  from  this  number 
must  be  deducted  15,000,  or  three-fourths  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  place 
which  will  leave  as  pilgrims  35,000,  scarcely  more  than  died  of  the 
cholera  at  and  about  ruri  and  Cuttack  in  the  year  1S25,  and  only  about 
one-eighth  of  the  number  of  pilgrims  which  visited  the  place  that  year. 

2wrf.  About  half-past  5  o'clock  this  morning  1  hastened  to  the  A'thara- 
nala  bridge,  where  the  people  were  pouring  out  of  the  town  ;  the  native 
preachers  were  already  there,  and  our  European  brethren  soon  after 
joined  us.  Our  principal  business  was  to  distribute  tracts.  We  formed 
a  number  of  parties  here  and  there  upon  the  road.  We  preached,  argued, 
read  the  books,  and  explained  their  contents  to  the  people  as  we  were 
able,  and  then  distributed  tracts  to  the  homeward-bound  traveller/s.  We 
have  not  seen  more  than  two  or  three  torn  up.  We  continued  our 
labours  in  this  way  till  about  half-past  8  o'clock,  when  leaving  the  native 
brethren  to  occupy  till  the  afternoon  we  retired  for  breakfast.  The 
native  brethren  relieved  each  other  throughout  the  day.  We  gave  some 
tracts  to  respectable  females,  not  because  they  could  read  them,  but 
because,  as  some  of  them  said  their  sons  or  grandsons  could ;  some  females 
were  too  bashful  or  fearful  to  receive  them  from  us. 


1840.] 


Rath  Jdtrd  at  Puri. 


447 


Early  in  the  afternoon  we  again  sallied  forth  to  the  Aihara-nah, 
where  we  prosecuted  our  labours  as  described  above.  After  expending 
our  strength  we  retired  into  the  large  road  to  the  vicinity  of  the  cars. 
Here  the  Khurda  raja,  his  purkhas  and  guru  invited  us  to  a  conversa- 
tion. We  talked  a  little  with  them  and  then  presented  Maha  raja  with  8 
or  10  copies  of  the  tract  called  "  The  gate  thrown  open."  Jagannath 
is  decked  out  with  more  than  usual  splendour  this  year ;  his  massy  golden 
hands  (said  by  some  to  be  only  polished  brass)  were  beautifully  polished, 
and  held  the  sanka  and  chakra,  bedecked  with  a  long  flounce  of 
silk.  The  raja  invited  us  to  call  upon  him  at  his  residence.  Retiring 
from  the  presence  of  the  raja,  we  proceeded  lower  down  in  the  large  road, 
and  placing  ourselves  on  the  grass,  collected  a  number  of  people  around 
us  who  also  sat  down  on  the  ground.  Read  over  a  few  pages  of  a  Tract 
and  made  some  remarks  upon  it.  We  gave  away  a  few  more  books  and 
retired,  the  night  having  come  on. 

3rd.  Set  off  early  for  the  stand  at  the  A'thara-nala,  and  remained  dis- 
tributing books,  and  disputing,  and  conversing  among  the  retiring  pil- 
grims, till  about  half-past  8  o'clock,  when  the  number  of  passing  pilgrims 
became  fewer  and  the  day  grew  hot.  We  next  made  a  stand  near  one 
of  the  cars,  and  again  met  with  the  Khurda  raja.  We  had  a  little  skir- 
mishing with  him  and  his  people.  They  appeared  to  think  that  our  ob- 
ject was  to  destroy  their  religion,  but  vowed  we  never  should  accomplish 
our  intentions.  Here  we  again  preached  to  the  people,  and  distributed 
some  tracts.  How  unutterably  filthy  is  the  exhibitions  in  front  of  the 
car  before  all  the  people,  and  to-day  the  task  of  exhibiting  devolved  upon 
a  youth  of  about  19  years  of  age.  About  half-past  9  o'clock  we  retired 
till  the  afternoon. 

Early  in  the  afternoon  we  departed  to  the  town.  The  other  brethren 
went  direct  to  the  A'thara-nala,  while  I  went  by  way  of  the  temple,  hav- 
ing some  little  business  to  do  there.  This  business  dispatched,  I  proceed- 
ed towards  the  cars.  The  rain  commenced  to  fall  very  heavy,  and  1  be- 
took myself  to  the  verandah  of  a  house  opposite  to  the  car  of  Jagannath. 
The  people,  to  avoid  the  rain  crowded  into  the  verandah  and  into  the 
adjacent  houses.  I  commenced  the  distribution  of  tracts,  and  the  crowd 
spite  of  the  heavy  rain,  immediately  collected  around  me.  Here  I 
gave  away  about  300  tracts,  and  said  a  little  to  the  people  about  the 
contents  of  them.  The  owner  of  the  house  in  which  I  had  taken  shelter 
became  alarmed  for  the  safety  of  his  mud  verandah,  and  desired  me  to 
depart.  The  people  were  clamorous  for  books.  After  I  had  got  into 
my  palanquin,  they  followed  me  some  distance  receiving  books.  Three- 
fourths  of  the  pilgrims  are  now  gone,  and  I  have  to-day  received  heavy 
tidings  respecting  my  family,  and  we  have  made  up  our  minds  to  leave 
Puri  to  night. 

4iA.  Left  Puri  in  company  with  brother  Sutton  last  night  about 
1  a.  m.  and  after  an  uncomfortable  journey  of  1?  hours,  I  arrived  at  Cut- 
tack.  We  have  distributed  about  13,000  tracts  and  have  proclaimed 
the  word  of  God  to  many,  which  is  able  to  make  them  wise  unto  salva- 
tion. The  brethren  from  the  south  left  Puri  at  the  same  time  with 
ourselves.  We  left  the  native  brethren  to  remain  a  day  or  two  longer. 
One  wretched  pilgrim  has  thrown  himself  under  the  wheels  of  Jagan- 
nath's  car,  and  his  brains  were  crushed  out  and  he  instantly  died. 

C.  Lacey. 


448 


History  of  Madagascar. 


[Aug. 


III. — History  of  Madagascar.    By  the  Rev.  William  Ellis, 
Author  of  the  Polynesian  Researches. 

Events  which  have  exerted  a  powerful  influence  on  the  pre- 
sent and  eternal  destinies  of  a  large  portion  of  the  human  race, 
are  of  deep  interest  to  men  of  enlightened  minds  and  correct 
sensibility.  Such  persons  view  the  inhabitants  of  the  savage 
and  civilized  nations  of  the  earth  as  members  of  the  same 
family,  and  keeping  alive  those  sympathies  which  the  Divine 
Being  has  implanted  in  their  bosoms,  feel  for  their  species  of 
every  condition,  colour  and  cliine. 

The  progress  of  mankind  from  barbarism,  raised  in  the  scale 
of  being  little  above  the  beasts  of  the  field,  to  civilization  and 
a  practical  knowledge  of  the  Christian  faith,  is  highly  gratify- 
ing to  their  benevolent  feelings. 

But  those  awful  vicissitudes  which  check  the  progress  of 
literature  and  science,  that  hurl  down  the  civil  institutions  of 
a  land,  and  place  in  the  room  of  Christianity,  whose  distinguish- 
ing feature  is  peace  on  earth  and  good-will  towards  men,  a 
superstition  that  inkindles  the  worst  passions  of  the  soul — vicis- 
situdes which  accelerate  the  fall,  and  throw  kingdoms  back 
into  the  barbarism  from  which  they  originally  emerged,  or 
sweep  them  from  the  face  of  existence,  and  leave  to  posterity 
little  more  than  the  memory  of  their  names  ;  are  to  such  phi- 
lanthropic individuals  exceedingly  distressing. 

Some  of  these  dreadful  calamities  have  befallen  the  island 
of  Madagascar.  General  education  and  the  mechanic  arts, 
and  civilization  and  Christianity,  which  made  considerable 
advances  under  the  auspices  of  Radama,  the  late  lamented 
monarch  who  had  the  welfare  of  his  subjects  at  heart,  have 
ceased  to  flourish  since  Ranavolona,  the  reigning  sovereign 
ascended  the  throne.  Tyranny  and  persecution,  with  all  their 
concomitant  evils  and  desolating  woes,  have  overspread  the 
land,  and  the  soil  has  been  soaked  with  the  tears  and  blood 
of  martyrs. 

Presented  to  the  world  at  a  period  so  eventful  to  Madagas- 
car, and  bearing  almost  on  every  page  marked  proofs  of  the 
eminent  talents,  and  correct  sentiments  and  feelings  for  which 
his  other  works  are  distinguished,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  that  Mr. 
Ellis's  two  volumes  will  obtain  a  numerous  and  extensive 
circulation,  and  be  the  means  of  exciting  the  sympathies  of 
the  humane,  and  fervent  intercessions  of  the  pious  on  behalf 
of  that  unhappy  and  persecuted  country.  As  he  has  taken 
the  most  comprehensive  range  from  the  earliest  period  in  the 
authentic  history  of  the  island,  and  given  to  each  department 
the  notice  its  importance  required,  the  work  will  be  found  to 


1 6 10.] 


History  of  Madagascar. 


4411 


bo  appropriate  and  useful  to  all  classes  of  the  community,  and 
will  amply  compensate  every  one  who  honours  it  with  a 
perusal. 

The  following  observations  which  were  made  in  the  course 
of  reading  the  above  excellent  volumes  lay  no  claim  to  the 
name  and  dignity  of  a  review  ;  if  they  bring  however  to  the 
notice  of  an  enlightened  and  generous  public,  a  nation  which 
appears  to  be  little  known,  or  in  the  midst  of  more  absorbing 
matters,  seems  to  be  almost  entirely  forgotten,  they  will  not 
have  been  written  in  vain. 

Madagascar,  which  is  one  of  the  largest  islands  in  the  world, 
\v;is  discovered  by  Lawrence  Almeida  in  the  year  1506;  but 
some  persons  are  of  opinion  that  previous  to  this  period 
it  was  known  to  the  Moors  and  Arabs  who  visited  it  for 
purposes  of  trade.  Owing  to  the  decomposition  of  vege- 
table substances,  large  lakes  of  stagnant  water,  and  the  land 
bring  considerably  below  the  level  of  the  ocean,  the  greater 
part  of  the  seacoast  is  unfavorable  to  health.  It  was  here 
so  many  emigrants  from  Holland  and  Fiance  met  with  an 
early  grave.  But  the  island  in  most  parts  of  the  interior  is 
salubrious,  its  productions  are  spontaneous  and  abundant,  and 
consequently  little  manual  labour  is  necessary  to  obtain  the 
means  of  subsistence ;  its  valley  and  mountain  scenery  is 
diversified,  beautiful,  rich,  romantic  and  splendid.  This  may 
in  some  measure  account  for  the  highly  coloured  pictures 
which  have  been  drawn  of  it.  Several  writers  who  have 
visited  Madagascar  give  descriptions  of  it,  calculated  to  excite 
in  the  bosoms  of  adventurers  expectations,  which  it  may  be 
pleasing  to  entertain,  but  which  are  not  likely  to  be  realized. 

Mr.  Richard  Boothby,  a  merchant  of  London,  who  visited 
Madagascar  about  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century, 
and  published  his  account  in  1644,  after  describing  its  soil, 
productions,  &c.  adds — 

"  And  without  all  question,  this  country  far  transcends  and  exceeds  all 
other  countries  in  Asia,  Africa  and  America,  planted  by  English,  French, 
Dutch,  Portuguese  and  Spanish  ;  and  it  is  likely  to  prove  of  far  greater 
value  and  esteem  to  any  Christian  prince  and  nation  that  shall  plant  and 
settle  a  sure  habitation  therein,  than  the  West  Indies  are  to  the  king 
and  kingdom  of  Spain ;  and  it  may  well  be  compared  to  the  land  of 
Canaan,  that  flows  with  milk  and  honey  ;  a  little  world  of  itself,  adjoin- 
ing to  no  other  land  within  the  compass  of  many  leagues  or  miles ;  or 
the  chief  Paradise  this  day  upon  earth.  In  further  commendation  thereof 
I  will  take  the  liberty  of  extolling  it,  I  hope  without  offence,  as  Moses 
did  the  land  of  Canaan.  It  is  a  good  land,  a  land  in  which  rivers  of  waters 
and  fountains  spring  out  of  the  vallies  and  mountains ;  a  land  of  wheat 
and  barley,  of  vineyards,  of  fig-trees  and  pomegranates  :  a  land  wherein 
thou  shalt  eat  without  scarcity,  neither  shalt  thou  lack  any  thing  therein, 
a  land  whose  stones  are  iron,  and  out  of  whose  mountains  thou  mayest 
dig  brass*." 

*  Osborne's  Voyages. 


450 


History  of  Madagascar. 


[Aug. 


Though  much  of  Mr.  Boothby's  description  partakes  of  the 
nature  of  romance,  the  country  is  exceedingly  fertile,  its  pro- 
ductions are  numerous  and  yielded  in  rich  abundance,  and  the 
soil  is  favourable  to  the  growth  of  almost  all  the  plants  and 
seeds  found  in  Europe  and  Asia. 

Since  history  has  traced  the  footsteps  of  the  white  man 
among  the  sable  portion  of  our  race,  it  has  become  a  serious 
question  with  some  persons,  who  are  by  no  means  destitute 
of  generous  feelings,  or  strength  of  intellectual  powers,  whe- 
ther the  miseries  inflicted  have  not  preponderated  over  the 
advantages  which  the  Africans  have  gained  by  their  acquaint- 
ance with  the  sons  of  the  North. 

That  Europeans  have  approached  the  shores  of  that  quarter 
of  the  globe  with  the  foulest  and  most  infernal  passions,  that 
the  tears,  shrieks  and  groans  of  the  dying,  have  not  affected 
their  hearts  which  the  love  of  gold  had  cased  in  adamant, 
that  with  the  savage  ferocity  of  beasts  they  have  waded  through 
seas  of  blood  to  grasp  their  helpless  prey,  and  that  the  pulpit, 
the  bar,  and  the  sword  have  obeyed  the  call,  when  sum- 
moned to  defend  this  merchandise  in  human  flesh  and  bones, 
are  facts  which  the  Avenger  of  the  oppressed  will  bear  in 
remembrance,  at  the  day  of  final  retribution. 

Many  European  visitors  have  however  disdained  to  traffic 
in  slaves,  and  engaged  in  more  honourable  pursuits.  By 
exploring  the  regions  of  the  country  to  extend  the  boundaries 
of  science,  they  have  conferred  special  favours  on  the  natives 
themselves,  and  by  publishing  the  result  of  their  researches 
have  considerably  benefited  the  world.  Though  it  is  distress- 
ing to  think  of  the  number  of  these  gentlemen,  who  by  over 
exerting  themselves  in  the  great  enterprise  of  enlarging  the 
sphere  of  knowledge  have  been  gathered  to  an  early  grave  far 
from  the  sepulchres  of  their  fathers,  it  is  some  mitigation  of 
this  sorrow  to  be  able  to  place  the  issue  of  their  praise-worthy 
labours  against  the  dark  works  of  their  fellow-countrymen. 
The  following  account,  the  materials  of  which  Mr.  Ellis  has 
collected  from  the  best  sources,  will  be  highly  interesting  to 
the  scientific  reader. 

"  The  geological  features  of  the  country  are  distinct  and  prominent  ; 
and  although  hitherto  hut  very  partially  examined,  present  considerable 
variety.  The  greater  part  of  the  island  exhibits  primitive  formations, 
chiefly  granite,  sienite,  and  blocks  of  exceedingly  pure  quartz ;  sometimes 
large  pieces  of  beautifully-coloured  rose-quartz  are  met  with  ;  the  white 
kind  is  used  by  the  natives  to  ornament  the  summits  of  their  tombs;  cyst, 
intersected  by  broad  veins  of  quartz,  and  a  substance  resembling  grey 
wache  or  limestone,  is  frequently  seen.  Many  of  the  formations  are  of 
clay-slate  ;  and  a  valuable  kind  of  slate,  suitable  for  roofing  and  writing 
upon,  lias  been  discovered  in  the  Betsilio  country,  at  about  a  hundred 
miles  from  the  capital.  Silex  and  chert,  with  beautiful  formations  of 
chalcedony,  primitive  limestone,  including  some  valuable  specimens  of 


1840.] 


History  of  Madagascar. 


451 


marble,  with  different  kinds  of  sandstone  are  also  met  with.  Finely- 
crystallized  schores  frequently  occur  in  the  Betsilio  country,  where, 
embedded  in  limestone,  apparently  of  fresh-water  formation,  specimens 
of  fossils,  including  serpents,  lizards,  camelions,  with  different  kinds  of 
vegetable  fossils,  have  been  found. 

"  No  subterranean  fires  are  known  to  be  at  present  in  active  or  visible 
operation  ;  yet  in  some  sections  of  the  country,  especially  in  the  Betsilio 
province,  indications  of  volcanic  action  frequently  occur,  and  are  strong- 
ly marked.  Many  of  the  rocks,  for  several  miles  together,  are  composed 
of  homogeneous  earthy  lava ;  scoria  and  pumice  are  also  occa^rbnnlly 
discovered,  and  some  of  the  lavas  abound  with  finely-formed  crystals 
of  olivine. 

"  Besides  the  primitive  and  transition  formations  and  the  rocks  of 
volcanic  origin,  there  are  large  beds  of  clay,  and  extensive  tracts  of  soil 
composed  of  ferruginous  earth  and  disintegrated  lava,  rich  alluvial 
deposits,  and  vegetable  mould.  Some  of  the  geological  specimens  brought 
home  to  this  country  are  evidently  carbonaceous,  and  would  favour  the 
expectation  that  there  are  coal  formations  in  some  parts  of  the  island. 
Limestone  has  not  yet  been  discovered  in  the  eastern  part  of  Mada- 
gascar ;  but  coral  is  abundant  on  the  coast,  and  furnishes  the  inhabitants 
with  excellent  lime. 

"  Our  acquaintance  with  the  minerals  of  Madagascar,  though  exceed- 
ingly limited  and  partial,  is,  as  far  as  it  extends,  highly  satisfactory.  Iron 
ore,  a  mineral  to  a  nation  in  the  infancy  of  its  civilization  far  more  valu- 
able than  gold,  has  been  found  so  rich  and  abundant  as  to  be  rendered 
available  to  the  natives,  by  a  rude  and  simple  process  of  smelting,  for 
almost  every  purpose  for  which  it  is  at  present  required." 

The  population  of  Madagascar  is  estimated  at  about  four 
millions  and  a  half,  and,  separated  by  colour  into  two  great 
classes,  the  one  olive  and  the  other  black,  is  supposed  to 
have  proceeded  from  two  distinct  sources.  Whether  the  pre- 
sent people  are  the  aborigines  of  the  country  or  emigrants 
from  some  near  or  distant  land,  remains  involved  in  that  im- 
penetrable darkness  which  too  frequently  covers  the  early 
history  of  nations.  The  character  of  the  inhabitants  embodies 
a  few  excellencies  which  every  virtuous  mind  will  contemplate 
with  pleasure  ;  among  these  love  of  country  is  conspicuous. 

"  When  setting  out  on  a  journey,  they  take  with  them  a  small  portion 
of  their  native  earth,  on  which  they  often  gaze  when  absent,  and  invoke 
their  god  that  they  may  be  permitted  to  return  to  restore  it  to  the  place 
from  which  it  was  taken.  When  returning  from  a  foreign  land  to  their 
native  island,  or  from  a  distant  province  to  their  own,  every  countenance 
beams  with  gladness,  they  seem  to  be  strangers  to  fatigue,  and  seek 
by  singing  and  dancing  on  the  way  to  give  vent  to  the  fulness  of 
their  joy." 

Friendships  are  often  maintained  faithfully  during  a  series 
of  many  years,  and  not  unfrequently  till  death,  which  dis- 
solves all  human  ties,  divides  them  asunder.  In  most  parts  of 
the  island,  the  neighbour,  but  especially  the  stranger,  is  wel- 
comed to  the  hospitable  board  with  a  cheerfulness  and  promp- 
titude rarely  seen  even  among  civilized  nations. 

vol.  i.  '£  N 


452 


History  of  Madagascar. 


[Aug. 


The  tender  relations  subsisting  between  parents  and  children, 
with  which  the  most  pleasing  of  earthly  associations  are  con- 
nected, that  keep  alive  the  best  feelings  of  human  nature,  and 
pour  into  the  bosom  a  happiness  almost  unmingled,  which  for 
aught  that  appears  to  the  contrary  may  be  an  important 
ingredient  of  that  perfect  felicity  which  is  to  be  experienced 
in  a  higher  state  of  existence,  are,  it  is  cheering  to  know,  even 
in  the  island  of  Madagascar,  appreciated  and  endeared  by  the 
exercise  of  reciprocal  affection. 

"  Nothing  can  exceed  the  affection  with  which  the  infant  is  treated  by 
its  parents,  and  other  members  of  the  family ;  the  indulgence  is  more 
frequently  carried  to  excess  than  otherwise  ;  and  it  is  pleasing  to  record 
the  testimony  of  those  who  have  dwelt  among  the  people  that  instances 
are  numerous,  in  which  the  affection  of  the  parents  has  been  recipro- 
cated by  the  children,  many  of  whom  have  been  known  to  love  and  honour 
their  parents  even  to  old  age.  A  custom  prevails  in  the  island,  which 
marks  in  a  pleasing  manner  the  operation  of  filial  affection  ; — the 
children  are  in  the  habit  of  occasionally  presenting  their  mothers  with 
a  piece  of  money  called  fofon-damosina,  *  the  remembrance  of  the  back,' 
as  a  sort  of  grateful  acknowledgment  for  the  kindness  of  the  parent  in 
having  so  often  borne  the  infant  on  the  back.'' 

To  relieve  the  family  from  the  additional  expense  which  the 
maintenance  of  them  might  incur,  the  sick,  whose  speedy 
restoration  is  doubtful,  are  not  hastened  out  of  life  by  the 
hands  of  those  to  whom  nature  directs  them  to  look  for  con- 
solation and  support  in  the  hours  of  affliction  and  sadness. 
Their  weak  and  emaciated  frames  are  not  denied  the  shelter 
and  comforts  of  home,  and  the  kind  offices  of  relations  and 
friends,  which  mitigate  the  sorrows  of  the  sufferer  in  his  passage 
to  the  grave  ;  nor  are  they  left  ashore  to  perish  on  the  banks  of 
some  flowing  stream,  exposed  to  the  damps  and  piercing  blasts 
of  a  winter's  night,  or  the  burning  rays  of  a  tropical  sun,  under 
which  in  the  deepest  agony  they  expire,  where  their  remains 
are  devoured  by  birds  and  beasts  of  prey,  or  rudely  thrown 
into  the  adjacent  waters  on  whose  surface  they  float,  bearing 
melancholy  testimony  against  the  hardness  of  the  human  heart 
and  the  brutalizing  influence  of  superstition. 

"  No  trait  in  the  character  of  the  Malagasy  is  more  creditable  to  their 
humanity,  and  more  gratifying  to  our  benevolent  feelings,  than  the 
kind,  patient,  and  affectionate  manner  in  which  they  attend  upon  the 
sick.  Every  thing  within  the  compass  of  their  means  that  can  ad- 
minister to  their  comfort,  mitigate  their  sufferings,  or  favour  recovery, 
is  provided." 

The  rites  of  burial,  which  are  thought  to  be  soothing  and 
consolatory  to  the  dying,  the  bereaved  respectfully  perform  ; 
a  place  of  honourable  sepulchre  is  provided,  whither  the 
remains  of  the  departed  are  conveyed  with  the  solemnity  and 


1840.] 


History  of  Madagascar. 


453 


sorrow  which  survivors  of  correct  sensibility  naturally  feel  on 
the  death  of  beloved  relatives  and  friends. 

Their  tombs,  built  in  conspicuous  places  by  the  road-side, 
and  on  elevations  in  the  midst  or  in  the  outskirts  of  the  town 
or  village,  are  usually  kept  in  good  repair,  and  the  ground 
around  them  perfectly  free  from  weeds,  presenting  an  appear- 
ance of  neatness  and  propriety  that  well  becomes  the  dwell- 
ings of  the  dead. 

In  giving  a  description  of  the  formation  of  their  tombs 
Mr.  E.  says, 

"  The  site  having  been  chosen  a  large  excavation  is  made  in  the  earth, 
and  the  sides  and  roof  of  the  vault  are  formed  of  immense  slabs  of 
stone,  usually  of  granite  or  sienite,  Incredible  labour  is  often  employed 
in  bringing  these  slabs  from  a  distance  to  the  spot  where  the  grave  is  to 
be  constructed.  When  they  are  fixed  in  the  appointed  positions,  each 
side  or  wall  of  a  vault  or  tomb,  six  or  seven  feet  high,  and  ten  or  twelve 
feet  square,  is  often  formed  of  a  single  stone  of  the  above  dimensions. 
A  sort  of  subterranean  room  is  thus  built ;  which  in  some  parts  of  the 
country,  is  lined  with  rough  pieces  of  timber.  The  stones  are  covered 
with  earth  to  the  height  of  from  fifteen  to  eighteen  inches.  This 
mound  of  earth  is  surrounded  by  a  curb  of  stone-work,  and  a  second  and 
third  parapet  of  earth  is  formed  within  the  lower  curb  or  coping,  gene- 
rally from  twelve  to  eighteen  inches  in  height,  each  diminishing  in 
extent  as  they  rise  one  above  another,  forming  a  flat  pyramidal  mound 
of  earth,  composed  of  successive  terraces  with  stone-facing  and  border, 
and  resembling,  in  appearance,  the  former  heathen  temples  of  the  South 
Sea  Islands,  or  the  pyramidal  structures  of  the  aborigines  of  South 
America  :  the  summit  of  the  grave  is  ornamented  with  Large  pieces  of 
rose  or  white  quartz.  The  stone-work  exhibits,  in  many  instances,  very 
good  workmanship,  and  reflects  great  credit  on  the  skill  of  the  native 
masons.  Some  of  these  structures  are  stated  to  be  twenty  feet  in  width, 
and  fifty  feet  long." 

On  these  few  excellent  traits  in  the  character  of  the  inha- 
bitants of  Madagascar  which  have  passed  under  review,  it 
would  be  pleasurable  to  linger :  it  is  painful  to  be  obliged  to 
turn  from  them  to  the  delineation  of  features  which  are 
opposed  to  all  correct  moral  sentiments  and  feelings,  destruc- 
tive of  the  true  well-being  both  of  individuals  and  nations; 
but  however  much  their  existence  may  be  lamented,  such  fea- 
tures are  too  prominent. 

"  Lying,  Mr.  Ellis  states,  is  a  common  vice  among  all.  To  lie  is 
esteemed  clever  and  pleasant,  and  more  likely  to  serve  one's  purpose  of 
interest  or  pleasure  than  to  tell  truth.  The  best  sign  of  genius  in 
children  is  esteemed  a  quickness  to  deceive,  overreach,  and  cheat.  Lying 
has  in  some  cases,  been  enforced  on  the  natives,  it  having  been  required 
of  every  Hova,  when  speaking  with  foreigners  on  political  matters,  to 
state  the  exact  opposite  to  truth,  on  pain  of  punishment.  So  far  has  this 
been  carried,  that  it  was  once  a  serious  and  public  complaint  against 
Christianity,  that  it  taught  the  people  to  scruple  at  telling  lies,  even  to 
deceive  their  country's  euemies." 
3  n  2 


454 


History  of  Madagascar. 


[Aug. 


In  war  the  Malagasy  are  capable  of  the  greatest  exertion. 
Trained  to  arms  aiul  frequently  summoned  to  the  field,  the 
love  of  country,  for  which  they  are  greatly  distinguished,  ani- 
mates them  with  a  valour  in  the  defence  of  its  freedom  and 
rights  that  neither  fatigue  nor  danger  can  exhaust,  which 
expires  only  with  life  ;  but  in  times  of  peace  their  apathy  and 
indolence  are  inexpressibly  great,  and  these,  as  is  generally 
the  case,  are  attended  with  other  vices. 

The  moral  proprieties  of  life  are  little  regarded,  in  all  ranks 
of  society  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest  sensuality  is  universally 
prevalent.  Criminal  intercourse  before  marriage,  though  prac- 
tised in  secret,  is  believed  to  be  frequent,  and  after  matrimony 
continence  is  not  expected  ;  and  so  perverting  is  the  influence 
which  their  licentiousness  has  exerted  on  their  opinions,  that 
the  absence  of  chastity  is  not  considered  a  crime. 

Polygamy,  which  is  the  fruitful  source  of  unnumbered  evils, 
the  constant  disturber  of  domestic  peace,  inimical  to  the 
growth  of  those  refined  sentiments  and  feelings  indispensible 
to  the  happiness  of  married  life,  and  that  sends  children  into 
the  world  with  minds  perverted  and  sensibilities  blunted  by 
the  scenes  of  turmoil  and  strife  which  they  have  witnessed  at 
home,  has  been  allowed  under  most  religions  that  have  pre- 
vailed in  Asia  and  Africa  :  it  exists  in  Madagascar  attended 
with  all  its  abominations.  It  is  a  curse  to  the  land,  and  its 
speedy  and  final  extinction  is  a  consummation  most  ardently 
to  be  desired  by  all  who  have  the  least  regard  for  the  happi- 
ness of  mankind. 

The  Malagasy  enter  the  married  state  about  the  same  period 
of  life  as  natives  of  India,  and  the  contract  being  made  by  the 
parents  the  young  people  come  together  with  little  knowledge 
of  each  other's  moral  character  and  natural  dispositions  ;  hence 
the  consequence  in  many  cases  is  the  wife  ceasing  to  please 
the  husband,  his  affections  are  alienated  and  transferred  to  an 
object  thought  to  be  more  worthy  of  his  attachment.  The 
only  law  enacted  for  the  regulation  of  polygamy  is,  that  no 
individual  be  allowed  to  take  twelve  wives,  except  the  king ; 
but  few  persons  have  more  than  three  or  four,  and  many  only 
one.  Should  a  husband  be  disposed  to  take  an  additional  wife, 
Mr.  E.  thinks,  the  following  course  of  proceeding,  though  not 
always,  is  usually  adopted : 

"  He  selects  his  favourite,  and  obtains  her  consent  privately  without 
the  knowledge  of  his  wife.  He  then  communicates  his  intention  to  the 
latter,  probably  at  first  in  apparent  jest ;  he  afterwards  tells  her  plainly, 
calling  her  Rafotsy,  (a  title  of  respect,)  you  are  to  have  a  younger  sister. 
1  shall  still  make  you  happy,  adds  the  husband ;  here  is  a  present  for 
you — five  dollars,  'tis  a  large  sum." 


1840.] 


History  of  Madagascar. 


455 


"  When  the  money  is  mentioned,  the  woman  finds  the  affair  is  earnest, 
and  then  ohjects  :  No,  I  shall  not  be  one  of  two  wives,  let  me  be  divorced. 
The  husband  employs  pacific  expressions,  endeavours  to  abate  her  anger, 
and  to  obtain  her  consent ;  he  assures  her  of  his  affection,  and  that  he 
can  by  no  means  part  with  her,  and  expresses  his  astonishment  that  she 
should  talk  of  a  divorce.  Still  withholding  her  consent,  he  reminds  her 
that  it  is  the  man's  prerogative  to  have  many  wives,  and  a  fine  large 
house  built  on  a  hill,  to  remain  there  as  a  monument  of  his  respectabi- 
lity. Those  who  are  inferior,  he  tells  her,  wish  to  become  equal,  and 
those  who  are  equal  to  become  superior,  that  he  who  has  one  wishes  for 
two,  and  he  who  has  two  wishes  for  three." 

"  The  poor  wife  now  finding  it  best  to  be  pacified,  says  that  she 
is  so,  and  replies,  Well,  that  is  sufficient,  since  you  are  determined  on 
the  measure.  It  is  like  the  old  proverb  where  the  hill  is  long,  there  is 
room  for  thinking.  Since  I  am  tired  of  refusing,  I  have  consented;  yet 
I  wish  you  to  consider,  that  I  prefer  speaking  to  you  face  to  face  rather 
than  complaining  of  you  to  others.'' 

He  then  agrees  in  the  presence  of  her  relations  who  are 
called  together  as  witnesses  to  give  her  what  he  may  have 
promised. 

"On  the  day  fixed  (a  lucky  one  always  being  chosen)  for  introducing 
one  wife  to  the  other,  the  head  people  of  the  village  are  requested  to  act 
as  the  inter-messengers.  They  proceed  to  the  house  of  the  intended 
bride,  vvho  is  called  the  vady  Rehy,  the  little  wife,  (a  name  given  to 
every  wife  a  man  has  except  the  first.)  We  have  come,  say  they,  for 
the  young  lass — open  the  door.  The  lineage  and  ancestry  of  both  parties 
are  then  related,  and  the  donation  of  clothes  sent  being  presented,  the 
parties  eat  together  as  a  token  of  friendship.  The  husband's  brother 
brings  the  new  wife,  part  of  a  sheep  having  been  previously  presented 
to  her,  and  another  part  to  the  father  of  the  first  wife,  with  an  apology 
that  it  is  a  mere  trifle,  but  all  that  can  be  afforded.  The  new  wife  is 
then  taken  to  the  house  of  her  intended  husband,  and  is  met  in  the  court, 
west  of  the  house*,  by  the  husband  and  wife.  This  public  situation  is 
chosen  that  all  may  witness  the  engagement,  and  that  the  husband 
may  address  the  spectators  concerning  the  terms  of  this  new  marriage 
covenant." 

The  laws  and  customs  of  the  country  empower  the  husband 
to  put  away  his  wives  for  causes,  some  of  which  are  exceedingly 
trivial  ;  hence  should  he  desire,  but  be  unable  to  support  an 
additional  wife,  he  resorts  to  the  baseness  of  divorcing  one, 
whose  real  fault,  whatever  may  be  wickedly  assigned,  is  that 
she  has  lost  the  charms  of  youth  and  consequently  ceased  to 
be  of  value  in  the  estimation  of  her  brutalized  master.  In 
most  cases  of  divorce  the  woman  is  left  at  liberty  to  marry 
again  after  the  expiration  of  twelve  days,  but  the  husband  has 
authority  to  divorce  her  in  such  a  manner  as  to  prevent  her 
from  ever  marrying  again,  and  when  this  power  is  used,  and 
it  is  occasionally,  she  is  then  treated  with  extreme  cruelty. 

*  The  front  of  the  house  as  the  door  faces  the  west. 


456  History  of  Madagascar.  [Aug. 


When  she  is  put  away  in  this  manner, 

"  During  the  formal  process  of  being  divorced  she  receives  first  a  black 
fowl,  expressive,  it  is  supposed,  of  the  wish  of  her  husband  that  she  may 
ever  be  to  all  others  a  repulsive  object;  second,  a  walking-stick,  indi- 
cating that  for  the  future  she  is  to  have  no  home,  but  is  to  be  an  outcast 
on  the  roads  ;  third,  a  small  piece  of  money,  signifying  that  she  is  to  be 
dependent  on  what  is  given  her  by  others  ;  and  fourth,  a  piece  of  white 
gun- wadding,  to  signify  that  she  is  to  continue  in  that  state  till  her  hair 
is  white  with  age." 

Leaving  the  subject  of  polygamy,  an  evil  of  no  less  magni- 
tude remains  to  be  noticed  ;  infanticide  has  prevailed  in  Mada- 
gascar from  the  earliest  period  of  its  history.  Indeed  it 
appears  to  have  been  practised  among  almost  all  heathens  both 
of  ancient  and  modern  times.  Though  they  have  lived  as  far 
asunder  from  each  other  as  the  poles  without  the  least  possi- 
ble intercourse,  or  been  neighbouring  nations  confederated  for 
the  maintenance  of  their  mutual  freedom  and  rights,  or  placed 
at  variance  by  political  interests  and  differences  of  religious 
faith,  distinguished  for  refinement  and  intelligence  or  sunk 
into  the  depths  of  barbarism,  this  species  of  murder  has  been 
known  and  committed  among  them.  Though  they  may  have 
agreed  in  nothing  else,  it  is  a  melancholy  truth,  that  they 
have  united  as  with  the  heart  of  one  man,  in  the  perpetration 
of  the  most  awful  atrocity,  imbruing  their  hands  in  the  blood 
of  their  own  children. 

The  causes  which  have  been  assigned  for  the  practice  of 
infanticide  are  numerous  and  various. 

Some  governments  have  sanctioned  and  encouraged  it  to 
prevent  a  superabundant  population,  which  in  the  event  of  a 
partial  failure  of  the  crops  produces  the  miseries  of  famine,  or 
impelling  the  valuable  and  wealthy  members  of  the  commu- 
nity to  emigrate  to  more  favoured  lauds,  impoverishes  the 
state.  The  pressure  of  distress  and  poverty  has  contributed 
to  give  effect  to  such  legislation.  It  is  well  known  that  when 
the  mind  is  under  no  divinely-constraining  influence  that 
extreme  misery  urges  people  to  the  most  dreadful  excesses,  to 
the  commission  of  crimes,  at  the  very  thought  of  which,  in 
more  happy  circumstances  they  would  recoil  and  shudder. 

In  China,  where  thousands  of  children  are  brought  to  an  un- 
timely end,  infanticide  is  stated  to  be  exceedingly  agonizing  to 
the  feelings  of  parents,  but  having  scarcely  sufficient  food  to 
support  themselves,  and  apprehending  all  the  horrors  of  starva- 
tion with  an  increasing  family,  they  are  driven  to  despair,  and 
the  resolution  of  disposing  of  their  child,  though  reluctantly, 
is  eventually  taken.  Sometimes  these  children  are  thrown 
into  the  current  of  rivers  in  which  they  meet  with  a  sudden 
and  violent  death,  but  in  general  they  are  left  to  perish  in  the 
fields,  in  the  streets  and  on  the  public  roads.    It  was  the 


J  840.] 


History  of  Madagascar. 


457 


praise-worthy  practice  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Missionaries  to 
collect  these  helpless  babes  and  to  take  them  under  their 
own  protection — a  practice  which  is  highly  creditable  to  their 
humanity,  and  must  ensure  the  commendation  of  all  who 
delight  in  alleviating  the  sorrows  of  our  race.  The  Jesuit, 
Premare,  speaking  of  the  number  of  infants  condemned  to 
death,  owing  to  the  extreme  poverty  of  their  parents,  says  : 
"  There  is  seldom  a  year,  in  which  the  churches  at  Pekin  do 
not  reckon  five  or  six  thousand  of  these  children  purified  by 
the  waters  of  baptism.  This  harvest  is  more  or  less  abundant 
according  to  the  number  of  catechists  which  we  can  maintain. 
If  we  had  a  sufficient  number,  their  cases  need  not  be  confined 
alone  to  the  dying  infants  that  are  exposed.  There  would  be 
other  occasions  for  them  to  exercise  their  zeal,  particularly  at 
certain  times  of  the  year,  when  the  small-pox  or  epidemic 
disorders  carry  off  an  incredible  number  of  children/' 

Infanticide  was  practised  in  Greece,  apparently  with  the 
design  of  securing  to  the  republic  a  progeny  likely  to  be  ser- 
viceable in  husbandry  and  war.  It  was  confined  to  chil- 
dren of  illegitimate  birth,  to  those  born  with  bodily  imper- 
fections, and  those  whose  parents  were  crippled  or  otherwise 
enfeebled  by  disease  or  age. 

"  In  the  parts  of  America  where  it  was  found  to  exist,  it 
appears  to  have  originated  from  the  extreme  difficulty  of  rear- 
ing many  children  in  a  savage  and  wandering  life,  exposed  to 
frequent  famines  and  perpetual  wars."  In  the  South  Sea  Islands 
during  the  reign  of  paganism  child-murder  prevailed  to  a 
most  awful  extent.  It  has  been  said  by  those  who  dwelt 
among  the  people  prior  to  the  reception  of  Christianity,  and 
who  had  consequently  opportunities  of  forming  a  correct  esti- 
mate, that  not  less  than  two-thirds  of  the  children  perished  by 
the  hands  of  their  own  parents;  and  this  statement  of  the 
Missionaries  has  been  confirmed  by  the  sad  confessions  of  the 
now  Christianized,  but  once  barbarous  mothers.  The  causes 
of  its  perpetration  in  these  islands  seem  to  be  the  following. 

The  extreme  indolence  of  the  people  which  rendered  them 
even  averse  to  the  labour  necessary  for  obtaining  the 
means  of  subsistence  where  the  productions  of  the  soil  are 
spontaneous  and  abundant,  led  them  to  murder  their  offspring 
to  spare  themselves  the  little  additional  care  and  exertion 
which  their  maintenance  might  require.  As  the  marriage 
bond  was  liable  to  be  broken  when  either  of  the  parties 
desired  it,  and  its  dissolution  was  frequent,  owing  to  inconti- 
nence which  prevailed  in  all  ranks  of  society,  licentiousness 
joined  idleness  in  the  commission  of  the  same  atrocious  crime. 
"  When  the  rank  of  the  parents  was  unequal,  the  children  were 


458 


History  of  Madagascar. 


[Aug. 


almost  invariably  destroyed  ;  if  not  by  the  parents  themselves, 
by  the  relations  of  those  superior  in  rank,  lest  the  dignity  of 
the  family,  or  their  standing  in  society  should  be  injured  by 
being  blended  with  those  of  an  inferior  class.  More  infant 
murders  were  probably  committed  under  these  circumstances 
from  barbarous  notions  of  family  pride,  than  from  any  other 
cause."  Other  children  were  disposed  of  in  obedience  to  the 
dictates  of  superstition. 

In  Madagascar  this  species  of  murder  is  rarely  perpetrated 
to  hide  the  shame  of  those  who  have  violated  the  moral  pro- 
prieties of  life,  or  from  the  fear  of  having  too  large  a  family  ; 
in  general  a  numerous  offspring  is  a  source  of  much  satisfac- 
tion. Whatever  may  be  the  faults  of  the  Malagasy  they  cannot 
be  justly  charged  with  hardness  of  heart  towards  their  chil- 
dren. The  infant  is  welcomed  with  the  fondest  emotions 
and  cherished  with  the  tenderest  care  ;  both  father  and  mother 
feel  that  its  welfare  is  interwoven  with  their  own,  and  do  all 
which  solicitude  and  affection  dictate  to  render  the  young 
stranger  happy. 

But  a  bloody  superstition  forbids  them  to  rejoice  over  the 
smiling  babe,  till  the  Panandro,  "  astrologers,'5  have  declared 
its  destiny.  While  these  servants  of  Satan  are  working  the 
sikidy*  to  ascertain  its  fate,  being  ignorant  of  what  may  be 
the  result,  the  minds  of  the  parents  are  kept  in  a  state  of  unin- 
terrupted agony.  Should  the  diviners  pronounce  the  child  to 
have  been  born  in  an  unlucky  hour,  the  evil  may  sometimes 
be  averted  by  the  present  of  a  few  dollars  ;  but  at  other  times 
exposure  to  death  must  take  place  :  this  is  effected  in  the  fol- 
lowing manner  : 

"  An  infant,  a  new-born,  perfectly  helpless,  unconscious  infant,  smil- 
ing perhaps  in  innocence,  is  laid  on  the  ground  in  the  narrow  entrance 
to  a  village,  or  a  fold,  through  which  there  is  scarcely  room  enough  for 
cattle  to  pass ;  several  cattle  are  then  driven  violently  in,  and  are  made 
to  pass  over  the  spot  in  which  the  child  is  placed,  while  the  parents  with 
agonizing  feelings  stand  by  waiting  the  result. 

"  If  the  oxen  pass  over  without  injuring  the  infant,  the  omen  is  propi- 
tious, the  powerful  and  evil  destiny  is  removed,  the  patents  may  without 
apprehension  embrace  their  offspring,  and  cherish  it  as  one  rescued 
from  destruction.  But  should  the  delicate,  frail,  and  tender  body  of  the 
helpless  victim  be  mangled  and  crushed  to  death  by  the  rugged  feet  of  the 
oxen,  which  is  most  frequently  the  case,  the  parents  return  to  mourn  in 
bitterness  of  grief  their  loss,  with  no  other  consolation  than  that  which 
the  monstrous  absurdities  of  their  delusions  supply — that,  had  their 
beloved  infant  survived,  it  would  have  been  exposed  to  the  influence  of 
that  destiny  which  now  required  its  exposure  to  destruction. 

"  Distressing,  however,  as  this  is,  it  is  in  some  respects  less  so  than 
the  practice  which  remains  to  be  noticed.  This  refers  to  the  instances 
in  which  it  is  declared  that  exposure  will  not  be  sufficient,  that  there  is 

*  Calculation  of  destiny. 


1840.]      The  duly  of  Prayer  for  those  in  Authority.  459 


no  possibility  of  avoiding  the  doom  pronounced,  and  that  death  must  be 
inflicted.  When  this  inhuman  decision  of  the  astrologers  has  been 
announced,  the  death  of  the  innocent  victim  is  usually  effected  by  suffo- 
cation ;  the  rice-pan,  a  circular  wooden  utensil,  slightly  concave  on  one 
side  and  hollow  on  the  other,  is  generally  employed.  It  is  filled  with 
water,  and  the  infant  is  held  with  its  face  downwards  in  the  water,  till 
life  becomes  extinct ;  sometimes  a  piece  of  cloth  is  placed  on  the  child's 
mouth  to  render  its  suffocation  more  speedy. 

"  Another  mode  of  perpetrating  this  unnatural  deed  is  by  taking  the 
infant  to  a  retired  spot  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  village,  digging  a 
grave  sufficiently  large  to  receive  it,  pouring  in  a  quantity  of  water 
slightly  warm,  putting  a  piece  of  cloth  upon  the  infant's  mouth,  placing 
it  in  the  grave,  filling  this  up  with  earth,  and  leaving  the  helpless  child, 
thus  buried  alive,  a  memorial  of  their  own  affecting  degradation." 

Thus  superstition  triumphs  with  a  fiend-like  despotism  over 
the  best  feelings  which  the  Divine  Being  has  implanted  in 
the  bosoms  of  his  creatures,  and  consigns  millions  of  our  race 
to  the  woes  of  the  most  agonizing  of  deaths.  With  these 
melancholy  facts  before  him,  who  is  there  that  lays  the  least 
claim  to  the  name  of  humanity,  that  will  not  before  the  Most 
High  breathe,  from  the  very  depths  of  his  soul,  the  aspiration 
of  David  :  "  Have  respect  unto  the  covenant ;  for  the  dark 
places  of  the  earth  are  full  of  the  habitations  of  cruelty." 

(To  be  continued). 


IV. — The  duty  of  Prayer  for  those  in  Authority. 
To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 

Sirs, 

I  have  frequently  observed  in  the  family  worship  of  Christians  in 
India,  what  appears  an  omission  in  their  prayers.  In  some  families, 
"  the  powers  that  be"  seem  rarely  to  be  made  the  subject  of  prayer. 
Surely,  seeing  that  under  Providence  the  welfare  of  the  Empire  at 
large,  and  of  these  Heathen  nations,  the  destinies  of  millions  given  to 
our  sway,  are  in  so  great  a  measure  under  their  rule  and  governance, 
every  Christian  family  and'individual  in  the  land  ought  as'a  duty  to  bear 
in  prayer  before  the  Throne  of  Grace,  the  Queen — the  Ministers — the 
Parliament — the  Governor  General — the  Governors — the  Councils— 
the  Magistrates  and  all  who  are  put  in  authority  and  power,  that  they 
may  be  men  fearing  God  and  eschewing  evil ;  that  in  their  public  duties 
and  individual  characters,  their  measures,  life,  and  conversation,  may 
be  to  the  honor  and  glory  of  God,  and  to  the  benefit  of  mankind.  It. 
is  melancholy  to  find  the  lives  and  characters  of  men  elevated  to  power 
such  as  to  lower  the  Christian  and  national  character.  It  forebodes 
the  displeasure  of  God,  and  evil  to  any  nation,  or  sphere,  where  the 
powers  that  be,  the  men  in  authority,  whether  under  the  designa- 
tion of  Princes,  Governors,  Magistrates  or  Military  men,  live  without 
God  in  the  world,  pay  Him  no  homage  in  their  public  or  private  cha- 
VOL.  I.  3  o 


460  The  duty  of  Prayer  for  those  in  Authority.  [Aug. 


raeter,  neglect  or  dishonor  his  Sabbaths,  encourage  the  idolatries  of  the 
Heathen  around,  are  indifferent  to,  or  discourage  efforts  to  diffuse  the 
glad  tidings  of  great  joy  to  all  mankind,  the  revelation  of  God  to  man. 
W  ho  exhihit  a  pernicious  example  to  those  over  whom  they  preside;  in 
short,  who  live  without  God  in  the  world,  and  oppose  the  will  of  God, 
either  by  the  tenor  of  their  lives  or  conversation.  Seeing  then,  that 
under  Providence,  the  destinies  of  the  nation — the  fate  of  millions — good 
or  bad  government — peace  or  war — tranquillity  or  anarchy,  are  to  such 
an  extent  in  their  hands,  and  that  they  must  be  ministers  of  good  or 
evil  to  the  nation,  every  household  ought  surely  at  the  family  altar,  and 
daily  prayers  as  a  duty  not  to  be  neglected,  to  bear  them  before  the 
Throne  of  Grace,  that  they  all  may  be  men  fearing  God,  and  that  He 
would  pour  upon  them  his  Spirit. 

Especially  in  this  Heathen  land,  India,  every  British  Officer  may  be 
said  to  be  more  or  less  a  public  character,  wherever  he  goes,  represent- 
ing in  his  own  person  and  sphere  to  the  watchful  Heathens  around, 
the  Christian  and  national  character — upholding  that  character  by  the 
dignity  of  the  real  Christian,  or  lowering  the  standard  by  a  life 
and  conversation  unworthy  the  Christian  name  or  national  honor. 
The  sincere  daily  prayer  around  the  family  altars  of  the  Lord,  might 
be  expected  to  be  heard  and  favorably  answered  by  Him  who  is  the 
Hearer  of  prayer,  and  we  might  then  expect  to  see  fewer  of  those 
melancholy  instances  where  high  stations  are  unhappily  filled  by  low 
minds,  and  fewer  national  afflictions.  All  real  Christians  should  be  real 
patriots  and  love  their  country.  Let  them  then  as  a  duty,  daily  bear 
before  the  Throne  of  Grace,  those  who  exercise  power  over  the 
people. 

Especially  now,  when  mighty  events  are  pending  in  the  scale  of 
nations — when  on  our  Indian  horizon  portentous  changes  are  arising — • 
when  raising  the  contemplation  from  the  Heathen  kingdoms,  and  mil- 
lions unnumbered  already  given  to  our  Christian  sway — we  stretch  our 
vision  onwards,  to  Affghanistan  !  the  Punjab  !  Nipal !  Burmah  !  China  ! 
we  seem  to  descry  the  opening  of  another  mysterious  roll  of  prophecy 
which  time  will  ere  long  unfold.  Rarely  has  there  appeared  a  crisis, 
more  calling  for  the  earnest  prayers  of  all  Christians  in  these  Heathen 
lands  than  the  present.  Let  every  Christian  family  then,  every  indivi- 
dual Christian,  take  as  it  were  "  Heaven  by  violence,"  and  besiege  that 
God  (who  heareth  andanswereth  prayer),  with' 'earnest supplication,  that 
he  would  make  "  the  wrath  of  man  to  praise  him,  and  restrain  the  remain- 
der of  the  evil" — that  he  would  pardon  our  iniquity,  give  success  to  our 
arms  in  every  righteous  cause,  extend  through  our  means  the  Mes- 
siah's kingdom  amongst  these  Heathen  nations — that  He  especially 
in  this  mighty  crisis  may  counsel  our  counsellors  and  teach  our  senators 
wisdom — that  he  might  give  to  all  Governors,  Magistrates  and  those 
placed  in  authority  understanding  hearts,  and  upright  lives  to  do  His 
will,  that  His  Blessing  may  rest  upon  their  measures,  and  His  favor 
upon  our  nation. 

There  is  now  too  little  acknowledgment  of  Providence — too  much 
trusting  in  our  own  strength  (which  without  the  blessing  of  God  is  per- 
fect weakness),  in  our  present  measures.     It  might  in  these  days  have 


1840.]    Protestant  Subscriptions  to  Popish  Institutions.  461 


an  excellent  effect  were  some  competent  person  to  prepare  a  statement, 
showing  by  judicious  extracts  from  Scriptural  history  that  nations  have 
risen  and  fallen — especially  God's  own  people — in  proportion  as  they  fell 
away  from  or  pleased  God  and  walked  in  his  ways.  Were  there  more 
devotion  to  God  in  our  Government,  more  homage  paid  to  the  Great 
Governor  of  the  universe — less  encouragement  to  and  connexion  with 
Idolatry  which  He  hates — less  tiring  of  salutes  in  honor  of  the  idols  of  the 
Heathen  at  Heathen  festivals — more  of  a  Christian  and  Missionary  spirit 
amongst  all  classes  of  our  nalion  to  do  God's  will,  we  might  expect  in 
proportion  to  our  thus  seeking  the  honor  of  God  that  He  would 
fulfil  his  promise  and  honor  us  ;  for  he  has  said  "  those  who  honor  me, 
will  I  honor."  Let  us  beware  then,  lest  by  continuing  so  much  to  set 
Him  aside,  who  is  a  jealous  God  and  will  not  give  his  glory  to  another, 
we  fill  up  the  measure  of  our  iniquity,  and  cause  him  to  let  loose  our 
enemies  upon  us  :  rather  let  us  strive,  individually  and  as  a  Govern- 
ment to  seek  his  favor,  then  shall  our  power  be  based  on  a  rock  which 
none  can  move. 

I  remain,  Sir, 

Your  most  Obdt.  Servt., 

An  Observer. 

June,  1840. 


V. — Protestant  Subscriptions  to  Popish  Institutions. 

"  FOR,  WHATSOEVER  IS  NOT  OF   FAITH  IS  SIN." 

There  is  a  limit  to  forbearance.  That  limit  is  assigned  by 
the  word  of  God.  "  Follow  peace  with  all  men,  and  holi- 
ness, without  which  no  man  shall  see  the  Lord."  He  that 
would  see  the  face  of  his  Lord  in  heaven  must  take  heed 
to  follow  "  peace"  no  further  than  "  holiness"  will  permit. 
Now  no  Christian  will  deny  that  holiness  consists  in  confor- 
mity to  the  nature  and  will  of  God.  Such  holiness  is  only  to 
be  known  from  the  word  of  God,  which  is  the  revelation  to  us 
of  the  Divine  nature  and  will.  Whatever  the  Bible  reveals  to 
us  as  loved  of  God,  that  we  are  to  love  : — what  it  reveals  as 
hateful  that  we  are  to  hate.  What  the  Bible  declares  to  be 
blessed,  that  we  must  bless;  and  what  it  declares  to  be  cursed, 
that  we  must  treat  as  accursed  of  God.  In  such  a  matter, 
we  have  no  choice;  or  if  we  assume  such  a  choice,  we  sin.  If 
Ave  forbear  to  speak  and  act  as  God  would  have  us,  we  assume 
a  superiority  over  Him  :  and  we  bring  upon  us  the  penalties 
of  rebellion.  If  we  patronize  what  God  hates,  we  insult  our 
Maker  :  and  if  we  pass  unnoticed  such  insult,  we  are  our- 
selves partakers  of  it.  Peace  with  sin  is  rebellion  against  our 
Lord ;  and  forbearance  towards  transgression,  and  still  more 
3  o  2 


462      Protestant  Subscriptions  to  Popish  Institutions.  [Aug. 


the  patronizing  of  it,  is  war  with  the  Omnipotent  and  Holy- 
One. 

We  are  led  to  these  remarks  by  the  sad  fact,  which  lately  in 
this  city  we  have  seen  publicly  announced,  that  men  pro- 
fessing to  be  Christians  have  given  of  their  property  to  sup- 
port that  which  the  Almighty  declares  to  be  hateful  to  Him  ; 
and  men  calling  themselves  Protestants,  have  given  of  their 
property  for  the  support  and  extension  of  that  which  they 
have  protested  against.  The  Papists  of  India  have  determined 
to  establish  a  certain  Popish  Institution  in  Calcutta ;  and 
men  who  profess  to  be  believers  in  the  Bible,  and  followers  of 
Christ  and  Protestors  against  Popery  as  contrary  to  the 
Scriptures,  give  the  property  of  their  Lord  and  Saviour  Jesus 
Christ  for  the  erection  of  such  an  Institution.  It  is  true,  we 
are  not  aware  that  any  man  who  bears  a  decidedly  religious 
character,  has  acted  in  this  manner :  we  have  not  heard  of  a 
single  individual  known  as  "  a  saint,"  (as  such  men  are  nick- 
named— and  the  world  well  knows  who  they  are,)  who  has 
contributed  to  the  establishment  of  the  Romish  Nunnery  : 
still,  there  are  those  who  assume  a  profession,  and  expect  on 
certain  occasions  to  be  called  Christians  and  religious  men, 
who  have  given  their  names  and  contributed  of  their  substance 
for  this  end.  It  is  well  to  notice  such,  and  to  shew  the  evil  of 
their  conduct ;  which  we  have  perfect  right  to  do  by  the  law 
of  our  common  Master. 

We  are  not  now  entering  into  a  dissertation  as  to  what 
popery  is  ;  we  are  writing  for  those  who  admit  that  it  is  evil 
and  unscriptural.  Still  we  are  neither  ashamed  nor  afraid  to 
maintain,  that  the  Roman  Apostacy  is  "  Babylon,"  and  an 
Antichrist ;  and  that  as  such,  it  is  under  the  ban  of  Almighty 
God.  Neither  are  we  now  instituting  an  inquiry  into  the  nature 
of  Nunneries ;  we  are  contented  in  the  present  case  to  view 
them  simply,  as  part  and  parcel  of  the  Roman  Apostacy-sys- 
tem  ;  with  it  they  stand  or  fall.  Whatever  the  articles  of  Rome 
are,  these  are  the  articles  of  the  Nunnery  in  a  more  or  less  open 
form.  A  Nunnery  is  a  Popish  Female  Institution  ;  he, 
therefore,  that  supports  a  Nunnery  supports  Popery :  this  is 
our  preliminary  proposition,  which  we  are  not  afraid  to  have 
gainsayed  ;  for,  such  gainsaying  would  only  direct  us  to  the 
most  practical  and  effective  manner  of  adducing  our  proof. 

Now,  let  us  come  to  the  question.  Why  do  some  Protes- 
tants support  Popery  ?  We  shall  endeavour  to  give  a  few 
answers  to  this  question  to  suit  different  characters ;  and 
leave  to  them,  or  to  their  friends,  to  select  the  answer  that  seems 
most  suitable  to  every  one  who  may  have  placed  himself  in 
such  circumstances. 


1840.]    Protestant  Subscriptions  to  Popish  Institutions.  4(53 


1.  From  religious  Ignorance-    There  is  a  great  deal  more 
of  ignorance  amongst  us,  than  at  first  sight  may  appear.  They 
are  very  few  that  study  the  Bible,  although  they  may  some- 
times read  it ;  and  they  are  fewer  still  that  make  themselves 
masters  of  its  contents.    The  doctrines  of  salvation  are  little 
sought  after  by  the  mass  of  men  :  they  know  there  is  such  a 
thing  as  justification,  but  they  cannot  explain  it ;  they  know 
there  is  such  a  thing  as  being  sanctified,  but  they  cannot  tell 
what  it  is,  or  how  it  is  effected.    Or,  if  they  should  be  able  to 
tell  something  of  the  meaning,  yet  are  they  ignorant  of  the 
importance  of  these  things.    They  cannot  attach  any  thing 
like  weight  to  them  ;  and  they  wonder  why  religious  men 
should  contend  about  "  mere  technicalities  or  verbal  distinc- 
tions," as  they  term  them.    When  a  matter  involving  Popery 
or  Protestantism,  Christ  or  Antichrist,  is  proposed  to  such 
persons,  they  become  confused  in  their  minds  through  ignor- 
ance of  the  objects  proposed  ;  they  consider  for  a  little, 
until  both  classes  of  objects  seem  to  them  almost  alike  ;  they 
can  see  no  reason  for  withholding  their  support  or  contribu- 
tions from  the  one  more  than  from  the  other.   What  they  hold 
distinct  in  outline,  they  blend  in  detail  ;  and  they  give  to  the 
Pope  or  to  his  servants,  as  they  would  to  Christ  and  his  minis- 
ters.   They  suppose  that  the  idolatry  of  the  mass,  and  the 
simplicity  of  the  Lord's  supper,  are  the  same  ;  for  they  under- 
stand not  that  the  little  bit  of  bread  is  declared  to  be  God  Al- 
mighty, even  the  very  living  Christ  in  his  divinity  as  well  as 
humanity ;  and  that  men  fall  down  and  worship  that  bit  of 
bread,  even  as  men  fall  down  before  Jehovah  himself.  We 
are  prepared,  as  our  fathers  were  of  old,  to  shew  the  church  of 
Rome  to  be  an  idolatrous  Apostacy,  as  much  as  ever  the  Israel- 
ites were,  when  they  bowed  down  to  the  works  of  their  hands. 
But  enough  for  the  present,  as  our  object  is  now  of  a  different 
kind.    The  persons  who  contribute  to  the  support  of  Popery, 
manifest  a  fearful  ignorance  of  what  Popery  is  :  of  its  utter 
opposition  to  the  Bible  in  the  great  body  of  its  tenets,  and  of 
its  ruinous  tendency  to  the  children  of  men.    Converse  with 
them,  and  you  will  soon  discover  this  ignorance  of  the  Bible 
and  of  religion,  which  at  once  accounts  for  their  unscriptural 
and  irrational  conduct,  in  subscribing  for  the  promotion  of  a 
system  which  declares  the  subscribers  own  religion  to  be  a 
damnable  heresy,  and  himself  an  anathematized  heretic  ! 

2.  There  are  some  selected  by  the  agents  of  Popery  to  be 
solicite'd  for  subscriptions,  on  account  of  their  known  Indif- 
ference to  all  religion.  They  receive  the  name  of  Protestants, 
because  they  are  not  Papists  ;  but  they  do  not  even  pretend  to 
protest  against  Popery.    They  may  have  the  name  of  belonging 


4C4     Protestant  Subscriptions  to  Popish  Institutions.  [Aug. 


to  some  denomination  of  the  Christian  Church,  but  in  reality 
they  care  for  none.  They  are  perfectly  indifferent,  but  not 
ignorant.  They  know  something  of  the  Council  of  Trent,  and 
of  Pope  Pius'  Creed.  They  have  read  the  history  of  the 
abominations  of  Monastic  and  Conventual  life  ;  and  they  are 
not  strangers  to  the  intolerable  and  untranslatable  nlthinesses 
of  the  confessional.  They  know  that  the  infallibility  of  the 
Pope  is  a  demonstrated  lie,  and  the  immutability  of  Rome  a 
never-changing  falsehood.  They  know  how  to  appreciate  the 
unity,  whose  proclamations  were  called  forth  by  the  discords  of 
Popes  and  Councils,  and  whose  decrees  were  the  high-ways  to 
the  fiery  furnace  of  the  modern  Babylon— men  they  are  who 
have  seen  in  the  modern  inquisition,  the  anti-type  of  the  an- 
tient  Procrustes.  There  are  men  in  India  who  are  well  read 
in  these  matters,  and  whose  minds  are  well  stored  with  facts 
and  pi'oofs  ; — but,  associating  all  these  things  with  religion 
generally,  and  distributing  the  evil  principles  involved  in  these 
peculiarities  of  Rome,  over  those  Churches  that  have  abjured 
them  and  never  were  identified  with  them,  they  contrive  to 
build  themselves  up  in  the  professed  belief,  that  all  religions 
are  equally  good,  if  good — and  equally  bad,  if  bad  : — and 
so  a  Popish  Nunnery,  a  Protestant  Seminary,  a  Pagan  Col- 
lege, a  Muhammadan  Madrassa,  and  a  Deistical  University, 
stand  in  their  esteem,  on  equal  bases,  and  within  the  same 
parallels.  These  men  therefore  give  of  their  money,  or  their 
time,  or  their  patronage,  to  all,  to  none,  or  to  any  number  of 
these  alike.  The  love  of  all  religions  is  only  another  name 
for  indifference  to  all.  It  is  a  false,  but  convenient  term 
— a  rational  name  for  an  irrational  thing — a  miserable  coin- 
promise  between  a  sinful  heart  and  a  struggling  conscience. 
That  the  troop  of  religious  indifferents  should  pay  for  the 
establishment  of  a  Popish  Institution  is  not  to  be  wondered 
at ;  but,  alas  !  that  Protestantism  should  bear  the  burden  of 
that  which  it  never  did  is  a  cause  of  deep  and  bitter  regret. 
Well  do  the  agents  of  monasteries  and  convents,  know  the 
names  and  residences  of  the  disciples  of  religious  indifference  : 
and  well  prepared  are  they  with  the  plea  to  be  urged — the 
appropriate  and  unfailing  "  argumentum  ad  talem  hominem — " 
"  We  know,  Sir,  you  are  no  Sectarian — but  Catholic,  in  the 
true  and  noble  sense  of  that  calumniated  term — such  is  our 
Church — may  we  not  hope  for  your  patronage  ?" 

3.  But  Vanity  is  not  without  its  contribution  to  Popish 
Institutions.  Some  men  in  their  religion  love  nothing  so 
much  as  human  praise,  and  the  plaudits  of  the  large  majority. 
If  they  can  occasionally  secure  this  by  the  gift  of  a  portion  of 
their  property,  they  are  well  pleased.    If  they  should  be  called 


18-10.]    Protestant  Subscriptions  to  Popish  Institutions.  465 


upon  by  a  deputation,  or  be  written  to,  by  some  known  offi- 
cial, so  much  are  they  afraid  of  being  thought  meanly  of 
by  these  few  fellow-worms,  that  they  put  aside  all  consi- 
derations of  a  higher  sort,  and  at  once  say,  "Gentlemen,  it 
is  always  my  principle  to  encourage  every  useful  object,  in 
as  far  as  in  my  little  sphere  I  can,  without  inquiring  into  the 
little  differences  that  divide  the  world.  I  am  no  bigot — and  I 
feel  much  flattered  by  your  application.     My  cheque  for 

 Rs.  shall  be  at  your  service  when  you  please  to  call  for  it. 

It  is  a  small  sum — but  1  have  many  such  claims  from  every 
quarter,  and  I  have  great  pleasure  in  honoring  them  all. 
Good  morning,  Gentlemen — and  I  wish  you  good  speed." 
Thus  speaks  Vanity,  unthinking  vanity,  and  those  who  have 
received  the  gift  go  away,  mentally  smiling  over  the  human 
weakness  of  the  "  heretic,"  whose  liberality  they  mean  in 
next  issue  to  extol,  as  the  generous  kindness  of  one  of  their 
"  separated  brethren  !"  Oh  vain  man,  be  assured,  that  the 
praise  thou  seekest  in  public  is  dearly  bought,  if  thou  knew- 
est  it,  by  the  dispraise  thou  hast  in  private.  By  the  effort  to 
obtain  praise  where  thou  shouldest  not,  like  the  dog  in  the 
fable,  thou  has  lost  what  thou  hadst,  and  canst  not  get  what 
thou  soughtst !  So  is  it  ever  where  boldness  and  weakness, 
craft  and  vanity,  come  into  selfish  contact.  The  bargain  is 
mutual ;  but  the  gain  is  wholly  on  one  side.  The  vain  man,  like 
the  African,  will  exchange  pounds  of  gold  for  ounces  of  glass 
beads,  because  he  loves  the  colours  that  other  men  can  give, 
more  than  the  tints  of  beauty  that  he  himself  possesses. 
"  How  can  ye  believe  which  receive  honour  one  from  another, 
and  seek  not  the  honour  which  cometh  from  God  only." 

4.  Weakness  of  judgment  is  often  an  inlet  to  deception 
in  such  matters.  Many  men  who  are  strong-minded  in  things 
of  the  world  are  very  easily  imposed  upon  in  transactions  of 
a  religious  kind  ;  and  without  the  slightest  consideration  they 
yield  themselves  to  the  proposals  immediately  before  them. 
A  request  is  made  in  the  name  of  Christian  charity,  and  in 
charity's  name  they  respond  : — it  is  made  in  the  name  of  reli- 
gion, and  in  religion's  name  they  give  : — it  is  made  in  the 
name  of  female  education,  and  in  the  name  of  female  educa- 
tion they  liberally  subscribe.  They  ask  not,  they  inquire  not, 
they  seriously  reflect  not ;  they  yield  to  a  name,  a  mere  name, 
and  pay  down  a  portion  of  their  property  for  the  support  of  a 
system  the  antipodes  of  their  own.  "  Your  name,"  say  the 
deputation,  "  is  ever  known  to  be  connected  with  the  cause 
of  benevolence.  You  are  a  strenuous  supporter  of  education 
— the  education  of  all  classes.  On  this  ground  have  we  called 
upon  you  and  do  now  solicit  your  support.    You  are  aware, 


466    Protestant  Subscriptions  to  Popish  Institutions.  [Aug. 


Sir,  that  little  has  yet  been  done  for  the  education  of  the 
Catholic  youth  of  this  city,  especially  the  female  portion,  and 
that  consequently  they  are  in  a  very  low  and  neglected  state. 
We  have  applied  to  our  Catholic  friends  in  Europe  to  send  us 
out  six  sisters  of  the  Ursuline  order,  to  form  a  female  insti- 
tution, such  as  exists  in  France  and  elsewhere,  solely  for  the 
education  of  the  young  females  of  Calcutta.  The  institution 
will  not  be  a  religious  one  ;  that  is,  when  so  requested,  no 
distinctive  form  of  religion  will  be  taught  in  it  so  as  to  prevent 
us  from  receiving  into  it  even  the  children  of  our  Protestant 
friends  and  brethren.  May  we  hope  for  your  kind  support. 
Sir  ?  We  are  anxious  to  obtain  it,  not  merely  for  the  sake  of 
a  donation,  but  for  its  effect  and  influence  in  shewing  that  our 
cause  is  indeed  a  Catholic  one — the  establishment  of  a  chari- 
table principle  is  of  more  consequence  than  the  erection  of  a 
charitable  Institution.  Allow  us  also  to  say  that  you  will 
find  yourself  not  alone — kindly  look  at  our  list  of  subscribers  ?" 
Struck  and  overcome  by  these  ponderous  words,  "  Benevo- 
lence"— "  Education" — «  Female  Institution/' — «  Charity," 
— "  Catholic  principle,"  &c.  he  yields  himself  to  influence,  the 
influence  of  names,  mere  names.  He  fancies  that  if  he  resists 
words,  he  resists  things  ;  for,  in  religion  they  are  to  him  both 
alike.  He  too  sets  down  his  name  ;  and  so  Ignorance,  Indif- 
ference, Vanity,  and  Weakness  are  found  in  one  column  ! 
Before  laying  aside  his  pen,  however,  a  thought  seizes  him. 
He  asks,  in  a  half  inquisitive,  half  affirmative  voice,  "  Am  I 
to  understand  by  this  that  the  institution  referred  to  is  not  to 
be  a  nunnery  ;  for,  I  have  a  dislike  to  such  places — and,  that 
it  is  not  intended  for  proselytizing ;  for  I  dislike  such  proce- 
dure ?"  "  Oh,  certainly  not  so  intended,  Sir,"  say  the  depu- 
ties— ce  we  cannot  be  answerable  for  future  abuses,  nor  would 
you,  Sir ;  but  our  object  is  simply  charitable  and  educa- 
tional :  and  as  to  religion,  the  pupils  will  be  as  safe  with  the 
Ursuline  sisters,  as  the  honour  of  a  Catholic,  or  the  faitli 
of  the  Church,  can  make  them."  "  Enough,  gentlemen, 
enough — I  am  quite  satisfied — I  wish  you  well  in  your  bene- 
volent undertaking  !"  And  so  they  go,  and  smiling  say  one  to 
the  other,  "  Well,  brother,  that  was  a  good  fetch  !"  The 
victim  of  the  fetch  calls  for  his  memorandum  or  cash-book, 
and  enters  the  subscription  he  has  given  under  the  head  of 
"  Religious  Charity."  It  never  occurs  to  him  to  ask,  How 
is  it  that  the  "only  church"  can  agree  not  to  meddle  with  the 
religion  of  those  who  are  of  another  church  ?  Either  she 
believes  herself  to  be  the  only  church,  or  she  does  not ;  if 
she  does,  why  will  she  not  seek  to  bring  young  Protestant 
girls  within  the  only  pale  of  salvation  ? — why  will  she  teach 


1840.]    Protestant  Subscriptions  to  Popish  Institutions.  16*7 


them  sewing,  embroidering  and  music,  and  not  teach  them 
the  way  of  eternal  life  ?    Or,  if  she  does  not  regard  herself  as 
the  only  church,  why  does  she  in  her  Council  of  Trent  pro- 
nounce damnation  on  all  who  are  not  of  her?  He  does  not 
think,  How  can  the  "  Universal  Church"  agree  or  bargain  not 
to  bring  certain  individuals  within  her  precincts?  Is  not  this 
surrendering  her  claims  to  universality  ?    How  can  the  infal- 
lible church  enter  into  a  compact  to  suffer  to  educate  some  chil- 
dren in  a  fallible  faith,  whilst  she  herself  possesses  the  standard 
of  infallibility  ?    They  that  can  believe  such  trash  and  absur- 
dity, do  virtually  say  worse  things  of  the  servants  of  Rome 
than  even  we  "  Bigots"  do  ;  and  they  of  that  body  who  in 
raising  their  subscriptions  pretend  such  things,  do  libel  their 
own  body  more  than  ever  a  Protestant  did.     For  to  say,  that 
men  who  believe  that  they  alone  have  salvation  within  their 
system,  will  undertake  to  educate  young  Protestant  females 
without  seeking  to  convert  them  to  that  one  system  which 
alone  brings  salvation,  is  just  to  say  that  they  wilfully  and  by 
compact  hand  them  over  to  the  flames  of  eternal  perdition  ! 
We  repeat  it — to  agree  not  to  convert,  is  to  agree  not  to  save ; 
and  can  that  be  a  church  of  Christ,  or  can  those  be  members 
of  the  church  of  Christ,  who  agree  and  promise  not  to  preach 
the  gospel  to  "  every  creature  ?" — How  can  it  be  ?  Foolish, 
weak  subscriber  to  Popish  nunneries,  why  do  you  not  think 
of  these  things  ?  Is  there  any  thing  unreasonable,  any  thing 
bigotted,  any  thing  calumnious  in  this?  Judge  thou! — We 
know  that  men  have  been  thus  deceived  in  Calcutta. 

5.  Party  Spirit  also  bears  its  share  in  the  matter  before 
us.  There  are  some  "  liberal"  men  amongst  us  who,  on  most 
worldly,  and  in  almost  all  religious  matters,  are  accustomed 
to  act  together.  In  the  course  of  time,  although  personal 
strangers,  they  find  themselves  become  party-companions. 
Their  principle  is  to  cast  out  party-spirit  in  religion,  by  party- 
spirit  without  religion ;  and  to  extirpate  the  bigotry  of  sect, 
by  the  bigotry  of  no-sect.  These  partisans  on  this  principle 
of  non-exclusiveness,  support  all  men  alike,  except  those  who 
are  directly  opposed  to  them ;  and  so,  in  this  respect,  they  are 
still  like  other  men,  amidst  all  their  pretences  of  difference. 
They  speak  well  of  Hindoos,  Musalmans,  Deists,  Socinians, 
Papists,  and  will  help  them  in  any  thing ;  but,  woe  to  the 
man,  who  calls  himself  so  sincere  a  believer  in  his  own  faith, 
that  he  will  not  support  a  faith  that  would  cast  his  own  into 
everlasting  flames  !  Woe  be  to  the  firm  consistent  Protestant, 
who  will  not  uphold  that  against  which  he  protests  !  Why  is 
this  ?  Is  not  this  species  of  Protestant  as  much  to  be  tolerated 
as  any  other  class  ?    Is  he  not  as  sincere  in  his  views  as  the 

VOL.  I.  3  P 


4G8       Protestant  Subscriptions  to  Popish  Institutions.  [Aug. 


others  ?  In  he  not  as  conscientious  as  the  others  ?  Why  then  is 
he  pursued  whilst  the  others  are  hailed  ?  Here  is  the  secret : — 
his  principle  of  supporting  that  alone  which  he  holds  to  be 
true,  is  in  direct  opposition  to  theirs,  who  would  maintain 
alike  what  they  believe  to  be  truth  and  error;  others  accident- 
ally differ  from  them,  but  the  former  is  essentially  opposed 
to  them,  therefore  do  they  hate  him.  So  much  for  consistency. 
But  to  the  point.  When  any  of  these  liberal  party-men  see 
the  name  of  another  party-man  written  down  for  a  sub- 
scription to  a  Nunnery  or  Popish  Institution,  he  feels  an  inci- 
pient claim  fastening  upon  him.  "  So  I  see  9  has  sub- 
scribed ;  and  also  ;  my  friend  too  and  fellow  commit- 
teeman in  the  Society  has  set  down  his  name 

— your  cause  is  getting  on  ;  set  down  my  name  also — I  love  to 
be  in  such  good  and  benevolent  company.    By  the  bye,  have 

you  called  on  Mr.  ?  if  not,  do — I  think  he  will 

be  pleased  to  see  our  names."  So  they  do — and  with  the  same 
result.  The  party  sticks  together.  They  are  afraid  not  to 
work  as  one.  Each  gives  because  the  other  gives  ;  and  there- 
fore, they  all  give  because  one  gives. 

They  are  always  known  by  those  whose  interests  depend  upon 
them,  and  being  gregarious,  the  leader,  the  "  ipse  vir  gregis"  for 
the  time,  is  soon  found  out ;  and  if  he  be  spoiled,  the  rest  all 
meekly  follow  to  the  plucking.  So  is  it  with  some  subscribers 
to  Popish  nunneries  !  Like  soldiers  on  parade,  they  fall  into 
subscription  tank  of  16,  25,  50  rupees  with  formal  accuracy, 

and  with  mechanical  agility.  Lord  ,  Sir  ,  , 

Esquire,  Mr.  always  march  together  ;  and  he  that  can 

catch  the  Lord  will  not  lose  the  Esquire.  The  universal  free- 
man is  become  the  particular  slave ;  the  foe  of  bigotry, 
becomes  the  ally  of  infallibility  ;  and  he  that  is  the  champion 
of  conscience,  upholds  by  money  the  despotism  of  the  Vatican, 
and  the  Nun-embroidered  banners  of  the  council  of  Trent ! 
Such  is  the  party  that  knows  no  party  at  all — such  the  modern 
"  Lucus  a  non  lucendo !" 

6.  But  we  must  make  room  for  one  respected  class  of 
men  who  in  this  matter  are  misled  by  a  spirit  of  Mistaken 
Benevolence.  They  are  really  kind-hearted  men — they  have  a 
sincere,  and  strong,  though  not  well-defined  desire  to  do  good. 
Unwilling  to  take  the  trouble  of  research,  yet  truly  desirous 
to  part  with  so  much  of  their  property  to  benefit  others,  they 
make  a  simple  compromise  to  the  following  effect. — "  We 
will  take  our  fellow-men,  as  judges  of  the  object ;  we  will  be 
judges  of  the  means ;  what  they  propose  as  an  object  of 
charity,  we  will  accept — what  we  think  a  proper  sum  that  will 
we  give."    Human  asking  is  thus  made  the  standard  of  human 


1840.]    Protestant  Subscriptions  to  Popish  Institutions.  469 

giving ;  and  human  feeling  is  made  steward  over  human  con- 
science. "  We  do  not  like  to  refuse ;  it  is  painful,  and  con- 
trary to  our  feelings.  These  men  profess  a  good  end  :  and  as 
it  would  he  disagreeahle  to  them  to  be  denied,  so  would  it 
be  painful  to  us  to  decline.  It  is  better  to  give  a  little  and 
please  all,  than  to  subscribe  nothing  and  offend  every  one." 
They  see  not  the  moral  fallacy  involved  in  making  mere  dis- 
position the  rule  of  action,  whilst  there  exists  a  Supreme 
God,  and  whilst  they  possess  the  revelation  of  His  will. 
They  forget  that  the  benevolence  of  God  is  manifested  in  the 
condemnation  of  sin,  and  in  the  punishment  of  error :  and 
that  the  love  of  Christ  has  been  shewn  in  the  endurance  of 
that  condemnation,  and  in  the  exhaustion  of  that  righteous 
punishment,  in  order  that  any  sinner  might  enjoy  the  bliss  of 
Heaven.  He  saves  from  sin,  not  in  sin.  Shall  his  followers 
then  be  found  subscribing  for  a  system  that  maintains  the 
idolatry  of  worshipping  a  wafer,  and  constrains  men's  wives 
and  sisters  and  daughters  to  pass  through  the  ordeal  of  a  filthy 
confessionary  inquisition  ?  Men  may  call  a  Nunnery  a  school, 
or  a  school  a  Nunnery : — we  care  not  for  the  name,  but  for 
the  thing ;  if  the  object  in  view  be  the  establishment  of  an 
Educational  Institution  for  Popery,  then  he  who  subscribes  to 
it,  does  virtually  subscribe  to  Popery  ;  and  in  doing  so  he 
identifies  his  property,  and  through  his  property,  he  identifies 
himself  with  all  that  has  ever  been  said  or  done  by  Papal 
Rome  as  Papal  Rome.  Infallibility,  immutability,  and  unity 
are  the  assumed  characteristics  of  her  system  ;  remove,  deny, 
qualify  these  assumptions,  so  much  as  in  one  hair-breadth, 
and  her  whole  individuality  is  gone.  Whatever  she  has 
said,  done,  or  required  in  the  past,  officially,  or  in  a  cor- 
porate capacity,  with  that  she  is  at  this  moment  perfectly 
identified  or  else  her  assumed  basis  is  a  lie.  Whatever  also  she 
is  in  her  corporate  capacity  in  any  one  part  of  the  world,  that 
must  she  be  declared  to  be  in  every  other  part  of  the  world, 
in  the  same  capacity  ;  this  because  she  is  one.  Is  it  benevo- 
lence to  subscribe  to  all  that  popery  has  been  and  now  is  ? 
Men  had  better  take  heed,  that  benevolence  of  heart  be  con- 
nected with  the  exercise  of  a  sound  judgment  and  of  a  pure 
conscience,  and  above  all  with  a  careful  adherence  to  the  word 
of  God.  All  other  charity  is  but  selfishness.  If  by  our  be- 
nevolence, we  encourage  Romanists  in  their  deadly  errors — 
tempt  Protestants  into  a  lukewarm  compromise  of  truth — iden- 
tify ourselves  with  a  condemned  apostacy — furnish  means  for 
educating  young  females  in  that  which  we  ourselves  reject  as 
false — throw  a  slight  on  the  memories  of  the  blessed  Reform- 
ers and  of  a  host  of  holy  martyrs, — but  above  all,  denv  our  faith 
3p2 


470       Protestant  Subscriptions  to  Popish  Institutions.  [Aug. 


openly  as  to  the  truths  of  God's  Word  which  we  profess  to  be- 
lieve— if  all  or  any  of  these  things  be  involved  in  a  Protestant's 
subscription  to  a  Popish  Nunnery,  (as  we  maintain  that  virtually 
though  not  intentionally,  they  are,)  then  say,  whether  such 
benevolence  be  not  indeed  mistaken,  and  whether  such  kind- 
ness be  not  directed  by  error !  Oh,  Protestant  friends  and 
brethren,  have  ye  no  channels  of  benevolence  more  consistent 
than  this  ?  Is  there  no  less  doubtful,  no  surer  way  of  doing 
good  to  the  neglected  daughters  of  Calcutta  than  this?  Why 
do  ye  not  arise  and  lead  forward  all  who  will  follow  to  the 
work  of  providing  for  them  the  means  of  education  in  a  form 
that  ye  know  and  believe  and  feel  to  be  true,  and  pure,  and 
good  ?  Go  call  together  your  friends  and  your  benevolent  ac- 
quaintances, and  bind  yourselves  in  bonds  of  love  to  subscribe 
and  act  for  the  instruction  of  the  daughters  of  Portugal  and 
Popery  that  live  around  you.  We  need  no  Ursuline  Nuns  ; 
we  have  Christian  sisters  of  our  own  that  will  do  the  work. 
It  is  now  doing,  and  it  shall  yet  more  be  done  ;  and  we  have  no 
doubt  that  this  mean  attempt  on  the  part  of  Rome  to  draw 
upon  the  benevolence  of  those  men  whose  religion  it  has  in 
its  corporate  capacity,  consigned  openly  by  its  decrees  for  the 
last  three  centuries  to  perdition,  will  recoil  upon  itself,  and 
stir  up  to  exertions  on  behalf  of  the  victims  of  error  and 
superstition  such  as  shall  aid  in  reclaiming  many  from  the 
dominion  of  the  "  Man  of  Sin/'  Christians  only  need  to  be 
roused.  Let  them  not  fear  a  storm  of  words.  The  God  of 
the  Bible  and  the  God  of  Reason  is  with  them.  Vile  names 
will  be  heaped  upon  them,  and  vile  motives  thrust  on  their 
acceptance ;  but  all  this  matters  nothing.  Oh  that  the  spirit 
of  our  reviled  forefathers  were  upon  us  !  Where  would  then  be 
the  Government  support  of  Roman  Apostacy,  clerical  union 
in  the  Martiniere  compromise  (a  "  fearful  experiment,"  as  it 
has  been  expressively  termed),  and  Protestant  subscriptions 
for  the  extension  of  Popish  Nunneries  ?  Benevolence  would 
then  flow  through  the  channel  which  God  hath  revealed  ;  igno- 
rance, indifference,  vanity,  weakness,  and  party  spirit  would 
flee  away  as  ashamed,  and  love  and  holiness  and  truth,  would 
in  blessed  tri-uuity,  regulate  and  convey  the  bounties  of  the 
children  of  God.  Oh  what  a  field  is  there  here  for  the 
destruction  of  error,  without  paying  for  its  further  diffusion  ! 

Brethren,  remember  what  is  written  concerning  her  that 
sitteth  on  the  seven  hills — "  And  1  heard  another  voice  from 
heaven,  saying,  Come  out  of  her  my  people,  that  ye  be  not 
partakers  of  her  sins,  and  that  ye  receive  not  of  her  plagues  ¥* 
Now  then,  if  ye  have  supported  her  institutions,  take  heed  lest 
the  Judge  find  you  partakers  of  her  sins.    Know  ye  not  what 


1840.]    New  Missionary  Station  at  Jellasore,  Orissa.  471 


next  must  follow  ?  Oh  despise  not  the  warnings  of  the  Bible  ! 
and  call  not  such  truths  antiquated  bigotry.  The  bigotry  of 
the  Bible  is  eternal  bigotry — and  the  doctrine  which  it  con- 
demns, is  eternally  condemned.  Seek  then  rather  to  save  men 
by  protesting  against  their  sins  and  errors,  than  to  encourage 
and  confirm  them  by  paying  to  educate  the  souls  of  the  young 
in  that  which  God  hath  condemned. 

Should  the  present  testimony  against  evil  be  noticed  by 
certain  parties  in  our  little  world  of  reading,  we  can  already 
almost  write  the  observations  that  will  be  made.  "  Protestant 
popery" — "  inquisitorial  personality" — "  malicious  declama- 
tion"— "  wretched  bigotry" — "  fire  and  faggot  zeal" — "  stir- 
ring up  of  strife" — "  calumniation  of  brethren" — "  conceited 
presumption  ;" — are  a  few  of  the  many  seals  of  judgment  which 
will  be  set  on  such  a  production.  Be  it  so — let  us  only  un- 
derstand each  other — these  are  but  names — God  is  judge  of 
things.  He  will  righteously  judge,  and  the  Bible  is  the 
standard  of  His  judgment.  To  it,  and  not  to  the  traditions 
of  ecclesiastics  or  politicians,  do  we  appeal.    *'  Happy  is  he 

THAT  CONDEMNETH    NOT    HIMSELF   IN   THAT    THING  WHICH 

he  a lloweth  !"    Yea,  truly  happy  is  he  ! 

J.  M.  D. 


VI. — American  Baptist  new  Missionary  Station  at  Jellasore, 

Orissa. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Dear  Sirs, 

It  will  probably  be  interesting  to  such  of  your  readers  as  watch  for  the 
prosperity  of  Zion  in  this  heathen  land,  to  learn  that  a  new  Missionary 
station  lias  been  commenced  at  this  place  the  present  year.  Jellasore 
is  a  large  village,  or  rather  a  collection  of  villages  situated  on  the  east 
bank  of  the  Subanrika,  forty  miles  from  Midnapore,  and  thirty-three 
from  Balasore  tbe  nearest  European  Station  to  it.  .The  surrounding 
country  is  populous  and  fertile.  Our  situation  is  directly  on  the  great 
Jagannath  road,  where  numerous  pilgrims  who  visit  that  shrine  daily 
pass  and  repass. 

Until  the  last  year,  this  part  of  the  province  of  Orissa  has  been  almost 
unknown  to  Missionary  efforts.  During  the  past  cold  season,  the  writer, 
accompanied  by  a  native  preacher,  travelled  extensively,  and  visited 
numerous  villages  and  markets  where  the  word  of  life  was  preached,  and 
a  large  number  of  tracts  and  portions  of  scripture  put  into  circulation. 

In  March  last  we  removed  from  Balasore  and  took  up  our  residence 
here.  We  also  brought  with  us  a  small  school  of  native  boarding  children. 
Since  we  have  been  here,  our  number  of  scholars  has  been  almost  doubled. 
We  have  now  twenty-six  in  all,  fourteen  boys  and  twelve  girls  ;  all  except 
three  are  able  to  read  and  those  which  have  been  with  us  any  length  of 


472        New  Missionary  Station  at  Jellasore,  Orissa.  [Aug. 


time  arc  making  very  encouraging  progress  in  learning.  Four  of  these 
children  have  hecn  with  us  about  three  years ;  all  the  rest  have  been  col- 
lected since  the  commencement  of  this  year.  One  of  those  the  longest 
with  us  made  a  profession  of  religion  and  was  baptized  littleless  than  a  year 
ago.     His  Christian  character  is  such  as  to  give  us  much  encouragement. 

The  great  distress  among  the  poorer  classes  of  people  occasioned  by  the 
scarcity  of  provision,  this  year,  induced  them  to  give  us  their  children. 
At  another  time  it  were  next  to  impossible  to  get  even  the  child  of  a  beg- 
gar to  educate,  on  Christian  principles,  so  great  is  the  attachment  to 
caste. 

The  children  we  have  taken  are  of  different  castes,  from  the  brahman 
down  to  the  metar,  one  a  follower  of  tbe  false  prophet.  But  they  are 
taught  to  forget  those  unhappy  distinctions  and  associate  together  as  the 
members  of  one  family. 

Most  of  these  poor  children  have  been  brought  to  us  by  their  parents, 
who  with  their  children,  were  in  a  state  of  abject  wretchedness.  I  will 
relate  an  incident  respecting  one  of  them,  a  girl  about  ten  years  old.  She 
was  brought  to  us  by  her  father  for  sale  !  !  As  we  chose  not  to  sanction 
tbe  traffic  in  human  flesh,  and  pay  four  rupees  the  price  demanded  for 
her,  the  father  very  quietly  walked  away,  saying,  he  would  sell  her  in 
the  bazar.  This  was  too  much  to  be  endured,  and  induced  a  reconsider- 
ation of  the  resolution  not  to  buy.  Purchasing  under  such  circumstances 
would  not  be  to  enslave,  but,  to  emancipate.  Application  was  made  to 
a  Christian  lady  to  pay  the  sum  required  and  receive  this  worse  than 
orphan  girl  from  the  vortex  of  ruin.  But  when  her  consent  had  been 
obtained  the  girl  was  not  to  be  found,  and  we  feared  all  was  over  with 
her.  However,  the  father  returned  with  her  the  next  day,  and  said  the 
people  in  the  bazar  would  not  allow  him  to  sell  his  daughter  for  a. prosti- 
tute, that  if  he  did,  she  would  fall  into  hell  !  But  it  is  to  be  feared  that 
the  want  of  a  purchaser  who  would  give  his  price  weighed  more  in  the 
mind  of  this  unnatural  father,  than  the  fear  that  his  child  would  fall  into 
hell.  Surely  such  men  are  "  without  natural  affection."  The  girl  is  now 
doing  well  in  school,  and  is  proving  one  of  our  best  scholars.  May  she 
have  a  heart  given  her  to  thank  God  for  her  narrow  escape  from  a  life 
of  infamy  and  a  death  of  despair. 

Besides  attending  to  their  studies  twice  a  day,  the  children  are  taught 
to  labour  with  their  own  hands.  The  boys  cultivate  the  soil,  and  the  girls, 
besides  doing  their  own,  and  the  boys  cooking,  are  taught  to  use  the 
wheel  and  needle. 

The  importance  of  a  system  of  manual  labour,  connected  with  a 
boarding  school  for  native  children,  especially  such  as  have  always  lived  in 
the  greatest  poverty,  must  be  abundantly  evident  to  every  one  acquainted 
with  the  subject.  Daily  exercise  is  absolutely  requisite  for  the  preserva- 
tion of  health,  and.  labour  may  be  rendered  almost  as  inviting  to  children 
as  play;  and  at  the  same  time  they  may  earn  something  towards  defray- 
ing their  own  expences.  This  would  have  a  tendency  to  render  manual 
labour  respectable  both  among  Christians  and  heathen,  and  obviate  an 
almost  universal  objection  against  charity-schools  in  this  country,  that 
the  children  taught  in  them  too  soon  become  high-minded  and  forget 
"the  hole  of  the  pit  whence  they  have  been  digged.'' 

We  have  procured  a  small  piece  of  land  for  our  boys  to  work  on, 
though  the  season  had  so  far  advanced  when  we  commenced,  that  little 
will  be  realized  this  year. 

We  have  at  present  two  interesting  inquirers,  one  a  brahman,  the  other 
a  Teli,  (oil-man.)  Both  have  broken  caste,  and  appear  encouraging. 
The  brahman  is  now  employed  as  a  teacher  in  the  school,  and  the  Teli, 
labours  as  a  cooly. 


1840.]        Hindustani  Versions  of  the  Scriptures. 


473 


We  have  a  native  preacher  with  us  whose  labours  are  principally 
devoted  to  the  heathen.  Also  a  native  Christian  and  wife  who  assist  us 
in  taking  care  of  the  children.  For  the  entire  support  of  both  these 
Christian  labourers,  and  the  twenty-six  boarding  children,  we  have  at 
present  scarcely  forty  rupees  in  hand.  Owing  to  this  sudden  increase  our 
funds  have  been  expended,  and  several  months  must  yet  elapse  before  the 
usual  time  to  receive  our  remittances,  and  a  still  longer  time  before 
arrangements  can  be  made  to  furnish  the  means  for  sustaining  the  school 
as  it  is  now  so  much  increased.  Owing  also  to  the  want  of  funds,  we 
have  not  been  able  to  build  more  than  two  mud  houses  for  the  school 
children  to  live  in.  Hence  we  are  obliged  to  keep  school,  and  have  our 
meetings  for  worship,  all  in  our  own  bungalow.  To  avoid  this  inconve- 
nience, we  wish  as  soon  as  practicable  after  the  close  of  the  rains,  to  erect 
a  building  which  may  answer  the  double  purpose  of  school-room,  and 
chapel,  until  such  time  as  the  state  of  our  funds  will  admit  of  our  build- 
ing again.  A  building  of  this  kind  made  of  cheap  materials  might  be 
erected  for  a  hundred  and  fifty  rupees. 

Under  these  circumstances  we  have  thought  an  appeal  to  the  liberality 
of  the  benevolent  in  this  country  for  aid  in  behalf  of  our  school  to  be  jus- 
tifiable, and  called  for.  The  present  is  not  an  ordinary  case,  and  the  like 
may  not  soon  occur  again.  Certainly  no  Christian  or  philanthropist 
could  condemn  the  effort  made  to  provide  for  the  support  and  education 
of  these  destitute  children.  All  would  rather  rejoice,  that  they  have 
been  rescued  from  temporal  death,  and  unite  in  prayer  to  God  for  their 
deliverance  from  the  power  of  the  second  death. 

To  such,  therefore,  of  our  friends  as  take  an  interest  in  the  present 
and  future  welfare  of  the  needy  and  destitute,  we  present  this  simple 
statement  of  our  case,  and  shall  feel  truly  grateful  to  any  who  may  be 
disposed  to  aid  us  in  this  object.  As  we  are  not  at  a  European  station 
we  are  of  course  unable  to  collect  any  thing  for  the  school  ourselves. 
Any  donation  which  may  be  made  for  this  object,  can  be  forwarded  per 
dak,  to  the  writer  at  Jellasore,  or,  if  more  conveuient,  to  the  Editors  of 
the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 

Jellasore,  Orissa,  July  15th,  1840. 

J.  PHILLIPS. 


VII. — Strictures  on  the  Hindustani  Versions  of  the  Calcutta 
Auxiliary  Bible  Society. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Dear  Sirs, 

It  is  not  my  intention  to  write  a  critical  review  of  the  Hindustani 
Versions  published  by  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bible  Society,  and  to  be 
had,  on  application,  at  their  Depository,  but  to  confine  my  strictures  to 
the  indefensible  mode  of  rendering  the  terms  referring  to  Church  Go- 
vernment. 

I.    Mr.  Martyn's  Version. 

1.  EkkAtjo-io,  Church  or  Congregation  is  left  untranslated  in  most 
places,  but  in  Acts  xix.  39,  40,  it  is  rendered  by  Mahfil. 

2.  EiricrKoiros,  Overseer,  he  has  translated  in  the  important  passage 
in  Acts  xx.  28,  by  Nigahbdn  ;  Phil.  i.  1,  1  Tim.  iii.  1,  2,  Tit.  i.  7, 


474  Hindustani  Versions  of  the  Scriptures.  [Aug. 


by  Isquf  (a  corruption  of  Bishop),  and  1  Pet.  ii.  25,  again  by  Ni* 
gahbdn. 

3.  AtaKovos<  Deacon,  he  has  translated  in  most  places  by  Khddim, 
but  in  John  ii.  9,  by  Chdkar,  1  Cor.  iii.  5,  by  Khidmat  karnewdld, 
Gal.  ii.  17,  by  Sabab  ;  in  the  important  passages  of  1  Tim.  iii.  8,  12, 
which  refer  to  the  official  character  of  Deacons,  by  Khidmat  karne- 
wdle  ! 

4.  npeo-pvrepos,  Elder,  he  has  translated  in  Matthew  v.  2,  by  Mu- 
taqaddim;  in  Luke  vii.  3,  Acts  xi.  30,  1  Tim.  v.  1,  2,  17,  19, 
Tit.  i.  5,  1  Pet.  v.  5,  Revel,  iv.  4,  v.  5,  6,  8,  11,  14,  vii. 
11,  13,  xiv.  3,  xix.  4,  by  Buzurg  ;  in  Acts  xiv.  23,  xv.  2,  4,  6,  22, 
23,  xvi.  4,  xx.  17,  xxi.  18,  xxiii.  14,  xxv.  15,  by  Peshwa  ;  John 
viii.  9,  Acts  ii.  17,  by  Burhd,  and  James  v.  14,  and  1  Pet.  v.  1,  by 
Qasis ;  in  all  other  places  by  Mashdikh. 

Upe<x$vT€piov>  he  has  translated  in  Luke  xxii.  66 ;  Acts  xxii.  5,  by 
Mashdikh ;  I  Tim.  iv.  14,  by  the  plural  of  Qasis. 

Thus  he  has  called  the  presbyters  of  the  Jews'  synagogue  by  three 
names,  viz.  Mutaqaddim,  Buzurg  and  Mashdikh  ;  and  the  Presbyters 
of  the  Christian  Church  also  by  three  names,  viz.  Buzurg,  Peshwd 
and  Qasis  ! 

II.  Mr.  Bowley's  translation  of  the  Gospel  of  Mark  and  John. 
Published  by  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bible  Society,  and  to  be  had  at 
their  Depository. 

I  have  the  highest  respect  for  Mr.  Bowley's  Missionary  character. 
He  has  done  more  for  the  Hindustani  language  by  his  translations  of 
tracts  and  books  than  any  other  man.  The  whole  Missionary  body  in 
Hindustan  is  under  the  highest  obligation  to  him.  He  first  opposed 
the  pedantry  of  the  Hindustani  style  and  wrote  such  easy  Hindustani 
as  to  be  understood  by  all,  for  which  he  was  once  greatly  abused  by  all 
parties,  but  he  remained  firm.  His  version  of  Mark  and  John  is  good, 
but  some  of  the  terms  are  very  objectionable.  He  has  translated  Up0v 
and  uabs,  temple,  by  Girja,  the  Portuguese  Igreja,  which  according  to 
Shakespear  is  a  corruption  of  eKK\ri<rla ;  Upcvs,  priest,  by  the  Portuguese  or 
Roman  Catholic  term  of  Pddri,  i.  e.  Father,  from  the  Latin  Pater  ; 
apxiepevs,  the  high-priest  of  the  Jews  by  Sarddr  (-«>,  head  and  affix 
dar,  headman,  chief),  Pddri,  literally,  the  headman  or  chief  of  the 
Fathers,  which  in  the  language  of  the  Portuguese  or  Roman  Catholics 
of  India  means  the  Pope  of  Rome,  but  the  Natives  of  Hindustan  do 
not  apply  it  to  that  individual ;  irpe<r0uTepos  by  Buzurg,  Elder  ;  ypap-ixarw 
by  Likhnewala,  writer  or  Scribe. 

Flere  is  a  specimen  of  the  Version  from  Mark  xiv.  53. 

Tab  we  I'sa  ko  Sardar  Padri  ke  pas,  jahan  sab  Sardar  Padri  aur 
Buzurg  jama  the,  le  gae.  Aur  Patras  dur  dur  us  ke  pichhe  pichhe 
Sardar  Padri  ke  ghar  men  aya,  aur  naukaron  ke  sath  baithke  ag  tapne 
laga.  Tab  Sardar  P^fdri  aur  sari  majlis  qatl  karne  ko  I'sa  par  gawalii 
dliundhte  the,  par  na  pai.  Agarchi  bahuton  ne  us  par  jhuthi  gawahi 
di,  par  un  ki  gawaliiari  na  milti  thi.  Tab  lidzon  ne  uthke  us  par  yih 
jhuthi  gawalii  di  ki  Ham  ne  use  kahtesuna  ki  Main  hath  ke  banae  hue  is 
Girja  ko  dhaunga,  aur  tin  din  men  ek  dusre  ko  baghair  hatli  se  khara 
karuiiga.  Us  par  bbi  unki  gawalii  na  mill.  Tab  Sardar  Padri  ne  bich 
men  khara  hoke  use  puchha,  &c. 


1840.]        Hindustani  Versions  of  the  Scriptures. 


4/5 


Here  is  a  literal  and  faithful  English  version  of  the  above  in  which 
1  have  deviated  from  the  authorized  translation  as  little  as  possible. 

"  Then  they  led  Jesus  away  to  the  Chief  Father,  with  whom  were 
assembled  all  the  Chief  Fathers  and  Elders  and  Scribes.  And  Peter 
followed  him  afar  off,  even  into  the  house  of  the  Chief  Father:  and  he 
sat  with  the  servants  and  warmed  himself  at  the  fire.  And  the  Chief 
Father  and  all  the  council  sought  for  witness  against  Jesus  to  put  him 
to  death  ;  and  found  none.  For  many  bare  false  witness  against  him, 
but  their  witness  agreed  not  together.  And  there  arose  certain  and 
bare  false  witness  against  him  saying,  '  We  have  heard  him  say,  I  will 
pull  down  this  Church  that  is  made  with  hands,  and  within  three  days, 
without  hands,  establish  another.'  But  neither  so  did  their  witness 
agree  together.  Then  the  Chief  Father  arising  in  their  midst  asked 
him,"  &c. 

in.  The  Gospel  of  Luke  and  the  Acts  translated  by  "  the  Banaras 
Translation  Committee."  Published  by  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bible 
Society,  and  to  be  had  at  their  Depository. 

This  Committee  was  formed  about  five  years'  ago,  and  originally 
»  omposed  of  Messrs.  Buyers,  Mather,  Shurman,  of  the  London  Society  ; 
of  Messrs.  Smith,  Leupolt  and  the  late  Mr.  Knorpp  of  the  Church 
Mission  ;  of  Mr.  Smith  of  the  Baptist  Mission,  at  Banaras ;  of  Mr. 
Bowie;  at  Chunar,  and  Mr.  Start  at  Patn;-..    Mr.  Bowley,  Mr.  Smith, 
of  the  Baptist  Mission,  and  all  the  Missionaries  of  the  London  Society 
at  Banaras  have  withdrawn,  and  Mr.  Start,  I  believe,  has  not  joined  it 
again  since  his  return  from  England,  but  I  cannot  speak  positively  on 
this  point.    The  correspondence  in  the  name  of  the  "Banaras  Transla- 
tion Committee"  is,  I  believe,  carried  on  at  present  by  the  Church  Mis- 
sionaries at  Banaras  and  Mr.  Mather,  of  Mirzapur,  alone.  In  this  version 
iKK\ri<noi  and  twHTKoiros  are  left  untranslated.    npea&vTepos  is  translated 
Buzurg  when  it  refers  to  the  Jews'  synagogue,  and  left  untranslated 
when  it  refers  to  the  Christian  Church.    This  is  very  objectionable. 
In  every  able  treatise  on  Church  Government  these  questions  are  dis- 
cussed.   I.    Was  the  Government  of  the  Apostolic  Church,  taken 
from  the  synagogue  ?    II.    Was  the  office  of  a  Presbyter  in  the  syna- 
gogue corresponding  to  that  of  a  Presbyter  in  the  Church  ?    III.  Was 
the  office  of  a  bishop  different  from  that  of  a  presbyter,  or  do  both  terms 
denote  one  and  the  same  office,  the  one  being  more  consonant  to  the 
mode  of  speaking  among  the  Jewish  converts,  and  the  other  more  con- 
sonant to  the  mode  of  speaking  among  the  genuine  Greek  and  Gentile 
converts  ?     I  cannot  discuss  these  questions  in  your  Observer,  nor 
will  I  even  go  so  far  as  to  express  my  own  opinion  for  fear  of  trans- 
gressing your  rules,  and  having  my  article  sent  back  "  bearing," 
and  getting  blamed  on  the  cover  of  the  Observer  in  your  Editorial 
Notices  ;  but  so  much  I  may  venture  to  say,  that  in  the  discussion  of 
these  questions,  the  version  of  the  "  Banaras  Translation  Committee" 
will  not  bear  us  out, — a  reference  to  the  Greek  becomes  necessary, 
which  is  very  undesirable,  and  can  easily  be  obviated  by  leaving  the 
term  in  all  places  untranslated,  as  the  Missionaries  of  the  London  Mis- 
sionary Society  at  Banaras  have  done  in  their  version  of  the  New 

VOL.  I.         >    3  Q 


4/6 


Hindustani  Versions  of  the  Scriptures.  [Aug. 


Testament,  or  by  translating  it  in  all  places  as  the  Calcutta  Baptist 
Missionaries  have  done  in  their  translation  of  the  New  Testament. 

There  is,  however,  a  more  serious  objection  to  this  Banaras  version. 
Tliey  have  entirely  obscured  in  the  sixth  Chapter  of  the  Acts,  the  im- 
portant institution  of  the  StMovla  in  the  Apostolic  Church.  They  have 
determined  to  leave  the  terms  of  bishop  and  deacon  untranslated  when,  in 
their  opinion,  they  express  certain  offices,  as  in  Phi.  j.  1,  in  which  verse 
the  Apostle  Paul  greets  the  bishops  and  deacons  of  the  Church.  Now, 
as  they  in  the  Epistles  will  leave  the  term  in  some  places  untranslated, 
they  ought,  in  my  humble  opinion,  to  have  rendered  the  important 
passage  in  Acts  vi.  in  which  we  read  a  detailed  account  of  the  institu- 
tion and  purporse  of  the  SiaKovla  as  the  Missionaries  of  the  London 
Society  at  Banaras  have  done  in  their  version,  viz.  "Aurundinon 
men,  jab  shagird  ziyada  bote  the,  Yiinani  log  Ibranion  se  yih  takrar 
karue  lage,  ki  Turn  log  roz  roz  ki  diyakuni  men  haniari  bewon  ki  kha- 
bar  nabin  lete  ho.  Tab  un  barah  ne  shagirdon  ki  jamaat  ko  ikatthe 
bulake  kaha,  ki  Ham  ko  achchha  nahin  lagta  ki  Khuda  ke  kalam  ko 
chhorke  mezon  ki  diyakuni  karen.  So,  ai  bhaio,  turn  ap  men  se  sit 
muatabar  mard,  jo  Buh  i  Quds  aur  danai  se  bhare  howen,  chuno,  ki 
bam  unhen  is  kam  par  muqarrar  karen ;  aur  ham  bandagi  aur  kalam 
ki  diyakuni  men  mashghul  rahenge."  In  this  version  the  institution 
and  purpose  of  the  SiaKovia  in  the  Apostolic  Church  are  as  clearly  ex- 
pressed as  in  the  original  Greek.  When  in  the  Epistles  of  this  trans- 
lation instructions  and  exhortations  are  addressed  to  the  deacons,  every 
man,  woman  and  child  will  know  from  this  passage  what  the  duties  of 
the  deacons  were  and  are.  No  explanation,  no  interpretation,  no  expound- 
ing is  necessary.  Now  "  The  Banaras  Translation  Committee"  have 
used  in  this  passage  two  Hindustani  terms  for  the  Greek  Siaxocia, 
namely,  khabargiri  and  khidmat,  and  when  they  in  the  Epistles  leave 
SiaKovos  untranslated,  no  reader  will  a  possibly  can  know  what  the 
duties  of  his  office  were  and  are.  Teachers  of  Christian  Churches  who 
adopt  this  version  will  be  obliged  to  say,  that,  in  the  original  Greek  there 
is  but  one  word  for  the  two  in  the  translation,  namely,  SiaKovla,  which 
means  the  office  and  work  of  a  deacon,  and  that  the  translation  is  ob- 
scure and  wrong  in  this  particular  instance  at  least,  and  that  this  fact 
proves  the  desirableness,  and  even  the  necessity  of  studying  the  Greek 
language.  But  the  translators  of  this  version  might  say,  "  We  will 
translate  in  the  Epistles  Simovos  by  khadim,  then  this  matter  will  be 
right."  Not  quite  so.  In  this  case  they  ought  not  to  have  khabargiri, 
and  ought  also  to  have  translated  ivtsKoiros  as  the  Baptist  Missionaries 
have  done  in  their  version.  All  the  terms  referring  to  Church 
Government  should  be  translated  in  an  uniform  manner  in  all  places. 

I  think  the  best  plan  is  to  translate  all  the  words,  and  the  best  Hin- 
dustani terms,  are,  in  my  humble  opinion,  the  following : 

1.  EKK\r}aia,  Hebrew  Vnp,  congregation,  assembly,  can  in  all  places 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  be  translated  by  Jamaat.  Bishop  An- 
thony, of  Agra,  has  in  his  Catechism  of  the  Christian  Religion,  which  is 
before  me,  invariably  used  Pcifc  Katuliki  Jamaat. 

2.  Xwaywyq,  congregation,  assembly  ;  place  or  house  of  the  assem- 
bly.   It  is  synonymous  with  tKK\i)<nd  for  which  James  ii.  2,  uses  it.  It 


1840.]  History  of  Bengal.  477 

can  in  all  places  be  translated  by  Mahfil  which  means  a  meeting  and  a 
meeting-house. 

3.  %weZpwv,  session,  council,  can  in  all  places  be  translated  by 
Majlis. 

4.  Eiri<r/coiror,  overseer,  can  in  all  places  be  translated  by  Nigah- 
ban.  In  the  Khiradafroz  and  other  native  works,  kings  are  addressed 
by  this  title,  which  is  a  certain  proof,  that  those  persons  are  in  the 
wrong,  who  say  that  Ni»  ikliban  means  nothing  but  a  common  chokidar. 

5.  Eino-KOTrrj,  oversight,  can  in  all  places  be  translated  by  Niguh- 
bdnt. 

6.  EviffKo-irfw,  to  oversee,  can  in  all  places  be  translated  by  Nigdh- 
bani  karnd. 

7.  AidKovos,  a  servant  who  serves  volantarily,  can  in  all  places  be 
translated  by  Khadim. 

8.  Aianovia,  service,  can  in  all  places  be  translated  by  Khidmat. 

9.  AiaKovta,  to  serve,  can  in  all  places  be  rendered  by  Khidmat 
karnd. 

10.  npefffrvrepor,  elder,  senior,  can,  I  believe,  in  all  places  be  trans- 
lated by  Buzurg. 

1 1 .  npeaPurepiov,  an  assembly  of  presbyters,  can  in  all  places,  be 
translated  by  Buzurgon  ki  majlis,  or  by  the  plural  of  Buzurg. 

Yours, 

Concordance. 

\2th  June,  1840. 


VIII. — Notice  of  "  An  Abridgment  of  the  History  of  Ben- 
gal, under  British  administration.  By  Chas.  J.  S.  Mon- 
tague." Calcutta,  1840. 

There  is  no  branch  of  unrevealed  knowledge  more  practically  useful 
tlian  history,  which  as  it  lias  been  said,  furnishes  the  young  with  the 
experience  of  the  old,  and  is,  as  it  were,  a  compensation  furnished  by  a 
merciful  God  for  the  boon  of  longevity  which  by  our  sin  we  have  forfeit- 
ed. This  is  clearly  pointed  out  by  the  highest  of  all  authority  in  the 
fact  that  the  greater  part  of  the  inspired  volume  consists  of  narrative. 
After  that  history  which  God  has  selected  to  be  written  by  his  own  in- 
spiration, the  history  of  our  native  land  ought  in  fairness  to  occupy  the 
next  place  in  the  historical  department  of  a  useful  education,  and  there- 
fore it  is  that,  watching  as  we  do  with  so  intense  an  interest  over  every 
thing  that  is  connected  with  the  education  of  the  people  of  this  vast 
country,  we  do  not  like  to  allow  any  school-book  to  appear  without  at 
least  a  passing  notice. 

But. there  are  reasons  why  the  Natives  of  this  country — (we  use  the 
term  in  a  wider  sense  than  is  usual  and  include  all  whether  aboriginal  or 
not  whose  nativity  has  been  placed  and  whose  education  is  to  be  conduc- 
ted in  this  land) — we  say,  there  are  reasons  why  the  natives  of  this  coun- 
try should  be  made  acquainted  with  its  history  which  do  not  apply  with 
the  same  force  to  the  people  of  any  country  in  the  world.  If  we  could 
afford  an  article  we  might  well  bestow  it  upon  these  reasons,  but  we  must 
content  ourselves  with  the  most  cursory  glance  at  then*. 
3  q  2 


4/"8 


History  of  Benyal. 


[Aug. 


British  India  is  a  conquered  country.  It  is  subject  to  a  power  whose 
seat  and  centre  are  far  away,  therefore  it  were  not  surprising  that  the 
people,  exercising  their  human  right  of  inquiry  and  discussion  might 
imbibe  a  spirit  of  discontent  and  long  for  the  chimerical  restoration  of 
their  ancient  native  dynasties.  But  unlike  almost  any  other  conquest, 
that  of  India  has  been  a  great  blessing  to  the  people.  They  are  governed 
as  freemen  and  not  as  before  as  slaves ;  they  are  treated  as  subjects  of 
a  free  government  instead  of  being  used  as  they  were  before  as  the  serfs 
and  vassals  of  capricious  despots.  How  great  then  is  the  importance  of 
letting  tli is  be  actually  known  to  them,  so  that  instead  of  being  deluded 
with  the  name  of  liberty  and  self-government,  they  may  prize  their 
privileges  and  honour  their  rulers,  as  indeed  in  the  strictest  sense  minis- 
ters of  God  to  them  for  good. 

But  further.  The  conquest  and  the  retension  of  India  by  great  Bri- 
tain are  phenomena  of  a  class  distinct  from  all  others  recorded  in  history. 
It  is  a  standing  miracle  evidently  produced  by  the  finger  of  God  for  the 
sake  of  producing  higher  and  greater  ends  than  any  that  have  yet  been 
attained.  Whether  we  look  at  the  instruments  by  which  it  was  achieved 
—  a  company  of  humble  merchants;  or  whether  we  consider  the  mode 
in  which  our  eastern  possessions  were  forced  upon  us,  we  must  come  to 
the  conclusion  that  there  was  from  first  to  last  a  high  and  mysterious 
providence  at  work  in  order  to  give  Christian  Britain  so  vast  a  moral 
influence  over  idolatrous  and  degraded  India.  Let  all  this  be  taught  to 
the  natives  of  the  country,  and  let  them  be  accustomed  to  reflect  upon 
it  and  it  will,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  operate  most  powerfully  to  wean 
them  from  their  superstitious  prejudices  and  cause  them  to  cease  their 
opposition  to  that  mighty  enterprise  which  Heaven  designs  to  accom- 
plish by  the  subjugation  of  India  to  the  British  sceptre.  Let  each  native 
be  accustomed  to  look  upon  it  not  only  in  the  gross  but  with  a  personal 
application  to  himself.  Let  him  be  led  to  think  that  this  has  been  done, 
that  thrones  have  been  overturned  and  ancient  dynasties  overthrown  in 
order  that  from  day  to  day  the  gospel  might  be  preached  without  let  or 
hindrance  to  me:  so  let  him  be  taught  to  consider  his  own  personal  con- 
version to  Christianity  as  actually  a  matter  dictated  by  the  finger  of 
Providence,  as  well  as  the  word  of  inspiration  and  the  warm  appeals  of 
the  gospel.  Thus  again  we  see  the  vast  importance  of  making  the  His- 
tory of  India  a  branch  of  our  scholastic  course. 

Mr.  Montague  has  a  formidable  competitor  for  the  countenance  of  the 
Teaching  community  in  Mr.  Marshman,  whose  History  of  Bengal  and 
other  school  books,  have  been  so  extensively  used  in  India.  As  we  do 
not  think  these  books  by  any  means  the  best  possible,  we  are  glad  of  any 
thing  that  may  have  the  effect  of  producing  emulation  and  in  the  end 
furnishing  one  good  book.  Before  Mr.  Montague,  however,  can  compete 
with  Mr.  Marshman,  he  must  labour  hard  to  attain  correctness  and  sim- 
plicity of  diction,  accuracy  of- narration,  and  soundness  of  inference.  If 
we  might  offer  him  any  advice  we  would  venture  to  suggest  that  the  value 
of  the  book  as  a  school  book  would  not  be  diminished  by  the  omission  of 
the  concluding  Essay.  W'e  have  no  doubt  that  if  a  second  edition  of  the 
work  be  called  for,  the  author  profiting  by  the  strictures  of  our  contempo- 
raries and  our  own  kindly  hints,  will  render  it  a  much  better  book  in 
many  respects  than  it  is  now.    As  it  is,  it  is  a  respectable  compilation. 


1810]  Poetry.  4/9 


To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 

Gentlemen, 

If  the  following  lines  he  deemed  worthy  of  insertion  in  the  pages  of 
your  periodical,  they  are  much  at  your  service. 

Anne. 

Monghyr,  May,  1840. 

"  Faint  yet  pursuing." — Judges  viii.  4. 

"  My  course  on  Zion's  heavenly  road 

Already  though  begun, 
My  anxious  bosom  bears  a  load, 

And  clouded  is  my  sun  ; 
Assnil'd  on  every  side  by  fears, 

Hope's  influence  sweet  withdrawn, 
1  sigh,  I  groan,  and  many  tears 

I  shed  from  early  dawn. 

"  My  journey  is  a  dreary  one, 

And  weary  are  my  feet  ; 
But  fainting  though  I  struggle  on 

A  glimpse  of  hope  to  meet : 
I  all  my  dreams  of  earth  forsook 

That  I  might  heav'n  pursue, 
And  backward  now  I  dare  not  look 

Whatever  may  ensue. 

"  Let  wildest  tempests  o'er  me  blow, 

And  thunders  loud  appal! 
Jehovah  bids!  and  I  must  go, 

Though  "  seven  times"  I  fall ; 
My  father's  home  I'll  keep  in  view 

As  onward  still  I  press; 
Though  faint  I  be,  1  must  pursue 

And  surely,  He  will  bless  !" 

As  thus  the  faithful  Christian  cries 

With  eye  uplift  to  pray, 
He  feels  new  vigour  as  he  flies, 

And  Hope's  refulgent  ray  : 
"  O  haste  thee  on,"  his  Lord  replies, 

"  Hardships  still  enduring  ; 

O  haste  away  to  reach  the  skies, 
Fainting,  yet  pursuing !" 


480  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence*  [Aug. 

4Htjtet0narri>  airtr  3UUgt0itg  Intelligence. 


1. —  Missionary  and  Ecclesiastical  Movements. 
We  regret  to  state  that  the  Rev.  W.  Fyvie,  the  indefatigable  and  long 
resident  Missionary  of  the  London  Society  at  Surat,  departed  this  life 
on  the  10th  of  June,  of  bilious  fever.  Mr.  F.  had  been  about  20  years  at 
Surat.  He  was  a  good  man  and  full  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  His  end  was 
,  peace. — The  Rev.  G.  Pffander  has  undertaken  pro  tempore  the  pastor- 
ship of  the  Native  Church  at  A'garpara. — The  Rev.  M.  Gordon  and  Mrs. 
G.,  late  of  the  Madras  London  Mission,  have  reached  England  in  safety 
and  with  improved  health. — W'e  regret  to  learn  that  the  health  of  the 
Rev.  W.  Campbell,  of  Bangalore,  is  such  as  to  prevent  his  return  to  India, 
at  least  for  the  present. — The  Rev.  W.  Glen  has  arrived  at  his  station, 
Moorshedabad,  and  commenced  his  labours.  May  the  Lord  long  spare 
him  to  labour  in  that  vast  field  with  great  success. — We  regret  to  an- 
nounce the  death  of  Mrs.  Innes,  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  J.  Innes,  Acting 
Secretary  to  the  Church  Missionary  Society:  she  departed  this  life  in 
peaceful  triumph  on  the  15th  of  June.  Mrs.  I.  had  not  been  many  months 
in  the  country :  she  having  arrived  in  the  same  vessel  with  the  late  Rev. 
W.  H.  Pearce,  whose  happy  spirit  she  has  joined  in  another  and  better 
w  orld. — Rev.  Mr.  Wallis  has  arrived  at  Bishop's  College  as  a  Missionary 
from  the  Propagation  Society. — The  Church  Mission  at  Kishnagur 
has  been  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  two  brethren  from  Europe. 
The  work  at  Kishnagur  is  going  on,  we  are  happy  to  hear,  very 
satisfactorily. — The  last  accounts  from  the  Bishop  speak  of  his  con- 
tinued health,  activity  and  usefulness. — The  London  Society  expect  a 
re-inforcement  of  Missionaries  at  the  Banaras  station  in  a  short  time. 
Thus  do  we  see  one  and  another  carried  off  the  scene  of  life  and 
labor,  and  others  full  of  life  and  vigor  coming  to  occupy  their  posts  and 
carry  on  their  work.  Oh,  may  we  all  feel  the  necessity  of  working 
while  it  is  yet  day  and  that  with  all  our  might. 

2. — The  Monthly  Missionary  Prayer  Meeting 
Was  held  last  month  at  the  Union  Chapel.    The  address,  delivered  by 
the  Rev.  T.  Boaz,  was  on  the  instruction  afforded  to  the  Church  from  the 
occurrences  of  the  day  of  Pentecost.    The  devotional  parts  of  the  service 
were  engaged  in  by  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Piffard  and  Evvart. 

3. — New  Hospitals. 
The  physical  ills  to  which  flesh  is  heir  are  in  every  land  many,  but  in 
this  they  are  very  numerous  and  afflictive.  Every  well-directed  and 
hopeful  attempt,  therefore,  to  ameliorate  them  should  meet  with  the 
prompt  and  prayerful  aid  of  every  man  and  especially  of  every  Christian. 
We  have  much  pleasure  in  announcing  that  Dr.  Brett  has  once  more 
appeared  amongst  us,  aud  is  about  to  establish  his  hospital  for  the  relief 
of  the  native  diseased  poor.  We  understand  that  the  Governor  General 
and  other  influential  members  of  Society  have  promised  aid  to  Dr.  B., 
provided  he  can  give  hope  that  the  New  establishment  will  be  likely  to 
continue  its  operations  in  case  of  his  removal.  Dr.  Mitchell  has  also  put 
forth  a  Prospectus  for  a  new  Medical  Hospital  and  Dispensary  for  indi- 
gent Christians.  Both  are  needed  and  both  promise  such  great  good  on 
an  economical  scale  that  we  cannot  but  cordially  recommend  them  to  the 
favorable  consideration  of  the  public,  and  sincerely  pray  that  they  may 
effect  all  the  good,  yea  even  more  than  contemplated  by  their  benevolent 
projectors. 


1840.]  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  481 


4. — New  Native  Schools. 
The  Vedists  and  other  enlightened  native  gentlemen  have  opened 
three  or  four  new  Schools  for  native  youth  in  and  about  Calcutta  during 
the  last  month.  This  all  augurs  well.  May  the  feeling  set  in  shortly 
amongst  the  natives,  that  the  most  effectual  way  to  recommend  them- 
selves to  the  notice  of  their  more  enlightened  fellow-men  and  of  bene- 
fitting their  country  is  by  the  establishment  of  schools.  It  will  be  a 
noble  sight  to  see  the  wealthy  natives  emulating  each  other  in  such  a 
work. 


5. — Capt.  Whelbk  and  the  Oriental  Observer. 
The  Oriental  Observer  of  the  25th  July,  contains  one  of  the  most 
shameless  and  undisguised  attacks  upon  Capt.  Wheeler,  of  Agra,  and 
through  him  upon  every  pious  officer  in  the  Company's  Army,  that  it  has 
ever  been  our  lot  to  peruse,  at  least  from  those  who  "  are  the  earnest 
friends  to  the  diffusion  of  the  tight  of  the  gospel  in  India."  The  sin  of  which 
Capt.  Wheler  is  guilty  in  the  estimation  of  the  Oriental  Observer,  is  that 
of  distributing  religious  tracts  and  books  !  The  Oriental  Observer  mo- 
destly and  liberally  enough  begs  to  call  the  attention  of  the  Governor  Ge- 
neral and  His  Excellency  the  Commander-in-Chief  to  an  extract  from  a 
letter  addressed  by  Capt.  W .  to  the  Secretary  of  the  Calcutta  Tract  Socie- 
ty and  inserted  in  the  Report  of  that  institution  in  the  year  1839  !  !  !  Sure- 
ly the  Oriental  Observer  must  have  been  hard  driven  for  a  subject  on  which 
to  wreak  his  vengeance  upon  the  religious  portion  of  the  community  to 
seek  for  matter  against  an  upright  and  zealous  officer  of  the  Company's 
service  in  an  old  Report  of  a  religious  institution.  We  connot  now, 
the  paper  having  reached  us  so  late  in  the  month,  offer  any  lengthened 
remarks  upon  it ;  we  will,  however,  not  fail  to  do  this  in  our  next.  In 
the  mean  time  our  readers  may  judge  of  the  spirit  and  temper  of  the 
article  by  the  following  expressions.  The  writer  "  would  most  heartily 
rejoice  to  hear  that,  if  after  due  warning,  any  officer  in  the  service  per- 
sists in  following  out  this  silly  notion,"  (extending  the  knowledge  of 
Christ)  "  he  be  brought  to  a  court  martial  and  dismissed  the  service  !" 
How  fortunate  that  the  Editor  of  the  O.  O.  is  not  the  Commander-in- 
Chief! — and  yet  we  doubt  not  but  that  he  is  one  of  the  many  who  are 
loud  in  their  cry  for  liberty  of  conscience  !  Again  "  the  over-righte- 
ous"— "  new  species  of  martyrdom" — "  He  cannot  indulge  his  fancy  of 
serving  God  by  distributing  religious  tracts" — "  a  drunken  man  distri- 
buting temperance  tracts  is  a  joke  to  an  English  officer  in  India  distri- 
buting religious  tracts" — "  the  bigot  notion  that  distributing  tracts  is  the 
Lord's  work" — "  this  new-fangled  freak,"  (viz.  distributing  tracts)— 
"  the  bayonet  saints" — "  sowing  seed  in  the  shape  of  religious  tracts — con- 
taining gross  vituperation  of  Muhammadanism  on  the  one  hand  and  Hindu- 
ism on  the  other" — "  Capt.  Wheler  and  his  pious  friends" — "  the  good 
cause  was  served."  The  very  heading  of  the  article  shows  the  animus  of 
the  writer — it  is  low  and  scurrilous,  "  Not  preachee  and  fightee  too." — 
The  writer  is  not  satisfied  with  abusing  Capt.  Wheler  and  his  pious 
friends,  but,  speaking  of  the  missionary  body,  he  says,  "  Distributed 
by  a  Feringee  brahman ;  they  signify  nothing  more  than  his  parti- 
cular abuse  of  the  religion  of  the  country  and  zeal  for  the  establishment  of 
his  own  religion."  We  pity  the  man  whose  heart  could  allow  him  to  pen 
such  a  libel  on  a  body  of  men  whose  object  and  practice  is,  not  to  abuse 
but  to  bless — not  to  revile  but  to  reclaim  from  the  errors  of  idolatry  to  the 
worship  of  the  one  true  God.  We  deny  it  in  the  most  unqualified  man- 
ner that  the  Feringee  brahmans  do  abuse  the  religion  of  the  country. 
As  we  said  at  the  commencement,  so  we  repeat  at  the  close,  that  it  has 
seldom  been  our  lot  to  peruse  an  article  which  in  so  short  a  space  contains 


482  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Aug. 


so  large  a  measure  of  hostile  feeling  to  piety,  irreverence  for  God's  work, 
and  bitter  animosity  against  a  good  and  upright  man,  and  that  under  the 
guise  of  anxiety  for  the  prosperity  of  religion  in  the  land. 


(i. — The  Examination  of  the  pupils  op  the  Free  School 
Took  place  at  the  school  in  the  beginning  of  July.  The  Archdeacon  presid- 
ed. The  examination  was  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Macqueen  and  the 
Chairman.  The  children  acquitted  themselves  upon  the  whole  very  satis- 
factorily. This  school  deserves  well  of  the  public  and  is  at  present,  with 
some  few  exceptions,  under  very  good  management.  From  the  Report 
which  is  now  before  us  we  should  infer  that  some  alteration  in  the  diet- 
ing of  the  children  would  be  attended  with  advantage. 

7. — New  Poem  in  Bengali. 
We  have  been  favored  with  a  sight  of  a  new  Poem  in  Bengali  written 
by  a  native  Christian  catechist  formerly  a  Sanyasi.  The  object  of  the 
Poem  is  to  expose  the  practices  of  the  most  celebrated  shrines  in  India, 
nearly  the  whole  of  which  were  visited  by  the  author  with  a  view  to  ob- 
tain salvation,  but  in  vain.  It  is  an  admirable  expose  of  the  abomina- 
tions of  these  falsely-c;illed  scenes  of  salvation.  The  Poem,  we  doubt 
not,  will  be  referred  to  after  many  a  year  to  illustrate  the  manner  of  the 
times  in  which  we  live,  as  Chaucer's  severe  and  caustic  satires  on  the  age 
in  which  he  lived  are  referred  to  as  that  from  which  we  catch  the  spirit  of 
the  times  he  lived  in.  We  give  a  specimen  of  the  Poem,  a  bare  translation, 
below.  Many  parts  are  not  fit  for  other  than  Bengali  eyes  and  ears.  The 
whole  reveals  such  a  system  of  gross  and  sensual  iniquity  as  it  were  diffi- 
cult to  imagine  could  be  sanctioned  under  the  mask  of  religion  did  we  not 
know  that  Popery  had  swollen  her  revenues  by  the  licencing  of  brothels 
and  the  guilt  of  prostitution. 

Brdhmans  at  Kamikhyb,  in  Assam,  inviting  Pilgrims  to  visit  their  shrine. 
(Fragment  of  a  Bengali  Poem.) 
They  sit  on  the  wayside,  looking  out  for  pilgrims,  they  ask  every  one 
who  passes  that  way,  Will  you  visit  the  temple  ?  If  they  meet  a  pilgrim, 
who  is  willing  to  do  so,  they  are  overjoyed  and  take  him  quickly  to  their 
house.  They  treat  him  with  great  politeness,  beg  him  to  be  seated  ;  they 
prepare  tobacco  for  him,  and  offer  him  the  huka,  and  then  ask  him  with 
a  soft  sweet  voice,  Where  do  you  come  from  ?  Where  is  your  home? 
Blessed  are  your  father  and  mother,  who  have  given  you  birth.  Friend, 
you  have  done  the  duty  of  a  good  son ;  For  to  worship  the  goddess 
Kamikhya  with  a  joyful  heart,  in  so  doing,  you  will  escape  the 
punishment  of  hell.  Give  gifts  to  the  brahmans  and  honour  the 
virgins*.  Then  you  will  with  ease  obtain  entrance  into  heaven,  but 
1  will  now  tell  you,  what  is  required.  If  you  wish  to  see  and  worship 
the  goddess  you  must  present  her  with  a  Sari  (woman's  cloth)  and 
vermilion  (with  which  Hindu  women  adorn  their  foreheads)  ;  you 
must  sacrifice  a  he-goat  at  the  door  as  an  atonement  for  your 
sins,  and  make  an  offering  of  spices,  sugar,  rice,  plantains— also  money; 
you  must  give  as  much  as  you  can  afford,  and  clarified  butter  and 
wood  for  the  sacrifice,  the  head-priest  and  the  other  brahmans  and 
all  the  servants  of  the  temple  expect  also  some  trifle.  After  this  you 
will  be  able  to  behold  the  face  of  the  goddess.  And  finally,  friend,  you 
may  give  me  whatever  you  think  proper.  When  the  virgins  come  to  you, 
take  heed  to  satisfy  their  wishes,  for  to  offend  them  is  to  offend  the  god- 
dess. Her  creative  power  has  produced  them  all,  and  she  has  a  secret 
familiar  intercourse  with  them.   O  !  who  understands  the  mysterious  ways 

*  Virgins,  so  called,  women  of  easy  virtue  attached  to  many  temples  in  Hin- 
dustan, they  also  expect  to  receive  gifts  from  the  pilgrim. 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


483 


of  the  mysterious  goddess  !  But  if  you  expend  all  this  money  with  your 
own  hands  it  will  bring  you  ill  luck  .and  loss  of  property.  Therefore 
listen  to  my  advice — Give  into  my  hands  as  much  as  you  intend  to  ex- 
pend ;  I  will  give  as  much  as  is  needed  to  the  satisfaction  of  all  parties, 
and  will  procure  you  entrance  to  the  temple.  But  tell  no  body  the 
amount  of  money  you  put  into  my  hands.  If  the  head-priest  asks  you 
about  it,  you  simply  tell  him,  I  am  a  poor  pilgrim,  and  cannot  give  ac- 
cording to  the  rules.  I  have  brought  with  me  one  or  two  rupees  and 
those  1  have  already  given  in  the  name  of  the  goddess  Kamikhya. 

In  this  way,  my  dear  reader,  do  the  brahmans  of  that  place  receive  and 
rob  the  poor  pilgrims.  There  is  no  holiness,  no  devotion  to  be  found 
there.  They  are  all  intent  upon  practising  deceit  and  enriching  themselves. 
If  any  pilgrim  refuses  to  do  according  to  their  liking,  they,  by  telling 
lies,  bring  him  into  great  trouble,  they  go  and  say  in  secret  to  the  head 
brahmans :  "  You  must  know,  thi3  pilgrim  is  a  very  rich  man."  The 
consequence  is,  that  the  priests  ask  a  very  large  sum.  And  if  he  cannot 
give  it,  the  door  is  shut  before  him,  he  cannot  see  the  goddess.  If  the 
pilgrim  is  willing  to  give  the  money  asked  for  to  the  brahman  who 
invites  him,  this  brahman  will  expend  one  part  of  it  in  sacrifices  to 
the  goddess  and  the  rest  he  will  keep  himself.  After  having  shown 
the  temple  and  goddess  to  the  pilgrims,  he  takes  him  back  to  his 
house,  and  tells  him  :  Now  you  must  prepare  to  give  a  feast  for  the  vir- 
gins, and  adorn  their  forheads  with  vermilion,  for  such  is  the  custom  of 
this  place.  If  you  omit  to  do  it,  your  pilgrimage  will  lose  its  merit,  I 
assure  you  ;  my  words  are  true  and  you  will  have  expended  so  much  money 
in  vain  ;  but  if  you  prepare  a  feast  for  the  virgins  take  care  do  not  buy 
any  thing  in  the  bazar,  for  in  so  doing  you  will  lose  your  caste.  I  will 
take  the  trouble  upon  myself.  Give  me  the  price  of  the  articles  and  I 
shall  prepare  the  sweetmeats  and  cook  the  rice.  The  meal  being  ready,  he 
invites  G  or  7  of  the  girls.  He  calls  them,  brahman's  children,  but  I  know 
there  are  Sudra's  girls  among  them.  When  they  have  eaten,  he  says  to 
the  pilgrim  :  Now  you  must  give  the  usual  reward  (ttf^Hl)  to  the  virgins. 
Else  they  may  get  angry,  and  you  know  they  are  brahmans.  If  the  pilgrim 
has  any  money  remaining  the  brahman  contrives  to  deprive  him  of  it  in  the 
following  way.  He  says:  Remain  over  night  in  this  holy  place.  With 
sweet  entreaties  he  prevails  upon  the  pilgrim.  He  makes  room  for  him  in 
his  own  house.  In  the  evening  he  tells  him  :  Listen  to  me  ;  you  have  ac- 
complished every  thing  according  to  the  rules.  But  there  is  yet  one  thing 
remaining  ;  it  is  something  very  mysterious,  I  w  ill  tell  you  :  if  you  wish 
to  do  it,  do  it ;  if  not,  I  will  not  force  you  :  but  if  you  do  not  do  it,  it  will  be 
imputed  to  we  as  a  sin.  Take  intoxicating  liquors  (an*),  make  a  necklace 
of  the  leaves  of  the  Bel  tree  and  chandan,  go  with  it  secretly  to  a  certain 
house,  and  there  piously  worship  a  virgin.  So  doing,  the  goddess  Kamikhya 
will  appear  unto  you  and  will  give  you,  whatever  you  shall  ask.  Her  pro- 
mises are  unchangeable  ;  what  she  says,  will  certainly  be  accomplished. 
Having  deceived  the  pilgrim  in  this  way,  he  prepares  all  the  articles  of 
worship  in  another  house.  One  of  the  virgins  goes  there  and  the  pilgrim 
worships  at  her  feet  ;  the  worship  over,  she  blesses  him,  &c.  &c. 

The  poem  is  published  by  subscription,  and  may  be  had  of  the  Pub- 
lisher of  the  Observer. 


8. — The  Bible  Society's  mst  of  Scriptures  and  Prices. 

The  Secretary  to  the  Calcutta  Auxiliary  Bible  Society  has  forwarded 
to  us  a  printed  list  of  the  different  Scriptures  procurable  at  the  Calcutta 
Depository,  together  with  the  prices  affixed  at  which  they  may  be  pur- 
chased ;  they  have  been  all  much  reduced,  so  that  those  friends  who  feel 
a  desire  to  distribute  the  native  Scriptures,  and  who  may  have  the  mean9 

VOL.  I.  3  R 


484  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Aug. 


of  purchasing  them  with  a  view  to  assist  the  Society  in  a  pecuniary  point 
of  view,  will  now  have  it  in.their  power.  It  is  not  meant  hy  this  arrange- 
ment to  prevent  the  amplest  judicious  gratuitous  circulation  of  God's 
word  through  the  instrumentality  of  our  friends  whose  means  of  distri- 
bution may  exceed  their  ability  to  purchase.  The  Scriptures,  we  find 
from  this  list,  can  be  had  at  the  Depository  in  the  following  languages  : 
English,  Hebrew,  Greek,  Syriac,  Armenian,  Arabic,  Persian,  Urdu,  Per- 
sic character,  Ditto  Roman  character,  Hindui  Nagri,  Hindui  Kaithi,  Ben- 
gali, Ditto  Roman  character,  Multana,  Vickanira,  Haroti,  Assamese, 
Nepaulese,  Cashmira,  Javanese,  Chinese,  Welsh,  Gaelic,  Irish,  German, 
Dutch,  Danish,  Swedish,  French,  Italian,  Spanish  and  Portuguese. 

The  native  Scriptures,  especially  those  for  the  hill  and  border  tribes, 
might  be  distributed  with  advantage  just  now  as  a  wide  door  and  effec- 
tual is  being  opened  for  that  distribution.  The  Society  will  feel  a  plea- 
sure in  committing  copies  of  such  Scriptures  into  the  hands  of  any  good 
friend  dwelling  amongst  the  people  to  whom  they  may  be  adapted.  The 
New  Testament  in  the  Continental  languages  may  be  occasionally  bestow- 
ed on  the  seamen  of  different  countries  who  visit  the  Port,  or  opportuni- 
ties may  offer  of  giving  a  Testament  to  the  strangers  from  those  lands 
who  occasionally  dwell  within  our  gates. 


9. — Lamp  of  Knowledge. 
A  new  work  has  just  appeared  under  the  above  title.  It  is  written  in 
Bengali  by  a  very  intelligent  native.  It  is  part  of  a  series  of  school  or 
educational  books,  the  subjects  are  moral  and  instructive,  the  style  upon 
the  whole  is  good,  though  in  many  places  pedantic  and  inflated — a  sin 
which  we  trust  the  author  will  guard  against  in  future  numbers.  It  is  free 
from  every  thing  offensive  on  religious  subjects,  and  may  with  propriety 
be  put  into  the  hands  of  females,  to  which  purpose  we  trust  our  native 
friends  will  apply  it.  It  is  a  very  excellent  little  production,  and  the 
author  deserves  well  at  the  hands  of  his  countrymen,  and  all  well-wishers 
to  the  improvement  of  the  children  of  India.  We  encourage  him  to  go  on. 


10. — The  Expedition  to  China 
has  sailed  from  Singapore.    Admiral  Elliot  has  also  reached  that  island, 
and  ere  this  has  sailed  to  the  scene  of  warfare.    Before  our  next  issue 
we  shall  doubtless  be  in  possession  of  information  that  some  active  and 
decisive  measures  has  been  taken  in  the  war. 


11. — The  Opium  Question  at  Home. 
Lord  Stanhope  brought  forward  his  motion  in  the  house  of  Lords  on 
the  iniquities  of  the  Opium  war  and  Opium  growing.  It  was  negatived 
without  a  division.  Lord  Melbourne  declared  that  the  Opium  trade 
was  lucrative  and  therefore  it  would  not  be  discontinued — the  war  was 
justified,  and  the  only  people  who  appear  to  have  taken  a  just  view  of  the 
case  either  laughed  or  bullied  into  silence.  The  origin  of  the  war  is  lost 
sight  of  in  the  lucrativeness  of  the  traffic.  The  government  of  India 
will  grow  opium  and  make  its  lakhs  and  lakhs  of  rupees  by  its  conniving 
at  traders  who  sail  away  from  the  port  armed  to  the  teeth  to  run  it  on  the 
coasts  of  China,  to  enrich  themselves,  while  England  will  be  paying  the 
whole  cost  of  the  Chinese  war. 


12. — La  Martiniere— the  Bishops  of  Calcutta  and  Norwich. 
The  public  prints  have  been  lately  occupied  in  discussing  the  merits  of 
a  correspondence  between  the  Bishops  of  Calcutta  and  Norwich  in  refer- 
ence to  the  principle  on  which  La  Martiniere  is  founded.    In  that  insti- 
tution the  Protestant  Episcopalian  and  Presbyterian  divines,  the  Romanist 


1840.]       Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  485 


Priest  and  the  laity  of  every  varying  shade  in  religious  opinion  may  b« 
associated.  No  religious  peculiarity  can  be  taught  in  public,  but  in  pri- 
vate the  Protestant  and  the  Papist  may  teach  the  youth  of  their  own 
communion,  the  peculiarities  of  their  respective  faiths.  Provided  it 
were  a  merging  of  all  Protestant  peculiarities,  it  would  be  a  good 
and  sound  principle  ;  but  admitting,  as  it  does,  Papists,  and  as  it  may, 
Socinians  or  other  equally  baneful  religionists,  we  look  upon  it 
as  one  of  the  most  fallacious  and  unscriptural  clap-traps  of  the  age. 
That  cannot  be  sound  in  principle  which  associates  the  Papist  and 
the  Presbyterian,  for  it  is  absolute  hypocrisy  to  talk  of  merging  differ- 
ences between  these  parties.  The  concession  of  this  principle  is  all  on 
the  side  of  truth — error  alone  gains  by  the  admission.  The  Bishop  of 
Calcutta  felt  this  when  the  Bishop  of  Norwich  applied  the  Martiniere 
case  to  the  government  plan  of  education  at  home?  but  the  Bishop  of 
Calcutta  is  too  acute  a  reasoner  not  to  perceive  that  the  effect  is  one  and 
the  same  as  a  deviation  from  principle :  in  the  use  made  of  it  by  those  who 
would  concede  any  point  to  procure  a  moment's  false  peace,  and  the  in- 
fluence it  has  on  the  Church  and  world  at  large.  He  did  perceive  this  at 
once  when  the  speech  of  the  diocesan  of  Norwich  reached  him,  and  at  once 
prepares  to  defend  himself  from  the  remotest  supposition  that  he  would 
lend  his  sanction  to  the  Government  plan  were  he  at  home.  We  are 
assured  of  it  and  therefore  the  more  regret  that  one  who  has  nobly 
defended  Protestantism  from  both  Popish  and  Puseyite  error  should 
have  given  the  remotest  sanction  to  such  an  union  of  light  and  darkness, 
Christ  and  Belial.  The  only  reason  that  can  be  assigned  for  the  course 
is,  that  if  such  men  as  Bishop  Wilson  and  others  do  not  sit  in  the  coun- 
cils of  La  Martiniere,  it  will  fall  into  the  hands  of  Papists  and  infidels. 
XV ell  let  it;  for  according  to  the  Bishop's  own  statement  it  is  but  a 
small  school  in  Calcutta:  and  he  admits  the  working  of  the  plan  has  not 
been  over  well  as  yet,  and  hence  its  influence  may  be  easily  corrected  : 
but  if  it  were  a  large  school — if  it  were  a  system  for  the  land,  the 
Bishop  by  implication  says  he  could  not  and  would  not  sanction  it — be 
it  large  or  be  it  small,  it  is  all  one  so  far  as  the  principle  is  concerned. 
Do  the  council  of  La  Martiniere  carry  out  the  principle  of  liberalism  to 
its  full  extent?  Is  the  child  of  a  Baptist  obliged  if  he  learns  any  cate- 
chism in  the  school  to  commit  to  memory  the  one  taught  by  Psedobap- 
tists  in  which  he  will  be  obliged  to  say  that  "  his  godfathers  and  godmo- 
thers gave  him  his  name  in  baptism  ?" — or  are  the  children  of  Episcopa- 
lians and  Papists  allowed  to  bow  at  the  name  of  Jesus? — or  would  the 
child  of  a  Musalman  or  Hindu  be  obliged  to  receive  the  mellifluously 
united  Christianity  of  the  council?  If  we  understand  the  tenor  of  Gene- 
ral Martine's  bequest,  it  is  for  all  classes  and  creeds  without  exception  ; 
and  if  so,  on  what  principle  can  the  council  interfere  with  any  peculiari- 
ty or  refuse  to  instruct  any  boy  or  girl  in  that  which  his  or  her  parents 
or  guardians  believe  to  be  truth  ? 


13. — Native  Chapel. 
On  Saturday  evening  last  the  Bungalow  Chapel  for  native  preaching, 
connected  with  the  London  Missionary  Society,  in  the  Bow  Bazar,  was 
re  opened  for  the  public  worship  of  Christ.  The  place  has  been  almost 
entirely  rebuilt.  The  service  was  opened  by  reading  the  scriptures  by  the 
Rev.  G.  Gogerly,  the  Rev.  A.  F.  Lacroix  preached  to  the  people,  and  the 
Rev.  J.  Campbell  closed  with  prayer.  The  congregation  was  numerous 
and  very  attentive.  May  God  make  this  chapel  the  birth-place  of  many 
souls.— Advocate. 

3  r  2 


486  Missionary  and  Relijious  Intelligence.  [Aug. 


14. — Success  of  Missions  in  the  South  Seas. 
We  are  confident  it  w  ill  afford  our  readers  the  greatest  pleasure  to  learn, 
that  the  Mission  established  by  the  London  Missionary  Society  in  the 
groupe  of  Islands  called  the  Navigators' ,  not  more  than  ten  years  ago,  has 
been  signally  blessed  of  God.  The  Missionaries  state  that  at  present  they 
have  about  40,000  people  under  Christian  instruction,  several  hundreds 
have  received  baptism,  200  have  become  Church  members,  and  upwards  of 
20,000  can  read.  Several  elementary  books  have  been  prepared,  portions 
of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments  have  been  translated,  a  press  has  been 
sent  from  England, — in  fact  the  whole  work  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes  and 
can  only  call  forth  our  warmest  praise  to  the  Lord  our  righteousness  and 
strength.  These  Islanders  were  cannibals,  and  well  do  we  remember  the 
first  Missionary  who  went  forth  to  bring  them  to  Christ. — Ibid. 

15. —  Sandwich  Islands'  Missions. 
The  Missionaries  in  the  Sandwich  islands  have  intreated  the  King  of 
those  Islands  to  cause  an  investigation  to  be  made  into  the  charges  brought 
against  them  by  the  Papist  Missionaries  and  French  authorities,  viz. ;  that 
they  were  the  principal  parties  in  stirring  up  his  majesty  to  expel  the 
Romish  priests,  &c,  which  gave  rise  to  the  extraordinary  conduct  of  Cap- 
tain Laplace,  to  which  we  have  referred  in  former  numbers.  His  majesty 
in  reply  fully  exonerates  the  Missionaries  from  all  participation  in  the  act, 
and  agrees  to  their  request,  the  result  of  which  had  not  transpired  when 
the  last  accounts  reached  England. — Ibid. 

16. —  Revival  of  Sati' — Human  Sacrifices  and  Aristocratic  Tradind 

in  Females. 

During  the  last  week  the  native  papers  state  that  two  satis  have  occur- 
red within  ashort  distanceof  Calcutta — one  even  at  Ishra,  midway  between 
Calcutta  and  Serampore,  directly  opposite  to  Mrs.  Wilson's  Orphan  Asylum. 
Surely  this  cannot  be ;  or  if  so,  the  Police  authorities  ought  to  institute 
the  most  rigid  inquiry  into  the  matter.  As  the  law  now  stands,  sati  legally 
considered  is  murder ;  and  the  parties  instigating,  aiding,  or  abetting  the 
misguided  persons,  ought  to  be  sought  out  and  held  up  as  a  public  example, 
warning  and  terror  to  all  similar  evil-doers.  We  trust  for  the  sake  of 
human  nature — even  fallen  human  nature — this  is  mere  rumour.  Should 
it  however  prove  true,  which  we  more  than  fear  it  will,  it  shows  us  how 
much  is  yet  to  be  effected  before  the  natives  of  India  will  be  able  to  walk 
erect  and  become  amenable  to  the  laws  of  humanity  and  decency  ;  and  we 
may  also  gather  from  it  how  much  it  is  to  be  feared  the  dark  and  cruel  rites 
connected  with  Hinduism  are  still  practised  in  the  less  favored  parts  of  the 
country — parts  where  the  influence  of  education  and  religion  have  not  been 
experienced ;  for  if  such  an  act  can  be  perpetrated  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
metropolis  of  India,  the  centre  of  all  civilization  and  enlighteument,  what 
can  we  expect  in  the  darker  parts  of  the  land  ?  Verily  they  must  be  habi- 
tations of  cruelty. 

The  native  papers  have  also  disclosed  to  us  another  of  the  crying  evils 
of  the  country.  A  native  raja,  it  appears,  lays  claim  to  all  the  widows  in 
his  territory,  appropriating  to  his  own  purposes  such  as  he  deems  fit,  and 
disposing  of  the  others  as  articles  of  merchandize  and  for  the  vilest  pur- 
poses. A  short  time  ago  w  e  heard  of  a  band  of  miscreants,  who  on  a  moun- 
tain height  to  the  eastward  were  more  than  suspected  of  offering  up  human 
sacrifices  to  appease  the  rageof  an  offended  deity.  Surely  such  things  should 
awaken  in  our  hearts  the  deepest  pity  for  our  fellow-men,  and  lead  us  to  put 
forth  every  energy  by  which  they  may  be  blessed  with  the  humanizing  and 
elevating  blessings  of  Christianity.    But  in  the  mean  time  surely  the  law 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


487 


tempered  with  mercy  ought  to  institute  the  most  rigid  inquiry  into  such 
rumours,  and  either  vindicate  the  character  of  the  Hindus  from  charges  so 
foul,  or  punish  with  all  due  severity  such  flagrant  violations  of  all  law  both 
human  and  divine.  We  suspect  Sir  Charles  Forbes  had  no  such  scenes  in  his 
mind's  eye  when  he  lauded  the  virtues  and  amiabilities  of  the  native  com. 
munity.  May  the  natives  soon  deserve  the  praises  he  bestowed  upon  them, 
by  the  absence  of  crimes,  (committed  remember  under  the  sanctions  of  re- 
ligion,) at  which  humanity  shudders,  and  from  which  every  man  with  the 
feelings  of  a  man,  must  turn  away  with  disgust  and  abhorrence. — Ibid. 


17. — Naval  and  Military  Bible  Society. 
The  anniversary  of  this  Society  was  held  in  London  at  the  latter  end 
of  the  month  of  April,  and  from  brief  accounts  which  we  have  just 
received,  we  gather  that  it  is  pursuing  the  more  than  even  tenor  of  its 
way.  It  continues  to  distribute  the  word  of  life  to  our  brave  soldiers 
and  sailors  who  are  called  to  contend  for  the  weal  and  honor  of  their 
country.  Many  a  soul  has  it  refreshed  and  blessed.  VVe  notice  amongst 
those  recorded  as  present  some  of  the  veteran  warriors  by  sea  and  land 
of  former  days.  May  their  days  long  be  spared  to  labour  in  so  good  a 
cause,  in  which  they  do  in  spirit  fulfil  the  words  of  prophecy,  turning 
their  spears  into  pruning-hooks  and  their  swords  into  plough-shares ; 
learning  war  no  more.  There  always  was,  and  we  trust  always  will  be, 
a  devout  and  soul-refreshing  sweetness  about  the  meetings  of  this 
Society  that  were  especially  invigorating,  it  is  one  of  the  many  gatherings 
of  the  British  Isreal  towards  which  we  look  back  with  peculiar  pleasure. 


18. — The  Aborigines  Protection  Society. 
This  noble  Society  is  progressing  in  strength  and  usefulness.  It  is  the 
Wilberforce  of  Societies— the  defender  of  the  rights,  the  pleader  and 
redresser  of  the  wrongs  of  the  helpless  and  almost  (in  one  sense)  speech- 
less and  misrepresented  abori  gines  of  all  the  British  Colonies.  VVe  trust 
that  it  may  be  the  means  of  preserving  from  destruction,  the  colored 
tribes  who  have  been  brought  under  the  sway  of  the  British  Sceptre,  for 
it  is  the  foulest  blot  on  our  national  escutcheon  that  our  presence  and 
property  as  a  people  has  been  purchased  at  the  expence  of  the  happiness, 
liberty  and  even  lives  of  the  aborigines  conquered  by  us.  The  approach 
of  the  white  man  has  been  the  signal  for  the  black  man's  retreat.  The 
sword  that  conquered  but  too  often  been  the  precursor  of  the  spade  that 
has  dug  a  nation's  grave.  May  this  evil  for  the  future  be  averted  by  the 
labours  of  this  and  similar  institutions. 


19. — Anti-Slavery  Convention. 
The  convention  of  the  Anti-Slavery  delegates  from  every  quarter  of 
the  United  Kingdom  was  held  at  Exeter  Hall  in  the  month  of  May  last. 
Prince  Albert  presided  on  the  occasion.  The  assemblage  was  very  large. 
Amongst  the  delegates  were  nearly  all  the  most  renowned  philanthropists 
of  the  age ;  all  shades,  creeds  and  politics  appear  to  have  merged  in  the 
great  question,  "  When  shall  the  enslaved  portion  of  the  human  race  be 
made  permanently  happy  and  free  ?"  The  Prince  delivered  a  very  frank 
and  generous  speech  on  the  occasion,  which  together  with  the  free  and 
easy  manner  in  which  it  was  delivered  appears  to  have  won  for  him  golden 
opinions.  May  they  never  be  dimmed.  The  result  of  the  meeting  was  a 
strongly  expressed  resolve,  to  neither  tire  nor  faint  until  the  Demon 
Slavery  should  be  scourged  from  the  earth,  and  freedom  be  the  birthright 
of  every  man.— Amen  and  Amen. 


488  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Aug. 


20. — The  Scottish  Church. 
The  discussions  connected  with  the  subjects  of  patronage  or  no  patro- 
nage—of intrusion  or  non-intrusion  must,  we  think,  be  speedily  brought  to 
a  close.  The  Assembly  have,  by  a  majority  of  87,  voted  the  non-reception 
of  Lord  Aberdeen's  bill,  which  many  had  hoped  would  remove  the  existing 
differences  in  the  Kirk.  We  are  rejoiced  to  find  that  there  are  found 
men  in  the  country  who  boldly  contend  for  the  spiritual  independence  of 
the  Church; — they  are  now,  if  not  before,  according  to  Bishop  Philpotts, 
a  Protestant  Church  ;  they  protest  now  as  they  did  when  Rame  or  Eng- 
land would  have  placed  the  yoke  ecclesiastio-political  on  their  shoulders, 
and  say  with  one  of  olden  time,  "  We  want  Christ's  yoke  and  none  else 
will  we  have."  It  may  lead  to  the  secession  of  many,  but  it  will  lead  to 
nobler  consequences ;  it  will  shew  the  sternness  and  independency  of 
religious  principle ;  the  power  of  truth  over  present  selfish  interest,  and 
that  there  are  a  few  men  in  Sardis  in  this  age  of  trimming  and  time- 
serving who  are  worthy  of  the  name  and  cause  of  Christ.  Lord  Aber- 
deen's bill  we  look  upon  as  a  sop  to  Cerberus  ;  it  leaves  the  evil  it  would 
cure  untouched  and  will  not  be  accepted,  we  venture  to  predict,  by  the 
majority  of  the  people  of  Scotland  any  more  than  it  has  been  by  the  ma- 
jority of  her  Clergy. 

21. — The  West  Indies — the  Missionaries — the  Planters— the  Ne- 
groes, and  Sir  Charles  Metcalfe. 
Accounts  from  the  West  Indies  are  very  conflicting ;  they  yet  never- 
theless inform  us  of  one  fact,  that  the  Negroes  as  a  body  are  willing  to 
labor  for  fair  remunerative  wages,  but  that  the  proprietors  will  not — they 
say  they  cannot — afford  the  wages  required  of  them  by  the  Negroes,  the 
consequence  is,  refusal  to  labour  for  inadequate  remuneration  on  the  one 
hand,  and  attempts  at  coercion  in  the  form  of  legislation  on  the  other. — 
The  labour  party  without  they  be  exterminated  by  the  sword,  must 
triumph,  for  the  British  legislature  never  can  sanction  a  cooly  trade ; 
hence  the  proprietors  will  be  forced  to  comply  with  the  demands  of  the 
negro  labourers,  or  give  up  their  plantations  in  mortification  and  de- 
spair. If  their  lands  will  only  enrich  them  by  oppressing  the  labourer 
and  by  giving  him  inadequate  support,  there  must  be  something  radically 
wrong  in  the  constitution  of  things  ;  for  that  land,  or  rather  that  which 
is  produced  from  it,  must  be  a  curse  both  to  proprietor  and  labourer,  which 
cannot  remunerate  both  the  one  and  the  other  for  their  outlay  of  money 
and  strength.  Sir  Charles  Metcalfe  is,  we  fear,  in  a  fair  way  to  tarnish 
his  good  name  in  his  West  Indian  administration.  He  has  forwarded  a 
despatch  to  the  home  authorities  in  which  he  certainly  blows  hot  and  cold 
in  the  same  breath. — He  says  that  the  Negroes  are,  on  the  testimony  of 
the  Stipendiary  Magistrates — "  orderly  and  irreproachable"  " — the  gene- 
ral tranquil  state  of  the  country  without  any  police  is  a  strong  proof  of  the 
peaceable  desposition  of  the  inhabitants ;  their  freedom  has  given  them 
more  the  spirit  of  independence  than  that  of  submission  to  the  will  of 
others.''  And  why  not  ?  This  is  the  race  that  were  represented  years 
ago  as  the  connecting  link  between  the  human  and  brute  species.  "  They 
are  generally,"  he  adds  "  or  as  far  as  I  can  see,  cheerful  and  merry.  They 
are  generally  in  this  neighbourhood  with  smiling  faces  and  civil  tongues 
and  seem  pleased  with  being  noticed.  In  some  instances  the  labourers 
have  purchased  small  lots  of  land  ;  others  become  prosperous."  This  is 
the  character  drawn  of  the  Negroes  by  Sir  Charles  Metcalfe  both  from 
what  he  has  heard  from  stipendiary  magistrates  and  from  what  he  has  seen 
himself.  Surely  a  people  cheerful,  civil,  industrious  and  thoughtful  such 
as  he  has  described  cannot  be  bad  subjects,  nor  bad  servants.    The  fact 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


489 


is  simply  this,  that  the  proprietors  wish  these  poor  creatures  to  labour  for 
the  esculents  which  was  the  mode  of  slave  remuneration.  "  'Die  practice 
of  granting  ground  to  the  labourers  from  which  they  derived  the  means  of 
subsistence  in  esculents  for  themselves  and  families,"  &c.  This  was  the 
old  regime  and  this  privilege  of  granting  esculents,  &c.  Sir  Charles  tells 
us,  gave  the  Negro  great  advantage  at  the  time  of  his  emancipation  in 
enabling  him  to  hold  out  for  wages.  Surely  Sir  Charles  must  be  indulg- 
ing in  his  old  propensity  of  punning  and  playing  of  a  practical  joke  here. 
The  proprietors  also  who  now  wish  their  labourers  to  live  upon  esculents 
and  who  will  not  provide  them  with  any  thing  besides,  complain  that  they 
should  spare  time  even  for  their  cultivation  ;  for  the  despatch  says,  "  The 
labourers  in  some  parts  of  the  country  work  only  four  days  in  the  week, 
requiring  Friday  and  Saturday  for  the  cultivation  of  their  own  grounds  ;" 
and  wonderful  to  relate,  we  find  "  that  as  the  best  season  for  cultivation 
will  often  be  the  same  for  their  own  grounds  as  for  those  of  their  em- 
ployers, exercising  their  right  to  work  or  not  to  work,  and  not  choosing 
to  bind  themselves  by  any  contract,  it  would  be  matter  of  surprise  if  they 
did  not  prefer  their  own  interests  to  that  of  their  employers  ! !"  Certain- 
ly ! — especially  when  they  remember  how  tenderly  their  employers  have 
cared  for  them  and  theirs,  and  still  do  care  for  them.  In  the  Coffee 
plantations,  Sir  Charles  says,  that  "  free  labour  is  cheaper  than  slave 
labour  ;"  and  why  ? — because  it  does  not  involve  such  an  awful  waste  of 
life  ;  it  is  ordinary  labour  and  hence  these  cheerful,  merry-faced  people  are 
sagacious  and  contented  enough  to  labour  for  rational  wages. — But  we 
must  desist — our  space  will  not  permit  us  to  travel  through  the  whole 
despatch  ;  it  is  convincing  to  us  that  the  Negroes  are  a  willing,  active, 
light-hearted,  easily-satisfied  people,  who  have  to  deal  with  a  band  of 
men  desperate  from  present  and  still  more  desperate  from  prospective  dis- 
asters, and  who  would,  were  it  in  their  power,  refasten  the  chain  on  every 
African  to-morrow.  That  the  Negro  population  will  not  violate  the  Sab- 
bath is  evident  from  the  fact  that  they  will  not  labour  but  four  days  in 
the  week  and  the  two  which  they  select  for  themselves  are  Friday  and 
Saturday — a  fact  this  which  adds  to  their  other  recommendatory  cha- 
racteristics that  of  reverence  for  God's  day,  which  it  were  well  did 
many  more  enlightened  observe. 

Sir  Charles  next  proceeds  to  charge  the  Baptist  Missionaries  particular- 
ly with  being  especially  political,  and  the  chief  causes  of  the  irritation 
which  subsists  between  the  Negroes  and  their  Masters — serious  charges 
could  they  be  proved,  but  we  know  they  cannot.  A  Missionary  never 
can  nor  does  he  ever  become  political  save  in  the  defence  of  the  civil 
rights  of  his  people.  So  has  Dr.  Philip  been  stigmatized  political  for 
his  defence  of  the  rights  of  the  injured  Africans  at  the  Cape,  and  so 
have  our  Baptist  brethren  been  stigmatized  as  political  in  the  West  In- 
dies. On  them  it  has  fallen  and  they  have  borne  the  heat  and  burden  of 
the  day ;  and  it  is  no  compliment  paid  by  Sir  Charles  to  other  Mis- 
sionaries when  he  relieves  them  of  all  such  odium  as  that  which  has  been 
heaped  upon  Burchell  and  Knibb.  They  ought  to  have  equally  deserved 
it  with  them.  But  what  is  the  head  and  front  of  their  offending.  Listen 
to  Sir  Charles.  He  says,  "  The  Baptist  Missionaries  have  m;ide  themselves 
peculiarly  obnoxious  to  the  proprietors  by  the  advice  and  aid  which  they 
are  supposed  to  have  given  to  the  laborers."  We  think  it  very  likely,  for 
he  further  remarks,  "  and  it  may  be  that  without  the  advice  and  support  of 
their  ministers  the  emancipated  population  might  have  fared  worse  in  their 
dealings  with  their  former  masters,  or  from  disappointment  have  followed 
desperate  courses ;"  and  again,  "  Considering  what  might  have  happened 
without  the  influence  of  the  ministers  over  their  flocks,  it  is  easy  to  es- 


490  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Aug. 


timate  the  full  value  of  the  operations  of  the  Missionaries  of  all  denomi- 
nations." But  he  proceeds  to  state,  notwithstanding  he  looks  upon  the 
Baptist  Missionaries  as  strongly  tinctured  with  a  political  bias,  that  it  is  an 
evil  which  admits  of  no  present  remedy ;"  and  that  if  the  good  and  evil 
done  by  them  were  weighed  against  each  other  the  good  I  conceive  would 
preponderate  ;  the  benefit  of  religious  instruction  and  its  moral  consequence 
seems  sufficient  to  warrant  that  conclusion."  This  is  Sir  Charles's  proof  of 
the  politically  of  the  Baptists.  But  what  is  the  cause  of  this  complaint  and 
this  charge  ?  What  ?  —  Hear  the  despatch  again.  "  By  the  great  interest 
they  have  taken  in  the  welfare  of  the  slave  population  they  have  caused 
themselves  to  be  regarded  as  hostile  to  the  proprietary  interests,"  and 
"  they  have,  it  may  be  presumed,  greater  influence  than  any  other  sect  in 
the  country."  This  is  the  cause  of  complaint — they  have  been  the  friends 
of  the  poor  in  their  distresses — they  have  rejoiced  with  them  in  their  joys, 
and  sorrowed  with  them  in  their  griefs,  and  now  they  have  their  reward 
in  possessing  an  influence  paramount  even  to  that  of  the  proprietors  who 
crushed  and  oppressed  the  slave,  hoping  that  he  would  never  be  free. 
Yea  such  is  their  influence — an  influence,  remember,  not  obtained  by  craft, 
but  by  honest,  upright  and  manly  conduct — "  that  they  can  influence  the 
elections  on  the  dissolution  of  the  Assembly  when  such  of  the  emancipated 
population  as  may  be  duly  qualified  will  become  entitled  to  vote."  In  one 
part  of  his  despatch  Sir  Charles  has  hit  upon  the  cure  for  all  the  ills  when 
he  says,  "  If  justice  be  fairly  administered  to  all  parties  they  will,  it  may 
be  hoped,  come  to  a  right  understanding  amongst  themselves."  This  is  all 
that  the  Missionaries  ask,  and  when  this  is  granted  all  will  be  well.  We 
think  Sir  Charles  has  well  answered  himself  and  shewn  that  in  the  state  of 
things  whatever  is  evil  is  the  fruit  of  oppression,  and  that  whatever  good 
exists  is  attributable  to  Missionary  labour— that  the  free  colored  people 
know  who  are  their  friends  and  cleave  to  them,  and  that  if  justice  be  done 
to  all,  peace  will  follow.    May  it  soon  appear. 


22. — Sir  Charles  Forbes  and  his  admirers. 
Sir  Charles  Forbes  has  replied  to  the  flattering  address  forwarded  to 
him  by  the  calumniated  natives  of  India.  The  address  of  course  thanked 
him  for  his  prompt,  able  and  effectual  vindication  of  the  charges  cast 
upon  them  by  the  Bishop  of  London.  Sir  Charles  in  reply  states  that  so 
deeply  was  he  impressed  with  the  purity  and  integrity  of  his  native 
friends,  and  that  after  a  residence  of  twenty-two  years  amongst  them, 
he  only  wishes  his  children  may  ever  be  as  highly-favored  as  he  has 
been,  and  be  as  prompt  to  express  that  which  they  feel.  Now  really, 
leaving  all  compliment  and  badinage  out  of  the  question,  there  is  such 
shameful  trifling  with  practical  truth  in  all  this  that  we  are  ashamed  for 
human  nature's  sake.  First,  we  are  ashamed  that  human  nature  should 
be  sunk  so  low  as  to  demand  of  every  historian  who  would  be  faithful  to 
his  task  to  say  that  the  Hindus  as  a  nation,  are  but  too  fitly  described  by 
the  Apostle  of  the  Gentiles  in  his  first  chapter  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Ro- 
mans. This  is  distressing  enough  because  it  is  but  too  painfully  true 
with  a  few,  very  very  few,  exceptions;  hut  it  is  still  more  distressing  to 
find  a  Christian  man  and  one  too  whose  sympathies  and  energies  flow 
generally  in  a  benevolent  channel,  and  a  man  too  whose  word  has  much 
influence  both  at  home  and  here,  equally  deluding  the  natives  and  the 
community  of  Britain  by  the  estimate  he  has  formed  of  the  native  charac- 
ter. His  conduct  is  beyond  our  comprehension,  and  we  believe  that  of 
every  man  who  is  not  wilfully  blind  to  the  actual  state  of  things  around 
us.  Would  that  it  could  be  proved  to  us  that  we  have  been  in  a  dream 
and  that  Sir  Charles  was  right — happy  indeed  should  we  be  to  find  our- 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


491 


selves  dreaming;  in  the  matter.  The  Hindus  must  find  themselves  placed 
in  a  strange  position  by  such  an  eulogium,  and  all  must  be  staggered,  not 
so  much  that  Sir  Charles  Forbes  should  say  it,  on  whose  path  services  of 
plate,  statues  and  the  like  have  been  showered  by  native  hands,  but 
that  several  European  gentlemen  should  agree  to  sign  a  document  in 
which  are  set  forth  the  virtues  and  uprightness  of  the  natives  of  India. 


23. — Madras  Temperance  Society. 
The  Report  of  the  above  Society  has  been  forwarded  to  us.  It  con- 
tains many  striking  facts  in  reference  to  the  use  of  ardent  spirits,  enough 
to  make  any  spirit-drinker  pause  and  examine  ere  he  lift  the  disputed 
cup  to  his  lips  again.  The  Society  at  Madras  has  progressed  a  little  dur- 
ing the  past  year.  We  sincerely  wish  the  Advocates  of  Temperance 
Societies  would  take  a  word  of  advice  which  we  have  often  tendered 
them  in  vain,  and  be  temperate  in  the  application  of  principles  really 
good  in  themselves,  and  beneficial  in  their  application  when  temperately 
applied,  but  which  by  the  very  violence  with  which  they  are  enforced 
often  repel  or  deter  those  who  might  be  willing  to  come  under  their 
influence. 


24. — The  Second  Annual  Report  of  the  Agra  School-Book  Society 
has  just  reached  us.  The  Society  is  evidently  in  a  prosperous  condition. 
The  Governor  General  has  become  patron  of  the  institution ;  the  Go- 
vernment grant  200  Rs.  per  mensem  towards  its  funds.  Several  of  the 
friends  of  education  in  the  Upper  Provinces  have  contributed  to  the  So- 
ciety both  by  educational  works  and  pecuniary  assistance.  Besides  the 
other  already  printed  books  circulated  by  the  Committee,  they  have  re- 
printed others  and  made  provision  for  the  future  and  increasing  wants  of 
the  Upper  Provinces  by  setting  on  foot  the  preparation  of  other  useful 
works.    Upon  the  whole  the  Society  has  great  cause  for  thankfulness. 


25. — The  May  Meetings. 

We  have  just  received  part  of  our  files  of  London  papers  containing 
an  account  of  the  London  May  Meetings,  from  which  we  learn  that  upon 
the  whole  the  spirit  and  temper  of  the  Church  in  reference  to  every  work 
and  specially  to  Mission  work  is  not  on  the  wane :  it  continues  as  vigorous 
and  practical  as  ever.  The  Bible  and  London  Missionary  Society's  Meet- 
ings especially  indicate  a  prosperous  state  of  things.  The  friends  of  the 
former  have  rallied  nobly  round  its  standard  ;  its  distribution  of  Scrip- 
tures and  increase  of  funds  are  materially  in  excess  over  the  distribution 
and  funds  of  any  former  year,  while  the  income  of  the  latter  had  amount- 
ed to  nearly  ten  lakhs  of  rupees.  The  Rev.  W.  Knibb  was  in  London 
for  the  purpose  of  representing  the  actual  state  of  things  in  Jamaica. 
A  large  special  meeting  was  to  be  convened  on  the  eve  of  the  departure 
of  our  letters,  to  receive  him  and  his  brother  deputies  from  Jamaica.  Mr. 
Knibb  is  urging  upon  his  brethren  in  England  the  propriety  of  entreat- 
ing their  American  Baptist  friends  to  wash  their  hands  of  slavery.  We 
hope  not  only  that  the  English  Baptists  will  obey  his  call,  but  that  it  will 
be  done  in  a  manner  which  shall  ensure  (under  God's  blessing)  success. 
We  hope  to  give  a  tolerably  full  account  of  the  anniversaries  of  the  most 
important  Societies  in  an  early  number. 

vol.  i.  3  s 


492  Missionary  and  Religions  Intelligence.  [Aug. 


26. — State  of  Missions  in  China. 
To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Chris  tain  Observer. 
Sirs  Macao,  January  1st,  1840. 

The  past  year  has  been  a  period  of  unprecedented  interest  to  the  foreign 
community  in  China.  To  the  Merchant,  its  exciting  events  have  been 
auspicious  of  such  political  changes  as  shall  advance  him  to  a  more  honor- 
able and  advantageous  position  for  the  prosecution  of  his  plans.  The 
missionary  has  deduced  from  them  the  animating  hope  that  what  "  the 
mouth  of  the  Lord  hath  spoken,"  his  providence  and  Spirit  would  speedily 
perform — that  "  every  valley  would  soon  he  exalted,  and  every  mountain 
and  hill  be  made  low  ;  the  crooked  be  made  straight,  and  the  rough 
places  plain,  and  that  the  glory  of  the  Lord  would  be  revealed. 

As  far  as  we  can  predetermine  effects  from  their  ordinary  causes,  we 
are  disposed  to  believe  that  Great  Britain  will  prefer  demands  upon 
China,  which  the  latter  will  probably  treat  with  her  wonted  disdain  ; 
and  that  the  consequence  will  be  a  hostile  collision  between  the  two 
countries.  At  no  former  period  of  commercial  intercourse  between  Eng- 
land and  China,  have  there  been  so  many  causes,  which  appeared  to  tend 
with  as  little  divergence  to  the  disruption  of  all  previous  relationship, 
and  the  suspension  of  all  trade,  until  these  nations  become  better 
acquainted  with  each  other,  and  each  is  willing  to  concede  to  the  other, 
the  honors  and  rights  of  equals.  Already  has  an  edict  been  issued  by  the 
commissioner,  and  formally  sanctioned  by  the  emperor,  forbidding  to  Eng- 
land, henceforth  and  for  ever,  the  advantages  of  commerce  with  China. 

Within  the  last  few  months,  there  has  been  nothing  to  heal  but  much 
to  widen  the  breach  which  existed  before.  One  naval  engagement  has  taken 
place  between  a  small  English  frigate  and  sloop-of-war,  and  a  fleet  of 
Chinese  war-junks,  in  which  three  of  the  latter  were  destroyed  and  many 
lives  lost.  Had  not  mercy  triumphed  in  the  breasts  of  the  conquerors, 
the  whole  fleet  would  have  been  annihilated.  Aggravating  circumstances 
are  of  such  frequent  occurrence,  that  the  hand  of  God  has  been  almost 
visible  in  preventing  other  and  more  deadly  encounters.  The  British 
community  are  in  expectation  of  soon  hearing  from  home,  or  of  receiving 
a  visit  from  the  admiral,  with  such  instructions  as  shall  enable  him  to  act 
for  the  crisis.  Months,  however,  may  elapse  before  anything  definite  is 
heard  or  done. 

Thus  situated,  we  earnestly  look  to  our  Christian  friends  to  "  strive 
with  us  in  their  praters  to  God  for  us,"'  and  for  this  people.  We  think 
there  has  never  been  a  time  when  intercession  for  China  was  so  urgently 
demanded  as  at  present.  We  would  not  limit  the  wisdom  and  power  of 
"  the  Holy  One  of  Israel."  We  reject  the  opinion  that  war  is  necessary. 
The  resources  of  Jehovah  are  infinite.  Through  his  interposition,  exist- 
ing difficulties  may  be  adjusted  without  the  bloodshed  and  wretchedness 
which  usually  mark  the  path  of  war.  Happy  and  thankful  shall  we  be  if 
a  panic  prevent  hostilities,  or  a  timely  wisdom  come  in  to  avert  them. 
Still,  in  either  alternative,  our  only  refuge  is  "  the  holy  of  holies  ;''  our 
most  urgent  business  with  him  who  fills  the  mercy-seat. 

Should  England  not  feel  herself  called  upon  to  demand  explanations 
for  past  grievances,  we  fear  that  the  authorities  will  become  still  more 
overbearing  and  exclusive.  This  would  naturally  diminish  the  few  pri- 
vileges we  now  enjoy.  Alas  !  our  hearts  sink  at  the  bare  possibility  of 
such  a  result.  We  deprecate  war.  Its  ravages  in  such  a  country  as  this 
would  be  desolating  in  the  extreme.  While  we  pray  therefore,  that  if 
consistent  with  God's  holy  purposes,  it  may  not  be  inflicted,  ought  we  not 
plead  with  even  still  greater  importunity,  that  if  Great  Britain  pursues 
a  peaceful  policy,  the  pride  and  prejudice  of  this  people  may  not  swell 
into  still  higher  barriers,  than  they  already  oppose  to  our  influence  ? 


1840.]       Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  493 


If  it  be  the  will  of  "  the  Governor  among  the  nations"  to  visit  tliia 
people  for  so  long  refusing  to  acknowledge  his  authority,  and  for 
worshipping  in  his  stead  the  gods  of  their  own  creation — the  slaves  of  their 
lusts,  with  what  intense  earnestness  should  we  pray  that  the  event  may 
introduce  a  new  era  in  the  church  of  Christ !  What  ample  space  is  here 
for  "  Zion  to  break  forth  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left — what  a  mul- 
titude for  her  to  lift  up  her  eyes  round  about  and  behold."  The  conquest 
of  the  islands  of  the  sea,  and  on  the  continental  kingdoms  of  the  earth, 
is  most  desirable.  We  hail  the  victories  of  the  Prince  of  peace  in  other 
lands.  But  we  cannot  forget  that  all  the  islands  in  the  world  scarcely 
compare  with  China,  and  that  none  of  the  continents,  nor  indeed  all  of 
them  together,  exclusive  of  the  one  of  which  she  makes  the  prominent 
part,  contain  an  equal  number  of  responsible  beings.  And  can  the  church 
rest,  while  these  unhappy  millions  are  kept  in  ignorance  of  "  the  only 
name  given  among  men  whereby  we  must  be  saved?" 

Tray  that  whatever  is  permitted  to  occur  may  grant  us  more  favor  in 
the  eyes  of  this  nation,  and  open  "a  wide  and  effectual  door"  to  us  as 
missionaries  of  the  cross  of  Christ.  We  would  not  overlook  our  present 
liberty,  restricted  as  it  is  ;  we  would  be  thankful  that  we  may  exert  our- 
selves to  some  advantage  in  our  studies,  and  in  the  retired  school-room, 
and  that  we  can  visit  and  quietly  converse  with  multitudes  on  their  im- 
mortal interests.  But  these  very  limited  opportunities  of  usefulness 
cannot  satisfy  us.  Nay,  they  teach  us  the  more  impressively  what  would 
be  the  happiness  of  preaching  boldly  and  freely  "  the  unsearchable  riches 
of  Christ, "  of  publicly  gathering  congregations  and  instituting  schools-^- 
and  of  endeavoring,  by  all  practicable  means,  to  arouse  the  gener.il  atten- 
tion to  "  the  salvation  which  is  in  Christ  Jesus  with  eternal  glory." 

We  want  to  break  away  from  our  retirement,  and  with  the  gospel  in 
our  hands  to  go  forth  to  the  full  discharge  of  our  ministerial  duties  "  no 
man  forbidding  us."  We  want  to  enter  the  villages  and  cities,  and  in  the 
chief  places  of  concourse  "  to  lift  up  our  voices  like  a  trumpet."  Most 
ardently  do  we  long  to  establish  ourselves  in  the  great  centres  of  influence 
— to  erect  the  temples  of  Christ  hard  by  the  imperial  palace,  to  attend 
at  the  crowded  examinations,  and  be  allowed  to  address  all  whom  we 
meet,  "  disputing  and  persuading  the  things  concerning  the  kingdom  of 
Christ."  It  may  be  necessary  to  mention,  that  the  impracticability  of 
efforts  which  attract  the  attention  of  the  public  has  been  proved  in  this 
part  of  the  empire  by  repeated  experiments,  and  that  the  attempts  made 
in  the  other  provinces  have  not  been  of  a  nature  to  show  that  the  public 
and  permanent  exercise  of  the  ministry  would  be  anywhere  tolerated, 
liven  these  last  mentioned  labors  along  the  coast,  through  which  we  pray 
that  the  light  of  life  may  still  be  communicated  to  many  minds,  cannot  we 
fear,  be  resumed  until  the  maritime  parts  of  the  empire  are  no  longer  the 
scene  of  strife  between  the  opium-smuggler,  and  the  laws  of  the  country. 

Our  circumstances  afford  us  encouragement  to  hope  that  the  day  of 
China's  deliverance  from  'cruel  bondage'  is  at  hand.  The  Lord  is  col- 
lecting his  forces  here  and  in  the  neighbouring  regions,  and  we  must 
believe  that  he  has  something  prepared  or  in  preparation  for  them  to  do. 
Within  a  few  months,  we  have  welcomed  to  this  field  Dr.  Driver  of  the 
American  Board  of  Missions,  and  Dr.  and  Mrs.  Hobson  and  Rev.  W. 
Milne,  son  of  the  late  Dr.  Milne,  from  the  London  Miss.  Soc.  The 
number  of  Protestant  missionaries  and  their  wives  residing  at  present  in 
China  is  sixteen.  Five  of  them  are  under  the  patronage  of  the  Ameri- 
can Board;  three  are  connected  with  the  London  Missionary  Society; 
and  two  with  the  Church  Missionary  Society  ;  two  are  from  the  Ameri- 
can Baptist  Board,  and  one  from  a  Baptist  Society  in  the  valley  of  the 
Mississippi ;  two  are  in  the  service  of  the  Morrison  Education  Society, 


494  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Aug. 


and  one  is  attached  as  interpreter  to  the  British  commission  for  trade. 
The  missionaries  devoted  to  the  Chinese,  residing  at  Singapore,  Malacca, 
Siam,  Java,  and  Borneo,  have  had  large  accessions  to  their  number 
within  a  few  years  :  90  that  from  Penang  on  the  west  to  Canton  on  the 
east,  there  are  between  fifty  and  sixty  men  and  women  devoted  to  the 
Christianization  of  the  Chinese. 

During  the  latter  part  of  the  year,  we  have  experienced  no  serious 
interruptions  in  our  missionary  engagements.  Dr.  Parker  has  not  been 
able  to  re-open  the  hospital  at  Canton,  although  he  practises  privately 
even  among  many  of  reputation.  The  hospital  at  Macao,  a  most  commo- 
dious, and  eligibly  situated  building,  which  has  been  purchased  by  the 
Medical  Missionary  Society,  will  probably  remain  closed  until  present 
agitations  subside.  Dr.  Lockhart  who  arrived  here  about  a  twelvemonth 
since,  was  driven  away  with  the  other  English  residents,  and  has  taken 
up  his  temporary  abode  in  Batavia.  Mr.  Gutzlaff  and  family  were  obliged 
to  flee  at  the  same  time.  He  has  returned  to  Macao,  but  his  family  has 
gone  to  Manila. 

The  Morrison  Education  Society  have  hired  a  9pacious  house,  with 
retired  grounds  attached,  for  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brown,  who  have  half  a 
dozen  hopeful  Chinese  youth  residing  with  them,  and  receiving  daily 
instruction.  They  have  been  received  on  condition  of  remaining  several 
years  with  Mr.  Brown.  English  literature  is  the  object  of  their  parents, 
the  Christian  religion  through  this  medium  is  the  chief  object  of  the 
Society.  Mr.  Bridgman  still  continues  at  Macao,  where  he  is  at  present 
exposed  to  less  interruption  than  at  Canton.  His  attention  is  chiefly 
given  to  the  preparation  of  an  elementary  work  designed  for  the  equal 
benefit  of  those  who  wish  to  learn  either  language.  Mr.  Williams  devotes 
a  part  of  his  time  to  the  study  of  the  Japanese,  under  the  tuition  of  those 
shipwrecked  natives  whom  Mr.  King  carried  back  to  their  country;  but 
who  were  not  permitted  to  disembark.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Shuck  and  Mr. 
Roberts  of  the  Baptist  denomination  are  diligently  engaged  in  the  usual 
work  of  missions. 

We  regret  to  add  that  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Squire  of  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  expect  to  sail  for  England  in  a  few  days,  on  acconut  of  the  deli- 
cate state  of  Mrs.  Squire's  health.  For  the  same  reason,  Mr.  Abeel  is 
ordered  by  the  physicians  to  escape  the  approaching  rain  and  cold  of 
China,  and  to  visit  Singapore  or  Manila.  As  his  dialect  is  the  one  which 
the  emigrants  and  foreign  traders  generally  employ,  he  will  find  a  sphere 
of  usefulness  in  any  of  the  neighboring  countries.  The  son  of  Leang 
Afa,  who  was  educated  by  Mr.  Bridgman,  is  still  in  the  service  of  the 
commissioner  Lin.  He  is  at  present  employed  in  translating  into  Chinese 
the  Cyclopaedia  of  Geography  by  Murray.  This  we  consider  an  auspi- 
cious circumstance.  We  have  much  reason  for  hoping  that  the  study  of 
the  English  by  Chinese  youth  will  be  regarded  in  future  with  much  more 
complacency  by  the  authorities  than  hitherto.  If  our  expectations  be 
realized,  it  furnishes  another  call  for  intercession,  that  "  the  waters  of 
life''  may  flow  freely  into  the  empire  through  these  new  channels  of  com- 
munication. 

We  cannot  close  without  once  more  adverting  to  a  subject  to  which  we 
have  made  only  a  passing  allusion.  We  refer  to  the  traffic  in  opium — ■ 
one  of  the  most  appalling  obstacles  to  our  missionary  exertions.  After 
all  the  imperial  edicts  which  have  been  issued,  and  the  victims  which 
have  been  sacrificed  to  public  justice,  and  the  costly,  though  no  doubt 
injudicious  efforts  made  by  a  high  officer  commissioned  for  this  very 
purpose,  this  nefarious  and  ruinous  trade  is  still  going  on  in  a  manner, 
and  to  a  degree  which  can  scarcely  be  credited.  Vessels  built  for  the 
purpose,  armed  and  manned  as  ships  of  war,  are  continually  forcing  this 


1840.J        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


495 


drug  upon  the  empire,  and  more  effectually  to  gain  their  ends,  are  supply- 
ing with  arms  and  ammunition  the  Chinese  craft  engaged  to  assist  them. 
If  this  traffic  continues,  what  is  to  prevent  the  whole  coast  of  China  from 
becoming  a  scene  of  ruthless  piracy  ? 

It  is  gravely  asserted  hy  those  who  have  resided  in  China,  that  opium 
as  used  here  is  a  harmless  luxury,  and  of  course  the  supply  of  it  a  very 
honorable  employment.  As  well  might  they  declare,  that  there  is  no 
idolatry  in  China,  or  that  what  little  may  be  practised  amounts  to  a  very 
innocent  and  useful  recreation.  The  effects  of  opium  encounter  us  "  in 
the  house  and  by  the  wayside,"  in  our  domestic  arrangements,  and  in 
our  missionary  pursuits.  Although  we  have  made  the  most  explicit  re- 
gulations to  debar  from  our  service  those  who  are  addicted  to  this  indul- 
gence, and  although  those  who  have  entered  our  families  have  bound 
themselves  by  these  rules,  yet  notwithstanding  their  promises  and  the 
fear  of  expulsion  we  have  detected  some  of  them  yielding  to  the  habit, 
even  in  our  houses.  Some  of  us  have  experienced  serious  embarrassments 
from  having  the  best  teachers  we  can  procure,  stupified  and  disabled  by 
its  influence. 

The  sallow  complexion  and  meagre  appearance  of  hundreds  and  thou- 
sands in  the  sireets  betray  its  deadly  inroads  in  their  constitutions.  The 
sufferings  of  families  from  whose  scanty  support  this  expensive  luxury  is 
deducted,  or  from  whose  head  its  victim  is  torn  away  by  death,  can 
scarcely  be  imagined.  Of  all  with  whom  we  converse,  those  who  are  the 
least  susceptible  to  serious  impressions  are  opium-smokers.  And  yet 
nominal  Christians,  men  of  high  worldly  respectability,  grow,  prepare, 
and  smuggle  this  deadly  poison ;  nay  justify,  and  even  commend  them- 
selves for  their  benevolent  services. 

These,  as  far  as  we  are  aware,  are  the  principal  incidents  connected 
with  the  present  state  of  this  mission.  We  would  not  conceal  from  those 
who  can  sympathize  with  us,  that  we  are  at  times  oppressed  with  a  sense 
of  unprofitableness  in  our  difficult  sphere  of  labor.  Hemmed  in  by 
crowds  of  ignorant  and  dying  heathen,  we  are  humbled  to  find  that  we 
make  no  visible  impression  upon  the  mass.  We  again  entreat  you  to 
remember  us  under  our  trying  circumstances.  Pray  that  obstacles  may 
be  removed  and  facilities  multiplied.  Pray  that  we  may  be  "  wise  as 
serpents,  harmless  as  doves,"  bold  as  lions — that  our  efforts  may  be 
rightly  directed,  and  that  we  may  be  permitted  to  see  that  "our  labor  is 
not  in  vain  in  the  Lord."  We  are  not  discouraged,  neither  do  we  expect 
to  be,  as  long  as  we  can  exercise  faith  in  the  word  of  promise,  but  how 
can  we  be  satisfied,  so  long  as  we  sympathise  with  Him  who  has  thus 
far  scarcely  seen  any  fruits  of  the  travail  of  his  soul,  in  this  empire. 

May  the  whole  world  soon  be  subjected  to  his  dominion,  and  that  we 
all  may  meet  with  many  "  sheaves  in  our  bosoms,  "  when  the  harvest  of 
the  earth  is  reaped  is  the  earnest  prayer  of  your  brethren  in  this  part 
of  our  Lord's  vineyard. 


27. — The  Periodicals  of  the  Month. 
The  Journal  of  the  Asiatic  Society  is  exceedingly  interesting  and  instruc- 
tive.— Dr.  McClelland's  second  number  of  the  Journal  of  Natural  History 
is  a  magnificent  number.  The  talented  Editor  is  a  host  in  himself. — The 
India  Review  is  as  usual  full  of  all  kinds  and  degrees  of  matter.  The 
worthy  Editor  appears  equally  beyond  the  reach  of  praise  or  blame,  and 
hence  he  disports  from 

"  Grave  to  gay — from  lively  to  severe" 
and  from  the  veriest  nonsense  to  deep  philosophy.    It  is  a  useful  miscel- 
lany ;  but  we  put  it  to  the  Editor  whether  it  might  not  be  more  so  were  it 
less  chequered  and  adorned. 


'UXi  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [A-UG- 


28. — The  New  Poem  "Justice." 

From  recent  communications  received  from  our  friends  in  England  we 
learn  that  a  new  poem  entitled  "Justice"  has  issued  from  the  press.  It 
is  the  production  of  a  very  young  man,  and  is  considered  a  very  masterly 
production — one  of  the  most  successful  poetical  eiforts  of  modern  times. 
The  subject  is  the  search  of  happiness  in  the  world,  together  with  its 
disappointment.  The  plan  is  somewhat  similar  to  Goethe's  Faust.  The 
style  is  hold  and  somewhat  redundant — an  error  which  maturity  will  cor- 
rect. The  imagery  is  bold  and  in  marly  parts  originally  put,  which  is 
saying  much  in  this  late  age  of  the  world's  history.  The  whole  subject 
is  calculated  to  lead  men  wandering  and  erring  to  the  only  source  of 
peace  and  rest  and  hope — the  cross  of  Christ.  The  poem  offers  great 
promise  from  .the  future  labors  of  its  esteemed  and  talented  author. 


29. — Miscellaneous  Notices. 

The  Church  of  Scotland's  Mission  in  this  Presidency  has  received  an 
accession  to  its  agency  by  the  arrival,  on  the  9th  of  April  last,  of  Mr. 
James  Aitken,  appointed  to  labour  at  Puna.  Mr.  A.  prosecuted  his 
studies,  in  the  first  instance,  for  the  profession  of  the  law,  in  connexion 
with  which  his  prospects  were  most  encouraging  ;  but  for  some  time  past 
his  desires  have  been  directed  to  the  propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  this 
great  country,  to  which  in  the  good  providence  of  God  he  has  been  safely 
brought.  We  trust  that  no  long  time  will  pass  away  before  he  be  ordain- 
ed to  the  office  of  the  ministry,  for  which,  in  the  opinion  of  all  who  know 
him,  he  is  highly  qualified  by  his  piety,  talents,  attainments,  and  ex- 
perience in  communicating  religious  knowledge. 

On  the  11th  of  June,  the  Reverend  Messrs.  Miiller,  Mengert,  Fritz, 
Weigle,  and  Amann  arrived  in  Bombay,  as  a  reinforcement  to  the  German 
Evangelical  Mission  in  Canara.  They  have  all  been  educated  in  the  Basle 
Missionary  Society,  and  we  doubt  not,  through  the  grace  of  God,  will 
support  its  celebrity.  We  most  cordially  welcome  them  to  the  shores  of 
India. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  Wilson,  and  the  Rev.  J.  Murray  Mitchell,  have  just  re- 
turned from  a  missionary  journey,  extending  through  the  Northern  Kon. 
kan,  the  province  of  Gujarat,  and  part  of  Marwar,  and  Khandesh.  They 
have  been  enabled  to  survey  a  large  portion  of  the  Missionary  field  in  the 
North-West  of  India,  to  preach  the  glad  tidings  of  salvation  to  great 
multitudes  of  the  natives ;  to  circulate  several  thousand  portions  and 
copies  of  the  divine  word,  and  other  religious  publications  ;  to  confer  with 
many  of  the  friends  of  the  propagation  of  Christianity  at  different  stations  ; 
and  to  make  various  arrangements  for  the  furtherance  of  the  cause  of  the 
Saviour,  the  effects  of  which  may  appear  many  days  hence.  To  some  of 
their  proceedings  and  discoveries,  we  may  aftervvads  direct  the  attention 
of  our  l  eaders. 

Since  March  last,  an  interesting  periodical,  entitled  the  Protestant 
Weekly  Visitor,  has  been  issued  from  the  press  at  Madras.  It  is  conduct- 
ed on  liberal  principles  ;  and  many  of  its  articles  are  distinguished  for 
their  good  sense  and  ability. 

The  two  first  numbers  of  our  ATative's  Friend,  have  just  made  their 
appearance.  The  subscription  is  two  rupees  per  annum,  payable  in  ad- 
vance ;  and  application  for  copies  should  be  made  to  the  publisher  of  the 
Oriental  Christian  Spectator.  This  periodical  tract,  we  may  remind  our 
readers,  is  intended  for  circulation  among  native  youth  who  understand 
the  English  language.  Gentlemen  purchasing  copies  for  gratuitous  dis- 
tribution, may  have  them  forwarded  to  them  by  banghy,  when  necessary. 


1840.]         Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


497 


We  have  seen  two  numbers  of  the  Dig-Uarshun,  a  Marathi  magazine 
published  by  some  of  our  native  friends,  whom  we  wish  to  see  enjoy  the 
greatest  success  in  their  editorial  labours.  We  may  afterwards  more 
particularly  notice  it. — Oriental  Christian  Spectator. 


30. — Restriction  of  the  Arab  Slave  Trade. 

Political  Department,  Notification.  His  Highness  Sied  bin  Sultan,  the 
Imaum  of  Muscat,  having  on  the  17th  December,  1839,  consented  to  the 
three  following  Articles  being  added  to  the  Treaty  concluded  with  His 
Highness  by  Captain  Moresby,  under  date  the  30th  August,  1822,  pro- 
hibiting any  traffic  in  slaves,  being  carried  on  by  sea  within  certain 
limits  in  his  Highness's  territories,  the  same  are  now  published  for  gene- 
ral information. 

"  I  agree  that  the  following  Articles  be  added  to  the  above  Treaty, 
concluded  by  Captain  Moresby  on  the  aforesaid  date. 

1st.  "  That  the  Government  Cruizers  whenever  they  may  meet  any 
Vessel  belonging  to  my  subjects,  beyond  a  direct  line  drawn  from  Cape 
Delgado,  passing  two  degrees  seaward  of  the  Island  of  Socotra,  and  end- 
ing at  Pussein*,  and  shall  suspect  that  such  vessel  is  engaged  in  the  Slave 
Trade,  the  said  Cruizers  are  permitted  to  detain  and  search  it." 

2nd.  "  Should  it  on  examination  be  found,  that  any  vessel  belonging 
to  my  subjects  is  carrying  slaves,  whether  men,  women,  or  children  for 
sale,  beyond  the  aforesaid  line,  then  the  Government  Cruizers  shall  seize 
and  confiscate  such  vessel  and  her  cargo.  But  if  the  said  vessel  shall 
pass  beyond  the  aforesaid  line,  owing  to  stress  of  weather,  or  other  case 
of  necessity,  not  under  control,  then  she  shall  not  be  seized." 

3rd.  "  As  the  selling  of  Males  and  Females — whether  grown  up  or 
young,  who  are  Hoor,  or  free,  is  contrary  to  the  Mahomedan  religion  and 
whereas  the  Soomalees  are  included  in  the  Hoor,  or  free,  1  do  hereby 
agree,  that  the  sale  of  Males  and  Females  whether  young  or  old,  of  the 
Soomalee  Tribe,  shall  be  considered  as  piracy,  and  that  I  months  from 
tli is  date,  all  those  of  my  people  convicted  of  being  concerned  in  such  an 
act  shall  be  punished  as  pirates. — Dated  10th  Showal,  1255.  A.  D.  1839. 
Seal  of  Seid  bin  Sultan.  L.  S. 
True  Translation,    (Signed)  S.  Hennel,  Resident,  Persian  Gulf. 

By  order  of  the  Hon  hie  the  Governor  in  Council, 
L.  R.  Reid,  Chief  Secy,  to  Govt. 
Bombay  Castle,  18th  May,  1840.  Ibid. 


31. — Death  op  the  Rev.  Alexander  Fyvie,  of  Surat. 

Of  this  trying  dispensation  we  have  received  intimation  in  the  follow, 
ing  touching  letter  : — 

My  dear  friend, — "  In  the  midst  of  life  we  are  in  death."  May  it  be 
our  happy  privilege  to  be  waiting  for  the  coming  of  the  Lord.  This 
introduction  to  my  letter  may  lead  you  to  suppose,  that  I  have  heavy 
tidings  to  communicate.  Yes  it  is  the  case.  My  beloved  brother  and 
companion  in  Missionary  labour  for  the  last  eighteen  years  is  no  more. 
He  has  left  us.  His  work  on  earth  is  done,  his  wife  is  a  widow,  and 
his  dear  children  fatherless.  He  died  on  the  10th  instant,  of  a  bilious 
fever  of  a  few  days  continuance.    His  body  now  sleep  in  Jesus,  in  hope 


*  On  the  Mekroom  coasts 


498 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


of  a  joyful  resurrection,  in  the  Mission  burying  ground  at  the  South  end 
of  the  Chapel,  which  he  lately  superintended,  from  its  commencement  to 
its  completion.  We  bless  God  that  he  was  spared  to  complete  this  work  ; 
for  humanly  speaking  I  do  not  see  how  the  work  could  have  been  carried 
on  without  him.  He  now  rests  from  his  labours  and  anxieties.  God  ac- 
cepts his  work,  and  the  Lord,  I  trust,  will  hear  his  prayers  long  after  he 
is  gone,  that  prosperity  may  attend  his  cause  in  this  place.  For  some 
time  past,  his  mind  had  appeared  particularly  spiritual,  and  death  and 
eternity  seemed  to  pervade  his  prayers  ;  and  I  for  some  months  past  feared 
that  a  breach  was  about  to  be  made  in  our  happy  circle.  What  I  feared, 
has  come  to  pass;  but  we  bow  with  submission  to  the  divine  will,  well 
with  his  bereaved  partner,  and  well  also  with  his  fatherless  children  ; 
and  it  will  no  doubt  be  well  with  us  in  this  Mission,  if  we  rightly  improve 
the  dispensation,  though  we  are  now  deprived  of  his  labours  and  wise 
counsels.  The  great  head  of  the  church  ever  lives,  let  us  confide  in  Him, 
and  rely  on  his  faithful  and  precious  promises. 

That  my  dear  brother's  illness  would  have  terminated  fatally  was  not 
apprehended  till  within  twelve  hours  of  his  death,  when  he  suddenly 
became  worse  attended  with  great  weakness  and  delirium,  and  in  this 
state  he  continued  till  his  happy  spirit  was  released  from  its  clay  tenement. 
This  state  of  unconsciousness  prevented  him  expressing  to  us  his  views 
and  feelings  in  reference  to  that  happy  state  on  which  he  was  entering. 
But  as  it  regarded  himself  this  was  a  matter  of  little  importance,  he  had 
long  been  familiar  with  death,  and  was  looking  and  waiting  for  the  mercy 
of  our  Lord  Jesus  unto  everlasting  life.  "  Blessed  are  the  dead  who  die 
in  the  Lord,  they  rest  from  their  labours."  May  "  we  be  followers  of 
them  who  through  faith  and  patience  inherit  the  promises." 

Mrs.  Fyvie  feels  the  stroke  most  keenly  ;  but  bears  it  with  great  Chris- 
tian resignation.  May  she  ever  be  supported  by  the  presence  and  grace 
of  our  compassionate  high-priest  and  intercessor,  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ. 
Begging  an  interest  in  your  prayers  and  in  those  of  the  friends  of  Christ 
generally,  that  this  dispensation  may  be  sanctified  to  us  all, 

I  remain,  my  dear  friend,  yours  most  affectionately, 

Surat,  17th  June,  1810.  W.  Fyvie. 

Our  departed  friend  has  long  been  known  and  respected  in  this  presi- 
dency as  an  able,  and  most  faithful,  pious,  laborious,  and  judicious  mis- 
sionary ;  and  many  will  most  sincerely  mourn  his  removal.  The  loss  which 
the  Surat  Mission  has  sustained  by  his  death  is  great  indeed  ;  and  we 
deeply  sympathize  with  those  who  have  been  bereaved  of  an  invaluable 
friend,  companion,  and  counsellor.  May  the  Lord  heal  their  sorrows, 
and  graciously  renew  that  support  to  his  cause  which,  for  his  own  all-wise 
but  inscrutable  purposes,  he  has  removed  for  a  season  by  the  stroke  of  his 
afflicting  hand.  The  departed,  though  dead,  will  yet,  by  his  translations, 
and  compositions  and  the  light  of  his  example,  speak  to  the  natives  of 
Gujarat.  May  they  listen,  understand,  and  obey;  and  may  many  of 
them  at  last  follow  him  into  those  happy  regions  into  which  he  has  been 
conveyed  by  Him  that  loved  him  ! 

A  sketch  of  Mr.  Fyvie's  life  and  missionary  career,  we  are  persuaded, 
would  prove  gratifying  and  edifying  to  many  both  in  India  and  Britain. 
May  we  venture  to  request  his  respected  brother  to  furnisli  us  with  such 
a  document  ? — Ibid. 


■  The  following  sums  realized  towards  defraying  the  expenses 
of  the  enlargement  of  the  Circular  Road  Chapel, 
are  thankfully  acknowledged. 


Amount  collected  at  the 


D.  C.  Mackey,  Esq                  Rs.  100 

J.  M.  Dove,  Esq   50 

C.  Tucker,  Esq   50 

J.Lyall,  Esq   25 

R.  Mollov,  Esq   20 

XV.  Dunlop,  Esq   25 

N.  B.  E.  Baillie,  Esq   20 

Samuel  Smith,  Esq   50 

Jonathan  Carey,  Esq   100 

Baboo  Bhoyrubchunder  Mittre   20 

The  Hon'ble  W.  W.  Bird,  Esq..  ..  100 

James  Colquhoun,  Esq   50 

W.  Edwards,  Esq   50 

C.  F.  Holmes,  Esq   50 

H.  Colquhoun,  Esq   25 

H.  Chapman,  Esq   25 

J.  C.  C.  Sutherland,  Esq   20 

Baboo  Hollodhur  Bose,   5 

J.  Hawkins,  Esq   100 

J.N.  Smith,  Esq   20 

G.  W.  Duncan,  Esq   20 

Mr.  Wingrove   10 

P.  H.  Holmes,  Esq   25 

J.  Oxborough.Esq   10 

C.  Morley,  Esq   20 

C.  W.  Brietzcke,  Esq   25 

J.  Lowis,  Esq   50 

R.  Davidson,  Esq   25 

J.  L.  Russell,  Esq   16 

A.  Fraser,  Esq   16 

J.Muller,  Esq   16 

Dr.  N.  Wallich,   25 

J.  Calder,  Esq   15 

H.  A.  Wollaston,  Esq   10 

Mr.  and  Mrs.  Sykes  and  Family. ...  60 

F.  Millett,  Esq   50 

J.  \V.  Alexander,  Esq   32 

Mr.  D.  Edmonds   10 

G.  S.  Huttman,  Esq   20 

E.  Johnson,  Esq   20 

R.  S.  Strickland,  Esq   25 

G.  F.  Hodgkinson,  Esq   25 

Mr.  W.  Wallis   20 

Mr.  J.  Llewelyn,   1G 

Archibald  Grant,  Esq   15 

J.Hill,  Esq   16 

Mr.  R.  Leishman,   20 

W.  Bracken,  Esq   20 

J.  S.  B.  Scott,  Esq   20 

R.  M.  Thomas,  Esq   10 

F.  Bailey,  Esq   25 

Dwarkanauth  Tagore,  Esq   25 

James  Pattle,  Esq   50 


Rs.  478 


D.  Stewart,  Esq                       Rs.  50 

H.  V.  Bayley,  Esq   18 

Doctor  Nicolson,   16 

C.  J.  Richards,  Esq   25 

XV.  Hickey,  Esq   16 

John  Allan,  Esq   16 

J.  P.  Marcus,  Esq   20 

Mr.  R.  C.  Lepage,   10 

R.  T.  Allan,  Esq   50 

Baboo  Obeychurn  Holdar,   10 

Misses  C.  and  S.  Johnston,   8 

Mrs.  E.  Johnstone,   8 

G.  Wood,  Esq   25 

Miss  lluttemann,   10 

Collected  by  Mrs.  Dick,   33 

Mr.  W.  Preston,   5 

Rev.  Mr.  Piffard   16 

Owen  Potter,  Esq   20 

H.  C.  Kemp,  Esq  :..  100 

Mr.  T.  E.  Thomson,   20 

 E.  Grey   20 

 J.  T.  D.  Cameron,   10 

  W.  Masters,   10 

 G.  E.  Henwood,   10 

A.  D.  Rice,  Esq   16 

Mr.  H.  J.  Lee,   5 

 G.  Hill,   5 

—  J.  R.  Fraser,   5 

 F.  W.  Brown,   20 

.Tosiah  Rowe,  Esq   100 

Mr.  E.  B.  Sandford,   5 

Mrs.  Lock,   8 

Baboo  Punchanan  Bose,   5 

A  Friend  by  Shujatali,   32 

M.  Johnston,  Esq   32 

Mrs.  A.  Thorpe,   12 

Mr.  T.  Ross   8 

 W.  Byrne,   8 

 A.  A.  Sevestre,   5 

A.  B.C   10 

H.  B   10 

Mrs.  II   10 

B.  S.  (additional,)   10 

Baboo  Bulloychund  Day,   10 

W.  T.  Fraser,  Esq   16 

Mr.  W.K.  Ord,   8 

Baboo  Cossinauth  Bose,   25 

R.  Vaughan,  Esq   50 

Mr.  M.  Cockburn,    10 

N.  Hudson,  Esq   5 

Mr.  N.  S.  Sweedland,   5 

W.  Carr,  Esq                         ....  16 

W.  F.  Gibbon,  Esq   16 


2 


J.  P.  McKilligin,  Esq   16 

Mr.  A.  Rose,   20 

Mrs.  M.  W.  Mitchell   12 

Mr.  R.  VV.  Allan,   10 

— —J.Holmes,   16 

 I.  B.  Biss,   50 

R.  J.  R.  Campbell,  Esq   16 

D.  Macdonald,  Esq   5 

A.  Turner,  Esq   10 

E.  Oakes,  Esq   16 

T.  Leach,  Esq    20 

J.  Jackson,  Esq..   16 

J.Gifford,  Esq   16 

Capt.  J.  Rapson,    25 

Mr.  C.  Macleod,   10 

W.  Greenway,  Esq   10 

Mr.  R.  Rutter,   5 

J.  H.  Fergusson,  Esq   10 

C.  Campbell,  Esq   16 

R.  J.  Lattey,  Esq   16 

Mr.  L.  Mendes   4 

 B.  W.  Lazarus,   10 

 J.  Weaver   50 

 R.  Smith,    6 

General  J.  R.  Lumley,    50 

J.  F.  Leith,  Esq   32 

Mr.  C.N.Cooke   5 

T.  B.  Swinhoe,  Esq   32 

P.J.Paul,  Esq   20 

T.  Sandes,  Esq   20 

W.  P.  Grant,  Esq   25 

R.  Bird,  Esq   16 

Captain  A.  Munro,   10 

Mr.  Jabez  Carey,   16 

 W.  H.  Carey,   16 

Colonel  T.  Fiddes   25 

Mr.  C.  S.  Francis,   6 

Major  N.  Irvine,   16 

Colonel  T.  Macleod,   16 

Captain T.  Sewell,   16 

Mr.  H.  Brown,   10 

 J.  W.  Cliff,                        ...  5 

Major  R.  J.  H.  Birch,   10 

Mr.  D.  E.  Malloch,   8 


Baboo  Doorgachurn  Paul,   5 

A  Friend  ;.. ..  20 

Mr.  T.  Hutchins,   10 

 T.  Black,   5 

Dr.  C.  D.  Mitchell,   5 

Mr.  A.  J.  Whiffen,    5 

F.  C.  Drummond,  Esq   10 

Mr.  J.  S.  Biss,   25 

Mrs.  Lindstedt,  '  Q 

Dr.  J.  Grant   8 

H.  Moore,  Esq   16 

Mr.  C.  Waller   6 

Baboo  Hurrochunder  Bose,   10 

G.  W,  Chisholm.Esq   50 

Mr.  M.  Chardon,   10 

 G.  W.  Bright,   10 

J.  Jenkins,  Esq   8 

Mrs.  Ricketts   5 

Mr.  H.  G.  Madge,   5 

H.  J.  Leighton,  Esq   25 

Dr.  C.  C.  Egerton,   8 

Mr,  G.  Jephson,   8 

W.  W.  Kettle  well,  Esq   16 

Capt.  A.  H.  E.  Boileau,   20 

Mr.  J.  C.  Owen,    6 

R.  Lyall,  Esq   5 

Sir,  J.  Nicholls   15 

J,  W,  Templev,  Esq   16 

Dr.  T.Smith,   16 

Dr.  D.McLeod,   10 

T.  A  Biscoe,  Esq   20 

H.  C.  Halkett,  Esq   10 

R.  Wood,  Esq   8 

Lieut.  J.  Trail,   5 

W.  Wood,  Esq   8 

A  Young  Friend,   5 

Mr.  J.  M.  Edmonds,   8 

G.  A.  Avietick,  Esq   5 

J.  J.  Mackenzie,  Esq   10 

C.  Queiros,  Esq   8 

Mr.  H .  Manly,   10 

— —  James  Madge,   10 

 John  Madge   5 

 W.P.Madge,   5 


Calcutta,  July  20,  1840. 

I.  B.  Biss, 

Treasurer. 


Calcutta,  July  2l$t,  1840. 
LIST  OF  BIBLES  AND  TESTAMENTS, 

AT   REDUCED  PRICES, 

TO  BE  HAD  ON  APPLICATION  AT  THE  DEPOSITORY. 


ENGLISH. 


Bible  4 to    Elegant  binding,  gilt,. .  12  0 

Calf,   10  0 

,,  8vo.  Elegant  binding,  gilt,  8  0 
,,            Colored  calf  Mar.  Ref. 

small  pica,    6  0 

,,            Ditto  ditto   4  0 

,,             Colored  calf  &  lettered,  3  0 

„            Plain  calf,    2  8 

,,  12mo.  Colored  calf  and  let- 
tered, M.  R.,   3  8 

„            Plain  calf,  do.  M.  R...  2  8 

,,            Colored  calf  &  lettered,  2  0 

„            Plain  calf   1  8 

ii            Sbeep,   1  4 

„            Cloth,   1  0 

,,   24mo.  Colored  calf  and  let- 
tered,   2  0 

,,            Plain  calf,   1  8 

,,            Sheep,   1  0 

„            Cloth   0  12 

Testament  8vo.  Colored  calf,  ....  2  0 

„            Plain  calf,    1  8 

,,   12mo.  Colored  calf,   1  0 

„           Plain,   0  8 

„           Cloth                  ....  0  4 

,,  24mo.  Colored  calf,   1  0 

„            Plain,   0  8 

„           Cloth   0  6 

HEBREW. 

Bible,  8vo   4  0 

New  Testament   0  12 

GREEK. 

Bible,    6  0 

Old  Testament,   4  0 

New  Testament,   1  0 

SYRIAC. 

Bible   4  0 

New  Testament   2  0 

4  Gospels  and  Acts,   1  0 

ARMENIAN. 

Bible,  (Serampore  Edn.)   2  0 

ARABIC. 

Bible,   3  0 

New  Testament,  ,   1  0 

4  Gospels  and  Acts,  ............  0  8 


Luke,    o  3 

John   o  3 

Acts,    0  3 

PERSIAN. 

Bible,  4  vols.,   4  0 

Pentateuch,   i  o 

Prophets   1  o 

Genesis,    o  4 

Psalter,   ,   o  4 

Proverbs,   o  4 

Isaiah,   o  4 

Jeremiah   0  4 

New  Testament,   1  o 

4  Gospels  and  Acts   0  8 

Matthew,   o  3 

Mark,   o  3 

Luke,    0  3 

John,   0  3 

Acts,    0  3 

URDU,  PERSIAN  CHAR. 

Bible   3  0 

Genesis,   0  4 

Psalter,    0  4 

Proverbs,   0  4 

New  Testament,  ,  1  0 

4  Gospels  and  Acts,    0  8 

Matthew,   0  3 

Mark   0  3 

Luke,    0  3 

John,    0  3 

Acts,    0  3 

URDU,  ROM.  CHAR. 

Bible   3  0 

Genesis,    0  3 

Psalter,   0  3 

Proverbs,  ,   0  3 

New  Testament,   1  0 

4  Gospels  and  Acts,   0  8 

Ditto  ditto  English  on  opp.  pp.,  ..  0  12 

Matthew,   0  3 

Ditto  English,   0  4 

Mark,   0  3 

Ditto  English,   0  4 

Luke,    0  3 

John   0  3 

Ditto  English,   0  4 

Acts,    0  3 

Ditto  English,   0  4 


2 


HINDU!. 

Bible,  2  vols.,   3  0 

Genesis,   0  3 

Psalter   0  3 

Proverbs,   0  3 

New  Testament   1  0 

4  Gospels  and  Acts,   0  8 

Matthew,   0  3 

Mark   0  3 

Luke   0  3 

John,    0  3 

Acts,    0  3 

HINDUI  KAITHI. 

4  Gospels  and  Acts,   0  8 

Matthew   0  3 

Luke   0  3 

John   0  3 

BENGALI. 

Bible,    2  8 

Genesis,   0  3 

Psalter,    0  3 

Proverbs,   0  3 

New  Testament,  ,   1  0 

4  Gospels  and  Acts,    0  8 

4  Gospels,    0  8 

Matthew   0  3 

Mark,   0  3 

Luke   0  3 

John   0  3 

Acts,    0  3 

Epistles   0  8 

Separate  in  6  parts,  each,   0  3 


BENGALI,  ROMAN  CHAR. 

New  Testament,  colored  calf   2  8 

with  English  do. ..  5  0 

Sheep   1 

with  English,  ....  1  12 

Cloth   0  12 

with  English,  ....  1  8 

Matthew   0  3 

MULTANA. 

New  Testament,   0  8 

VICKAMRA. 

New  Testament,   0  8 

HAROTI. 

New  Testament   0  8 

ASSAMESE. 

New  Testament,   0  8 

NEPAULESE. 

New  Testament,   0  8 

cashmiba. 
New  Testament,   0  8 

JAVANESE. 

New  Testament,   0  8 

CHINESE. 

New  Testament,   1  0 


Welsh,  Gaelic,  Irish,  German,  Dutch,  Danish,  Swedish,  French,  Italian,  Spanish 

and  Portuguese. 

Bibles   2    0  |  New  Testaments,   0  8 


N.  B.  All  applications  to  be  addressed  to  the  Secretary,  the  Rev,  Dr.  Hsberlin, 


i  HE 


CHRISTIAN  OBSERVER. 

(Nrto  5crie0.) 
No.  9. — SEPTEMBER,  1840. 


I. — A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Eyypl. — Alexandria, — (he  banks 
of  (he  Nile, — Scrip(ural  ilhistradons, — Grand  Cairo, — (he 
Mayiciun. 

N.  B. — In  the  following  brief  notes  the  writer  Joes  not  profess  to 
advance  any  thing-  new  or  original.  His  sojourn  in  Lower  Egypt  was  far 
too  limited  to  admit  of  extensive  observation,  inquiry  or  research.  He 
saw  nothing  beyond  what  hundreds  besides  have  seen,  and  not  a  few 
have  described  in  some  form  or  other.  All  that  he  pretends  to  is,  to 
picture  forth,  in  his  own  way,  some  of  those  ordinary  phenomena  which 
were  presented  to  his  own  senses — accompanied  with  such  reflections  or 
remarks  as  they  happened  to  suggest  to  his  own  mind. 

On  Saturday  afternoon,  the  14th  December,  1839,  wearied 
and  sickened  with  our  accommodation  and  treatment  on 
board  the  French  Steamer,  all  were  on  deck,  eager  to  catch 
the  first  glimpse  of  Egypt, — that  land  so  fraught  to  the 
niythologist  and  antiquarian  with  fable,  mystery  and  won- 
der,— that  land  so  fraught  to  the  Israelite  and  Christian  with 
heart-stirring  associations  of  Divine  interposition  and  pro- 
phetic accomplisument.  The  declining  sun  shone  with  peculiar 
effulgence  athwart  a  cloudless,  pure,  and  bracing  atmosphere  ; 
while  the  gentle  ripplings  of  the  <£  Great  Sea"  only  broke 
into  fairer  beauty  its  ever-varying  reflections  of  the  beams 
of  heaven.  At  length  a  shout  of  welcome  gratulation  was 
raised  at  the  appearance,  in  the  sharp  clear  line  of  the  hori- 
zon, of  a  forest  of  well-defined  top-masts.  They  were  those 
of  the  combined  Turco-Egyptian  fleet,  consisting  in  all  of 
about  sixty  vessels  of  war,  of  different  dimensions — from  the 
Pasha's  huge  four-decker,  downwards — then  riding  safely  in 
fraternal  embrace  in  the  harbour  of  Alexandria.  In  front 
appeared  the  summit  of  Pompey's  column,  composed  of  one 
entire  block  of  red  granite,  right  across  the  naval  armament, — 
on  the  left,  the  bare  sharp  point  of  one  of  the  obelisks,  com- 

vol,  i.  3  T 


500  A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt.  [Sept. 


monly  designated  "  Cleopatra's  needles," — on  the  right,  the 
modern  lighthouse,  the  poor  and  degenerated  successor  of 
that  which  was  once  ranked  as  one  of  the  wonders  of  the 
world  ; — all  grotesquely  blending  with  numberless  windmills 
in  rapid  motion  grinding  corn  for  the  fleet,  and  barracks  and 
dockyards  and  minarets. 

The  island  of  Pharos  originally  stretched  across  the  mouth  of 
the  great  harbour,  like  an  enormous  breakwater,  leaving  a  con- 
venient passage  open  at  either  extremity.  About  half-way  be- 
tween the  centre  and  the  eastern  point,  the  island  was  united 
with  the  main  land  by  means  of  an  extensive  artificial  mound. 
This  was  the  work  of  one  of  the  Ptolemies,  successors  of 
Alexander.  On  both  ends  of  the  island  the  sea  has  now  greatly 
encroached, — thus  apparently  widening  the  mouths  of  the  two 
harbours  separated  by  the  intervening  moat.  But  the  encroach- 
ment has  proved  a  dangerous  one  ;  for  while  the  upper  soil  and 
loose  materials  have  been  swept  away,  a  long  low  rocky  reef 
almost  level  with  the  surface  of  the  water  has  often  deceived 
the  mariner  to  his  ruin  ;  while  the  great  harbour  itself  has  in 
many  parts  been  shallowed  or  choked  up  by  deposits  of  the 
ballast  of  ships  during  the  long  period  of  Mahammadan  mis- 
rule and  barbarous  negligence.  Till  within  little  more  than 
twelve  years  ago,  the  once  magnificent  city  of  Alexandria 
had  wholly  disappeared  ;  a  few  miserable  dmigeon-like  edifices 
built  along  the  mound  and  the  island  somewhat  after  the  form 
of  the  letter,  T,  continuing  to  bear,  as  if  in  derision,  that  cele- 
brated name.  Of  late  a  new  town  has  began  to  be  built,  farther 
inland,  out  of  the  excavated  ruins  of  the  ancient  city,  the 
great  square  of  which  is  chiefly  occupied  by  those  stately 
Consular  fabrics  over  which  wave  the  flags  of  all  civilized 
nations.  The  whole  has  been  surrounded  by  a  wall,  of  suffi- 
cient strength  to  repel  any  sudden  incursion  from  the  wild 
Arabs  of  the  desert.  The  present  Pasha's  palace  stands  at  the 
western  end  of  the  island — constructed  not  for  shew  but  utility 
— where  his  favourite  pastime  is,  to  sit  in  his  durbar  and  watch 
the  ingress,  the  egress,  and  various  other  evolutions  of  the  fleet. 

Alexandria  has  now  once  more  become  the  busy  bustling 
scene  of  commercial  enterprise  and  political  intrigue.  More 
than  once  have  the  destinies  of  the  world,  politically  and  reli- 
giously, quivered  in  the  balance  in  that  seat  of  empire  and  of 
faith.  And  now,  after  long  centuries  of  utter  inanition,  like 
a  phoenix  from  its  ashes,  it  seems  all  of  a  sudden  to  have  sprung 
up  into  reviviscence  and  pristine  strength.  The  eyes  of  all 
nations  seem  now  to  be  directed  and  the  energies  of  all  na- 
tions to  be  concentrated  towards  that  singular  spot.  What  a 
contrast  between  the  arsenals  and  the  dockyards  and  the  fleets 


1840.]  A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt.  501 

and  the  Consular  Residences  and  all  the  stirring  activities 
which  characterize  the  mean  and  insignificant  Alexandria  of 
our  day — the  grand  focus  of  European  politics — and  the 
grim  and  desolate  solitude  which  overspreads  the  site  of  the 
magnificent  Alexandria  of  ancient  times  !  A  walk  over  that 
site  was  the  most  dreary  and  melancholy  which  it  ever  was  the 
lot  of  the  writer  to  encounter.  Who,  versed  in  the  knowledge 
of  antiquity  at  all,  has  not  read  with  a  feeling  somewhat 
akin  to  the  admiration  of  romance,  of  the  luxurious  empo- 
rium of  universal  commerce — the  proud  capital  of  the  Ptole- 
mies— the  noble  see  of  Athanasius  ? — with  its  parallel  and 
transverse  streets  of  unrivalled  magnitude — 'adorned  with  a 
countless  profusion  of  temples  and  palaces,  theatres  and  pub- 
lic baths,  libraries  and  museums,  groves  and  schools  of  learn- 
ing and  philosophy  ?  Where  are  all  these  now  ?  Rather,  where 
are  the  vestiges  of  them  ?  So  utterly  despoiled  did  that  devoted 
city  become  of  its  columns,  pilasters,  and  obelisks  of  marble, 
porphyry  and  granite,  for  the  embellishment  of  the  metropolis 
of  the  world  ; — so  upheaved  and  devastated  by  earthquake  and 
conflagration  ; — so  over-run  and  ransacked  by  the  fierce  legi- 
ons of  Rome  and  the  still  fiercer  legions  of  him  who  issued 
the  memorable  decree  respecting  the  library  of  700,000 
volumes  :  "  If  these  writings  of  the  Greeks  agree  with  the 
Koran,  or  book  of  God,  they  are  useless,  and  need  not  be 
preserved;  if  they  disagree,  they  are  pernicious  and  ought  to 
be  destroyed  — so  upturned  and  pillaged  for  materials,  where- 
with to  rear  and  adorn  other  cities  in  Egypt  and  the  adjacent 
territories  ; — that,  literally,  not  one  stone  has  been  left  upon 
another,  and  scarcely  one  stone  left  any  where  at  all  !  It  is 
this  totality  of  subversion  and  erasement  which  fills  the  mind 
with  wondering  reflection.  It  is  nothing  uncommon  in  all 
countries — once  the  seats  of  empire  and  dominion — to  meet 
with  ruins  of  temples,  and  palaces,  and  other  public  edifices, 
or  even  of  whole  cities.  But  it  usually  happens  that  so  much 
remains  to  indicate  the  forms  and  proportions  of  the  original 
structures  as  to  stimulate  the  imagination  to  fill  up  the  out- 
lines— and  thus  draw  away  the  mind  from  the  painfulness  of 
present  desolation  to  revel  amid  the  joyfulness  of  past  beauty 
and  grandeur.  Or,  it  may  happen  that  the  remaining  ruins 
exhibit  such  rare  and  fantastic  shapes,  or  are  mantled  over  so 
gracefully  with  such  vegetable  products  of  different  growths 
and  variegated  hues,  as  to  form  the  most  striking  and  peculiar 
features  in  a  landscape  that  kindles  into  fire  the  poetic  muse. 
But  it  surely  is  an  unwonted  spectacle  to  traverse  the  site  of  one 
of  the  most  extensive  and  magnificent  of  cities,  and  not  to  meet 
with  aught  but  a  naked  arid  waste — no,  not  even  with  a  speck 
3  t  2 


502 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egijpt.  [Sept. 


of  verdure  or  a  shrub,  and  scarcely  with  a  fragment  of  ruin 
upon  the  surface  ! — The  wearied  eye  being  everywhere  met 
with  nothing  but  flat,  or  furrowed,  or  mounded  masses 
of  comminuted  rubbish — mortar  and  marble  and  granite 
pounded  into  common  dust  or  granulated  sand — and  driven 
about  in  clouds  by  the  hot  winds  of  the  Lybian  desert. 
So  often  has  this  minute  rubbish  been  upturned  for  build- 
ing materials  that  it  is  now  difficult  to  find  loose  fragments 
of  stone  even  at  a  considerable  depth.  Such  an  utter  ever- 
sion  and  evanishment  of  a  mighty  city  we  had  not  previously 
conceived  as  possible.  Thus,  it  were  no  figure  to  say  that  it 
was  swept  tvith  the  besom  of  destruction.  To  the  eye,  to  the 
feelings,  the  scene  spoke  aloud  that  it  could  have  been  visited 
by  nothing  less  than  the  breath  of  Jehovah's  displeasure — the 
withering  blast  of  Divine  retribution  !  We  cannot,  it  is  true, 
point  so  authoritatively,  as  in  the  case  of  many  other  ancient 
cities,  to  the  proximate  moral  causes  of  an  overthrow  so  dis- 
astrous. But  this  we  assuredly  do  know,  that  the  pride  of 
wealth  and  power,  the  insolence  of  tyranny,  the  atheistic 
exclusion  of  the  Supreme  Sovereign  from  the  counsels  of  earthly 
governments,  the  wilful  rejection  or  corruption  of  Divine 
truth,  and  the  persecution  of  God's  peculiar  people  have,  in 
the  dispensation  of  a  righteous  Providence,  ever  been  fol- 
lowed sooner  or  later,  even  in  this  world,  with  a  terrible  recom- 
pense of  reward.  And  is  there  not  enough,  yea,  more  than 
enough  in  the  strangely  varied  and  eventful  history  of  Alexan- 
dria, to  justify  us  in  classing  its  fate  and  final  doom  in  the  same 
category  with  that  of  Sodom  and  Gomorrah,  Tyre  and  Sidon, 
Nineveh  and  Babylon  ?  Oh,  that  existing  nations  and  cities, 
especially  those  of  Christendom,  were  wise — that  they  would 
consider  all  this — and,  by  timeous  repentance  and  submission 
to  Him,  who  is  the  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords,  arrest 
the  sentence  of  condemnation,  and  avert  the  dread  catastrophe 
which  threatens  ere  long  to  bury  them  in  their  own  ruins  ! 

The  present  route  from  Alexandria  to  Cairo,  following  as 
it  does  the  windings  of  the  Mahmoudi  canal  and  the  Nile,  is 
extremely  circuitous  and  often  very  tedious — occupying  on  an 
average  from  three  to  six  days,  though  the  direct  distance 
does  not  exceed  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles.  Proceeding 
first,  for  fifty  miles  in  an  easterly  direction,  by  the  canal  which 
turns  into  Alexandria  the  waters  and  the  commerce  of  the  Nile, 
we  gladly  left  behind  us  the  cheerless  scenery  of  rubbish  piles 
and  burning  sands, — passing  the  lake  of  Marcotis,  whose 
banks,  once  celebrated  for  their  vines,  are  now  scorched  by 
the  breath  of  the  desert  into  utter  barrenness  ;  and  whose 
bosom,  subsequently  well  nigh  drained  and  converted  into 
corn-fields  be-strewn  with  villages,  was,  at  the  beginning  of  the 


1840.]  A  feio  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt.  .r>0.'* 

present  century,  through  the  inevitable  necessity  of  war,  again 
submerged  beneath  the  waves  of  the  Mediterranean.  From 
the  canal  itself  nought  is  visible,  save  the  excavated  mud 
which  has  been  thrown  up  on  either  side  like  one  continued 
wall.  The  blue  sky  above,  with  its  glorious  sun  by  day  and 
starry  lamps  by  night  ;  in  other  words,  the  scenery  of  the 
heavens  alone  could  afford  solace  or  delight.  As  far  as  regard- 
ed terrestrial  scenery,  beyond  muddy  water  and  naked  mud 
banks,  we  might  as  well  have  been  sailing  along  the  bottom 
of  a  deep  ditch.  And  to  add  to  our  consolation  it  was  soon 
found  that  our  boat  so  abounded  with  vermin  and  insects,  that 
it  looked  as  if  we  carried  along  with  us  a  goodly  remnant  of 
the  plagues  of  Egypt. 

Having  arrived  at  the  terminating  basin  of  the  canal, 
and  crossed  a  narrow  isthmus  of  a  few  hundred  feet  through 
the  miserable  village  of  Atfe,  we  at  last  cast  our  eyes 
on  the  western  or  Rosctta  branch  of  the  Nile.  What  Chris- 
tian can  behold  that  stream  for  the  first  time,  without  a 
rushing  flow  of  emotions  ? — emotions,  many  of  them  of  such 
sacred  and  mysterious  awe  that  he  can  scarcely  define  them 
to  himself?  Was  this  indeed  the  very  stream,  on  which 
once  reposed,  in  unconscious  slumber,  in  an  humble  "ark  of 
bulrushes,"  the  infant  Moses,  who  was  destined  to  be  the 
special  Legate  of  Jehovah  to  the  proudest  of  monarchs — to 
be  favoured  with  so  glorious  a  vision  of  the  "  glory1'  of  the 
great  e<  I  AM,"  in  the  clefts  of  Sinai — and  to  appear  in  glori- 
fied form  to  the  amazed  disciples  on  the  mount  of  transfigu- 
ration ?  Was  this  the  very  river  which,  once  dyed  with  the 
blood  of  thousands  of  Hebrew  innocents,  was  doomed,  as  if 
in  righteous  retribution  on  a  remorseless  race,  to  have  its  own 
cleansing  and  fertilizing  waters  "  turned  into  blood," — cor- 
rupting the  land  and  famishing  its  inhabitants  ? 

On  our  way  up  the  Nile  we  constantly  went  on  shore,  and 
walked  along  the  banks, — not  unfrequently  making  little  in- 
cursions into  the  interior.  This  we  were  enabled  to  do  with- 
out retarding  our  progress,  as  the  wind  often  failed  for  a 
whole  day,  and  the  process  of  dragging  the  boat  against  the 
current  was  tardy  in  the  extreme.  No  flat  region  can  be 
more  beautiful  than  Lower  Egypt  at  that  season  of  the  year. 
The  waters  of  the  annual  inundation  had  not  only  wholly 
withdrawn  from  the  land,  but  half  subsided  in  the  channel  of 
the  river.  Vast  level  plains  spread  out  on  all  sides — having 
their  carefully  cultiv  ated  soil  clad  in  the  living  green  which  dis- 
tinguishes the  first  fresh  blades  of  vegetable  produce  in  the 
month  of  May  in  British  climes — and  their  borders  fringed 
with  rows  and  their  points  of  junction  garnished  with  clumps 


504 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


[Sept. 


and  groves  of  date  trees,  palmyras,  sycamores,  and  other  ever- 
greens. Thus  for  miles  together  it  often  presented  the  aspect 
of  a  beautiful  well-dressed  garden — without,  however,  any  trace 
of  that  boundlessly  prolific  and  spontaneous  exuberance  which 
characterizes  the  plains  of  Bengal.  The  numberless  trenches 
and  canals  for  distributing  the  redundant  waters  of  the  river, 
and  the  many  pieces  of  mechanism  in  busy  play  to  supply  the 
deficiencies,  or  perpetuate  the  effects  of  the  inundation,  at 
once  announced  the  difference  between  the  rain-flooded  Delta 
of  the  Ganges  and  the  almost  rainless  Delta  of  the  Nile. 

Though  few  of  the  surrounding  objects  were  really  new  to  us 
after  having  sojourned  in  tropical  climes,  yet  the  absence  of 
several  years  tended  to  throw  somewhat  of  the  freshness  of 
novelty  over  the  aspect  and  operations  of  an  Egyptian  land- 
scape. But  what  pleased  us  most  was  the  clear  light  often  there- 
by thrown  on  the  language  and  allusions  of  sacred  writ.  What 
does  the  very  name  of  the  river — Nile — import  ?  It  is  a  term 
which,  in  Arabic,  Sanskrit  and  other  oriental  languages,  signi- 
fies, dark  blue, or  black;  and  all  agree  that  it  has  been  significant- 
ly applied  to  the  great  river  of  Egypt,  on  account  of  the  sin- 
gularly black  slime  which  it  so  copiously  deposits.  Now,  does 
not  this  at  once  remind  us  of  the  Scriptural  appellation  of  the 
river — Sihor  or  Sichor — an  appellation  the  meaning  of  which 
is,  black?  "And  now,  what  hast  thou  to  do  in  the  way  of 
Egypt,  to  drink  the  waters  of  Sihor?"  Jer.  ii.  18.  In  like 
manner,  the  name  of  the  country.  After  the  Greeks  and 
Romans,  we  call  it  Egypt — supposed  to  be  a  contraction  for 
A'ia-gyptos,  the  land  of  Gyptos  or  Kyptos,  which  doubtlessly 
exhibits  the  rudiment  of  Copt,  the  denomination  still  retained 
by  the  existing  remnant  of  the  old  Egyptians.  In  the  Bible  it 
is  designated  "  the  land  of  Mitsraim  or  Misraim,"  from 
Misraim, — numbered  in  Gen.  x.  6,  as  one  of  the  sons  of 
Ham, — who  was  destined  to  colonize  and  enstamp  with  his 
own  name  that  part  of  Africa — his  father's  divinely  allotted 
inheritance.  The  name  often  appears  also  in  the  Bible  in  its 
singular  form,  "  Misor"  or  "  Misr."  Andean  it  but  sound 
pleasantly  in  the  ear  of  the  Biblical  student  to  hear  the  term, 
Misr,  constantly  dropping  from  the  lips  of  the  Arab  fellahs  and 
other  native  inhabitants,  as  the  only  name  by  which  their  own 
land  is  known  to  themselves  ?  Another  scriptural  appellation 
of  Egypt  is  "  the  land  of  Ham"  or  "  Cham,"  Psalm  cv.  23, 
27,  &c.  And  is  it  not  pleasant  to  remark  that  "  Chamia,'' 
the  land  of  Ham  or  Cham,  is  the  very  name  by  which  Egypt 
is  still  familiarly  distinguished  among  the  Coptic  population  ? 

In  reading  the  account  of  Moses1  "ark  of  bulrushes  daubed 
with  slime,"  a  British  reader,  judging  by  comparison  with  the 


1840.] 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


505 


products  of  his  own  soil,  often  thrills  at  the  idea  of  extreme  inse- 
curity which  the  description  is  apt  to  present  to  his  fancy.  On 
the  banks  of  the  Nile  his  fears  would  be  abated.    There — the 
bulrushes  grow  at  this  day, — thick,  strong,  tough  reeds, — fit 
when  united  to  bear  a  man  not  less  than  an  infant; — and  many 
of  the  native  boats  are  still  to  be  seen  plastered  over  with  no 
other  substance  than  the  glutinous  slime  of  the  Nile,  instead 
of  pitch  and  tar.    In  like  manner,  judging  solely  from  home 
experience  the  illiterate  is  often  surprised  and  at  a  loss  to  con- 
jecture  what  the  process  of  brick-making  alluded  to  in  Exod. 
v.  7 — 18,  can  possibly  be.  On  the  banks  of  the  Nile  that  pro- 
cess is  still  abundantly  exemplified.    The  bricks  are  not  first 
fashioned — piled  up — and  then  subjected  to  a  furnace  heat  as  in 
our  native  country.  No ;  straw,  or  stubble  is  collected  in  large 
quantities — cut  or  chopped  into  small  pieces — intermingled 
with  a  large  mass  of  the  clayey  slime  to  render  it  more  tena- 
cious ; — and  lastly,  when  portions  of  this  mixture  have  been 
separated  and  moulded  into  their  destined  shapes,  they  are 
spread  out  and  exposed  to  harden  in  the  sun.  Sun-made 
bricks  of  this  composition  of  straw  and  clay  often  become  as 
enduring  as  granite  rocks.    In  beholding  ever  and  anon  a 
solitary  fisherman  labouring  with  his  hand-nets  on  the  margin 
of  the  river,  how  significant  appeared  the  rebellious  and  un- 
grateful murmuring  of  the  Israelites  in  the  wilderness  :  "  We 
remember  the  fish  which  we  did  eat  in  Egypt  freely,"  Numb, 
xi.  5.    Nor  could  we  be  less  struck  with  the  singular  juxta- 
position of  the  words  which  follow :  "  the  cucumbers,  the 
melons,  and  the  leeks,  and  the  onions,  and  the  garlic."  For, 
turning  towards  the  interior,  it  was  apparent  to  the  eye  that 
Egypt  land  is  not  less  productive  than  in  days  of  yore,  in 
these  and  other  similar  vegetable  productions.    Here  too,  was 
the  stately  "  palm,"  the  most  juicy  of  all  trees,  reminding  us 
of  the  beautiful  similitude  of  the  Psalmist,  "  the  righteous 
shall  flourish  like  the  palm  tree,  they  shall  bring  forth  in  old 
age,  they  shall  be  fat  and  flourishing,"  Psalm  xcii.  12 — 14  ; — 
and  the  "  pomegranate,  the  almond,  and  the  olive,"  and 
scores  of  other  products  emblematized  or  consecrated  in  the 
parables  and  narratives  of  the  Book  of  Life.  How  vividly,  also, 
were  these  visible  effects  of  the  annual  rising  and  overflowing 
of  the  Nile  calculated  to  illustrate  the  bold  imagery  of  the 
prophet,  "  Egypt  riseth  up  like  a  flood,  and  his  waters  are 
moved  like  the  rivers  ?"  Jer.  xlvi.  8. 

The  process  of  irrigation,  every  where  exhibited,  seemed  to 
clothe  with  new  significancy  many  passages  of  Scripture. 
A  deep  well  is  sunk  close  by  the  river's  bank.  By  means  of 
a  narrow  connecting  channel,  deepened  in  proportion  as  the 


506 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


[Sept. 


river  subsides,  the  well  is  constantly  replenished.  Above  the 
sunken  well  or  fountain  is  a  vertical  wheel,  around  which  is 
made  to  revolve  a  series  of  from  twenty  to  sixty  earthern  jars 
or  pitchers  with  narrow  necks.  These,  bound  to  two  parallel 
ropes,  as  the  wheels  roll  round,  are  made  to  descend  with 
open  mouths  towards  the  surface  of  the  water.  Therein  they 
dip  or  plunge,  and,  when  filled,  ascend  with  their  aqueous 
burden  on  the  other  side.  On  passing  their  zenith  altitude, 
so  to  speak,  they  are  again  turned  upside  down  and  discharge 
their  contents  into  a  large  wooden  trough  or  cistern  ;  which, 
communicating  with  the  main  trunk  of  the  small  irrigating 
canals,  maintain  an  uninterrupted  supply  through  a  thousand 
wide-spreading  branches.  Is  it  not  from  this  peculiarly  oriental 
process  that  the  imagery  in  Eccls.  xii.  6,  has  been  taken  ? — 
when  the  Royal  Preacher  under  different  emblems,  so  graphi- 
cally pourtrays  the  dissolution  of  our  earthly  tabernacle  ? — 
when,  as  if  with  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  piece  of  rude  but  impor- 
tant machinery,  now  described,  he  speaks  of  the  "  pitcher 
broken  at  the  fountain  and  of  the  wheel  broken  at  the  cistern  V* 
In  the  process  of  irrigation  in  a  country  like  Egypt,  suppose 
the  "  pitcher  and  the  wheel"  to  be  "  literally  broken  at  the  cis- 
tern and  fountain/'  what  must  follow  ?  In  many  places  it  was 
our  lot  actually  to  witness  a  broken  "wheel  and  pitcher" — 
broken  and  deserted,  through  neglect  or  oppression.  What  was 
the  visible  effect  ?  Deprived  of  its  moisture  and  consequently  of 
its  vegetative  powers,  the  land  became  an  easy  prey  to  the  loose 
drifting  sands  of  the  desert.  All  annual  and  biennial  pro- 
ducts had  disappeared.  The  spaces  between  the  irrigating 
furrows  were  completely  filled  up.  While  even  the  more 
sturdy  perennials,  such  as  the  sycamore,  half  buried  in  wreaths 
and  knolls  of  sand,  began  to  exhibit  a  withered  and  drooping 
aspect.  What  a  striking  picture  of  the  melancholy  aspect  of  the 
human  frame — once  mantled  over  with  the  verdure  of  youth 
and  the  multiplying  fruitfulness  of  riper  years — when  the  foun- 
tain of  the  heart  with  its  cistern  and  tvlieel  and  pitcher — its 
ventricles,  tubes,  veins  and  arteries  for  the  reception,  propul- 
sion and  distribution  of  that  blood  which  is  "  the  life  of  man  ;" 
— when  all,  all,  emptied  and  broken,  cease  to  discharge  their 
life-sustaining  functions  ?  How  felicitous  beyond  all  previous 
conception  did  the  graphic  imagery  of  the  sacred  penman 
appear  amid  the  broken  wheels  and  broken  pitchers  which 
occasionally  exhibited  to  the  eye  such  death-like  desolation 
even  on  the  banks  of  the  Nile  ! 

Again,  the  water,  when  raised,  as  already  remarked,  is  made 
to  flow  in  a  central  trench  or  canal.  This  canal  is  often  arti- 
ficially elevated  several  feet  above  the   surrounding  fields. 


1840.] 


A  Jew  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


507 


From  the  sides  of  it  arc  made  to  diverge  numberless  smaller 
transverse  ridges  parallel  to  each  other;  with  a  scooped  or 
hollowed  line  running  along  the  crest  for  the  flow  of  the  water. 
Across  these  again,  and  consequently  intersecting  them  at 
right  angles,  a  similar  series  of  parallel  ridges  is  formed, — thus 
converting  the  whole  field  into  a  sort  of  mosaic  or  parterre  of 
small  square  spaces ;  in  all  of  which,  if  the  husbandman  wills, 
produce  of  different  qualities  may  be  reared,  as  he  has  the 
regulation  of  the  needful  supply  of  water  absolutely  in  his 
own  power.  But  why  dwell  so  minutely  on  this  process  ?  The 
reason  may  be  briefly  stated.  When  the  cultivator  is  to  let  in 
the  necessary  supply  of  water  on  any  one  of  the  small  squares  in 
which  the  seed  has  been  sown,  how  does  he  proceed  ?  He  walks 
alongside  of  the  narrow  ridge;  and  without  any  instrument  in 
his  hands,  and  without  even  bending  down,  he  makes  a  small 
opening  in  it  with  his  foot : — when  the  desired  quantity  of  water 
has  poured  in,  he  returns,  and  with  his  foot  shuts  it  up  again. 
Does  not  this  process  at  once  illustrate  a  passage  in  the  Bible, 
which,  to  the  natives  of  northern  climes,  must  otherwise  appear 
not  only  obscure  but  unintelligible  ?  "  Thou  sowest  thy  seed, 
and  walerest  it  with  thy  foot,  as  a  garden  of  herbs. v  Deut. 
xi.  10. 

All  travellers  in  Egypt  must  be  struck  with  the  multitudes 
of  dogs  which  prowl  about  in  all  directions,  maintaining  by 
night  especially,  a  perpetual  chorus  of  discord.  Of  these  it 
is  said  that  the  French,  during  the  invasion  of  Napoleon, 
killed  thousands.  But  they  were  not  long  in  multiplying  and 
replenishing  the  land.  If  we  suppose — and  there  is  no  want 
of  verisimilitude  in  the  supposition — that  this  domestic  animal 
so  superabounded  in  the  days  of  old,  what  a  new  and 
unthought  of  emphasis  does  it  give  to  a  memorable  passage 
in  Exodus  ?  On  that  awful  night—  that  night  of  darkness,  dis- 
tress, and  horror — when  the  children  of  Israel  were  besought 
by  the  tyrant  Pharoah  to  march  out  in  haste ;— -what  an  image 
of  the  intensity  of  the  panic,  the  universality  of  the  consterna- 
tion, is  afforded  to  us,  when, — notwithstanding  the  bustle,  noise 
and  confusion  inevitably  consequent  on  the  sudden  uprising 
and  departure  of  600,000  men,  besides  women  and  children, 
and  "  a  mixed  multitude"  of  Egyptians  and  others, — it  could 
be  said,  that  "  not  a  dog  moved  his  tongue  against  man  or 
beast  ?" 

One  evening,  in  walking  along  the  banks  of  the  river,  a  large 
herd  of  cows  and  buffaloes  was  seen  rushing  into  the  shallow 
waters  on  the  opposite  side.  Five  or  six  herd-boys,  following 
close  behind,  first  waded  a  certain  distance  into  the  gentle 
current,  and  then  nimbly  leaped,  each  on  the  shoulders  of  a 

vol.  i.  3  u 


o08  A  fete  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt.  [Sett. 


cow  or  buffalo, — holding  fast  for  awhile  by  the  horns,  and 
eventually  standing  upright,  being  able  to  maintain  their 
balance  without  any  subsidiary  aid.  As  each  individual  of  the 
herd  got  beyond  its  depth,  it  swam, — the  entire  body  being 
submerged,  and  nought  visible  above  save  the  uplifted  nos- 
trils. When  carried  down,  a  considerable  distance,  by  the 
rapidity  of  the  middle  stream,  all,  to  the  eye,  seemed  wholly 
to  disappear,  save  the  few  slender  and  diminishing  forms  of  the 
herd-boys.  At  length,  however,  on  reaching  the  further 
bank  they  suddenly  started  np  from  the  water,  as  if  they  had 
really  emerged  for  the  first  time  out  of  the  river — and  speedily 
began  to  graze  on  the  meadow.  By  local  association  the 
incidents  of  Joseph's  history  were  instantly  revived  on  the 
tablets  of  memory.  And  when  it  was  remembered  that  this  was 
the  very  stream  by  which  Pharoah  once  dreamt  he  stood,  what 
a  freshness  of  colouring  seemed  thrown  over  the  description, — 
"  And  behold,  there  came  up  out  of  the  river  seven  well-favored 
kine,  and  they  fed  in  a  ?neadoio?"    Gen.  xli.  2. 

With  such  or  similar  objects  constantly  recurring — the  enu- 
meration of  which  might  be  greatly  extended — objects  of 
present  and  retrospective  interest,  time  glided  pleasantly 
away  till  we  found  ourselves  landed  at  Boulac,  the  river  port 
of  Cairo,  distant  about  two  miles.  What  fancy  has  not  glow- 
ed with  accounts  of  the  unrivalled  magnificence  of  Cairo  ? — 
Cairo,  (i  the  proud  city  of  the  Kaliphs,  the  delight  of  the  ima- 
gination, greatest  among  the  great,  whose  splendour  and  opu- 
lence made  the  Prophet  smile  I"  And  certainly  there  is  one 
view  of  it  which  does  look  at  once  novel  and  superb, — it  is 
that  from  the  rocky  fortress  so  greatly  strengthened  and 
adorned  by  Yusuf  or  Saladin,  the  antagonist  hero  of  the 
Crusades.  The  relative  position  of  the  fortress  may  be 
thus  represented.  Between  Cairo  and  the  sea,  northward, 
the  whole  country  is  flat.  Immediately  contiguous  to  it  on 
the  south,  commences  the  mountain  chain  of  Makattan — an 
arid  naked  range  of  calcareous  rock ;  which,  at  a  varying, 
unequal  distance,  runs  southward  nearly  parallel  to  the  Nile, 
enclosing  the  eastern  side  of  the  valley  as  with  an  enormous 
perpendicular  wall.  On  the  abruptly  terminating  angular 
point  of  this  lofty  ridge,  as  it  frowns  in  barrenness  on  the 
verdant  Delta  of  the  Nile,  is  built  the  citadel  of  the  Kaliphs, 
— where  are  to  be  seen  stuf)endous  columns  of  red  granite 
from  ancient  Memphis  ;  the  well  of  Saladin,  about  twelve 
feet  square  and  three  hundred  feet  deep,  excavated  in  the 
solid  rock  down  to  the  level  of  the  Nile ;  the  enclosure, 
where  the  last  of  the  Mameluke  Beys  with  hundreds  of  their 
followers,  after  having  been  invited  by  Mahomed  Ali  to  a 


1840.] 


A  feiu  Notes  on  Lower  Etjijpt. 


509 


friendly  feast,  wore  treacherously  and  barbarously  massacred  ; 
and,  alongside  of  that  fatal  spot,  the  new  mosque  of  Egyptian 
alabaster,  now  rearing  at  the  expense  of  the  Pasha,  as  if  in 
atonement  for  his  many  crimes  of  cruelty  and  blood.  From  a 
salient  angle  of  this  citadel  there  is  a  panoramic  view — embra- 
cing an  uncommon  assemblage  of  objects  of  singularly  varied 
and  blended  interest.  Immediately  under  and  around  its  base 
are  seen  spreading  out,  on  the  one  hand,  the  ruins  and 
aqueduct  of  Old  Cairo  ;  and  on  the  other,  the  splendid  tombs 
and  mausoleums  of  the  Kaliphs  ; — with  the  walls,  the  turreted 
battlements,  and  the  three  hundred  minarets  of  New  Cairo 
lying  between.  On  the  west,  chiefly  between  the  city  and 
the  Nile,  lie  the  gardens  and  palaces  of  the  Pashas,  Beys, 
and  other  Turkish  Nobles, — then  the  "  exulting  the  abounding 
river"  itself — on  the  other  side  of  which  stretch  out  fields  of 
emerald  green,  hemmed  in,  at  the  distance  of  ten  or  twelve 
miles,  by  the  bleak  line  of  sand  and  rock  which  terminates 
the  Lybian  desert, — the  platform  of  which  is  surmounted  by 
the  great  Pyramids  of  Ghizah.  Turning  to  the  south,  the  fertile 
vale  is  seen  ascending  towards  Thebes, — with  the  forest  of  palm 
trees,  at  no  great  distance,  which  enshrouds  the  ruins  of  Mem- 
phis, the  city  of  the  Pharoahs,  and  overshadows  the  spot  that 
has  been  consecrated  by  the  deliverance  of  the  infant  Moses — 
and  overlooking  the  whole,  the  pyramids  of  Sakhara,  reared 
on  a  cape-like  projection  of  the  elevated  range  of  the  desert. 
Confronting  the  north,  the  boundless  plain  of  the  Delta  ex- 
pands before  the  spectator, — with  the  ruins  of  Heliopolis  or  On, 
the  city  of  the  sun — the  city  of  the  Patriarch  Joseph's  father- 
in-law,  and  famed  as  a  seat  of  learning  even  in  a  land  which  was 
the  cradle  of  philosophy  and  science  : — beyond  these,  the  field 
and  the  solitary  tree,  under  whose  branches  tradition  represents 
Joseph  and  Mary  as  having  reposed,  when  "  they  fled  with  the 
young  child  to  Egypt and  which,  as  the  recompense  for  such 
hospitable  shelter,  has  been  blessed  with  "  miraculous  longevi- 
ty and  eternal  verdure  — and,  strangely  interblended  with  all 
these  and  similar  objects  of  antiquarian  or  sacred  association, 
the  present  Pasha's  Polytechnic  School,  cotton  manufactories, 
foundries,  and  powder-mills  !  To  the  east,  opens  up  the  great 
desert  of  the  Red  Sea,  where  the  children  of  Israel  once  wandered 
under  the  guidance  of  the  cloudy  pillar — the  chosen  symbol  of 
Jehovah's  presence.  In  the  whole  world  beside  it  would  perhaps 
be  difficult  to  find,  spread  out,  from  one  point  of  view,  so  singu- 
larly diversified  a  combination  of  the  great  and  the  small,  the 
noble  and  the  vile,  the  stable  and  the  frail,  the  rare  and  the  com- 
mon, the  beautiful  and  the  unsightly,  the  ancient  and  the  mo- 
dern, the  sacred  and  the  profane  ; — vast  arched  aqueducts  and 
3  u  2 


510 


A  few  Nufes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


[SM*t 


ditch  like  canals,  rich  gardens  and  barren  rubbish,  verdant 
plains  and  desert  wastes,  living  streams  and  naked  rocks, 
minaretted  mosques  and  tattered  booths,  palaces  and  tombs, 
pyramids  and  mud-huts,  venerable  relics  of  wisdom  and  obtru- 
sive memorials  of  folly,  marvellous  remembrances  of  the  for- 
bearance and  goodness  of  God,  and  striking  monuments  of  the 
ambition  and  tyranny  of  man  ! 

To  the  eye,  viewing  most  of  these  objects  externally  and 
at  a  distance,  the  grand  and  the  interesting  may  seem  most 
to  predominate.  A  closer  inspection  will  usually  serve  to 
banish  much  of  the  illusion.  Begin  with  the  city  of  Cairo,  the 
centre  of  the  panoramic  scene.  From  the  elevated  point  of 
observation  nought  is  discerned  but  the  flat  or  ballustraded 
roofs  of  the  houses,  the  cupolas  and  minarets  of  the  mosques. 
Descend  towards  it,  enter  the  interior,  and  its  principal  streets 
are  soon  found  so  tortuous  and  narrow  as  scarcely  anywhere  to 
admit  of  a  single  wheeled  vehicle  passing,  and  often  not  more 
than  a  single  donkey.  The  houses,  shooting  up  many  stories 
in  height,  exhibit  towards  the  streets  little  more  than  blank 
prison-like  walls — save  where,  here  and  there,  a  grated  aper- 
ture tends  to  confirm  the  suspicion  that  one  is  traversing  a 
city  of  jails  and  condemned  criminals.  Far  on  high,  a  wooden 
framework  is  often  made  to  strike  out,  so  as  almost  or  altoge- 
ther to  meet  some  similar  projection  on  the  opposite  side,  and 
thus  to  intercept  the  view  of  the  blue  vault  of  heaven  overhead. 
And  then,  what  incessant  driving  and  beating  of  foot-passen- 
gers with  sticks  from  right  to  left,  to  make  way  for  the 
turbaned  Turk  or  the  grotesquely-robed  government  officials, 
mounted  on  asses,  mules,  horses  or  camels  ! — What  grimaces, 
noises,  and  vociferations  on  the  part  of  jugglers,  beggars,  slaves 
and  fanatics  ! — What  brayings  and  screamings  when  the  con- 
fined, unpaved  substitutes  for  streets  are  fairly  blocked  up  by 
towering  camels  or  donkeys,  so  largely  laden  with  reeds  or 
sticks  or  cotton  bags  as  to  threaten  all  passers  by  with 
a  thorough  crushing  against  the  wall !  What  lounging, 
smoking,  and  vagrant  idleness  in  dingy  dens  mis-named 
shops  and  bazars  and  marts  of  business!  What  swarms  of 
noisome  vermin  everywhere,  as  if  generated  from  the  very 
dust ! — In  a  word,  what  a  total  absence  of  taste  and  elegance 
and  comfort  ? — What  din  and  confusion,  filth  and  smells, 
misery  and  squalid  wretchedness  ! — No  one  who  has  traversed 
the  streets  and  suburbs  of  Cairo  need  wonder  that  it  should 
be  tf  a  city  of  the  plague."  If  the  ancient  Egyptians  in  their 
personal,  domestic,  and  civic  habits,  at  all  resembled  the 
modern,  what  fresh  significance  does  the  spectacle  of  Grand 
Cairo  shed  on  the  multitudinous  precepts  and  ordinances  of 


J  840.  J 


A  Jew  Nulcs  on  Lower  Egypt. 


511 


the  Levitical  code,  respecting  cleanliness  and  ablution — alto- 
gether independent  of  their  higher  typical  bearings  in  the 
progressive  evolution  of  the  gospel  dispensation  ?  In  the  con- 
trast of  Cairo  with  any  of  the  great  Protestant  cities  of  Chris- 
tendom, we  never  felt  more  vividly  before,  how  much  we  are 
indebted  to  the  religion  of  the  cross,  not  merely  for  the  hope 
of  a  heaven  of  glory  hereafter,  but  for  those  refined  and 
ennobling  sentiments  which  naturally  issue  in  all  that  can 
adorn,  beautify,  or  comfort  the  life  that  now  is.  But  the 
mosques  with  their  minarets  and  crescents  ! — Are  not  they 
superb  ?  To  the  taste  and  eyes  of  many  they  are.  The  outer 
walls,  painted  with  alternated  stripes  of  red  and  white — rising 
from  bottom  to  top  in  parallel  horizontal  lines  of  a  foot  or  two  in 
breadth  ; — the  dust-embrowned  cupolas,  minarets  and  crescents 
— which  look  like  a  profusion  of  fanciful  stucco-work  or  huge 
Chinese  toys  : — such  fantastic  figures  and  variegated  hues 
have  doubtless  their  attractions  ;  but  whether  for  the  child  or 
the  man — the  vulgar  likings  of  demi-barbarism,  or  the  noble 
aspirations  of  highest  civilization,  we  leave  it  to  others  to 
determine.  Of  this  we  are  satisfied  that,  in  point  of  real 
symmetry,  elegance,  and  grandeur,  there  are  a  dozen  cathedral 
churches  in  London  alone,  incomparably  superior  to  the  finest 
mosque  in  Cairo.  It  could  not  well  be  otherwise.  In  all 
climes  and  in  all  ages, — from  the  cavern  and  monolithic  temples 
of  Arabia  Petraea,  Bameean  and  India,  to  the  mosques  of  Cairo 
and  Constantinople  and  the  cathedrals  of  Christendom, — there 
has  been,  there  must  be,  a  parallelism  between  the  professed 
faith  of  a  people  and  all  the  external  symbols  of  that  faith.  In 
M.ihainmadanism,  all  is  material,  sensuous  and  grovelling. — 
Hence,  the  general  poverty  of  conception  and  design,  the 
meanness  of  proportion,  the  sheer  unidealistic  finery  of  or- 
nament, and  all  the  sense-regaling  accessories  so  characteristic 
of  a  first-rate  Mahammadan  mosque.  In  Christianity,  on 
the  other  hand,  all  is  immaterial,  spiritual,  sublime. — Hence, 
even  amid  abounding  corruptions,  the  solemn  grandeur  of 
conception  and  design,  the  majestic  stateliness  of  proportion, 
the  emblematic  richness  of  embellishment,  and  all  the  soul- 
elevating  accompaniments  of  the  Christian  cathedral. 

But  the  most  absorbing  object  of  attraction  at  present  in 
Cairo  is  the  celebrated  Magician,  the  fame  of  whose  exploits 
has  been  made  to  ring  through  the  cycle  of  European  litera- 
ture. To  our  regret  he  was  absent  at  the  time  of  our  sojourn ; 
but  having  conversed  with  many  who  had  been  witnesses  of 
his  performances,  we  feel  warranted  in  making  these  the  sub- 
ject of  special  remark.  The  alleged  feat,  for  which  he  is  chiefly 
distinguished,  is  that  of  producing,  in  a  magic  mirror  of  ink, 


512 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


[Sb*t. 


the  image  of  any  person,  absent  or  dead.  For  this  opera- 
tion the  only  qualified  person  is  ;iboy  not  arrived  ;it  the  age  of 
puberty,  or  an  unmarried  woman.  In  the  boy  or  virgin's  right 
hand  the  magic  diagram  is  drawn  and  ink  poured  into  it. 
The  magical  apparatus  consists  of  a  chafing-dish  with  live 
charcoal,  bits  of  paper  on  which  are  written  incantations, 
frankincense  and  other  aromatic  drugs.  After  incantations  and 
incense  have  been  burned  in  the  lustra!  fire  till  the  room  has  been 
filled  with  smoke,  painful  at  once  to  the  visual  and  respiratory 
organs,  and  after  repeated  mutterings  and  incantations,  the 
subject  of  the  experiment  is  asked  if  he  sees  any  thing  in  the 
ink.  Should  the  process  promise  success,  the  reply  is  in  the 
affirmative.  Next  follows,  in  answer  to  successive  queries,  a 
series  of  images,  viz.  a  man  sweeping  with  a  broom,  seven 
flags  of  different  colours  one  after  the  other,  tents  and  soldiers, 
a  bull  and  sacrifice,  the  grand  Sultan  riding  on  a  horse,  alight- 
ing in  his  tent,  and  partaking  of  a  cup  of  coffee.  At  this 
stage,  when  all  these  preliminaries  are  terminated,  the  visitor 
is  asked  lo  name  any  one,  absent  or  dead,  whose  image  he 
wishes  to  be  exhibited  in  the  mirror  of  ink  to  the  eyes  of  the 
person  holding  it  in  the  right  hand.  And  then  it  is,  that  true 
images  of  individuals,  said  to  be  altogether  unknown  and  un- 
heard of  by  the  operating  Magician  and  the  subject  of  the 
operation,  are  alleged  by  respectable  European  authorities  to 
have  been  really  produced.  This  is  the  exploit  which,  of  late 
years,  has  exercised  the  ingenuity  of  so  many  literary  and 
scientific  savans  in  Europe;  many  of  whom  have  pronounced 
it  mysterious  and  utterly  inexplicable  ; — while  some  have  not 
scrupled  to  refer  it  to  supernatural,  and  others,  to  subterna- 
tural  or  Satanic  agency. 

On  this  latter  subject,  we  would  first  remark,  that  the  fact 
of  the  exploit's  being  mysterious  and  inexplicable  is,  of  itself , 
no  proof  whatever  that  it  is  either  of  a  supernatural  or  of  a 
subternatural  character.  Else  must  the  vast  multitude  of 
feats,  performed  in  all  ages  by  the  "  joculators,  jugglers 
or  tregatours,"  of  the  east  and  of  the  west,  and  which  have 
never  been  satisfactorily  explained,  be  pronounced  superhu- 
man too  !  It  is  not  many  years  since  a  brahman  at  Mad- 
ras was  wont  to  exhibit  the  unwonted  spectacle  of  sitting, 
from  12  to  40  minutes,  on  the  air,  about  four  feet  from  the 
ground.  He  himself  confessed  it  was  a  custom  which,  by 
ordinary  but  peculiar  means,  he  had  gradually  acquired ; — 
yet  who  has  succeeded  in  unveiling  the  mystery  ?  Then  also 
must  the  huge  aggregate  of  inexplicable  phenomena,  so  devout- 
ly believed  in  days  of  ignorance  to  have  been  the  result  of 
secret  connection  with  the  agencies  of  the  invisible  world  ; 


1810.] 


/]  few  Notes  on  Loiver  Egypt. 


513 


hut  which  have  since  heen  amply  accounted  for  hy  Sir  D. 
Brewster  and  others,  on  principles  of  Natural  magic,  be  still 
held  to  belong  to  the  class  of  Divine  or  Satanic  influences  ! 
The  extraordinary  phenomena  manifested,  during  the  sitting 
of  the  Commission  appointed  to  survey  the  king's  house  at 
Woodstock  after  the  death  of  Charles  I.  and  which,  at  the 
time,  were  viewed  by  not  a  few  of  the  learned,  and  universally 
by  the  unlearned,  as  the  undoubted  effects  of  supernatural 
powers,  were  at  length  fully  ascertained  to  have  proceeded 
from  the  ingenious  contrivance  and  invention  of  "  the  memo- 
rable Joseph  Collins  of  Oxford,  who,  having  hired  himself  as 
Secretary  (to  the  commission)  under  the  name  of  Giles  Sharp, 
by  knowing  the  private  traps  belonging  to  the  house,  and  by 
the  help  of  Pulvis  Fulminans,  and  other  chemical  preparations, 
and  letting  his  fellow-servants  into  the  scheme,  carried  on  the 
deceit  without  discovery  to  the  very  last."  The  mere  inex- 
plicability,  therefore,  of  any  feat,  however  marvellous,  is  not 
enough  to  precipitate  us  upon  the  supernatural — as  offering 
the  only  adequate  solution.  This  were  not  to  untie,  but  to 
cut, the  Gordian  knot — not  to  tread  patiently  in  Baconian  paths, 
but  to  rush  blindfoldly  into  the  universal  solvent  of  the  dark 
ages — not  to  arouse  the  inductive  energies  of  the  soul  to  in- 
quire, but,  by  the  lazy  whispers  of  credulity,  to  lull  these 
energies  asleep. 

Is  it  that  we  doubt  the  existence  of  supernatural  agency  ? 
God  forbid.  That  such  agency  has  been  repeatedly  exerted, 
let  Egypt  land  itself,  the  Red  Sea  and  the  wilderness — let 
Judea,  with  its  lakes  and  rivers,  its  mountains  and  plains, 
its  cities  and  villages, — let  all  of  these  together  tell,  how  often 
the  Lord  of  Nature  extorted  from  all  her  elements  a  confes- 
sion of  His  presence  and  supremacy.  It  is  because  of  the 
intensity  of  our  belief  in  such  miraculous  interpositions,  that 
we  are  filled  with  holy  jealousy,  whenever  these  are,  wittingly 
or  unwittingly,  confounded  with  the  juggling  tricks  and  cun- 
ning artifices  of  ingenious  but  deceiving  men.  The  Magician 
himself  sometimes  asserts  that  he  operates  under  the  influence 
of  "  good  spirits."  Now  good  spirits  act  only  according  to  the 
commission  they  receive  from  God.  "  Nec  Deus  intersit  nisi 
dignus  vindice  nodus,"  was  the  test  proposed  even  by  a  Pagan. 
Among  all  the  recorded  miracles  of  Scripture,  is  there  one 
which  may  not  challenge  the  most  rigorous  application  of  such 
a  test?  Which  of  them,  in  their  general  or  specific  end,  object, 
and  design,  was  not  worthy  of  the  God  of  Creation,  of  Provi- 
dence, and  of  Grace  ?  But  what  end,  worthy  of  God,  is  answered 
by  the  alleged  preternatural  feat  of  the  Egyptian  Magician  ? 
— To  have  his  own  treasures  replenished  with  the  wages  of 
his  wonder- striking  performance — and  to  gratify  the  aimless 


514 


A  few  Noies  on  Lower  Egypt. 


[Slil'T. 


if  not  lawless  curiosity  of  a  few  Europeans,  who  give  no  proof 
of  having  at  heart  the  vital  interests  either  of  God  or  of  man  : 
— is  this  an  end,  worthy  of  the  interposition  of  Deity  ?  At  other 
times,  the  Magician  seems  to  allege  that  he  acts  with  the  assis- 
tance of  "  evil  spirits."  Now  evil  spirits  can  only  act  as  they 
are  permitted  by  God.  Under  the  ordinary  dispensation  of  Pro- 
vidence these  are  allowed,  for  purposes  of  trial  and  probation, 
to  exert  various  agencies,  which  may  be  resisted  and  defeated 
by  watchfulness,  prayer,  and  other  ordinary  means  of  Divine 
appointment.  Under  an  extraordinary  dispensation  of  Pro- 
vidence, these  may,  for  other  and  higher  ends,  have  liberty  to 
put  forth  preternatural  powers,  which  can  only  be  resisted  and 
defeated  by  the  forthputting  of  other  preternatural  powers  of 
resistless  might.  If  ever  such  license  was  granted  to  wicked 
spirits  at  all,  it  doubtless  was,  when  the  great  redemption  of 
the  Israelites  from  Egypt  was  to  be  achieved  by  Jehovah 
through  his  servant  Moses ;  and  the  immeasurably  greater 
redemption  of  a  world  of  lost  sinners  was  to  be  consummated 
on  Calvary  by  a  greater  than  Moses,  even  Him  who  was 
"  Jehovah's  fellow."  If,  on  the  former  occasion,  a  more  that 
ordinary  latitude  in  aping  true  miracles,  was  conceded  to 
the  foul  spirits  of  darkness,  was  it  not  that, — by  means 
of  the  celebrated  public  confession  extorted  from  the  lips 
of  their  instruments,  the  magicians,  "  Surely  the  finger  of 
God  is  there," — their  own  utter  inferiority  and  helpless- 
ness might  be  visibly  demonstrated  in  the  eyes  of  Pharoah, 
his  Lords  and  Counsellors,  and  the  whole  body  of  the 
people  ? — was  it  not  that,  on  so  grand  a  stage  as  the  city, 
which  was  at  that  time  not  the  metropolis  of  Egypt  merely 
but  the  central  seat  of  Idolatry,  the  very  throne  of  Satan's 
earthly  dominion,  Jehovah's  absolute  supremacy  over  the 
gods  of  heathenism  and  all  "  the  principalitis  and  powers" 
of  the  invisible  world  might  be  gloriously  vindicated  ?  If  on 
the  latter  occasion,  an  unwonted  license  was  given  to  the 
same  wicked  demons  to  convulse  the  bodies  and  infuriate 
the  spirits  of  men, — was  it  not  that — by  the  public  confes- 
sion of  their  subjection  and  final  doom,  "  Art  thou  come  to 
torment  us  before  the  time  ?" — emphatic  demonstration 
might  be  afforded  to  the  very  senses  of  all  around,  that  this 
was  indeed  the  very  "  Seed  of  the  woman,"  who  was  destined 
to  "  bruise  the  serpent's  head," — that  this  was  indeed  the  very 
personage  whom  prophets  in  every  age  had  foretold,  as  "  the 
mighty  King,"  who  woidd  come  into  the  world  to  "  destroy 
the  devil  and  his  works  ;"  and  take  unto  himself  the  kingdom 
which  had  been  so  basely  usurped,  as  well  as  the  power,  and  the 
dominion  ?  And  were  not  all  these  ends,  great  and  noble,  wise 
and  good  ? — ends,  every  way  worthy  of  Him,  one  chief  part  of 


1840.] 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt, 


515 


whose  design  was  to  extirpate  all  en  or  and  sin  and  false  de- 
pendences, that  poor,  sinful,  deluded  men  might  return,  and 
learn  to  trust  in  Himself,  who  alone  is  the  Fount  of  pardon  and 
grace,  holiness  and  peace,  wisdom  and  happiness? — Com- 
pare with  ends  so  glorious,  the  only  end  which  has  ever 
yet  heen  served  hy  the  alleged  preternatural  feats  of  the  Egyp- 
tian Magician, — to  wit,  the  replenishment  of  his  own  coffers, 
and  the  gratification  of  a  few  inquisitive  Europeans  ! — Surely 
reason  must  have  wholly  fled  the  breast  of  the  man  who  can 
tolerate  any  hypothesis  which  necessarily  involves,  or  leads  to 
such  a  comparison  at  all ! 

From  such  general  considerations  alone  we  could  not,  for  a 
moment,  hesitate  in  pronouncing  the  pretensions  of  the  Ma- 
gician himself  to  the  assistance  of  familiar  spirits  whether 
good  or  bad — pretensions  which  have  sometimes  been  ac- 
ceded to  hy  others  with  an  easiness  of  credulity  that  reflects 
little  credit  on  this  boastful  age  of  the  march  of  intellect — 
wholly  apocryphal.  On  his  claims,  we  could  not  hesitate  to 
return  the  verdict,  not  simply  of  "not  proven,"  but  that  of 
"  disproven."  There  are,  however,  considerations  of  a  speci- 
fic character  which  ought  to  arouse  the  vehement  suspicions 
of  even  his  most  credulous  admirers.  First,  what  are  those 
/astral  fires,  aromatic  fumigations,  written  spells,  mutterings 
and  invocations,  but  the  ordinary  apparatus  wherewith  the 
juggling  impostors  of  every  age  and  clime  have  endeavoured, 
by  intensely  occupying  more  than  one  of  the  setises  of  the  spec- 
tators, to  render  their  tricks  and  artifices  more  difficult  of 
detection  ?  Secondly,  is  it  not  a  circumstance  of  prime  impor- 
tance that  all  tJie  antecedent  images — brooms  and  flags,  tents 
and  soldiers,  bulls  and  sacrifices,  sultans  and  coffee — are,  as 
to  number  and  order  of  succession,  in  every  experiment,  almost 
uniformly  the  same?  This  being  the  case,  what  boy  or  girl  in 
all  Cairo,  likely  to  be  subjected  to  the  magical  operations, 
may  not  previously  become  as  familiar  with  the  nature  and 
succession  of  these  expected  images  as  the  pretended  familiar 
spirits  themselves  ?  Thirdly,  it  is  a  fact,  known  and  notorious 
to  such  of  the  permanent  European  residents  as  have  been  at 
pains  deliberately  to  investigate  the  matter,  that  the  Magi- 
cian has  a  multitude  of  willing  agents  in  his  confidence — that 
between  these  and  the  native  attendants  of  any  stranger  of 
rank  or  consequence  who  might  be  desirous  of  witnessing  the 
magical  exploits,  as  well  as  the  native  servants  of  the  hotel  or 
other  place  of  residence,  a  busy  and  constant  intercourse  has 
often  been  detected — and  that  particular  boys,  apparently  se- 
lected at  random  and  without  any  previous  mutual  under- 
standing,  have    been    shewn    to   have    been    passing  the 

VOL.  I.  '6  X 


516 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


[Sept. 


street  or  purchasing  articles  in  a  neighbouring  shop,  un- 
der peculiar  circumstances  which  could  leave  room  for  no 
other  conviction  than  that  they  were  there,  by  preconcert  and 
design,  at  the  precise  juncture  of  time  when  their  services 
would  be  required. — All  of  which  ascertained  facts  go  the 
full  length  of  proving  that  there  is  collusion,  to  at  least 
a  certain  extent.    Fourthly,  it  has  been  admitted  by  Mr. 
Lane,  and  other  admiring  eulogists  of  the  Magician,  that  his 
attempts  have  often  failed.    By  European  residents  at  Cairo 
who  had  been  repeatedly  present,  and  who,  when  not  person- 
ally present,  bad  ample  opportunities  of  learning  the  result 
in  other  instances,  we  were  positively  assured,  that  the  cases  of 
total  failure  so  greatly  out-numbered  those  of  real  or  apparent 
or  partial  success,  that  the  former  constituted  the  general  rule  ; 
the  latter.,  the  rare  or  occasional  exceptions  I  Nor  is  this  all. 
There  are  other  circumstances  which  tend  to  throw  still  fur- 
ther light  on  the  real  character  of  the  whole  procedure.  The 
instances  of  the  apparent  or  partial  success  have  usually 
,  occurred,  as  in  the  case  of  Mr.  Lane  and  others,  when  the 
character,  habits,  pursuits,  studies,  home  connections,  and 
topics  of  conservation  of  the  visitors  have  been  more  or  less 
known  to  vigilant  and  intelligent  natives  around  them — when 
the  boy,  or  subject  of  the  operation,  has  been  secured  through 
the  instrumentality  of  some  one,  directly  or  indirectly  under  the 
influence  of  the  Magician — or  when  the  interpreter,  or  medium 
of  communication  between  the  parties,  has  been  the  Magician's 
own  hired  servant.  The  instances  of  total  failure,  on  the  other 
hand,  have  usually  occurred,  in  cases  where  the  inquiring  party 
has  been  a  new  or  unexpected  visitor — and  when  both  the  boy 
and  the  interpreter  have  been  provided  by  that  party.  We 
had  long  converse  with  a  Christian   youth  of  uncommon 
intelligence  for  his  years,  and  of  sterling  integrity  of  prin- 
ciple, who  had  been  purposely  so  selected.    The  Magician 
himself,  on  examination,  could  not  help  pronouncing  him,  as 
to  age,  &c.  a  fit  person.    Full  well  did  he  know  previously 
what  preliminary  images,  flags,  tents,  and  such  like,  ought 
to  have  appeared  in  the  magic  mirror  of  ink  :  but  when  duly 
interrogated,  he  was  constrained  to  answer,  that  he  saw  nothing. 
The  Magician  then  declared  that  the  sky  had  become  unpro- 
pitious,  and  the  experiment  was  suspended  for  a  more  favour- 
able day.   The  day  having  arrived,  the  same  youth  again  sub- 
mitted to  the  operation  ;  still  he  could  see  nothing.  The  sky  had 
again  become  unpropitious.  And  when  it  was  proposed  a  third 
time  to  repeat  the  experiment  with  the  same  youth,  the  Magici- 
an peremptorily  refused.    The  young  man,  however,  added  in 
substance  the  very  weighty  and  important  remark,  that,  his 


1840.] 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


517 


head  having  been  kept  so  long  over  the  chafing  dish,  in  which 
were  burnt  the  aromatic  drugs,  before  any  question  was  asked, 
he  found  a  tendency  to  giddiness,  and  a  sort  of  stupifying  sen- 
sation growing  so  strongly  upon  him,  that  he  felt  almost  resist- 
lessly  tempted  to  say,  that  he  saw  what  he  really  did  not  see,  in 
order  to  be  the  more  speedily  delivered  from  the  magical  pillory 
of  torture.  We  also  had  long  converse  with  one  of  the  most 
enlightened  Europeans,  and  certainly  the  best  Arabic  scholar 
in. Cairo,  who  had  often  volunteered  his  services  as  interpreter, 
on  very  purpose  to  satisfy  his  own  mind  as  to  the  facts  of  the 
case.  He  assured  us  that  he  undertook  the  task  under  a 
decided  leaning  to  the  persuasion  that,  if  all  the  previously 
reported  facts  were  really  substantiated,  without  a  clue  to  any 
collusion  or  other  modifying  or  explanatory  circumstance,  he 
could  not  well  see  how  they  could  be  accounted  for,  except 
by  reference  to  preternatural  agency.  After  repeated  trials, 
his  firm  and  unalterable  conviction  was,  that,  be  the  art  or 
artifice  what  it  may,  it  had,  upon  the  face  of  it,  indubitable 
signatures  of  a  juggling  imposture.  Among  these,  he  strongly 
asserted  it  as  a  fact,  that  many  of  the  questions  were  leading 
ones ; — that  many  of  them  were  put  in  the  suggestive  form,  such 
as — instead  of  asking  the  youth,  What  do  you  see  ? — asking 
him,  Do  you  see  a  flag  ?  &c. ; — and  that  many  of  them  were 
moulded  in  an  alternative  form,  so  that,  on  the  mere  principle 
of  guessing,  the  answer  ought  to  be  as  often  right  as  wrong. 
In  this  latter  department  of  interrogation,  the  results  were 
peculiarly  decisive  against  the  claims  of  the  Magician.  No 
sooner  was  it  detected  by  the  shrewd  interpreter  than  he 
resolved  to  subject  it  to  an  experimentum  crucis.  A  certain 
personage  was  called  for,  really  unknown  to  the  Magician,  but 
well  known  to  the  principal  visitor  to  be  a  man  of  uncommon 
stature.  Instead  of  putting  the  question,  as  moulded  by  the  arch- 
operator  into  somewhat  of  the  usual  form, — such  as,  Whether  is 
he  tailor  otherwise  ? — laying,  it  might  be,  a  peculiar  emphasis, 
on  the  one  word  or  the  other,  to  guide  the  answer, — it  was  shap- 
ed into  some  such  form  as  this,  Is  he  somewhat  diminutive  in 
stature,  or  exceedingly  diminutive  ?  —  The  reply  was,  exceedingly 
diminutive  !  In  like  manner,  another,  distinguished  for  obesity, 
was  made  out  to  be  as  lean,  as  an  absolute  starveling  !  In  short, 
the  blunders  were  not  only  multiplied,  but  so  uniform  and 
often  so  ludicrous,  that,  at  length  the  Magician  was  heard  to 
declare  that  he  would  never  more  exhibit  his  art  to  any  one, 
if  the  gentleman  now  referred  to,  were  made  the  interpreter. 

Now,  though  there  may  be  authenticated  facts  on  record 
not  explicable  by  any  one  of  the  data  now  furnished,  we  would 
gravely  appeal  to  the  reason  and  common  sense  of  men, 
3x2 


518 


On  Reliyious  Instruction  in  Schoo/s. 


[Sept. 


whether  these  duta  are  not  enough  to  cover  the  whole,  with 
more  than  the  suspicion  of  deception  ? — whether  they  are  not 
;unply  sufficient  to  demonstrate  that  the  feats  of  the  Egyptian 
Magician  are,  in  no  way,  to  be  distinguished  from  the  uni- 
versally acknowledged  tricks  of  legerdemain  and  the  delusive 
artifices  which  have  been  practised  by  other  clever  impostors, 
in  different  ages  and  in  different  climes  ?  We,  at  least,  have 
fully  concluded  in  our  own  mind,  that  the  wonder-exciting 
delusion  of  this  modern  pretender  is,  in  no  wise,  to  be  exempted 
from  the  decision  of  Thomas  Ady,  given  about  two  hundred 
years  ago  in  his  book  entitled,  "  A  candle  in  the  dark  against 
witches  and  witchcraft."  "  The  craft  of  juggling/'  says  he, 
"  to  them  that  are  not  acquainted  with  it,  breeds  great  admira- 
tion in  the  beholders,  and  seemeth  to  silly  people  to  be  miracu- 
lous ;  and  yet,  being  known,  is  but  deceit  and  roguery ; — so 
that  the  beholder  cannot  but  blush  and  be  ashamed  to  think 
he  was  so  easily  cozened,  and  did  so  much  admire  a  ridiculous 
imposture." 

A.  D. 

(To  be  continued.) 


II. — On  Reliyious  Instruction  in  Schools. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Dear  Gentlemen, 

In  the  examination  of  Native  Christian  Schools,  where  English  is 
taught,  there  will  often  be  disappointment  in  questioning  the  boys  re- 
garding the  glorious  truths  of  Christianity,  though  they  may  have 
read  through  the  Gospels,  they  w  ill  often  be  found  not  to  have  discovered 
the  key  to  open  their  meaning. 

Many  scholars  though  they  may  have  been  a  year  or  more  in  the 
school,  will  often  be  found  ignorant  of  this  momentous  truth,  that 
Christ  was  "  Gon  manifested  in  the  flesh,"  "  reconciling  a  lost  and  ruined 
world  to  himself.'" — they  will  be  found  to  read  by  rote  without  under- 
standing ! 

Such  probably  will  be  the  case  with  half  the  schools  in  India,  unless 
means  are  taken  by  the  system  of  question  and  answer  to  unfold  the 
glorious  mysteries  of  redemption  to  the  scholars. 

Oh  how  comparatively  insignificant  is  teaching  for  months  A,  B,  C, 
and  similar  mechanical  lessons,  when  compared  with  those  all-important 
lessons  which  should  commence  on  the  very  first  day  of  a  scholar's 
entering  the  school ;  namely,  to  teach  him  that  there  is  a  God  who 
governs  the  earth  !  that  there  is  a  Saviour  for  a  lost  and  ruined 
■world  !  and  that  this  Saviour  has  said  "  I  am  the  way,  the  truth,  the 
life  !  I  am  the  light  of  the  world  !  without  me,  ye  can  do  nothing.'' 

And  this  Saviour  has  commanded  "  Suffer  little  children,  and  forbid 
them  not,  to  come  unto  me,  for  of  such  is  the  kingdom  of  heaven." 

And  yet  in  our  public  schools  it  may  be  often  said  we  bring  them 
not!— we  leave  them  to  grope  their  uncertain  way  to  Him,  amidst  a 


1840.] 


On  Religious  Instruction  in  Schools- 


519 


multitude  of  words,  which,  whilst  unexplained  their  darkened,  heathen, 
unexpanded  minds  cannot  at  such  an  early  age  unfold.  Oh  then,  let  us 
take  them  direct  to  Christ,  for  of  Children,  we  read  that  "  He  placed 
his  hands  upon  them,  and  blessed  them  !" 

Amidst  the  crowd  of  new  associations  let  the  Blessed  Saviour  be  the 
first  object  pointed  out  to  them  ;  let  them  not  have  been  a  week  in  a 
Christian  school  without  the  knowledge  of  salvation  by  the  great 
sacrifice  and  atonement  for  sin  of  Christ  the  Incarnate  Deity. 

But  how  is  this  rapid  instruction  to  be  accomplished  whilst  often  for 
months  the  learners  cannot  read  a  single  sentence  or  even  read  the 
Saviour's  name  ! 

W  hy  should  not  this  noble  instruction  commence  amongst  other 
studies  with  the  first  day's  lesson,  and  prove  to  the  youthful  learner  the 
most  cheerful,  happiest  and  interesting  lesson  of  the  day  ! 

The  following  are  my  humble  thoughts  upon  the  plan,  rapidly  com. 
mitted  to  writing  merely  with  a  view  to  suggest  the  idea  to  some  abler 
mind. 

A  series  of  Questions  and  Answers  upon  this  plan,  if  drawn  out,  and 
printed  in  the  native  language,  so  as  to  interest  the  learners,  might  be 
made  the  means  of  rapidly  conveying  momentous  truths  to  every  Chris- 
tian school  in  India!  so  that  however  backward  they  might  be  in  other 
lore — however,  as  is  often  the  case,  they  might  pore  over  their  A,  B,  C, 
for  weeks,  the  glorious  light  of  Revelation  would,  at  least,  have  dawned 
upon  their  mind,  and  many  an  inquiring  heathen  might  fhus  after  a 
short  time  be  led  to  exclaim,  "  One  thing  I  know,  that  whereas  1  was 
blind,  now  I  see  !" 

I  remain, 

Dear  Gentlemen,  yours  faithfully, 

An  Observer. 

Upper  Provinces,  March,  1838. 

Proposed  plan  for  a  simple,  cheap  and  rapid  method  of  conveying  instruction 
to  Native  or  English  schools,  by  the  progress  of  oral  Instruction,  and  of 
Question  and  Answer. 

Time  is  very  valuable  :  the  scholars  frequently  come  and  are  gone 
before  they  have  well  learned  their  A,  B,  C — before  any  real  knowledge, 
or  valuable  truths  have  been  conveyed — whereas  by  this  simple 
process,  if  they  are  but  a  week  in  the  school,  they  may  learn  some  impor- 
tant truths,  even  though  they  may  not  have  learned  their  alphabet. 
Thus, 

Let  the  Teacher  daily,  as  a  most  important  part  of  instruction, 
assemble  before  him,  each  class  by  itself,  or  as  many  scholars  as  may 
be  convenient;  they  will  relish  the  exercise,  because  it  will  be  full  of 
life  and  interest,  and  all  from  the  oldest  to  the  youngest,  should  be  made 
to  take  a  share  in  it. 

Suppose  the  important  truths  to  be  thus  taught,  to  be, — that  there 
is  but  one  God — that  God  made  all  things — that  God  made  man — that 
man  sinned  and  fell  from  Holiness — that  all  men  are  sinners — that 
all  stand  exposed  to  the  wrath  of  God,  because  they  have  trampled  on 
his  Law! — that  in  order  to  save  them,  God  "  was  manifested  in  the  flesh" 
in  the  person  of  Jesus  Christ,  that  Christ  gave  his  life  a  sacrifice  and 
ransom  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world,  &c. 

It  is  gratifying  to  reflect  that  all  these  important  truths,  may  with 
God's  blessing  be  impressed  on  the  memories  of  the  scholars,  in  a  very 
short  space  of  time,  in  the  cheerful,  lively,  and  intellectual  interchange  of 
Question  and  Answer  between  the  Teacher  and  his  Scholars:  the 
Question  for  the  sake  of  simplicity  always  suggesting  the  Answer. 


520 


On  Religious  Instruction  in  Schools.  [Sept. 


Let  the  teacher  arrange  before  him  10  or  20  scholars,  and  require  them 
all  with  one  accord  to  answer  his  Question  ;  thus  the  Teacher  in  a 
cheerful  happy  tone  of  voice,  is  communicating  something  of  importance, 
reading  the  following  Questions,  supposing  them  of  course  to  be  printed 
and  in  his  hand,  and  receiving  back  the  Answer  from  every  mouth ! 

Teacher,  (reading)  Listen,  my  young  friends,  and  all  give  aloud, 
your  ready  answer  ! 

God  made  the  world  !  the  sun  !  and  sea  !  and  all  that  in  them  is — 
tell  me  then,  who  made  the  world  ? 

Answer  from  all  aloud : — 

"  God  made  the  world  !" 

T. — True!  He  is  a  Mighty  God!  He  hangeth  the  Earth  upon 
nothing!  He  spread  out  the  Heavens  as  a  curtain  !  and  spangled  the 
firmament  on  High  ! — tell  me  who  spangled  the  firmament  ? 

A.  from  all  the  scholars  : — 

"  God  spangled  the  firmament* !" 

T. — Right  !  The  Lord  our  God,  is  one  God,  and  besides  Him  there 
is  none  other  ! — tell  me,  what  is  the  Lord  our  God  ? 

A.  aloud  by  all — "The  Lord  our  God  is  one  God,  and  beside  him, 
there  is  none  other  !" 

T. — Very  true.  This  Mighty  God  hath  said  "  Thou  shalt  have  none 
other  Gods  but  me  ! — what  has  God  said  ? 

A.  from  the  whole  aloud. — "Thou  shalt  have  none  other  Gods  but 
me  !" 

T. — True  !  and  God's  command  is  "  Be  ye  Holy,  as  I  am  Holy  !"— 
repeat  !  what  is  God's  command  ? 
A. — "  Be  ye  Holy  as  I  am  Holy  !" 

T. — Well  answered  !  God's  Holy  Law  was  thus  summed  up  by  Christ, 
who  was  God  the  Son:  "  Thou  shalt  love  the  Lord  thy  God,  with  all 
thy  soul,  and  with  all  thy  strength  !  and  with  all  thy  mind  ! — and  thy 
neighbour  as  THYstLF  !  in  this  is  contained  the  whole  of  the  Law,  and 
the  Prophets" — now  God  has  given  us  these  laws  fully  to  obey — tell  me, 
what  has  God  given  us  ? 

A. — "  These  laws  fully  to  obey  !" 

T. — Alas !  all  men  have  trampled  on  these  Holy  Laws  op  God  ;  all 
have  deeply  offended  against  God — all  men  have  sinned!  all  men  are 
exposed  to  the  wrath  of  an  offended  God! — Tell  me,  to  what  are  all 
men  exposed  ? 

A. — "  To  the  wrath  of  an  offended  God  ! 

T. — But  God  in  love  unbounded  determined  to  save  man  from  final 
punishment  and  took  our  nature  upon  Himself!  as  it  is  written, "  God 

became  manifested  in  the  flesh  !" — what  did  God  become  ? 
A. — "  God  became  manifested  in  the  flesh-!" 

T. — True  !  God  in  Christ  took  our  nature,  "  became  manifested  in 
the  flesh  !"  Jesus  Christ  was  God  manifested  in  the  flesh — tell  me,  who 
was  Christ  ? 

A. — "Chkist  was  God  manifested  in  the  flesh?'* 

T. — Yes !  God  was  in  Christ  reconciling  the  world  unto  himself! — what 
was  God  in  Christ  reconciling  ? 

*  What  idea  would  10  or  20  scholars,  just  come  from  the  streets  attach  to  the 
words  '*  God  spangled  the  firmament?"  It  is  one  thingto  repeat  words  after  a  teacher, 
and  another  thing,  and  a  very  different  thing  too,  to  apprehend  the  meaning  of  them. 
In  every  well  taught  school  there  is  a  plan  adopted  similar  to  that  recommended  by 
our  respected  Correspondent ;  but  in  our  estimation  much  superior.  We  may  at 
some  future  time  give  a  series  of  questions  and  answers  as  a  specimen. — Ed. 


1840.] 


The  Hardwdr  Fair. 


521 


A. — Reconciling  the  world  unto  himself! 

T. — True  !  For  Christ  was  the  Incarnate  Deity  !—  tell  me  who  was 
Chkist  ? 

A. — The  Incarnate  Deity  ! 

T.  Yes  !  and  he  gave  his  life  a  Sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  whole 

world  ! — answer  me,  what  did  Christ  give  ? 

A.  "  He  gave  his  life  a  sacrifice  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world  !" 

T.  And  therefore  it  is  written  in  the  Scriptures  that  there  is  no  other 

name,  given  under  Heaven,  whereby  men  must  be  saved,  but  the  name 
of  Jesus  Christ  ! — tell  me  by  what  name  alone  can  men  be  saved  ? 

A. — By  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  ! 

Thus  might  20  or  more  scholars  at  once  be  taught  any  truths,  which 
are  important  to  be  learned  ;  their  attention  and  interest  would  be  kept 
alive  by  the  questions  and  by  the  simple  simultaneous  answers  given 
aloud  by  all  ;  they  would  keep  each  other  cheerfully  in  countenance. 

The  labours  of  the  day  might  invariably  be  wound  up  by  such  oral 
instruction  in  question  and  answer.  Ten  minates  would  suffice  for  the 
lesson,  and  the  happy  children  would  daily  leave  the  school  many  to 
return  to  their  heatlien  homes,  with  some  such  truth  as  this  fresh  in 
their  minds  as  just  proclaimed  aloud  in  cheerful  chorus. 

"  There  is  none  other  Gods  but  one  V 

The  Native  Hindu  teachers  are  a-head  of  us  in  this  respect ;  we  may 
see  their  scholars  assembled  in  the  village  beneath  the  shady  tree,  shouting 
some  heathen  verses,  couplet  by  couplet,  one  of  the  pupils  themselves 
as  monitor  giving  them  out  to  be  repeated  by  the  whole  at  once  aloud  ! 

Let  any  friends  of  Education  prepare  such  an  interesting  catechism 
upon  the  above  plan,  and  print  it  in  your  pages,  and  if  approved  of,  let 
us  hope  that  it  will  speedily  be  translated,  printed,  and  brought  into 
use. 


III. — The  Hardwdr  Fair. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer, 

Hardwar,  or  the  gate  of  Hari,  as  the  name  imports,  is  situate 
ahout  one  thousand  miles  north  by  east  of  Delhi,  lat.  29°  55' 
north,  and  long.  /8°  23'  east. 

It  is  near  the  place  where  the  Ganges  emerges  from  the 
valley  of  the  Dhun,  and  enters  the  plains  of  India  ;  but  is 
not,  as  is  generally  supposed,  among  the  pending  rocks  of  the 
lofty  Himalayas,  and  rendered  sacred  by  the  awe-inspiring 
majesty  of  its  scenery.  The  sacred  bathing-place  is  at  least 
15  miles  from  the  base  of  the  mountain,  and  to  a  person  fa- 
miliar with  the  towering  peaks  of  the  Himalayas,  it  presents 
nothing  remarkable  in  itself.  But  the  Ganges,  at  all  times  an 
interesting  object,  and  particularly  so  where  after  having 
escaped  from  its  confined,  and  precipitous  mountain  channel, 
it  commences  its  majestic  sweep  over  the  plains  beneath — the 
outer  ranges  of  the  Himalayas  which  enclose  the  valley  of  the 
Dhun,  and  stretch  along  the  river — the  variegated  trees  and 


522 


The  Hardwar  Fair. 


[Sept. 


shrubbery  which  skirt  its  banks,  and  the  magnificent  prospect 
afforded  by  the  mountains  to  the  northward,  all  combine  to 
give  effect  to  the  celebrity  of  the  place,  and  to  throw  an  in- 
terest around  a  spot  esteemed  by  the  millions  of  India,  as  no 
other  than  the  gate  of  heaven. 

The  main  channel  of  the  Ganges  is  nearly  a  mile  south- 
east of  Hardwar,  is  about  200  yards  wide  and  not  very 
deep  or  rapid,  and  the  ghat  deemed  most  sacred  is  on  a  small 
branch  which  flows  round  by  Hardwar,  cutting  off  a  large 
island  from  the  western  bank,  and  washing  the  splendid 
temples  of  the  city  with  its  sacred  waters.  This  branch  is 
becoming  smaller  every  year  ;  and  were  it  not  for  the  pious 
assiduity  of  the  resident  brahmans,  whose  interest  it  is  to  pre- 
vent such  a  catastrophe  as  its  drying  up  would  produce,  by 
keeping  it  supplied  with  water  from  the  river  stream,  the 
spot  at  which  Ram  bathed  and  thereby  rendered  holy  for  ever, 
and  to  which  thousands  of  pilgrims  annually  resort  to  wash 
away  their  sins,  and  to  commit  the  ashes  of  their  deceased 
friends  to  its  consecrated  waters,  and  the  magnificent  temples 
■which  surround  it,  would  soon  be  left  far  inland  among  the 
burning  sands. 

Regarding  the  origin  of  the  "  truth"  or  sacredness  of  the 
present  bathing-place,  there  are  many  vague  and  contradictory 
accounts  ;  but  as  none  of  them  are  satisfactory,  I  will  not  tax 
the  reader's  patience  by  an  enumeration  of  them.  This  spot 
held  so  sacred  by  the  Hindu  is  at  the  north-east  end  of  the 
town,  and  was  until  lately  a  most  wretched  and  filthy  place. 
The  former  ghat  was  very  small,  and  the  passage  which  led 
down  to  it,  among  crowded  and  opposing  temples,  to  a  distance 
of  more  than  one  thousand  feet,  was  so  narrow,  that  two  could 
scarcely  walk  abreast  on  it.  Yet  one  of  the  prescribed  rules 
of  the  place  was,  and  still  is,  that  all  pilgrims  in  order  to  se- 
cure the  full  benefit  of  their  ablutions,  must  return  the  same 
way  by  which  they  approached  the  bathing-place,  and  as  this, 
including  a  long  and  narrow  street  through  which  they  had 
to  pass,  was  nearly  a  mile  long,  the  consequence  was  that  on 
the  great  bathing-day  numbers  of  persons  were  trodden  to 
death.  The  new  ghat,  and  way  of  access  present  a  far  dif- 
ferent appearance.  Now  broad  is  the  way  and  wide  is  the 
gate  that  leadeth  to  destruction,  and  many  there  be  that  go 
in  thereat.  For  hundreds  of  years  the  brahman,  the  raja, 
and  the  sudra,  had  crowded  together  along  the  same  narrow 
and  filthy  passage,  and  many  a  poor  emaciated  pilgrim  had 
entered  it  to  return  no  more.  Yet  their  regard  for  so  holy  a 
place  had  not  induced  them  to  make  it  easy  of  access.  It 
remained  for  a  Christian  Government  in  these  latter  days  of 


1810.] 


The  Hurdwdr  Fair. 


523 


benevolence,  to  shew  more  regard  for  the  sacredness  of  Hard- 
war,  than  all  the  Hindu  rulers  who  preceded  them  had  done, 
and  to  expend  upwards  of  three  lakhs  of  rupees  on  remodel* 
ing  and  adorning  its  sacred  hathing-place.  About  fifteen 
years  ago,  by  order  of  Government,  the  old  temples  which 
blocked  up  the  passage  were  removed,  the  way  of  access 
much  enlarged,  and  paved  with  stone.  A  splendid  flight  of 
stone  steps  about  00  or  JO  in  number,  and  from  one  hundred 
to  two  hundred  feet  long;  also  magnificent  temples,  and 
dwelling-houses  for  the  accommodation  of  the  resident  brah- 
mans,  and  pilgrims,  were  built  up  from  the  water's  edge  on 
both  sides  of  the  ghat.  Whether  Government  was  induced  to 
expend  so  large  a  sum  more  from  a  desire  to  prevent  suffering 
among  the  pilgrims,  than  to  shew  respect  for  the  idolatrous 
practices  of  its  heathen  subjects,  is  probably  a  debateable 
question.  At  any  rate  the  suffering  might  have  been  prevented 
with  much  less  expenditure  of  funds.  The  town  of  Hardwar 
numbers  about  200  houses,  chiefly  built  by  rajas  and  other 
wealthy  Hindus  for  their  accommodation  during  the  annual 
fairs.  Many  of  the  houses  are  washed  by  the  river.  They 
are  generally  high,  massy,  stone  buildings,  and  often  orna- 
mented with  painted,  and  carved  emblems  of  Hindu  idolatry. 
The  town  has  at  the  time  of  the  fairs  a  splendid  bazar. 
Shop-keepers  from  the  neighbouring  cities,  and  villages,  flock 
in  great  numbers  with  an  abundance  of  sweetmeats,  and  the 
more  substantial  supports  of  life,  held  in  demand  by  the 
Hindus.  Cloth-merchants,  jewellers,  and  various  other  kinds 
of  traders,  literally  crowd  the  streets  on  both  sides,  for 
more  than  a  mile,  with  their  gaudy  merchandise.  Here  may 
be  seen  the  productions  of  Europe,  China,  Persia,  Caubul, 
Cashmere,  and  of  Judea,  all  thrown  together  in  "  glorious 
confusion."  Nor  must  we  forget  the  vast  multitudes  of  cat- 
tle exposed  for  sale.  The  surrounding  groves  and  plains,  are 
crowed  with  thousands  of  splendid  horses  from  Arabia, 
Turkey,  Persia,  Caubul,  and  the  mountains  and  plains  of 
Hindustan.  Large  numbers  of  elephants,  and  camels,  are 
also  brought  from  a  distance  for  sale.  The  whole  scene 
reminds  the  spectator  more  of  a  large  mart,  than  a  religious 
convocation.  In  the  absence  of  the  Fairs,  the  town  presents 
a  most  desolate  aspect.  Then,  both  bazars,  and  dwell- 
ing-houses are  deserted  by  all  except  a  few  faqirs.  This  is 
probably  owing  to  the  fact,  that  living  in  a  state  of  matri- 
mony is  considered  by  the  brahmans  as  altogether  incon- 
sistent with  the  sacredness  of  such  a  holy  place  as  Hardwar. 
Hence  the  most  of  tbose  attached  to  the  temples  reside  at 
Kankal,  a  handsome  village  two  miles  south  of  Hardwar. 

VOL..  I.  3  Y 


524 


The  Hardwdr  Fair. 


[Sept. 


Numbers  of  Hindus  resort  to  Hardwar  at  all  times  in  the 
year,  to  bathe  and  pay  their  vows  to  "  Ganga  Mai"  (mother 
Gauges),  also  to  deposit  the  ashes  of  their  deceased  friends  in 
its  sacred  waters  ;  but  the  great  annual  fair  commences  about 
the  first  of  April,  and  continues  Until  the  1  Ith  or  12th,  or  until 
the  Sankrant  takes  place.  In  every  twelfth  year  it  is  con- 
sidered by  the  Hindu  peculiarly  meritorious  to  bathe  at  Hard- 
war.  Therefore  on  these  occasions  the  number  of  pilgrims 
is  double  if  not  treble  as  many  as  attend  the  annual  fairs. 
This  mela  is  called  the  "  Makar,"  and  takes  its  name  from 
the  tenth  Zodiacal  sign,  or  Capricorn.  To  bathe  while  the  sun 
is  entering  this  sign,  is  said  to  be  equal  in  merit  to  one  hundred 
ablutions  during  as  many  eclipses.  For  several  weeks  before 
the  fair  commences,  immense  crowds  of  every  age,  sex  and 
rank,  may  be  seen  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Hardwar  winding 
their  way  to  it  from  all  directions,  and  no  sooner  do  they 
reach  its  precincts,  than  loud  shouts  of"  Ganga  kf  jar"  (victory 
to  Ganges)  mingled  with  protracted  bursts  of  enthusiasm, 
reach  from  multitude  to  multitude.  Each  vies  with  all,  and 
all  with  each,  in  their  tributes  of  praise  to  the  unconscious 
river,  and  every  one  strives  to  catch  the  first  glimpse  of  its 
purifying  water.  When  will  sinners  be  so  eager  to  flock  to 
Jesus,  the  fountain  that  cleanses  from  all  sins  ? 

From  Kankal  to  Hardwar,  the  road  leading  along  the  bank 
of  the  river,  is  in  many  places  lined  on  both  sides  for  a  con- 
siderable distance  with  elevated  seats  of  chunam  work,  (ma- 
sonry,) on  which  hordes  of  greedy  faqirs  sit  for  alms,  and 
it  is  with  no  little  vociferation  they  demand  of  the  passing 
multitude  what  they  deem  their  right.  These  pests  of  society 
also  station  themselves  at  the  ghat,  and  with  an  impudent 
importunity,  not  to  be  resisted  by  the  poor  pilgrim,  compel 
him  to  administer  from  his  pittance  to  their  wants,  or  rather 
avarice,  for  of  wants,  the  Hindu  faqir  has  but  few.  The 
ashes  of  cow's  ordure  to  rub  over  his  naked  body  and  to  powder 
his  hair  with,  supplies  his  wardrobe  ;  and  as  for  food  he 
would  not  condescend  to  buy  it, — he  gets  it  as  he  gets  his 
money, — by  begging,  as  the  more  honorable  method  of  the 
two.  The  faqirs  have  each  a  peculiar  badge  to  designate  the 
sect  to  which  they  belong,  and  each  sect  has  its  separate 
encampment.  They  are  also  jealous  of  each  other's  prefer- 
ment ;  hence  arises  quarrels  amongst  them,  and  sometimes, 
fierce  combats.  For  the  suppression  of  these  insurrections, 
a  company  of  sipahis  from  Dera,  are  usually  stationed  on 
the  adjoining  island  during  the  fair,  but  their  interference  is 
seldom  required. 

The  multitude  at  the  bathing-place  is  sometimes  almost 
numberless,  and  for  a  worshipping  assembly  certainly  presents 


1840.] 


The  Ifurdwdr  Fair. 


525 


a  very  grotesque  appearance.  At  the  ghat  and  on  the 
piazzas  of  the  adjoining  temples,  thousands  of  both  sexes 
may  be  seen  at  all  hours  of  the  day  and  until  10  or  11  o'clock 
at  night,  preparing  after  the  Hindu  fashion  for  bathing,  while 
as  many  at  the  same  place  are  exchanging  the  dripping 
garments  in  which  they  have  just  emerged  from  the  water, 
for  dry  ones. 

In  the  river  the  scene  is  still  more  unbecoming,  hundreds 
of  men,  women,  and  children,  of  all  ranks  and  ages,  and  with 
but  little  regard  for  the  exposure  of  their  persons,  may  be 
seen  swimming  and  splashing  promiscuously  through  the  water. 
The  brahmans  also  are  not  to  be  overlooked  in  this  scene. 
Some  squatted  on  platforms  raised  above  the  water,  are  paint- 
ing the  foreheads  of  those  who  flock  around  them,  not  however 
without  being  well  paid  for  it.  Others  like  as  many  hungry 
tigers  prowl  through  the  aquatic  multitude,  and  with  an 
authority  peculiar  to  themselves,  demand  money  from  each 
pilgrim  for  the  privilege  of  having  his  sins  washed  away  in 
the  Ganges.  And  should  their  demands  not  be  complied  with, 
resort  is  not  unfrequently  had  to  violence,  and  the  poor  pilgrim, 
who  after  much  toil  thinks  he  has  reached  the  gate  of  heaven, 
finds  himself  either  robbed  of  the  few  pice  he  had  in  his 
possession,  or  his  scanty  clothing.  So  much  for  the  mercy 
of  the  brahmans,  and  the  spirit  of  Hinduism.  Other 
brahmans,  appear  to  content  themselves  with  raking  up  from 
the  bottom  of  the  river  jewels,  and  pieces  of  gold,  and  silver, 
which  had  been  deposited  with  the  ashes  of  the  deceased. 
These  they  procure  by  scooping  up  the  ashes  with  a  basket 
attached  to  their  feet  and  washing  them  on  the  surface  of  the 
water.  This  process,  together  with  the  agitation  of  the  waters 
produced  by  those  bathing,  keeps  the  river  almost  constantly 
in  a  turbid  state.  This  circumstance,  however,  does  not 
prevent  them  from  taking  large  and  repeated  draughts  of  the 
purifying  stream. 

As  it  is  considered  particularly  efficacious  to  bathe  at  the 
precise  time  of  the  Sankrant's  taking  place,  (the  sun  entering 
a  new  sign),  the  event  is  no  sooner  proclaimed  by  the  brah- 
mans, than  there  is  a  general  rush  to  the  batbing-place,  and 
not  unfrequently  great  contests  for  precedency  in  bathing. 
After  this  long  desired  ablution  is  obtained,  the  multitudes 
disperse,  and  all  commence  their  retrograde  march.  Numbers 
however  it  is  to  be  feared  never  reach  their  homes.  While  at 
Hardwar  we  found  two  poor  pilgrims,  one  a  man  and  the  other 
a  woman,  lying  on  the  road  at  the  point  of  death  ;  and  although 
thousands  of  their  countrymen  passed  and  repassed  them 
every  hour,  there  was  no  good  Samaritan  among  them.  We 
3  y  2 


526  A  Voice  from  the  Ocean.  [Sept. 

had  them  taken  to  our  tent,  and  gave  them  medicine,  and  a 
little  nourishment,  but  it  was  too  late,  they  both  died  in  a  few 
hours.   Such  doubtless  befell  many  more. 

During  ten  days  which  we  spent  at  the  fair,  two  brethren, 
myself,  and  two  native  assistants,  preached  Christ  to  some 
hundreds  of  souls,  and  distributed  some  thousands  of  Gospels 
and  tracts  to  many,  from  various  parts  of  India,  who  never 
before  heard  of  the  Saviour.  We  found  the  people  generally 
very  civil,  and  disposed  both  to  listen  to  our  message,  and 
receive  our  books.  May  the  Lord  prosper  the  preaching,  and 
the  reading  of  his  word.  These  are  the  constituted  agency 
of  heaven  for  the  salvation  of  men — the  panoply  of  God  with 
which  as  the  Sovereign  of  the  universe  he  goes  forth  to  subju- 
gate this  rebellious  world  to  himself.  With  these,  accom- 
panied by  the  Holy  Ghost  he  will  go  forth,  conquering  and 
to  conquer,  triumphing  over  his  enemies,  until  the  heathen 
be  given  to  Christ  for  his  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost 
parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possession. 

10th  July,  1840.  J.  M.  J. 


IV. — A  Voice  from  the  Ocean — at  Sea,  in  the  Bay  of  Bengal, 
steering  for  Calcutta,  Aug.  1840. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 

Dear  Sins, 

Can  you  make  room  in  your  "  Observer"  for  a  voice  from  the  sea  ? 
or  are  British  seamen  beyond  the  sphere  of  your  holy  exertions  and 
Christian  enterprize  ?  Though  many  of  you  who  in  the  luxurious  "  city 
of  palaces"  "  live  at  home  at  ease,"  may  look  down  witli  selfish  in- 
difference upon  the  hardy  sons  of  the  ocean,  who  visit  your  port,  yet  let 
us  not  forget,  It  is  to  the  instrumentality  of  our  seamen  (under  Pro- 
vidence) that  at  this  moment  we  owe  our  very  existence  as  a  free  and 
independent  nation— and  should  war  again  sound  its  alarm,  it  must  be  to 
our  seamen,  as  instruments  in  the  hands  of  Providence,  that  we  (Britain) 
must  look  for  future  protection  and  deliverance.  Their  ships  must  form 
a  rampart  round  our  coasts.  Their  bosoms  so  often  bared  to  the  storm, 
must  then  be  presented  to  the  enemy's  cannon — then  shall  we  not  provide 
for  the  spiritual  welfare,  the  eternal  security  of  those  who  watch  so 
patiently  and  contend  so  bravely  for  our  temporal  safety? — In  time  of 
peace  they  eminently  contribute  to  our  national  wealth  and  furnish  us 
with  many  of  our  domestic  comforts,  and  as  they  minister  to  us  in  tem- 
poral things,  is  it  too  much  for  us  to  minister  to  them,  in  those  which 
are  spiritual?  Oh,  were  only  a  thousandth  part  of  the  hazard,  the 
ardour,  costly  self-sacrifice  of  the  maritine  class  in  the  cause  of  the 
national  welfare  to  be  repaid  by  the  Christian,  in  the  promotion  of  its 
religious  interest,  if  only  justice  were  done  to  it,  how  large  and  active 
the  machinery  of  benevolence  which  would  instantly  be  put  in  motion 
on  its  behalf  !" — I  believe  the  Calcutta  Christian  community  have  not 


* 


1840.] 


A  Voice  from  the  Ocean. 


527 


been  backward  in  meeting  the  spiritual  and  temporal  wants  of  British 
seamen  on  their  aTrival  in  your  far-famed  port.  Is  not  the  crowning 
ornament  on  the  splendid  Palace  of  the  Governor  General  of  India  u 
representation  of  Brittania  ?  Is  not  the  representation  upon  the  very 
Coins  of  our  Eastern  Realm,  Brittania  holding  in  her  hand  the  scales  ol 
Justice  ? — Surely  then  you  welcome  heartily  Brittania's  ocean-sons  upon 
your  shore?  or  do  you  abandon  thorn  to  crimps,  drunkenness  and  ruin? 
No  ! — your  Sailor's  Home  yields  abundant  proof  that  you  have  nobly 
thought  of  their  welfare.  I  am  now  amidst  a  crew  of  British  seamen,  mostly 
young  and  thoughtless,  and  many  of  them,  it  is  to  be  feared,  ready  to  rush 
when  on  shore  into  every  temptation  and  ruin.  It  has  struck  me,  that  the 
beneficial  agency  of  your  "  Sailor's  Home,"  or  "  Seamen's  Friend  Socie- 
ty," might  meet  with  great  effect  every  Christian  ship,  entering  your  port, 
for  how  eagerly  after  a  voyage  do  we  welcome  the  first  messengers  from 
shore  ?  the  Pilot  to  meet  us  at  sea  !  The  letter-boat  or  any  communication 
or  letter  from  the  friendly  shore  has  a  hearty  welcome.  Surely  then  the 
messengers  of  glad  tidings  of  great  joy  to  us  and  all  mankind,  ought  to  be 
amongst  the  first  to  greet  our  arrival.  Short  appropriate  printed  letters, 
addressed  to  seamen — tracts  from  the  "  Seaman's  Home,"  or  "  Bethel,"  or 
"  Seamen's  Friend,"  or  Christian  Societies,  might,  with  God's  blessing,  be 
distributed  through  the  ships  from  '•'fore  to  aft,"  to  be  read  with  inter- 
est, circulated  from  hand  to  band,  bidding  them  as  brethren,  a  hearty 
welcome  to  your  coast  and  city,  inviting  them  to  your  "  Sailor's  Home," 
warning  them  against  the  danger  on  shore,  of  crimps,  drunkenness,  and 
temptation  of  every  kind,  and  directing  the  mind  to  Canaan's  shore,  to 
the  haven  of  Eternal  rest,  to  the  anchor  of  Hope;  to  the  heavenly 
chart — to  the  Pole  Star  of  Salvation — to  merchandise  greater  far  than  east 
or  west  unfold — to  the  pearl  of  great  price  ;  thus  acquitting  yourselves 
nobly,  and  as  it  were  going  forth  in  hospitality  to  meet  "those  that  go 
down  to  the  sea  in  ships  and  do  business  in  great  waters — those  who  see 
the  work  of  the  Lord  and  his  wonders  in  the  deep."  Think  of  these 
suggestions,  you  who  are  privileged  to  guide  and  direct  the  benevolence 
of  the  public.  Ye  statesmen,  ye  philanthropists,  ye  patrons,  presidents, 
secretaries,  treasurers,  and  members  of  philanthropic  Societies,  ye  Sailor's 
Homes,  ye  Seaman's  Friends,  ye  Tract  and  Christian  instruction  societies, 
ye  Christian  merchants,  all  ye  of  Calcutta,  Bombay  and  Madras  especially, 
think  of  these  things? 

I  shall  look  with  much  interest  whether  the  friendly  agents  of  the 
"  Suitor's  Home"  or  "  Seaman's  Friend  Society,"  visit  our  ship  ere  she 
reaches  port,  the  scene  of  temptation — or  whether  our  gallant  seamen 
are  to  be  allowed  to  plunge  into  those  scenes  and  be  unhappily  caught  in 
the  snares,  ere  the  Seaman's  Home  or  Friend  be  made  known  to  them,  or 
whether  its  friendly  communication  and  Christian  instruction  meet  them 
ere  they  can  set  foot  on  shore. 

A  Voice  from  the  Ocean. 

P.  S.  Doubtless  your  "  Sailor's  Home"  and  "  Seaman's  Friend  Society" 
are  amply  supplied  with  tracts  addressed  especially  to  seamen;  if  not,  ought 
not  a  supply  to  be  immediately  obtained  from  home  or  printed  in  Calcutta, 
Bombay,  and  Madras?  Does  a  boat  from  the  "Sailor's  Home"  or  "  Sea- 
man's Friend  Society"  go  off  to  every  ship  arriving?  At  the  next  meeting 
of  their  committees  would  it  not  be  good  to  consult  what  further  mea- 
sures can  be  effected  for  the  benefit  of  seamen.  It  would  be  well  if  every 
member  of  the  committees  had  a  copy  of  Harris's  Prize  Essay  upon 
those  subjects — or  "  the  moral  claims  of  seamen  stated  and  enforced," 
an  admirable  book  with  many  excellent  suggestions — amongst  other  means 


528  Vocabulary  of  Theological  Terms. 


[Sept. 


of  benefitting  seamen  would  it  not  be  good  were  the  secretaries  to  these 
committees  for  the  management  of  the  Societies  to  address  a  printed 
letter  to  the  commander  of  every  Christian  vessel  leaving  Calcutta — 
sending  him  a  supply  of  suitable  tracts  for  the  crew,  and  requesting  him 
to  circulate  them. 

Note. — The  agent  of  the  Seamen's  Friend  Society  visits  every  vessel  on 
her  arrival  with  Bibles  and  Tracts,  and  with  a  view  to  converse  with  the 
men  on  the  things  appertaining  to  their  peace. — En. 


V. —  Vocabulary  of  Theological  and  Ecclesiastical  Terms. 

Every  one  who  has  had  any  thing  to  do  with  the  religious 
instruction  of  the  natives  of  India,  must  often  have  found 
himself  involved  in  doubt  and  perplexity  respecting  the  use 
of  religious  terms  :  particularly  has  this  been  the  experience 
of  young  missionaries.  They  are  anxious,  as  they  ought  to 
be,  to  commence  preaching,  or  instructing  the  heathen,  in  the 
tilings  which  belong  to  their  eternal  peace,  as  soon  as  they 
have  acquired  a  sufficient  knowledge  of  the  native  languages 
to  make  themselves  at  all  understood.  But  at  the  very  thres- 
hold of  the  work,  they  are  brought  to  a  stand  by  the  difficulty 
of  finding  words,  adapted  to  convey  their  meaning.  If  they 
were  called  upon  to  discourse  on  worldly  topics,  the  task 
would  be  comparatively  easy,  because  words  and  phrases, 
such  as  are  required  to  express  common  thoughts,  are  very 
abundant,  and  sufficiently  understood  by  every  one  who  has 
paid  proper  attention  to  his  Dictionary,  and  the  colloquial 
habits  of  the  people.  But  the  teacher  of  Christianity  has 
to  deal  with  a  new  subject.  He  has  many  thoughts  to 
communicate,  which  to  Muhammadans  and  Hindus  must 
necessarily  be  strange ;  and  to  express  them  accurately  he 
may  search  in  vain  for  suitable  words.  The  best  Dictiona- 
ries in  the  land  afford  him  little  or  no  assistance.  This  is  not 
because  the  Dictionaries  are  particularly  defective,  nor  be- 
cause the  languages  of  India  are  barren  ;  for  the  fact  is  that 
both  the  Urdu  and  Hindi,  and  no  less  the  Bengali  and  other 
dialects,  having  the  Arabic  and  Sanskrit  to  draw  upon  in  time 
of  need,  are  comparatively  rich ;  and  the  lexicographers  have 
in  general  done  as  much  as  could  be  expected  of  them.  The 
difficulty  is,  that  the  doctrines  of  Christianity  are  often  far  in 
advance  of  any  thing  the  people  have  yet  learned  ;  and  as  the 
enlargement  and  refinement  of  language  follow  rather  than 
precede  improvements  in  knowledge,  the  languages  of  India 
are,  as  a  matter  of  course,  wanting  in  such  words  as  are 
necessary  to  express  purely  Christian  ideas.  For  these  it 
is  evident  that  either  new  words  must  be  introduced  by  the 
teachers  of  the  new  religion,  or  old  words  must  be  used  with 


1840.]  Vocabulary  of  Theological  Terms. 


529 


a  new  moaning,  and  that  meaning  be  often  explained  to  the 
people  to  prevent  misapprehension.  It  is  likely  that  both  the 
one  and  the  other  will  be  done.  So  it  was  when  Christianity 
was  first  introduced  among  heathen  nations,  and  the  same  is 
now  being  done  wherever  there  are  Christian  Missionaries. 
But  where  native  terms  are  to  be  employed  in  a  Christian 
sense,  those  only  should  be  selected  which  in  their  common 
acceptation,  come  nearest  to  the  meaning  we  wish  to  express 
by  them.  At  least  they  should  have  the  preference.  The  same 
thing  is  true  in  respect  to  other  words,  which  might  be  used 
without  any  change  of  signification,  but  where  from  several 
synonyms  there  might  still  be  a  choice.  To  make  such  a  selec- 
tion is  by  no  means  easy  to  one  whose  knowledge  of  Indian  lan- 
guages and  Indian  Theology  is  yet  vary  partial.  This  the  writer 
knows  from  experience  ;  for  he  has  felt  the  difficulty  al- 
most every  time  he  has  attempted  to  instruct  the  natives  in  the 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel.  And  the  same  difficulty  has  met 
him  in  his  labors  among  the  native  Christians  who  are  com- 
mitted to  his  pastoral  charge.  He  has  therefore  been  anx- 
ious, for  a  long  time,  to  get  such  assistance  from  his  brethren 
as  their  greater  knowledge  and  experience  might  enable  them 
to  give,  in  the  form  of  a  Vocabulary  of  Theological  and  Eccle- 
siastical terms;  and  as  it  is  believed  that  a  great  many  per- 
sons in  similar  circumstances  would  rejoice  at  the  appearance 
of  such  a  work,  he  sincerely  hopes  that  some  of  the  older 
Missionaries  in  India  will  undertake  it.  It  would  cost  them 
but  little  labor,  while  the  advantages  to  he  gained  by  their 
coadjutors  in  the  great  work,  and  also  by  the  native  churches, 
would  manifestly  be  very  great.  As  there  might  be  a  differ- 
ence of  opinion,  regarding  many  religious  terms,  among  per- 
sons qualified  to  judge,  it  might  be  well  to  publish  the  first 
draft  of  such  a  work  in  successive  numbers  of  the  "  Observer." 
Room  would  thus  be  made  for  criticism  and  correction,  be- 
fore it  went  into  circulation. 

A  work  of  this  kind,  if  required  at  all,  would  be  needed 
both  in  Bengal  and  in  Hindustan,  and  therefore  the  definitions 
should  be  in  Urdu,  Hindi,  and  Bengali.  The  following  will 
serve  as  a  specimen  of  what  appears  to  be  needed, — though 
some  of  the  definitions  will  probably  be  considered  incorrect 
by  those  who  have  more  knowledge  than  the  writer,  and  he 
himself  is  not  satisfied  with  them  all  ;  but  he  gives  the  best  he 
is  able.  Knowing  nothing  of  Bengali,  he  can  give  no  defini- 
tions in  that  language.  Let  the  specimens  be  taken  at  random 
from  any  part  of  the  Alphabet.    Begin,  say,  with  D. 


530 


Vocabulary  of  Theoloyicai  Terms. 


[Sept. 


Dkmon,   

Damnation,  . . 

Deacon,  , 

Decalogue,  . 

Decree,  

Depravity,  . 

Devil,   

Devotion,  . . . 

Diocese,  

Discipline,  .. 

Disciple, 

Dispensation, 

Divine,   

Divinity,   . . . 

Doctrine,  . ... 


(J.  H.  Bhut. 
U.  Phitkar. 
H.  Dhikar. 
U.  Khartum. 
H.  Tahiti*. 
Gr.  Didlcon. 
U.  Das-hukm. 
H.  Das-6gya. 
U.  Muqaddar. 
H.  Bhag. 
U.  Kharabi. 
H.  Bigaru. 
U.  Iblis. 
H. 

U.  Ibadat. 
H.  Archa. 
Lat.  Daiasis. 
U.  Tazir. 
H.  Shasaw. 
U.  Shagird. 
H.  Chela. 
(Economy.) 
U.  T artib. 
H.  Bidhi. 
U.  (a.)  Ilahi.  (s.) 

Faqih. 
H.(a.)  Ishwartya. 
U.  (deity)  Khudai, 
(theology)  Fiqah 
H.   (deity)  Ish- 

warta. 
U.  Masla. 
H. 


Divorce,   .  U.  Talaq. 

H.  StH-tyag. 
Doxolooy,  U.  Hamd. 

H.  Stuti. 

En.  Dakadluji. 
Duty,  U.  Farz. 

H.  Uchit  Karj. 
Ecclesiastic,    ...  Pddri. 
Ecclesiastical,     Or.  Kalisc  ltd- 
Economy  (dispen- 
sation,)  U.  Tartib. 

H.  Bidhi. 

Edification,  U.  Tarbiyat.  Sud- 

harna. 
H.  Sudharna. 

Elder,   U.  Mushaikh, 

Burba. 
H.  Paraclu'n,  bur- 
ha. 

Gr.  Presbuter. 

Elect,   U.  Barguzida, 

Chuna  hiia. 
H.  Chuna  hda. 

Election,   U.  Barguzidagi, 

Chunna. 
H.  Chunna. 
Enthusiasm,     ...  U.  Jawakkul  be- 
btida. 
H.  Unmattata. 

Enthusiast,   U.  Mutawakkul 

behtida. 
H.  Unmatt. 
Episcopacy,  ....  Gr.  Ipishopya. 


The  foregoing  words  have  been  taken  from  Buck's  Theo- 
logical Dictionary  ;  a  large  number  however  of  the  words  con- 
tained in  that  work,  are  not  required  in  a  vocabulary  like  this. 
About  300  would  probably  be  sufficient. 

This  subject  is  now  submitted  to  the  readers  of  the  "  Obser- 
ver,1" with  an  ardent  hope  that  some  one  among  them  will  feel 
a  sufficient  interest  in  it,  to  carry  into  effect  the  wishes  of 

A  Young  Missionary. 

July  18,  1840. 


Note. — Our  Baptist  friends  have  provided  a  vocabulary  of  scripture 
proper  names  in  Bengali,  and  intend  after  a  while  to  republish  the  work 
with  additional  columns  for  Hebrew,  Sanskrit,  Urdu  and  perhaps  one  or 
two  other  languages.  This  however  does  not  compass  the  desire  of  our 
correspondent,  though  it  will  doubtless  aid  in  the  attainment  of  his 
object. — Ed. 


1840.] 


Missionary  Conference. 


531 


VI. — Missionary  Conference, — The  English  Language. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Missionary  Conference  held  at  the 
house  of  the  Rev.  T.  Smith  on  the  4th  day  of  August,  the 
following  question  was  fully  discussed  : — "  What  position  does 
the  English  language  occupy,  and  what  influence  is  it  destined 
to  exert,  as  a  medium  of  communicating  the  entire  range  of 
sound  literature,  science  and  theology  with  a  special  view  to 
the  evangelization  and  civilization  of  India  V*  On  a  suhject  of 
60  deep  interest  our  readers  have  a  right  to  expect  a  short  ac- 
count of  the  sentiments  of  those  whose  professional  duty,  apart 
altogether  from  inclination,  leads  them  to  he  continually 
canvassing  and  judging  of  all  plans  that  are  proposed  for 
the  good  of  mankind,  and  the  furtherance  of  the  great  work  to 
which  they  have  devoted  their  lives. 

The  discussion  was  opened  by  Dr.  Duff  and  continued  by 
almost  all  the  members  present;  there  was  such  unanimity 
that  in  stating  our  own  views  of  the  subject  we  believe  we  shall 
not  be  required  to  say  any  thing  from  which  any  one  of  our 
brethren  will  dissent. 

In  attempting  to  introduce  a  thorough  system  of  education 
into  so  vast  a  country  as  this,  the  ordinary  principles  of 
economy  point  out  the  propriety,  the  absolute  necessity,  of 
training  a  body  of  indigenous  teachers,  furnishing  them  with 
all  necessary  knowledge,  and  at  the  same  time  instructing  them 
in  the  difficult  art  of  communicating  that  knowledge.  The 
people  of  India  can  never  wholly  be  taught  by  European  agency. 
One-fourth  part  of  the  population  of  England  would  no  more 
than  suffice  as  teachers  for  the  population  of  India.  And  it 
is  to  be  recollected  that  this  enormous  drain,  even  if  it  could 
be  made,  (and  the  idea  that  it  could  be  made  even  once  is 
preposterous)  would  require  to  be  endlessly  repeated  and  con- 
tinued in  perpetuity.  An  educated  parent  does  not  give  birth 
to  an  educated  son  :  but  when  one  generation  passes  away, 
the  next  generation  require  education  just  as  much  as  did  the 
preceding  one.  It  is  then  an  idea  altogether  monstrous  and 
chimerical  that  the  population  of  India  can  be  educated  by 
the  direct  application  of  European  agency. 

We  are  thus  brought  at  once  to  the  conclusion  that  the 
European  agency  at  our  disposal  ought  to  be  directed  in  such 
a  way  as  may  have  the  most  direct  tendency  to  raise  up  a  force 
of  competent  native  teachers,  on  whom  may  devolve  the  ardu- 
ous and  honorable  task  of  holding  out  the  torch  of  truth  for 
the  enlightenment  of  their  benighted  countrymen. 

The  question  under  consideration  thus  naturally  divides 
itself  into  two  branches  ;  first,  through  what  medium  are  these 

vol.  i.  3  z 


532  Missionary  Conference.  [Sept. 


the  future  teachers  and  preachers  of  India  to  he  instructed  ; 
and  secondly,  through  what  medium  are  they  to  instruct  the 
mass  of  their  countrymen.  Now  in  answer  to  the  first  ques- 
tion, we  hesitate  not  for  a  moment  to  say  ;  for  the  present 
through  the  medium  of  the  English  language  ;  and  this  for  a  vast 
number  of  reasons  of  which  it  will  suffice  to  state  a  few.  And 
first,  it  is,  generally  speaking,  the  language  of  their  instructors. 
This  is  an  advantage  not  to  he  sneered  at.  The  advocates  of 
English  education  are  prohably  as  well  qualified  as  their  fellows 
to  acquire  the  languages  of  this  country,  and  would  not  be  defi- 
cient in  zeal  and  application  were  it  necessary.  But  we  do  hold 
it  to  be  an  evil  of  no  small  magnitude  to  condemn  the  youth- 
ful instructors  who  come  to  this  country,  whether  as  teachers 
or  Missionaries,  to  spend  the  three,  four  or  five  best  years  of 
their  lives  in  the  heartless  drudgery  of  acquiring  a  barbarous 
language,  such  as  the  vernacular  dialects  of  this  country  are, 
or  to  spend  eight,  nine,  or  ten  years  in  acquiring  the  learned 
language  of  the  country.  Yet  we  venture  to  say  that  these 
periods  would  be  necessary  to  fit  a  European  of  ordinary 
capabilities  for  conveying  instruction  adequately  through  the 
medium  of  the  languages  of  this  country.  There  may  be, 
there  no  doubt  are  exceptions  ;  but  we  affirm  without  any  fear 
of  contradiction  that  nine  out  of  every  ten  would  require  the 
longest  of  the  periods  we  have  assigned  to  either  department, 
in  order  to  qualify  him  for  teaching  scientific  and  religious 
truth  by  means  of  the  languages  of  the  country  ;  and  we  be- 
lieve that  prohably  six  or  seven  of  the  ten  would  make  but 
bungling  work  of  it  after  all.  And  while  they  are  thus  wear- 
ing out  their  health  and  spirits  in  the  work  of  preparation,  the 
actual  work  of  instruction  must  devolve  on  those  whose  health 
and  spirits  have  been  already  frittered  away  by  the  same  tedious 
course  of  hard  and  uninteresting  labour  in  a  debilitating  cli- 
mate. O  it  is  almost  more  than  human  zeal  can  bear  to  be 
condemned  to  such  La  Trappian  silence  during  the  best  years 
of  a  man's  life. 

But,  secondly,  English  is  to  the  natives  of  this  country  a 
foreign  language,  and  this  we  hold  to  be  in  itself  an  advantage. 
Our  fathers,  who  were  not  altogether  ignorant  of  human  nature, 
marked  out  the  learning  of  at  least  one  foreign  language  as  an 
indispensable  part  of  a  liberal  education  ;  and  although  this 
might  be  partly  owing  to  the  circumstances  of  the  times  in 
which  they  lived,  and  although  the  system  of  classical  educa- 
tion may  have  been  abused  and  carried  too  far,  yet  we  ques- 
tion whether  any  preferable  substitute  has  been  found  for  the 
learning  of  the  classical  tongues  of  Greece  and  Rome  in  our 
European  schools.  It  is  not  the  mere  being  able  to  translate 
a  passage  of  Horace  and  Tacitus  that  is  the  object  to  be  sought 


1840.] 


Missionary  Conference. 


533 


in  a  classical  education,  but  the  mental  discipline,  the  intel- 
lectual and  moral  training  that  a  learner  is  put  through  under 
an  accomplished  and  skilful  teacher,  are  advantages  of  no 
small  moment — advantages  for  which  our  European  friends 
would  do  well  to  ask  for  adequate  compensation  before  they 
sacrifice  that  system  which  has  trained  their  senators  and 
statesmen,  their  merchants  and  men  of  business  to  take  their 
place  above  those  of  any  other  country  in  the  world.  Now 
what  the  learning  of  Latin  and  Greek  is  to  the  youth  of  Bri- 
tain, the  learning  of  English  ought  to  be  made  to  the  ingenu- 
ous youth  of  India.  Up  to  a  certain  point  the  cases  are  pre- 
cisely parallel ;  but  the  parallelism  does  not  exist  throughout; 
for, 

Thirdly,  the  English  language  is  the  vehicle  of  all  sound 
knowledge.  European  youths  are  obliged  for  the  sake  of  learn- 
ing the  Latin  and  Greek  languages  to  study  the  useless  and 
indelicate  writings  of  Ovid  and  Anacreon,  but  Indian  youth  in 
the  very  act  of  acquiring  the  English  tongue  are,  or  ought  to 
be,  imbued  with  all  that  is  correct  in  science,  all  that  is 
sound  and  pure  in  morals,  all  that  is  saving  and  sanctify- 
ing in  religion.  And  if  this  be  a  fact  which  cannot  be 
denied  by  those  who  are  inimical  to  the  introduction  of 
English  education  into  this  country,  it  is  incumbent  on 
them  to  shew  by  what  means  the  requisite  amount  of  sound 
knowledge  is  to  be  communicated.  The  major  part  of  the 
knowledge  that  is  communicated  in  the  course  of  what  is 
ordinarily  styled  education  is  derived  from  books.  Now  where 
are  the  books  to  be  found  in  a  vernacular  dress  from  which 
such  an  amount  of  sound  knowledge  may  be  derived  as  will 
fit  a  man  for  becoming  the  instructor  of  his  countrymen  ?  It 
is  a  very  easy  matter  to  say,  "  Translate  works  into  the  lan- 
guage of  the  country,"  but  we  apprehend  that  those  who  say 
so  dream  not  of  the  real  meaning  of  what  they  say.  Suppose 
that  we  wish  to  provide  a  complete  series  of  books  in  any  one 
department  of  human  knowledge — say  theology.  First  of  all, 
we  must  have  a  work  on  systematic  theology.  Perhaps,  we  fix 
upon  Turretine's  Theologia  Elenctica,  or  as  they  are  smaller 
books,  on  Calvin's  Institutes  or  on  Mastrecht's  Theoretical 
and  Practical  Theology.  Very  well,  others  can  tell  better  than 
we  can  how  long  time  would  be  required  to  render  the  small- 
est of  these  books  into  Bengali.  Then  we  must  have  a  book  or 
books  on  Church  History,  and  we  find  that  no  single  book  will 
serve  our  purpose  ;  we  must  have  both  Mosheim  and  Milner 
"  done"  into  Bengali.  Then  we  probably  would  wish  a  work  on 
the  Evidences  of  Christianity,  and  might  fix  upon  Paley,  or 
Chalmers,  or  Wilson  or  any  other.  But  to  make  our  course 
complete  we  should  have  a  Commentary  on  the  entire  Scrip- 
3  z  2 


534 


Missionary  Conference. 


[Sept. 


tures ;  and  we  are  sure  we  cannot  tell  how  long  we  should  he 
occupied  in  translating  Poole,  Henry,  or  Scott,  but  we  suppose 
that  with  the  best  possible  arrangement,  and  the  greatest  possi- 
bledivision  of  labour,  "and  all  appliances  and  means  to  boot,"  we 
might  in  the  course  of  30,  40,  or  50  years,  get  these  indispensa- 
ble books  translated  into  Bengali.  But  what  ring-streaked  or 
speckled  or  spotted  translations  they  might  be  expected  to  be, 
when  each  book  had  had  four  or  five  translators,  we  leave  to 
others  to  judge.  But  when  all  this  is  done,  the  work  is  but  little 
more  than  begun.  Bengali  is  the  language  of  a  vast  multitude 
of  people,  but  it  is  very,  very  far  from  being  the  language  of 
India  ;  and  so  when  we  had  got  quit  of  our  pandits  we  must 
commence  afresh  with  an  order  of  Maulavis,  and  we  must  spend 
another  30,  40,  or  50  years  in  translating  the  same  works  into 
Hindustani.  But  even  when  this  is  done  our  work  is  yet  to 
commence.  We  have  to  provide  for  our  Oriya,  and  Tamuli, 
and  Cingalese,  and  Marathi,  and  Guzerati  students,  and  a  host 
of  others  whose  very  names  it  is  no  easy  task  to  enumerate. 
Then  these  are  all  to  be  printed,  and  they  will  occupy,  if  print- 
ed in  the  characters  belonging  to  the  various  dialects,  far 
more  volumes  than  we  can  tell ;  and  then  the  printing  must  be 
paid  for,  and  that  would  require  ten  times  more  money  than 
we  possess,  and  thus  in  the  course  of  some  two  or  three  hundred 
years,  at  the  expense  of  many  thousands  of  pounds,  we  have 
a  very  meagre,  but  still  a  passable  theological  library  in  the 
vernacular  languages  of  India.  And  then  we  may  proceed  to 
translate  a  whole  Encyclopaedia  of  literature  and  science  into 
the  same  dialects,  and  for  that  we  may  well  allow  a  thousand 
or  two  thousand  years,  and  five  or  six  millions  of  pounds  more. 
We  judge  of  what  may  be  done  by  what  has  been  done,  and 
it  were  mere  enthusiasm  and  romance  to  judge  on  any  other 
principles.  Although  there  have  been  vernacular  schools  in 
existence  under  the  direction  and  superintendance  of  Euro- 
peans for  very  many  years,  there  has  not  yet  been  produced 
in  any  one  of  the  various  languages  of  India  even  a  set  of  tole- 
rable elementary  school-books. 

We  hold  it  then  to  be  as  clearly  established  as  any  point 
can  be,  that  those  of  the  natives  of  this  country  who  for  very 
many  years  to  come  are  to  receive  a  liberal  education  must 
receive  it  through  the  medium  of  the  English  language.  There 
may,  and  we  have  no  doubt  there  will,  come  a  time  when  there 
shall  be  an  independent  native  literature,  and  then  the  English 
language  may  be  advanced  or  shall  we  say,  degraded  from 
the  rank  of  a  necessary  to  that  of  a  merely  ornamental  branch 
of  education.  But  till  then,  if  any  of  the  natives  are  to  re- 
ceive more  than  the  merest  smattering  of  knowledge,  we  see 
no  means  of  educating  them  but  by  means  of  the  English 


1840.] 


The  Cooly  Trade. 


535 


tongue ;  and  unless  they  be  so  educated  we  see  not  how  in 
the  ordinary  course  of  things  a  sound  vernacular  literature 
can  even  be  furnished. 

Do  we  wish  then  to  abolish  the  languages  of  India  and 
substitute  the  English  in  their  stead  ?  No  such  thing.  We 
have  hitherto  been  dealing  only  with  our  first  question,  as  to 
how  the  future  teachers  of  India  are  to  acquire  that  knowledge 
which  they  are  afterwards  to  dispense  to  the  mass  of  their 
countrymen.  But  it  is  another  and  altogether  a  different 
question  which  relates  to  the  medium  of  dispensation  itself. 
In  general  this  medium  must  be  the  vernacular  languages  of 
the  several  districts.  This  no  one  will  dispute,  and  therefore 
we  need  not  at  all  enlarge  upon  it.  Our  conclusion  then  is 
in  the  words  of  the  resolution  adopted  unanimously  by  the 
Missionary  Conference,  and  of  which  we  believe  all  who  will 
take  the  trouble  really  to  consider  the  question  fully,  will  cor- 
dially approve — 

"That  while  so  many  thousands  of  teachers  are  wanted  in 
order  to  the  evangelization  and  civilization  of  India,  the  English 
is  the  most  effective  medium  of  contribution  in  the  way  of  im- 
parting to  them  the  whole  range  of  European  knowledge  ;  that 
the  native  languages  must  be  the  medium  of  distribution,  and 
that  therefore  these  vernacular  languages  ought  to  be  culti- 
vated and  improved  lo  the  utmost." 

Some  seem  to  have  a  fear  on  this  point,  lest  the  learning  of 
English  should  so  distract  the  attention  of  the  Natives  as 
to  make  them  fail  to  learn  their  own.  If  this  even  do  take 
place  it  must  be  from  mismanagement  on  the  part  of 
these  who  have  the  superintendance  of  their  education.  No 
Englishman  ever  knew  his  own  language  the  less  for  being  well 
and  judiciously  taught  the  dead  languages  of  Greece  and 
Rome  ;  and  if  any  Hindu  know  his  own  language  the  less  for 
his  being  taught  the  English  language,  it  must  be  because  he 
has  not  been  well  or  judiciously  taught. — T.  S. 


VII. — The  Cooly  Trade. — Report  of  the  Commission  appoint- 
ed at  the  request  of  a  Public  Meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of 
Calcutta,  fyc.  fyc. 

With  what  a  burst  of  indignation  would  the  proposal  be 
met  to  revive  the  Slave  Trade,  were  the  proposition  to  be 
made  in  plain  and  definite  language.  Many  would  be  the 
voices  raised  in  indignant  condemnation  of  the  scheme,  and  vast 
would  be  the  amount  of  energy  which  would  be  employed  to 
frustrate  the  design.  The  natural  rights  and  acquired  liber- 
ties of  mankind — the  breaking  up  of  national  and  tender  ties — 


536 


The  Cooly  Trade. 


[Sept. 


the  horrors  of  the  middle  passage,  and  all  the  miseries  of  actual 
slavery,  would  be  themes  on  which  with  impassioned  eloquence 
the  philanthropist  would  dilate  fully  and  freely.     The  in- 
sult offered  to  an  enlightened  and  humane  community,  not 
less  than  the  injustice  to  be  inflicted  on  the  colored  races 
would  cause  such  a  tide  of  feeling  to  set  in  against  the  pro- 
posers of  the  plan,  that  they  must  be  overwhelmed  by  the 
impetuous  stream.    We  are  threatened  ivith  the  revival  of  the 
Slave  trade  and  Slavery.    The  source  from  whence  the  slaves 
are  to  be  derived  is  not  the  pestilent  and  almost  unfrequent- 
ed shores  of  Barbary,  but  the  shores  of  India — not  the  Bight 
of  Benin,  but  the  Bay  of  Bengal.    The  procurers  are  to  be 
not  the  semi-fiends  who  scour  the  shores  of  Africa  equally  to 
plunder  and  murder  civilized  and  uncivilized  mankind,  but  the 
merchant  princes  of  Calcutta.    The  vessels  in  which  the  vic- 
tims of  avarice  are  to  be  carried  to  their  Egypt  are  not  to  be 
the  cramped  slavers  of  south  America,  but  the  noblest  and 
most  commodious  craft  that  human  ingenuity  and  skill  can 
contrive.     Nor  are  they  to  sail  under  any  flag  deemed  most 
expedient  for  the  purpose  ;  but  under  the  honored  and  beloved 
flag  of  free  and  happy  Britain.    Nor  are  they  to  traverse  the 
deep  blue  sea  in  constant  dread  of  the  raking  fire,  or  the  still 
more  dreaded  search  of  Her  Majesty's  cruizers — nor  will  the 
unhappy  victims  ever  live  in  the  hope  of  finding  peace  and 
rest  in  a  watery  grave  when  hotly  pressed  by  the  chase  of  a 
man-of-war.    No ;  the  noble  vessel  bearing  proudly  at  her 
main  the  honoured  flag  of  Britain,  and  in  her  hold  a  cargo  of 
incipient  slaves,  shall  bound  over  the  swelling  bosom  of  the 
ocean,  free  as  the  air  that  wafts  her  along,  and  undisturbed  as 
the  bird  which  wings  its  airy  flight  over  the  almost  undisturb- 
ed deep.    And  why  ?    Because  the  slaves  are  colonial  pas- 
sengers— the  vessel,  a  colonial  passage  ship ;  and  the  whole 
trade  has  been  legalized  and  sanctioned  by  the  parliament  of 

Great  Britain  in  the  year  .    We  pause  here,  for  we  hope 

the  blank  may  never  be  occupied.  The  evil  is  but  prospec- 
tive ;  but  it  is  so  likely  to  fall  out  that  we  earnestly  entreat  all 
and  every  well-wisher  to  the  best  interests  of  his  race  to  bestir 
themselves  to  frustrate  a  design  fraught  with  such  misery  to 
the  enslaved,  such  a  brutalizing  tendency  on  those  concern- 
ed, and  such  irreparable  disgrace  to  that  land  which  pro- 
claims liberty  to  every  man  be  he  what  he  may,  if  once  he 
find  an  asylum  within  its  borders.  We  refer  of  course  to  the 
Cooly  Trade.  This  traffic,  it  will  be  remembered,  was  commen- 
ced some  years  ago — it  was,  in  fact,  co-existent  with  the  eman- 
cipation of  the  African  slaves.  The  object  of  the  traffic  was 
to  convey  the  people  of  the  Hill  tribes  of  India  to  the  before 


1840.] 


The  Cooly  Trade. 


537 


slave  Colonies  of  Great  Britain,  to  supply  the  places  of  the  for- 
mer serfs  who  are  represented  as  exorbitant  in  their  demand 
for  wages,  violent  in  their  exactions,  and  unwilling  to  labor 
in  some  cases  at  all,  and  in  others  inadequately  for  the  remu- 
neration demanded — the  whole  of  which  charges  we  are  pre- 
pared to  prove  from  official  documents  utterly  and  entirely 
at  variance  with  truth  when  applied  to  the  mass  of  the  eman- 
cipated. The  interest  to  be  subserved  was  clearly  that  of  the 
employer  not  of  the  employed,  although  superficial  reasons 
were  assigned  commendatory  of  the  trade,  based  on  religious, 
moral,  humane  and  advantageous  (to  the  exported)  grounds. 
We  do  not  hesitate  to  say  that  all  such  arguments  are  an  idle 
mockery  of  these  sacred  names,  and  were  but  employed 
to  deceive  the  unwary.  Happily  the  evils  which  must  re- 
sult from  such  a  trade  presented  themselves  to  the  minds 
of  a  few;  they  remonstrated,  but  it  extended,  until  all  classes, 
from  the  highest  functionary  to  the  lowest  vassal,  men  of 
all  castes  and  grades  in  politics  and  religion,  united  to  request 
that  the  traffic  should  cease  until  a  full  and  unbiassed  inquiry 
should  be  instituted  into  the  whole  matter.  At  the  request 
of  the  inhabitants  of  this  city,  the  trade  closed — the  inquiry 
was  instituted,  and  the  report  containing  the  result  of  that 
inquiry,  is  now  before  the  public.  The  commission  consisted 
of  the  Rev.  Jas.  Charles,  Senior  Chaplain  of  the  Scotch 
Church  ;  T.  Dickens,  Esq.  Registrar  of  the  Supreme  Court  ; 
J.  P.  Grant,  Esq.  Secretary  to  Government ;  William  Dow- 
son,  Esq.  one  of  the  firm  of  Henly,  Dowson  and  Bestel,  the 
principal  cooly-exporting  firm  ;  Major  Archer,  a  gentle- 
man who  had  visited  the  Mauritius,  and  who  defended  the 
Mauritius  planters  at  the  public  meeting,  and  Babu  Russo- 
moy  Dutt,  one  of  the  Commissioners  of  the  Court  of 
Requests.  The  Commissioners  were  vested  with  no  power 
to  suborn  witnesses,  nor  to  compel  any  witness  to  state  more 
than  it  suited  his  own  purpose  to  reveal.  The  parties  therefore 
whose  evidence  we  have  were  in  a  great  measure  voluntary 
witnesses.  Therefore  as  far  as  the  Report  goes  it  is  valuable. 
That  it  is  deficient  in  matter  criminatory  of  the  system  as  it 
operated  at  Mauritius,  or  in  the  Hills  of  India,  both  on  those 
taken  away,  and  those  who  were  left  behind,  we  are  not  aston- 
ished at  ;  for  it  is  scarcely  possible  that  an  unpaid  commission 
could  devote  sufficient  time  to  the  subject  considering  the  other 
claims  upon  their  time  and  energies.  Nor  could  a  powerless 
commission,  though  paid  and  without  the  means  of  defraying 
one  tittle  of  the  expense  of  the  most  important  witness,  do 
much  more  than  did  this.  We  do  not  blame  the  members  of 
the  commission  but  those  that  appointed  them  for  this,  but 


538 


The  Cooly  Trade. 


[Sett. 


we  must  and  do  blame  and  have  blamed  them  for  the  extreme 
tardiness  with  which  they  prosecuted  their  labors,  or  at  least 
with  which  they  laid  the  result  of  their  labors  before  the 
public.  We  have  it  now  and  it  is  our  business  to  ascer- 
tain how  far  it  will  sanction  or  condemn  the  once-named 
Cooly  Trade  ;  but  now  more  politely  called  the  Colonial  Pas- 
senger Transmission  Trade  ;  for  Lord  John  Russell  has  intimat- 
ed his  intention  of  carrying  through  the  House  of  Commons 
a  bill  for  reviving  the  trade  under  the  mask  of  a  bill  entitled, 
The  Colonial  Passenger's  Protection  Bill — a  bill  in  which  the 
trade  is  to  be  sanctioned  under  restrictive  regulations.  This 
is  so  fallacious  a  scheme  that  we  feel  astonished  and  asham- 
ed that  any  one  possessed  of  the  penetration  and  benevolence 
of  Lord  Russell,  or  any  one  bearing  that  honored  name,  should 
so  willingly  play  into  the  hands  of  the  pro-slavery  party. 
Restrictions  and  regulations  will  but  render  the  trade  more 
mischievous  because  less  suspected  and  less  watched ;  while 
to  slave-dealers  regulations  are  but  so  much  waste  paper, 
save  when  they  can  be  construed  to  their  own  advantage. 
The  men  who  will  beard  the  British  legislature  after  they 
have  received  twenty  millions  of  compensation  money,  and 
force  it  to  rescind  its  most  solemn  decision,  are  not  to  be  held 
in  awe  by  any  minor  act  of  that  same  legislature.  We  shall 
not  remark  on  the  constitution  of  the  Calcutta  Commission 
beyond  observing  that  two  of  its  members  were  advocates  of 
the  trade  in  its  fullest  extent,  Major  Archer  and  Mr.  Dowson  ; 
two  avowedly  opposed  to  its  continuance,  Rev.  J.  Charles 
and  T.  Dickens,  Esq.  ;  the  remaining  two  we  believe  were 
favorable  to  the  abolition  should  the  evidence  sanction  it. 
The  mercantile  body  in  Calcutta  had  no  representative  save 
in  an  advocate  of  the  trade,  and  five  out  of  the  six  were  the 
servants  of  Government. 

Previously  to  dealing  with  the  Report  itself,  we  may  ob- 
serve that  it  must  not  for  a  moment  be  supposed  that  the 
question  at  issue  is,  whether  Indian  laborers  shall  be  permit- 
ted to  emigrate  as  free  laborers  to  the  Mauritius  or  Guiana,  but 
whether,  when  this  experiment  has  been  tried  with  success, 
the  whole  of  the  former  slave  colonies  of  Britain  shall  be  sup- 
plied with  slaves  from  the  Hills  of  British  India.  The  Mau- 
ritius scheme  is  but  a  feeler — an  experiment  which,  should  it 
succeed,  will  be  universally  adopted.  We  state  this  to  remove 
the  flimsy  veil  which  the  party  whose  interests  are  bound  up 
with  this  project  have  endeavoured  to  cast  over  the  whole — 
we  say  the  party,  for  it  is  a  party,  and  a  strong  and  influential 
one ;  it  is  not  the  Mauritius  or  Guiana  party,  but  the  whole 
pro-slavery  party,  comprising  the  interests  of  all  the  colonies 


1840.]       Missionary  and  Religions  Intelligence. 


539 


concerned  in  supplying  the  Home  market  with  slave  produce  in 
competition  with  the  free  labor  and  almost  self-producing 
soil  of  India.  The  fear  is  that  the  British  Government  may 
be  obliged  to  yield  to  this  vast  and  influential  party — (the 
same  which  has  obliged  the  Home  Government  to  give  new 
life  to  the  for-a-while  suspended  constitution  of  Jamaica),  the 
revival  and  continuance  under  legal  sanction  of  the  Cooly  Trade. 

Having  presented  this  brief  outline  of  the  history  of  the 
Commission,  Report,  and  present  position  of  the  trade,  we 
propose  deferring  the  condensing,  analyzing,  comparing  and 
scrutinizing  of  the  evidence  until  our  next,  as  such  a  task  will 
require  more  space  than  we  can  afford  in  the  present  issue. 


itTiootaitaro  mts  2£UUg;t0Utf  Etttdltcycttce. 


1.— Missionary  and  Ecclesiastical  Movements. 
The  Rev.  W.  Buyers,  of  Banaras,  has  arrived  in  Calcutta,  on  his  way 
to  Europe,  for  the  restoration  of  health. — Mrs.  Evans,  the  wife  of  Rev. 
J.  Evans  of  the  Malacca  College,  lias  heen  obliged  to  proceed  to  Europe. 
— The  Rev.  W.  Legge,  the  new  missionary  to  China,  in  connexion  with 
the  London  Society,  has  arrived  at  Malacca. —  We  regret  to  announce  the 
death  of  the  author  of  Travels  in  Africa,  the  Rev.  J.  Campbell  of  Kings- 
land.  Mr.  C.  was  one  of  the  last,  if  not  the  last,  of  the  devoted  bund  who 
formed  the  London  Society.  His  end  was  peace. —  We  regret  to  state 
that  Mrs.  Phillips,  wife  of  the  Rev.  G.  Phillips  of  Balasore,  died  of  jun- 
gle fever  a  few  days  since. — The  Rev.  C.  Bennett,  Mrs.  B.  and  fami- 
ly, formerly  of  the  Baptist  Burman  Mission,  who  sailed  from  this  port  for 
America  on  the  Champluin,  reached  that  country  in  safety  on  the  20th  of 
January  last. 


2. — Tenth  Annual  Report  op  the  High  School. 
From  this  Report  we  gather  that  the  institution  from  a  variety  of 
causes  is  not  in  so  healthy  a  condition  as  could  be  desired — yet  it  never- 
theless holds  on  its  way  under  the  discouragements  common  to  all  Indian 
academies,  and  continues  to  deserve  well  from  that  section  of  the  Church 
for  whose  children  it  was  especially  established.  We  hope  to  notice  the 
present  state  of  our  Indian  academies  in  an  early  number. 

3, — The  Report  op  the  General  Committee  of  Public  Instruction 

for  1838-39 

Has  just  reached  us.  From  it  we  learn  that  the  Committee  are  about 
to  adopt  more  extensive  plans  of  operation.  The  number  of  schools 
and  pupils  under  the  direction  of  the  Committee  appear  few  ;  this  is, 
we  suppose,  owing  chiefly  to  the  inadequate  means  at  their  disposal. 
Nor  do  the  schools  generally  appear  to  be  in  so  efficient  a  state  as  could 
be  desired,  save  those  in  or  near  the  Presidency.  Measures  are,  however, 
about  to  be  adopted  for  improving  and  enlarging  the  plans  of  the  Com- 
mittee. 


4. — Religious  Persecution  at  Hamburg. 
A  very  gross  instance  of  government  interference  with  religion  has 
recently  occurred  at  Hamburg.    We  hope  soon  to  give  a  detailed  and 
VOL.  I.  4  A 


540  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Sett. 


original  account  of  it;  but  at  present  must  content  ourselves  with  an 
abstract  only,  from  a  London  paper.  This  is  but  a  sample  of  many  simi- 
lar cases  that  have  lately  taken  place  on  the  continent  of  Europe,  which 
seems  covered  with  u  all  monstrous,  all  prodigious  things,"  bred  in  the 
stagnant  waters  of  a  formal  Christianity.  There,  of  practical  piety,  it 
may  emphatically  be  said,  "life  dies,  death  lives."  And  generally,  with 
a  few  signal  exceptions  of  the  faithful  among  the  faithless  found,  a 
thick  settled  gloom  of  cold  scepticism,  neology,  and  religion  of  a  name 
only,  characterize  the  millions  of  the  whole  continent  of  Europe. 

"  About  five  years  ago  a  Baptist  church  was  formed  at  Hamburg, 
under  the  pastoral  care  of  Mr.  J.  G.  Oncken,  agent  for  the  Edinburgh 
JBible  Society,  which  has  gone  on  steadily  increasing,  its  numbers  now 
amounting  to  more  than  a  hundred.  The  senate  has  at  various  times 
issued  decrees  interdicting  the  meetings  of  the  church,  and  prohibiting, 
under  the  most  severe  penalties,  Mr.  Oncken  from  either  preaching  or 
baptising,  or  even  holding  any  religious  meeting  at  which  more  than  the 
members  of  his  own  family  might  be  present.  A  petition  was  presented 
to  the  senate  by  Mr.  Oncken,  and  two  other  persons  connected  with  his 
church,  soliciting  permission  to  go  forward  in  the  path  of  duty.  After 
some  little  delay,  the  senate  issued  the  following  edict,  dated  April  S, 
1839: — '  After  re-considering  the  various  proceedings  that  have  taken 
place  touching  the  schismatical  and  mischievous  conduct  of  J.  G.  Onc- 
ken, in  his  attempts  to  organise  a  Baptist  church,  it  is  enjoined  on  the 
chief  magistrate  of  police  to  summon  the  petitioners  before  him,  and  1st, 
To  inform  the  said  Oncken  that  the  senate  neither  acknowledges  the 
society  which  he  denominates  a  Baptist  church,  nor  himself  as  its 
preacher  ;  that,  on  the  contrary,  the  senate  can  only  view  it  as  a  criminal 
schism,  of  which  he  is  the  sole  author.  To  explain  to  him  the  evident 
unlawfulness  and  criminality  of  his  schismatical  proceeding's,  and  to  ap- 
prise, that  the  indulgence  and  forbearance  hitherto  extended  towards 
him  in  this  matter,  and  which  will  not  be  departed  from  in  the  present 
instance,  has  reached  its  utmost  limits,  and  pointedly  and  peremptorily 
to  prohibit  him  all  further  exercise  of  his  unauthorised  and  unrecog- 
nised ministerial  functions — to  abstain  especially  from  all  administra- 
tion of  the  sacraments,  from  baptisms,  and  every  other  schismatical  reli- 
gious rite,  not  permitted  by  the  laws  of  this  country  ;  and  from  all  en- 
deavours to  persuade  the  inhabitants  to  participate  in  such  unlawful 
practices,  as  well  as  from  all  conventicle  meetings  already  forbidden 
bim,  under  pain  of  the  severest  measures  and  penalties,  in  case  the  lenity 
hitherto  and  now  extended  towards  him  should  not  produce  the  change 
of  conduct  required  of  him,  ~and  that  he,  contrary  to  all  expectations, 
continue  his  unlawful  and  unconstitutional  proceeding.  2nd,  To  make 
the  same  communication  to  his  fellow-petitioners,  the  leading  persons 
of  his  congregation,  and  to  prohibit  them,  under  the  same  threat  of 
severe  punishment,  from  all  further  participation  in  the  same  culpable 
and  unlawful  proceedings.'  In  the  following  November  another  edict 
was  issued  of  a  similar  character,  demanding  the  church,  under  the 
severest  penalties,  to  give  up  its  meetings  within  ten  days  from  the  date 
of  the  decree.  Willing  to  give  as  little  offence  as  possible,  their  meet- 
ings were  of  a  private  nature,  and  when  the  pastor  had  occasion  to  bap- 
tise, he  went  into  the  territory  of  one  of  the  neighbouring  states.  This 
also,  when  discovered,  was  forbidden.  The  authorities  have  at  last  laid 
bands  on  the  minister,  Mr.  Oncken,  and  thrown  him  into  prison.  On 
the  13th  of  May  last,  at  the  conclusion  of  their  weekly  service,  he  was 
arrested  by  the  police,  and  lodged  in  jail,  and  in  order  to  disperse  the 
Church,  two  police  officers  have  been  stationed  to  prevent  their  assem- 
bling in  the  Meeting-house.  When  arrived  at  the  place  of  destination, 
Mr.  Oncken  was  treated  like  a  criminal.  His  pockets  were  searched  and 


1840.]  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  541 


every  thing  taken  from  him.  No  one  is  allowed  to  see  him  but  Mrs. 
Chicken," 

5. — Circular  op  the  Calcutta  Christian  School  Book  Society  for 

184.0. 

It  affords  us  sincere  happiness  to  find  that  the  Christian  School,  Booh 
Society  has  been  actively  engaged  in  providing  and  procuring  an  efficient 
set  of  School-books.  We  have  no  doubt  ere  another  year  rolls  over,  the 
Society  "  ill  possess  a  much  more  ample  list  of  English  and  vernacular 
works  also.  We  shall  he  happy  to  forward  any  subscriptions  to  the  Trea- 
surer. We  would  remind  all  the  friends  of  Christian  education  that  they 
may  on  application  procure  the  works  mentioned  in  this  circular. 

Circular. 

The  Calcutta  Christian  School  Booh  Society  has  now  been  in  existence 
one  year.  During  this  space  of  time  it  has  been  striking  its  roots  silently 
into  the  soil  on  which  it  is  designed  to  bring  forth  its  fruits.  Unpopular 
with  a  large  mass  of  Society,  from  its  leading  principle,  which  is  to  con- 
vert men  from  sin  to  God  through  Jesus  Christ ; — condemned  by  others, 
because  of  the  essential  antagonism  which  it  cannot  but  present  to  those 
who  eject  religion  from  education; — apparently  neglected  by  its  own 
friends,  who  during  its  first  year  could  point  to  little  else  but  its  princi- 
ples, and  the  fact  of  its  existence,  as  grounds  of  commendation  or  claim  :  — 
although  placed  in  such  circumstances,  our  little  Christian  Society  is  now 
beginning  to  burst  forth  into  vigorous  and  effective  operation. 

Our  first  exertions  have  been  directed  to  secure  a  complete  series  of 
elementary  works  in  the  English  language,  or  in  English  and  Vernacular 
intermixed,  adapted  to  our  design  of  diffusing  a  Christian  liberal  educa- 
tion. We  of  course  include  in  this  number  some  works  which,  although 
from  their  peculiar  nature  they  cannot  be  directly  religious,  are  yet 
amongst  those  which  are  necessary  to  furnish  a  complete  education  to 
Christian  youth,  and  will  therefore  be  supplied  from  the  Society's  Deposi- 
tory.   We  are  now  enabled  to  present  the  following  list: 

I.  The  First  Instructor  for  Children,  in  English — from  alphabet  to 
words  of  one  syllable,  price  2  annas. 

II.  The  same,  in  English  and  Bengali  interlined. 

III.  The  Second  Instructor  to  words  of  two  syllables  English,  price  4  as. 

IV.  The  same,  Anglo-Bengali. 

V.  The  Third  Instructor,  containing  general  lessons,  with  Scripture 
History,  English,  pp.  190,  price  12  annas. 

VI.  The  Fourth  Instructor,  religious  and  miscellaneous,  with  Scrip- 
ture extracts,  now  in  the  press  and  nearly  printed — prepared  expressly 
for  the  Society,  pp.  about  300,  price  1  rupee. 

VII.  The  Poetic  Instructor,  also  prepared  expressly  for  the  Society, 
pp.  298,  price  1  rupee. 

VIII.  Course  of  Reading.  —  Chiefly  scientific  and  religious. — This  is  the 
highest  Prose  Reading  in  the  series,  pp.  338,  price  1  rupee  8  annas. 

IX.  English  Grammar,  by  Macculloch — procured  from  Europe,  p.  12as. 

X.  Manual  of  Evidences  of  Christianity,  price  12  annas. 

XI.  Euclid,  First  Six  Books.    In  strong  full  binding,  price  1-8. 

XI.  Solid  Geometry,  Spherics  and  Conic  Sections,  bound  uniformly  with 
the  former,  1  vol.,  price  1-8. 

XII.  System  of  Arithmetic,  prepared  for  the  Society,  now  passing 
through  the  press,  Indian  Tables. 

XIII.  Besides  these  works  now  on  hand,  arrangements  or  proposals 
have  been  made  to  procure  some  other  necessary  works.  A  work  on  Geo- 
graphy has  been  undertaken  ; — and,  until  some  suitable  Historical  Works 

4  a  2 


542  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Sept. 


have  been  fixed  upon,  we  shall  be  willing  to  recommend,  or  forward,  as 
far  as  may  be  in  our  power,  any  approved  Histories  that  may  be  accessible 
to  us.  There  have  been  ordered  from  England  large  Scbool  Maps,  in  setta 
of  five  each,  containing  Europe,  Asia,  Africa  and  America,  and  the  World, 
which  it  is  hoped  will  reach  this  country  soon,  in  the  usual  course  of  com- 
munication. 

We  trust  that  the  above  list  will  furnish  evidence,  that  our  Society  has 
not  been  inactive  during  the  past  year ; — and  that  its  actual  position  is 
not  to  be  judged  of  by  the  amount  of  notice  it  has  claimed  or  received. 
A  foundation  has  been  laid,  in  an  elementary  form  ;  and  we  trust  that  the 
receipts  of  the  second  year  may  enable  us  to  build  largely  upon  the  basis 
of  the  first. 

Attention  has  been  directed  also  to  the  preparation  of  Vernacular 
School  Books  ;  and,  lately  measures  have  been  adopted  for  the  commence- 
ment of  this  object.  Great  obstacles  in  this  department  remain  to  be 
overcome,  from  a  deficiency  of  translators — at  least  of  persons  who  will 
undertake  speedily  to  perform  a  work,  in  which  they  must  necessarily  be 
interrupted  by  many  more  claimant  duties. 

We  are  desirous  of  adopting,  as  a  sort  of  regulator  in  our  vernacular 
efforts,  the  principle  of  maintaining  a  measure  of  literary  identity  in  our 
works,  English  and  Native  : — so  that  the  former  and  latter  may,  mutatis 
mutandis,  in  substance  be  the  same,  as  far  as  practicable.  We  do  not 
mean,  that  an  English  work  shall  be  literally  and  wholly,  the  sole  subject 
of  translation  for  vernacular  use ; — but,  that  whilst  alterations  and  addi- 
tions from  original  resources  of  the  country  may  be  made,  yet  that  which 
shall  constitute  the  basis  of  these  operations  shall  be  one  of  the  fundamen- 
tal English  series. 

On  this  safe  and  consistent  principle,  we  shall  be  glad  to  receive  pro- 
posals, and  (if  necessary)  to  enter  into  pecuniary  arrangements,  for  the 
translation  of  any  of  our  series  into  any  of  the  principal  languages  of  India. 

We  would  take  this  opportunity  of  counselling  the  friends  of  Christian 
Education,  who  agree  with  us  in  believing  that  without  the  Gospel  of 
Christ  there  can  be  no  regeneration  of  man,  to  unite  together,  and  by  per- 
sonal intercourse  and  co-operation,  strengthen  themselves  and  others  in 
this  work  of  God.  Locai,  Committees  can  much  help  this  good  cause ; 
and  their  corporate  existence  gives  an  embodiment  to  principle  which 
cannot  be  supplied  by  any  number  of  secret  convictions,  or  anonymous 
donations.  Little  communities  of  principle  are  like  heaps  of  fuel,  that 
protect  the  latent  spark,  and  feed  the  lambent  flame. 

We  shall  be  glad  therefore  to  correspond  with  individual  friends  of 
Christian  Education  throughout  the  country,  who  may  desire  to  commu- 
nicate with  us  on  this  subject: — audit  will  afford  us  much  pleasure  to 
forward  their  views  of  benevolence  in  any  form  that  comes  within  the 
range  of  our  constitution  as  a  Society. 

In  conclusion,  we  would  urge  on  all  who  support  Christian  Educa- 
tion, (comprehending  both  Evangelical  and  General  Instruction)  as  the 
graudhope  of  the  Youth  of  India,  to  help  us  in  our  embodied  form  and  in 
our  concentrated  effort.  The  expence  incurred,  in  the  publication  of  new 
books,  is  great ;  and  full  returns  cannot  be  expected  for  two  or  three  years 
to  come,  as  whole  editions  cannot  be  rapidly  disposed  of.  Immediate 
remittances  too  will  be  expected  from  our  Committee  for  works  procured 
from  England ; — whilst  the  proceeds  from  the  sale  of  those  works,  can 
come  in  but  slowly.  It  is  at  the  beginning  of  such  a  Society  as  this, 
that  the  most  vigorous  aid  is  needed ;  and  we  therefore  throw  ourselves 
on  our  Christian  Friends  for  such  contributions  as  are  necessary  for 
carrying  out  our  object.  Our  basis  is  "  Love  thy  neighbour  as  thy- 
self."   Our  warrant,  "  Go  and  teach  all  nations.  "    Our  directory,  "  Train 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


543 


up  a  child  in  the  way  in  which  he  should  go,  and  when  he  is  old  he  will 
not  depart  from  it." — But  our  very  law  of  existence  is  this  Canon  of 
Christianity  :  "  Whatsoever  therefore  yb  do,  whether  in  word  or 

IN    DEED,  DO  AM,  IN  THE  NAME    OF  THE    LiORD  J  ESUS,  GIVING  THANKS  UNTO 

God,  even  the  Father,  by  Him."  By  this  Canon  we  are  forhidden,  on 
pain  of  sin,  to  enter  into  any  scheme  from  which  those  venerated  names, 
(one  or  either  of  them,)  are  excluded  hy  express  convention  ;  and  hy  this 
Canon  we  see  what  is  that  which  alone  God  will  ultimately  hless,  even 
what  is  simply  performed  in  Jesus'  name,  and  thankfully  ascribed  and 
devoted  to  the  immediate  glory  of  the  One  living  and  true  God!  Come 
then  and  help  us,  in  the  name  of  our  common  Lord,  to  hless  India  with 
that  knowledge  with  which  we  ourselves  have  been  blessed — that  know- 
ledge which  hath  made  Britain  to  be  Britain  ! — And  may  that  Eternal 
Spirit,  the  Divine  Regenerator  of  man,  who  changed  the  dark,  inhuman 

superstitious  Druid  into  the  enlightened,  merciful  and  holy  Christian, 
work  on  this  vast  Continent,  as  he  once  wrought  on  that  far  off,  but 

beloved  Isle  of  the  Sea ! 

J.  Macdonald,  Corresponding  Secretary. 
J.  Campbell,  Minute  Secretary. 
August,  1840.  J.  W.  Alexander,  Cush  Secretary. 

*#*  The  Society's  Depository,  99,  Dharamtala :— Agent  for  Books, 
Mr.  G.  C.  Hay,  at  the  Depository.  Subscriptions  to  be  forwarded  to  the 
Secretaries. 

6, — Union  of  the  Evangelical  Mission  at  Tinnevelly  with  the  Ma- 
dras Church  Mission. 
From  the  following  our  friends  will  gather  that  the  German  Tinnevelly 
Mission  has  again  united  with  the  Madras  Church  Mission.    We  trust 
that  the  blessing  of  the  Lord  will  abundantly  rest  upon  the  Union,  and 
that  all  past  differences  may  be  so  healed  that  the  heathen  shall  say — "Be- 
hold how  good  and  pleasant  it  is  for  brethren  to  dwell  together  in  unity." 
To  the  Rev.  T.  Boaz. 

Dear  Sir, 

It  is  with  peculiar  feelings  I  address  the  friends  and  supporters  of  the 
Gorman  Evangelical  Mission  in  Tinnevelly.  It  will  be  remembered  that 
it  was  in  April,  1839,  when  we  were  by  the  Providence  of  God  led  to  carry 
on  this  extensive  Mission,  in  humble  faith  and  reliance  on  the  Lord  and  his 
promises,  looking  to  him  and  his  people  for  support.  When  we  thus  cast 
ourselves  upon  the  Lord,  we  felt  at  the  same  time,  that  without  being  ulti- 
mately connected  with  a  Mission  Society,  the  G.  E.  Mission  could  hardly 
exist  for  any  length  of  time.  The  London  Missionary  Society,  having,  as 
they  expressed  it, "  from  a  regard  to  general  principles,  the  violation  of  which 
would  have  occasioned  serious  injury  to  the  Missionary  cause  generally," 
declined  to  afford  us  official  assistance  and  support  ;  we  indulged  the  hope 
that,  in  the  course  of  time,  some  Mission  Society,  on  theContinent  of  Europe, 
would  come  forward  and  afford  the  Mission,  not  only  the  necessary  pecuni- 
ary support  but  also  supply  the  need  of  labourers.  To  effect  this  desirable 
object,  1  addressed  last  year  a  letter  to  that  effect,  to  the  Mission  Society 
in  Basle.  Month  after  month  rolled  on,  and  the  Lord  graciously  supplied 
our  wants,  though  we,  (1  mean  particularly  the  Catechists,  School-masters, 
&c.  &c.)  had  not  every  month  our  full,  yet  we  can  say  that  the  Lord 
granted  us  our  daily  bread  ;  for  which  we  would  be  truly  thankful.  Though 
by  the  mercy  of  God  I  enjoyed  pretty  good  health  during  the  last  year,  so  as 
to  be  able  to  attend  to  the  various  and  arduous  duties  which  devolved  upon 
me,  yet  I  could  not  but  at  times  deeply  feel,  that  as  much  as  I  wished  it,  I 
could  not  do  justice  to  the  great  work,  in  properly  superintending  so  many 


544  Missionary  and  Reliyiuus  Intelligence.  [Sept. 


Catcehists,  Congregations,  School-masters  and  Schools.  However  cir- 
cumstanced as  I  was,  I  felt  I  could  not  go  .1  step  further  for  the  good  and 
future  welfare  of  the  G.  E.  .Mission,  until  I  had  received  an  answer  from 
the  Committee  in  Basle,  and  therefore  I  went  on  patiently  in  my  work-, 
watching  the  leadings  of  a  gracious  providence.  In  the  course  of  last 
month  the  long-waited  for  letter  from  Basle  arrived,  and  the  nature  of  its 
Contents,  together  with  some  other  circumstances,  left  very  little  doubt  in 
my  mind  as  to  the  path  of  duty  I  had  to  choose  in  respect  to  the  G.  E. 
Mission.  'The  Rev.  Mr.  Hoffmann,  principal  of  the  Basle  Missionary 
institution,  stated,  in  the  nnme  of  the  Committee,  that  the  same  reasons, 
which  prevented  the  London  Mission  Society  to  receive  the  G.  E.  Mission 
into  their  Connexion,  prevent  also  the  Basle  Mission  Society  from  afford- 
ing us  the  asked  for  assistance  and  support.  He  moreover  stated  for  my 
encouragement  that  he  had  corresponded  with  the  Church  Mission  Com- 
mittee in  London  respecting  my  application  to  them  ;  and  finally  he 
makes  such  suggestions,  and  gives  me  such  advice,  as  I  thought  altogether 
worthy  of  serious  consideration.  Having  therefore,  as  far  as  I  was  .able, 
considered  the  subject  in  question  in  all  its  bearings,  I  thought  it  my 
duty  to  address  a  letter  to  the  Madras  corresponding  Committee  of  the 
Church  Mission  ;  the  result  of  which  was  that  myself  with  the  Mission 
haze  been  united  with  the  Church  Mission  Society,  with  such  an  under- 
standing, as  under  existing  circumstances  is  so  far  satisfactory  to  both 
parties. 

Thus  the  German  Evangelical  Mission  in  Tinnevelly  has,  as  such,  ceased 
to  exist,  with  which  circumstance,  I  beg  herewith  to  acquaint  our  friends. 

But  though  the  G.  E.  Mission  as  such,  has  ceased,  to  exist,  yet  the 
work,  among  the  Congregations  and  Heathen,  is  the  same.  I  would  there- 
fore hope,  that  the  friends  of  this  work  will  not  be  less  zealous  in  giving 
that  assistance  which  they  have  so  kindly  and  liberally  afforded  us  during 
the  last  thirteen  months,  and  for  which  I  beg  them  to  accept  of  our  sincere 
thanks.  I  would,  with  particular  thankfulness  to  God,  record  the  success 
which  has  attended  the  appeal,  contained  in  our  last  Report,  for  means  for 
the  establishment  of  a  Boarding  School  for  Girls  on  the  premises.  Mrs. 
Muller  lost  no  time  in  commencing  to  build  in  the  first  place  a  School- 
room and  out-houses.  These,  we  are  happy  to  inform  our  friends,  are  now 
finished,  and  the  School  was  opened  during  last  month.  Mrs.  Muller  was 
however  obliged  to  begin  her  work  with  a  very  limited  number  of  girls, 
viz.  from  10  to  15,  owing  to  the  small  balance  in  hand.  We  would  there- 
fore entreat  the  friends  and  promoters  of  female  education  in  India,  to 
continue  to  lend  us  a  helping  hand,  in  order  not  only  to  carry  on,  but  also 
to  increase  the  blessed  work  which  by  the  goodness  of  God,  and  the  libera- 
lity of  Christian  friends,  we  have  thus  been  permitted  to  commence.  A 
summary  account  of  the  income  and  expenditure  for  the  female  Schools  is 
annexed.  It  remains  for  me  only  to  give  an  account  of  the  income  and 
expenditure  of  the  German  Evangelical  Mission  during  the  last  thirteen 
months,  of  which  I  subjoin  particulars. 

From  the  Balance  remaining,  it  will  be  seen,  that  as  our  days  have  been, 
so  lias  the  Lord  also  caused  our  strength  to  be.  To  Him  therefore  be  glory 
for  evermore.  Amen. 

Suvcsashapurum,  Tinnevelly,  June  ?0th,  1840.  J.  J.  MULLER. 

We  have  been  obliged  to  adopt  our  accounts  of  the  London  public 
meetings  in  the  month  of  May  as  well  as  some  items  of  intelligence  this 
month  almost  exclusively  from  the  Friend  of  India  and  the  Christian 
Advocate:  while  many  subjects  have  been  unavoidably  postponed.  The 
causes  are  such  as  Editors  are  often  subject  to,  and  towards  which  we 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  545 


trust  our  renders  will  be  "  a  little  kind,"  viz.  indisposition — promises 
broken  to  the  ear, — at  the  latest  possible  date,  &c.  &c.  Mre  need  not 
enumerate  more. 


7. — A  New  PnmoniCAL. 
The  following  Prospectus  of  a  new  bi-monthly  periodical  has  been  for- 
warded to  us.  We  have  not  time  this  week  to  do  more  than  wish  every 
success  to  the  project.  Such  a  periodical  has  long  been  a  desideratum  in 
Calcutta.  The  only  suggestion  we  would  offer  to  our  new  brother,  is  to 
make  the  price  of  The  Telescope  so  low  that  every  young  native  may  be 
able  to  purchase  it.  We  should  say,  if  the  educated  native  community  be 
prepared  to  sustain  a  iarge  circulation,  that  one  anna  per  number  would 
bring  it  within  the  reach  of  all ;  while  the  larger  circulation  it  would  doubt- 
less obtain  would  make  it  a  remunerative  publication.  The  Gyanancshnn 
states,  that  the  Telescope  is  to  be  under  the  superintendence  of  Rev. 
Messrs  Duff,  Ewart,  and  Smith.  Our  contemporary  is  in  error  on  this  sub- 
ject; the  sole  responsibility  and  conduct  rest  on  the  Editor  who  will,  we 
doubt  not,  make  the  publication  in  every  way  worthy  the  interests  it  is 
intended  to  advance.    We  wish  every  success  to  the  undertaking. 

Prospectus  of  a  new  Periodical  to  be  published  imdcr  the  title  of  "THE 
TELESCOPE,"  a  miscellany  of  Literature,  Science  und  Religion. 
There  are  in  Calcutta  and  throughout  India  many  various  classes  of  per- 
sons, and  for  most  of  these  classes  there  are  suitable  periodical  publica- 
tions. There  is  the  European  class,  who  l  ive  their  daily  and  weekly  News- 
papers, and  their  monthly  and  quarterly  Magazines,  filled  with  matter 
suited  to  the  several  tastes  of  individuals,  and  furnishing  to  the  Religious, 
t lie  Scientific,  the  Literaiy,  the  Political,  the  Medical  and  the  Sporting 
Communities,  information  and  instruction  regarding  their  favorite  pur- 
suits. Then  the  Native  Community  have  their  daily  and  weekly  News- 
papers, filled  with  discussions  on  every  kind  of  subject,  conducted  in  a 
manner  suited  to  the  tastes  of  their  readers.  Again  the  East-Indian  Com- 
munity have  swarms  of  periodicals  furnishing  them  with  occupation  for 
leisure  hours — occupation,  it  is  to  be  presumed,  suited  to  their  tastes  and 
habits. 

But  there  is  a  large  and  constantly  increasing  community  in  Calcutta 
and  many  other  parts  of  India,  for  whose  instruction  and  entertainment  no 
adequate  provision  in  the  way  of  periodical  publication  at  present  exists,  the 
various  journals  that  have  been  established  for  their  use  having  been  dis- 
continued. We  refer  to  that  class  of  natives  who  have  received  an  Eng- 
lish education,  and  have  become,  to  a  greater  or  less  extents,  imbued  with 
the  feelings  and  sentiments  which  may  be  generally  expected  to  result  from 
an  acquaintance  with  European  literature  and  science.  The  productions  of 
the  Native  Press  cannot  generally  have  much  attraction  for  those  whose 
minds  have  been  trained  to  correct  habits  of  thought.  The  European  peri- 
odicals must  be,  in  a  great  measure,  destitute  of  interest  to  those  whose 
associations  and  feelings  are  Eastern  ;  while  the  East-Indian  press  has  not, 
so  far  as  we  know,  given  issue  to  any  periodical  that  is  better  fitted  than 
either  the  European  or  Native  publications  to  attract  the  attention,  im- 
prove the  minds,  or  elevate  the  characters  of  the  class  to  whom  w  e  refer. 

It  is  proposed  to  make  an  attempt  to  supply  this  defect  by  the  establish- 
ment of  a  periodical  to  be  entitled  The  Telescope,  a  Miscellany  of  Litera- 
ture, Science  and  Religion. 

This  title  will  in  a  great  measure  explain  the  intended  character  of  the 
publication.  It  will  hold  no  subject  unworthy  of  its  examination  that  may 
tend  to  instruct  and  improve.  It  will  freely  and  candidly  examine  anil 
discuss  literary,  scientific  and  religious  questions,  and  will  endeavour  by 


546 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Sept. 


uniform  candour  and  uprightness  to  attain  the  high  and  responsible  situa- 
tion of  a  help  to  the  educated  portion  of  the  native  community  in  their 
acquirement  of  knowledge  and  truth. 

Jts  object  will  be  twofold, — to  afford  to  the  native  community  matter  of 
instructive  and  entertaining  reading,  and  to  furnish  a  field  for  exercising 
their  faculties  of  thought  and  diction  :  it  is  hoped  that  a  considerable  por- 
tion of  it  may  be  written  by  the  more  advanced  of  the  natives  themselves, 
many  of  whom  have  cheerfully  volunteered  their  aid.  Thus  they  will  have 
an  opportunity  of  putting  to  practical  use  the  education  they  have  received, 
of  contributing  to  their  mutual  improvement  by  making  their  sentiments 
public.  A  large  quantity  of  matter  is  every  year  w  ritten  by  the  very  par- 
ties in  question  in  the  shape  of  Prize  Compositions.  Now  although  there 
may  be  few  or  none  of  these  which  it  would  be  desirable  to  publish  entire, 
yet  it  is  believed  that  from  many  of  them  such  extracts  might  be  made,  as 
would  be  well  worthy  of  being  published  and  preserved. 

The  Editor  will  explain  more  at  large  the  nature  of  his  undertaking  in 
his  opening  paper;  meantime  he  submits  the  present  Prospectus  and  soli- 
cits the  support  of  all  that  class  whose  interests  he  has  chiefly  in  view,  as 
well  as  of  all  those  who  are  desirous  to  promote  the  great  work  of  Native 
improvement. 

At  present  he  only  thinks  it  necessary  to  add,  in  order  to  prevent  the 
possibility  of  misconception,  that  the  Telescope  is  completely  unconnected 
with  any  Educational  or  other  Institution  in  Calcutta.  It  is  designed  for 
the  benefit  of  all  educated  natives,  without  reference  to  the  institutions  in 
which  they  may  have  received  their  education. 

It  is  proposed  that  the  Tele-cope  shall  be  published  twice  a  month,  on 
the  1st  and  15th  days  of  each  month,  unless  when  these  days  fall  on  the 
Sabbath,  in  which  case  the  publication  will  be  either  a  day  earlier  or  later. 
The  abundance  or  deficiency  of  matter  may  make  it  expedient  at  a  future 
period  to  increase  or  diminish  the  size  of  the  publication  ;  but  at  present 
each  number  will  contain  16  pages  demy  8vo.  and  will  be  printed  on  good 
European  paper  and  in  good  type. 

The  price  will  be  5  Rupees  per  annum  paid  in  advance,  or  four  annas  for 
a  single  number.  This,  it  is  believed,  is  a  price  scarcely  sufficient  to  defray 
the  charges  of  printing,  &c.  but  the  work  is  not  undertaken  for  the  sake 
of  pecuniary  profit. 

It  is  proposed  that  the  first  number  shall  appear  on  the  1st  of  Septem- 
ber. Orders  for  the  work  and  communications  to  the  Editor  to  be  addres- 
sed to  him  and  sent  to  the  care  of  Mr.  Hay,  99,  Dharamtala. 

Calcutta,  10th  August,  1840.  [Christian  Advocate. 


8. — The  Sandwich  Islands. 
We  have  just  received  our  numbers  of  the  Hawain  Spectator,  a  most 
excellent  literary  and  religious  periodical  published  at  Hanonulala,  Oohu, 
Sandwich  Islands,  from  which  we  may  make  some  excerpts.  The  same 
opportunity  has  put  us  in  possession  of  a  pamphlet  respecting  the  popish 
tricks  and  visit  of  La  Arternise  to  those  islands  which  our  Romanist  bre- 
thren need  not  be  anxious  that  we  should  publish,  but  which  we  shall 
nevertheless  do.  Protestantism  in  its  Missions  has  nothing  to  fear  when 
brought  to  the  light,  especially  when  contrasted  with  such  miserable  eccle- 
siastical chicanery  as  that  of  popish  priests  aided  by  the  cannon  of  semi- 
Infidel  France. — Ibid, 


9. — Corresponding  Society  of  the  Friends  of  India. 
We  have  been  favored  with  a  Circular  containing  proposals  for  the  forma- 
tion of  a  new  Society  to  be  designated  "  The  Corresponding  Society  of  the 
Friends  of  India."  The  object  of  the  proposed  Society  is  to  fococize  every 


1840.] 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


547 


tiling-  in  the  form  of  sentiment  or  experiment  which  may  already  or  in  future 
exist.  It  is  to  be  a  bond  of  union  between  the  Friends  of  India  both  in  the 
East  and  West.  Under  its  auspices  an  extensive  correspondence  is  to  be 
kept  up  throughout  the  world  on  the  subject  of  India's  welfare,  and  a  perio- 
dical in  which  articles  selected  and  original,  bearing  on  the  religious,  moral 
and  civil  interests  of  the  country  shall  appear,  wove  into  a  regular  history  of 
whatever  may  be  of  interest  on  the  subject  by  the  observations  and  reflec- 
tions of  a  stipendiary  Secretary.  The  idea  is  exceedingly  happy,  and  if 
it  can  be  reduced  to  practice,  will  doubtless  work  out,  under  the  blessing 
of  Providence,  a  vast  amount  of  good  for  the  country.  Many  a  project 
highly  useful  has  certainly  been  nipped  in  the  bud  for  the  want  of  co-ope- 
rative support,  and  many  a  useful  plan  has  languished  and  died  for  the 
want  of  the  same  influence.  The  same  plan  also,  may  be  in  trial  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  country,  at  the  same  time  with  various  degrees  of  suc- 
cess. Correspondence  doubtless  would  tend  to  aid  all  in  bringing  that  to 
maturity  which  all  desire  to  see  perfected.  Persons,  too,  now  altogether 
unknow  n  to  each  other,  or  at  least  but  known  by  report,  would  be  brought 
into  epistolatory  and  sentimental  connexion  ;  the  interchange  of  sentiment 
and  feeling  would  doubtless  have  a  very  stimulating  influence  on  all.  The 
advantages  are  many,  if  the  plan  be  in  the  present  state  of  things  in  India, 
practicable.  We  confess  ourselves  to  look  with  a  jealous  eye  on  the  for- 
mation of  new  Societies,  especially  if  the  end  proposed  can  at  all  be  advan- 
ced by  existing  institutions.  The  calls  at  present  made  upon  the  genero- 
sity of  the  public  are  many,  and  to  increase  the  number  of  institutions 
is  but  to  divide  that  amongst  many  with  equal  expenditures  which  might, 
with  greater  benefit  to  the  community,  be  bestowed  upon  a  few  well-orga- 
nized and  effective  Societies.  There  is  a  point  at  which  division  of  labour 
becomes  a  positive  evil,  especially  in  the  matter  of  Societies;  for  it  divides 
not  only  the  pecuniary  resources,  but  the  mental  and  physical  energies  of 
the  interested.  Every  thing  however  depends  (utider  God)  for  success  on 
the  degree  of  spirit  which  is  thrown  into  the  new  claimant  for  public  favor. 
It  may  subserve  the  purpose  of  many  minor  Societies  ;  they  might  merge 
their  interests  in  its  plan  of  operation.  The  choice  of  an  Agent  or  Secre- 
tary will  materially  affect  the  efficiency  of  any  institution.  What  he  is  as 
a  man  and  as  a  Christian  man  will  materially  affect  the  character  of  the 
Society.  We  could  wish  nevertheless  that  the  new  Society  might  have  a 
fair  trial.  Its  object  is  good — nay  more,  it  is  noble — it  merits  a  trial  at 
the  hands  of  the  Friends  of  India,  but  in  order  that  it  should  be  effective 
it  will  require  that  its  first  friends  be  cautious  as  to  the  selection  of  their 
Agency  ;  and  that  they  set  on  foot  and  maintain  in  vigorous  exercise  an 
extensive  correspondence.  Agitation  under  the  guidance  of  Christian  dis- 
cretion and  benevolence  can  alone  keep  up  the  interest  of  a  tropical  com- 
munity in  any  even  the  most  interesting  and  useful  scheme.  The  motto 
of  the  projector,  not  less  than  his  well-known  character  for  energy  and 
devotedness  to  the  welfare  of  India,  in  its  noblest  acceptation,  is  at  once  a 
pledge  that  the  Society  will  be  brought  into  existence,  and  that  it  will  not 
be  willingly  consigned  to  the  tomb  of  the  Capulets.  Nil  desperandem  is 
the  motto,  and  if  the  work  be  but  began,  continued  and  ended  in  the  fear 
of  the  Lord,  its  friends  may  in  a  little  time  have  to  write  Ebenezer.— 
Ibid. 


10. — The  "  Telescope" — the  Corresponding  Society — A  Proposal. 

In  our  last  two  numbers  we  noticed  with  approbation  the  forma- 
tion of  a  new  Society  and  the  Prospectus  of  a  new  periodical.  On 
maturer  consideration  of  the  Prospectus  of  the  periodical  and  the  name 
and  design  of  the  Society,  we  are  induced  to  offer  one  or  two  matters  to 

VOL.   I.  4  B 


548  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Sept. 


the  serious  consideration  of  the  friends  of  India.  From  all  that  we  can 
gather  of  the  new  Society,  it  is  to  be  a  Corresponding-  Society  merely,  and 
the  periodical  we  know,  is  to  add  another  to  the  number  of  our  present 
list  of  periodicals  with  special  reference  to  the  improvement  of  the  native 
community.  Thus  shall  we  have  one  added  to  the  already  numerous 
Societies  and  periodicals  without  possessing:  that  which  we  are  confident  is 
a  desideratum — a  Society  in  which  all  the  friends  of  India  can  unite,  not 
only  to  correspond  but  practically  to  carry  out  every  plan  calculated  to 
improve  the  land  and  the  people  ;  and  a  weekly  or  bi-weekly  periodical 
which  should  by  the  comprehensiveness  of  its  arrangement,  as  a  periodical 
of  literature,  science,  morals  and  religion,  supply  the  place  of  all  the 
minor  publications  which  the  interests  of  different  sections  of  the  com- 
munity have  called  into  existence,  but  which  might  with  advantage  to  all 
parties  merge  their  separate  interests  in  one  comprehensive  periodical. 
As  far  as  we  are  concerned  we  shall  be  happy  to  give  our  aid  to  any  such 
efforts  should  it  be  deemed  advisable  to  make  the  experiment.  To  the 
proposed  Society  we  see  no  objection — to  the  periodical  some  may  be 
offered,  but  they  are  such  as  we  think  may  be  easily  obviated.  A  certain 
portion  of  the  paper  might  be  devoted  to  the  discussion  of  subjects  such 
as  will  find  a  place  in  the  Telescope,  or  those  connected  with  this  periodical 
or  any  other,  and  might  be  struck  off  separately  and  forwarded  to  those 
whose  circumstances  would  not  enable  them  to  afford  the  whole  of  the 
larger  publication  ;  or  parts  of  the  paper  might  be  omitted  if  so  printed 
on  separate  sheets,  as  the  taste  or  meaas  of  subscribers  might  dictate, 
while  the  profit  on  the  larger  paper  would  enable  the  proprietors  to 
render  the  detached  portions  at  a  cheaper  rate  to  the  native  youth  or 
the  poorer  portion  of  the  Christian  community.  We  would  have  such  a 
paper  to  contain  a  digest  of  European,  American  and  Indian  news.  The 
editorials,  European  and  native,  on  the  most  interesting  topics  of  the  day 
extracted  from  the  different  periodicals  of  both  countries — Extracts  also 
from  literary,  scientific  and  religious  publications  — Reviews  and  original 
editorial  matter  ; — in  fact  to  make  it,  whether  weekly,  or  bi-weekly,  a 
complete  family  paper  conducted  on  the  principles  of  evangelical  religion 
and  on  Protestant  principles,  but  in  which  religion  shall  form  the  most 
prominent  object,  and  in  which  its  interests  and  institutions  should  find 
a  ready,  temperate  but  full  advocacy,  while  it  should  contain  every  thing 
which  ought  to  be  found  in  the  pages  of  a  newspaper. 

Such  an  undertaking  would  doubtless  be  attended  with  much  anxiety, 
expense  and  trouble  ;  but  of  its  success  we  have  no  doubt  were  it  com- 
menced and  carried  on  with  the  energy  the  importance  of  the  subject 
demands — we  say  importance,  for  to  many  in  India  a  newspaper  is  almost 
the  only  mental  pabulum  they  obtain,  and  hence  it  is  desirable  that  such 
pabulum  should  at  least  be  good.  Had  we  had  leisure,  or  had  it  come 
within  our  scope  or  design  to  have  adopted  such  a  plan  in  the  Advocate, 
we  are  confident  from  all  that  we  have  heard  and  seen,  its  circulation 
would  have  been  as  extensive  if  not  more  so  than  any  periodical  in  India. 
We  have  not  offered  these  observations  with  any  but  the  best  feelings  to 
the  new  periodical,  or  the  Corresponding  Society,  but  with  a  view  to  com- 
pass more  effectually  that  which  both  we  and  the  projectors  of  both  have 
in  view — not  pecuniary  profit  or  the  advancement  of  party  interests,  but 
the  highest  interests  of  the  Christian  and  native  community. — Ibid. 

11. — Native  Christians — the  Disabilities  under  which  they  labor. 

The  papers,  daily  and  weekly,  have  been  engaged  in  discussing  the  merits 
or  demerits  of  certain  charges  which  have  been  brought  against  the  recent 
converts  to  Christianity  in  the  district  of  Kishnaghur.  They  have  been 
charged  with  arson,  and  the  Missionary,  the  Rev.  W.  Deer,  with  defending 
them  in  their  sin.    That  the  native  Christians  at  Kishnaghur  or  in  any 


18-10.]        Missionary  and  Rdiyious  Intelligence.  549 


other  district  in  India,  have  their  frailties  we  are  free  to  admit,  or  that 
there  should  be  amongst  so  large  a  number  of  converts  as  are  to  be  found 
iji  the  mission  at  Kishnughur  some  who  might  be  a  trouble  to  the  Church, 
would  not  be  matter  of  surprise  ;  but  that  the  native  Christians  as  a  body, 
aided,  sanctioned  and  defended  by  the  missionaries,  should  perpetrate  so 
dark  a  crime  on  the  property  of  their  heathen  and  Musalman  neighbours  is 
so  monstrous  that  we  should  not  have  hesitated  to  have  denied  it  in  the 
most  unqualified  manner  without  other  testimony  than  the  charge  itself. 
Our  knowledge  of  t lie  history  of  the  church  and  the  nature  of  the  charges 
brought  against  Christians  in  all  ages  by  their  enemies  would  have  been 
sufficient  to  warrant  us  in  such  a  conclusion.  It  affords  us  the  highest  sa- 
tisfaction therefore  to  he  able,  on  testimony  the  most  indisputable,  to  state 
that  not  only  is  the  charge  brought  against  the  native  Christians  utterly 
and  entirely  false,  but  that  the  crime  has  been  brought  home  to  one  of  a 
(heathen)  party  long  distinguished  for  its  violence.  To  the  perseverance 
and  vigilance  of  the  magistrate,  under  God,  is  this  to  be  attributed.  This 
case  naturally  leads  to  a  consideration  of  the  unhappy  position  in  which 
Native  Christian  converts  stand  at  the  present  moment.  It  is  such  as 
calls  loudly  for  redress  at  the  hands  of  the  Government.  Such  is  it  in  fact 
that  we  are  confident  nothing  short  of  the  influence  of  divine  grace  will 
enable  either  man  or  woman  to  make  or  sustain  a  profession  of  Christi- 
anity. We  ask  no  favor  at  the  hands  of  the  supreme  Government  for  the 
native  converts  :  all  we  crave  is  the  removal  of  unjust  and  oppressive  laws, 
and  the  substitution  of  just  and  equitable  legislation.  We  ask  not  favor 
but  justice.  The  increased  and  increasing  number  of  the  converts  will 
require  that  this  subject  be  speedily  taken  under  the  most  serious  consi- 
deration of  our  rulers. 

What  are  the  sacrifices  which  are  required  at  the  hands  of  a  native  on 
his  profession  of  the  Christian  faith  ?  Not  only  is  he  cut  off  from  all 
intercourse  with  his  relations  and  friends,  but  he  is  subject  to  the  forfei- 
ture of  all  ancestral,  and  in  all  probability  of  all  acquired  property.  He 
is  hopelessly  severed  from  the  wife  of  his  bosom  whom  he  cannot  legally 
claim,  while  he  is  in  daily  dread  of  the  poisoned  cup,  or  the  most  abomi- 
nable and  disgusting  charges.  It  would  he  surprising  in  the  present  state 
of  the  law,  even  were  the  Hindus  a  more  manly,  courageous,  and  less 
money-loving  people,  if- we  should  find  them  flocking  to  the  standard  of 
Christ. 

\\  e  may  state  a  case  or  two  to  show  the  working  of  the  system  and 
itn  baneful  tendency  should  the  number  of  converts  become  at  all  more 
extensive  than  at  present.  A  youth,  mature  in  judgment  though  still 
under  parental  constraint,  becomes  convinced  of  the  errors  of  Hinduism. 
His  philosophical,  moral  and  religious  training  has  led  him  to  the  conclu- 
sion, that  Christianity  is  the  alone  heaven-born  faith  ;  he  is  not  willing 
to  bend  the  knee  to  Kali  or  Durga,  and  is  anxious  to  worship  the  one  true 
God  and  Jesus  Christ  whom  he  hath  sent  ;  and  if  so,  what  are  his  present 
condition  and  prospects  ?  If  he  is  firm,  the  chances  are  many  he  will  be 
sent  to  Kasbi  (Kanaras),  which  is  equivalent  to  his  being  drugged  by  a  pro- 
cess which  may  destroy  him,  but  which  is  almost  sure  to  make  him — to  use 
a  Bengali  proverb — as  a  woman  in  the  house,  or  an  idiot ;  should  lie  escape 
this  terrible  punishment,  he  knows  that  the  moment  he  declares  his  faith 
in  Christ  as  an  adult  responsible  agent,  he  will  be  driven  from  his  home- 
stead, and  that  his  property  will  be  given  to  another.  This  has  been  done. 

Again,  a  man  becomes  a  Christian  in  very  mature  life:  previously  to  his 
conversion  he  is  the  owner  of  lands  which  have  been  in  the  undisturbed 
possession  of  his  ancestors  for  centuries,  but  on  his  professing  his  belief  in 
the  Christian  faith,  a  false  claim  is  set  up  by  his  heathen  neighbours,  false 
mortgage  deeds  are  brought  forward,  and  he  is  summoned  perhaps  not  only 
4  b  2 


550  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Sept. 


to  give  up  the  cause  but  to  pay  a  large  amount  of  interest,  which  if  admitted 
must  involve  him  in  irrecoverable  ruin.  He  attends  day  after  day  at  the 
court  of  the  magistrate,  whose  attendance  is  prevented  by  indisposition  or 
other  causes,  returns  to  his  home  wearied  and  harassed,  and  then  he  is 
seized  and  imprisoned  for  his  contempt  of  court,  and  mulcted  in  additional 
expenses  for  fines;  and  all  this  is  done  with  the  perfect  knowledge,  by  the 
persecuting  parties,  that  neither  his  principles  nor  his  advisers  will  permit 
him  to  have  recourse  to  the  common  Bengali  stratagem  of  suborning  false 
witnesses  or  forging  contradictory  documents. 

Again,  a  woman  becomes  a  Christian, — she  is  abandoned  by  her  husband 
from  compulsion,  however  much  he  may  love  her.  Caste  and  its  advocates 
are  imperative.  He  nevertheless  feels  that  she  has  a  claim  upon  him  for 
support,  and  he  offers  a  mite  towards  that  support.  No  !  replies  caste,  to 
render  her  aid  is  equivalent  to  living  with  her  ;  it  is  an  acknowledgment 
of  her  existence,  while  to  you  she  is  dead.  Or  a  young  man  breaks  through 
the  shackles  of  his  ancient  faith  and  becomes  a  Christian  ?  he  is  tenderly 
attached  to  his  wife  and  she  to  him,  but  neither  he  nor  his  friends  are 
permitted  to  see  her ;  she  is  held  in  the  strictest  surveillance  by  her 
relatives,  and  the  most  disgusting  lies  are  poured  into  her  mind  in 
reference  to  the  Christian  faith  and  its  professors,  some  of  which  are  not 
fit  for  repetition.  In  the  two  latter  cases  the  matter  involves  the  question 
of  morals  as  well  as  the  civil  liberty  of  the  subject,  and  should  at  once  be 
rectified ;  for  a  Christian  man  or  woman  cannot  and  will  not  be  able  to 
marry  a  Christian  without  some  kind  of  positive  declaration  on  the  part 
of  the  deluded  party  which  it  is  almost  impossible  to  obtain,  or  by  the 
enactment  of  a  law  legalizing  a  second  marriage  in  case  of  the  continued 
and  obstinate  refusal  of  the  first  wife  or  husband  to  fulfil  the  duties  of 
conjugal  life.  We  have  simply  mooted  the  question  and  cited  these  few- 
cases  in  the  hope  that  the  subject  may  arrest  the  attention  of  those  who 
only  can  cure  the  ills  of  which  we  complain.  We  are  aware  that  the 
subject  involves  the  reformation  of  the  whole  of  the  theoretical  and  admi- 
nistrate legislation  of  the  country,  to  which  we  are  not  indifferent ;  but 
it  is  especially  for  the  native  Christian  population  that  we  write,  as  on 
them  falls  with  ten-fold  force  all  the  ordinary  but  terrible  evils  of  the 
administration  of  Mufassal  justice. — Ibid. 


12.— The  May  Meetings. 
The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society.— The  annual  meeting  of  this 
Society  took  place  on  Wednesday,  May  13,  at  Exeter  Hall.  The  meet- 
ing was  most  numerously  attended  by  individuals  of  both  sexes  and  of 
every  denomination.  Lord  Bexley  was  in  the  chair,  and  we  observed  on 
the  platform  the  Bishop  of  Lichfield,  Bishop  of  Chester,  and  Bishop  of 
Norwich,  Lord  Teignmouth,  Sir  T.  D.  Acland,  with  a  host  of  ministers  of 
all  denominations.  In  the  report  it  was  stated,  that  the  receipts  this  year- 
amounted  to  the  enormous  sum  of  £110,000,  and  an  increase  of  some  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  in  the  distribution  of  copies,  which  amounted  to  three 
quarters  of  a  million  this  year;  the  Society  had  distributed  twelve  milli- 
ons since  its  commencement.  The  Society  was  addressed  in  the  course  of 
the  day  by  all  the  Prelates,  and  the  proceedings  lasted  to  a  late  hour. 

British  and  Foreign  School  Society. — The  report  was  very  voluminous. 
After  stating  the  progress  of  the  Society,  to  show  the  great  want  of  edu- 
cation, it  stated  that  in  the  last  year  in  England  and  Wales  no  less  than 
27,670  marriages  had  taken  place,  out  of  whom  8733  men  could  not  read, 
and  13,6'24  were  equally  ignorant.  At  the  late  Salford  sessions  there 
were  170  prisoners — only  44  of  them  could  read  and  write.  In  the  Lewes 
House  of  Correction  there  were  840  prisoners — only  48  could  read  and 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


551 


write,  250  could  a  little,  8  had  no  idea  of  Jesus  Christ,  294  knew  not  a 
Saviour,  490  had  heard  of  his  name,  and  54  heard  of  him  through  report. 

Ijondon  Missionary  Society. — The  annual  meeting-  of  the  London  Missi- 
onary Society  was  held  on  Thursday  May  14,  in  the  great  room,  Exeter 
Hall.  The  meeting  was  one  of  the  most  crowded  of  the  season,  the  hall 
being  filled  in  every  corner  with  ladies,  and  the  platform  with  gentlemen. 
Sir  George  Grey,  Bart.,  took  the  chair,  and  presided  until  one  o'clock, 
when  his  official  duties  rendered  it  necessary  that  he  should  quit  the 
meeting.  The  right  hon.  Baronet  was  succeeded  in  the  chair  by  Thomas 
Wilson,  Esq.  the  Treasurer  of  the  Society.  The  Secretary  read  the  report, 
which  was  of  a  highly  satisfactory  nature.  The  number  of  the  Society's 
missionary  stations  is  at  present  361;  the  number  of  missionaries  156  : 
and  the  number  of  assistants,  native  and  English,  in  foreign  parts,  451. 
During  the  past  year  28  new  missionaries  have  been  sent  out  with  their 
wives  and  families.  The  number  of  the  Society's  churches  is  at  present  101. 
The  number  of  communicants  9966  ;  and  the  number  of  scholars  41,752. 
The  receipts  for  the  whole  year  have  been  £91,119.  12s.  I0d.;  and  the 
expenditure  .£82,197.  Os.  4d.  It  was  announced  that  the  munificent  sum 
of  t'l 0,000  had  been  made  over  and  placed  in  trust  for  the  Society  by  a 
resident  in  the  manufacturing  districts,  who  most  nobly  gave  this  splen- 
did donation  anonymously.  It  was  also  stated  by  the  same  gentleman 
that  two  farms  in  Lancashire  had  been  made  over  to  the  Society,  and 
the  annual  proceeds,  amounting  to  £200,  secured  to  the  funds.  Two  of 
the  directors  present  gave  £100  each,  and  the  treasurer  the  like  hand- 
some sum.  'I' he  boxes  were  handed  round  during  the  meeting,  and  a  very 
large  sum  of  money  collected. 

British  and  Foreign  Temperance  Society. — The  annual  general  meeting 
of  the  above  society  was  held  in  the  Queen's  Concert  Room,  Hanover 
Square,  the  Bishop  of  Norwich,  in  the  absence  of  the  Bishop  of  Lon- 
don, in  the  chair.  The  greater  portion  of  the  auditory  was  composed  of 
fashionably  dressed  ladies,  who  appeared  to  take  great  interest  in  the 
proceedings.  On  the  platform  we  noticed  the  Bishop  of  Chichester,  Lord 
Teignmouth,  M.  P.,  Admiral  Sir  J.  Hillier,  the  Rev.  Chancellor  Raikes, 
ccc.  &c.  'The  chairman,  on  taking  the  chair,  expatiated  at  great  length, 
and  in  the  most  eloquent  manner,  on  the  ill  effects  of  intemperance.  His 
Lordship,  in  concluding  his  address,  said  that  there  was  supposed  to  be  in 
great  Britain  23,000,000  souls,  who  had  consumed  25,000,000  gallons  of 
ardent  spirits ;  among  them  the  cost  of  bread  for  the  support  of  that 
number  of  people  would  be  £25,000,000,  whilst  the  money  expended  for 
the  above  quantity  of  spirits  amounted  to  £44,000,000.  This  quantity  of 
spirits  would  form  a  river  100  miles  long,  30  feet  deep,  and  as  wide.  The 
secretary  then  read  the  report,  from  which  it  appeared  that  during  the 
year  ending  January,  1839,  30,868,562  gallons  of  spirits  paid  duty  for 
home  consumption  for  England  and  Scotland.  Upwards  of  57,000  public- 
houses,  and  47,000  beer-shops  were  licenced  in  England  and  Wales ; 
twenty  thousand  two  hundred  and  thirty-seven  persons  were  taken  into 
custody  for  drunkenness,  and  upwards  of  290,000  persons  were  relieved 
by  the  hospitals,  &c.  &c,  a  large  portion  of  whom  required  this  aid  in 
consequence  of  the  use  of  ardent  spirits.  'The  report,  after  showing  the 
low  state  of  the  funds,  stated  that  the  consumption  in  spirits  had  greatly 
decreased,  but  that  opium  was  being  used  in  the  manufacturing  districts 
in  great  abundance. 

The  Religions  Tract  Society — held  its  forty-first  Anniversary,  in  Exe- 
ter Hall,  on  the  8th  of  May  :  when  the  chair  was  taken  by  S.  Hoare, 
Esq.,  and  the  business  of  the  day  was  introduced  with  prayer  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Henderson.  The  chairman,  in  his  opening  speech,  took  an  encou- 
raging view  of  the  range  of  the  Society's  operations,  and  stated  that 


T)52  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Sept. 


although  in  the  year  preceding  the  last,  the  issue  of  tracts  had  exceeded 
that  of  any  previous  year  by  two  millions,  yet  the  issue  of  last  year  had 
exceeded  it  by  1,400,000.  Mr,  W.  Jones,  the  Secretary,  read  an  abstract 
of  the  Report.  The  publications  circulated  at  home,  during  the  past 
year,  amounted  to  3,933,039  ;  and  their  value  to  2,8T6/.  19s.  2rf.  Two 
hundred  and  eighty-one  Circulating  Libraries  had  been  granted  at  home. 
One  hundred  and  seventy-four  new  publications  had  been  issued.  The 
publications  sent  out  from  the  Depository  last  year  had  been  19,<t25, 002 ; 
making  the  total  circulation  since  the  formation  of  the  Society,  in  about 
86  languages,  including  the  issues  of  Foreign  Societies  assisted  by  the 
Parent  Institution,  to  exceed  315,400,000.  The  benevolent  income  of 
the  Society  for  the  year  had  been  6,1147  6s.  The  gratuitous  issues  in 
money,  paper,  publications  and  libraries  amounted  to  9,004/.  12s.  The 
total  receipts  of  the  Society  had  been  61,117/.  16s.  Sd.  The  adoption  of 
the  Report  was  moved  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Drew,  and  seconded  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Leifchild.  The  second  Resolution  was  moved,  by  the  Rev.  D.  l\'il- 
son,  who  spoke  of  the  advantage  of  tract  circulation,  first  as  being  avail- 
able when  other  means  of  communicating  the  gospel  were  not,  as  now  in 
China,  Madagascar,  Spain  and  Portugal — and,  secondly,  as  presenting 
divine  truth  in  that  brief,  simple,  attractive  and  homely  manner  which 
was  especially  likely  to  catch  the  ear,  and  interest  the  minds  of  the 
uneducated.  In  his  own  parish,  they  had  found  that  to  be  remarkably 
the  case.  They  had  been  circulating  during  the  past  year  upwards  of 
40,000  tracts,  in  connection  with  the  Established  Church.  They  had  re- 
peated instances  of  deeply  interesting  cases  brought  before  them  by  the 
district  visitors,  in  which  those  tracts  had  been  the  means  of  preparing 
the  way  for  the  minister  of  religion,  for  the  study  of  God's  word,  and  for 
attendance  on  the  public  worship  of  God.  They  had  had  cases  of  conver- 
sion, cases  of  awakening,  cases  of  persons  induced  to  send  for  the  minis- 
ters of  religion,  in  consequence  of  the  reading  of  those  tracts.  He  trust- 
ed that  the  Society  would  lie  encouraged  to  go  onward  with  zeal  and  devo- 
tion in  this  cause.  Never  was  there  a  time  when  a  greater  necessity  ex- 
isted for  bringing  the  truths  of  the  gospel  before  the  minds  of  the  people. 
It  had  been  strongly  impressed  on  li is  own  mind,  as  w  ell  as  on  the  minds 
of  others,  that  if  there  was  one  thing  in  which  they  were  more  deficient 
than  another,  it  was  in  simplicity  in  their  ministry,  in  their  efforts  to  do 
good.  (A  true  and  pungent  saying  that.)  The  motion  was  seconded  by 
F.A.Packard,  Esq,  Secretary  to  the  American  Sunday  School  Union. 
The  next  speaker  was  the  Rev.  Henry  Hughes,  Secretary  to  the  London 
Hibernian  Society,  who  in  vindicating  the  Tract  Society  against  the  as- 
persions of  the  Tractarians  of  Oxford,  made  one  of  the  ablest  speeches 
we  have  seen  amongst  the  reports  of  the  Anniversaries  of  the  year.  It 
will  not,  however,  admit  either  of  abstract  or  quotation.  He  was  follow- 
ed in  the  same  argument,  and  not  unworthily,  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Urwick. 
The  meeting  was  then  dismissed  w  ith  the  customary  formalities. — Friend 
of  India. 

The  Baptist  Missionary  Society  —held  its  forty-eighth  Anniversary,  in 
Exeter  Hall,  on  the  30th  of  April.  Sir  C.  E.  Smith  having  been  called  to 
the  chair,  the  proceedings  were  opened  with  Divine  Worship,  conducted 
by  the  Rev.  S.  Nicholson,  of  Plymouth.  The  Chairman  spoke,  in  a  neat 
and  impressive  manner,  of  the  contrast  between  present  feeling  and  posi- 
tion in  respect  of  Missions,  and  the  state  of  things  when  Carey  entered 
on  his  enterprize,  and  touched  feelingly  on  the  death  of  Mr.  Williams,  as 
an  event  in  which  all  who  love  Missions  must  have  one  sentiment.  1'lie 
Report  was  read  by  the  Rev.  J.  Dyer.  It  mentioned  the  welcome  rein- 
forcement which  the  East  Indian  Mission  had  received  by  the  return  of 
Mr.  Pearce  to  Calcutta,  and  the  accession  of  the  four  brethren  w  ho  ac- 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


553 


eompanied  him,  and  referred  to  the  arrangements  which  had  heen  made 
inconsequence — hut  which  here  are  out  of  date*.  The  annual  associa- 
tion of  the  Churches  in  Jamaica  (when  is  a  Report  to  come  in  that  shape 
from  Bengal?)  was  .held  at  Brown's  Town,  on  the  11th  of  January,  and 
the  following-  days.  From  the  returns  then  presented,  they  were  again 
called  upon  to  rejoice  in  the  general  prosperity  of  the  Mission  in  that  Is- 
land. The  number  of  members  now  reported  was  24,777,  and  of  inquir- 
ers, 21,111;  being  an  increase  on  the  previous  returns  of  3,440  mem- 
bers, and  192  inquirers.  The  schools  were  not  quite  so  well  attended  as 
formerly,  the  number  of  scholars  being  15,007,  or  1,113  less  than  last 
year — which  was  to  be  attributed  in  part  to  the  multiplication  of  schools 
by  other  friends  of  education,  and  in  part  to  deficiency  of  pecuniary  re- 
sources. In  the  other  West  India  Stations,  the  results  of  the  year  had 
also  been  highly  encouraging.  In  reference  to  home  proceedings,  the 
Report  stated  that  during  the  past  year,  five  Missionaries  had  been  sent 
tci  the  Bast,  and  six  to  the  West.  Three  more  were  shortly  to  embark  for 
Indiat.  The  income  of  the  Society  had  not  heen  quite  equal  to  that  of 
the  preceding  year.  The  Receipts  had  been  19,071/.  13s.  ;  and  the  Ex- 
penditure, 19,781/.  6s.  9(1..  which  with  the  balance  remaining  undischarged 
from  last  year,  left  a  deficit  of  3,311/.  7s.  The  reception  of  the  Report 
was  moved  by  the  Rov.  Dr.  Cox,  of  Hackney,  in  a  speech  of  great  anima- 
tion, and  rhetorical  figure,  but  yet  of  piety  and  power.  The  only  laugh- 
ter he  seems  to  have  excited,  was  produced  by  turning  the  ridicule  of  the 
Edinburgh  Reviewers  of  the  early  proceedings  of  Carey  and  his  col- 
leagues, against  themselves.  Their  strain  had  been  "  Look  at  the  efforts 
of  the  Missionary  Societies.  They  should  not  stop  to  characterize  the 
one  or  the  other  of  them  particularly,  but  only  in  general  intimate  that 
the  parties  were  all  mad  together — (Laughter  and  cheers) — but  they 
should  not  stop  to  discriminate  between  the  finer  shades  of  lunacy."  The 
finer  shades  of  lunacy,  indeed  !  Why,  it  is  characteristic  of  the  lunatic 
to  think  every  body  mad  but  himself.  The  madness  was  in  their  own 
conception  of  missionary  operations.  I  will  tell  you  what  were  those 
finer  shades  which  they  mistook  for  the  finer  shades  of  lunacy.  The  Mis_ 
sionary  Societies  may  be  compared  to  the  Rainbow.  In  the  rainbow  you 
perceive  one  bow,  but  many  colours — distinct,  but  one  and  harmonious  :  a 
fit  emblem  this  of  the  united  though  separate  operations  of  Chirstian  Mis- 
sionary Societies.  The  shades  of  lunacy,  as  they  were  termed,  were  the 
shades  of  various  light  seen  and  reflected  from  that  one  beautiful  bow  of 
covenanted  mercy  that  threw  its  glory  upon  the  dark  clouds  of  heathenism, 
and  bent  benignantly  over  a  prostrate,  demoralised  and  miserable  world. 
The  motion  was  seconded  by  the  Rev.  T.  Winter,  of  Bristol.  The 
second  Resolution — an  expression  of  gratitude  for  the  increase  of  Mis- 
sionaries, and  regret  for  the  continued  connection  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment in  India  with  the  support  of  idolatry — was  moved  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Leifchild.  Some  people,  he  said,  from  his  known  attachment  to  the 
Baptist  Denomination,  and  especially  its  Missionary  Society,  had  suspect- 
ed that  he  was  a  Baptist,  although  he  had  not  declared  his  convictions. 
That  notion,  however,  only  tended  to  shew  the  low  estimate  which  was 
formed  of  Christian  love  and  the  nature  of  the  Christian  religion.  It  was 
a  remnant  of  the  old  opinion,  that  uniformity  of  judgment  in  every  thing 

*  In  the  Patriot  of  the  11th  May,  a  letter  appears  from  the  Rev.  J.  Angus,  stating 
that  intelligence  of  Mr.  Pearce's  death,  on  the  1 7th  March,  had  reached  the  Society 
by  the  Overland  Mail,  on  the  6th  of  May. 

f  These  are  Messrs.  John  Parsons,  George  Small,  and  W.  W.  Evans,  the  Assis- 
tant Secretary  of  the  Society,  who  is  to  take  charge  of  the  Benevolent  Institution, 
having  formerly  occupied  a  similar  situation.  He  and  Mr.  Small  were  publicly  set 
apart  for  missionary  service  at  Hackney,  on  the  21st  of  May  ;  and  all  three  were 
expected  to  sail  early  in  July. 


554 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Sept. 


was  necessary  to  Christian  affection  ;  as  though  religion  could  not  produce 
a  generous  feeling  without  annihilating  the  individuality  and  freedom  of 
the  human  mind.  The  motion  was  seconded  hy  the  Rev.  J.  Aldis,  who 
pronounced  an  eloquent  eulogy  on  Mr.  Knibb,  of  Jamaica,  who  had  been 
expected  to  be  present  at  the  meeting,  but  did  not  reach  London  till 
some  time  after.  The  succeeding  motion — a  call  for  increased  support, 
was  moved  and  seconded  by  the  Rev.  J.  E.  Giles,  and  the  Rev.  Eustace 
Carey.  The  remaining  speakers  were  the  Rev.  A.  McLay,  of  New  York, 
the  Rev.  J.  F.  Newman,  and  the  Rev.  E.  Steane,  on  whose  suggestion  it 
was  resolved  that  on  Mr.  Knibb's  arrival  a  public  meeting  should  be 
held  to  receive  him. 

General  Baptist  Missions  in  Orissa,  India. — On  Lord's-dny,  the  26th  of 
April,  the  anuiversary  sermon  on  hehalf  of  the  above  missions  was  preach- 
ed in  /Enon  Chapel,  New  Church-street,  Marylebone,  by  the  Rev.  J. 
Burns,  minister  of  the  chapel  ;  and  on  Tuesday  evening,  the  28th,  the 
annual  meeting  was  held  in  the  same  place,  David  Wire,  Esq.,  in  the 
chair.  The  meeting  was  addressed  by  the  Rev.  Eustace  Carey  ;  J.  Pike, 
of  Newbury  ;  J.  Stevenson,  A.  M.,  of  Borough-road  ;  J.  Peggs,  formerly 
missionary  in  Orissa ;  Mr.  Green,  of  Norwich  ;  J.  Wallis,  of  Commer- 
cial-road and  A.  M'Clay,  A.  M.,  of  New  York.  The  services  were  well 
attended,  and  the  collections  exceeded  considerably  those  of  past  years. 
It  was  stated  that  the  Sabbath-school  children  connected  with  the  chapel 
had  collected  for  the  mission  during  the  year  the  sum  of  9/.  14*.  lid. 
— Pat/ iot. 

Institution  for  the  Education  of  the  Daughters  of  Missionaries,  Waltham. 
stow. — A  Public  Meeting  of  this  valuable  Institution  was  li eld  at  the 
London  Tavern,  Bishopsgate-street,  on  Friday,  the  1st  of  May,  at  which 
a  report  of  its  proceedings  and  a  statement  of  its  finances  were  presented. 
Joseph  Trueman,  Esq.,  of  Walthamstow,  took  the  chair.  The  attendance 
was  numerous  and  highly  respectable.  After  prayer  had  been  offered  by 
the  Rev.  Eustace  Carey,  the  Report  was  read  by  the  Rev.  J.  Dyer,  Secre- 
tray  to  the  Baptist  Missionary  Society,  from  which  it  appears  that  eighteen 
children  are  now  enjoying  the  benefits  of  the  Institution,  and  that  about 
ten  more  are  expected  to  be  added  to  it  by  Midsummer  next.  The 
speakers  on  the  occasion  were,  Wm.  Alers  Hankey,  Esq.,  Rev.  Eustace 
Carey,  Sir  Culling  Eardley  Smith,  Rev.  Dr.  Morison,  Rev.  J.  Dyer,  Rev. 
E.  Crisp,  Rev.  T.  Binney,  Rev.  N.  M.  Harry,  Rev.  J.  Smith,  (of  Madras,) 
and  Rev.  J  J.  Freeman. 

Messrs.  Carey,  Crisp,  and  Smith,  who  had  been  in  India,  strongly  urged 
the  necessity  of  such  an  Institution,  from  the  extreme  difficulty  of  pro- 
curing any  suitable  education  for  their  children  in  heathen  countries. 
Their  powerful  and  affectionate  appeals  were  warmly  responded  to  by  the 
meeting,  and  produced  an  impression  that  will  long  be  remembered.  The 
only  regret  appeared  to  be  that  the  Institution  could  not,  from  its  present 
limited  resources,  embrace .  the  sons  as  well  as  the  daughters  of  Mis- 
sionaries; but  the  hope  was  expressed  that  this  important  object  might  be 
attained  ere  long. — Ibid. 

Special  Meeting  of  the  Friends  of  the  Baptist  Mission  to  receive  the  Depu- 
tation from  Jamaica. — A  meeting  of  the  above  society  was  held,  on  the 
evening  of  May  22nd,  at  Exeter  Hall.  The  large  hall  was  crowded  in 
every  part,  and  hundreds  were  obliged  to  retire  from  want  of  accommo- 
dation. Much  interest  was  attached  to  the  proceedings,  as  it  was  known 
statements  would  be  made  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Knibb  concerning  the  moral, 
social,  and  political  condition  of  Jamaica  and  the  West  Indies. 

Mr.  Joseph  Stuuge  was  called  to  the  chair,  and  opened  the  proceedings 
in  an  eloquent  speech  upon  the  great  progress  emancipation  has  made  in 


1 840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


555 


the  island  of  Jamaica,  and  the  bright  prospect  now  presented  for  mis- 
sionary labours  in  that  part  of  the  world. 

Henry  Beckfoud,  an  emancipated  negro,  and  deacon  at  St.  Anne's 
Bay,  Jamaica,  was  introduced  to  the  meeting  by  the  chairman,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  speak  at  some  length.  He  said  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  in 
Jamaica  had  done  wondrous  things  for  the  negroes;  the  labours  of  the 
missionaries  had  not  been  in  vain,  for  through  them  the  negroes  had 
profited  as  well  in  body  as  in  soul.  The  Gospel  was  spreading  from  one 
corner  of  the  island  to  the  other  ;  all  hard-heartendness  was  passing 
away  from  among  his  coloured  brethren,  and  they  had  learned  to  ask  for 
mercy  at  the  hand  of  the  Lord.  Within  the  last  two  years  he  could  not 
recollect  having  seen  a  drunken  man  in  the  district  where  he  lived — 
(cheers);  and  the  little  children  that  were  once  driven  like  beasts  into 
the  woods,  were  now  gathered  together  by  their  friends,  and  instructed 
in  that  which  would  make  them  wise  unto  salvation — (cheers).  His 
brethren  much  wished,  with  the  kind  assistance  of  their  white  brethren, 
to  raise  up  missionaries  that  should  go  to  Africa,  and  preach  the  Gospel 
there,  so  that  his  countrymen  might  no  longer  seize,  sell,  and  murder 
each  other.  His  own  mother  declared  to  him  that  she  was  sold  in  that 
country  by  her  own  son  for  a  gun  to  go  to  war  with.  Many  of  his  young 
fellow-countrymen  were  now  ready  in  Jamaica  to  go  to  Africa  with  their 
Jives  in  their  hands  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  their  brethren — (cheers). 
He  hoped  his  white  friends  would  assist  them  in  this  work.  He  and  his 
brethren  thanked  them  for  what  they  had  already  done,  but  he  hoped 
they  would  extend  their  exertions  to  the  great  country  of  Africa.  He 
and  his  brethren  in  Jamaica  were  praying  that  the  blessings  which  they 
had  enjoyed  in  that  island  from  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  to  them 
might  be  extended  to  their  father-land — (cheers).  He  recollected  when 
in  Jamaica  he  saw  his  mother  flogged  before  him,  and  he  dare  not  help 
her.  When  they  put  her  in  chains,  he  could  not  speak  a  word  in  her 
behalf,  lest  she  should  receive  ten  times  the  punishment  they  were 
inflicting  upon'her.  He  wished  to  goto  Africa,  and  tell  his  brethren 
there,  to  leave  oft  murdering  each  other — (cheers).  Their  places  of 
worship  in  Jamaica  had  recently  been  enlarged,  and  now  required 
enlarging  again— (cheers)  ;  and  their  earnest  prayer  was  that  more 
baptist  missionaries  might  be  sent  to  the  harvest.  He  himself  had  110 
scholars,  whom  he  taught  as  well  as  God  enabled  him — (cheers).  These 
scholars  can  pray,  and  they  said  grace  before  meals,  and  yet  it  was  but  a 
short  time  ago  that  they  did  not  know  they  were  better  than  four-footed 
beasts — (cheers). 

Edward  Barret,  another  deacon  from  Jamaica,  next  addressed  the 
meeting  at  considerable  length.  He  said  he  deeply  thanked  them  for  all 
they  had  done  for  Jamaica,  and  he  never  forgot  to  pray  for  them.  It 
would  do  their  hearts  good  to  go  to  Jamaica — ("  hear,  hear,"  cheers,  and 
laughter),  and  see  the  little  rising  generation— (cheers).  They  would 
behold  every  morning,  at  eight  o'clock,  hundreds  of  children  going  to 
school. — They  would  see  300  running  from  one  cross-road,  100  from 
another  cross-road,  and  50  from  another  cross-road,  and  so  on,  all  going 
to  school — (cheers).  And  yet  it  was  only  a  little  while  ago  that  in  Jamaica 
a  black  man  was  a  slave,  and  a  negro  could  not  take  up  a  piece  of  paper 
with  A  B  C  on  it  if  a  white  man  saw  him— (hear).  If  he  did  it  he  put  his 
life  at  hazard,  or  the  white  man  would  transport  him  for  life  ;  but  now 
the  negroes  could  not  only  read  their  ABC,  but  they  could  read  the 
Gospel,  and  pray  to  their  God  from  the  Bible.  When  "they  were  in  sla- 
very the  baptists  sent  God's  good  men  to  them.  Before  that  they  thought 
themselves  beasts  ;  they  thought  the  white  people  gods ;  they  did  not 
know  any  other  god  till  the  missionaries  came  among  them.    They  sent 


556  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


Mr.  Knibb,  Mr.  Mann,  and  others,  to  them.  Those  good  gentlemen 
brought  their  lives  in  their  hands — (hear)  :— they  risked  their  lives  for 
the  poor  black  men — (cheers).  The  masters  in  Jamaica,  some  of  them, 
would  sooner  see  the  devil  than  see  them — (laughter).  But  the  good 
missionaries  fought  the  good  fight,  and  they  conquered  ;  and  their  labors 
were  blessed  abundantly — (cheers).  It  would  do  the  hearts  of  his  white 
brethren  good  to  see  the  watchmen  on  the  mountains  come  running  down 
on  a  summer's  day  to  the  church,  to  worship  God — (hear  and  cheers). 
His  black  brethren  would  never  forget  the  great  kindness  of  the  good 
missionaries  who  brought  the  glad  tidings  to  them.  Before  he  came  away 
from  Jamaica  he  called  his  brethren  together  to  ask  them  what  they  had 
to  say  to  their  friends  in  England,  who  had  sent  them  freedom,  and  they 
lifted  up  their  hands,  and  they  shouted  to  God  to  bless  their  white  friends. 
There  was  one  particular  point  that  his  brethren  thought  much  of.  They 
had  heard  that  their  white  friends  had  promised  to  send  the  Gospel  to 
their  father-land  and  mother-country,  that  they  would  send  it  to  Africa ; 
and  they  told  him  to  stand  by  their  white  friends,  so  that  they  might 
push  on  with  God's  help— (cheers).  The  old  people  said  they  could  not 
hope  to  see  their  father-land,  but  they  would  teach  their  children  to  bless 
those  who  went  to  preach  the  Gospel  to  them— (cheers). 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Knibb,  then  rose  amidst  deafening  cheers  to  address  the 
immense  assembly.  The  Rev.  gentleman  touched  upon  the  same  soul- 
stirring  circumstances  and  related  the  same  facts  that  he  laid  before  the 
great  meeting  at  Birmingham  on  Tuesday  last,  and  which  was  reported 
in  the  Morning  Herald  of  Thursday.  In  commenting  upon  the  charges 
made  against  the  baptist  missionaries  by  Sir  Charles  Metcalfe,  he  quoted 
the  language  of  Sir  Lionel  Smith,  strongly  in  their  praise,  and  proceeded 
to  observe  that,  a  few  weeks  after  this  language  had  been  made  use  of, 
Sir  Charles  Metcalfe,  before  he  came  into  personal  communication  with 
the  baptist  missionaries,  sent  off  an  official  despatch,  in  which  he  assailed 
them  as  political  agitators,  and  distinguished  them  from  all  the  other 
missionaries  by  whom  they  were  surrounded — (loud  cries  of"  Shame.") 
He  (the  Rev.  Mr.  Knibb)  designated  that  despatch  as  unfounded  in  fact 
— (great  cheering).  He  claimed  for  his  brethren  in  Jamaica  the  right  to 
be  heard  at  the  Colonial-office  in  defence — (loud  cheers).  He  next 
touched  upon  the  diminution  of  produce  in  Jamaica,  on  which  point  he 
spoke  at  some  length  at  Birmingham,  and  said  this  arose  from  the  with- 
drawing the  women  from  the  field— (loud  cheers).  The  women  now  staid 
at  home — (hear),  and  the  child  was  sent  to  school — (loud  cheers).  This 
was  why  the  produce  was  diminished — (hear),  and  it  was  the  baptist 
missionary  who  endeavoured  to  prevent  the  women  working  in  the  field 
—(cheers).  The  Rev.  gentleman  then  took  a  luminous  view  of  the  great 
good  effected  by  the  abolition  of  slavery,  and  observed  that  the  friends 
of  emancipation  would  never  cease  till  slavery  was  abolished  in  America. 
He  dwelt  upon  slavery  in  that  "  land  of  liberty,"  and  concluded  a  most 
impressive  speech  amidst  the  long  continued  and  enthusiastic  plaudits  of 
the  meeting. 

Several  other  gentlemen  then  addressed  the  meeting.  We  understand 
a  very  munificent  collection  was  made. 


TH  It 


CHRISTIAN  OBSERVER. 


(Neto  Set'i*9.) 
No.  10.— OCTOBER,  1840. 


I.  — A  few  notes  on  Lower  Egypt. — The  Pyramids.,  their  size, 
form,  origin  and  design,  with  reflections. — Singular  fate  of 
the  Mummies, — Ancient  Memphis, — Fulfilment  of  Scripture 
Prophecies.    By  Rev.  A.  Duff,  D.  D. 

(Continued  from  page  518.) 

Who  has  not  at  times  been  so  overcome  by  accounts  of  the 
"  Eternal  Pyramids,"  as  to  desire  to  be  left  alone  to  lose  him- 
self in  a  reverie  of  contemplation  and  wonder  ?  We  have  read 
of  travellers,  who,  when  they  first  beheld  these  enormous  piles 
indenting  their  forms  on  the  clear  blue  sky,  declared  that  for 
some  time  they  "  remained  motionless" — that,  on  recovering 
from  the  primary  sensation,  their  "  enthusiasm  amounted 
almost  to  madness,  and  they  shouted  applause  to  the  magnificent 
spectacle  I"  We  were  therefore  prepared,  and  really  expected 
to  be  astonished.  Soon  after  the  dawn  of  a  glorious  morn,  while 
passing  the  point  where  the  Delta  commences,  a  few  miles 
below  Cairo,  by  the  separation  of  the  stream  into  its  two  main 
branches,  we  first  beheld,  at  a  considerable  distance  to  the 
right,  the  peaks  of  the  two  great  Pyramids  of  Ghizeh 
shooting  up,  Parnassus-like,  from  an  apparently  common 
body.  As  we  approached  more  nearly  opposite,  the  gap  or 
opening  between  them  began  to  widen  and  descend,  till  at  last 
they  presented  themselves  from  base  to  summit  as  two  distinct 
and  independent  fabrics.  There  being  nothing  in  two  sharp 
peaks,  shining  like  fiery  wedges  in  the  full  radiance  of  the 
rising  sun,  to  excite  unwonted  surprise,  we  still  waited  in  earnest 
expectation  of  the  uprising  of  a  sensation  of  deepest  wonder. 
At  length  the  naked  base  of  the  Libyan  rock  appeared  ;  upon 
it  the  great  Pyramids  stood  out  fully  disclosed  to  view  ; — and 
yet  no  emotion  whatever  of  the  anticipated  astonishment !  On 

vol.  i.  4  c 


558 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


[Oct. 


the  contrary,  we  felt  an  almost  resistless  propensity  to  give  way 
to  that  opposite  emotion  of  derision  and  contempt  which  is  ever 
apt  to  spring  up,  when  it  is  discovered  or  imagined  that  one  has 
been  made  the  unconscious  dupe  of  trick  and  delusive  artifice. 
We  neither  experienced,  nor  could  experience  any  feeling  or 
sentiment  of  wonder  whatsoever.  Disappointed  at  our  own 
disappointment,  we  could  only  he  astonished  to  think  what 
others,  standing  where  we  were  and  placed  as  strangers  in 
precisely  similar  circumstances,  could  possibly  have  found 
to  be  astonished  at.  What  could  be  the  cause  of  so  unex- 
pected a  result  ?  It  seemed  to  be  this.  From  the  vast  breadth 
of  the  base,  compared  with  the  altitude  of  the  rapidly  taper- 
ing summit,  and  from  the  entire  absence  of  adjacent  objects 
of  known  dimensions,  whereby  to  measure  them,  the  elevation 
appeared  to  the  eye,  at  the  distance  of  a  few  miles,  exceedingly 
diminitive.  Many  glass-works  in  Great  Britain  at  about  the 
same  distance  have  struck  our  eye  as  being  alike  lofty  and 
magnificent.  Then  again,  their  embrowned  sun-burnt  aspect 
so  much  resembled  the  sterile  sand  of  the  desert ;  they  looked 
so  plain,  so  bare,  so  smooth,  so  meaningless  from  top  to 
bottom — without  doorway,  or  window,  or  arch,  or  colonnade, 
or  turret,  or  spire,  or  dome,  or  gilded  pinnacle,  or  any  other 
wonted  external  symbol  which  could  convey  an  impression  of 
wisdom,  skill,  or  design  ;  beauty,  proportion,  or  utility —  that 
an  isolated  fragment  of  rock,  or  conical  mound  of  earth,  or 
artificial  cairn  of  stones  on  the  crest  of  a  mountain-ridge,  has 
often  attracted  and  far  more  powerfully  rivetted  our  attention. 

Nevertheless,  it  was  impossible  to  follow  the  first  impulse 
and  abruptly  tarn  away  from  monuments  which  have  excited 
the  admiration  of  every  Egyptian  traveller  from  Herodotus  to 
Belzoni,  and  of  every  Egyptian  conqueror  from  Alexander  to 
Napoleon — monuments,  which  have  been  alternately  repre- 
sented as  royal  sepulchres,  astronomical  observatories,  or  fire- 
temples — monuments,  therefore,  whose  construction,  form,  and 
internal  repositories  might  well  be  supposed  capable  of  revealing 
a  few  of  the  secrets  of  primitive  art,  somewhat  of  the  progress 
of  early  science,  and  not  a  little  of  the  character  and  migrations 
of  the  most  ancient  elemental  and  mythologic  worship.  Hence, 
we  determined  on  a  closer  inpection.  Accordingly,  accompa- 
nied with  a  few  friends,  we  started  from  Cairo  about  noon  ; 
passed  the  palace  and  pleasure  grounds  of  Ibrahim  Pasha, 
bestud  with  canals  and  ponds,  too  often,  at  that  season,  mere 
reservoirs  of  stagnant  greenish  water,  and  trees  powdered  over 
with  perpetual  dust ;  crossed  the  river  close  by  the  island  of 
Rhodah,  in  which  is  preserved  the  famous  Nilometer  or  instru- 
ment for   marking  the  progress  and  height  of  the  annual 


1840.] 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


559 


inundation,  and  the  loamy  surface  of  which,  under  the  direc- 
tion of  two  Scotsmen,  in  the  service  of  the  Pasha,  has  heen 
converted  into  the  most  beautiful  garden  in  Egypt;  and,  finally, 
towards  evening  reached  the  Pyramids  of  Ghizeh,  on  the  elevat- 
ed ridge  of  the  rocky  boundary  of  the  Libyan  desert,  distant 
about  ten  miles  from  Grand  Cairo.  In  traversing  the  seven  or 
eight  miles  of  fertile  field  between  the  river  and  the  sterile  mar- 
gin of  the  desert,  these  mighty  pyramidal  piles  were  throughout 
full  in  view.  Yet  to  the  eye  they  seemed  to  undergo  no  change. 
When  actually  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  us,  they  did 
not  seem  one  whit  larger  than  they  appeared  from  the  citadel 
of  Cairo.  The  most  enthusiastic  admirer  of  the  Pyramids 
amongst  us, — who  constantly  raved  about  them  in  somewhat 
of  the  spirit  and  style  of  romance,  and  who  to  the  last  fully 
expected  to  be  overwhelmed  with  a  sense  of  the  wonderful  and 
sublime  as  he  approached  them — was  now  forced  in  the  bit- 
terness of  regret  to  exclaim,  "  Well,  I  must  confess  that  I  am 
sadly  disappointed."  And  so  singular  was  the  optical  illusion 
as  to  their  real  size,  that,  it  was  not  till  we  came  up  to  the  very 
base  of  the  great  Pyramid,  walked  round  it,  measuring  the 
number  of  paces  and  keeping  an  account  of  the  time ; — it  was 
not  till  we  handled  the  large  blocks,  averaging  three  or 
four  feet  square,  of  regular  super-imposed  layers  of  which  the 
pile  was  composed,  and  looking  up,  saw  them  gradually  dimi- 
nish into  the  size  of  bricks,  and  finally  dwindle  away  into 
the  size  of  marble  balls ; — it  was  not  till  we  had  undergone 
the  real  toil  and  labour  of  the  ascent,  and  standing  on  the 
summit,  saw  how  the  largest  tumuli  beneath  had  shrunk  into 
mole-hills  : — it  was  not  till  after  all  this  personal  experience, 
that,  moving  a  few  paces  from  the  base  and  casting  our  eyes 
fixedly  along  the  steep  acclivity,  we  were  in  any  proportionate 
degree  impressed  with  a  sense  of  its  real  magnitude. 

As  the  interior  must  be  visited  by  torchlight,  we  resolved, 
though  the  shadows  of  evening  had  closed  around  us,  to  enter  the 
great  Pyramid.  With  the  assistance  of  some  attendant  Arabs,  we 
reached  the  opening  on  the  north  side,  at  the  elevation  of  forty 
feet  above  the  base — resembling  the  mouth  of  a  cave  scooped 
out  of  the  solid  rock.  In  a  bending  and  painfully  constrained 
attitude  we  proceeded  along  the  low  narrow  and  cheerless 
passages — in  directions,  ascending,  descending,  or  horizontal 
I — half  suffocated  with  dust,  smoke  and  heat.  We  then  visited 
the  principal  chambers — usually  styled,  the  king's  and  queen's. 
In  none  of  these,  with  the  exception  of  a  single  sarcophagus,  is 
aught  to  be  found  but  bare  and  blackened  walls — the  largest 
not  exceeding  18  feet  in  height,  18  in  breadth,  and  36  in 
length.  Is  this  all  which  can  be  exhibited  by  the  interior  of 
4  c  2 


560 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


[Oct. 


a  pile  which  some  of  its  admirers  have  pronounced  "  the 
most  sublime,  most  wonderful,  and  most  stupendous  of  all 
fabrics" — "  the  most  ancient  and  yet  most  mighty  monu- 
ment of  man's  power  and  pride  ?" — was  the  first  involuntary 
exclamation,  when,  restored  to  the  natural  upright  posture, 
and  fixed  in  the  centre  of  the  king's  chamber,  we  looked 
round  on  its  emptied  sarcophagus  and  dark  naked  walls  ! 
Why,  there  is  not  in  the  British  Empire  a  single  mine  of 
any  note  that  may  not  boast  of  passages  and  chambers, 
which  display  vastly  more  skill,  ingenuity,  and  even  taste  in 
the  excavation  of  them  !  To  stand  in  the  centre  of  the  great 
Pyramid  and  in  the  centre  of  St.  Paul's  : — what  a  contrast ! 
The  emotions  generated  in  the  former  position  are  as  mean 
and  Tartarean  as  those  generated  in  the  latter  are  celestial 
and  sublime. 

Wearied,  fatigued  and  disappointed,  we  retired  to  enjoy,  if 
possible,  two  or  three  hours'  slumber  in  one  of  the  smaller  tombs 
quarried  out  of  the  face  of  the  contiguous  rock — thus  converting 
into  a  chamber  of  real  repose  for  the  living  that  which  three 
thousand  years  ago  was  designed  as  the  abode  of  imaginary 
repose  for  the  dead — and  causing  a  receptacle,  which  embo- 
died in  its  professed  design  the  sentiment  of  an  ignorant  super- 
stitious age,  to  resound  for  once  with  the  reading  of  the  word 
of  life,  and  the  voice  of  prayer  and  praise  to  Jehovah,  Lord  of 
Hosts  ! 

By  break  of  day  we  hastened  from  our  rocky  dormitory  to 
the  apex  of  the  Great  Pyramid,  and  there  witnessed  the  first 
rays  of  the  sun,  as  they  glittered  over  the  domes  and  minarets 
of  Cairo.  The  general  view,  making  allowance  for  our  rela- 
tive position  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  vale,  was  much  the 
same  as  from  the  citadel  of  Saladin.  In  the  one,  as  well  as  the 
other,  the  desert — the  desert — was  the  universal  boundary  ! — 
the  desert,  so  happily  symbolized  as  "  an  immense  ocean  of 
sand,  like  the  real  ocean  with  its  flux  and  re-flux ;  its  cara- 
vans which  cleave  it  like  navies  ;  its  dromedaries  which  furrow 
it  like  boats  :  and  its  simoons  which  agitate  it  like  hurricanes." 
The  narrow  valley  of  the  Nile  winded  through  this  ocean  of 
savage  barrenness  like  a  living  stream  of  beauty  and  fertility. 
Between  it  and  its  desert  boundary  there  was  not  contrast 
merely,  but  contrast  so  violent  as  to  produce  a  painful  sense 
of  the  incongruous  or  unnatural.  The  inquiry  was  forced  upon; 
us,  How  came  fields  of  such  emerald  green  to  be  so  fringed  ami 
inwoven  with  the  waste  howling  wilderness,  that  between  fer- 
tility the  most  charming  and  sterility  the  most  frightful,  the.re 
is  not  any  where  the  measurable  fraction  of  a  single  foot- 
step ?    In  other  lands,  the  rich  verdure  of  the  mead  and  noble 


1840.]  A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt .  501 


majesty  of  the  forest  are  imperceptibly  succeeded  by  the  more 
stunted  yet  not  unpleasant  copse  and  herbage  of  the  upland 
moor  or  rising  acclivity, — and  these  again  by  the  ferns  and 
the  lichens  and  the  mosses  which  delight  to  feather  the  brow 
of  the  mountain,  before  it  is  surmounted  by  its  naked  cloud- 
capp'd  peak.  But  here,  between  loveliness  the  most  exuberant 
and  deformity  the  most  barren,  there  is  no  transition  at  all. 
The  feeling  excited  by  so  singular  a  juxtaposition  was  some- 
what akin — comparing  small  things  with  great— 10  that  which 
must  be  experienced  were  one  to  behold  the  still  gorgeous 
heart  of  the  richest  Cashmerian  shawl  in  close  contact  and 
inseparable  union  with  a  broad  and  ample  border — now  all 
tawdry  and  tattered,  discoloured  and  bespattered  with  mud  ! 

As  to  the  Pyramid  itself,  after  having  walked  round  it, 
surveyed  it  from  every  point  of  view,  explored  the  interior, 
and  stood  on  the  summit,  the  only  impression  which  we  could 
derive  from  it,  was  that  of  magnitude — mere  magnitude — the 
magnitude  of  so  vast  an  artificial  accumulation  of  inert  matter. 
Stationed  on  that  proud  summit  on  which,  doubtless,  once 
stood  Herodotus,  the  father  of  History,  and  Alexander,  the 
Conqueror  of  the  world,  and  many  a  sage  and  hero  since — 
some  of  whose  names  are  roughly  graven  on  the  uppermost 
flags,  in  order  to  immortalize  their  arduous  visit — the  spon- 
taneous musings  of  our  inner  man  could  not  but  run  in  a 
somewhat  moralizing  channel.     Is  this,  thought   we,  the 
very  pile  which  has  been  often  pronounced  "  the  greatest 
and   most  indestructible  monument   of  human  power  ?" — 
As  to  its  alleged  indestructibility,  whether  relative  or  ab- 
solute, that  is  an  idle  and  fallacious  boast.    Some  of  the 
more  ancient  Pyramids  to  the  south  have  now  been  actually 
turned  into  masses  of  dust  and  rubbish.    And  this  one,  per- 
haps the  most  modern  of  them  all,  exhibits  the  most  indu- 
bitable symptoms  of  gradual  decay.    The  steps,  of  a  foot  or  a 
foot  and  a  half  wide,  formed  by  the  receding  tiers  or  layers 
of  calcareous  stone  in  the  upward  ascent,  are  every  where 
mouldering  into  decay ; — and  this  too,  in  a  climate  like  that  of 
Egypt,  where  there  is  neither  rain  nor  frost ! — so  that,  from 
the  steps  being  partly  worn  away,  and  partly  blocked  up  with 
the  crumbling  materials  from  above,  the  ascent,  except  along 
one  or  two  tracks  which  are  kept  clear  of  loosened  fragments, 
is  no  longer  practicable.    What  then  becomes  of  man's  vain 
boast  of  indestructibility  ?    Even  when  favoured  with  the 
most  unvarying  climate  in  the  world,  the  great  Pyramid  proves 
by  its  scarred  and  shattered  sides,  that  it  is  no  more  proof 
against  ultimate  dissolution  than  frail  man  himself.  And  if  it  had 
been  reared  either  in  India,  with  its  deluges  of  rain  and  subse- 


562 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


[Oct. 


quent  burning  heat ;  or  in  Britain,  with  its  melting  snows  and 
subsequent  hardening  frost,  it  would  assuredly  have  been  rent 
into  pieces,  or  turned  into  a  pile  of  ruins,  ages  ago  ! — As  to 
its  magnitude, — that,  compared  with  most  other  works  of  man, 
is  incontestable.  But  then,  even  in  this  respect,  is  it  not 
rivalled  by  the  great  wall  of  China,  which,  with  its  massy 
towers,  stretches  uninterruptedly  across  vallies  and  rivers 
and  mountains  to  the  extent  of  fifteen  hundred  miles  ! — or,  by 
the  great  Canal  of  China,  which,  for  six  hundred  miles,  has 
been  forced  through  the  mightiest  obstacles,  often  consider- 
ably raised  by  the  most  stupendous  walls  and  embank- 
ments above  the  level  of  lakes  and  marshes  which  it  is  made 
to  traverse,  and  finally  opening  into  the  Yellow  Sea  with  a 
breadth  of  a  thousand  feet  !  And  if,  in  point  of  mere  magni- 
tude, it  is  rivalled,  if  not  out-rivalled  by  other  products 
of  human  power,  how  utterly  poor  and  insignificant, 
compared  with  the  works  of  God  !  Compare  in  point  of 
magnitude,  this  greatest  of  the  Pyramids  with  Ben  Nevis 
of  the  Grampians,  Mount  Blanc  of  the  Alps,  Chimborazo 
of  the  Andes,  Dhwalagiri  of  the  Himalaya ! — with  the 
terrestrial  globe  itself  ! — with  sun,  moon,  and  stars  !  In 
the  comparison,  or  rather  contrast,  surely  man's  vauntful 
pride  ought  for  once  to  be  changed  into  adoring  humility. 
And  then,  what  is  man's  power  at  best,  but  the  communicated 
ability  of  piling  up  a  heap  of  stories  from  pre-existing  matter  ? 
Contrast  this  with  the  underived  creative  power  which 
summoned  into  being  man  himself,  and  the  matter  on  which 
he  operates,  out  of  the  barren  womb  of  nothing  ! — and  surely, 
on  the  topmost  height  of  the  greatest  of  the  Pyramids,  where 
infidelity  has  often  found  an  argument  to  exalt  man  at  the 
expense  of  the  Creator, — surely  there,  beyond  all  other 
spots,  may  new  and  decisive  and  cumulative  arguments  be 
found  for  exalting  the  Creator  over  the  prostrated  pretensions 
of  his  vain  and  feeble  and  sinful  creature — man  ! 

Again,  Is  this,  thought  we,  the  very  pile  which  hasbeen  often 
pronounced  one  of  the  mightiest  monuments  of  "  mechanical 
genius  and  architectural  skill  ?" — Why,  as  a  manifestation  of 
those  attributes  of  superior  intelligence,  it  no  more  admits  of  be- 
ing compared  with  the  dome  of  St.  Paul's,  than  the  latter,  with 
the  spangled  vault  of  heaven  !  Here,  there  is  nothing  whatever 
to  shew  that  aught  was  to  be  solved,  save  the  simple  problem, 
In  what  form  may  the  largest  possible  aggregate  of  square 
stones  be  piled  up  in  onenearly  solid  mass,  so  as  to  prove  most 
stable — resisting  alike  the  encroachments  of  man  and  the  in- 
roads of  the  elements  ?  Such,  all  but  demonstrably,  having 
been  the  sole  problem,  the  conception  of  some  species  of  the 


1840.]  A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt.  56.3 


Pyramidal  form  was    inevitable.     Set  a  child  to  raise  the 
highest  and  most  stable  pile  with  its  wooden  bricks,  and  it 
stumbles  almost  instinctively  on  the  general  form  of  a  Pyra- 
mid.   Compare,  then,  in  point  of  expansive  reach  and  power, 
the  mind  of  the  architect  which  conceived  the  form  of  the 
great  Pyramid  and  its  few  dark  narrow  passages  and  dungeon- 
like  chambers,  with  the  mind  of  him  who  conceived  the  ideal 
model  of  St.  Paul's — including  an  almost  boundless  multipli- 
city and  yet  noble  harmony  in  the  adaptations,  proportions, 
and  uses  of  all  its  parts  !    Compare  the  mechanical  genius 
necessary  for  the  execution  of  the  one  and  of  the  other.  In 
constructing  the  dome  of  St.  Paul's,  the  raising  of  the  solid 
materials  to  so  great  a  height,  was  that  part  of  the  opera- 
tion which  demanded  by  far  the  least  display  of  the  requisite 
architectural  or  designing  skill.    In  constructing  a  pyramid, 
the  raising  of  stones,  of  from  two  to  four  feet  square,  along  the 
solid  and  immoveable  side  of  the  inclined  plane  supplied  on 
every  side  by  the  portion  previously  fabricated,  demanded 
not  merely  the  highest,  but  almost  the  only  display  of  the 
requisite  architectural   and  designing  skill.    In  the  former 
case,  mere  brute  force  could  achieve  little  or  nothing : — in  the 
latter  case,  mere  brute  force,  assisted  by  the  simplest  and  the 
rudest  of  mechanical  agencies, — the  lever,  the  inclined  plane, 
and  the  pulley, — was  really  all  which  could  be  required.  But 
why  attempt  to  reduce  the  Pyramids  to  their  proper  level,  by 
a  comparison  with  transcendently  nobler  monuments  of  man's 
designing  intelligence  ?    Behold  at  their  very  base,  how  they 
are  confronted  and  out-rivalled  by  the  instinct  of  an  insect. 
There,  rise  the  hillocky  nests  of  the  lion-ant,  which,  after  care- 
ful examination,  led  a  celebrated  naturalist  to  exclaim,  "  All 
the  architecture,  magnificence  and  expense  that  shine  in  the  ex- 
cellent pyramids  cannot  give  a  contemplator  of  nature  such 
high  ideas  as  are  excited  by  the  art  of  these  little  creatures." 
And  if  even  in  one  of  the  minutest  of  dumb  irrationals  the 
great  Creator  can  plant  so  admirable  an  instinct — out-rivalling 
the  topmost  flower  of  human  invention — oh,  how  ought  vain 
man  to  shrink  into  his  own  inherent  nothingness,  in  view  of 
the  inexhaustible  resources  of  creative  Intelligence  ! 

Once  more,  Is  this,  thought  we,  the  greatest  of  those  very 
piles  which  have  for  ages  filled  the  world  with  learned  disserta- 
tions respecting  their  origin  and  design  ?  Who  then  could  well 
escape  the  gregarious  tendency  to  follow  the  leaders  in  the 
realm  of  literature?  But  yesterday  our  mind  was  brimful  of 
theories  on  the  subject.  Where  are  these  now  ?  Alas  for 
the  Ithuriel  touch  of  experience  !  they  are  wholly  vanished. 
What  fanciful  chimeras  have  not  ingenious  imaginative  men 


564 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


[Oct. 


been  led  to  substitute  for  sober  realities  ?  At  one  time,  have 
these  been  represented  as  "  disguised  fortresses"  for  the  con- 
cealment of  treasure  ;  or  <c  oracular  shrines,"  for  the  exhibi- 
tion of  "  acoustic  phenomena"  and  other  priestly  jugglery.  At 
another,  they  have  risen  into  magnificent  fire-temples,  or  astro- 
nomical observatories.  Then  followed  the  elaborated  dis- 
sertation on  the  wealth,  the  hierophancy,  the  mythology,  or 
the  science  of  the  ancient  world.  What  laborious  trifling  ! 
That  these  were  ever  treasure-citadels  or  caverns  for  priestly 
trickeries,  is  utterly  unfounded  in  history,  and  wholly  contra- 
dicted by  the  form  and  structure  of  the  fabrics  themselves. 
That  they  could  ever  have  been  designed  for  fire-altars  or  astro- 
nomical edifices,  involves  a  visible  physical  impossibility.  On 
either  of  these  latter  suppositions  the  summits  must  have  been 
uniformly  flat  and  uniformly  accessible.  Now  the  direct  con- 
trary of  this  is  the  real  fact.  When  finished,  all  the  Pyramids 
terminated  in  a  sharp  culminating  point  or  apex;  and  some 
of  them  so  terminate  to  this  day.  And  those  which  do  not, 
such  as  the  great  pyramid,  bear  evidence  that  their  tops  have 
been  violently  dislocated  and  thrown  down.  Moreover,  when 
finished,  the  entire  surface  of  the  receding  steps  was  covered 
over  with  a  smooth  casing  of  flat  stone-flags.  The  casing  of 
some  of  them,  in  whole  or  in  part,  such  as  that  of  the  upper 
quarter  of  the  second  pyramid,  close  at  hand,  is  still  perfectly 
entire,  and  its  apex  sharp-pointed.  So  that  unless  the  fire- 
worshippers  and  the  Astronomers  of  those  days  could  climb 
up  like  lizards  ;  or,  like  the  fabled  genii  of  the  middle  ages,  could 
consociate  as  on  the  point  of  a  needle,  these  peaks  were  physi- 
cally unfitted  for  any  of  their  operations  !  Whence,  then,  the 
origin  of  such  fanciful  hypotheses  at  all  ? — One  of  the  chief 
reasons  for  supposing  them  to  have  been  fire-temples  is,  their 
pyramidal  form,  which  somewhat  resembles  that  of  burning 
flame ! — By  indulgence  in  such  or  similar  fancies  how  many 
strange  ends  have  these  pyramids  been  made  to  serve !  We  have 
read  of  their  having  been  designed  to  represent  the  soul,  which 
is  of  "  a  fiery  nature  and  adhereth  to  the  body  as  a  pyramid 
doth  to  the  basis,  or  as  fire  doth  to  the  fuel ;" — or,  the  great 
cycle  of  thirty-six  thousand  years  ;  since  a  pyramid,  "  the  top 
of  it  standing  fixed,  and  the  base  being  moved  about,  would 
describe  a  circle,  and  the  whole  body  of  it  a  cone  ;" — or,  the 
nature  of  things;  because,  "as  a  Pyramid,  having  its  be- 
ginning from  a  point  at  the  top,  is  by  degrees  dilated  on  all 
parts,  so  the  nature  of  all  things  proceeding  from  one  foun- 
tain and  beginning,  viz.  from  God,  the  chief  workmaster,  is 
diffused  into  various  kinds  and  species,  all  which  it  conjoins 
to  that  beginning  and  point,  from  whence  every  thing  issues 


1840.] 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


566 


and  flows;" — or  the  "  first  and  most  simple  of  mathematical 
bodies;" — or  "the  mysteries  of  pyramidal  numbers;" — or 
M  the  emission  of  rays  from  luminous  bodies  — or  "  the 
emanation  of  sensible  species  from  their  objects  !" — But 
where  are  such  frivolous  far-fetched  fancies  to  terminate  ? 
The  truth  is,  that  the  pyramidal  form  must  have  been  chosen, 
for  the  simplest  and  best  of  all  reasons,  viz.  that,  owing  to  its 
gradual  contraction  from  the  very  bottom  towards  the  top, 
and  consequent  decrease  of  its  own  down-beating  weight,  as 
well  as  diminished  liability  to  cracks  and  rents,  this  form  is 
by  far  the  most  stable  and  permanent.  As  to  the  supposed 
astronomical  design,  one  of  the  principal  reasons  for  the 
opinion  is  founded  on  the  direction  of  the  sides,  which  hap- 
pen to  be  turned  towards  the  four  cardinal  points ! — if  a 
ground  of  argument  so  utterly  futile  be  admitted,  there  is  not 
an  illiterate  mountaineer  in  the  Highlands  of  Scotland  who 
might  not  be  proved  an  accomplished  astronomer,  and  hia 
cottage  an  astronomical  observatory — since,  if  he  has  a  free- 
dom of  choice,  he  is  sure  to  erect  his  hut,  fronting  the  sun  at 
right  angles,  when  on  the  meridian  at  noon — the  sides  of  hia 
humble  abode  being  thus  as  exactly  turned  towards  the  four 
cardinal  points,  as  the  pyramids  of  Egypt  !  Besides,  is  it  not 
cue  main  object  of  the  astronomer  to  secure,  if  possible,  a 
clear  unobstructed  horizon  ?  Now  here,  on  the  top  of  the  great 
pyramid,  a  considerable  portion  of  the  sky  is  most  gratuitous- 
ly shut  out  of  view  by  the  second  and  other  smaller  ones. 
How  much  more  must  large  portions  of  the  heavens  be  con- 
cealed from  the  summits  of  the  smaller — even  if  accessible — 
by  the  needless  intervention  of  the  larger  ? — Altogether,  there 
is  not  only  no  probable  evidence  in  favour,  but  very  positive 
evidence  in  disproof,  of  the  Hierophantic,  Sabian,  Astronomi- 
cal and  other  similar  supposed  origins  and  ends  of  the  pyra- 
mids. 

What  then  could  have  been  the  real  origin  and  end  of  these 
vast  fabrics  ?  Formerly,  we  felt  an  apriori  repugnance  in  admit- 
ting the  plain  unvarnished  statement  of  Herodotus,  who  repre- 
sents them  as  sepulchral  monuments,  reared  by  the  pride  and 
vanity  and  superstition  of  tyrant  monarchs — deeming  the  ac- 
count, if  not  incredible,  at  least  wholly  unworthy  of  the  boast- 
ed wisdom  of  Egypt.  Standing,  however,  where  we  now  do,  it 
seems  impossible  to  doubt,  that,  of  all  others,  the  account  of 
the  Grecian  historian  is  the  truest  and  the  best.  The  desire  of 
perpetuating  one's  name  and  memory  by  monumental  piles  has 
prevailed  in  all  countries  and  in  all  ages.  In  the  case  of  many 
of  the  great  men  of  the  earth  this  desire  has  often  risen  into 
a  sort  of  rage,  or  predominant  passion,  for  whose  gratification 

VOL.  I.  4  D 


566 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


[Oct. 


the  wealth  of  provinces  and  the  might  of  kingdoms  has 
scarcely  sufficed.  In  Egypt,  from  the  earliest  times,  owing 
to  the  prevalent  doctrine  of  its  people,  respecting  trans- 
migration and  the  absolute  necessity  of  preserving  the  body 
undecayed,  in  order  to  its  after  re-inhabitation  by  the  former 
departed  spirit, — this  animating  passion  became  epidemic 
and  national.  While  the  great,  accordingly,  had  their 
towering  mausoleums  above  ground,  the  multitude  must 
have  their  well-excavated  and  well-walled  pits  and  vaults, 
and  catacombs  beneath.  But,  in  Egypt,  the  alluvial  soil  is 
far  too  limited  in  quantity  and  far  too  precious  in  quality 
to  be  occupied  to  the  vast  extent  which  the  execution  of  such 
works  might  demand.  Hence  doubtless  it  is,  that,  throughout 
the  entire  length  of  Egypt,  the  principal  repositories  for  the 
dead  are  found  behind  or  opposite  to  the  ancient  cities,  upon 
the  margin  of  the  utterly  unproductive  and  boundless  desert 
of  Libya,  which  constitutes  the  western  boundary  of  the  valley, 
sometimes  terminating  in  a  gradual  undulating  sandy  descent, 
and  sometimes  stretching  along  in  an  abrupt  precipitous  wall, 
or  shooting  out  into  a  bluff  rocky  promontory  of  two  or  three 
hundred  feet  in  height.  Now,  it  is  in  the  very  midst  of  these 
sacred  repositories  of  mummy  pits  and  catacombs  that  the  three 
great  clusters  of  pyramids  are  still  to  he  seen.  There  is 
abundant  evidence  that  one  of  the  earliest  streams  of  emigra- 
tion passed  into  Africa  by  the  straits  of  Babelmandel — that  a 
portion  of  it,  settling  at  Thebes,  made  it  the  capital  of  a  great 
empire — and  that,  as  it  descended  the  fertile  vale,  the  seat  of 
empire  was  successively  changed,  till  the  last  purely  Egyptian 
dynasty  became  extinct  at  Memphis.  Accordingly,  from  Thebes 
downwards  there  are  many  smaller  pyramids  or  tumuli.  The 
first  great  cluster  is  at  Dashur,  between  twenty  and  thirty  miles 
above  Cairo.  These  are  universally  allowed  to  be  the  rudest 
and  least  perfect  of  the  principal  groups.  The  next  cluster  is 
on  the  elevated  platform  immediately  behind  the  site  of  Mem- 
phis ;  and  manifests  signs  of  improved  architectural  skill.  The 
last  and  greatest  and  most  perfect  of  the  whole  is  that  on  the 
loftiest  of  which  we  now  stand,  exactly  confronting  Cairo,  the 
acknowledged  site  of  the  Egyptian  Babylon,  founded  by  Cam- 
byses.  What  then  are  these  huge  structures  ?  Standing  where 
we  now  do,  the  question  seems  scarcely  to  admit  of  reasoning 
at  all.  There  is  an  intense  feeling,  and  we  cannot  help  it  ; 
there  is,  in  spite  of  ourselves,  an  overwhelming  sensation,  that 
they  are  sepulchral  monuments,  and  nothing  more.  Wherever 
we  turn,  what  do  our  eyes  behold  ?  Close  to  the  very  base  of 
these  mighty  fabrics,  and  around  them  for  miles  in  all  direc- 
tions, are  numberless  subterranean  excavations,  pits,  or  cata- 


1840.] 


A  fnib  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


567 


combs,  in  which  have  been  discovered  sarcophagi  and  piles  of 
the  embalmed  dead.  Around  them  in  all  directions  are  num- 
berless supernal  edifices,  mounds,  or  tumuli,  in  which,  when 
opened,  have  been  found  bones,  and  fragments  of  wooden 
cases,  and  bandaged  mummies.  And  in  any  of  the  pyramids 
which  have  been  explored,  what  has  ever  yet  been  found 
except  some  vaulted  chambers,  a  sarcophagus,  and  a  few 
mouldering  bones  ?  Altogether,  it  seems  utterly  impossible 
to  stand  here,  surrounded  by  such  an  endless  variety  of 
indisputable  memorials  of  the  dead, — differing  not  less  in 
size  than  in  form  and  structure, — without  being  resistlessly 
impressed  with  the  conviction  that  we  are  really  standing  in 
the  centre  of  a  vast  Necropolis,  or  city  of  the  dead — as  resist- 
lessly impressed  with  that  conviction,  as  if  encompassed  by 
the  monuments  of  the  largest  church-yard  in  Christendom, — 
and  that  these  towering  pyramidal  piles  are  only  the  most 
gigantic  of  ten  thousand  clustering  mausoleums.  Instead, 
therefore,  of  any  longer  regarding  them  as  monuments  of 
"  hidden  wisdom,  mystery  and  wonder/' — methinks  the  only 
real  mystery  and  wonder  is,  that  men  of  sense  should,  forages, 
have  insisted  on  forcing  sparkles  of  some  rare  wisdom  out  of 
masses  which  doggedly  refuse  to  testify  to  aught  save  the 
delusive  hopes  of  superstition — the  extravagant  pride  of  the 
tyrant — and  the  galling  submission  of  the  slave. 

But  what  are  these  furrows  around  the  great  Sphinx  ? — ■ 
What  these  hollow  perforated  stones  at  the  mouth  of  the 
mummy  pits  ? — What  these  masses  of  rubbish  beneath  the 
openings  of  the  two  great  pyramids  ? — Ah  !  These  ought  to 
teach  us  a  memorable  lesson.  They  are  the  surviving  witnesses 
of  a  zeal  the  most  fervent — a  perseverance  the  most  enduring  ; 
— the  zeal  of  Antiquarian  research  ; — the  perseverance  of  men, 
who,  exiling  themselves  from  their  native  homes  and  all  the 
comforts  and  enjoyments  of  civilized  society,  spent  days  and 
months  and  years — not  in  ascetic  indolence,  but  in  the  most 
indefatigable  activity,  amid  the  gloomy  solitude  of  caves,  and 
catacombs,  and  pyramidal  vaults — where  the  oppressiveness  of 
the  heat  and  the  impurity  of  a  confined  atmosphere  often 
affected  their  corporeal  system,  even  to  the  bursting  of  veins 
and  arteries!  All  for  what? — for  the  discovery  of  a  dark 
passage  or  sepulchral  vault — a  stone  coffin  or  mouldering 
mummy  !  And  yet,  an  applauding  world,  glistening  with  joy, 
dignifies  the  spirit  which  animated  these  adventurers,  as  that 
of  the  noblest  and  most  heroic  enthusiasm  !  Oh!  the  short- 
sighted misjudging  partiality  of  man  !  Should  any  of  the 
citizens  of  Zion,  fraught  with  the  fervour  of  a  divine  benevo- 
lence, resolve  to  submit  to  even  a  similar  amount  of  self- 
4  d  2 


5«8 


A  few  Not 68  on  Lower  Eyij/jf. 


[Oct. 


sacrifice;,  when  bent  on  the  God-like  enterprise  of  attempting 
the  recovery  of  lost  souls — each  one  of  which  in  real  precious- 
ness  would,  in  the  balance  of  the  sanctuary,  outweigh  all  the 
pyramids — yea,  and  the  great  globe  itself  which  sustains 
them  ; — the  spirit  by  which  they  are  actuated  must  be  stigma- 
tized as  that  of  a  "  senseless  fanaticism  V  Verily,  there  is  a  day 
coming,  when  the  most  heedless  of  a  scoffing  race  shall  be 
compelled  to  acknowledge  that  the  redemption  of  one  lost  soul 
would  have  been  an  object  of  importance  infinitely  transcend- 
ing the  revelation  of  all  the  mysteries,  not  of  Egypt  alone,  but 
of  the  whole  physical  universe  ! 

From  the  pyramids  of  Ghizeh,  skirting  along  the  margin  of 
the  desert,  we  proceeded  in  a  southerly  direction  to  those  of 
Sakharah — distant  about  eight  or  nine  miles.  These  too,  as 
already  remarked,  are  in  the  very  centre  of  numberless  tombs 
and  mummy-pits — constituting  the  great  cemetery  of  ancient 
Memphis.  One  of  the  pyramids  is  in  a  state  of  total  dilapi- 
dation, being  now  a  shapeless  mass  of  stones  and  crumbling 
materials.  Another,  on  one  of  its  sides,  presents  an  aspect 
similar  to  that  exhibited  by  the  slip  of  a  forest  on  the  slope 
of  a  hill.  A  third  consists  of  half  a  dozen  diminishing  plat- 
forms, not  unlike  the  ordinary  representation  of  the  tower  of 
Babel.  Here  we  saw  some  of  the  mummy  pits  which  had 
been  opened  by  Mr.  Wilkinson  and  others  ;  the  painted  walls 
of  which  exhibit  representations  of  ancient  figures,  costumes, 
and  instruments,  in  colours  as  fresh  and  vivid  as  if  the  pencil 
of  the  artist  had  only  crossed  them  yesterday.  We  also  wit- 
nessed numbers  of  Arabs  busily  engaged  in  excavating  other 
pits,  for  the  sake  of  extricating  the  mummies,  which  have 
now  become  one  of  the  most  profitable  marketable  com- 
modities in  the  land  of  Egypt.  Never  perhaps,  has  the 
vanity  of  the  human  heart  met  with  a  more  decisive  hum- 
bling;  or  the  folly  of  superstition  with  a  more  signal  exposure. 
What  anxious  labour,  what  profuse  expenditure  lavished  on 
the  embalming  of  the  dead  body,  and  on  the  fabricating  of 
conditories  for  its  reception  till  the  expiry  of  the  cycle  of 
three  thousand  years  of  transmigration — after  which  it  was 
believed  that  the  disembodied  spirit  should  return  to  re-possess 
and  re-animate  its  former  identical  tenement*  !   The  cycle  of 

*  This  is  the  ordinary  representation  of  the  ancient  Egyptian  doc- 
trine. But  Servius,  in  his  comment  on  Virgil's  iEneid,  attempts  to 
6hew  that  the  Egyptians,  "  skilful  in  wisdom,  kept  their  dead  embalmed 
so  much  the  longer,  to  the  end  that  the  soul  might  for  a  long  whik  continue 
and  be  obnoxious  to  the  body,  lest  it  should  quickly  pass  to  another;" — while, 
on  the  contrary,  the  Romans  burnt  their  dead,  that  "  the  soul  might  sud- 
denly return  into  the  generality,  that  is,  into  its  own  nature."  Hence, 
in  order  that  "  the  body  might  not,  either  by  putrefaction  be  reduced  to 


1840.  J 


A  few  Nolea  on  Lower  Eyijpf. 


5(50 


transmigration  has  now,  in  the  case  of  millions  of  the  embalmed 
dead,  run  its  course.  But  what  human  spirits  have  ever  yet 
returned?  Or,  should  (hey  now  return,  where  are  the  perfectly 
preserved  bodies  to  receive  them  ?  Omnipotence  requires  not 
that  the  human  frame  should  retain  its  substantial  form  in 
order  to  a  resurrection.  That  Power,  which  could  at  first  sum- 
mon the  dust  to  assume  a  form  of  such  wondrous  symmetry 
and  beauty,  can  again  command  the  same  scattered  dust  to 
mould  itself  into  a  form  vastly  more  glorious.  Ignorant  of 
Jehovah's  power,  the  ancient  Egyptians  fondly  believed  that 
the  perfect  preservation  of  the  material  form  was  essential  to 
its  ultimate  spiritual  re-animation.  How  cruelly  have  their 
hopes  been  mocked  !  Hundreds  of  the  most  sacred  reposito- 
ries of  their  dead  have  been  sold  to  the  highest  bidder,  for  the 
very  purpose  of  being  ransacked,  and  wholly  rifled  of  their 
contents  !  Yea,  to  consumnate  the  ignominy,  mummy  flesh  is 
now  constantly  sold  as  a  peculiar  species  of  merchandise 
destined  for  a  very  peculiar  use  !  It  seems  that  in  the  master 
pieces  of  Titian,  the  founder  of  the  brilliant  but  sensuous 
school  of  colours  in  painting,  there  is  one  species  of  brown 
tint,  which  it  had  baffled  all  his  successors  to  imitate.  But  the 
notable  discovery  has  now  been  made,  that,  by  means  of  a  por- 
tion of  mummy  flesh,  an  imitation  may  be  produced; — which, 
in  point  of  fact,  has  so  far  succeeded,  that  hundreds  of  paint- 
ings are  annually  disposed  of,  as  genuine  products  of  that 
celebrated  artist.  How  little  could  it  have  entered  into  the 
imaginations  of  the  ancient  embalmers  of  Egypt  to  conceive, 
that,  instead  of  preserving  a  tabernacle  of  clay  for  its  after 
re-possession  by  the  returning  soul,  they  were  only  expending 
toil,  anxiety,  and  wealth  in  preparing  materials  for  a  few  un- 
principled Italian  painters  of  the  19th  century,  to  enable  them 
successfully  to  practise  a  gainful  but  nefarious  imposition  ! 

In  descending  from  the  dreary  heights  of  Sakharah  to  the 
valley  immediately  below,  we  were  struck  with  the  singu- 
lar appearance  of  a  long  strip  of  marshy  ground  between  the 
base  of  the  Libyan  ridge  and  the  flat  plain  beyond.  It  looked 
as  if  it  had  been  scooped  out  and  hollowed.  Its  entire  aspect 
irresistibly  made  us  stop  and  cry  out,  "  Surely  that  must  be 

dust,  out  of  which  it  was  taken  ;  or  by  fire  be  converted  into  ashes ;  they 
invented  curious  compositions,  besides  the  intombing  them  in  stately 
reconditories  (such  as  catacombs  and  pyramids),  thereby  to  preserve 
them  from  rottenness,  and  to  make  them  eternal."  According  to  this 
representation,  not  less  than  the  other,  how  utterly  confounded  has  the 
wisdom  of  Egypt  become  ! — how  utterly  blasted  its  hopes ! — by  the  ruth- 
less pillage  of  its  sepulchres,  and  the  wide-spread  destruction  of  their 
slumbering  tenants! 


&70 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


[Oct. 


the  deserted  bed  of  a  lake  or  river."  Instantly  it  came  to 
our  remembrance,  that  between  Memphis  and  the  Libyan 
range,  there  was  once  an  artificial  lake  which  communicated 
with  the  Nile— the  celebrated  Acherusia  of  Diodorus.  On 
passing  this  deep  channel,  it  became  palpable  to  the  eye  of 
sense  that,  when  the  lake  existed,  the  bodies  of  the  dead  from 
Memphis,  must  have  been  ferried  over — most  probably  by  an 
established  ferry-man,  and  at  a  regulated  hire — to  be  interred 
in  the  general  Necropolis,  on  the  heights  above.  Now,  as 
the  Greeks,  by  the  confession  of  Herodotus  and  other  writers 
of  their  own,  borrowed  the  main  part  of  their  mythology  from 
Egypt,  and  the  Romans  from  the  Greeks,  how  could  we  resist 
the  inference,  that,  from  the  very  scene  then  before  our  eyes, 
originated  all  the  fables  of  theGreek  and  Roman  poets  relative  to 
the  dark  Stygian  lake — to  Charon,  his  ferry-boat  and  "  obolus" 
hire  ?  And  the  inference  seemed  conclusive,  when  tbe  eye,  at  a 
single  glance,  now  embraced  the  elevated  plains  of  the  pyra- 
mids and  the  mummies  in  all  their  naked  and  desolate  horrors 
as  if  scathed  and  blasted  by  some  consuming  fire,  with  the 
beauteous  groves  and  plains,  spreading  out  from  their  base 
beyond  the  flood,  then  clad  in  living  green.  It  seemed  to  us 
the  very  reality  which  primarily  gave  rise  to  the  mvthologie 
scenery  so  powerfully  painted  in  tbe  sixth  book  of  tbe  Eneid, 
when  the  poet  expatiates  on  the  "  dark  and  turbid  waters  of 
Acheron,''  with  its  "  horror-striking  banks,"  encompassing 
the  region  of"  doleful  shades  ;"  and  the  "  green  vale,"  with  its 
"  grassy  sward,"  in  which  were  found  the  abodes  of  the 
blessed.  But,  O,  how  unlike  that  bright  realm,  of  which  the 
poetic  region  of  "  eternal  spring  and  never-withering  flowers" 
is  but  the  gross  material  type  ! 

With  no  ordinary  emotion  did  we  approach  and  traverse 
the  site  of  ancient  Memphis  ; — Memphis,  once  introduced  by 
name  in  our  received  version  ;  "  Egypt  shall  gather  them 
up,  Memphis  shall  bury  them,"  Hosea  ix.  6 — Memphis,  often 
referred  to  by  other  prophets  under  the  designation  of  Noph  ; 
"  The  princes  of  Noph  are  deceived,  they  have  also  seduced 
Egypt,"  Isaiah  xix.  13 — Memphis,  the  capital  of  the  Pharoabs 
— the  seat  of  the  Magi  or  wise  men  who  were  the  counsellors 
of  kings — the  place  of  Joseph's  unmerited  disgrace  and  subse- 
quent glorious  exaltation — the  school  where  Moses  became 
learned  in  all  the  wisdom  of  the  Egyptians — the  scene  of  the 
most  stupendous  miracles — the  witness  of  the  vindication  of 
Jehovah's  supremacy  over  the  idols  of  Egypt  and  the  powers 
and  principalities  of  darkness  !  Oh,  how  changed  from  the 
day  when  Egypt's  proud  monarch  presumed  to  defy  the 
great  "  I  am,"  saying,  c'  I  will  not  let  the  people  go  !"  For 


1840.  J 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


several  miles  together,  nought  is  visible  now,  save  heaps  of 
pounded  rubbish,  interpersed  with  clumps  of  palm  trees  ! 

This  utter  annihilation  of  a  c  ity  so  interwoven  with  the  tex- 
ture of  Sacred  History,  naturally  led  the  mind  to  revert  with 
admiration  to  the  singular  fulfilment  of  scripture  prophecies — 
prophecies,  uttered  at  a  time  when  Egypt  outshone  all  other 
lands  in  the  pomp  and  glory  of  her  wisdom,  her  princes,  her 
cities,  her  canals,  her  rivers,  and  her  idols. 

"  Where  are  thy  wise  men  ?" — asks  the  prophet  Isaiah — 
te  Where  are  they  ?"  Where  are  thy  wise  men  ?  Where  are 
they? — may  Echo  now  mournfully  respond  from  every  corner 
of  a  land,  whence  all  wisdom  hath  fled,  and  the  very  remem- 
brance of  it  hath  perished.  The  wisdom  of  its  priests  and 
people  has,  to  adopt  the  emphatic  language  of  a  modern  wri- 
ter, given  place  to  (:  the  decrepitude  and  imbecility  of  a 
second  childhood.  No  native  can  now  decipher  a  single 
inscription  in  the  sacred  character  ;  but  foreigners  from  the 
extremity  of  Western  Europe  must  be  called  in  to  disinter 
the  monuments  and  to  unravel  the  hieroglyphic  records  of 
the  past." 

"  I  will  set  fire  in  Egypt,"  saith  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord  by  the 
Prophet  Ezekiel,  "  and  her  cities  shall  be  in  the  midst  of  the 
cities  that  are  wasted."  All  the  ancient  cities  of  Egypt, 
without  one  exception,  are  now  wasted — so  wasted,  as  to  be 
without  an  inhabitant.  Some  of  them  exhibit  nought  but  the 
promiscuous  confusion  of  broken  columns,  and  shattered 
edifices.  The  traces  of  others  have  become  so  strangely  obli- 
terated, that  the  precise  spot  where  they  stood  is  still  a  matter 
of  debate  among  antiquarians.  Many  of  them  have  disap- 
peared altogether  amid  the  sands  of  the  desert. 

"  1  will  make  the  rivers  (of  Egypt)  dry,"  saith  the  Lord. 
How  many  lakes,  canals  and  large  branches  of  the  Nile  itself 
have,  in  upper  Egypt,  been  literally  dried  up,  and  choked  with 
sand  !  And  in  lower  Egypt,  of  the  seven  mouths  of  the  Nile, 
five  of  which  were  natural  and  two  artificial,  is  it  not  memo- 
rable that  the  two  latter  are  the  only  ones,  which  remain 
as  free  outlets  of  the  mighty  stream  ? — and  that  the  five  for- 
mer are  now  so  obstructed,  as  to  be  either  wholly  dried  up,  or 
converted  into  stagnant  marshes  ? 

"■  I  will  make  the  land  of  Egypt  desolate,  in  the  midst  of 
the  countries  that  are  desolate."  And  is  it  not  matter  of 
historic  fact,  that  many  an  immense  and  flourishing  district 
along  the  whole  extent  of  Egypt  has  become  irretrievably  de- 
solate ? — the  once  fertile  fields  being  now  turned  into  a  burn- 
ing desert  ?  Yea,  as  the  necessary  consequence  of  such  deso- 
lation, is  it  not  also  matter  of  historic  fact,  that  a  territory 


o/2 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Eyypt. 


[Oct. 


which  formerly  supplied  the  necessaries  and  luxuries  of  life  to 
upwards  of  seven  millions,  can  now  very  inadequately  support 
a  third  part  of  that  number  ?  Nor  is  the  progress  of  desolation 
yet  ended.  Through  the  repressive  energies  of  a  merciless 
tyranny,  the  work  of  destruction  is  advancing  apace — and  in 
many  places  advancing  rapidly  and  irretraceably. 

"  I  will  also  destroy  the  idols  and  will  cause  their  images  to 
cease  out  of  Noph,"  (Memphis.)  Where  are  now  the  once- 
famed  idols  and  images  of  Egypt  ? — Egypt,  the  very  birth- 
place and  cradle  of  the  leading  Mythologies  and  Idolatries 
of  antiquity  ?  They  are  hid  in  the  burning  sands,  buried 
beneath  the  rubbish  of  ruins,  strewn  in  mutilated  and  disho- 
noured fragments  upon  the  surface,  or  transported  to  replenish 
the  museums  and  the  galleries  of  every  metropolis  in  Europe 
with  idle  curiosities  ! 

"  The  pomp  of  her  strength  shall  cease,"  continues  the 
Prophet  ;  "the  pride  of  her  power  shall  come  down.  I  will 
sell  the  land  into  the  hands  of  the  wicked  ;  it  shall  be  a  base 
kingdom,  the  basest  of  the  kingdoms  ;  and  there  shall  be  no 
more  a  prince  of  the  land  of  Egypt."  How  singularly  minute 
the  verification  of  every  part  of  this  most  remarkable  prophe- 
cy !  Where  now  is  the  pomp  of  Egypt's  ancient  strength 
— the  pride  of  her  ancient  power  ? — all,  all  sepulchred  in  the 
dust  which  covers  her  temples  and  palaces  and  stupendous 
monuments.  The  only  visible  remaining  relic  of  the  "  pomp 
and  pride"  of  royal  Memphis,  is  the  huge  bust  of  the  co- 
lossal statue  of  Sesostris,  erected  by  himself,  with  several 
others,  in  front  of  the  temple  of  Vulcan.  It  was  the  practice 
of  this  proud  conqueror  to  rear  pillars  in  every  subjugated 
province — invariably  bearing  the  daringly  presumptuous  in- 
scription, "  Sesostris,  King  of  Kings  and  Lord  of  Lords,  sub- 
dued this  country  by  his  arms."  Now,  as  if  to  verify  to  the 
very  senses  of  posterity  the  faithfulness  of  His  word,  who 
declares,  that  He  "will  stain  the  pride  of  all  glory,"  the  most 
gigantic  representation  of  the  hero  himself  now  lies  amid 
the  ruins  of  his  own  capital — lies  shattered  and  mutilated  ill 
the  most  humiliating  of  all  postures — even  in  a  deep  trench, 
with  its  face  fast  stuck  in  the  mud  !  And  what  mere  human 
sagacity  could  possibly  have  foreseen,  or  what  stretch  of  mere 
human  hardihood  could  possibly  have  hazarded  the  remain- 
ing parts  of  the  prediction  ?^and  that  too,  at  a  time  when 
Egypt  to  human  eye  appeared  the  greatest  and  most  flourish- 
ing, as  well  as  to  human  estimate  the  most  stable  and  per- 
manent, of  all  earthly  kingdoms  ? — Yet,  is  it  not  the  undisput- 
ed and  indisputable  testimony  of  all  history  that,  since  the 
days  of  the  prophets,  Egypt  has  been  overrun  by  successive 


1840.] 


Discussions  with  the  Jeivs. 


573 


races  of  foreign  conquerors  and  literally  sold  into  the  hands 
of  wicked  oppressors  ? — that,  since  the  clays  of  the  prophets, 
there  never  has  heen,  even  amid  innumerable  scenes  of  anar- 
chy and  change,  a  single  native  prince  of  the  land  of  Egypt  ? 
Nor  is  this  all.  The  insults,  indignities,  cruelties,  and  mise- 
ries to  which  the  wretched  inhabitants  have  almost  unin- 
terrupted!}', throughout  the  long  period  of  two  thousand  years, 
passively  submitted,  almost  exceed  credibility.  So  entirely  ex- 
tinct has  the  spirit  of  liberty  and  independence  become,  that, 
in  the  present  moment,  even  in  the  lowest  depths  of  their 
woe,  they  never  dream  of  the  rise  and  formation  of  a  native 
government.  No  : — so  crushed  have  their  souls  become, 
that  they  seem  utterly  incapable  of  entertaining  a  sentiment 
which  has  been  cherished  by  the  crouching  Greek,  the  de- 
generate Italian,  the  submissive  Hindu,  and  the  fettered 
Negro.  At  this  moment,  those,  who  have  most  freely  mingled 
with  them  and  know  their  minds  best,  positively  assured  us 
that  the  height  of  their  ambition — the  loftiest  aspiration  of  their 
shrivelled  souls,  is,  that  God,  in  his  providence,  may  be  pleased 
to  permit  some  other  foreign  power  of  a  milder  character  to 
assume  the  sceptre ; — prepared  to  reckon  it  the  greatest  privi- 
lege, should  only  a  whip  of  rods  be  substituted  in  place  of  the 
present  fiercely  brandished  scourge  of  scorpions.  Thus  truly 
and  literally  has  Egypt  gradually  become  not  only  ce  base," 
but  "  the  basest  of  the  kingdoms." 

Here,  as  every  where  else,  how  can  the  humble  but  en- 
lightened soul  more  wisely  terminate  its  inquiries  into  the 
ways  of  Providence,  than  in  the  simple  yet  sublime  language 
of  the  holy  Apostle  ? — "  O  the  depth  of  the  riches  both  of  the 
wisdom  and  knowledge  of  God  !  How  unsearchable  are  his 
judgments,  and  his  ways  past  finding  out !" 

A.  D. 

(To  be  concluded  in  the  next.) 


II. — Discussions  with  the  Jews. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Gentlemen, 

We  have  had  some  discussions  with  a  few  of  the  scattered  children  of 
Israel  at  this  place,  and  I  propose  to  furnish  you  with  an  abstract  of  them  ; 
not  that  any  success  has  attended  these  efforts,  but  with  the  hope  that 
some  of  the  followers  of  the  true  Messiah  may  have  their  attention 
directed  to  the  subject,  and  be  led  to  labor  in  behalf  of  the  Jews  resident 
in  Calcutta. 

The  controversy  has  lain  chiefly  between  ourselves  and  David  Cohen, 
a  man  of  considerable  powers  of  mind,  and  extensive  acquaintance  with 
VOL.   I.  4  E 


574 


Discussions  with  the  Jews. 


[Oct. 


tlie  Scriptures  ;  while  several  others  of  his  people  listened  to  the  argu- 
ments but  without  evincing  any  great  interest  in  them.  Only  one  indeed 
seems  to  have  had  his  attention  moved,  hut  for  the  most  part  he  agreed 
with  the  conclusions  of  our  immediate  opponent.  1  wish  I  could  add  that 
those  conclusions  were  always  fairly  drawn,  or  that  there  was  any  desire 
to  arrive  at  the  truth,  rather  than  to  defend,  by  any  means  whatever,  a 
fallacious  system.  The  hardihood  with  which  assertions  were  made — the 
impatience  shewn  where  a  fair  inference  was  drawn — the  quibbling  about 
words  — the  repeated  assumption  of  the  point  in  debate, — and  worse  than 
all,  the  taking  up  and  abandoning  a  position,  over  and  over  .again,  ac- 
cording to  the  exigency  of  the  case,  without  the  least  shame  at  the  in- 
consistency, indicated  that  however  the  mind  was  staggered,  there  was 
no  desire  for  truth  and  no  candour  in  the  heart. 

The  enclosed  paper  is  that  which  I  took  with  me  to  the  discussion  this 
evening.  I  need  only  add  that  the  applicability  of  every  passage  quoted 
was  denied— that  whenever  it  was  possible,  irrelevant  questions  were 
mooted  by  our  opponent — and  that  all  that  ingenuity  could  effect  to 
evade  the  points  at  issue,  was  tried  with  a  zeal  worthy  of  a  better  cause. 
Such  a  Jew  brought  to  humility  and  candour  by  the  truth,  and  holding 
fast  the  faith  in  Christ,  would  well  be  worth  all  the  prayer  and  labor 
that  could  be  devoted  in  the  way  of  human  means  to  bring  him  to  the 
cross. — In  such  a  case  the  greater  the  impediment,  the  more  should  Chris- 
tian courage  he  stirred  up  to  overcome  them. 

Yours  faithfully, 

Allahabad,  17tA  August,  1840.  X. 
Haggai  ii.  3-9. 

9,  "  The  glory  of  this  latter  house  shall  he  greater  than  of  the 
formei-." 

I  commenced  by  inquiring,  what  honor  was  here  meant,  and  you  replied 
"  The  house  the  Jews  were  then  building."  I  then  observed  that  the 
passage  contained  a  comparison,  and  that  it  was  requisite  to  ascertain 
what  was  that  glory  of  the  first  house  with  which  the  latter  was  com- 
pared ;  for  which  purpose  the  following  passages  were  read — 1  Chron. 
xxviii.  19  ;  2  Chron.  ii.  5  ;  1  Chron.  xxii.  14  ;  2  Chron.  ii.  10,  17,  8  ;  1 
Kings  v.  13  ;  vi.  38  ;  2  Chron.  vii.  1 — 3  ;  besides  other  passages  ;  and  it 
was  admitted  that  in  the  second  temple  God  did  not  give  a  new  plan  ; 
that  the  wisest  king  was  not  the  builder  ; — that  there  was  not  such  a  man 
known; — that  there  were  not  such  multitudes  employed ;  that  the  ark, 
the  oracle,  the  mercy  seat  were  wanting  ;  that  there  was  no  Shechinah  ; 
no  fire  from  heaven  for  perpetual  daily  sacrifice  ;  and  that  prophecy  soon 
ceased  there. 

The  question  was  then  put  "  When  was  the  promise  fulfilled  ?" 

You  replied  as  follows.  In  the  3rd  v.  is  said  "  Who  among  you  is  left 
that  saw  this  house  in  her  first  glory  ;"  and  as  the  people  were  not  look- 
ing at  the  first  house  but  on  the  beginning  of  the  second,  you  argue  that 
the  word  house  refers  not  to  the  building,  but  to  the  place  or  site  of  the 
building  ;  as  is  said  in  the  9th  v.  "  I  will  give  peace  in  this  place,"  and 
does  not  say,  "  in  the  second  house."  Further  to  show  that  that  very 
spot  was  called  a  house  before  there  was  a  house  there,  you  quote  Gen. 
xxviii.  16,17,  where  Jacob  awaked  out  of  his  sleep  and  said  "Surely  ;  the 
Lord  is  in  this  place  ;"  and  then  v.  17,  "  How  dreadful  is  this  place  ;"  "  this 
is  none  other  but  the  house  of  God,  and  this  is  the  gate  of  heaven."  Hence 
in  Haggai  the  promises  refer  not  to  the  house  but  to  the  place.  Also  it  is 
not  said  this  second  house,  but  this  latter  house  ;  and  as  the  second  house  was 
never  possessed  of  the  promised  glory,  it  could  not  mean  that  house,  but 
a  third  house  Further,  God  condemned  the  second  house  as  "  unclean" 
from  the  very  first ;  for  as  in  v.  10 — 13,  things  extremely  unclean  are  men- 


1840.] 


Discussions  with  the  Jews. 


575 


tioned ;  so  in  v.  14,  it  is  said  all  the  people  were  equally  unclean,  and  also 
that  the  work  of  their  hands  was  unclean.  Now  as  the  temple  was  the 
work  of  their  hands,  the  temple  was  unclean,  and  therefore  the  promises 
could  not  apply  to  it ; — but  refer  to  a  third  temple  yet  to  he  built. 

To  this  1  reply.  First,  that  the  very  object  of  all  the  promises  in  Haggai 
was  to  encourage  the  people  to  build  the  second  temple,  and  that  the  work 
was  begun  and  carried  on  by  the  command  of  God,  and  through  the  en- 
couragement afforded  by  his  spirit.  In  the  2nd  v.  the  people  thought  it 
was  not  the  time  to  build  the  house  ;  but  in  the  7th  and  8th  they  are  told 
to  go  and  bring  wood  and  build  the  house  ;  and  in  the  14-th  v.  it  is  said, 
the  Lord  stirred  up  the  spirit  of  the  people,  so  that  "  they  came  and  did 
work  in  the  house  of  the  Lord  of  hosts  their  God."  In  less  than  a  month 
they  had  made  some  progress  (ch.  ii.  1).  .When  they  had  thus  begun, 
\  hat  they  saw,  and  the  scanty  means  they  had  to  complete  the  temple 
seemed  insignificant ;  and  the  word  of  God  was,  "  Is  it  not  in  your  eyes  in 
comparison  of  it  as  nothing  ?"  v.  3;  Yet,  said  God,  Be  strong  und  work,  and 
then  follows  the  encouragement  of  the  promises  contained  in  v.  3 — 9,  that 
(iod  would  make  "  the  glory  of  this  latter  house"  "  greater  than  that  of 
the  former."  There  was  every  need  of  such  encouragement  ;  for  the  work 
had  ceased  for  12  or  14  years  (Ezra  iv.  24);  but  God  determined  that 
it  should  be  finished  in  the  time  of  Zerubbabel,  (Zech.  iv.  9,)  and  conti- 
nually urges  the  people  to  work.  So  in  Zech.  viii.  9,  God  took  care  that 
the  work  should  not  again  cease,  Ez.  v.  5;  vi.  14,  and  so  much  were  the 
people  encouraged,  that  after  the  promise  they  received  they  went  on 
with  very  great  rapidity.  For  though  when  they  were  told  to  bring  tim- 
ber, Hag.  i.  8,  they  were  quite  disheartened  (1st  day  of  6th  mo.  ;  i.  1.) 
after  the  promises  given  to  them  in  the  2nd  ch.  (7th  mo.  21st  day  v.  1)  it 
is  said  the  work  went  on  fast,  and  timber  was  soon  laid  on  the  walls. 
(Ez.  v.  8.) 

Now  it  is  irrational  to  suppose  that  God  would  give  such  commands 
and  be  so  urgent  to  make  the  people  build  an  utterly  unclean  temple  ;  it 
is  also  unreasonable  to  suppose,  that,  when  he  had  commanded  the  people 
to  work  and  encouraged  them,  he  should  tell  them  that  the  whole  build- 
ing was  defiled  and  such  as  he  would  not  have  ;  it  is  also  unreasonable 
to  suppose  that  those  people  had  any  concern  with  a  third  temple  which 
was  not  to  be  built  for  more  than  2000  years  after  ;  for  it  would  be  the 
same  as  telling  them  all  their  work  would  be  destroyed,  and  in  no  wise  be 
an  inducement  to  them  to  be  strong  and  work,  and  not  to  fear. 

Further,  the  second  temple  was  not  considered  more  unclean  than  the 
first,  for  it  would  not  he  called  "  The  Lord's  house"  i.  2,  and  the  house 
of  the  Lord  of  hosts  their  God,  Zech.  viii.  9,  and  the  Lord's  temple,  ii. 
15,  18,  and  in  many  other  places.  These  are  not  proper  names  for  an 
abomination.  Moreover  God  said  of  that  very  house  "  I  will'take  plea- 
sure in  it  and  I  will  be  glorified  saith  the  Lord  :"  i.  v.  8.  God  cannot 
take  pleasure  in,  or  be  glorified  by,  what  is  unclean.  Besides  the  people 
kept  the  dedication  of  the  house  with  joy,  Ezra  vi.  16,  which  they  would 
not  have  done,  had  God  spoken  of  it  to  dishonor  it. 

But  it  is  said,  the  people  were  unclean  and  also  the  work  of  their  hands. 
This  is  true,  for  every  man  is  unclean  in  the  sight  of  God,  and  therefore 
the  sacrifices  were  required  to  purify  them.  But  this  they  could  not  do 
perfectly  till  the  temple  was  finished,  which  therefore  was  an  encourage- 
ment to  them  to  complete  it.  But  when  it  was  complete,  they  did  purify 
themselves,  for  after  the  house  was  dedicated,  it  is  said,  "  For  the  priests 
and  Levites  were  purified  together,"   Ezra  vi.  20,  &c.  so  in  Neh  ix.  33, 

But  if  it  be  argued  that  their  having  purified  themselves  and  the  work 
of  the  house  of  God  showed  that  they  were  before  unclean,  1  reply  that 
this  being  a  consequence  of  work  performed  by  men  who  are  sinful  crea- 

4  e  2 


576 


Discussions  with  the  Jeivs. 


[Oct. 


tares,  the  second  temple  was  as  clean  in  this  respect  as  the  altar  had 
been  and  as  was  the  temple  of  Solomon.  Exod.  xxix.  37. — Lev.  xvi.  16, 
18,  33.  Even  Aaron  had  to  make  an  atonement  for  himself  and  family, 
Lev.  xvi.  11,  Num.  viii.  19,  21.    (1  Kings  viii.  64,  2  Chron.  vii.  7.) 

That  the  first  temple  was  in  some  respects  unclean,  might  he  shown  in 
the  same  way,  1  Kings  ix.  3;  2  Chron.  vii.  4.  Afterwards  in  Hezekiah's 
time,  2  Chron.  xxix.  15,  16. — 1  Chron.  xxiii.  28.  So  that  all  things,  how- 
ever ho'y,  had,  from  the  first  and  while  the  first  temple  stood,  to  he 
cleansed. 

The  second  temple  therefore  was  as  pure  as  the  altar  and  sanctuary 
had  been,  and  as  pure  as  the  first  temple  had  been  ;  and  this  view  is  con- 
formable with  the  declaration  of  God,  (ch.  i.  v.  8.)  "  I  will  take  pleasure 
in  it,  and  be  glorified." 

But  you  say,  "  this  house  in  her  first  glory,"  cannot  apply  by  comparison 
to  the  second  house,  because  the  first  was  utterly  destroyed  ; — and  there- 
fore was  not  "  this  house."  But  the  second  was  looked  upon  as  a  mere 
rebuilding  of  the  former  house,  and  not  as  an  entirely  new  house.  It  was 
to  be  erected  of  as  much  of  the  same  materials  as  remained,  as  nearly  as 
the  people  could  on  the  same  plan  ;  and  was  to  stand  in  the  same  place. 
For  the  former  house  was  destroyed  by  fire,  which  does  not  consume  stones, 
2  Chron.  xxxvi.  19.  And  in  the  same  way  Jerusalem  was  destroyed.  2 
Kings  xxv.  9.  Yet  in  its  dissolution,  Ez.  v.  15,  it  was  still  called  Jerusa- 
lem :  and  Jerusalem  it  is  called  to  the  present  day,  though  nothing  of  what 
it  was  before  remains.  When  it  was  rebuilt,  it  was  not  considered  a  new 
city  :  but  had  any  one  spoken  of  it  in  comparison  with  what  it  was  before, 
then  and  only  then  it  would  be  proper  to  speak  of  it  in  its  first  glory,  or 
to  call  it  the  latter  city.  In  Ezra  iv.  13,  it  says,  "  if  this  city  be  builded 
again."  Now  in  what  sense  could  that  Jerusalem  be  builded  again,  that 
would  not  apply  to  the  building  again  of  the  temple  of  God  ?  That  the 
two  buildings  of  the  temple  were  properly  considered  one  house,  may  be 
seen  from  Ez.  v.  11,  12,  13,  in  which  the  words  this  house  refer  to  the 
former  temple,  v.  12;  to  the  new  house,  v.  13;  and  to  both  as  one  and 
the  same  in  the  11th  v.  So  also  in  Haggai  4th  v.  "  this  house"  refers  to 
both  buildings,  — the  new  one  having  been  partly  built.  Therefore  the  ex- 
pression, "  this  house  in  her  first  glory,''  ch..ii.  v.  3,  is  strictly  proper,  as 
referring  to  both  houses  by  comparison.  In  the  7th  v.  this  house  not  hav- 
ing reference  to  any  comparison,  means  the  second  house  ;  and  in  the  9th 
v.  this  /utter  house  being  compared  with  the  former,  has  the  word  tatter  ad- 
ded to  the  word  this,  to  show  beyond  all  doubt  that  the  house  then  building 
was  meant.  True  it  is  not  said  "second  time  ;"  but  that  house  is  no  where 
in  all  Scripture  called  "  the  second  ;"  if  it  is,  show  me  the  place.  If  the 
word,  "  former  house"  meant  the  first  house  ;  then  this  latter  house  meant 
the  second.  Thus  the  former  and  latter  rain  meant  the  1st  and  2nd  pe- 
riods of  rain,  there  being  no  3rd,  (Deut.  xi.  14;  Jer.  v.  24  dual.) — The 
passage  is  so  clear  as  to  seem  impossible  to  be  misconstrued,  and  it  would 
not  have  been,  had  not  the  Jews  found  that  eithea  it  must  be  perverted, 
or  else  that  they  must  assert  that  God  promised  falsely,  or  admit  that 
the  promise  has  been  fulfilled. 

If  therefore  God  commanded  that  temple  to  be  built  ;  if  he  over- 
came the  resistance  of  the  people  and  made  them  build,  and  if  he  accep- 
ted the  temple  for  his  service,  then  it  was  not  so  despicable  as  some 
Jews  pretend  ;  for  there  are  many  others  who  endeavour  to  account  for 
the  fulfilment  of  the  prophecy  by  ascribing  its  great  glory  to  the  time 
of  the  Asmoneans  ;  and  they  are  our  witnesses  that  the  passage  is  properly 
understood  as  referring  to  a  second  and  not  to  a  third  temple. — Thus  God 
said  he  would  take  pleasure  in  it  and  be  glorified,  which  is  a  promise  pe- 
culiar to  the  second  temple  and  perfectly  accordant  with  the  passage 


1840.] 


The  Excellency  of  Christ. 


$77 


that  declares  that  the  glory  of  the  latter  shall  exceed  that  of  the  for- 
mer. 

But  great  stress  is  laid  upon  Gen.  xxviii.  16  to  22.  That  spot  was  not 
the  same  as  was  afterwards  the  site  of  the  temple  of  Jerusalem,  which 
belonged  to  the  lot  of  Judah  ;  for  Luz,  the  city  mentioned  in  the  19  v.,  and 
in  Ch.  xxv.  6,  fell  to  the  lot  of  Joseph:  Judges  i.  22—25,  and  Josh.  vii.  2. 

Josh.  xvi.  2.  There  is  no  wonder  that  Jacob  spoke  of  what  he  had 
seen  as  a  house,  for  the  vision  represented  the  angels  going  up  and  down 
by  a  stair,  and  God  as  seen  in  heaven  as  in  the  upper  story. 

But  I  object  in  the  last  place  that  the  word  Beth,  when  applied  to  lo- 
cality and  is  not  in  construction,  means  simply  a  house.  I  demand  th;it 
a  passage  be  shown  in  which  this  is  not  the  case.  On  this  ground,  till 
the  objection  be  answered,  I  assert  that  the  word  house  in  Ch.  ii.  37, 
and  !).  of  Haggai  means  the  building — and  hence  argue  that  the  promise 
stands  that  the  former  should  be  filled  with  glory.  Further  I  maintain 
that  the  words  this  home  refer  in  every  passage  of  Scripture  to  a  build- 
ing, the  foundation  of  which  has  already  been  laid,  and  not  to  any  future 
building. 

Therefore  on  the  above  grounds  severally  and  taken  in  conjunction,  it 
is  proved  that  the  glory  spoken  of,  which  was  to  exceed  the  nlory  of  the 
temple  as  it  first  stood,  must  be  fulfilled  in  the  second  building;  or  the 
promise  of  God  asserted  to  be  false  and  the  Scripture  a  lie. 

I  again  demand  when  and  how  the  promise  was  fulfilled. 


III. — A  Study  concerning  the  Excellency  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  Christ. 

Reader  !  do  not  carelessly"  pass  by  this  article.  Have 
respect  unto  the  name  prefixed,  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ, 
our  blessed  Redeemer  : — and  if  this  imperfect  study  should 
have  the  effect  of  exciting  or  reviving  within  thee  one  worthy 
thought  concerning  Him,  that  thought  may  do  thee  good,  when 
thy  gold  and  silver  have  gone  to  thine  heirs,  and  thy  bones 
shall  have  mouldered  into  dust  within  the  dark  and  silent 
tomb.    God  be  with  thee  ! 

The  Christian  is  so  called  from  his  attachment  to  Christ. 
He  has  chosen  Him  as  that  object  by  which  he  shall  he 
distinguished,  by  whose  glory  he  shall  be  glorified,  and  by 
whose  love  he  shall  be  constrained.  Esteem  is  the  basis  of  this 
glorying  and  love  ; — and  that  esteem  rests,  in  its  turn,  on  the 
exceeding  excellency  of  Christ  above  all  other  objects  known 
by  the  Christian.  This  knowledge  of  the  excellency  of  Jesus 
Christ,  is  the  internal  light  of  a  Christian's  soul  :  and  surely 
it  is  well  to  communicate  to  the  world  something  of  this 
blessed  light,  in  as  far  as  it  is  communicable  from  man  to 
man.  The  "  saint"  is  not  so  irrational  a  being  as  many 
suppose  ;  he  can  give  a  reason  for  his  hope,  and  also  for  his 
fond  preference  of  One  to  all. 


r>78 


The  Excellency  of  Christ. 


[Oct. 


Why  then  does  the  Christian  prefer  Christ  to  all — and  the 
knowledge  therefore  of  Christ  to  all  other  science  in  the 
world  ? 

1.  The  true  Image  of  God  is  known  in  Christ  Jesus.  He 
is  called  "The  Image  of  the  Invisible  God" — "the  brightness 
of  His  glory  and  the  express  image  of  His  person."  Yea 
Christ  himself  says,  "  He  that  hath  seen  me  hath  seen  the 
Father  ;  how  sayest  thou  then,  shew  us  the  Father  ?"  He 
was  "God  manifest  in  the  flesh,"  dwelling  amongst  men,  and 
revealing  to  them  Godhead  through  the  medium  of  humanity. 
The  world  has  been  in  pursuit  of  an  image  of  God  ; — but,  in 
vain.  Its  wise  men  have  been  groping  after  some  intellectual 
likeness  of  the  Almighty,  but  they  have  become  fools  in  their 
effort  ; — they  have  all  failed,  and  have  all  sinned  in  their 
proud  failure.  Yet,  the  Christian,  without  an  effort,  has 
received  that  which  the  world  could  not  find,  nor  the  whole 
universe  contrive.  In  his  blessed  Lord,  he  knows  his  God  ; 
and  therefore  he  exclaims,  "My  Lord  and  my  God!"  He 
needs  not  to  ransack  the  heights  above,  or  the  depths  beneath, 
to  find  out  the  Almighty  ; — he  needs  not  lengthened  trains 
of  reasoning,  or  boundless  flights  of  imagination,  in  order  to 
explore  the  perfections  of  the  Supreme: — he  shuts  his  door; 
he  opens  his  gospel  ;  he  approaches  to  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  by 
faith  communing  with  Him  as  his  Lord; — he  sees  God  and 
is  satisfied.  Especially  in  the  cross  does  be  see  the  glory  of 
Jehovah,  and  understand  the  character  of  Him  with  whom 
he  has  to  do  ; — he  admires  the  sovereignty,  wisdom,  holiness, 
righteousness,  truth,  love,  mercy,  and  goodness,  displayed  in 
the  sacrifice  of  his  Lord  : — and  he  is  filled  with  a  joyful  and 
satisfying  knowledge  of  God,  such  as  transcends  all  human 
expression.  Blessed  is  the  man  who  hath  thus  "  God  in 
Christ"  "  dwelling  in  his  heart  by  faith,"  as  the  supreme 
object  of  his  acquaintance  and  fellowship  ! 

2.  The  Lord  Jesus  Christ  is  known  to  the  saints  as  an 
Almiyhty  Saviour — and  how  excellent  is  such  knowledge  ! 
The  importance  of  an  acquaintanceship  often  depends  on  the 
circumstances  in  which  we  are  placed.  If  we  are  sick,  we 
value  the  acquaintance  of  a  physician  ;  if  in  debt,  of  a  rich 
and  benevolent  man  ;  if  ignorant,  of  a  skilful  and  learned 
instructor  ;  if  in  danger,  of  a  strong,  wise  and  intrepid  friend, 
who  will  plunge  into  fire  or  water  and  deliver  us.  Now  our 
chief  character  is  that  of  sin  ;  our  chief  danger  that  of  Hell ; 
our  chief  want  is  that  of  salvation  ;  and  our  chief  benefit,  that 
of  a  Saviour.  Now  this  last  we  have  in  Christ.  His  very 
name  is  "  Jesus,"  the  "Saviour."  He  is  sent  by  the  Father, 
and  is  anointed  by  the  Holy  Ghost; — thus  is  He  appointed  by 


1840.] 


The  Excellency  of  Christ. 


579 


God.  He  is  Divine,  and  represents  the  rights  of  Godhead  ; — 
He  is  human,  and  upholds  the  interests  of  man.  He  is  full 
of  grace  to  attract,  of  wisdom  to  direct,  and  of  power  to  execute. 
He  was,  He  is,  and  He  shall  he  for  evermore.  He  has  ful- 
filled the  law  ;  He  has  endured  the  curse  ;  He  has  vanquished 
death ;  He  has  purchased  life ;  He  has  entered  Heaven  ; 
and  He  makes  himself  known  by  His  Gospel  on  earth.  Be- 
lievers take  refuge  in  Him  : — they  glory  in  His  atoning  blood  ; 
they  rejoice  in  His  justifying  righteousness ;  they  pursue 
after  the  enjoyment  of  His  glory  !  When  they  are  sin-sick, 
what  so  sweet  to  them  as  the  knowledge  of  the  Saviour  ! 
When  they  fear  Hell,  what  so  precious  as  the  knowledge  of 
their  Blessed  Redeemer  !  These  are  feelings  and  this  is  ex- 
perience, into  which  the  world  enters  not,  neither  can  enter  ; — 
the  man  of  mere  worldly  science  comes  hither,  and  looking 
for  a  moment  at  this  employment  of  the  saints,  turns  aside 
with  scorn.  But  here  the  believer  dwells,  even  under  the 
pavilion  of  present  salvation,  with  a  present  Saviour  ;  and 
says,  "  What  is  all  other  knowledge  to  me  as  a  sinner  ? — what 
can  the  sun,  moon  and  stars  do  for  me  ?  what  can  all  men 
do  for  me  ? — what  can  all  angels  do  for  me  ? — what  can  the 
universe  do  for  me  as  a  sinner  ?  Blessed  be  Thou,  Oh  Christ 
Jesus  my  Lord  !  the  knowledge  of  the  universe  is  as  dross 
compared  with  the  knowledge  of  Thee  \" 

3.  In  the  person  of  Christ  Jesus  our  Lord,  we  are  intro- 
duced to  the  acquaintance  of  a  most  loving  Friend.  Pure 
love  actuated  Him,  and  still  actuates  Him,  as  our  Almighty 
Saviour.  This  love  is  everlasting,  unchanging,  infinite,  and 
unsolicited  ; — it  found  nothing  lovely  in  us,  it  gives  every 
thing  that  is  lovely  to  us.  Although  Christ  is  the  Son  of 
God,  yet  He  became  the  son  of  man,  our  kinsman  ; — bone  of 
our  bone,  and  flesh  of  our  flesh  ;  and  thus  He  possesses  the 
most  exquisite  human  sympathies.  He  knows  weakness  and 
sorrow ;  He  knows  pain  and  death ;  He  knows  the  anger 
of  God,  and  the  curse  of  the  law,  and  the  penalties  of  Hell ; 
and  He  made  himself  acquainted  with  these  for  our  sakes. 
"  Greater  love  hath  no  man  than  this  that  he  lay  down  his 
life  for  his  friends" — yet  the  Son  of  God  hath  done  this  for 
us.  He  is  great,  but  we  are  mean  ;  He  is  rich,  but  we  are 
poor  ;  He  is  wise,  but  we  are  fools ;  He  is  good,  but  we 
are  evil ;  He  is  blessed,  but  we  are  wretched ;  He  is  glori- 
ous, but  we  are  vile.  Yet  is  He  our  dear  and  affectionate 
Friend.  He  was  our  friend  in  purpose,  before  the  world 
was  made  ;  He  is  our  friend  now  that  we  exist,  in  deed  ; 
and  He  will  be  our  friend  in  perpetuity,  as  long  as  eternity 
endures.    This  friend  dwelt  amongst  us.  He  died  for  us.  He 


The  Excellency  of  Christ. 


[Oct. 


rose  again  on  our  behalf,  and  He  lives  for  evermore  to  bless  us. 
Oli  blessed  are  they  who  name  the  Son  of  God  for  their 
Friend,  tbe  Son  of  man  for  their  bosom  companion  !  Oh 
lovely  Jesus,  what  friend  is  like  unto  Thee  !  So  meek,  gentle, 
humble,  merciful,  forbearing,  constant,  intimate,  ready,  will- 
ing, affectionate,  and  ever-loving  as  ever-lovely  !  How  bless- 
ed are  the  men  who  know  thee,  and  walk  with  thee,  as  their 
Friend  !  What  solitude  is  dull,  what  privation  is  sad,  what 
pain  is  keen,  what  potion  is  bitter,  what  fire  is  hot,  what 
water  is  deep,  when  the  Friend  of  sinners  is  with  us  ?  Science 
is  but  a  dumb-waiter  in  the  day  of  trouble,  and  Philosophy  is 
but  a  funeral  mute  in  the  hour  of  death ; — but  Christ  is  the 
Friend  that  sticketh  closer  than  a  brother : — the  Friend  who 
lives  by  our  needs.  Is  it  wonderful  that  Paul  accounted  all 
earthly  acquaintanceships  to  be  but  dross  compared  with  this  ? 
Well  may  the  Church  glory  and  say,  "This  is  my  beloved, 
and  this  is  my  friend,  oh  ye  daughters  of  Jerusalem.'3 

4.  Christians  do  know  and  enjoy  in  Christ  Jesus  a  most 
gracious  Master.  We  are  dependent  and  subordinate  crea- 
tures ;  we  are  also  made  for  activity ;  we  need  therefore 
to  be  employed  as  servants  under  a  Master.  Jesus,  as  "  God 
manifest  in  the  flesh,"  is  the  believer's  Lord.  He  has 
supreme  authority  in  himself,  and  He  has  purchased  his 
people  to  be  his  own  property.  They  "are  not  their  own" — 
they  "  are  bought  with  a  price  ;"  therefore  do  they  "  serve 
their  Lord  in  their  bodies  and  spirits  which  are  His."  But 
they  are  imperfect  and  sinful  servants  ;  they  need  therefore 
a  gracious  Master,  who  will  not  enter  into  judgment  with 
them,  but  forgive  and  forbear  towards  them.  Such  is  Christ. 
His  person  is  lovely,  His  service  blessed,  His  recompence 
glorious.  Paul  said  of  Him,  "  His  love  constraineth  me" — and 
John,  "  His  commands  are  not  grievous  to  be  borne."  His 
yoke  is  ease  itself,  His  burden  lightness,  His  work  is  rest 
indeed.  AVhen  the  former  slaves  of  self,  Satan,  and  the  world, 
enter  His  service,  it  is  to  them  as  freedom,  joyful  emancipa- 
tion ;  they  are  filled  with  peace  and  joy  unspeakable.  He  is 
ever  near  to  them ;  His  eye  is  ever  upon  them — He  helps  the 
weak — He  instructs  the  ignorant — He  bears  with  the  feeble- 
minded— He  chastens  the  froward — humbles  the  conceited 
— comforts  the  sorrowful — confirms  the  holy — moderates  the 
joyful — ancj  blesses  the  meek  and  patient.  His  work  is 
man's  good,  and  God's  glory ;  His  reward  is  man's  perfection 
and  divine  blessedness  ;  He  ever  lives,  is  every  where  present, 
and  is  always  the  same  ; — He  is  God.  He  is  man ;  He  is 
our  Lord  and  our  kinsman — our  God  and  our  Saviour  ! 
Oh  how  glorious  is  the  knowledge  of  such  a  Master  ? — how 


1840] 


The  Excellency  of  Christ. 


581 


blessed  the  experience  of  a  life  devoted  to  His  service  ! 
Who  would  not  follow  Him,  who  would  not  serve  Him, 
who  would  not  die  in  His  cause  ? — Happy,  happy  is  the  man 
who  is  all  the  day  employed  in  the  service  of  Jesus,  and  who 
knows  no  work  but  His  !  Well,  well  may  he  say,  "  Yea,  doubt- 
less I  count  all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the 
knowledge  of  Christ  Jesus  my  Master — He  is  so  good,  so 
wise,  so  great,  so  humble,  so  mighty,  so  tender,  so  holy,  so 
kind,  so  righteous,  so  merciful,  so  stedfast,  so  considerate, 
so  gorious,  so  sympathetic,  that  I  cannot  but  glory  in  Him 
unto  the  very  death. " 

5.  A  perfect  Example  of  Character  is  presented  to  us  in 
the  life  of  Christ.  This  elsewhere  is  undiscoverable.  For 
Jesus  was  not  only  man,  perfect  man,  but  He  was  al.  o  God 
dwelling  in  man.  He  was  thus  incorruptible  and  infallible  in 
His  very  constitution  : — in  the  fountain  of  His  character  He 
was  divine;  in  its  medium  or  channel  of  exercise,  human. 
In  Him  was  every  perfection  of  Godhead,  in  Him  every  grace 
of  manhood — the  source  of  the  law  and  the  end  of  the  law  in 
one  dwelt  in  Him.  His  thoughts  were  perfect  thoughts — His 
words  were  perfect  words — His  acts  were  perfect  acts.  His 
character  was  glorious,  and  it  was  also  lovely — yea  love  was 
its  glory.  There  were  seen  in  Him  the  tenderness  of  the  in- 
fant, the  softness  of  the  child,  the  warmth  of  the  youth,  the 
maturity  of  the  man.  He  was  meek  and  yet  bold,  humble 
yet  majestic,  gracious  yet  righteous,  forgiving  yet  authorita- 
tive, courteous  yet  independent,  affectionate  yet  faithful.  He 
did  good,  but  forbid  its  fame — He  performed  miracles,  yet 
sought  not  their  glory — He  lived  for  God  and  for  man,  and 
sacrificed  Himself  on  their  behalf  in  the  end,  yet  was  He 
silent  in  His  deed — He  died  as  a  sufferer,  in  true  agony — He 
died  as  a  conqueror,  in  true  victory — He  rose  from  the  grave 
as  the  same  Jesus — He  ascended  into  glory  as  the  same 
Christ — and  He  is  now  in  the  highest  heavens,  the  "same, 
yesterday,  to-day,  and  forever  !" — Oh  Blessed  One  !  thou  only 
perfect,  unfallen  One  that  ever  trode  this  earth,  how  shall  we 
speak  of  Thee  as  we  ought!  Be  thou  our  "pillar  of  cloud"  by 
day — our  "  pillar  of  fire"  by  night.  Dwell,  oh  dwell  in  our 
sight  !  Be  the  light  of  our  eyes,  and  the  guide  of  our  weary, 
wandering,  stumbling  feet  !  Blessed  and  Glorious  Examplar  ! 
happy  is  the  man  that  knoweth  Thee!  well  may  his  soul 
rest  from  its  heavy  toils,  for  he  hath  found  the  home  of  holi- 
ness and  peace — well  may  he  sell  all  that  he  hath,  for  he  hath 
found  the  Pearl  of  great  price!  There  is  perhaps  nothing 
pertaining  to  Christ  so  despised  amongst  us  as  His  example! — 
Arise  then  and  study  your  Lord's  character — draw  near  to  His 

VOL.  I.  4  F 


582 


The  Excellency  of  Christ. 


[Oct. 


person,  sit  at  His  feet,  hang  on  His  words,  drink  His  spirit, 
do  His  works,  and  walk  in  His  steps. 

6.  To  know  Jesus  Christ  is  to  know  Heaven  begun  on 
earth.  The  chief  glory  of  Heaven  is  that  of  Jesus  Christ  at 
the  right  hand  of  God.  The  chief  fellowship  of  Heaven  is  the 
Lamb  that  sitteth  on  the  midst  of  the  Throne.  The  chief  song 
is  to  Him  that  "  loved  us  and  washed  us  in  His  blood."  The 
character  of  Christ  is  the  character  of  Heaven.  The  mind  of 
Christ  is  the  mind  of  Heaven.  The  people  of  Christ  are  the 
people  of  Heaven.  Union  to  Christ  is  the  key  of  Heaven. 
The  Love  of  Christ  is  the  power  of  Heaven.  Obedience  to 
Christ  is  the  test  of  entrance  to  Heaven.  The  knowledge  of 
Christ  is  the  very  pass-port  to  Heaven.  For  Christ  will  say 
to  the  rejected  ones,  "  Depart  from  me — I  never  knew  you — 
ye  had  no  fellowship  with  me — I  knew  you  not  as  my  ac- 
quaintances or  my  friends  \" — How  blessed  are  they  who 
already  know  the  place  to  which  they  go,  and  where  they  are 
to  dwell  forever  ! — who  have  a  daily  foretaste  of  bliss  and  glory 
in  the  company  of  their  beloved  friend  and  Lord  ! — who  can 
say  of  life  that  it  is  Christ,  of  death  that  it  is  gain — who 
regard  departure  from  this  life  as  presence  with  Jesus — 
and  who  look  forwai'd  to  eternity,  as  being  with  the  Lord 
Christ  forevermore  !  Yet  such  is  the  blessedness  of  that  man 
who  counts  all  things  but  loss  for  the  excellency  of  the  know- 
ledge of  Christ  Jesus  His  Lord  ;  to  him  earth  is  Jesus  known 
by  faith,  and  heaven  is  Jesus  known  by  sight.  How  slight 
the  transition,  how  glorious  the  change  ! 

7.  But  we  must  now  briefly  sum  up.  We  are  still  the 
creatures  of  time  and  space ;  and  we  must  sum  up  the  theme 
of  eternity  in  one  short  hour.  Christ  is  "  All  and  in  all"  to 
His  people,  until  they  reach  Heavenly  Glory.  Whatever 
they  need  as  sinners  to  save  them  ;  whatever  they  need  as 
believers  to  confirm  them  ;  whatever  they  need  as  children 
to  mature,  or  as  men  to  perfect  them,  is  contained  in  Christ 
Jesus.  He  is  their  Prophet,  Priest  and  King — their  "  wisdom, 
righteousness,  sanctification  and  redemption."  He  is  their 
Father,  Brother,  Husband,  and  Kinsman,  Redeemer.  They 
live  in  Him,  they  die  in  Him,  they  sleep  in  Him,  they 
rise  in  Him.  He  is  their  Advocate  and  Intercessor,  and  Re- 
presentative. When  they  form  new  ties  on  earth  He  blesses 
them; — when  these  ties  are  sundered  He  supplies  them. 
Thus  is  He  the  Husband  of  the  widow,  and  the  Guardian  of  the 
orphan,  and  the  inheritance  of  him  that  hath  no  possession  on 
the  earth.  He  is  the  head  of  the  body,  the  life  of  the  soul,  the 
delight  of  the  whole  man.  But  there  is  one  engrossing  rela- 
tionship and  a  final  one  in  which  Christ  stands  to  His  people 


1840.]  The  Excellency  of  Christ.  58o 


— He  is  their  Judge.  To  His  word  they  appeal  now ;  at  His 
throne  they  shall  appear  hereafter.  By  Him  shall  they  be 
openly  acknowledged  and  acquitted  in  the  day  of  judgment, 
and  by  His  sentence  shall  they  enter  into  the  kingdom  prepared 
for  them  before  the  foundation  of  the  world.  He  Himself 
also  shall  bear  testimony  as  their  chief  Witness;  and  Oh  ! 
happy  are  the  people  who  have  the  Son  of  God  as  a  witness 
for  them  in  the  great  and  terrible  day  of  the  Lord  ! 

Reader  !  do  we  possess  the  excellent  knowledge  of  this 
Christ  ?  Have  we  personal  acquaintance  and  true  fellowship 
with  Him  ?  Once  we  were  strangers  to  Him — do  we  now  know 
Him  ?  Do  we  know  Him  by  His  Gospel,  by  His  Spirit,  and  by 
the  experience  of  His  grace  ?  Have  we  trusted  in  Him,  are  we 
now  serving  Him,  are  we  suffering  for  His  sake,  are  we  ap- 
plying to  Him  for  all  that  we  need  ?  Have  we  fellowship  with 
Him  as  the  Image  of  God  to  us — as  the  Saviour  of  sinners — 
as  an  affectionate  Friend — as  a  gracious  Master — as  a  perfect 
Example — as  Heaven  begun — as  All  in  all  to  us  for  grace  and 
glory  ?  Oh,  can  we  thus  know  Christ  and  not  feel  it,  neither 
be  conscious  of  the  effects  of  such  knowledge  !  If  ye  know 
Him  in  deed  and  in  truth,  then  do  ye  love  Him,  and  trust  in 
Him,  and  delight  in  Him,  and  serve  Him,  and  glory  in  Him 
— do  ye  not  so  ?  Do  ye  not  seek  his  love  more  than  gold,  and 
desire  his  grace  as  sweeter  than  the  honey-comb  ?  Can  ye  be 
happy  when  He  is  displeased,  can  ye  rejoice  when  He  with- 
draws the  sense  of  His  presence  from  you  ?  Is  not  His  like- 
ness your  pursuit,  and  conformity  to  Him  your  only  ambi- 
tion ?  Do  you  not  regard  His  cause  as  your  own,  and  His 
glory  as  also  yours  ?  Do  you  not  love  the  Bible  that  introduc- 
ed you  to  Him,  and  the  Gospel  that  manifested  His  love  ?  Do 
you  not  bless  the  Father  who  gave  Him,  and  the  Holy  Spirit 
who  revealed  Him  ?  Do  you  not  value  the  Providence  of  God 
which  makes  Him  precious  to  you,  and  the  ordinances  that 
bring  nigh  to  you  His  rich  salvation  ?  Oh,  yes,  we  believe 
it  is  so  with  some  of  our  readers.  Your  hearts  glow  under 
the  sound  of  His  name.  Few  ye  may  be,  but  blessed.  Go, 
increase  in  this  knowledge  until  earthly  science  shall  seem  but 
as  your  kneading-trough,  and  worldly  business  as  the  servant 
that  ministers  your  daily  food.  Go,  walk  with  your  Lord, 
until  you  shall  feel,  and  the  world  shall  see,  that  the  Son  of 
God  dwelleth  in  you  and  you  in  Him — until  Heaven  shall 
seem  more  desirable  than  earth — and  until  the  intensity  of 
your  faith  has  prepared  you  for  the  extacy  of  beatific  sight  ! 

And,  oh,  come  ye  poor  ignorant  worldlings  that  know 
not  this  "  Pearl  of  great  price  !"  come  ye,  and  buy  without 
money  and  without  price  !  What  avail  all  your  possessions  if 
4  f  2 


•°  Sacred  Literature  of  the  Hindus.  [Oct. 

5  not  salvation  ?  What  benefit  will  ye  derive  at  last 
four  friendships,  if  ye  enjoy  not  the  friendship  of  a 
Savloiu  .  Will  the  sun  enlighten  you  in  the  way  to  Heaven, 
or  the  moon  disclose  to  you  the  road  to  Hell  ?  Will  the  stars 
reveal  to  your  eyes  the  contents  of  eternity; — or  can  the  light- 
nings make  known  to  you  a  judgment  to  come?  Will  science 
justify  you  ?  Can  business  sanctify  you  ?  Has  the  world  died 
for  you  ? — Ye  must  leave  this  world  as  naked  as  ye  entered  it. 
What  then  will  avail  all  that  ye  must  leave  behind  you,  or  all 
that  which  worms  shall  eat  ? — Be  wise  my  fellow  men — be 
wise  ;  sell  all  that  ye  have,  rise  up,  and  follow  Christ.  Be- 
hold Him  that  will  lead  you  out  from  the  curse,  from  sin, 
from  death,  from  all  evil.  Behold  him  that  will  even  now 
receive  you,  as  a  Saviour — receive  you  as  you  now  are,  and 
make  you  to  be  what  now  you  are  not  !  Behold  him  who 
waits  to  receive  your  guilt,  and  to  give  his  own  righteousness 
— who  will  give  himself  to  you,  whilst  you  give  yourself  to 
Him.  Are  you  a  persecutor  ?  Come — for  so  was  Paul.  Are 
you  injurious  ?  Come — so  was  Paul.  Are  you  a  blasphemer  ? 
Come — so  was  Paul.  Whatever  you  be,  come  !  leave  all  that 
heap  of  vain  dross,  and  come,  and  you  will  know  the  Christ, 
the  Son  of  the  living  God.  He  will  introduce  you  to  the 
Father,  and  He  will  send  to  you  the  Holy  Spirit.  Happy 
then  shalt  thou  be,  O  sinner! — Haste  thee,  ha>te  thee — lose 
not  even  a  day,  or  an  hour  of  such  bliss  :  haste  thee — and  the 
Lord  be  with  thee  ! 

J.  M.  D. 


IV. — Sacred  Literature  of  the  Hindus. 
No.  2. 

My  dkab  Friend, 

In  this  letter  I  purpose  to  make  some  quotations  from  the  Hindu 
sacred  hooks,  showing  their  erroneous  ideas  in  regard  to  the  means  of 
obtaining  salvation.  The  professed  end  of  all  sacred  hooks  is  to  point 
out  some  way  wherehy  the  inquirer  may  find  deliverance  from  sin,  and 
acceptance  with  the  Deity,  whose  perfections  are  delineated.  Our  sacred 
book  points  out  hut  one  salvation,  and  one  way  to  it,  even  Christ ;  but 
the  Hindu  shastras  point  out  two  kinds  of  salvation,  and  many  ways, 
though  all  widely  differ  from  the  word  of  God. 

The  first  kind  of  salvation  mentioned  in  the  Hindu  shastras,  consists 
in  sensual  enjoyment,  a  birth  in  a  king,  brahman,  or  god's  body,  together 
with  the  pleasure  of  eating,  drinking,  and  indulging  all  the  passions. 

The  second,  is  that  of  absorption  in  to  the  deity,  and  thus  being  forever 
free  from  connexion  with  matter. 

I  shall  first  refer  to  some  of  the  chief  ways  in  which  the  salvation  con- 
sisting in  sensual  enjoyment  is  to  be  obtained. 


1810.] 


Sacred  Literature  of  the  Hindus. 


585 


1.  It  is  often  asserted  that  l>y  merely  having  the  sacred  hooks,  sal- 
vation may  be  found.  Thus  (5  Bk.  8  Chap.  102)  "  Whoever  hears  these 
words  of  Hurri  will  pass  over  the  sea  of  this  world."  The  substance  of 
the  saving  story  to  which  the  poet  refers,  is  that  Bharat  Raja  rescued  a 
young  deer,  gave  his  whole  attention  to  cherishing  it,  at  length  lost  it, 
died  of  grief,  and  went  into  the  body  of  a  deer  himself.  It  assuredly 
needs  profound  philosophy  to  show  how  salvation  could  result  from  such 
a  story  as  this.  Again  (5  Bk.  16,  95)  "  Hearing  the  words  of  the  .Oth  book 
men  will  cross  the  world."  The  words  referred  to,  are  a  long  senseless 
dissertation  upon  geography.  (6  Book  26,  391-2)  "  They  who  hear  this 
story,  or  repeat  it  with  their  mouths,  shall  be  free  from  disease,  evil  bands, 
and  shall  find  knowledge  to  comfort  the  mind."  The  story  referred  to, 
is  a  speculative  harangue  about  the  human  system.  The  11th  book 
begins  thus  :  "  By  these  holy  words  of  the  Bhagabat,  the  misery  of  the 
world  is  to  be  destroyed."  (11  book  1,  367,)  "  Such  is  the  greatness  of 
Krishna,  that  by  hearing  of  his  glory  and  perfections,  men  will  cross 
this  awful  world."  (11th  book  1,37-9.)  "Those  who  hear  this  book, 
though  they  may  be  enemies  to  brahnians  and  gurus,  and  very  much  fal- 
len, the  moment  these  words  enter  their  ears  all  their  misfortunes  will  be 
destroyed."  Thus  hundreds  of  quotations  might  be  multiplied,  where  it 
is  declared  that  by  merely  hearing  certain  shastra  stories,  deliverance 
from  all  sorrows  incidents  to  this  birth  is  found. 

2.  Another  way  of  obtaining  salvation  according  to  the  shastras,  is 
by  worshipping  the  brahmans.  Nothing  can  be  more  ingenious  than  the 
means  these  priests  have  taken  to  render  their  very  names  adorable. 
The  duty  of  serving  them  is  not  enforced  by  precepts,  which  would  seem 
to  imply  that  its  propriety  had  been  disputed,  but  casually  alluded  to,  as 
a  well  known  and  established  duty.  Every  Hindu  considers  it  as  self- 
evident  as  that  a  man  ought  not  to  kill.  Every  important  personage 
who  figures  in  the  Bhagabat  is  made  to  lavish  great  sums  upon  the  brah- 
mans. Every  man  who  wishes  to  perforin  some  great  work  first  calls 
these  holy  men,  and  bestows  gifts  upon  them.  Every  man  whose  virtues 
are  exalted  is  praised  most  of  all  for  adoring  the  brahmans.  If  a  person 
is  unfortunate,  his  misfortunes  are  attributed  to  some  neglect  of  the 
brahmans.  Brahmans  must  be  called  to  marriages,  births,  weanings  and 
deaths,  when  they  are  feasted  and  paid.  To  refer  to  some  passages  we 
may  notice  the  circumstances  that  attended  Krishna's  birth.  He  was 
hoi  n  of  the  wife  of  Basudeb  in  the  prison,  by  whom  he  was  brought  by 
night  and  placed  in  the  house  of  Nanda,  who  become  his  foster-father, 
supposing  him  to  be  his  own  son.  It  is  said  (book  10,  14)  "  a  crowd  of 
brahmans  assembled,  having  heard  of  the  child's  birth.  Nanda  beholding 
them  worshipped  their  feet,  and  presented  them  garments.  The  brah- 
mans joyfully  sung  the  baids  and  fulfilled  the  customs  of  the  east,  by  wor- 
shipping the  gods  of  the  fathers.  Nanda  in  return  gave  ornaments  and 
two  lakhs  of  cows."  The  story  concludes  with  an  account  of  much 
music  and  dancing,  and  the  brahmans  blessing  Nanda  before  their 
departure.  When  Krishna  was  weaned  (JOth  book  7,  15)  "Certain 
brahmans  came  and  blessed  both  mother  and  child,  Nanda  being  pleased 
gave  gifts  of  cows  and  garments."  When  Krishna  awoke  he  was  in 
such  a  rage  for  the  breast  that  he  broke  a  large  post  by  a  kick  of  his 
foot  ;  the  brahmans  were  again  called  to  consult  the  stars  in  relation  to 
the  accident,  and  they  departed  after  receiving  another  fee.  At  marri- 
ages the  services  of  brahmans  are  indispensable  (book  10,  58,  25.)  A  raja 
makes  a  wedding  for  his  daughter.  The  brahmans,  as  was  custom  at 
seasons  of  rejoicing,  are  feasted  by  the  raja,  for  which  they  worship  the 
gods  of  the  fathers  and  speak  peace."  If  a  man  dies,  the  brahmans  must 
be  called,  feasted  and  paid  before  the  friends  of  the  deceased  can  receive 


586 


Sacred  Literature  of  the  Hindus. 


[Oct. 


absolution.  Not  being  able  to  bear  this  expense  many  are  put  out  of 
caste  forever. 

There  is  a  prophesy  in  the  Bhagabat  that  brahmans  will  in  time  lose 
their  influence  over  the  sudras,  and  that  time  is  represented  as  being 
the  very  consummation  of  the  evil  age.  (12  Bk.  2,  36.)  "  Sudras  shall 
become  Bramhacharis,  Vaishnabs,  and  Sanyasis.  Being  proud  of  a  little 
knowledge,  they  shall  revile  the  way  of  the  baids.  The  brahman  shall 
become  the  disciple  of  the  sudra  and  speak  to  them  the  instruction  of 
incantations.  They  will  be  called  excellent  gurus  and  be  raised  to 
eminence.  Brahmans  being  ignorant  will  salute  them.  Such  will  be  the 
feature  of  this  evil  age,  men  will  become  so  wicked."  What  could  be 
better  calculated  to  make  men  look  with  horror  to  that  unfortunate  time, 
than  such  a  prophesy  as  this?  Numerous  other  passages  might  b^v  quoted, 
showing  how  ingeniously  brahmans  have  contrived  the  phraseology  of  the 
shastras,  so  as  to  render  their  very  names  sacred. 

3.  It  is  well  known  that  worshipping  the  gods  is  another  means  the 
shastras  mention,  by  which  men  may  obtain  salvation.  Their  sacred 
books  say  there  are  33,000,000  (10  Bk.  3,  113.)  "  The  thirty-three  mil- 
lions of  gods  who  are  under  Bramha,  Shiba,  and  Indra,  all  assembled  in  the 
city  of  Mathura,  and  each  one  saluted  the  feet  of  Daibaki,  the  mother 
of  Krishna."  Thus  they  all  acknowledged  their  inferiority  to  Krishna, 
and  hence  it  appears  to  be  more  important  to  worship  Krishna  than 
them.  Almost  every  chapter  closes  by  declaring  that  by  worshipping 
this  god  alone,  salvation  is  to  be  found.  But  notwithstanding  Krishna 
is  so  highly  exalted,  any  man  is  at  liberty  to  worship  his  favorite  god, 
with  the  certain  promise  that  he  shall  find  salvation  by  so  doing.  This 
doctrine  is  founded  upon  the  belief  that  God  animates  all  things,  and 
hence  let  us  worship  what  we  will,  we  worship  him.  (11  Bk.  3,  8)  "  Nara. 
yan  sits  as  the  eternal  cause  in  all  bodies."  (10  Bk.  25,  61)  "  My  gods  are 
the  wilderness  and  the  mountains,  the  water  and  the  air  that  I  enjoy." 

By  the  following  passage  we  see  how  important  it  is  for  one  to  serve 
the  jrod  of  his  own  fancy.  (10  Bk.  25,  31.)  "  The  man  who  is  covetous 
worships  not  his  favorite  god,  has  to  the  least  pleasure  and  enters  into 
misfortune." 

4.  Bathing  is  mentioned  as  another  method  of  finding  salvation. 
When  brahmans  bathe,  they  repeat  the  names  of  the  following  rivers  and 
tanks  with  a  wish  that  they  may  bathe  in  them,  Ganga,  Ganga  Narayan, 
Modadhi,  Rohenaclii,  Bata  Krishna  (and  some  others.) 

These  appear  to  be  most  renowned  in  the  shastras  as  sacred  places  of 
pilgrimage.  After  referring  to  several  of  these  sacred  waters,  it  is  said, 
(5  Bk.  20,  19  :)  "  He  who  practises  bathing  daily  will  find  salvation  from 
endless  sins."  "  Whoever  bathes  in  these  waters  whether  men  or  beasts 
put  all  sin  at  a  distance  and  will  be  filled  with  pleasure." 

5.  Another  celebrated  way  mentioned  in  the  shastras,  is  by  perform- 
ing austerities,  called  tapusya.  By  using  this  means,  it  is  believed,  a  per- 
son may  be  born  in  the  body  of  a  brahman  or  a  god,  that  he  may  enter 
one  of  the  heavens  and  remain  years,  centuries  or  ages,  just  according  to 
his  amount  of  merit,  which  when  exhausted  he  may  again  fall.  Bramha, 
Vishnu,  Shiba,  Indra,  and  in  fact  all  the  gods  are  believed  to  have  ob- 
tained their  inheritance  in  this  way.  The  nature  of  the  services  to  be  per- 
formed by  Vaishnabs  varies  according  to  their  peculiar  sect ;  but  the  grand 
object  of  all  is  to  destroy  the  bodily  passions  and  appetites  through  a 
rigid  course  of  discipline.  Among  the  numerous  devotees  Dhrubais  one 
of  the  most  noted.  His  history  begins  with  an  invocation  to  Ganesh 
(6  Bk.  8).  "  1  salute  the  water-lily  feet  of  the  son  of  Ambika,  whose 
name  among  all  the  gods  is  the  opposing  king.  Thy  moon-like  beautiful 
aspect,  thy  diadem-hair,  falling  about  thy  breasts,  fascinating  to  the 


1840.] 


Sacred  Literature  of  the  Hindus. 


587 


mind.  Thou  quaffest  ambrosial  waters,  O  thou  holder  of  the  noose  and 
the  iron  hook  !  By  virtue  of  whose  sight  the  ties  of  this  world  are  broken, 
for  pure  words  proceed  from  thy  lips.  Be  propitious  to  my  mind,  () 
Lambadara !  and  1  will  declare  the  words  of  the  Bhagabat,  that  saves 
from  this  world.  Among  the  services  of  devotees,  that  which  is  most  ex- 
cellent 1  will  relate  even  the  history  of  Dhruba. 

The  substance  of  this  history  is  as  follows.    In  ancient  times  there  was 
a  great  king  whose  name  was  Dakyaprajapati.    He  married  two  wives 
Suruchi  and  Sunati,  of  whom  the  first  was  his  favorite.     ]n  process 
of  time  each  of  his  wives  bore  a  son.    The  name  of  Sunati's  son  was 
Dhruba  the  hero  of  this  history.    When  the  two  boys  were  about  seven 
years  old  the  king  was  one  day,  according  to  his  custom,  holding  both  upon 
his  knees.    Suruchi  seeing  this,  and  knowing  herself  to  be  the  favorite 
queen,  was  emboldened  to  address  Dhruba  in  the  most  reproachful  lan- 
guage.   She  toltl  him  he  had  no  right  to  sit  upon  his  father's  knee  with 
her  son,  as  it  was  clear  from  his  having  been  born  of  the  less  beloved  wife 
that  he  had  suffered  no  austerities  in  a  former  birth.    This  was  more  than 
the  proud  spirit  of  Drhuba  could  bear,  and  with  eyes  filled  with  tears,  he 
goes  and  unbosoms  his  feelings  to  his  mother,  who  though  she  sympathizes 
with  him  still  affirmed  that  what  Suruchi  had  said  must  be  true,  and 
advised  him  to  repair  to  the  forest  immediately.    Dhruba,  although  at  so 
tender  an  age  resolves  to  go  and  secure  such  an  amount  of  merit  as  would 
raise  him  above  all  his  enemies.    When  his  mother  saw  his  absolute 
determination,  her  maternal  sympathies  began  to  triumph  over  reason. 
But  in  spite  of  all  her  dissuasions  her  son  was  stedfast  in  his  purpose, 
and  immediately  repaired  to  the  dense  wilderness  and  commenced  an 
ascetic  life.     So  great  was  his  tapusya  that  it  soon  made  heaven  and 
earth  to  quake!  The  gods,  fearing  that  he  would  obtain  such  favour  of 
Vishnu  as  to  rob  them  of  their  respective  dominions,  repair  to  the  court  of 
India  for  counsel.  Indra  after  listening  to  their  complaint,  replied  that  if 
they  would  break  his  tapusya,  they  must  resort  to  such  means  as  was  cal- 
culated to  affect  children,  either  fear  or  sympathy.  Accordingly  they  first 
filled  the  wilderness  with  the  hissing  of  serpents  and  yells  of  wild  beasts, 
awful  thunders   and  vivid  lightnings  ;  but  all  this  did  not  move  the 
intrepid  spirit  of  Dhruba.     This  plan  failing,  they  resort  to  another  more 
likely  to  succeed.  A  demon  takes  the  form  of  his  own  mother,  comes  to 
him  with  hair  all  in  confusion,  clothes  rent,  and  countenance  grief-worn. 
In  this  plight  she  clasps  him  to  his  bosom,  telling  how  much  abuse  she 
had  suffered  from  Suruchi  since  his  departure  ;  that  she  had  wandered 
over  hills  and  dales,  among  brambles,  serpents  and  beasts  of  prey,  and 
now  that  she  had  found  him  he  must  go  home  with  her,  for  he  had  already 
suffered  too  much  for  so  small  a  child.    But  Dhruba,  suspecting  all  this 
to  be  some  trick  of  the  gods,  paid  no  attention  to  her  entreaties.  As 
Indra  would  give  no  further  counsel,  the  gods  now  go  to  the  court  of 
Bramha,  who  after  hearing  an  account  of  their  fears  told  them  not  to  be 
concerned,  for  the  child  would  never  interfere  with  their  dominions,  for 
he  had  already  obtained  sufficient  merit  to  raise  him  far  above  them  all. 
Soon  after  Vishnu  appeared  and  took  him  to  the  ltth  heaven  !  and  as  the 
story  closes,  "  Thus  lie  who  was  not  permitted  to  sit  upon  his  father's 
knee  was  admitted  to  a  seat  in  the  14th  world." 

Numerous  stories  of  this  kind  are  related  in  the  Bhagabat,  and  are 
taught  to  children  at  a  very  early  age.  You  cannot  be  at  a  loss  to  per- 
ceive what  a  baleful  influence  they  must  have  upon  the  youthful  mind. 
In  the  first  place  they  serve  to  fan  the  worst  passion  of  the  human  heart, 
envy.  Out  of  envy  a  man  goes  to  perform  austerities,  and  out  of  envy 
all  the  gods  engage  to  disturb  him.  Again  when  we  warn  them  to  for- 
sake their  evil  ways  and  turn  to  the  Lord,  we  can  see  in  their  very  coun- 


588 


Geography  of  India. 


[Oct. 


tenances  such  language  as  this:  "  This  is  the  temptation  of  some  incar- 
nate demon,  to  break  my  constancy,  like  the  temptations  to  which  Dhruba 
was  exposed."  A  short  time  since  a  man  said  to  me  after  listening  to  tlie 
gospel,  "  Ah  !  this  is  the  way  of  the  world's  temptations.  The  Moguls 
first  came  to  this  country  and  after  eating  up  the  merit  they  had  secured 
in  a  former  birth,  were  succeeded  by  the  Mahrattas,  and  their  store  of 
merit  becoming  exhausted  they  were  succeeded  by  the  Musalmans,  and 
when  they  had  devoured  all  their  merit,  you  English  came  in  to  take 
your  turn ;  you  will  soon  go  the  way  of  the  world,  and  why  should  we 
renounce  our  faith  for  the  creatures  of  a  day."  What  a  death-blow  this 
sentiment  strikes  at  the  very  root  of  all  intellectual  or  spiritual  im- 
provement. 

6.  Not  only  those  who  perform  tapusya  find  this  kind  of  salvation,  but 
those  persons  who  even  see  them.  Dhruba  obtained  a  seat  for  his 
mother  with  himself,  (6  Bk.  8,  10,)  "  With  his  mother  he  sat  down  in 
the  northern  sky,  and  even  by  beholding  him  the  pain  of  three  ages  will 
be  destroyed."  (11  Bk.  2,  90.)  "  Whoever  sees  a  devotee,  will  cross 
over  the  waves  of  this  world.'' 

These  are  the  chief  means  for  obtaining  that  salvation  which  consists 
in  sensual  enjoyment,  and  is  the  result  of  ceremonies.  There  are  several 
other  ways  mentioned,  but  I  think  all  are  included  under  these  heads,  as 
marking  the  face,  repeating  the  names  of  the  gods,  and  pilgrimages,  are 
included  in  bathing  and  in  serving  the  gods. 

O  how  different  is  such  sensual  indulgence  from  that  salvation  that 
consists  in  deliverance  from  sin,  communion  with  God  and  eternal  life  ; 
and  how  different  are  such  vain  ceremonies  from  serving  God  in  spirit 
and  in  truth  !  I  hope  in  my  next  to  give  some  account  of  the  means  to 
be  used  to  secure  that  kind  of  salvation  which  is  said  to  consist  in  absorp- 
tion into  the  Deity. 

E.  N. 


V. — Geography  of  India. 

Holding  as  we  do  that  all  truth  is  worthy  of  heing  known,  and 
that  all  sound  knowledge  is  valuable,  and  that  every  advance 
that  is  made  in  science  has  in  one  way  or  other  a  bearing 
upon  the  state  of  mankind  in  their  relation  to  God,  we  do  not 
consider  ourselves  to  be  going  a  single  step  out  of  our  own 
territories  when  we  notice  any  attempt  that  is  made,  either 
for  the  general  improvement  of  the  human  mind,  or  for  the 
promotion  of  the  interests  of  any  particular  department  of 
science.  But  while  we  hold  that  all  science  and  all  truth  has  a 
hearing  more  or  less  remote  on  the  future  and  eternal  destinies 
of  man,  in  subserviency  to  that  grand  truth  which  is  the  foun- 
dation stone  on  which  the  eternal  destinies  of  all  must  be  rear- 
ed, there  are  some  departments  of  knowledge  which  have  a 
peculiarly  direct  bearing  upon  that  grand  enterprise  for  the 
accomplishment  of  which  the  Christian  Church  is  retained 
upon  the  earth  ;  and  among  those  none  holds  a  more  promi- 
nent place  than  the  science  of  Geography.    The  held  which 


1840.] 


Geography  of  India. 


589 


the  Christian  Church  is  commissioned  to  occupy,  and  to  sow 
with  the  incorruptible  seed  of  the  word,  is  the  World  ;  and 
comparing  great  things  with  small,  a  correct  knowledge  of 
the  world  is  just  as  necessary  to  the  Church,  as  is  a  correct  ac- 
quaintance with  his  various  fields,  with  their  several  soils, 
exposures  and  capabilities,  to  the  agriculturist.  Although  this 
statement  on  the  first  blush  of  it  will  we  believe  command 
general  assent,  yet  its  importance  is  so  great  that  we  shall 
take  the  liberty  to  dwell  a  little  further  upon  it. 

In  all  works  that  are  to  be  achieved  by  human  agency  of  a 
mechanical  or  an  intellectual  kind,  there  is  one  principle 
whose  application  is  requisite  in  order  to  attain  the  full  and 
proper  productiveness  of  that  agency  ; — that  principle  is  "  the 
division  of  labour."  The  essence  of  this  principle  consists  in 
this,  that  no  man  shall  be  employed  to  perform  any  work 
which  may  be  performed  by  one  of  inferior  skill  or  ability. 
Now  from  the  nature  of  the  missionary  work  it  clearly  appears 
that  there  is  no  department  of  human  labour  to  which  this 
principle  is  more  strictly  applicable,  or  to  which  there  is 
more  necessity  for  applying  it.  Every  man  whose  heart  is 
touched  with  the  love  of  God,  who  has  tasted  and  felt  in  any 
degree  the  preciousness  of  Christ  the  Saviour,  is  fit  for  some 
department  or  other  of  the  Missionary  work,  but  he  is  not 
necessarily  fit  for  all  the  branches  of  it.  Just  as  the  stones 
and  the  beams  of  the  temple  were  hewn  and  squared  on  the 
mountains,  and  prepared  and  fitted  each  one  for  its  own  place 
in  the  sacred  edifice  ;  and  as  each  one  was  fitted  for  occupying 
its  own  place  in  the  building  and  no  other,  so  in  the  Christian 
temple  the  lively  stones  are  all  fitted  for  their  several  posi- 
tions ;  if  removed  from  these  positions  they  will  not  occupy 
any  others  so  efficiently  or  so  well.  To  take  some  examples. 
What  would  Luther,  the  brightest  luminary  that  has  been 
raised  above  the  horizon  since  the  days  of  the  apostles,  what 
would  he  have  been  had  he  been  placed  in  other  circumstances 
than  those  in  which  by  the  good  Providence  of  God  he  was 
placed.  What  would  Bishop  Butler  have  been  as  the  pastor 
of  an  illiterate  and  unsophisticated  congregation  ?  or  in  our 
own  day,  and  to  take  an  example  more  closely  in  point,  what 
would  the  lamented  John  Williams  have  been  had  he  been 
planted  among  the  subtle  brahmans  of  India,  or  what  Henry 
Martyn  among  the  savages  of  New  Zealand  ?  The  simple  com- 
mon sense  of  the  one  would  have  been  overwhelmed  in  the 
whirlpool  of  sophistry,  the  exquisite  sensitiveness  and  subli- 
mated taste  of  the  other,  which  so  grievously  racked  his  frame 
amidst  a  refined  people,  would  have  paralyzed  all  his  energies 
amidst  a  barbarous  race.    These  are  examples  by  which  God 

VOL.   I.  4  G 


590 


Geography  of  India. 


[Oct. 


evidently  shews  that  he  does  design  his  servants  for  particular 
stations,  and  assigns  particular  stations  to  particular  classes  of 
men.  Now  in  order  to  follow  the  leadings  of  providence,  and 
be  free  of  the  charge  of  working  in  opposition  to  the  designs 
of  God, — the  Church  is  bound  to  possess  herself  of  all  the 
knowledge  she  possibly  can  attain,  regarding  the  different 
quarters  of  that  held  which  her  Divine  Master  has  committed 
to  her  to  be  cultivated.  She  ought  to  possess  such  a  know- 
ledge of  her  whole  territories,  (for  the  world  is  all  her  own, 
as  she  is  Christ's  and  Christ  is  God's)  as  to  be  in  no  danger 
of  ever  leaving  any  open  door  unentered,  or  sending  a  man  to 
that  portion  of  the  vineyard  for  which  he  is  not  best  fitted. 
Hence  follows  at  once  the  importance  of  the  science  of  Geo- 
graphy in  its  direct  bearing  upon  the  Missionary  enterprise. 
Indirectly  too,  through  the  medium  of  its  influence  on  trade 
and  commerce,  it  must  exercise  a  powerful  bearing  on  the 
missionary  work*. 

And  while  the  importance  of  Geography  is  so  great,  we 
believe  there  is  not  to  be  found  in  any  language  any  work 
from  which  the  church  can  gather  more  than  most  remote 
inferences  for  her  guidance  in  the  allocation  of  her  various 
laborers.  Take  even  India,  which  is  like  a  world  in  itself,  in- 
habited by  different  races  of  people,  of  all  varieties  of  intellec- 

*  We  have  been  favored  by  the  projector  of  the  work  with  the  follow- 
ing interesting  and  eloquently  written  extract  of  a  letter,  dated  26th 
February,  1840,  to  the  Rev.  D.  A.  "  I  was  much  struck  with  a  train  of 
thought  strictly  in  accordance  with  the  views  /  have  brought  before  the 
Christian  Public  at  home,  and  which  I  think  have  been  sadly  overlooked  or 
under-estimated.  In  the  instructions  of  the  Prudential  Committee  of  Mis- 
sions in  America  to  the  brethren  proceeding  to  Asia  Minor  I  find  the 
following  admirable  observations  :  '  The  Imperial  warrior  who  lately 
convulsed  the  civilized  world  with  his  ambitious  schemes,  always  made 
himself  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  nations  he  designed  to  conquer; 
their  geography,  numbers,  government,  character  and  history  he  studied 
as  means  to  his  favorite  end,  with  the  characteristic  ardor  of  his  great  but 
perverted  mind.  Facts  were  the  lights  by  which  he  marched  his  armies 
through  Europe,  and  none  were  unsought,  or  deemed  unimportant,  which 
might  affect  the  issue  of  a  campaign  or  a  battle.  And  in  this  minuteness 
and  accuracy  of  information,  combined  with  a  capacity  to  adapt  the  means 
at  command  to  the  end  in  view,  lies  the  secret  of  practical  wisdom. 

"  '  Remember  that  you  also  are  soldiers  engaged  in  a  warfare,  and  in  a 
war  of  conquest.  And  though  the  contest  be  spiritual,  of  mind  with  mind 
and  heart  with  heart,  and  your  weapons  spiritual  and  rendered  powerful 
by  divine  aid,  yet  is  there  the  same  demand  for  inquiry  and  information, 
the  same  scope  and  necessity  for  discretion  and  forethought,  as  there  were  in 
the  military  enterprises  of  Napoleon.  Indeed  to  a  very  great  extent  your 
inquiries  will  relate  to  precisely  the  same  classes  of  objects  ;  though  you 
will  survey  them  from  other  points  of  view,  associate  them  by  different  re- 
lations, and  estimate  them  by  another  species  of  arithmetic  and  measure- 
ment.' "  J. 


1840.] 


Geography  of  India. 


591 


tual  capabilities,  possessing  different  systems  of  religion,  dif- 
fering in  fact  from  one  another  in  every  thing  in  which  human 
beings  all  sinful  can  differ  from  each  other. 

We  therefore  hail  the  announcement  of  a  large  and  compre- 
hensive work  on  the  Geography  of  India,  which  shall  contain, 
in  a  methodical  manner,  all  that  is  known  or  that  can  be  known 
regarding  the  whole  of  British  India  and  the  neighbouring 
territories ;  and  we  rejoice  to  be  the  first  to  lay  the  prospectus 
of  such  a  work  before  the  Christian  people.  We  know  that 
the  work  will  be  conducted  not  only  with  the  highest  scientific 
ability,  but  also  with  the  soundest  Christian  wisdom  ;  and 
therefore  while  we  leave  to  others  to  speak  of  its  importance 
in  a  political  and  commercial  view,  we  earnestly  wish  it  all 
success  on  account  of  the  influence  which  we  think  it  calcu- 
lated to  exert  on  the  enterprise  in  which  we  are  embarked. 
We  subjoin  the  Prospectus  which  has  been  put  into  our  hands, 
and  have  no  doubt  that  the  undertaking  will  commend  itself 
to  the  favour  of  our  readers. — Ed. 

PROSPECTUS. 

It  were  much  to  be  desired,  among  other  indications  of  general  im- 
provement and  intercourse,  that  the  progress  of  a  familiar  and  exact 
acquaintance  with  the  Geography  and  statistics  of  every  country 
throughout  the  earth,  kept  pace  with  the  exhibition  of  that  enterprise 
which  seeks  to  reclaim  it  from  darkness  and  barbarism  :  or  make  it 
available  to  the  friendly  commercial  internationality,  which  must 
reciprocally  affect  its  well-being,  and  our  own.  Such,  as  an  exempli- 
fication, are  the  new  and  extended  relations  of  British  India  with  the 
contiguous  countries  of  Central  Asia,  the  bordering  nations  of  the 
Malayan  Peninsula,  and  China,  and  the  innumerable  islands  of  the 
eastern  archipelago  ;  with  which  no  doubt  a  far  more  productive  trade 
would  be  carried  on,  to  say  nothing  of  the  spread  of  civilization  and 
religious  truth,  were  the  public  in  possession  of  more  full  and  correct 
information  of  what  is  available  for  the  British  market,  or  suited  to 
the  wants  of  these  countries,  as  an  article  of  export  or  manufacture 
from  our  own.  Such  information  is  justly  appreciable  as  subserving 
the  noblest  object  of  Philanthropy, — the  communication  of  the  blessed 
Gospel  to  all  nations. 

War  and  commercial  adventure,  have  indeed  originated  a  great 
variety  of  researches,  which  contribute  to  the  illustration  of  one  of  the 
fairest  and  richest  portions  of  the  globe  ;  yet  who,  that  desires  a  mere 
summary  acquaintance  with  the  present  condition  and  resources,  the 
precise  locality  often,  of  these  countries,  can  be  satisfied  with  the 
imperfect  knowledge  which  at  a  very  remote  date  furnished  matter  for 
the  best  and  only  works  now  in  existence.  The  more  ample  and  recent 
details,  however,  being  interspersed  through  a  multitude  of  works  and 
documents,  some  comparatively  costly  and  rare,  others  little  known  or 
accessible  to  a  very  limited  number  of  readers,  are  so  mixed  up  like- 
wise with  much  that  is  of  an  extraneous  character,  or  of  purely  local  in- 
4  g  2 


592 


Geography  of  India. 


[Oct. 


terest,  as  to  repress  the  most  anxious  curiosity.  And  if  such  be  the  case 
with  portions  of  each  country,  how  is  the  difficulty  enhanced,  in  obtain- 
ing more  comprehensive  views  of  Geography  ?  It  is,  in  fact,  no  very 
easy  matter,  with  the  best  information  before  us,  to  arrive  at  any 
decided  estimate  either  of  the  state  and  relative  limits  of  our  most 
settled  possessions,  or  of  those  which  have  been  recently  superadded, 
or  brought  within  the  commanding  influence  of  our  political  power. 
Such  knowledge,  no  doubt,  exists  to  a  large  amount,  and  is  to  be  found 
with  the  several  employes  of  Government ;  but  they  are  usually  too 
much  occupied  to  make  any  further  inquiries  than  may  be  necessary 
to  present  exigencies ;  and  if  presented  by  them  to  the  higher  authorities, 
it  is  simply  in  connection  with  their  immediate  duties.  Nay,  all  who 
have  occasion  to  make  such  researches,  are  necessitated  or  prevailed 
on  so  to  blend  them  with  particulars  of  transient  importance,  that  the 
most  indefatigable  patience  would  be  severely  taxed  to  draw  such 
inferences  as  the  present  state  of  knowledge  might  very  reasonably  be 
expected  to  furnish. 

Without  adverting,  otherwise  than  in  a  cursory  way,  to  the  defici- 
encies of  Hamilton's  Gazetteer,  and  his  larger  Geographical  and 
statistical  account  of  India,  (one  identical  work  by  the  way,  though 
published  under  different  titles,)  it  must  be  allowed,  that  the  accumu- 
lation of  materials  since  the  date  of  its  first  appearance  in  1815,  for 
an  enlarged  and  improved  description  of  our  Eastern  possessions, 
would  abundantly  justify  the  attempt  to  get  up  something  more  in 
accordance  with  the  philosophical,  yet  popular  works  brought  out  on 
the  continent  at  a  long  subsequent  date  :  gleaned  chiefly  from  the 
writings  of  British  officers,  by  industrious  and  learned  foreigners. 

It  is  indeed  a  reproach  to  our  country,  that  we  invariably  leave 
others  to  analyse  and  compound  the  fragmentary  results  of  science 
and  discovery,  which  our  own  curiosity  and  observation  have  arrived  at  : 
and  receive  at  a  distant  date,  perhaps,  from  foreigners,  that  which  we 
might  well  have  been  proud  of  communicating  to  them,  in  all  its  racy 
originality :  while,  at  the  same  time,  by  determining  the  tide  of  fur- 
ther inquiry  into  such  channels,  the  British  public  would  have  had 
the  earliest  intelligence  of  every  fact  essential  to  its  best  interests. 
The  works  of  Balbi,  Malte  Brun,  Ritter,  and  Berghaus,  would  have 
made  but  a  poor  show  without  the  help  of  British  materials,  though  it  is 
delightful  to  see  masterminds  like  these,  of  so  much  ability  and  aptitude 
to  discuss  their  value,  instituting  investigations  from  these  documents, 
into  questions  of  the  most  important  and  instructive  nature.  What 
accessions  have  they  not  brought  to  Physical  Geography,  to  the  syste- 
matizing of  facts,  bearing  on  subjects  of  universal  concern  ?  They 
have  called  attention  to  our  neglect,  and  invited  us  to  methods  of  a 
more  pleasing  description  than  have  hitherto  been  followed  by  British 
Geographers.  They  have  taught  us  that  this  department  of  knowledge 
is  not  a  mere  dry  epitome  of  facts  absolutely  denuded  of  narrative  or 
reflection  ;  and  which  as  the  mere  annals  in  respect  of  history,  indi- 
cate certain  landmarks  in  space,  as  those  in  time  ;  but  apart  from 
irrelevant  and  speculative  discussions,  may  present  in  the  spirit  of  that 
striking  natural  landscape  from  whence  it  is  drawn  up,  some  resem- 


[840-.]   Remarks  on  the  Notice  of  Missionary  Conference.  593 


blances  of  varied  novelty,  some  curious  and  valuable  truths  at  every 
fresh  step.  It  is  to  the  illustrious  Humboldt  that  they  and  we  must 
consider  ourselves  indebted  for  such  comprehensive  and  just  views  of 
this  subject ;  and  on  such  models  must  all  works  be  formed,  which 
aim  at  an  enduring  existence  and  popular  acceptability.  The  remark 
we  have  ventured  could  never  be  put  forward  without  allusion  to  the 
names  of  D'Anville  and  Rennell,  as  they  who  have  chalked  out  the  best, 
the  onlv  course  in  works  of  an  extensive  Geographical  nature. 

The  condensation  of  what  is  practically  important  to  the  Missionary, 
the  merchant,  and  the  functionaries  of  Government,  is  not  incompati- 
ble with  such  a  style,  or  arrangement,  as  shall  recommend  it  to  more 
general  consideration  ;  and  expecting,  as  we  may,  day  by  day,  a  still 
further  accession  to  our  present  knowledge,  there  are  notwithstanding, 
now,  abundant  materials,  sufficient  at  least,  to  encourage  a  publication, 
which  shall  embrace  in  a  compendious  form  the  most  interesting  parti- 
culars, bearing  on  the  Geography  and  statistics  of  Asia,  and  those  parts 
more  directly  under  the  authority  or  influence  of  the  British  Govern- 
ment, with  suitable  and  correct  maps  of  the  larger  divisions. 

Without  adhering  to  the  admirable  specimen  put  forth  by  Mr. 
Macculloch,  as  an  universal  Geographical  Dictionary,  it  is  proposed  to 
arrange  the  articles  in  some  sort  alphabetically — classing  the  places  of 
minor  note,  subordinately  to  the  great  territorial  divisions,  and  thus  not 
giving  them  an  undue  degree  of  importance,  or  sacrificing  perspicuity 
and  utility  to  the  straight-laced  system  of  a  mere  Gazetteer. 

The  unexpected  difficulties  that  occurred  to  the  restriction  of  such 
a  work  as  this  to  the  British  possessions  in  India,  as  at  first  contem- 
plated, have  induced  the  Projector  to  believe,  that  without  entering  into 
the  like  minute  accouut  of  other  countries,  in  places  beyond  those 
limits,  or  not  so  immediately  connected  therewith,  it  will  not  be 
thought  a  defect  that  it  embraces  all  that  can  concern  or  interest  the 
British  public,  especially  our  countrymen  in  India.  How,  in  fact, 
could  we  dispense  with  a  description  of  Aden,  of  Mocha,  of  Karrack, 
of  Kelat  and  Herat,  of  the  places  of  note  on  the  overland  route  from 
Bussora  to  Beirout,  by  which  the  communication  is  carried  on  with 
Europe  for  four  months  in  the  year  ;  or  some  passing  notice  of  those 
places  of  resort  in  China,  which  our  forces  are  about  to  occupy  ?  If 
there  is  any  thing  omitted  which  should  properly  have  been  inserted, 
it  will  be  matter  for  after  consideration  to  append  ;  if  any  thing  to 
suppress,  new  matter  may  easily  be  found  to  supply  its  place. 


VI. — Remarks  on  the  Notice  of  the  Missionary  Conference  in 
the  last  number. 
To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Dear  Gentlemen, 

In  common  with  some  others,  my  associates  and  fellow 
labourers  in  the  missionary  field,  1  have  felt  aggrieved  by  the 
last  notice  of  the  Missionary  Conference  over  the  signature  of 
T.  S. 


594    Remarks  on  the  Notice  of  Missionary  Conference.  [Oct. 


Independently  of  the  question  at  issue,  viz.  "  the  place  the 
English  language/'  &c.  there  are  two  or  three  exceptions  which 
I  beg  leave  to  take  to  the  article  by  T.  S.  To  T.  S.  himself  I 
take  no  exceptions  :  let  this  be  borne  in  mind,  for  I  esteem 
him  highly  as  a  missionary  brother  ;  but  I  do  object  : — 

1 .  To  a  young  brother  who  has  scarcely  smelt  the  air  of 
India  being  deputed  to  write  on  a  subject  where  the  long-tried 
experience  of  others  is  available,  and  necessary  in  order  to  sa- 
tisfy the  minds  of  those  most  deeply  interested  on  this  point. 

2.  I  object  to  the  state  of  things  in  Calcutta  being  as- 
sumed as  a  datum  on  which  to  build  an  argument  for  India 
generally.  If  your  opinion  on  this  point  be  limited  to  Calcut- 
ta, I  do  not  object  to  it ;  but  there  is  so  little  resemblance  be- 
tween missionary  labour  in  Calcutta  and  that  in  the  country 
generally,  that  he  who  would  argue  from  one  to  the  other 
would  deceive  himself,  and  all  who  are  influenced  by  his  opi- 
nions. 

3.  I  protest  against  the  use  of  such  epithets  from  the  pen 
of  a  missionary  brother  in  reference  to  the  language  of  India 
as  the  "  heartless  drudgery  of  acquiring  a  barbarous  language," 
and  "  a  tedious  course  of  hard  and  uninteresting  labour,"  &c. 
I  have  never  heard  such  language  from  those  who  really  un- 
derstand the  languages  of  India,  though  it  is  common  to  hear 
it  from  those  who  know  little  or  nothing  about  them.  I  have 
been  labouring  daily  about  15  years  in  a  language  less  cultivat- 
ed than  the  Bengali,  and  I  deny  fearlessly  that  either  that  or  the 
Bengali  can  be  called  a  barbarous  language.  There  is  no  idea 
that  man  can  form  which  may  not  be  expressed  with  the  ut- 
most precision  by  these  languages  ;  the  greatest  difficulty  of 
the  translator  is  not  paucity  of  terms,  but  the  selection  of 
them.  Let  these  languages  be  cultivated,  and  that  ability  to 
understand  them  be  extended  to  the  many  which  is  now  mo- 
nopolized by  the  few,  and  there  will  be  no  complaint  of  the 
paucity  or  barbarity  of  the  language. 

4.  There  is  another  remark  I  think  called  for  by  the  tone 
and  manner  in  which  reference  is  made  to  English  ;  teachers  of 
English  being  able  to  set  about  the  work  at  once,  &c.  Now 
without  "  sneering"  at  this  advantage,  I  wish  to  qualify  it. 
Where  men  cannot  or  will  not  devote  the  time  and  study  ne- 
cessary to  acquire  the  native  language,  it  is  well  to  have  them 
set  to  work  in  teaching  English  rather  than  not  work  at  all  ; 
but  I  would  say  to  every  man  who  wishes  in  the  full  sense  of 
the  term  to  be  a  missionary  to  the  heathen — beware  how  you 
allow  yourself  to  be  seduced  into  teaching  in  English.  I  have 
had  an  apportunity  of  observing  the  course  of  many  mission- 
aries, but  1  can  scarcely  think  of  one  who  began  with  teaching 


1840.]  Remarks  on  the  Notice  of  Missionary  Conference.  595 

English  that  did  not  end  there.  I  demur  not  to  our  friend's 
position,  that  they  were  probahly  as  well  qualified  as  their  fel- 
lows to  acquire  the  languages  of  the  country  ;  but  the  fact  is, 
that  if  a  man  does  not  set  to  in  good  earnest  to  acquire  the 
native  language  when  he  first  arrives  in  the  country,  he  very 
seldom  has  the  time  or  energy  to  do  it  afterwards  ;  or  he  is 
so  immersed  in  other  labours,  where  he  can  do  without  it,  that 
he  gives  up  the  task.  It  is  thus  with  T.  S. ;  he  can  venture 
to  say,  "  I  could  acquire  it  if  it  were  necessary."  Necessary  ! 
can  a  missionary  ever  pen  such  a  word  when  99  out  of  every 
hundred  of  the  people  in  the  land  can  understand  no  other  ? 
Necessary — when  nine-tenths  of  the  millions  of  India  must  go 
down  to  the  grave  unblest  with  the  light  of  the  gospel,  unless 
the  missionary  does  submit  to  this  heartless  drudgery  !  Is  this 
the  way  to  speak  of  the  interests  of  this  people  ?  Is  this  the 
way  to  encourage  the  new  missionary  to  set  to  in  earnest  to 
acquire  their  language  ? 

It  is  true  that  those  brethren  who  thus  devote  their  energies 
to  teaching  and  preaching  in  English  are  well  employed  ;  to 
that  I  object  not,  but  they  are  employed  only  in  some  little 
favoured  spots,  some  choice  parterres  of  their  own  and  others 
planting  and  dressing,  while  the  whole  waste  howling  wilder- 
ness remains  untouched. 

But  this  teaching  in  English  is  advocated  with  especial  re- 
ference to  the  ministry.  I  am  afraid  this  is  not  solid  ground. 
The  natives  of  India  make  out  very  poorly  in  English  unless 
they  begin  in  childhood.  Are  we  then  to  devote  certain  na- 
tive children  to  the  ministry  before  their  religious  character  is 
developed  ?  or  are  we  to  teach  all  we  can  with  a  view  to  a  fu- 
ture selection  ?  We  shall  not  find  many  advocates  for  the  for- 
mer I  apprehend,  and  if  the  latter  be  intended,  what  becomes 
of  the  leading  point,  of  teaching  through  the  medium  of  the 
English  language  with  a  view  to  the  ministry  ?  How  many  of 
the  youths  taught  English  enter  the  ministry  ?  While  how 
many  of  our  preachers,  and  those  who  are  most  likely  to  be- 
come native  preachers,  know  nothing  or  next  to  nothing  of 
English  ?  I  very  much  fear  the  tendency  of  the  system  pro- 
posed by  T.  S.  will  be  to  make  well-taught  clerks,  deputy  col- 
lectors, &c.  &c,  while  our  real  native  preachers  will  be  neglect- 
ed, and  the  only  languages  through  which  they  can  be  reach- 
ed trampled  under  foot.  I  beg  to  repeat  that  I  am  looking 
not  at  Calcutta  but  India. 

Have  we  not  seen  the  flower  of  our  native  Christian  youth, 
taught  in  English,  go  off  one  after  the  other  for  more  lucrative 
and  congenial  employment  ?  Has  the  teaching  them  English 
any  tendency  to  make  them  love  the  work  of  preaching  the 


596  Remarks  on  the  Notice  of  Missionary  Conference.  [Oct. 


Gospel  through  the  medium  of  their  native  tongue  ?  I  think 
not.  There  are  a  few  exceptions,  but  they  are  exceptions, 
not  the  rule.  Beside,  we  cannot  support  a  native  ministry,  at 
present,  and  certainly  the  native  churches  cannot,  at  such 
salaries  as  our  well-taught  native  youth  can  command.  It 
appears  to  me  we  shall  err  greatly  if  we  raise  up  a  native  mi- 
nistry which  a  native  church  cannot  sustain. 

And  what  is  the  great  spring  and  motive  in  which  this  teach- 
ing of  the  native  ministry  through  the  medium  of  English  is 
based.  Is  it  not  said  that  thus  the  newly  arrived  teacher  of 
theology  may  commence  his  labours  at  once  ?  I  confess  this 
does  not  seem  to  me  a  very  weighty  argument.  It  appears  to 
me  that  it  is  not  a  very  desirable  matter  that  a  newly  arrived 
teacher,  whether  a  young  man  or  an  old  one,  is  the  best  to  set 
about  this  work.  If  we  are  arguing  only  for  teaching  theology 
to  the  rising  native  ministry,  I  apprehend  that  there  are  bre- 
thren enough  who  have  had  long  experience  in  the  peculiari- 
ties of  Hinduism,  and  know  how  to  bring  the  arguments  of 
Christianity  to  bear  upon  it,  may  be  found,  while  one  newly 
arrived  may  go  to  work  in  the  wide  field  and  get  experience 
there. 

1  confess  that  I  should  hail  with  delight,  the  establishment 
of  a  Bengali  Theological  Institution,  where  the  very  best  mas- 
ters should  be  employed,  and  the  student  taught  only  through 
the  Bengali  and  Sanscrit,  and  where  their  whole  energies 
should  be  devoted  to  obtaining  knowledge,  and  acquiring  the 
best  way  of  imparting  it,  in  the  most  forcible  and  effective 
manner.  Bengali  would  thus  be  improved — its  power  deve- 
loped and  increased,  and  a  brighter  day  dawn  on  the  native 
church. 

But  if  we  are  to  look  for  pastors  for  our  native  churches, 
taught  in  English,  to  settle  down  in  our  native  villages,  and 
hunt  out  Hinduism  through  all  its  jungles  and  fastnesses,  I 
fear  wur  eyes  will  fail  with  longing. 

Let  me  not  be  considered  as  a  foe  to  teaching  English  to 
some  extent.  My  practice  is  my  best  defence  here  ;  but  if  I 
am  less  strenuous  for  it  than  I  once  was,  it  is  partly  because 
I  share  the  change  which  all  missionaries,  so  far  as  I  know, 
experience  who  cultivate  the  native  languages ;  and  partly  be- 
cause 1  tear  that  a  fearful  delusion  is  spreading  through  many 
minds  especially  at  home  on  this  point. 

Secular  men  will  teach  English  for  secular  purposes,  and  if 
our  Christian  youth  are  so  situated  as  to  be  able  to  acquire  it, 
it  may  be  of  service  to  them,  in  providing  for  their  temporal 
wants,  but  my  own  conviction  is,  that  our  native  ministry,  whe- 
therthey  know  English  or  not,  should  be  taught  Theology 


1840.] 


The  Durgd  Pujd  Ndches. 


597 


through  the  medium  of  the  native  languages.  This  is  the  most 
direct  way  of  settling  theological  terms,  of  searching  out  the 
best  phraseology,  of  calling  forth  a  native  Theology,  and  of 
qualifying  men  for  the  actual  work  we  wish  them  to  accom- 
plish. 

This  too  is  the  way  to  remove  the  difficulty  airsing  from  the 
want  of  books.  Teaching  by  lecture  is  now  very  generally 
and  advantageously  employed.  The  students  would  soon 
acquire  the  habit  of  taking  down  lectures,  and  among  them 
men  of  studious  habits  would  soon  be  found  to  supply  theolo- 
gical works  nearly  as  fast  as  they  are  really  needed. 

I  crave  indulgence  for  my  letter  being  so  hastily  written, 
for  I  could  not  command  time  to  write  more  leisurely,  and 
subscribe  myself, 

Yours  sincerely, 

A.  Sutton. 

Cut  tack,  Sept.  10,  1840. 


VII. — What  is  the  harm  of  attending  the  Durgd  Pujd 
Ndches  ? 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 

Sirs, 

The  Durga  Puja  naches  are  approaching',  and  doubtless  the  invitations 
of  the  wealthy  worshippers  of  the  idol  Durgd  will  as  usual  go  forth  to  their 
Christian  neighbours,  the  European  society  of  Calcutta,  to  join  them  in 
paying  honor  to  Durgd  ;  for  though  the  invitation  may  be  expressed  in  other 
words — may  be,  to  the  Durgd  Pujd  ndches,  we  must  not  forget  that  the 
naches  are  purposely  a  part  of  the  worship  of  the  idol  Ddrga.  The 
choir  of  singers,  the  ndch  girls,  will  generally  be  found  stationed  near 
the  door  of  the  apartment,  wherein  sits  in  Heathen  state  the  idol, 
fully  displayed  to  the  view  of  her  worshippers — though  none  of  the 
Christian  guests,  assembled  by  her  votaries  to  do  her  honor,  may  enter, 
to  pollute  a  place  made  sacred  by  her  presence  ;  the  adjoining  room  is  said 
to  be  the  nearest  approach  a  Christian  may  make  to  Durga.  When  Chris- 
tians, therefore,  though  from  mere  curiosity,  or  civility  to  her  worshippers 
who  invite  them,  follow  in  the  train  of  Ddrga's  blinded  votaries — those 
Christians  undoubtedly  swell  the  retinue  of  the  idol,  and  distinctly  though 
probably  inadvertently,  give  encouragement  to  the  grossest  superstition — 
nay  they  may  be  said  to  lend  the  chief  attraction  to  idolatry! 

The  Hindu  worship  and  ritual  differ  so  totally  from  our  own,  that 
amidst  such  melancholy  scenes  of  native  superstition,  we  are  apt  to  forget, 
and  lose  sight  of  the  fact,  that  they  form  a  portion  of  their  worship,  and 
to  fancy  it  merely  a  feast  or  show  ; — not  so.  The  Christians  worship  their 
God  in  their  churches,  and  sing,  and  celebrate  his  praise,  and  assemble 
around  the  communion  table  of  their  Divine  Saviour  who  gave  his  life  a 
sacrifice  for  sin.  The  Hindus  likewise  worship  their  idols,  and  as  a  part 
of  their  ritual,  sing  and  celebrate  their  idol's  praise  by  a  choir  of  nach- 
girls  hired  for  that  purpose.  It  would  appear  that  the  ordinary  nach- 
girls  assembled  before  the  door  of  the  idol,  merely  sing  their  customary 
songs,  some  of  which  are  said  to  be  indecent,  but  that  other  singers  are 
mixed  with  them  who  sing,  as  the  choir,  the  praises  of  the  idol !  That 

VOL.  I.  4  H 


598 


The  Durgd  PfUjd  Ndches. 


[Oct. 


those  feasts  and  ndches  are  a  part  of  tlieir  idol  worship,  is  obvious  from 
the  very  terms  of  the  invitation,  namely,  "  Durgd" — the  idol  Durgd —  "Pii- 
jd"  worship — ndches,  singing  and  dancing :  indeed  if  any  doubt  remained 
on  this  head,  it  would  be  removed  by  the  invitation  cards,  some  of  which 
are  said  expressly  to  invite  the  company  to  ndches,  in  honor  of  the  Durgd 
Piijd  ! 

Christians  are  forbidden  to  eat  of  meats  offered  to  idols.  Whenever  their 
so  doing  can  be  construed  as  giving  countenance  to  idolatry,  and  this  pro- 
hibition extends  even  to  the  meat  sold  in  the  shambles,  provided  the 
Christian  be  told  that  it  had  previously  been  offered  to  an  idol.  How  then 
can  a  Christian  go  to  such  feasts  ?  Not  that  Durga's  votaries  would  so  far 
insult  the  goddess,  as  to  offer  to  her  the  meats  polluted  by  such  Euro- 
pean guests  ;  the  feast  itself  however  forms  a  part  of  the  display  in  honor  of 
Durgd,  who  were  she  not  an  idol  of  stone,  having  eyes,  that  see  not,  might 
be  supposed  to  view  with  complacency  the  Christians;  assembled  by  her 
votaries  to  do  her  honor  !  How  therefore  can  Christians  lie  found  amongst 
those  who  swell  her  retinue,  and  by  their  presence,  are  doing  honor  to  the 
idol  ? 

And  as  regards  the  ndches,  what  would  be  the  demoralizing  effect 
upon  a  Christian  congregation,  say  in  England,  of  men  and  women,  and 
youth  of  both  sexes,  assembled  under  the  sanction  of  Divine  service  for 
the  worship  of  God,  were  a  band  of  females,  the  greater  portion  of  whom 
were  prostitutes,  to  dance  and  sing,  as  part  of  the  worship,  in  such  strains 
and  songs,  in  the  ears  and  language  of  such  an  English  congrega- 
tion, as  the  ndch  girls  of  India  sing,  before  the  idol  Diirgd  ? — songs,  it  is  to 
be  feared,  few  of  which,  could  be  admitted  into  your  pages  ! — songs  not 
from  devout  lips,  to  the  praises  of  a  Holy  God,  of  purer  eyes  than  to  behold 
iniquity,  but  songs  where  they  relate  to  the  idol,  from  such  a  choir,  in 
praise  of  the  exploits  and  lives  of  those  beings,  which  unhappily  are 
worshipped  as  Divine  personages  by  the  followers  of  Durga  ! !  We  have 
long  and  fully  heard  of  the  songs  cind  scenes  at  Jagunnath  ;  it  is  to  be  feared 
that  Diirga's  choir  when  unrestrained  by  Christian  guests,  may  not  much 
surpass  in  purity  that  of  Jagannath.  W  hat  would  be  the  effect  upon  an 
English  congregation,  of  worship,  in  their  own  language,  such  as  this  ? 
Would  there  be  found  a  single  family  to  attend  snch  a  scene  of  contamina- 
tion under  the  guise  of  Divine  worship  ?  Would  not  every  one  who  bore 
the  honored  name  of  Christian,  use  his  utmost  endeavour  to  deter  from 
going  thither,  his  friends,  domestics,  and  all  over  whom  he  had  any  in- 
fluence, lest  their  minds  should  be  contaminated,  their  principles  over- 
turned, and  their  lives  become  abandoned?  andean  Christians  then  in  a 
foreign  land  act  upon  other  principles,  forgetting  the  high  and  holy 
name  they  bear,  go,  and  by  their  presence  at  this  portion  of  the  Heathen 
ritual,  the  feast,  singing  and  naches  in  honor  of  the  idol  worship,  encou- 
rage such  scenes,  perhaps  to  the  injury  of  thousands  who  attend  ? — oh  no! 
If  it  be  strictly  prohibited  in  the  circumstances  already  stated  "  to  eat 
meats  offered  to  idols,"  can  it  be  right  to  go  to,  or  partake  of  the  feasts 
given  in  honor  of  the  idol? — can  it  be  right  to  encourage  others  by  our 
presence,  to  go  and  partake  of  the  more  dangerous  mental  food,  the 
songs  sung  by  successive  bands  of  Indian  uach-girls  ?  Christians  went 
there  in  former  days,  in  ignorance  of  the  evil  they  were  encouraging  ; 
but  let  us  hope,  now  that  the  evil  has  been  sufficiently  exposed  to  be 
apparent  to  every  one,  that  none  will  go. 

Independently  of  Christian  principles  (for  after  becoming  aware  of 
the  nature  of  the  scene,  let  us  hope  that  no  sincere  worshipper  of  the 
Divine  Jesus,  who  gave  his  life  a  sacrifice  for  sin,  could  be  present  at,  or 
encourage  such  worship  of  Idols),  the  Philanthropist  has  ample  reason 


1840.] 


History  of  Madagascar. 


to  decline  Attendance  ;  for,  let  us  see  the  Jeep  injury  and  cruelty  to  many 
innocent  female  children,  lie  is  indirectly  aiding  by  the  encouragement  of 
his  attendance.  In  proportion  to  the  encouragement  given  to  the  worship 
of  Durga,  or  as  they  are  distinctly  styled  Durga  Pujd  (worship)  ndchex, 
by  the  presence  of  guests,  the  wealthy  worshippers  of  Durgd  increase 
their  expenditure  Of  rupees  to  render  the  ndches  popular,  and  to  obtain 
the  most  attractive  nach  U'irls,  to  dance  and  sing  before  the  idol  :  (it  is 
singular  that  such  a  class  of  society  as  nach  women  should  have  been 
thought  of  to  do  honor  to  the  gods.)  Those  therefore  whose  pro- 
fession it  is  to  procure  nach  girls  for  such  occasions,  have  their  purses 
replenished  and  are  enabled  to  purchase  more  innocent  female  children  to 
be  brought  up  to  the  same  profession.  Now  it  is  notorious  that  by  far  the 
greater  proportion  of  Indian  nach  girls  are  prostitutes.  How  melancholy 
then  to  reflect  that  every  encouragement  given  to  "  ndches"  tends  to 
add  to  the  number  of  innocent  female  children,  who  are  purchased  for  the 
diaholical  purpose  of  being  reared  in  abandoned  habits? — what  generous 
mind  then  would,  by  his  presence,  lend  encourgement  to  the  destruction 
of  female  innocence,  virtue  and  happiness ! — The  whole  system  of  naches 
is  evil  at  the  core,  and  therefore  all  friends  of  humanity  ought  to  dis- 
courage them,  and  more  especially  when  they  form  a  part  of  the  honor  done 
to  idols  !  Indeed  it  is  incumbent  on  those  who  are  aware  of  the  evil  to 
make  it  known  to  others,  as  most  probably  no  Christian  family  would 
attend  naches  when  once  acquainted  with  the  fact  that  they  were  so 
objectionable,  for  wherever  we  are  present  and  appear  even  to  take  only  a 
general  interest  and  pleasure  in  a  scene,  or  play,  or  place  of  native  worship 
or  nach,  we  are  naturally  supposed,  at  least  by  the  natives,  however 
ignorant  we  may  he  of  the  language,  songs  or  ceremonies  used,  to  approve 
of  what  is  going  on,  else  why  should  we  lend  the  encouragement  of  our 
presence  ?  and  though  most  Europeans  are  ignorant  of  what  is  sung,  the 
natives  drink  in  the  songs,  too  frequently  indecent;  and  who  would  not 
shrink  from  being  supposed  by  the  natives,  (who  may  not  be  aware  of  our 
ignorance  of  the  words) — to  approve  of  all  the  songs  sung,  by  a  succession 
of  nach  girls  ? 

It  is  satisfactory  to  know  that  the  "  Christian  Observer," — the  "Friend 
of  India,"  and  other  papers  whose  objects  are  the  promotion  of  religion, 
and  virtue,  and  the  improvement  of  India,  continue  very  watchful  of  this 
evil,  and  to  warn  their  own  countrymen  against  any  participation  in  honors 
done  to  Idols  ;  and  it  will  be  gratifying  if  those  publications  are  enabled  to 
state  that  this  year  no  Christians  have  been  found  encouraging  the  Durga" 
I'tija  naches. 


VIII. — History  of  Madagascar.    By  the  Rev.  William  Ellis, 
Author  of  the  Polynesian  Researches. 

The  Government  of  Madagascar  is  a  modified  despotism. 
The  high  estimation  in  which  the  hereditary  nobles  are  held, 
and  the  great  influence  they  consequently  possess,  together 
with  an  ancient  practice  of  occasionally  appealing  to  the  peo- 
ple concerning  political  affairs,  have  given  to  the  subjects  a 
power  over  the  interests  of  the  nation  which  is  incompatible 
with  an  absolute  monarchy. 


I  remain,  Sirs,  &c. 


<2Uh  Sept.  184.0. 


A  Strang eu. 


4  h  2 


GOO 


History  of  Madagascar. 


[Oct. 


The  nobles  of  Madagascar,  as  in  most  countries,  rank  next  to 
members  of  the  royal  family,  possessing  extensive  estates  and 
an  almost  unlimited  authority  over  their  vassals;  they  bear  a 
striking  resemblance  to  feudal  lords  of  the  middle  ages.  Per- 
sons raised  to  the  exalted  situations  of  field-officers,  privy 
counsellors  and  judges  are  invariably  chosen  from  their  order. 

Individuals  employed  to  collect  fines,  taxes  and  confisca- 
tions and  to  superintend  every  branch  of  the  revenue  are  of 
an  inferior  class ;  they  are  called  Farantsa  and  are  placed 
under  the  judges. 

Government  intelligence  is  communicated  to  the  nation  by 
heralds.  One  is  dispatched  from  the  capital  to  every  district 
of  the  country.  On  arriving  at  his  destination  he  ascends  an 
elevation  in  the  midst  of  the  market-place,  and  a  gun  is  fired 
as  a  signal  for  the  people  to  listen  ;  he  then  lifts  up  his 
sonorous  voice  and  proclaims  to  the  assembled  thousands  the 
commands  of  his  royal  master.  Should  there  be  no  market  on 
the  day  the  orders  of  Government  are  issued,  the  herald  deli- 
vers his  message  to  the  head-men  of  the  district  who  imme- 
diately make  it  known  to  the  centurions,  whose  duty  it  then 
becomes  to  carry  the  intelligence  to  every  individual  in  their 
respective  hundreds.  Hence,  though  the  Malagasy  are  but 
very  partially  acquainted  with  the  advantages  of  a  well  regu- 
lated press,  and  are  entirely  ignorant  of  the  great  modern  in- 
ventions, steam-vessels  and  rail-roads,  by  which  information 
on  any  subject  may  be  conveyed  from  one  end  of  the  country 
to  the  other  in  the  space  of  a  few  hours,  yet  through  the  me- 
dium of  heralds  the  common  people  among  them  are  more  en- 
lightened respecting  politics  than  the  peasantry  of  European 
nations,  which  are  blessed  with  all  facilities  to  expedite  the 
diffusion  of  knowledge. 

As  the  best  institutions  have  sometimes  been  attended  with 
great  calamities,  owing  to  the  unrestrained  ambition  of  men 
in  power,  a  passion  which  has  been  a  severe  scourge  to  the 
world  and  given  existence  to  the  worst  Governments,  persons 
are  divided  in  their  opinions  respecting  the  kind  of  Govern- 
ment in  which  the  general  good  would  preponderate  over  the 
occasional  evil.  This  is  a  question  which  has  been  discussed 
for  ages  and  produced  folios  without  number,  leaving  it  in 
the  uncertainty  in  which  those  ponderous  tomes  have  involv- 
ed it,  to  be  elucidated  by  writers  whom  nature  has  blessed 
with  a  strong  vision  to  pierce  the  surrounding  darkness.  It 
may  not  be  improper  to  observe,  that  on  the  pure  administra- 
tion of  justice  and  the  perfect  independence  of  judges,  depend 
the  security,  industry  and  well-being  of  individuals,  and  con- 
sequently the  vital  interests  of  nations,  is  universally  admitted 


1840.] 


History  of  Madagascar. 


(iOl 


by  the  wise  and  upright  of  every  political  creed  :  it  is  not  deni- 
ed by  any,  except  by  knaves  and  tyrants. 

Faithful  dispensers  of  law,  deaf  to  the  solicitations  of  friends 
ami  the  threatenings  of  enemies,  anxious  to  ascertain  only 
what  is  right,  and  pronouncing  their  judgment  of  what  is  so 
with  a  rectitude  which  is  never  known  to  bend,  become  the 
guardians  of  a  people's  freedom  and  of  a  people's  morals — a 
terror  to  evil-doers  and  a  praise  to  them  that  do  well.  But 
forgetting  the  solemn  responsibility  of  their  office  and  how  large 
a  portion  of  the  public  weal  is  entrusted  to  their  care;  being 
deterred  by  fear  or  seduced  by  gold  from  a  conscientious  dis- 
charge of  their  sacred  functions,  they  afflict  their  country  with 
the  heaviest  calamities ;  for  which  posterity  never  fails  to 
brand  their  memory  with  the  everlasting  infamy  which  is 
stampt  on  the  name  of  Jeffreys,  that  monster  of  depravity. 

Should  emperors,  kings,  presidents  or  dictators  endeavour 
to  corrupt  the  administration  of  law  and  make  the  bench  an 
engine  of  political  power  to  effect  purposes  which  they  are 
ashamed  and  afraid  to  avow,  they  may  for  a  time  prosper  in 
wickedness,  but  will,  in  the  end,  most  probably  gather  the 
fruits  of  misrule  amid  intestine  wars  and  atrocious  deeds  of 
blood,  like  those  which  closed  the  days  of  the  pious  and  well- 
intentioned,  but  ill-fated  Charles.  Few  Governments  have 
long  survived  after  tampering  with  courts  of  law.  History  pre- 
sents many  instances  of  the  dread  catastrophes  they  reserved 
for  others  falling  on  themselves  and  grinding  them  to  powder. 

It  is  a  fact  the  existence  of  which  is  much  to  be  regretted, 
that  the  foregoing  observations  apply  with  peculiar  force  to 
the  administration  of  law  in  the  island  of  Madagascar.  The 
royal  authority  has  been  frequently  employed  to  impede  the 
course  of  justice,  and  deprive  individuals  of  property  and  life 
who  were  never  informed  why  such  iniquitous  proceedings 
were  commenced  against  them.  It  has  been  a  practice  not 
uncommon  for  the  sovereign  to  keep  spies  in  every  town,  and 
to  give  orders  for  secret  executions,  denying  the  unhappy  per- 
sons the  least  opportunity  of  vindicating  their  injured  charac- 
ter. This  is  one  fruitful  source  from  which  the  miseries  of 
Madagascar  have  flowed. 

Besides  impediments  to  the  faithful  administration  of  justice 
arising  from  an  improper  use  of  the  royal  authority,  ordeals 
which  have  been  practiced  from  time  immemorial  consign 
the  innocent  and  guilty  to  the  same  awful  deaths.  Though 
to  enlightened  minds  they  appear  irrational  and  presumptuous, 
the  Malagasy  place  implicit  confidence  in  the  rectitude  of  their 
decisions,  and  cases  are  not  uncommon  of  persons  voluntari- 
ly submitting  to  tl  em  to  defend  the  honour  of  their  name. 


002 


History  of  Madagascar. 


[Oct. 


When  it.  is  remembered  th;it  almost  all  superstitious  and 
half  civilized  nations  have  adopted  and  long  retained  the 
ordeal  process,  the  veneration  with  which  it  is  regarded  in 
Madagascar  will  cease  to  astonish  the  reader,  though  lie  may 
still  deeply  lament  the  great  enormities  of  which  it  is  produc- 
tive. The  ordeals  of  fire  and  water — the  hallowed  morsel  and 
the  holy  eucharist — the  judgment  of  the  cross  and  the  trial 
of  the  bier,  opened  in  Europe  a  wide  field  for  malice,  rapine 
and  murder,  and  some  of  them  were  not  abolished  till  the 
seventeenth  century.  The  tests  to  which  supposed  witches 
were  compelled  to  submit  were  used  as  late  as  the  year  1728. 

The  ordeal  held  in  the  highest  veneration  and  most  fre- 
quently used  in  the  Island  of  Madagascar  is  drinking  the 
tangena.  The  tangena  tree  bears  a  nut  believed  to  be  a  very 
powerful  poison,  but  if  taken  in  small  doses  operates  as  an 
emetic.     It  is  administered  in  the  following  manner  : 

"  The  accused  having  eaten  as  much  rice  as  possible,  swallows  three 
pieces  of  the  skin  of  a  fowl  killed  for  the  purpose,  each  piece  about  the 
size  of  a  dollar,  and  swallowed  whole.  The  cursers  now  prepare  the 
tangena,  scraping  a  small  quantity  of  the  nut  into  some  juice  of  banana, 
and  repeating  the  mysterious  talismanic  words,  Tomadi  mariko.  The  vir- 
tue of  the  tangena  is  tried  on  two  chickens  before  being  given  to  the  ac- 
cused person.  One  of  the  chickens  having  been  made  to  swallow  it,  the 
curser  exclaims,  Hear,  oh  test,  if  thou  art  a  perfect  judge— if  not  false, 
if  just  and  suitable  kill  this  chicken.  The  other  having  drank  it,  he  ex- 
claims, Hear,  oh  test,  if  thou  art  a  suitable  and  righteous  test,  let  this 
chicken  live.  Should  both  die,  the  tangena  is  pronounced  bad,  as  it 
does  not  t>ive  to  the  accused  a  fair  chance  of  being  found  innocent  ;  or 
if  both  live,  it  is  rejected  as  not  having  the  virtue  requisite  to  detect 
and  convict  the  guilty.  In  either  case  other  tangena  must  be  provided. 
Should  one  die  and  one  live,  it  is  of  course  declared  suitable  and  just. 
( It  will  be  readily  supposed  that  unequal  quantities  are  given  so  as  to 
secure  the  effect  desired,  however  the  pretence  may  be  to  give  an  equal 
portion  to  each.) 

"  The  accused  is  then  seated  on  the  floor  in  the  middle  of  the  house, 
—  a  hole  dug  opposite  to  him  and  a  fish-basket  placed  in  it.  He  must 
now  drink  the  carefully  prepared  draught,  on  which  hinges  life  or 
death.  As  soon  as  he  has  swallowed  it,  the  panozondoha,  or  curser, 
placing  his  hand  on  the  crown  of  the  head  of  the  accused,  pronounces  the 
imprecation  or  prayer  which  is  sometimes  uttered  before  the  tangena  is 
taken. — At  the  conclusion  of  the  formula,  rice-water  is  given  in  copious 
draughts,  till  a  decision  is  made  for  life  or  death,  by  vomiting  the  three 
pieces  of  skin,  or  being  found  unable  to  do.  This  is  the  crisis, — this 
the  circumstance  which  decides  the  character  and  fate  of  the  poor 
sufferer.  And  for  the  ejection  of  the  three  pieces,  they  watch  earnestly 
and  carefully  examine  the  contents  of  the  fish-basket  already  named.  If 
they  are  found,  it  is  announced  he  is  innocent,  if  otherwise,  lie  is  declar- 
ed guilty,  and  in  this  case  is  to  be  struck  and  beaten  with  the  rice  pestle 
till  dead,  unless  he  has  previously,  as  sometimes  happens,  died  by  the 
poisonous  action  of  the  tangena.  The  corpse  is  dragged  away  from  the 
house,  wrapped  in  some  old  matting,  with  the  head  placed  southward. 
Sometimes  the  body  is  hastily  buried,  but  frequently  is  merely  dragged 
to  a  distance  from  the  house  or  village  and  left  for  the  dogs  or  birds  of 
prey. 


1840.] 


History  of  Madagascar. 


"  To  complete  the  iniquity  of  the  whole,  and  fill  up  the  measure  of  the 
sufferings  of  the  accused,  as  well  as  to  satisfy  the  avarice  of  the  accuser, 
the  property  is  all  swept  off  even  down  to  the  rice-measure." 

The  confiscated  property  falls  to  the  sovereign,  the  judges 
and  accusers.  As  the  last  have  an  interest  in  the  conviction,  it 
presents  to  the  unprincipled  a  powerful  temptation  to  accuse 
the  rich  who  are  innocent  with  the  design  of  obtaining  a 
part  of  their  wealth,  and  it  is  to  be  feared,  that  by  bribing 
the  officers  who  administer  the  tangena  to  make  it  sufficiently 
strong,  they  too  frequently  accomplish  their  deadly  purpose. 
It  is  estimated  that  in  every  year  upwards  of  three  thousand 
persons  perish  by  this  infernal  ordeal  process ;  all  their 
families  are  reduced  to  extreme  poverty  and  wretchedness, 
in  which  most  of  them  continue  till  death  puts  a  period  to 
their  misery. 

The  corrupt  administration  of  law  by  ordeals  and  tyranny 
is  not  the  only  calamity  which  has  befallen  Madagascar. 
Domestic  slavery  has  existed  in  the  island  from  the  earlist 
period  of  its  history.  The  slaves  are  debtors,  felons  and 
captives  ;  persons  who  may  have  incurred  the  displeasure  of 
the  monarch,  and  others  driven  by  hunger  to  dispose  of  their 
liberty  to  avoid  the  horrors  of  starvation.  Their  wives  and 
children  are  also  reduced  to  bondage. 

As  with  the  exception  of  taking  away  life  the  master 
possesses  unlimited  authority,  their  sufferings  may  be  mitigat- 
ed or  increased  at  his  pleasure.  Evident  as  it  must  be  to 
every  mind,  it  is  scarcely  necessary  to  state  that  so  large  a 
power  over  the  destinies  of  the  poor  and  helpless  lodged  in 
the  hands  of  irresponsible,  and  often  unprincipled  men,  leads 
to  the  commission  of  a  thousand  atrocities. 

But  it  remained  for  Europeans  to  perfect  this  system  of 
iniquity,  or  to  use  the  sorrowful  words  of  the  children  of 
bondage,  white  men  with  black  hearts  were  the  first  that  tore 
us  from  our  kindred  and  home,  and  sold  us  for  gold  in  foreign 
lands. 

Soon  after  Vasco  de  Gama  opened  the  highway  from  Europe 
to  India,  the  isle  of  St.  Mary's,  which  is  situated  off  the  north- 
east coast  of  Madagascar,  was  infested  with  pirates,  who 
continued  to  carry  on  their  depredations  with  increasing  success 
till  the  year  1721,  when  several  European  nations  alarmed  at 
the  great  losses  which  their  commerce  had  sustained,  united 
to  arrest  them  in  their  career  of  plunder  and  murder. 

After  a  long  and  deperate  resistance  the  vessels  of  the 
pirates  were  taken  and  destroyed  by  fire. 

"  Forced  to  give  up"  says  Mr,  Ellis,  <(  their  wandering  and  predatory 
life,  they  plunged  into  a  different  kind  of  villainy  which  has  left  upon 


G04 


History  of  Madagascar. 


[Oct. 


their  memory  a  deeper  stain.  They  carried  into  execution  the  murderous 
plan  of  fomenting  wars  hetween  some  of  the  provinces  in  which  they  had 
traded  on  the  eastern  coast  of  Madagascar,  and  inducing  the  victorious 
to  sell  their  prisoners  in  exchange  for  arms  and  ammunition.  Deceived 
by  the  artifices  of  the  pirates,  whom  they  never  suspected  of  treachery, 
and  whom  they  had  long  courted  as  friends,  without  knowing  their  real 
character  and  persuits,  the  Malagasy  became  the  victims  of  the  most 
atrocious  perfidy,  and  that,  too,  under  the  impression,  that  as  the  whites 
were  a  superior  race  of  men,  they  could  not  materially  err  in  following 
their  advice.  By  wars  of  retaliation,  the  natives  became  scourges  of  one 
another,  plunging  each  other  into  inextricable  misery,  wasting  each 
other's  resources,  depopulating  each  other's  territory,  and  affording  satis- 
faction to  none,  but  to  men  who  were  unworthy  of  the  name,  and  whose 
rapacious  avarice  could  be  equalled  only  by  their  cruel  contempt  of 
human  rights  and  human  misery. 

"  The  trade  having  commenced  on  the  coast,  and  the  pleasure  of  its 
gains  gradually  expelling  all  sense  of  the  injustice  of  the  traffic,  it  soon 
extended  to  the  interior  of  the  island,  withering  all  before  it,  and  deso- 
lating like  a  pestilence  wherever  its  baneful  influence  spread. 

"  With  the  increased  demand  for  slaves,  the  supply  was  consequently 
increased.  Various  modes  were  then  employed  to  obtain  slaves  for  sale, 
and  all  these  were  characterised  by  deceit,  and  treachery,  violence  and 
cruelty.'' 

Though  no  data  exist  to  establish  the  truth  of  the  statement, 
there  can  be  little  doubt  that  annually  several  thousands  were 
consigned  to  hopeless  captivity,  in  which  many  of  them, 
wasted  away  with  hunger,  flayed  to  the  bone  with  the  lash,  and 
stricken  to  the  heart  with  sorrows  continually  accumulating, 
soon  sickened  and  died,  and  are  now,  it  is  to  be  hoped,  where 
the  wicked  cease  from  troubling  and  the  weary  are  at  rest. 

The  markets  to  which  the  slaves  from  Madagascar  were 
conveyed  for  sale  were  the  Isles  of  France  and  Bourbon  ; 
North  and  South  America,  and  the  West  Indies. 

The  Mauritius  which  the  English  had  taken  four  years  pre- 
vious^, being  confirmed  to  them  by  the  peace  of  1814,  and 
the  ministry  of  the  day  being  anxious  to  carry  out  as  far  as 
possible  their  humane  intentions  respecting  the  abolition  of 
slavery,  sent  an  ambassador  to  Radama  king  of  Madagascar 
to  induce  him  to  abolish  the  trade  in  his  dominions. 

The  persons  who  greatly  distinguished  themselves  by  their 
praise-worthy  labours  to  bring  this  system  of  iniquity  to  an 
end  in  that  island  were  His  Excellency  Sir  Robert  Farquhar, 
Governor  of  Mauritius  and  Sir  James  Hastie,  British  agent  to 
the  court  of  Radama. 

After  encountering  many  difficulties,  a  treaty  very  expensive 
to  England  prohibiting  the  exportation  of  slaves  from  the 
island  was  concluded  on  the  1  1th  of  October,  1820.  The  way 
in  which  Sir  James  welcomed  that  auspicious  day  is  highly 
creditable  to  his  humanity  and  must  be  gratifying  to  the  bene- 
volent feelings  of  every  kindred  mind. 


1840.] 


History  of  Madagascar. 


605 


"The  moment  arrived  when  the  welfare  of  millions  was  to  he  decided, 
I  agreed,  and  I  trust  that  Divine  Power  which  guides  all  hearts,  will 
induce  the  go\ernment  to  sanction  the  act.  The  Kahary  was  convened, 
the  proclamation  puhlished  and  received  with  transport  hy  thousands. 
The  British  flag  was  unfurled,  and  freedom — freedom  from  the  hloody 
stain  of  slave-dealing — hailed  asthegift  of  the  British  nation.  I  declare, 
said  that  noble-minded  man,  the  first  peal  of  Radama's  cannon  announc- 
ing the  amity  sealed,  rejoiced  my  heart  more  than  the  gift  of  thousands 
would  have  done." 

That  the  death  of  this  generous-hearted  man  called  forth 
the  tears  of  a  nation,  and  that  now  his  name  is  cherished  in 
fond  and  affectionate  remembrance  by  all  the  Malagasy  who 
have  souls  to  appreciate  what  is  great  and  good,  will  be  readily 
admitted. 

"  Few  monarchs  have  given  a  higher  testimony  of  their  regard  for  an 
individual  than  that  conveyed  in  the  language  of  Radama  to  the  friends 
who  were  watching  by  the  hedside  of  Sir  James  Hastie.  I  have,  said  he, 
lost  many  of  my  people,  many  of  my  soldiers,  most  of  my  officers,  and 
several  of  the  maroserana,  or  highest  nobles  ;  hut  this  is  nothing  in  com- 
parison with  the  loss  of  Andrian*-Asy.  He  has  been  a  faithful  friend, 
vady  uy  Madagascar,  a  husband  to  Madagascar.  The  good  he  has  done 
cannot  be  too  highly  spoken  of  hy  me.  He  has  surpassed  every  agent 
that  preceded  him  ;  and  never  will  any  who  may  succeed  him,  prove  his 
equal.  Many  may  come  here,  but  none  will  feel  more  interest  in  Mada- 
gascar than  Andrian- Asy.  Many  may  boast  much,  but  none  will  do  so 
much  as  he  has  done,  nor  endure  the  toils  which  he  has  endured.  May 
Cod  spare  his  valuable  life  to  us." 

Such  was  this  worthy  representative  of  the  British  nation. 
Would  to  heaven  that  all  who  have  filled  similar  situations  had 
imitated  his  example,  how  much  heart-rending  agony  would 
mankind  have  been  spared,  and  how  much  less  tremendously 
awful  would  be  the  scenes  which  have  yet  to  be  presented 
when  oppressors  of  their  kind  and  traffickers  in  human  flesh 
will  be  summoned  to  judgment. 

The  first  persons  who  visited  Madagascar  with  the  design 
of  evangelizing  it  were  Roman  Catholic  Missionaries.  That 
pre-eminent  piety  and  great  talents,  self-denial  and  the  most 
laborious  efforts  to  propagate  a  system  believed  to  be  founded 
on  the  principles  of  sacred  truth,  characterized  Cavallero, 
Bareze  and  Xavier,  Rieci,  de  Nobilibus  and  many  others  of  the 
same  community  whose  names  might  be  mentioned,  is  con- 
firmed by  the  impartial  records  of  history.  Father  Stephen 
and  his  coadjutors  who  laboured  for  a  period  in  the  island  of 
Madagascar,  were  as  zealous  as  the  most  distinguished  of  their 
brethren.  By  their  instrumentality  many  thousands  of  the 
natives  renounced  idolatry  and  were  admitted  into  the  church 
by  the  ordinance  of  baptism.    The  Mission  was  thus  pro- 

*  Andrian,  nobleman,  a  title  of  respect  and  honor;  and  Hastie  contracted 
into  Asy. 

VOL.  I.  4  I 


606 


History  of  Madagascar. 


[Oct. 


ceeding,  apparently  attended  with  great  success,  and  seeming- 
ly taking  fast  hold  of  the  affections  of  the  people,  when  by 
using  physical  force  to  accelerate  the  work  of  evangelization 
they  involved  the  Europeans  and  the  Malagasy  in  war.  In 
the  first  battle  the  latter  were  victorious,  and  refusing  all 
quarter  only  one  European  escaped  from  the  field  to  tell  of  the 
defeat  and  slaughter  of  his  companions  in  arms.  The  settlers 
at  Fort  Dauphin,  enraged  by  the  massacre  of  Father  Stephen 
and  his  colleagues,  and  by  the  cruelty  with  which  the  soldiers 
had  been  slain  who  had  espoused  their  cause,  immediately 
prepared  to  take  the  field.  After  routing  the  armies  of  the 
chieftains,  killing  the  sick  and  aged  that  had  been  unable  to 
fly  with  their  vanquished  countrymen,  sacking  and  burning  to 
the  ground  every  town  and  village  to  which  they  came,  the 
want  of  provisions,  at  length,  stopped  the  Christian  victors  in 
the  perpetration  of  these  wholesale  murders,  and  necessitated 
them  to  return  to  Fort  Dauphin. 

Having  thus  desolated  all  the  adjacent  country  and  made 
the  Malagasy  their  implacable  enemies,  and  now  finding  their 
supplies  cut  off,  they  were  compelled  to  break  up  their  es- 
tablishment, which  terminated  the  papal  Mission,  never,  it  is 
to  be  hoped,  to  be  revived,  identifying  as  it  has  the  name  of 
Christianity  with  deeds  of  rapine  and  murder. 

In  the  year  1818  Protestant  Missionaries  visited  the  island. 
They  found,  as  might  have  been  expected,  that  few  of  the 
persons  who  had  been  baptised  manifested  in  their  lives  any 
of  the  important  signs  of  conversion,  and  that  most  of  them 
like  the  heathen  were  hostile  to  the  new  religion  whose  pro- 
pagators had  interfered  with  their  civil  rights  and  deluged 
the  country  with  the  blood  of  their  kindred  and  friends. 

Under  these  unfavorable  auspices  the  agents  of  the  London 
Society  commenced  their  labours.  Their  conduct  being  such 
as  to  convince  all  who  had  intercourse  with  them  that  they 
were  not  different  in  name  only,  but  also  in  character  from 
those  who  had  preceded  them,  they  gradually  gained  the 
esteem  and  affection  of  the  people. 

In  1820  an  account  of  the  Society's  Mission  in  the  South 
Seas  was  drawn  up  and  presented  to  Radama.  Being  highly 
gratified  by  the  great  improvements  effected  by  the  instru- 
mentality of  the  Gospel  in  those  islands,  he  immediately  re- 
quested Mr.  Jones  to  remove  to  the  capital  that  his  own  sub- 
jects might  enjoy  the  same  eminent  advantages. 

In  connexion  with  the  Missionary  operations  commenced 
at  the  capital,  a  school  was  established  for  educating  the  Ma- 
lagasy youths. 

When  the  institution  was  opened  the  number  of  scholars 


1840.] 


History  of  Madagascar. 


G07 


was  small,  but  it  soon  so  much  increased  as  to  render  a  larger 
building  indispensable  to  afford  suitable  accommodation. 
Believing  that  a  good  education  would  raise  the  tone  of  morals 
and  elevate  the  people  in  their  social  and  civil  relations  so  as 
to  prepare  them  to  fill  with  honour  the  spheres  in  which  Divine 
Providence  might  call  them  to  move,  the  government  gene- 
rously undertook  to  erect  the  school  at  the  public  expense. 

In  laying  the  foundation-stone  the  liberal-minded  monarch, 
according  to  the  usages  of  the  country,  sprinkled  it  with  sa- 
cred water.  As  this  ceremony  had  always  been  restricted  to 
members  of  the  royal  family  the  natives  were  exceedingly 
astonished  to  see  Radama  performing  it  for  a  foreigner  and 
a  stranger. 

But  by  thus  giving  a  public  testimony  of  his  countenance 
and  approbation,  he  wished  to  remove  from  their  minds  any 
prejudice  which  might  exist,  and  induce  them  to  send  their 
children  to  be  instructed.  To  facilitate  the  accomplishment 
of  this  praise-worthy  object  he  sent  the  children  of  his  own 
family  and  persuaded  the  nobility  to  do  the  same. 

Under  these  auspices  the  work  of  education  advanced  in  a 
manner  so  as  to  gratify  the  most  sanguine  expectations  ;  two 
additional  schools  were  opened  in  the  capital,  which  together 
with  the  other  were,  at  the  desire  of  the  king,  afterwards 
formed  into  one,  designated  the  Missionary  seminary,  design- 
ed to  furnish  teachers  and  to  be  a  model  for  all  schools  that 
might  be  formed  in  any  part  of  his  dominions.  The  desirable- 
ness and  practicability  of  extending  the  benefits  of  education 
still  more  widely  were  soon  apparent;  requests  for  the  erection 
of  schools  in  the  adjacent  districts  were  daily  sent  to  the 
capital,  but  as  the  want  of  teachers  rendered  the  Missionaries 
unable  to  meet  the  wishes  of  all,  preference  was  given,  accord- 
ing to  the  number  of  scholars  promised. 

In  a  short  time  a  considerable  number  of  young  men  from 
the  central  school  in  the  capital  being  qualified  for  teachers, 
other  towns  and  villages  were  favoured  with  the  means  of 
education.  Radama  continued  to  take  the  same  deep  interest 
in  the  work,  and  used  all  his  influence  to  diffuse  through  his 
dominions  the  benefits  of  knowledge.  He  generally  attended 
the  examinations  and  took  an  active  part  in  the  business  of 
the  day.    On  one  occasion — 

"  The  schools  of  the  respective  districts  having  been  classed,  so  that 
it  might  be  seen  what  districts  had  been  most  zealous  in  meeting  the 
king's  wishes,  he  addressed  the  children  in  the  following  words.  Do 
you  tell  your  parents  that  by  attending  the  schools  and  learning  the  les- 
sons taught  you,  you  not  only  give  me  and  the  white  people  pleasure, 
but  do  honour  to  yourselves  and  your  parents.  The  knowledge  you  ob- 
tain is  good — good  for  trade.    By  reading  and  writing,  you  will  learn, 

4  i  2 


608 


History  of  Madagascar. 


[Oct. 


record,  and  preserve  in  remembrance  what  else  would  be  forgotten,  and 
to  acquire  the  good  dispositions  which  are  taught,  will  render  yon  good 
subjects;  and  this  will  be  your  greatest  honour  and  glory.  Now  go 
home  and  tell  your  parents  I  am  pleased  with  you.  Fear  God,  and  obey 
tbe  king." 

"  Some  of  the  teachers  from  each  district  replied  to  the  king  in  lan- 
guage expressive  of  their  attachment  to  him,  and  their  determination  to 
deserve  his  favour  ;  after  which,  ten  bullocks  were  given  to  them  as  a 
royal  present,  and  the  assembly  broke  up,  well  pleased  with  the  transac- 
tions of  the  day." 

On  a  similar  occasion. 

"  The  Missionaries,  said  he,  in  his  address,  have  left  their  own  coun- 
try, their  relations  and  their  friends  to  come  to  you,  and  instruct  you 
and  your  children ;  and  in  the  discharge  of  this  benevolent  work  some 
of  them  have  fallen.  There,  pointing  to  the  Missionary  burial-ground, 
yonder  is  the  spot  where  the  bones  of  several  of  them  are  laid,  far  from 
the  graves  of  their  fathers  ;  and  this  is  a  proof  of  what  I  have  told  you 
respecting  them.  Take  care,  therefore  that  the  children  attend  properly. 
Those  who  are  the  most  advanced  may  now  leave  the  schools,  but  let 
them  still  attend  on  Sundays  and  at  the  monthly  examinations,  lest  they 
should  forget  what  they  have  learned.  It  may  here  be  added  that  this 
plan  was  strictly  enforced  by  Radama,  with  this  condition,  that  if  the 
dismissed  scholars  were  found  to  have  forgotten  their  former  lessons 
they  should  re-enter  the  schools  and  again  submit  themselves  to  tuition." 

Introduction  of  the  mechanic  arts,  literature  and  science ; 
improvements  in  agriculture  and  extension  of  commerce  ; 
infusing  into  all  ranks  of  society  a  higher  tone  of  morals,  and 
leading  men  to  respect  and  fulfil  with  virtue  and  honour  the 
private  and  public  relations  of  life,  are  some  of  the  results  of 
a  well-conducted  national  education,  and  are  always  found  of 
unspeakable  importance  to  the  prosperity,  happiness  and 
stability  of  a  country. 

But  he  who  expects  that  all  youths  placed  under  instruction 
will  immediately  renounce  idolatry  and  embrace  the  Christian 
faith,  knows  little  of  the  deep-rooted  hostility  the  human 
heart  cherishes  against  the  gospel,  and  will  in  all  probability 
become  wiser  by  a  more  enlarged  acquaintance  with  himself 
and  the  rest  of  his  species.  Still  he  who  believes  that  every 
well-directed  effort  for  the  religious  improvement  of  the  young 
may  shed  a  benign  influence  on  the  future,  if  not  on  the 
present  generation,  which  may  produce  effects  of  a  highly 
gratifying  nature  and  be  a  full  compensation  for  all  previous 
labour,  has  a  faith  supported  by  the  authentic  history  of  the 
church  both  in  christian  and  heathen  lands  and  supported  by 
the  word  of  inspiration  itself. 

The  followiug  instances  of  success  in  the  island  of  Mada- 
gascar, to  which  others  might  be  added  did  space  allow,  will 
serve  to  confirm  the  truth  of  the  above  statement. 

"  A  school  had  been  established  by  the  Missionries  at  the  village  of 
Ambohimamonbola,  and  amongst  the  scholars  was  the  son  of  the  idol's 


1840.] 


History  of  Madagascar. 


609 


guardian.  Tlie  youth  having  learned  that  he  alone  was  the  true  God 
who  had  created  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  plainly  told  his  father  that 
that  was  not  God  which  was  taken  care  of  by  others,  but  he  who  took 
care  of  all.  The  father  was  very  angry,  and  asked  his  son  if  he  did 
not  know  that  Rakelemalaza  was  god  ?  The  hoy  declined  urging  the 
point  till  another  opportunity  offered.  Meantime  he  found  in  his  cate- 
chism the  text.  Hear,  O  Israel!  the  Lord  our  God  is  one  Lord  ;  when 
he  exclaimed,  now  I  am  both  delighted  and  grieved  :  delighted  to  have 
found  the  word  of  the  true  God,  grieved  on  account  of  my  relatives. 
They  are  lovers  of  idols.  He  then  begged  his  father's  permission  to 
quit  the  school  :  for  why,  said  he,  should  I  continue  to  learn  what  yon  do 
not  believe.  What  do  I  not  believe,  asked  the  father.  That,  replied 
the  youth,  of  which  I  have  told  you  before;  and  which  will  not  only  do 
me  good  but  you  also.  There  are  new  heavens  and  a  new  earth  for  those 
who  believe  in  God,  with  everlasting  life,  and  garments  shining  like  the 
sun,  that  never  wax  old." 

"  An  impression  was  made  upon  the  father's  mind.  He  paused,  en- 
couraged the  youth,  and  shortly  afterwards  resolved  on  relinquishing 
his  charge  of  the  idol.  Pretending  business  at  some  distance,  he  there- 
fore  asked  leave  of  absence,  and  remained  beyond  the  stipulated  time  ; 
for  which  a  fine  was  imposed  upon  him,  and  another  person  chosen  to 
supersede  him  in  his  office.  Having  obtained  information  of  this,  he 
returned  home,  paid  his  fine,  and  felt  himself  relieved  in  beitii>  free  from 
his  charge  of  keeping  a  god  which  he  had  learned  could  neither  keep 
others  nor  himself." 

"In  the  month  of  August,  182.5,  a  prayer-meeting  was  instituted  for 
the  benefit  of  the  Malagasy  youths,  in  which  it  was  agreed  that  the 
native  language  only  should  be  used.  It  afforded  much  satisfaction  to 
the  missionaries  to  find  some  of  the  scholars  not  only  willing  to  associate 
with  them,  in  these  exercises,  but  capable  of  engaging  in  prayer  them- 
selves, and  with  simplicity,  fervour,  and  apparently  feelings  of  true 
devotion,  imploring  the  blessings  of  the  true  God  on  themselves  and  their 
countrymen." 

Another  department  of  the  mission,  the  preaching  of  the 
gospel  remains  to  he  noticed. 

It  must  he  highly  gratifying  to  the  feelings  of  the  Christian 
to  know  that  the  word  which  has  been  made  the  power  of 
God  to  his  own  salvation  has  likewise  subdued  to  its  holy 
and  enlightened  sway  men  of  every  country,  of  every  creed 
and  of  every  shade  of  morals,  and  given  them  joy  and 
peace  in  believing.  The  progress  of  a  people  from  error  to 
truth, —  from  idolatry  to  the  service  of  the  living  God  may 
have  been  slow,  and  for  a  long  period  imperceptible  to  those 
who  laboured  among  them  ;  still  there  ha9  not  yet  been  found 
a  people  on  the  face  of  the  earth,  from  the  time  the  fishermen 
of  Galilee  commenced  their  ministry  to  the  present  day,  to 
whom  the  tidings  of  redemption,  announced  with  simplicity 
and  faithfulness,  have  not  eventually  been  made  the  savour 
of  life  unto  life  to  a  few,  if  not  unto  many.  The  word  of  the 
Lord  has  not  yet  returned  unto  him  void. 

In  the  island  of  Madagascar  the  Missionaries'  immediate 
labours  for  the  spiritual  benefit  of  the  people  were  greatly 


(HO 


History  of  Madagascar. 


[Oct. 


blessed.  The  places  for  divine  worship  both  in  the  capital 
and  provinces,  were  filled  with  attentive  and  serious  hearers. 
Many  who  seemed  to  be  impressed  with  the  importance  and 
necessity  of  personal  religion  frequently  came  to  the  houses 
of  the  Missionaries  to  be  instructed  more  fully  in  the  doctrines 
of  the  gospel.  These  individuals  afforded  satisfactory  evidence 
of  their  piety  and  devotedncss  to  the  Saviour,  by  the  purity 
and  consistency  of  their  lives,  and  the  affectionate  earnest- 
ness with  which  they  tried  to  persuade  their  countrymen  to 
renounce  idolatry  and  to  seek  the.  blessings  of  salvation. 

"On  Sahbath,  the  29th  of  May,  1831,  twenty  of  the  first  converts  to 
Christ  in  Madagascar  were  publicly  baptized  by  Mr.  Griffiths,  in  the 
Mission  chapel,  before  a  numerous,  highly  interested,  and  deeply  affected 
audience.  Oil  the  following  sabbath,  June  5th,  eight  individuals  were 
baptized  by  Mr.  Johns  in  the  newly-erected  chapel  at  Ambalonakonga. 

"  The  following  letter  which  was  addressed  to  Mr.  Johns  will  shew  the 
views  and  feelings  with  which  the  Malagasy  converts  sought  the  pri- 
vileges of  Christian  fellowship. 

"  May  you,  Sir,  live  long,  and  never  be  ill,  saith  your  son  R.  This  is 
what  1  have  to  say  to  you,  viz.  : — That  I  rejoiced  much  when  1  heard  the 
word  of  the  queen,  (the  permission  to  be  baptized,  &c.)  so  that  the  way 
is  now  free  to  receive  baptism,  and  to  commemorate  the  death  of  Christ. 
1  am  truly  very  glad  to  find  there  is  nothing  now  to  prevent  or  hinder  any 
at  all  who  has  examined  and  tried  himself :  therefore,  it  is  my  wish  to  be 
a  partaker  of  these.  I  devote  myself  both  soul  and  body  to  Jesus,  that 
I  may  serve  him  in  all  things,  according  to  his  will  ;  and  I  pray  to  God, 
in  this  giving  myself  to  Jesus  to  assist  me  by  his  Holy  Spirit,  that  I  may 
love  Jesus  with  all  my  heart,  with  all  my  spirit,  with  all  my  strength, 
and  that  I  may  not  be  made  to  stand  any  longer  in  doubt  by  any  thing 
whatsoever.  Having  thus  given  myself  up  to  Jesus,  both  soul  and  hody, 
I  now  ask  permission  of  yon  to  join  the  church,  and  unite  in  commemo- 
rating the  death  of  Jesus  ;  and  that  I  also  may  join  you  to  sing  and  praise, 
and  to  give  glory  to  God  as  long  as  I  shall  live.  And  now,  after  this  pray 
for  me  unto  God,  that  I  may  be  assisted  to  fulfil  what  I  have  said,  and 
serve  Jesus  faithfully  all  my  days  here  on  earth.  I  myself  pray  unto 
God  to  assist  me  by  his  Holy  Spirit  to  fulfil  my  vows,  that  I  may  serve 
Jesus  even  until  I  die." 

After  the  formation  of  these  two  churches  many  individuals 
desirous  of  making  a  public  profession  of  their  faith  in  the  Savi- 
our solicited  to  be  admitted  into  Christian  fellowship.  Special 
seasons  were  therefore  appointed  to  hear  their  religion  ex- 
perience, and  to  point  out  with  affectionate  faithfulness  the 
character  and  obligations  of  true  disciples  of  the  Redeemer. 
These  meetings  were  attended  by  considerable  numbers,  some 
of  whom  were  persons  of  high  rank  and  of  great  influence  in 
the  government.  In  one  year  fifty  additional  converts  who 
had  given  evidence  of  an  entire  change  of  heart  by  fruits  of 
righteousness  equally  abundant  and  cheering,  were  received 
into  one  of  the  churches  ;  while  during  the  same  period  the 
other  church  was  blessed  with  a  similar  degree  of  spiritual 
prosperity. 


1840.] 


History  of  Madagascar. 


611 


The  following  letter  addressed  by  Messrs.  Johns  and  Free- 
man to  the  Directors  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  under 
date  November  6th,  1S34,  gives  a  general  view  of  the  religious 
state  of  the  country  at  that  period. 

"We  have  been  exceedingly  gratified  with  tlie  personal  conduct  of 
many.  There  is  a  seriousness  and  steadiness,  and  perseverance  and 
diligence  about  them,  which  constrains  us  to  hope  that  their  hearts  have 
been  opened  by  Him,  by  whose  sovereign  grace 

'  Dry  bones  are  raised  and  clothed  afresh 
And  hearts  of  stone  are  turned  to  flesh.' 

We  look  on  with  wonder  and  surprise,  and  are  often  prompted  to 
exclaim,  This  is  the  finger  of  God.  The  difficulty  still  remains  as  inti- 
mated in  our  last  report  of  ascertaining  the  numbers  under  religious 
impressions.  The  preached  word  is  listened  to  attentively,  and  the 
Scriptures  are  earnestly  sought,  and  deligently  examined.  There  are 
also  several  prayer-meetings  held  in  the  town  during  the  week-evenings. 
The  two  principal  circumstances  which  we  wish  to  notice  in  connection 
with  these  meetings  are,  first  that  a  spirit  of  prayer  actually  exists  and  in- 
creases among  the  natives  ;  and  second,  that  these  meetings  are  con- 
vened and  conducted  by  the  natives  themselves.  They  frequently  request 
our  attendance,  to  give  an  exhortation,  and  lead  the  service  ;  but  the 
bouses  are  their  own  residences,  and  they  consider  themselves  as  acting 
on  their  own  convictions,  at  the  movement  of  their  own  minds,  and  from 
a  consideration  of  present  obligation  to  employ  the  means  in  their  power 
of  spreading  around  their  respective  neighbourhoods  the  knowledge  of 
the  true  God,  and  of  eternal  life. 

It  is  not,  however,  exclusively  in  connection  with  the  stations  that 
fall  immediately  under  our  own  personal  observation,  that  a  spirit  of 
hearing  and  inquiring  is  awakened;  God  appears  to  manifest  his  pur- 
poses of  mercy  to  this  people,  in  raising  up  an  agency  of  his  own  from 
among  themselves,  to  carry  on  his  own  work.  He  is  forming  for  him- 
self his  own  instruments,  giving  them  zeal  and  knowledge,  imbuing 
them  with  love  to  the  truth,  and  compassion  for  their  countrymen,  and 
thu-  supplying  the  exigencies  of  his  cause  by  their  unexpected  instru- 
mentality, and  so  compensating  for  our  lack  of  service.  And  as  a  speci- 
fic illustration  of  this  point  we  may  remark,  that  in  a  district  to  the 
west  of  the  capital,  at  a  village  about  sixty  miles  distant,  a  small  chapel 
has  been  lately  erected  by  the  zeal  and  devotedness  of  the  natives,  chiefly 
excited,  however,  by  the  exertions  of  a  pious  woman. 

A  very  delightful  spirit  of  enquiry  is  awakened  in  that  district ;  and 
several  of  the  adult  natives,  men  of  rank  and  importance  in  their  station, 
conduct  prayer-meetings,  and  engage  themselves  in  those  exercises  with 
much  apparent  fervour,  pleasure,  and  propriety.  Another  chapel  is  also 
being  erected  in  a  district  to  the  south,  perhaps  120  miles  distant. 
Public  worship,  chiefly  for  prayer  and  reading  the  Scriptures,  is  held  in 

many  distant  parts  of  the  country,  principally  raised  and  conducted  by 
those  who  were  formerly  scholars  or  teachers  in  the  missionary  schools. 
Applications  from  all  these  for  books,  and  especially  for  the  scriptures 

are  very  numerous." 

General  education  and  the  mechanic  arts,  civilization  and 
Christianity  were  thus  rapidly  advancing  the  temporal  and 
spiritual  well-being  of  the  nation,  when  persecution  interfer- 
ed with  the  rights  of  conscience  and  formed  the  infernal,  but 
vain  purpose  of  extirpating  the  religion  of  Jesus.  Radama, 


612 


History  of  Madagascar. 


[Oct. 


tlie  late  lamented  monarch,  whose  death  occurred  in  the 
month  of  July,  1828,  took  great  interest  in  the  diffusion  of 
secular  and  sacred  knowledge,  and  embraced  every  opportuni- 
ty to  encourage  the  Missionaries  in  their  praise-worthy  la- 
hours.  Ranavolona  his  successor,  likewise  publicly  guaran- 
teed religious  liberty,  and  expressed  before  assembled  thou- 
sands her  unqualified  approbation  of  all  measures  to  promote 
the  welfare  of  the  country  which  had  received  the  sanction  of 
the  king,  her  predecessor  ;  but  scarcely  had  she  ascended  the 
throne  before  the  royal  promise  was  broken,  and  deep-rooted 
hostility  manifested  against  the  gospel. 

The  reasons  which  have  induced  other  rulers  to  oppose  the 
Christian  faith  were  perhaps  the  identical  ones  that  dictated 
the  policy  of  the  Queen.  Ignorance  and  superstition  which 
have  upheld  tyranny  in  every  age  were  rapidly  decreasing  in 
every  part  of  the  island  ;  while  the  gospel  which  defines  the 
rights  of  beggar  and  prince,  and  supports  both  with  the  same 
divine  authority — which  raises  up  in  every  country,  men  like 
Peter  and  John  who  refuse  with  immoveable  firmness 
to  obey  commands  of  earthly  sovereigns  which  contra- 
vene the  laws  of  God,  was  taking  fast  hold  of  the  minds  and 
affections  of  the  people  both  in  the  capital  and  provinces.  It 
was  consequently  apparent  to  this  arch-oppressor,  that  if 
Christianity  continued  to  spread  tyranny  must  eventually  die. 
She  therefore  chose  the  line  of  policy  adopted  by  Nero  and 
Caligula.  To  this  may  be  added,  that  Ranavolona  no  longer 
sustained  the  character  of  Caesar's  wife,  and  might  regard  the 
chastity  of  the  Christian  females  as  a  reflection  upon  her  own 
morals. 

Influenced  by  these  or  other  reasons  she  commenced  the 
dreadful  work.  In  the  early  part  of  his  reign  Radama  passed 
an  act  prohibiting  the  use  of  wine  and  spirituous  liquors. 
Though  it  had  never  been  thought  to  have  reference  to  Euro- 
peans and  was  not  universally  observed  by  the  natives,  it  still 
remained  the  law  of  the  land  ;  and  resolving  to  embarrass  the 
Christians  she  commanded  them  to  use  water  instead  of  wine 
at  the  sacrament  of  the  Lord's  supper. 

Being  after  many  endeavours  unable  to  induce  the  Queen 
to  exempt  them,  in  the  enjoyment  of  their  religious  privi- 
leges, from  the  operation  of  this  act,  the  communicants 
deemed  it  their  duty  to  comply  with  her  wishes.  While 
yielding  thus  to  arbitrary  power  which  interfered  with  the  in- 
stitutions of  heaven  cannot  be  commended,  every  person  of 
correct  sensibility  will  sympathize  with  the  afflicted  pastor  and 
flock,  though  he  may  question  the  propriety  of  the  course  they 
pursued  on  this  trying  occasion. 


1840.] 


History  of  Madagascar. 


613 


No  sooner  was  this  law  enforced  than  an  order  was  issued 
prohibiting  all  belonging  to  the  army  and  educ  ated  in  the 
Government  schools  from  receiving  the  rite  of  baptism,  or 
being  admitted  into  Christian  fellowship,  and  commanding 
those  of  these  two  classes  who  had  already  joined  the  church 
to  refrain  in  future  from  partaking  of  the  sacramental  elements. 
By  the  close  of  the  year,  excepting  Europeans,  this  order  was 
extended  to  all  persons  in  the  Malagasy  dominions.  Shortly 
afterwards  an  edict  was  published  forbidding  masters  to  allow 
their  slaves  to  learn  to  read  or  to  write  on  pain  of  the  slave 
being  visited  with  the  severest  punishment,  and  the  master 
himself  being  reduced  to  slavery. 

About  the  same  period  a  law  was  passed,  prohibiting  the 
people  from  attending  divine  worship,  keeping  the  Sabbath, 
reading  the  scriptures  and  from  even  thinking  of  religious 
subjects.  It  was  declared  that  the  transgression  of  this  law 
would  be  punished  by  the  death  of  the  offenders,  the  con- 
fiscation of  their  property,  and  if  married,  the  slavery  of  their 
wives  and  children.  They  were  likewise  commanded  to  accuse 
themselves  and  to  give  up  all  religious  books  in  their  posses- 
sion, and  were  fined  and  degraded  in  rank  according  to  the 
extent  they  had  followed  the  instructions  of  the  Missionaries. 

"Among  others,  a  distinguished  Christian  female,  Rafaravavy,  was  in 
great  danger  of  losing  her  life.  An  accusation  was  laid  against  her 
before  the  government  by  some  of  her  slaves,  of  her  having  observed  the 
Sabbath,  retained  and  read  a  copy  of  the  scriptures,  and  conversed  with 
some  of  her  companions  on  religious  subjects.  These  were  the  crimes 
laid  to  her  charge.  She  denied  not,  but  confessed  the  truth  of  the  accu- 
sation. In  daily  prospect  of  death,  slie  then  remarked  to  a  beloved 
friend,  to  whom  she  was  accustomed  amidst  mutual  tears  to  pour  out 
the  feelings  of  her  heart,  that  as  to  her  life,  she  felt  indiffeient  ;  that,  if 
her  blood  «ere  to  be  shed  on  the  land,  she  trusted  it  might  be  the 
means  of  kindling  such  a  feeling  of  interest  in  Madagascar  as  should 
never  be  extinguished.  Did  not  the  Saviour  forewarn  us,  said  she,  that 
we  should  incur  the  hatred  of  all  men  for  his  sake  ?  The  Son  of  God  has 
died  in  our  stead,  and  that  will  shortly  redeem  us  from  all  our  sufferings. 
I  know  in  whom  I  have  believed  ;  and  though  my  blood  be  shed,  the 
word  of  God  must  prosper  in  this  country.  She  added,  with  great  feel- 
ing, Pray  for  me,  that  if  it.  be  the  Lord's  will  1  should  suffer  now,  that  he 
would  take  my  soul  to  himself ;  but  that,  if  1  am  spared,  I  may  live  more 
than  ever  to  his  glory.  Nothing  grieved  her,  she  remarked,  so  much  as 
the  spiritual  state  of  those  around  her ;  and  the  immediate  prospect  of 
martyrdom  itself  appeared  less  painful  to  her  than  seeing  all  her  connex- 
ions living  in  wickedness. 

"The  queen  did  not,  at  that  time,  think  fit  to  inflict  on  her  the  punish- 
ment of  death.  She  was  condemned  to  pay  a  fine,  equivalent  to  half  the 
amount  of  her  estimated  value,  if  sold  into  slavery,  and  was  severely 
threatened,  and  warned  that  though  her  life  was  spared,  she  should  be 
taught  a  lesson  not  to  trifle  with  the  edict  of  the  queen.  Scarcely  could  a 
more  striking  example  of  Christian  forgiveness  and  meekness  he  found  in 
all  the  records  of  the  church,  than  she  displayed  on  this  trying  occasion 
VOL.   I.  4  K 


61 1 


History  of  Madagascar. 


[Ocr. 


towards  her  accusers.  She  Bought  Divine  mercy  on  their  behalf,  earnestly- 
admonished  them,  affectionately  prayed  with  them,  sought  to  lead  them 
to  repentance,  and  endeavoured  to  direct  them  to  the  Saviour." 

The  christians  now  met  in  places  of  concealment,  in  their 
own  houses,  and  on  the  Sabbath  in  caverns  among  the  rocks, 
in  the  recesses  of  forests,  and  on  the  summits  of  mountains. 
In  these  meetings  they  enjoyed  much  of  the  divine  presence, 
and  delightful  fellowship  with  each  other.  Though  strictly 
watched,  no  infringement  of  the  unjust  edict  of  the  Queen 
was  discovered  till  the  last  Sabbath  in  the  month  of  July  or 
the  first  in  August.  They  were  then  seen  engaged  in  reading 
the  Scriptures  and  in  social  worship,  on  the  summit  of  a 
mountain,  at  a  short  distance  from  the  capital. 

"  The  premises  of  the  suspected  parties  were  searched,  for  the  purpose 
of  finding  ground  of  accusation  against  them,  and  a  box  of  books, 
namely,  copies  of  the  scriptures  and  other  Christian  publications,  that 
had  been  given  by  the  Missionaries,  being  found  buried  near  the  house  of 
that  eminent  Christian  Itasalama,  she  was  apprehended  and  imprisoned  ; 
her  house,  her  entire  property,  was  given  up  to  plunder,  her  person 
secured,  and  her  hands  and  feet  loaded  with  heavy  iron  rings.  She  was 
menaced  in  vain  during  a  period  from  eight  to  ten  days,  to  induce  her  to 
impeach  her  companions.  She  remained  firm,  and  perfectly  composed; 
and  was  put  to  death  by  spearing  on  the  14th  of  August,  1S37. 

11  She  was  wonderfully  supported  to  the  last  moment  of  her  life.  No 
feature  in  her  Christian  character  appeal's  to  have  been  more  distinctly 
manifested  than  her  steadfastness  and  fidelity  even  to  the  death. 
Although  the  queen  forbade  her,  she  did  pray,  even  when  in  irons; 
and  continued  to  preach  Christ  to  the  officers  and  to  the  crowd  that 
followed  her  for  nearly  three-quarters  of  a  mile,  from  the  place  of  public 
condemnation  to  the  place  of  common  execution.  Here  she  continued 
to  pray  and  exhort  all  around  her  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ,  even  till 
the  executioner's  spear,  thrust  through  her  body,  deprived  her  of  the 
power  of  utterance. 

"Never  in  the  annals  of  the  church  did  a  Christian  martyr  suffer  from 
motives  more  pure,  simple,  and  unmixed  with  earthly  alloy.  She  had 
never  heard  of  any  after  glory  of  martyrdom  on  earth.  No  external 
splendour  had  been  cast  around  the  subject  in  her  mind,  by  reading  any 
lives  of  martvrs.  All  was  to  her  obloquy  and  contempt.  If  the  blood 
of  the  martyrs  be  the  seed  of  the  Church,  we  may  trust  Rasalama  will 
not  have  died  in  vain.  She  died  directly  and  exclusively  in  defence  of 
the  Gospel. 

"  Fifteen  others  have  been  apprehended,  and  condemned  to  the  utter 
and  final  loss  of  liberty,  never  to  be  redeemed  by  their  friends ;  and  with 
the  further  stipulation  that,  if  transferred  to  other  masters,  it  shall  be 
on  the  condition  of  their  being  compelled  to  labour  from  morning  to 
night  to  the  utmost  limit  of  their  strength.  Their  property  has  also 
been  confiscated  ;  of  those  who  were  married,  their  wives  and  children, 
whether  professing  Christianity  or  not,  have  also  been  reduced  to  slavery, 
but  with  the  mitigating  circumstance  of  permission  to  be  redeemed. 
The  total  number  thus  affected  is  said  to  amount  to  nearly  one  hundred." 

The  last  accounts  brought,  intelligence  of  another  female 
having  been  crucified,  and  considerable  numbers  having  had 
accusations  preferred  against  them.    Though  the  state  of  Ma- 


1\S4U. J       Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


(i!6 


dagascar  is  exceedingly  distressing,  it  does  not  justify  feelings 
of  despondency,  but  leaves  encouragement  for  the  exercise 
of  hope.  The  Christian  religion  is  imperishable  :  it  has  stood 
with  the  unyielding  firmness  of  a  rock  the  attacks  of  Por- 
phyry and  Julian,  and  of  other  legions  of  foes  that  have  fol- 
lowed in  the  train  of  these  distinguished  adversaries.  Tyrants 
and  persecutors,  hypocrites  within  and  avowed  enemies  with- 
out, though  arrayed  against  it  like  so  many  fiends,  have  been 
unable  to  destroy  it.  In  vain  therefore  do  the  kings  of  the 
earth  set  themselves,  and  rulers  take  counsel  together,  against 
the  Lord,  and  against  his  anointed.  Truth  must  prevail  and 
Madagascar  be  a  portion  of  the  Saviour's  spiritual  dominions  ; 
he  must  have  given  unto  him  the  heathen  for  his  inheri- 
tance and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for  his  possession  ; 
for  sooner  shall  the  heavens  pass  away  than  the  declarations 
of  Jehovah  fail.  Should  man,  as  the  Moravian  Greenland 
Missionaries  said,  ever  lose  his  road,  let  him  never  lose  his 
faith  in  God. 

If,  however,  a  people  ever  required  the  sympathies  and 
prayers  of  the  church  the  brethren  and  sisters  in  Madagascar 
at  present  especially  need  them. 

Deprived  of  their  pastors  whom  government  has  compelled 
to  leave  the  country,  they  are  left  as  sheep  without  a  shepherd 
a  prey  to  the  devouring  wolf.  Yet  enlightened  and  sancti- 
fied by  divine  grace  they  stand  forth  as  witnesses  of  Jesus 
not  knowing  what  may  befall  them.  May  their  faith  fail 
not,  and  grace  be  given  them  commensurate  to  the  necessities 
of  their  day. 

Scrutator. 


1. — Missionaky  and  Ecclesiastical  Movemfnt.j. 
During  the  last  month  the  following-  Ministers  and  Missionaries  have 
left  for  Europe.  The  Rev.  W.  O.  Ruspini :  Rev.  A.  Garstin,  Mrs.  Gar. 
stin  and  children  ;  Rev.  W.  Buyers,  Mrs.  Buyers  and  family  ;  Rev.  R. 
Bayne,  Mis  Bayne  and  family. —  The  Rev.  Messrs.  Robertson  and 
Bateman,  formerly  chaplains  on  this  establishment,  have  retired  from  the 
service. — We  regret  to  announce  the  death  of  Mrs.  Thomas,  the  wife  of 
the  Rev.  J.  Thomas,  of  the  Baptist  Mission  in  this  city  ;  she  died  on  the 
morning  of  the  23rd  ult.  after  a  few  days'  illness.  Her  end  was  peace. 
May  the  Lord  sustain  our  Baptist  friends  under  these  quickly  successive 
bereavements.  —  We  are  confident  many  of  our  friends  will  rejoice  to  hear 
of  the  complete  restoration  to  health  of  our  excellent  friend  Mrs.  Lyons, 
formerly  of  Banaras ;  through  God's  mercy  she  is  quite  restored.— We 
are  happy  to  learn  that  the  American  Freewill  Baptist  Mission  in  Orissa, 

4  k  2 


616  Missionary  and  Heligious  Intelligence.  [Oct. 


lias  been  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  the  Rev.  P.  Bachelor  and  wife; 
together  with  Miss  dimming*,  who  is  designed  for  native  female  educa- 
tion.   May  they  be  long  spared  to  live  and  labor  in  this  dark  region. 


2.-  New  Periodicals. 
The  last  few  weeks  have  been  singularly  prolific  in  prospectuses  for 
new  periodicals,  both  in  this  and  the  neighbouring  presidencies.  In  Cal- 
cutta the  Indian  Mirror,  to  he  conducted  by  East  Indian  youth,  for  their 
especial  advantage.  The  Weekly  Intelligencer,  the  property  of  a  native  and 
to  be  edited  by  a  barrister  of  the  Supreme  Court,  with  what  special  object 
we  know  not  :  and  one  or  two  others  which  we  anticipate  will  never  see  the 
lig-lit.  At  Madras  the  Native  Interpreter;  and  at  Bombay  the  Native's 
Friend.  All  except  the  Intelligencer  have  appeared.  The  Indian  Mirror 
is  much  of  the  same  school  as  the  Embryo.  The  Editor  should  eschew  per- 
sonality and  writing  nonsense  in  the  form  of  gallantry  about  the  fair 
sex.  Verses  on  fulled  neckerchiefs,  by  the  application  of  Eau  de  Cologne, 
and  stories  like  the  Forlorn  Maid,  can  have  no  tendency  to  elevate  and 
improve  the  mind.  They  are  too  much  in  the  Castle  of  Otranto  style 
— which  it  is  by  no  means  desirable  to  revive.  Let  the  Editor,  who  craves 
lenity,  seek  to  instruct  :  other  efforts  must  fail.  The  Madras  periodical  we 
have  not  seen.  The  Bombay  Native's  Friend  is  under  the  management  of 
Dr.  Wilson,  which  is  a  sufficient  guarantee  for  its  respectability  and  useful- 
ness. Surely  we  have  now  in  our  Hurkarus,  Englishmen,  Couriers,  Stars, 
Telescopes.  Mirrors,  Observers,  Intelligencers,  Friends,  Interpreters,  Advo~ 
cafes  and  the  like,  an  ample  means  for  satisfying  the  cravings  of  every  class 
of  the  community.  Our  wish  in  fact  is  from  the  many  stars,  &c.  one  bright 
sun  might  be  formed — one  compendious  weekly  or  bi-weekly  paper  in 
which  the  talents  of  the  whole  might  be  combined.  This  is  a  desideratum 
yet  in  our  periodical  literature. 


3. —  ItE-OPtNING   OF  THE  BAPTIST  CHAPEL. 

The  Circular  Road  Baptist  Chapel  was  re-opened  for  Divine  worship  on 
Sabbath  the  13th  of  September.  The  service  in  the  morning  was  con- 
ducted by  the  Rev.  J.  Macdonald,  and  that  in  the  evening  by  the  Rev.  W. 
Yates.  The  Chapel  has  been  materially  enlarged  and  improved.  May 
the  Lord  make  it  the  birth-place  of  many  souls. 


4.  —  Anniversary  of  La  Mariiniere. 
The  Annual  Sermon  connected  with  this  Institution  was  preached 
before  the  governors,  friends  and  pupils  of  the  Institution  on  Tuesday 
the  loth  ult.  by  the  Rev.  J.  Charles,  D.  D.  The  subject,  The  fear  of  the 
Lord  essential  to  the  happiness  of  youth.  The  sermon  was  one  of  Dr. 
Charles'  best  efforts  and  well  calculated,  under  the  Divine  blessing,  to 
produce  the  most  salutary  effects.  After  Divine  Service  the  pupils  were 
regaled  and  the  prizes  awarded.  Sir  Edward  Ryan  addressed  the  young 
people  in  a  brief  but  appropriate  speech.  The  memory  of  the  founder  was 
pledged  in  flowing  bowls,  and  the  party  separated  highly  delighted  with 
the  engagements  of  the  morning. 


5. — New  Works  in  Bengali. 
Since  our  last  two  new  works,  translations,  have  issued  from  the  press — 
the  one  a  translation  of  Marshman's  History  of  India,  and  the  other 
Fleusing  Stories,  being  translations  from  the  popular  tales  of  the  Persian 


18<10.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  617 


into  Bengali,  by  Mr.  G.  Galloway.  Both  the  works  are  highly  creditable 
to  the  authors,  and  we  trust  they  will  have  a  wide  circulation.  Hope 
begins  to  dawn  upon  the  prospects  of  the  masses  in  India;  for  not  only 
will  they  be  taught  to  read,  but  they  will  be  provided  with  something  to 
read  worthy  of  their  attention.    May  such  works  bi  speedily  multiplied. 


6. — The  Telescope. 
The  second  number  of  the  Telescope  has  made  its  appearance.  It  is  not 
inferior  to  the  first;  but  the  Editor  will  do  well  to  add  a  little  of  some- 
what lighter  though  not  less  instructive  matter.  We  are  truly  happy  to 
witness  the  good  feeling  with  which  the  appearance  of  our  new  brother 
has  been  hailed  by  the  almost  universal  press.  The  circulation  of 
the  first  number  we  are  happy  to  say  has  exceeded  the  impression. 


7. — The  Ceylon  Magazine. 
A  new  periodical  has  been  started  at  Ceylon  under  the  superintendance 
of  several  of  the  literati  of  the  spicy  island.  The  first  number  indicates 
the  promise  of  much  choice  and  instructive  matter.  It  is  to  be  devoted  to 
religious,  scientific  and  literary  subjects.  We  cordially  recommend  it  to 
iill  our  readers  as  a  miscellany  every  way  worthy  of  their  patronage. 


8. — The  Catholic  Institute. 
A  new  and  anomalous  Society  has  been  formed  in  this  city  during  the 
last  few  days  by  the  Romanists.  It  is  called  the  Cutho/ic  Institute  and  is 
under  lay  direction.  The  object  of  the  Society  is  the  defence  of  popery 
and  papists  from  persecuting  Protestants.  The  establishment  of  the  Insti- 
tute has  given  rise  to  a  good  deal  of  angry  discussion  amongst  the  Ro- 
manists. The  authority  of  the  Vicar  Apostolic  has  been  denied  by  the  laity, 
the  clergy  are  divided  and  condemning  each  other,  the  whole  giving 
striking  evidence  of  the  disunion  of  the  infallibly  united  Church.  The 
dispute  is  not  only  between  the  Vicar  Apostolic  and  a  portion  of  the  laity, 
but  with  the  Jesuits  of  St.  Xavier's. 


9. — The  Church  Missionary  Society. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Vors,  Secretary  to  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  at  a 
meeting  of  the  clergy  in  Dublin,  stated  that  the  laity  would  have  no  fur- 
ther management  in  the  affairs  ecclesiastical  of  the  Society,  and  that  the 
Committee  had  determined  to  discontinue  the  employment  of  Lutheran 
Missionaries  and  catechists,  both  of  which  have  merely  been  employed 
from  necessity  in  the  less  favored  days  of  the  Church.  At  the  same  time 
he  stated  that  the  Lutherans  had  been  signally  blessed  by  God,  and  that 
the  decision  would  not  affect  present  incumbents.  Mr.  Vors  further 
stated  that  the  Church  of  England  in  her  whole  capacity  was  not  and 
could  not  be  Missionary,  inasmuch  as  the  decisions  of  one  diocese  had  nut 
been  and  could  not  be  binding  on  another. 


10. — The  Church  of  Scotland. 
The  Church  of  Scotland  possesses  not  a  few  spirits  who  have  not  defiled 
their  garments,  but  who  stand  erect  for  Christ  and  his  truth.  The  last 
decision  of  the  Assembly  was,  that  it  was  deemed  desirable  to  petition 
against  Lord  Aberdeen's  panacea  for  all  the  ills  of  the  Church,  which 
amounts  to  its  rejection  by  the  majority  should  it  pass.    We  rejoice  to 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


[Oct. 


find  amidst  the  almost  general  wreck  of  religious  principle  in  tins  age  of 
concession,  that  there  are  to  he  found  men  who  will  he  no  parties  to  the 
building  up  of  a  temple  composed  of  the  h;iy  and  stuhhle  of  the  world,  instead 
of  the  fine  gold  of  the  temple  alone.  May  God  in  his  mercy  uphold  his 
servants  in  their  fidelity.  Since  the  above  was  penned  we  learn  that 
Lord  Aberdeen  has  withdrawn  bis  bill  owing  to  the  opposition  it  was  likely 
to  excite. 


11. —  Rbvievv  of  the  Cooly  Report. 
We  are  obliged  to  defer  the  continuation  of  the  Review  of  the  Cooly 
Report  in  the  present  number  owing  to  the  length  to  which  it  will  neces- 
sarily extend  and  the  press  of  other  matter.    We  hope  to  place  the  whole 
before  our  readers  either  in  our  next,  or  in  an  extra  intermediate  number. 


12. — The  Cathedral  and  the  Court  of  Directors. 
The  Court  of  Directors  have  authorized  the  Governor  General  in 
Council  to  make  over  to  the  Bishop  one  lakh  and  a  half  of  rupees,  on  the 
ground  that  the  building  be  erected,  owing  to  the  need  of  church  room  in 
Calcutta. 


13. — New  Work  on  India. 
A  new  work  has  arrived  in  this  country,  entitled  Letters  on  India,  &c. 
by  the  Rev.  W.  Buyers,  Banaras.  We  have  had  no  time  as  yet  to  peruse 
the  work.  From  a  glance  at  the  contents  it  appears  to  treat  briefly  on 
all  the  subjects  which  have  occupied  the  attention  of  the  Church  in  India. 
Like  our  periodicals,  works  on  India  appear  to  be  thickening  upon  us. 
India  will  no  longer  be  a  terra  incognita  to  the  English  people. 


14.— The  Dd'hga'  Pcj'ja'. 
The  horrible  festivities  connected  with  this  libidinous  puja  are  close 
at  band.  We  notice  them  simply  to  refresh  the  memories  of  our  Chris- 
tian readers  that  any  attendance  on  the  naches  is  a  positive  sanction  of 
all  the  abominations  connected  with  the  puja,  and  we  entreat  them  to  let 
neither  curiosity  nor  love  of  the  marvellous,  nor  the  wily  or  cring- 
ing solicitation  of  wealthy  babus  seduce  them  from  the  path  of  Christian 
integrity  and  rectitude  ;  but  rather  let  them  hear  the  voice  of  Him  who 
hath  said,  "  Come  out  from  among  them,  and  be  ye  separate,  and  touch 
not  the  unclean  thins;  and.  I  will  receive  you,  and  will  be  a  Father  unto 
you,  and  ye  shall  be  my  sons  and  daughters,  saith  the  Lord  Almighty." 
Since  this  was  in  type  we  have  received  a  letter  on  the  subject  from 
"  A  Stranger,"  which  will  be  found  in  another  page. 


IS. — Raddi'-i'-Ta'i.im  Zarthisiit. 
Our  readers  will  observe,  under  the  head  of  the  Native's  Friend,  a 
notice  of  the  Talim-i-Zarthusht,  lately  published  by  a  Mobed,  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Parsi  Panchayat.  Dr.  Wilson  proposes  immediately 
to  commence  a  reply  ;  and  it  is  hoped  that  the  arrangements  for  its 
publication  both  in  English  and  Gujarathi  will  be  intimated  in  our  next 
number. — Bombay  Christian  Spectator. 

16. — Church  and  Mission  on  Maha  baleshwar. 
From  a  very  interesting  sketch  of  Mahabaleshwar  from  the  pen  of  Miss 
Emma  Roberts,  and  published  in  a  late  number  of  the  United  Service 
Gazette,  we  extract  the  following  notice. 


1840.]         Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  019 


"  The  building  of  a  Church  on  these  wild  hills  is  the  more  important, 
since  Mahabalesh  war  has  long  been  a  stronghold  of  superstition,  the  tem- 
ples in  the  neighbouring  village  bearing  the  name,  attracting  numerous 
pilgrims,  while  the  rivers  that  have  their  sources  in  the  rocky  cliffs,  are 
esteemed  peculiarly  sacred.  A  sanguine  mind  cannot,  without  the  great- 
est difficulty,  repress  the  hope,  that  the  example  afforded  by  the  Chris- 
tian community  at  Malcolm  l'eti,  the  charities  that  they  bestow,  and  the 
lucrative  employment  they  afford  to  numerous  labourers  will  exert  a 
salutary  influence  over  the  minds  of  the  people,  gradually  weaning  them 
from  those  debasing  superstitions  which  at  present  so  effectually  prevent 
all  improvement  in  their  moral,  as  well  as  their  spiritual  condition.  In 
aid  of  this  good  cause  there  is  a  small  missionary  establishment  at  Mal- 
colm 1'ett,  which  cannot  be  spoken  of  in  terms  of  too  high  encomium. 
The  Rev.  Mr.  Graves,  and  his  wife,  who  belong  to  the  Mahratta  Ameri- 
can Mission,  established  in  Bombay,  have  won  for  themselves  the  respect 
and  esteem  of  every  branch  of  the  community.  Tolerant,  hopeful,  zeal- 
ous, and  untiring,  despite  of  many  disappointments  and  hindrances,  they 
continue  with  unabating  assiduity  their  labour  of  love,  deeply  regretting, 
yet  never  sinking  under  the  adverse  circumstances  which  retard  their 
progress.  Notwithstanding  the  slender  nature  of  the  pecuniary  resources 
at  her  command,  Mrs.  Graves  has  rather  a  considerable  school  under  her 
immediate  superintendance,  composed  of  the  children  of  poor  people 
belonging  to  the  neighbouring  villages  whom  she  boards  and  educates. 
Many  and  severe  are  her  trials,  for  even  her  activity  and  ceaseless  care, 
cannot  always  prevent  the  influence  of  bad  exmple  from  exercising  an 
injurious  effect  upon  young  minds.  Frequently  she  finds  that  her  tasks 
must  commence  anew,  that  there  is  a  danger,  when  removed  from  her 
eye,  of  her  pupils  relapsing  into  idolatry,  or  of  contracting  habits  at 
variance  with  the  precepts  which  she  has  inculcated.  Nevertheless, 
though  distressed,  she  is  not  disheartened,  patiently  persevering  in 
defiance  of  every  difficulty,  and  rejoicing  over  every  circumstance  which 
promises  to  render  her  exertions  for  the  welfare  of  others  ultimately  suc- 
cessful. Mr.  Graves,  though  suffering  from  failing  health,  is  equally 
energetic  and  unwearied  in  the  cause.  He  is  to  be  seen  in  the  bazar 
talking  mildy  to  the  people,  and  distributing  translations  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. He  attends  the  jail,  visits  the  poor,  and  expounds  the  principles 
of  the  Christian  religion  at  his  own  house,  to  those  who  are  inclined  to 
listen  to  him  He  often  collects  a  congregation  amounting  to  forty  per- 
sons, trusting  that  the  seed  thus  sown  will  in  time  produce  fruit,  anil  that 
if  now  afraid  to  reckon  too  confidently  upon  many  conversions,  he  may 
feel  assured  that  those  who  have  openly  embraced  the  Christian  religion, 
are  true  disciples." — Ibid. 


17. —  Letter  from  Greece. 

The  following  letter  will  be  interesting  to  those  of  our  readers  who 
feel  an  interest  in  the  religious  welfare  of  Greece. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  King,  in  a  letter  to  a  friend  in  this  city,  dated  Athens, 
July  10,  1839,  gives  the  following  interesting  information. — IV.  Y.  Obs. 

"  i  have  the  pleasure  now  to  inform  you,  that  last  Sunday,  for  the  first 
time,  I  had  divine  service  in  my  new  school  house  and  chapel,  and  that  I 
had  upwards  of  seventy  hearers,  all  Greeks,  except  the  Rev.  Mr.  Benja- 
min, and  two  members  of  my  own  family.  The  large  upper  room,  in 
which  I  had  my  service,  though  very  plain  and  simple,  is  considered  very 
beautiful.  Into  the  court  of  the  house  I  have  opened  a  large  gate,  which 
I  call  the  'beautiful  gate,'  and  over  which  I  had  placed,  the  4  th  of  July, 
the  marble  which  1  had  placed  just  seven  years  previous  over  the  gate  of 


620  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


the  place  where  I  then  intended  to  build  my  school  house,  and  on  which 
is  inscribed  in  Greek,  Philadelphia,  (Brotherly  love.) 

It  so  happened  in  1832  that  the  marble  was  put  up  over  the  gate,  the 
4th  of  July,  and  it  so  happened  now,  that  the  gate  of  the  court  of  this 
building,  was  finished  on  the  4th  of  July,  the  same  day,  and  I  believe 
the  same  hour  of  the  day — and  just  seven  years  from  the  time  of  its 
having  been  put  up  over  the  other  gate.  So  that  I  may  say  it  has  been  as 
long  in  building  as  Solomon's  Temple  was,  and  you  know  I  said  to  you, 
in  a  letter  some  months  since,  that  it  would  be  about  so  long,  though  I 
did  not  think  that  it  would  then  take  so  long  to  finish  it  as  it  has. 

1  did  not  employ  many  workmen  at  the  same  time,  because  they  could 
not  work  to  advantage,  and  I  wished  to  expend  the  fund  in  as  economi- 
cal a  manner  as  possible.  I  do  not  know  precisely  how  much  1  have 
spent  in  finishing  the  building,  but  I  know,  that  I  have  spent  considera- 
bly more  than  the  one  thousand  dollars  which  you  sent  me — probably  one 
hundred  and  fifty  more.  It  is  a  great  joy  to  me  to  have  such  a  place  for 
public  worship,  and  in  all  probability,  many  more  will  attend  than  would 
have  attended  in  my  own  private  house. 

During  the  last  six  months,  I  have  sold  and  distributed  gratis,  up- 
wards of  twenty-seven  thousand  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  school  books  and 
religious  tracts ;  more,  I  believe,  than  1  have  ever  before  distributed  in 
the  same  space  of  time,  since  I  came  to  Greece.  Baxter's  Saints'  Rest  is 
now  printing  in  Modern  Greek,  and  will,  I  trust,  be  finished  this  month. 
It  is  about  two-thirds  printed.  A  wide  door  is  opened  here  for  printing 
the  tracts  and  books  of  the  American  Tract  Society,  and  I  hope  you  will 
give  us  large  means. 

There  are  now  several  of  your  authorized  books  and  tracts  which 
ouitht  to  be  reprinted  in  Modern  Greek,  but  which  we  cannot  think  of 
doing  unless  you  give  us  aid.  I  might  mention  the  Mother  at  Home, 
Rewards  of  Drunkenness,  Scripture  Histories,  Little  Ann,  Ten  Com- 
mandments, &c,  of  which  we  need  to  print  at  least  five  thousand  copies 
of  each.  Books,  you  see,  are  called  for.  Twenty-seven  thousand  copies 
in  six  months  is  no  small  matter,  and  the  depot  must  be  replenished,  or 
it  will  soon  be  empty.  We  have  a  very  good  mill,  and  plenty  of  grain  ; 
but  the  wheels  will  not  turn  without  water  :  and  I  am  waiting  for  you  to 
hoist  the  gate  and  give  us  a  good  stream,  so  that  many  hungry,  starving 
souls  may  be  fed  with  the  bread  of  life. 

With  best  regards  to  Mrs.  H.  I  remain,  as  ever, 

Yours  truly, 

Jonas  King. 


18. —  Obligation  to  preach  to  the  Heathen. 
Our  speculations  regarding  the  final  destiny  of  the  heathen  ought  ne- 
ver to  influence  our  conduct  towards  them,  in  any  way  tending  to  render 
us  less  zealous  for  their  salvation.  Were  we  even  sure  that  they  would 
occupy  thrones  in  heaven,  or  pass,  by  an  imperceptible  transition,  from  a 
state  of  consciousness  into  the  calmest  sleep  of  oblivion,  it  would  be  just 
as  much  our  duty  to  labour  for  their  conversion  as  of  those  who  see  in 
every  pagan  the  subject  of  an  inevitable  condemnation.  The  recognition 
of  the  moral  righteousness  of  God,  exalted,  as  it  is,  by  the  atonement  of 
the  cross,  by  a  Christian  catechumen  in  a  pagan  country,  one  prayer  of 
faith  offered  to  the  Supreme  Being,  through  the  merits  of  Christ,  by  such 
an  individual,  is  of  infinitely  more  value  than  all  our  theories  .as  to  the 
final  destiny  of  those  who  live  and  die  in  involuntary  ignorance  ;  as  practi- 
cal charity  transcends  subtle  and  ingenious  speculation. — Steele. 


THR 


CHRISTIAN  OBSERVER. 


(Neto  Irenes.) 
No.  11.— NOVEMBER,  1840. 


I. — Wei- T sang  too  sheih,  or  Tibet  in  a  series  of  maps  and 
descriptions :  four  volumes.  Reviewed  by  a  Correspondent. 

The  following  intelligent  and  interesting  article  on  Tibet 
has  been  selected  from  the  Chinese  Repository  for  May,  1840. 
The  amount  of  information  it  contains  in  reference  to  a  coun- 
try with  the  history  and  manners  of  which  we  are  so  imper- 
fectly acquainted  and  concerning  which  so  few  amongst  us 
are  capable  of  affording  such  accurate  information,  will  be 
an  ample  apology  for  inserting  an  extract  of  such  length  in 
the  pages  of  the  Observer. — Ed. 

Considering  that  Klaproth,  the  indefatigable  critic,  has  already  passed 
his  opinion  upon  the  above  work,  and  that  moreover  the  voluminous 
priest  Hyacinth,  late  of  Peking,  amongst  his  herculean  labours,  has  trans- 
lated the  whole,  a  poor  pigmy  writer  has  very  little  chance  of  saying  any 
thing  new.  A  Transylvanian  has  ransacked  the  literary  treasures  of  lhat 
secluded  country,  and  a  gigantic  German  has  carried  several  camel-loads 
of  manuscript  to  Russia  and  Prussia,  so  that  the  world  has  enough  upon 
the  subject  of  Tibet,  even  if  the  above  production  had  never  been  writ- 
ten. As  for  ourselves,  though  little  versed  in  the  art  of  decrying  the 
labors  of  others,  we  nevertheless  really  think,  that  there  would  no  seri- 
ous loss  have  been  occasioned,  if  the  present  essay  had  been  burnt,  before 
it  was  printed.  Being,  however,  nolens  volens,  put  to  the  task,  we  shall 
try  to  enter  the  territory  of  the  great  lama  witli  a  light  heart,  and,  with 
our  guide  in  our  hands,  look  a  little  about  us,  to  cull  here  and  there  a 
flower,  and  say  as  much  as  our  ignorance  will  permit.  This  is  to  be  the 
preface  to  our  review  of  the  work  in  question. 

Now  we  should  on  the  very  outset  take  the  bull  by  the  horns  and  begin 
to  detail  the  topography,  ethnology,  and  statistics,  of  the  said  country; 
unfortunately,  however,  all  this  has  already  been  written,  and  we  must 
hold  ourselves  responsible  to  say  something  new.  We  therefore  com- 
mence with  the  most  striking  natural  object  that  this  country  contains. 
Jt  is,  according  to  Buffon's  and  Cuvier's  classification,  a  non-descript, 
there  existitig  only  one  other  of  its  species,  at  the  city  Miako,  in  Japan. 
It  is  a  biped,  the  characteristics  of  which  are  sulky  arrogance,  sloth^ 

VOL.  I.  4  L 


622 


Wei-Tsany,  or  Tibet. 


[Nov. 


Bensuulity,  bigotry,  deceit,  craftiness,  pei  verseness,  stupidity  in  many 
respects,  &c.  We  are  fully  aware  that  this  descriptiou  falls  short  of  the 
original,  and  that  it  is  by  no  means  technical ;  hut  the  reader  must  take 
this  for  want  of  a  better  one,  our  limited  capacities  not  allowing  further 
exploration.  We  do  not  know  the  name  naturalists  have  given  to  it, 
but  common  people  call  it  the  dala'i  lama. 

The  first  knowledge  of  this  creature  was,  if  we  mistake  not,  conveyed 
by  some  Franciscan,  during  the  middle  ages,  to  Europe,  and  created 
there  a  great  sensation,  so  that  many  began  to  believe  that  it  was  the 
identical  Prester  John,  of  glorious  memory.  On  nearer  examination, 
however,  it  proved  to  be  something  particular  in  itself,  and  an  after 
acquaintance  with  the  language  of  Han  gave  us  a  clearer  insight  into  the 
nature  of  this  wonderful  being,  which  is  said  never  to  die. 

During  the  administration  of  the  celebrated  Hastings,  the  raja  of  Butan, 
from  some  whim  or  other,  considered  a  tract  of  land,  which  separates 
his  territory  from  that  of  the  English  company,  as  a  just  object  of  spoil, 
and  therefore  occupied  a  part  of  the  same.  Though  this  tract  was  of  no 
use,  being  not  only  an  unhealthy  spot,  but  likewise  very  sterile,  still  the 
governor  would  not  permit  a  dangerous  precedent  of  encroachment  to 
pass  unnoticed,  and  therefore  sent  a  small  detachment  of  sipah'is  to 
drive  away  the  Butanese  borderers.  In  this  attempt  they  completely 
succeeded,  but  their  ranks  were  thinned  by  the  pestilential  climate  of 
those  regions,  and  they  were  glad  to  retreat.  In  the  meanwhile  the 
teshoo  lama,  the  regent  for  the  dalai  lama,  becoming  alarmed  for  the 
safety  of  his  territory,  dispatched,  in  1774,  a  letter  to  the  governor. 
This  is  a  document  in  which  the  oriental  modes  of  expression  are  so  little 
retained,  that  we  much  suspect  the  translator's  having  improved  upon 
the  original.  Still  we  shall  quote  a  few  passages  of  this  letter,  to  give 
the  reader  some  idea  of  the  sentiments  that  actuate  the  grand  lama, 
whom  we  have  thus  unceremoniously  introduced  to  his  notice. 

"The  affairs  of  this  quarter  flourish  in  every  respect.  I  am  night  and 
day  employed  in  prayers  for  the  increase  of  your  happiness  and  prospe- 
rity. Having  been  informed,  by  travellers  from  your  country,  of  your 
exalted  fame  and  reputation,  my  heart,  like  the  blossoms  of  spring, 
abounds  with  satisfaction,  gladness,  and  joy.  Neither  to  molest,  nor  per- 
secute, is  my  aim  ;  it  is  even  the  characteristic  of  our  sect  to  deprive 
ourselves  of  the  necessary  refreshment  of  sleep,  should  an  injury  be  done 
to  a  single  individual;  but  injustice  and  humanity,  I  am  informed  you 
far  surpass  us.  I  have  been  repeatedly  informed,  that  you  have  engaged 
in  hostilities  against  the  Deh  Terria  (the  Butan  chief?  who  committed 
the  outrages  on  the  frontiers).  It  is  as  evident  as  the  sun,  that  your  army 
has  been  victorious;  and  that  if  you  had  been  desirous  of  it,  you  might, 
in  the  space  of  two  days,  have  entirely  extirpated  him,  for  he  had  no 
power  to  resist  your  efforts.  But  I  now  take  upon  me  to  be  his  media, 
tor;  therefore  from  a  regard  to  our  religion  and  customs,  I  request  you 
will  cease  from  all  hostilities  against  him,  and  it  will  be  necessary,  that 
you  treat  him  with  compassion  and  clemency.  As  to  my  part,  1  am  but 
a  fakeer,  and  it  is  the  custom  of  my  sect,  with  the  rosary  in  our  hands, 
to  pray  for  the  welfare  of  all  mankind,  and  especially  for  the  peace  and 
happiness  of  the  inhabitants  of  this  country." 

The  council,  considering  the  contiguity  of  Tibet  to  China,  hoped  to 
open,  by  entering  into  an  alliance  with  the  former,  a  new  outlet  for  trade 
to  the  celestial  empire,  by  a  route  not  obviously  liable  to  the  same  suspi- 
cions as  those  with  which  Chinese  policy  had  armed  itself  against  all  con- 
sequences of  a  foreign  access  by  sea.  The  grand  plan  to  be  executed, 
therefore,  was,  to  cross  the  Himalaya  mountains,  then  traverse  the  inhos- 
pitable regions  of  Tibet,  afterward  to  wend  the  way,  according  to  cir- 


1840.] 


JVei-Tsang,  or  Tibet. 


623 


cumstances,  either  through  the  mountainous  districts  of  Kokonor,  or  the 
desert  of  Kohi,  in  order  to  reach  the  central  empire,  without  suspicion  ! 
This  is  certainly  one  of  the  most  magnificent,  we  may  add  elevated  plans, 
ever  conceived  by  any  council,  that  sat  to  deliberate  about  commercial 
affairs. 

An  envoy  was,  therefore,  immediately  dispatched  to  Desheripgay  and 
Teshoo  Lomboo,  to  the  said  teshoo  Lama.  The  gentleman  employed  in 
this  important  mission  was  of  great  suavity  of  manners,  and  so  ingrati- 
ated himself  with  that  high  personage,  that  he  even  trusted  him  with  a 
considerable  remittance  in  money,  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  temple 
and  dwelling-house,  for  the  accommodation  of  the  lama's  votaries,  on  the 
banks  of  the  Ganges  ;  and  a  piece  of  ground  was  accordingly  bought  and 
appropriated  for  this  purpose.  The  lama's  letter  to  the  governor  remark- 
ed, that,  although  in  the  different  periods  of  his  reviviscense  he  had 
chosen  many  regions  for  the  places  of  his  birth,  yet  Bengal  was  the  only 
country  in  which  he  had  been  born  twice;  for  which  reason  he  had  a 
predilection  for  it  beyond  any  other,  and  was  desirous  ofmakingita 
place  of  abode,  apparently  esteeming  the  sanctity  of  the  Ganges,  as  a 
consideration  of  inferior  importance.  This  being  a  very  considerate 
request,  gave  rise  to  the  most  buoyant  hopes,  that  the  grand  object  of 
this  correspondence  might  soon  be  realized.  Mr.  Bogle,  the  former 
envoy,  finally  obtained,  1779,  a  promise  frrom  the  lama,  that  he  would 
procure  for  him  <i  passport  from  the  great  emperor,  and  that  he  might 
then  go  round  by  sea  to  Canton,  and  subsequently  join  him  at  Peking. 

We  must  now  talk  of  more  important  matters.  Though  the  lama 
worship,  or  rather  Shamanism,  was  never  introduced  into  China  as  a 
peculiar  creed,  it  still  existed  on  the  frontiers  of  Szechuen,  and  Budhism 
being  a  modification  of  the  same,  some  relationship  was  kept  up  between 
Tibet  and  China.  The  Mantchous,  on  conquering  the  country,  had  no 
settled  religious  notions ;  but  there  appeared  a  leaning  towards  the 
superstition  of  the  Mongols.  This  was  a  signal  for  the  lamas  to  revisit 
the  court  of  Peking,  and  as  future  circumstances  led  to  a  political  union 
between  the  two  countries,  they  were  the  most  favored  priests.  Even 
during  the  enlightened  reign  of  Kanghe,  they  numbered  many  warm 
votaries  amongst  the  highest  personages  of  the  court,  and  especially  the 
females,  who  on  that  account  showed  great  aversion  towards  the  Jesuits. 
Perhaps  it  was  also  policy  induced  the  government  to  favor  these  fana- 
tics, in  order  to  attach  the  Mongols  by  religious  ties.  Keenlung,  renowned 
in  Europe  as  a  warrior  and  poet,  something  in  the  way  of  Frederic  the 
Great  of  Prussia  (though  the  latter  fought  the  battles  himself  and  gained 
his  own  laurels)  had  also  his  weak  hours.  Having  heard  of  the  great 
odour  of  sanctity  in  which  the  said  teshoo  lama  stood,  he  invited  him  in 
the  most  pressing  manner  to  come  to  his  capital.  -  This  wonderful  per- 
sonage deferred,  however,  his  journey,  until  the  monarch  assured  him, 
that  he  looked  upon  him  as  the  first  and  most  holy  being  on  earth,  and 
that  the  only  remaining  wish  he  now  felt  was,  to  see  him  and  to  be 
ranked  amongst  his  disciples.  Preparation  had  also  been  made  to 
receive  him  on  his  journey,  and  the  letter  that  assured  him  of  the  most 
magnificent  treatment,  was  cilso  accompanied  by  a  present  of  a  string  of 
pearls  and  one  hundred  pieces  of  silk.  And  thus  flattered  by  the  marked 
attention  of  the  first  prince  in  Asia,  the  lama  set  forth  on  his  journey  in 
1779,  with  about  1500  troops  and  followers.  He  did  not  travel  as  a  mere 
vassal,  but  as  a  sovereign  prince.  Wherever  he  halted  on  the  road,  a 
platform  was  erected,  covered  with  a  rich  brocade,  and  a  cushion  on 
which  he  sat,  whilst  the  people  were  admitted  to  the  honor  of  touching 
his  foot  with  their  foreheads,  as  in  Rome  people  kiss  the  pope's  toe, 
4  l  2 


624 


Wei-Tsang,  or  Tibet. 


[Nov. 


The  Kalmucks,  who  belong  to  the  most  enthusiastic  followers  of  the 
lama,  came  to  the  number  of  five  thousand  to  escort  him  to  the  capital, 
bringing  with  them  rich  presents,  and  showing  to  their  religious  chief  the 
most  unbounded  veneration.    At  all  the  principal  stations,  the  imperial 
troops  were  drawn  out,  and  the  honors  shown  to  this  poor  mortal  would 
have  set  the  strongest  mind  swimming  with  pride  and  conceit.  The 
greatest  favor  the  lama  could  bestow  was  to  imprint  with  his  hands, 
dipped  in  saffron,  some  paper,  which  his  votaries  brought  to  him  for  that 
purpose  in  great  quantities.    Part  of  the  journey  led  him  through  the 
newly  acquired  territory  of  the  Kalmucks,  and  his  suffering  on  account 
of  the  severity  of  the  climate  seems  to  have  been  very  great.    But  the 
lama  was  everywhere  cheered  by  the  most  marked  attention  of  the  chiefs. 
Scarcely  had  the  last  commander  of  the  Tartars  left  him,  making  him  a 
present  of  3000  horses,  70  mules,  and  100  camels,  when  the  emperor's 
own  brother,  who  held  the  rank  of  king,  was  commissioned  to  receive 
him  on  the  frontiers  of  Kansuh  province,  and  his  entrance  into  the  celes- 
tial empire  was  marked  by  the  most  magnificent  presents.  Keenlung 
seems  to  have  been  exceedingly  liberal,  and  a  present  of  from  30,000  to 
100,000  taels  at  the  various  stages  was  a  mere  trifle.    His  progress 
towards  the  capital  was  like  that  of  a  warrior,  receiving  the  honors  of  a 
triumph  from  a  grateful  country.    One  of  the  princes  of  the  blood  met 
him  halfway,  and  another  conducted  him  to  Peking.    Now  mark  the 
difference  of  reception  from  that  experienced  by  any  other  barbarian. 
Along  the  whole  line  leading  to  the  pleasure  gardens  of  Jeho,  soldiers 
had  been  posted,  between  whom  the  lama  passed  accompanied  by  the 
princes.    The  emperor  met  him  at  a  distance,  and  immediately,  stretch- 
ing forth  his  hand  and  taking  hold  of  the  lama's,  led  him  towards  the 
throne,  where,  after  many  salutations  and  expressions  of  affection  and 
pleasure  on  both  sides,  the  lama  was  seated  by  the  emperor  upon  the  upper- 
most cushion,  with  himself,  and  at  his  right  hand.    Much  conversation 
ensued,  and  the  emperor  was  profuse  in  his  questions  and  inquiries, 
respecting  the  lama's  health,  the  circumstances  of  his  journey,  and  the 
entertainment  he  had  met  with  upon  the  road.    After  lie  had  been  pre- 
sented with  100,000  taels  of  silver,  and  many  hundred  pieces  of  curious 
silk,  these  high  personages  separated.    On  the  next  day  many  princes 
and  nobles  were  assembled,  and  the  monarch  seated  the  priest  on  his 
right  hand,  to  evince  to  the  whole  court  the  great  consideration  in 
which  he  held  his  illustrious  visitor.    After  some  indifferent  conversa- 
tion, the  emperor  then  communicated  his  wishes  more  at  large,  with 
respect  to  the  desire  he  felt  of  being  instructed  in  some  mysteries  of  the 
lama's  religion.  They  accordingly  withdrew,  in  company  with  one  of  the 
teachers,  to  another  part  of  the  palace,  where  three  seats  were  pre- 
pared ;  the  one  in  the  centre  was  larger  than  either  of  the  others  in 
extent,  and  was  considerably  higher  ;  upon  this  the  lama  seated  himself, 
placing  the  emperor  on  the  lower  one,  standing  to  the  right,  and  the 
teacher  on  the  left.    The  lama  then  bending  his  head  towards  the  em- 
peror, whispered  in  his  ear  for  about  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  and  then 
seating  himself  upright  began  to  repeat  aloud  certain  tenets,  which  the 
emperor  and  the  teacher  recited  after  him,  and  in  this  manner  each 
sentence  was  spoken  over  and  again,  until  both  had  caught  the  sound. 
This  ceremony  lasted  about   three  hours,  during  which  time   all  the 
attendants  were  kept  at  a  distance  in  the  outer  apartments,  whilst  some 
devout  men  were  occasionally  called  in  at  certain  intervals,  for  the  sake 
of  performing  ceremonies. 

After  four  days,  the  lama  waited  on  the  emperor  at  his  palace.  T  he 
entertainment  being  over,  he  rose  to  ask  a  favor  from  the  autocrat. 
The  emperor  then  turning  to  the  lama,  desired  he  would  speak  without 


1840.] 


ll'ei-Tsanff,  or  Tibet. 


ceremony,  when  the  lama  proceeded  thus  to  inform  him  :  "  In  the  country 
of  Hindostan,  which  lies  on  the  holders  of  my  realm,  there  resides  a 
great  prince  or  ruler,  for  whom  I  have  much  friendship.  1  wish  you 
should  know  and  regard  him  also,  and  if  you  will  write  him  a  letter  of 
friendship,  and  receive  his  in  return,  it  will  afford  me  great  pleasure,  as 
1  wish  you  should  he  known  to  each  other,  and  that  a  friendly  communi- 
cation should  in  future  subsist  between  you." 

The  great  emperor  seems  therefore  to  have  been  anxious  to  be  instruc- 
ted, and  the  manner  in  which  this  process  was  carried  on  is  certainly 
deserving- of  our  admiration.  Behold  this  Keenlung,  the  sage  and  poet, 
a  disciple  of  the  lama  !  But  whilst  enraptured  with  this  spiritual  acqui- 
sition, the  greatest  political  alliance  is  proposed  to  him.  It  bad  been 
agreed  upon,  that  the  former  British  envoy  to  the  lama  should  proceed 
to  Canton  and  wait  there,  until  passports  should  be  forwarded  to  him, 
by  the  interest  of  his  patron.  The  emperor  most  readily  granted  all  that 
had  been  asked,  and  also  inquired  about  the  country  where  the  friendly 
governor  was  living,  making  at  the  same  time  several  other  pertinent 
questions. 

The  august  personages  now  sped  towards  Peking,  and  there  all  the 
princes  of  the  blood  assembled  to  receive  a  blessing.  On  these  occasions, 
the  lama  did  not  at  all  rise  from  his  seat,  but  laying  bis  bands  upon  the 
head  of  the  votary  he  repeated  a  prayer.  The  noblemen,  who  likewise 
thronged  to  participate  in  this  spiritual  honor,  were  not  so  fortunate  as 
to  receive  the  immediate  blessing  from  the  priest,  with  his  bare  hand,  but 
he  carefully  wrapped  a  piece  of  yellow  silk  around  the  same,  and  thus 
communicated  his  spiritual  gifts.  It  had  now  become  quite  fashionable 
to  receive  the  benediction  of  the  great  man,  and  even  the  ladies  in  the 
imperial  palace  were  seized  with  the  desire  of  going  through  this  form. 
M; lien  therefore  the  lama  happened  to  be  on  his  visit  to  all  the  celebrated 
gardens  of  the  imperial  palaces,  an  intimation  was  sent  to  him,  that  it 
was  the  monarch's  wish  that  he  should  meet  the  inmates  of  the  harem. 
Being  placed  opposite  a  door  of  their  apartment,  upon  an  exalted  seat, 
a  screen  of  a  yellow  kind  of  gauze  being  dropt  before  the  door,  the  ladies 
approached  it  one  by  one,  and  having  just  looked  at  the  lama  through  the 
gauze,  each  according  to  her  rank  and  abilities  sent  her  offering  by  a 
female  servant,  who  delivered  it  to  one  of  the  lama's  religious  compa- 
nions, who  were  allowed  to  continue  near  him.  The  present  being  deli- 
vered, and  the  name  announced,  he  repeated  a  prayer  or  form  of  the 
blessing  for  each,  all  the  time  bending  his  head  forward,  and  turning  his 
eyes  directly  towards  the  ground,  to  avoid  all  possibility  of  beholding  the 
women.    'I  bis  ceremony  took  up  four  or  five  hours. 

On  this  visit  he  saw  many  extraordinary  things.  Amongst  others,  a 
throne  wbich  has  the  intrinsic  virtue,  that  whosoever  seats  himself  upon 
it,  will  always  pronounce  a  just  sentence.  Then  he  saw  the  splendid  tem- 
ples erected  in  honor  of  his  superstition,  and  in  one  of  them  he  found  a 
bell,  which  was  said  to  weigh  20,000  maunds,  and  to  require  one  hun- 
dred men  to  ring  it.  To  do  this,  however,  is  never  attempted,  except  in 
order  to  call  the  people  to  arms,  in  case  of  an  invasion  or  insurrection, 
or  at  public  thansgivings  for  victory.  Thus  we  may  now  expect  that  it 
will  soon  be  put  into  requisition. 

The  time  passed  on  most  agreeably,  being  spent  in  pleasure  excursions 
and  in  visits  to  the  temples,  where  both  these  illustrious  personages 
worshipped  the  idols,  considering  the  adoration  thus  paid  as  the  most 
splendid  display  of  devotion.  The  lama  had  also  an  opportunity  of  see- 
ing the  empress,  and  again  brought  forward  the  earnest  request  of  open- 
ing some  communication  with  the  governor  of  Bengal.  Both  agreed 
that  a  letter  should  be  written  for  this  purpose,  which  the  lama  himself 


Hei-Tsany,  or  Tibet. 


[Nov. 


should  take  with  him.  Day  after  da}' passed  and  the  lama  was  still  occu- 
pied in  pronouncing  his  blessing  upon  thousands  of  the  people,  when  all 
on  a  sudden  he  was  seized  with  the  small-pox.  And  the  immortal,  the 
wonder  of  the  capital,  the  object  of  divine  veneration  to  a  whole  metro- 
polis, became  a  mere  lump  of  putrid  flesh.  This  certainly  greatly  stag- 
gered the  belief  of  his  followers,  and  no  doubt  convinced  them  that  their 
great  respect  was  misapplied.  Still,  the  emperor  was  determined  to 
show  that  his  veneration  was  not  on  the  wane,  and  spent  four  hours  before 
the  corpse  in  prayer.  This  ceremony  was  again  repeated,  and  a  present 
to  the  amount  of  100,000  taels  deposited  before  the  coffin.  At  the  same 
time,  he  charged  a  brother  of  the  lama's  to  inform  him  immediately 
whenever  the  sacred  being  re-appeared  in  the  person  of  another,  a  subject 
in  which  the  grand  monarch  took  as  much  interest,  as  if  his  very  exis- 
tence had  depended  upon  it.  This  could,  however,  not  be  effected  at 
Peking,  because  lamas  are  not  born  in  those  uncongenial  regions,  and 
therefore  the  whole  train  was  dispatched  towards  the  blessed  region, 
three  months  after  the  decease.  The  most  remarkable  thins:  is,  that  the 
otherwise  parsimonious  Keenlung  had  a  golden  temple  (gilded  niche?) 
prepared,  in  which  the  coffin  was  set  upright,  and  over  this  again  a 
copper  capsule.  Orders  were  given,  that  every  where  on  the  road  one 
thousand  men  might  be  held  in  readiness  to  convey  these  precious  relics, 
and  one  hundred  horsemen  were  appointed  as  a  convoy  to  the  proces- 
sion.   Thus,  after  seven  months,  they  reached  the  residence  of  the  lama. 

We  have  given  this  detail  at  full  length,  as  one  of  the  extraordinary 
events  in  a  lama's  life,  a  circumstance  which  has  only  once  taken  place, 
nnd  a  journey  which  may  perhaps  never  be  repeated,  for  fear  of  doubt- 
ing the  immortality  of  the  wonderful  incarnation.  At  the  same  time, 
this  is  one  effort  for  carrying  on  a  friendly  intercourse  between  the  Asia- 
tic possessions  of  Great  Britain,  and  the  celestial  empire,  which  is  like- 
wise unique  in  its  kind,  and  therefore  deserving  of  being  recorded  in 
the  Chinese  Repository.  Had  Mr.  Bogle,  the  intended  envoy,  reached 
Canton  and  received  passports  to  meet  his  friend  the  lama  at  Peking, 
what  might  not  have  been  the  consequences?  Well,  we  believe,  that 
the  charge  d'affaires  would  have  been  permitted  to  perform  nine  pros- 
trations and  three  genuflexions,  and  be  sent  out  of  the  country  with  a 
few  pieces  of  silk,  and  a  letter  to  the  said  barbarian  chief,  enjoining 
upon  him  implicit  obedience  to  the  laws  of  the  celestial  empire,  and 
making  it  his  paramount  duty  to  revere  the  lama.  There  is  thus  little 
lost  by  the  miscarrying  of  this  endeavor  to  open  a  more  extensive  inter- 
course. As  however,  some  Indian  papers  have  lately  advocated  a  plan 
of  carrying  fire  and  sword  into  the  heart  of  Tibet,  in  order  to  strike 
terror  into  all  the  votaries,  we  suggest,  in  lieu  of  such  an  atrocious  pro- 
ject, to  get  the  present  lama  again  fairly  on  his  way  to  perform  the  office 
of  embassador,  and  to  settle  all  points  in  dispute. 

However,  we  were  speaking  about  the  dala'i  lama,  and  have  been  all 
this  while  discoursing  about  the  gentleman  who  is  living  at  Teshoo  Lom- 
boo,  and  moreover  considered  a  heretic  by  the  orthodox.  But,  worthy 
reader,  thou  art  to  consider  that  the  said  dignitary  was  the  acting  great 
lama,  and  had  taken  upon  himself  all  the  functions  of  his  ward,  so  that 
in  his  doings  thou  beholdest  his  very  prototype.  And  oh  !  that  there  were 
more  such  adventurous  fanatics,  that  might  not  only  go  to  Peking,  but 
also  to  Moscow,  London,  and  Paris,  to  astonish  the  world,  and  edit  a 
journal  like  the  Persian  embassador. 

From  the  contemplation  of  this  great  non-descript  personage,  we  turn 
our  attention  to  the  soil  and  its  produce,  a  subject  upon  which  our 
author  has  not  been  pleased  to  expatiate.  All  that  we  have  been  able  to 
learn  is,  that  it  is  sterility  personified,  partly  on  account  of  its  elevation, 


I840.J 


M  ei-Tsung,  or  Tibet. 


(327 


and  partly  on  account  of  the  furious  tempests  and  the  rigorous  cold.  The 
main  stuff  of  life  is  a  kind  of  barley  that  prows  scantily  in  the  valleys  and 
Hlong  the  ridges  of  hills,  and  is  eaten  with  as  hearty  an  appetite  by  the 
Tibetans,  as  rice  is  by  the  Chinese,  sago  by  the  Alfoors,  and  potatoes 
(that  sweet  root!)  by  the  Irishman.  But  even  this  wretched  spot 
abounds  in  mineral  riches,  and  gold,  the  source  of  so  much  evil  in  this 
world,  is  found  in  large  quantities.  Towards  the  end  of  the  last  cen- 
tury, the  soil  burst  on  account  of  the  long  drought,  and  there  appeared 
such  a  considerable  treasure  of  the  precious  metal,  that  it  fell  immedi- 
ately more  than  30  per  cent,  in  value.  It  is  this  commodity  which  attracts 
the  Chinese  in  great  numbers,  and  makes  them  brave  the  dangers  of 
this  inhospitable  region.  The  animal  kingdom  is  rich  in  fur  animals, 
curious  birds,  and  cattle,  amongst  which  the  shawl-goat  holds  the  first 
phice.  The  inhabitants  are  scantily  scattered  over  a  dreary  waste,  living 
in  holes  or  in  hovels  built  of  stone,  protected  against  the  northerly  tem- 
pests by  mountains  or  rocks.  They  are  an  extraordinary  set  of  beings. 
Unlike  all  mountaineers,  they  are  peaceful,  timid,  and  gentle;  more 
oppressed  by  priests  than  any  other  nation  on  the  wide  face  of  the  globe  ; 
trained  to  arms,  they  live  a  hardy  life,  being  destitute  frequently  of  the 
very  necessaries  for  supporting  existence,  but  notwithstanding  are  happy 
and  cheerful.  Polyandry,  which  seems  to  be  general,  is  one  of  the 
unomcmon  phenomena  of  human  folly  and  depravity,  of  which  perhaps 
no  parallel  is  found  on  so  large  a  scale,  anywhere  else.  They  are  a 
priest-ridden  race,  their  lives  are  devoted  to  idolatry,  to  the  worship  of 
men,  and  the  veneration  of  images.  Where  shall  we  find  such  an  im- 
mense number  of  lazy  lamas?  It  is  the  principal  profession,  embraced  by 
all  ranks,  and  the  women  are  not  behind  in  fanaticism,  for  they  form 
large  nunneries,  where  they  live  and  die.  It  is  really  a  nation  of  priests 
in  the  fullest  sense  of  the  word,  who  wile  away  their  days  in  absorption 
and  contemplation  of  the  excellencies  of  Budha.  None  of  the  redeeming 
quantities  of  an  intelligent  hierarchy  are  here  met  with,  quietude  is  the 
grand  object  of  their  wishes  ;  the  study  of  the  sacred  language,  the  Pali, 
though  written  in  a  different  character,  engages  forever  the  most  active ; 
and  a  round  of  unmeaning  prayers,  which  are  also  rattled  off  by  a  kind 
of  machinery,  is  the  most  dignified  occupation  of  all  and  every  one. — We 
have  taken  most  of  the  above  details  from  Turner's  account  of  an  embassy 
to  the  court  of  the  Teshoo  lama  ;  and  though  he  is  most  favorably 
impressed  with  the  piety  of  the  gentle  Tibetans,  and  even  defends  poly- 
andry upon  the  plea  of  ancient  usage,  still  he  is  rather  checked  with 
the  mendicity  that  prevailed  everywhere,  and  which  he  partly  attributes 
to  a  large  priesthood.  But  we  had  almost  forgotten  to  speak  of  the 
work  of  our  Chinese  author  whose  book  parades  at  the  commencement 
of  this  article. 

Volume  1st.  This  has  of  course  one  preface  that  may  be  read,  and 
the  second  is  unintelligible.  Of  the  first  we  shall  give  some  specimens, 
and  try  also  to  spell  some  sentences  of  the  last.  It  appears  that  a 
description  cannot  be  given  from  mere  hearsay,  without  degenerating 
into  a  digest  of  extraordinary  tales,  and  one  must  either  have  seen  mat- 
ters, or  have  the  testimonials  of  eye-witnesses  before  an  account  can  be 
drawn  up.  The  present  delineation  of  Tibet  is  of  course  an  authentic 
account,  and  the  reader  will  have  ample  opportunity  to  test  the  veracity 
of  this  mendacious  author.  The  work  of  course  was  manufactured  in 
the  large  book  establishment  at  Peking,  in  comparison  to  which  Long- 
man's, Murray's,  Harper's  and  Lea's,  mighty  fabrications  are  mere 
playthings,  notwithstanding  the  steam-engine.  As  for  the  men  them- 
selves engaged  there,  they  are  the  choice  scholars  selected  from  among 
360  millions,  and  no  doubt  write  all  Chinese  learning,  some  of  them 


62S 


fVei- Tsang,  or  Tibet. 


[Nov. 


having  been  book-worms  for  no  less  than  50  years.  A  host  of  such  men 
accordingly  set  to  work  upon  the  materials  furnished  them  by  successive 
writers,  and  including  the  maps  of  the  country,  reduced  1000  chapters, 
upon  sundry  matters  to  four  volumes  of  the  smallest  octavo.  If  they  do 
not  know  the  art  of  abridgment,  we  are  really  at  a  loss  to  say  who  does. 
The  crowning  labor,  however,  was  furnished  by  a  new  officer,  who  had 
been  four  years  in  the  country,  and,  being  appointed  to  the  revenue 
department,  had  an  excellent  opportunity  of  observing  the  resources  of 
the  country.  And,  not  satisfied  with  giving  a  detail  of  human  affairs, 
productions,  mountains,  rivers,  and  notices  about  winds  and  soil,  the 
diligent  curtailers  have  also  given  a  vocabulary  of  the  'language  of  the 
savages.'  Mere  ends  the  legible  preface,  which  is  dated  Keenlung  the 
57th  year  (1793).  The  unintelligible  one  seems  to  contain  an  eulogy 
upon  the  principal  author  mentioned  above,  who  not  only  carefully  exa- 
mined everything  about  him,  but  also  gained  so  many  victories  (we  sup- 
pose over  the  Nipalese)  that  he  obtained  a  triumph.  As  it  has  seldom 
been  our  lot  to  review  a  book  partly  composed  by  a  hero,  we  shall  give 
greater  diligence,  to  read  it  carefully,  than  we  should  otherwise  have 
been  disposed  to  do. 

To  give  an  idea  of  the  contents,  we  here  translate  the  index,  which  is 
in  itself  so  lucid,  that  by  merely  enumerating  the  subjects  recorded,  we 
might  give  a  good  view  of  its  matters.  First,  there  are  a  collection  of 
m;ips,  so  perfect  as  to  shame  Arrowsmith's.  The  mountains  are  so  ably 
delineated,  that,  judging  from  the  scale  of  the  said  drawings,  they  can 
be  no  less  than  50  or  100  miles  in  height,  in  comparison  with  which,  the 
Chimborazo  and  even  the  Dhawala  Giri  are  mere  mole  hills.  As  for  the 
rivers,  some  are  at  least  one  hundred  miles  in  breadth  at  their  very 
source,  giving  us  thus  an  idea  of  something  very  gigantic,  only  met  with 
on  Chinese  maps.  Then  follow  general  observations,  maps  of  roads, 
stages  of  travelling,  a  description  of  the  various  races  of  foreigners  ;  short 
outlines  on  fountains  and  rivers,  maps  of  the  frontier  towns,  about  con- 
ferring titles  of  nobility,  tribute  sent  to  the  court,  age,  festivals,  military 
regulations,  penal  laws,  taxes  and  forced  labour,  raising  of  imposts,  prin- 
ciple men,  dress,  eating  and  drinking,  ceremonials,  marriages,  burials, 
houses  and  cottages,  medical  art  and  drugs,  divination,  markets,  arti- 
zans,  rivers  and  mountains,  temples,  productions,  excerpta,  and  savage 
languages.  The  reader  will  observe,  that  a  good  many  subjects  are 
treated  of,  and  that  they  are  all  standing  in  their  proper  place. 

The  maps  commence  with  that  portion  of  Szechuen,  which  borders 
immediately  upon  Tsinghae,  a  romantic  country,  full  of  hill  and  moun- 
tain fortresses,  the  abode  of  wild  Meaoutsze  and  still  more  savage  tribes, 
who  give  the  Chinese  fully  as  much  trouble  as  the  Afghans  on  the  western 
extremities  do  the  English.  The  author  marks  carefully  the  stages 
which  he  himself  travelled,  but  takes  very  good  care  not  to  describe  the 
country  through  which  he  passed.  At  the  celebrated  place  of  Tatseen  loo, 
lat.  30°  8'  2<t"  N.,  through  which  all  the  intercourse  between  China  and 
Koko-nor  passes,  there  is  one  succession  of  mountains,  and  the  grandeur 
of  the  scenery  can  scarcely  be  exceeded.  But  the  howling  deserts,  in  the 
regions  of  ice  and  snow  fill  the  heart  with  fear  and  trembling.  The  tra- 
veller traversing  equally  horrible  tracts,  scarcely  ever  trod  by  the  human 
foot,  finally  arrives  at  Sening,  the  great  western  emporium  of  China, 
where  the  traders  of  all  the  tribes  of  Koko-nor  meet  to  barter  their  goods 
for  Chinese  manufactures.  The  mountains  hereabout  produce  a  great 
quantity  of  medical  herbs,  which  are  in  demand  throughout  the  Central 
Empire.  Some  of  them  are  very  injurious  to  the  traveller,  for  as  soon  as 
horses  eat  thereof,  they  become  drunk,  and  are  unable  to  pi-oceed  on 
their  way.    Having  arrived  on  the  banks  of  the  Yaluh  keang,  the  name 


IS  10.  i 


PVei-Tsang,  or  Tibet. 


62b 


borne  by  the  Yangtsze  keang  in  its  course  through  Koko-nor,  tbe  traces 
of  Cbinese  cultivation  cease,  and  we  find  a  hardy  set  of  mountaineers  or 
an  unruly  set  of  nomades,  something  in  the  shape  of  tbe  liberty-loving 
Swiss.  But  lamaism  or  shamanism  flourishes  here  as  much  as  in  Tibet, 
and  the  temples  and  monasteries  in  possession  of  the  priests  are  splendid 
and  numerous.  These  tribes  would  otherwise  be  ungovernable,  but  the 
Curb  of  superstition  is  strong  enough  to  keep  them  under  the  dominion 
of  the  Chinese,  who  exercise  at  least  a  nominal  control  over  them.  Our 
author  describes  them  as  obstinate,  stupid,  and  uncivilized.  Some  cannot 
at  all  be  tamed,  and  they  are  moreover  crafty,  a  vice  very  common 
amongst  barbarians,  and  especially  conspicuous  amongst  the  red-bristled 
races. 

Our  readers  are  aware  that  we  have  been  all  this  time  speaking  of  the 
intervening  territory  between  China  and  Tibet.  The  southern  part  of 
this  district  is  called  Toofan  or  Sefan,  and  is  divided  by  a  river  from  the 
dominions  of  the  lama.  We  are  now  fairly  arrived  on  the  frontier,  and 
shall  hasten  to  enter  this  famous  country.  The  whole  information  given 
by  our  author  may  be  condensed  in  a  few  sentences;  viz.  there  are  high 
mountains  covered  with  eternal  snow,  the  road  often  leading  beyond  the 
clouds,  and  thus  affording  to  the  traveller  the  pleasure  of  inhaling  an 
ethereal  air.  There  is  no  complaint  about  the  wild  inhabitants  of  these 
districts,  a  proof  of  the  orderly  habits  of  the  Tibetans,  who  according 
to  all  accounts  are  a  most  orderly  and  quiet  set  of  people.  As  for  the 
names  we  find,  we  think,  that  even  Klaproth  would  not  have  been  able 
to  pronounce  them,  though  he  bad  a  great  deal  of  practice  during  his 
travels  in  the  Caucasus.  To  make  however  a  long  story  short,  the 
tourist  arrives  by  way  of  Tsiamdo  and  Tardsong  at  Lassa,  or  Hlassa,  as 
some  of  the  learned  folks  will  have  it. 

Fairly  on  Tibetan  ground,  our  author  begins  to  philosophize  in  his 
travels,  and  the  first  thing  he  tells  us,  is.  that  tbe  common  people  main- 
tain the  yellow  religion  (shamanism),  and  that  they  reverentially  believe 
the  dalai  lama,  a  personage,  who  has  by  successive  migrations  again  and 
again  been  born  in  this  world.  Quietism  is  the  principal  doctrine  of  this 
creed,  benevolence  the  principle  by  which  the  votaries  are  actuated, 
whilst  they  are  absorbed  in  divine  and  deep  contemplation.  The  bene- 
volence is  at  all  events  negative,  something  of  the  imperial  compassion 
towards  distant  foreigners,  and  the  love  of  the  Dominican  friars.  He 
has  also  prophetical  gifts,  but  his  greatest  accomplishments  consist  in 
swallowing  knives,  and  eating  as  well  as  emitting  fire,  two  noble  qualifi- 
cations which  we  frequently  meet  with  amongst  jugglers,  but  on  account 
of  these  things  his  disciples  honor  him  greatly,  and  call  him  the  living 
Budha.  From  this  subject,  the  writer  enters  upon  the  most  favorite 
topic  for  a  Chinese  topographist,  viz,  the  offering  of  tribute  by  the  said 
lama,  which  commenced  prior  to  the  accession  of  the  Mantchou  family. 
Under  Shunehe,  however,  about  two  centuries  ago,  the  fifth  lama,  accord- 
ing to  our  Chinese  informant,  had  an  interview  with  the  great  emperor, 
and  received  a  patent,  to  be  the  monarch,  or  general  ruler,  of  the  Bud- 
hist  religion  in  the  west.  The  emperor  of  China,  considering  himself 
as  the  head  of  heathenism,  thus  thereby  assumes  a  portentous  title,  of 
which  the  dragon  is  the  emblem.  Wars  and  bloodshed  followed  upon 
tlu6  peaceful  settlement,  in  which  some  of  the  Mongol  and  Calmuck  khans 
seem  to  have  had  a  hand.  Now  it  is  a  very  remarkable  circumstance, 
that,  notwithstanding  the  great  reverence  these  gentry  profess  to  have 
for  the  holy  shrines,  they  cannot  occasionally  resist  the  temptation  of 
helping  themselves  to  the  treasures  which  have  been  hoarded  up  there  by 
the  faithful.  The  gold  collected  there  exists  in  such  immense  quantities, 
that  the  most  expensive  campaigns  have  richly  been  repaid  by  the  plun- 

VOL.    I.  4  M 


6.30 


IVei-Tsang,  or  Tibet. 


tier  of  Lassa,  and  hence,  this  has  always  heen  the  great  point  of  attrac- 
tion, which  drew  these  unruly  tribes  from  their  dreary  deserts  to  the 
place  of  holiness.  Of  course  they  have  always  some  pretence  or  other, 
in  the  finding  of  which,  they  are  as  cunning  as  our  best  diplomatists, 
and  even  Metternich  might  occasionally  take  a  lesson  from  a  khan.  In 
general,  however,  these  expeditions  arise  from  pious  motives,  such  as  for 
instance  a  pilgrimage  to  some  temple  or  other,  and  then  it  unfortunately 
happens,  that  the  devotees  are  so  ravished  with  the  glittering  metal,  of 
which  they  unfortunately  have  seen  very  little  in  Tartary,  that  they 
cannot  avoid  possessing  themselves  of  the  yellow  dust.  At  other  times 
some  quarrel  amongst  the  lamas  calls  forward  their  interposition,  and 
they  appear  on  the  plateau  of  Tibet  as  pacificators,  who  merely  for  the 
sake  of  establishing  peace  wage  war.  Let  the  cause  however  be  what 
it  may,  they  never  forget  helping  themselves  to  the  good  things  that  are 
found  in  abundance  in  the  cloisters  and  niches,  and  having  accomplished 
their  object,  they  disappear  as  fast  as  they  came.  In  one  of  their  pious 
crusades,  they  were  so  much  charmed  with  the  whole  system  of  hie- 
rarchy, that  they  in  a  fit  of  fervent  devotion,  packed  the  very  lamas  upon 
their  horses  and  camels,  and  decamped  with  their  precious  burdens  to 
Kobi.  Their  local  knowledge  is  perfect,  because  the  principal  lamas  of 
their  own  nation  study  at  Lassa  and  the  environs,  and  are  also  there 
invested  with  authority  to  sway  the  nomads.  Towards  the  end  of  the 
last  century  an  enemy,  no  other  than  the  hardy  Ghorkas,  appeared  in 
the  south,  who  availing  themselves  of  the  absence  of  the  teshoo  lama, 
who  was  then  at  Peking,  pounced  upon  the  temples,  and  made  a  clear 
sweep  of  all  the  invaluables.  For  this  outrage,  however,  the  Chinese 
made  them  pay  dearly,  and  they  remember  the  lesson  to  this  very  day. 

Though  the  lamas  detest  the  Chinese  as  an  unclean  race,  yet  they 
have  always  found  it  for  their  advantage  to  claim  the  protection  of  the 
great  emperor.  This  has  also  been  freely  granted,  and  it  was  owing  to 
Chinese  influence,  that  the  power  of  the  secular  rulers  was  put  down,  and 
the  lama  made  the  supreme  authority  of  the  land.  Still  there  was  one 
condition  to  which  this  chief  had  to  subscribe,  viz.  that  his  migration 
should  only  take  place  according  to  the  sanction  of  the  court,  and  more- 
over the  transmigration  having  taken  place  in  obedience  to  the  imperial 
edict,  the  ta-chin  or  resident  should  always  be  consulted  and  everything 
should  be  done  by  his  direction.  This  is  then  a  very  proper  way  of 
managing  matters.  Whilst  the  Chinese  emperor  has  all  the  credit  of 
granting  his  paternal  protection,  it  is  a  very  cheap  mode  of  doing  things  ; 
2000  soldiers  are  sufficient  to  keep  the  whole  country  in  order,  and  the 
whole  annual  expenditure  does  not  exceed  100,000  taels.  What  an  example 
to  Ilussia  and  England  !  But  even  this  money  is  not  to  be  lost ;  an  impe- 
rial edict  directs  the  officers  to  enjoin  upon  the  Chinese  merchants  to 
re-export  all  the  precious  sycee  silver,  so  that  the  country  may  retain  its 
treasures.  What  a  pity  that  our  celestial  friends  know  nothing  about 
bills  of  exchange.  But  we  had  almost  forgetton  the  subject  of  which  we 
ought  to  speak.  The  reader  must  forgive  us  this  deviation,  because  our 
guide  has  all  at  once  forgotten  his  maps,  and  gotten  into  politics,  which 
is  an  inexhaustible  topic.  Acd  thus,  being  led  astray,  we  imperceptibly 
finished  the  first  volume,  and  are  now  in 

Volume  2nd.  What  strikes  us  most  is  the  gorgeous  description  of  the 
temples  in  and  near  L:issa.  As  however  other  writers  have  amply  dwelt 
upon  this  subject,  we  must  for  this  time  skip  it  over.  The  grand  prin- 
ciple that  pervades  all  Tibet  is,  to  live  in  poverty  and  wretchedness,  in 
order  to  save  money  for  building  temples,  and  endowing  monasteries. 
Hence  all  the  national  treasure  is  locked  up  in  these  abodes  of  laziness 
and  vice.    After  pursuing  the  route  towards  the  south,  where  our  author 


1840.] 


JVei-Tsang,  or  Tibet. 


resales  his  render  with  ninny  hard  names,  he  finally  arrives  on  the  fron- 
tiers of  Nipal,  the  inhabitants  of  which  he  honors  with  the  honorable 
(tame  of  thievish  Ghorkas.  He  very  wisely  remarks  at  the  end,  that 
under  the  bright  heaven  and  the  changes  of  the  sun  there  are  other 
wonderful  things  and  extraordinary  phenomena,  but  the  roads  through 
mountains,  and  canals  being  not  yet  made,  the  country  remains  a  vast 
wilderness. 

The  next  chapter  is  an  itinerary,  more  uninteresting  than  any  other 
part  of  the  book,  but  perhaps  of  some  use  to  the  future  traveller. 

After  this  the  book  grows  more  interesting,  and  we  all  at  once  are 
introduced  to  ethnology  ;  every  description  of  the  different  tribes  that 
inhabit  the  country  is  preceded  by  a  picture  of  the  male  and  female  of 
the  said  nation,  somewhat  in  Vandyke's  style.  The  first  race  are  the 
barbarians  who  live  in  the  neighborhood  of  Tatseen  loo.  They  dress 
magnificently  in  furs  and  silks,  wear  poniards,  and  are  moreover  very 
enierprizing.  Trade  cannot  be  carried  on  by  any  body,  except  under  the 
express  sanction  of  a  set  of  women.  Addicted  to  shamanism,  they  do  not 
bury  their  bodies,  but  expose  them  to  the  kites,  thus  performing,  after 
their  death,  the  most  virtuous  action,  by  feeding  with  their  own  sub- 
stance the  brute  creation.    This  indeed  is  charity  with  a  vengeance. 

Next  to  these  are  the  Letang  tribe,  a  very  orderly  set,  engaged  in 
spinning  and  weaving,  and  moreover  an  inoffensive  race.  The  Patnng 
very  much  resemble  the  former.  Our  author  does  not  inform  us  of  their 
numbers,  nor  tell  us  whether  they  have  a  different  language,  and  an 
alphabet  of  their  own. 

In  describing  the  Setsang  tribe,  our  author  principally  expatiates  upon 
the  marriage  ceremonies,  without  giving  any  idea  of  the  character  of 
the  people.  If  one  of  the  lamas  commits  adultery,  he  is  sewed  up  with 
the  offending  party  in  a  skin,  and  exposed  in  the  desert.  Of  the  Alekd 
we  learn  nothing  else,  but  that  men  as  well  as  women  wear  a  very  curious 
head-dress. 

We  leave  out  several  tribes,  because  what  is  said  about  them  is  scarcely 
worth  our  notice,  and  merely  advert  to  the  Loqukeapa,  who  live  to  the 
south  of  Tibet.  They  are  a  set  of  savages,  who  besmear  their  body  with 
all  possible  colors,  are  ignorant  of  the  Budhist  religion,  and  live  in  holes ; 
during  the  winter  they  dress  in  skins,  and  in  summer  they  make  use  of 
leaves  for  the  same  purpose.  The  Tibetans  send  the  most  desperate  of 
their  criminals  amongst  them,  and  they  are  sure  of  never  seeing  them 
return. 

The  Palihpoo  are  on  the  contrary  far  more  civilized,  excel  in  many 
arts,  do  also  engage  in  trade,  but  have  one  radical  vice,  that  of  resisting 
the  authority  of  the  celestial  empire.  Some  fifty  years  ago  they  sent  a 
tribute-bearer  to  the  Chinese  resilient  at  Lassa.  He  received  the  envoy 
very  graciously,  and  bestowed  upon  the  said  barbarians  commercial  pri- 
vileges. They  commenced  trading,  but  alas  !  their  hankering  after  gain, 
a  distinctive  trait  in  the  barbarian  character,  and  nowhere  more  conspi- 
cuous than  amongst  the  red-bristled  tribe,  involved  them  in  trouble ;  edicts 
were  issued,  which  they  would  not  obey,  and  their  stubbornness  obliged 
the  celestial  officers  to  march  forward  with  an  army  in  order  to  destroy 
this  unruly  set.  With  what  success  the  snid  general  met,  we  are  not  told, 
but  are  led  to  believe,  that  the  issue  very  much  resembled  that  of  all 
other  Chinese  campaigns,  and  that  the  refractory  brood  was  exterminated 
without  mercy,  much  in  the  same  manner  as  were  recently  the  barbarians 
in  and  about  Macao. 

Volume  3rd.  This  book  opens  a  gain  with  sundry  prefaces  and  hints, 
of  which  we  unfortunately  cannot  avail  ourselves.  The  long  and  short  of 
our  author's  declamation  is,  that  the  nearer  i'oofau  tribes  being  a  very 
4  It  2 


632 


IVei-Tsany,  or  Tibet. 


[Nov. 


warlike  set  of  people.it  was  deemed  expedient  to  form  alliances  with 
them,  and  these  proving  futile,  the  brave  Chinese  generals  had  to  subdue 
them.  Soon  after  this  it  was  found  expedient  to  extend  the  sway  further 
into  Tibet  ;  and  this  being  obtained,  it  remains  to  be  seen,  whether  or 
not  sooner  or  later,  Chinese  influence  will  be  felt  in  Bokhara  as  well  as 
Afghanistan.  The  author  accompanies  his  observation  with  a  map,  the 
most  remarkable  part  of  which  is,  that  there  is  not  the  slightest  hint 
given  of  their  southern  part  coming  in  contact  with  the  company's 
dominions.  All  maps  we  have  yet  seen,  represent  their  whole  possessions 
as  a  very  narrow  strip  of  land,  lying  somewhat  to  the  west  of  Malacca, 
of  which  the  great  monarch  disdains  to  take  notice.  Their  orthodox 
accounts  are  derived  from  the  colonists  of  Manila.  Batavia,  and  Singa. 
pore,  and  from  them  they  learn,  that  a  little  island  with  a  few  merchants 
and  soldiers  constitute  the  whole  European  dominions  iu  the  east.  Talk 
to  them  about  provinces  as  large  as  their  own,  about  a  numerous  popula- 
tion and  a  well-organized  government,  and  such  conversation  will  only 
produce  a  contemptuous  smile.  Whether  it  be  from  sheer  contempt,  or 
mere  policy,  the  name  of  Bengal  is  never  mentioned  in  the  Peking  Gazette, 
which  otherwise  embraces  such  a  multitude  of  subjects.  And  though  the 
military  commanding  officer  on  the  frontiers  of  Yunnan  has  been  conde- 
scending enough,  to  send  some  gentle  hints  to  the  British  authorities  in 
Assam,  that  he  was  going  to  come  down  upon  them  and  put  the  whole  to 
the  sword,  like  another  taoutae,  still  these  exploits  on  paper  do  never 
appear  in  the  Chinese  Moniteur.  What  magnanimity  in  the  lion,  who 
feigns  to  be  asleep,  that  the  little  mouse  may  skip  and  frisk  about  without 
fear  and  trembling  for  the  king  of  the  beasts. 

The  article  upon  nobility  is  extremely  short,  and  it  appears,  that  his 
imperial  majesty,  prompted  by  the  urgency  of  the  case,  had  appointed 
noblemen  either  from  amongst  the  Mantchous,  or  the  gentry  of  the 
country,  to  defend  the  kingdom  against  all  enemies. 

The  subject  of  tribute  is  treated  with  considerable  accuracy.  It  does 
the  heart  of  a  Chinese  man  good  to  enter  minutely  into  a  list  of  gifts, 
w  hich  are  humbly  offered  at  the  foot  of  the  throne  of  the  great  emperor, 
in  token  of  homage  and  fealty.  Amongst  the  articles  sent  by  the  Tibetan 
dala'i  lama,  are  gilded  brass  images  of  Budha,  beads,  rhinoceros' horns, 
flowered  carpets,  woollens,  &c. 

Our  author  next  dwells  upon  the  calendar  of  the  country,  which  does 
not  differ  much  from  the  Chinese.  The  year  commences  in  spring,  and 
is  called  according  to  a  certain  animal  like  the  rat  and  mouse.  The 
celebration  of  the  new  year  is  accompanied  with  equally  noisy  ceremonies 
as  in  China.  The  youth  wear  garlands  and  crowns,  and  show  themselves 
about  in  the  city,  whilst  others  dance  to  the  sound  of  drums,  and  perform 
a  mock  fight  with  battle-axes. 

The  Tibetan  army  is  required  to  consist  of  64,000  men,  both  horse  and 
foot ;  the  former  buy  their  animals  from  the  Tartars,  or  the  Mongols 
themselves  enlist  in  the  cavalry.  They  wear  a  cuirass  and  helmet,  with 
red  tassels  and  peacock's  feathers,  and  are  armed  with  a  sword,  carbine, 
and  large  spear.  Thus  superbly  mounted  and  splendidly  accoutred, 
thev  itispire  terror  as  much  as  the  celestial  cavalry,  of  which  the  benevo- 
lent reader  may  occasionally  see  a  few  traversing  the  steeets  of  Macao. 
The  description  of  Virgil  of  the  war  horse  is  too  faint  when  applied  to 
these  coursers,  and  the  fierceness  of  the  animal  is  such,  that  some  man 
must  go  before  it  to  lead'it  on,  in  order  to  prevent  the  rider  from  tumbling 
off !  Thus  it  happens  that  no  spurs  are  used,  and  that  the  stirrups,  made 
after  the  model  of  the  ancients,  and  describ.ed  by  the  greatest  sinologue 
as  the  metal  by  which  a  person  mounts  a  '  horse,'  perform  all  the  service. 
The  infantry  stick  in  their  caps  the  feathers  of  cocks:  every  soldier 


1840.] 


Wei'Tsang,  or  Tibet. 


033 


carries  two  swords,  bow  an<l  arrows,  and  sometimes  also  a  spear  of  con- 
siderahle  length.  The  whole  army  is  reviewed  during:  the  second  and 
third  month  of  the  year. 

Of  the  penal  laws  we  have  the  following  account.  They  are  very 
tyrannical  ;  as  soon  as  a  criminal  is  seized,  no  matter  what  was  his  delin- 
quency, he  is  bound  hand  and  foot,  and  thrust  into  a  dark  room,  until  he 
be  cited  before  the  judge.  The  body  of  a  person  who  is  killed  in  quarrel 
is  thrown  into  the  water.  He  who  kills  anybody  must  pay  a  fine  into  the 
public  treasury,  and  there  must  be  prayer  said  for  the  murdered  person, 
whosoever  has  neither  oxen  nor  sheep  nor  money  to  buy  himself  free,  is 
bound  and  thrown  into  the  water.  Those  who,  whilst  robbing,  kill,  shall 
all  without  making  any  difference  between  the  principal  or  the  abettor, 
be  condemned  to  death,  or  he  tied  to  a  pillar,  and  have  arrows  as  well  as 
matchlocks  discharged  at  them.  Those  who  die  in  consequence  of  hard 
drinking',  shall  have  their  heads  cut  off  from  the  corpse,  to  be  publicly 
exposed  or  sent  to  the  Loya  tribe  to  be  eaten  by  them.  This  race  seems 
to  be  endowed  with  a  peculiar  appetite,  and  the  Tibetans  are  in  the  habit 
of  transporting  their  convicts  into  their  territory,  to  supply  the  said 
savages  with  a  meal.  A  criminal  may  also  he  bound  and  thrown  into  a 
pit  of  scorpions  to  be  stung  to  death.  The  family  of  the  robber  is  to  be 
imprisoned,  and  to  pay  the  double  of  the  stolen  goods,  whilst  the  robber 
has  to  lose  his  eyes,  and  to  have  his  nose,  hands,  or  feet  cut  off  Those 
who  have  committed  great  crimes  are  to  be  beaten  with  thongs,  and  then 
put  into  water.  After  some  time  they  are  again  beaten,  and  thus  three 
times.  If  they  still  deny  their  guilt,  their  chest  is  then  besprinkled  with 
boiling  oil,  whilst  the  ilesh  is  cut  open  with  a  sharp  poniard,  and  they 
have  then  again  to  undergo  the  ordeal  of  water.  If  no  confession  after 
all  this  can  be  extorted,  and  there  exist  no  proofs,  they  are  set  at  liberty. 
The  bodies  of  those  who  die  under  torture  are  thrown  into  water.  Ordi- 
nary cases,  such  as  quarrels  and  adultery,  are  punishable  by  fines.  The 
author  remarks  that  lie  has  never  heard  of  more  cruel  tortures,  and  cer- 
tainly some,  if  true,  are  execrable. 

The  taxes  are  levied  upon  all  articles  of  natural  produce,  from  the 
shaggy  goat  to  the  iron  that  is  dug  from  the  bowels  of  the  earth.  More- 
over the  conscription,  according  to  which  every  male  from  20  to  60  years 
is  obliged  to  serve  the  state,  furnishes  a  good  revenue,  for  many  of  the 
inhabitantss  prefer  paying  50  cash  per  day,  to  be  exempted  from  the 
service,  whenever  it  is  their  turn.  Otherwise  the  whole  population  is 
put  under  contribution  by  the  convents. 

Jn  giving  an  account  of  the  dress  of  the  nation,  the  author  is  very 
prolix,  so  as  to  draw  up  a  complete  vade  mecum  for  a  tailor.  The  cli- 
mate requires  warm  clothing,  hence  the  Tibetans  are  very  expert  in 
manufacturing  woollens,  and  like  the  Chinese  put  one  dress  over  the  other 
to  keep  themselves  warm.  With  the  poorer  classes,  sheep  skins  are  used 
for  the  same  purpose,  whilst  the  men  of  distinction  wear  costly  furs  and 
silks.  The  head-dress  has  a  very  grotesque  appearance,  and  the  boots 
worn  by  them  have  soles  of  immense  thickness,  to  prevent  the  wearer 
from  catching  cold,  and  being  tortured  by  rheumatism.  Their  daily  food 
is  barley  and  mutton,  the  latter  often  eaten  raw,  and  kept  ready  in  ice 
for  daily  consumption.  All  classes  indulge  in  tea,  which  is  however 
seasoned  with  salt  and  oil.  Of  their  barley  a  variety  of  liquors  are  made, 
of  which  they  partake  very  freely.  Their  means  of  subsistence  being 
very  scant)',  they  are  often  reduced  to  the  greatest  straits,  and  hunger 
and  misery  joined  to  the  small-pox,  desolate  towns  and  villages.  To 
keep  the  population  down,  on  the  Malthusian  plan,  polyandry  has  been 
introduced,  but  the  Chinese  are  so  shocked  with  this  preposterous  custom, 
that  they  have  actually,  in  several  districts,  put  a  stop  to  it.    A  country 


634 


Wei-Tsangs  or  Tibet. 


CNov. 


that  brings  forth  the  almond  and  grape,  might  likely  be  made  to  produce 
more  nutritious  food  than  mere  barley  ;  still  national  prejudices  are  in 
favor  of  this  article,  and  therefore  it  is  cultivated  iilmost  exclusively. 

The  marriage  ceremonies,  which  are  minutely  detailed  by  the  writer, 
contain  nothing  extraordinary.  The  alliances  are  concluded  with  the 
perfect  assent  of  the  parents  of  both  parties.  The  women  are  mere 
drudges,  and  neither  beauty  nor  sweetness  of  temper  are  considered 
accomplishments  ;  the  only  thing  required  is,  that  they  shall  possess  the 
requisite  qualifications  for  working  hard.  As  soon  as  a  person  is  dead, 
the  body  is  bound  with  a  number  of  ropes,  and  the  lamas  come  repeatedly 
to  say  mass.  A  few  days  having  thus  elapsed,  it  is  cut  to  pieces  and 
given  to  the  dogs,  whilst  the  bones,  pounded  in  a  mortar  to  dust,  are 
burnt,  and  then  kneaded  together  like  dough.  Some  persons  prefer  to 
give  the  deceased  to  the  kites.  We  know  of  nothing  so  disgusting  and 
revolting  to  nature  ;  still  it  is  the  general  custom  of  the  country.  The 
deceased  lamas,  however,  are  burnt,  and  the  ashes  deposited  in  urns, 
which  are  carefully  put  into  hollow  images  to  serve  as  objects  of  worship. 

Their  dwellings  are  poor  hovels,  made  of  stones,  put  rudely  one  upon 
another,  without  flooring,  and  always  built  on  the  sunny  side  of  hills,  so 
as  to  be  sheltered  against  the  fearful  northern  blasts.  Many  live  in 
caverns,  with  far  greater  security.  On  account  of  the  dryness  of  the 
soil,  such  quantities  of  sand  are  raised  by  tornadoes,  as  to  cover  whole 
districts,  and  hence  the  precaution  of  the  natives  to  protect  themselves 
against  this  evil. 

In  ihe  medical  art,  they  are,  according  to  our  author,  well  advanced, 
but  they  rely  much  upon  spells  and  incantations  in  their  cures.  They 
are  very  well  practised  in  the  art  of  divination  and  sorcery,  and  their 
women  use  all  kinds  of  magical  arts  to  portend  future  events. 

The  accounts  of  the  trade  are  excessively  meagre  Women  appear  to 
be  the  principal  merchants,  the  men  being  too  sluggish  to  engage  in  any 
laborious  pursuits.  The  artisans  of  Tibet  possess  skill  in  working  metals, 
and  their  manufactures  are  by  no  means  contemptible. 

Volume  4th.  This  part  of  the  work  opens  with  the  names  of  all  the 
mountains,  that  have  fallen  under  our  author's  observation.  It  is  how. 
ever  our  misfortune  to  know  next  to  nothing  of  the  same,  and  thus  we 
must  be  satisfied  merely  to  state,  on  his  authority,  that  some  resemble 
certain  birds,  whilst  others  are  not  unlike  beasts.  This  chapter  is  fol- 
lowed by  an  enumeration  of  all  the  temples  of  note,  a  goodly  number, 
some  of  which  consist  of  remarkably  fine  buildings  with  a  profusion  of 
ornaments.  The  list  of  productions  is  imperfect,  and  ill  put  together. 
The  miscellaneous  notices  contain  somewhat  of  everything,  and  com. 
prise  an  outline  of  several  military  stations. 

And  now  we  have  come  to  the  vocabulary.  Possessing,  however,  pon. 
dermis  dictionaries  in  our  own  language  with  full  explanations  of  the  Ti- 
betan idiom,  we  refer  the  reader  to  them,  as  to  more  complete  accounts. 

Having  thus  safely  reached  the  end  of  this  review,  we  ought  to  add 
something  not  generally  known.  The  Moravians,  who  have  furnished 
missionaries  to  the  most  dismal  regions  of  the  world,  also  wished  to  en- 
lighten the  poor  Tibetans  with  the  gospel ;  the  more  so  as  they  generally 
believed,  that  no  other  Christian  denomination  would  ever  take  the  trou- 
ble of  making  that  remote  country  the  field  of  its  exertions.  In  this  con- 
jecture, however,  they  were  wrong,  for  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 
sent,  at  an  early  date,  a  German  to  the  frontiers  to  acquire  the  language, 
and  to  commence  an  intercourse  with  the  natives.  He  had  compiled  a 
small  dictionary,  when  he  was  snatched  away  by  death,  but  his  posthu- 
mous work  was  published  at  Serampore.  In  the  meanwhile,  a  few  in- 
defatigable Moravians  joined  themselves  to  some  Calmuck  hordes  in 


1840.] 


The  Hill  Tribes'. 


035 


southern  Russia,  and  under  much  suffering  and  persecution  gained  the 
love  of  the  people,  and  obtained  firm  hold  upon  their  minds.  With  these 
nomads,  they  wished  to  pass  on  to  others  further  to  the  east  in  their 
annual  wanderings  ;  and  since  the  free  hordes  in  Bokhara  frequently  go 
to  Tibet  on  a  pilgrimage,  they  thus  hoped  to  enter  with  their  parishioners 
the  country.  It  is  very  remarkable,  that  in  the  very  year,  when  this  plan 
was  to  be  put  into  execution,  the  Russian  government  forced  them  to  leave 
their  nomadic  congregation,  and  to  abandon  forever  the  work  of  missions 
amongst  this  erratic  race. 

Since  the  Chinese  have  obtained  possession  of  the  country,  the  utmost 
vigilance  has  prevailed  all  along  the  line  of  the  frontiers,  and  it  would  be 
much  easier  to  penetrate  into  the  interior  of  Canton  province,  than  to 
cross  the  Himalaya  range  into  Tibet.  Some  traders  however,  natives  of 
Hindustan,  have  been  in  the  h  tbit  of  frequenting  Lassa,  and  one  amongst 
them,  who  if  we  are  not  mistaken  was  also  a  political  agent,  has  given  a 
very  full  and  excellent  description  of  all  he  saw.  The  country,  however, 
remains  still  in  many  respects  a  terra  incognita,  and  we  must  look  towards 
a  less  restrained  intercourse,  in  order  to  ascertain  its  geography  and 
know  its  people. 


II. — The  Hill  Tribes. 

In  continuation  of  our  gatherings,  in  reference  to  the  Hill 
Tribes,  we  have  selected  two  extracts  containing  an  account 
of  the  Nat/as  and  the  Lepchas,  both  on  the  north-eastern  fron- 
tier. The  former  is  taken  from  the  journal  of  the  Rev.  J. 
Bronson  of  the  American  Baptist  Mission  in  Assam  ;  the 
other  is  from  the  100th  number  of  the  Asiatic  Journal.  We 
shall  continue  to  lay  before  our  readers  as  opportunity  offers, 
additional  information  on  this  subject. — Ed. 

Tour  to  the  Nam  Sang  JVoga  Mountains. 

Mr.  Bronson,  whose  station  is  at  Jaipur,  having  penetrated  south- 
easterly into  this  before  unexplored  mountainous  country,  about  lat.  27° 
\&'  north,  and  long,  95°  40'  east,  gives  some  interesting  information  con- 
cerning the  country,  the  character,  and  the  mode  of  life  of  the  people 
whom  he  found  there.  Both  the  people  and  the  lofty  mountain  ranges 
among  which  they  live  seem  to  be  called  by  the  common  appellation  of 
Nam  Sang  Noga. 

January  9t/i,  1^39.  Rose  early,  and  sent  a  man  forward  to  inform  the 
Noga  chief  of  our  approach.  Our  road  led  through  the  most  interesting 
and  varied  scenery  1  have  beheld  in  this  country.  We  were  at  one  time 
passing  through  the  narrowest  defiles  of  steep  and  rugged  mountains, 
and  at  another  gazing  into  some  deep  valley  that  lay  at  our  feet.  Yet 
along  this  very  height  lay  our  only  path,  not  exceeding  six  inches  in  width, 
whence  one  mis-step  would  have  precipitated  us  upon  the  craggy  cliffs 
far  below.  At  another  point  rose  several  beautiful  peaks  of  mountains 
of  moderate  height  ;  and  further  on,  the  mountain-tops  were  lost  in  the 
clouds,  but  covered  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach,  with  richest  verdure. 
Many  times  as  I  passed  along,  1  involuntarily  exclaimed,  "  How  manifold 
are  thy  works,  O  Lord  of  Hosts!" 


C.%  The  Hill  Tribes.  [Nov. 

At  one  o'clock  reached  our  of  the  salt  springs,  worked  by  the  Noyns. 
The  water  was  drawn  from  deep  wells  by  a  bucket  of  leaves,  and  poured 
into  large  wooden  troughs  near  by,  for  the  purpose  of  boiling.  Their 
mode  of  boiling  is  rude,  and  to  one  who  had  not  seen  it,  would  appear  to 
be  perfectly  impracticable.  They  build  a  long  arch  of  stone  and  clay. 
On  the  top  single  joints  of  bamboos,  cut  thin,  and  spread  open  like  a 
boat,  are  placed  closely  together.  These  hold  from  two  to  three  quarts 
each.  These  boats  are  kept  full  of  the  brine,  and  a  large  fire  kept  blaz- 
ing under  them,  without  injury  to  the  bamboo.  On  this  arch  I  counted 
sixty  boats,  which  they  said  would  give,  when  boiled  away,  twenty  to 
twenty-five  boats  of  salt  for  the  market.  Thus  their  ingenuity  lias  made 
them  quite  independent  of  the  expensive  furniture  required  at  our  own 
salt  works.  One  man  to  attend  the  arch,  one  to  bring  the  brine,  and 
four  to  gather  wood,  are  all  that  is  necessary  to  complete  the  establish- 
ment. 

Pursuing  our  course,  we  came  to  a  very  steep  and  rugged  mountain, 
and  as  the  sun  was  pouring  down  his  meridian  rays  upon  us,  my  feeble 
strength,  on  gaining  the  summit,  was  quite  exhausted.  We  here  passed 
several  dangerous  precipices,  but  soon  had  the  pleasure  of  seeing  the  rude 
houses  which  the  Nogas  had  prepared  for  our  reception.  They  stood 
near  the  hath,  (salt  market,)  at  which  was  a  large  collection  of  traders. 
A  gentle  ascent  on  every  side  formed  a  splendid  amphitheatre  of  the 
valley.  Here  we  were  met  by  two  of  the  chief's  sons,  and  a  numerous 
train  of  his  warriors,  who  bade  me  welcome — expressed  their  pleasure 
that  I  had  come,  and  declared  the  country  mine,  and  themselves  my  sub- 
jects. In  return,  I  assured  them  of  my  best  wishes  and  good  intentions; 
arid  although  no  white  man  had  ever  before  ventured  among  them  ;  that 
I  felt  the  greatest  confidence  in  them,  as  my  brethren  and  friends.  We 
then  proceeded  to  the  rude  huts  they  had  prepared  for  my  use  during  my 
stay  among  them,  and  which,  upon  inquiry,  I  was  sorry  to  find,  were  at 
quite  a  distance  from  their  villages.  They  doubtless  wish  to  be  better 
assured  of  the  object  of  my  visit,  before  they  admit  me  to  their  villages  ; 
although  the  alleged  reason  was,  that  there  was  no  water  on  their  moun- 
tains, and  that  this  would  subject  me  to  great  inconvenience.  They  have 
hitherto  allowed  no  one  to  know  much  of  the  interior  of  their  country. 

I  spent  the  most  of  the  day  with  these  people,  conversing  particularly 
upon  my  object  in  coming  among  them.  1  lost  no  time  in  telling  them, 
that  the  great  God  who  created  them,  had  made  it  the  duty  of  his  crea- 
tures to  love  and  pity  each  other  ;  that  1  was  a  teacher  of  his  holy  law, 
of  which  they  were  entirely  ignorant ;  and  that  I  had  heard  of  them  in  my 
native  land,  and  had  come  across  the  great  waters  to  give  them  hooks  in 
their  own  language,  that  they  might  read  the  law  of  God,  and  become  a 
wise  and  good  people.  Their  great  fear  was  that  1  was  a  servant  of  the 
Company.  Being  weary,  I  dismissed  them,  requesting  that  the  chief  and 
his  attendants  would  meet  me  the  next  day,  as  1  had  important  words  to 
speak  to  them.  They  promised  to  do  so,  and  very  courteously  left  me. 
Interview  with  the  Chiefs — Visit  to  the  Noga  Village. 
10th.  About  11  o'clock  the  kingly  train  made  their  appearance,  rushing 
like  so  many  wild  beasts  from  the  tops  of  the  highest  peaks,  and  having 
their  heads  and  ears  ornamented  with  shells,  precious  stones,  and  many 
fanciful  representations  of  battle.  They  halted  a  few  rods  from  my  house, 
and  stuck  their  spears  into  the  ground  together,  where  they  left  them 
during  their  visit.  They  then  came  in  a  very  respectful  manner,  and 
seated  themselves  before  me,  on  mats  that  they  had  brought  for  the 
purpose. 

Having  now  before  me  all  the  influential  persons  among  the  people.  I 
entered  again  into  a  familiar  explanation  of  my  object   in  visiting  them. 


1840.] 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


687 


1  told  them  that  there  were  many  good  people  across  the  great  waters, 
who  had  compassion  on  them,  and  had  sent  me  up  into  their  mountains, 
where  no  white  man  had  ever  before  been,  to  teach  them  how  to  love  God 
and  go  to  heaven  when  they  died.  Bor  Kumbou,  through  my  interpre- 
ter, renewed  t|ie  objections  urged  yesterday.  They  feared  that  I  was  a 
servant  of  the  Company,  come  to  spy  out  their  roads,  sources  of  wealth, 
number  of  slaves,  amount  of  population,  and  means  of  defence,  and  the 
best  methods  of  taking  the  country-  Others  feared  that  I  might  live 
peaceably  among  them  for  a  time,  and  afterwards  get  power  and  influence, 
and  make  them  all  my  people.  It  was  in  vain  that  I  told  them  of  another 
country,  beside  the  English,  across  the  great  waters.  They  replied,  "  Is 
not  your  color,  your  dress,  your  language,  the  same;  and  what  person 
would  come  so  far,  merely  to  give  us  books  and  teach  us  religion  ?" 
Some  of  the  more  enlightened,  and  1  was  happy  to  find,  influential  among 
them,  appeared  to  be  satisfied  that  my  object  was  to  benefit  them,  and 
began  arguing  in  my  favor. 

The  object  of  my  visit  having  been  pretty  thoroughly  explained,  I 
called  upon  the  chief  to  state  in  the  presence  of  his  people,  whether  he 
thought  education  would  be  advantageous,  or  disadvantageous  to  them : 
also  whether  he  would  give  me  his  approbation  and  assistance  in  learning 
their  language  and  teaching  them.  He  promptly  replied,  that  "  if  the 
people  learned  to  read  in  their  own  language,  it  would  be  well  ;  but  the 
Nogas  were  like  birds  and  monkeys,  lighting  on  this  mountain,  and 
stopping  on  that,  and  therefore  no  white  man  could  live  among  them  to 
teach  them ;  that  as  soon  as  their  boys  were  old  enough,  they  put  into 
their  hands  the  da  (hatchet)  and  spear,  and  taught  them  how  to  fight  and 
to  make  salt, — aside  from  that  they  knew  nothing, — and  how  could  they 
learn  books?" 

Wth.  Hose  early,  having  slept  but  little  from  anxiety  about  my  future 
path  of  duty.  Unless  I  can  secure  the  confidence  of  the  people  sufficiently 
to  live  familiarly  among  them,  I  cannot  expect  to  benefit  them.  Nor 
would  it  be  wise  for  me  to  presume  upon  the  kindness  or  integrity  of  a  rude 
tribe  of  mountaineers,  many  of  whom  never  before  saw  a  white  face.  I 
endeavored  to  commend  my  wav  to  God,  and  setjk  his  direction. 

Being  pretty  well  satisfied  that  it  was  fear  merely,  that  made  them 
hesitate  to  receive  me  at  their  village,  I  despatched  my  interpreter  with 
a  small  present  to  Bura  Kumbou,  who  I  understood  was  favorably  inclined 
to  me,  saying  that  I  felt  much  disappointment  and  chagrin  in  not  finding 
my  houses  built  near  him  and  his  people  ;  that  I  had  come  a  great  way 
to  see  them,  to  hear  their  language,  to  give  them  good  words,  and  to 
teach  them  God's  law;  and  that  I  wished  to  come  up  into  their  village, 
and  live  among  them  as  brothers  and  friends,  lie  soon  returned,  saying 
that  there  was  a  great  fear  in  the  village  at  my  coming  ;  that  they  con- 
sidered me  a  divinity  ;  that  if  1  remained  where  I  was,  it  would  be  very 
well,  but  it  was  the  order  of  Bor  Kumbou,  that  if  I  wished,  I  might  come 
up  into  their  village.  This  was  all  I  wished.  Without  his  approbation 
1  should  not  have  felt  safe  in  going.  1  immediately  made  arrangements 
for  going  the  next  morning. 

121  h.  An  early  breakfast,  and  we  set  out  for  the  Noga  village  on  the 
top  of  the  mountain.  It  had  rained  for  twenty-four  hours,  previous;  and 
the  path  was  steep  and  slippery.  After  winding  our  way  over  several 
hills  for  two  hours,  we  reached  a  fine  open  space  commanding  a  most 
lovely  prospect  of  hill  and  valley  and  winding  streams.  Several  hamlets 
could  be  distinctly  seen  at  once,  and  the  report  of  a  gun  from  this  place 
was  the  signal  for  collecting  their  respective  inhabitants.  Here,  hidden 
from  all  the  civilized  world,  this  people  roam  among  the  beauties  of  na- 
ture, and  behold  the  grandeur  of  the  works  of  God.  From  this  place  I 
VOL.    |.  4  N 


638 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


[Nov. 


found  a  wide  and  well-prepared  road,  pursuing  which  for  two  hours,  we 
reached  the  village.  The  houses  are  numerous,  large,  and  generally 
raised  from  the  ground.  The  whole  village  is  embowered  by  trees  of  the 
richest  evergreen,  and  the  walks  are  adorned  by  various  beautiful  shrub- 
bery, among  which  I  saw  oranges,  lemons,  a  great  variety  of  citrons,  and 
the  blackberry.  The  cool  fragrant  air,  as  it  breathed  briskly  through  the 
thick  foliage,  made  me  forget  all  the  fatigues  of  the  journey,  and  every 
breath  1  inhaled  imparted  to  my  languid  frame  new  vigor. 

I  was  kindly  received  at  the  village,  and  directed  to  a  large  comforta- 
ble house  which  they  had  prepared  for  my  reception,  and  where  several 
chiefs  were  assembled  to  meet  me.  My  wants  were  immediately  inquired 
into,  a  fire  was  made,  one  of  their  springs  of  water  was  given  up  to  our 
company,  eggs,  milk  and  potatoes  brought  in  abundance,  and  a  small 
cook-house  put  up,  in  so  short  a  time  that  I  had  no  occasion  to  order  any 
thing.    Such  was  the  generous  hospitality  of  these  wild  mountaineers. 

But  this  was  no  sooner  done,  than  a  long  council  was  held  concerning 
me,  (no  less  than  six  similar  consultations  have  been  held  concerning  me 
and  the  object  of  my  visit  ;)  and  the  whole  day  has  been  spent  in  answer- 
ing their  objections.  They  were  inquisitive  about  the  great  countries 
across  the  waters,  and  quite  incredulous  at  my  description  of  a  passage  to 
this  country. 

Objects  of  his  Mission  approved — Funeral  Rites — Condition  of  Females. 

Having  unfolded  the  object  of  his  visit  to  the  chief  man  of  the  tribe 
and  secured  his  approbation  and  assistance,  Mr.  Bronson  proceeds — 

Spent  the  day  in  correcting  the  Catechism  in  Noga.  Had  a  large 
company  around  me,  who  had  never  heard  the  ten  Commandments  before. 
They  eagerly  inquiied  where  such  words  came  from.  They  may  well  be 
surprised,  for  they  never  were  acquainted  with  any  system  aside  from 
those  of  the  superstitious  brahmin  and  Hindu.  I  never  before  realized 
how  directly  the  commandments  aim  at  the  complete  destruction  of 
heathenism.  When  I  entered  upon  the  explanation  of  the  first  and 
second  commandments,  forbidding  the  worship  of  idols  in  every  form,  they 
exclaimed,  "  good,  good."  The  Nogas  do  not  worship  idols,  but  make 
offerings  to  evil  spirits,  of  which  they  have  a  most  superstitious  fear.  The 
like  scene  was  acted  over  when  I  came  to  the  eighth  command,  prohibit- 
ing theft.  This  crime  is  considered  by  them  a  capital  offence,  and  punish- 
ed accordingly.  The  disallowing  of  adultery  was  heard  with  a  sneer. 
How  truly  has  the  apostle  described  the  heathen  in  the  first  chapter  of 
Romans. 

After  we  had  gone  through  the  commandments,  I  entered  into  a  fuller 
explanation  of  them,  dwelling  particularly  upon  the  folly  of  idol  worship  ; 
and  1  believe  I  never  before  was  able  to  make  myself  so  well  understood 
on  religious  subjects,  since  1  have  been  in  the  country.  1  find  them  ex- 
tremely ignorant.  They  have  no  priests,  no  houses  of  worship,  and  no 
favorite  creed.  The  brahmins  have  tried  to  rivet  the  fetters  of  their 
superstition  upon  them,  but  almost  in  vain.  If  they  will  receive  books, 
and  allow  their  children  to  be  gathered  into  schools  and  instructed  in  the 
Christian  religion,  the  brahmins  will  be  able  to  do  very  little,  and  the  gos- 
pel will  work  its  way  into  the  very  midst  of  their  country.  A  success- 
ful beginning  here,  will  open  the  door  to  twenty-one  other  dependent 
villages  near  at  hand,  where  the  same  dialect  is  spoken. 

18th.  Early  this  morning  Bura  Kumbou  sent  for  my  interpreter,  and 
inquired  if  I  was  in  want  of  provisions.  By  his  attention  1  am  supplied 
with  many  necessaries.  I  receive  the  kind  feeling  manifested  by  this 
people,  as  a  favorable  indication  from  the  hand  of  God,  and  an  encou- 
ragement to  go  farward, 

This  has  been  a  great  day  among  the  Nogas     It  was  the  completion 


1840.] 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


639 


of  the  sixth  month  after  the  death  of  a  wife  of  one  of  their  chiefs.  Their 
custom  is  to  allow  the  corpse  to  remain  six  months  in  the  house  ;  at  the 
expiration  of  which  time  the  ceremonies  I  have  this  day  witnessed  must 
he  performed.  In  the  morning  two  large  buffalos,  several  hogs  and  a 
great  number  of  fowls  were  killed  for  the  occasion.  A  kind  of  intoxi- 
cating drink,  called  modh,  which  I  am  sorry  to  say  they  have  learned  to 
distil  in  large  quantities,  from  rice,  was  drunk.  About  noon,  numbers 
of  Nogas  from  the  neighbouring  villages,  dressed  in  a  most  fanciful 
manner  and  equipped  for  battle,  arrived.  After  beating  several  gongs 
of  different  sizes,  so  arranged  as  to  form  a  sort  of  harmony,  with  the 
music  of  drums,  they  marched  to  the  house  where  the  decaying  corpse 
Liv,  each  man  bearing  a  shield,  a  spear  and  a  da.  They  then  commenced 
singing  and  dancing,  with  such  a  regularity  of  step  and  voice,  as  perfectly 
surprised  me.  They  sang  in  the  Abor  tongue,  and  my  interpreter  in- 
formed me  that  all  their  songs  are  borrowed  from  the  Abor 9,  with  whom 
they  hold  daily  intercourse.  I  was  allowed  to  attend,  in  company  with 
two  of  the  chiefs,  who  interpreted  to  me  the  song,  the  substance  of  which 
is  as  follows : 

"  What  divinity  has  taken  away  our  friend?  Who  are  you  ?  Where  do 
you  live?  In  heaven  or  on  the  earth,  or  under  the  earth  ?  Who  are  you  ? 
Show  yourself?  If  we  had  known  of  your  coming  we  would  have  speared 
you."  The  above  was  first  pronounced  by  the  chorister.  The  whole  com- 
pany then  answered  it  by  exclaiming,  "  Yes,"  at  the  same  time  waving 
their  huge  glittering  spears  towards  heaven,  in  defiance  of  the  evil  spirit 
who  was  supposed  to  have  occasioned  the  death.  The  chorister  continues, 
"  We  would  have  cut  you  in  pieces  and  eaten  your  flesh,"  "  Yes,"  res- 
ponded the  warriors,  brandishing  their  das,  as  if  impatient  for  the  battle. 
"  If  you  had  apprised  us  of  your  coming,  and  asked  our  permission,  we 
would  have  reverenced  you  ;  but  you  have  secretly  taken  one  of  us,  and 
now  we  will  curse  you."  "  Yes,"  respond  the  warriors.  This  is  the  sub- 
stance of  what  they  sang,  though  varied,  and  repeated  many  times. 

25th.  The  noise  of  music  and  dancing  continued  nearly  all  the  night. 
During  the  greater  part  of  this  day,  the  ceremonies  of  yesterday  were 
repeated.  At  the  setting  of  the  sun  a  large  company  of  young  women 
came  around  the  corpse,  and  completely  covered  it  with  leaves  and  flowers, 
after  which  it  was  carried  to  a  small  hill  adjacent  and  burned  amid  the 
festivities  of  the  people.    Thus  closed  this  painful  scene. 

Considerable  respect  appears  to  be  paid  to  the  female  sex.  In  this 
particular  there  is  a  striking  contrast  between  the  Nogas  and  the  Asa- 
mese.  The  Asamese  women  are  the  most  idle,  worthless  set  of  beings  I 
ever  saw.  On  the  contrary,  the  Noga  women  are  proverbial  for  their 
industrious  and  laborious  habits.  This  remarkable  difference  in  favour  of 
the  Noga  women,  is  doubtless  to  be  imputed  to  the  anarchial  state  of  the 
country,  or  rather  to  the  number  of  independent  chiefs,  who  formerly,  for 
the  slightest  offence,  were  disposed  to  wage  war,  and  the  worst  of  all  wars, 
that  which  is  covert  and  unsuspected.  This  made  it  necessary  for  the  men 
to  be  always  ready  for  an  assault,  and  hence  the  custom  that  the  women 
should  cultivate  the  fields — the  men  prepare  for,  and  fight  in  battle. 

26<A.  Took  my  interpreter  and  the  Catechism  which  I  had  just  com- 
pleted in  Noga,  and  called  on  Bura  Kumbou.  He  received  me  kindly, 
and  after  passing  the  usual  civilities  of  the  country,  1  entered  into  fami- 
liar conversation  upon  religion.  I  asked,  Do  you  not  sometimes  think 
about  dying,  and  inquire  where  you  will  go,  and  what  will  become  of 
you?  He  replied,  "  1  know  that  I  shall  go  and  meet  my  ancestor  in  hea- 
ven." How  do  you  know  ?  I  asked.  "  By  dreams,"  said  he.  "  In  my 
sleep  it  has  been  often  told  me."  If  you  could  read  that  great  book, 
which  God  has  given  to  guide  all  men,  if  you  believed  it  and  obeyed  it, 
4  n  2 


640 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


[Nov. 


you  would  he  very  liiippy  at  the  thought  of  dying  ;  and  I  have  come  up 
into  your  mountains  for  no  other  purpose  than  to  teacli  it  to  your  people. 
As  lie  appeared  to  he  interested,  and  rather  astonished  at  such  ideas, 
(which  douhtless  were  new  to  him,)  I  drew  from  my  pocket  the  Catechism, 
and  read  it  through,  often  asking  him  if  he  understood  it.  He  replied 
"  Yes,"  and  said  that  God  gave  those  words,  for  they  were  all  true  and 
great  as  God.  I  then  told  him  that  I  expected  to  go  in  a  few  days  to 
Sadiya.  to  print  this  and  other  Noga  hooks,  that  he  and  his  people  might 
no  longer  he  destitute  of  the  means  of  becoming  a  wise  and  good  people  ; 
and  that  when  1  returned  to  visit  them,  I  should  bring  them  Noga  hooks, 
but  I  was  afraid  his  people  would  have  no  mind  to  le;irn  to  read  them. 
He  replied  that  it  was  his  wish  to  have  his  people  to  learn  to  read  them. 


Note  on  the  Lepchas  of  Sikkim.    By  A.  Campbell,  Esq.  Superintendent  of 

Dorjeling. 

When  I  had  the  honor,  some  months  ago,  of  forwarding  a  few  Notes  on 
the  Mech  tribe*,  I  ventured  to  announce  my  expectation  of  being  able  to 
furnish  some  particulars  of  other  tribes  inhabiting  the  neighbouring  coun- 
tries of  eastern  Nipal,  Sikkim,  and  Bootan.  To  this  end,  I  had  collected 
and  recorded  some  useful  memoranda  regarding  the  Lepchas,  Bhotiabs, 
Limhoos,  Murmis,  Gurungs,  and  Hains,  all  mountaineers,  which  by  an  un- 
fortunate accident  were  destroyed  by  fire;  nevertheless,  as  the  establish- 
ment of  this  Sanatarium  for  our  countrymen  affords  them  opportunities  of 
communicating  with  classes  of  men  which  have  hitherto  been  denied  to  all 
except  the  few  who  under  very  restrictive  circumstances  have  sojourned  in 
Nipal,  I  am  induced  to  forward  some  particulars  of  the  Lepchas,  with  an 
alphabet  and  very  meagre  vocabulary  of  their  language,  in  the  hope  that 
they  may  be  of  some  assistance  to  persons  visiting  this  place,  who  may 
have  leisure  and  a  disposition  to  acquire  the  means  of  colloquial  and  writ- 
ten intercourse  in  their  own  language,  with  a  most  interesting  people,  and 
1  believe,  the  undoubted  aborigines  of  the  mountain  forests  surrounding 
Dorjeling. 

Although  the  Lepchas  have  a  written  language,  it  has  not  been  ascer- 
tained that  they  now  have,  or  ever  did  possess  any  recorded  history  of 
themselves,  or  chronicles  of  any  important  events  in  which  they  have  taken 
part.  The  "  Lepchas,"  so  called  by  us,  and  indeed  by  themselves  in  con- 
versation with  strangers,  are  divided  into  two  races,  viz.  "  Rong"  and 
"Khamha."  Kong  in  colloquial  intercourse  among  them  is  a  generic  term, 
and  equivalent  to  "  Lepcha"  with  us.  But  a  man  who  announces  himself  a 
Lepcha  to  a  European,  Nipalese,  or  Hindustani,  may,  on  being  question- 
ed, turn  out  to  be  a  Khamba.  The  real  Lepcha,  or  Rong  proper,  has  no 
tradition  whatever,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  connected  with  the  advent  of  his 
tribe  into  this  part  of  the  world.  Here  he  has  always  been,  to  the  best  of 
his  knowledge  and  helief,  and  this  is  corroborated  by  all  his  neighbours. 
The  habitant  of  the  Lepchasoccupies  an  extreme  extent  of  about  120  miles 
from  north-west  to  south-east,  along  the  southern  face  of  the  Himalaya  ; 
to  the  west,  the  Tamber  branch  of  the  Koori  hounds  it ;  hut  on  the  east 
its  limits  are  undefined  in  the  mountains  of  Bootan.  Thus  they  are  found 
among  the  subjects  of  eastern  Nipal,  throughout  the  whole  of  Sikkim,  and 
extending  an  unknown  distance  into  Bootan.  I  believe  however  that  they 
are  found  in  very  small  numbers  indeed  further  east  than  fifty  miles  beyond 
the  Teestah,  although  a  few  of  them  are  said  to  be  located  as  far  east  as 
Punnuka,  and  Tassgongt. 

*  Vide  As.  Soc.  Journ.  No.  92. 

t  Towns  iu  Bootan  ;  see  rcmberton's  Report. 


1840.] 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


Gil 


The  Khamba,  although  now  the  same  in  all  essentials  of  language,  cus- 
toms, and  habits,  as  the  Itong,  is  professedly,  and  undoubtedly,  an  emigrant! 
from  beyond  the  Himalaya.  They  state  themselves  to  have  come  from  a 
province  of  China,  called  Khani,  which  is  described  as  lying  to  the  east 
and  north  of  Lhassa,  about  30  days'  journey.  'I'll is  province  has  not  been 
very  long  annexed  to  the  Chinese  empire,  and  if  the  accounts  I  have 
heard  from  members  of  the  Nipalese  Missions  to  Pekin  are  to  be  relied  on, 
its  rulers  find  inhabitants  are  even  now  for  from  being  well  governed  and 
peaceable  subjects  of  the  celestial  dynasty.  They  are  represented  as  a  herd 
of  lawless  thieves  and  robbers,  through  whose  country  it  is  scarcely  safe  to 
travel,  even  when  under  the  protection  of  an  escort  from  the  Court  of 
Pekin 

The  Khambas  reckon  seven  generations  since  their  arrival  on  this  side 
the  snows,  which  may  be  computed  at  200  years.  They  were  headed  by 
the  first  ancestor  of  the  present  Sikkim  Raja,  who  is  himself  a  Khamba. 
Previous  to  the  arrival  of  the  Khambas,  it  is  said  that  great  confusion 
existed  among  the  Lepcha  and  Bhotia  aborigines  of  Sikkim,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  incessant  struggles  for  supremacy  between  their  chiefs  ;  they 
however  had  priests  (Lamas)  from  Paling  Goombah,  beyond  the  snows, 
whose  advice  was  often  followed  in  temporal  matters,  and  when  it  ap- 
peared to  these  learned  leaders  that  it  was  hopeless  to  quiet  dissensions  by 
ordinary  means,  they  suggested  that  a  Raja  should  be  sought  for  in  some 
distant  country,  to  whom  all  classes  should  tender  allegiance  This  was 
agreed  to,  and  a  deputation  of  Lamas  proceeded  into  Thibet  Pote-leang, 
in  search  of  a  fitting  ruler  for  Sikkim  ;  here  they  were  unsuccessful,  and 
passed  on  to  Kha:n-leang*,  where,  after  much  trouble,  they  discovered  a 
boy,  the  son  of  respectable  parents,  whose  horoscope  was  considered  aus- 
picious ;  be  was  offered  the  Sikkim  crown,  it  was  accepted,  and  attended 
by  his  Khamba  clansmen  was  brought  from  beyond  the  snows,  and  pro- 
claimed Raja  of  Dinjong  (Lepcha  lor  the  Sikkim  country). 

The  first  Raja  although  chosen  for  the  office  in  a  similar  manner  to 
that  adopted  in  the  election  of  fresh  incarnations  of  deceased  Lamas,  did 
not  exercise  any  spiritual  authority  over  his  people ;  the  Lamas  who 
brought  him  to  the  throne  retained  this  in  their  ow  n  hands  for  some  time, 
but  not  long  after  the  spiritual  pow  er  came  into  the  family  of  the  Raja, 
where  it  still  continues.  At  present,  the  eldest  son  of  the  Raja  is  a 
Lama  and  high  priest  of  the  kingdom,  a  younger  son  being  nominated 
heir  apparent  to  the  throne. 

The  Khambas  although  a  Trans-Himalayan  tribe,  and  hence  by  us 
generally  denominated  Bhotiahs,  or  Thibetans,  consider  themselves  in- 
cluded in  that  generic  appellation;  but  the  following  distinctions  are 
made  by  the  Lepchas  in  talking  of  people  who  are  called  Bhotiahs  by 
Europeans — the  Bhotiah  from  beyond  the  snows  is  "  Pote,"  and  his  coun- 
try "  Pote-leang  ;"  he  of  Sikkim  "  Arratt,"  and  his  country  "  Dinjong  ;" 
and  he  of  Bootan  is  denominated  "  Proh-murroh,"  or  man  of  Proh. 

The  Lepchas,  Khambas,  and  Lepchas  proper,  to  be  understood  as  in- 
cluded under  this  term,  are  Bhuddhists,  following  the  priests  of  Thibet 
and  those  of  their  own  tribe  indiscriminately;  the  former  from  being 
generally  educated  at  religious  establishment's  of  repute,  are  considered 
the  more  orthodox,  the  latter  rarely  go  beyond  the  snows  to  study,  when 
they  do,  they  derive  the  full  advantages  of  the  superior  consideration  ac- 
corded to  the  Thibetans,  provided  they  adhere  to  the  strict  rules  of  mon- 
achism.  Marriage  is  permitted  to  the  native  Lepcha  priest,  and  he  is 
counted  as  a  good  match  for  the  daughters  of  the  chiefs.  The  influence 
of  the  priests  is  considerable,  but  it  is  far  short  of  that  attained  by  those 
of  Bootan  over  the  Bhotiahs,  as  described  by  Captain  Pemberton,  and  the 
*  "  Leang,"  country  or  province. 


642 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


[Nov. 


majority  of  them  are  obliged,  and  not  ashamed,  to  relinquish  a  dependence 
on  alms  for  the  more  active  employments  of  agriculture  and  trade. 

Restrictions  of  Hinduism  as  to  caste  are  not  admitted  by  the  Lepchas, 
although  those  who  live  under  the  Nipal  government  are  obliged  to 
conform  to  the  Hindu  laws  of  that  state,  this  however  they  do  with  a 
very  bad  grace,  and  rarely  forego  an  opportunity  of  crossing  into  Sikkim, 
or  coming  to  Dorjeling,  to  indulge  their  beef-eating  propensities.  They 
are  gross  feeders,  eating  all  kinds  of  animal  food,  including  the  elephant, 
rhinoceros,  and  monkey,  and  all  grains  and  vegetables  known  to  us,  with 
the  addition  of  many  roots  and  plants  altogether  excluded  from  our 
culinary  list.  Pork  is  their  most  favourite  flesh,  next  to  that,  beef,  goat, 
mutton.  The  yak  is  considered  the  best  beef,  next  to  that  the  flesh  of 
the  Sikkim  cow  (a  fine  animal)  and  last,  the  Bengali  and  common  cow. 
All  birds  are  included  in  their  list  of  eatable  game  ;  of  the  carrion  of  wild 
animals  that  of  the  elephant  is  most  prized.  The  favourite  vegetable  food 
is  rice,  next  to  it  wheat,  barley,  maize,  millet,  murwa,  and  a  fine  specie9 
of  yam  called  "  bookh,"  which  grows  all  over  these  mountains,  at  eleva- 
tions of  from  1500  to  3000  feet.  During  the  rains  when  grain  is  scarce  they 
contentedly  put  up  with  ferns,  bamboo  roots,  several  sorts  of  fungi,  and 
innumerable  succulent  plants  found  wild  on  the  mountains.  Fond  of 
fermented  and  spirituous  liquors,  they  are  nevertheless  not  given  to 
drunkenness;  their  common  drink  is  a  kind  of  beer  made  from  the  fer- 
mented infusion  of  Indian  corn  and  murwa,  which  is  weak,  but  agreeably 
acid,  and  very  refreshing.  This  is  drunk  at  all  times  when  procurable, 
and  when  making  a  journey  it  is  carried  in  a  large  bamboo  chunga,  and 
diligently  applied  to  throughout  the  day.  They  have  no  distilled  liquor 
of  their  own,  but  they  greatly  admire  and  prize  all  our  strong  waters, 
our  port  and  sherry,  cherry  brandy,  ajid  maraschino.  Tea  is  a  favourite 
beverage,  the  black  sort  brought  from  China  in  large  cakes  being  that 
preferred  ;  it  is  prepared  by  boiling,  after  which  the  decoction  is  churned 
up  in  a  chunga  with  butter  and  salt;  milk  is  never  taken  with  tea. 

Their  cooking  is  careless,  coarse,  and  not  cleanly.  Rice  is  generally 
boiled,  when  travelling,  in  pieces  of  the  large  bamboo,  at  home  in  coarse 
iron  pots.  Vegetables  are  always  boiled  in  oil,  when  the  latter  is  pro- 
curable, and  spiced  with  capsicum  and  ginger,  of  which  these  hills  pos- 
sess very  fine  kinds.  Salt  is  not  a  commonly  used  condiment,  the 
chief  source  of  supply  until  lately  being  Thibet,  whence  rock  salt  is 
brought  on  men's  backs;  the  easier  communication  with  the  plains  of 
Bengal  by  the  new  Dorjeling  road  admits  of  the  importation  of  this  article 
at  a  cheaper  rate,  and  sea  salt  is  rapidly  taking  the  place  of  the  other. 

The  Lepcha  dress  is  simple,  handsome,  and  graceful.  It  consists  of  a 
robe  of  striped  red  and  white  cotton  cloth  crossed  over  th  e  breast  and 
shoulders,  and  descending  to  the  calf  of  the  leg,  leaving  the  arms  bare  ;  a 
loose  jacket  of  red  cotton  cloth  is  worn  over  the  robe  by  those  who  can  af- 
ford it,  and  both  are  bound  round  the  waist  by  a  red  girdle  ;  some  strings 
of  coloured  beads  round  the  neck,  silver  and  coral  earrings,  a  bamboo  bow 
and  quiver  of  iron-pointed  arrows,  and  a  long  knife,  complete  the  dress  of 
the  men.  The  knife,  called  Ban  by  the  Lepchas,  and  Chipsa  by  the 
Bhotiahs,  is  constantly  worn  by  the  males  of  all  ages  and  ranks;  it  hangs 
on  the  right  side,  suspended  from  the  left  shoulder,  and  is  used  for  all 
purposes.  With  the  Ban  the  Lepcha  clears  a  space  in  the  forest  for  his 
house  and  cultivation;  it  is  the  only  tool  used  by  him  in  building  ;  with 
it  he  skins  the  animals  who  fall  a  prey  to  his  snares  and  arrows,  it  is  his 
sword  in  battle,  his  table  knife,  his  hoe,  spade,  and  nail  parer.  Without 
the  Ban  he  is  helpless  to  move  in  the  jungles ;  with  it,  he  is  a  man  of  all 
work  ;  no  wonder  then  that  the  expertness  with  which  it  is  used  by  the 
boys  of  a  few  years  old  even,  should  be  the  astonishment  of  strangers. 


1840.] 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


643 


The  women  .are  less  handsomely  dressed  than  the  men  :  a  piece  of  plain 
unbleached  cotton  cloth,  or  the  cloth  of  the  castor  oil  insect,  rolled  round 
to  form  a  sort  of  petticoat,  with  a  loose  bedgown  of  the  same,  and  a  pro- 
fusion of  mock  coral  and  coloured  head  necklaces,  form  their  entire  ward, 
robe.  They  are  the  domestic  and  farm  drudges  of  the  men,  performing 
all  out  and  in-door  work  along  with  their  husbands,  and  much  besides. 
It  is  not  unusual  to  meet  a  stout  and  active  man  bow  in  hand,  sauntering 
along  the  road  followed  by  his  wife  and  sisters  heavily  loaded  with  grain 
or  merchandise.  It  is  the  delight  of  a  Lepcha  to  be  idle,  he  abhors  the 
labour  of  practising  any  craft,  but  he  expects  that  while  he  is  amused 
and  unemployed,  the  female  part  of  the  household  shall  be  busily  engaged 
in  the  field,  or  in  looking  after  the  pigs  and  poultry. 

Marriages  among  the  Lepchas  are  not  contracted  in  childhood,  as 
among  the  Hindus,  nor  do  the  men  generally  marry  young.  This  arises 
mainly  from  the  difficulty  of  procuring  means  of  paying  the  parents  of 
the  bride  the  expected  douceur  on  giving  the  suitor  his  daughter  to  wife ; 
this  sum  varies  from  40  rupees  to  400,  or  500,  according  to  the  rank  of 
the  parties.  It  is  not  customary  to  allow  the  bride  to  leave  her  parents' 
home  for  that  of  her  husband  until  the  sum  agreed  on  has  been  paid  in 
full  ;  hence,  as  the  consummation  of  the  marriage  is  permitted  while  the 
female  is  still  under  her  father's  roof,  it  is  by  no  means  uncommon  to 
find  the  husband  the  temporary  bondsman  of  his  father-in-law,  who  exacts, 
Jewish  fashion,  labour  from  his  son,  in  lieu  of  money,  until  he  shall  have 
fairly  won  his  bride. 

The  women  are  not  strictly  bound  to  chastity  previous  to  marriage, 
although  any  injury  to  the  matrimonial  bed  is  punished  by  beating  and 
divorcement.    Children  born  out  of  wedlock  belong  to  the  mother. 

The  Lepchas  intermarry  with  the  Limboos  and  Bhotiahs,  and  the  off- 
spring of  such  unions  become  members  of  the  father's  tribe,  without  any 
disqualification  whatever. 

The  Lepchas,  like  true  Buddhists,  bury  their  dead,  although  the 
Murmis,  a  Buddhist  tribe  and  inhabiting  the  same  country,  burn  their 
corpses  first,  and  afterwards  bury  the  ashes.  The  presence  of  death  in 
a  hamlet  is  always  regarded  with  temporary  horror,  and  the  house  he  has 
visited  is  almost  always  forsaken  by  the  surviving  inmates ;  fevers  and. 
small-pox  are  considered  alike  contagious  and  greatly  dreaded.  On  the 
appearance  of  the  latter  in  a  village  it  is  deserted  by  the  young  and 
strong  whose  relatives  are  not  attacked,  and  nothing  will  induce  a  Lepcha 
from  another  part  of  the  country  to  visit  an  infected  village.  Vaccination 
is  already  greatly  prized  by  these  people,  for  which  fortunate  circum- 
stance we  are  indebted  to  Doctor  Pearson's  success  in  introducing  it 
among  them  ;  its  preservative  blessings  are  eagerly  sought  for  at  Dorjel- 
ing  by  them,  and  the  Bhotiahs  from  remote  parts  of  Nipal  and  Sikkim. 

Goitre  is  known  among  them,  but  is  by  no  means  common  ;  among  200 
persons  at  this  place  now,  I  can  find  but  one  goitred  individual,  and  that 
is  a  woman.  Ophthalmia  is  I  think  very  uncommon,  and  syphilis  rarely 
met  with.  During  fifteen  months'  residence,  I  have  seen  one  case  of 
leprosy  only  in  a  Lepcha,  and  although  the  mountainous  nature  of  their 
country  renders  the  climate  sufficiently  damp  and  cold,  rheumatism 
seems  to  be  a  rare  disease  ;  on  the  whole  they  are  decidedly  exempt  from 
many  of  the  ills  which  flesh  is  certain  heir  to  in  the  most  favoured  coun- 
tries of  the  globe.  Consumption  I  have  never  met  with,  nor  liver  disease, 
nor  dysentery,  nor  do  they  know  the  cholera  by  name  even.  These  four 
scourges  of  Europe  and  India  find  no  food  to  feed  on  among  the  Lepchas. 

In  person  the  Lepchas  are  short,  averaging  about  five  feet  in  height ; 
five  feet  six  is  tall,  and  four  feet  eight  is  a  common  stature  among  the 
men.    The  women  are  short  in  the  usual  proportion.    The  men  are  bulky 


(>14 


The  Hill  Tribes. 


[Nor. 


for  their  height,  but  rather  fleshy,  than  sinewy.  The  muscular  develop- 
ment of  their  limbs  is  greatly  inferior  to  that  of  the  Magars,  Gurungs, 
Murmis,  and  other  Purbottiahs.  They  are  very  fair  of  skin,  and  boys 
and  girls  in  health  have  generally  a  ruddy  tinge  of  complexion  ;  this  is 
lost  however  in  adolescence,  although  the  fairness  continues.  The  fea- 
tures are  markedly  Mongolian,  but  there  is  a  fulness  and  roundness  of 
feature,  accompanied  by  a  cheerful  expression  and  laughing  eye,  which 
renders  the  face  a  most  pleasing  one.  The  total  absence  of  beard,  and 
the  fashion. of  parting  the  hair  along  the  crown  of  the  head,  adds  to  a 
somewhat  womanly  expression  of  countenance  in  the  men,  and  the  loose 
bed-gown  sort  of  jacket  with  wide  sleeves  which  they  wear,  contributes 
still  more  to  render  it  rather  difficult  for  strangers  to  distinguish  the 
sexes,  especially  in  middle  age.  The  men  very  often  look  like  women, 
and  the  women  sometimes  like  men.  The  hair  is  worn  long  by  both  sexes, 
the  younger  men  allowing  it  to  hang  loose  over  the  shoulders,  the  elders 
plaiting  it  into  a  tail,  which  sometimes  reaches  to  the  knees.  The  women 
of  station  wear  their  hair  in  two,  and  sometimes  in  three  tails,  tying  it 
with  braid  and  silken  cords  and  tassels.  The  Lepchas,  both  male  and 
female,  are  dirty  in  person,  rarely  having  recourse  to  ablution.  In  the 
cold  and  dry  season  this  renders  them  unpleasant  inmates  of  a  close  dwell- 
ing, but  in  the  rains,  when  they  move  about  and  are  frequently  wet,  they 
are  passably  clean  and  sweet. 

The  temperament  of  the  Lepchais  eminently  cheerful,  and  his  disposi- 
tion really  amiable.  In  ordinary  intercourse  they  are  a  very  fascinating 
people,  and  possess  an  amount  of  intelligence  and  rational  curiosity  not 
to  be  met  with  among  their  Bhotiah,  Limboo,  Murmi,  or  Gurung  neigh- 
bours, and  indeed  rarely  if  ever  to  be  seen  among  people  so  completely 
secluded  from  foreign  intercourse  as  they  always  have  been.  The  marked 
contrast  in  these  respects  with  the  listless,  uninquiring  native  of  the 
plains,  renders  association  with  them  a  source  of  much  pleasure  to  Euro- 
peans. They  are  wonderfully  honest,  theft  being  scarcely  known  among 
them  ;  they  rarely  quarrel  among  themselves,  and  I  have  never  seen 
them  strike  one  another.  •'  Do  you  ever  fight?"  was  asked  of  an  intel- 
ligent Lepcha;  "  No,  never,  (was  the  reply)  why  should  we,  all  Lepchas 
are  brothers:  to  fight  would  he  unnatural."  For  ordinary  social  purposes 
of  talking,  eating,  and  drinking,  they  have  great  unanimity,  but  for  any 
more  important  purposes  of  resistance  to  oppression,  the  pursuit  of  in- 
dustry, or  trade,  their  confidence  in  one  another  is  at  a  very  low  pitch  ; 
they  fly  bad  government  rather  than  resist  it,  and  prefer  digging  for 
yams  in  the  jungle,  and  eating  wretchedly  innutritious  vegetables,  to 
enduring  even  the  ordinary  annoyances  of  working  for  wages.  Although 
they  have  been  called  "  a  military  people,"  I  am  disposed  to  consider 
them  as  wholly  averse  to  arms,  in  the  usual  acceptation  of  the  term.  If 
it  be  military  to  carry  a  long  knife,  bow  and  arrows,  yet  to  eschew  the 
use  of  them  against  their  fellow-creatures,  then,  are  they  a  military  peo- 
ple ;  if  it  be  not,  they  are  much  more  a  hunting  than  a  military  tribe.  I 
do  not  mean  to  insinuate  that  they  are  wanting  in  courage  to  fight,  6» 
that  they  might  not,  under  English  tuition  and  example,  make  good 
soldiers  ;  but  only  to  say,  that  deprived  as  they  long,  or  always  have  been 
of  any  union  in  government,  or  as  subjects  of  any  one  state,  they  have 
not  that  spirit  of  personal  enterprise,  and  disregard  of  personal  danger, 
which  when  constantly  exhibited  gratuitously,  or  for  glory's  sake,  gives 
races  of  men  the  stamp  of  military  habits. 

We  have  no  record  of  Major  Latter's  opinion  of  the  Lepchas,  who  aid- 
ed him  on  behalf  of  Sikkim  during  the  Nipal  war,  but  I  have  heard  since 
my  arrival  in  this  quarter,  that  at  Nagri,  after  the  Sikkimites  were  ex- 
pelled thence  by  the  Goorkhas  in  1812  or  thereabouts,  they  proved  most 


1840.] 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


645 


troublesome  enemies,  by  their  custom  of  lying  in  wait  in  tlie  neighbour- 
ing forests  for  mouths  at  a  time,  and  losing  no  opportunity  of  carrying  off 
and  massacreing  any  luckless  Goorkha  who  happened  to  stray  out  of  musket 
range  of  the  stockades.  They  are  pretty  good  marksmen  with  the  arrow, 
but  do  not  practise  it  regularly;  they  use  it  poisoned  in  hunting  as  well 
as  in  war. 

The  Lepchasare  poor  agriculturists,  their  labours  in  this  art  being 
confined  to  the  careless  growing  of  rice,  Indian  corn,  murwa,  and  a  few 
vegetables,  of  which  the  hriujal,  cucumber,  and  capsicum  are  the  chief. 
Their  habits  are  incurably  erratic,  they  do  not  form  permanent  villages, 
and  rarely  remain  longer  than  three  years  in  one  place,  at  the  expiration 
of  which  they  move  into  a  new  part  of  the  forest,  sometimes  near,  often 
distant,  and  there  go  through  the  labour  of  clearing  a  space  for  a  house, 
building  a  new  one,  and  preparing  the  ground  for  a  crop.  The  latter 
operations  consist  in  cutting  down  the  smaller  trees,  lopping  off  the 
branches  of  the  large  ones,  which  are  burnt,  and  scratching  the  soil  with 
the  Han,  after  which,  on  the  falling  of  a  shower  of  rain,  the  seed  is  thrown 
into  the  ground. 

Their  houses  are  built  entirely  of  bamboo,  raised  about  five  feet  from 
the  ground,  and  thatched  with  the  same  material,  but  a  smaller  species, 
6))lit  up.  This  roofing  is,  I  believe,  peculiar  to  this  part  of  the  country; 
it  is  an  excellent  one,  and  a  roofing  of  it,  especially  when  exposed  to 
Bmoke,  endures  about  five  years.  It  has  been  adopted  by  us  at  Dorje- 
liug,  and  is  undoubtedly  the  most  convenient  and  Cheap  roof  as  yet  ob- 
tainable. 

1  hope  to  furnish  presently  a  few  memoranda  on  the  Limboos,  and  crave 
indulgence  as  to  the  defects  of  this  letter,  in  consideration  of  the  few 
opportunities  which  have  as  yet  been  offered  me  of  mixing  with  the 
Lepchas,  beyond  a  very  limited  space  of  country  around  Dorjeling,  and 
on  the  Nipal  frontier,  in  the  immediate  neighbourhood  of  the  Mechi 
river. 


III. — A  few  Notes  on  'Lower  Egypt. — Mahomed  All — his  Per- 
sonal Characteristics — The  present  state  of  Egypt  under  his 
sway  viewed  in  connection  with  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy 
— The  population  composed  of  different  races — The  Coptic 
Church — its  rise,  decline,  and  prospective  renovation. 
(Concluded  from  page  573.) 

In  the  conclusion  of  our  last  remarks  we  referred  to  the 
singular  prophecy  that  Egypt — once  the  most  renowned  for 
its  wisdom,  wealth  and  power — should  become  and  continue 
"  The  basest  of  kingdoms."  It  was  also  our  endeavour  briefly 
to  point  out  how  this  prophecy  was  not  less  singularly  fulfilled. 
In  the  estimation  of  many,  however,  some  slight  shade  of 
embarrassment  and  uncertainty  has  been  thrown  over  the 
subject  by  the  present  position  of  Egypt.  Does  it  not  seem 
as  if,  of  late  years,  the  shame  of  Egypt  had  begun  to  cease? 
Does  it  not  seem  as  if  it  had  begun  to  experience  a  revival, 
which  threatens  to  clash  with  the  fulfilment  of  prophecy  ? 

vol.  i.  4  o 


646 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


Has  not  every  quarter  of  the  globe  been  made  to  ring  with 
the  fame  of  its  "  regeneration,"  under  the  redoubted  Pasha, 
Mahomed  Ali? — Delusion — delusion — it  is  all  the  veriest  delu- 
sion !  At  a  distance,  by  artful  and  plausible  representations, 
realities  have  been  made  to  appear  under  false  and  exagge- 
rated colours.  A  close  inspection  must  at  once  dissipate 
the  illusive  spell ! 

That  the  Pasha  is  one  of  the  most  extraordinary  men  of  the 
age — a  man  of  uncommon  talent  and  energy  of  character — a 
man,  too,  capable  of  being  courteous  and  affable  in  the  extreme 
— is  universally  conceded.  But  that  he  is,  in  any  sense,  the  real 
friend  or  regenerator  of  Egypt,  is  belied  by  every  one  of  his 
actions.  Self,  self,  self,  is  with  him  the  all  in  all.  Personal 
fame,  personal  power,  and  personal  aggrandisement,  circum- 
scribe the  entire  horizon  of  his  policy.  On  the  details  of  his 
well  known  history  it  is  needless  to  dwell.  Born  of  humble 
parentage  at  Cavalla  in  Albania,  in  1/(59,  he,  for  some  time, 
acted  as  an  assistant  collector  of  taxes,  and  afterwards,  as  a 
tobacco-merchant.  Having  been  twice  admitted  to  his  imme- 
diate presence,  it  powerfully  struck  us  that  bis  whole  appear- 
ance still  pointed  very  significantly  to  the  lowliness  of  his 
origin.  Of  middle  stature,  inclined  to  corpulency  rather  than 
corpulent,  Jie  exhibited  in  his  countenance  nought  of  real 
greatness,  dignity  or  command.  Indeed,  the  entire  expression 
of  it  was  decidedly  of  a  sharp,  harsh,  and  vulgar  cast;  its  chief 
redeeming  quality  being  its  venerable  beard.  But  those  eyes, 
— were  they  not  striking?  Yea,  verily;  such  a  pair  of  tire- 
flasbing  eyes  we  never  saw.  It  seemed  as  if  their  possessor 
could  penetrate  through  one's  bodily  frame  ;  and,  at  a  single 
glance,  read  the  most  secret  thoughts  and  intents  of  the  heart. 
Still  it  was  not  the  piercing  glance  of  a  profound  intelligence 
which  mainly  lightened  through  these  eyes :  it  was  rather,  the 
vivid  flash  of  a  wild  and  tiger-like  ferocity.  Hence,  doubtless, 
his  favourite  oath,  when  bent  upon  some  deed  of  more  than 
ordinary  horror,  "  By  my  eyes  !"  When  he  spoke,  his  voice  had 
a  peculiar  shrillness  which  made  one  feel  uneasy;  and  when 
he  smiled,  his  very  smile  had  somewhat  in  it  of  a  savage  grin. 

But,  letting  that  pass,  how  came  the  tobacco-merchant 
of  Cavalla  to  attain  to  the  proud  position  of  Lord  of  Egypt, 
Syria,  and  Arabia  ?  Sent  to  Egypt,  at  the  time  of  its  invasion 
by  Napoleon,  as  a  companion  and  Mentor  to  the  Governor  of 
Oavalla's  son,  who  was  appointed  by  his  father  to  head  the 
email  contingent  of  Albanian  troops,  he  eventually  succeeded 
to  the  command  himself.  At  the  head  of  his  Albanians  he 
soon  began  to  act  a  distinguished  part  in  the  drama  of  Egyp- 
tian revolution.    By  a  series  of  artful  wiies  and  stratagems 


1840.] 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


647 


along  a  broad  pathway  of  treacheries,  plots,  conspiracies  and 
massacres,  he  at  length  planted  himself  in  supremacy  on  the 
throne  of  the  Pharaohs,  the  Ptolemies,  and  the  Kaliphs. 

Now  commenced  that  long  train  of  changes,  social  and 
political,  fiscal  and  judicial,  civil  and  military,  which  has  been 
dignified  with  the  lofty  title  of  "  regeneration."  And,  certainly, 
if  innovation  the  most  violent,  throughout  every  department 
of  the  old  regime,  be  alone  sufficient  to  constitute  "  regene- 
ration," the  Pasha  may  well  be  allowed  to  claim  the  pre-emi- 
nent distinction  of  "  regenerator"  of  his  kingdom.  But  surely 
the  real  question  should  never  be,  Whether  changes  the  most 
extraordinary  have  not  been  produced  ? — but,  What  is  the 
character  of  these  changes  ?  How  far  are  they  calculated  to 
secure  the  amelioration,  the  welfare,  and  the  prosperity  of  the 
people  of  Egypt  ?    Let  us  examine  a  few  particulars. 

Agriculture,  it  is  said,  has  been  improved  ;  and  the  growth 
of  cotton,  silk,  and  other  important  vegetable  products  has 
been  encouraged  beyond  all  former  precedent.  But,  for 
whose  benefit  ?  Solely  for  that  of  the  Pasha.  Instead  of 
being  satislied  with  the  regulated  land-tax  levied  by  his  prede- 
cessors, he  has  forcibly  seized  on  nearly  the  whole  of  the 
territorial  domain,  which  he  compels  the  former  possessors 
to  cultivate  for  him,  on  his  own  terms.  And  the  produce  of 
such  lands,  as  have  not  been  formally  seized  on,  cannot  be 
disposed  of  till  the  government  agents  have  carried  away 
what  proportion  they  please  at  their  own  price,  or  no  price 
at  all. 

Manufactures,  it  is  alleged,  have  been  greatly  encouraged. 
Doubtless  they  have.  But  for  ivhose  profit  ?  Entirely  for 
that  of  the  Pasha.  He  has  manufactories  of  different  kinds  ; 
and  in  these  he  compels  his  reluctant  subjects  to  supply  their 
hard  and  ill-remunerated  labour.  And,  whereas  formerly, 
even  under  the  Kaliphs  and  the  Mamelukes,  the  poor  peasant 
might,  if  he  willed,  make  his  own  shoes,  spin  his  own  yarn, 
and  weave  his  own  coarse  raiment — shoes  and  yarn,  cloth  and 
stuffs  of  every  description  must  now,  if  fabricated  by  the  pro- 
ducer, be  first  conveyed  to  a  central  depot ;  there  disposed  of 
to  the  government  officer  ;  and  thence  re-obtained  by  the 
makers  at  such  prices  as  that  officer  may  choose  to  dictate. 

Great  public  works,  such  as  the  opening  of  old  canals  and 
the  digging  of  new  ones,  have  been  undertaken  and  executed  ! 
Still,  the  question  ever  recurs,  For  whose  advantage  ?  Almost 
wholly  for  that  of  the  Pasha.  It  is,  in  order  that  the  greater 
facility  of  transport  thereby  afforded  may  enhance  the  produc- 
tiveness of  his  exclusive  monopoly  of  the  agriculture  and 
manufactures  of  Egypt.  Nor  does  the  mode  of  executing 
4o'i 


648 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


[Nov. 


these  works  of  alleged  public  utility,  furnish  a  less  admir- 
able illustration  of  the  genuine  character  of  Egyptian  re- 
form. Take  the  greatest  of  them  by  far,  for  an  example, 
viz.  the  canal  that  unites  Alexandria  with  the  Nile.  It  is 
about  fifty  miles  long,  ninety  feet  broad,  and  eighteen  feet 
deep.  If  such  a  work  were  projected  in  a  free  civilized  country 
like  Great  Britain,  would  not  all  be  ready  thus  to  exclaim? — 
Besides  the  remote  benefits  likely  to  accrue  from  the  under- 
taking, what  an  immediate  blessing,  in  the  way  of  employment 
to  the  poor  !  Now  mark  the  method  adopted  and  pursued  by 
the  "Regenerator"  of  Egypt.  Except  the  indurated  surface, 
the  whole — the  whole  immense  excavation — was  hollowed  out 
by  human  hands,  without  any  instrument  at  all !  The  mud 
was  collected  by  the  fingers,  formed  into  balls,  and  handed 
from  one  line  of  workmen  to  another  along  the  slope  of  the 
embankment,  till  the  entire  bason  was  scooped  out.  How  large 
the  number  of  labourers  which  must  have  been  required  for 
such  a  process,  conducted  with  such  rapidity,  that  the  whole  was 
actually  completed  within  a  few  months  ?  It  is  fully  ascertained 
that  at  one  time  the  number  employed  amounted  to  two  hundred 
and  fifty  thousand,  besides  women  and  children  who  had  follow- 
ed their  husbands  and  parents  to  the  busy  scene  !  What  was  the 
proffered  recompense  which  could  have  induced  so  vast  a  mul- 
titude to  congregate,  removed  as  the  greater  part  must  have 
been  to  such  a  distance  from  their  own  homes  ?  Alas, it  has  been 
too  often  overlooked  that  the  scheme  of  Egyptian  "  regenera- 
tion" has  a  uniqueness  well  suited  to  its  own  peculiar  ends. 
High  wages,  comfortable  accommodation,  plentiful  provision  : 
— these  constitute  the  lure  and  attraction  in  such  countries  as 
are  old  and  unregenerated  !  In  Egypt  the  dubious  attractive 
force  was  exchanged  for  the  summary  compulsive  force.  The 
whole  country  was  literally  scoured  by  troops  of  soldiers.  The 
able-bodied  peasants  had  the  alternative  of  instant  death  or 
instant  departure  from  home  and  all  its  enjoyments.  Marched 
to  the  track  of  the  proposed  canal,  they  found  themselves  with- 
out accommodation, — provisions  scarce  and  coarse, — and  no 
wages  at  all  !  Made  to  work  with  the  bayonet  and  the  lash 
displayed  threateningly  before  them,  upwards  of  thirty  thou- 
sand soon  perished  under  the  united  influence  of  exposure, 
hard  labour,  and  bad  fare  ! — to  the  glory  and  triumph  of 
Egyptian  "  regeneration  !" 

Commerce,  it  has  been  affirmed,  has  vastly  increased.  But, 
whence  comes  the  produce  for  exportation  ?  Solely  from  the 
granaries  and  factories  of  the  Pasha.  He  is  the  sole  vender 
of  articles  for  export ;  and  he  sells  these  under  whatever 
restrictions  or  conditions,  his  own  interest  may  suggest  and 


1S40.] 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


649 


his  own  authority  may  impose,  Yea,  and  should  license  be 
granted  to  any  member  of  tbe  mercantile  community  to 
speculate  in  trade,  the  Pasha  uniformly  claims  a  share  of 
the  profits  when  the  returns  are  advantageous  ;  but  as  uni- 
formly pleads  exemption  from  bearing  any  proportion  of  the 
loss.  In  a  word,  it  is  not  too  much  to  say,  that  he  is  now 
proprietor-general,  farmer-general,  manufacturer-general,  and 
merchant-general,  as  well  as  lawgiver,  magistrate,  and  judge- 
general  of  Egypt  ! 

The  native  army  has  been  new  modelled,  new  disciplined, 
and  altogether  vastly  improved  !  True.  And  this  were  well, 
had  the  intention  been  the  more  effectually  to  defend  and  secure 
the  liberties  and  lives,  the  property  and  independence  of  the 
people.  But,  so  beneficent  a  design  never  once  seriously  crossed 
the  imagination  of  the  "Reforming"  Pasha.  His  sole  and 
all-engrossing  object  hitherto  has  been  to  enfeoft  himself  the 
more  firmly  in  his  usurped  dominion,  and  to  gratify  his  own 
boundless  ambition  for  foreign  conquest.  For  the  accomplish- 
ment of  these  ends  the  wretched  country  has  been  incessantly 
subjected  to  conscriptions  of  unparalleled  severity.  Whole 
districts  and  villages  are  ever  and  anon  swept  of  the  active  and 
able-bodied, — while  old  men,  women,  and  children  are  often 
constrained  to  carry  on  the  labours  of  husbandry  under  the 
task-master.  To  escape  such  oppressive  servitude,  numbers 
had  formerly  their  front  teeth  knocked  out  to  disqualify  them 
for  tearing  open  a  cartridge  ;  others  had  two  or  more  of  their 
fingers  chopped  off,  to  incapacitate  them  for  wielding  a  musket. 
During  our  brief  sojourn  in  Alexandria,  a  father  was  known, 
in  a  fit  of  despair,  to  have  cut  off  both  the  hands  and  feet  of 
his  only  surviving  son,  in  order  to  enable  him  to  enjoy  the 
melancholy  pleasure  of  retaining  the  only  object  of  affection 
now  left  to  him,  even  in  a  mutilated  form,  beneath  his  own 
roof.  When  these  and  similar  practices  first  came  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  stern  ££  Regenerator,"  he  promptly  ordered 
hundreds  and  thousands  of  poor  maimed  creatures  to  be 
seized,  and  instantly  condemned  to  work  all  their  days  as 
galley-slaves  in  irons  ! 

Has  not  the  abominable  traffic  in  slaves  been  abolished?  In 
word  and  in  writing  it  has  ;  but,  in  reality,  it  has  not.  Nearly  a 
twelvemonth  after  the  most  splendid  eulogium  was  pronoun- 
ced in  the  House  of  Lords  by  a  British  Peer,  on  the  noble 
zeal  and  philanthropy  of  the  Pasha,  it  was  our  lot  to  visit  the 
slave-market  in  Cairo  and  to  find  the  number  of  victims  not 
perceptibly  diminished — victims  of  a  hellish  policy,  in  virtue  of 
which, — besides  those  who  have  been  surprised,  captured,  and 
driven  from  their  homes, — thousands  and  tens  of  thousands 


650 


A  few  Notes  on  Loiver  Egypt. 


[Nor. 


usually  perish  by  sword,  conflagration,  or  voluntary  death  in 
attempting  to  escape  the  horrors  of  the  iron  chain  and  the  cruel 
bastinado  ; — and  all  this,  too,  realized  since  the  nominal  aboli- 
tion of  the  man-hunting, man-selling,  man-destroying  system  of 
slavery  !  Yes,  in  those  dungeon  cells  and  around  those  grated 
railings  in  the  very  heart  of  Cairo,  it  was  our  painful  lot  to 
behold  Nuhians  and  Ethiopians  of  swarthy  hue,  anil  of  languid, 
wistful,  desponding  visage, — wives  torn  from  their  husbands; 
and  husbands  from  their  wives, — children  wrenched  from  their 
parents  ;  and  parents  from  their  children  ; — and  Abyssinian 
females  of  fair  complexion,  forced  by  their  tyrant  masters 
to  smile,  that,  to  intending  purchasers,  they  might  appear 
healthy,  vigorous,  and  happy  !  This  latter  seemed  of  all  tortures 
the  most  refined.  Indeed,  the  entire  spectacle  was  well  fitted 
to  rack  and  harrow  all  the  best  feelings  of  humanity  ;  and  to 
give  intensity  to  the  prayer,  that  the  time  may  be  hastened 
when  the  gladsome  light  and  liberty  of  the  gospel — the  true 
Regenerator  of  mankind — shall  banish  into  congenial  night 
those  loathsome  and  abhorred  mockeries  which  now  scourge 
so  many  fair  portions  of  the  globe  under  the  revered  but  vilified 
name  of  "  Regeneration." 

But  have  not  many  civil  and  social  benefits  accrued  to  the 
native  inhabitants? — Has  not,  for  example,  the  poignard  been, 
wrested  from  the  robber  and  the  assassin?  True;  but  why? 
The  reason  is  obvious.  Were  thousands  of  lawless  despera- 
does permitted,  as  heretofore,  to  share  the  booty,  how  could 
there  be  scope  for  the  monopolizing  energies  of  one  arch-plun- 
derer ? 

Are  not  the  persons  and  property  of  foreigners  now  as  se- 
cure in  the  heart  of  grand  Cairo,  as  in  the  heart  of  London 
or  of  Edinburgh?  Undoubtedly;  for  were  matters  managed 
there  as  in  times'  past,  few  or  no  wealthy  foreigners  could  or 
would  hazard  person  or  property  in  such  a  den  of  ruffian 
barbarism  ;  and  thus  would  the  present  wily  ruler  be  deprived 
of  one  of  the  main  sources  of  pecuniary  circulation  and  ag- 
grandisement. 

lias  there  not  been  an  embellishment  of  mosques  and  foun- 
tains and  promenades  for  the  devotional  and  physical  enjoyment 
of  the  faith/ul  ?  Some  such  ornamental  or  other  harmless 
improvements  were  imperatively  required,  in  order  to  regale 
and  occupy  the  senses  of  a  carnal  people — to  lull  their  suspi- 
cions more  profoundly  asleep — and  to  save  the  religious  cha- 
racter of  the  Pasha  himself  in  the  eyes  of  good  Musalmans, 
from  tho:.e  irreligious  imputations  which  many  of  his  other 
acts  seemed  at  once  to  originate  and  justify. 


1840.] 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


651 


Have  not  a  printing  press  and  neivspaper  been  established? 
These  and  other  similar  concomitants  seem,  in  the  eyes  of 
Europeans,  such  indispensable  indices  of  real  civilization,  that 
something  of  this  description  must  have  been  exhibited,  in 
order  to  save  the  Pasha's  credit  with  those  whose  favourable 
opinion  he  is  so  ambitious  to  earn  and  cultivate.  There  is, 
accordingly,  one  printing-press  established  in  Egypt.  But 
what  has  ever  been  allow  ed  to  issue  from  it  ?  Only  a  few  tech- 
nical ivories  for  the  instruction  and  guidance  of  civil  and  mili- 
tary officers.  There  is  also  a  Turkish  and  Arabic  newspaper 
published  once  a  week  or  once  a  month  as  circumstances 
mav  suggest.  But  what  does  it  contain  ?  Nought,  but  such 
statements,  orders,  and  decrees,  as  are  suitable  to  the  views 
and  promotive  of  the  favourite  schemes  of  government.  It 
is  little  else  than  an  official  bulletin  of  the  wishes,  the  inten- 
tions, and  the  determinations  of  the  Pasha. 

Has  not  education  been  encouraged  ?  One  institution  has 
certainly  been  founded,  in  which  the  European  arts  and 
sciences  are  taught  to  native  youth.  But  has  this  been  with  an 
honest  view,  or  any  view  at  all,  towards  the  general  enlighten- 
ment of  a  people,  plunged  into  an  ignorance  as  intense  as 
the  preternatural  darkness  which  once  enshrouded  their  own 
devoted  land  ?  Far  otherwise.  In  the  conducting  of  his  naval, 
military,  and  manufacturing  operations,  the  Pasha  has  often 
been  made  painfully  to  feel  how  absolutely  dependent  he  was 
on  educated  J  or  eigners,  whose  services  could  only  be  hired  at 
an  enormous  price.  To  render  himself  gradually  independent 
of  these,  be  has  unhesitatingly  seized  on  a  number  of  promising 
youth,  has  forcibly  torn  them  away  from  their  parents,  and  now 
compels  them  to  study  the  sciences  and  arts  of  Europeans, 
with  the  express  and  sole  design  of  ultimately  drafting  them  all 
at  a  cheaper  rate,  to  occupy  those  situations  which  at  present 
can  only  be  supplied  by  practised  foreigners.  Thus  it  is,  that 
the  far-famed  polytechnic  school  of  Cairo,  instead  of  being  a 
fount  of  light  and  life  and  liberty  to  the  mass  of  the  people, 
was  originally  designed  to  be,  and,  in  point  of  fact  has  proved, 
as  much  the  mere  instrument  of  an  all-absorbing  despotism, 
as  the  drill  ground,  the  cannon  foundry,  or  the  powder  mill. 

But,  why  proceed  further?  Allowing  to  the  Viceroy  all  that 
is  due  to  extraordinary  talents,  decision  and  energy  : — allow- 
ing all  that  can  be  alleged  in  his  favour  on  the  score  of  free- 
dom from  the  more  fanatical  prejudices  of  the  Turk,  and  his 
capability  of  occasional  acts  of  public  generosity  and  domestic 
tenderness  : — allowing  all  this,  and  much  more,  which  his 
admirers  have  detected  or  fancied  they  have  detected,  amid 
the  many  traits  of  a  character  so  strangely  diversified  and  the 


652 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


[Nov. 


numberless  incidents  of  a  life  so  checquered  with  the  most 
revolting  enormities  : — the  grand  question  again  and  again 
recurs,  What  has  he  ever  achieved,  or  intended  to  achieve,  by 
his  abrupt  and  extreme  innovations,  for  the  real  amelioration 
of  the  people  of  Egypt  ?  To  this  searching  question,  the  bitter 
experience  of  more  than  two  millions  of  half-naked,  half-starved, 
spirit-broken,  and  hrutishly  ignorant  subjects  can  only  respond 
— "Nothing — nothing — yea,  less  and  worse  than  nothing." 
That  many  of  the  changes  now  introduced,  for  purely  selfish, 
ambitious,  or  tyrannical  objects,  may  eventually  be  overruled 
by  a  gracious  superintending  Providence  for  the  accomplish- 
ment of  ends,  not  only  diverse  from,  but  contrary  to,  the  designs 
of  their  author,  is  what  the  past  history  of  Jehovah's  dealings 
with  a  sinful  world  amply  warrants  us  to  hope.  But  that  at 
present  they  amount,  either  in  intention  or  effect,  to  any  thing 
which  can  remotely  resemble  even  the  shadow  of  a  "  regenera- 
tion,"— that  they  amount  to  any  thing  which  can  remotely 
approximate  the  faintest  image  of  a  removal  of  the  prophetic 
doom  of  Egypt,  as  the  "basest  of  the  kingdoms," — is  contra- 
dicted by  a  whole  armament  of  bristling  facts.  Even  a  French 
panegyrist  of  the  present  ruler  has  been  forced  to  remark,  that 
"  the  traveller  sees  with  astonishment  the  richness  of  the  harvests 
contrasted  with  the  wretched  state  of  the  villages," — and  that 
"if  there  is  no  country  more  abundant  in  its  territorial  pro- 
ductions, there  is  none  perhaps  whose  inhabitants  on  the  whole 
are  more  miserable."  No  : — It  is  impossible,  in  the  midst  of 
fields  of  such  exuberant  bounty,  to  gaze  at  whole  villages,  com- 
posed of  nought  but  small  dens  of  mud ;  where  cows,  horses  and 
donkeys  ;  men,  women,  and  children  are  huddled  promiscuously 
and  nestle  together  in  congenial  filth: — it  is  impossible  to  gaze 
at  the  poor  squalid  rag-covered  creatures,  that  ply  their  weary 
toil  with  no  prospect  whatever  of  comfort  or  gain,  or  even  of 
an  adequate  possession  of  the  necessaries  of  life  : — it  is  im- 
possible to  gaze  at  the  downcast  spiritless  wretches,  whose 
self-inflicted  mutilations  bespeak,  to  the  very  senses,  a  ty- 
ranny more  ruthless  than  has  ever  yet  been  held  up  to  the 
scorn  and  execration  of  mankind: — verily,  it  is  impossible  to 
gaze  at  all  this,  and  much  more,  with  one's  own  eyes,  without 
being  overwhelmed  with  the  conviction  that,  in  no  other  region 
alike  boundless  in  natural  resources,  has  there  ever  been  a 
more  impoverished,  miserable,  and  degraded  population  than 
that  of  Egypt  at  this,  the  very  harvest  season,  of  its  lauded  "re- 
generation,"— and  that,  therefore,  true  to  the  prophetic  oracle, 
Egypt  is  still  not  only  "  a  base  kingdom,"  but  "  the  basest 
of  the  kingdoms." 


1840.] 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


653 


While  prosecuting  our  inquiries,  at  Cairo,  into  the  general 
condition  of  the  people  of  Egypt,  our  attention  was  especially 
directed  to  the  present  fallen  state  of  the  Coptic  or  Christian 
church  of  that  once  highly-favoured  land.  » 

First  of  all,  however,  we  may  remark,  that  the  aggregate 
population  of  modern  Egypt  is  nearly  the  same  as  that  of 
Scotland,  being  about  two  millions  and  a  half — of  which  num- 
ber, the  Egyptian  Arabs,  Fellahs,  or  peasantry,  including 
husbandmen  and  artizans,  are  believed  considerably  to  exceed 
two  millions.  The  other  principal  races  are  the  Copts  150,000  ; 
the  Turks,  20,000;  the  Greeks,  10,000:  the  Jews,  10,000; 
the  Syrians,  10,000;  the  Armenians,  5,000.    The  Fellahs, 
constituting  the  great  body  of  the  people,  are  an  exceedingly 
mixed  race — composed  of  the  descendants  of  the  different 
classes  whom  the  Saracenic  conquerors,  in  successive  ages, 
drove  by  fraud,  corruption  or  violence,  to  embrace  the  Muham- 
madan  faith.    The  Greeks  may  be  regarded  as  the  posterity 
of  the  original  Grecian  colonists  ;  whose  vernacular  language 
has  now  become  a  dialect  of  the  Arabic.    Both  the  Greeks 
and  the  Armenians  have  each  a  resident  Patriarch.  The  former 
have  two  convents — the  one  in  Alexandria,  the  other  in  Cairo  : 
—  the  latter,  one  convent  in  Cairo.    The  Jews  reside  chiefly 
in  Alexandria  and  Cairo.    South  of  the  latter  city  there  are 
few  Jews,  if  any,  in  Egypt.    In  physiognomy  and  personal 
habits,  in  manners  and  pursuits,  in  servitude  and  oppression, 
they  present  a  counterpart  to  their  poor  despised,  persecuted 
brethren  in  every  region  of  the  earth.  But  they,  or  their  chil- 
dren, are  reserved  for  a  brighter  day.    With  what  intensenes9 
of  feeling  ought  every  Christian  to  breathe  the  aspiration,  in 
all  its  literality  and  fulness  of  import,  "  Oh,  when  shall  the 
salvation  of  Israel  come  out  of  Zion  ?" 

The  Copts  are,  in  many  respects,  the  most  interesting  class 
of  the  native  inhabitants.  They  are  the  lineal  descendants 
and  representatives  of  the  ancient  Egyptians.  Their  own 
proper  language,  the  Coptic,  is,  from  the  interpretation  of 
hieroglyphic  inscriptions,  fully  proved  to  have  been  the  tongue 
of  that  ancient  race  which  covered  Egypt  with  such  lasting 
monuments  of  their  skill  and  power.  Their  hereditary  name, 
the  Copts,  may,  as  already  hinted,  be  a  corrupt  and  abbreviated 
appellation  from  Aia-gyptos,  ^E-gyptos,  Kyptos,  or  Coptos.  In 
primitive  times,  it  is  well  known  that  multitudes  of  native 
Egyptians  embraced  the  Christian  faith,  which,  first  intro- 
duced amongst  them  by  the  Evangelist  Mark,  was  subse- 
quently defended  and  propagated  by  a  succession  of  some  of 
the  mightiest  champions  which  ever  pealed  the  trumpet  from 
the  battlements  of  the  Christian  Zion.  The  pure  pellucid  stream 
vol.  i.  4  p 


654 


A  few  Notes  on  Lotoer  Egypt. 


[Nov. 


of  the  early  Apostolic  faith  gradually  became  woefully  sullied 
by  the  turbid  jets  which,  ever  and  anon,  burst  forth  from  the 
exhaustless  but  troubled  fount  of  controversy,  speculation,  and 
schism.*  At  length,  the  entire  current  of  the  waters  of  salvation 
was  threatened  with  incurable  corruption  from  the  Monophysite 
heresy  and  its  out-branching  errors.    In  the  seventh  century, 
the  Muhammadans  invaded  Egypt.  The  descendants  of  the 
Greek  and  Roman  conquerors,  at  that  time,  monopolised  all 
offices  of  rank  and  dignity  in  the  state.  Against  these,  therefore, 
the  new  invaders  waged  a  war  of  expulsion  or  of  extermina- 
tion.   The  great  body  of  the  people — then  professing  the  faith 
of  Christ,  and  consisting  of  husbandmen,  artizans,  and  mer- 
chants— passively  submitted  to  the  arm  of  conquest.  Soon, 
however,  were  they  doomed  to  experience  the  effects  of  Mos- 
lem fanaticism.  Before  the  close  of  the  century,  the  Governor 
of  Egypt  commanded  their  crosses  to  he  broken  ;  and  blasphe- 
mous inscriptions  to  be  posted  on  their  sacred  edifices.  Then 
followed  the  swift  routine  of  a  growing  persecution — fines  and 
capitation  taxes,  confiscations  and  imprisonments, — tortures 
and  deaths.    Numbers  of  the  pious  laity,  with  priests  and 
bishops  and  patriarchs,  fled  to  the  deserts  and  the  caves  of 
the  mountains.    Numbers,  in  rivalry  of  their  noble  Alexan- 
drian ancestors,  submitted,  for  the  testimony  of  Jesus,  to  the 
ordeal  of  martyrdom.    Of  the  rest,  it  is  not  to  be  wondered  at, 
that, — deprived  of  pastoral  instruction,  ordinances  and  other 
means  of  grace;    and  scorched  in  a  furnace  of  fiery  trial 
which  kept  blazing  for  ages, — vast  multitudes  were  tempted 
to  abjure  and  apostatize  from  the  faith  of  their  fathers.  Still, 
a  poor,  scattered,  though  constantly   diminishing,  remnant 
continued  to  survive.    That  surviving  remnant  is  to  be  found, 
at  the  present  day,  in  the  Coptic  population — the  only  re- 
presentatives of  the  once  noble,  wide  spread,  and  flourishing 
Church  of  Alexandria  and  Egypt ! 

Who,  after  a  statement  like  the  preceding,  need  be  sur- 
prised at  the  present  ignorance,  degradation,  and  even  barba- 
rism of  the  scanty  and  dispersed  members  of  the  Coptic 
church  ?  Their  very  language — the  Coptic — has  now  ceased 
to  exist  as  a  living  spoken  tongue  ; — having  been  supplanted 
by  a  jargon  of  Arabic.  And  though  it  is  still  retained  as  the 
language  of  sacreduess  in  their  public  services  of  worship  and 
devotion,  like  Latin  in  the  Popish  churches,  it  is  intelligible 
to  few  or  none  of  the  hearers.  As  the  Litany  and  Liturgy  must 
be  recited  or  repeated  without  a  book,  many  even  of  the 
priests  can  neither  read,  write,  speak,  nor  understand  it.  How 
then  can  their  worship  be  a  reasonable,  edifying,  or  soul- 
reviving  service  ?  In  all  heathenism  there  is  not  a  form  more 


1840.] 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


655 


absolutely  profitless  and  meaningless.    Of  all  real  life  it  is  as 
destitute  as  any  of  the  mouldering  mummies  in  the  catacombs. 
Almost  the  only  education  known  amongst  them — and  that, 
too,  limited  to  a  few — is  the  humble  acquirement  of  reading 
and  writing  the  common  Arabic,  and  casting  accounts,  to 
enable  them  to  earn  a  livelihood  as  copyists  in  public  offices, 
or    head    servants  in    the    families   of  Turkish  grandees. 
When  a  priest  is  to  be  chosen — one  of  whose  indispensable 
qualifications  always  is,  that  he  be  not  unmarried — some 
of  the  former  occupants  of  the  sacred  office  fix  on  a  friend, 
without  asking  his  consent.  He  may  be,  and  usually  is,  some 
illiterate  artizan.    ''Voluntary  humility"  having  now  become 
the  established  rule  and  hereditary  custom, — he  is  expected, 
and  therefore  must,  in  the  first  instance,  decline  the  intended 
honour  and  expatiate  on  his  utter  unworthiness.     To  the 
entreaties  of  his  friends  he  must  continue  deaf  as  an  adder;  and 
must,  in  consequence,  resist,  till,  after  being  dragged  by  main 
force  into  the  presence  of  the  Patriarch,  his  benediction  has 
been  pronounced  amid  protestations  and  remonstrances.  The 
doom  of  the  reclaiming  and  intruded  man  is  now  sealed.  He 
is  then  hurried  away  from  the  Patriarchal  presence  into  a 
church,  for  a  month  or  two,  to  be  initiated  into  the  ceremonial 
part  of  the  priestly  functions;  and  to  learn  by  rote  those  portions 
of  the  litany  which  he  may  have  publicly  to  recite.  Such  is  usual- 
ly the  entire  course  of  scholastic  and  theological  training  that 
is  deemed  requisite  for  a  Coptic  priest !  From  the  body  of  the 
priesthood,  the  bishops  are  chosen.  Their  attainments,  excep't 
in  the  addition  of  years  to  their  span  of  life,  generally  do  not 
rise  higher  than  the  dead  flat  mass  whence  they  have  been 
severed.    Nor  need  the  qualifications  of  the  Patriarch  himself 
be  of  a  much  higher  order.    Contrary  to  the  essential  pre- 
requisite for  the  ordinary  priesthood  and  episcopate,  he  must 
be  an  unmarried  man.    For  this  end,  the  bishops  and  priests 
apply  to  the  most  ancient  of  all  Convents — that  founded  by 
the  famous  St.  Anthony,  in  the  desert  of  the  Red  sea — for  a 
genuine  monk  to  fill  the  Patriarchal  chair.    The  Superior's 
duty_then  is,  to  nominate  nine  or  ten  of  the  brotherhood  of  celi- 
bacy. Of  these,  one  is  chosen  by  lot,  to  occupy  a  See, — which 
is  believed  to  have  been  founded  by  St.  Mark — transmitted  by 
Athanasius  and  other  eminent  Fathers — and  perpetuated  in 
unbroken  succession  to  the  present  occupant.    The  Patriarch 
elect  is  always  expected,  like  the  ordinary  priest,  to  express 
an  unconquerable  reluctancy  to  assume  an  office  of  such  high 
dignity  and  responsibility.    The  usual  remedy  is  to  apply  to 
the  acting  governor  of  Egypt,  even  though  a  Turk,  to  coerce 
the  recusant  into  compliance  by  the  strong  arm  of  civil  and 
4  p  2 


656 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


[Nov. 


military  authority.  The  present  Patriarch,  who  exults  in  being 
accounted  the  lineal  successor  of  St.  Mark,  as  much  as  the 
present  Pope  in  being  regarded  the  lineal  successor  of  St.  Peter, 
was  actually  conveyed  from  the  Convent  to  the  chair  of  the 
Evangelist  by  the  soldiery  of  Mahomed  Ali  !  From  such  a 
source  and  mode  of  election,  what  else,  except  ignorance, 
superstition,  and  bigotry  would  be  anticipated  ?  Accordingly, 
as  an  amusing  illustration  of  the  ignorance  and  unthinking 
credulity  of  the  existing  successor  of  St.  Mark,  it  may  be 
stated,  that  he  firmly  believes  the  original  Pharos,  or  light- 
house of  Alexandria,  to  have  been  so  lofty,  that,  from  the 
summit  thereof  every  harbour  in  Asia  Minor,  Greece,  Italy, 
France,  and  England,  could  be  distinctly  espied, — that  intelli- 
gence of  any  hostile  fleet  or  armament,  fitting  out  on  any 
of  these  shores,  could  thus  have  been  communicated  to  the 
Egyptian  authorities,  weeks  and  months  before  their  possible 
arrival, — and  that  to  the  destruction  of  this  famous  tower 
is  to  be  attributed  much  of  the  misery  and  degradation  of 
modern  Egypt ;  inasmuch  as  the  fleets  and  armies  of  invaders 
ever  since  can  pounce  upon  its  coasts  and  borders,  without 
any  seasonable  warning  or  premonition  to  sound  the  note  of 
preparation  ! 

Roused  by  recollections  of  faded  glory  we  felt  moved  with 
a  burning  desire  to  know  how  life  could  be  rebreathed  into  the 
shrivelled  skeleton  of  so  fruitful  and  so  noble  a  Mother  of 
churches.  Various  plans  suggested  themselves  in  the  abstract, 
which,  on  examination,  could  not  abide  the  test  of  practicability. 
It  is  easy  to  be  ingenious  in  theory,  and  comprehensive  on 
paper.  It  is  not  so  easy  to  be  ingenious  in  practice,  or  compre- 
hensive amid  the  complexities  of  the  real  field  of  labour.  Given 
the  length  and  breadth  and  general  outlines  of  the  surface  of 
a  country,  the  most  scientific  plan  by  far  of  a  projected  cam- 
paign might  be  delineated  on  a  map.  But  the  impediment  of 
some  small  streamlet,  or  narrow  ravine,  or  obscure  marsh,  which 
had  escaped  unnoticed  amid  the  striding  outlines  of  an  average 
description,  may  often  be  found  to  transmute  the  theoretically 
best  into  the  practically  worst.  So,  in  the  grand  campaign 
against  the  powers  of  error  and  the  principalities  of  sin  in  a 
hitherto  uncharted  moral  territory  !  Our  scheme,  composed  of 
sweeping  generalities,  however  skilfully  arranged,  may  be  utterly 
frustrated  by  the  untoward  uprising  of  certain  latent  points, 
which  may  have  eluded  the  eye  of  speculation — certain  minute 
peculiarities  of  time,  place,  and  circumstance,  which,  from 
being  unprovided  for,  may  dislocate  the  best  laid  plans,  and 
convert  the  theoretic  wisdom  which  projected  them  into  prac- 
tical folly.    In  the  case  of  the  Copts,  however,  we  were  not 


1840.] 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


657 


left  without  the  guidance  of  experience.     At  Cairo,  there  are 
two  Missionaries  of  the  Church  of  England — Messrs.  Leider 
and  Kruse    with   their    wives — admirably  fitted   to  occupy 
a  position,  in  many  respects  so  unique.    Mr.  Leider,  in  parti- 
cular, is  a  man  of  energy,  enterprise,  and  high  literary  accom- 
plishments ;  and  Mrs.  Leider  has  been  honoured,  as  an  able  and 
prudent  instructress,  in  securing  an  influence  over  the  females 
of  the  Pasha's  Harem  which, in  our  day, is  without  a  precedent 
or  a  copy.  As  it  is  no  part  of  Egyptian  "  regeneration"  to  allow 
the  liberty  of  publicly  preaching  the  gospel  to  the  faithful,  or  to 
repeal  the  stern  law  which  dooms  to  death  an  apostate  from  the 
creed  of  the  Koran,  these  Protestant  Missionaries  have  been 
compelled  to  restrict  their  labours  mainly  to  the  Coptic  popu- 
lation. At  first,  even  by  this  class,  they  were  suspected,  avoided, 
or  repelled.    But,  by  acts  of  kindness  and  conciliation  beyond 
all  praise,  they  have  at  last  succeeded  in  gaining  the  confidence 
of  many  of  the  laity  and  priesthood  ;  and  eventually  of  the 
Patriarch  himself.  Their  gradual  rise,  in  the  esteem  and  good 
opinion  of  the  latter,  was  progressively  manifested  by  the 
different  and  significant  ways  in  which  he  addressed  them. 
At  first,  when  any  of  them  had  occasion  to  visit  him,  his  way 
of  address  was, — "  O  my  son  !" — some  years  later,  "  O  my 
brother  !" — and,  last  of  all,  as  the  highest  mark  of  respect, 
"  O  my  father  !*'  Due  advantage  has  been  taken  of  this  footing 
of  reciprocal  friendship.  Elementary  schools  have  been  opened 
for  the  young.  Hundreds  of  Coptic  children,  male  and  female, 
are  permitted  to  attend  them — while  a  system  of  private  read- 
ing and  conversation  has  been  maintained  with  not  a  few  of 
the  parents.    All  this  is  well ;  and,  so  far  as  it  goes,  highly 
encouraging.  Still,  when  the  problem  is,  How  most  effectually 
to  revivify  the  withered  form  of  a  church  so  fallen  and  corrupt 
as  the  Coptic  ? — it  does  admit  of  a  serious  question,  Whether 
there  ever  can  be  a  real  revival,  by  a  process  of  slow,  creeping, 
climbing  renovation  ? — or,  Whether  such  revival  is  not  rather 
to  be  expected,  as  the  result  of  a  process  of  rebuke  and 
chastisement  on  the  part  of  God,  and  of  heartfelt  penitence 
and  humiliation  on  the  part  of  man  ?  Since,  however,  it  is  our 
duty  to  leave  no  legitimate  means  untried,  it  seemed  desirable, 
— seeing  that  elementary  education  had  been  accepted  of  at  the 
hands  of  the  English  Missionaries, — to  ascertain,  how  far  it 
might  be  practicable  to  found  a  higher  Seminary,  under  their 
superintendence,  for  the  instruction  of  those  destined  for  the 
office  of  the  Holy  ministry  ?  In  the  extreme  desirableness  of 
such  an  object  the  Missionaries  at  once  concurred.  Indeed, 
the  idea  of  some  such  measure  had  often  suggested  itself  to 
their  own  minds.    But  no  steps  even  of  a  preliminary  nature 


658 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


[Nor. 


could  be  taken  without  the  full  knowledge  and  sanction  of  the 
Patriarch  ;  whose  voice  is  absolute  with  the  whole  crowd  of 
ignorant  and  superstitious  adherents.  We  were  determined, 
therefore,  if  possible,  to  discover  his  sentiments  on  the  subject ; 
and,  for  this  end,  solicited  an  interview  which  was  kindly  and 
promptly  granted. 

According!}',  accompanied  by  the  Missionaries,  and  Mr. 
GrimshaWj  a  revered  clergyman  of  the  church  of  England, 
then  travelling  in  Egypt  on  account  of  his  health,  we  proceeded 
through  the  Frank  department  of  the  city,  to  the  Patriarchal 
residence.  Entering  from  a  mean  and  narrow  street  or  lane  of 
sombre  high-walled  houses,  by  a  small  wicket,  in  the  centre  of  a 
huge  and  massive  gate,  we  found  numbers  of  priests  assembled 
in  the  passages  and  ante-rooms.  To  the  audience-chamber 
we  were  conducted  by  the  bishop  of  Jerusalem — a  man  of 
noble  mien  and  of  a  singularly  intellectual  cast  of  countenance. 
There,  the  Patriarch,  a  dark-complexioned,  placid,  good- 
natured,  venerable  old  man,  clad  in  his  pontificals,  was  seated 
on  the  durbar  in  oriental  style  to  receive  us.  After  the  ordi- 
nary salutations  and  the  ceremonial  of  drinking  coffee,  &c. 
small  cushions  were  brought ;  and  on  these,  laid  down  on  the 
floor  close  by  "  his  Holiness,"  we  were  beckoned  to  be  seated. 
Of  statements,  inquiries,  and  replies  which  occupied  altogether 
nearly  two  hours,  it  is  impossible  to  furnish  even  an  epitome. 
Suffice  it  to  set  forth  one  or  two  of  the  results.  Having  ex- 
plained the  anti-popish  character  of  the  doctrines  of  the 
churches  of  England  and  of  Scotland,  as  well  as  of  other  Pro- 
testant denominations  ;  and  having  referred  at  some  length  to 
the  original  prosperity  and  subsequent  decline  and  persecution 
of  the  church  of  Egypt, — we  expressed  our  deep  regret  at 
the  obscuration  of  their  light,  our  sympathy  for  their  past 
and  present  sufferings,  and  our  earnest  concern  for  their 
restoration  to  more  than  primitive  excellence.  The  Patriarch 
admitted  that  many  grievous  errors  had  formerly  crept  in — that 
much  deadness  still  continued  to  benumb,  and  much  darkness 
to  overshadow  them — and  that  there  was  need  for  the  infusion 
of  new  life  and  new  light.  When,  in  making  this  admission, 
he  pointedly  referred  to  the  sufferings  of  their  martyred 
fathers,  he  seemed  greatly  moved,  and  melted  into  tears. 
What  then  was  to  be  done  towards  a  revival  and  a  re-illumi- 
nation ?  Might  not,  it  was  asked,  might  not  the  Bible  be  freely 
circulated,  not  in  the  Coptic  which  was  a  dead  language  studied 
by  few,  but  in  the  Arabic,  which,  read  by  numbers,  was  under- 
stood and  spoken  by  all  ?  Without  qualification  or  reserve  the 
Patriarch  declared,  that  it  might ; — adding,  with  emphasis, 
that  whatever  else  might  be  alleged  against  his  church,  this  at 


1840.] 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


659 


least  had  never  ceased  to  be  one  of  its  distinguishing  characte- 
ristics, viz. — that  the  Bible  should  be  held  as  the  ultimate  stand- 
ard of  appeal  in  articles  of  faith  ;  and  that  to  it,  through  any  in- 
telligible medium,  the  laity  and  the  priest  should,  all  alike,  have 
the  right  of  unrestricted  access.  Again,  it  was  asked,  Whether, 
in  order  to  aid  in  reviving  and  diffusing  a  knowledge  of  Chris- 
tian doctrine,  tracts  or  small  books  in  the  form  of  extracts  or 
selections  from  the  most  celebrated  Fathers  of  the  Alexandrian 
school,  who  are  still  regarded  with  profoundest  veneration  by 
the  Copts  themselves,  might  not  be  compiled,  translated, 
and  distributed  among  the  people,  or  introduced  into  semi- 
naries of  education?  Without  hesitation,  the  Patriarch — smiling 
with  evident  delight  at  our  respectful  recognition  of  names 
which  have  reflected  honour  on  the  Christian  Church — 
replied,  that  there  could  be  no  possible  objection  to  such  a 
measure, — yea,  that  he  would  consider  such  tracts  and  books 
an  invaluable  boon.  The  subject  of  raising  or  rather  new- 
creating  a  standard  of  instruction  for  the  clergy  next  occupied 
the  main  part  of  conversation.  Not  to  arouse  the  fears  and 
suspicions  of  an  ignorance  so  profound — not  to  tear  up  by  the 
roots  a  plant  so  sapless  and  feeble  by  sudden  stretches  of 
innovation — it  was  asked  in  the  first  instance,  Whether  a 
seminary  might  not  be  established  in  which  candidates  for  the 
ministry  could  pass  through  a  systematic  course  of  theological 
tuition — making  the  Bible  itself  the  great  text-book,  and  selec- 
tions from  the  most  venerated  of  the  fathers,  important  auxi- 
liaries— super-adding,  with  a  view  to  the  expansion  of  the  mind 
by  an  enlargement  of  the  range  of  ideas,  a  course  of  instruction 
in  geography  and  general  history,  ancient  and  modern — 
placing  the  whole  system  under  the  patronage  and  supervi- 
sion of  a  Committee  composed  of  the  Patriarch  himself  and 
other  leading  members  of  the  Coptic  community,  together  with 
the  English  Missionaries — and  entrusting  the  latter  with  the 
entire  practical  and  professorial  duties  of  the  proposed 
institution  ?  After  much  initial  explanation,  the  Patriarch 
eventually  signified  his  own  acquiescence  in  some  such  scheme. 
He,  accordingly,  announced  his  consent  and  sanction  that 
Mr.  Leider  should  forthwith  prepare  in  writing  a  well-digested 
syllabus  of  the  projected  plan,  to  be  submitted  formally  to 
himself  and  his  council  of  bishops  and  presbyters  for  their 
united  approval  and  ratification;  and  that,  when  approved  of  and 
ratified,  an  authenticated  copy  thereof,  signed  by  the  Patriarch 
and  sealed  with  the  Patriarchal  signet,  should  be  furnished  to 
the  Missionaries,  to  be  by  them  forwarded  for  the  satisfaction 
of  the  British  churches,  with  a  view  to  secure  and  guarantee 
their  countenance  and  support.    After  replying  to  many  other 


660 


A  few  Notes  on  Lower  Egypt. 


[Nov. 


questions  relative  to  the  present  doctrines,  discipline,  and 
ceremonial  of  his  church  ;  and  after  thanking  us  for  the  inter- 
est which  had  been  manifested  in  its  re-invigoration  and 
prosperity,  the  Patriarch  rose  up  and  solemnly  pronounced 
his  benediction, — subjoining,  with  tearful  eyes  and  quivering 
lips  which  betrayed  deep  emotion,  the  simple  but  devout 
aspiration, — "  If  we  should  never  meet  again  in  time,  my 
prayer  is,  that  we  may  meet  in  heaven,  before  the  throne  of 
our  common  Lord  and  Saviour." 

Whatever  may  be  the  practical  result  of  this  long  and  inter- 
esting interview,  we  shall  ever  feel  grateful  to  God  for  the 
precious  opportunity  thereby  afforded,  of  expatiating  on  the 
causes  of  a  church's  decline  and  fall,  and  on  the  only  real 
sources  of  a  church's  restoration,  in  the  presence  of  one  who  is 
revered  by  the  remnant  of  Egyptian  Christians  as  the  succes- 
sor and  representative  of  the  Evangelist  Mark.  Over  the 
portals  of  a  church,  once  the  most  celebrated  in  the  world, 
may  now  be  inscribed  in  largest  characters  : — 

"  Fallen,  fallen,  fallen, 
Fallen  from  its  high  estate." 

Still,  in  its  unbounded  admiration  of  many  of  the  soundest  of 
the  ancient  fathers  ;  in  its  heart-stirring  remembrances  of  by- 
gone ages  of  persecution  and  martyrdom  ;  and  above  all,  in  its 
profound  reverence  for  the  authority  and  majesty  of  the  word  of 
God — that  mightiest  of  renovating  instruments  when  wielded 
by  an  omnipotent  spirit  of  grace — we  cannot  but  discern 
rallying  points  of  a  revival,  the  possession  of  which,  in  the  same 
proportionate  degree,  can  scarcely  be  claimed  by  any  other  of 
the  fallen  churches  of  primitive  times.  Degenerated  it  has,  into 
what  is  little  better  than  an  effete  machine  of  external  obser- 
vances, evacuated  of  all  spirit  and  of  all  life  ;  but  it  has  never 
formally  or  wholly  apostatized  from  the  faith.  Even  its  mono- 
physite  error  has  long  been  a  naked  scholastic  dogma  rather 
than  an  operative  principle  of  evil;  and  at  no  time  did  it  lead 
the  church,  as  such,  to  reject  from  its  creed  the  divinity  of  the 
Saviour,  or  the  all- sufficiency  of  his  atonement  as  the  sole 
ground  of  the  sinner's  justification.  To  it,  perhaps,  the 
apocalyptic  description  is  still  applicable,  "  Thou  hast  a  little 
strength  and  hast  kept  my  word,  and  hast  not  denied  my 
name."  Oh  that  that  word  may  speedily  be  armed  with  more 
than  its  wonted  sharpness  in  piercing  the  hearts  of  sinners  ;  and 
that  name  fraught  with  more  than  its  wonted  preciousness  ; 
and  that  "  little  strength,"  restored  to  more  than  its  wonted 
plenitude  ! 


IS  10.]  A  few  Notes  oiPf  Hinduism.  663 

Meanwhile,  it  is  our  duty  to  i??ted  1'imself,  upon  his  breast, 
church  is  steeped  in  the  very  deptl  erect  posture.  Jambuwat 
.  ,    \  nil  -anquislied,    and  suing  for 

tracts,  nor  hooks,  nor  Bibles,  nor  set.  4  y  B 

education,  can  it,  by  its  own  unaided  ^  bed  curtf;ins>.. 
secure.  For  all  of  these  instrumentalities  of  revv  to  j,jm  wj10  sjiajj 
it  must  depend  wholly  on  the  benevolence  of  oif  ;t  ^e  so  tnen 
been  more  amply  replenished  with  the  riches  of  tia^jnaries  0f  the 
the  treasures  of  eternity.  These  are  the  British  anuthe  country, 
churches.  Why  might  they  not  send  fraternal  epistles>  beautiful 
ful  in  remonstrance  and  expostulation — surcharged  with  a  vast 
pathy  and  good-will — and  lightened  all  over  with  divine  Music, 
The  present  Missionaries  would  form  the  most  effectiv°t 
media  of  communication  ;  since  men,  in  judgment  more 
sound,  in  sentiment  more  enlightened,  in  disposition  more 
conciliatory,  it  would  not  be  easy  to  find.  Why  not  accredit 
and  substantiate  every  profession  of  loving-kindness  by  the 
spontaneous  largesses  of  a  wide  expanding  charity  ?  And  why 
not,  by  means  of  these  and  other  heaven-appointed  agencies, 
confederate  in  originating  the  principles,  and  in  propelling  the 
cause,  of  a  real  Egyptian  "  regeneration  ?"  True  believers — the 
disciples  of  the  Lord  Jesus — members  of  his  mystical  body — 
called,  quickened,  and  sanetified-~are  "the  salt  of  the  earth — 
the  light  of  the  world."  Let  the  fallen  church  of  Egypt 
be  made  to  rise  in  renovated  life  and  purity,  beauty  and 
strength  : — let  the  salt  of  her  reviving  doctrines  display  its 
sanative  efficacy : — let  the  light  of  her  rekindled  holiness  stream 
out  in  its  diffusive  energy : — and  then  will  the  portentous 
shadow,  which  at  present  enshrouds  the  destinies  of  Egypt 
with  a  gloom  as  impenetable  as  the  darkness  of  the  plague,  be 
disenchanted  of  all  its  mystery.  The  redoubted  Pasha  of  so 
many  subjugated  provinces  will  then  be  proved  to  have  been, 
all  the  while,  but  a  rod  in  the  hands  of  Him,  who  is  King  and 
Governor  among  the  nations,  for  the  furtherance  of  designs 
which  it  had  never  entered  into  his  imagination  to  conceive, 
and  the  accomplishment  of  purposes  which  it  would  have 
been  his  policy  to  have  covered  with  irretrievable  defeat.  The 
violence  of  a  tyrannous  usurpation,  the  desolating  tide  of  a 
lawless  conquest,  the  sudden  fall  of  old  dynasties,  the  spread 
and  consolidation  of  new  empire  over  the  hitherto  dissevered 
realms  of  barbarism  ; — all,  all  will  then  be  found  to  have  been 
subordinated  by  an  overruling  Providence,  to  facilitate  the 
progress  of  gospel  Truth,  in  its  inarch  to  the  throne  of  Univer- 
sal Dominion. 

A.  D. 


VOL..    1.  4  Q 


G(>4  Absurdities  of  Hinduism.  [Nov. 

forward,  and  began  to  sing,  beating  the  time  by  clapping  bis  hands. 
And  now  strains  of  music  were  heard  not  less  rapturous  than  those 
which  burst  from  the  cords  of  the  Vina,  and  the  stones  were  again  re- 
duced to  a  liquid  state,  and  Narad  received  his  instrument  uninjured. 

It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  add  that  Jambuwat  is  regarded  as  an 
incarnation  of  Deity.  The  people  in  the  neighbourhood  resort  to  his 
temple  in  all  times  of  calamity  and  peril,  and  seek  deliverance  of  him 
from  present  and  anticipated  evils.  They  relate,  as  a  proof  of  his  guar- 
dian care,  that  many  years  ago,  a  large  body  of  armed  men,  mounted 
upon  fleet  horses,  came  here  for  the  purpose  of  plunder;  upon  which 
Jambuwat  laid  aside  his  bear  form  and  assumed  a  human  form  of  large 
stature,  and  mounted  upon  a  white  horse,  came  among  those  plun- 
derers, and  inspired  them  with  such  fear  as  to  cause  them  to  decamp, 
without  committing  any  depredations.  Such  are  the  fables  with  which 
the  Hindu's  mind  is  stored,  and  such  are  the  gods  whom  he  adores. 
What  then  but  the  mighty  power  of  God  can  bring  him  into  obedience 
to  the  simplicity  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel.  O  Spirit  of  God,  dispel  the 
darkness  of  his  mind,  and  lead  him  to  Him  who  is  the  way,  the  truth 
and  the  life. 

Rakshas  Bhawani  is  situated  upon  the  Godavari  river,  twenty  miles 
below  Paitan.  The  place  derives  its  name  from  the  following  circum- 
stances. Some  500  or  1,000  years  ago,  there  were  living  at  this  place 
three  distinguished  Rakshas  of  the  names  of  A'tapi,  VVatapi,  and  Ilwal. 
In  a  village  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  river  lived  Agasti,  a  celebrated 
Rishi.  Agasti  had  60,000  disciples,  whom  he  was  educating  for  the 
service  of  the  gods.  The  Rakshas,  being  impelled  by  the  depravity  of 
their  nature  to  molest  all  those  who  worshipped  the  gods,  and  incited 
by  a  deadly  hate  of  all  brahmans,  soon  began  to  concert  measures  by 
which  they  might  ease  the  earth  of  these  worshippers  of  the  gods.  At 
length  they  conceived  the  plan  of  making  them  their  own  destroyers, 
while  they  should  secure  to  themselves  their  good  esteem.  They 
rightly  conceived  that  nothing  would  be  more  grateful  to  the  feelings 
of  the  Risln's  disciples,  than  a  taste  of  the  delicious  dainties  which  they 
were  denied  in  the  hermitage.  They  accordingly  prepared  a  sump- 
tuous feast,  and  invited  some  five  of  the  most  distinguished  of  Agastfs 
pupils  to  partake  of  it.  Not  deeming  it  prudent  to  decline  the  invitation 
of  their  potent  neighbours,  they  with  the  consent  of  their  master  signi- 
fied their  acceptance  of  it.  Arrived  at  the  mansion  of  the  Rakshas, 
they  were  not  a  little  surprised  at  finding  only  one  of  them  at  home. 
Ilwal,  however,  soon  relieved  them  of  the  anxiety  which  this  circum- 
stance had  occasioned,  by •  assuring  them  that  his  brothers  had  been 
unexpectedly  called  away  on  business  of  importance.  At  his  request 
they  sat  down,  and  ate  unsparingly  of  the  rich  dainties  which  were 
served  out  to  them.  In  a  little  time  they  began  to  feel  most  intense 
gripes  and  pains.  They  attributed  their  distress  to  their  excess  in 
eating,  and  resorted  to  a  variety  of  expedients  for  relief.  But  nothing 
availed.  They  every  moment  grew  worse.  Their  bodies  enlarged, 
and  soon  became  so  distended  as  to  be  perfectly  hideous.  At  length 
death  came  to  their  relief.  This  distension  of  the  body,  w  hich  terminat- 


1840.  J 


Absurdities  of  Hinduism. 


665 


ed  tints  fatally,  was  occasioned  by  tliis  circumstance.  The  two  absent 
Et&kshas  bad  commuted  themselves  into  the  different  kinds  of  food 
which  were  served  out  at  this  banquet.  In  this  state,  the  brahmans 
had  unwittingly  conveyed  thein  to  their  stomachs  ;  where  arrived,  and 
confined  as  in  a  prison,  they  assumed  their  original  form,  and,  by 
degrees,  their  original  stature,  and  effected  their  release  by  bursting 
open  the  prison  doors.  This  device  having  succeeded  so  admirably, 
they  resolved  to  repeat  it,  and  again  sent  out  invitations  to  five  more  of 
these  disciples.  As  no  inquiries  had  been  made,  respecting  those  who  had 
enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  those  gentry,  and  it  being  supposed  that  they 
had  returned,  and  were  pursuing  their  ordinary  duties,  permission  was 
readily  granted  to  these  also.  They  accordingly  went — ate — drunk, 
and  died.  In  this  manner  the  work  of  destruction  went  on,  until  all, 
save  Agasti  himself,  were  cut  off.  Then  he  was  invited.  Confiding  in 
the  efficaciousness  of  his  sanctity,  and  his  power  over  evil,  he  unhesi- 
tatingly complied  with  the  invitation.  Soon  after  eating  he  began  to 
feel  the  pains  of  dissolution  coming  upon  him,  upon  which  he  suspected 
some  mischief,  and  the  thought  at  once  occurred  to  him,  that  the  two 
absent  Rakshas  were  struggling  in  his  stomach.  Instantly  he  repeated 
a  mantra,  and  thus  having  reduced  them  to  ashes,  he  cast  them  forth 
upon  the  earth,  llwal  perceiving  this,  fled  for  his  life.  Agasti  pursued 
him.  The  chase  was  continued  at  the  top  of  their  speed,  until  they 
came  to  the  sea,  into  which  the  Rakshas  plunged,  and  claimed  protec- 
tion from  the  vindictive  rage  of  the  Rishi.  Agasti  demanded  of  the  sea 
the  surrender  of  the  fugitive.  The  sea  replied,  "  I  am  not  the  unfeel- 
ing monster  who  will  give  up  for  destruction  those  who  seek  refuge 
with  me.  Take  what  you  will  of  that  which  is  mine  ;  but  my  suppliants 
shall  enjoy  protection  from  all  harm."  Upon  this  the  Rishi  became 
exceedingly  incensed  against  the  sea,  and  opening  his  mouth  he  swal- 
lowed it,  and  all  that  pertained  to  it.  Thus  he  has  chastised  old  Ocean 
for  his  injustice  in  affording  refuge  from  punishment  to  the  deserving, 
and  he  executed  upon  the  Rakshas  the  vengeance  that  was  due  to  him 
for  the  inhuman  slaughter  of  the  sixty  thousand  brahmans.  After  this 
Agasti  discharged  himself  of  the  sea  by  the  course  of  nature,  and  this 
accounts  for  its  saline  properties. 

One  is  disposed  to  ask,  in  view  of  these  monstrous  absurdities,  can 
it  be  true  that  the  Hindus  really  believe  them  to  be  matters  of  fact  ? 
My  opinion  is  that  many — yea,  the  greater  part  of  those  to  whom  they 
are  known,  do  regard  them  as  undoubted  truths.  Exult  as  we  may  in  our 
elevation  above  this  abasement  of  mind,  we  should  not  forget,  that 
we  are  wholly  indebted  to  the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  for  the  clearer 
light  which  shines  into  our  minds.  What  this  gospel  has  done  for  us 
it  may  do  for  the  Hindu. 

S.  B.  M. 


t'(K>  Female  Bazar  Schools. 


V. — Female  Bazar  Schools. 
To  the  Editor  of  the  Calcutta  Christum  Observer. 

Sirs, 

In  your  number  for  March  of  the  present  year  an  interest- 
ing article  appeared,  suggesting  the  plan  of  visiting  females 
of  the  higher  castes  in  India  with  a  view  to  their  instruction  ; 
and  again  in  June  you  published  a  letter  proposing  another, 
and  perhaps  more  self-denied  means  of  usefulness,  among  the 
degraded  females  of  this  country.  It  is  delightful  to  see, 
that  there  are  some,  who,  notwithstanding  all  the  difficulties, 
and,  humanly  speaking,  unsurmountable  barriers  in  the  way, 
have,  in  the  exercise  of  faith  in  the  divine  blessing,  grace  and 
strength  to  go  forward  in  the  path  of  duty. 

May  I  be  allowed  through  the  medium  of  your  pages  to 
make  a  few  remarks  in  reference  to  another  department  of 
female  effort,  by  no  means  claiming  for  it  precedence,  or  sup- 
posing it  ought  to  have  a  first  place  where  other  and  more 
effectual  means  can  be  employed  ;  but  merely  as  an  humble 
attempt  which  the  Spirit  of  God  may  own,  and  which  we 
ought  not  to  despise  in  this  "  day  of  small  things"  in  India. 
I  mean  bazar  schools  for  girls.    I  am  aware  there  is  every 
thing  in  the  present  state  of  Hindu  society  to  discourage  the 
attempt,  and  that  the  practical  results  of  such  schemes  have 
hitherto  been  very  unsuccessful ;  but  are  these  reasons  suffici- 
ent to  justify  us  in  abandoning  them  as  utterly  hopeless  ?  Shall 
we,  because  there  are  many  and  great  difficulties  in  the  way, 
allow  that  class  of  the  heathen  to  perish,  without  even  an 
attempt  to  make  known  to  them  the  Saviour?    Were  orphan 
girls  so  numerous  and  easily  obtained,  as  that  all  disposed  to 
assist  in  the  work  might  be  fully  employed,  I  think  there 
would  then  be  no  room  to  question  the  path  of  duty ;  but  it  is 
well  known  how  far  this  is  from  being  the  case.    In  many 
districts  the  most  vigilant  exertions  cannot  procure  them,  and 
a  lady  must  have  a  bazar  school,  or  none  at  all.    When  one 
is  thus  placed,  what  is  to  be  done  ?   Is  it  duty  to  sit  down 
quietly,  and  mourn  over  the  ignorance  of  the  people,  and 
their  unwillingness  to  receive  instruction  ;  and  long  for  the 
time  when  the  Lord  may  visit  them  in  mercy,  yet  make  no 
effort  in  their  behalf  ?    It  is  difficult  to  suppose  a  Christian 
female  acting  in  this  manner,  if  deeply  alive  either  to  her 
own  responsibility,  or  the  awful  condition  of  the  heathen, 
and  possessing  at  the  same  time  health,  leisure  and  means. 
Yet  it  is  to  be  feared  that  the  neglect,  or  rather  I  would  say 
contempt,  which  has  been  manifested  for  girls'  schools  has 


1840.] 


Female  Bazar  Schools. 


mi 


weakened  the  hands,  and  caused  the  hearts  of  many  to  sink, 
who  were  warmly  attached  to  the  work. 

Collecting  a  number  of  girls  under  a  heathen  teacher,  and 
bestowing  upon  the  school  only  an  occasional  visit,  can  I 
think  he  of  little  use ;  and  perhaps  so  far  as  mere  reading 
and  sewing  go,  the  objections  urged  against  them  may  be 
tangible  enough  ;  but  were  this  the  only  or  ultimate^  object  of 
Missionary  schools  in  general,  it  may  be  supposed  few  now 
engaged  in  the  work  would  ever  have  entered  upon  it.  To 
make  known  to  the  heathen  the  knowledge  of  the  Saviour  is 
the  great  object  of  Missionary  effort ;  and  the  evidence  of  those 
who  have  had  any  thing  to  do  in  teaching  heathen  girls  goes 
to  prove,  that  they  are  as  able  to  understand  the  doctrines  of 
the  Bible,  when  explained  to  them  in  simple  language,  as 
children  at  home.  Now  if  one  can  collect  a  few  girls  from 
the  heathen,  and  instruct  them  carefully  in  the  truths  of 
Scripture  from  day  to  day,  causing  them  at  the  same  time  to 
commit  to  memory  such  passages  as  "  God  so  loved  the  world 
that  he  gave  his  only  begotten  Son,  that  whosoever  believeth 
on  him  might  not  perish,  but  have  everlasting  life.1'  May  this 
not  be  done  in  the  faitli  that  he  who  has  said,  "  Cast  thy  bread 
on  the  waters  and  thou  shalt  find  it  after  many  days,"  will 
not  allow  the  seed  thus  sown,  if  watered  by  fervent  and  be- 
lieving prayer,  to  be  altogether  lost  ?  One  great  advantage  is 
that  in  every  place,  one  can  have  access  to  this  class,  and  a 
school  can  be  supported  at  very  little  expense.  Visiting  females 
of  respectable  Hindu  families  must  be  very  laborious,  and  in 
one  way  or  other  connected  with  much  expense  ;  yet,  every  one 
interested  in  native  female  education  will  rejoice  in  the  pro- 
posal being  carried  into  effect,  because  they  are  accessible  by 
no  other  means ;  and  certainly  if  this  motive  influence  us  in 
the  one  case,  it  ought  to  do  so  in  the  other.  I  am  far  from 
meaning  to  say  that  the  children  attend  school  for  the  sake  of 
the  instruction  they  receive.  It  is  well  known  they  do  not. 
They  must  in  some  way  or  other  be  bribed  to  come,  and  this 
is  no  doubt  one  of  the  greatest  evils  with  which  we  have  to 
contend.  But  is  it  not  the  same  motive  in  some  form  or  other 
which  induces  so  many  boys  to  attend  Missionary  schools  ? 
They  desire  secular  knowledge  that  they  may  advance  their 
worldly  interests.  No  doubt  in  their  case,  it  is  much  more 
refined,  and  another  important  fact  is,  that  the  knowledge 
which  they  really  desire  may  stimulate  them  to  more  regular 
attendance,  and  (humanly  speaking)  prepare  their  minds  in 
some  degree  for  the  reception  of  the  Gospel,  whereas,  univer- 
sal custom  having  made  it  a  law  that  the  women  of  India 
shall  live  and  die  in  ignorance,  they  can  be  actuated  by  no 


Female  Bazar  Schools. 


[Nov. 


such  motive.  In  either  case  however  is  the  ohject  of  teacher 
and  taught  the  same. 

But  another  strong  and  seemingly  reasonable  objection  to 
bazar  schools  for  girls  is,  that  no  sooner  do  they  leave,  than 
the  effect  of  all  they  have  learnt  is  effaced  by  heathen  ex- 
ample and  heathen  influence.  In  many,  many  cases  this  is 
no  doubt  the  fact,  and  certainly  had  we  no  other  encourage- 
ment than  human  probability,  we  might  give  up  the  work  in 
despair.  Yet  this  is  in  some  respects  a  common  difficulty  as 
boys  are  exposed  to  the  same  example  and  the  same  influence 
during  the  progress  of  their  studies,  and  on  leaving  school, 
to  the  same  danger  of  forgetting  altogether  the  religious  in- 
struction they  have  received.  It  is  readily  admitted  the 
course  of  education  now  pursued  in  some  of  our  admirable 
Missionary  schools,  is  much  'fitted  to  remove  prejudice  and 
improve  the  intellectual  powers,  and  of  course  it  is  not  for 
a  moment  meant  to  make  a  comparison,  except  in  the  princi- 
ple of  opposition  to  the  gospel  in  those  who  attend,  which 
however  we  think  to  be  the  same.  No  doubt  every  young 
man  who  finishes  his  studies  at  a  Christian  school,  and  has 
not  been  at  all  affected  by  the  truths  he  has  there  been  taught 
is  considered  by  his  friends  to  have  escaped  no  ordinary  dan- 
ger. Let  us  remember  that  the  same  power  which  is  neces- 
sary to  convert  the  most  enlightened  and  learned  of  this 
world,  is  equally  able  by  the  simple  statements  of  the  divine 
word  to  reach  the  heart  and  conscience  of  the  most  degraded 
female  in  India,  who,  though  now  alas  !  little  removed  in  in- 
tellect from,  "  the  beasts  that  perish,"  must  exist  through  an 
endless  eternity. 

The  writer  of  these  remarks  has  been  led  to  make  them 
from  having  had  some  experience  in  teaching  a  bazar  school. 
From  being  placed  in  the  circumstances  before  referred  to,  she 
was  obliged  to  betake  herself  to  it,  but  with  little  hope,  from 
the  strong  feeling  of  prejudice  so  common  in  regard  to  such 
schools.  The  result  of  even  a  short  time's  trial  encourages 
her  to  go  on,  and  should  any  one  who  has  felt  similarly,  be 
stimulated  to  make  the  attempt,  her  object  will  be  abundant- 
ly answered.  United,  untiring,  effort  might  effect  much 
through  the  divine  blessing. 

With  great  respect, 

A  Missionary's  Wife. 

September  19th,  1840. 


1840.]      Reply  to  the  letter  of  the  Rev.  A.  Sutton.  669 


VI—  Reply  to  the  letter  of  the  Rev.  A.  Sutton  in  last  No* 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Dear  Sirs, 

Mr.  Sutton  and  I  both  came  to  India  for  a  very  different  purpose 
than  that  of  disputing  with  one  another;  but  as  the  matter  at  issue  be- 
tween him  and  myself  is  one  of  real  practical  moment,  I  trust  it  may 
be  for  edification  to  make  some  remarks  upon  his  communication 
inserted  in  the  October  No.  of  the  Observer. 

Permit  me  first  of  all  to  state,  that  the  tone  and  temper  of  Mr. 
Sutton's  letter  are  not  thrown  away  upon  me.  It  is  a  manly, 
straightforward,  Christian-like  production.  Its  writer  makes  no  con- 
cealment of  his  name  and  address,  nor  pretends  to  doubt  of  the  fact  that 
is  well  known  to  him,  who  is  the  T.  S.  that  is  the  writer  of  the  report 
to  which  the  letter  refers.  1  like  this  way  of  proceeding.  But  for  all 
that  I  must  not  forget  that  this  discussion,  if  it  is  to  be  of  any  use  at 
all,  must  be  viewed  by  your  readers  without  any  reference  to  the  par- 
ties conducting  it;  I  shall  therefore  endeavour  to  handle  the  letter  as  if 
it  were  an  anonymous  one,  or  as  if  it  bore  a  much  less  respected 
name  than  is  that  of  Mr.  Sutton. 

I  shall  then  take  notice  of  the  "  exceptions"  to  my  article  in  their 
order,  and  it  will  contribute  somewhat  to  the  economy  of  your  space, 
if  your  readers  will  have  the  kindness  to  peruse  what  follows  with  the 
letter  of  Mr.  Sutton  in  their  hands. 

1.  To  the  charge  of  being  a  "  young  brother,"  I  must  plead  guilty. 
To  that  of  having  "  scarcely  smelt  the  air  of  India,"  I  fear  I  must  do 
more;  1  must  plead  guilty  with  the  aggravation  that  in  all  probability  I 
never  shall  smell  it  or  aught  else  ;  for  like  a  greater  man,  I  am  doomed 
to  wail  over 

Knowledge  by  one  access  quite  shut  out !  I 
But  seriously,  I  can  see  nothing  at  all  out  of  the  way  in  a  young 
brother,  who  happens  to  possess  the  gift  of  speedy  penmanship,  being 
requested  to  take  notes  of  a  discussion,  and  with  these  notes  before  him 
furnishing  an  article  for  the  Observer  on  the  subject  discussed.  This 
I  had  done  on  two  former  occasions,  and  I  believe  that  my  papers  gave 
general  satisfaction  both  to  the  members  of  the  Conference  and  to  the 
readers  of  the  Observer.  Nor  can  I  persuade  myself  that  there  is  any 
great  presumption  in  a  young  man  stating  pretty  strongly  those  views 
which  his  fathers  and  elder  brethren  marvellously  agree  in  holding. 

2.  It  was  not  assumed  by  me  that  the  state  of  things  in  Calcutta  is 
a  fair  representation  of  the  state  of  things  throughout  India.  But 
rather  it  was  considered  that  the  work  of  education  ought  to  be  begun 
in  such  places  as  Calcutta,  and  gradually  diffused,  as  the  providence 
and  grace  of  God  may  conspire  to  advance  it.  If  I  had  argued  in 
favour  of  setting  up  an  English  School  immediately  in  every  village  in 

*  This  matter  must  be  distinctly  understood  as  one  carried  on  on  the  personal 
responsibility  of  our  respective  correspondents  :  we  must  not  be  understood  as  pledg- 
ing ourselves  to  the  one  view  or  the  other— we  object  not  to  its  discussion  so  long 
as  it  is  carried  on  with  candour  and  Christian  feeling,  but  we  must  not  be  held  re- 
sponsible for  tiie  sentiments  of  either  one  or  other  of  our  correspondents. — Ed. 
VOL.   I.  4  R 


670 


Reply  to  the  letter  of  the  Rev.  A.  Sutton. 


[Nov. 


India,  tlien  I  should  be  liable  to  the  exception  taken ;  but  I  did  not 
argue  so,  and  I  am  not  so  liable. 

8<  The  question  as  to  the  barbarity  or  refinement  of  the  languages 
of  India  is  a  much  more  difficult  one  than  those  who  have  not  given 
their  attention  to  the  subject  can  probably  be  made  to  understand. 
Mr.  Sutton  no  doubt  knows  this  very  well.  That  there  is  a  refined 
language,  or  it  may  be,  refined  languages  in  India  no  one  disputes, 
but  that  language  or  these  languages  are  not  the  languages  o/" India. 
They  are  not  the  languages  of  the  people,  nor  the  languages  used  for 
ordinary  purposes  by  any  portion  of  the  community.  There  is  no 
paucity  of  words,  but  then  are  these  words  intelligible  to  the  mass  of 
the  people  ?  I  know  that  there  is  amongst  the  most  experienced 
Missionaries  very  considerable  diversity  of  opinion  as  to  what  really 
are  the  languages  of  the  country.  When  then  I  am  told  that  there 
is  a  sufficiency  of  words  in  the  Bengali  language  to  express  all 
human  ideas,  I  believe  the  statement  thus  far  ;  that  there  is  a  source, 
namely  the  Sanscrit,  from  which  an  ample  sufficiency  of  words  may  be 
introduced  into  the  Bengali ;  but  then  it  ought  to  be  borne  in  mind  that 
that  these  words  are  just  as  much  foreign  and  unknown  to  the  people 
of  India,  as  are  English,  German  or  French  words.  But  when  I  spoke 
of  a  barbarous  language  I  spoke  with  reference  to  the  learning  of  the 
language  by  the  Missionary,  and  not  in  reference  to  his  using  it  in 
his  addresses  to  the  people.  Now  this  is  a  fact  which  will  be  admitted 
by  all  who  know  the  facts  of  the  case,  that  there  is  scarcely  a  person 
in  India,  who  has  received  an  education  inferior  to  that  of  a  pandit, 
(which  includes  a  ten  years'  course  of  study  of  Sanscrit  Grammar), 
that  can  spell  accurately  and  properly  the  words  of  the  Bengali  lan- 
guage !  If  this  does  not  prove  that  the  language  is  an  impracticable 
one,  I  know  not  what  would  be  sufficient  to  prove  so  in  regard  to  any 
language.  Bengali,  as  taught  by  pandits,  is  comparatively  speaking 
not  a  barbarous  language  ;  but  the  Missionaries  of  most  experience  in 
Calcutta,  declare  that  a  Missionary  who  should  preach  to  the  people  in 
that  language  would  speak  in  a  tongue  to  them  unknown. 

4.  Mr.  Sutton's  argument  cuts  both  ways.  According  to  him,  "if 
a  man  does  not  set  to  in  good  earnest  to  acquire  the  native  language 
when  he  first  arrives  in  the  country,  he  very  seldom  has  the  time  or 
energy  to  do  it  afterwards."  From  this  I  think  several  inferences  may 
be  drawn  besides  that  which  Mr.  Sutton  draws  ;  as  Jirst,  that  the 
acquiring  of  the  native  languages  is  a  very  hard  task  ;  and  this  comes 
not  very  far  short  of  my  original  statement  as  to  the  "  drudgery"  of 
acquiring  them  :  secondly,  that  the  first  period  of'a  Missionary's  career 
in  India  is  generally  the  most  energetic.  The  question  then  is  whe- 
ther this  most  energetic  period  is  to  be  expended  in  what  is  not  Mis- 
sionary work,  although  it  may  be,  in  some  cases,  a  most  important 
and  indispensable  preparation  for  Missionary  work,  or  whether  it  is  to 
be  devoted  to  that  work  which  every  Missionary  who  comes  from 
Europe  is  qualified  to  enter  upon  at  once  ;  or  thirdly,  if  it  be  time 
rather  than  energy  that  is  wanting  to  the  English  teacher  for  acquiring 
the  native  languages,  does  it  not  appear  that  there  is  yet  sufficient 
work  in  this  department  for  a  greater  number  of  labourers  than  have 


1840.]      Reply  to  the  letter  of  the  Rev.  A.  Sutton.  671 


yet  undertaken  it  ?  As  to  Mr.  Sutton's  exclamation  on  the  enormity 
of  my  questioning  the  necessity  of,  in  every  case,  learning  the  native 
languages  immediately  on  coming  out,  I  believe  he  would  not  have 
written  that  exclamation  if  he  had  thought  of  the  full  import  of  the 
charge  it  will  be  understood  by  all  readers  to  bring  upon  my  mis- 
sionary character.  But  let  that  pass,  for  I  am  anxious  to  leave  every 
thing  personal  out  of  the  discussion.  Let  us  look  to  the  argument, 
which  is  a  logically  unsound  one. — What  he  says  would  apply  just  as 
well  to  a  minister  at  home  as  to  a  missionary  in  India.  If  I  were  to  go 
down  to  Cuttack  and  say  to  Mr.  Sutton,  "  Why  do  you  not  learn  the 
Chinese  language  ?  There  are  300  millions  of  people  who  know  no 
other  and  can  learn  the  gospel  in  no  other  tongue."  His  answer 
would  unquestionably  be  in  substance  this  : — "  1  know  and  lament 
over  the  state  of  the  perishing  millions  of  China,  and  I  would  to  God 
I  could  do  any  thing  to  bring  them  to  the  knowledge  of  the  truth  ; 
but  I  cannot — my  hands  are  full  of  work  here.  Why  should  I  study 
the  Chinese  language  when  there  are  thousands  of  people  who  are  to  be 
instructed  by  means  of  the  Oriya  which  I  have  already  acquired  ?" 
Well,  if  Mr.  Sutton  should  come  up  to  the  General  Assembly's  Insti- 
tution here,  and  should  put  a  similar  question  to  me,  my  answer  should 
likewise  be  similar.  If  lie  should  say,  "  Why  are  you  not  at  home  with 
your  pandit  learning  the  Bengali  language,  when  there  are  90  millions 
of  the  people  who  can  hear  the  Gospel  in  no  other  ?" — my  answer 
should  simply  be — "  My  hands  are  full  here — I  long  for  the  day  when 
every  man  in  India  shall  hear  in  his  own  tongue  the  wonderful  works 
of  God,  and  all  my  efforts  here  are  directed  to  that  as  their  ultimate 
object ;  but  here  I  have  as  much  work  as  I  can  do.  Here  are  hundreds 
of  natives  hearing  the  Gospel  in  a  language  that  I  already  know.  God 
has  in  His  Providence  assigned  me  my  sphere  amongst  them  ;  and  if 
I  do  what  I  can,  I  trust  that  He  will  not  require  at  my  hands  the 
blood  of  the  perishing  millions  around  me." 

Mr.  Sutton  goes  on  to  say — "  But  this  teaching  in  English  is  advo- 
cated with  especial  reference  to  the  ministry.  I  am  afraid  this  is  not 
solid  ground.  The  natives  of  India  make  out  very  poorly  in  English 
unless  they  begin  in  childhood.  Are  we  then  to  devote  certain  native 
children  to  the  ministry  before  their  religious  character  is  developed  ? 
or  are  we  to  teach  all  we  can  with  a  view  to  a  future  selection  ?"  This 
objection  is  by  no  means  new,  nor  is  it  difficult  to  answer.  I  have  a 
son  regarding  whom  my  dearest  hope  and  highest  ambition  is,  that 
when  he  comes  to  maturity  he  may  be  found  endowed  with  such 
mental  and  spiritual  gifts  as  may  fit  him  for  becoming  a  minister  of 
the  gospel  and  a  missionary  to  the  heathen.  But  how  am  I  to  proceed 
with  his  education  ?  1  have  no  right  to  presume  that  he  is  one  whom 
God  will  call  to  work  as  a  minister  in  his  church.  But  I  have  the 
promise  that  if  I  train  him  up  in  the  way  in  which  he  should  go,  he 
will  not  depart  from  it  when  he  is  old.  My  path  of  duty  then  with 
regard  to  him  is  clear.  I  have  to  do  that  part  which  alone  man  can 
do- — to  furnish  his  mind  with  all  truth,  so  far  as  I  can  teach  and  he 
can  bear  it,  and  especially  with  the  truth  which  maketh  wise  unto 
salvation ;  1  have  to  dedicate  him  to  God,  and  continually  to  supplicate 
4  it  2 


672  lieply  to  the  letter  of  the  Rev.  A.  Sutton.  [Nov. 


the  blessing  of  God  upon  all  his  education.  More  than  this  I  cannot 
do;  the  result  is  in  the  hands  of  Him  who  is  infinitely  wiser  than  I. 
Well,  there  are  thousands  of  youths  whose  education  is  in  the  course  of 
a  few  years  in  like  manner  committed  in  part  to  me  ;  my  heart's  desire 
and  prayer  for  them  all  is  that  they  may  be  saved  ;  and  not  only  so,  but 
I  would  that  all  the  people  of  God  were  prophets.  I  cannot  save  them  ; 
I  cannot  make  them  prophets  ;  but  I  am  bound  to  use  the  means  where- 
with God  hath  furnished  me  ;  to  sow  beside  all  waters,  not  knowing 
what  may  be  the  amount  of  fruit  produced,  but  being  assured  that  no 
word  of  God  will  ever  return  to  him  void. 

What  idea  Mr.  Sutton  may  attach  to  the  term  "  well-taught 
clerks"  I  cannot  tell. .  But  this  I  know,  that  if  I  were  required  to  de- 
scribe the  class  of  ministers  whom  I  should  like  to  see  located  in  every 
village  in  India,  I  should  do  it  in  very  few  words,  and  the  words 
should  be  these — "  very  learned  and  very  pious." — In  discussing  this 
subject  lately  in  another  place,  I  took  occasion  to  quote  from  memory 
the  words  of  an  American  divine,  which  were  as  nearly  as  I  can  recol- 
lect as  follows — "  What  has  ignorance  to  do  with  the  work  of  the 
ministry  ? — Just  as  much  as  sin  has  and  no  more*." 

Mr.  Sutton  seems  to  argue  very  strangely  about  the  support  of  our 
native  ministry,  as  if  a  man  who  had  been  taught  through  the  medium 
of  English  should  necessarily  be  more  difficult  to  maintain  than  one 
taught  by  means  of  Bengali  and  Sanscrit.  I  cannot  tell  why  this 
should  be:  on  the  contrary  I  should  expect,  and  the  range  of  clerical 
and  missionary  biography  will  bear  me  out  in  my  expectation,  that  the 
more  varied  are  a  man's  acquirements,  the  less  difficulty  will  he  have 
in  sustaining  the  pressure  of  pecuniary  embarrassments,  when  these  are 
imposed  upon  him  by  the  circumstances  of  the  Church.  I  have  the 
happiness  to  be  a  minister  of  a  Church  which  has  been  said  both  by  its 
friends  and  its  enemies  to  be  "  a  poor  church  and  a  pure  church." 
Now  I  believe  that  many  of  her  ministers  have  the  elasticity  of  their 
minds  preserved  by  their  mental  acquirements,  which  else  would  run  no 
small  risk  of  being  crushed  by  their  worldly  circumstances  I  know  that 
the  grace  of  God  alone  can  enable  a  man  to  sustain  any  trial  ;  but  I 
know  also  that  that  grace  frequently  works  by  sanctifying  human  gifts 
and  human  faculties  and  acquirements.  But  if  Mr.  Sutton  means, 
that  in  the  present  state  of  this  country  so  large  salaries  are  obtainable 
by  English  Scholars,  that  natives  will  not  engage  in  the  work  of  the 
ministry  unless  they  also  receive  a  high  salary,  then  I  should  say  that 
while  every  labourer  is  worthy  of  his  hire,  I  shall  not  think  the 
church  a  loser  if  all  those  go  off  from  her  service  who  prefer  an  office 
which  offers  pecuniary  emolument  as  its  reward  to  one  which  holds  out 
souls  as  its  hire.  We  wish  not  men  who  are  only  willing  to  offer  to 
the  Lord  that  which  costs  them  nothing, — those  talents  which  they 
can  turn  to  very  little  account  in  any  other  sphere.  We  want  those 
who  consecrate  themselves  a  living  sacrifice  to  the  cause  of  that  Saviour 
who  bowed  down  his  head  to  the  sacrifice  for  them — and  who  will 

*  This  was  written  in  the  belief  that  Mr.  Sutton  uses  the  word  clerk  in  the  old 
and  proper  sense  as  synonymous  with  Clergyman.  On  looking  over  his  letter  a 
second  time  it  appears  from  its  juxta-position  with  Deputy-Collectors,  that  he  uses  it 
in  the  more  modern  sense,  so  that  the  remarks  in  the  text  are  not  strictly  applicable, 


1840.]      Reply  to  the  letter  of  the  Rev.  A.  Sutton. 


673 


rather  be  engaged  directly  in  his  service,  who  will  rather  sutler  afflic- 
tion and  poverty  with  the  people  of  God,  and  in  the  work  of  God,  than 
enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  and  the  emoluments  of  worldly  business. 
It  was  but  a  few  weeks  ago  that  I  heard  of  a  native  Christian  who 
was  urged  to  accept  of  a  Deputy  Collectorship  with  a  large  salary  but 
who  refused  for  this  bribe  to  leave  his  employment  as  teacher  of  a  hum- 
ble missionary  school.  It  was  not  his  English  education  that  enabled 
him  to  withstand  this  temptation.  No — it  was  the  grace  of  God.  But 
I  mention  this  case  to  shew  that  the  power  of  obtaining  lucrative  em- 
ployments does  not  entail  upon  our  native  Christians  the  necessity  of 
accepting  them. 

It  appears  that  Mr.  Sutton  and  I  are  fated  to  disagree  on  all  the 
points  of  this  subject.  He  states  that  he  is  "  not  a  foe  to  teaching 
English  to  some  extent."  Now  taking  the  interpretation  of  the  term 
some  from  the  general  tone  of  his  letter,  I  am  a  foe  to  teaching 
English  only  to  that  extent.  The  object  of  education  is  to  furnish  the 
mind  with  sound  knowledge  and  sound  principles  to  as  great  an  extent 
as  the  talents  and  opportunities  of  the  individual  will  permit.  Now, 
I  believe  that  when  the  talents  and  opportunities  of  the  individual  are 
considerable,  he  will,  during  the  course  of  his  education,  acquire  more 
knowledge  bv  learning  English  than  without  it,  and  therefore  I  am  an 
advocate  of  English  education.  But  then  in  order  to  gain  any  know- 
ledge at  all  through  the  medium  of  English  he  must  learn  it  well.  Let 
me  explain.  Suppose  a  boy's  circumstances  will  permit  him  to  remain 
at  school  for  a  considerable  period,  say  5,  6,  or  7  years  ;  then  I  believe 
that  he  will  at  the  end  of  that  time  have  gained  more  knowledge  by  a 
judiciously  administered  system  of  English  education  than  by  any 
other.  But  if  the  period  beyond  which  his  attendance  cannot  extend 
be  much  less  than  this — if  for  example  he  is  likely  to  leave  school  in 
the  course  of  one  or  two  years,  then  1  should  begin  at  once  to  com- 
municate the  knowledge  through  the  medium  of  the  language  that  he 
already  understands.  I  am  not  at  all  surprised  then  that  Mr.  Sutton's 
zeal  for  English  Education  should  have  become  "  small  by  degrees." 
The  system  on  which  he  has  proceeded  has  been  a  wrong  one;  and  I 
have  no  doubt  that  the  "  some  extent"  to  which  he  is  now  no  foe  to 
teaching  English  will  become  a  less  and  less  extent  every  day.  But 
then  I  think  he  ought  to  consider  that  even  in  his  earliest  days,  before 
he  underwent  that  "  change"  of  which  he  speaks,  the  system  which  he 
then  approved  may  have  been  not  too  much  but  too  little  English;  and 
that  the  deficiencies  in  it  which  have  produced  the  change  in  his  senti- 
ments were  not  attributable  to  its  being  an  English  system  instead  of 
a  vernacular  one,  but  rather  to  its  being  a  bad  English  system  instead 
of  a  good  one.  The  fact  is,  a  work  like  this  will  never  be  attended 
with  any  very  good  results,  and  will  never  give  satisfaction  to  those 
engaged  in  it  if  they  are  employed  in  it  merely  as  a  by-play.  It  must 
be  made  a  business — a  sacred  and  most  important  duty  ;  and  I  would 
have  no  man  engage  in  it  whose  conscience  or  avocations  will  not 
permit  him  to  devote  to  it  his  time  and  his  heart. 

I  am  verv  sincerely  yours, 

T.  S. 


674  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Nov. 

Jifttdot0ifati>  HvCts  3UItgt0tt£  XuttlUgence. 


1. — Missionary  and  Ecclesiastical  Movements. 
Since  our  last  the  following-  arrivals  have  taken  place  : — the  Rev.  Mr. 
Backhouse,  chaplain,  H.  C.  S.  and  lady  ;  Miss  Wilson,  connected  with 
the  Ladies'  Society  for  promoting  Female  Education  in  the  East. — The 
Rev.  Messrs.  Crisp  and  Porter  have  joined  the  London  Mission  at 
Madras. —  We  regret  to  learn  that  the  Rev.  F.  Tucker  is  obliged  to 
relinquish  his  charge  and  return  to  Europe,  owing  to  the  impaired 
state  of  his  health. — One  of  the  German  hrethren  connected  with 
the  Patna  Mission,  while  proceeding  to  Calcutta,  was  attacked  with 
cholera,  and  died  in  a  short  time. — The  Rev.  Mr.  Williamson  of  Goruek- 
pore,  lias  reached  Calcutta,  on  his  way  to  a  more  bracing  climate,  for 
the  restoration  of  his  health. — Afresh  arrival  of  Missionaries  from  Ger- 
many is  announced  in  the  Oriental  Spectator.  They  have  proceeded  to 
Mangalore  and  Tellicherry.  One  of  them  is  spoken  of  as  a  very  superior 
orientalist,  Mr.  Weigle. —  The  Presbyterian  Synod  of  Ireland  have  ap- 
pointed two  Missionaries  to  India. —  The  overland  despatch  announces 
the  appointment  of  nine  Chaplains  on  this  presidency. —  Letters  have 
been  received  from  the  Rev.  W.  Morton,  he  has  reached  England  in 
safety  and  health,  and  is  laboring  well  for  India. —  We  regret  to  state 
that  the  Rev.  G.  Mundy  and  Mrs.  M.  are  obliged  to  remove  temporarily 
from  Chinsurah  in  pursuit  of  health. —  We  regret  to  learn  that  the  Rev. 
Mr.  Ellis,  Secretary  to  the  London  Missionary  Society  and  author  of  Po- 
lynesia, is  not  expected  to  recover  from  his  protracted  indisposition.  He 
was  at  the  departure  of  the  last  overland  in  Paris  under  the  care  of  an 
eminent  Physician. — The  Rev.  Mr.  Small,  connected  with  the  Baptist 
Mission,  has  sailed  in  the  Mary  Anne,  and  may  be  expected  almost  every 
day. — The  Rev.  M.  Hill  leaves  England  (D.  V.)  for  India  next  August. — 
The  Bishop  still  remains  in  the  hills. 


2  — The  New  Poem  in  Benga'li' — The  Sanya'si'. 
The  following  are  additional  translated  specimens  of  the  new  poem  in 
Bengali,  referred  to  in  our  issue  for  August.  The  poem  may  now  be  had 
on  application  to  the  publisher  of  the  Observer.  The  price  to  subscribers 
eight  annas — to  non-subscribers  ten  annas.  It  contains  115  pages  and  de- 
scribes 15  different  places  of  pilgrimage.  It  merits  an  extensive  circulation 
which  we  doubt  not  it  will  obtain.  — Ed. 

The  brahmans  attached  to  the  shrine  of  Shib  Keddrndth,  Assam. 

About  half  a  mile  from  the  shrine  of  Hoiogrib  Madhob  is  a  shrine  of  Shib 
Kedarnath  ;  his  temple  surrounded  by  a  wall  stands  on  a  mountain.  Near 
it  is  a  deep  tank.  In  the  temple  is  Shib  concealed  under  a  covering.  In 
the  tank  there  is  a  large  tortoise  ;  every  body  calls  it  Mohana  ;  it  is 
Shib  himself,  the  brahmins  say.  At  this  shrine  there  are  also  dancing 
girls;  and  here  also  do  the  Brahmins  practise  every  sort  of  deception. 
After  having  taken  from  the  pilgrim,  offerings  and  presents,  consisting  of 
money,  rice,  plantains,  ghee,  sugar,  they  take  him  to  the  tank  and  say  : 
You  must  give  a  kid  or  a  dove  to  Shib.  In  this  way  they  get  money 
out  of  him.  Afterward  they  let  him  see  something  very  marvellous. 
They  say,  O  pilgrim,  you  must  feed  Shib  with  your  own  hand  ;  this  is  an 
holy  act  which  will  prepare  you  the  way  to  heaven.  Having  given  a  kid  or 
a  dove  in  to  the  hands  of  the  pilgrim,  they  call  aloud  ;  "  Mohana  ;"  the  tor- 
toise rises  out  of  the  water,  for  they  have  taught  it  so  to  do,  and  comes  and 
takes  whatever  is  given  to  it.  Seeing  this,  foolish  people  believe  in  it. 
When  the  feeding  is  at  an  end  they  say  to  the  pilgrim,  Now  give  great 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


675 


gifts  to  the  brahmins,  for  you  have  fed  with  your  own  hand  the  god  Shib  ; 
you  are  the  holiest  of  men.  If  the  tortoise  does  not  make  its  appearance, 
then  they  say  ;  know,  that  you  are  a  great  sinner,  therefore  did  Shib  not 
eat  out  of  your  hand  ;  know,  that  misfortune  will  befall  you  ;  therefore  take 
our  advice:  give  gifts  to  the  brahmins  and  feed  them,  make  offerings  and 
sacrifices  to  Shib,  then  your  sin  will  disappear  and  Shib  will  eat  from  your 
hand.  So  the  brahmins  deceive  the  people  in  both  ways :  they  cheat  them, 
my  friend,  in  many  ways. —  Where  is  holiness?  1  have  seen  it  no  where  ; 
nothing  but  money,  money,  did  I  hear;  wherever  I  went,  there  I  found 
it  so  ;  judge  for  yourselves  if  there  is  any  holiness  in  all  this. 

In  both  places  (Moiogrib  Madhob  and  Shib  Kedarnath)  there  are  two 
men  at  the  head  of  the  rest.  All  the  priests  honor  these  two  men  and  call 
them  Gaushai.  They  are  the  rulers  and  live  like  kings  ;  when  they  go  out 
flags,  and  musical  instruments  go  with  them.  They  sit  on  a  throne  sur- 
rounded by  their  treasurers,  writers,  and  many  other  servants.  Before 
them  stands  always  a  large  hookah.  Those  wicked  robbers  are  puffed  up 
with  pride  and  listen  to  nobody  ;  they  sit  still  like  pillars  ;  the  pilgrims 
worship  them  at  their  feet,  but  they  answer  not  a  word; — I  went  once 
there,  before  1  became  a  Sanyasi :  when  I  saw  all  the  tricks  of  the 
priests  I  fell  at  their  feet.  My  mother,  uncle,  grandmother  were  with  me. 
Seeing  these  women  the  head  priest  was  overjoyed  ;  because  when  women 
go  on  pilgrimage,  they  use  to  take  money  secretly  with  them  to  expend 
at  those  holy  places.  Women  are  naturally  fond  of  spending  money. 
Moreover  they  give  their  money  at  once,  fearing  the  wrath  of  the  brahmins, 
and  never  return  home  without  having  seen  the  god.  The  priests  know 
this  very  well.  1  tried  to  persuade  them  in  many  ways,  but  they  did  not 
listen  to  me.  All  were  greedy  to  get  my  money.  I  embraced  the  feet  of  that 
wicked  man  the  head  priest,  but  he  did  not  mind  what  I  said.  With  an  angry 
countenance  did  he  tell  me:  You  must  give  me  a  hundred  rupees  before 
you  can  see  the  god  ;  if  you  are  willing  to  give  so  much,  give  it:  if  not 
you  may  go  home  again.  After  much  bargaining  I  was  obliged  to  give 
twenty-one  rupees  to  that  wicked  man,  and  after  that  he  permitted  me  to 
see  the  god.  In  the  same  way  all  the  pilgrims  are  treated.  Nothing  can 
be  done  without  money.  In  the  night  all  these  dancing  girls,  worship  by 
turns  at  the  feet  of  the  head  priest. 

People  say  that  the  girls  go  merely  to  worship  at  his  feet,  therefore  they 
go  in  to  him  publicly.  But  in  the  house  nobody  is  permitted  to  enter  ; 
they  two  remain  in  it  alone:  all  this  1  have  seen  with  my  own  eyes.  1  am 
ashamed  to  speak  of  it  longer.  There  is  no  holiness  in  idol  worship  ; 
forsake  it  and  worship  the  supreme  God.  I  have  now  written  what  I 
have  seen  at  the  shrines  in  the  East  of  Bengal,  reflect  yourselves  if  there 
is  any  holiness  in  all  this.  Those  who  visited  those  places  know  the  truth 
of  it  very  well.  They  are  not  very  far,  they  are  not  out  of  India.  Many 
people  from  Bengal  go  there  (ask  them  if  what  I  say  is  not  true).  Gods  and 
goddesses  are  false  ;  pilgrimages  are  fruitless:  no  salvation  is  to  be  got  by 
them  ;  they  will  rather  put  you  to  shame  at  last.  Forsake  therefore  those 
errors  and  become  wise.  Be  not  deceived  by  the  devil  ;  I  humbly  entreat 
you,  Believe  in  Jesus  Christ  and  worship  him.  Forsake,  forsake  all  false 
gods — endeavour  to  obtain  salvation.  Reflect  that  your  life  is  approaching 
to  its  end.  If  you  do  not  love  Jesus,  your  days  are  all  vanity.  Provide 
yourselves  with  all  the  necessaries  for  the  pilgrimage  to  heaven.  You 
have  now  heard  what  I  have  seen  in  the  East.  I  shall  now  give  you  an 
account  of  the  shrines  i  have  visited  in  the  West. 

Description  of  Jwalumitkhi  (^t^lt^t). 
About  half  a  mile  from  Jwalamukhi  we  were  all  encamped  in  a  field. 
There  is  a  custom  among  travelling  Sanyasis,  that  there  are  always 


6/6  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Nov. 


watchmen  posted  round  about ;  every  one  in  turn  must  perform  this  duty, 
nobody  dare  at  any  time  transgress  it.  On  the  day  that  my  turn  came  to 
be  on  the  watch  all  the  Sanyasis  went  to  see  Jwalamukhi  ;  and  their  num- 
ber was  very  great  indeed.  But  I  for  the  above  mentioned  reason  could 
not  go,  only  from  a  distance  I  saw  the  place.  On  the  following  day  we 
broke  up  our  camp  and  inarched,  therefore  I  was  prevented  from  go- 
ing there.  I  w  ill  however  now  make  known  to  every  body  what  my  com- 
panions have  told  me  about  the  place.  There  is  a  sacrificial  pit  built  of  stone 
at  Jwalamukhi  in  which  a  fire  is  kept  continually  burning.  Brahmins  and 
Sanyasis  are  attached  to  the  place.  They  receive  the  sacrifices  from  the 
pilgrims.  They  say:  If  any  one  takes  an  offering  in  his  hand  and 
approaches  the  fiery  pit,  flames  will  come  out  and  envelope  his  body,  but 
none  of  his  members  will  he  burnt  by  it,  only  the  offering  in  his  hand  will 
be  burnt  to  ashes,  and  immediately  all  his  sins  will  be  destroyed.  But  this 
is  not  true.  I  will  tell  the  reader  what  I  have  heard.  My  companions 
took  offerings  with  them  and  sat  all  down  close  to  the  pit.  '['here  were 
altogether  nearly  300  men,  but  no  one's  body  was  touched  by  the  fire.  So 
they  all  came  back  to  the  camp.  The  priests  of  the  shrine,  had  for  their 
own  gain's  sake  told  my  companions:  Know  that  your  sin  is  very  great, 
therefore  the  goddess  is  not  merciful  to  you.  If  you  make  an  offering  of 
100  maunds  of  ghee,  then  all  your  sins  will  be  washed  away.  The  Sanyasis 
ironically  said:  We  will  give  it.  But  where  shall  we  get  ghee  in  this  wil- 
derness ?  The  priests  answered :  give  us  the  price  of  the  ghee,  we  shall 
offer  it  every  day  for  you.  We  promise  you  to  keep  our  word ;  but 
Sanyasis  are  from  nature  cruel  and  merciless.  The  coveteousness  of  the 
priests  excited  their  wrath  ;  moreover  they  had  uselessly  expended  some 
money  for  the  offerings  they  had  brought ;  and  Sanyasis  have  a  high  opinion 
of  their  own  righteousness  :  they  are  very  proud,  always  half  intoxicated 
from  eating  ganja  and  the  priest  had  called  them  sinners.  So  they  all  full 
of  anger,  called  out  Niranjan,  Niranjan  (a  name  of  the  supreme  and  invisi- 
ble God.  whose  worshippers  the  Sanyasis  pretend  to  be),  got  up  with  their 
sticks  and  heaped  a  good  quantity  of  sacrificial  wood  on  the  priests  back, 
kindled  it  with  the  fire  of  their  wrath.  Their  fists  were  instead  of  mantras 
and  the  priests  tears  were  instead  of  ghee.  In  this  way  they  performed 
their  sacrifice,  and  returned  to  their  camp.  The  following  day  we  marched 
on  to  Badarikasram. 

Hingula. 

Listen  now  to  the  description  of  Hingula.  Sanyasis  consider  that 
place  as  the  most  holy  shrine.  They  all  say,  that  Mokhyo  debi  (goddess 
of  salvation)  resides  there  ;  worldly  pilgrims  (Sf?^  Tflfli)  never  visit  it, 
because  travelling  there  is  connected  with  many  difficulties  Those  who 
have  gone  there,  have  experienced  them.  For  almost  300  cros  no  human 
duellings  are  n  et  with.  The  country  passed  through  is  a  sandy  desert. 
In  some  parts  there  are  forests.  Not  a  single  article  of  food  can  be  got 
there.  Even  drinking  water  is  no  where  to  be  had.  There  are  also 
innumerable  wild  beasts.  Their  roar  frightens  the  heart  of  the  pilgrims. 
Here  and  there,  there  is  a  sort  of  people  called  Bheels.  What  shall  I 
say  of  them!  they  are  very  cruel;  they  kill  some  and  rob  others.  For 
all  these  reasons  worldly  men  do  not  go  there:  only  Sanyasis  are  pil- 
grims to  that  place.  When  700  or  800  men  have  assembled  together, 
then  only  the  journey  can  he  undertaken.  Among  this  number  money  is 
collected  and  provisions  are  bought,  camels  are  borrowed,  and  the  provi- 
sions, consisting  of  Hour,  kolai,  drinking  water,  and  salt,  are  loaded  on 
their  backs.  Every  pilgrim  eats  once  a  day  after  the  sun  is  down.  In 
the  day  time  wild  herbs  and  jungle  fruits  are  eaten.  They  are  all  armed 
w  ith  guns  and  swords  to  repulse  the  attacks  of  the  robbers  in  the  jungles. 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  677 


Anions  the  pilgrims,  one  man  is  chosen  to  be  chief.  This  man  judges  and 
decides  all  cases  and  disputes  which  may  arise.  This  man  is  called 
Mohonto.  Fie  sits  on  a  throne  (sffif )  ;  an  umbrella  is  held  over  his  head 
and  he  is  fanned.  Nevertheless  his  body  is  smeared  over  with  ashes, 
and  the  kopin  is  his  only  covering1.  He  eats  intoxicating  ganja  day  and 
night.  Mis  eye  is  dim,  and  up  flies  the  ganja  smoke.  As  the  king,  so 
the  subjects,  all  are  covered  with  ashes.  So  far  the  description  of  the 
pilgrims. 

Now  listen,  I  will  speak  of  the  guide.  A  man  from  that  country  called 
Agooah  comes  to  take  the  pilgrims.  When  he  sees  the  great  host,  he  is 
overjoyed.  From  every  man  lie  takes  three  and  a  half  rupees.  He  goes 
before  them  ;  trumpets  are  blown,  drums  beaten,  a  golden  or  a  silver 
stick  is  in  his  hand.  Hear  the  account  of  this  stick.  He  says,  For  the 
protection  of  the  pilgrims,  the  goddess  of  Hingula  dwells  in  this  stick. 
If  this  be  true,  then  why  are  many  devoured  by  wild  beasts  on  the  way? 
When  the  Agooah  lifts  up  his  stick  every  body  sets  out.  Where  he  poises 
it,  there  every  body  stops.  If  any  one  goes  before  the  stick,  or  does  not 
rise  immediately  when  it  is  lifted  up,  he  must  pay  a  fine  of  one  and 
half  rupees.  In  that  way,  the  pilgrims  travel  day  and  night.  No  body 
cares  for  his  neighbour.  If  anyone  cannot  walk  farther  or  gets  sick, 
they  let  him  lie  where  he  is.  In  this  way  many  die  for  want  of  water, 
or  they  are  eaten  up  by  the  wild  beasts,  or  the  Bheels  kill  them.  This  is 
the  reward  they  get  for  their  pilgrimage.  When  I  travelled  through  the 
desert  we  were  altogether  930  Sanyasis.  We  travelled  by  day  and 
by  night ;  only  a  few  hours  of  rest  intervened.  Our  numbers  decreased 
every  day.  The  cause  of  it  I  have  told  before.  When  we  hud  gone  half 
way  we  came  to  a  river  called  Kharia.  There  was  very  little  water  in  it, 
therefore  we  all  forded  it.  We  were  all  exceedingly  fatigued,  and  our 
strength  was  gone.  At  that  place  (Kharia)  there  was  a  Shiblinga  called 
Chondrokup  ;  there  we  stopped  for  two  days,  and  all  the  pilgrims  were 
tried  before  Shi!).  All  of  them  were  found  holy,  except  twelve  men. 
Those  had  their  hands  and  feet  tied  and  they  were  fastened  to  trees  in 
the  forest.  After  this  the  Sanyasis  arose  and  departed.  Those  holy  men 
make  pilgrimages  and  deliver  human  beings  to  the  wild  beasts  ;  judge 
yourselves  if  murderers  can  be  called  holy  men.  In  21  days  we  re-iclied 
the  place  where  the  temple  of  the  goddess  was  built.  But  all  the  brah- 
mans  and  Sanyasis,  who  are  guardians  of  the  temple,  are  mere  exactors 
of  money.    They  took  three  rupees  from  each  pilgrim. 

3. — State  of  Ruligion  in  France. 

Our  last  files  of  English  and  American  papers  have  put  us  in  possession 
of  several  interesting  letters,  journals,  and  other  matters  connected  with 
Missions  in  different  parts  of  the  world.  We  have  made  such  selections 
as  we  think  cannot  fail  to  excite  a  prayerful  interest  in  the  great  and 
good  work,  in  every  part  of  the  world.  If  our  friends  will  favor  us  with 
such  intelligence  as  they  may  deem  proper  to  afford  we  shall  feel 
obliged.  We  tender  our  best  thanks  to  our  kind  correspondent  who,  in 
accordance  with  this  arrangemewt,  has  forwarded  an  interesting  ex- 
tract of  a  letter  dated  Paris,  5th  March,  in  reference  to  the  state  of  reli- 
gion in  France. 

(Extract  from  a  letter  dated  Paris,  5th  March,  1840.) 

We  have  been  passing  a  very  tranquil  winter  in  the  heart  of  this  great 
Babylon,  and  you  will  be  surprised  to  hear,  blest  with  more  religious 
priv  ileges  than  in  any  place  1  ever  either  visited  or  lived  in.  Protes- 
tantism has  gained  ground  amazingly  in  France  since  the  last  Revolution 
— not  that  Government  encourages,  but  is  merely  passive  in  the  matter, 

voi,.  i.  4  s 


Missionary  and  Religions  Intelligence.  [Nov. 


— and  the  consequence  is,  numbers  of  churches  liave  arisen,  and  schools 
built  and  are  building  in  every  direction  attached  to  them.  These  are 
all  taught  on  the  Lancasterian  plan — the  Bible  their  only  book  ;  and  so 
far  is  this  from  being  an  objection  on  the  part  of  the  parents, — many  of 
these  last,  struck  by  the  great  change  operated  on  their  children  by 
means  of  the  instructions  received  at  school,  have  united  and  formed 
themselves,  (after  work  hours,)  into  a  class,  where  in  the  evening  they 
receive  the  same  instruction  their  children  had  in  the  earlier  part  of  the 
clay.  Belonging  to  Taitbout  Chapel  (which  we  attend)  there  is  an  adult 
class  of  BO  men  and  40  women  !  !  All  this  naturally  tends  to  good  ;  their 
minds  being  awakened,  they  desire  more  information,  and  thus  bej;in 
voluntary  attendance  at  the  Chapel.  At  first,  through  shame,  they 
take  a  distant  place,  but  Sabbath  after  Sabbath  they  draw  nearer  to  the 
preacher,  till  they  summon  courage  to  speak  to  him  and  proclaim  their 
wants,  — which  is  speedily  followed  by  conviction  of  their  state  by  nature, 
and  their  need  of  Salvation  through  Him  in  whom  alone  it  is  to  be  found. 
It  is  exceedingly  interesting  visiting  these  schools,  and  particularly  so 
the  converted  Catholics,  whose  changed  lives  and  steadiness  of  conduct 
and  of  principle,  prove  the  effect  of  grace  upon  the  heart;— several  of 
these  young  protestants  might  shame  the  hoary  heads  of  many  in  our  own 
land,  by  their  knowledge  of  Scripture,  and  their  active,  steady  walk  in 
the  doctrines  it  proclaims.  Amongst  my  new  friends  here,  are  a  con- 
verted pair,  Monsr.  and  Madam  de  Tharon — their  history  is  quite  a 
romance,  but  I  have  not  room  to  i;ive  any  idea  of  it  here, — suffice  it  to 
say,  there  are  none  here  1  more  esteem,  or  feel  so  much  interested  in,  as 
I  do  them.  At  the  Taitbout  we  have  in  the  afternoons  an  English  cler- 
gyman,  Sir  Royd  Birch, — they  have  a  meeting  at  their  own  house  every 
Wednesday  evening, — and  there  are  many  others  of  a  similar  kind  at  the 
houses  of  Pasteurs  and  pious  lay  folks;  but  tome  the  most  interesting 
of  all,  is  one  every  Tuesday  forenoon  at  the  house  of  Mile.  Chabond, 
where  about  20  (all  ladies)  attend.  She  begins  with  prayer  ;  one 
reads  a  chapter,  and  she  then  makes  observations  from  it,  and  contrives 
to  draw  out  the  opinions  of  any  one  willing  to  speak  :  much  practical 
experience  is  thus  elucidated,  and  appropriate  anecdotes  introduced, 
all  in  some  way  in  reference  to,  or  bearing  on  the  portion  of  scripture 
read, — and  the  whole  concluded  by  prayer  peculiarly  applicable  to  the 
verses  read,  and  the  local  circumstances  of  the  season  and  hour.  I  never 
heard  any  one  either  pray  or  expound  in' a  style  so  simple,  so  stickingly 
clear  anil  comprehensive,  and  yet  so  short.  I  often  wish  1  could  rivet 
every  syllable  of  her  prayers  in  my  memory — they  are  so  applicable 
to  the  case  of  all  and  so  truly  spiritual.  Every  Sunday,  after  the 
morning  service,  this  dear  woman  catechises  the  young  girls  who  attend 
the  Chapel, — while  at  the  same  time  a  worthy  lay  Gentleman  instructs, 
in  the  same  way,  the  boys.  These  little  lectures  are  most  edifying,  and 
it  is  sweet  to  see  a  number  of  the  lower  class  of  women,  known  by 
their  modest  looking  white  caps, — lingering  and  listening  with  the 
deepest  attention  to  Madame  Chabond' s  useful  questions  and  interest- 
ing remarks  : — but  my  paper  is  done  and  I  must  close. 

4 — Missions  in  Burmaii. 
The  following  extract  from  an  interesting  letter  addressed  to  a  friend 
in  America  by  one  of  the  wives  of  the  brethren  in  Burmah  will  need  no 
apology  from  us  for  its  introduction  into  the  Observer.  We  only  wish 
our  respected  friends  would  forward  these  i  teresting  statements  to  us 
equally  with  their  friends  in  America.  We  shall  always  feel  a  pleasure 
in  transmitting  them  in  a  printed  form  to  the  friends  of  our  correspon- 
dents either  in  Europe  or  America     This  applies  to  the  Journal  of  Mr. 


1840.]       Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  6/9 


Bronson  respecting  the  Nagas,  and  to  many  other  excerpts  which  we  oc- 
casionally make  from  our  foreign  contemporaries. — En.] 

"  yesterday  w  as  our  first  communion  Sabbath  in  ting  land  of  heathen- 
ism.  This  day,  without  the  mission  compound,  is  little  like  holy  time  ; 
as  much  business,  as  much  sin  during  its  hours,  as  are  witnessed  on  every 
other  day.  But  within  our  quiet  boundaries,  there  is  the  same  hallowed 
stillness,  the  same  Sabbath  atmosphere,  which  we  have  loved  at  home  ; 
and  besides,  we  have  the  Bound  of  the  church-going  hell. 

The  native  chapel  is  opposite  the  printing-office,  which  is  just  at  the 
left  of  our  house.  Having  ascended  a  high  fli<;ht  of  steps,  and  passed 
across  a  wide  verandah,  we  enter.  At  the  head  of  the  aisle,  a  plain  table, 
with  an  arm-chair  at  its  side  upon  a  platform  raised  ei^ht  or  ten  inches, 
forms  the  pulpit  and  its  furniture.  Your  eye  rests  on  the  venerable  man 
occupying  this  staiion.  Mr.  Judson  does  indeed  delight  us  every  where, 
but  especially  here.  His  dress  is  very  becoming,  a  plain  black  gown. 
This,  and  his  spectacles  thrown  back,  add  much  to  his  look  of  dignity. 
With  a  pleasant  voice  he  reads  the  hymns  and  portions  of  scripture  to 
the  natives  seated  before  him.  About  half  of  these  are  on  neat  mats,  the 
others  on  settees,  like  those  on  his  right  and  left  for  the  mission  families, 
the  males  on  one  side,  and  the  females  on  the  other.  After  singing  w  hich 
sounds  most  sweet  to  those  who  love  to  think  of  their  change  from  the 
worship  of  senseless  idols,  to  the  praise  of  the  living  and  true  God,  Mr. 
Judson  kneels  for  prayer.  —  According  to  the  custom  of  the  country,  he 
remains  seated  while  preaching.  His  manner  is  exceedingly  animated, 
almost  too  much  so  for  his  position.  Morning  service  closes  much  as  at 
home.  At  three  in  the  afternoon,  the  brethren  and  sisters  have  a  prayer 
meetingat  Mr.  Osgood's  and  usually  native  worship  in  the  evening.  Soon 
after  dinner,  about  five  o'clock,  we  repaired  to  the  baptistry,  which  is 
within  the  compound.  There  we  enjoyed  the  comfort  of  witnessing  this 
holy  ordinance  administered  to  three — Mr.  E.  and  a  Taling  and  his  wife. 
At  dark,  we  again  repaired  to  the  chapel,  to  celebrate  the  dying  love  of 
our  Redeemer.  1  would,  but  I  cannot,  describe  my  feelings  on  this  occca- 
sion,  so  deeply  affecting  to  me  ;  one,  to  which  1  had  so  long  looked  for- 
ward with  great  interest.  I  must  only  ?<i\  e  you  the  circumstances.  The 
communion  service  sent  by  our  church,  and  the  cloth  and  napkins,  were 
used  for  the  first  time.  We  have  but  half  of  them  here,  that  being  an 
ample  supply  ;  the  other  flagon,  cups,  and  plates,  have  been  given  to  the 
English  church,  of  which  Mr.  Stevens  is  pastor;  so  that  wherever  we  at- 
tend church,  we  shall  find  this  to  remind  us  of  home.  The  Supper  having 
been  instituted  in  the  evening,  we  were  rather  more  in  primitive  man- 
ner than  is  usual,  in  that  respect.  The  candidates  were  not  received  by 
giving  them  the  right  hand  of  fellowship,  as  with  us,  that  not  being  with 
the  Burmans  a  special  sign  of  affection.  Mr.  Judson  addressed  the  na- 
tives, while  breaking  the  bread,  and  then  distributed  it  himself  to  the 
side  on  which  the  females  were  seated.  Mr.  Osgood,  who  addressed  us 
in  English,  before  the  cup  was  divided  among  ourselves,  then  exchanged 
with  Mr.  Judson,  in  bringing  the  wine  to  us,  as  he  had  before  taken  the 
bread  to  the  brethren.  Our  closing  hymn  was  not  indeed  one.  in  sinjin^ 
which  1  have  loved  to  join  with  our  own  dear  church  ;  but  1  felt  that  I 
must  unite  in  the  hymn  on  this  occasion,  and  therefore  ascertained 
some  days  before,  the  one  which  Mr.  J.  would  read,  and  Mr.  and  Mrs 
Stilson,  with  Mr.  S.  and  myself,  learned  it  by  rote,  understanding  only 
the  general  sentiment :  even  this  was  pleasant  to  us. 

Ko  Chet'thing  is  a  noble  man.    There  is  no  native,  probably,  so  much 
admired  by  the  English,  and  who  receives  so  much  of  their  confidence 
They  would  gladly  place  him  at  the  head  of  the  Karens  of  this  region 
would  he  accept  the  appointment  ;  vet  he  is  as  humble  as  a  little  child' 
4  s  2 


(580  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Nov. 


and  most  devoted  to  his  work.  The  wife  of  Ko  Chet'thing  is  also  one  of 
the  most  spiritual,  as  well  as  active,  among  the  native  Christians.  She 
seems  to  possess  a  peculiar  spirit  of  prayer,  and  is  remarkably  blest  in 
receiving  answers.  There  are  several  other  interesting  characters  among 
the  assistants  ;  one  a  China-man.  He  left  fine  worldly  prospects,  to  be- 
come a  preacher.  Mr.  Haswell  relates  an  interesting  anecdote  of  one, 
who  accompanied  him  from  Amherst  to  Maulmain.  They  came  by  land, 
spending  ten  days  at  the  little  villages  scattered  between  the  two  places. 
At  one  village  the  assistant  was  asked,  "  What  does  your  God  wear  ?" 
He  answered,  "  His  garment  is  righteousness,  His  girdle  is  truth,  and 
His  crown  is  glory."  He  afterwards  repeated  it  to  Mr.  Haswell,  saying, 
he  thought  there  was  something  like  it  in  the  Psalms.  He  did  not 
know  what  to  say,  but  that  came  to  his  mind,  and  he  wished  to  know  if 
it  was  proper.  One  is  shocked  at  such  questions,  but  they  are  very  fre- 
quent among  these  poor,  ignorant  people.  Sometimes  it  will  be  thought 
that  their  attention  has  been  gained  and  an  impression  made,  when  the 
preacher  will  be  interrupted  with  something  like  this  :  "  How  much 
money  will  you  give  me  to  enter  this  religion  ?"  This  is  indeed  dis- 
couraging. Midnight  darkness  seems  brooding  over  this  land,  but  now 
and  then  a  star  of  promise  shines,  to  gladden  the  heart.  One  of  the 
assistants  at  Rangoon,  while  seated  in  the  zayat,  received  a  club  thrown 
by  a  persecuting  passer-by.  With  most  admirable  Christian  dignity,  he 
arose,  and  addressed  to  him  this  beautiful  expression,  "  May  you  receive 
the  most  excellent  blessing,"  Does  not  the  change  from  a  persecuting 
heathen  to  a  lamb-like  follower  of  the  meek  and  lowly  and  richly  bene- 
volent Saviour,  seem  most  delightful?  Is  not  such  a  result  worth  toil- 
ing for  ? 

23.  This  is  a  peculiarly  interesting  day  in  the  history  of  this  mission, 
as  that  on  which  the  first  Toungthoo  convert  was  received  by  this  church 
as  a  candidate  for  baptism.  The  Towngthooa  are  a  race  of  people  some- 
what resembling  the  Karens  in  their  roving  habits,  but  in  other  respects 
differing  much  from  them  ;  perhaps  rather  superior  as  a  people.  Mr.  J. 
has  been  long  desiring;  to  make  a  beginning  among  them,  and  some  time 
since,  Ko  Shway  Ba  induced  one,  who  had  come  down  from  the  vicinity 
of  Ava  for  the  purpose  of  trading,  to  lay  aside  his  business,  and  examine 
this  npw  religion.  Soon  he  became  interested,  and  now  there  is  unusu- 
ally satisfactory  evidence  of  his  conversion.  He  has  a  mild,  lovely  ex- 
pression of  countenance,  which  well  corresponds  with  his  humble  teacha- 
ble disposition.  He  is  constantly  desiring  to  learn  something  from  every 
Christian  with  whom  he  meets,  and  very  often  visits  the  different  missi- 
onaries and  native  Christians,  and  requests  them  to  pray  with  him.  He 
will  probably  study  here  during  the  rains,  as  like  the  Karens,  the  l  oung- 
thoos  are  not  a  reading  people,  and  he  is  obliged  to  commence  with  them 
the  them-bongyee,  (the  spelling-book.)  Then,  he  thinks  of  returning 
that  he  may  tell  his  old  father  and  countrymen  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  of 
salvation  through  his  merits.  Mr.  Judson  rejoices  much  over  him,  and 
his  hopes  seem  greatly  elevated  that  this  is  the  commencement  of  a  great 
work  among  these  people.  Pray  with  us  that  it  may  be  so— that,  like  the 
Karens,  they  may  be  prepared  of  the  Lord  for  the  gospel,  and,  like  them 
too,  may  rejoice  to  embrace  it,  until  multitudes  shall  wait  for  baptism, 
as  do  so  many  poor,  persecuted  ones,  around  Rangoon. — Bap.  Mug. 

5. — Greece. — Communication  of  Mr.  Pasco. 
In  a  communication  submitted  by  Mr.  Pasco  since  his  return  to  this 
country,  we  have  the  following  statements  respecting  the 
Importance  of  Missionary  labors  in  Greece. 
Our  efforts  are  in  behalf  of  a  people  who,  though  not  heathen,  are  yet 


1840.]       Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  681 


far  from  being  truly  Christian.  External  ceremonies,  constructed  after 
the  model  of  the  imposing  services  of  the  Jewish,  and  sometimes  even  of 
the  heathen  rituals,  are  manifestly  more  esteemed  by  them  than  the 
simple  institutions  and  spiritual  worship  demanded  by  the  Author  of 
Christianity — the  Pattern  Mid  Head  of  the  church.  The  various  correct 
expressions  of  doctrine  contained  in  their  public  prayers  and  confessions 
of  faith,  and  the  very  language  of  scripture  commonly  employed  to  indi. 
oate  the  affections  and  duties  of  piety,  are,  too  generally,  either  not 
understood  at  all,  or  perverted  from  their  true  meaning  by  glosses  and 
false  interpretations.  The  voice  of  conscience — of  individual  responsibi- 
lity to  God  — is  so  far  soothed  at  the  confessional,  that  men  can  here 
cherish  the  habitual  commission  of  sin  in  all  its  acknowledged  enormities, 
sometimes  without  compunction,  and  always  in  the  hope  of  absolution, 
through  the  performance  of  penance,  of  supposed  works  of  merit,  and  by 
the  propitiated  favor  of  saints  and  the  Holy  Virgin.  While  the  multitude 
are  pressing  on  in  this  condition,  grasping  greedily  whatever  may  sub- 
serve ihe  gratification  of  the  desires  of  unsanctified  hearts,  in  the  pursuits 
of  pleasure  or  the  rush  of  ambition — the  lips  of  those  who  should  teach 
them  knowledge,  the  way  of  reconciliation  to  God,  and  the  path  of  holi- 
ness and  life  are  on  these  subjects  almost  wholly  locked  in  silence.  In 
general,  the  professed  teachers  of  religion  not  only  need  themselves  to 
be  taught  what  be  the  first  principles  of  the  oracles  of  God,  but  to  attain 
also  those  elements  of  the  Christian  life  which  are  indispensable  to  a 
right  assumption  of  the  sacred  office.  Both  priest  and  people  seem  set- 
tled on  their  lees,  not  only  satisfied  with  their  condition,  but  puffed  up 
with  spiritual  pride,  arrogantly  boasting  themselves  the  successors  of  the 
apostles,  the  depositaries  of  their  dogmas  and  authority,  the  only  true 
and  unblemished  church  of  Christ  on  earth. 

The  public  services  of  religion  are  invariably  in  the  language  of  a 
former  age,  now  imperfectly  understood  even  by  the  learned,  and  spoken 
by  none.  Till  very  lately,  the  scriptures  were  accessible  to  the  people 
only  in  this  ancient  language,  and  at  the  present  time  they  are  carefully 
and  habitually  read  in  the  modern  dialect  by  but  very  few.  The  doc- 
trines and  duties  of  religion  are  seldom  regarded  as  suitable  subjects  for 
the  private  examination  of  laymen,  and  very  unfrequently  become  the 
topics  of  serious  conversation.  Thus,  with  a  priesthood  deficient  in  the 
most  essential  requisites  of  the  holy  profession,  the  people  slumber  on  in 
the  darkness  of  superstition,  and  perish  for  lack  of  knowledge.  And  in 
proportion  to  their  ignorance  and  superstition,  may  be  reckoned  their 
blind  subserviency  to  the  interests  and  decrees  of  an  ambitious  hierar- 
chy, whether  these  relate  to  their  own  personal  aggrandizement,  or  to 
the  boasted  transmission  to  posterity  of  the  unblemished  integrity  of  all 
the  ceremonies  and  customs  received  by  tradition  from  their  fathers. 

Such  considerations  as  these,  from  the  multitude  which  press  upon  us 
daily,  are  enough  to  show  at  once,  that  the  effectual  preaching  of  the 
gospel  here  must  be  a  great  and  arduous  work.  If  we  were  to  allow 
ourselves  to  be  satisfied  with  limited  and  partial  views  of  the  subject,  it 
might  be  thought  appalling.  If  we  were  to  measure  the  claims  of  duty 
by  the  amount  or  severity  of  the  toil  requisite  to  its  accomplishment, 
we  might  perhaps  be  induced  to  turn  away  from  this  to  some  apparently 
more  inviting  and  less  difficult  field,  and  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that  the 
magnitude  and  arduousness  of  the  work  before  us  are  not  greater  than 
its  importance  and  necessity.  It  is  for  souls  who  perish  that  our  spirits 
are  stirred  within  us — for  souls  as  precious  as  our  own — each  one  of 
whom,  in  the  estimate  of  Him  who  died  for  sinners,  infinitely  transcend- 
ing in  value  the  wealth  of  all  the  world.  We  trust  it  is  the  love  of 
Christ  which  constrains  us.  And  though  the  work  is  great,  and  the 
obstacles  to  success  may  seem  appalling,  as  opposed  to  mere  human  power 


C82 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


[Nov. 


and  sagacity,  we  are  not  disheartened.  The  difficulties  could  not  have 
heen  less  when  the  apostles  at  first  preached  the  gospel  here,  to  Jews  and 
Greeks,  while  it  was  to  the  one  a  "  stumbling  block/'  and  to  the  other 
"  foolishness."  But  it  triumphed.  And  the  deserted  temples,  with  their 
sculptured  memorials  of  heathenism,  which  remain  broken  and  crumbling 
monuments  of  the  ancient  splendor  and  of  the  once  dominant  religion  of 
the  country,  are  not  more  sure  demonstrations  of  the  power  which  then 
attended  the  preaching  of  the  gospel  in  these  strongholds  of  superstition, 
than  the  precious  promise  of  the  Saviour  to  his  apostles,  when  sending 
them  forth  to  preach  the  gospel  to  every  creature,  is  now  a  pledge  of  his 
unceasing  care  for  the  success  of  his  cause,  and  of  his  blessing'  upon 
those  who  faithfully  obey  this  commission. 

Our  hearts  are  encouraged  to  press  on  in  the  work.  Though  the 
precious  seed  must  be  borne  forth  w  ith  weeping,  we  are  cheered  by  the 
assurance  that  it  will  not  be  lost.  Even  amidst  these  scenes  of  moral 
desolation  there  are  granted  us  some  tokens  of  good.  In  spite  of  the 
efforts  of  the  bigoted  hierarchy,  a  spirit  of  inquiry  begins  to  gain  ground 
among  the  people  Controversies,  carried  on  by  natives  and  by  dignita- 
ries of  the  church,  are  throwing  light  on  many  important  points,  which 
could  not  well  he  discussed  as  yet  by  foreigners.  Though  the  translation 
and  the  unrestricted  reading  of  the  scriptures  have  been  attacked  by  the 
bigoted,  they  have  on  the  other  hand  been  as  warmly  defended.  The 
number  of  the  readers  of  the  Bible  has  vastly  increased  within  a  few 
years,  and  the  desire  of  becoming  acquainted  with  its  contents  seems  to 
be  increasing. 

Increased  demand  for  the  Scriptures. 

We  have  been  greatly  cheered  and  encouraged  by  the  opening  for  the 
dissemination  of  evangelical  truth  at  Patras.  It  is  a  blessed  privilege 
to  have  an  instrumentality  in  the  distribution  of  the  holy  scriptures,  in 
giving  to  those  who  ask  for  themselves  and  their  children  the  bread  of 
life,  the  holy  book  in  a  language  which  they  can  understand.  The 
operations  of  the  mission  in  this  department  for  two  years,  have,  I 
believe,  been  communicated  to  the  Rooms.  Our  hearts  were  glad  when, 
at  the  close  of  the  first  year,  we  could  state  that  nearly  one  hundred 
copies  of  the  New  Testament  had  been  disposed  of  to  interesting  appli- 
cants. We  saw,  with  increased  gratitude,  the  larger  demand  of  the 
following  year,  when  we  recorded  the  distribution  of  989  vols,  of  the 
Old  Testament  and  1501  of  the  New  Testament,  besides  20  Italian 
bibles,  one  German  bible,  6  English  bibles  and  4  English  Testaments, — 
in  all,  2521  volumes,  together  with  a  large  number  of  religious  tracts. 

And  still  the  good  hand  of  the  Lord  is  upon  us  in  the  work.  So  much 
has  the  demand  been  increased  that  several  times  towards  the  close  of  the 
last,  and  in  the  early  part  of  the  present  year,  we  were  compelled  to 
suspend  the  distribution  on  account  of  having  exhausted  the  stock  of 
books  on  hand,  before  a  fresh  supply  could  be  obtained.  Arrangements, 
however,  have  been  more  recently  made,  through  the  kindness  of  llev. 
Mr.  Calhoun,  Agent  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  which  will,  we  trust, 
secure  the  mission  from  interruptions  of  this  kind  hereafter.  The  work 
of  distribution  has  gone  on,  during  the  past  half  of  the  present  year,  for 
a  period  amounting  to  about  three  and  a  half  months.  In  this  time,  (as 
I  learn  from  the  estimate  prepared  by  brother  Love,  at  the  beginning  of 
July,)  there  were  distributed  2704.  volumes  of  different  parts  of  scrip- 
ture, besides  religious  tracts  to  the  amount  of  314,381  pages.  In  one 
month  only,  from  April  15  to  May  15,  the  distribution  amounted  to 
118,215  pages  of  tracts,  and  998  volumes  of  scripture. 

This  large  increase  has  not  been  the  result  of  indiscriminate  supply  to 
every  applicant.    Much  care  has  been  taken  to  give  judiciously  and  with 


1840.  j       Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


(583 


discrimination.  The  method  lias  been  to  furnish  books,  except  in  special 
cases  and  for  schools,  only  to  such  individuals  as  made  application  in 
person  at  our  dwelling,  and  not  then  till  by  careful  inquiries  we  were 
satisfied  of  their  ability  and  disposition  to  make  a  good  use  of  them. 

The  opportunity  of  personal  religious  conversation  thus  afforded,  we 
trust  has  not  been  lost.  That  there  might  be  no  mistake,  each  applicant 
not  personally  known  to  us,  lias  been  requested  to  give  actual  demon- 
stration of  his  ability  to  read  and  understand.  A  short  portion  of  scripture 
is  thus  made  the  subject  of  conversation,  and  an  opportunity  is  furnished 
of  pressing  the  claims  of  piety  on  his  conscience,  and  of  pointing  out  the 
only  way  of  salvation  through  the  propitiatory  sacrifice  and  mediation  of 
Jesus  Christ.  Sometimes  individuals,  sometimes  companies  of  various 
number,  to  as  large  as  twenty  persons,  have  thus  listened  to  the  most 
serious  appeals  to  their  consciences,  while  their  attention  has  been 
directed  to  their  duties  to  God  here,  to  the  retributions  of  the  last  day, 
and  to  the  Lamb  of  God,  who  taketh  away  the  sin  of  the  world. 
During  my  absence  at  the  Piraeus,  when  all  the  burden  of  the  mission 
was  resting  on  brother  Love,  he  wrote  me  that  such  was  the  call  on  him 
for  this  kind  of  labor,  in  addition  to  other  necessary  duties,  that  his 
strength  was  daily  exhausted. 

Applications  have  been  made  to  us  from  almost  all  classes  of  society 
from  the  town  and  country.  More  or  less  have  been  made  from  probably 
every  town  around  the  gulf  of  Corinth.  Individuals  have  been  supplied 
who  came  from  the  central,  western,  and  south  western  parts  of  the 
Morea,  from  north  western  Greece,  the  Ionian  Islands,  and  from  a  mul- 
titude of  villages  and  towns  in  Albania,  some  and  from  remote  parts  of 
Turkey  in  Europe. 

Many  private  village  schools  have  been  supplied  with  scriptures  and 
other  useful  religious  books,  at  the  solicitation  of  the  teachers,  or  of 
other  persons  of  influence  who  were  concerned  in  the  schools.  These 
teachers  are  not  sustained  by  government,  and  their  schools,  through 
the  poverty  of  the  people,  and  from  other  causes,  are  generally  extremely 
destitute  of  appropriate  hooks.  In  some,  probably  nothing  else  could  he 
found  besides  one  psalter,  in  the  ancient  version  of  the  Septtiagint,  and  a 
few  primers,  of  about  four  pages  each,  containing  the  alphabet,  a  few 
exercises  in  forming  syllables,  and  some  prayers  in  ancient  Greek. 

'I  here  are  not  wanting  those  who  wish  that  the  people  may  be  held  in 
the  strong  fetters  of  ignorance  and  superstition.  Such  persons  are 
ready  to  throw  every  obstacle  in  their  power  in  the  way  of  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  scriptures  and  the  communication  of  religious  instruction. 
Some  attempts  have  been  at  times  made  at  Patras  to  check  the  good 
w  ork.  But  as  yet  we  have  not  experienced  any  serious  opposition,  and 
in  general  it  has  been  manifest  that  our  heavenly  Father  has  overruled 
such  efforts  as  have  been  made  against  our  labors,  to  the  furtherance  of 
the  cause.  Friends  have  been  increased  and  made  known  to  us  by  these 
means,  and  in  many  instances  the  tendency  has  been  to  promote  rather 
than  check  the  spirit  of  inquiry. 

Thus  you  see  that  a  wide  door  has  been  opened  at  Patras  for  the  circu- 
lation of  the  scriptures  and  evangelical  books,  and  for  the  communication 
of  religious  instruction.  And  thus  far  the  good  work  has  been  prospered  ; 
not  indeed  always  in  exact  accordance  with  our  calculations,  but  ever 
in  such  a  manner  as  to  leave  on  our  minds  the  deep  impression  that  the 
affairs  of  the  mission  are  in  the  hand  of  an  infinitely  wise  Providence. 
The  Lord  has  been  better  to  us  than  our  fears,  fie  has  often  far 
exceeded  our  hopes. 

Mr.  Pasco  subjoins  in  conclusion. 

Though  it  has  pleased  our  heavenly  Father,  by  the  failure  of  my 
health,  to  remove  me  from  a  participation  in  the  actual  labors  of  the 


(584 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelliyen.ee. 


mission,  I  feel  that  I  cannot,  and  pray  that  I  never  may,  separate  it  from 
my  affections.  I  would  commend  its  subjects  and  interests,  and  especially 
the  dear  family  now  left  to  bear  its  accumulated  burdens  and  responsi- 
bilities alone,  to  the  affectionate  sympathies  and  prayers  of  the  churches, 
and  to  the  solemn  consideration  of  such  young  as  are  called  men  of  God 
to  consecrate  themselves  to  the  work  of  missions. — Bup.  Mag.  for  Jan. 


6. — Affghanistan  a  field  fob  Missionary  labour. 
The  late  conquests  of  the  British  troops  in  the  North  West  has  opened 
up  an  immense  field  on  which  British  benevolence  and  Christianity  ought 
to  bring  its  influence  to  bear.  The  education  and  conversion  of  the 
numerous  tribes  now  subjugated  or  in  course  of  conquest,  is  a  subject 
which  should  at  once  seriously  occupy  the  attention  of  the  whole  Chris- 
tian world  ;  for  surely  these  regions  have  not  been  ceded  to  us  in  the  provi- 
dence of  God,  for  the  mere  extension  of  our  territory  or  the  increase  of 
our  commercial  speculations  and  aggrandisement.  No:  the  conquest  of 
that  land  over  which  the  proud  banner  of  the  Moslem  has  waved  with 
insolent  triumph  so  long,  cannot  but  be  looked  upon  as  an  indication  on 
the  part  of  the  Lord  of  the  whole  earth  that  he  will  speedily  give  it  unto 
Jiis  Son  for  his  possession.  We  trust  therefore  that  the  Church  will  take 
the  subject  of  a  Mission  to  Affghanistan  into  her  most  serious  and  prayer- 
ful attention.  The  nature  of  the  climate,  the  character  of  the  people  and 
the  humane  and  hopeful  treatment  they  will  receive  at  our  hands  when 
contrasted  with  their  despotic  rulers  and  predatory  conquerors,  are  all  so 
many  favorable  omens  that  the  Christian  Missionary  would  gain  a 
patient  and  thoughtful  hearing,  and  that  his  labour  would  not  be  in  vain  in 
the  Lord.  The  climate  is  bracing  and  healthful,  the  country  such  as  will 
enable  Europeans  to  move  about  without  fear  of  pestilence  or  disease,  at 
least,  with  little  more  than  in  his  native  land.  The  people  though  wild 
and  warlike,  are  nevertheless  open  and  frank,  and  are  willing  that  their 
offspring  should  be  taught.  For  the  word  of  God  they  have  great  rever- 
ence. These  are  all  favorable  tokens.  The  present  may  not  be  the  most 
opportune  moment  for  very  enlarged  efforts,  but  prudent  and  more  silent 
attempts  to  pave  the  way  for  the  introduction  of  the  gospel  in  all  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land  may  be  attempted.  Such  efforts  were 
being  made,  but  we  understand  they  have  been  checked  by  the  authori- 
ties. We  trust  such  interference  is  but  a  temporary  measure,  for  nothing 
could  more  effectually  tend  to  reconcile  the  various  tribes  to  our  rule 
than  that  they  should  experience  the  blessings  of  education  !  while  no- 
thing could  more  tend  to  remove  their  prejudices  against  our  most  holy 
faith  than  the  holy  and  blameless  lives  of  the  Christian  Missionary  and 
his  converts.  But  besides  the  native  tribes  there  are  in  these  distant 
lands  thousands  of  the  wandering  children  of  Abraham,  who  have  a 
strong  claim  on  the  Gentile  church.  With  the  exception  of  Wolfe  these 
wandering  tribes  have  never  been  visited  by  a  Christian  Missionary,  nor 
have  they  yet  possessed  the  New  Testament  of  our  Lord  and  Saviour 
Jesus  Christ,  the  Messiah  for  whom  they  continually  do  look.  Like  all 
persecuted  and  harassed  Jews  they  are  more  open  to  conviction  than 
those  who  dwell  at  ease  in  ceiled  houses  and  more  civilized  lands.  They 
afford  also  a  fine  field  for  Christian  exertion.  To  them  the  Church  might 
direct  her  attention  if  not  to  the  Affghans,  Turkomans  and  others. 
Shall  the  only  association  of  these  followers  of  Mahomet  with  Christianity 
be  the  bayonet  and  the  cannon?  No;  let  them  know  that  it  breathes 
only  peace  on  earth,  and  goodwill  towards  men,  while  it  brings  glory  to 
God  in  the  highest. —  Calcutta  Christian  Advocate. 

%*  Press  of  matter  and  the  Supplement  have  compelled  us  to  post- 
pone much  interesting  matter. — En. 


SUPPLEMENT 


TO  THE 

CALeiunnrA 

CHRISTIAN  OBSERVER, 

FOR 

NOVEMBER,  1840. 


Minute  on  the  Rise,  Progress,  and  Present  State,  of  Indo-Bri- 
tish  Law  ;  the  Rights  of  Parents  over  Children  under  legal 
age ;  and  the  Hindu  and  Muhammudan  Laws  of  Inheritance. 

[N.  B. — The  monthly  Conference  of  Missionaries  of  all  denominations,  resid- 
ent in  Calcutta,  appointed,  several  months  ago,  a  standing  committee  of  their 
number  to  investigate  certain  subjects  connected  with  the  evangelization  of  the 
natives;  together  with  such  other  questions  bearing  on  their  general  improve- 
ment as  might  from  time  to  time  arise  : — the  committee  to  consist  of  the  Rev. 
Drs.  Haeberlin  and  Duff,  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Lacroix,  Ellis,  and  Boaz — Dr. 
Duff  to  be  chairman.  Already  have  various  matters  of  importance  been 
investigated  and  fully  reported  to  the  monthly  Conference.  Of  these  there  are 
several  that  demand  the  adjustment  of  a  Legislative  interference.  To  enable 
those  concerned  to  determine  what  measures  ought  to  be  adopted  in  order  to 
secure  such  adjustment,  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee,  in  the  case  of  tuo 
of  the  more  urgent  of  these  subjects,  embodied  the  information  and  views  of 
himself  and  coadjutors  in  the  form  of  a  minute,  which  he  laid  on  the  table  at 
the  last  meeting  of  the  Conference.  It  was  then  unanimously  resolved  that,  with 
a  view  to  stir  up  the  inquiries  and  elicit  the  co-operation  of  all  who  are  interested 
in  the  amelioration  of  the  natives,  this  minute  should  be  published  in  the  Cal- 
cutta Christian  Observer.  In  accordance  with  this  resolution  it  is  now  printed 
in  an  extra  number.  It  is  proper,  however,  to  add  that,  in  all  that  follows, 
both  as  to  subject-matter  and  language,  the  author  holds  himself  alone  as  strict- 
ly responsible.  And  may  we  not  hope  that  those  who  long  and  labour  for 
the  temporal  and  eternal  prosperity  of  the  millions  of  a  benighted  and  besotted 
people,  will  be  aroused  to  lend  a  helping  hand  for  the  removal  of  every  barrier 
that  tends  to  impede  the  dissemination  of  Truth,  whether  human  or  divine  ?J 

I. — The  Rise,  Progress,  and  Present  State,  of  Indo- 
Bbitish  law. 

Of  the  numerous  external  obstacles  which  so  powerfully 
impede  the  progress  of  divine  truth  in  this  land,  not  a  few 
are  connected  with  the  ancient  laws  and  prescriptive  usages 

VOL.  I.  4  T 


686 


Rise,  Progress,  and  Present  State, 


[Nov. 


of  an  idolatrous  and  demi-civilized  people.  If  all  of  these 
were  enforced  with  unmitigated  severity,  there  could  scarcely 
be  any  inquiry  at  all  into  any  system  of  truth,  the  vital  recep- 
tion of  which  must  lead  to  an  utter  abnegation  of  the  heredi- 
tary faith.  Divine  providence,  however,  has  often  graciously 
interposed  to  save  infatuated  man  from  the  pit  which  he  has 
laboriously  dug  for  himself.  In  the  present  instance,  the 
lapse  of  time  and  the  uncontrollable  issues  of  conquest  have 
been  overruled  for  ushering  in  many  a  salutary  change.  Not 
a  few  of  those  barbarous  laws  and  usages,  which  offered  vio- 
lence to  the  dictates  of  common  reason  and  shocked  the  feel- 
ings of  common  humanity,  have  now  fallen  into  practical 
desuetude ;  or  have  been  partly  abrogated  and  partly  modified 
by  Muhammadan  emperors  and  British  Legislators.  Still, 
much,  very  much  remains,  which  demands  the  touch  of  a  re- 
forming hand  more  skilful  far  than  any,  which  Magician  ever 
wielded  in  story  or  in  song. 

In  order  to  understand  aright  the  nature  of  still  existing 
evils  and  the  possible  modes  of  amelioration,  it  is  necessary 
to  take  a  preliminary  glance  at  the  present  state  of  Law  as 
modified  or  administered  by  British  Rulers.  This  we  are 
enabled  to  do,  from  the  mass  of  information  supplied  in  Ha- 
rington's  Analysis,  without  much  expense  of  time  or  of 
labour. 

For  many  years  subsequent  to  (lie  battle  of  Plassey,  when 
Eastern  India  virtually  became  subject  to  the  crown  and  sove- 
reignty of  Great  Britain,  nothing,  beyond  a  few  isolated  regula- 
tions chiefly  of  a  fiscal  or  commercial  character,  was  attempted 
towards  the  formation  and  establishment  of  an  uniform  and 
equitable  code  of  jurisprudence.  In  the  year  1772,  however, 
the  Court  of  Directors  having  resolved  to  take  upon  them- 
selves the  entire  care  and  management  of  internal  government, 
it  was  felt  to  be  incumbent  upon  them  to  adopt  corresponding 
measures  for  its  efficient  administration.  For  this  purpose,  ac- 
cordingly, a  plan  was  prepared  by  the  then  governor,  Warren 
Hastings,  on  the  express  principle  of  adapting  its  provisions, 
"to  the  manners  and  understanding  of  the  people  and  exigen- 
cies of  the  country,  adhering,  as  closely  as  possible,  to  their  an- 
cient usages  and  institutions." 

In  1 7/3,  the  business  of  Indian  legislation  was  for  the  first 
time  vigorously  entered  upon  by  the  British  Parliament.  By  an 
Act  of  that  year,  viz.  ;  Statute  13,  George  III.  Chap.  (53,  it  was 
enacted  that,  for  the  C£  whole  civil  and  military  government  of 
the  Presidency  of  Fort  William  in  Bengal;  and  also  the  order- 
ing, management  and  government  of  all  the  territorial  acquisi- 
tions and  revenues  in  the  kingdoms  of  Bengal,  Behar,  and 


1840.] 


of  Indo- British  Law,  fyc. 


087 


Orissa,  there  should  be  appointed  a  Governor  General  and  four 
Counsellors.'5  By  the  same  act,  the  King  was  empowered, 
for  the  due  administration  of  justice,  "  to  erect  and  establish  a 
Supreme  Court  of  Judicature  at  Fort  William,  to  consist  of  a 
Chief  Justice  and  three  other  Judges." 

By  subsequent  explanatory  enactments  of  the  same  date, 
the  respective  jurisdiction  of  these  two  supreme  and  indepen- 
dent authorities,  was  accurately  defined. 

By  Act  21,  Geo.  III.  Chap.  70,  it  was  declared  that  the 
power  of  the  Supreme  Court  was  to  extend  to  "  all  persons 
residing  within  the  town  of  Calcutta;  as  well  as  to  British 
subjects  (natives  of  Great  Britain,  or  their  descendants)  resi- 
dent in  any  part  of  the  provinces  of  Bengal,  Behar,  and  Orissa ;" 
also  to  "  certain  descriptions  of  the  natives  of  India,  though 
not  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Calcutta,  on  account  of  their 
being  employed  by  the  Company  or  by  any  of  His  Majesty's 
British  subjects/'  By  a  subsequent  statute,  the  jurisdiction  of 
the  Court  was  farther  extended  "  over  all  his  Majesty's  British 
subjects  in  India,  or  elsewhere  within  the  limits  of  the  Com- 
pany's extensive  trade."  While  the  extent  of  the  Court's 
jurisdiction  was  thus  expressly  defined,  there  was  a  like  specific 
enactment  relative  to  the  laws  which  must  be  administered. 
In  the  case  of  all  British-born  subjects,  the  laws  of  England 
were  to  be  applied  as  interpreted  and  enforced  by  British 
Courts  of  Justice.  In  the  case  of  natives  of  this  country  it 
was  especially  enacted  and  provided  that  "  their  inheritance 
and  succession  to  lands,  rents  and  goods,  and  all  matters  of 
contract  and  dealing  between  party  and  party,  shall  be  deter- 
mined, in  the  case  of  Muhammadans,  by  the  laws  and  usages 
of  Muhammadans  ;  and  in  the  case  of  Gentoos,  by  the  laws 
and  usages  of  Gentoos ;  and  where  only  one  of  the  parties 
shall  be,  a  Muhammadan  or  Gentoo,  by  the  laws  and  usages 
of  the  defendant."  Still  farther,  "  in  order  that  regard  should 
be  had  to  the  civil  and  religious  usages  of  the  said  natives/' 
it  was  enacted,  "  that  the  rights  and  authorities  of  fathers  of 
families  and  masters  of  families,  according  as  the  same  might 
have  been  exercised  by  the  Gentoo  or  Muhammadan  law,  shall 
be  preserved  to  them  respectively  within  their  said  families ; 
nor  shall  any  acts  done  in  consequence  of  the  law  and  rule  of 
caste,  respecting  the  members  of  said  families  only,  be  held 
and  adjudged  a  crime,  although  the  same  may  not  be  held  jus- 
tifiable by  the  laws  of  England."  Last  of  all,  while  the  Court 
was  empowered  to  frame  forms  of  process  which  might  be 
observed  in  all  suits,  civil  or  criminal,  against  the  natives,  it 
was  expressly  enacted  that  it  should  be  "  such  forms  of  pro- 
cess and  such  rules  and  orders  for  the  execution  thereof,  as 
4x2 


688 


Rise,  Progress,  and  Present  State,  [Nov. 


might  accommodate  the  same  to  the  religion  and  manners  of 
such  natives,  so  far  as  the  same  may  consist  with  the  due  exe- 
cution of  the  laws  and  the  attainment  of  justice." 

By  these  acts  of  Parliament  the  juridical  functions  of  the 
Supreme  Court  are  peremptorily  limited  to  British-born  sub- 
jects in  India  or  their  descendants  ;  as  also,  with  a  few  specific 
exceptions,  to  the  native  inhabitants  of  Calcutta  alone  ; — while 
it  is  rendered  imperative,  to  the  former  to  administer  British 
law ;  and  to  the  latter,  in  all  matters  of  inheritance  and  gene- 
ral property,  parental  and  other  domestic  rights,  Hindu  and 
Muhaminadan  law,  in  its  original  unmodified  form.  The  ques- 
tion then  naturally  arises,  why  any  such  limitation  as  to  persons 
at  all  ?  Or,  why,  within  the  limited  circle  of  persons  affected, 
such  distribution  of  them  into  classes,  as  to  restrict  the  privi- 
leges of  British  law  to  British-born  subjects  ?  Why  not  rather 
embrace  the  numberless  petty  epicycles  of  national  or  provin- 
cial individualities,  in  the  one  grand  all-comprehending  cycle 
of  catholic  humanity,  and  subject  the  whole  simultaneously  to 
the  beneficial  operation  of  the  spirit  of  British  law  and  British 
justice  ? 

To  these  questions  we  may  briefly  reply  in  the  language  of 
one  of  the  most  competent  of  Judges, — Mr.  Harington. 
"The  fixed  habits/5  says  he,  4C manners  and  prejudices,  and 
the  long-established  customs  of  the  people  of  India,  formed 
under  the  spirit  and  administration  of  an  arbitrary  government, 
totally  opposite  in  principle  and  practice  to  that  of  England, 
would  not  admit  of  a  more  general  application  of  British  laws 
to  the  inhabitants  of  this  country  ;  who  not  only  are  ignorant 
of  the  language  in  which  these  laws  are  written  ;  but  could 
not  possibly  acquire  a  knowledge  of  our  complex,  though 
excellent,  system  of  municipal  law,  composed  in  part  of  gene- 
ral and  local  English  customs  ;  partly  of  the  civil  and  canon 
laws,  adopted  in  particular  jurisdictions;  and  partly  of  the 
voluminous  statutes  enacted  by  the  King's  Majesty,  with  the 
advice  and  consent  of  Parliament,  during  a  period  of  more 
than  five  hundred  years."  Again,  "  it  is  impracticable  to 
extend  to  India,  held  as  a  foreign  dependency,  the  laws  and 
constitution  of  Great  Britain.  Nor  would  such  laws  and 
constitution — the  inestimable  privilege  and  dearest  right  of 
men  who  have  the  happiness  to  be  born  and  educated  under 
them — be  suitable  or  acceptable,  if  they  could  be  so  extended, 
to  a  people  whose  religion,  laws,  customs  and  manners  have 
fixed  such  insuperable  barriers  to  all  assimilation."  In  the 
same  strain  Mr.  Verelst  writes  of  the  impossibility  of  intro- 
ducing English  laws,  as  the  general  standard  of  judicial  dicision 
in  these  provinces,  without  violating  the  fundamental  principle 


J  840.] 


of  Indo- British  Law,  fyc. 


689 


of  all  civil  law,  that  they  ought  to  be  "  suitable  to  the  genius 
of  the  people,  and  to  all  the  circumstances  in  which  they  may 
be  placed."  Sir  John  Shore,  afterwards  Lord  Teignmouth, 
gives  it  also  as  his  deliberate  suggestion,  that  "  the  grand 
object  of  our  Government  in  this  country  should  be  to  con- 
ciliate the  minds  of  the  natives  ;  by  allowing  them  the  free 
enjoyment  of  all  their  prejudices ;  and  by  securing  unto  them 
their  rights  and  property.5' 

Actuated  apparently  by  these  and  similar  considerations 
the  British  Legislature,  "  instead  of  extending  the  local  and 
complicated  laws  of  England  to  the  remote  and  populous 
territories  which  had  been  gradually  acquired  by  the  East 
India  Company,  resolved  to  limit  the  administration  of  Eng- 
lish law,  over  persons  who,  from  their  distant  situation  and 
other  circumstances,  could  not  be  admitted  to  the  whole  of 
the  rights  and  privileges  of  British  subjects."    Were  the  mil- 
lions of  natives,  then,  beyond  the  narrow  bounds  of  Calcutta, 
to  be  abandoned  to  a  chaotic  state  of  lawless  confusion  ?  No. 
For  them,  too,  the  British  Legislature  made  provision.  Unable 
itself,  from  local  inexperience,  to  pass  suitable  laws,  it  declared 
it  to  be  lawful  (13  Geo.  III.  chap.  63,  sect.  36,  37),  "for  the 
Governor  General  and  Council  of  the  United  Company's  set- 
tlement at  Fort  William  in  Bengal,  from  time  to  time,  to 
make  and  issue  such  rules,  ordinances,  and  regulations  for  the 
good  order  and  the  civil  government  of  the  said  United  Com- 
pany's settlement  at  Fort  William  aforesaid,  and  other  facto- 
ries and  places  subordinate,  or  to  be  subordinate  thereto,  as 
shall  be  deemed  just  and  reasonable  ;  such  rules,  ordinances, 
and  regulations  not  being  repugnant  to  the  laws  of  the  realm." 
It  was  farther  enacted  (21  Geo.  III.  chap.  70,  sect.  23),  that 
"  the  Governor  General  and  Council  shall  have  power  and 
authority  from  time  to  time  to  frame  regulations  for  the  pro- 
vincial courts  and  councils ;  and  shall,  within  six  months 
after  the  making  of  the  said  regulations,  transmit  or  cause  to 
be  transmitted,  copies  of  the  said  regulations  to  the  Court  of 
•Directors  and  to  one  of  his  Majesty's  principal  Secretaries  of 
state ;  which  Regulations  his  Majesty  in  Council  may  disallow 
or  amend;  and  the  said  regulations,  if  not  disallowed  within 
two  years,  shall  be  of  force  and  authority  to  direct  the  said 
provincial  courts,  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  said  amend- 
ments." 

From  this  date,  many  important  regulations  began  to  be 
framed  by  the  Governor  General  in  Council  ;  some  of  which 
greatly  modified,  and  others  wholly  superseded,  certain  native 
laws  and  usages  of  a  capricious,  arbitrary,  or  ferocious  charac- 
ter.   Of  these,  several  were  printed,  with  translations  in  the 


690 


Rise,  Progress,  and  Present  State,  [Nov. 


country  languages.  Others,  however,  "  still  remained  in  ma- 
nuscript; and  those  printed  were  for  the  most  part  on  de- 
tached papers,  without  any  prescribed  form  or  order;  and 
consequently  not  easily  referred  to,  even  by  the  officers  of 
Government ;  much  less  by  the  people  at  large,  who  had  no 
means  of  procuring  them  in  a  collective  state,  or  of  becom- 
ing acquainted  with  such  of  them  as  had  not  been  promulgated 
in  the  current  languages." 

Such  a  state  of  things  obviously  demanded  a  remedy. 
Happily  for  India,  in  the  hour  and  crisis  of  her  legislative 
exigency,  there  was  at  the  helm  of  affairs  a  statesman,  charac- 
terized not  less  by  promptitude  and  energy,  than  by  sagacity 
and  benevolence.  In  1/93,  the  Marquis  Cornwallis  passed 
his  celebrated  ordinance,  entitled  "  A  regulation  for  forming 
into  a  regular  code,  all  regulations  that  may  be  enacted  for  the 
internal  government  of  the  British  territories  in  Bengal."  By 
that  ordinance  it  was  also  established  and  declared,  that  all  the 
regulations  should  not  only  be  formed  into  a  regular  code,  but 
printed  with  translations  in  the  country  languages — that  the 
grounds  of  every  regulation  be  prefixed  to  it — that  the  courts 
of  justice  within  the  provinces  be  bound  to  regulate  their 
decisions  by  the  rules  and  ordinances  which  such  regulations 
may  contain — that  thereby  the  native  inhabitants  may  be 
made  acquainted  with  the  privileges  and  immunities  granted 
to  them  by  the  British  Government. 

This  momentous  Regulation  was  subsequently,  in  1?97j 
ratified  by  Act  of  Parliament.  It  thus  became  incorporated 
with  the  laws  of  the  British  Empire  ;  and  "  supported,"  says 
Mr.  Harington,  "  on  this  firm  basis,  it  may  be  deemed  the 
corner  of  the  system  of  regulation  and  polity  for  the  internal 
government  of  these  provinces.  It  may  also  be  justly  con- 
sidered to  have  established  a  constitution  for  the  native  inha- 
bitants of  this  dependant  subordinate  kingdom,  the  most 
beneficial  for  them,  and  for  the  sovereign  state,  which  the 
situation  and  circumstances  of  both  will  admit." 

The  spirit  of  all  these  codes  of  Regulations  and  Acts  of  Par-* 
liament,  was,  to  preserve  to  the  natives,  as  far  as  equity  and 
reason  could  allow,  their  respective  laws  in  suits  regarding 
succession,  inheritance,  domestic  rights,  caste,  and  all  reli- 
gious usages  and  institutions ;  witli  the  provision,  however, 
made  for  such  further  laws  and  regulations  as  circumstances 
and  experience  might,  from  time  to  time,  show  to  be  required. 
Hence,  in  the  progress  of  time,  has  arisen  a  system  com- 
pounded of  old  and  new  laws,  and  modifications  of  former 
laws  and  usages,  designed  to  perpetuate,  "  as  much  as  possibly 
can  be   done,  their  institutions  and  laws  to  the  people  of 


1840.] 


of  Indo- British  Law,  tyc. 


691 


Hindustan,  and  attemper  them  with  the  mild  spirit  of  the 
British  Government." 

From  the  whole  of  the  preceding  statements  it  follows  that, 
hitherto,  three  great  and  distinct  systems  of  law  have  been 
cotemporaneously  administered  by  British  functionaries  in 
India.  To  British-born  subjects,  whether  resident  in  Calcutta 
or  scattered  throughout  the  provinces,  the  Supreme  Court  is 
bound  to  deal  out  British  law.  To  the  native  inhabitants  of 
Calcutta,  whether  Hindu  or  Muhammadan,  the  same  Court  is 
ordained  to  administer  their  respective  laws  without  any 
reference  to  the  amendments  of  the  Local  Government.  To 
the  millions  of  natives  in  the  interior,  the  provincial  Judges 
and  Magistrates  are  equally  restricted  by  Parliamentary  statute 
to  administer  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  law,  as  altered,  modi- 
fied, and  improved  by  successive  Regulations  of  the  Governor 
General  in  Council.  Hence  much  of  the  inextricable  confu- 
sion, embarrassment,  and  uncertainty  wherewith  the  admi- 
nistration of  justice  in  India  has  hitherto  been  beset.  Hence 
also,  the  extreme  desirableness,  if  practicable,  of  framing  one 
universal  code  of  law,  which  could  extend  the  uniform  prin- 
ciples of  an  equitable  and  enlightened  system  of  jurisprudence 
alike  to  all  classes  of  British  subjects  in  this  widely  extended 
Empire.  At  all  events,  it  seems  the  demand  of  reason  and 
common  sense,  that  the  present  monstrous  anomalies  should 
be  instantly  swept  away.  Why  should  British  Judges  be  at 
one  time  cushioned  on  the  congenial  couch  of  reason  and  high 
intelligence,  propounding  the  noble  principles  of  equitable  and 
civilized  law  ;  and  at  another,  stretched  on  the  rack  of  torture 
when  compelled  to  lend  the  venerable  sanction  of  senatorial 
authority  to  the  prescripts  of  a  barbarous  and  despotic  code  ? 
Why  should  the  influential  metropolitan  class  of  natives  be 
doomed  to  groan  under  a  yoke  that  has  been  forged  in  remote 
ages  of  savage  ignorance  ;  while  their  more  highly  favoured 
brethren  in  the  provinces  have  to  bear  the  original  yoke  greatly 
relaxed  by  the  mildly  attempering  spirit  of  the  British  consti- 
tution ?  Why  should  any  class  of  natives,  whether  metropoli- 
tan or  provincial,  be  destined  for  ever  to  smart  from  the  ope- 
ration of  laws  and  usages  which,  defeating  the  ends  of  sub- 
stantial justice,  can  often  be  regarded  only  as  lures  to  outrage, 
bribes  to  perjury,  and  bounties  on  unrighteousness  ?  Keenly 
alive  to  the  existence  of  such  rampant  evils — such  raging  in- 
consistencies— The  British  Legislature  has  at  length  resolved, 
at  whatever  cost,  to  attempt  a  remedy.  For  several  years  past, 
a  Commission  of  learned  and  honourable  men  has  been  vigo- 
rously prosecuting  the  Herculean  task  of  reducing  the  present 
chaos  of  lawless  elements  into  something  like  order  and  stable 


692 


The  legal  rights  of  Parents. 


[Nov. 


from.  Now,  then,  if  ever,  is  the  time  to  sue  for  the  legal 
redress  of  wrongs — the  legal  rectification  of  evils.  Encouraged, 
accordingly,  by  the  well  known  readiness  of  the  Governor 
General  in  Council  and  the  Law  Commissioners  to  receive  any 
candid  and  reasonable  representation  from  whatever  quarter, 
we  now  proceed  to  point  out  a  few  cases,  for  the  adjustment 
of  which  their  beneficent  interposition  is  earnestly  solicited. 


II. — The  Legal,  Rights  of  Hindu  and  Muhammadan 
Parents  over  Children  under  age. 

There  are  some  rights  which,  in  the  language  of  Jurists, 
have  been  termed  both  natural  and  absolute : — natural,  be- 
cause they  arise  spontaneously  from  the  very  nature  and 
constitution  of  things  as  ordained  by  an  all-wise  Creator; — 
absolute,  because  they  exist  in  absolute  force  and  efficacy, 
independent  of  the  recognition  of  mere  human  laws  at  all. 
Of  this  description,  is  the  right  which  every  man  has  to 
the  enjoyment  of  his  own  life  and  limbs  and  personal  liber- 
ty. Such  rights  it  is  not  the  province  of  human  law  to 
create.  Being  inherent  in  man  as  the  gifts  of  the  Creator, 
from  the  hour  of  birth,  they  are  antecedent  to  the  exercise  of 
any  human  legislation.  Of  these,  therefore,  all  human  laws 
ought  only  to  be  declaratory,  regulative,  preservative,  and 
enforcive.  In  the  words  of  the  great  Grecian  Orator,  "The 
design  and  object  of  law  is  to  ascertain  what  is  just,  honourable 
and  expedient ;  and,  when  that  is  discovered,  to  proclaim  it  as 
a  general  ordinance,  equal  and  impartial  to  all."  For,  though 
human  law  is  only  the  interpreter,  definer,  and  publisher  of 
such  rights  and  obligations  as  are  natural  and  absolute,  it  is 
its  supreme  function  to  see  that  these  are  exercised  within  the 
limits  prescribed  by  the  constitution  of  nature,  and  never  be- 
yond the  allotted  boundaries  ;  or  for  the  furtherance  of  ends 
and  designs  contrary  to  those  for  which  they  were  originally 
bestowed,  in  free  grant,  as  privileges  and  prerogatives,  by  the 
great  Creator. 

In  regard  to  parents,  it  is  held  by  universal  consent,  that  it 
is  their  imperative  duty  to  maintain  and  protect  their  own 
children — to  supply  them,  during  their  minority  or  conti- 
nued helplessness,  with  necessary  sustenance — and  to  defend 
them  from  the  infliction  of  unprovoked  injuries  ; — a  duly 
paramount  to  mere  human  law,  imposed  as  it  is  upon  them 
by  the  immutable  ordinance  of  nature  itself.  From  the 
absoluteness  of  this  natural  duty  alone,  the  possession  of 
a  natural  right  to  the  general  guardianship  of  their  chil- 


1840.] 


The  legal  rights  of  Parents. 


dren  would  follow  as  an  inevitable  consequence ;  and  the 
possession  of  the  requisite  power  and  authority  for  the  mainte- 
nance of  that  right  as  another  consequence  alike  inevitable. 
And  if  the  power  of  parents  be  confessedly  a  natural  right, 
the  yielding  of  submission  and  obedience  on  the  part  of  chil- 
dren, in  all  things  reasonable  and  just,  must  be  as  clearly  a 
natural  duly. 

It  must,  however,  never  be  forgotten  that  all  the  rights  and 
duties  of  human  beings,  however  deep  their  foundation  in  the 
nature  ami  constitution  of  things,  are  necessarily  confined 
within  certain  prescribed  bounds  and  limits.  The  rights  are 
conferred  and  the  duties  imposed  for  definite  beneficial  ends. 
To  exercise  the  one  or  perform  the  other,  for  the  attainment  of 
such  ends,  is  proper,  just,  and  good  : — To  exercise  the  one 
or  perform  the  other,  for  the  promotion  of  ends  different  from 
those  for  which  they  were  designed,  is  improper,  unrighteous, 
and  evil.  Such  unintended  modes  of  enforcing  rights  or 
discharging  duties  may,  and  often  must,  lead  to  a  forfeiture  of 
the  former  and  an  exemption  from  the  obligations  of  the  latter. 
There  is,  for  example,  no  right  more  eminently  entitled  to  the 
denomination  of  <c  natural  and  absolute,"  than  the  right  to 
one's  own  life  and  limbs  and  liberty.  Neither  is  there  any 
duty  more  eminently  entitled  to  the  denomination  of  "  natu- 
ral and  absolute/'  than  that  of  non-interference  with  the  un- 
interrupted enjoyment  of  such  right.  But  suppose  such  right 
were  employed  in  violating  a  divine  latv,  like  that  which  en- 
joins the  worship  of  the  one  living  and  true  God,  as  His 
inalienable  and  eternal  due,  such  employment  of  it  were  to 
traverse  and  counteract  some  of  the  ends  for  which  it  was 
bestowed.  Of  such  perverse  application  of  the  right,  human 
laws  may  or  may  not  take  cognisance  ;  but  assuredly  it  will 
not  escape  the  coming  retributions  of  Divine  justice.  Again, 
suppose  such  right  were  exercised  in  attempting  to  inflict  in- 
jury on  the  life,  limbs,  or  liberty  of  another  fellow-creature; 
such  exercise  of  it,  too,  would  be  an  unwarranted  contraven- 
tion of  the  purposes  for  which  it  was  designed.  Here,  human 
law  has  always  interposed,  not  merely  as  the  guardian  but  the 
regulator  of  the  proper  use  of  rights  ;  and,  in  cases  of  such 
heinous  misapplication  of  them,  has  generally  decreed  a  for- 
feiture of  the  personal  liberty  abused,  or  even  of  life  itself, 
which  has  been  employed,  not  for  one's  own  benefit,  but  for 
the  injury  or  destruction  of  others. 

Granting,  then,  that  the  right  of  parents  to  the  guardian- 
ship of  their  children  during  their  minority,  is  an  indefeasible 
natural  right,  it  is  clear  beyond  all  debate,  that,  like  every 
other  natural  and  absolute  right,  it  must  have  its  bounds  and 

VOL.  1.  4  u 


694 


'Hie  legal  rights  of  Parents. 


[Nov. 


limits.  To  define  these  bounds  and  limits — to  point  out  the 
general  modes  in  which  the  right  is  to  be  exercised — to  specia- 
lize the  restrictions  to  which,  for  the  sake  of  the  general  inter- 
ests of  society,  it  must  be  subjected — this,  this  is  the  grand 
province  of  wise  and  equitable  human  law.  Accordingly,  in  all 
civilized  countries,  the  Supreme  Legislature  has  ever  felt  it  to 
be  a  sacred  duty  to  extend  the  benefit  of  its  salutary  interpo- 
sition. The  legal  limitations  or  extensions  of  tbe  natural  right 
have  varied  in  different  states;  according  to  the  varied  views 
of  expediency  current  at  the  time,  or  the  varied  municipal 
immunities  enjoyed  in  other  matters  by  the  citizens.  The 
laws  of  some  of  the  ancient  states  left  parents  the  power  of 
life  and  death  over  their  children.  But  such  Draconic  severity 
has  always  been  softened  in  proportion  as  the  states  progressed 
in  genuine  civilization.  The  laws  of  England,  in  particular, 
while  upholding  inviolate  the  general  right  of  parents,  have 
subjected  it  to  many  reasonable  and  righteous  restrictions. 
In  order  to  enforce  obedience,  the  parent  may  legally  correct 
his  child,  in  a  moderate  degree ;  but  he  is  prohibited  from 
carrying  chastisement  to  the  extent  of  cruelty,  or  to  any 
extent  which  might  remotely  endanger  health,  limbs,  or 
life. 

Yea  more,  proceeding  on  the  well-grounded  assumption,  that 
the  right  has  been  conferred  on  parents  for  the  real  welfare  of 
their  children,  the  law  of  England  has  legislated,  not  only  for 
the  body  which  perisheth,  but  for  the  immortal  soul.  Tliere  is 
no  special  exclusive  statute  acknowledging  in  parents  a  right  to 
force  what  moral  and  religious  sentiments  they  please  on  the 
minds  of  their  children.  In  a  general  way,  it  may  be  said  that 
the  law  is  neutral ; — neither  formally  recognising  a  supposed 
natural  right  nor  conferring  an  artificial  legal  one.  If,  at  any 
time,  the  law  has  interfered  at  all,  it  has  uniformly  been,  not  to 
force  the  child  to  submit  to  the  tyranny  and  caprice  of the  parent, 
but  to  compel  the  parent  to  abstain  from  coercing  the  conscience 
of  the  child  in  matters  of  faith  and  morals.  A  limitation  has 
often  been  put  to  the  general  power  and  control  which  the 
father  is  permitted  to  exercise  over  the  minds  and  education 
of  his  children.  Judge  Blackstone  declares  that  such  limita- 
tion is  based  on  the  express  ground,  that  "  nothing  is  so  apt 
to  stifle  the  calls  of  nature  as  religious  bigotry."  Hence,  as 
the  learned  judge  proceeds  to  shew,  hence  the  well-known 
fact  in  the  constitutional  history  of  England,  that  two  statutes 
were  passed  by  the  Legislature  at  different  times,  to  protect 
the  children  of  Jews  and  Papists  from  the  bigotry  of  their 
respective  parents,  upon  their  renouncing  the  Catholic  or  Jew- 
ish faith  in  order  to  embrace  the  truths  of  the  Protestant  sys- 


1 840.  J 


The  legal  rights  of  Parents. 


695 


tern.  The  first  of  these  was  the  Statute  of  1 1th  and  12th  Win. 
III.  c.  4,  which  declares  its  ohjeet  to  be,  that  the  Protestant 
children  of  Popish  parents  "  may  not,  for  want  of  fitting  main- 
tenance, he  necessitated  in  compliance  with  their  parents  to 
embrace  the  Popish  religion, contrary  to  their  own  inclinations." 
The  other  Statute  is  the  1st  Anne,  c.  30,  which  professes  a 
similar  object  ;  viz.  "  That  if  Jewish  parents  refuse  to  allow 
their  c  hildren,  on  their  becoming  Protestants,  a  fitting  main- 
tenance suitable  to  the  fortune  of  the  parent,  the  Lord  Chan- 
cellor on  complaint  may  make  such  order  therein  as  he  shall 
see  fit/'  And  still  more  recently,  as  appears  from  the  10th 
volume  of  Vesey's  Reports,  the  Lord  Chancellor  Eldon,  no 
mean  authority  on  the  subject,  said,  in  the  case  there 
reported  of  De  Manneville  v.  De  Manneville,  that,  "  with 
reference  to  religion,  this  Court,  (viz.  the  Court  of  Chancery,) 
had  interfered  to  prevent  parents  from  preaching  irreligious 
doctrines  in  the  presence  of  their  families."  There  is  also  the 
late  celebrated  case,  in  which  Mr.  Wellesly  was  deprived  of 
the  custody  and  guardianship  of  his  oion  children  altogether, 
upon  the  express  ground  of  his  immorality,  and  the  danger 
which  existed  that  his  fatherly  authority  might  be  exerted  to 
vitiate  and  demoralise  the  minds  of  his  children.  That  a 
power,  therefore,  does  really  exist  under  the  sanction  of  the 
British  Legislature  to  control  and  put  effectual  restrictions  on 
the  general  rights  of  parents,  with  the  view  of  promoting  the 
moral  and  religious  well-being  of  the  child,  cannot  possibly 
be  called  in  question.  With  respect,  in  particular,  to  the  two 
aforesaid  Acts  of  Parliament,  it  is  worthy  of  special  remark, 
that  the  British  Legislature  seriously  did  think  that  a  child, 
i.  e.,  a  person  under  legal  age,  might  have  an  inclination  of  its 
own,  wholly  independent  of  its  parents,  towards  one  religion, 
in  preference  to  another,  though  that  might  be  his  ancestral 
faith — and  that  this  inclination  should,  on  ?w  account,  be  forci- 
bly interfered  with  by  the  bigoted  parents. 

Having  premised  this  much  on  the  general  rights  of  parents, 
and  the  spirit  and  enactments  of  the  British  Legislature  re- 
lative thereto,  we  come  now  briefly  to  consider  the  rights  of 
Hindu  and  Muhammad  an  parents,  in  reference  to  one  or  two 
particulars  with  which  those,  who  are  interested  in  the  im- 
provement of  the  natives,  are  most  deeply  concerned. 

In  order  to  ascertain  the  existing  state  of  the  law  on  the 
subject,  the  following  queries  were  submitted  to  highly  com- 
petent professional  men  ;  and  the  following  answers  were,  in 
substance,  received. 

1st.    At  what  age  does  the  authority  of  parents  over  their 
child,  in  this  land,  entirely  cease  ? 
4  u  2 


(>9f> 


The  legal  rights  of  Parents. 


[Nov. 


Arts.    At  sixteen  years  of  age. 

2nd.  Under  the  age  of  sixteen  years,  or  during  the  legal 
non-age  of  children,  have  parents  the  power  to  heat,  confine, 
and  punish  to  any  extent  without  control  ? 

Ans.  No  : — not  to  any  extent  and  without  control,  either 
by  Mufassal  or  Supreme  Court  law. 

3rd.  If  a  child  is  believed,  on  sufficient  grounds,  to  be  suf- 
fering under  ill-treatment  from  its  parent  or  guardian,  is  there 
any  mode  at  law  by  which  the  matter  may  be  investigated  and 
a  remedy  applied  ;  and  if  so,  what  remedy  ? 

Ans.  If  actual  cruelty  be  proved,  the  parent  may  be  sum- 
moned and  punished  by  the  Mufassal  Magistrate,  and  security 
taken  for  his  future  conduct. 

4th.  If  the  child  run  away  and  take  refuge  with  a  friend, 
either  to  escape  ill-treatment  or  for  the  sake  of  religion,  has 
the  parent  a  right  to  reclaim,  and  by  what  means  will  the 
law  enforce  his  right  ? 

Ans.  By  Regulation  VII.  of  1819,  children,  in  such  cir- 
cumstances, would,  by  the  Mufassal  Courts,  be  restored  to  the 
parents.    The  same  would  be  done  by  the  Supreme  Court. 

To  a  certain  extent  these  answers  are  highly  satisfactory. 
It  is  satisfactory  to  be  assured  by  all  the  authorities  consulted, 
that  the  legal  age  in  this  country,  or  that  at  which  the  con- 
trolling authority  of  the  father  ceases,  is  sixteen  years.  It  is 
satisfactory,  also,  to  be  assured  that,  under  that  age,  the  power 
of  the  father  is  not  unlimited.  Still,  there  is  much  that  is 
unsatisfactory  ;  and  not  at  all  commensurate  to  the  exigencies 
of  the  present  transition  state  of  Hindu  Society.  It  were  an 
absurd  affectation — a  purblind  policy — a  criminal  indiffer- 
ence— to  overlook  the  present  changed  and  constantly  chang- 
ing state  of  things  around  us.  To  do  so  were  a  defeating  of 
some  of  the  very  ends  for  which  a  Supreme  Legislative  power 
exists.  Not  to  embarrass  ourselves  with  minor  points, —  Is  it 
not  notorious  that,  in  this  land,  Government  Colleges  and 
Schools,  as  also  Seminaries  supported  by  public  or  private 
Societies,  have  been  established  for  the  diffusion  of  European 
Literature  and  Science,  with  or  without  religion  ?  Is  it  not 
alike  notorious,  that  the  natural  effect  of  such  dissemination 
of  knowledge,  is  to  relax  the  sentiments  of  native  youth  in  re- 
ference to  their  ancestral  creeds  ?  These  youths  may  or  may 
not  embrace  some  new  and  definite  form  of  faith.  They 
may  remain  in  a  negative  state  of  Deism  or  even  Atheism. 
But,  in  any  or  all  of  the  new  states  of  mind  into  which  a  large 
and  liberal  course  of  instruction  may  conduct  them,  is  it  not 
notorious  that  they  are  apt  to  despise,  and  often  wholly  to 
repudiate  the  faith  of  their  fathers  ? 


1840.] 


Tne  legal  rights  of  Parents. 


697 


Those  who  proceed  on  the  high  and  holy  principle  of 
obeying  God  rather  than  man  in  communicating  all  needful 
knowledge,  whether  human  or  divine,  to  all,  according  to  the 
free  and  unconstrained  opportunities  presented  by  providence, 
require  no  supplementary  argument  to  fortify  them  in  the  pro- 
secution of  their  noble  task.  But,  for  the  sake  of  those  who 
are  actuated  mainly  by  views  of  worldly  expediency  and  dry 
legalism,  it  is  most  important  to  insist  upon  it,  that,  according 
to  the  letter,  spirit,  and  express  statutes  of  British  Law,  Go- 
vernment and  all  others  are  legally  entitled  to  communicate, 
without  forcible  coercion,  to  old  andyouny  alike,  ivhatever  sound 
instruction  they  please  ;  be  the  result  what  it  may,  as  to  a  false 
superstitious  and  idolatrous  faith.  From  the  statutes  already 
quoted,  it  is  clear  beyond  all  doubt  that  the  law  of  England 
permits  a  child  to  exercise  the  mental  powers  which  God  hath 
bestowed  upon  it,  in  forming  its  own  judgment  on  the  sub- 
ject of  its  eternal  interests — to  renounce  freely  what  it  disco- 
vers to  be  false,  and  as  freely  and  fearlessly  to  embrace  what 
it  has  been  led  to  consider  the  only  true  religion; — yea, 
and  coerces  the  parent,  even  after  such  renunciation,  to 
continue  the  necessary  support  which  by  the  immutable  ordi- 
nance of  nature  he  is  bound  to  bestow.  Of  course  it  follows — 
and  it  is  important  to  note  the  legitimate  inference — that  the 
law  of  England  distinctly  recognizes  the  general  principle, 
that  it  is  not  unlawful  to  communicate  religious  instruction  to 
the  mind  of  a  child,  even  though  that  instruction  should  be 
wholly  opposed  to  the  religious  system  in  which  the  parents 
conscientiously  believe — and  even  if  the  consequence  of  such 
instruction  should  be  non-coinpliance,  in  matters  of  religion, 
with  the  wishes  and  commands  of  earthly  parents. 

The  same  conclusion  may  be  formed  negatively  thus  ;  — Had 
the  Legislature  for  a  moment  conceived  that  it  was  a  violation 
of  previously  existing  legal  rights,  i.  e.  a  crime  in  the  eye  of 
law,  to  instruct  a  child  in  a  religious  system  different  from 
that  in  which  the  parents  conscientiously  believed,  what  ought 
to  have  been  its  regular  procedure  ?  Would  it  not  have  been 
necessary,  on  passing  the  above-mentioned  statutes,  to  repeal 
the  pre-existing  law — to  withdraw  the  pre-existing  rights  ? 
Most  undoubtedly.  And  its  passing  the  said  statutes  without 
any  reference  to  pre-existing  laws  and  rights,  proves  incon- 
trovertibly  the  non-existence  of  both.  Again,  had  the  Legis- 
lature supposed  that  it  was  a  crime  to  teach  a  child  a  religion 
different  from  that  of  its  parents,  what  ought  we  to  expect 
its  procedure  to  have  been,  especially  towards  Papists  ?  At 
a  time  when  the  utmost  anxiety  was  manifested  by  it  to 
swell  the  ranks  of  the  Protestant  party,  and  to  diminish  those 


698 


The  legal  rights  of  Parents. 


[Nov. 


of  the  Popish  ; — at  a  time  too,  when  acts  were  crowded  upon 
acts  to  regulate  and  control  the  natural  rights  of  all  who 
adhered  to  the  Popish  interests  ; — at  such  a  time,  might  we 
not  have  reasonably  expected  that  a  special  statute  should  be 
enacted,  investing  Protestant  teachers  with  an  express  legal 
authority  to  instruct  the  children  of  Papists  ?  The  non- 
bestowment  of  such  authority  proves  incontestibly  that  the 
Legislature  did  not  think  it  requisite,  i.  e.  did  not  once 
entertain  the  idea  that  there  were  any  legal  rights  that  could 
he  violated,  by  efforts  to  instruct  children  in  a  religious  system 
different  from  that  of  their  parents.  And  it  cannot  for  a 
moment  be  supposed  that  those,  who  prospectively  provided 
for  "  the  maintenance  of  the  children  who  should  become 
Protestant,"  would  have  forgotten  to  protect,  if  protection 
had  been  necessary,  the  human  agents  through  whose  instru- 
mentality, the  change  of  religion  might  be  effected.  But  no 
legal  enactment  was  thought  necessary  for  this  purpose.  In 
a  civilized  and  Christian  country,  a  doctrine  so  inimical  to  our 
laws  and  our  religion  as  this,  viz.  that  we  are  not  to  inculcate 
in  the  minds  of  children,  who  without  any  improper  influence 
come  within  our  reach,  pure  notions  of  moral  and  religious 
obligation,  because  their  parents  may  happen  to  be  blinded 
by  ignorance  and  superstition,  could  not,  with  any  pretension 
to  consistency,  have  been  entertained.  Nor  is  it  possible  that 
any  question  can  arise,  as  to  the  meaning  of  the  expression, 
f  children,"  used  in  the  preamble  and  body  of  the  statutes 
now  so  often  referred  to.  In  the  enacting  part  of  the  first  of 
them  it  is  ordered  "  that  the  maintenance  shall  be  suitable 
to  the  degree  and  ability  of  such  parent,  and  to  the  age  and 
education  of  such  child;"  clearly  shewing  that  the  term 
"  child,"  was  used  as  descriptive  of  the  age  of  the  son  or 
daughter  of  the  parent,  and  not  merely  as  descriptive  of  his 
own  issue.  The  maintenance  also  was  intended  to  provide 
for  "  the  education  of  the  child" — which  would  have  been  an 
unnecessary  provision  in  the  case  of  an  adult. 

Once  more,  it  ought  ever  to  be  borne  in  remembrance 
that  though,  in  reference  to  perfect  freedom  and  indepen- 
dence as  well  as  full  investiture  with  rights  and  privileges,  the 
law  of  England  treats  every  individual  as  in  a  state  of  child 
hood  or  pupilarity  and  therefore  not  wholly  exempt  from 
parental  control  till  the  age  of  twenty-one,  or  till  the  period 
of  legal  minority  has  merged  into  that  of  legal  majority — it 
vet  does,  in  particular  points,  confer  a  certain  amount  of 
liberty  and  the  exercise  of  certain  important  rights.  The  legal 
age — or  that  of  the  child's  perfect  deliverance  from  the  empire 
and  tutelage  of  the  father  and  perfect  enfranchisement  in  all 


1840. J  The  legal  rights  of  Parents.  699 


civil  privileges — being  wholly  arbitrary,  varies  in  different 
countries.  In  Naples,  it  is  eighteen  ;  in  Holland,  twenty-five; 
in  France,  formerly  thirty.  But  in  all  civilized  countries,  in- 
fants or  persons  in  a  state  of  non-age  have  always  been  held 
entitled  to  enjoy  at  successive  periods  certain  legal  privileges, 
while  they  still  continue  to  labour  under  various  legal  disabili- 
ties. In  England,  says  Judge  Blackstone,  "the  ages  of  male  and 
female  are  different  for  different  purposes.  A  male,  at  twelve 
years  old,  may  take  the  oath  of  allegiance  ; — at  fourteen,  is  at 
years  of  discretion,  and  therefore  may  consent  or  disagree  to 
marriage  ;  may  choose  his  guardian  ;  and  if  his  discretion  be 
actually  proved,  may  make  his  testament  of  his  personal 
estate  ; — at  seventeen,  may  be  an  executor  ;  and  at  twenty-one, 
is  at  his  own  disposal,  and  may  alien  his  lands,  goods  and  chat- 
tels. A  female  also,  at  seven  years  of  age,  may  be  betrothed  ; 
at  nine,  is  entitled  to  dower  ;  at  twelve,  is  at  years  of  maturity, 
and  therefore  may  consent  or  disagree  to  marriage,  and  if 
proved  to  have  sufficient  discretion,  may  bequeath  her  personal 
estate  ;  at  fourteen,  is  at  years  of  legal  discretion,  and  may 
choose  a  guardian  ;  at  seventeen,  may  be  an  executrix  ;  and  at 
twenty-one,  may  dispose  of  herself  and  lands.'1  According 
to  the  same  high  authority,  persons  in  a  state  of  non-age,  on 
account  of  their  being  capable  of  exercising  both  reason  and 
conscience,  are  held  liable  to  various  penalties  or  legal  liabili- 
ties. In  criminal  cases,  for  example,  "  an  infant  of  the  age  of 
fourteen  years  may  be  capitally  punished  for  any  capital  offence  ; 
but  under  the  age  of  seven,  he  cannot.  The  period  between 
seven  and  fourteen  is  subject  to  much  uncertainty  :  for  the  in- 
fant shall,  generally  speaking,  be  judged primafacie  innocent : 
yet,  if  he  was  doli  capax,  and  could  discern  between  good  and 
evil,  at  the.  time  of  the  offence  committed,  he  may  be  con- 
victed and  undergo  judgment  and  execution  of  death,  though 
he  hath  not  attained  to  years  of  puberty  or  discretion.  And 
Sir  Matthew  Hale  gives  us  two  instances,  one  of  a  girl  of 
thirteen,  who  was  burned  for  killing  her  mistress  ;  another, 
of  a  boy  still  younger,  that  had  killed  his  companion  and  hid 
himself,  who  was  hanged  ;  for  it  appeared  by  his  hiding,  that 
he  knew  he  had  done  wrong,  and  could  discern  between  good 
and  evil,  and,  in  such  cases,  the  maxim  of  the  law  is,  malitia 
supplet  oetatem.  So  also,  in  much  more  modern  times,  a  boy 
of  ten  years  old,  who  was  guilty  of  a  heinous  murder,  was  held 
a  proper  subject  for  capital  punishment,  by  the  opinion  of  all 
the  judges." 

Now,  can  it  be  that  the  law  of  England  which  pronounces  an 
infant  at  fourteen  to  be  "  at  years  of  discretion,"  and  accord- 
ingly capable  of  consenting  and  disagreeing  to  marriage, 


700 


The  legal  rights  of  Parents. 


[Nov. 


choosing  a  guardian,  or  making  a  testament  of  personal  pro- 
perty : — can  it  be  that  the  law  which  enfranchises  such  an 
infant,  on  the  express  ground  of  its  having  "  sufficient  dis- 
cretion," in  the  right  of  entering  into  some  of  the  most 
important  steps  in  life,  and  consenting  or  disagreeing  to  the 
most  momentous  contract  connected  with  social  well-being  : — 
can  it  be  that  the  same  law  holds  such  infant,  though  arrived  "  at 
years  of  discretion,"  wholly  incompetent  to  take  other  analo- 
gous steps  in  reference  to  its  spiritual  guardianship,  its  eter- 
nal inheritance,  and  alliance  or  union  with  the  heavenly  Bride- 
groom— the  Redeemer — the  Divine  Head  of  the  Church, — 
all,  all  of  which  exercise  so  paramount  an  influence  on  its 
real  happiness  in  time,  its  real  welfare  in  eternity  ? — Can  it 
be  that  the  law  of  England,  which  declares  a  male  at  twelve 
years  old  to  be  capacitated,  and,  therefore,  entitled  to  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance  to  an  earthly  king,  will  not  hold  such 
infant  to  be  endowed  with  sufficient  discretion  to  be  allowed 
to  determine  whether  he  shall  yield  obedience  to  that,  which, 
by  divine  authority,  has  been  pronounced  to  be  "  nothing" 
in  the  world,  or  be  faithful  and  bear  true  allegiance  to  Him, 
who  is  King  of  kings  and  Lord  of  lords,  and  who  hath  pro- 
claimed that  out  of  the  mouths  of  babes  and  sucklings  He 
can  and  will  perfect  praise  ? — Can  it  be  that  the  law  of 
England  which  holds  an  infant,  considerably  under  twelve  or 
even  ten  years,  to  be  so  capable  of  "discerning  between  good 
and  evil,"  as  to  be  held  responsible  for  its  conduct,  to  the 
extent  of  preserving  or  of  wholly  forfeiting  its  right  to  natural 
life — to  the  extent,  in  criminal  cases,  of  being  liable  to  be  con- 
victed, and  undergo  judgment  and  execution  of  death  : — can  it 
be  that  the  same  law  will  hold  such  infant  to  be  utterly  in- 
capable of  "  discerning  between  good  and  evil,"  in  reference 
to  the  interests  of  the  soul  audits  spiritual  life;  and,  therefore, 
not  legally  entitled  to  judge  for  itself  in  discriminating  be- 
tween the  good  and  evil  ways  which  lead  to  endless  perdition  or 
endless  bliss  ?  No  :  no.  The  law  of  England,  with  all  its  faults, 
can  never  be  chargeable  with  inconsistencies  and  contradictions 
so  outrageous  as  these.  Accordingly,  have  we  not  found  it, 
by  the  most  explicit  statutes,  announcing  the  competence  of 
even  "children,"  to  decide  for  themselves  in  matters  of 
religion — expressly  providing  for  their  maintenance  and  pro- 
tection, in  the  event  of  their  choosing  a  faith  different  from 
that  of  their  parents — and  thus  extending  the  invulnerable 
egis  of  British  law  alike  over  the  freedom  of  teachers  and 
of  taught  ? 

Now,  what  we  desiderate  is,  that  the  spirit  and  letter  of 
British  law,  in  their  absolute  integrity,  be  faithfully  and  con- 


1810.] 


The  legal  rights  of  Parents. 


701 


sistently  applied  to  the  existing  state  of  things  In  India.  By 
the  old  statute  law  of  England,  the  Indian  government,  puhlic 
societies,  or  private  individuals  are  permitted  and  justified  in 
conveying  sound  knowledge  of  every  description  to  the  minds 
of  such  youth  as  come  within  their  reach,  however  alien  such 
knowledge  may  he  to  the  creed  of  the  parents.  Yea  more,  hy  an 
express  Act  of  the  British  Parliament  in  1813,  it  is  enacted 
that,  c:  whereas  it  is  the  duty  of  this  country  to  promote  the 
interests  and  happiness  of  the  native  inhabitants  of  the  Britsh 
dominions  in  India,  such  measures  ought  to  be  adopted  as  may 
tend  to  the  introduction  among  them  of  useful  knowledge  and  of 
religious  and  moral  improvement :  and,  in  furtherance  of  the 
above  objects,  sufficient  facilities  ought  to  be  afforded  by  law 
to  persons  desirous  of  going  to  and  remaining  in  India,  for  the 
purpose  of  accomplishing  those  benevolent  designs,  &c."  From 
the  fact,  that,  in  this  clause,  "  religious  and  moral  improve- 
ment" is  as  expressly  contemplated  and  provided  for  as  "the 
introduction  of  useful  knowledge,"  it  is  clear,  that  our  British 
legislators  were  prepared  to  anticipate  any  possible  changes 
which  might  arise  from  the  peaceable  inculcation  of  true 
"  religion  and  morals ;"  and  to  regard  these  changes  as  the 
"  accomplishment  of  benevolent  designs." 

Thus  doubly  guarded  and  fenced  by  the  old  statute  law  of 
England,  as  well  as  modern  specific  acts  of  Parliament,  the 
friends  of  native  improvement  may  proceed  fearlessly  with  the 
free  communication  of  all  truth,  whether  Literary,  Scientific  or 
Theological.  Now,  is  it  not  self-evident  that  Me  cordial  recep- 
tion of  such  truirh  is  ivholly  incompatible  ivith  the  perpetuation 
of  hereditary  error  ?  Does  the  government,  then,  or  any  public 
society,  or  private  individual  really  wish  the  sound  know- 
ledge imparted  to  be  honestly  embraced  ?  If  so,  ought  they 
not  to  be  prepared  for  the  change  of  sentiment  which  must 
inevitably  ensue  ?  Ought  they  not  to  provide  for  it  ?  If  not, 
there  must  either  be  generated  a  habit  of  systematic  hypocrisy, 
in  continuing  the  profession  of  that  which  the  light  of  the  true 
knowledge  conveyed  must  expose  in  all  its  deformity;  or  cruel 
wrong  be  sustained  at  the  hand  of  parents.  For,  is  it  not  noto- 
rious that  there  is  nothing  more  calculated  to  unhumanize — 
yea,  to  exasperate  and  exulcerate  into  something  like  venomous 
fury — a  race  so  ignorant,  bigoted  and  prejudiced  as  the  natives 
of  this  land — than  the  growing  indifference,  contempt,  or  threat- 
ened renunciation  of  ancestral  faith  on  the  part  of  their  children  ? 
Now,  since  according  to  the  spirit  and  maxim  of  British  law, 
"nothing  is  so  apt  to  stifle  the  calls  of  nature  as  religious 
bigotry ;"  and  since,  in  consequence  of  this  indisputable  fact, 
that  law  has  specially  provided  for  the  safety  and  protection 
of  "children,"  who  may  be  led  to  disavow  or  relinquish  the 

vol.  i.  4  x 


702 


The  legal  rights  of  Parents. 


[Nov. 


creed  of  their  fathers  ; — is  not  the  Legislature  hound  hy  every 
obligation,  human  and  divine,  to  throw  the  shield  of  its  protec- 
tion over  those  whom  it  has  been  instrumental,  directly  by  its 
own  efforts  or  indirectly  by  its  sanction  of  the  efforts  of  others, 
in  bringing  into  the  enlightened  predicament  of  despising  or 
denying  a  false,  superstitious,  and  idolatrous  faith  ? 

For  such  a  purpose,  in  any  adequate  sense,  the  present 
state  of  the  law  is  altogether  insufficient.  There  must  be  proof 
of  actual  cruelty  before  the  judge  or  magistrate  can  act.  But 
from  the  constitution  of  native  society,  this,  in  the  great  majo- 
rity of  cases,  is  wholly  unattainable.  From  the  secresies  and 
concealments  so  characteristic  of  the  entire  regime  of  native  do- 
mestic economy,  it  is  not  possible,  in  ordinary  circumstances, 
to  obtain  a  shadow  of  positive  evidence.  The  youth  may  be 
in  confinement,  removed  from  every  eye  save  that  of  his 
persecutor.  He  may  be  manacled  and  beaten  ;  or  forcibly 
carried  into  a  boat  and  conveyed  by  the  river  to  a  distant  city 
or  province.  He  may  have  stupifying  drugs,  in  the  mean- 
while, administered,  which  paralyze  the  mental  as  well  as  the 
bodily  faculties,  till  a  state  of  cofirmed  idiocy  has  been  super- 
induced. Now,  under  a  wise  and  paternal  British  government 
ought  all  this  to  be  tolerated  ?  Impossible.  What,  then,  is  to 
be  done  ?  As  at  least  a  partial  and  certainly  a  practicable 
remedy,  we  would  recommend :  — 

First,  that  it  be  enacted,  that,  in  any  case,  in  which  a 
child  has  absconded  or  disappeared  from  an  educational 
seminary,  whether  belonging  to  government,  to  a  society, 
or  to  a  private  individual,  under  circumstances  leading  to 
the  reasonable  belief  that  he  is  confined,  beaten,  or  other- 
wise ill-treated  by  the  parent, — a  power  be  invested  in  the 
judge  or  magistrate  of  the  district  summarily  to  call  upon 
such  parent  to  bring  his  child  into  open  court,  there  to  be 
interrogated  concerning  the  reality  of  such  supposed  ill-treat- 
ment. 

Secondly,  that  it  be  enacted,  that, — in  any  case  in  which 
cruelty  or  ill-treatment  on  the  part  of  the  parent  may  be 
alleged  by  the  child  and  admitted  upon  reasonable  evidence, 
especially  when  such  ill-treatment  is  seen  to  result  purely 
from  "religious  bigotry,"  on  the  one  side,  and  an  exercise 
of  the  sacred  rights  of  conscience  on  the  other — a  power  be 
invested  in  the  judge  or  magistrate,  similar  to  that  exercised 
by  the  Lord  Chancellor  and  Court  of  Chancery  in  England,  of 
nominating  and  appointing,  if  he  see  fit,  a  proper  guardian 
for  the  ill-treated  or  persecuted  child. 

Thirdly,  that, — as  many  of  the  disputes  and  law  suits  be- 
tween natives  arise  from  ignorance  of,  or  dubiety  relative  to  the 
age  of  one  or  other  of  the  parties  concerned, — it  be  enacted 


J  840] 


Laws  of  Inheritance. 


703 


that  a  public  and  official  register  of  births  be  kept,  somewhat 
after  the  manner  of  similar  registers  in  Europe. 

That  these  recommendations,  if  ever  embodied  into  a  law, 
could  remove  all  the  evils  complained  of,  is  what  no  one  has  a 
right  to  anticipate  ;  but  that  they  would  tend  greatly  to  miti- 
gate these  evils,  is  what  must  be  readily  conceded  by  all  who  are 
competent  to  judge,  from  personal  observation  and  experience 
of  the  present  very  peculiar  transition  state  of  native  society. 
Prevention  is  always  better  than  remedy.  And  the  very 
knowledge  of  the  fact,  that  a  parent  was  liable  to  be  summoned 
to  compear  with  his  child  at  the  bar  of  a  public  magistrate  or 
judge,  upon  grounds  of  reasonable  suspicion  or  merely  pre- 
sumptive evidence  of  the  ill-treatment  of  the  latter  ;  and  more 
especially,  that,  in  the  event  of  ill-treatment  being  satisfacto- 
rily proved,  he  was  liable  to  a  deprivation  of  his  right  of 
guardianship  altogether  ; — the  very  knowledge  of  all  this, 
would  inspire  a  wholesome  dread  of  offending,  and  operate  as 
a  salutary  preventive  check  to  the  perpetration  of  acts  which 
must  entail  such  penalties.  It  is  therefore  fondly  to  be 
hoped  that  the  Law  Commissioners  now  acting  under  appoint- 
ment of  the  Imperial  Legislature  may  be  honoured  as  instru- 
ments in  the  hands  of  Divine  Providence,  for  ameliorating 
the  existing  state  of  the  legal  rights  of  parents,  by  attemper- 
ing the  whole  with  the  mild  spirit  and  genius  of  the  British 
constitution.  It  is  earnestly  to  be  expected  that  they  may 
render  the  reciprocal  duties  and  obligations  of  the  parental 
relationship  commensurate  with  the  peculiar  exigencies  which 
the  policy  or  sanction  of  the  British  government  itself  creates, 
—  exigencies  inevitably  attendant  on  the  diffusion  of  true  lite- 
rature, science,  and  theology  throughout  the  land.  It  is  a 
consummation  devoutly  anticipated  by  all  the  wise  and  the 
good,  that,  by  the  relinquishment  or  mitigation  of  the  legis- 
lative principles  of  a  demi-barbarous  age,  as  well  as  the  suc- 
cessive removal  of  all  external  obstacles  whatsoever,  the 
march  of  native  improvement  may  be  free  and  unobstruct- 
ed, and  the  blessed  era  greatly  hastened,  when  the  gene- 
ral evangelization  of  the  people  shall  form  the  sure  basis  and 
guarantee  of  their  highest,  noblest,  and  most  stable  civili- 
zation. 


III. — The  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  Laws  of  Inheri- 
tance. 

This  is  a  subject  which  has  long  and  anxiously  attracted  the 
attention  of  the  friends  of  Indian  improvement.    In  the  year 
1830,  while  the  agents  of  different  Societies  were  engaged  in 
4x2 


704 


Latvs  of  Inheritance. 


[Nov. 


collecting  the  most  minute  and  authentic  information  respect- 
ing it,  the  desirableness  of  obtaining  the  general  co-operation 
of  those  who  were  most  deeply  concerned  in  the  amelioration 
of  the  natives,  in  thoroughly  investigating  a  matter  in  which 
all  were  alike  interested,  seemed  to  be  felt  and  acknowledged 
by  all.  A  general  meeting  was  accordingly  held  ;  and  after  the 
subject  was  freely  and  largely  discussed,  a  Committee  was 
appointed,  with  instructions  to  render  the  investigation  as 
complete  and  efficient  as  possible.  The  Committee,  having 
soon  afterwards  met,  and  taken  into  consideration  various 
reports  and  opinions,  nominated  and  appointed  two  of  their 
number,  the  late  Mr.  Pearce  and  myself,  as  a  Sub-committee, 
to  make  any  farther  inquiries  that  might  be  necessary,  and 
combine  the  result  of  the  whole  into  one  regular  and  continu- 
ous statement.  When  we  had  prepared  our  statement,  it  was 
presented  to  the  Committee,  and  met  with  their  decided 
approbation.  In  order,  however,  to  ensure  all  possible  free- 
dom from  error,  and  enable  them  to  forward  the  statement  to 
Great  Britain,  in  a  form  of  incontestable  accuracy,  it  was 
deemed  advisable,  by  means  of  private  circulation,  to  afford  all 
who  were  well  acquainted  with  the  subject,  an  opportunity 
of  pointing  out  any  mistakes  in  points  of  law,  or  any  impro- 
priety in  the  language.  After  a  short  experience,  the  incon- 
venience and  loss  of  time  incurred  in  circulating  a  large  parcel 
of  MS.  were  found  to  be  such,  as  to  lead  to  the  determination 
to  print  fifty  copies,  and  thereby  facilitate  the  rapidity,  and 
enlarge  the  extent  of  distribution. 

Now,  besides  the  very  wide  circulation  which  many  of  these 
obtained  among  friends  and  acquaintances,  about  twenty  were 
forwarded  to  different  gentlemen,  holding  the  highest  official 
situations  in  His  Majesty^s  Service  in  Calcutta,  and  in  the 
H.  C.'s  Service  throughout  the  Bengal  Presidency  ; — accom- 
panied respectively  with  the  following  note  : — 

Calcutta,  December,  1830. 

Dear  Sir, 

Permit  us,  for  a  short  time,  to  intrude  on  your  very  limited  leisure, 
■with  a  case,  in  which  justice  and  humanity,  as  well  as  religion,  seem  to 
implore  your  kind  assistance. 

You  are  well  aware  of  the  nature  of  the  Hindu  and  Muhammadan 
Laws  of  Inheritance,  as  administered  in  the  Honourable  Company's 
Courts,  and  may  probably  have  been  led  to  reflect,  ere  now,  on  the  un- 
happy state  of  destitution  and  misery  to  which  it  inevitably  conducts  all 
those  who,  from  among  the  more  respectable  Hindus  or  Musalmans, 
embrace  Christianity.  This  subject,  (with  one  or  two  others  connected 
with  it,)  has  for  a  long  time  engaged  the  attention  of  the  Missionaries  of 
various  denominations  resident  in  Calcutta  ;  and,  at  a  late  meeting,  we 
were  requested  by  them  to  draw  up  a  statement  on  the  subject,  which 
might  with  propriety  be  used  by  our  friends  in  England,  as  the  basis  of 
an  effort  for  attempting  an  amelioration  of  the  laws  in  question. 


1840.] 


Laws  of  Inheritance. 


705 


To  meet  the  views  of  our  associates,  we  prepared  the  accompanying 
paper.  But,  as  we  feel  very  desirous,  ere  we  submit  it  finally  for  their 
adoption,  that  the  statements  it  contains,  and  the  language  used  in 
reference  to  them,  should  be  rigidly  examined  by  a  few  gentlemen  fami- 
liar with  the  subject,  permit  us  to  request  your  kind  perusal  of,  and 
remarks  on  the  paper. 

We  are  anxious  that  the  statements  of  law  should  he  perfectly  accu- 
rate, having  no  desire  to  present  an  imaginary  grievance,  or  to  represent 
a  real  one  in  darker  colours  than  it  deserves  ;  and  we  are  also  anxious 
that  the  comments  on  the  evils  of  the  law,  should  be  free  from  disrespect 
to  the  Government,  and  not  load  it  with  undeserved  reproach.  Should 
you  conceive,  therefore,  that  any  part  of  the  law  is  misstated,  or  its  evils 
so  stated  as  may  probably  be  offensive  to  the  Government  here,  or  unjust 
to  them  if  published  at  home,  we  shall  feel  truly  obliged  to  you  for 
pointing  out  the  error,  and  thankfully  avail  ourselves  of  your  suggestion, 
making  no  use  of  your  name  without  your  express  sanction. 

Jf  your  leisure  will  allow  it,  we  shall  feel  particularly  obliged  by  the 
return  of  the  paper,  with  your  remarks,  in  the  course  of  ten  days  at  the 
farthest. 

We  remain, 
Sir, 

Yours  very  obediently, 

ALEXANDER  DUFF. 
W.  H.  PEARCE. 

To  the  printed  statement  was  also  prefixed  the  following 
explanatory  "  Advertisement 

'*  In  introducing  the  present  subject  to  the  notice  of  those  connected 
with  the  administration  of  Law  in  this  country,  we  have  no  desire  to  sup- 
press, nor,  when  acknowledged,  to  despise  the  fact,  that  it  appears  to  be 
intimately  connected  with  many  others,  involving  similar  principles,  and 
requiring  a  similar  adjustment.  The  reason  of  our  studied  silence  in 
regard  to  the  latter,  arises  simply  from  the  circumstance,  that,  however 
interesting  to  the  parties  concerned,  and  however  necessary  for  the 
statesman  to  include  in  a  general  measure  of  legislative  justice, — with 
these  we,  as  Christian  ministers,  conceive  we  have  nothing  to  do.  And 
the  sole  reason  of  attempting  to  excite  attention  to  the  former  is,  that 
with  it,  we,  as  Christian  ministers,  are  compelled  to  have  much  to  do. 
From  principle,  we  utterly  disclaim  the  propriety,  on  our  part,  of  any 
officious  intermeddling  with  politics,  in  the  ordinary  sense  of  that  term. 
And  if,  from  the  title  prefixed  to  the  following  statement,  any  be  inclined 
to  think  that  the  consistency  of  our  profession  is  compromised,  we  only 
request  a  suspension  of  judgment,  till  the  whole  has  been  carefully  perus- 
ed. Then  may  the  whole,  instead  of  being  contradictory  to  profession, 
he  found  to  furnish  one  continued  exemplification  of  a  steady  adherence 
to  our  avowed  principles — when  it  shall  appear,  that  we  have  studiously 
avoided  all  reference  to  those  subjects,  with  which,  however  closely  con- 
nected with  the  present  in  the  view  of  the  politician,  we,  in  the  exercise 
of  our  ministerial  duties,  have  no  concern: — and  that  we  have  only 
attempted  to  give  exclusive  prominence  to  that  particular  branch  of  a 
large  and  complicated  system,  which  necessarily  concerns  us  in  our  mis. 
sionary  capacity  and  usefulness, — which  closely  concerns  the  large  and 
influential  Christian  Societies  whose  wishes  we  endeavour  to  promote, — 
and  which  supremely  concerns  that  vast  portion  of  our  fellow-subjects, 
for  whose  improvement,  intellectual,  moral,  and  religious,  we  desire 
unceasingly  to  labour. 


700  Laws  of  Inheritance.  [Nov. 


With  the  view  also  of  preventing  any  misconstruction  that  might 
arise  on  the  part  of  the  reader,  as  to  the  real  hearing  and  import  of 
much  of  the  language  that  follows,  it  is  proper  to  state,  once  for  all, 
that,  when  the  evil  nature  and  consequences  of  the  law  are  attempted 
to  he  exposed,  it  is  not  intended  to  be  implied,  that  the  law  was  primarily 
enacted  by  the  British  Government ;  or  sanctioned  in  the  full  know- 
ledge of  its  evil  tendencies — far  less  for  the  sake  of  producing  the  evils 
specified  ; — or  even  sanctioned  at  all,  without  the  pressure  of  some  dire 
necessity.  It  is  one  thing  to  originate,  and  another  to  administer,  a  law 
already  in  existence  : — one  thing,  to  enforce  a  law  in  the  full  knowledge, 
and  another  to  enforce  it,  in  comparative  ignorance,  of  the  extent  of  its 
evil  nature  and  injurious  eifects : — one  thing,  voluntarily  to  choose,  and 
quite  another,  reluctantly  to  tolerate,  a  law  imposed  by  some  imperious 
necessity.  We  can  readily  allow,  that  the  latter  branch  of  these  alter- 
natives may,  with  some  degree  of  accuracy,  describe  the  actual  condition 
of  Government,  as  far  as  respects  the  law  in  question.  But  this  does 
not  disprove  the  propriety  of  the  present  exposure,  nor  of  the  language 
employed.  Since  a  law,  evil  in  its  nature,  and  pernicious  in  its  effects, 
is  found  really  to  exist :  and  since  it  appears  to  be  adopted,  sanctioned, 
and  enforced  by  Government,  or  the  official  agents  of  Government;  it  is 
not  improper  to  direct  attention  towards  it  :  and  it  is  not  possible  to 
make  mention  of  it  in  any  other  light,  than  as  an  act,  or,  at  least,  sanc- 
tioned enactment,  of  Government. 

We  trust,  however,  that  as,  with  the  blessing  of  Providence,  our 
Eastern  Empire  is  now  firmly  consolidated;  as  no  immediate  danger  is 
to  be  apprehended,  either  from  internal  dissension  or  external  aggression  ; 
and  as  the  present  administration,  both  in  India  and  the  Mother  Coun- 
try, is  characterized  by  no  ordinary  degree  of  liberality,  and  no  ordinary 
desire  to  secure  the  just  rights,  privileges,  and  prosperity  of  all  classes 
of  that  vast  community  that  compose  the  British  Empire, — we  sincerely 
trust,  that  a  faithful,  uncompromising  statement  on  the  present  subject, 
presented  in  due  form  to  the  proper  Authorities,  will  be  quite  sufficient 
to  ensure  its  speedy  and  equitable  adjustment." 

Several  of  the  gentlemen  addressed  on  this  occasion.,  and 
resident  in  Calcutta,  honoured  the  Sub- Committee  with  a  per- 
sonal interview.  From  others,  both  in  Calcutta  and  the  pro- 
vinces, written  answers  were  received.  And,  while  different 
opinions  were  expressed  respecting  the  time  and  the  mode  of 
remedying  the  evil,  it  was  satisfactory  to  find,  that,  with  the 
exception  of  a  few  slight  inadvertencies  in  the  language,  which 
were  immediately  corrected,  the  general  accuracy  of  the  state- 
ment was  universally  and  unequivocally  admitted. 

The  Statement — thus  prepared  and  presented  in  a  form 
which,  from  the  searching  scrutiny  to  which  it  was  subject- 
ed, might  fairly  challenge  freedom  from  objection  on  the 
ground  of  inaccuracy — was,  as  follows  :■ — 

There  appear  several  subjects,  more  particularly  demanding  the  at- 
tention of  the  friends  of  Christianity  in  India,  in  order,  at  this  time,  to 
secure  some  legislative  provision  regarding  them.  One  of  these  is,  the 
injurious  effects  of  the  Hindu  and  Muhammadan  Laws  of  Inheritance,  on 
persons  who  may  renounce  those  religions ;  and  the  second,  the  anomalous 
leg;al  situation  of  both  Musalmans  and  Hindus,  after  they  have  embraced 
Christianity. 


IS  10.] 


Laws  of  Inheritance. 


707 


In  reference  to  this  subject,  we  beg  to  remark,  that  a  Hindu  or 
Mnsalman,  on  changing  his  religion,  is,  by  the  existing  law,  disqualified 
for  holding  or  inheriting  property.  To  proceed  to  particulars — we  ob- 
serve, in  the  first  place,  that  by  the  Hindu  Law  of  Inheritance,  as  ad- 
ministered by  the  British  Government  in  Bengal,  a  Hindu,  on  becoming 
a  Christian  or  Mnsalman,  is  considered  as  having  lost  caste;  and  hence  he 
and  his  heirs,  being  Christians  or  Muhammadans,  are  declared  to  have 
forfeited  all  right  to  the  ancestral*  property  he  possessed,  or  had  a  claim 
to,  at  the  time  he  changed  his  religion. 

That  this  is  the  Law  of  Inheritance  as  stated  by  the  highest  Hindu 
authority,  is  evident  from  the  following-  extract  from  Manu  : — "  Eunuchs, 
and  outcastcs,  persons  born  blind  or  deaf,  madmen,  idiots,  the  dumb,  and 
such  as  have  lost  the  use  of  a  limb,  are  excluded  from  a  share  of  the 
heritage." — Sir  W.  Jones'  translation  of  the  Institutes  of  Manu,  Chapter 
ix.  Section  201. 

That  this  law,  as  it  regards  persons  who  have  lost  caste  by  renouncing 
Hinduism,  would  yet  be  enforced,  seems  equally  evident.  Mr.  Colebrooke, 
whose  extensive  acquaintance  with  Hindu  Law  is  univerally  acknowledg- 
ed, says  : — "  I  do  not  think  any  of  our  courts  would  go  into  proof  of  one 
of  the  brethren  (of  a  family)  being  addicted  to  vice  or  profusion,  or  of 
being  guilty  of  neglect  of  obsequies  and  duty  towards  ancestors.  But 
expulsion  from  caste,  leprosy,  and  similar  diseases,  natural  deformity  from 
birth,  neutral  sex,  unlawful  births,  resulting  from  an  uncanonical  mar- 
riage, would  doubtlessly  now  exclude  ;  and  I  apprehend  it  would  be  to  be 
so  adjusted  in  our  Adalats." 

Mr.  W.  H.  Macnaghten,  whose  comprehensive  knowledge  of  both 
Hindu  and  Muhammadan  Law  is  generally  admitted,  seems  to  be  of  the 
same  opinion.  In  his  Principles  and  Precedents  of  Hindu  Law,  a  work 
lately  published  at  the  expense  of  the  Bengal  Government,  for  the  use 
of  their  courts,  in  the  chapter  on  "Exclusion  from  Inheritance."  (Vol. 
ii.  p.  131,)  this  gentleman,  who  appears  not  to  have  inserted  any  opinions 
which  he  deemed  erroneous,  mentions  a  case  quite  in  point,  which  came 
for  decision  before  the  Patna  Court  of  Appeal.  In  this  case  the  follow- 
ing question  being  proposed  to  the  Native  Law  Officer,  "  A  person  of  the 
Hindu  persuasion  having  become  a  convert  to  the  Muhammadan  faith, 
on  ivhom  will  the  property  which  descended  to  him  from  his  forefathers, 
and  that  which  he  himself  acquired,  devolve  ? — "  the  Pandit  delivered  it 
as  his  opinion,  and  the  opinion  seems  to  have  been  admitted  as  correct  by 
the  Court,  that: — "  Whatever  property  the  individual,  previously  to 
his  conversion,  was  possessed  and  seized  of,  will  devolve  on  his  nearest  of 
kin  who  professes  the  Hindu  religion." 

Several  gentlemen,  too,  holding  important  judicial  situations  in  the 
Honourable  Company's  Service,  in  Bengal,  whom  we  have  privately  con- 
sulted on  the  question,  as  to  whether  conversion  to  Christianity  would 
exclude  a  Hindu  from  inheritance,  have  been  compelled,  after  reference 
to  the  best  authorities  on  the  subject,  to  declare  it  as  their  opinion,  that 
were  the  Hindu  law  to  be  as  usual  regarded,  such  must  be  the  conse- 
quence,— the  conversion  necessarily  creating  incompetency  to  perform 

*  We  have  designedly  not  included  acquired  property  : — because  there  is  such 
a  collision  of  authorities,  fis  to  render  it  uncertain,  whether  a  convert  from  Hin- 
duism to  Christianity  must  forfeit  property  that  is  self-acquired  ;  and,  however 
undesirable  that  doubt  should  exist  on  such  a  subject,  it  is  unnecessary  to  clog  a 
clear  and  strong  case,  by  associating  it  with  one,  more  or  less  involved  in  doubt  ; 
— and  because  a  remedy  for  the  great  and  generally  acknowledged  evil  would 
necessarily  rectify  that  which  is  intimately  connected  with  it,  and,  in  some  measure, 
dependant  upon  it. 


708 


Laws  of  Inheritance. 


[Nov. 


the  funeral  obsequies,  the  performance  of  which  is  the  foundation  of  all 
claim  to  inheritance. 

This  being  the  general  interpretation  of  the  law  in  Bengal,  persons 
becoming  Christians  have  never,  to  our  knowledge,  thought  it  worth 
while  to  apply  to  the  courts  of  law  with  the  view  of  recovering  the 
property  they  formerly  enjoyed.  Being  aware  that  a  legal  decision 
would  be  against  them,  they  have  submitted  to  the  total  loss  of  their 
property  on  embracing  the  Christian  faith,  in  preference  to  incurring 
the  great  expense  of  attempting  to  regain  it  in  a  court  of  justice,  with 
no  hope  of  redress.  The  following,  among  other  recent  instances,  we 
are  acquainted  with. 

Thakur  Das,  a  Kayastha,  the  nephew  of  Guru  Prasad  Babu,  on  he- 
coming  a  Christian,  was  entitled  to  5000  rupees,  ancestorial  property, 
which  was  all  relinquished. 

Jagamohan,  a  Rarhi  brahman,  was  of  a  most  respectable  family.  His 
relations  were  zamindars,  and  lived  near  Banackpore.  The  ancestorial 
and  acquired  property  which  he  would  have  enjoyed  before  his  death, 
but  of  which  he  suffered  the  loss,  through  becoming  a  Christian,  is 
estimated  by  several  Hindus,  well  acquinted  with  him  and  his  circum- 
stances, to  have  been  at  least  Rupees  2u,000. 

A  man  of  the  name  of  Narapot  Singh,  of  the  Brahmanical  caste,  is  the 
son  of  the  late  Puran  Singh,  who  was  a  wealthy  zamindar,  near  Gayali, 
in  the  province  of  Behar.  On  his  demise,  his  property  (which  consisted 
of  six  Mouzas,  realizing  an  annual  rent  of  about  16,000  Rupees),  de- 
scended in  the  following  manner;  viz.  three  Mouzas,  producing  8,000 
Rupees  a  year,  to  Narapot  Singh;  and  the  other  three  Mouzas,  produc- 
ing a  like  sum,  to  the  children  of  his  brother.  Soon  after  this  event 
Narapot  Singh  came  to  Calcutta,  and  there  embraced  Christianity.  This 
intelligence  was  no  sooner  communicated  to  his  cousins,  the  other  party 
included  in  his  late  father's  will,  than  they  seized  upon  his  property,  and 
have  retained  possession  of  it  ever  since,  now  upwards  of  20  years.  Rev. 
Mr.  Ward,  one  of  the  Serampore  Missionaries,  advised  witli  several  ma- 
gistrates on  the  subject,  particularly  with  the  judge  of  the  court 
at  Gayah  ;  but  being  informed,  that  according  to  the  Hindu  law,  as  admi- 
nistered in  the  provincial  courts,  he  (Narapot  Singh)  had  forfeited  all 
claim  to  his  property,  he  advised  him  to  submit  to  tiie  loss  rather  than 
engage  in  a  law  suit,  which  must,  according  to  the  present  regulations, 
be  decided  against  him.  He  has,  therefore,  now  (1S30)  suffered  the  loss  of 
his  property  for  the  last  20  years,  the  amount  of  which,  after  deducting 
Government  taxes,  &c.  exceeds  100,000  Its.  which  he  lias  forfeited  merely 
for  becoming  a  convert  to  Christianity.  At  present,  Narapot  Singh  is 
engaged  as  a  Native  Preacher  in  Calcutta,  under  the  patronage  of  the 
London  Missionary  Society.  Should  it  he  considered  necessary,  the  most 
indubitable  evidence  can  be  obtained  to  substantiate  the  above  facts. 

Besides  these,  Kashi  Mitre,  deceased  ;  Kashi  Natli,  a  Brahman,  and 
now  employed  at  the  Baptist  Mission  Press  ;  and  many  others,  who  lost 
considerable  property  from  1000  to  3000  Rupees  each,  might  be  mention- 
ed as  instances  in  which  the  injurious  consequences  of  the  law  have  been 
suffered  by  Hindus  becoming  Christians. 

That  the  same  law  is  considered  in  force  in  the  Presidency  of  Madras, 
as  well  as  Bengal,  we  judge  from  Sir  Thomas  Strange,  who,  in  his  Ele- 
ments of  Hindu  Law,  chapter  9,  thus  refers  to  the  Law  of  Inheritance,  as 
there  administered: — "  It  remains  to  consider  one  case,  that  may  be  said 
to  be,  with  reference  to  personal  delinquency,  instar  omnium,  occurring  in 
every  enumeration  on  the  subject,  as  a  cause  of  exclusion,  viz.  degrada- 
tion, or  the  case  of  the  outcaate.  Accompanied  with  certain  ceremonies, 
its  effect  is,  to  exclude  him  from  all  social  intercourse  ;  to  suspend  in  him 


1840.] 


Laws  of  Inheritance. 


709 


every  civil  function  ;  to  disqualify  him  for  all  the  offices,  and  all  the 
charities  of  life.  He  is  to  he  deserted  by  his  connexions,  who  are,  from 
the  moment  of  the  sentence  attaching  upon  him,  to  '  desist  from  speaking 
to  him,  from  sitting  in  his  company, /Vom  delivering  to  him  any  inherited 
or  other  property,  and  every  civil  or  usual  attention  !'  so  that  a  man,  under 
these  circumstances,  might  as  well  he  dead." 

Though  the  same  law  exists  in  the  Bombay  Presidency,  it  appears  to 
have  almost  entirely  fallen  into  desuetude  there.  According  to  the  Sum- 
mary of  Hindu  Law  and  Custom,  made  by  the  late  Mr.  Steel,  under  the 
authority  of  the  Government  of  Bombay,  it  seems  however  there  are  yet 
some  enactments  recognized,  which  open  the  way  to  most  serious  op- 
pression. He  says: — "  A  man  entirely  losing  caste,  by  changing  his  religion, 
from  motives  of  avarice,  has  no  right  to  share  in  the  partition  of family  pro- 
perty, unless  he  did  so,  in  return  for  a  grant  to  the  whole  family  of  nwut- 
tan,  &c.  when  he  would  be  allowed  a  share.  If  the  change  of  religion 
were  operated  by  force,  the  relations  might,  at  their  option,  reserve  to 
the  party  a  maintenance."  p.  225.  Why  may  not  the  Hindu  relations  of 
any  one  who  becomes  a  Christian,  make  a  successful  attempt  to  prove 
that  he  did  so  from  motives  of  avarice,  and  thus  get  him  excluded  from  his 
share  of  the  inheritance  ? 

The  Muhammadan  Law  on  this  subject  is  equally  express,  and  quite  as 
oppressive  as  the  Hindu. 

It  is  laid  down  by  Mr.  W.  H.  Macnaghten,  in  his  Principles  and 
Precedents  of  Muhammadan  Law,  p  1,  as  a  principle  of  Inheritance,  ac- 
cording to  the  Suni  doctrine,  that  "  Slavery,  homicide,  difference  of  reli- 
gion, and  difference  of  allegiance,  exclude  from  inheritance;"  and  by  a 
precedent  quoted  at  p.  86  of  that  work,  it  is  evident,  that  although 
apostacy  from  Muhammadanism  would  not  invalidate  the  descendant's 
right  to  property  devolving  on  him  hy  the  death  of  his  ancestor  before  his 
conversion,  he  would  be  entitled  to  none  whatever  originally  devolving  on 
him  after  his  change  of  religion.  See  also  Sect.  vi.  p.  21,  of  the  same  work, 
where  it  is  assumed  that  "  entire  exclusion"  from  inheritance  is  produced 
by  becoming  an  infidel.  That  the  Schia  doctrine  of  inheritance  on  this 
point  agrees  with  the  Suni,  is  mentioned  in  the  same  work,  p.  40,  and  of 
course  the  results,  by  this  interpretation,  would  be  equally  oppressive. 

It  is  right  to  add,  that  by  the  most  express  enactments  of  the  Koran, 
on  which  the  code  of  civil  law  is  founded,  a  Musalman,  on  becoming  an 
infidel,  is  liable  to  deprivation  of  the  property  he  has  himself  acquired, 
as  well  as  of  that  which  descends  to  him  by  inheritance. 

From  the  preceding  facts  and  statements,  the  legitimate  conclusion  de- 
ducible  is,  that  in  British  I  ndia  a  renouncement  of  Muhammadanism  neces- 
sarily deprives  the  convert  of  all  right  to  property,  ancestral  or  acquired, 
devolving  on  him,  or  possessed  by  him,  a  the  time  of  this  conversion  ; 
and  that  a  renouncement  of  Hinduism  necessarily  excludes  the  convert 
from  the  present  and  disqualifies  hint  for  the  future  possession  of  any 
ancestral  property,  and  also,  according  to  many  authorities,  of  any 
property  that  is  self-acquired. 

In  having  thus  directed  the  attention  of  the  public  to  the  present 
subject,  we  conceive  that  an  important  duty  has  been  discharged  :  and  we 
might  leave  it  to  the  good  sense  of  the  community  to  judge  of  the  pro- 
priety or  impropriety,  the  justice  or  the  injustice,  of  such  a  law  as  that 
now  described.  At  the  same  time,  a  few  observations,  tending  to  illus- 
trate the  real  nature  of  the  grievance,  and  suggest  an  appropriate 
remedy,  may  not  be  thought  misplaced. 

I.  Proceeding  on  the  supposition,  that  the  facts  and  statements 
already  given  are  incontrovertible,  we  must  briefly  advert  to  the  evil 
nature  and  consequences  of  the  law. 

VOL.    I.  4  Y 


710 


Latvs  of  Inheritance. 


And  our  first  observation  is,  that  the  law,  when  viewed  simply  in  re- 
ference to  mere  civil  rights,  must  appear  to  every  enlightened  man 
grossly  to  violate  the  first  principles  of  natural  justice  ;  and  such  a  law, 
therefore,  as  no  wise  and  enlightened  Government  ou^ht  ever  to  sanction 
or  enforce. 

It  is  not  necessary  here  to  point  out  the  advantages  of  the  institution 
of  property,  or  the  source  from  which  the  right  of  property  is  derived. 
For  our  purpose  it  is  sufficient  to  know,  that,  in  every  civilized  society, 
the  advantages  are  acknowledged  to  be  so  manifold,  as  vastly  to  outweigh 
all  conceivable  disadvantages;  and  that  there  is  attached  to  the  right  an 
inviolability  almost  approaching  to  sacredness.  These  facts  are  so  in- 
disputable, that  one  end,  if  not  the  chief  end,  of  ev  ery  wise  Government 
is,  to  protect  and  secure  property,  by  the  interposition  of  legal  sanctions 
and  penalties.  And  in  cases  which  concern  the  fulfilment  of  righteous 
contracts,  or  conspiracy  against  the  Government,  and  in  these  alone, 
is  it  deemed  just  to  alienate  property.  The  justice  of  the  former  is 
founded  on  the  very  principles  that  recognize  the  right  of  property  :  the 
justice  of  the  latter  is  founded  chiefly  on  the  nature  of  that  act  which 
aims  at  the  subversion  of  government  ;  as  the  voluntary  effort  to  over- 
throw that  which  alone  protects,  necessarily  annihilates  every  claim  or 
title  to  protection. 

What  then  must  wise  and  enlightened  men  think  of  this  new  case,  in 
which  a  Government,  instead  of  controlling  the  outward  actions,  or 
directing  the  visible  efforts  of  men  for  the  best  interests  of  society  appears 
to  overstep  its  proper  limits,  and  in  cases  of  a  conscientious  change  of 
private  opinion,  sanctions  the  infliction  of  penalties  which  almost  equal 
in  magnitude,  those  attached  to  that  crime,  which  ranks  the  highest  in 
the  view  ofevei-y  Government  ?  As,  in  the  case  of  high  treason,  where  the 
penalty  of  death  is  inflicted,  forfeiture  of  property  affects  all  genera- 
tions ;  so,  in  the  present  instance,  a  mere  change  of  sentiment,  on  a  sub- 
ject that  may  no  more  affect  the  stability  of  Government,  or  the  general 
welfare  of  society,  than  the  change  of  opinion  on  a  question  respecting 
the  relative  motions  of  the  earth  and  sun — but  may  eminently  promote 
the  best  interests  of  both, — not  only  subjects  a  man  to  exclusion  from 
"  all  the  offices  and  charities  of  life,"  and  disqualification  for  holding  or 
inheriting  any  species  of  property  ;  but  also  involves  bis  posterity  in  the 
miseries  of  the  forfeiture — and  renders  them  outcasts,  not  only  from  all 
society,  but  apparently  from  all  law. 

"  Surely,"  may  every  enlightened  man,  yea,  every  man  who  makes  any 
pretence  to  the  knowledge  of  what  is  just  and  righteous,  indignantly  ex- 
claim,— "  Surely  this  is  a  case  purely  fictitious,  or  it  is  a  highly  coloured 
statement  of  some  of  the  darkest  features  of  the  Inquisition,  or  an  ex- 
aggerated representation  of  some  practice  prevalent  among  the  ferocious 
hordes  of  the  desert,  or  an  imaginary  picture  of  what  may  he  reckoned  an 
instance  of  the  most  consummate  injustice,  of  w  hich  even  the  most  igno- 
rant and  polluted  creature  can  be  guilty  !" — "No  such  thing,"  will  be  the 
astounding  reply  ;  "  it  appears  to  be  none  other  than  a  barbarous  enact- 
ment of  Hindu  Law,  sanctioned  by  the  British  Government." 

We  leave  it  to  the  heart  of  every  wise  and  enlightened  Briton  to  feel, 
in  silence,  the  sudden  surprise,  and  dreadful  humiliation  of  such  a  state- 
ment. 

2.  We  next  observe,  that,  viewing  the  subject  in  reference  to  religion 
in  general,  every  sound  Theist  must  pronounce  the  enactment  impious. 

When  he  reflects  that,  from  the  defects  of  man's  knowledge,  and  the 
limitations  of  man's  power,  he  is  utterly  incapacitated  for  penetrating  the 
recesses  of  the  heart,  and  deciding  upon  its  motives,  and  pronouncing 
upon  its  judgments,  and  estimating  the  soundness  of  its  convictions,  and 


1840.] 


Laws  of  Inheritance. 


711 


denouncing  penalties  on  its  decisions;  and  tliat  to  the  Omniscient  God 
alone  belongs  the  high  prerogative  of  penetrating,  without  the  possibility 
of  concealment,  and  pronouncing  sentence,  without  the  possibility  of 
error  : — he  can  scarcely  regard  an  act  which,  without  the  pretension, 
virtually  implies  an  usurpation  of  this  high  function  of  Omnipotence,  in 
any  other  light,  than  as  involving  real,  though  it  may  be,  unintended 
impiety. 

Or  when,  from  the  inquisitorial  nature  of  the  enactment,  he  directs  his 
thoughts  to  its  outward  effects,  and  views  these  in  connection  with  the 
moral  and  physical  constitution  of  the  universe  : — when  he  reflects  thut  for 
reasons  to  him  unknown,  and  yet  for  reasons,  which  appear  to  infinite 
wisdom  and  goodness  to  be  sufficient,  the  Eternal  God  causes  his  sun  to 
shine  on  the  just  and  the  unjust,  sending  down  rain  to  fertilize  the  soil, 
and  ensure  a  rich  abundance  of  fruit  for  the  sustenance  of  the  inhabitants 
of  every  clime,  and  the  professors  of  every  religion: — and  when,  in  per- 
fect contrast  to  all  this,  he  considers  a  human  ordinance  that  appears  to 
condemn  ihe  constitution  established  by  an  all-wise  and  all-gracious  God, 
by  involving  the  principle  that  in  one  portion,  at  least,  of  the  habitable 
globe,  teeming  with  myriads  of  rational  beings,  a  conscientious  change 
from  one  system  of  religious  belief  to  another,  both  of  which  are  alike 
tolerated  in  the  great  system  of  Providence,  necessarily  disqualifies  for  the 
enjoyment  of  those  bounties  of  nature  so  richly  provided,  and  formerly,  it 
may  be,  so  amply  possessed  : — he  cannot  possibly  regard  such  an  ordi- 
nance in  any  other  light  than  as  an  impious  contradiction  to  the  divinely 
constituted  order  of  things. 

3.  Once  more,  we  observe  that,  viewed  in  reference  to  Christianity 
and  a  Christian  Government,  the  real  Christian  must  feel  such  a  law  to 
be  in  palpable  contradiction  to  all  the  feelings  and  principles  by  which  he 
ever  professes  to  be  actuated,  and  which  he  believes  to  be  enstamped 
with  the  signature  of  Divinity,  as  well  as  a  glaring  outrage  to  the 
revealed  will,  and  declared  purposes,  of  the  Infinite  Mind. 

As  a  man  of  enlightened  understanding,  he  clearly  perceives  that  the 
law  is  subversive  of  the  first  principles  of  justice  :  as  one  who  is  convinced 
of  the  existence  of  an  Almighty  Superintending  Power,  he  cannot  divest 
it  of  the  charge  of  impiety  :  but  as  a  Christian,  he  sees  it  accompanied 
with  other  and  peculiar  aggravations: — peculiar,  we  say,  because  in  his 
mind  it  stands  connected  with  new  facts,  combined  with  new  principles, 
and  associated  with  new  manifestations  of  the  Divine  mind. 

His  first  thoughts  might  be,  that  deeds  which  involve  injustice  and 
impiety  maybe  accounted  equally  unjust  and  impious,  whether  committed 
by  a  professing  disciple  of  Christ,  or  an  abandoned  reprobate  ;  yet  that, 
regarded  as  the  acts  of  the  latter,  they  maintain  a  character  of  perfect 
consistency ;  while,  regarded  as  the  acts  of  the  former,  they  betray 
an  inconsistency  so  monstrous,  that  no  language  can  supply  an  adequate 
expression  for  it. 

And  the  inconsistency  would  appear  greatly  aggravated,  when  he 
reflected,  that  the  particular  deed  in  question,  which,  even  when  viewed 
apart  from  Christianity,  involves  injustice  and  impiety,  also  tended  to 
counteract  the  revealed  intentions  of  the  Almighty,  by  opposing  a 
powerful  obstacle  to  the  spread  of  that  religion,  which  its  Divine  Author 
designed  to  become  universal,  and,  in  furtherance  of  the  design,  com- 
manded his  disciples  to  promulgate,  as  the  richest  blessing,  to  all  nations 
under  heaven*. 

*  That  this  obstacle  is  not  imaginary,  but  operates  widely  in  practice,  is  a  fact, 
the  knowledge  of  which  is  co-extensive  with  the  active  exertions  of  any  individual 
in  disseminating  Christian  truth.  The  nature  of  the  obstacle  will  best  appear  from 
the  statement  of  one,  whose  well-known,  character  must  add  weight  to  any  testimony, 

4  y  2 


712 


Lmvs  of  Inheritance. 


[Nov. 


On  farther  reflecting  that,  from  the  wretched  constitution  of  society  in 
India,  the  embracing  of  Christianity  is,  in  other  respects,  attended  with 
consequences  the  most  injurious  and  distressing, — such  as,  loss  of  home, 
employment,  reputation,  &c,  he  might  he  inclined  to  exclaim  :  What ! — 
as  if  these  dreadful  results  were  not  sufficient  to  excite  commiseration, — 
shall  a  Christian  Government,  hy  an  apparent  refinement  of  cruelty, 
proceed  a  step  further  in  the  progress  of  actual,  though  it  may  be,  unin- 
tended persecution,  and  deprive  the  individual  who  has  been  unfortunate 
enough  to  embrace  the  Christian  faith  of  the  very  means  of  subsistence? 
— and  that  too,  by  sanctioning  an  enactment  which  implicates  posterity  in 
the  same  miserable  fate,  and  which,  if  it  continue  to  be  enforced,  how- 
ever numerous  may  be  the  persons  converted  to  Christianity  who  have 
been  in  respectable  circumstances,  must  suddenly  reduce  all  of  them,  and, 
as  far  as  this  law  shall  operate,  their  posterity  also,  to  a  state  of  total 
destitution  and  beggary ;  and  thus  a  whole  community  be  established,  to 
become  a  burden,  instead  of  a  blessing  to  society*  ! 

and  whose  name  will  long  be  revered  as  associated  with  the  rise  and  progress  of  Chris- 
tianity in  India: — from  a  communication  with  which  the  venerable  Archdeacon 
Corrie  favoured  the  Sub-Committee,  the  following  is  an  extract:  — 

"  Caste  is  doubtless  a  great  barrier  against  the  diffusion  of  Christianity  in  thi9 
country,  not  solely ,  however,  as  depriving  a  person  of  tlie  right  of  inheritance,  but 
generally  as  involving  a  kind  of  out  lawry,  to  which  even  the  poorest  are  subject. 

"  1  have  known  instances  where  Hindus  possessing  a  share  in  uudivided  property, 
have  been  allowed  by  the  other  members  of  the  family  to  retain  it,  after  embracing 
Christianity  ;  but  this  has  arisen  entirely  out  of  the  peculiar  circumstances  either  of 
convenience,  or  personal  attachment.  There  can  be  no  doubt,  however,  that  the  tem- 
poral loss  attending  loss  of  caste,  does  prevent  many  from  coming  at  .ill  to  the 
consideration  of  the  grounds  upon  whieli  Christianity  rests.  The  journals  of  the 
late  Reverend  Abdool  Museeh,  published  in  the  Missionary  Register  between  1813 
and  1827,  will  supply  many  instances  of  this.  I  refer  you  to  his  journals  rather  than 
those  of  any  European  Missionary,  as  he  could  more  certainly  ascertain  the  minds  of 
his  countrymen.  One  instance  I  may  mention,  which  is  strictly  to  the  point  in 
question,  of  a  person  named  Bukhtawur  Singh,  who  died  at  Chunar  in  October  last. 
He  was  a  person  of  very  superior  understanding,  and  became  acquainted  with  the 
truths  of  Christianity  several  years  since.  He  constantly  attended  Christian  wor- 
ship, generally  accompanied  the  Missionaries  when  they  preached  in  the  town,  stood 
by  them,  defended  their  doctrice  in  a  manner  which  for  the  most  part  silenced  gaiu- 
sayers,  and  bare  all  the  reproach  of  being  a  Christian.  Yet  this  man  resisted  all 
arguments  used  to  induce  him  to  submit  to  Baptism,  urging  that  should  he  lose  caste 
by  joining  himself  to  the  Christian  Church,  he  should  never  be  able  to  recover  auy  of 
the  money  owineto  him,  and  should  be  reduced  to  beggary." 

*  We  are  glad  that  it  is  in  our  power  to  confirm  many  of  the  preceding  facts  and 
inferences,  by  an  appeal  to  the  written  authority  of  Mr.  Macan,  of  the  H.  C.'s  Civil 
Service,  and  late  judge  at  Juanpore.  This  document  establishes  many  important 
points  : — among  others,  the  following  : — that  such  a  law  exists,  and  is  usually  inter- 
preted as  we  have  already  described — that  it  is  unjust  in  its  nature,  and  injurious  in 
its  effects — that  it  presents  a  powerful  barrier,  "  not  only  to  the  spread  of  true 
religion,  but  to  the  improvement  of  the  country,  and  the  civilization  of  the  people" 
— and  that  it  places  a  British  judge  iu  a  situation  that  offers  violence  to  his  principles 
as  an  elightened  man,  and  to  his  feelings  as  a  Christian.  The  following  is  an  extract 
from  Mr.  Macan's  printed  speech,  delivered  at  the  annual  meeting  of"  The  Bengal 
Auxiliary  Missionary  Society, "  on  Wednesday,  March  18,  1829. 

"  It  may  not,  however,  be  considered  out  of  place,  just  to  mention  here,  that  there 
are  some  obstacles  to  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  amongst  the  rich  and  respectable  natives 
which  are  really  very  appalling  in  their  nature.  I  allude  to  the  Hindu  and  Muhamraa- 
dan  laws  of  inheritance,  as  recognized  within  the  British  dominions;  by  which  persons 
of  those  persuasions,  professing  Christianity,  may  not  only  be  prevented  from  suc- 
ceeding to  any  share  in  hereditary  property  to  which  they  might  otherwise  be 
entitled,  but  are  actually  liable  to  be  deprived  of  any  ancestral  estates  which 
they  may  be  in  possession  of  at  the  time  of  their  embracing  Christianity.  Thus,  to 
the  loss  of  caste,  and  exclusion  from  kindred  and  friends,  is  added  absolute  beggary; 
and  with  such  paiuful  sacrifices  in  prospect,  who  can  be  surprised  that  the  rich  and 
respectable  natives  should  feel  some  reluctance  to  pay  that  attention  to  our  Mis- 


1840.] 


Laws  of  Inheritance. 


713 


II.  We  are  not  unprepared  to  expect  that  many  may  be  disposed  to 
regard  the  preceding  facts  and  inferences,  in  the  light  of  magnifying  a 
molehill  into  a  mountain,  and  then  making  a  foolish  and  clamorous 
parade  in  our  attempt  to  demolish  it ; — but  is  it  really  so? 

If  there  be  meaning  in  language,  and  sincerity  in  the  statements  of 
honorable  men,  do  not  the  probabilities  in  favour  of  the  representation 
we  have  given  of  the  existing  state  of  the  law  vastly  preponderate? 
And  if  so,  we  leave  it  to  the  good  sense  of  our  readers  to  determine, 
whether  in  its  nature  and  consequences  it  is  not  alrcudy  a  mountain  of 
iniquity. 

For  the  sake,  however,  of  truth  and  justice,  as  well  as  with  the  view  of 
meeting  the  scruples  of  some,  and  the  objections  of  others,  we  proceed  to 
notice  some  of  the  grounds  on  which  it  may  be  pleaded  that  a  degree  of 
uncertainty  still  attaches  to  the  subject. 

1.  And  first,  let  it  be  observed,  that  the  law  respecting  the  loss  of 
caste,  as  it  affects  the  right  of  inheritance,  is  not  a  separate  or  isolated 
law.  The  case  of  the  outcast  is  constantly  associated  with  many  others 
that  operate  as  causes  of  disinheritance.  And  the  nature  of  this  connec- 
tion, together  with  the  kind  of  ambiguity  to  which,  in  the  estimation  of 
many,  it  may  lead,  will  best  be  understood  from  the  following  extracts. 

In  Macnaghten's  Precepts  and  Precedents  of  Hindu  Law,  Vol.  ii.  p. 
133,  it  is  stated  :  "  According  to  the  Hindu  law,  an  impotent  person, 
one  born  blind,  one  born  deaf  or  dumb,  or  an  idiot,  or  mad  or  lame,  one 
who  has  lost  a  sense  or  limb,  a  leper,  one  afflicted  with  obstinate  or  ago- 
nizing diseases,  one  afflicted  with  an  incurable  disease,  an  outcaste,  the 
offspring  of  an  outcaste,  one  who  has  been  formerly  degraded,  one  who 
has  been  expelled  from  society,  a  professed  enemy  to  his  father,  an  apos- 
tate, a  person  wearing  the  token  of  religious  mendicity,  a  son  of  a  woman 
married  in  irregular  order,  one  who  illegally  acquires  wealth,  one  inca- 
pable of  transacting  business,  one  who  is  addicted  to  vice,  one  destitute 
of  virtue,  a  son  who  has  no  sacred  knowledge,  nor  courage,  nor  industry, 
nor  devotion,  nor  liberality,  and  who  observes  not  immemorial  good  cus- 
toms, one  who  neglects  his  duties,  one  who  is  immersed  in  vice,  and  the 
sons  whose  affiliation  is  prohibited  in  the  present  age,  are  incompetent  to 
share  the  heritage  ;  but  these  persons,  excepting  the  outcaste  and  his 
offspring,  are  entitled  to  a  suitable  provision  of  food,  raiment,  and  habi- 
tation." On  which  the  author  remarks:  "  Were  these  disqualifying 
provisions  indeed  rigidly  enforced,  it  may  be  apprehended  that  but  very 
few  individuals  would  be  found  competent  to  inherit  properly,  as  there  is  hardly 
an  offence  in  jurisprudence,  or  a  disease  in  nosology,  that  may  not  be  com- 
prehended in  some  one  or  other  of  the  classes." 

siouaries,  and  to  subjects  connected  with  religion  and  education,  which  under  other 
circumstances  they  might  be  disposed  to  do  ? 

"  The  faithful  Missionaries  of  all  denominations  have  removed  every  impediment 
to  the  diffusion  of  religious  knowledge,  which  zeal  and  diligence  could  effect  ;  they 
have  mastered  the  languages  of  the  country  ;  they  have  translated  the  Scriptures 
into  the  various  dialects  of  India  ;  they  have  written  tracts,  and  established  schools  : 
but  the  obstacle  which  has  been  alluded  to,  they  cannot  surmount.  It  is  to  be  hoped, 
however,  that  under  an  enlightened  Christian  Government,  such  a  barrier,  not  only 
to  the  spread  of  true  religion,  but  to  the  improvement  of  the  country,  and  the  civili- 
zation of  the  people,  will  not  long  be  allowed  to  exist.  But  until  it  is  broUeu  down, 
often  must  the  Missionary,  while  reasoning  of  righteousness  and  temperance,  be  pain- 
ed to  hear  the  language  of  Felix  to  the  Apostle  Panl,  "  Go  thy  way  for  this  time  ; 
when  1  have  a  more  convenient  season,  I  will  call  for  thee."  Ofteu,  too,  it  is  to  be 
feared,  will  the  proud  breast  of  many  a  Briton  be  forced  to  swell  indignant  within 
him,  at  being  obliged,  while  presiding  as  a  judge,  to  dismiss  from  before  his  judg- 
ment seat,  to  penury  and  obscurity,  the  humble  followers  of  his  blessed  Redeemer  ; 
and  for  no  other  reason,  than  because  the  name  of  Jesus  shall  prove  dearer  to  the 
heart,  thau  father  or  mother,  houses  or  home,  than  wife  or  children.'' 


Laws  of  Inheritance. 


[Nov. 


Again,  the  same  gentleman.,  in  his  Principles  and  Precedents  of 
Muhammadan  Law,  p.  89,  says: — "Both  the  causes  here  mentioned 
[mental  derangement,  or  any  description  of  insanity  and  blindness] 
operate  to  exclude  from  the  inheritance,  agreeably  to  the  provisions  of 
the  Hindu  law  :  "  Eunuchs  and  outcasles,  persons  born  blind  or  deaf, 
madmen,  idiots,  the  dumb,  and  such  as  have  lost  the  use  of  a  limb, 
are  excluded  from  a  share  in  the  inheritance."  Sir  W.  Jones's  trans- 
lation of  the  Institutes  of  Manu,  Chap.  ix.  Sec  201:  hut,  adds  Mr. 
Macnaghten,  "  these  absurd  provisions  seem  to  be  entirely  obsolete  in 
the  present  day."  While  Mr.  Colebrooke,  who  wrote  only  a  few  years 
ago,  expresses  his  opinion,  as  we  have  seen  above,  that,  "  leprosy  and 
similar  diseases,  natural  deformity  from  birth,  &c.  would  doubtlessly  now 
exclude  ;"  and  says,  "  I  apprehend  it  would  be  to  be  so  adjusted  in  our 
Adawluts." 

Once  more,  there  is  recorded  by  Sir  T.  Strange,  in  his  compilation  on 
the  subject  of  Hindu  Law,  a  case  which  came  before  the  Sudder  Dewany 
Adalat  in  Bengal,  in  1814,  well  calculated  to  furnish  additional  illus- 
tration. In  this  case,  says  he,  "  the  party  had  been  guilty  of  a  series  of 
profligate  and  abandoned  conduct,  having  been  shamefully  addicted  to 
spirituous  liquors  ;  having  been  in  the  habit  of  associating  and  eating 
with  persons  of  the  lowest  description  and  most  infamous  character; 
having  wantonly  attacked  and  wounded  several  people  at  different  times; 
having  openly  cohabited  with  a  woman  of  the  Muhammadan  persuasion: 
and  having  set  fire  to  the  dwelling  house  of  his  adopted  mother,  whom 
he  had  more  than  once  attempted  to  destroy  by  other  means.  The  pandits 
declared,  that  of  all  the  offences  proved  to  have  been  committed  by  the 
individual,  one  only,  viz:  that  of  cohabiting  with  a  Muhammadan 
woman,  was  of  such  a  nature,  as  to  subject  him  to  the  penalty  of  expulsion 
from  his  tribe  (to  the  exclusion,  of  course,  from  inheritance)  irrevocably,  and 
of  tiiis  opinion  was  the  court."  Now,  it  scarcely  admits  of  a  doubt,  but 
that  in  another  court,  influenced  by  other  pandits,  other  offences  among 
those  mentioned  would  have  been  deemed  sufficient  to  subject  the  party 
to  the  penalty  of  expulsion  from  caste,  and  consequent  exclusion  from 
inheritance. 

From  these  and  similar  statements  the  fact  is  certain,  that  the  case  of 
the  outcaste  is  associated  with  many  others;  that  several  of  these  other 
cases  are,  in  practice,  regarded  as  obsolete  ;  and  that  hence,  in  the  view 
of  some  persons,  there  arises  an  uncertainty  whether  the  case  of  the  out- 
caste may  not  be  included  in  the  number  of  those  that  may  be  considered 
as  obsolete. 

Now  we  must  observe,  that,  although  all  the  prohibitions  and  precepts 
should  now  be  practically  disregarded,  the  very  circumstance  that,  among 
those  who  are  accounted  authorities  on  the  subject  of  Hindu  Law,  there 
exist  opinions  so  widely  different  as  to  the  extent  to  which  the  law  should 
be  allowed  to  operate,  must  render  every  decision  fearfully  uncertain, 
and  thereby  open  up  a  perpetual  source  of  angry  and  destructive  litiga- 
tion. 

Besides,  while  the  law  is  unrepealed,  it  must  be  evident  that,  though  by 
sufferance,  none  of  the  disqualifications  mentioned  would  now  be  allowed 
to  operate,  yet  that  it  is  by  sufferance  only.  It  is  not  by  any  legal  right, 
that  individuals  themselves,  or  their  ancestors,  to  whom  might  attach  one 
or  more  disqualifications,  have  entered  on  the  possession  of  property,  or 
are  permitted  to  retain  it;  and,  therefore,  any  ill  disposed  person  has  the 
pow  er  legally  to  annoy,  and  probably  to  disinherit  them.  This  is  a  state 
of  society  far  from  being  desirable,  and  is  to  our  knowledge  felt  to  be  so 
by  many  respectable  Hindus,  who  are  aware,  from  their  acquaintance 
with  the  law,  of  the  jeopardy  in  which  their  continued  possession  of  the 
property  they  enjoy  is  thus  placed. 


1840.] 


Laws  of  Inheritance. 


But  it  is  allowing  far  more  than  is  sanctioned,  eitlier  by  practice,  or  the 
declared  sentiments  of  qualified  judges,  when  we  suppose  that  a//  the  dis- 
qualifications enumerated  have  become  obsolete.  However  wide  the  dif- 
ference of  opinion  may  be  as  to  some  of  the  causes,  there  is  no  difference 
in  the  case  of  the  outcaste.  If  specified  at  all,  apart  from  the  rest,  it  is 
only  to  shew,  that  towards  it  there  is  no  abatement  whatever  in  the 
rigours  of  the  law  ;  no  diminution  of  severity  in  practice.  And  indeed, 
while  the  feelings  and  principles  of  the  Hindus  remain  unchanged,  it 
«  ere  unnatural  to  suppose  it  otherwise.  For,  although  the  loss  of  caste 
ought  no  more  to  operate  as  a  disqualification  than  the  other  causes  sup- 
posed to  have  now  become  obsolete,  yet,  as  the  law  is  understood  and 
recognized,  and  a  convert  to  Christianity,  as  such,  is  the  object  of  reli- 
gious enmity,  it  will,  in  his  case,  no  doubt,  he  always  enforced  ;  so  that  he 
must,  as  such  converts  have  always  hitherto  done,  submit  to  the  entire 
deprivation  of  his  property,  without  the  hope  of  redress  in  the  courts. 

After  all,  though  w  e  should  allow,  what  appears  to  be  contrary  to  fact, 
that  the  case  of  him  who  loses  caste  by  embracing  another  religion,  and 
Christianity  in  particular,  is  involved  in  uncertainty,  bow  can  this  vin- 
dicate the  propriety  of  allowing  such  a  subject  to  continue  in  that  condi- 
tion for  one  year,  one  day,  one  instant?  What  !  has  a  Christian  nation 
come  to  such  a  state  of  lowered  honour,  suspicious  piety,  and  glaring 
inconsistency,  that  it  should  declare  it  to  be  uncertain,  whether,  as  often  as 
occasion  arises,  it  may  not  commit  what  has  been  shewn  grossly  to  outrage 
all  justice,  and  piety,  and  consistency?  And  will  a  great,  and  wise,  and 
enlightened  Christian  Government  brook  such  a  defence?  Rather,  will  it 
not  utterly  reject  it  as  the  insidious  defence  of  an  enemy  ;  and,  by  its 
decisive  conduct,  proclaim,  "  Timeo  Dunaos,  el  dona  ferentes  ?" 

2.  Many  respectable  men,  Hindus  as  well  as  Europeans,  feeling  alive 
to  the  enormity  of  the  law  as  generally  understood  and  enforced,  and 
desirous,  from  motives  of  justice  and  humanity,  that  it  could  be  pro- 
nounced unfounded,  and  yet  professing  to  feel  dissatisfied  with  that  mode 
of  getting  rid  of  the  grievance  just  now  described,  have  recourse  to 
another  method,  which,  at  least,  has  the  merit  of  plausibility  and  benevo- 
lent intention.  And  we  know  not  a  more  satisfactory  way  of  conveving  an 
intelligible  idea  of  this  other  and  distinct  mode  of  solving  the  difficulty, 
than  by  a  quotation  from  a  pamphlet,  recently  published  by  the  learned 
and  ingenious  Rammohun  Roy.  The  quotation  refers  to  a  subject 
entirely  distinct  from  the  present,  and  is  adduced  merely  for  the  purpose 
of  illustrating  the  nature  of  the  principle  on  which  the  new  solution  is 
founded. 

"  The  Dayahhaga,  a  work  by  Jimutvahan,  treating  of  inheritance, 
has  been  regarded  by  the  natives  of  Bengal  as  of  authority  paramount 
to  the  rest  of  the  digests  of  the  sacred  authorities.  The  author  of  this 
work,  after  quoting  two  extraordinary  texts  of  Vyasa,  as  prohibiting 
the  disposal,  by  a  single  parcener,  of  bis  share  in  the  immoveables,  under 
the  notion  that  each  parcener  has  his  property  in  the  whole  estate  jointly 
possessed,  and,  in  reply  to  the  question,  what  might  he  the  consequence 
of  disregard  to  the  prohibition  conveyed  by  these  texts  of  Vyasa  ?  pro- 
ceeds to  say:  '  But  the  texts  of  Vyasa  exhibiting  a  prohibition,  are 
intended  to  shew  a  moral  offence  ;  since  the  family  is  distressed  by  a 
sale,  gift  or  other  transfer,  which  argues  a  disposition  in  the  person  to 
make  an  ill  use  of  his  power  as  owner.  They  are  not  meant  to  invalidate 
the  sale  or  other  transfer.'  Ch.  ii.  Sec.  28.  A  partner  is  as  completely  a 
legal  owner  of  his  own  share,  (either  divided  or  undivided)  as  a  proprietor 
of  an  entire  estate ;  and  consequently,  a  sale  or  gift  executed  by  the 
former,  of  bis  own  share,  should,  with  reason,  be  considered  equally  valid, 
as  a  contract  by  the  latter  for  his  sole  estate.    Hence  prohibition  of  such 


716 


Laws  of  Inheritance. 


[Nov. 


transfer  being  clearly  opposed  to  common  sense,  and  ordinary  usage, 
should  l>e  understood  as  only  forbidding  a  dereliction  of  moral  duty,  com- 
mitted by  those  who  infringe  it,  and  not  as  invalidating'  the  transfer. 

"  In  adopting  this  mode  of  exposition  of  the  law,  the  author  of  the 
Dayabhaga  has  pursued  the  course  frequently  inculcated  by  Manu  and 
others;  a  few  instances  of  which  I  beg  to  bring  briefly  to  the  conside- 
ration of  the  reader,  for  the  full  justification  of  this  author.  Manu,  the 
first  of  all  Hindu  legislators,  prohibits  donation  to  an  unworthy  brahman 
in  the  following  terms — '  Let  no  man,  apprized  of  this  law,  present  even 
water  to  a  Priest,  who  acts  like  a  cat,  nor  to  him,  who  acts  like  a  bittern, 
nor  to  him  who  is  unlearned  in  the  Veda.'  (Ch.  IV.  v.  192.)  Let  us 
suppose  that,  in  disregard  to  this  prohibition,  a  gift  has  been  actually 
made  to  one  of  those  Priests;  a  question  then  naturally  arises,  whether 
this  injunction  of  Manu's  invalidates  the  gift,  or  whether  such  infringe- 
ment of  the  law  only  renders  the  donor  guilty  of  a  moral  offence.  The 
same  legislator,  in  continuation,  thus  answers  :  '  Since  property,  though 
legally  gained,  if  it  be  given  to  either  of  those  three,  becomes  prejudi- 
cial in  the  next  world  both  to  the  giver  and  receiver.'  {v.  193.)  The 
same  authority  forbids  marrying  girls  of  certain  descriptions,  saying, 
'  Let  him  not  marry  a  girl  with  reddish  hair,  nor  with  any  deformed 
limb,  nor  one  troubled  with  habitual  sickness,  nor  one  either  with  no 
hair  or  with  too  much,  nor  one  immoderately  talkative  ;  nor  one  with 
inflamed  eyes.'  Ch.  III.  v.  8.  Although  this  law  has  been  very  frequently 
disregarded,  yet  no  voidance  of  such  a  marriage,  where  the  ceremony  has 
been  actually  and  regularly  performed,  has  ever  taken  place  ;  it  being 
understood  that  the  above  prohibition,  not  being  supported  by  sound 
reason,  only  involves  the  bridegroom  in  the  religious  offence  of  disregard 
to  a  sacred  precept." 

Precisely  in  the  spirit  of  this  mode  of  interpretation,  are  many  disposed 
to  regard  the  provisions  of  the  law  under  consideration.  They  regard 
them  in  the  number  of  those  precepts  and  prohibitions  that  are  received 
as  morally,  but  not  legally  binding;  disobedience  implying  a  moral  or  re- 
ligious offence,  but  no  infringement  of  a  legal  right:  so  that  in  this  way, 
an  outcaste  might  legally  retain  his  property,  and  yet  be  regarded  with 
abhorrence,  as  guilty  of  a  sin  of  the  deepest  dye. 

We  confess  we  admire  the  ingenuity,  rather  than  the  soundness  of  the 
principle,  as  applicable  to  the  present  subject.  It  affords  no  practical 
relief  from  the  pressure  of  the  evil  :  it  suggests  no  adequate  remedy. 
Indeed,  before  it  can  possibly  effect  either,  its  advocates  must  convince 
the  great  mass  of  the  Hindu  population,  as  well  as  the  executive  authori- 
ties, of  its  propriety.  But  this  is  a  task  too  Herculean  ever  to  be 
attempted.  And  even  though  the  belief  in  its  soundness  and  propriety 
were  extended  far  beyond  the  very  narrow  circle  to  which  at  present  it 
is  confined,  it  would  then  only  resolve  itself  into  that  case  of  dreadful 
uncertainty,  the  mischievous  nature  of  which  has  already  been  alluded  to 
in  such  a  way  as  to  require  no  repetition. 

III.  Having  thus  endeavoured  to  point  out  the  nature  of  the  evil,  we 
must  now  very  briefly  advert  to  the  subject  of  a  remedy. 

And  here  it  is  almost  unnecessary  for  us  to  refute  the  objection,  that 
the  Government  being  pledged  to  administer  justice  according  to  the 
Hindu  and  Muhammadan  Laws  of  inheritance,  interference  with  these 
laws  would  infringe  the  toleration  guaranteed  to  our  fellow-subjects.  It 
is  evident,  from  the  Preamble  to  various  Regulations  issued  by  different 
administrations,  that  the  duty  of  the  Government  has  always  in  its  own 
view  been  bounded  by  the  limits  of  justice;  and  that  by  every  principle  of 
toleration,  abstractedly  considered,  a  Hindu  or  Muhammadan  is  no  more 
justly  subject  to  the  loss  of  property  on  becoming  a  Christian,  than  a 


1840.] 


Laivs  of  Inheritance. 


7\7 


Christian  would  be  on  embracing  (;is  some  have  <Ione)  the  profession  of 
the  Muhammadan  faith. 

We  are  aware,  however,  that  the  difficulties  attending  an  improvement 
of  the  system  are  alleged  by  some  to  be  insuperable.  To  several  most 
respectable  members  of  the  Hon.  Company's  Civil  Service  we  have  men- 
tioned the  subject,  and  all  unite  in  deploring  it  as  an  evil  of  no  ordinary 
magnitude,  but  express  their  regret  that  the  way  of  obviating  the  dif- 
ficulty does  not  appear  so  evident. 

We  certainly  make  no  pretensions  to  the  discovery  of  a  plan  in  all  re- 
spects unexceptionable.  And  yet  a  few  suggestions  on  the  subject,  as 
being  well  intended,  may  not  be  deemed  presumptuous. 

1.  Since,  in  accordance  with  the  improved  state  of  Hindu  feeling, 
many  of  the  various  disqualifications,  mentioned  in  the  law  that  includes 
the  case  of  the  outcaste,  have  become  obsolete,  Might  it  not  be  possible, 
as  it  certainly  appears  desirable,  for  the  protection  of  persons  already  in 
the  possession  of  property,  and  the  preveniion  of  future  outrages  against 
all  that  is  just  and  excellent,  to  enact,  that  none  of  them  should  be 
allowed  to  operate  ;  but  that  property  should  descend  in  the  proportions 
directed  by  the  Hindu  law,  irrespective  of  those  disqualifications? 
Thus,  the  difficulty  would  be  obviated,  much  to  the  satisfaction  of  the 
great  body  of  Hindus,  and,  if  thought  expedient,  without  the  appearance 
of  even  a  reference  to  Christianity. 

2.  The  practice  of  Government  in  other  cases  might  well  sanction  a 
more  direct  method.  One  instance  directly  to  the  purpose  may  be 
specified, 

For  the  information  of  some  of  our  readers,  it  may  be  necessary  to 
state,  that  as  the  Dayabhaga  is  reckoned  the  standard  work  on  the  law 
of  inheritance,  by  the  natives  of  Bengal,  so  is  the  Mitakshura,  by 
Vignaneshwar,  regarded  as  the  standard  work  on  the  same  subject, 
throughout  the  Upper  Provinces,  and  a  great  part  of  the  D.-ikhan.  Now 
in  the  latter  work  is  contained  the  following  authoritative  decision.  Mi- 
takshura, Ch.  1.  Sec.  I.  Art.  27.  "  Therefore,  it  is  a  settled  point,  that 
property,  in  the  paternal  or  ancestral  estate,  is  by  birth,  (although)  the 
father  have  independent  power  in  the  disposal  of  effects  other  than  im- 
movables, for  indispensible  acts  of  duty,  and  for  purposes  prescribed  by 
texts  of  law  ;  as  gifts  through  affection,  support  of  the  family,  relief  from 
distress,  and  so  forth  ;  but  he  is  subject  to  the  control  of  his  sons  and  the 
rest,  in  regard  to  the  immovable  estates,  whether  acquired  by  himself,  or 
inherited  from  his  father  or  other  predecessor ;  since  it  is  ordained, 
•  Though  immovables  or  bipeds  have  been  acquired  by  a  man  himself,  a 
gift  or  sale  of  them  should  not  be  made  without  convening  all  the  sons. 
They  who  are  born,  and  they  who  are  yet  unbegotten,  and  they  who  are 
still  in  the  womb,  require  the  means  of  support:  no  gift  or  sale  should, 
therefore,  be  made.' '' 

Now  we  ought  to  observe,  it  is  the  fact,  that,  under  Regulation  VII. 
1825,  and  the  Regulations  to  which  it  refers,  Hindu  ancestral  landed 
estates,  in  the  Upper  Provinces,  have  been  always  considered  saleable 
by  public  auction,  in  satisfaction  of  decrees  of  court,  not  only  for  revenue 
due  to  Government,  but  even  for  private  debts  incurred  by  the  occupants 
for  the  time  being.  Now,  in  exact  accordance  with  the  spirit  and  inten- 
tion of  such  innovation,  and  apparent  disregard  for  the  sacred  authority 
of  the  Hindu  law,  might  not  Government,  for  the  sake  of  suppressing 
the  most  grievous  outrages  against  all  that  is  just  and  consistent,  at  once 
enact,  that,  henceforward,  a  change  of  opinion  on  matters  of  religion 
shall  in  no  wise  affect  the  just  and  legal  right  to  hold  or  inherit  pro- 
perty ? 

VOL.  I.  4  z 


718 


Laws  of  Inheritance. 


[Nov. 


3.  The  following  is  another  way  of  effecting  the  object,  differing  from 
the  latter,  in  the  mode,  rather  than  the  principle,  and  is  completely  in 
accordance  with  the  former  practice  of  the  Government  of  Bengal,  and 
might  he  made  applicable  to  both  Hindus  and  Musalmans. 

Besides  many  other  great  improvements  of  the  Muhammadan  Code, 
(on  which  criminal  law  as  administered  by  the  Honorable  Company  is 
founded,)  introduced  by  Regulation  IV.  1822,  one  very  important  and 
salutary  alteration,  very  much  in  point,  lias  been  introduced  in  the  case 
of  murder  by  Musalmans.  By  the  Muhammadan  Code  it  is  enacted,  that 
no  Musalman  should  be  liable  to  kissas,  (i.  e.  death  by  retaliation,)  for 
murder,  unless  one  of  the  ivitnesses  be  a  Musalman.  This  restriction 
being  justly  deemed  contrary  to  impartial  j ustice,  a  regulation  was  pass- 
ed, by  which  the  Mufti  is  directed  to  give  his  opinion,  whether  the 
accused  is  guilty,  or  not  guilty,  by  the  evidence,  had  the  witnesses  been 
Muhitinmudans  ;  and  sentence  is  passed  accordingly.  Might  not,  with 
equal  propriety,  a  Hindu  or  Muhammadan  law-officer  be  directed  to  give 
liis  opinion  as  to  the  share  of  property  which  would  have  belonged  to  any 
individual,  or  his  heirs,  becoming  a  Christian,  had  he  remained  a  Hindu 
or  Musalman;  and  might  not  that  property  be  secured  to  him  accord- 
ingly ? 

We  presume  not,  by  the  foregoing  hints,  to  dictate  in  what  way  the 
injustice  of  which,  on  behalf  of  a  number  of  converts  to  our  common 
faith,  already  large,  and  annually  increasing,  we  have  ventured  to  com- 
plain, should  be  removed  ;  but  it  appeared  highly  proper  for  us  to  exhibit 
some  feasible  plan  of  obviating  the  supposed  difficulty,  with  the  hope  of 
proving  that  it  is  by  no  means  insuperable,  and  that  its  removal  is  in 
strict  accordance  with  the  former  practice  of  Government  in  similar  cases 
of  injustice;  and  would  not,  in  all  probability,  excite  the  least  dissatisfac- 
tion in  the  minds  of  our  native  fellow-subjects. 

Such  was  the  Statement  prepared  and  authenticated  ten  years 
ago.  Of  it,  several  copies  were  forwarded  to  leading  individuals 
and  Committees  of  Societies  at  home,  who  had  embarked  on 
the  enterprize  of  Indian  renovation.  A  partial  agitation  was  in 
consequence  commenced.  The  Court  of  Directors  and  other 
public  bodies  were  memorialized  on  the  subject.  What  share 
of  influence,  direct  or  indirect,  may  have  been  exerted  by  the 
Calcutta  statement,  it  is  impossible  to  ascertain.  Nor  is  it  a 
matter  of  any  moment.  The  satisfactory  result  was,  that,  early 
in  1832,  the  Court  of  Directors  did  send  a  despatch  to  the 
Governor  General  in  Council,  to  institute  inquiry  and  speedily 
enact  some  adequate  legislative  remedy.  In  conformity  with 
the  declared  sentiments  and  express  request  of  the  Honourable 
Court,  the  Indian  Government  lost  no  time  in  giving  the 
matter  a  full  and  deliberate  consideration.  The  gratifying 
issue  soon  appeared.  Among  the  Regulations  of  1832,  16th 
October,  was  promulgated  the  following : — 

"Clause  VIII.  Such  part  of  Clause  II.  Section  3,  Regula- 
tion VIII.  1/95,  enacted  for  the  province  of  Benares, — which 
declares  that,  in  causes  in  which  the  plaintiff  shall  be  of  a 
different  religious  persuasion  from  the  defendant,  the  decision 
is  to  be  regulated  by  the  law  of  the  religion  of  the  latter, 


1840.1 


Laws  of  Inheritance. 


719 


excepting  when  Europeans  or  other  persons,  not  being  either 
Muhammadans  or  Hindus  shall  l)e  defendants,  in  which  case 
the  law  of  the  plaintiff  is  to  he  made  the  rule  of  decision  in  all 
plaints  or  actions  of  a  civil  nature, — is  hereby  rescinded;  and 
the  rule  contained  in  Section  15,  Regulation  IV.  1J93,  and 
the  corresponding  enactment  contained  in  Clause  I.  Section 
16,  Regulation  III.  1803,  shall  be  the  rule  of  guidance  in  all 
suits  regarding  succession,  inheritance,  marriage  and  caste, 
and  all  religious  usages  and  institutions  that  may  arise  be- 
tween persons  professing  the  Hindu  and  Muhammad  an  per- 
suasions respectively." 

"  Clause  IX.  It  is  hereby  declared,  however,  that  the  above 
rules  are  intended,  and  shall  be  held  to  apply  to  such  persons 
only,  as  shall  be  bond  fide  professors  of  those  religions  at  the 
time  of  the  application  of  the  law  of  the  case ;  and  were 
designed  for  the  protection  of  the  rights  of  such  persons,  not 
for  the  deprivation  of  the  rights  of  others.  Whenever,  there- 
fore, in  any  civil  suit,  the  parties  to  such  suit  may  be  of  dif- 
ferent persuasions;  when  one  party  shall  be  of  the  Hindu,  and 
the  other  of  the  Muhammadan  persuasion  ;  or  when  one  or  more 
of  the  parties  to  the  suit  shall  not  be  either  of  the  Muhamma- 
dan or  Hindu  persuasions, — the  laws  of  those  religions  shall  not 
be  permitted  to  operate  to  deprive  such  party  or  parties  of  any 
property  to  which,  but  for  the  operation  of  such  laws,  they 
would  have  been  entitled.  In  all  such  cases,  the  decision  shall 
be  governed  by  the  principles  of  justice,  equity,  and  good  con- 
science ;  it  being  clearly  understood  that  this  provision  shall  not 
be  considered  as  justifying  the  introduction  of  the  English  or 
any  foreign  law,  or  the  application  to  such  cases  of  any  rules, 
not  sanctioned  by  those  principles." 

The  announcement  of  this  new  regulation  was  hailed  at  the 
time  as  an  invaluable  boon — being  an  important  modification 
of  the  ancient  barbarous  law.  Still  doubts  and  difficulties 
of  a  practical  nature,  kept  floating  around  the  subject — cast- 
ing their  portentous  shadows  over  the  first  timid  motions  of 
weak  and  irresolute  minds.  In  order,  therefore,  to  ascertain 
the  present  realities  of  the  case,  viewed  as  a  question  of  law, 
certain  queries  have  been  propounded,  and  by  competent 
judges  answered,  in  substance,  as  follows  : — 

1st.  Does  a  Hindu  or  Muhammadan,  by  renouncing  his 
ancestral  faith,  lose  his  right  to  ancestral  property  ? 

Ans.  By  Regulation  VII.  of  1832,  Sections  8,  and  9, 
(quoted  above)  lie  would  lose  no  civil  right,  if  not  an  inhabi- 
tant of  Calcutta.  In  other  words,  if  resident  any  where  in 
the  Mufassal,  or  provinces,  a  native,  being  amenable  to  the 
Mufassal  courts  only,  which  are  held  bound  by  Act  of  P;irlia- 
4  z  2  * 


720 


Laws  of  Inheritance. 


[Nov. 


ment  to  be  regulated  by  tbe  enactments  of  the  Governor 
General  in  Council,  may  avail  himself  of  the  regulation  w  hich 
declares,  that  the  laws  and  usages  of  particular  religions 
"  shall  not  be  permitted  to  operate  to  deprive  him  of  any 
property  to  which,  but  for  the  operation  of  such  laws,  they 
would  have  been  entitled."  On  the  contrary,  any  native, 
resident  in  Calcutta,  being  subject  to  the  Supreme  Court, 
which,  in  this  respect,  is  governed  by  Hindu  and  Muham ma- 
dan  laws,  would  forfeit  all  right  to  property,  by  loss  of  caste, 
which  is  essentially  involved  in  a  renunciation  of,  or  apostacy 
from,  his  ancestral  faith.  But  if  the  property  be  actually 
vested  in  the  native,  at  the  time  of  his  losing  caste  by  apos- 
tacy or  otherwise,  the  case  is  declared  to  be  doubtful. 

2nd.  Does  he  lose  his  right  to  personal  or  chattel  pro- 
perty ? 

Ans.    By  Mufassal  law,  No. — By  Supreme  Court  law,  Yes. 

3rd.  Does  he  lose  his  right  to  his  share  of  family  property, 
landed  or  chattel,  acquired  by  himself,  (either  in  conjunction 
with  the  other  family  members  or  as  manager  of  their  joint 
affairs,)  previous  to  his  repudiation  of  the  Hindu  or  Muham- 
madan  faith? 

Ans.    By  Mufassal  law,  No. — By  Supreme  Court  law,  Yes. 

4th.  Would  ancestral  or  acquired  property  he  still  heri- 
table or  retainahle,  by  Mufassal  law,  irrespective  of  all  con- 
ditions ? 

Ans.  No.  If  certain  conditions  were  attached  to  the  pro- 
perty which  the  inheritor  or  holder  refuses  to  perform,  he 
might  thus  forfeit  it,  even  by  Mufassal  law. 

5th.  What  is  the  state  of  the  law,  with  reference  to  those 
who  are  neither  British-born  subjects,  Hindus,  nor  Muham- 
madans  ? 

Ans.  East  Indians,  Parsis,  Armenians,  Jews,  Greeks  and 
others  make  sad  complaints  of  the  discrepancy  between  Su- 
preme Court  and  Mufassal  law,  especially  with  regard  to 
rights  of  inheritance.  In  Calcutta,  the  Supieme  Court  obliges 
them  (not  being  M  uhammadans  nor  Gentoos)  to  conform  to 
the  English  law  in  this  respect.  In  the  Mufassal,  the  Judges 
acknowledge  they  have  no  law  at  all  to  guide  them.  In 
some  districts,  the  case  will  be  decided  by  Hindu,  and,  in 
others,  by  Muhammadan  law; — in  some,  by  the  inheritance 
laws  of  the  parent  nation  to  which  the  suing  parties  respectively 
belong,  and  in  others,  by  the  English  or  Canon  law  (that  of 
the  Pandects)  according  to  the  varying  sentiments  or  caprice 
of  the  acting  Judge. 

From  these  replies  it  is  evident  that  the  state  of  the  law, 
relative  to  inheritance  and  acquired  property,  is  still  far  from 


1810.] 


Laivs  of  Inheritance. 


being  satisfactory.  In  order,  therefore,  to  approximate  the 
ends  of  legislative  wisdom,  it  is  recommended  or  suggested  : — 

First,  that, — as  it  is  a  breach  of  all  uniformity  and  a  viola- 
tion of  all  equity  that  any  class  of  subjects  should  be  without 
law  at  all  ;  or  that  one  law  should  be  administered  to  the 
native  inhabitants  of  the  metropolis,  and  another,  in  many 
important  respects  entirely  opposite,  to  the  native  residents 
throughout  the  Mufassal, — the  Mufassal  and  metropolitan  law 
be  assimilated  in  one  consistent  and  harmonious  code  which 
may  extend  to  East  Indians  and  Parsis,  &c.  as  well  as  Mu- 
hammadans  and  Hindus. 

Secondly,  that, — as  it  is  contrary  to  the  first  principles  of 
natural  reason  and  natural  justice,  that  a  change  of  religious 
sentiments,  more  especially  when  that  change  involves  an 
abjuration  of  error  and  superstition,  should  entail  a  forfeiture 
of  that  property  which  belongs  to  a  man  of  natural  right, — it  be 
enacted,  that  one  general  and  all-comprehending  law  be  fram- 
ed in  the  spirit  of  the  8th  and  9th  clauses  of  Regulation  VII.  of 
1832; — or,  agreeably  to  the  tenor  of  the  admirable  recom- 
mendation of  one  of  the  most  learned  and  respected  of  our 
Indian  Judges,  Sir  Hyde  East,  who  in  his  examination  before 
Parliament,  previous  to  the  last  renewal  of  the  charter,  earnestly 
and  powerfully  "submitted  to  the  consideration  of  government, 
that  their  protecting  hand  should  be  so  far  extended  as  to 
make  provision  that  no  native  of  India  shall  forfeit  any  rights 
of  property,  or  any  personal  benefit,  on  account  of  his  profes- 
sion of  any  particular  faith  or  doctrine,  which  he  would  be 
entitled  to,  and  claimed  by  any  law  of  title,  grant,  inheritance, 
or  succession  established  in  India,  which  was  binding  on  the 
persons  last  seized  or  possessed,  or  on  those  from  or  through 
whom  they  claimed." 

Thirdly,  that, — in  the  event  of  conditions  being  attached 
to  the  property,  connected  with  superstitious  or  idolatrous 
usages — conditions,  the.  imposition  of  which  may  be  pro- 
nounced unwarrantable,  as  being  opposed  to,  and  therefore 
superseded  by,  the  higher  obligations  of  natural  justice  and 
revealed  law — conditions,  the  performance  of  which  may  be 
adjudged  intolerable,  as  being  subversive  of  the  dictates  of 
reason  and  the  rights  of  conscience  ; — the  Judge  or  Magis- 
trate be  empowered,  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  British 
law  and  the  practice  of  the  High  Court  of  Chancery,  to  review, 
overrule,  modify,  or  cancel  such  unreasonable  conditions 
altogether  ;  or  otherwise  adjudicate  for  the  relief  of  the  party 
concerned,  agreeably  to  the  first  principles  of  natural  equity 
and  the  suggestions  of  a  good  conscience. 

The  passing  of  a  legislative  enactment,  embodying  these  or 


722 


Laws  of  Inheritance. 


[Nov. 


similar  recommendations,  would  do  much  towards  remedying 
the  present  untoward  state  of  the  law  of  inheritance  and  suc- 
cession in  this  land.  Apart  from  the  many  reasons  urged  in 
the  cf  Statement  of  1830,"  there  is  another,  arising  out  of  the 
present  movements  of  Government  itself,  and  the  sanctioned 
operations  of  Societies  and  individuals,  which  loudly  challenges 
attention.  What  is  the  natural — the  inevitable  effect  which 
must  ensue,  not  merely  from  the  directly  evangelizing  measures 
in  progress,  but  from  the  success  of  the  Government  and  other 
Educational  schemes  for  the  enlightenment  of  this  mighty 
people  ?  From  the  nature  of  the  component  parts  of  Hinduism 
— contrasted  with  the  range  of  European  Literature,  Science, 
and  Theology — is  it  not  demonstrable,  that  one  grand  effect, 
wherever  a  high  English  Education  is  imparted,  will  be,  the 
demolition  of  those  errors  which  constitute  at  once  its  basis 
and  superstructure  ?  Is  not  such  abstract  or  theoretic  demon- 
stration borne  out  by  numberless  facts  ?  Listen  to  the 
testimony  of  one,  whose  experience  and  position  in  native 
society  must  invest  his  assertions  with  authority.  The 
Reformer, — an  English  newspaper,  conducted  several  years 
ago,  by  a  native  Editor  of  rank,  learning  and  wealth;  and  the 
organ  of  a  large  and  influential  body  of  educated  Hindus, — 
contrasting  the  visible  fruits  of  ordinary  Missionary  exertion 
with  those  realized  by  the  Hindu  College,  thus  proceeded 
emphatically  to  ask: — cc  Has  it  (the  Hindu  College)  not 
been  the  fountain  of  a  new  race  of  men  amongst  us  ?  From 
that  institution  as  from  the  rock  from  whence  the  mighty 
Ganges  takes  its  rise,  a  nation  is  flowing  in  upon  this 
desert  country,  to  replenish  its  withered  fields  with  the 
living  waters  of  knowledge  !  Have  all  the  efforts  of  the  mis- 
sionaries given  a  tithe  of  that  shock  to  the  superstitions  of  the 
people  which  has  been  given  by  the  Hindu  College  ?  This  at 
once  shews  that  the  means  they  pursue  to  overturn  the 
ancient  reign  of  idolatry  is  not  calculated  to  ensure  success, 
and  ought  to  be  abandoned  for  another  which  promises 
better  success/' 

Without  being  at  all  pledged  to  the  accuracy  of  this  com- 
parative estimate,  must  we  not  hold  such  a  genuine  native  testi- 
mony to  be  conclusive  as  to  the  operative  poiver  of  a  superior 
English  Education  in  overturning  the  superstitions  and  idola- 
tries of  India  ?  If  so,  must  not  the  Government  perceive,  into 
what  a  predicament  of  inconsistency  it  reduces  itself,  as  well 
as  all  the  friends  of  Native  Education,  if  the  law  of  inheri- 
tance and  succession  be  not  speedily  ameliorated,  and  made 
co-extensive  with  the  wants  and  exigencies  of  the  entire  body 
of  the  people  ?    An  awakening  and  enlightening  knowledge  is 


1810.] 


Laivs  uf  Inheritance. 


723 


communicated  which  sweeps  away  the  gross  absurdities  of 
Idolatry  and  Superstition  from  the  minds  of  those  who  acquire 
it.  In  this  land,  almost  all  property  is  left,  hardened  with  condi- 
tions of  an  idolatrous  and  superstitious  character.  Mark,  then, 
the  dilemma  into  which,  in  consequence  of  the  Government  and 
other  Educational  measures,  the  educated  Hindu  is  brought  ! 
//  he  performs  the  superstitious  or  idolatrous  conditions,  in 
order  to  secure  his  property,  he  must,  by  such  performance, 
do  violence  to  his  reason,  his  conscience,  and  his  publicly  avowed 
sentiments  ; — in  a  word,  he  must  act  the  part  of  a  wicked  and 
deceitful  hypocrite  !  If,  oa  the  other  hand,  he  has  moral 
fortitude  enough  to  resist  any  temptation  and  suffer  any  loss 
rather  than  submit  to  the  sacrifice  of  reason,  conscience  and 
character,  he  must,  while  the  law  remains  unaltered,  by  his 
non-fulfilment  of  the  superstitious  and  idolatrous  conditions, 
forfeit  all  right  to  property  ; — in  a  word,  as  if  the  acquired 
possession  of  superior  intelligence  were  a  crime  of  the  first 
magnitude,  he  must,  in  consequence  of  his  being  the  happy 
possessor  of  such  intelligence,  submit  to  the  infliction  of  one 
of  the  highest  penal  severities  ! 

But,  as  there  is  in  human  nature  an  extreme  repugnance  to 
the  loss  of  property;  and  as  time  will  show,  that,  however 
much  power  and  wealth  may  be  flattered  by  the  interested 
and  the  needy,  a  course  of  systematic  hypocrisy  must  eventu- 
ally call  forth  the  contempt  and  indignation  of  an  enlightened 
community  ; — what  may  we  expect  to  be  the  operation  of  the 
present  law,  as  it  affects  the  future  spread  of  sound  knowledge 
and  intelligence  among  the  Natives  ?  What  can  we  expect 
except  that  the  spread  of  both  will  be  vastly  and  indefinitely 
retarded  ?  What  a  solemn  mockery  to  be,  on  the  one  hand, 
holding  out  all  manner  of  encouragements —  in  the  shape  of 
salaries  to  qualified  teachers,  and  stipends  and  scholarships  to 
promising  students — to  stimulate  to  the  pursuit  and  culti- 
vation of  superior  knowledge  and  intelligence; — and,  on  the 
other,  by  a  continuance  of  the  present  law,  holding  out  posi- 
tive discouragements  of  a  nature  too  appalling  to  fail  of  fatal 
success  !  And  herein  lies  the  strength  of  these  discourage- 
ments. Superior  intelligence,  if  accompanied  by  a  good  con- 
science, may  become  penal  ;  by  being  attended  with  the 
deprivation  of  all  one's  possessions — and  that  too,  in  such 
trying  circumstances  as  to  loss  of  caste  and  reputation,  that  the 
immediate  punishment  of  death  might  often  be  more  tolerable. 
Surely  that  man  knows  little  of  human  nature  who  does 
not  perceive  in  this,  the  surest  check  to  all  inquiry,  and  the 
most  powerful  restraint  on  every  desire  to  acquire  or  cultivate 
any  knowledge  which  must,  without  a  violation  of  conscience, 


724 


Laivs  of  Inheritance. 


[Nov. 


issue  in  such  disastrous  results.  The  good  things  of  this  life 
take  far  too  firm  a  hold  of  the  heart  of  man,  to  admit  of  a 
different  inference  heing  drawn  : — yea,  such  is  the  strength 
of  that  hold  which  the  perishable  treasures  of  this  world  take 
of  all  the  powers  and  faculties  of  his  soul,  that  man  is  not 
only  apt  to  become  insensible  to  the  glories  of  an  eternal 
inheritance,  but  apt  to  listen  to  any  account  of  them  with 
positive  dissatisfaction  ;  and  is  too  often  willing  to  forego  the 
anticipated  enjoyment  of  God's  favour,  and  brave  the  terrors 
of  God's  wrath,  rather  than  be  induced  on  any  account, 
to  withdraw  the  strength  of  his  affections  from  his  present 
possessions. 

If  such  be  the  power  of  opposition  which  the  enjoyment  of 
the  good  things  of  this  life  ever  presents  to  the  ready  reception 
of  all  truth, — as  opposed  to  error,  prejudice,  self-seeking, 
or  sinful  compromise — even  in  circumstances,  the  most 
favourable,  when  no  demand  is  made  but  the  reasonable  and 
salutary  demand,  not  exclusively  to  direct  towards  them  the 
affections  of  the  heart,  but  transfer  these  to  a  far  more  glo- 
rious and  enduring  inheritance : — who  can  estimate  the  force 
of  resistance,  which  a  mind,  pervaded  in  all  its  powers  by  an 
almost  superhuman  avarice,  must  present  to  the  very  first 
proposal,  as  well  as  to  the  incipient  desire,  practically  to 
embrace  any  improved  system  of  knowledge — any  scheme  of 
unbending  principle,  whether  human  or  divine — the  embrace- 
ment  and  tenure  of  which  may  involve,  irrecoverably,  the 
total  forfeiture  of  all  that  the  soul  naturally  most  values  ? 
Accurately  to  estimate  the  power  of  such  resistance,  till  the 
lapse  of  time  and  experience  have  sufficiently  illustrated  the 
awful  nature  of  the  dilemma,  is  altogether  impossible.  But 
it  is  very  possible,  yea,  very  easy,  to  perceive  how  inevitable 
is  the  certainty  of  its  existence  ; — since  the  slightest  conside- 
ration will  suffice  to  shew  that  the  supposition  of  its  non- 
existence would  imply,  that  the  usual  processes  of  nature  are 
reversed  and  the  constitution  of  man  unhinged — that  actions 
the  most  prejudicial  to  every  worldly  interest  are  conducted 
without  a  motive,  and  extraordinary  effects  produced,  either 
entirely  without,  or  directly  contrary  to  the  ordinary  opera- 
tion of  natural  causes. 

Let  then  the  Government  of  this  great  Empire  speedily 
emancipate  itself  from  the  meshes  and  the  remnants  of  a  bar- 
barous jurisprudence  : — let  it,  by  a  wholesome  infusion  of  the 
spirit  and  principles  of  British  justice,  speedily  divest  itself  of 
the  anomalous  and  degrading  attitude  of  appearing  to  sanction 
or  offer,  on  the  one  hand,  the  largest  bounties  upon  vivifying 
and  illumining  knowledge ;  and,  on  the  other,  to  expose  its 


1840.J 


Laws  of  Inheritance. 


725 


fairest  fruit  to  the  consuming  blight  of  legal  pains  and  penal- 
ties : — let  it  no  longer,  in  point  of  apparent  irreverence  and 
inconsistency  in  its  manifested  conduct,  provoke  a  compa- 
rison with  the  procedure  of  the  man,  who, — with  the  amplest 
proffers  of  recompense  and  reward  to  all  that  may  strive 
to  raise  the  most  luxuriant  produce  from  an  unpromising 
soil, — would  yet  guard,  by  the  threatened  interference  of  an 
armed  force,  against  every  attempt  to  sow  the  seed  ;  or,  if 
already  somehow  or  other  deposited,  would,  by  the  visitation 
of  flaming  fire  to  blast  and  devour,  prevent  the  possibility  of 
its  ever  attaining  to  maturity  !  Let  the  Supreme  Govern- 
ment of  these  realms  prove  faithful  to  the  God  of  Provi- 
dence by  dealing  out  perfect  righteousness  and  judgment  to 
the  multitudes  over  whom  it  has,  in  a  way  so  marvellous  and 
unprecedented,  been  constituted  the  Protector  and  the  Guar- 
dian ; —  and  the  God  of  Providence  will  smile  propitious  on 
its  efforts,  and  render  its  administration  a  source  and  surety  of 
abounding  prosperity  to  itself — a  guarantee  of  brightening 
hope  to  the  millions  of  the  present  generation — a  fount  of  re- 
versionary bliss  to  future  myriads,  who,  as  they  rise  in  long 
succession,  may  joyously  hail  the  continued  waving  of  the 
British  sceptre,  as  the  surest  pledge  of  the  continued  enjoy- 
ment of  their  dearest  rights  and  noblest  privileges  ! 


♦ 


THIS 


CHRISTIAN  OBSERVER. 


(Ncto  Series.) 
No.  12.— DECEMBER,  1840. 


I. — The  Protected  Hill  States. 
(For  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer.) 

The  section  of  country  known  by  the  name  of  the  Pro- 
tected Hill  States  may  be  described  generally,  as  comprising 
the  whole  of  that  part  of  the  Himalaya  mountains,  which  is 
situated  between  Nepal  on  the  East,  and  the  river  Sutlaj 
on  the  West;  and  extending  from  the  plains  on  the  South,  to 
the  borders  of  Thibet  on  the  North.  It  is  divided  into  nume- 
rous small  districts,  the  principal  of  which  are  Buschar, 
Jubal,  Kyunhal,  and  the  Rajaships  of  Balaspur,  and  Nohan  ; 
also  a  number  of  very  small  states  belonging  to  Ranas 
(chiefs).  Some  of  these  districts  are  entirely  under  British 
control.  The  remainder  are  subject  to  Ranas  or  petty 
Rajas,  and  only  under  the  protection  of  the  Company,  for 
which  they  pay  an  annual  tribute. 

POPULATION. 

The  population  of  the  Protected  Hill  States  cannot  be  easily 
calculated.  The  scattered  state  of  the  villages,  and  the  pre- 
judice of  the  Rajas  and  Chiefs  against  having  their  people 
numbered,  render  it  a  difficult  task.  Their  proneness  to  exag- 
gerate also,  makes  the  data  afforded  by  the  natives  very  un- 
certain. The  population  may  however  be  estimated  at  about 
four,  or  five  hundred  thousand. 

ORIGIN  OF  THE  HILL  PEOPLE,  AND  PERSONAL  APPEARANCE. 

The  lower  hills  were  doubtless  peopled  by  emigrants  from 
the  plains,  and  that  at  a  very  early  period.  All  traditions 
however  respecting  the  mother-country  appear  to  be  lost, 
and  no  records  refer  to  it.  The  first  settlers,  like  the  dwellers 
on  the  Alps  were  likely  driven  by  persecution,  or  oppression 

vol.  i.  5  a 


728 


The  Protected  Hill  States. 


[Dec. 


to  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountain,  or  they  may  have  preferred 
a  residence  in  their  secure  vallies  to  the  more  exposed  cities 
of  the  plains.  The  present  inhabitants  are  very  similar  to 
their  Hindu  brethren  in  religion,  customs,  and  language. 
They  are  generally  of  a  middle  stature,  well  made,  and  robust. 
Their  skins  are  smooth,  and  of  a  lighter  colour  than  the  people 
of  the  plains.  Their  countenances  are  mostly  agreeable,  open 
and  frank  ;  uniting  in  their  expression  mildness  and  vivacity. 
Many  of  the  young  females  might  be  called  beautiful  in  any 
country ;  but  when  they  arrive  at  years  of  maturity  they 
generally  lose  almost  all  traces  of  beauty.  This  is  owing  to 
their  having  to  undergo  the  labours  of  the  field,  as  well  as  the 
drudgery  of  the  house,  spinning,  weaving,  &c.  The  people  of 
the  higher  hills  are  evidently  of  Tartar  extraction.  They  are 
short  of  stature,  and  stout,  with  broad  faces,  and  high  cheek 
bones.  Their  eyes  are  black  and  small  with  long  pointed 
corners,  and  oblique  like  a  pig's.  The  expression  of  their 
countenances  is  generally  disagreeable,  and  manifests  much 
deceit ;  but  this  is  not  their  character  :  their  hair  is  long,  and 
black. 

DRESS. 

The  dress  of  the  inhabitants  is  one  well  adapted  to  the 
climate.  That  of  the  men  consists  of  a  kind  of  frock-coat 
made  of  coarse  woollen  cloth,  just  the  colour  of  the  wool, 
often  double  reaching  to  the  knees  ;  a  pair  of  trowsers  in  the 
shape  of  drawers,  and  a  girdle  of  the  same  material  tied  over 
the  waist  of  the  coat.  For  the  feet  they  have  short  boots  of 
the  same  cloth  soled  with  leather.  The  common  head-dress 
is  a  ring  of  black  cloth,  like  an  indua,  with  a  flat  top  of  the 
same.  With  the  exception  of  the  head-dress,  that  of  the 
women  is  much  the  same  as  the  men's,  only  of  a  lighter 
material  usually.  Many  of  them  have  no  other  covering  for 
their  heads  than  their  hair,  which  they  wear  very  long 
behind,  and  ornament  it  with  a  variety  of  shells,  and  smooth, 
coloured  stones,  from  the  size  of  a  rupee  to  that  of  a  four- 
ana  piece.  These  they  wear  on  a  string,  sometimes  two  feet 
long,  and  suspended  from  the  crown  of  the  head  down  the 
back.  Many  of  the  women  who  labour  in  the  fields  leave  all 
parts  of  the  body  above  the  waist  perfectly  exposed.  The 
children  go  naked  in  the  warm  weather  to  the  age  of  6  or  8 
years,  or  even  longer.  The  more  respectable  people  among 
the  men  wear  pashmena  shawls  (made  of  goat's  hair),  loosely 
thrown  over  their  shoulders,  also  earrings  of  gold.  Their 
wives  and  daughters  dress  much  as  the  respectable  females 
do  on  the  plains. 


1840.] 


The  Protected  Hill  States. 


729 


FOOD. 

Bread  of  wheat,  or  Indian  corn  flour  made  into  thin  cakes 
and  eaten  with  ghee  and  vegetables,  forms  the  principal  food 
of  the  hill  people.  It  is  only  on  particular  occasions  the 
poor  indulge  themselves  with  animal  food.  Brahmans,  and 
all  castes  eat  the  flesh  of  he-goats,  white  sheep,  wild  hogs, 
wild  fowls,  and  fish.  The  art  of  cookery  has  made  but  little 
progress  among  this  people.  The  usual  way  of  preparing  a 
goat  or  a  sheep  is  to  roast  it  whole,  over  a  large  fire,  with  the 
hair,  skin,  and  all  the  appurtenances  until  it  is  eatable. 
Sometimes  the  raw  meat  is  cut  up  fine,  and  prepared  \vith 
vegetables. 

GENERAL  CHARACTER  AND  HABITS. 

The  people  of  the  Hill  States  are  much  more  industrious 
than  those  of  the  plains.  This  is  probably  owing  to  their 
invigorating  climate,  and  their  greater  difficulty  in  obtaining 
a  livelihood  among  their  rocky  and  sterile  hills.  They  are, 
also  of  a  more  cheerful,  and  peaceable  disposition,  and  more 
courageous — have  fewer  prejudices,  and  less  craftiness.  They 
are,  however,  under  the  influence  of  a  dark,  and  enslaving 
superstition,  from  the  shackles  of  which  they  are  never  for  a 
moment  free.  Their  bewildered  imaginations  people  every 
dale,  and  cave,  and  grove  with  genii,  and  often  lead  them  to 
suspect  each  other  of  secret  intercourse  with  demons.  Hence 
they  have  frequent  recourse  to  charms,  and  spells,  and 
enchantments. 

Hospitality  is  practised  to  a  considerable  extent  ;  but  a 
reward  is  always  acceptable  from  a  stranger.  Lying,  and 
theft  are  likewise  less  common  than  on  the  plains. 

The  habits  of  the  people  of  the  upper,  and  lower  hills  differ 
as  much  as  their  personal  appearance.  The  farmers  resemble 
the  Thibetans  more  in  their  customs  than  they  do  the  people 
of  Hindustan  ;  while  the  latter  scarcely  differ  from  their  Hindu 
brethren.  They  all  usually  reside  in  villages  of  from  5  to  2 
or  '6  hundred  houses.  These  are  regulated  both  as  to  size, 
and  number  by  the  nature  of  the  surrounding  country.  If 
there  be  much  arable  land,  the  villages  are  large  and  nume- 
rous ;  if  not,  they  are  small  and  scattered.  The  villages  in  the 
interior  of  the  mountains  are  much  neater  than  they  are  on 
the  plains.  Many  of  the  houses  are  two  stories  high,  and 
quite  spacious  ;  they  are  generally  built  with  dressed  stones, 
interlaid  with  hewn  timber  to  bind  them  together  instead  of 
mortar.  They  are  for  the  most  part  covered  with  slates,  and 
surrounded  by  a  high  piazza.  The  upper  story  is  occupied 
by  the  family,  or  families,  and  the  under  by  cattle.  Many 
5  A 


730 


The  Protected  Hill  States. 


[Dec. 


of  the  houses  are  white-washed,  and  at  a  distance  present  a 
neat,  and  comfortable  appearance  ;  but  their  internal  arrange- 
ments do  not  correspond  with  their  external.  Like  white d 
sepulchres  they  are  within  full  of  all  uncleanness.  The  under 
story  is  a  stable,  with  all  its  concomitants  ;  and  in  the  upper  a 
few  old  filthy  mats  on  a  filthy  floor — a  few  old  earthen  lamps 
in  the  interstices  of  a  greased  and  smoked  wall — an  old  family 
hukka,  and  coeval  charpai,  together  with  a  few  cooking  uten- 
sils, constitute  the  whole  household  furniture.  Almost  every 
village  has  its  temple,  or  Devtasthan,  attended  by  a  number 
of  faqirs,  or  brahmans  who  live  by  the  altar.  These  are 
built  after  the  fashion  of  the  dwelling-houses,  but  more  costly 
and  always  surmounted  by  a  high  steeple  and  flag.  With 
the  exception  of  a  few  priests  and  buniahs  the  mass  of  the 
people  are  farmers.  Men,  women  and  children  of  various 
castes  and  ages  may  all  be  seen  labouring  together  in  the 
same  field. 

MARRIAGES. 

Marriage  contracts,  among  the  people  inhabiting  the  lower 
hills  are  made  much  in  the  same  way  as  they  are  on  the  plains, 
when  the  parties  are  married  young.  But  it  often  happens 
when  they  arrive  at  maturer  years,  they  are  not  pleased  with 
each  other.  In  this  case  the  husband  says  to  the  wife  "  Pay  me 
my  marriage  expences  (about  40  Rs.),  and  you  may  go  free." 
If  she  can  prevail  upon  her  friends  to  redeem  her,  she  does 
so ;  if  not,  she  looks  out  for  another  husband,  who  will  be 
willing  to  pay  for  her  release,  and  espouse  her  to  himself.  It 
matters  not  whether  he  be  a  married  man  or  not.  In  this 
way  there  is  a  continual  interchange  of  wives,  even  among  the 
best  friends,  and  it  frequently  happens  that  one  woman,  be- 
comes successively  the  wife  of  six  or  eight  men.  The  husband 
disposing  of  his  wife  always  retains  the  children  and  her 
ornaments,  and  the  purchaser  having  paid  her  ransom,  ob- 
serves no  other  ceremony  than  he  would  in  purchasing  a  horse, 
or  cow,  except  it  be  introducing  her  to  his  other  wives 
(if  any),  or  to  his  friends.  Yet  these  marriages  are  considered 
valid,  but  not  quite  so  honorable  as  if  they  had  been  performed 
according  to  the  shastras.  The  common  people  have  scarcely 
any  prejudices  against  second  marriages  of  females.  A  widow 
has,  however,  in  a  second,  or  any  number  of  marriages  after 
the  first,  only  to  swear  fidelity  to  her  new  husband.  He  then 
promises  to  support  her,  and  her  children  so  long  as  she  is 
faithful.  Polygamy  is  sometimes  practised  though  cases  of  the 
kind  are  not  common  among  the  labouring  classes.  The  rajas 
and  ranas  usually  marry  five  or  six  wives,  and  keep  as  many 
concubines  as  they  can  afford. 


1840.] 


The  Protected  Hill  States. 


731 


In  the  interior  of  the  hills,  a  different  custom  obtains 
among  the  poor  people.  There  as  in  Thibet  the  practice  of 
polyandry  is  universally  prevalent.  One  female  associates 
with  four  or  five  brothers  of  a  family  without  any  restraint  or 
regard  to  age.  The  choice  of  a  wife  is  the  privilege  of  the 
elder  brother,  and  to  him  the  first-born  is  conceded,  and  the 
next  to  the  second  brother  and  so  on  to  the  younger.  The 
elder  brother  is  in  fact  the  master  of  the  family.  All,  howe- 
ver, contribute  to  the  support  of  the  household,  and  in  general 
they  have  a  community  of  goods. 

This  extraordinary  and  unnatural  custom  may  have  been 
intended  to  prevent  too  numerous  a  population  in  an  unfertile 
country,  or  it  may  have  been  induced  by  the  poverty  of  the 
people.  When  asked  the  cause  of  it,  they  reply,  "How  could 
a  poor  man  support  a  family  himself?"  Frequent  jealousies 
no  doubt  arise  among  such  a  plurality  of  husbands,  but  it  is 
surprising  to  witness  the  apparent  good  feeling  which  prevails 
between  them.  I  have  seen  the  wife  seated  in  the  midst  of 
her  four  or  five  fraternal  husbands  enjoying  a  social  puff  of 
the  hukka  with  all  the  seeming  impartiality  possible.  It  is 
the  wife's  province  to  light  the  hukka,  and  to  set  it  a  going.  It 
then  passes  round  from  the  eldest  to  the  youngest  brother, 
each  one  taking  two  or  three  puffs  until  it  comes  to  the  wife 
again,  who  in  her  turn  partakes  of  it,  and  sends  it  round  as 
before.  If  the  family  is  travelling,  and  have  no  hukka  in  then- 
possession,  a  perpendicular  hole  is  bored  in  the  ground  with 
a  small  stick,  and  another  obliquely  until  it  comes  in  contact 
with  the  perpendicular  one.  Upon  this  a  small  stone  is  loosely 
placed  to  support  the  tobacco  and  fire,  while  from  the  oblique 
hole  they  inhale  the  smoke  through  their  fists. 

The  marriage  ceremony  is  very  simple,  and  is  only  observed 
by  the  elder  brother.  He  sees  some  fair  one  whom  he  fancies 
— consults  an  astrologer  respecting  her  destiny,  who  gene- 
rally reports  favourably.  He  then  makes  a  small  present  of 
clothes,  and  ornaments  to  his  intended  or  her  father,  and 
mother,  and  on  a  propitious  day  takes  her  to  his  house,  where 
without  any  further  ceremony  she  becomes  the  wife  of  the 
younger  brothers  also. 

BURIALS. 

When  a  person  dies  among  the  people  of  the  interior  hills, 
his  body  is  preserved  several  days  before  its  interment.  In 
the  meantime,  attended  by  the  beating  of  drums,  blowing  of 
horns,  &c.  it  is  carried  by  his  friends  in  the  night  all  over  his 
possessions  that  he  may  take  a  last  survey  of  them. 

Provisions  are  also  placed  near  the  dead  body,  and  held  to 
the  mouth  that  the  spirit  of  the  deceased  may  be  propitiated. 


732 


The  Protected  Hill  States. 


[Dec. 


The  corpse  is  then  consumed  on  the  bank  of  some  river,  and 
part  of  the  ashes  preserved  to  be  committed  to  the  Ganges. 

LANGUAGE. 

The  language  of  the  hill  tribes  under  British  protection  i9 
chiefly  Hindi,  but  very  much  corrupted,  so  much  so,  that  the 
Hindus  of  the  plains  can  scarcely  understand  it.  Their  spoken 
language  abounds  with  jjutterals  and  nasals,  and  is  announced 
in  a  mincing  and  singing  tone  which  renders  it  difficult  to  be 
understood. 

The  dialects  vary  in  different  districts,  as  much  if  not  more, 
than  those  of  the  several  parts  of  England  or  America.  The 
substantives  are  mostly  the  same  as  in  Hindi,  or  so  similar  as 
to  be  immediately  recognized  by  a  Hindi  scholar,  and  although 
in  the  adjectives,  verbs  and  adverbs,  we  find  the  difference 
somewhat  greater,  the  similarity  is  here  also  very  conspicuous. 
The  language  of  common  conversation,  however,  differs  much 
more  from  Hindi,  than  that  usually  written.  This  corrupt 
Hindi  is  spoken  on  all  the  lower  hills,  from  Hardwar  to  Ram- 
pur,  the  capital  of  Buschar  by  the  uneducated  classes.  Those 
who  have  been  taught  to  read,  and  who  mingle  with  the 
higher  grades  of  society  speak  Hindi  well.  All  their  books 
of  science  and  religion  are  either  written  in  Sanscrit  or  Hindi, 
and  the  Deva  Nagri  character.  In  some  places  correspondence 
is  carried  on  in  the  Tankna  character. 

In  the  upper  part  of  Ranour  (far  up  the  Sutlaj  river)  the 
Thibetan  language  is  much  used.  Its  characters  are  remark- 
ably simple,  very  distinct  from  each  other  in  shape  and  easily 
formed.  They  are  written  from  left  to  right  like  the  Sanscrit, 
and  bear  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  Deva  Nagri  character. 
As  they  are  undoubtedly  of  Sanscrit  origin,  they  partake  of 
the  nature  of  that  system,  and  mostly  have  the  same  names. 
The  sacred  character  is  called  Udhan,  or  capital,  and  that  for 
correspondence,  which  is  quite  different,  is  called  Umed  (with- 
out capitals).  The  Thibetan  language  is  entirely  distinct  from 
Sanscrit,  or  any  of  the  Indian  dialects.  It  has  doubtless 
received  large  accessions  from  the  Chinese,  and  probably  some 
additions  from  the  languages  spoken  westward  of  Thibet.  Like 
the  Chinese  it  abounds  in  monosyllables  and  in  words  ending 
in  ang,  ing,  ung,  also  mig,  chig,  &c.  A  single  letter  often 
constitutes  an  entire  word,  as  ka,  a  pillar  ;  kha,  snow  or  the 
mouth  ;  ma,  mother;  pa,  father  ;  chha,  a  portion  ;  ba,  a  cow  ; 
sha,  flesh  ;  sa,  earth,  &c.  Among  the  verbs  there  are  many 
impersonal  or  indefinite  locutions,  or  expressions  formed  by 
the  participles,  which  render  the  language  difficult  for  a  fo- 
reigner. They  are  usually  conjugated  by  the  help  of  prefixed 
or  affixed  letters,  which  are  mostly  silent. 


1840.]  The  Protected  Hill  States.  733 

Many  of  the  substantives  are  also  burdened  with  silent 
letters,  as  bskyA,  pronounced  kya;  irkya,  kya  ;  chos,  cho.  Tlie 
nouns  are  declined  much  the  same  as  in  Hindi,  as  Nom.  miq, 
(tbe  eye;)  In.  miq  gi.9 ;  P.  miq-gi ;  D.  miq  la  ;  Acc.  miq;  Abl. 
miqnas.  Tlie  terminations  are  regulated  by  tbe  final  letter  of 
tbe  noun.  Tbe  articles  and  adjectives  are  always  put  after 
the  substantive,  as  miq  po,  tbe  eye.  Lo  (a  year)  ;  lo  cbiq,  one 
year.  Tbe  whole  structure  of  tbe  language  appears  to  be  just 
the  contrary  of  English,  viz.  filaq  gis  matong  pai  dpe  zhiq  na 
(in  a  book  seen  by  me)  makes  in  Thibetan  order  me  by  seen 
book  a  in. 

The  following  is  a  list  of  some  of  the  Thibetan  words.  The 
italic  letters  are  silent. 


Thib.  char. 

Rum.  char. 

Translation. 

Thib.  char. 

Rom.  char. 

Translation. 

.Dkou  Choq,  God. 

Wood. 

Mi, 

,  Man. 

V  c\ 

Lo  Chiq... 

One  year. 

Budmed  . 

.  Woman. 

//choq  pa, 

To  walk. 

Chhu,   

.  Water. 

Gsung  pa, 

To  com- 

9i 

Me, 

.  Fire. 

mand. 

.  Road. 

Ka,  

A  pillar. 

S\u,  

,  Body. 

Chha,. . . . 

A  part. 

Pbyaq,  ... 

Hand. 

Goat. 

pronounced  Chaq. 

01 

Pass. 

The  language  of  lower  Kanour  appears  to  be  a  mixture  of 
Hindi,  and  Thibetan,  and  is  called  Milchan,  from  the  Sanscrit 
word,  malichh,  which  is  applied  to  any  barbarous  people  or 
language.    It  has  never  been  reduced  to  writing. 


RELIGION  AND  LITERATURE. 

The  Religion  and  Literature  of  the  Protected  Hill  States 
are  essentially  the  same  as  those  of  Hindus  in  other  parts  of 
Hindustan.  The  inhabitants  of  the  outer  ranges,  consider 
themselves  more  orthodox  even  than  their  brethren  of  the 
plains  ;  but  the  tenets,  and  practices  of  those  in  the  interior 
have  become  contaminated  with  Buddhism.  The  commonly 
received  shastras,  such  as  the  Bhagawat,  Ramayan,  &c.  are 
the  fountains  of  their  religion. 

Caste,  however,  has  a  much  lighter  hold  on  the  minds  of 
the  people  than  it  has  in  the  plains.  With  the  exception  of 
a  few  pandits  all  the  brahmans  in  indigent  circumstances 
cultivate  land,  engage  in  merchandise,  and  in  all  the  pursuits 


734 


The  Protected  Hill  States. 


[Dec. 


common  to  other  respectable  castes  without  any  disgrace. 
The  prejudices  of  the  people  are  also  much  fewer  than  in  other 
parts  of  Hindustan,  and  when  not  initiated  into  the  evil 
practices  of  the  plains,  they  are  proverbially  faithful.  On  all 
these  accounts  they  are  more  accessible  to  the  gospel.  Like 
all  hill  tribes,  they  are  very  superstitious,  and  have  literally 
erected  an  altar  under  almost  every  green  tree,  and  on  every 
high  hill.  These  are  dedicated  to  numerous  Devtas  not  known 
on  the  plains,  viz.  Banar,  Mahasu,  Biju,  Goga,  &c,  who  pre- 
side over  their  crops,  health,  prosperity,  &c.  These  are  all 
deified  heroes,  who  as  it  appears  from  the  accounts  of  the 
natives  have  been  admitted  into  their  catalogue  of  divinities 
within  the  last  century.  They  are,  however,  mostly  well 
acquainted  with  the  celebrated  names  that  compose  the  Hindu 
Pantheon,  and  occasionally  erect  temples  for  them. 

The  most  of  their  temples,  and  images  are  of  the  rudest 
description  possible.  A  few  rough  stones  thrown  together 
without  any  apparent  design — a  long  bambu  erected  in  their 
centre,  and  an  old  piece  of  white  cloth  attached  to  its  summit, 
often  constitutes  a  temple.  Their  images  of  wood  and  stone 
too  scarcely  resemble  the  likeness  of  any  thing  on  earth — a 
piece  of  rough  board,  rudely  cut  out  with  a  farmer's  axe,  or  a 
stone  of  the  same  description,  is  not  unfrequently  their  only 
object  of  worship.  At  some  of  these  temples,  or  altars 
there  are  several  melas  held  during  the  year  to  which  thousands 
of  people  of  both  sexes  resort.  Some  present  a  handful  of 
wheat,  or  a  few  pice  to  the  Devtas  ;  others  offer  sheep,  goats, 
and  fowls.  This  done,  the  men  amuse  themselves  by  walking 
about  from  place  to  place,  and  idle  conversation,  and  the 
women,  collected  in  groups,  entertain  the  multitude  with  their 
monotonous  songs.  A  few  of  the  more  devoted,  pretend  to 
be  possessed  of  the  Devi,  (the  feminine  of  Devta,)  and  to 
manifest  it  shake  and  throw  themselves  into  every  possible 
posture,  until  they  fall  down  quite  exhausted.  The  shaking, 
all  believe  is  produced  by  the  Devi,  and  is  considered  a  token 
of  her  approbation.  While  this  is  going  on  a  tremendous 
discordant  noise  is  kept  up  with  drums,  and  horns.  These 
melas  seldom  last  more  than  3  or  4  hours,  after  which  all 
return  home,  seemingly  much  delighted.  The  victims  offered 
in  sacrifice  are  sheeps,  goats,  and  fowls,  and  sometimes  buf- 
faloes. Their  heads  are  struck  off,  if  possible  at  one  stroke, 
and  offered  to  the  idol.  Their  bodies  together  with  the  wheat 
and  pice  are  gathered  up,  and  borne  away  by  the  brahman  of 
the  temple,  for  his  own  use.  If  a  Christian  or  any  unclean 
animal  touch  one  of  these  rude  temples,  or  altars,  the  sacrifice 
of  a  goat  is  deemed  indispensible  to  purify  it  from  its  pollu- 


1840.] 


The  Protected  Hill  States. 


735 


tion.  If  the  former  be  the  transgressor,  a  goat  for  this 
purpose,  or  the  value  of  it,  is  claimed  from  him.  Like  all 
heathen  nations,  while  they  continue  the  practice  of  sacrificing, 
derived  no  doubt  from  our  first  parents,  they  have  lost  its 
design.  They  know  nothing  of  the  great  sacrifice  for  the  pre- 
figuration  of  which  the  rite  was  instituted.  They  know  not 
that  the  rite  itself  has  been  abrogated  by  the  death  of  the  Son 
of  God,  and  that  the  remission  of  sins  is  only  by  faith  in  his 
blood. 

INFLUENCE  OF  RELIGION. 

Of  a  future  state  of  rewards  and  punishments,  or  of  sin  and 
holiness  these  people  seem  to  have  scarcely  any  conception. 

They  imagine  the  spirit  after  the  dissolution  of  the  body 
will  depart  far  away  to  the  summit  of  some  high  mountain, 
and  there  wander  among  lonely  rocks,  and  caves,  until  it 
obtains  some  new  birth;  consequently  they  look  forward  to 
death  without  terror,  except  such  as  may  arise  from  the 
prospect  of  bodily  suffering,  or  a  long  separation  from  their 
friends.  The  idea  of  an  immediate  interposition  of  superna- 
tural agents  in  human  affairs  possesses  an  unbounded  domi- 
nion over  their  minds  :  yet  as  they  assimilate  the  nature  of 
their  presiding  divinities  to  their  own  depraved  practices  and 
passions,  this  belief  has  no  conservative  influence  on  their 
conduct.  All  their  prayers  and  worship  at  their  temples, 
they  say  are  for  temporal  blessings  :  such  as  good  crops, 
prosperity  in  business,  children,  health,  &c.  Their  past  sins, 
they  say,  can  be  removed  in  no  other  way  than  by  bathing  in 
the  Ganges,  at  Hardwar,  or  other  sacred  places.  Hence  they 
make  frequent  pilgrimages  to  these  places.  The  practice  of 
daily  ablutions,  so  strictly  observed  by  the  majority  of  Hindus 
and  so  necessary  for  personal  cleanliness,  is  almost  entirely 
neglected  by  the  hill  people.  Their  clothes  and  persons  are 
therefore  extremely  filthy. 

AGRICULTURE. 

The  whole  surface  of  the  country  is  very  broken,  and  preci- 
pitous. Many  of  the  higher  hills  consist  of  little  else  than 
large  masses  of  rock,  apparently  thrown  together  in  a  confused 
state  by  some  mighty  convulsion  of  nature,  and  here  and 
there  thinly  strewed  over  by  a  light  gravelly  soil,  on  which  no 
vegetation,  except  a  coarse  kind  of  grass  in  the  rainy  season, 
is  ever  seen.  A  few  on  their  northern  sides  are  covered  with 
verdure,  and  rich  with  abundant  forest  trees.  The  lower  hills 
often  afford  good  pasturage,  and  whenever  practicable  they  are 
covered  with  terraced  patches  of  cultivation.    The  valleys  are 

VOL.   I.  5  B 


736 


The  Protected  Hill  States. 


[Dec. 


very  numerous,  and  generally  fertile  ;  they  are,  however,  much 
broken  hy  deep  ravines,  through  which  flow  streams  of  excel- 
lent water.  Many  of  them  bear  populous  villages  amid 
orchards,  and  neat  little  plantations.  Several  of  the  valleys 
are  eight  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

The  productions  of  the  Protected  Hill  States  are  wheat, 
barley,  buckwheat,  dal,  rice,  urd,  mas,  batu,  potatoes,  and 
various  kinds  of  pulse,  such  as  are  common  on  the  plains. 
Also  apples,  peaches,  apricots,  grapes  and  walnuts.  Iron, 
copper,  lead,  and  rock-salt  are  likewise  found  in  several 
places. 

IMPLEMENTS  OF  HUSBANDRY. 

The  implements  of  husbandry  of  the  hill  people  are  essen- 
tially the  same  as  those  used  on  the  plains. 

A  billet  of  wood  about  three  feet  long  and  six  inches  broad, 
at  one  end,  and  pointed  with  iron  at  the  other,  with  but  one 
handle  attached  to  it,  and  drawn  by  small  oxen,  is  a  substitute 
for  a  plough.  A  piece  of  timber,  four  or  five  feet  long,  and 
six  or  eight  inches  square,  dragged  horizontally  over  the 
ploughed  ground,  serves  for  a  harrow.  For  digging  around 
rocks,  and  in  places  inaccessible  to  oxen  they  have  a  small 
hoe  but  little  larger  than  a  man's  finger.  This  is  a  specimen 
of  all  their  implements  for  agriculture.  They  are  all  of  the 
rudest,  and  most  trifling  description.  The  little  patches  of 
cultivation  on  the  sides  of  the  hills  are  all  terraced,  and  rise 
one  above  another  like  the  seats  of  an  amphitheatre.  They 
are  usually  irrigated  by  conveying  water  along  small  canals 
from  some  fountain,  or  rivulet,  and  discharging  it  on  the  fields 
below  as  they  require  it. 

The  climate  of  the  hill  states  is  for  the  most  part  delightful. 
On  the  lower  ranges  it  is  cool  in  summer,  and  agreeably  cold 
in  winter.  On  the  higher  it  is  cold  even  in  summer,  and 
braces  up  a  debilitated  constitution,  equal  to  that  of  any  other 
country  in  the  world.  By  ascending  or  descending  according 
to  his  fancy,  a  person  may  suit  himself  with  any  temperature 
he  wishes,  at  any  season  of  the  year.  He  may  one  hour  bask 
in  the  scorching  rays  of  an  Indian  sun,  and  the  next  inhale 
the  chilling  breezes  of  her  snow-capt  mountains. 

I  have  now  laid  before  the  Christian  community,  a  brief 
sketch  of  the  inhabitants,  &c.  of  the  Protected  Hill  States.  It 
is  doubtless  imperfect,  and  in  some  things  may  be  erroneous ; 
but  I  trust  a  residence  of  upwards  of  three  years  amongst 
them,  a  careful  observance  of  their  customs,  and  a  particular 
inquiry  into  their  matters  of  faith,  has  enabled  me,  upon  the 
whole,  to  represent  things  as  they  are  amongst  this,  in  many 


1840.] 


The  Protected  Hill  States. 


7*7 


respects,  interesting  people.  In  searching  into  their  charac- 
ters and  conditions  it  has  not  been  my  object  to  satisfy  a  vain 
curiosity,  nor  merely  to  throw  light  upon  the  moral  chart  of 
the  world.  I  wish  rather  to  elicit  Christian  sympathies,  Chris- 
tian prayers,  and  Christian  efforts,  in  their  behalf.  Could  I 
accomplish  this,  it  would  be  my  great  privilege  to  guarantee  a 
greater  blessing  to  these  poor  benighted  mountaineers  than 
even  the  protecting  arm  of  Great  Britain  has  secured  for  them. 
I  would  therefore  raise  the  "  Macedonian  cry,"  "  Come  over 
and  help  us."  Especially  would  I  say  to  my  missionary  bre- 
thren, whose  natural  vigour  has  yielded  to  the  "  destruction 
that  wasteth  at  noon  clay"  on  the  plains,  or  whose  family  cir- 
cumstances may  make  it  necessary  to  leave  their  fields  of 
labour  for  a  more  congenial  climate, — here  is  room  for  at  least 
twenty  missionaries — here  is  a  hilly  country — a  comparatively 
fine  climate,  and  a  comparatively  simple-hearted  people  to 
labour  among — here  a  missionary  could  have  a  good  log  or 
6tone  house — an  abundance  of  cold  spring  water  close  by  to 
drink,  and  many  of  such  fruits  as  are  common  in  his  native 
land  to  eat; — here  his  constitution  might  be  restored,  and  he 
might  labour  many  years  in  his  Master's  kingdom — here  is  a 
portion  of  the  great  field  which  is  already  "  white  for  the 
harvest.'5  Too  long  has  it  been  neglected  by  the  Church  of 
Christ,  and  her  messengers.  The  votaries  of  science  have  pe- 
netrated to  its  centre,  and  traced  its  boundary — stood  on  every 
high  hill — explored  every  valley,  and  trod  its  snow-capt  moun- 
tains where  foot  of  man  never  before  dared  to  tread.  With 
mathematical  precision  the  heights  and  distances  of  their 
towering  peaks  have  been  measured.  By  the  pencil  their 
sublime  and  awe-inspiring  scenery  has  been  reduced  to 
canvass,  and  now  adorns  the  halls  of  the  lovers  of  fine  arts  in 
all  parts  of  the  world.  Their  minerals  and  botanical  produc- 
tions have  been  collected  by  the  curious  to  enrich  the  cabinets 
of  the  learned — their  river-courses  have  been  traced  with 
untiring  zeal,  through  perilous  rocks,  and  mountains  of  snow 
to  their  sources,  to  increase  geographical  knowledge.  This  is 
all  well.  But  while  this  untiring  research  is  going  on  among 
the  votaries  of  science,  why  has  the  mountaineer  himself,  for 
whom  all  the  beauties  of  nature  which  adorn  his  dwelling- 
place  were  spoken  into  existence,  been  neglected  ?  Why  have 
not  the  feet  of  those  who  bear  glad  tidings  preceded  scientific 
adventurers,  or  at  least  followed  in  their  foot-steps  to  these 
regions  of  the  shadow  of  death  ?  Shall  men  of  science  risk 
their  lives  in  scaling  the  steeps,  and  spend  their  time  in  bend- 
ing over  the  pebbles  of  the  Himalayas  to  ascertain  their  quali- 
5  b  2 


738 


Hindustani  Translations  of 


[Dec. 


ties  or  for  vain  amusement,  while  the  ministers  of  Christ 
neglect  the  immortal  souls  of  their  inhabitants  ? 

Would  the  heralds  of  the  cross  manifest  but  half  the  zeal, 
for  the  evangelization  of  these  benighted  mountaineers,  exhi- 
bited by  men  of  science  for  the  promotion  of  their  favourite 
cause,  soon  would  they  be  gathered  into  the  fold  of  our 
Redeemer;  soon  would  idolatry,  and  superstition,  and  igno- 
rance disappear,  like  the  mist  which  rolls  up  the  mountain 
side  before  the  rising  sun,  and  all  the  region  on  which  they 
rested,  shine  forth  enlightened,  and  redeemed. 

J.  M.  J. 

Sabathu,  October  Ydth,  1840. 

Note.— We  trust  the  appeal  of  our  intelligent  correspondent  will  not 
be  in  vain  in  the  Lord.  We  feel  great  pleasure  in  having  awakened  an 
interest  in  the  hill  tribes  of  northern  India. — Our  prayer  is  that  it  may 
increase  until  they  shall  all  be  brought  to  the  knowledge  of  Christ.— Ed. 


II. — On  Hindustani  Translations  of  the  "  Word"  and 
"  Son  of  Man." 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 

Dear  Sirs, 

As  every  thing  which  has  a  bearing  on  the  illustration  of  the 
Bible  is  important,  I  feel  inclined  to  offer  a  suggestion  or  two  on 
the  translation  of  a  term  in  the  current  U'rdu  Testaments.  It  is  the 
term  "  Word,"  occurring  in  the  1st  chapter  of  John  and  the  1st  Epistle 
of  John.  Martyn  translated  it  by  the  Arabick  word  "  Kalma."  Messrs. 
Bowley,  Yates,  and  the  authors  of  the  Banaras  translation  have  all 
taken  the  word  Kalam.  I  think  this  change  was  not  happily  made. 
There  is  no  doubt  but  they  have  all  made  this  change  with  the  view  of 
simplifying  Martyn's  translation.  There  is  no  doubt  that  "  Kalam"  is  a 
plainer  word,  and  more  likely  to  be  understood  by  common  people  in 
common  circumstances.  But  in  these  places  the  word  is  used  in  very 
peculiar  circumstances — viz.  as  a  title  or  name  of  Christ,  the  second 
person  of  the  Trinity.  And  for  this  purpose  I  think  "  Kalma"  is  very 
much  better  suited.  When  the  native  reader  takes  up  the  Testament 
and  reads  "  Shurii  men  Kalam  Khuda  ke  sath  tha,  aur  Kalam  Khuda 
tha,"  he  is  likely  to  pause  to  ascertain  what  this  means.  He  knows  that 
"kalam"  means  "word,"  "speech,"  "discourse;"  he  concludes  that 
this  must  be  its  meaning— that  when  God  created  the  heavens  and  the 
earth  he  used  some  form  of  speech  or  language.  But  he  does  not  suspect 
that  it  is  a  name  or  epithet  of  Christ.  Thus  the  word  is  plain,  but  it 
does  not  help  him  to  get  its  meaning. 

"  Kalma"  corresponds  more  accurately  with  the  Hebrew  or  Chaldaic 
word  "  Memra"  and  the  Greek  word  "  Logos."  It  is  the  word  also  used 
in  the  Quran,  which  gives  us  high  vantage  ground  with  the  Musalmans. 
We  can  show  to  them  that  the  Jewish  commentators,  before  the  time  of 
Jesus  were  accustomed  to  refer  the  word  "  Memra"  and  also  the  more 
ancient  Hebrew  word  "  Dabar"  in  several  cases  to  their  expected  Mes- 
siah, and  thence  to  ascribe  divine  attributes  to  him.   St.  John  seems 


1840.]        the  "  Word"  and  "  Son  of  Man."  739 


evidently  to  have  hud  this  in  his  mind  when  he  commenced  his  history 
of  Jesus.  And  falling  in  with  this  Jewish  doctrine  lie  merely  stated 
definitely  that  this  Memra — or  Logos  who  was  with  God  and  was  God,  is 
this  same  Jesus  of  Nazareth  respecting  whom  there  were  such  contradic- 
tory opinions.  Then  thu  Quran  in  the  Surah  "  linran"  twice  uses  the  word 
"  Kalnia"  as  the  name  or  epithet  of  Jesus,  and  once  in  the  Surah  "  ul 
Nisa."  True  Abdul  <>>a<lir  in  his  translation  renders  the  Arabic  word 
"  Kalma"  by  the  word  "  llukm,"  and  once  "  Kalam,"  hut  he  manifestly 
does  it  so  on  purpose  to  conceal  or  obliterate  the  force  of  the  word  Kalma. 
Thus  by  steadfastly  keeping  this  on  the  high  ground  where  Martyri 
placed  it,  we  have  the  Tauret  and  Injil  and  Quran  uniting  in  a  strong 
and  unequivocal  testimony  to  the  pre-e\istence  and  dignity  of  the 
Messiah. 

\Ve  can  then  establish  from  the  Quran  itself  that  "  Allah  kd  Kalma" 
was  the  appropriate  and  peculiar  name  of  Jesus  before  his  incarnation — 
that  after  his  incarnation  he  was  called  "  Jesus  the  son  of  Mary."  And 
this  quite  agrees  with  the  Injil  and  the  Prophets.  According  to  them 
also  before  his  incarnation  "  Logos"  or  "  Memra"  was  his  peculiar  title  ; 
after  his  incarnation  he  was  called  "  Jesus."  And  I  think  that  all  the 
ingenuity  and  sophistry  of  Muliammadans  cannot  evade  the  force  of  this 
argument.  But  if  we  change  the  ground  by  using  Kalam  or  other  words 
for  the  sake  of  making  the  subject  plain,  we  only  make  the  subject  more 
confused,  and  surrender  a  vantage  ground  which  it  is  of  immense  impor- 
tance for  us  to  keep.  I  think  the  position  in  which  the  Quran  has  placed 
the  "  Kalma"  and  "  Ruh  Pak"  is  one  of  the  strongest  and  most  available 
positions  which  we  can  at  present  use  in  discussions  with  Muhammedans. 
It  thus  gives  unequivocally  the  elements  of  the  doctrine  of  the  Trinity, 
and  we  can  use  them  in  support  of  the  Bible  doctrine  on  that  subject. 

The  same  argument  holds,  though  not  to  the  same  extent,  in  regard 
to  the  term  "  Son  of  Man"  as  applied  to  the  Saviour.  Martyn  trans- 
lates this  "  Ibn  Adam" — Mr.  Yates  adheres  to  the  same.  Mr.  Bowley 
and  the  Banaras  translators  (not  the  Banaras  Committee)  attempt  to 
make  it  more  plain  by  using,  (the  former)  "  Adam  ka  farzand"  and 
"  Admi  ka  farzand"  and  (the  latter)  "  Admi  ka  Beta."  Now  what  we  want 
in  this  case  is,  not  to  simplify  terms,  but  to  use  that  term  which  most 
aptly  designates  Christ  in  his  human  nature.  Of  the  four  forms  found 
in  our  current  Testaments  I  think  "  Ibn  Adam"  is  the  most  eligible. 
Neither  of  them  has  any  plainness  about  it  till  the  person  learns  that  it 
means  "  Jesus  Christ."  1  suppose  the  Saviour  in  the  frequent  appli- 
cation of  the  term  "  Son  of  Man"  to  himself,  had  especial  reference  to 
the  place  in  Daniel  where  he  "  saw  in  the  night  visions  that  one  like 
the  Son  of  Man  came,  and  there  was  given  unto  him  dominion,  and 
glory  and  a  kingdom,  that  all  people,  nations  and  languages  should 
serve  him,  and  his  dominion  shall  be  an  everlasting  dominion,  and  his 
kingdom  that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed." — Daniel,  in  the  visions  of 
the  night,  saw  among  the  Heavenly  hosts  one  who  bore  the  form  of  man. 
That  one  was  brought  prominently  before  him  as  one  who  was  to  possess 
a  kingdom  and  dominion  that  should  be  universal  and  perpetual.  There 
is  no  doubt  that  this  was  with  the  Jews  a  favorite  prophecy — one  on 
which  they  delighted  to  dwell,  until  the  time  that  Jesus  of  Nazareth 
began  to  appropriate  it  to  himself.  And  there  is  little  doubt  that  the 
steadiness  with  which  the  Jews  applied  it  to  their  Messiah  was  one  reason 
why  Jesus  so  frequently  applies  the  term  to  himself.  They  were  pre- 
pared to  see  their  Messiah  in  human  form,  and  to  believe  that  though 
he  wore  a  human  appearance  he  was  in  reality  divine.  Just  so  in  Jesus 
of  Nazareth,  we  recognize  both  their  and  our    Messiah.    His  form 


740  Sketch  of  the  Lodiana  American  Mission.  [Dcd. 


bespeaks  liim  man.  His  viords  and  actions  bespeak  him  more  than  man 
—declare  that  "  in  him  dwelleth  the  fullness  of  the  Godhead."  Now 
this  same  prophecy  of  Daniel  is  to  us  a  precious  prophecy,  and  one 
which  1  apprehend  will  have  much  to  do  in  our  discussions  both  with 
Muhammadans  and  Jews,  in  this  country.  It  is  therefore  desirable  in 
our  translations  to  use  and  adhere  to  those  terms  which  will  throw  our 
discussions  back  on  the  original  ground  where  the  prophets  placed  it. 
Thus  these  terms  which  at  first  seem  difficult  come  to  our  hand  full  of 
meaning,  and  full  of  force.  And  I  think  that  "  Ibn  Adam''  is  better 
adapted  to  express  this  term  in  Hindustani  and  to  throw  the  discussion 
back  upon  its  origin  than  either  Admi  ka  Beta,"  "  Adam  ka  farzand,"  or 
"  Admi  ka  farzand,"  or  any  other  term  that  is  likely  to  be  used.  To  my 
ear  it  also  sounds  more  dignified  and  definite  than  either  of  the  others. 

I  shall  be  exceedingly  delighted  to  see  the  translators  of  the  Scriptures 
uniform  on  such  points.  Every  difference  of  this  kind  which  finds  its 
way  into  printed  editions  of  the  scriptures  lays  up  unnumbered  difficul- 
ties for  our  future  use,  and  puts  into  the  hands  of  Muhammadans  the 
means  of  very  much  trouble  and  annoyance  to  us  afterwards. 

I  may  not  however,  have  come  to  the  most  correct  views  after  all  on 
the  subjects  which  I  have  thus  briefly  discussed.  I  have  therefore  no 
wish  to  dictate,  but  hold  my  mind  in  readiness  to  take  different  views 
whenever  it  shall  be  shown  on  sufficient  grounds  that  my  conclusions  are 
hasty,  or  formed  from  insufficient  data.  I  should  be  glad  to  see  some 
one  who  is  more  familiar  with  the  resources  of  eastern  languages,  and 
especially  with  the  doctrines  and  discussions  of  the  Jews  between  the 
time  of  Daniel  and  the  coming  of  the  Messiah,  take  up  this  subject  and 
develope  its  real  position  and  bearing. 

If  yon  think  the  thoughts  thus  hastily  and  rather  crudely  put  together 
would  be  either  acceptable,  or  useful  to  the  readers  of  the  Observer, 
kindly  insert  them — if  not  lay  them  aside. 

W. 

Allahabad,  October  20,  1840. 


III. — Sketch  of  the  Lodiana  American  Mission. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Gentlemen, 

I  hasten  to  comply  with  your  request,  as  I  find  it  in  the  September 
No.  of  the  Observer.  A  long  tedious  history  would  be  both  unprofit- 
able and  altogether  out  of  place.  I  shall  therefore  give  you  but  a 
rough  sketch  of  facts. 

The  Rev.  J.  C.  Lowrie,  a  Missionary  of  the  Foreign  Missionary 
Society  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States,  arrived  at 
Lodiana  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1834.  His  attention  had  been 
directed  to  this  region  by  the  fact  of  its  entire  destitution,  and  because 
a  door  was  open  for  the  dissemination  of  gospel  truth  in  the  Protected 
Sikh  States.  The  door  to  the  Panjab  was  then,  as  it  still  is,  closed 
against  the  Missionary  ;  but  we  hope  the  day  is  not  far  distant  when 
the  Missionary  of  the  cross  will  be  permitted  to  travel  its  length  and 
breadth,  making  known  the  glad  news  of  salvation  to  those  who  are 
sitting  in  darkness  and  the  shadow  of  death.  Even  now  we  are  able 
to  do  something  for  the  people  of  the  Panjab.    Thousands  of  them 


1840.]        Sketch  of  the  Lodiana  American  Mission. 


741 


come  to  or  pass  through  Lodiana  every  year,  many  of  whom  are  anxious 
to  obtain  our  books  for  themselves  and  their  friends.  Mr.  Lowrie 
was  not  permitted  to  remain  long  at  this  station.  Ill  health  obliged 
him  to  remove  to  Simla  in  March  1835.  In  November  following  he 
returned  to  the  plains,  and  in  December  he  had  the  pleasure  of  wel- 
coming to  their  field  of  future  labor  the  Rev.  Messrs  Newton  and 
Wilson.  Mr.  Lowrie's  health  still  continuing  in  an  unfavorable  state, 
early  in  1836,  he  was  obliged  to  leave  the  station  and  return  to 
America.  Early  in  1837  Mr.  Wilson  left  the  station.  Since  that  time 
however  the  number  of  Missionaries  has  been  annually  increased.  We 
now  number  four  :  "  The  Ilev.  Messrs.  J.  Newton,  J.  Porter  and  W.  S. 
Rogers,  and  Mr.  R.  Morris,  together  with  our  wives — and  one  native 
Catechist,  Goloknath. 

Presses.  We  have  now  in  operation  two  presses — one  of  them  an 
iron  press.  A  new  iron  press,  of  a  large  size  has  been  received, 
but  has  not  been  brought  into  use  yet.  We  have  large  founts  of 
Persian,  Nagri  and  Gurmukhi  type,  and  some  small  fonts  of  Roman 
type :  we  have  also  two  Lithographic  presses  at  work.  A  book- 
binder is  connected  with  the  office.  Last  year  we  printed  in  Urdu 
and  Panjabi  46,000  copies  of  books  and  tracts,  making  a  total  of 
1,236,000  pages  in  those  two  languages.  In  this  number  of  books  are 
included  3000  copies  of  John's  Gospel,  and  3000  Acts  of  the  Apostles, 
both  in  Urdu.  During  the  present  year  we  have  printed  the  Gospel 
according  to  Matthew,  translated  into  Gurmukh!  by  the  Missionaries 
at  this  station,  and  the  Pilgrim's  Progress  in  Urdu  (Persian  Character). 
During  the  present  and  past  years  we  have  also  printed  a  number  of 
tracts  in  Persian,  Urdu,  Hindi,  Panjabi,  and  Kashmiri. 

In  addition  to  the  Scriptures  and  tracts  printed  here,  we  receive 
supplies  from  the  several  Societies  in  Calcutta. 

Schools.  The  English  High  School.  This  school  was  established 
by  Col.  Sir  C.  M.  Wade,  and  supported  by  him  for  some  years.  On 
the  arrival  of  Mr.  Lowrie  he  was  requested  to  take  the  superintendence 
of  it,  which  he  did  with  the  understanding  that  Christian  instruction  was 
to  be  communicated  in  a  prudent  manner.  It  has  since  then  been  made 
over  entirely  to  the  Missionaries  who  now  have  its  sole  management.  Col. 
Wade  since  making  it  over  to  the  Mission  has  continued  to  manifest  a 
warm  interest  in  its  welfare.  Last  year  there  were  seven  classes.  The 
first  had  studied  Evidences  of  Christianity,  Intellectual  Philosophy, 
Chemistry  and  Arithmetic.  The  second  Physical  Geography,  Astro- 
nomy, part  of  Natural  Philosophy,  embracing  Hydrostatics,  Hydraulics, 
Pneumatics,  Acoustics,  and  Optics.  The  third  and  fourth  classes, 
Geography,  Grammar,  Arithmetic  and  New  Testament.  The  other 
classes  were  studying  the  Elements  of  English  language  and  translating. 
During  the  present  year  a  change  has  been  made  in  its  arrangement 
— the  lower  classes  have  been  formed  into  what  is  called  a  Primary 
School.  The  Primary  School  nnmbers  about  40  pupils,  and  the  High 
School,  about  25.  The  exercises  are  commenced  (daily)  by  reading 
the  Scriptures  and  prayer. 

Boarding  Schools  for  boys  and  girls.  The  number  in  each  school 
is  seven.    One  of  the  girls  (since  married)  and  two  of  the  boys,  have 


742 


Letter  to  a  Friend  in  America. 


[Dec. 


been  admitted  to  the  communion  of  the  Church  during  the  present 
year. 

Sabbath  School.  We  have  a  Sabbath  School,  composed  chiefly  of 
pupils  from  the  High  School,  and  a  Bible  class  of  young  men,  chiefly 
from  the  printing  office  and  High  School. 

Church.  We  have  erected  a  large  and  comfortable  Chapel  in  one 
of  the  principal  streets  of  the  city,  in  which  a  sermon  is  preached 
every  Sabbath.  The  language  used  is  Hindustani.  The  Church 
numbers,  exclusive  of  the  Missionaries  and  families,  6  members, — 
making  our  whole  number  fourteen. 

Languages  and  Population.  The  whole  population  of  Lodiana  has 
been  estimated  at  30,000  persons.  Of  these  7000  or  more  are  Kash- 
miris, who  in  their  intercourse  with  each  other,  use  the  Kashmiri 
language :  indeed  many  of  them  know  no  other.  Of  the  remaining 
23,000  perhaps  half  speak  Hindustani,  and  the  remainder  Panjabi. 

I  have  endeavored  to  give  you  a  short  sketch  of  our  operations  as 
they  are  now  conducted,  and  hope  you  will  find  it  of  some  use  in 
preparing  the  History  of  Indian  Missions  you  have  in  contemplation. 

Yours  very  faithfully, 

R.  MORRIS, 
American  Missionary. 

Lodiana,  Sept.  22,  1840. 

Note. — We  shall  print  all  the  documents  received  on  this  subject  as 
they  may  afford  instruction  to  some,  while  it  is  a  sure  way  of  preserving 
the  facts  connected  with  the  history  of  Missions  in  India.  We  entreat 
our  friends  to  communicate  similar  statements  concerning  their  stations. 
—Ed. 


IV. — Some  causes  for  the  slow  progress  Christianity  is  mak- 
ing in  India  ;  in  a  letter  to  a  Friend  in  America. 

My  dear  Brother, 

I  have  often  felt  a  wish  to  say  a  few  things  to  the  good  people  at 
home  through  the  medium  of  the  Chronicle,  in  explanation  of  some  of 
the  latent  causes  from  which  the  progress  of  Christianity  appears  so 
slow  in  India.  As  the  dear  people  of  God  at  home  who  contribute, 
and  pray,  and  long  for  the  bringing  in  of  the  Gentiles,  have  to  share 
with  us  in  the  delayed  hopes  and  disappointments  and  trials  which 
belong  to  this  subject ;  it  is  right  they  should  be  made  as  fully  acquaint- 
ed as  possible  with  the  outward  and  visible  causes  which  operate  in 
this  case.  The  more  they  see  of  the  silent  influences  at  work  the  less 
are  they  likely  to  be  stumbled  when  they  find  that  the  outward  and 
manifest  results  do  not  seem  to  come  up  to  the  full  measure  of  the  means 
and  efforts  used.  And  their  faith  and  prayers  and  expectations  will 
bear  on  the  subject  more  exactly  as  it  is. 

I  mentioned  in  a  former  letter,  which  I  hope  you  have  received,  the 
extent  to  which  the  native  mind  is  filled — utterly  filled — with  legendary 
tales,  all  of  which  are  decked  in  the  strongest  colors  of  romance.  Hence 


1840.] 


Letter  to  a  Friend  in  America. 


many  times  the  verv  strongest  announcements  of  the  Bible  often  only 
serve  to  throw  the  mind  back  into  the  midst  of  them,  and  make  them 
think  how  utterly  vapid  and  feeble  are  the  strongest  figures  and  illustra- 
tions which  we  use  when  compared  with  those  which  are  common 
among  themselves.  Where  they  are  familiar  with  men  "weeping  tears 
of  iron,"  and  figures  equally  strong  on  all  subjects,  the  strongest  state- 
ments that  Christianity  makes  are  considered  as  only  second  rate. 
Immemorial  custom  has  taught  them  not  to  accord  to  any  the  character 
or  title  of  an  author  until  he  is  able  to  write  bis  sentiments,  or 
doctrines,  or  what  be  wishes  the  people  to  read,  in  Poetry.  A  prose 
writer  is  regarded  merely  as  an  aspirant  to  a  name  of  which  he  is 
unworthy.  Hence  nearly  all  their  works  are  written  in  verse.  Hence 
too  that  extravagant  fondness  for  the  gingling,  measured  lines  of  poetry 
so  characteristic  of  Asiatics.  Hence  too  the  florid  style  of  poetry 
decked  in  the  most  exuberant  and  gorgeous  imagery  has  transfused 
itself  througll  all  the  Prose  which  they  do  write.  Thus  the  commonest 
prose  writer  cannot  write  on  the  commonest  subject  without  striving 
to  soar  into  the  regions  of  poetry  :  e.  g.  A  common  approved  writer 
now  before  me,  speaking  of  a  few  of  the  bangers-on  of  a  great  man 
in  office  who  were  begging  some  appointment  from  him,  instead  of 
saying  "  they  indulged  sanguine  hopes  of  success  in  their  application," 
says,  "  the  rose  of  desire  bloomed  in  the  garden  of  their  expectation." 
This  is  but  one  of  a  score  which  are  found  in  a  chapter.  Take  one 
other  specimen  ;  it  is  a  reply  to  an  order  about  some  work.  It  begins 
thus — "  Your  devoted  slave  Sikandur,  having  performed  the  ceremonies 
of  the  prostration  and  the  dependency  of  slavery,  sendeth  health  to  the 
'  Qibleh*'  of  this  world  and  the  next,  at  the  petitioning  place  of  the 
servants  of  your  heavenly  palace,  I  became  dignified  and  elevated  with 
the  honor  of  the  auspicious  contents  of  the  illustrious  mandate  that 
was  issued  in  the  name  of  this  meanest  of  your  slaves,  on  the  subject 
of  repairing  the  fort  of  Kajore,"  &c.  And  this  is  found  among  the 
forms  of  law  where  perspicacity  and  plainness  are  peculiarly  necessary. 
Capacity  in  this  kind  of  gorgeous  decoration  is  that  which  in  a  great 
measure  gives  character  to  a  writer  and  brings  his  services  into  demand 
in  this  country.  And  the  simple  unpompous  "  doctrines  of  the  cross" 
in  the  bauds  of  foreigners,  can  do  very  little  at  captivating  the  ear  in 
this  style. 

Again  the  native  works  contain  many  very  judicious  reflections  and 
precepts,  mixed  up  with  a  great  deal  that  is  childish  and  even  corrupt- 
ing. So  when  the  Christian  stranger  repeats  the  purest  sentiments 
and  precepts  from  the  Bible  in  their  presence,  they  are  even  ready  to 
reply  "  We  have  so  and  so  in  our  books  just  like  that,"  and  immediately 
set  their  minds  at  work  to- show  the  similarity  of  their  moral  precepts 
with  those  we  wish  them  to  receive  as  new. 

Again  natives  have  to  do  with  despotic  mind  in  all  the  affairs  of  life. 
Hence  all  their  skill  and  training  bear  on  the  point  of  learning  how 
to  manage  mind  in  this  form.     The  books  which  are  prepared  for  the 

*  "  Qibleth"  means  the  place  ton  aids  which  one  turns  iu  prayer,  as  the  Musal- 
nidns  do  towards  Mecca  tin  t  the  Jews  to  Jerusalem. 
VOL.  I.  5  c 


744  Letter  to  a  Friend  in  America.  [Dec. 


especial  use  of  Kings  and  Rulers  bend  all  their  powers  to  the  preparation 
of  rulers  to  rule  and  manage  men  in  the  way  of  absolute  despotism. 
And  all  the  training  and  experience  of  the  common  people  are  directed 
to  the  management  of  mind  (especially  of  superiors)  in  that  form. 
One  of  their  first  and  highest  efforts  is  to  learn  "  with  the  water  of 
endurance  to  quench  the  fire  of  anger."  And  by  means  of  cunning 
and  artifice  to  get  that  which  they  cannot  obtain  by  power.  And  every 
man  must  adapt  his  mind  and  all  his  measures  to  be  treated  by  all 
above  him  as  a  slave,  and  make  up  his  account  by  bearing  down  the 
harder  on  all  below  him.  The  ramifications  of  this  run  through  the 
whole  framework  of  society,  and  in  a  thousand  forms  retard  the  pro- 
gress of  society  from  the  present  to  a  later  state. 

Again  Christianity  comes  into  a  land  where  all  the  channels  of 
thought  are  in  almost  every  possible  form  pre-occupied  in  favor  of 
some  of  the  native  forms  of  religion.  Thus  even  a  virtue,  or  excel- 
lency of  character  can  scarcely  be  named  which  does  not  to  their  ear 
express  some  of  their  own  forms  or  modes  of  worship.  Thus  "  believer" 
is  to  a  Christian  ear  a  very  familiar  term  and  full  of  meaning.  iSo  is 
it  in  Hindustan.  But  here  it,  means  belief  in  Muhammad  and  the 
Quran.  And  if  we  change  and  compound  a  word  to  express  the  idea, 
still  the  elements  of  that  new  word  point  to  the  Quran  and  its  pro- 
phet. When  we  speak  of  "  Mu  sal  mans,"  we  use  a  term  "  Ahli  islam," 
(the  most  popular  term  for  Musalmans)  we  utter  a  term  which  means 
"  Master,  a  possessor  of  safety  or  orthodoxy,"  whilst  we  are  labouring 
to  show  that  this  very  people  are  far  from  either  orthodoxy  or  safety. 
If  we  use  the  term  "  Kalam-ulluh,"  (Word  of  God)  it  means  the 
Quran  as  distinct  from  the  books  of  Moses  and  Jesus.  If  we  use  the 
term  "  Quran,"  or  its  more  popular  form  "  Furkdn,"  it  means  the 
book  which.  "  distinguishes  truth  from  falsehood."  When  we  speak 
of  "  Ahlullah ,"  (people  of  God)  it  means  dervises,  faqirs,  &c.  When 
we  recommend  "  piety,"  and  the  "  fear  of  God,"  "  deadness  to  the 
world,"  &c.  we  are  in  danger  of  requiring  people  to  throw  off  their 
clothes  and  besmear  themselves  with  dirt,  and  forsaking  society  go 
and  dwell  in  the  jungle. 

Thus  Christianity  has  to  wear  or  cut  for  itself  new  channels,  whilst 
all  the  old  channels  are  flowing  full  and  strong  with  a  tide  which  carries 
far  away  from  where  the  Bible  bids  us  to  go.  The  languages  of  India 
are  copious  and  capable  of  expressing  great  varieties  in  the  shades  of 
thought.  But  it  seems  as  if  almost  every  possible  combination  is 
already  brought  into  the  services  of  the  current  forms  of  religion.  So 
that  Christianity  has  to  take  one  of  three  alternatives;  viz.  either 
stand  back  and  be  content  with  very  few  simple,  religious  and  theolo- 
gical terms,  and  express  the  most  important  and  oft-recurring  ideas 
by  a  tedious  circumlocution,  or  attempt  to  form  new  compounds,  the 
elements  of  which  will  still  point  to  persons  and  opinions  which  Chris- 
tianity proves  to  be  false  and  unworthy  such  honor,  or  come  for- 
ward with  a  confident  and  vigorous  step  and  wrest  a  sufficient  number 
of  the  most  clear  and  simple  and  expressive  terms  already  in  use  and 
appropriate  them  to  its  own  use.  The  latter  is  the  alternative,  which 
I  think  it  were  most  desirable  to  choose,  e.  g.   The  word  "  Kala- 


1840.] 


Letter  to  a  Friend  in  America. 


745 


mullah,"  "  word  of  God "  is  perhaps  the  most  simple,  musical  and 
expressive  which  the  language  affords  ;  and  if  we  have  to  stand  hack 
at  respectful  distance  and  yield  the  term  entirely  to  the  Quran,  and  use 
some  other  compound  or  circumlocution  in  its  stead,  we  tacitly  give  them 
the  vantage  ground.  Thus  in  a  whole  class  of  most  important  terms 
Christianity  has  to  consent  to  the  enemies  occupying  the  vantage 
ground,  whilst  it  occupies  the  plains  and  vales  below.  As  a  matter 
of  policy  this  is  not  wise.  When  military  men  make  a  hostile  advance 
into  a  country,  their  first  and  steady  effort  is  to  get  possession  of  the 
forts  and  citadels,  and  eminences  from  which  they  can  with  ease  bring 
their  artillery  to  bear  on  the  surrounding  lower  grounds.  Whether 
Christianity  will  take  no  valuuble  hint  from  the  policy  of  the  world  or 
not  remains  to  be  seen.  Hitherto  the  aspect  of  things  seems  rather 
to  say  "  no."  Christians  seem  hitherto  to  be  toiling  each  in  his  way  to 
mould  or  form,  or  compound  such  terms  or  circumlocutions  as  will 
express  the  religious  and  theological  terms  of  the  bible  without 
encroaching  on  the  ground  conceded  to  the  qurau  and  the  shastras. 

And  thus  until  Christianity  shall  have  either  formed  or  appropriated 
terms  to  express  her  important  and  oft-recurring  doctrines,  terms 
which  will  be  recognized  as  implying  just  what  the  Christian  preacher 
wishes  to  express,  the  power  of  Christian  instruction  will  be  greatly 
diminished. 

Thus  it  will  be  many  years  before  Christianity  will  have  learned  the 
exact  force  of  her  own  terms,  and  have  the  lines  drawn  around  the 
definition  of  terms  us^d,  >o  as  to  have  it  known  exactly  what  is  meant. 
But  as  Christianity  goes  forward  in  this  work,  exhibiting  her  doctrines 
and  fruits  along  with  the  terms  she  uses,  and  thus  illustrating:  their 
exact  meaning,  the  announcements  of  the  great  truths  of  the  Gospel 
will  be  constantly  acquiring  new  strength. 

Now  whilst  Christianity  is  thus,  as  it  were,  feeling  her  way  through 
this  mass  of  preparatory  work,  let,  not  Christians  who  dwell  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  globe,  are  acquainted  only  with  the  simple,  clear, 
and  holy  doctrines  of  the  bible  propounded  in  well-understood  terms 
be  stumbled  or  perplexed  when  they  seem  to  see  the  results  of  the 
gospel  preached  in  this  country  not  proportioned  to  the  means  and 
appliances  used. 

When  Christianity  shall  have  made  a  channel  for  herself,  and  when 
the  ground  is  more  thoroughly  explored,  and  the  high  grounds  and 
citadels  are  a  little  more  in  possession,  on  the  principles  of  mere 
human  calculation  she  will  begin  to  exert  and  exhibit  a  very  different 
power  in  possessing  the  country.  Add  to  this  the  assurances,  of  Him 
whose  cause  it  is,  that  "  the  kingdom  given  unto  the  Son  of  man  is  such 
a  kingdom  that  all  people,  nutions  and  languages  shall  serve  him: 
that  his  dominion  is  an  everlasting  dominion,  which  shall  not  pass 
away,  and  his  kingdom  that  which  shall  not  be  destroyed  ;  then  the 
faith  that  was  wavering  cannot  but  be  strong.  The  vividness,  the 
hope,  the  panting  expectation  of  immediate  and  greatly  abundant 
fruits,  will  give  place  to  that  more  deep  and  steady  faith  of  the  Prophets 
which  saw  the  certain  establishment  and  glory  of  the  Messiah's  king- 
dom through  a  far  more  extended  tract  of  time  than  now  lies  before 
5  c  2 


746 


The  Temples  of  Wun  in  Nemdr. 


[Dec. 


us ;  and  led  them  to  act  steadily  on  the  connections  of  that  faith 
though  they  saw  that  not  to  themselves,  but  to  other  generations  they 
did  minister  in  the  toils  and  labors  and  privations  which  they  endured. 

As  ever,  your  affectionate  brother, 

J.  W 

Allahabad,  Oct.  16th,  1840. 


V. — 7  he  Temples  of  Wun.  in  Nemdr. 

The  province  of  Nemar  is  interesting  for  its  fine  diversified  scenery 
and  several  interesting  places.  The  climate  during  the  rains  and  cold 
weather  is  agreeable,  but  dining  the  months  of  March,  April  and  May, 
it  is  considered  the  hottest  part  of  India  ;  its  fervid  heat  is  then  particu- 
larly ungenial  to  a  European  constitution.  Wun  is  a  small  town  in  this 
province,  and  from  the  number  of  old  Jain  and  Brahman  temples  in  its 
vicinity  must  have  been  the  residence  of  a  considerable  number  of  those 
two  sects.  The  present  inhabitants,  however,  know  but  little  regarding 
them  ;  some  are  not  at  all  respected,  a  few  (Brahmanical)  which  contain 
Lingams  are  resorted  toby  the  wretched  inhabitants  for  the  benefit  of 
puja  ;  only  one  of  the  Jain  temples  is  visited  by  the  Banyans,  of  whom 
there  is  a  very  small  number,  and  that  they  have  not  thought  proper  to 
have  cleaned  out.  However,  1  should  have  thought  it  more  strange  if 
so  dirty  and  absurdly  prejudiced  a  set  of  people  as  the  Banyans  had  ven- 
tured on  having  their  temple  cleaned  out,  for.  from  the  neglected  state 
of  these  temples,  they  must  contain  many  a  happy,  contented  insect, 
which  would  have  been  brought  to  an  untimely  end,  had  the  use  of  a 
broom  been  ventured  upon. 

Last  hot  weather,  1  passed  through  Wun  ;  it  «;is  one  of  those  closely 
hot,  sultry  days  t hat  precede  the  setting  in  of  the  rains,  which  draw  the 
perspiration  from  the  body  like  the  action  of  a  heated  oven  on  a  piece  of 
meat.  I  was  anxious  to  visit  the  temples  during  the  dav,  and  once  ven- 
tured out,  but  after  inspecting  one  was  obliged  to  retire  to  my  resting- 
place  much  discomfited,  for  the  heat  and  glare  combined  were  irresistible. 
It  would  have  been  an  excellent  state  of  atmosphere  for  .Monsieur 
Chabert  to  have  practised  upon.  I  was  compelled  to  hide  my  diminished 
head.  However,  during  the  day  I  was  indulged  with  a  dust  storm  and 
slight  sprinkling  of  rain,  which  enabled  me  to  v  isit  them  some  time  before 
sunset. 

Temple  No.  1  in  the  town  is  dedicated  to  Mahadeva.  In  front  is  a 
detached  pillar  with  capital  on  the  summit,  on  which  are  four  stout 
figures,  (one  on  each  side)  on  their  bellies,  very  similar  to  the  cherubim 
we  sometimes  see  outside  the  churches  in  England.  The  base  is  square, 
and  on  it  are  some  carved  bulls.  The  steeple  of  the  temple  is  of  a  pyra- 
midal shape,  open  in  the  middle  of  its  faces,  and  hollow  inside;  the 
corners  are  friesed  ;  at  the  entrance  are  two  shafts  of  pillars  on  each  side 
of  the  vestibule;  one  side  is  uninjured ;  they  are  merely  half  pillars; 
above  them  are  very  well  carved  figures  on  their  bellies;  on  each  side  of 
the  entrance  are  longitudinal  carved  lines  ;  at  the  base  of  each  side  of 
the  entrance  are  seven  female  figures  in  alto  relievo,  all  in  good  condition 
but  one  ;  on  the  ceiling  are  some  well  executed  medallions;  in  the  cen- 
tre is  a  large  one  very  well  worked  ;  inside  below  are  two  Lingams  and 
on  each  side  are  some  carved  figures,  outside  area  number  of  carved 
figures  of  both  sexes,  seated  and  standing  in  recesses;  the  sides,  of  the 
temple  are  richly  carved  in  smaller  pyramidal  shapes  ;  the  top,  espe- 
cially in  front,  is  falling  into  ruin. 


1840.] 


The  Temples  of  Wun  in  Nemdr. 


747 


Passing  through  the  town  to  No.  II.  a  small  structure  dedicated  to 
Mahadeva  with  many  detached  pieces  of  sculpture  of  Hindu  deities  scat- 
tered ahout ;  inside  are  two  Litigants,  outside  two  Ganpats,  a  Bull  and 
three  standing  figures  with  many  smaller  ones  around  them. 

No.  III.  is  outside  the  town  to  L.  with  a  Lingam  inside.  At  the 
entrance  is  carving  on  either  side  ;  some  small  figures  are  indulging  in 
strange  fantastic  contortions  of  body;  outside  in  recesses  are  seated 
figures,  three  of  which  are  in  a  supplicating  attitude.  No  IV.  h;is  a 
portico  projecting  in  front,  supported  by  pillars  ;  at  the  liases  are  figures 
and  outside  are  fringes  of  elephants,  and  figures  both  large  and  unall  in 
various  positions  hut  falling  into  decay  ;  the  inside  above  is  ornamented 
with  devices  and  figures  ; — in  front  of  the  portico,  two  pillars  are  thrown 
forward,  and  behind  are  three  on  each  side;  the  east  and  west  porticos 
have  fallen  down  ;  pieces  of  sculptured  stone  lie  ahout  ;  inside  the 
temple  are  eight  pillars,  above  the  capitals  of  which  are  couples  of  each 
sex  ;  and  in  some  three  are  grouped  together,  one  playing  a  hansli  is 
very  well  carved.  The  deity  of  this  temple  they  called  Parastiath  ;  in 
Gujarat  1  have  always  seen  this  character  represented  as  seated,  but  here 
he  is  standing  and  spoi  ts  a  head-dress.  The  Marwari  Banyans  worship 
this. 

No.  V.  On  rising  ground,  beyond  the  south  of  the  town.  The 
exterior  of  this  is  in  better  repair  than  any  of  the  preceding  ones  ;  nearly 
the  whole  pyramidal  steeple  is  perfect,  but  there  are  no  figures  outside 
excepting  a  few  that  have  fallen  ;  a  flight  of  steps  leads  to  the  entrance, 
at  which  are  pillars,  the  capitals  of  which  are  adorned  by  sculptured 
figures  ;  the  interior  is  square  with  circular  dome  above,  round  which  are 
carved  circular  lines  and  figures  of  kinds  ;  on  the  sides  and  angles  are 
twelve  pillars  ;  in  recess  to  S.  under  the  steeple  is  a  large  standing  figure 
which  the  people  here  call  Gwalesh war;  on  each  side  are  figures,  and 
about  devices. 

To  the  L.  of  the  town.  On  turning  to  that  direction  passed  over  a 
rising  ground,  on  which  are  vestiges  of  what  were  four  pillars  and  left 
without  anything  to  support.  Further  on,  near  the  town  standing  in 
relief  against  a  stone  is  a  figure  possessing  Buddhist  characteristics,  it 
having  a  head  of  hair  or  a  wig.  It  is  about  seven  feet  in  height,  with 
arms  broken  at  the  joints  ;  there  are  two  foundations  of  temples  close  by 
and  several  other  figures,  some  in  hiyh  relief  but  rather  damaged. 

No.  VI.  The  best  of  all  the  Temples.  The  projecting  portico  has  an 
apartment  branching  off  on  either  side;  the  interior  is  square  with  a 
circular  dome  above  ;  on  each  side  is  a  projecting  balcony  with  four  half 
pillars,  surmounted  by  figures  on  their  bellies,  with  heads  upright  ;  there 
are  a  number  of  pillars  to  this  temple  surmounted  by  male  and  female 
figures  on  their  bellies  ;  on  each  side  are  figures  in  relief  about  eighteen 
inches  in  height  ;  above  and  about  are  many  others.  Indeed  the  elaborate 
carving  of  this  temple  is  not  equalled  by  that  of  any  other  at  \\  an.  Four 
of  the  pillars  are  very  minutely  worked,  especially  at  the  bases.  Above 
is  a  female  standing  figure  ;  the  interior  is  about  94,  feet  square  ;  in  the 
recesses  is  a  standing  figure  which  differs  somewhat  from  others  which  I 
have  seen  here  ;  in  the  vestibule  at  the  base  is  a  line  of  seven  figures 
and  many  smaller  ones.  The  balconies  are  of  red  stone,  the  remainder 
of  basalt.  Inside  against  the  wall  is  some  writing,  which  differs  but  little 
from  the  Nagari  character  :  an  attendant  said  that  it  was  in  the  Nimari 
language  and  professed  to  read  it.  However  it  was  too  late  for  me  to 
inquire  into  its  purport  ;  I  may  do  so  at  some  other  time,  should  chance 
lead  me  in  that  direction.  Against  the  wall  to  L.  in  relief  is  a  small 
standing  figure  about  eighteen  inches  high,  a  triad,  with  bead  very  simi- 
lar to  the  celebrated  Trimurti  of  Elephanta.    This  is  a  Jain  temple  ;  the 


The  Temples  of  tViin  in  Nemar. 


[Dec. 


exterior  is  much  ruined.  Close  by  are  two  smaller  temples,  one  of  which 
possesses  a  Lingam  :  around  are  scattered  many  sculptured  fragments. 
Beyond,  uhder  a  tree  with  sculptured  figures  and  foundations  of  temples 
intervening,  is  a  small  temple  with  plain  exterior  and  domed  roof,  in 
good  condition  ;  below,  outside  are  Ganpat,  Mahadeva  and  Parvati,  and 
inside  a  Lingam  ;  the  domed  roof  is  very  probably  a  modern  renovation. 

Here  ended  my  ramble,  for  darkness  was  approaching,  and  I  had  no 
time  to  look  after  more  foundations.  I  had,  however,  seen  all  the  stand- 
ing temples  and  I  was  satisfied.  It  is  probable  that  these  temples  were 
formerly  in  the  interior  of  the  town,  and  on  the  decrease  of  inhabitants 
the  Kacha  buildings  may  have  returned  to  mother-earth,  and  the  paka 
temples  remained  as  monuments,  showing  that  this  now  small  place  was 
formerly  inhabited  by  a  large  sect  of  wealthy,  and  in  their  peculiar  reli- 
gion, zealous  Jains  ;  the  workmen  may  have  been  indigenous  or  exotic, 
but  they  were  evidently  skilful  handicraftsmen  and  excite  our  admiration. 
The  neighbouring  workmen  at  Mahesar,  though  excellent  for  the  present 
day,  do  not  come  up  to  the  bygone  architects  of  Wun.  As  the  plan  of 
architecture  of  these  temples  is  generally  uniform,  it  is  not  improbable 
that  the  Hindu  deities  and  Lingams  may  have  been  subsequent  additions. 
The  Jain  religion  was  more  prevalent  in  this  part  of  the  country  many 
years  ago  than  it  is  now  ;  and  I  think  it  very  probable  that  Ahilya  Bai 
from  the  neighbouring  town  of  Mahesar,  on  seeing  the  disuse  into  which 
many  of  the  temples  had  fallen  (supposing  the  whole  of  them  to  have 
been  at  that  time  Jain  temples)  may  have  converted  them  (with  the 
exception  of  t»o  or  three)  into  Hindu  temples,  on  the  same  principle  as 
she  has  had  a  temple  to  Mahadeva  near  Mahesar  raised  over  an  old  Jain 
temple,  (see  O.  (J.  S.  vol.  10,  p.  478.)  This  however  is  nearly  a  conjecture, 
for  there  may  have  been  an  equal  number  of  zealous  Jains  and  Hindus 
formerly  resident  at  Hun,  who  had  their  temples  erected  by  the  same 
architects 

The  country  about  Wan  is  rocky,  but  the  vallies  are  fertile.  The  town 
consists  of  about  200  houses,  inhabited  by  cultivators  and  a  few  Banyans. 
The  country  to  the  south  of  the  town  is  wild  and  desolate  jungle,  with 
here  and  there  a  poverty-stricken  vilbige;  the  country  towards  Mandle- 
sar  is  open  undulating  but  rocky  in  general.  Kurgon  the  former  capital 
of  Nemar  is  ten  miles  from  H  un  ;  it  is  still  a  tolerably  sized  town,  but 
lias  nothing  remarkable  to  boast  of,  being  now  entirely  superseded  by 
Mahesar. 

About  fifty  years  ago,  when  under  the  immediate  cherishing  rule  of 
Ahilya  Bai,  this  province  must  have  been  in  a  prosperous  condition,  but 
Jeswant  Rao  and  his  friends  the  Pendharis,  used  their  utmost  endeavors 
to  transform  the  smiling  face  of  this  formerly  favored  province  into  a 
cheerless  waste.  However,  under  a  peaceful  Government  and  British 
surveillance,  Nemar  is  gradually  resuming  its  wonted  cheerful  aspect. 
Nemar  is  principally  famed  -is  a  grazing  country,  and  its  breed  of  bullocks 
is  much  esteemed  in  Malwa  ;  they  are  small  but  compact  and  hard 
working  animals  ;  a  good  pair  may  be  obtained  for  30  Rs.  ;  the  ghee  is 
highly  spoken  of  by  the  Hindus  who  it  must  be  allowed  are  no  bad  judges 
of  that  article.  Jawari  and  dhall  are  the  principal  products  of  the  soil ; 
sufficient  gram  for  internal  consumption  (not  much)  is  grown  ;  wheat  is 
imported  from  Malwa,  famous  for  the  fine  white  and  sweet  quality  of  that 
grain.  Al,  the  root  of  a  bush  ( Morinda  citrifolia )  from  which  a  red  dye 
is  extracted,  used  in  dyeing  cloths  and  staining  leather  is  grown  here, 
and  exported  to  Baroch,  from  which  place  they  receive  salt,  cocoanuts, 
&c.    Turmeric  is  another  root  cultivated  and  exported. 

The  dialect  peculiar  to  Nemar  assimilates  very  much  with  that  of 
Malwa,  and  the  character  used  is  very  like  the  Balbodh. 

Nemo. 

Oriental  Chi  istian  Spectator."] 


1840.] 


Cantonment  Burial  Grounds. 


749 


VI. — Dissenting  Ministers  and  Cantonment  Burial  Grounds. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Dear  Sins, 

It  is  apprehended  frequent  difficulties  have  arisen  between 
Dissenting  Ministers  and  Episcopal  Chaplains  with  reference 
to  the  former  officiating  in  Cantonment  Burial  Grounds. 
Indeed  within  about  the  last  three  years  two  cases  of  this 
kind  have  occurred  in  connexion  with  the  Orissa  Mission.  In 
the  former  instance  the  late  Rev.  R.  Arnold  objected  to  the 
Rev.  A.  Sutton  officiating  in  the  Burial  Ground  at  Cuttack, 
and  after  some  discussion  the  whole  affair  was  referred  to  the 
Bishop  of  Calcutta,  who  refused  to  iuteriere  with  such  long 
established  usages.  In  the  latter  a  few  months  ago  the  chap- 
lain of  this  division  expressly  prohibited  to  the  officer  com- 
manding, my  officiating  here.  I  felt  assured  he  was  assuming 
an  authority  which  did  not  belong  to  him,  and  one  in  which 
the  Government  of  this  country  would  never  justify  him  ;  ac- 
cordingly I  referred  the  matter  to  the  Governor  of  Madras  in 
council  with  whose  reply  I  have  been  favored.  As  the  result 
if  known,  may  tend  to  prevent  future  difficulties  on  this  sub- 
ject, allow  me  herewith  to  enclose  copies  of  letters  dispatched 
and  received  by  me,  which  you  will  greatly  oblige  me  by 
inserting  in  the  "  C.  C.  Observer." 

Yours  sincerely, 
(Copy)  J.  Stubbins. 

To  R.  Clerk,  Esq.  Secretary  to  Government. 

Sir, 

I  do  myself  the  honor  to  request  you  will  have  the  goodness  to  lay 
the  following  subject  before  the  Rig  lit  Honorable  the  Governor  in 
council  for  his  Lordship's  consideration,  as  I  and  my  brother  dissenters 
at  this  station  feel  it  a  matter  of  severe  consequence,  and  trust  if  we 
have  been  unjustifiably  interfered  with  we  may  be  relieved  from  the 
restriction  which  has  been  laid  upon  us. 

It  has  hitherto  been  considered  that  the  Burial  ground  at  this  sta- 
tion is  open  for  the  reception  of  the  dead  of  every  denomination  of 
European  Christians  and  their  offspring  ;  and  that  any  minister,  Dissenter 
or  Episcopalian,  is  at  liberty  when  requested  to  officiate,  as  the  ground 
is  not  consecrated,  and  no  objection  on  the  part  of  any  minister  of  the 
Episcopal  church  has  ever  that  I  am  aware  of  been  made. 

When  the  Rev.  R.  VV.  Whitford,  the  Chaplain  of  this  division,  visit- 
ed the  station  Inst  month,  he  informed  the  officer  commanding  that  lie 
had  heard  that  the  dissenting  minister  had  officiated  in  the  liurial 
ground,  and  that  lie  had  interred  there  the  unbaptized  child  of  a  dis- 
senter, but  that  he  (the  Rev.  R.  VV.  Whitford),  now  took  the  liberty  of 
distinctly  prohibiting  any  person  who  had  not  been  baptized  being 
buried  ttiere,  and  any  dissenting  minister  officiating  under  any  circum- 
stances ;  and  also  every  dissenter  (in  other  respects  qualified;  who  was 


750 


Cantonment  Burial  Grounds. 


[Dec. 


not  so  far  an  Episcopalian  that  be  could  and  would  use  the  form  of 
Burial  service  as  contained  in  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer  "  without 
impropriety  or  variation." 

It  will  he  seen  that  the  above  prohibition  affects  every  Christian  com- 
munity, for  not  un frequently  are  infants  so  suddenly  removed  that  even 
where  parents  desire  it  they  cannot  have  their  children  baptized. 
Others  again  conscientiously  object  to  infants  being-  Baptized  at  all, 
believing  Baptism  to  be  an  ordinance  to  which  only  believers  in  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  can  attend.  In  these  and  other  cases  the  rites  of 
sepulture  would  be  denied  in  the  common  burial  ground. 

The  second  part  of  the  prohibition  refers  to  Dissenters  generally 
who  could  not  use  the  form  of  service,  &c.  but  particularly  to  Dissent- 
ing ministers  who  are  prohibited  officiating  under  any  circumstances. 

Now,  sir,  it  is  well  known  that  Presbyterians,  Congregationalists, 
Baptists,  in  short  every  denomination  of  Dissenters,  decidedly  object  to, 
at  least  the  indiscriminate  use  of  the  burial  service  as  contained  in  the 
Book  of  Common  Prayer,  and  to  make  the  use  of  that  a  sine  qua  non 
to  interment  in  the  public  Burial  Ground  would  be  at  once  virtually  to 
shut  it  up  against  numbers  of  European  dead,  in  which  case  no  incon- 
siderable proportion  of  the  Honorable  Company's  Servants  both  Civil 
and  Military,  with  many  others  not  ranking  in  either  of  the  above 
classes,  as  Missionaries,  merchants,  &c.  who  have  an  equal  right  to 
Government  protection,  must  be  buried  by  the  side  of  the  high  road, 
the  effect  of  which  upon  the  European  and  Native  community,  and 
especially  upon  the  minds  of  surviving  friends,  will  not  be  difficult  to 
divine.  It  must  also  be  esteemed  an  invidious  distinction  and  persecu- 
tion too  that  Dissenting  ministers  are  prohibited  officiating  when  re- 
quested, especially  for  members  of  their  own  church,  and  in  the  absence 
too,  as  in  the  present  case,  of  a  resident  Episcopal  clergyman. 

It  is  apprehended  to  be  contrary  to  the  avowed  liberal  principles 
of  the  Honorable  Company  that  religious  party  considerations  should 
have  had  any  influence  in  providing  cemeteries  for  the  burial  of  their 
servants  as  well  as  Europeans  generally  and  their  offspring,  or  that  it 
was  ever  contemplated  making  the  use  of  any  particular  form  of  service 
a  sine  qua  non  to  interment,  or  that  Dissenting  ministers  should  not 
officiate. 

Trusting  his  Lordship  will  give  this  subject  his  serious  considera- 
tion, and  if  possible  relieve  us  from  what  appears  to  have  been  a 
needless  and  unjustifiable  restriction, 

I  have  the  honor  to  be, 
Sir, 

Your  obdt.  servt. 
Berhampore,  near  Ganjam,  J.  Stubbins. 

Aug.  25th,  1840. 

(Reply.) 

Ecclesiastical  Department,  No.  176. 
Extract  from  the  minutes  of  consultation  under  date  the 
loth  October,  1840. 
Read  the  following  letter  from  the  Right  Rev.  the  Lord  Bishop  of 
Madias. 


1840.] 


Revival  of  Religion  in  Ross-shire* 


751 


(Here  enter  18th  September,  1840.) 

The  Right  Honorable  the  Governor  in  Council  observes  that  the 
number  of  Protestants  in  this  country  of  every  denomination  is  very 
small,  and  that  it  would  be  impracticable  or  at  least  superfluous,  to  pro- 
vide each  sect  at  every  station,  with  a  separate  place  of  interment. 

His  Lordship  in  council  conceives,  that  it  would  not  conduce  to 
harmony  and  good  feeling,  if  the  performance  of  the  service  of  the 
Church  of  England  were  insisted  upon  at  the  funerals  of  Presbyteri- 
ans and  Dissenters ;  that  the  religious  feelings  of  those  present  on 
such  occasions,  will  be  generally  best  consulted  by  the  interment  of 
the  dead  according  to  the  forms  of  the  religion  which  they  professed 
while  living,  and  that  under  the  circumstances  above  adverted  to,  such 
a  course  can  hardly  be  held  by  any  to  desecrate  the  common  burial- 
place  of  all. 

The  Governor  in  Council  is  not  therefore  prepared  to  order  any 
deviation  from  the  practice  which  he  has  reason  to  believe  has  hitherto 
prevailed  of  allowing  the  use  of  the  Burial  Grounds  at  the  different 
stations  under  this  Presidency,  to  all  denominations  of  Christians, 
without  rendering  the  performance  of  any  particular  funeral  service 
compulsory. 

(A  true  extract.) 

(Signed)       Robert  Clerk, 

Secretary  to  Government. 
To  Mr.  Stubbins,  Missionary,  Berhampore. 


VII. — Revival  of  the  Lord's  work,  in  Ross-shire,  North 
Britain. 

The  body  of  Christ  is  one  ;  and  this  unity  is  manifested  in 
that  sympathy  which  we  severally  feel  with  its  most  distant 
members.  There  are  many  in  India  who  take  a  deep  interest  in 
the  progress  of  salvation,  even  in  the  remote  districts  of  Scot- 
land ;  and  who  will  rejoice  to  hear  that  the  Spirit  of  the  Lord 
is  still  recognizing  in  that  land  a  portion  of  the  Redeemer's 
great  heritage.  It  will  appear  by  the  subjoined  extracts, 
both  from  private  letters  and  public  papers,  that  there  is  a 
spirit  of  deep  concern  and  anxious  inquiry  about  salvation 
sprung  up  among  hundreds,  if  not  thousands,  within  a  short 
period  of  time.  The  minister  referred  to,  as  the  chief  instru- 
ment in  this  work  of  grace,  is  one  well  known  to  those 
connected  with  the  north  of  Scotland  ;  to  those  who  know 
him  not,  a  notice  from  a  correspondent  would  be  of  little 
consequence. 

Suffice  it  to  say  that  he  is  a  minister  of  35  years'  standing ; 
has  been  well  tried  and  proven  in  the  Church;  has  been 
vol.  i.  5  D 


752 


Revival  of  Religion  in  Ross-shire. 


[Dec. 


honoured  of  God  in  tbe  conversion  of  thousands*  ;  and  that  to 
him  scenes  of  excitement  are  no  novelty.  Concerning  his  own 
share  in  these,  he  has  himself  ever  been  silent; — and  it  is 
therefore  left  for  others  to  describe  them  as  best  they  can. 

Let  the  facts  speak  for  themselves  ; — we  give  them  as  we 
have  received  them. 

No.  1. — From  a  correspondent. 

"  Tain,  July,  1840. 

"  It  hath  pleased  the  Lord  to  awaken  many  dead  souls  lately  in  this 
corner  of  his  vineyard.  The  preaching  of  Mr.  Macdonald  of  Urquhart 
(or  Ferrintosh)  has  been  made  the  means.  It  began  in  a  neighbouring 
parish  (Tarbet  J  on  the  Monday  after  the  communion.  Numbers  were 
crying  out,  during  preaching, for  '  Christ/ and  that  their  'souls  were  lost.' 
Many  were  able  to  bear  their  agony  in  silence,  though  their  hearts  were 
like  to  burst  at  the  view  they  got  of  their  lost  estate.  Mr.  Macdonald 
remained  amongst  them,  and  many  soon  found  Christ  and  peace. 

"  Our  communion  (in  Tain,)  was  immediately  after;  and  although 
there  seemed  much  feeling  and  attention,  there  was  nothing  very  remark- 
able until  Monday  evening,  during  a  Gaelic  discourse  by  Mr.  Macdonald. 
I  was  glad  1  was  there  to  witness  so  striking  a  scene  ;  for  about  the 
middle  of  the  sermon,  from  every  corner  of  the  Church  were  heard  cries 
of  the  greatest  distress.  Mr.  Macdonald  remained  some  days  labouring 
here,  and  at  Tarbet,  where  so  many  were  concerned :  and  1  witnessed 
here,  on  another  evening,  after  sermon  in  the  open  air,  the  same  deep 
feeling.  I  think  I  can  never  forget  the  sight  of  young  men  borne 
along  between  two,  weeping  as  if  for  a  first-born  or  an  only  son ;  and 
young  women,  gaily  dressed,  in  the  same  state  ;  not  to  speak  of  hoary- 
headed  sinners.  1  trust,  very  many  will  shew  the  world,  by  the  fruits, 
that  this  is  a  work  of  the  blessed  Spirit !" 

No.  2. — From  a  correspondent. 

"  Urquhart,  19//t  August,  1840. 

*•  I  am  now  going  to  mention  a  much  more  important  subject.  In  the 
parish  of  Tarbet,  for  twelve  months  past,  the  people  have  manifested  an 
increasing  desire  to  attend  prayer-meetings,  Sabbath-school  instructions, 
as  well  as  regular  church  service.  On  Monday  of  last  year's  communion, 
whilst  Mr.  David  Campbell  [their  minister,]  was  preaching,  there 
appeared  a  shaking  among  the  dry  bones;  and  since  then  instances  of 
conversion  have  been  occasionally  occurring.  This  year,  on  Monday  of 
the  communion  it  was  proposed  to  have  an  additional  sermon  at  C  in  the 
evening,  in  the  church,  and  in  the  Gaelic  language.  This  seems  to  have 
been  the  commencement  of  a  great  revival.  Mr.  Macdonald  was  obliged 
to  stop  preaching  for  some  time,  and  order  a  few  verses  of  a  Psalm  to  be 
sung,  the  crying  and  weeping  were  so  general.  Some  persons  screamed 
out  and  spoke  aloud — many  were  unable  to  leave  the  church  or  church- 
yard for  a  considerable  time,  from  the  agitated  state  of  their  feelings. 

"  On  Tuesday  evening  following,  Mr.  Macdonald  preached  at  Tain,  to 
a  large  congregation,  with  similar  results.  The  Ilev.  C.  Mackintosh  [the 
minister  of  Tain]  has  had  an  evening  sermon  on  the  Sabbath,  and  an 
additional  prayer-meeting,  during  the  week,  for  nearly  a  year: — and  by 
these  means  good  has  been  done. 

"  On  Tuesday  last  (August  )  Mr.  Macdonald  again  set  out  for 
Easter-Ross.    Tuesday  evening,  on  his  way,  he  preached  to  nearly  3000 


*  We  say  thousands,  deliberately. 


IS  10.]  Revival  of  Religion  in  Ross-shirc.  753 


people  at  Alness;  text  Job  xxxvi.  18.  Twenty  persons  are  said  to 
have  been  awakened.  Wednesday;  lie  preached  at  Tarbet,  in  the  open 
air,  in  the  Gaelic  language — great  appearance  of  seriousness  among  the 
people — sobs  and  weeping.  Thursday  evening,  preached  at  the  Tent  in 
Tain,  to  an  immense  congregation.  Friday,  at  Edderton,  in  Gaelic  from 
Jeremiah  1.  4,  5,  6, — several  persons  awakened.  Same  evening,  in  Tain 
Church,  in  the  English  language,  when  there  seemed  to  be  people 
affected  in  different  parts  of  the  Church.  [N.  B. — This  was  a  month 
after  the  scene  mentioned  in  the  letter  No.  1.]  On  Sabbath  last,  Mr 
Macdonald  preached  an  evening  Gaelic  sermon  at  home  (Urquhart). 
Bis  text  Habakkuk  iii.  2.  '  0  Lord,  I  have  heard  thy  speech  and  was 
afraid  !'  He  said,  in  a  striking  manner,  '  My  friends,  you  have  for  many 
years  been  bearing  my  voice  ;  but,  will  you  not  now  hear  the  words  of  God 
himself  addressing  you  !' — We  trust  the  Holy  Spirit  was  poured  out — 
about  one  hundred  were  alarmed: — but  none  can  yet  say  with  certainty, 
what  it  will  turn  to.  The  people  awakened  here,  are  of  all  ages,  but 
chiefly  young  persons." 

No.  3. — From  the  Inverness  Courier  of  August  26,  1840. 

"  The  great  Religious  movements  which  are  taking  place  in  various 
quarters  of  this  country,  are  drawing  a  large  share  of  attention  ;  and  a 
short  account  of  what  has  occurred  in  the  parish  of  Alness  may  not  be 
uninteresting  to  some  of  your  readers. 

"  The  usual  fast-day  preparatory  to  the  celebration  of  the  Lord's  Sup- 
per was  held  on  Thursday  the  30th  ultimo,  but  nothing  remarkable  was 
observed  on  that  day.  The  first  symptoms  of  any  thing  like  an  awakening 
made  their  appearance  on  the  Friday  evening,  when,  under  the  ministra- 
tions of  that  faithful  and  self-denying  servant  of  God,  the  He  v.  Mr. 
Maedonald,  Fenintosh,  a  considerable  number  were  brought  under  con- 
cern, and  made  to  cry  out  beneath  the  stings  of  an  awakened  conscience, 
<l  What  must  we  do  to  be  saved?"  During  the  sermon  which  completed 
the  duties  of  the  Sacramental  Sabbath,  the  movements  in  the  congrega- 
tion, which  had  been  begun  on  the  Friday  evening,  were  increased  to  a 
much  greater  extent.  Then,  hut  more  especially  on  the  services  of  the 
following  day  (Monday),  one  could  not  cast  his  eyes  around  in  any  direc- 
tion among  the  thousands  collected  on  the  occasion,  without  witnessing 
in  almost  every  half  dozen  of  hearers,  one,  if  not  more,  deeply  moved, 
some  sobbing  audibly,  others,  evidently  by  the  greatest  effort,  restrain- 
ing themselves  from  bursting  out  aloud,  while  many,  utterly  unable  to 
command  their  emotions,  gave  vent  in  loud  screams  to  their  agonized 
feelings.  Nor  was  this  confined  to  any  age  or  sex.  The  young  and  the 
aged,  the  gray-headed  man  and  the  child,  of  tender  years  might  every- 
where be  observed  deeply  affected  ;  and  we  conceive  we  are  within  the 
mark  when  we  say,  that  on  this  occasion  many  hundreds  were  brought 
under  serious  impressions;  for  there  is  scarcely  a  family  in  the  district 
but  has  one,  two,  or  more  of  its  members  under  deep  convictions.  It  was 
truly  a  heart-stirring  sight,  and  we  could  wish  that  those  w  ho  make  a 
mock  of  such  scenes  couid  have  looked  upon  it.  Insensible  to  every  good 
and  holy  feeling  must  he  have  been  who  could  have  beheld  it  witli  cold 
indifference. 

"  When  witnessing  or  hearing  of  such  events,  one  is  irresistibly  led  to 
ask,  Is  this  the  work  of  the  Spirit  of  God?  Though  time  alone  can  give 
a.  perfectly  satisfactory  answer  to  this  question,  yet  there  are  circum- 
stances attending  this  particular  work  which  tend  to  show  that  it  is 
indeed  genuine,  and  not  spurious.  This  revival  has  followed  the  means 
which  the  word  of  God  teaches  to  employ.  Prayer  meetings  have  for 
some  time  been  established  through  the  parish  by  the  faithful  and  zea- 

5  d  2 


754 


Revi  val  of  Religion  in  Ross-shire. 


[Dec. 


Ions  clergyman,  Mr.  Flyter,  who  has  now  had  the  satisfaction  of  seeing 
1) is  labours  blessed,  and  his  supplications  answered.  There  was  nothing 
in  the  instrument  which  could  lead  us  to  attribute  the  result  to  him.  He 
is  well  known  to  all  who  beard  him,  and  his  style  of  preaching  is  as  fami- 
liar to  most  of  them  as  is  that  of  their  own  clergymen  ;  and  be  has  been 
often  known  to  proclaim  the  thunders  of  Sinai  with  as  much,  if  not  with 
greater  force,  on  previous  occasions.  Indeed,  the  terrors  of  the  law  and 
the  consolations  of  the  gospel  were,  as  they  ever  ought  to  be,  blended 
together. 

"  But  whatever  opinion  may  be  formed  as  to  this  interesting  event,  it  is 
a  matter  too  serious  to  be  laughed  at  or  ridiculed  ;  and  sure  we  are,  no 
man  who  has  the  fear  of  God  in  his  heart  will  talk  scoffingly  or  in 
mockery  of  such  scenes.  Reason  against  them,  pray  God  to  arrest  their 
progress,  if  convinced  that  they  are  mischievous  in  their  tendency  ;  but, 
beware  of  hurling  at  them  the  withering  sneer  of  contemptuous  scorn.  If 
genuine  (and  what  good  man  would  not  wish  to  believe  so),  they  are  a 
token  for  good,  and  a  proof  that,  desert  her  who  may,  God  has  not  for- 
saken his  church  ;  and  that  in  the  difficulties  into  which  she  has  been 
brought  by  Iscariots  within,  and  Herods  without,  He  will  stand  by  her 
and  defend  her,  and  bring  her  unscathed  out  of  every  trouble  that  can 
assail  her." 

No.  4. — The  Witness — an  Edinburgh  Paper,  July  22,  1840. 
"  We  owe  the  following  letter  to  the  Montrose  Standard.  The  Editor, 
a  respectable  intrusionist,  and  not  at  all  more  inclined  to  patronize  revi- 
vals than  most  of  his  brethren,  describes  the  writer  as  a  person  of  un- 
questionable veracity  and  great  sobriety  of  judgment.  We  deem  his  tes- 
timony valuable.  Mr.  Burns  of  Kilsyth  would  have  written  a  different 
kind  of  letter  in  the  circumstances,  and  so  would  the  Rev.  Mr.  Pirie  of 
Dyce  ;  but  it  is  something  to  be  put  in  possession  of  the  evidence  of  an 
individual  who  at  least  strives  to  write  fairly,  and  who,  if  devoid  of  the 
experience  of  the  one  clergyman,  would  shudder  to  employ  the  language 
of  the  other. 

"  Tain,  15th  July,  1840. 

"  My  Dear  *  *  *, —  I  write  you  very  hurriedly,  to  inform  you  of  a  fact 
of  absorbing  interest  in  this  quarter  at  present,  as  I  am  anxious  to  anti- 
cipate the  newspaper  accounts  of  it.  1  mean,  a  religious  awakening  in 
the  parish  of  Tarbat,  and  in  part  also  in  Tain,  through  the  ministry  of 
Mr.  M'Donald,  Ferrintosh.  The  sacrament  of  the  Supper  was  dispensed 
at  Tarbat  a  week  from  Sabbath  last.  Many  persons  were  affected  by 
Mr.  M'Donald's  preaching,  but  nothing  remarkable  was  observed  until  the 
concluding  service  on  Monday,  when  an  extraordinary  commotion  spread 
through  the  congregation — many  crying  out  in  agony — many  groan- 
ing— many  weeping  bitterly.  He  preached  again  that  evening,  and  has 
preached  several  times  since.  Every  night  several  have  been  awakened, 
and  several  now  have  found  peace,  and  rejoice,  as  tliere  is  reason  to  believe, 
in  Christ.  One  instance: — The  man  who,  as  the  minster  of  Tarbat 
informs  me,  manifested  the  most  painful  bodily  emotion  of  all,  was  first 
startled  on  Sabbath  by  seeing  his  wife  proceed  to  the  communion  table ; 
he  used  to  persecute  her  for  becoming  so  religious,  but  he  did  not  know 
before  that  she  had  applied  for  admission  to  the  Lord's  Supper.  Mr. 
M'Donald,  in  his  table  service,  was  led  (accidentally  ?  or  providentially?) 
to  state,  that  on  the  great  day  we  should  see  the  wife  enter  heaven,  and 
the  husband  shut  out.  His  agony  became  in  expressible,  and  continued  for 
several  days;  on  Saturday,  he  was  rejoicing,  apparently  on  good  grounds. 

"  I  have  not  been  at  Tarbat ;  1  must  briefly  mention  what  I  have 
witnessed  here.     On  Thursday, — there  were  several  cases  of  awakening 


1 840  ] 


Revival  of  Religion  in  Ross-shire. 


755 


— on  Sabbath  many.  On  Monday  evening,  Mr.  M' Donald  preached  in 
Gaelic  in  church  ;  and  there  occurred  the  most  heart-rending  scene  I  have 
ever  witnessed.  Towards  the  close  of  the  sermon,  the  groans  and  cries 
became  so  great  that  the  preacher  was  obliged  to  pause,  and  give  out 
some  verse  of  a  psalm.  Several  fainted— many  were  groaning  in  agony 
— very  many  were  weeping 

"Now,  1  have  honestly  tried  to  account  for  this  awakening  on  natural 
principles;  and  honestly,  I  am  obliged  to  say,  I  cannot.  I  have  supposed 
it  sympathy  ;  hut  long  before  the  crying  began,  or  those  in  one  part  of 
the  church  knew  that  those  in  another  part  were  affected,  many,  many 
were  weeping  unnoticed,  save  by  a  few  observers  near  them  ;  every  obser- 
ver thought  the  commotion  began  first  in  his  own  part  of  the  Church — it 
was  so  instantaneous;  it  was  impossible  it  could  be  from  sympathy 
(though  very  many,  of  course,  were  violently  excited,  when  the  emotion 
of  those  who  were  awakened,  burst  forth  so  violently).  Throughout  the 
parish  there  are  many  in  deep  distress  and  anxiety.  I  have  seen  two; 
one  a  boy  of  thirteen  ;  I  asked  what  moved  him  ;  lie  repeated  certain 
expressions  of  Mr.  M'Donald's.  I  have  seen  a  woman  in  the  deepest  anxie- 
ty to  be  found  in  Christ.  The  most  notorious  prostitute  in  the  town  is 
awakened.  They  all  can  tell  the  reason  of  their  alarm;  it  is  not  sympa- 
thy, then.  I  have  tried  to  account  for  it  by  the  eloquence  of  their 
preacher  ;  but  1  have  often  heard  him  preach  as  eloquently,  as  forcibly, 
as  alarmingly.  The  only  outward  antecedent  circumstance  was  much 
prayer  by  the.  parish  minister  and  others  for  an  awakening ;  much  and 
constant  prayer  among  "  the  men"  for  the  effusion  of  the  Spirit,  and 
many  meetings  among  the  pious  for  that  purpose.  But  outwardly  such 
meetings  can  never  account  tor  the  awakening  of  the  careless,  the  profli- 
gate, and  the  light-headed.  Account  for  it  how  you  will,  I  have  honestly, 
stated  the  facts." 


"  In  the  first  Confession  of  Faith,  drawn  up  by  the  Church  of  Scotland 
(1560),  there  is  a  section  occupied  by  '  the  notes  whereby  the  true  Kirk 
is  discerned  from  the  false.'  '  Sathan  from  the  beginning,'  it  is  stated, 
'  hath  laboured  to  deck  first  his  pestilent  synagogue  with  the  title  of  the 
Church  of  God.'    And  hence  the  necessity  of  some  distinguishing  test. 

•'Now,  one  of  the  '  assured'  tokens,  it  is  added,  a  token  which  the 
false  Church  does  not  borrow,  is  '  the  faithful  preaching  of  the  Word, 
as  revealed  in  the  prophets  and  the  apostles.'  We  are  convinced  that, 
tried  by  this  test,  the  revival  in  Ross-shire  will  be  found  to  be  of  no  wild 
or  extravagant  character.  We  are  not  quite  unacquainted  with  the 
clergymen  named  in  the  letter  ;  and  we  know  that  sounder  or  more 
Scriptural  divines  are  not  to  be  found  in  connection  with  the  Scottish 
Church,  nor  j  et  more  judicious  men.  All  our  readers  would  sympathize 
with  us  in  our  feeling  of  pleasure  of  seeing,  that  *  the  men  have  been 
engaged  in  the  work  of  revival  at  Tarbat,  did  they  all  know  who  the 
'  men'  are.  They  are  the  venerable  relics  of  the  religious  peasantry  of 
a  former  age — a  race  well  nigh  worn  out,  even  in  those  northern  dis- 
tricts, and  which,  in  the  greater  part  of  Scotland,  entirely  disappeared 
more  than  an  age  ago.  The  reader  has  but  to  cast  his  eye  over  the 
death  Testimonies  of  Naphtali,  or  the  Cloud  of  Witnesses,  in  order  to 
acquaint  himself  with  the  character  and  the  theology  of  '  the  men.' 
Some  of  them  have  been  living  in  the  parishes  of  Moderate  ministers  for 
many  years, — travelling  far  on  Sabbaths  to  hear  clergymen  of  the  better 
school, — maintaining  churches  in  their  humble  cottages,  when  all  around 
them  was  sinking  into  a  state  of  indifFerency  and  torpor;  and  boding 
gloomily  for  the  future  as  they  grew  up  in  years,  and  saw  their  devout 
friends  mid  cotemporaries  dropping,  one  by  one,  from  beside  them,  and 


756 


Revival  of  Rdiyion  in  Itoss-shiri>. 


| Dec. 


men  of  a  different  stamp  rising  to  occupy  their  places,  ft  is  something 
to  see  such  men  in  their  twilight  of  life,  for  the  greater  part  of  them  are 
far  stricken  in  years,  finding  cause  of  joy,  after  a  long  and  dreary  winter, 
in  the  indications  of  a  second  spring  time.  It  serves,  besides,  to  connect 
the  present  with  the  past  hy  more  than  mere  association,  and  furnishes 
as  a  guarantee  for  the  nature  of  the  present  awakening,  the  experience 
of  men  recognized,  hoth  in  their  lives  and  their  beliefs,  some  of  them  for 
more  than  half  a  century,  as  Christians  of  a  high  order." 

These  testimonies  are  sufficient  to  attest  the  fact  that  there 
existed,  at  the  time  referred  to,  an  extraordinary  degree  of 
concern  on  the  part  of  very  many  people,  in  regard  to  their 
eternal  interests  ;  and  that  this  state  of  concern  was  felt  to 
he  of  a  very  unusual  kind,  and  not  to  he  accounted  for  on 
ordinary  grounds.  Let  the  following  circumstances  he  con- 
sidered. 

1.  — The  Parishes  in  which  these  extensive  movements  have 
taken  place,  have  not  now  been  hearing  the  Gospel  for  the 
first  tune.  By  no  means.  Tarbet  was  for  many  years 
favoured  with  the  pious  ministry  and  spiritual  preaching  of 
the  late  Rev.  W.  Forhes.  Tain  long  enjoyed  the  presence 
and  ministrations  of  one  of  the  holiest  and  most  fervent  of 
God's  servants,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Mackintosh,  who  is  gone  to  his 
heavenly  rest.  JJrquhart  also,  for  more  than  a  century, 
has  been  blessed  with  a  succession  of  Gospel  ministers,  some  of 
the  chief  lights  of  the  country.  Alness  and  Edderton,  until 
lately  were  not  so  favoured  ; — still,  nearly  half  a  generation 
(or  fifteen  years)  have  passed,  during  which  they  too  have  had 
the  truth  preached  with  sincerity  and  with  purity ; — and  even 
when  they  possessed  not  the  Gospel  themselves,  they  were  in 
its  near  neighbourhood. 

2.  — The  chief  instrument  employed  was  not  a  stranger  just 
come  amongst  the  people  affected,  or  one  whom  they  had  not 
before  known.  He  was  well  known  to  those  several  parishes ; 
for,  during  many  years  past,  he  has  been  in  the  habit  of 
preaching  in  them,  and  so  has  become  familiarly  known  to 
the  people.  His  tones,  his  gestures,  his  divisions,  his  appli- 
cations, are  familiar  to  the  Highlanders  of  Easter- Ross.  For 
twenty-seven  years  has  he  been  preaching  amongst  them  ; — 
so  that  his  name  is  a  household  word  with  them.  In  his  own 
parish  also  he  has  ministered  during  that  period  ;  and  has  ever 
seen  the  pleasure  of  the  Lord  prospering  in  his  hand,  in  a 
greater  or  less  measure. 

3 — This  revival  was  unexpected.  There  was  no  previous 
excitement  of  mind,  calculated  to  induce  the  persons  interested 
to  lay  hold  of  even  a  straw,  as  an  indication  of  a  self-created 
movement.  The  intentness  of  mind  was  fixed  on  the  Gospel  of 
Christ,  and  not  on  a  revival  as  a  distinct  and  individual  thing; 
and  when  the  burst  of  irresistible  feeling  came,  under  the 


1840.] 


Revival  of  Religion  in  Ross-shire. 


757 


sceptre  of  the  Gospel,  then  was  there  surprise  and  astonish- 
ment. In  some  of  the  places  there  was  no  thought  on  the 
subject  at  all;  and  where  there  was,  it  was  not  concerning 
the  peculiar  externals  of  a  revival,  but  concerning  the  grand 
realities  of  salvation. 

4. — Different  persons,  and  of  different  views  in  religion 
agree  in  the  peculiarity  of  this  work,  as  manifested  to  them 
and  witnessed  by  them.  By  all  there  is  shewn  a  desire  to 
write  cautiously,  but  decidedly  as  to  the  facts  of  the  case. 
The  one  class  ascribe  the  effects  produced  to  something 
extraordinary  but  impalpable  ; — the  other  class  at  once  attri- 
bute it  to  the  agency  of  the  Holy  Spirit  of  God,  because  it 
corresponds  with  what  is  attributed  to  that  agent  in  scripture. 

But  why  multiply  considerations  to  shew  what,  we  trust, 
few  of  our  readers  will  feel  desirous  of  doubting — Let  us 
rather  improve  the  tidings  which  have  been  related,  by  a  few 
serious  thoughts,  that  may  edify  us,  in  our  several  spheres  of 
action,  as  the  servants  of  the  Lord. 

He  that  hath  sent  such  a  blessing  there,  is  our  Master  here. 
He  is  the  same  Jesus — the  same  in  remote  Britain,  and  in  this 
India.  The  trophies  won  there,  He  wears  here.  Our  Master 
is  honoured,  and  that  is  enough  to  us  ; — and  if  we  mourn 
that  he  is  rejected  by  the  Hindu,  let  us  rejoice  that  he  is 
accepted  by  the  northern  Highlander,  although  we  could 
desire  to  include  both. 

How  mighty  is  the  Spirit  of  God  when  He  comes  forth  in 
power  !  As  Sampson  rent  the  lion,  so  rendethHe  a  congrega- 
tion at  once.  He  hath  no  law  of  numbers  ;  He  doeth  as 
seems  good  to  Him.  If  there  be  a  semhlance  of  proportion 
in  His  operations,  it  is  that  He  will  honour  most  the  agency 
of  those  who  most  honour  His  ministration.  This  has  been 
manifest  in  the  agency  chiefly  employed  in  the  northern 
revivals — it  has  ever  been  distinguished  for  a  distinct,  con- 
stant, and  powerful  magnifying  of  the  ministration  of  the 
Holy  Ghost :  alas  !  how  rare  a  thing  ! 

How  unnecessary  is  the  formation  of  new  schemes  for  the 
conversion  of  sinners.  The  old  one  is  not  become  feeble  with 
age.  The  gospel,  if  preached  in  the  spirit  of  the  gospel,  is 
sufficient  in  its  original  form  for  its  original  ends.  Without 
any  change,  save  in  the  purity  of  its  ministration,  and  in  the 
measure  of  the  Holy  Spirit's  power  accompanying  it,  the 
whole  world  may  be  converted  in  a  day.  No  change  would 
be  required  in  its  agency,  save  the  multiplication  of  its 
messengers.  Every  minister  has  in  his  hand  what  will  one 
day  convert  India. 

If  the  time  and  measure  of  the  effusion  of  the  Spirit,  depend 


758 


Revival  of  Religion  in  Ross-shire. 


[Dec. 


on  the  will  of  God,  O  how  careful  ought  we  to  be  that  we 
disjjlease  Him  not,  seeing  that  we  deprive  ourselves  and  others 
of  a  blessing  so  vast  !  How  often  may  ministers,  by  some 
besetting  sin,  quench  the  Spirit,  and  make  it  inconsistent 
for  that  holy  agent  to  work  by  them,  until  they  be  purified 
from  their  iniquity.  Ministers  should  never  forget,  that,  whilst 
they  are  wielding  the  pure  Gospel  with  all  its  power,  they 
may  be  offending  in  some  other  form  the  Holy  Spirit  with  all 
His  power  : — and  so,  all  will  be  in  vain,  and  yet  they  may 
wonder  "  Why."  Deep  humiliation  of  soul,  and  vivid  holiness 
of  life,  are  concomitants  of  agency  in  true  revival ; — and  no 
expence  of  thought  in  preaching,  no  earnestness  of  effort, 
will  ever  bribe  the  Spirit  of  Holiness  to  signalize  the  ministry 
of  the  worldly,  the  sensual,  the  vain,  the  compromising,  or 
the  inconsistent.  It  matters  not  that  their  sin  may  be  secret ; 
God  will  openly  act  on  that  which  is  secretly  done.  "  If  I 
regard  iniquity  in  my  heart,  my  God  will  not  hear  me  I" 

Who  can  tell  when  God  will  work  ?  It  may  be  to-day,  or 
to-morrow  or  a  year  hence,  or  a  generation  after  we  are  gone. 
Why  then  do  men  reduce  the  extension  of  the  Gospel  to  be 
a  matter  of  numerical  calculation  ?  There  is  no  law  of  increase 
in  the  gospel  kingdom,  that  man  can  apprehend  ; — for  every 
conversion  is  by  a  direct  divine  agency.  Now,  who  can 
calculate  when  that  shall  be  put  forth,  or  on  whom,  or  on 
how  many  ?  There  is  a  law  of  operation  indeed  ;  but,  that  is 
not  of  increase.  One  man  preaches  the  gospel  for  thirty  years 
and  sees  but  a  few  conversions  ;  — in  another  case,  a  man 
preaches  one  sermon  and  a  hundred  are  converted  unto  the 
Lord,  besides  some  hundreds  more  awakened.  No  man  could 
foretell  this  ; — neither  would  any  one  have  said  that  under  the 
former  ministry,  faithful  it  may  be,  conversion  would  be  so 
rare ;  yet,  so  it  is — and  it  is  good  for  us  that  it  should  thus 
be.  We  cannot  endure  to  hear  men  talking  of  rates  of  con- 
version, and  rates  of  entrance  into  the  ministry,  as  they  would 
talk  of  insurance  tables  and  the  rates  of  national  population. 
This  is  God's  work — and  this  is  better  than  all  our  rational- 
ized rates.  He  that  hath  his  hand  on  man,  and  his  eye  on 
God,  is  the  true  calculator. 

How  should  we  be  always  ready  for  divine  interposition  ? 
How  should  we  be  as  servants  that  wait  for  the  coming  of 
their  master,  whilst  we  are  in  the  church,  the  chapel,  the 
bungalow,  the  school,  the  street,  the  bazar,  or  on  the  river 
side  !  Oh  what  daily  supplication,  what  daily  watching,  what 
daily  contending,  what  daily  faith,  are  needed  in  order  to 
receive  the  blessing  that  may  be  hovering  over  us,  ready 
to  burst   on   our  heads !    Are  we  ready  then  in  spirit  ? 


1840.] 


Rejoinder  lo  T.  S. 


Could  we  with  humility  bear  "  the  opening  of  the  windows  of 
heaven  ?"  Would  there  be  no  sectarian  vaunting — no  indivi- 
dual vanity — no  invidious  comparisons — no  love  of  religious 
notoriety — no  preference  of  schemes — no  impatient  urgency- 
no  claims  of  priority — no  but  we  cease  from  the  theory  — 

what  is  the  reality  ?  The  writer  feels  himself  to  be  thus  un- 
prepared, and  owns  it  as  his  sin  : — what  saith  the  reader  ? 
Look  and  see  ! — alas, 

"There  is  none  that  stirreth  himself  up  to  take 
hold  upon  God." 

J.  M.  D. 


VIII. — The  Missionary  Conference. — Rejoinder  to  T.  S. 

To  the  Editors  of  the  Calcutta  Christian  Observer. 
Dear  Gentlemen, 

It  may  seem  uncourteous  to  allow  the  respectful  notice  of  my  letter 
taken  by  T.  S.  to  pass  in  silence,  may  I  therefore  request  the  inser- 
tion of  this  rejoinder,  and  with  this  I  make  my  bow. 

T.  S.  is  quite  right  in  saying  that  he  and  I  have  other  matters  to 
mind  than  controvery,  at  least  the  remark  applies  to  me.  I  have  no 
wish  to  provoke  or  continue  discussion.  My  remarks  on  the  resolution 
of  the  Missionary  conference,  as  expounded  by  T.  S.,  I  consider  rather 
as  a  testimony  against  it  than  any  thing  else,  and  here  I  am  willing  to 
leave  it,  and  I  do  so  the  more  cheerfully  as  since  my  remarks  were 
written  the  review  of  a  work  has  reached  me,  though  not  the  work  itself, 
which  appears  to  me  to  contain  a  suitable  antidote  to  the  above  resolu- 
tion and  exposition. 

T.  S.  will  I  am  sure  give  me  credit  for  being  ignorant  of  the 
defect  in  his  olfactory  nerves,  as  from  his  letter  1  suppose  is  the  case ; 
nor  did  I  object  to  his  scribeship,  but  simply  to  incompetence  from 
inexperience  to  pronounce  with  so  much  confidence  on  the  subject  in 
hand ;  and  here  I  crave  the  indulgence  of  extending  my  remark  to  his 
more  experienced  colleagues.  1  cannot  help  thinking,  that  the  great 
tvords  they  have  employed  in  the  advocacy  of  a  favorite  system  are 
calculated  to  do  considerable  disservice  to  the  general  cause  of  Missions. 
It  is  not  necessary  to  the  prosperity  of  institutions  where  English  is 
the  medium  of  instruction,  to  depreciate  the  clearly  divine  institution 
of  preaching  to  the  people  in  their  own  tongue.  The  moral  of  all  such 
ultra  representations  seems  to  be,  "  There  is  nothing  like  leather." 

How  far  T.  S.  may  have  embodied  the  views  of  the  Missionary 
conference  I  cannot  of  course  decide,  but  I  hope  if  all  who  were  present 
*'  marvellously  agree  in  holding"  the  views  he  has  put  forth,  that  the 
attendance  was  unusually  select  on  that  occasion,  and  that  many  non. 
cons,  were  from  some  cause  or  other  absent. 

Two  paragraphs  of  T.  S.'s  letter  might  have  been  spared.  He 
discovered  himself  that  by  clerk  I  did  not  mean  parson,  and  therefore 

VOL.  1.  b  E 


760 


Rejoinder  to  T.  S. 


[Dec. 


any  implication  that  I  was  averse  to  an  educated  ministry  should  have 
been  cancelled.  The  last  paragraph  might  have  shared  the  same 
fate,  for  though  not  so  clearly  expressed  as  it  might  have  been,  yet  by 
the  word  '  some  extent'  I  meant  not  the  degree  of  education  but  the 
number  of  pupils  and  schools. 

I  see  no  relevancy  in  the  remarks  of  T.  S.  about  asking  me  why  I 
do  not  learn  the  Chinese  language,  &c.  If  Cuttack  were  inhabited  by 
Cliinamcn,  as  Calcutta  is  by  Bengalis,  I  should  think  it  a  very  suitable 
remonstrance.  My  respected  correspondent  may  see  by  my  first  letter 
that  I  feel  not  the  least  objection  to  those  who  cannot  or  will  not  learn 
the  native  languages  teaching  in  English,  the  more  help  the  better  ;  I 
wish  to  pour  all  the  light  possible  by  any  and  every  means,  into  the 
minds  of  the  people,  but  I  dissent  from  the  doctrine  that  teaching 
English  is  the  way  to  bring  truth  to  bear  most  effectually  on  the  minds 
of  the  mass  of  the  people.  This  is  the  only  point  about  which  I  am 
anxious. 

I  still  think  T.  S.  must  wait  a  few_  years  before  he  criticises  the 
native  languages.  It  would  be  doing  the  cause  of  truth  and  righteous- 
ness good  service,  if  those  who  have  a  very  superficial  knowledge  of  the 
native  language  would  express  their  opinions  less  confidently.  I  make 
this  remark  in  reference  to  much  that  has  been  written  lately  on  this 
subject.  The  remarks  of  T.  S.  about  the  time  necessary  to  qualify  a 
man  of  ordinary  ability  to  preach  in  the  native  languages  are  calculated 
I  think  to  do  harm.  Far  be  it  from  me  to  underrate  the  difficulty  of 
acquiring  and  speaking  an  Indian  language ;  or  to  convey  an  idea  that 
a  man  may  not  be  employed  in  studying  it  till  his  death,  and  then  not 
be  perfect,  for  so  be  may  in  Greek.  But  I  can  testify  from  the  expe- 
rience of  our  own  Mission  that  a  much  less  time  than  T.  S.  mentions 
will  suffice  to  enable  a  man  to  make  known  the  Gospel  with  tolerable 
clearness  and  saving  effect. 

Let  a  missionary  resolutely  commence  the  language  in  which  he 
expects  to  labour,  during  the  voyage  or  on  landing  ;  let  him  work  at  it 
every  day,  and  in  the  evening  regularly  accompany  a  missionary  brother 
in  his  preaching  trips  to  the  bazar,  villages,  or  native  chapel ;  as  soon 
as  he  can,  let  him  take  a  catechism  and  read  it  over  with  a  class  of 
bovs,  sit  down  and  read  a  verse  in  turn  or  sing  a  poem  with  them  (he 
will  catch  many  words  and  sounds  from  children  he  will  not  get  from 
a  pandit) ;  let  him  note  new  and  useful  words  and  make  a  point  of 
using  them  in  various  sentences  till  he  feels  their  force  and  extent  of 
application ;  let  him  begin  to  speak  at  once  with  any  persons  with 
whom  he  can  be  familiar;  and  I  will  engage  that  at  the  close  of  the 
first  year  he  will  be  able  to  make  himself  understood  on  most  subjects, 
and  by  the  close  of  the  second  he  will  feel  his  ground  to  go  out  with  a 
native  preacher  on  a  missionary  excursion  in  the  country.  Let  him 
pursue  this  plan,  reading  at  the  same  time  missionary  journals  relating 
to  his  field  of  labour,  and  he  will  soon  become  a  workman  that  need 
not  to  be  ashamed,  rightly  dividing  the  word  of  life.  I  could  point  to 
many  living  illustrations  of  my  advice — nor  do  I  know  of  an  instance 
where  it  has  been  properly  tried,  and  the  missionary  has  failed.  T.  S. 
in  "  Thirdly"  of  his  first  communication,  furnishes  us  with  a  specimen 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


761 


of  his  gift  of  speedy  penmanship,  and  after  having  "  as  clearly  esta- 
blished his  point  as  any  point  can  be,"  viz.  that  English  must  be  the 
medium  of  communication  to  teachers,  he  concludes  as  clearly  that  the 
vernacular  in  general  must  he  the  medium  of  dispensing-  to  the  mass. 
Now  this  argument  appears  to  me  to  he  nearly  suicidal.  Are  not  the 
teachers  of  the  many  to  have  hooks  through  which  to  teach  ?  and  if 
so  the  labour  of  preparation  whatever  it  be,  must  be  endured,  and  my 
friend  with  his  ready  pen  has  rattled  on  to  his  conclusion  rather  too 
rapidly.  But  for  the  sentiments  which  have  been  so  industriously 
circulated  on  this  subject  we  should  by  this  time  have  had  a  respectable 
body  of  Bengali  literature;  but  alas  where  are  the  successors  of  the 
Pioneers  of  Missions  to  India  ! — Since  the  death  of  Pearson  and  our 
Serampore  Brethren  we  have  scarcely  an  addition  of  any  importance  to 
our  vernacular  book-store.  Let  us  hope  there  are  works  already 
prepared  which  only  await  a  little  encouragement  to  bring  them  into 
use. 

I  have  filled  my  paper  :  I  have  no  time  to  notice  what  remains  of  the 
letter  of  T.  S.  Whatever  force  there  maybe  in  his  method  of  making 
ministers  I  hope  will  be  well  employed.  I  do  not  love  the  resolution 
any  better  for  his  sentiments.  I  must  not  begin  to  praise  the  venerable 
and  Apostolic  Church  to  which  I  belong,  because  I  should  not  know 
where  to  end,  but  with  every  sentiment  of  respect  for  T.  S.  and  for 
yourselves, 

I  am,  Gentlemen,  yours  obediently, 
CuttacJc,  Nov.  12th,  1840.  A.  Sutton. 


1. — Missionary  and  Ecclesiastical  Movements. 

Since  our  last,  the  following  Missionaries  have  arrived.  In  connexion 
with  the  Mission  of  Mr.  Start  at  Patna  :  Rev.  J.  D.  Prochnow  and  wife, 
Rev.  Messrs.  E.  Schulze,  G.  Niebel ;  Misses  Henriette  Just,  Auguste 
Winter,  Sophia  Wernicke,  Dorothea  Feldner. — The  Church  Mission  has 
been  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  following  brethren:  Rev.  Mr.  Osborne 
and  Mrs.  Osborne,  Rev.  Mr.  Bowman  and  Mrs.  Bowman,  Rev.  Mr.  Wenar- 
gerl,  and  Mrs.  Wenargerl,  Rev.  Mr.  Makie,  and  Rev.  Mr.  Long. — The 
Baptist  friends  in  the  midst  of  their  losses  have  received  help  in  the  arrival 
of  the  Rev.  W.  W.  Evans  and  Mrs.  Evans,  Rev.  J.  Parsons  and  Mrs.  Par- 
sons. Mr.  Evans  will  most  probably  superintend  the  Benevolent  Institution. 
We  rejoice  in  the  arrival  of  these  good  brethren  :  may  they  long  abide  in 
health  and  strength,  and  abound  in  the  work  of  the  Lord. — It  is  our  pain, 
ful  duty  to  announce  the  death  of  the  Rev.  G.  B.  Parsons,  late  of  Mon- 
ghyr.  He  died  at  Calcutta  on  the  13th  of  November,  on  his  way  to  Europe. 
Though  in  a  very  weak  state,  his  end  was  unexpectedly  sudden  and  yet 
was  it  peace.  He  was  but  in  his  prime,  27.  He  was  a  generous,  lively,  and 
Catholic  minister  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  gave  promise  of  much  usefulness. 
Be  ye  also  ready. — The  Rev.  Mr.  Becher  and  Mrs.  Becher,  arrived  on  the 
Plantagenet.  Mr.  B.  is  a  Chaplain,  on  this  establishment. — The  Bishop  of 
5  e  2 


762  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Dec. 


Calcutta  is  on  his  way  down,  the  last  account  reports  him  at  Karnaul,  in 
health  and  strength. —  We  regret  to  learn  that  Mrs.  Mather  of  Mirza- 
poor  is  obliged  to  visit  Europe  for  the  restoration  of  her  health,  accom- 
panied by  Mr.  Mather :  she  is  on  her  way  from  Mirzapoor  to  Calcutta 
for  that  purpose.  Verily  we  are  in  a  land  of  changes  and  d.eath. — Two 
laborers  in  that  interesting  department  of  labor  Female  Education,  have 
also  arrived.  Miss  Lang,  who  is  to  labor  in  connexion  with  the  General 
Assembly's  Missions  and  sent  to  this  country  by  the  Edinburgh  Ladies' 
Association  for  the  promotion  of  Female  Education  in  India,  and  Miss 
Swinborne,  one  of  the  agents  of  the  London  Ladies'  Society.  Miss  S.  is 
to  labor  at  the  Central  school. — The  brethren  referred  to  in  connexion 
with  the  Church  Mission,  are  to  be  located  as  follows:  Mr.  and  Mrs. 
Osborne,  Agarparrah;  Mr.  Lang,  Mirzapoor,  Calcutta;  Mr.  Makie,  Go- 
ruckpoor  ;  Mr.  Bowman,  Banaras. — Mr.  Parsons  proceeds  to  Monghyr, 
Mr.  Evans  remains  in  Calcutta. 


2. — Miscellanea. 
News  from  China  announces  the  cessation  of  hostilities  for  the  present, 
the  Chinese  are  disposed  to  accede  to  our  proposals  if  we  give  up  Chusun 
and  carry  on  our  negotiations  at  Canton  ;  Lin  is  to  be  punished  and  a  large 
sum  of  money  to  be  paid  by  the  Chinese,  and  the  Opium  trade  is  to  be 
legalised. —  In  the  Punjab  matters  of  a  melancholy  nature  have  occurred. 
The  son  and  grandson  of  Runjeet  Sing,  have  both  fallen  by  the  hand  of 
death  ;  the  former  it  is  reported  through  treachery,  the  latter  from  the 
falling  of  a  beam.    Uost  Mahummud  has  been  again  defeated,  and  our 
arms  victorious.    Events  are  evidently  coming  to  a  crisis  in  the  North- 
west.—  In  Egypt  all  is  commotion.    The  tocsin  of  war  has  been  sounded 
in  Syria  by  tiie  British,  and  it  is  to  be  feared  the  overland  intercourse 
will  he  suspended  for  the  present. — Rumour  with  her  hundred  tongues 
prophecies  war  between  England  and  France.    We  trust  this  is  merely 
the  idle  speculation  of  some  Stock-jobber. — An  intelligent  young  Native, 
formerly  a  student  of  the  Medical  College,  on  his  death-bed  requested 
his  friends  to  allow  his  widow  to  marry  again. — A  number  of  poor  girls 
who  had  been  long  incarcerated  in  the  Kuttra  were  liberated  on  the  repre- 
sentations of  the  press. — It  is  stated  that  Thuggee  is  practised  in  and 
near  Calcutta,  and  that  the  purchase  of  female  children  as  prostitute 
slaves  is  still  very  common  in  our  city.    Surely  these  things,  together 
with  Glial  murders  and  the  state  of  our  streets,  in  reference  to  acci- 
dents and  nuisances  call  for  redress. — Another  Sati  has  taken  place  in 
the  Punjab.    Can  the  British  do  nothing  in  this  matter? — The  British 
India  Society  lives  and  prospers,  notwithstanding  the  carping  of  the 
press  and  the  prophecies  of  its  death. — The  celebrated  Dharma  Shabha  is 
again  called  upon  to  awake  from  its  slumbers.    A  letter  in  the  Hurkaru, 
written  by  an  anonymous  native,  calls  upon  that  conclave  to  prevent 
native  Christians  from  holding  their  rightful  possessions  on  change  of 
religion  !  !  !  Well,  let  them  try.    The  Hurkaru  thinks  the  Missionaries 
are  not  prudent  in  agitating  this  matter,  and  would  quiet  the  fears  of  the 
Shabha,  by  intimating  that  the  Missionaries  have  but  little, if  any  influence 
with  the  council.  This  may  he  ;  but  they  have  an  influence ;  and  that  in- 
fluence abolished  Sati,  and  the  Government  connexion  with  idolatry,  and 
this  encourages  them  to  agitate  every  legitimate  subject  until  they  shall 
have  emancipated  both  native  heathens  and  native  Christians  from  every 
species  of  civil  and  religious  bondage. — Dost  Muhammud  has  surrender- 
ed ;  his  troops  have  been  entirely  routed  by  Sir  R.  Sale.  Afghanistan 
is  therefore  conquered  and  now  we  may  hope  that  the  Gospel  will  nolongre 
be  withheld  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  far  West.    The  Pan  jab  alone  re- 


1840.]       Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


763 


mains  in  an  unsettled  state.  Thus  is  the  Lord  of  Hosts  giving  victory 
to  our  troops — surely  it  is  for  a  wise  and  merciful  end. 

*x*  We  are  indebted  to  our  contemporaries  the  Calcutta  Christian  Advo- 
cate, the  Oriental  Spectator,  and  the  Herald  for  the  following  items  of  in- 
telligence and  information  for  which  we  tender  our  best  thanks. — Ed. 

3. — Twenty-Second  Anniversary  of  the  Bengal  Auxiliary  to  the 
London  Missionary  Socif.ty. 

On  Sabbath  the  15th  November,  Sermons  were  preached  on  behalf  of 
the  above  Society.  The  Rev.  A.  F.  Lacroix  preached  in  the  morning  at 
the  Union  Chapel  from  Horn.  i.  16 ;  and  the  Rev.  J.  Macdonald  in  the 
evening  at  the  same  place  from  James  iv.  17.  The  Rev.  Charles  I'iftard 
preached  at  the  Cooly  Bazar  Chapel  on  the  same  evening. 

The  22nd  Anniversary  Meeting  of  the  Society  was  held  in  the  Union 
Chapel  on  the  Evening  of  Tuesday  last :  there  was  a  respectable  attend- 
ance, as  attendances  go  in  India.  The  services  commenced  with  devo- 
tional exercises  conducted  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Gogerly,  at  the  conclusion  of 
which  A.  Beattie,  Esq.  took  the  chair,  and  called  upon  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Boaz,  the  Secretary  of  the  Society,  to  read  the  Annual  Report.  This 
document  will  soon  be  before  the  public,  and  therefore  we  shall  only  state 
in  the  most  general  terms  that  it  is  very  interesting ;  as  bespeaking  the 
faithful  patience  and  noiseless  perseverance  with  which  the  agents  of  the 
Society  are  prosecuting  their  work  of  faith  and  labor  of  love. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Yates  rose  to  move  the  first  resolution  as  follows  : 

"  That  the  Report,  extracts  from  which  have  just  been  read,  be  adopted  and 
circulated  by  the  Committee." 

Mr.  Yates  said  the  Report  is  cheering  as  shewing  that  some  good  has 
been  effected  by  the  humble  instrumentality  of  the  few  agents  that  are 
employed  in  the  Missionary  work.  Compared  with  the  great  work  to  be 
achieved,  all  human  instrumentality  is  weak  and  feeble.  Togo  into  the 
jungle  and  lay  hold  upon  a  savage  tiger,  to  subjugate  him  and  train  him  to 
the  docile  habits  of  a  domesticated  animal,  seems  an  impossibility.  Now 
the  object  of  the  Missionary  work  is  to  civilise  men,  to  change  their  habits 
and  modes  of  thinking  and  acting,  to  make  those  who  are  living  in  dark- 
ness and  ignorance  fit  companions  for  intelligent  Europeans.  But  this  is 
not  all ;  the  object  is  still  further  to  make  them  partakers  of  a  new  nature, 
and  render  them  worthy  associates  of  the  pure  and  sinless  angels.  For  this 
vast  work  the  human  agency  is  weak  and  feeble  ;  but  God  works  by  feeble 
means.  If  you  saw  a  man  with  a  worm  in  his  hand  beating  a  mountain 
with  it,  and  if  he  told  you  that  he  intended  with  the  worm  he  held  in  his 
hand  to  break  down  the  flinty  mountain  and  level  it  witli  the  plain,  you 
would  think  he  had  lost  his  reason.  Yet  God  has  declared  that  he  will 
thrash  a  mountain  with  a  worm,  and  he  is  by  the  instrumentality  of  men, 
who  are  as  worms,  levelling  all  mountains  and  obstacles,  and  preparing  a 
highway  for  the  glorious  advent  of  his  Son.  Sanballat  and  his  associates 
derided  the  feeble  Jews  when  they  saw  them  rebuilding  the  walls  of  Jeru- 
salem with  the  instruments  of  war  in  one  hand  and  the  implements  of 
masonry  in  the  other  ;  and  so  men  of  the  world  many  deride  the  Church 
and  call  her  romantic  and  extravagant  in  her  expertations  ;  but  the  hopes 
of  the  Church  do  not  depend  on  the  number  of  her  agents,  but  on  the 
infallible  promises  of  God;  if  there  was  but  one  Missionary  in  all  India, 
these  promises  would  nevertheless  stand  for  ever. 

Capt.  Paton  seconded  the  resolution  which  was  passed  unanimously. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Lacroix  moved  the  second  resolution  which  was  as  follows  : 

"  That  this  meeting  records  its  gratitude  to  the  Lord  for  those  of  his  favors  which 
have  appeared  to  this  and  other  Missions  during  the  last  year,  and  at  the  same  time 


"til  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Dec. 


it  would  humble  itself  before  God  for  the  manifold  sins  which  have  mingled  them- 
selves with  all  their  doings  ;  while  in  the  spirit  of  a  scriptural  faith  and  earnest 
believing  prayer,  it  would  commence  and  continue  the  labors  of  a  new  year." 

He  wished  to  act  in  the  spirit  of  this  resolution  himself,  anil  he  wished 
all  other  Christians  to  do  so.  Those  who  have  done  most  are  most  sensi- 
ble of  their  deficiencies,  and  all  must  he  sensible  that  they  have  fallen  far 
short  of  their  duties.  Yet  is  there  cause  of  warm  gratitude  to  God.  His 
work  has  been  going  on  ;  and  the  time  has  been  coming  nearer  when  this 
whole  people  shall  cast  their  idols  to  the  moles  and  to  the  bats.  It  might  be 
well,  in  order  to  give  some  idea  of  the  various  forms  of  evil  with  which,  in 
our  Missionary  work,  we  have  to  contend,  to  state  that  the  case  mentioned 
in  the  Report  (of  a  Guru  proposing  to  embrace  Christianity  provided  the 
Missionaries  would  lend  him  their  aid  in  a  suit  he  had  pending  in  court), 
was  by  no  means  a  solitary  one.  The  natives  have  the  idea,  however  often 
they  are  assured  that  it  is  a  false  one,  that  the  Missionaries  have  great 
influence  with  European  judges  and  magistrates.  They  therefore  fre- 
quently ask  them  to  use  their  influence  in  order  to  sway  the  minds  of  the 
judges  in  their  favor  when  they  happen  to  have  actions  is  the  court.  A 
Zemindar  who  had  uniformly  resisted  all  Missionary  operations  lately 
offered  to  open  his  Zemindary  to  Missionaries,  to  give  refuge  to  all  native 
Christians,  and  permit  his  ryots  to  embrace  the  gospel,  provided  the  Mis- 
sionary would  exert  himself  in  this  way.  He  blessed  God  that  no  counte- 
nance had  ever  been  given  by  the  Missionaries  of  this  Society,  nor  he  trust- 
ed by  those  of  any  other,  to  those  ideas.  He  rejoiced  at  the  catholic  spirit 
in  which  the  resolution  was  expressed,  and  he  trusted  we  would  all  act  in 
that  spirit.  We  are  called  on  to  express  our  gratitude  for  the  success 
that  has  attended  the  labours  of  other  Societies  as  well  as  our  own.  We 
have  heard  of  great  success  having  attended  the  labours  of  the  Church 
Mission,  especially  at  Krishnaghur,  and  also  the  labours  of  the  fiaptist 
Mission,  and  shall  we  not  rejoice  at  this?  What  is  it  if  we  be  Epis- 
copalians or  Presbyterians  or  independents  ;  what  is  it  if  we  be  Baptists  or 
Pasdobaptists  ?  Are  we  not  all  Christians  ?  Let  us  then  as  Christians 
unite  against  the  hosts  of  Satan.  When  this  battle  has  been  fought  and 
won  it  will  be  time  enough  to  discuss  our  questions  as  to  these  lesser  points. 
This  is  the  spirit  in  which  he  desired  to  act,  and  he  hoped  it  was  also  that 
of  his  brethren.  While  we  ought  to  rejoice  with  our  brethren  over  their 
success,  we  ought  also  to  sympathize  with  them  on  account  of  their  losses 
and  sorrows.  Our  Baptist  brethren  especially  have  been  severely  tried  dur- 
ing the  past  year.  It  may  be  that  we  shall  soon  be  tried  in  a  similar  way. 
He  had  often  remembered  a  circumstance  from  which  our  brethren  may 
derive  comfort  under  their  bereavements.  When  a  Missionary  of  the 
London  Society,  was  on  his  death-bed,  just  in  such  a  year  to  this  Society 
as  the  last  has  been  to  the  Baptist  Society— a  year  in  which  they  had  lost 
many  labourers.  He  said  to  Mr.  Hill,  who  was  lamenting  over  the  fact 
"  Do  not  be  discouraged,  remember  that  after  the  holy  land  was  promised 
to  Abraham  and  his  seed,  it  was  first  occupied  by  his  purchasing  in  it  a 
grave.  Yet  God  had  not  forgotten  his  promise,  but  in  due  time  brought 
the  seed  of  Abraham  into  the  promised  land."  In  like  manner  we  may 
have  to  begin  by  making  many  graves,  but  the  time  will  come  when  our 
Lord  shall  take  possession  of  this  land  as  part  of  His  kingdom.  Where 
are  now  the  idols  that  the  Greeks  and  Romans  and  our  own  ancestors  the 
Celts  and  Teutones  worshipped— ninety-nine  out  of  a  hundred  of  their 
descendants  of  the  present  day  have  never  heard  the  names  of  Jupiter  and 
Juno  and  Neptune,  of  Thor' and  Friga.  So  it  will  be  in  India:  the  day 
will  come  when  the  idols  shall  be  cast  to  the  moles  and  the  bats,  and  the 
names  of  Shib  and  Durga  shall  be  forgotten.  In  order  to  the  realization 
of  this  glorious  hope  Christians  must  be  alive  to  their  duties.    The  de- 


iS  lO.j       Missionary  and  Religious  InteUiymce. 


deration  of  Nelson  was,  "  England  expects  every  man  to  do  his  duty,"  and 
our  Lord  expects  the  same  of  those  who  have  entered  into  his  service. 
Would  our  recent  victories  in  Afghanistan  ever  have  been  achieved,  had 
officers  and  men  in  our  army,  from  the  Commander-in-Chief  down  to  the 
humblest  camp-follower  not  been  more  strenuous  in  the  discharge  of  their 
several  duties  than  Christians  generally  are  in  the  discharge  of  theirs  ? 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Smith  seconded  the  resolution.  He  had  at  the  meeting 
last  year  either  moved  or  seconded  a  resolution  precisely  similar,  but  there 
was  no  impropriety  in  committing  the  same  resolution  to  him  again,  for 
every  day  of  the  p;ist  year  had  shewn  him  renewed  reason  for  humility  and 
for  gratitude.  In  reviewing  the  doings  of  the  past  year  every  one  of  us 
will  find  that  every  day,  yea  every  hour,  his  short-comings  and  sins  have 
been  abundant,  and  the  mercies  of  God  equally  abundant,  so  that  our 
causes  of  humility  and  of  gratitude  may  lie  measured  by  the  hours  that  we 
have  lived.  There  is  no  better  preparation  for  the  Missionary  work  than 
humility,  an  habitual  temper  of  humility  and  special  acts  of  humiliation. 
Till  a  man  is  divested  of  all  fancied  excellence  in  himself,  till  he  finds  that 
his  t;ilents  and  his  acquirements  are  all  hut  as  dust  in  the  balance  towards 
the  effecting  the  great  work  of  the  conversion  of  a  soul,  he  is  not  fitted  to 
enter  upon  Missionary  work.  It  is  only  when  we  are  weak  that  vve  are 
strong,  for  then  only  we  can  he  endowed  with  strength  from  on  high—  for 
God  resisteth  the  proud,  hut  giveth  grace  to  the  humble.  With  humility 
then  on  account  of  our  weakness,  with  special  acts  of  humiliation  on  ac- 
count of  our  manifold  sins,  let  us  go  to  the  good  work  ;  and  God  w  ill  bestow 
his  blessing  on  labours  performed  in  this  spirit.  But  in  passing  this  reso- 
lution you  also  pledge  yourselves  to  an  expression  of  thankfulness,  and  if 
you  be  Christians  in  reality  as  well  as  in  profession,  you  will  feel 
gratitude  as  well  as  express  it.  The  report  which  has  been  read  affords 
abundant  cause  for  humble  thanksgiving.  It  tells  of  the  body  of  Mission- 
aries having  been  preserved  in  life  and  generally  in  health  during  a  year 
of  peculiar  mortality.  It  tells  of  some  souls  added  to  the  church  of  those 
who,  so  far  as  human  knowledge  can  judge,  shall  be  saved.  It  tells  of 
others  who  tiave  continued  to  adorn  the  doctrine  of  God  their  Saviour  by 
lives  and  conversations  becoming  the  gospel.  And  it  tells  of  others  who 
have  fallen  asleep  in  Jesus  and  have  gone  to  the  enjoyment  of  eternal 
glory  ; — and  which  of  these  is  not  cause  to  the  Christian  of  abundant 
gratitude  to  God? — If  you  be  Christians  you  need  not  he  told  that  you 
ought  to  be  grateful  to  learn  of  others  being  made  partakers  of  like  preci- 
ous faith  with  yourselves.  You  once  like  the  heathen  around  you  wallowed 
in  the  deadly  gulf  of  darkness,  ignorance  and  sin  ;  by  the  grace  of  God  you 
have  been  rescued.  Well  what  then  ?  Are  you  to  be  told  that  you  ought 
to  rejoice  when  you  hear  of  others  also  being  rescued  from  the  devouring 
flood  and  brought  to  the  shores  of  happiness  and  peace  ?  But  while  the 
report  tells  you  of  the  few  who  have  been  rescued,  it  at  least  by  implica- 
tion reminds  you  of  the  many — the  millions  upon  millions — who  are  yet  in 
the  same  condemnation.  Let  the  consideration  of  their  miserable  estate 
be  before  our  minds  when  we  come  to  consider  the  third  part  of  our  resolu- 
tion, which  has  reference  to  your  conduct  for  the  future.  We  are  to  enter 
upon  our  work  for  another  year.  Yes  our  work  ;  for  you  and  1  have  all  a 
work  to  do.  We  have  to  plunge  into  the  tide  and  stem  and  buffet  the 
waves,  and  lay  hold  upon  the  drowning  wretches  and  drag  them  out.  Say 
not  it  is  enough  for  us  if  we  be  saved  ourselves.  What  if  this  spirit  of 
selfishness  had  been  found  in  the  breast  of  the  Holy  Jesus  ?  Where  had 
you  been  to-day  ?  Do  you  say  that  this  one  and  that  one  swims  with  a 
bold  and  nervous  stroke,  and  it  is  possible  they  may  of  themselves  reach 
the  shore  ?    My  brethren,  it  cannot  be.    No  one  has  ever  yet  of  himself 


7(56  Missionary  and  "Religious  Intelligence.  [Dec. 


come  out  from  the  gulf  of  heathenism  to  the  shore  of  peace  and  happiness. 
They  must  be  rescued,  and  rescued  instrumentally  by  you.  We  are  to 
go  about  our  work  in  the  spirit  of  scriptural  faith  and  earnest  persevering 
prayer,  faith  in  the  promises  of  God,  faith  in  the  power  of  God.  He  only 
can  give  us  strength  to  swim.  He  only  can  give  us  the  power  to  keep 
afloat  ourselves,  much  more  must  the  power  to  rescue  others  come  from 
Him.  Hence  the  necessity  of  earnest  persevering  prayer.  Not  the  mere 
wedging  in  of  a  general,  and,  so  far  as  we  are  concerned,  an  almost  mean- 
ingless petition  after  we  have  prayed  for  all  the  blessings  we  desire  for 
ourselves  and  our  friends  ;  but  a  spirit  of  earnest  importunity,  a  spirit  of 
determination  to  lay  hold  upon  the  blessing,  a  spirit  like  that  of  the  widow 
who  gave  the  unjust  judge  no  rest  day  or  night  till  he  granted  her  request. 
And  while  we  pray  we  are  not  to  neglect  our  work ;  while  all  our  success 
must  come  from  God,  the  use  of  the  appointed  means  is  ours.  It  was  the 
declaration  of  John  Elliott,  grounded  on  the  experience  of  a  long  life  spent 
in  Missionary  work,  that  "  pains  and  prayer,  by  faith  in  Christ  Jesus, 
will  do  any  thing."  But  they  must  not  be  separated — there  must  neither 
be  pains  without  prayer,  nor  prayers  without  pains.  When  men  of  the 
world  have  an  object  to  accomplish,  they  know  that  it  is  indispensably 
necessary  that  they  should  devote  their  whole  heart  to  it.  It  was  thus 
that  Nelson  overcame  all  the  obtacles  that  lay  in  his  way  and  rose  to  the 
highest  rank  in  his  country's  service  and  his  country's  esteem.  Let  us  do 
likewise,  and  remember  that  we  war  not  in  a  vain  service.  We  are  called 
to  begin  this  year  in  faith,  and  we  may  be  called  to  begin  many  years  more 
in  faith  before  we  be  privileged  to  see  the  full  fruit  of  the  Missionary 
enterprise.  But  we  know  assuredly  that  whether  we  ever  see  it  or  not, 
the  gospel  shall  be  preached  to  all  for  a  witness  to  all  ;  and  from  this  and 
all  other  lands  the  chosen  of  God  shall  be  gathered  out  to  swell  the  train 
of  our  Lord  at  His  coming. 

The  third  resolution  was  moved  by  J.  F.  Hawkins,  Esq. 

"  That  the  business  of  the  Society  for  the  next,  be  conducted  by  the  Committee  of 
the  past  year,  Mr.  H.  Andrews  being  added  to  their  number." 

Mr.  H.  said,  Such  a  motion  as  this  is  generally  reckoned  a  matter  of 
mere  form — but  it  ought  not  to  be  so.  In  appointing  a  Committee  we 
ought  at  the  same  time  to  resolve  to  give  them  something  to  do.  Both 
the  treasurer,  who  has  charge  of  the  funds,  and  the  other  members  of  the 
Committee  ought  to  have  work  given  them.  There  must  be  an  increased 
liberality  on  the  part  of  Christians  ;  there  must  be  greater  exertions  made. 
Mr.  H.  in  a  very  forcible  but  brief  manner  addressed  the  audience  on  the 
responsibilities  resting  upon  us  as  God's  stewards,  and  of  the  certainty 
that  we  must  give  an  account  of  our  stewardship  at  the  last  day,  and  this 
however  we  might  get  rid  of  our  idea  of  responsibility  now,  would  assuredly 
he  felt  then,  and  felt  in  a  manner  too  fearful  to  be  described  and  too  awful 
to  be  contemplated  with  indifference. 

The  Rev.  Mr.  Macdouald  in  seconding  this  resolution  begged  to  call 
attention  to  a  comparatively  new  feature  in  the  constitution  of  the  com- 
mittees of  our  religious  Societies.  He  alluded  to  their  containing  so  large 
a  proportion  of  laymen.  In  the  scriptures  all  Christians  are  called  ser- 
vants of  God.  In  the  primitive  Church  all  Christians  acknowledged  then- 
obligation  to  engage  in  the  service  of  God  according  to  their  abilities  and 
opportunities.  There  were  diversities  of  gifts  and  diversities  of  Ciilling  : 
some  were  apostles,  some  prophets,  some  evangelists  and  some  pastors  and 
teachers,  but  all  acted  in  accordance  with  their  designation  as  servants  of 
God,  and  felt  themselves  bound  to  do  whatsoever  they  could  for  the  pro- 
motion of  his  glory.  But  when  the  Church  fell  from  her  purity  an  un- 
scriptural  distinction  was  made  between  clergy  and  laity,  and  gradually  the 


1840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  7<V 


idea  was  formed  that  it  was  only  to  the  former  that  the  work  belonged  of 
Carrying  forward  the  work  of  spreading  the  gospel.  Now  it  would  appear 
that  the  Church  is  beginning  to  act  on  a  more  just  and  scriptural  principle., 
and  her  lay  members  are  beginning  to  he  associated  in  the  management  of 
her  Missionary  operations.  It  is  of  great  moment  to  laymen  to  he  thus 
associated.  Theytalkandoonsu.lt  in  meetings  of  Committees,  and  thus 
their  interests  are  joined  with  those  of  the  cause.  They  are  associated  in 
the  eyes  of  the  world  with  the  work,  and  so  they  become  accustomed  to  the 
name  of  saints,  and  cease  to  consider  it  a  reproach.  The  speaker  conclud- 
ed by  cautioning  the  members  of  the  Committee  against  the  admission  of  a 
secular  spirit  into  their  deliberations.  This  is  only  to  be  guarded  against 
by  watchfulness  and  prayerfulness. 

The  Chairman  then  made  some  very  suitable  observations,  remarking 
especially  on  the  Catholic  and  Christian  spirit  of  the  second  resolution,  and 
on  the  signs  of  the  times  as  an  incitement  to  Missionary  exertion.  The 
success  of  our  country's  arms  in  the  east  and  the  west  ought  to  stimulate 
us  to  exertion  in  order  to  carry  out  the  designs  of  Providence  in  putting 
so  much  power  into  our  hands.  Surely  the  design  of  God  in  all  this  is  not 
merely  that  we  should  enrich  ourselves,  or  that  we  should  get  honor  or 
reputation  for  ourselves,  but  rather  that  we  should  use  the  influence  which 
He  has  given  us  for  the  promotion  of  his  own  glory. 

A  hymn  was  then  sung  and  the  meeting  separated.  The  service  was  very 
interesting  and  well  adapted  to  induce  a  proper  state  of  feeling  in  the 
Christian  mind.  The  collection  we  understand  was  very  liberal. — Advocate. 


4. — The  Sand  Heads. 

What  a  crowd  of  associations  connect  themselves  with  the  Sand  Heads. 
How  many  a  youthful  heart  has  beat  high  as  it  has  heard  —  the  Sand  Heads  ! 
Hope  with  uplifted  foot  has  lit  up  its  future  career  with  brightest  scenes, 
now  about  to  be  realized.  How  many  a  heart  has  sickened  as  it  has  ap- 
proached the  estuary  of  the  Ganges  ;  children  anxious  to  hear  of  the  life 
and  health  of  parents  not  seen  since  childhood's  days  ;  and  wives  and  others 
returning  from  a  search  after  health  to  those  they  hope  are  living  but  who 
yet  may  be  dead.  How  many  a  man  has  bid  adieu  to  the  Sand  Heads  with 
joy,  having  gathered  amply  of  the  barbaric  gold  of  this  land  of  sun.  He  is 
hasting  in  the  *'  May  of  life"  over  the  bosom  of  the  deep  blue  sea  to  the 
shores  of  his  native  isle — with  a  glee  and  gladsome  mind.  He  is  about  to 
enjoy  the  fruit  of  his  toils  in  his  father-laud.  How  many  with  riches 
burdened  but  despoiled  of  health,  with  care-worn  countenances  have  cast 
one  sad  lingering  look  at  the  muddy  banks  of  Ganga  ; 

"  Grateful  yet  sad  and  scarcely  joyous  to  depart  or  stay  ;" 
while  some  neither  permitted  to  go  or  stay  linger  in  search  of  health  on  the 
very  threshold  of  the  deep  blue  sea.  How  many  a  captain's  heart  is  lightened 
when  he  sights  the  pilot,  and  how  the  pilot  watches  and  toils,  marking  lights 
and  buoys  as  he  guides  the  noble  vessel  into  a  safe  but  difficult  port.  How 
like  the  turbid  and  restless  waters  of  the  Sand  Heads  must  be  the  turmoil 
of  thought  of  those  who  are  ever  and  auon  passing  over  the  treacherous 
channel.  How  like  to  life  in  general  with  its  anxieties  and  trouble.  Such 
a  mixture  of  sunshine  and  shade,  tears  and  smiles,  sorrows  and  joys,  hopes 

and  fears,  agremens  and  disagremens.   How  like  unto  life  in  its  entrance  

its  troubled  waters — its  wide  yet  dangerous  entrances — its  land  and  sea 
marks — its  experienced  pilots  and  its  noble  and  peaceful  port,  once  entered. 
How  like  life  in  its  close — the  troubled  waters  of  the  Jordan — the  really 
narrow  though  apparently  wide  and  expansive  entrance  to  tl:e  haven  of  rest 
— the  blessed  pilot,  Christ — the  sure  marks  of  salvation,  and  the  noble  and 
delightful  port  of  the  new  heaven.    Reader!   when  at  the  Sand  Heads 

VOL.  I.  5  F 


768 


Missionary  and  Rtliyious  Intelligence. 


[Dec. 


either  going  or  coming  or  remaining,  look  on  it  as  an  emlilem  of  life  in  its 
progress  and  close,  and  be  edified  as  you  see  the  works  of  God  in  the  great 
deep,  and  his  creatures  and  people  therein. — Ibid. 

A. — Proposal  to  translate  and  print  the  Quran  in  the  Urdu  and 
Roman  Character. 

We  have  had  forwarded  to  us  a  prospectus  for  printing  a  Romanized 
Urdu  and  Nagri  edition  of  the  Quran  by  Christian  men.  The  object  is,  that 
by  a  plain,  faithful  translation  of  this  heterogeneous  mass  of  selections 
from  other  sacred  books,  Musalmans  may  be  enabled  to  judge  more  ac- 
curately of  its  merits,  and  be  better  informed  as  to  its  contents  than  they 
can  be  now  that  it  is  doled  out  to  them  in  the  flowing  numbers  of  Arabic 
poetry,  which  but  few  among  them  comprehend.  It  is  the  poetical  mys- 
teries which  attach  themselves  to  the  Quran  which  constitutes  its  chief 
recommendation.  Another  object  which  the  translators  have  in  view  is  to 
place  in  the  hands  of  Missionaries  and  Native  Christian  teachers,  who  may 
not  be  conversant  with  Persian,  a  plain  and  faithful  translation  of  this  most 
important  book  in  all  discussions  with  the  Muhammadans ;  so  that  they 
may  be  able  to  quote  it  in  the  ordinary  language  of  the  people  to  whom  they 
preach.  The  Hebrew  scriptures,  the  Greek  scriptures  are  translated 
into  the  Vulgar  tongues,  why  not  the  Quran  that  it  may  be  brought  by  the 
people  to  a  fair  test  with  the  truly  holy  hooks  ?  Such  a  test  the  people 
may  be  able  to  appreciate.  This  is  the  reasoning  of  the  translators.  It  is 
proposed  to  add  notes  explanatory.  We  regret  that  we  cannot  recommend 
this  plan,  and  we  candidly  confess  we  look  upon  it  with  sincere  regret. 
Had  the  Musalmans  attempted  it  or  had  it  been  the  work  of  any  literary 
body,  we  could  have  had  no  objection  ;  but  as  it  is  the  work  of  Christian 
men,  we  cannot  approve  it.  That  it  may  effect  some  good  we  are  convinc- 
ed, for  the  good  men  who  have  undertaken  to  translate  it  would  never  have 
made  the  attempt  had  they  not  so  thought:  but  that  the  good  will  coun- 
terbalance the  evil  we  very  much  doubt.  As  Christians  it  is  our  duty  to 
print  and  distribute  Christian  truth,  but  certainly  not  that  which  we  know 
to  be  a  cheat  and  a  lie,  and  that  lie  firmly  and  fanatically  believed  by  so 
large  a  section  of  the  human  family.  Let  us  put  what  notes  we  please, 
will  not  the  impression  get  abroad  that  Christians  are  printing  the  Quran? 
—and  what  effect  will  that  have  on  the  illiterate  Musalmans  which  im- 
pression the  Maulvis  will  not  fail  to  strengthen? — but  whatever  be  the 
impression,  it  is  clear  that  Christian  men  cannot  do  evil  that  good  may 
come,  and  that  to  translate,  print  and  circulate  that  which  we  know  and 
believe  to  be  the  grossest  and  most  influential  of  all  impostures  certainly 
comes  within  the  category  of  evil.  The  intention  of  our  friends  who  have 
undertaken  this  work  we  believe  to  be  good,  but  we  entreat  them  to  pause 
ere  they  set  one  type  to  press  in  such  a  matter. — Ibid. 

We  entirely  concur  in  the  sentiments  expressed  in  this  extract. — Ed. 

c.  c.  o. 


6 — Christian  Education— increased  exertion  needed. 
'  The  advocates  of  what  is  called  a  neutral  education,  that  is  education 
without  Christianity,  are  making  great  efforts  to  extend  their  schools  and 
colleges  in  every  direction.  They  have  at  their  command  considerable 
pecuniary  resources  and  political  influence ;  and  hence  they  are  not 
likely  to  contract  the  circle  of  their  operations.  They  must  and  will 
increase.  Whatever  may  be  the  estimate  formed  of  education  without 
Christianity  by  the  upholders  of  the  Government  system,  there  are  many 
w  ho  deem  all  knowledge,  except  it  be  accompanied  by  the  truth  of  God's 
word,  to  be  but  an  engine  for  evil  put  into  the  hands  of  this  people.  We 
would  therefore  entreat  the  friends  of  native  Christian  education  not  to 
rest  on  their  oars,  but  in  every  district  of  this  densely  populated  country 


1810.] 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


769 


to  plant  Christian  seminaries  that  the  stream  of  knowledge  may  be 
.accompanied  by  that  which  can  alone  make  it  a  blessing  to  the  people — 
true  and  pure  Christianity.  The  educational  wants  of  the  people  of 
India  are  clearly  becoming  much  greater  than  can  be  supplied  by  the 
different  Missionary  Societies  as  such.  The  subject  is  evidently  becom- 
ing one  which  cannot  be  treated  as  an  appendage  to  missions:  it  must 
be  taken  up  and  dealt  with  as  a  great  national  question  by  the  Church  of 
Christ  And  friends  of  Christian  education  both  here  and  at  home.  A 
Society  should  be  formed  for  this  express  object — the  Christian  Educa- 
tion of  India  on  a  scale  commensurate  with  the  demands  of  the  people 
and  the  efforts  of  the  anti-Christian  system.  We  merely  throw  out  the 
suggestion.    We  may  return  to  the  subject  in  a  little. — Ibid. 


7. — The  Monthly  Missionary  Prayer  Meetino. 
The  Monthly  Missionary  Prayer  Meeting  was  held  at  the  Lai  Bazar 
Chapel,  on  Monday  the  2nd  inst.  The  address  was  delivered  by  the  Ilev. 
J.  Wenger,  who  gave  a  brief  account  of  The  present  state  of  the  Greek 
Church  in  Greece  and  Turkey.  Religiously  considered  nothing  can  be 
more  deplorable  than  its  present  condition.  The  priesthood  are  sunk  in 
ignorance  and  the  people  held  under  the  influence  of  the  grossest  super- 
stition. Ceremonies  and  miracles  occupy  the  place  of  vital  godliness. 
Preaching  is  a  thing  almost  unknown.  The  efforts  of  Protestant  Mission- 
aries have  been  directed  to  this  field.  They  have  prepared  school  and 
other  useful  books  on  general  knowledge  and  have  commenced  a  library 
of  Christian  knowledge  in  the  translation  of  standard  authors.  The 
Scriptures  have  been  translated  into  modern  Greek,  and  Schools  of  a  very 
superior  character  have  been  established  in  Greece.  The  priests  alarmed 
at  this  state  of  things,  have  anathematized  those  of  the  people  who  have 
dared  to  benefit  by  the  labors  of  the  Missionaries.  Persecution  has 
ensued — the  Scriptures  have  been  burnt  by  order  of  the  Patriarch  of  Con- 
stantinople, and  all  books  printed  at  Mission  presses — scientific  as  well 
as  religious — have  been  ordered  to  be  burnt  by  the  same  authority.  The 
Missionaries  are  stigmatized  as  foreigners,  the  Bible  as  a  dangerous  book, 
and  the  efforts  of  these  men  of  God  are  declared  to  be  subversive  of  order 
and  peace.  This  is  but  another  form  of  the  papacy — another  of  those 
cheats  by  which  the  evil  one  deludes  the  erring  children  of  men  into  the 
belief  and  practice  of  a  lie.  Amidst  all  this  there  are  a  few  who  stand 
fast,  who  are,  according  to  the  election  of  grace ;  and  a  large  party  of 
what  may  be  called  the  liberal,  that  is,  the  educated  party,  tire  fast  pro. 
gressing,  towards  that  state  of  things  which  will  forbid  their  tamely 
submitting  to  the  anathemas  of  an  ignorant  and  besotted  priesthood. 
The  devotional  parts  of  the  service  were  engaged  in  by  Rev.  Messrs. 
Bradbury  and  Smith.— Ibid. 


8. — Reputed  Revival  of  Sati  at  Mirzapore. 
A  correspondent  of  the  Englishman  states  that  a  Sati  has  occurred  in 
that  neighborhood.  Some  time  ago  we  stated  that  two  had  occurred  in 
the  vicinity  of  Calcutta.  We  have  little  doubt  of  their  being  perpetrated, 
though  they  could  not  be  distinctly  traced  by  the  authorities.  That  the 
brahmans  would,  if  possible,  revive  this  or  any  other  barbarous  custom,  we 
have  little  doubt — that  they  may  ever  and  anon  make  an  attempt  "  to 
try  the  spirits"  is  not  improbable.  Wherever  such  things  happen,  the 
authorities  ought  to  leave  no  stone  unturned  until  the  whole  matter  is 
sifted  and  the  parties  made  a  public  example  of ;  for  if  they  can  with  im- 
punity perforin  such  a  rite  in  the  very  vicinity  of  the  authorities,  what 
may  they  not  practise  in  the  remoter  and  less  regulated  portions  of  our 
territories  ?  We  do  hope  for  humanity's  sake  such  thing  has  not  occurred, 


770 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


[Dec. 


but  if  it  has,  and  can  be  traced  home,  it  ought  to  be  visited  by  the  severest 
punishment  which  the  law  can  inflict. — Ibid. 


9. — The  Medical  Missionary  Society. 
Christianity  is  not  only  benevolent  but  ingenious  in  the  modes  by  which 
she  would  commend  her  benevolence  to  mankind.  Like  the  mercies  of 
nature,  though  provided  for  all  and  tending  to  the  same  end,  the  happiness 
of  man  and  the  glory  of  God — like  these,  though  having  one  object,  Chris- 
tianity assumes  different  aspects  and  presents  her  mercies,  in  different  forms. 
In  nature  now  mercy  comes  in  the  sunshine,  and  then  in  the  shadow — now 
in  the  valley,  and  then  in  lofty  mountain.  So  does  Christianity :— now  it 
comes  to  the  guilty  in  the  preached  word,  and  then  in  the  form  of  the 
Asylum,  the  Hospital  and  the  Refuge  ;  and  now  it  has  determined  to  com. 
mend  itself  to  the  inhabitants  of  China  and  the  East  through  the  medium 
of  medicine  — the  superior  science  and  skill  of  Western  pharmacy.  A  So- 
ciety has  been  formed  in  London,  under  the  auspices  of  some  of  the 
most  talented  and  humane  laymen  and  others — most  of  them  medical  men, 
for  the  purpose  of  sending  forth  Medical  Missionaries  to  China — a  noble 
and  commendable  object  indeed,  and  one  which  has  the  high  sanction  of 
the  Lord  himself,  who  while  he  came  to  seek  and  to  save  the  souls  of  the 
lost,  did  not  forget  to  minister  to  the  temporal  wants  and  necessities  of  the 
people  and  to  relieve  their  bodily  ailments.  In  the  East,  medicine  is  a 
powei  fill  key.  It  is  almost  like  the  magician's  wand  and  may  in  wise 
hands  be  made  a  powerful  means  for  introducing  and  propagating  the  truth 
of  the  gospel.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Kidd,  formerly  of  Malacca,  now  Professor 
of  Chinese  in  the  London  University,  is  Secretary  to  the  Society.  We 
shall  be  happy  to  convey  the  donations  of  any  of  our  friends  to  the  Secre- 
tary.— Ibid. 

10. — The  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge. 

The  Society  for  the  Diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge  connected  with  the 
Hindu  College  have  just  issued  a  volume  of  Essays  in  English  and  Bengali. 
These  Essays  have  been  delivered  by  the  Members  at  the  Meetings  of  the 
Society.  The  publication  of  this  volume  forms  an  era  in  the  history  of  the 
Hindus.  It  is  the  first  tangible  literary  fruit  of  a  party  of  intelligent 
native  youth,  and  may  be  taken  as  a  specimen  of  their  talent  and  general 
modes  of  thinking,  and  conveying  their  thoughts,  both  in  English  and 
Bengali.  We  hope  that  every  encouragement  will  be  given  to  this  effort. 
The  Society  is  a  vast  improvement  on  the  Debating  Societies  and  Spouting 
Clubs  of  the  native  youth,  of  which  this  volume  is  an  abundant  evidence. 
Might  not  the  Society  issue  its  proceedings  in  a  less  ponderous  and  more 
frequent  form? — Ibid. 

We  understand  the  volume  in  question  has  not  been  published  but  only 
printed  for  the  use  of  the  members  and  their  friends.  -Ed.  C  C.  O. 

11. — State  of  Native  Feeling — Widows— Noble  Example  of  a  Native 
Youth— Ghat-Murders  and  the  Charak. 
The  indications  that  a  spirit  of  change  in  a  religious  point  of  view  is 
coming  over  the  people  in  this  country  are  may.  "  Straws,"  it  is  said,"  shew 
which  way  the  wind  blows;"  and  acts,  though  they  are  but  the  acts  of' 
individuals,  indicate  the  state  of  feeling  amongst  the  native  community. 
Some  time  back  a  wealthy  native  offered  a  sum  of  money  to  any  one,  cceteris 
paribus,  who  would  marry  a  Hindu  widow.  The  offer  we  understand  was 
accepted.  Not  to  revert  to  other  singular  phenomena  in  Hindu  Society 
equally  opposed  to  native  prejudice  and  practice,  we  cannot  pass  over  in 
silence  the  dying  act  of  Raj  Kirshna  Dey,  a  young  well-educated  and 
highly  intelligent  youth,  one  of  the  pupils  of  the  Medical  College,  and 


1840.]  Missionary  and  licliyious  Intelligence.  771 


acting,  since  the  completion  of  his  studies,  in  the  Upper  Provinces  as  a 
native  surgeon.  In  his  dying  moments  this  promising  young  noun  entreat- 
ed his  friends,  nay  enjoined  it  upon  them,  not  to  allow  his  wife  to  remain 
a  widow,  or  at  least  not  to  prevent  her  marrying  again  if  she  wished.  The 
time  was  when  such  an  act  would  have  called  forth  the  anathemas  of  the 
D/iurnm  Shabha,  and  the  ire  of  the  whole  Hindu  community  ;  but  this,  as 
well  as  the  previous  offer  of  Mutty  Lall  Seal,  have  fallen  dead  on  the  ear, 
and  show  how  little  impression  of  an  unfavorable  kind  they  have  produced 
on  the  minds  of  the  people.  The  prejudices  of  the  people  are  weakened,  and 
it  only  requires  the  example  of  such  men  as  those  we  have  alluded  to  to 
check  the  disgraceful  practices  of  Hindu  life.  Some  of  these  evils  however 
are  of  such  a  character  as  to  need  the  interference  of  the  strong  arm  of 
Government  as  well  as  the  influence  of  personal  example.  We  refer  now 
more  particularly  to  Ghat-murders  and  the  Chnrak  Pvjti — but  more 
especially  to  the  former.  This  practice  is  carried  on  in  all  its  horrors,  and 
they  are  horrors  dread  enough  to  .awaken  the  sympathies  and  energies  of 
the  most  inert.  Only  imagine  a  man  or  woman  prostrated  l>y  fever  or 
other  disease,  remonstrating  against  removal  but  jet  dragged  away  to  the 
Ghat  by  relentless  and  hungry  braiimans  and  terrified  relatives.  This 
happens  every  day  at  our  doors  :  men  and  women  are  deliberately  murder- 
ed every  day  under  the  sanction  of  religion,  and  by  the  hands  of  brahmans. 
Can  nothing  he  done  in  this  matter?  Will  no  hand  move  or  no  voice  he 
raised  to  arrest  the  progress  of  this  Moloch-like  practice?  Aided  by  the 
wise  and  humane  legislation  of  Government,  the  Charah  Pttjd  will,  we  hope, 
effect  its  own  cure.    Oh  for  more  such  noble  spirits  as  Raj  Krishna  Dey. — 

Ibid.   

12. — Indian  Missionary  Socieiy. 
The  Madras  Prole-stunt  Weekly  Visitor  giv  es  an  account  of  the  fourth 
Annual  Meeting  of  the  Indian  Missionary  Society.  The  object  of  this 
Society  is  to  employ  lay  agents  iti  the  Mission  field  irrespective  of  peculi- 
arities on  the  subject  of  Church  Government.  All  are  eligible  who  hold 
the  fundamentals  of  our  holy  faith.  The  Society  we  are  happy  to  state, 
lias  hitherto  answered  every  expectation.  The  agents  are  all  attached 
to  the  country,  and  hence  have  none  of  those  temptations  to  quit  the 
field  of  labor  which  strangers  have  ;  that  they  are  not  laborers  for  filthy 
lucre's  sake  is  clear  from  the  fact  that  the  income  of  the  Society  is 
not  more  than  X-200,  yet  with  this  thirteen  agents  have  been  sustain- 
ed. We  are  happy  to  see  the  clergy  and  laity  of  every  denomination 
engaged  in  this  Society  :  it  is  a  proof,  if  of  nothing  else,  of  this  at  least, 
that  the  members  of  the  Church  of  Christ  at  Madras  are  imbued  with  a 
truly  Christian  spirit  in  practice  as  well  as  theory.  We  have  more  than 
once  heard  of  the  truly  Christian  temper  which  prevails  at  Madras,  and 
would  earnestly  commend  it  to  all  the  Churches  of  Christ  in  India.  We 
pray  the  Lord  of  Missions  may  bless  effectually  the  Indian  Missionary 
Society  in  all  its  operations  and  agencies.  The  Agra  Missionary  Society 
was  formed  on  a  similar  principle  ;  but  we  have  heard  nothing  of  its  opera- 
tions for  a  long  time. — Ibid. 

13. — New  Epition  of  the  New  Testament  in  Hindustani. 
We  are  happy  to  state  that  another  edition  of  the  New  Testament  in 
Hindustani  has  just  been  completed.  'The  volume  consists  of  540  small 
12mo.  pages;  it  is  therefore  the  most  compact  form  in  which  this  large 
portion  of  the  word  of  God  hiis  hitherto  been  presented  in  this  popular 
language.  'The  edition  consists  of  3000  copies  of  the  entire  Testament, 
besides  1000  copies  of  the  Four  Gospels  and  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles  in  a 
separate  form.  May  that  great  Spirit,  by  whose  inspiration  the  sacred 
text  was  originally  written,  render  this  version  the  honoured  instrument 


772 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


[Dec. 


of  imparting  to  very  many  the  saving  knowledge  of  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
Jesus. 

For  the  generous  aid  rendered  them  in  this  important  department  of 
their  labours,  the  missionary  brethren  desire  to  present  their  very  grate- 
ful acknowledgments,  while  they  indulge  the  hope  that  the  example  set 
by  some  will  be  followed  by  many  more,  that  as  the  demand  for  the  word 
of  God  increases,  the  means  of  multiplying  copies  of  the  sacred  volume 
may  also  increase. — Herald. 


14.. — Dusirb  for  Religious  Books  at  Dacca  continued. 
Extract  of  a  letter  from  Rev.  W.  Robinson. 

Sept.  3. —  I  shall  now  give  you  a  few  hints,  concerning  the  state  of 
things  at  Dacca  during  the  last  month.  I  may  state  in  general  terms, 
til  At  the  demand  for  books  is  greater  than  ever,  and  that  the  disposition 
to  hear  seems  on  the  increase.  I  have  seldom  spent  60  rupees  to  better 
purpose,  than  in  the  erection  of  our  native  chapel.  Let  it  be  opened 
whenever  it  may,  we  are  sure  of  some  hearers,  and  we  often  have  a  great 
number.    But  1  will  give  you  a  few  particulars. 

On  the  7th  ultimo  in  the  afternoon  1  went  to  the  chapel  and  spoke 
from  these  words  :  "  It  is  appointed  for  all  men  once  to  die,"  &c.  As  soon 
as  I  had  done,  many  requested  books,  that  they  might,  as  they  said,  learn 
more  of  these  things.  Before  we  left  the  chapel,  a  letter  was  brought  for 
Chand  informing  him  that  a  native  teacher  was  on  his  way  to  Dacca. 
This  cheered  him  much. 

On  the  8th  brother  Leonard  and  I  went  to  Frasganj  with  an  intention 
of  preaching,  but  I  became  so  unwell,  that  we  were  obliged  to  content 
ourselves  with  the  distribution  of  a  few  books,  which  brother  Leonard 
had  brought  with  him.  On  this  day  your  first  box  arrived,  containing 
1302  volumes  ;  but  I  did  not  open  it  till  Monday  the  10th. 

On  Sabbath  morning  the  9th  the  congregation  in  the  native  chapel 
was  about  40.  My  text  was  Isaiah  xlvi.  5—8.  I  succeeded  in  fixing 
attention  better  than  usual.  The  poor  people  appeared  quite  surprised, 
but  not  at  all  offended,  to  hear  their  own  idolatrous  practices  so  exactly 
described  in  our  shastras. 

On  the  11th  brother  Leonard  and  I  went  to  the  chok  or  square.  About 
SO  gospels  in  Hindustani,  a  large  bundle  of  tracts  in  the  same  language, 
and  a  few  in  Bengali,  went  off  in  a  few  minutes.  On  such  occasions  it  is 
impossible  to  preach  ;  the  uproar  is  too  great. 

On  the  15th  brother  Leonard  and  I  went  to  Dhakaishwari,  where  there 
is  a  temple  of  Kali  in  a  thick  jungle,  perhaps  a  mile  out  of  the  city.  A 
few  brahmans,  who  inhabit  a  few  mean  huts  were  the  only  persons  to  be 
seen.  The  brahmans  were  very  civil,  and  gladly  received  portions  of 
scripture.  I  wonder  at  the  brahmans  of  Dacca  ;  they  come  to  my  house 
in  great  numbers  for  books,  and  claim  them  in  preference  to  other 
people,  because  they  are  brahmans. 

After  the  box  above  mentioned  was  opened,  crowds  came  for  books, 
and  1  had  to  live,  for  a  few  days,  in  the  midst  of  a  great  uproar.  On  the 
18th  another  box  containing  8 10  volumes  arrived  with  the  native  preacher. 
On  the  19th  1  employed  him  in  distributing  books  at  my  house.  He 
continued  the  distribution  perhaps  an  hour,  and  then  the  tumult  became 
so  great,  that  I  thought  it  prudent  to  desist. 

On  the  21st  the  people  began  to  come  in  to  celebrate  a  Hindu  festival, 
in  honor  of  the  birth  of  Krishna.  In  the  evening,  brother  Leonard  and 
1  went  to  the  native  chapel,  and  found  our  native  brethren  engaged  with 
a  crowd.  Leaving  them  at  the  chapel  we  took  about  100  copies  of  Matt., 
and  went  to  one  of  the  outskirts  of  the  city  to  meet  the  people,  who  were 
coming  in  from  the  country.    We  saw  many  flocking  into  the  city,  but 


1840. J         Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


there  were  few  readers  among  them  ;  and  some  of  those  who  could  read 
were  very  shy :  they  had  not  heard  much  of  our  hooks.  We  persevered 
however,  and  gradually  the  whole  number  was  disposed  of,  either  to 
persons  who  begged  them,  or  to  persons  who  gladly  received  them  when 
offered. 

Saturday  22nd  was  the  dav  of  the  festival  ;  crowds  of  people  paraded 
the  streets  all  day.  1  had  so  many  applications  for  books  at  my  own 
house,  that  my  stock  in  Bengali  was  soon  exhausted.  I  had  determined 
to  so  out  about  twelve  and  join  the  native  brethren;  but  1  was  taken 
suddenly  unwell,  and  was  unable  to  go.  I  went  in  the  evening  with 
brother  Leonard,  and  when  we  reached  the  native  chapel,  we  found  that 
nearly  all  the  books  were  gone.  Our  native  brethren  had  opened  the 
chapel  in  the  morning,  and  had  been  engaged,  either  in  the  chapel  or 
near  it,  in  talking  and  giving  away  books  many  hours.  They  had  distri- 
buted, on  that  spot,  in  two  days,  about  1000  volumes,  chiefly,  of  course, 
single  gospels.  On  this  day,  a  few  volumes  in  Hindustani  excepted,  the 
contents  of  both  the  boxes  were  exhausted.  They  containted  2,112 
volumes.  Supposing  about  112  volumes  in  Hindustani  remained,  mostly 
single  gospels,  it  follows,  that  from  the  10th  to  the  22ml,  i.  e.  in  13  days, 
2,010  volumes  were  distributed. 

It  may  perhaps  he  thought,  that  many  of  these  books  must  have  been 
given  in  a  very  indiscriminate  and  careless  manner.  Such  however  was 
not  the  case.  We  never  force  books  on  people  ;  on  the  contrary  we 
withhold  them  till  we  are  satisfied  that  those  who  solicit  them,  can  read 
and  are  likely  to  read  them.  This  plan  we  adopt  as  much  as  possible, 
even  in  a  crowd,  where  we  seldom  give  any  thing  larger  than  a  single 
gospel  ;  and  when  people  come  to  our  houses  for  large  hooks,  we  make 
them  submit  to  many  interrogatories  before  they  obtain  their  request. 
1  now  refuse  even  small  books  to  many  w  ho  can  read,  when  I  think  they 
have  received  them  before  or  are  not  likely  to  read  them.  Some  now 
come  tome  for  books,  and  beg  with  great  importunity,  just  to  amuse 
themselves  and  inflict  a  little  trouble  on  me  ;  but  long  practice  has  taught 
me  to  know  these  characters,  and  I  send  them  away  as  they  come.  On 
the  other  hand,  as  our  books  spread  in  the  country,  many  new  faces 
appear.  They  have  seen  books  with  their  neighbours  and  they  want  some 
for  themselves.  Thus,  for  one  volume  given  away,  we  may  expect  three 
or  four  new  applicants.  This,  I  think,  is  the  secret  of  the  increasing 
demand,  after  so  many  have  been  supplied,  and  so  many  refused. 

On  the  25th  Cliand  went  to  Narindiya,  a  place  crowded  with  boats. 
Many  of  the  boat  people  requested  books,  but  he  bad  none  to  give.  This 
was  to  be  regretted,  as  they  might  have  been  very  widely  dispersed. 

Last  Sabbath  morning,  in  our  native  chapel,  I  again  preached  on  the 
subject  of  idolatry,  taking  for  my  text  Isaiah  xliv.  9 — 20.  The  people, 
about  40  in  number,  heard  with  fixed  attention.  When  1  had  done,  a 
man  stood  up  :  "  All  this  is  very  true  ;  give  me  a  book,  that  I  may  learn 
more  of  Christianity."  C'hand  gave  him  a  Testament  which  he  had 
reserved  for  his  own  use.  The  same  man  attended  again  in  the  afternoon. 

Would  it  not  be  well  to  publish,  in  a  separate  form,  the  book  of  Isaiah 
and  the  first  nine  chapters  of  Daniel  ?  They  contain  some  very  pointed 
passages  against  idolatry,  many  predictions  concerning  our  Saviour,  and 
many  about  the  nations  of  the  earth,  which  may  be  illustrated  by  profane 
history.    I  would  say,  Print  it  in  both  languages. — Ibid. 


15. — Miscellaneous  Notices. 
We  have  been  sorry  to  learn  that  the  funds  of  that  most  excellent 
institution,  the  District  Benevolent  Society  are  quite  inadequate  to  the 


7/4  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Dec. 


demands  which  are  made  on  its  benevolence.  In  its  native  asylum,  there 
are  at  present  about  200  inmates,  the  number  of  out-pensioners  is  very 
considerable.  In  many  instances,  it  affords  temporary  relief  to  those 
who  are  suffering  from  want  and  disease.  In  order  to  give  effectual  relief 
to  the  objects  tit  present  dependent  upon  it.it  requires  an  income  of 
about  Ks.  12,000  per  annum,  while  only  Ks.  8000  form  about  the  average 
of  its  annual  receipts.  It  is  manifest  that  some  extraordinary  effort  must 
he  made  on  its  behalf. 

Considerable  additions  have  lately  been  made  to  the  Translation  and 
Examining  Committees,  of  the  Bombay  Tract  and  Book  Society.  It  is 
hoped  that  greater  expedition  in  the  publication  of  the  Scriptures  and 
tracts  in  the  vernacular  languages  of  this  Presidency  will  be  the  conse- 
quence. For  some  time  past,  the  Committee  of  the  Bible  Society  has 
had  monthly  meetings  for  the  despatch  of  business  ;  and  by  this  arrange, 
merit  the  interests  and  efficiency  of  the  institution  have  been  materially 
advanced.  The  Committee  of  the  Tract  Society  has  determined  to  meet 
once  in  the  two  months. 

It  has  been  resolved,  that  in  consideration  of  the  extent  of  the  province 
of  Gujarat,  the  prospects  of  increased  missionary  agency  within  its  bor- 
ders, and  the  multitudes  of  the  mercantile  class  of  natives  speaking  its 
language  who  reside  in,  or  visit  Bombay,  a  fourth  part  of  the  funds  of 
the  Tract  Society  be  set  apart  for  the  publication  of  tracts  and  small 
books  in  Gnjarathi. — Bombay  Spectator. 


16. — Mission  of  the  General  Assejibly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
in  Ireland  to  Ka'tia'war. 
In  our  last  number,  we  expressed  our  expectation  of  soon  welcoming 
to  the  shores  of  India,  the  ministers  lately  appointed  by  the  Presbyterian 
Church  in  Ireland  to  labour  in  the  peninsula  of  Gujarat.  In  doing  this, 
we  were  guilty  of  a  lapsus  pennae  in  reference  to  the  name  of  one  of  the 
missionaries.  The  necessary  correction  will  be  made,  and  additional 
information  given,  by  our  introducing  the  following  extract  of  a  letter 
to  Dr.  Wilson,  from  the  Rev.  Mr.  Morgan,  of  Belfast,  dated  the  12th 
August. 

"  You  may  think  it  strange  that  no  answer  has  yet  been  forwarded  to 
von  from  the  Synod  of  Ulster  on  the  subject  of  your  communication 
recommending  the  district  of  Katiawar  as  a  suitable  field  for  a  Mission  to 
the  heathen.  Allow  me  to  assure  you  this  has  not  arisen  from  inattention 
or  disrespect.  Your  communication  was  highly  esteemed,  and  determined 
us  in  the  selection  of  our  first  Missionary  field.  But  we  did  not  w  ish  to 
write  until  we  could  do  so  with  entire  satisfaction,  and  that,  by  the  bless- 
ing of  God,  we  are  now  enabled  to  do.  Our  two  Missionaries  have  been 
chosen,  both  tried  men,  having  been  ministers  in  congregations  and 
having  renounced  their  charges  at  the  call  of  the  church  to  go  to  the 
heathen.  They  have  both  been  married  within  a  few  weeks.  Funds 
have  been  raised  sufficient  to  make  a  commencement.  .  .  .  The  names 
of  our  Missionaries  are  James  Glasgow,  formerly  minister  of  Castledaw- 
son,  and  Alexander  Kerr,  formerly  minister  of  Portadown.  May  the 
Lord  carry  them  to  the  heathen  with  the  fulness  of  the  blessings  of  the 
gospel  of  Christ.  You  will  accept  the  thanks  of  our  missionary  directors 
and  of  our  As~eml>lv  for  your  valuable  communication  and  the  interest 
you  have  taken  in  our  cause.  The  name  of  our  church  now  is  '  The 
Presbyterian  Church  in  Ireland,'  and  that  of  our  principal  ecclesiastical 
assembly  1  the  General  Assembly.'  This  includes  the  General  Synod  of 
Ulster  and  the  Secession  Synod,  who  are  now  happily  united." — Ibid. 


KS40.]         Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


775 


17. — Movement  among  the  Lingayats  op  Bainthur  in  the  Southern 
Marotha  Country. 

Some  of  our  readers  may  perhaps  have  heard  some  rumours  respecting1 
the  existence  of  religious  inquiry  at  Bainthur,  originating  in  interpreta- 
tions which  have  been  made  of  different  passages  of  Lingayat  books, 
which  are  supposed  to  intimate  the  conversion  of  the  people  to  another 
faith  through  the  instrumentality  of  foreigners.  We  are  happy  to  have 
it  in  our  power  to  give  precise  information  on  the  snbject. 

The  three  following  notes  are  from  the  pen  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Taylor 
of  Belgaum,  who  has  shown  a  very  commendable  zeal  in  early  embracing 
an  opportunity  of  personally  investigating  the  circumstances  of  the  case. 

Bainthur,  Sunday  night,  23rd  November,  1839. 

(1)  .  Through  the  mercy  and  care  of  our  Heavenly  Father,  I  arrived 
safe  and  well  here  last  Friday.  I  spent  the  day  before  yesterday  with 
the  German  Missionaries  at  Hoobly.  Immediately  on  my  arrival,  I  had. 
an  interview  with  the  people,  by  whom  I  was  invited,  and  saw  them  to- 
day also.  I  find  they  know  very  little,  or  rather  scarcely  any  thin"',  of 
Christianity  more  than  the  name.  They  profess  however  to  have  no  faith 
in  their  own  religion,  and  that  the  Linga  which  they  wear  is  of  no  use, 
and  can  profit  them  nothing,  and  may  be  cast  off.  They  would,  I  suppose, 
in  one  way  immediately  embrace  Christianity,  or  rather  take  upon  them- 
selves the  profession  of  it,  that  is,  if  I  would  engage  to  secure  them  from 
loss,  and  procure  the  power  of  Government  to  support  them  against  any 
unpleasant  results.  But  of  course  I  can  give  them  no  such  assurance. 
I  purpose  staying  here  a  day  or  two  longer  to  sift  them  further,  and 
ascertain,  if  I  can,  their  true  motives.  There  is  certainly  a  stir  among 
the  people  in  this  and  some  of  the  adjacent  villages,  who  are  of  opinion 
that  some  great  change  is  about  to  take  place,  and  that  one  religion  only 
will  prevail,  and  that  all  castes  will  become  one,  or  rather  that  there  will 
be  no  caste  at  all.  And  though  some  readily  say,  that  the  Christian  reli- 
gion, according  to  what  is  predicted,  is  to  be  the  prevalent  religion,  yet 
they  are  very  ignorant  of  the  doctrines  and  requirements,  the  graces  and 
duties  of  Christianity.  They  listen  to  me  very  quietly,  and  apparently 
with  attention  ;  but  there  is  no  anxiety  evinced  about  their  soul's  salva- 
tion. There  is  no  earnest  inquiry  made,  "  What  must  we  do  to  be 
saved,"  nor  any  desire  evinced  to  make  themselves  acquainted  with  the 
nature  of  Christianity  and  its  author,  the  work  he  did,  the  salvation  he 
wrought  out,  and  the  glory  to  which  he  exalts  his  people.  Nor  do  they 
inquire  to  know  the  temper,  dispositions,  and  conduct  required  of  those 
who  believe  on  his  name.  May  the  Lord  direct  and  give  me  wisdom  and 
grace  to  know  and  do  what  will  be  for  his  Glory  and  this  people's  good. 
I  would  ask  all  my  friends  to  pray  for  me. 

Tuesday  night,  25th  November,  1839. 

(2)  .  I  have  had  a  long,  and  on  the  whole  an  interesting  interview 
with  the  people  for  about  five  or  six  hours  to-day.  One  of  their  promised 
books  was  brought  this  afternoon,  and  part  of  it  read.  It  is  indeed  sur- 
prising that  many  things  are  predicted,  which  have  been  either  already 
accomplished  or  are  now  being  accomplished.  They  have  agreed  to  let 
me  take  the  book  with  me  to  translate  into  English.  There  seems  to  be 
something  worth  knowing  further  regarding  this  book,  and  one  or  two 
others  which  they  produced  this  night  while  I  was  at  the  Guru's  house, 
and  parts  of  which  they  read.  A  few  of  his  disciples,  from  one  or  two  of 
Hie  adjacent  villages,  came  in  this  night,  and  1  had  a  very  favourable 
opportunity  of  setting  before  them  the  nature  of  the  Gospel.  They  seem 
fully  to  believe  that  the  time  is  not  far  distant  when  all  the  people  will 
become  one,  that  is,  that  the  distinctions  of  caste  among  the  people  will 

VOL.  I.  5  G 


77C  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Dec. 


cease,  and  that  the  Christian  religion  will  universally  prevail,  and  all 
merely  from  what  is  predicted  that  a  religion  will  he  brought  to  their 
notice  and  which  they  will  he  invited  to  believe  by  a  people  corresponding 
with  the  English  (and  many  particulars  are  recorded  regarding  their 
appearance,  dress,  simple  manners,  their  power,  conquests,  &c.)  and  which 
they  are  assured  is  to  be  the  prevalent  religion.  They  are  likewise  in 
those  books  exhorted  to  receive  and  follow  this  religion,  and  threatened 
with  severe  judgments  if  they  despise  and  reject  it.  So  far  it  is  good  and 
hopeful ;  but  the  greater  portion  of  the  people  know  little  more  of  the 
Christian  religion  than  that  it  is  the  religion  of  the  English.  They  have 
no  apparent  sense  of  sin  and  their  need  of  salvation  by  Jesus  Christ  to 
save  them  from  sin,  with  the  teaching  and  influence  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to 
make  them  wise  and  holy.  But  they  may,  notwithstanding,  be  a  people 
prepared  of  the  Lord,  to  hear  and  receive  his  word  ;  and  1  think  a  resi- 
dence of  a  month  or  so  is  desirable,  or  frequent  visits  among  them,  until 
something  more  satisfactory  or  tangible  is  manifest,  so  as  to  make  it 
necessary  to  make  some  arrangement  for  their  further  instruction  and  to 
admit  such  as  may  afford  evidence  of  a  change  of  heart  and  true  faith 
in  Christ,  into  his  Church  by  baptism. 

(3).  Since  writing  the  above,  1  had  an  interview  (on  the  morning  of 
the  2<ith  November)  with  several  individuals  who  were  assembled  at  the 
Guru's  house.  Extracts  from  one  or  two  of  their  books,  which  they 
appeared  to  venerate  very  much  and  consider  inspired,  were  read  by  a 
man  of  the  goldsmith  caste,  to  whose  judgment  and  interpretations  much 
deference  appeared  to  be  paid  ;  but,  the  interview  was  to  me  not  at  all 
satisfactory,  for  when  I  endeavoured  to  set  forth  the  truths  of  the 
Gospel,  there  was  much  evident  listlessness  and  apathy.  No  anxiety  was 
evinced  to  understand  the  things  which  were  spoken.  Some  questions 
were  put  about  forms  and  ceremonies  which  would  be  necessary  to  observe 
if  they  became  Christians.  I  told  them  there  were  other  things  of  greater 
importance  for  them  to  know  and  experience  first ;  otherwise,  whatever 
they  may  profess  or  whatever  they  may  do,  would  avail  them  nothing. 
This  kind  of  address  they  did  not  at  all  seem  to  relish  ;  but  they  would 
profess  the  Christian  religion  (holding  still  in  veneration  their  own 
books),  under  the  assurance  of  protection  from  harm  by  the  Government, 
and  security  against  any  temporal  loss.  After  being  with  them  upwards 
of  two  hours,  i  left  them,  but  was  invited  to  return  again  in  the  evening, 
which  I  purposed  doing,  but,  having  ascertained  that  in  consequence  of 
several  additional  persons  having  during  the  day  come  in  from  adjacent 
villages,  flags  were  hoisted  and  other  ostentatious  preparations  made  for 
shew,  I  was  induced  to  decline  going,  especially  as  1  had  also  learnt,  that 
a  report  was  iti  circulation  that  I  was  come  with  authority  from  Govern- 
ment to  install  the  Guru  there,  as  the  High  Priest  of  this  new  sect.  My 
duty  appeared  clear,  that  I  should  not  lend  myself  to  promote  any  impro- 
per views  or  expectations,  among  the  people,  and  that  the  evil  should  be 
nipped  in  the  hud.  I  therefore,  preferred  rather  to  represent  the  Gospel 
to  them  in  its  native  unostentatious  character  and  at  once  to  tell  them 
that  instead  of  immunities  and  emoluments  those  who  embraced  it  would 
be  exposed  to  loss  and  persecution.  And  as  several  were  assembled  in 
the  vicinity  of  my  halting-place,  Solomon  (the  native  teacher  who 
accompanied  me)  and  i  went  out  and  alternately  addressed  them  for  a 
considerable  time.  A  few  objections  were  made  by  some  brahmans,  but 
we  appealed  to  the  common  people  who  heard  us  apparently  more  gladly. 
We  endeavoured  fully  to  explain  to  them  the  nature  and  doctrines  of  the 
Gospel,  the  obligations  and  duties  of  those  who  embraced  it,  with  the 
happy  results  attending  the  reception  thereof  both  here  and  hereafter. 
It  was  not  till  it  was  quite  dark  the  people  separated. 


1840.]  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  777 


The  disappointment  was  evident  in  the  party  which  had  made  the 
preparations  alluded  to,  and  they  used  various  means  to  induce  me  to 
change  my  purpose.  Nothing,  however,  was  evinced  to  indicate  any 
particular  concern  for  the  welfare  of  their  souls,  hut  rather,  like  Saul 
with  Samuel,  they  sought  to  save  their  credit  Among  the  people.  Though 
1  felt  it  my  duty  not  to  support  what  appeared  to  me  a  worldly  scheme, 
under  the  cloak  of  our  holy  religion,  I  still  think  the  people  there  should 
not  be  altogether  neglected.  Some  further  attempts  should  he  made  to 
instruct  them  more  fully  in  the  truths  of  the  Gospel.  I  therefore  com- 
municated the  particulars  of  my  visit  to  the  German  missionaries  at 
Hoobly;  and  as  they  are  the  nearest  to  them,  they  may  easily  go  among 
them.  May  the  Lord  direct  them  and  bless  whatever  endeavours  they 
may  use  to  bring  them  to  right  views  of  the  things  which  make  for  their 
everlasting  peace,  and  may  it  be  found  that  my  short  visit,  has,  by  the 
Divine  blessing,  been  attended  with  some  benelicial  results.  I  should 
have  remained  out  for  a  few  days  longer  on  my  tour  ;  but  the  sudden 
indisposition  and  death  of  a  dear  child  induced  my  return  home  sooner 
than  1  intended. 

The  following  note  is  from  Mr.  Layer  of  the  German  Mission. 

"Mr.  F.  and  I  have  returned  from  a  tour  to  those  people  who  from 
prophetical  hooks  of  their  own  have  been  led  to  recognize  in  the  religion 
of  Christ  that  true  religion  which  the  above  books  speak  of  as  to  come, 
and  which  they  require  their  readers  to  embrace.  It  is  now  a  year  and 
two  months  since  two  of  their  head-men  came  first  to  our  notice,  on  a 
visit  they  paid  us  at  Hubli.  I  had  several  conversations  with  them  ;  but 
so  crude  and  carnal  were  their  notions  about  Christianity  and  conversion 
to  it,  and  so  little  did  we  see,  as  we  thought,  of  any  signs  of  the  Spirit 
of  God  working  in  them,  that  we  rather  believed  them  to  be  persons  who 
wanted  to  aggrandize  themselves  by  a  connection  with  Europeans.  They 
came  to  us  in  Hubli  and  Dharwar  again  and  again,  and  afterwards  they 
went  to  Belgaum  too  to  the  Missionary  brethren,  and  received  afterwards 
a  visit  from  Mr.  T.  in  their  own  region,  who  was  however  called  away 
from  them  by  family  afflictions.  Since  that  time,  their  head-man  lias 
been  very  much  with  us,  and  grown  much  in  our  esteem.  About  three 
months  ago,  Mr.  F.  and  Mr.  E.  were  for  about  three  weeks  among  these 
persons,  and  on  their  return  stated  to  have  seen  many  things  which  they 
could  not  help  regarding  as  proofs  of  a  sincere  desire  to  forsake  Idolatry 
and  to  receive  the  Gospel,  and  yet  also  many  things  which  had  no 
reference  to  the  kingdom  which  is  not  of  this  world.  The  result  of  our 
present  visit  to  them,  is  the  conviction  that  there  is  indeed  a  work  of  the 
Spirit  of  God  begun  in  them,  and  that  we  must  therefore  apply  ourselves 
with  all  zeal  and  earnestness  to  the  business  of  making  them  disciples  of 
Christ,  in  so  far  as  our  own  instrumentality  is  concerned.  As  to  their 
own  prophecies  (a  mass  of  confusion  as  they  are),  it  is  not  impossible 
that  the  Lord  should  make  use  of  them  as  of  a  star  that  must  lead  them 
to  Christ.  O  that  the  great  head  of  the  Church  might  pour  out  bis  Holy 
Spirit  upon  them,  that  many  of  them  may  indeed  become  children  of  God. 
The  way  in  which  they  themselves  desire  to  become  separated  from  Hea- 
thenism and  brought  under  Christian  instruction  and  Christ  (and  besides 
which  we  ourselves  see  as  yet  no  other),  is  the  raising  of  a  new  village. 
This  has  great  difficulties,  and  lies  still  very  dark  before  our  eyes. 
However,  our  consolation  is,  that  if  the  Lord  has  ordained  it  so,  light 
and  open  doors  will  in  the  proper  time  spring  up." 

We  shall  mark  with  interest  the  progress  of  this  work. 

The  Lingayats  are  not  so  gross  in  their  idolatrous  observances,  nor  so 
bigotedly  attached  to  caste,  nor  so  much  devoted  to  polytheism,  as  the 
followers  of  the  Brahmanical  system.  A  very  interesting  account  of  their 
5  G  2 


77^  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelliyience.  [Dec. 


tenets  and  practices,  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  Brown  of  the  Madras  Civil 
Service,  is  to  be  found  in  the  last  number  of  the  Madras  Journal  of  Lite- 
rature and  Science. — Ibid. 


18. — Horrid  Persecution  and  Massacre  of  the  Native  Christians 
op  Madagascar. 

The  existence  of  the  London  Society's  Mission  at  Madagascar,  is  well 
known  to  our  readers.  It  was  founded  in  the  year  1818,  under  the  auspices 
of  Governor  Farquhar  of  the  Mauritius,  and  Mr.  Hastie,  the  British 
agent  at  Madagasc:  r  ;  and  after  struggling  with  many  difficulties,  arising 
principally  from  affliction  and  bereavements  in  the  mission  families,  and 
the  distrust  of  the  natives,  it  began,  in  a  few  years,  to  assume  a  very  pro- 
mising appearance.  Radjima,  the  general  sovereign  of  the  island,  proved 
decidedly  favourable  to  the  missionaries,  and  zealously  countenanced  them 
in  their  endeavours  to  advance  the  cause  of  education,  and  to  introduce 
the  arts  of  civilized  life.  About  the  commencement  of  1828,  when  through 
the  blessing  of  God,  favourable  appearances  began  to  present  themselves 
in  several  individuals  who  had  received  instruction,  it  was  proposed  to 
admit  them  into  the  visible  church.    Radama  declared  his  satisfaction 
with  the  arrangements  which  it  was  intended  should  be  made ;  but  he 
■was  removed  from  this  sublunary  scene,  on  the  27th  July,  1828,  before 
they  were  carried  into  effect.    The  sovereignty  was  assumed  by  llanava- 
lona,  one  of  his  concubines  ;  and  under  her  sway  the  whole  aspect  of  the 
mission  speedily  became  changed.    The  missionaries  were  not  without 
apprehensions  as  to  their  personal  safety.    The  son  of  Rataffe,  the 
brother-in-law  of  Radama,  who  had  visited  England  in  1821,  the  rightful 
heir  to  the  throne,  and  a  youth  of  hopeful  piety,  was  cruelly  murdered  ; 
and  his  parents  afterwards  suffered  a  similar  fate,  being  transfixed 
through  the  heart  by  a  spear.    "  Their  only  crime,"  says  Mr.  Ellis, 
whose  history  of  Madagascar  we  cannot  too  strongly  recommend  to 
our  readers,  "  was,  that  they  were  the  immediate  descendants  of  the 
Ancestors  of  Radama,  and  were  favourable  to  the  education  and  the 
improvement  of  the  people."    Other  atrocities  were  at  this  time  perpe- 
trated by  the  usurper.  During  the  long  season  appointed  for  ostentatious 
mourning  for  Radama,  the  missionaries  devoted  themselves  to  the  prepa- 
ration of  elementary  and  other  useful  books,  and  the  translation  of  por- 
tions of  the  Holy  Scripture.    When  they  were  ready  te  resume  their 
regular  labours,  they  met  with  great  discouragements ;  and  they  had  the 
mortification  of  seeing  about  700  of  the  native  teachers,  and  senior 
scholars,  withdrawn  from  the  schools,  to  serve  as  recruits  for  the  army  ; 
while  they  were  prohibited  from  establishing  any  seminaries,  however 
humble,  in  any  of  the  v  illages  in  which  the  national  idols  were  kept.  The 
Queen  annulled  the  treaty  with  the  British  Government  which  prohibited 
the  slave  trade,  and  refused  to  receive  Mr.  Lyall,  who  had  come  as 
British  agent  in  succession  to  Mr.  Hastie.    The  island  having  been 
afterwards  invaded  by  the  French,  there  was  a  slight  remission  in  the 
efforts  to  impede  the  missionaries.    An  edition  of  5000  copies  of  the  New 
Testament  was  completed ;  and  there  were  favourable  indications  that 
the  divine  blessing  rested  on  their  spiritual  labours.    The  attendance  of 
the  people  at  the  Chapel  increased ;  and  even  the  Queen  assented  to  the 
baptism  of  the  candidates  for  that  ordinance.    On  the  29th  of  May,  1831, 
twenty  persons  were  publicly  baptized  by  Mr.  Griffiths  ;  and  on  the 
following  Sabbath  eight  individuals  were  baptized  by  Mr.  Johns.  Inquiry 
continued  to  make  progress  among  the  people;  but  it  excited  the 
jealousy  of  those  who  were  devoted  to  idolatry.    The  use  of  wine  in  the 
sacrament  was  interdicted  by  the  authorities  ;  and  all  connected  with  the 
army  and  government  schools  were  forbidden  to  be  baptized.   Mr.  and 


1840.] 


Missionary  and  Religious  Inielligieme. 


779 


Mrs.  Atkinson,  who  had  come  to  strengthen  the  mission,  were  ordered  to 
depart  from  the  island.  Their  loss  seems  only  to  have  quickened  the 
exertions  of  their  brethren  who  were  permitted  to  remain  ;  and  the  cause 
of  Christianity  continued  to  gain  ground,  till  the  26th  February,  is:i.r>, 
when  the  queen  prohibited  her  subjects  from  abandoning  the  customs  of 
their  fathers  A  few  days  afterwards,  notwithstanding  the  remonstrances 
of  the  missionaries,  and  after  a  council  at  which  130,000  persons  were 
supposed  to  have  been  present,  she  denounced  death  as  the  penalty  of 
maintaining  the  Christian  profession.  The  missionaries,  becoming  appre- 
hensive that  they  would  he  driven  from  the  island,  completed,  by  extra- 
ordinary exertion,  the  printing  of  the  entire  Bible.  They  were  shortly 
after  induced  to  take  their  departure.  The  proceedings  of  the  native 
government  immediately  became  very  sanguinary  ;  and  the  Christians 
were  reduced  to  the  greatest  distress.  Some  of  them  denied  their  Lord 
and  Master;  but  a  number  of  them  glorified  God  in  the  furnace  of  afflic- 
tion, and  thus  evinced  the  power  of  their  principles,  and  the  grace 
imparted  to  them  by  the  Great  Head  of  the  church. 

\Ve  are  unable  to  continue  their  subsequent  history,  except  so  far  as  to 
state,  that  such  of  them  as  did  not  escape  from  the  island  continued 
privately  to  meet  together  when  practicable,  to  call  upon  the  name  of 
the  Lord,  and  to  encourage  one  another  amidst  the  awful  trials  to  which 
they  have  been  subjected  ;  but  we  have  now  the  melancholy  duty  imposed 
upon  us  to  announce  to  the  Christian  public  its  dreadful  close.  The 
following  letters,  addressed  to  Mr.  Webster  of  the  American  Mission 
Press,  and  which  reached  Bombay  a  few  days  ago,  contain  the  dismal 
tidings.    The  writer  is  a  Greek. 

Dear  Sir, —  I  embrace  the  opportunity  of  His  Highness  the  Emaum's 
yacht  the  "  Prince  Regent's"  departure  for  Bombay,  to  write  you,  advis- 
ing you  of  my  return  to  Zanzibar  from  Madagascar  after  an  absence  of 
four  months. 

I  have  very  little  news  to  communicate.  The  Christians  in  Madagas- 
car are  being  persecuted  to  the  greatest  extent.  Every  native  with  whom 
a  bible  is  discovered,  is  condemned  to  death.  There  were  sixteen  unfor- 
tunate beings,  native  Christians,  who  were  converted  to  Christianity  by 
the  missionaries;  and  about  two  years  since  they  were  discovered  pray- 
ing, and  were  condemned  to  death  ;  but  with  the  assistance  of  the  Euro- 
peans they  made  their  escape,  after  which  a  plan  was  formed  for  their 
final  escape  from  Madagascar  ;  but  on  the  7th  of  last  July,  when  within 
one  day's  journey  of  the  coast,  they  were  discovered  and  put  to  a  most 
cruel  death,  by  being  boiled  alive  for  the  crime  of  being  Christians.  Six 
of  these  unfortunate  beings  were  females  of  about  18  years  of  age.  [ 
myself  was  obliged  to  leave  five  days  after,  being  suspected.  Mr.  D. 
Griffiths  and  Dr.  L.  Parrell,  who  were  residing  at  the  Capital  "  Antana- 
narivo," contrived  their  escape,  and  are  in  consequence. in  great  danger. 
If  I  have  time  and  my  hand  is  better  I  will  send  you  a  translation  and 
copy  of  one  of  the  letters  from  the  unfortunate  sixteen  Christians,  written 
some  time  previous  to  their  being  discovered. 

You  may,  if  you  think  proper,  publish  any  part  of  this  for  the  eye  of 
the  Christian  public,  with  my  name  to  prove  the  above  authentic. 

1  remain,  dear  Sir,  your  most  obediently, 

Henry  C.  Arcangelo. 
Translation  of  the  letter  from  the  persecuted  Christians. 

"Antananarivo,  2oth  Addo— 10th  Nov.  1839. 

"  May  you  live  long  and  be  happy.  May  God  bless  you.  O  beloved 
friend  ;  for  we  are  still  alive  by  the  blessing  of  God  to  us— so  that  we 
can  visit  you  by  a  letter  and  tell  you  of  our  troubles.  O  friend  !  if  it 
should  meet  with  your  wishes,  because  we  are  so  miserable  on  account  of 


Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


[Dec. 


the  fear  of  the  enemy  we  remain  in  perpetual  jeopardy,  and  if  you  can 

effect  our  escape  ;  and  if  there  is  any  way  for  us  to  go  over  the  waters  

and  if  there  is  any  work  for  us  that  we  can  do  there,  please  to  think  how 
and  in  what  manner  we  can  go  out  of  the  country.  Let  our  mutual 
friends  know  our  troubles  and  misery,  for  you  know  and  see  our  misery ; 
please  to  let  our  friends  know  of  what  has  befallen  us  for  it  is  reported 
that  if  they  can  find  us  out,  that  our  hands  shall  be  tied  behind  our 
backs,  put  into  a  small  basket  tied  up,  and  a  large  whole  he  digged  for 
us,  and  then  we  are  to  be  put  into  this  hole  with  our  heads  downwards, 
and  then  pour  boiling  hot  water  into  the  hole  upon  us.  It  is  also  reported 
that  we  shall  not  be  allowed  at  all  to  come  into  Antananarivo,  for  they 
(the  enemy)  say  these  fellows  have  received  such  a  quantity  of  the  strong 
medicine  (sorcery)  from  the  white  people.  '  Do  not  bring  them  at  all  to 
the  Royal  city  (the  town  of  the  sovereign)  but  kill  them  on  thp  very 
spot  where  you  find  them,'  said  the  officers  to  the  persons  sent  to  search 
for  us  ;  it  is  this  that  we  are  afraid  of,  for  Jesus  saitii  the  spirit  is  truly 
ready,  but  the  flesh  is  weak,  (Mark  xiv.  28)  and  saith  David,  *  Trembling 
and  terror  of  death  has  encompassed  me.' 

"  We  deserve  to  suffer  for  our  sins,  but  Christ  who  was  without  spot  or 
blemish  suffered  for  the  sins  of  men,  but  we  deserve  to  suffer,  and  may 
you  live  happy  saith  your  friends  Paul  and  Josiah  and  all  their  compa- 
nions who  love  the  cross  together. 

"  If  you  approve  of  this  and  it  can  be  done  we  shall  be  very  glad,  say 
your  friends,  for  we  are  afraid  because  the  terror  of  death  is  upon  us.'' 

Note. — The  above  unfortunate  sixteen  Christians  were  discovered 
within  one  day's  journey  of  Foul  Point,  Madagascar,  and  put  to  a  most 
cruel  death  by  being  boiled  alive. 

(Signed)       Henry  C.  Arcangelo, 
Tamatave,  Madagascar,  1  Supercargo  of  the  schooner  Hawk. 

July  14th,  1840.  ] 

The  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  church.  May  this  proverb 
he  verified  in  the  case  of  Madagascar.  This  must  be  the  prayer  of  every 
Christian  heart. 

Since  we  received  the  information  which  we  have  given  above,  we  have 
been  favoured  with  two  extracts  from  letters  from  England,  and  which 
give  a  verv  interesting  account  of  some  of  the  Madagascar  converts  who 
have  been  enabled  to  escape  to  our  own  happy  island,  and  who  are  living 
under  the  care  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Freeman,  missionary. 

Walthamstow,  July,  1839. 

"  We  walked  the  other  day  to  Mrs.  F.'s,  to  meet  the  six  good  Mada- 
gascar who  had  suffered  so  much  for  their  Saviour's  sake.  They  have 
been  baptized,  and  have  chosen  the  names  of  David,  Simeon,  Mary, 
Sarah,  Joseph,  and  James.  I  will  relate  to  you  all  I  can  remember  of 
their  sufferings.  David,  aged  28,  Simeon,  aged  22,  had  their  choice  of 
death,  either  by  poison  or  to  be  buried  alive.  They  took  the  former, 
which  however  had  no  effect  on  them !  these  two  men  have  left  their 
wives  and  children  in  Madagascar. 

"Mary  was  imprisoned.  The  morning  of  the  day  she  was  to  have  been 
stabbed  to  death,  a  fire  broke  out  which  enabled  her  to  escape  from  the 
prison.  She  fled  to  the  house  of  a  friend  and  concealed  herself  in  a  bundle 
of  faggots.  The  soldiers  searched  the  very  spot,  and  struck  their  spears 
into  the  very  bundle  of  faggots,  but  Mary  was  unhurt!  She  has  left  a 
husband  and  a  child  of  14  years  old.    Mary  is  32  years  of  age. 

Sarah  aged  21  has  left  a  husband  in  Madagascar,  who  assisted  her  in 
making  her  escape  from  her  persecutors;  she  has  fretted  much  about  him, 
as  his  life  is  in  danger.  He  is  a  Chief,  and  in  consequence  of  some  note. 
David  and  Simeon  are  the  sons  of  Chiefs. 


1840.]         Missionary  and  Religious  Inlellit/ence.  7^1 


"  During'  Mary's  distress  in  prison,  &c,  she  contrived  to  conceal  a  small 
hook,  which  she  showed  to  us.    This  book  she  used  to  read  unobserved. 

"Joseph,  aged  IB,  is  the  son  of  a  Chief.  Hecause  he  refused  to  renounce 
Christianity  he  was  sent  to  prison,  where  he  remained  six  months,  was 
beaten  every  day,  and  scarcely  allowed  any  food.  His  body  has  several 
marks. 

"  Joseph  has  left  a  wife.  She  was  to  have  been  put  to  death  for  read- 
ing the  Scriptures :  we  heard  these  six  sing  in  their  own  language,  '  O'er 
the  realms,'  &c.  to  the  tune  Calcutta.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Freeman  interpre- 
ted for  them.  Mary's  favorite  chapter,  the  14th  of  John,  was  read  with 
the  13th  and  15th  chapters,  it  was  her  comfort  in  prison,  and  '  fear  not 
them  that  kill  the  body,'  in  particular,  afforded  her  solace. 

"  She  understands  as  yet  but  little  English." 

"  Walthamstow,  July,  1810. 

"  I  am  truly  happy  to  be  able  to  give  a  good  report  of  our  Madagascar 
friends.  They  do  indeed  continue  humble  faithful  Christiana.  The  health 
of  one  of  the  women,  and  one  of  the  men,  lias  failed  a  good  deal.  The  rest 
are  well  in  body,  and  all  are  truly  consistent  in  their  walk  and  con- 
versation. 1  fear  the  wretched  Queen  continues  her  persecutions — but 
we  know  her  power  is  limited,  and  in  due  time  God  will  appear  to  deliver 
his  suffering  and  faithful  people." 

Madagascar  has  not  inappropriately  been  denominated  the  Great 
Britain  of  Africa.  It  is  one  of  the  largest  islands  in  the  world  ;  and  has 
in  many  places,  the  capacity  of  great  productiveness.  Its  present  popu- 
lation has  been  estimated  at  about  four  or  five  millions  of  souls.  Like 
every  other  country  of  the  world,  it  must  sooner  or  later  yield  to  the 
sway  of  the  Redeemer.  May  the  day  of  its  merciful  visitation  speedily 
arrive ! 


19. — The  Church  of  Scotland. 
We  have  now  the  gratification  of  presenting  to  our  readers  a  league 
worthy  of  the  venerable  class  of  documents  to  which  in  the  religious  history 
of  Scotland  that  name  has  been  wont  to  be  applied.  It  was  submitted  and 
solemnly  adopted  at  a  large  and  influential  meeting  of  ministers  and 
elders  of  the  Church,  held  at  Edinburgh  on  Tuesday  last.  The  meeting 
is  said  to  have  been  pervaded  by  deep  religious  feeling,  and  conducted  in 
a  spirit  worthy  of  the  occasion  and  of  the  cause.  Several  of  the  most 
aged  and  revered  fathers  of  the  Church — men  of  the  most  elevated  piety — 
men  who,  for  half  a  century,  had  laboured  and  prayed  for  the  coming  of 
such  a  time  of  revival  and  reformation  to  the  Church  of  Scotland — con- 
ducted the  devotions  of  the  assembled  brethren.  The  spirit  of  remarkable 
unanimity  and  Christian  love,  and  c;ilm  but  resolute  determination,  which 
reigned  throughout  the  whole  proceedings,  is  described  by  those  who 
witnessed  and  shared  in  it  as  peculiarly  striking  and  impressive.  The 
te  Engagement  in  defence  of  the  Liburt  ies  of  the  Church  and  People 
of  Scotland,"  as  the  document  is  termed,  written  out  on  an  immense 
sheet  of  parchment,  was  subscribed  by  all  present,  including  ministers  and 
elders  from  almost  every  quarter  of  Scotland.  Steps,  we  understand, 
will  immediately  be  taken  for  affording  opportunities  to  the  office-bearers 
of  the  Church  throughout  the  country  to  adhibit  their  names  ;  and  we 
have  no  doubt  that  by  and  by  it  will  exhibit,  in  one  firm  phalanx,  the  vast 
majority,  and  certainly  all  those  who  constitute  the  very  heart  and  soul, 
of  the  Church  of  Scotland. — Scottish  Guardian. 

ENGAGEMENT  IN  DEFENCE  OF  THE  LIBERTIES  OF  Til E 
CHURCH  AND  PEOPLE  OF  SCOTLAND. 
August,  1840. 

Whereas  it  is  the  bounden  duty  of  those  who  are  intrusted  by  the 
Lord  Jesus  with  the  ruling  of  his  House,  to  have  a  supreme  regard  in  all 


782  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Dec. 


their  actings  to  the  glory  of  God  the  Father,  the  authority  of  his  heloved 
Son,  the  only  King- in  Zion,  and  the  spiritual  liberty  and  prosperity  of  the 
Church  which  He  hath  purchased  with  His  own  blood: 

Whereas,  also,  it  is  their  right  and  privilege,  and  is  especially  incum- 
bent upon  them,  in  trying  times,  as  well  for  their  own  mutual  encourage- 
ment and  support,  as  for  the  greater  assurance  of  the  Church  at  large, 
to  unite  and  bind  themselves  together,  by  a  public  profession  of  their 
principles,  and  a  solemn  pledge  of  adherence  to  the  same,  as  in  like 
circumstances  our  ancestors  were  wont  to  do  : 

And  whereas  God,  in  his  providence,  has  been  pleased  to  bring  the 
Church  of  Scotland  into  a  position  of  great  difficulty  and  danger,  in  which, 
by  acting  according  to  the  dictates  of  conscience  and  of  the  Word  of  God, 
imminent  hazard  of  most  serious  evils,  personal  as  well  as  public,  is 
incurred : — 

In  these  circumstances,  it  being  above  all  things  desirable  that,  in  the 
face  of  all  contrary  declarations  and  representations,  our  determination  to 
stand  by  one  another,  and  by  our  principles,  should  be  publicly  avowed, 
and,  by  the  most  solemn  sanctions  and  securities,  before  God  and  the 
country,  confirmed  and  sealed  : — 

We,  the  undersigned,  ministers  and  elders,  humbling  ourselves  under 
the  mighty  hand  of  our  God,  acknowledging  His  righteousness  in  all  his 
ways,  confessing  our  iniquities,  and  the  iniquities  of  our  fathers,  mourning 
over  the  defections  and  short. comings  which  have  most  justly  provoked  His 
holy  displeasure  against  this  Church  ;  adoring  at  the  same  time  his  long- 
suffering  patience  and  tender  mercy,  and  giving  thanks  for  the  undeserved 
grace  and  loving-kindness  with  which  he  has  visited  his  people  and  revived 
his  cause ;  under  a  deep  sense  of  our  own  insufficiency,  and  relying  on 
the  countenance  and  blessing  of  the  great  God  and  our  Saviour;  do 
deliberately  publish  and  declare  our  purpose  and  resolution  to  maintain 
in  all  our  actings,  and  at  all  hazards  to  defend,  those  fundamental  princi- 
ples relative  to  the  government  of  Christ's  house,  his  Church  on  earth, 
for  which  the  Church  of  Scotland  is  now  called  to  contend  ;  principles 
which  we  conscientiously  believe  to  be  founded  on  the  Word  of  God, 
recognised  by  the  standards  of  that  Church,  essential  to  her  integrity  as 
a  Church  of  Christ,  and  inherent  in  her  constitution  as  the  Established 
Church  of  this  land. 

The  principles  now  referred  to,  as  they  have  been  repeatedly  declared 
by  this  Church,  are  the  two  following,  viz.,  I.  "  That  the  Lord  Jesus, 
as  King  and  Head  of  His  Church,  hath  therein  appointed  a  government 
in  the  hand  of  Church  officers,  distinct  from  the  civil  magistrate."  II. 
"  That  no  minister  shall  be  intruded  into  any  parish  contrary  to  the  will 
of  the  congregation." 

To  these  principles  we  declare  our  unalterable  adherence;  and,  applying 
them  to  the  present  position  and  the  present  duty  of  the  Church,  we 
think  it  right  to  state  still  more  explicitly  what  we  conceive  to  be  implied 
in  them. 

1.  We  regard  the  doctrine — "that  the  Lord  Jesus  is  the  only  King 
and  Head  of  his  Church,  and  that  he  hath  therein  appointed  a  government 
in  the  hand  of  Church  officers  distinct  from  the  civil  magistrate," — this 
secred  and  glorious  doctrine  we  regard  as  fencing  in  the  Church  of  God 
against  all  encroachments  and  invasions  inconsistent  with  the  free  exercise 
of  all  the  spiritual  functions  which  the  Lord  Jesus  has  devolved  either 
upon  its  rulers  or  upon  its  ordinary  members.  While,  therefore,  we  abhor 
and  renounce  the  Popish  doctrine,  that  the  government  appointed  by  the 
Lord  Jesus  in  his  Church  has  jurisdiction  over  the  civil  magistrate  in 
the  exercise  of  his  functions,  or  excludes  his  jurisdiction  in  any  civil  mat- 
ter, we  strenuously  assert  that  it  is  independent  of  the  civil  magistrate, 
and  that  it  has  a  jurisdiction  of  its  own  in  all  ecclesiastical  matters,  with 


1840.]         Missionary  and  Religious  Inldiujence. 


783 


which  the  civil  magistrate  may  not  lawfully  interfere,  either  to  prevent 
or  to  obstruct  its  exercise. 

2.  In  particular,  we  maintain,  that  all  questions  relating  to  the  exami- 
nation and  admission  of  ministers,  or  to  the  exercise  of  discipline,  and  the 
infliction  or  removal  of  ecclesiastical  censures,  lie  within  the  province  of 
the  Church's  spiritual  jurisdiction,  and  all  such  questions  must  be  decided 
by  the  Church  officers,  in  whose  hands  the  government  is  appointed, 
according  to  the  mind  and  will  of  Christ,  revealed  in  his  Word,  not 
according  to  the  opinions  or  decisions  of  any  secular  authority  whatsoever. 
We  are  very  far,  indeed,  from  insisting  that  the  judgments  of  the  com- 
petent Church  officers,  in  such  questions,  can  of  themselves  carry  civil 
consequences,  or  necessarily  rule  the  determination  of  any  civil  points 
that  may  arise  out  of  them.  In  regard  to  these,  as  in  regard  to  all  temporal 
matters,  we  fully  acknowledge  the  civil  magistrate  to  be  the  sole  and 
supreme  judge — bound,  indeed,  to  have  respect  to  the  word  of  God  and 
the  liberties  of  Christ's  Church,  yet  always  entitled  to  act  independently, 
on  his  own  convictions  of  what  is  right.  But,  in  regard  to  all  spiritual 
consequences,  and  especially  in  regard  to  the  spiritual  standing  of  mem- 
bers of  the  Church,  and  their  spiritual  privileges  and  obligations,  the 
judgments  of  the  Church  officers  are  the  only  judgments  which  can  be 
recognized  by  us  as  competent  and  authoritative.  And  if  at  any  time  the 
civil  magistrate  pronounce  judgments  by  which  it  is  attempted  to  control, 
or  supersede,  or  impede,  the  sentences  of  the  Church  officers,  in  these 
spiritual  matters,  and  in  their  spiritual  relations  and  effects,  we  must  feel 
ourselves  compelled  to  act  upon  our  own  conscientious  interpretation  of 
the  will  of  Christ — disregarding  these  judgments  as  invalid,  and  protest- 
ing against  them  as  oppressive. 

3.  As  the  Lord  Jesus  has  appointed  a  government  in  His  Church  in 
the  hand  of  Church  officers,  so  we  believe  at  the  same  time  that  He  has 
invested  the  ordinary  members  of  his  Church  with  important  spiritual 
privileges,  and  has  called  them  to  exercise,  on  their  own  responsibility, 
important  spiritual  functions.  In  particular,  we  are  persuaded  that  their 
consent,  either  formally  given  or  inferred  from  the  absence  of  dissent, 
ought  to  be  regarded  by  the  Church  officers  as  an  indispensable  condition 
in  forming  the  pastoral  relation  ;  and  that  the  act  of  a  congregation, 
agreeing  either  expressly  or  tacitly,  or  declining,  to  receive  any  pastor 
proposed  to  them,  ought  to  be  free  and  voluntary,  proceeding  upon  their  own 
conscientious  convictions,  and  not  to  be  set  aside  by  the  Church  officers — 
the  latter,  however  always  retaining  inviolate  their  constitutional  powers 
of  government  and  superintendence  over  the  people.  We  hold  it,  accord- 
ingly, to  be  contrary  to  the  very  nature  of  the  pastoral  relation,  and  the 
end  of  the  pastoral  office — altogether  inconsistent  with  the  usefulness 
of  the  Church,  and  hostile  to  the  success  of  the  gospel  ministry — an  act 
of  oppression  on  the  part  of  whatever  authority  enforces  it,  and  a  cause 
of  grievous  and  just  offence  to  the  people  of  God — that  a  minister  should 
be  settled  in  any  congregation  in  opposition  to  the  solemn  dissent  of  the 
communicants.  We  deliberately  pledge  ourselves,  therefore,  to  one  another, 
and  to  the  Church,  that  we  will,  by  the  help  of  God,  continue  to  defend 
the  people  against  the  intrusion  of  unacceptable  ministers,  and  that  we 
will  consent  to  no  plan  for  adjusting  the  present  difficulties  of  the  Church, 
which  does  not  afford  the  means  of  effectually  securing  to  the  members 
of  every  congregation  a  decisive  voice  in  the  forming  of  the  pastoral  tie. 

4.  And,  further,  with  reference  to  the  question  respecting  civil  esta- 
blishments of  religion,  which  we  believe  to  be  deeply  and  vitally  concerned 
in  the  present  contendings  of  the  Church,  we  feel  ourselves  called  upon 
to  bear  this  testimony  :— that,  holding  sacred  the  principle  of  establish- 
ments, as  sanctioned  both  by  reason  and  by  the  Word  of  God — recognising 

VOL.  I.  5  H 


784  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence:  [Dec. 


the  obligation  of  civil  rulers  to  support  and  endow  the  Church,  and  the 
lawfulness  and  expediency  of  the  Church  receiving  countenance  and 
assistance  from  the  State — we  at  the  same  time  hold  no  less  strongly,  that 
the  principles  which  we  have  laid  down  regarding  the  government  of 
Christ's  Church,  and  the  standing  of  his  people,  cannot  be  surrendered 
or  compromised  for  the  sake  of  any  temporal  advantages  or  any  secular 
arrangements  whatsoever ;  that  it  is  both  unwise  and  unrighteous  in  the 
civil  magistrate  to  impose  upon  the  Church  any  condition  incompatible 
with  these  principles;  and  that  no  consideration  of  policy,  and  no  alleged 
prospect  of  increased  means  of  usefulness,  can  justify  the  Church  in 
acceding  to  such  a  condition.  We  emphatically  protest  against  the  doctrine 
that  in  establishing  the  Church,  the  civil  magistrate  is  entitled  to  impose 
any  restrictions  on  the  authority  of  her  office-bearers  or  the  liberties  of 
her  members.  On  the  contrary,  we  strenuously  assert,  that  it  is  his  sacred 
duty,  and  it  is  his  interest,  to  give  positive  encouragement  and  support 
to  the  Church  in  the  exercise  of  all  her  spiritual  functions — for  thus  only 
can  God,  from  whom  he  receives  his  power,  be  fully  glorified,  or  the 
prosperity  and  greatness  of  any  people  be  effectually  promoted.  We  admit, 
indeed,  that,  as  supreme  in  all  civil  matters,  the  civil  magistrate  has  always 
command  over  the  temporalities  bestowed  upon  the  Church,  and  has  power 
to  withdraw  them.  But  he  does  so  under  a  serious  responsibility.  And,  at 
all  events,  the  Church,  whilst  protesting  against  the  wrong,  must  be  pre- 
pared to  submit  totheir  being  withdrawn,  rather  than  allow  him  to  encroach 
upon  that  province  which  the  Lord  Jesus  has  marked  out  as  sacred  from 
his  interference. 

5.  While  we  consider  the  Church's  course  of  duty  to  be  plain,  if  such 
an  emergency  as  we  have  supposed  should  arise,  we  have  hitherto  believed, 
and  notwithstanding  the  recent  adverse  decisions  of  the  civil  courts,  we 
still  believe,  that  the  constitution  of  the  Established  Church  of  Scotland, 
as  ratified  by  the  State  at  the  eras  of  the  Revolution  and  the  Union, 
when,  after  many  long  struggles,  her  liberty  was  finally  achieved,  effectually 
secured  that  Church  against  this  grievous  evil.  The  only  quarter  from 
whence  danger  to  her  freedom  ever  could,  since  these  eras,  be  reasonably 
apprehended,  is  the  system  of  patronage  ;  against  which,  when  it  was 
restored  in  1711,  the  Church  strenuously  protested,  and  of  which — as  we 
have  much  satisfaction,  especially  after  recent  events,  in  reflecting— she 
has  never  approved  The  restoration  of  that  system  we  hold  to  have 
been  a  breach  of  the  Revolution  Settlement,  and  the  Treaty  of  Union, 
contrary  to  the  faith  of  nations.  Even  under  it,  indeed,  we  have  maintain- 
ed, and  Will  contend  to  the  uttermost,  that  the  constitution  of  the  Church 
and  country  gives  no  warrant  for  the  recent  encroachments  of  the  civil 
courts  upon  the  ecclesiastical  province  ;  that,  in  terms  of  that  constitution, 
the  Church  has  still  wholly  in  her  hands  the  power  of  examination 
and  admission,  and,  in  the  exercise  of  that  power,  is  free  to  attach 
what  weight  she  judges  proper  to  any  element  whatever,  that  she  feels 
it  to  be  necesary  to  take  into  account  as  affecting  the  fitness  of  the 
presentee,  or  the  expediency  of  his  settlement ;  and  that,  unquestionably, 
in  whatever  way  the  Church  may  deal  with  the  question  of  admission,  the 
civil  courts  have  no  right  to  interfere,  except  as  to  the  disposal  of  the 
temporalities.  But  while  we  have  taken  this  ground,  and  will  continue 
to  maintain  it  to  be  lawful,  constitutional,  and  impregnable,  even  under 
the  restored  system  of  patronage,  we  avow  our  opposition  to  the  system 
itself,  as  a  root  of  evil  in  the  Church  which  ought  to  be  removed— the 
cause,  in  former  times,  of  wide-spread  spiritual  desolation  in  the  land,  as 
well  as  of  more  than  one  secession  of  many  godly  men  from  the  Church, 
and  the  source,  in  these  our  own  days,  of  our  present  difficulties  and  em- 
barrassments.   We  look  upon  the  recent  decisions  of  the  civil  courts  as 


1840.]         Missionary  and  Religions  Intelligence.  785 


illustrating  the  real  character  of  that  system  of  patronage  which  they 
attempt  so  rigidly  to  enforce  ;  making  it  clear,  that  it  does  impose  a  bur- 
den upon  the  Church  and  people  of  Scotland  greatly  more  grievous  than 
it  was  ever  before  believed  to  do.  We  consider  it  to  be  impossible  for  the 
Church,  so  long  as  this  matter  continues  on  its  present  footing,  fully  to 
vindicate  or  effectually  to  apply  her  inherent  and  fundamental  principles; 
and  it  is  now  more  than  ever  our  firm  persuasion,  that  the  Church  ought 
to  be  wholly  delivered  from  the  interference  of  any  secular  or  worldly 
right  at  all,  with  her  deliberations  relative  to  the  settlement  of  ministers. 
We  declare,  therefore,  our  determination  to  seek  the  removal  of  this  yoke, 
which  neither  we  nor  our  fathers  have  been  able  to  bear  ;  believing  that 
it  was  imposed  in  violation  of  a  sacred  national  engagement,  and  that  its 
removal  will,  more  effectually  than  any  other  measure,  clear  the  way  for 
a  satisfactory  and  permanent  adjustment  of  all  the  questions  and  contro- 
versies in  which  we  are  now  involved. 

Having  thus  set  forth  the  principles  on  which  we  are  united — being 
deeply  impressed  with  a  sense  of  their  sacredness  and  magnitude — having 
our  minds  filled  with  solemn  awe  as  we  contemplate  the  crisis  to  which 
God,  in  his  holy  providence,  has  brought  this  Church  and  kingdom — a 
crisis  of  immediate  urgency  and  of  momentous  issues,  in  which  great  prin- 
ciples must  be  tested,  and  interests  of  vast  extent  may  be  affected — and 
desiring  to  deliberate  and  act  with  a  single  eye  to  the  Divine  glory,  and  a 
simple  regard  to  the  Divine  will— 

We,  the  undersigned  ministers  and  elders,  do  solemnly,  as  in  a  holy 
covenant  with  God  and  with  one  another,  engage  to  stand  by  one  another 
and  by  the  Church  which  God's  own  right  hand  has  planted  amongst  us— 
promising  and  declaring,  that,  by  the  grace  and  help  of  Almighty  God, 
we  will  adhere  to  the  two  great  principles  which  we  have  avowed,  and  in 
all  our  actings  as  office-bearers  in  the  Church,  will  do  our  utmost,  at  all 
hazards,  to  carry  them  into  effect ;  and  that  we  will  consent  to  no  surren- 
der or  compromise  of  the  same,  but  will  faithfully  and  zealously  prosecute 
our  endeavours  to  obtain  a  settlement  of  the  present  question  in  entire 
accordance  therewith. 

And  considering,  that,  in  this  struggle  in  which  the  Church  is  engaged, 
it  is  most  necessary  that  we  should  be  assured  of  the  concurrence  and  co- 
operation of  the  Christian  people,  on  whose  sympathy  and  prayers  we,  in 
the  discharge  of  our  functions  as  rulers,  greatly  lean,  and  by  whose  influ- 
ence and  assistance  we  can  best  hope  effectually  to  press  upon  the  gover- 
nors of  this  great  nation  thejust  claims  of  the  Church — 

We  do,  most  earnestly  and  affectionately,  invite  our  friends  and  bre- 
thren, members  of  the  Church  of  our  fathers,  to  come  to  our  help,  and  to 
the  help  of  the  Lord — to  declare  their  concurrence  in  the  great  principles 
for  which  we  are  called  to  contend,  and  their  determination  to  do  all  in 
their  power,  in  their  station,  and  according  to  their  means  and  opportuni- 
ties, to  aid  us  in  maintaining  and  defending  these  principles;  so  that  they, 
as  well  as  we,  shall  consider  themselves  pledged  to  uphold  the  Church  in 
her  present  struggle,  and,  in  particular,  to  use  the  powers  and  privileges 
which,  as  the  citizens  of  a  free  country,  they  have  received  from  God,  and 
for  the  exercise  of  which  they  are  responsible  to  Him,  for  this,  above  all 
other  ends,  that  the  determination  of  the  Legislature  of  this  great  nation, 
whenever  this  subject  shall  come  before  them,  may  be  in  accordance  with 
those  principles  which  all  of  us  hold  to  be  essential  to  the  purity  of  the 
Church  and  the  prosperity  of  the  people. 

We,  in  an  especial  manner,  invite  them  to  raise  a  united  and  solemn 
protest  against  the  system  of  patronage,  which,  unjust  and  obnoxious  as  it 
was  in  its  first  enactment,  the  decisions  of  the  civil  courts  are  now  riveting 
more  firmly  than  ever  on  the  reclaiming  Church  of  their  fathers.  The 
b  h 


786  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  [Dkc. 


entire  removal  of  that  system  they  have  the  fullest  warrant,  as  Scotsmen 
anil  as  Preshyterians,  to  claim,  on  the  ground  of  their  ancient  constitu- 
tion, and  the  solemn  guarantees  by  which  their  national  freedom  and  their 
religious  faith  have  been  secured. 

And  finally,  recognising  the  hand  God  in  our  present  troubles,  depend- 
ing wholly  on  his  interposition  for  a  happy  issue  out  of  tbetn,  and  remem- 
bering what  our  fathers  have  told  us — what  work  the  Lord  did  in  their 
days  and  in  the  times  of  old,  we  call  upon  the  Christian  people  to  unite 
with  us  in  a  solemn  engagement  to  bear  the  case  of  our  beloved  Church 
upon  our  hearts,  in  prayer  and  supplication  at  the  throne  of  God,  beseech- 
ing him  to  turn  the  hearts  of  those  who  are  against  us,  and  to  guide  us 
in  the  right  way,  so  that,  under  his  overruling  Providence,  and  by  the 
operation  of  his  Almighty  Spirit,  the  cause  of  truth  and  righteousness  may 
be  advanced,  and  the  work  of  righteousness  may  be  peace,  and  the  effect 
of  righteousness,  quietness  and  assurance  for  ever. 


20. — Jews  at  Jerusalem. 

A  missionary  writing  from  Jerusalem  says: — As  you  are  already  aware, 
from  my  first  letter,  I  arrived  here  at  a  time  when  the  plague  was  just 
beginning  to  abate  the  rigor  with  which  it  had  been  raging  here  for 
sometime  previously.  Nearly  three  weeks  therefore  passed  away  before 
I  commenced  my  missionary  labor,  but  then  I  was  fully  occupied  several 
weeks,  during  which  I  had  many  controversies  with  some  of  the  most 
learned  Jews  here,  and  concluded  by  a  public  controversy  in  one  of  their 
synagogues.  Soon  after  this,  however  an  excommunication  was  pro- 
mulgated in  all  the  synagogues,  cutting  off  from  their  communion  every 
Jew  that  should  hold  any  intercourse  with  me.  But  here  I  must  observe 
that  a  very  respectable  Jew  took  great  pains  to  assure  me,  before  the 
excommunication,  was  proclaimed,  but  after  it  had  been  resolved  upon, 
that  this  arises  from  no  ill  feeling  towards  me  personally,  but  they  consi- 
dered it  a  duty  they  owed  to  their  religion,  in  spite  of  friendship  and 
every  other  consideration ;  and  here  1  may  also  add,  that  all  my  contro- 
versies, both  public  and  private,  were  carried  on  in  the  most  becoming 
spirit,  without  any  thing  like  strife  or  bitterness. 

Now,  in  Jerusalem  you  must  know  an  excommunication  in  a  case  like 
the  present,  has  both  a  double  incentive  to  issue  it,  and  a  double  incen- 
tive to  regard  it.  The  first  was  common  to  all  Jews'  prejudices;  and 
secondly,  their  very  existence  depends  on  their  Judaism.  The  Jews  here 
have  neither  trade  nor  profession,  but  live  entirely  on  the  free  contribu- 
tions of  their  benevolent  brethren  abroad  ;  and  these  contributions  are 
tendered  entirely  on  the  supposition  that  the  Jews  here  are  peculiarly 
devout,  and  most  assiduous  in  their  meritorious  study  of  the  Talmud. 
As  a  collective  body  they  are  therefore  bound  to  preserve  their  reputa- 
tion, and  as  individuals,  it  is  the  only  means  of  subsistence  they  have  or 
could  have.  One  thing  more,  the  number  of  Jews  here  is  nothing  like 
what  you  think  in  England.  Mr.  Nicolayson  thinks  it  is  in  all  .5,000, 
and  this  is  the  highest  number  I  have  heard  yet.  But  some  of  the  Jews 
told  me  that  the  number  of  souls  does  not  exeeed  half  this  number.  Nor 
are  the  number  of  those  that  annually  come  here  so  great,  and  they  are 
barely  or  scarcely  sufficient  to  make  up  for  the  ravages  that  the  perio- 
dical visitations  of  earthquakes,  plague,  &c,  make  among  them.  A  Jew 
told  me,  he  had  now  been  four  years  here,  and  the  greater  number  of  the 
Jews  he  then  found  here  are  now  no  more,  while  the  majority  of  the 
present  are  new  comers. 

This  is  an  affecting  statement  respecting  the  Jewish  population,  entire 
generations  of  which  seem  to  be  cut  down  by  pestilence,  earthquake,  or 
the  sword  in  the  space  of  a  very  few  years.    A  considerable  accession  of 


]840.]        Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 


787 


new  comers  must  be  required  to  keep  up  the  number,  and  continual 
changes  must  spread  among  the  Jews  throughout  the  world  the  know- 
ledge of  what  is  doing  at  Jerusalem.  It  is  well  known  that  the  Jews  are 
in  the  habit  of  studiously  concealing  their  real  numbers. 

Amongst  the  rest  of  my  controversialists,  there  was  a  young  Talmudist, 
reputed  for  his  sound  mind  and  piety,  who,  after  niy  first  controversy 
with  him,  was  not  indeed  converted,  but  most  firmly  convinced  that  he 
had  spent  bis  whole  life  in  a  most  awful  delusion,  and  requested  me  to 
read  the  Prophets  together  with  him  ;  and  from  this  time  he  at  once 
gave  up  all  his  other  studies,  and  spent  almost  his  whole  time  with 
nie.  'Ibis  began  to  ferment  among  the  Jews;  signs  of  persecution,  too, 
began  to  show  themselves,  till  it  came  so  far,  that  he  considered  himself 
in  danger  of  his  life  in  bis  own  house,  and  1  was  obliged  to  afford  him  a 
few  nights'  lodging  in  my  house.  By  that  time  we  had  read  about  twenty 
chapters  of  Isaiah,  the  whole  of  St.  Matthew's  Gospel,  &c.  and  we  had 
the  most  confirmed  conviction  of  the  truth  of  Christianity,  and  I  am  sure 
a  good  work  had  begun  in  his  heart,  which  his  fervent  spirit  easily  mani- 
fested ;  and  he  declared  himself  ready  to  encounter  any  thing,  though  by 
nature  he  is  rather  of  a  sedate  and  solemn  turn  of  mind.  What  brought 
the  matter  to  a  crisis  was  that  he  at  last  thought  himself  no  longer  justi- 
fied and  actually  declined,  but  all  in  a  humble,  Christian  spirit,  to  discharge 
those  duties  which  as  master  of  the  house,  devolved  upon  him.  This 
happened  on  a  Friday  night,  after  I  had  just  pointed  out  to  him  several 
instances  wherein  Jews  tell  God  in  solemn  language,  that  He  had  com- 
manded them  tilings  which  he  has  not  commanded,  and  thus  make  them- 
selves guilty  in  a  manner  equal  to  a  parallel.  The  Saturday  and  Sunday 
following,  Jerusalem  was  turned  almost  upside  down,  and  on  Monday  the 
chief  rabbi  sent  for  me.  I  immediately  obeyed  his  summons,  and  went 
to  him,  together  with  Joseph  (for  that  is  the  name  of  our  friend)  and 
Levi.  Several  very  sharp  contests  took  place,  which  lasted  the  best  part 
of  the  day.  Joseph  they  succeeded  in  separating  from  me,  and  with  a 
select  number  of  Jews  were  locked  up  in  a  room  by  themselves,  while  I 
and  Levi  with  the  rest,  were  in  the  adjoining  synagogue.  Joseph  avowed 
his  faith  in  the  Lord,  and  stood  his  ground  remarkably  well — while  my 
chief  object  was  to  attest  the  truth  and  allay  if  possible  their  excited 
feelings.  The  whole  ended  in  triumph  of  truth  over  error — and  God's 
holy  name  be  praised,  1  am  enabled  to  say  the  gospel  has  been  faithfully 
preached  to  the  Jews  as  a  body  in  Jerusalem — they  all  know  what  it 
professes  to  be,  and  have  many  proofs  that  they  cannot  refute.  But 
this  led  to  the  unpleasant  but  unavoidable  conclusion  that  Joseph  must 
instantly  divorce  his  wife.  My  utmost  attempts  to  prevent  this  were  in 
vain — they  would  not  even  postpone  it  in  the  hope  of  a  change  of  mind  on 
the  part  of  the  husband,  who  was  very  averse  to  it ;  and  even  his  wife  was 
only  led  to  demand  the  divorce,  by  over  persuasion,  and  I  fear  against 
her  will,  though  she  is  now  already  engaged  again  to  another  man.  The 
divorce  took  place  two  days  after,  and  then  followed  the  excommunica- 
tion. The  Jews  however  Mould  not  give  up  Joseph  yet — and  now 
commenced  a  kind  of  manoeuvre  that  he  could  stand  less  than  all  that 
hitherto  was  resorted  to.  He  of  course  disregarded  their  excommunication, 
and  continued  coming  to  me  for  instruction,  &c,  but  never  hinted  that 
lie  wanted  a  penny  from  me.  In  spite  of  this  however,  they  began  so  to 
load  him  with  kindness  and  entreaties  that  it  quite  unmanned  him.  One 
whole  night  while  his  heart  yet  smarted  from  his  divorce,  and  he  was 
almost  surfeited  with  sorrow,  he  told  me  that  fathers  and  mothers  some 
of  his  best  friends  came  around  him  with  their  children  in  their  arms,  or 
leading  them  by  their  hands,  telling  him  he  should  rather  take  a  knife 
and  kill  them  all  at  once,  than  take  such  step,  which  must  inevitably  as 


788  Missionary  and  lieligious  Intelligence. 


they  thought  have  the  effect  of  depriving  them  of  every  further  support 
from  abroad,  or  a  great  part  of  it  at  least — and  this  was  so  small  already, 
that  it  could  scarcely  support  them — for  if  the  rumour  were  once  abroad 
that  the  Jews  here  embrace  Christianity,  nothing  would  be  left  them  but 
absolute  starvation.  And  when  he  pleaded  his  duty  towards  God,  &c, 
they  told  him  that  he  ought  to  be  ready  to  sacrifice  even  that  too,  in  consi- 
deration of  the  well-being  of  so  many — and  he  was  almost  ready  to  say 
with  the  apostle,  though  in  somewhat  different  sense,  "  I  could  wish  that 
myself  were  accursed  from  Christ,  for  my  brethren,  my  kinsmen,  accord- 
ing to  the  flesh."  1  have  only  room  to  add,  that  he  has  remained  a 
witness  to  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  in  the  midst  of  the  Jews  where  he  yet 
lives;  but  I  cannot  persuade  him  to  stay  in  Jerusalem,  and  he  is  now  on 
the  point  of  leaving  for  Constantinople,  with  letters  from  us  to  the  mis- 
sionaries there,  where  he  wishes  to  embrace  Christianity. — Jewish  Int. 


21. — Letter  from  St.  Petersburg. 

Most  of  our  readers,  says  the  N.  Y.  Observer,  will  remember  the 
communications  we  published  several  years  since  from  Hannah  Kilham,  a 
distinguished  philanthropist  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  who  left  England 
to  establish  schools  for  the  negroes  in  West  Africa.  Her  husband,  a  pious 
Methodist  minister,  died  soon  after  their  marriage,  leaving  a  daughter  by 
a  former  wife  to  be  brought  up  by  his  widow.  This  daughter  now  also  a 
widow,  (Mrs.  Biller,)  in  a  letter  from  St.  Petersburg  in  Prussia,  to  a  lady 
in  this  city,  dated  July  22nd,  communicates  the  following  interesting 
information. 

For  eighteen  years  I  have  been  at  the  head  of  a  government  school  be- 
longing to  the  grand  Duchess  Helen,  in  which  reside  from  thirty  to  forty 
poor  girls,  principally  motherless  children,  and  over  these  I  generally 
have  at  least  a  slight  influence  after  they  leave  the  school.  These  girls 
are  taught  Russian,  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  needle-work,  and  knit- 
ting— and  as  we  keep  no  servants,  they  do  all  the  work  of  the  house  in 
turn,  according  to  their  ability  and  strength.  Therefore  by  the  time  they 
are  sixteen  or  seventeen,  they  are  ready  to  enter  into  light  service.  We 
have  also  in  the  house  a  considerable  day-school  for  girls,  about  eighty, 
who  are  taught  with  the  boarders,  on  the  plan  of  mutual  instruction ;  and 
in  addition  to  these,  we  have  an  infant  school  of  about  fifty  children.  To 
assist  in  this  undertaking,  I  have  two  young  women  who  have  been  edu- 
cated with  me.  I  take  a  pretty  minute  oversight  of  the  whole  myself, 
and  spend  about  one  and  a  half  hour  daily  in  actual  teaching.  Although 
this  situation  is  arduous  and  responsible,  yet  being  unfettered  by  restric- 
tions, I  can  teach  as  I  please,  and  am  allowed  to  explain  the  Scriptures  to 
them  in  the  way  that  1  feel  to  be  the  most  natural.  The  priest  knowing 
the  confidence  I  enjoy,  does  neither  thwart  nor  contradict  it  in  bis  man- 
ner of  instruction,  which  is  a  great  favor.  I  often  feel  that  I  am  not 
thankful  as  1  should  be  for  this  and  many  other  privileges. 

Asylum  Schools. 

Since  our  infant  school  was  opened,  another  kind,  named  asylum 
schools,  are  become  general  in  this  city.  They  are  principally  on  the  plan 
of  those  in  Berlin,  with  a  litt  le  mixture  of  the  infant  school  system.  The 
children  are  left  there  the  principal  part  of  the  day — are  dressed  in  a  kind 
of  uniform,  and  fed.  They  are  not  taught  much  but  being  kept  in  clean 
rooms  and  pure  air,  and  having  wholesome  food,  these  are  great  advan- 
tages— and  besides  they  do  learn  to  read  and  to  sew.  A  number  of  those 
asylums  are  supported  by  private  individuals,  and  this  is  good  in  fostering 
a  kind  feeling  between  the  upper  and  lower  classes. 


1840.]  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence.  789 


House  of  Industry— Provision  for  the  Poor. 

These  schools  are  a  branch  from  a  large  institution  for  promoting  in- 
dustry, by  providing  the  poor  with  work  according  to  their  ability;  and 
this  work,  whether  weaving  collars,  making  gloves,  embroidery,  &c,  is 
sold  in  a  public  shop  at  a  moderate  price.  Work-people  are  also  provid- 
ed with  food  at  a  very  reduced  price.  Indeed  all  who  please  may  receive 
a  very  sufficient  dinner  of  soup,  bread  and  thick  gruel  for  twelve  copicksa 
meal ;  and  this  provision  is  so  good,  that  the  servants'  refuge  is  regularly 
Bupplied  from  thence.  In  order  to  bring  so  seasonable  a  help  within  the 
reach  of  all  the  poor,  eating  rooms  on  the  same  terms  are  opened  in  dif- 
ferent parts  of  the  city,  and  the  stock  of  provisions  after  being  cooked  in 
the  principal  institution,  is  carried  to  these  eating  houses  in  large  vessels 
of  tinned  brass,  placed  in  still  larger  ones  containing  boiling  water.  This 
is  a  very  nice  help  to  the  yoor.  They  may  either  take  their  dinner  at  the 
general  table,  or  carry  them  home ;  and  if  the  latter,  they  may  generally 
out  of  three  portions  have  enough  for  four  persons.  There  is  a  great  de- 
sire to  put  down  begging,  and  this  is  one  of  the  means  resorted  to,  as  well 
as  a  lodging  for  the  homeless.  But  all  does  not  do,  for  although  lessened, 
many  still  live  by  mendicity, 

Mr.  and  IVIrs.  Brown  are  very  dear  Christians,  and  of  my  most  intimate 
friends.  The  health  of  the  latter  is  very  indifferent,  so  they  are  going  to 
Scotland  to  winter, 

Pustor  Gossner  of  Berlin — Self-supporting  Missionaries. 

I  do  not  know  whether  you  have  heard  of  Pastor  Gossner  of  Berlin, 
who  is  a  very  eminent  Christian  minister  and  author.  He  is  a  man  of 
much  prayer,  and  a  remarkable  blessing  has  attended  his  ministry  for 
many  years.  A  few  years  ago  he  was  led  to  believe  that  missionaries 
might  be  sent  out  at  much  less  expense,  and  he  himself  began  the  trial. 

He  took  young  men  who  conceived  it  their  duty  to  labor  among  the 
heathen,  whether  they  were  mechanics  or  not — let  them  follow  their 
trade  for  a  livelihood,  and  make  use  of  their  leisure  hours  in  gaining  such 
needful  information  as  their  calling  required,  himself  appropriating  some 
hours  daily  in  reading  the  Scriptures  with  them,  and  in  conversation, 
and  in  prayer.  Before  he  had  any  ready  for  the  missionary  field,  an 
Englishman  in  affluent  circumstances  hearing  of  it,  wrote  to  Pastor  Goss- 
ner, proposing  to  assist  in  sending  the  young  men  to  their  fields  of  labor. 
What  tliey  need  is  but  little — a  small  stock  of  clothes — books,  and  tools 
to  pursue  their  occupation.  No  allowance  is  made  further — they  are  ex- 
pected to  earn  their  own  living  among  the  heathen,  as  they  are  expert 
in  trades  which  may  be  of  value  to  the  people  among  whom  they  are  to 
live.  Twice  in  this  manner  has  Pastor  Gossner  sent  about  twenty  young 
men,  and  the  accounts  he  has  from  them  from  time  to  time  are  most 
cheering.  Very  lately  he  had  six  more  ready,  and  called  to  join  their 
brethren  laboring  in  India,  (indeed  the  request  for  such  missionaries  is 
far  beyond  his  means  of  supply,)  and  he  wrote  to  ask  his  English  friend's 
assistance.  The  latter  hesitated,  said  he  would  wait  till  more  intelli- 
gence was  received  from  those  already  laboring.  Of  course  such  an  an- 
swer was  unexpected  and  disappointing.  Pastor  Gossner  called  together 
the  young  men  and  communicated  it  to  them.  They  did  not  long  hesitate, 
but  came  forward  observing — "  We  believe  ourselves  called  to  the  mis- 
sionary field,  therefore  we  can  depend  upon  being  provided  for  by  Him 
■who  sends  us,  and  who  careth  for  the  birds  of  the  air."  After  this  con- 
clusion in  strong  faith,  supplies  came  in  from  unexpected  quarters,  and 
Pastor  Gossner  was  enabled  to  send  them  out  stocked  with  all  that  was 
necessary.  I  often  wonder  that  the  Lord  bears  with  our  puny,  wavering 
faith ;  how  different  would  be  the  conduct  of  man  under  similar  circum- 
stances. He  would  spurn  us  from  him,  and  leave  us  in  our  deserved  pover- 


790  Missionary  and  Religious  Intelligence. 

ty.  Not  so  our  wonderfully-loving-  and  impassionate  God.  He  entreats 
us  to  believe — tells  us  how  soon  our  enemies  world  all  be  subdued — what 
joy  and  sweet  peace  we  shonld  have,  and  even  uses  the  astonishing'  lan- 
guage we  find  in  Malachi  iii.  10.  And  are  not  the  Psalms  full  of  similar 
promises  ? 

English  lady  Missionary  on  a  Chinese  is/and. 

A  very  devoted  young  woman  of  the  neighborhood  of  London,  who  is  of 
good  property,  after  waiting-  eleven  years  ere  the  way  opened  for  her  to 
go  as  a  missionary,  has  now  to  her  soul's  delight  settled  in  a  Chinese 
island  on  which  missionaries  are  not  allowed  to  labor.  She  resides  in  a 
Dutch  family,  and  has  opened  two  schools,  one  for  boys,  the  other  for 
girls.  She  superintends  and  provides  for  her  mission  entirely  herself. 
She  writes  that  in  the  town  she  is  known  by  "  The  English  lady  come  on 
a  singular  errand."  During  the  last  few  years  of  her  waiting  to  go,  she 
acknowledged  that  the  delay  was  in  great  mercy  in  order  to  deepen  her 
feelings  of  religion.  How  often  does  the  Christian  require  to  be  made 
passive  that  the  Lord  may  work  in  him  of  His  good  pleasure.  My  heart 
delights  in  such  missionaries,  and  I  long  to  see  more  in  the  field  go  in 
simplicity  and  faith.    Physicians  might  be  most  acceptable  laborers. 

1  fear  we  shall  not  live  to  see  the  time  when  the  Christian  body  shall 
be  one,  and  sectarian  divisions  considered  of  so  little  value  as  to  be  over- 
looked. May  the  day  be  hastened,  for  from  the  words  of  our  blessed 
Saviour  in  the  17th  of  John,  we  may  then  expect  multitudes  added  to  the 
body  of  believers.  My  firm  opinion  is,  that  until  Christians  live  more  like 
pilgrims,  and  have  evidently  their  only  treasure  in  heaven,  the  day  of  full 
gospel  light  will  not  be  manifest.  Let  it  be  the  object  of  each  to  live  so 
under  the  banner  of  divine  love,  as  to  draw  many  to  the  Lord.  May  the 
very  countenance  testify  that  we  have  been  with  Jesus. 


The  Editors'  last  words  for  1840. 

Dear  Reader, 

Through  the  good  mercy  of  God,  we  have  been  permitted  to  pass 
through  another  year,  in  continued  life  and  health.  Our  winged  moments 
have  borne  to  us  innumerable  mercies  and  they  have  urged  their  way  back 
again  to  God,  with  their  report  of  our  employment  of  those  mercies.  We 
live  this  year — it  may  be  our  last !  What  a  year  has  the  last  been  !  — 
What  a  changing  time  !  How  many  have  been  cut  down  and  withered — ■ 
many  of  them  too,  fair  to  live,  yea,  fair  as  we,  and  ere  another  year 
conies  to  a  close,  another  pen  may  address  you,  or  you  may  be  beyond 
the  reach  of  our  admonition.  Pass  the  time  of  your  sojourning  here  in 
fear.  Set  your  affections  on  things  above.  Cling  to  the  blessed  atone- 
ment of  the  Son  of  God,  make  that  your  anchor,  both  sure  and  sted- 
fast,  and  then  the  last  yc  ir  will  be  the  best ;  the  end  of  life  will  be  but 
the  beginning  of  bliss.  Live  on  God,  and  to  God,  and  for  God,  and  the 
end  shall  he  well. — Remember  these  last  words,  Reader — Prepare  to  meet 
thy  God ! 

O  Lord  upon  our  thoughtless  heart 

Eternal  things  impress ; 
Make  us  to  feel  their  solemn  weight 

And  wake  to  righteousness.