the funds be procured to feed such a multitude? Under the influence of the feelings which commonly govern men, this would have been impossible. But these were now converts, whose hearts were warm with love to Christ, and to one another. Some of them had fields and houses, and voluntarily they went and sold their estates, and brought the money and laid it at the apostles' feet, and by them a distribution was made to such as needed. This generous and disinterested conduct could not but excite the gratitude of those who were in want, and the admiration of all. Great praise would of course, be awarded to such men as Barnabas and others, who gave up all they possessed for the suste. nance of the poor of the Christian church. And here we have another example of the extreme deceitfulness and wickedness of the human heart; for as there was a Judas among the twelve, so there was an Ananias and his wife in this infant church. This man, seeing the credit and applause obtained by those who had sold their possesions, de. termined in concurrence with his wife to share in this honour; but their covetous hearts being unwilling to part with all, they resolved to practise a deception on the apostles, and while they gained the credit of having sacrificed their all for the common good, they would retain in their own hands a part of the price for which the land was sold; and very likely they kept the larger part. This lying unto the Holy Ghost met with a speedy and awful retribution, which operated as a salutary check to keep others of the same character from joining the church. Though there was a common stock, out of which all received according to their necessities, yet there was not any obligation laid on any one to sell his property, and throw it into the common fund. This is evident from what Peter said to Ananias: "While it remained, was it not thine own, and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power?" The relinquishment of their property was a perfectly free offering, by those whose hearts prompted them to make it. And this community of goods to meet the present exigency, only continued while the necessity for it lasted; for we find in no other part of the Christian church anything of a similar kind. The distribution of this fund among so great a multitude, required more attention and time than the apostles could bestow upon it; and the consequence was, a great dissatisfaction, especially among those who belonged to foreign countries, and who are here called Grecians, because they spoke the Greek language. These murmured against the Hebrews, the natives of Judea, who spoke a dialect of Hebrew, because, as they alleged, their widows were neglected in the daily ministration. When these complaints came to the ears of the apostles, they determined to relinquish the distribution of the fund into other hands, and accordingly invited the people to select from among themselves seven good men to attend to this business. And when the people had made their choice, the persons selected were presented to the apostles, who set them apart, solemnly, to their work, by the imposition of hands. The reason assigned by the apostles for this new institution deserves the attention of all who have a dispensation of the Gospel committed to them. "It is not reason that we should leave the word of God and serve tables." This is the origin of the office of deacon, which afterwards became a permanent office in all the churches, as we find the apostle Paul laying down in his Epistle to Timothy, the characteristics of the persons to be appointed to this office. And in the Epistle to the Philippians, the chosen officers are addressed under the titles of "bishops and deacons.” It is remarkable that all the men chosen, if we may judge from their names, belonged to the Grecian party, because the murmur. ing occurred among them and the Hebrews showed their disinterestedness in choosing the deacons generally from among the foreigners. Some have supposed, however, that there were Hebrew deacons before appointed; but for this opinion there is no solid foundation. From the liberal conduct of many of these first Christians we may learn, 1. The power of the love of Christ. Its potency is such as to overcome the strongest passions and propensities of human nature. Few desires of the corrupt mind are more deeply radicated in the soul than the love of property, but here we see that the love of the heart to meet this emergency, with the same spirit with which Joses, surnamed Bar. nabas, and others, came to the help of the Lord in Jerusalem? Are there none who have lands or houses which they will freely sell to obtain money, to accomplish this desirable and glorious object? Most profess Christ can so counteract this deep-rooted passion that men, under its influence, are made willing to relinquish their property to supply the wants of Christ's poor disciples. Neither was there any among them that lacked, for as many as were possessors of fields or houses, sold them, and brought|| the prices of the things that were sold, and ing Christians would think that we were laid them down at the apostles' feet. 2. We learn that there are some good actions which God is pleased to leave to the feelings and discretion of his people; such as, how much of our property we ought to give "to promote the cause of God, or the comfort of his people. The Lord would have us give, not relunctantly or grudgingly, but of a ready mind. For the Lord loveth a cheerful giver." If this service were performed, under the restraint of a positive law, it would oftener be done reluctantly. But though the extent of the duty is not fixed, the moral obligation to do what we can is incumbent on every one, according as God has prospered him. beside ourselves, if we should now urge this upon them. This we do not think proper to do: it was not urged upon those who had property, in Jerusalem. But, if any man's heart would move him, from love to Christ, to make such a sacrifice, it would be an offering well pleasing to God. It would come up before Him, as the savour of an acceptable sacrifice; and would give an impulse to the whole Church, which it greatly needs. If instead of selling your whole land, you would only sell one acre out of the hundred, it would meet the demand. Or if you would only give a reasonable proportion of your yearly income, nothing more would be necessary. But some think, that there is no peculiar emergency; that the heathen will require as much aid next year, and the following, as the present. This is true, yet still the emergency is very pressing, and I believe will go on increasing, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in, and the Jews, as a nation, be converted. But as the emergency increases, so, we believe, will the willingness to give. Though it would now be thought a strange thing, bordering on insanity, if a number of persons should feel compelled by the love of Christ, and the love of souls, to sell their lands and houses, and bring the whole of the price, and pour it into the treasury of the Lord. But I trust the time is coming, when such a course will no longer be thought strange, for many will have their hearts so enlarged with the love of Christ, that it will require no self-denial to give all they possess to promote the cause of the Redeemer, and the salvation of souls. 3. We learn, that there are emergencies, when a degree of disinterested liberality is called for, which, in common times, would not be necessary, nor even proper. Such was the situation of things, when the first Christian Church was formed. Here were collected thousands of disciples who had no means of subsistence. Unless the own. ers of property had come forward with noble generosity, these young converts must have suffered the extremity of want. But the spirit of the wealthy came up fully to the exigency. They sold their lands-they sold their houses-and laid the money re. ceived at the Apostles' feet, to be distributed among their indigent brethren, accord. ing to their necessities. In similar circumstances, Christians now should be ready to go and do likewise. And there is now an emergency, which calls for a peculiar degree of liberality. God has opened a way for the propagation of the Gospel among the hea. then nations. A wider door is set open be- 4. I think, we may also learn from this fore the Church than at any former period. subject, why it is so difficult to bring the And there are well educated, pious men, who Churches to act with energy and promptistand ready to take their lives in their hands tude in this cause. It is not the hardness and go to the uttermost parts of the earth, to|| of the times; nor the want of the ability to preach the Gospel to the degraded, dying do, easily, all that is needed; but it is owing heathen, but there are not funds furnished entirely to the low state of religion in the by the Church for the purpose. What members of the Church. By the extra are there no rich disciples who will havell number of the Chronicle, recently published, it appears that, upon an average, each member of the Presbyterian Church has contributed during the last year past, 34 CENTS, to the cause of foreign missions! But this calculation supposes, that the aggregate sum was contributed entirely by members of the Church; probably, however, onethird of the whole was given by persons not in the communion of the Church, and this would reduce the average sum to little more than twenty-five cents. And, again, it is probable, that one half the sum was contributed by a few thousands of the whole number of communicants. We may boast of the numbers added to our churches, but of what account are these additions if there is so little love to Christ in their hearts, that they will scarcely give a shilling a head for the building up the Redeemer's King. dom in the world? 5. The only effectual remedy for this deficiency in Christian character, is, a large increase in the piety of the churches, both in ministers and people. If the love of Christ governed them as it should, they would not be so easily turned aside to vain jangling, and would exert themselves much more in furthering the cause of missions, at home and abroad. Until the Spirit be poured from on high, and pure religion be more widely diffused, and more powerfully felt, there will be but little change for the better. Still, the people must be told what their duty is, and urged to perform it. 6. The lively interest manifested by the members of the General Assembly, is a fallacious index of the zeal of the churches, and an uncertain pledge of the course which will be pursued, by the very persons who, excited by the annual report, make pathetic speeches. The fact is, that the Church has been pledged for years as far as it could be, by its representatives in the General Assembly to raise $100,000 for this object. But where is the fulfilment? As a Church, we are much in the condition of the States who repudiate their own engagements. A. A. COMMUNICATIONS FROM MISSIONARIES. March 21st, Sabbath. This morning as I was walking out, I passed an indigo factory, near which was a bungalow, and was soon overtaken by a European indigo planter, who seemed desirous of forming some acquaintance, and invited me to his bungalow, to take a cup of coffee. He asked if I was passing up the river. I replied in the affirmative, and that I had stopped to spend the Sabbath. "Let me see," said he," it is Sunday, is'nt it! Do you always stop so on Sundays?" "We do, Sir," said I. "But suppose you have a good wind, would you not go on ?" "No Sir." Ought you not to take advantage of the blessings that God gives us ?" "Certainly, and the Sabbath is one of his blessings, and we take advantage of it." He then turned the conversation to some other subject, and when I was about to leave, he insisted that I should come and spend the day with him. I told him I had company with me at the boat, and he said they must all come too, and that he needed some spiritual advice as well as others, for he had not been inside of a church in a long time. I still tried to decline, choosing to spend the Sabbath quietly in the boat, but he still insisted, and said he would send a palankeen for Mrs. McAuley, and accompanied me to the boat to get an answer whether we could come, and having received one in the affirmative, he in a few minutes had a palankeen sent to us, together with a dish of strawberries, flowers, &c. The wind blew very hard soon after we went, and the sand flew in such quantities on the river as almost to suffocate. We were, however, sheltered, and spent the day more pleasantly in several respects than we could have done in the budgerow. The dia, and it is visited by many from a great distance, who come here to worship and bathe in the Ganges. They think the water here is peculiarly holy. The city is a very ancient one. This is proved by many inscriptions which have been dug up here. It has no doubt been a seat of idolatry for thousands of years. English Missionaries at Benares. Boarding Schools.—Notice of a native girl. March 26th. Early this morning I left the boats to proceed on their way, with the expectation of overtaking them tomorrow, and started to see the Rev. Mr. S., an Episcopal missionary in Benares. I went on foot, taking with me one of our March 25th. The boats started early, servants to show me the way. After enand a little after sunrise we came to a tering the city I passed a large temple turn in the river which brought Benares where was a crowd of people, and a large directly into view. The prospect was number of Brahmins, (or Hindu priests.) more imposing than that of any city that On the trees, walls, and ground, in almost we have seen since leaving Calcutta. every direction, were great numbers of The bank is high, and for a long distance monkeys.... My walk was about four is to be seen a pile of buildings rising miles long, through dusty, crowded streets, above each other as they recede from the where I met with camels, elephants, and river. The appearance of most is quite innumerable other objects to remind me ancient, probably they are some hundreds that I was in a foreign land. Before I of years old. Many of them are large, reached Mr. S.'s the sun began to shine and built directly at the water's edge, with powerfully, and the sight of his bungasteps passing down to the water, on which low was hailed with pleasure. Both Mr. hundreds are every day going down to and Mrs. S. were very kind and cordial. make their ablutions in the sacred river...I was glad and thankful that I had left All of the buildings are for religious purposes. We came early in the day to the lower ghaut or landing place, but the heat was too excessive. While at the ghaut, some of those singular beings of whom I have often read came up, snake charmers, bringing a variety of large and small snakes, some ten or twelve feet long, coiled around their bodies and about their necks. These they exhibited to us a long time, suffering them to crawl about, and handling them perfectly void of fear. Among them was a scorpion, but they seemed to fear this no more than the others. the boats to spend the day here. The heat out of doors has been very great, but within I have not felt at all oppressed, but on the contrary have felt almost like a different person from what I was yesterday. After breakfast I went with Mrs. S. to her orphan school of girls. When I stepped out the air was really scorching. A few steps brought us to the building, where the children were comfortably protected from the heat, and were sitting around on the floor on mats, busily engaged with their lessons. Mrs. S. spent two or three hours with the different In the afternoon we again started, but classes in teaching them to read the Scripdid not pass the city entirely until after tures, recite the catechism, and in talking dark. Benares is considered by the Hin-to them. All that was said was in Hindoos one of the most sacred cities in In-du, as they cannot understand a word of English. Afterwards their writing was || house. She remained not long, but returned to Mrs. S., and told her she could not live with such a heathen. She could have no happiness with those people among whom she was obliged to stay, and asked if she might stay with her. She was permitted to remain in the school, and persuaded her mother to come there and live with her. At length her husband came, and repeatedly threatened prosecution, if she were not delivered to him. He was told to take her, that no efforts had been made to get her away from him, nor to keep her away, but that simply shelter had been afforded her, at her own request. She was brought to him, but she declared to him, that she would not, and could not go, and so he was obliged to leave her. After a while he ceased coming. Her mother sometimes became uneasy and wished to leave, Besides these, they usually have about but the child told her she might go, but 30 day scholars, who come from the city, she herself should not. She continued and live with their parents at home. I manifesting a consistent Christian walk, rather wondered how she could get any but her baptism was deferred a long time, of these, since the Hindus are so averse as it was feared her husband might yet to giving females any education. But I come to take her away, or to create found on inquiry that she was obliged to trouble. Every time any persons were hire them to come, or rather, to hire their baptized, she would weep that she should parents to send them. For coming a be deprived of such a precious ordinance. week, each one receives four pice, (a pice || At length she was baptized, and she still is a copper coin here used, worth not quite a cent,) and for behaving well two pice more, so that at the end of a week, a little girl can take to her parents six pice, as a compensation for her absence. If, however, she stay away from school one day in the week, she forfeits three of those pice, and if two days, she forfeits four, and thus the inducement is made as strong as possible to be regular in at tendance. These efforts for the benefit of the city girls, have already been shown to be not in vain. One instance of conversion was related to me, which was quite striking. A little girl who had thus been attending the school for some time, was led to feel the power of Divine truth. About this time, the man to whom she had been espoused in infancy, (according to the Hindu custom,) took her to his father's continues in the school, assisting some in teaching, and her mother stays and cooks for the children. One or two other children in the school, give hopeful evidence of piety. When the time came for the school to close, a hymn was read, and a momentary gush of feeling arose, that I could scarcely suppress, when I heard those little heathen girls, standing in a semicircle before me, singing the praises of God, not only in their own tongue, but in a tune with which some of the most sacred associations are connected.-Old Hundred! After leaving the girl's school, I went to the bungalow of Mr. S., an associate missionary with Mr. S., one of the most warm-hearted Christians with whom I have met in a long time. Before he came to India he was a missionary in Persia; and some of his accounts of travels and |