he could obtain no peace of mind till he returned to the fold of the Redeemer. He wished to arise, like the prodigal son, and go to his Father, but was afraid that he had abused his mercies so long that he would not receive him; he could only exclaim with the jailor, "What shall I do to be saved?" I exhorted him to strive against the sin which had led him astray, and to persevere steadfastly in prayer. I next conversed with a young woman named Lice, a native of the colony, daughter-in-law of Aaron Josephs. She informed me that she had felt her conviction of misery and helplessness two Sabbaths ago, whilst she heard a sermon preached on the love of Christ, from 2 Cor. xv. 14, and that every day since her thoughts had been engaged on the important subject. She said, that she had once imagined she had been so great a sinner that God would not pardon her, but that what she had heard of the love of Christ had encouraged her to hope that she also could obtain mercy. Afterwards spoke with a Bechuana, who had come from a far distant place in the interior. He declared that when in his own land he thought there was no God, but that there was an evil being who sought to molest him; and as to his possessing an immortal soul, he never once thought or heard of it, but that now he was convinced of the truth of both. He said he had long laughed and mocked at the preaching of the gospel, but now he knew that he had a soul that must be saved or lost. I could mention many other conversations of an interesting nature which I have enjoyed with these inquirers if my paper would permit. There are many of them, I hope, in whom the work of grace has commenced, and who, I trust, will one day be the ornaments to the church of Christ. At Schools. present, besides the regular duties of preaching here, and itinerating in the villages, I am occupied in the study of the Sichuan language, with the assistance of brother Moffat, and in teaching the day-school, which I find of essential service to me in acquiring the Bechuana tongue. The attendance at school has, during many months past, varied from seventy to above one hundred. Considerable attention and eagerness is manifested among the adults in acquiring a knowledge of reading; many can read the gospel of Lake tolerably well in their own language. This was put into their hands so soon as brother Moffat arrived, as well as the new collection of Bechuana hymns which they are learning to repeat. Aug. 23rd. To-day, first and second school lessons have been printed here in the native language; these will be a great acquisition to the school, as hitherto we have laboured under considerable disadvantages for want of proper school lessons, according to the British system of education. We are under great obligations to you, respected fathers and brethren, for the very excellent printingpress which you formerly sent to Cape Town, which is now in our possession. We hope, in a short time, to be able to put into the hands of the natives several valuable little books for the enlargement of their understandings. Brother Moffat has three or four manuscripts ready, which will be published as early as possible. I hope, if the Lord spare my life, and grant a continuance of health, to be enabled, at no far distant period, to be of some assistance to him in the arduous task of translation. "Brethren, pray for us," that the Holy Spirit may graciously direct and strengthen us for the right performance of our work, and that we may persevere in it with patience and diligence unremitting, for the extension of the kingdom of our Lord in this dark and benighted land. We are persuaded that it must be a long time before the Bechuanas become a reading population, for, though many of the adults succeed pretty well, our hopes are principally fixed upon the rising generation. External Improvement. Civilization seems here on the increase;" the desire for European clothing, both among men and women, is very general-any spare remnants, or old clothing, of any colour or fashion, would be extremely acceptable. Mrs. M. brought with her from Cape Town a few gown pieces, which her friends at Manchester had kindly sent her for the purpose; these she has distributed among those females who had previously made and worn gowns made of leather, prepared by the men from skins of goats; in order to encourage them to cut and sew for themselves those of European manufacture. The sewing-school, which is conducted by Mrs. Moffat, Mrs. Baillie, and Mrs. Edwards, I am happy to say is exceedingly well attended. Disturbed State of the Interior. Dear brethren, I am sorry to inform you that the interior has been for some time past, and is at present, in a very disturbed and unsettled state. When I arrived in this quar ter, I heard from my dear brother Hamilton the doleful tales of his past experience; and, whilst he sighed over them, he fondly hoped that those dark and gloomy days were at a close; that the Sun of Righteousness had arisen with healing under his wings," and had restored peace to the tumultuous tribes, and a wide and effectual door opened for the introduction of the gospel. With these joyful hopes, our beloved brethren, Messrs. Rolland and Lemue, of the Paris Society, came up with us, intending, (D.v.) after they acquired a little knowledge of the language, to commence a station among the Baharootzee; but alas! a cloud has arisen, which, for the present, darkens their prospects. May the Lord, who has for his own wise purposes permitted the cloud to gather, be pleased to dispel it in his own time and way! Perhaps it may not be out of place to give you a short outline of the disastrous events which have happened. I mentioned in my Journal of last year a report had just reached us that the Bazoolahs, a large and powerful tribe, had made a sudden attack upon the Wankets, and destroyed a vast number of them. This report, we afterwards learned, was literally true. Unexpectedly one morning, at break of day, whilst the unsuspecting people were peacefully engaged in milking their cows and goats, the furious Zoolas rushed in upon them from all sides with a savage yell, and made a dreadful carnage. The affrighted people fled in every direction from the hands of their murderers, and a considerable number, together with their king, Sebegwe, escaped to the Calligarry country. Shortly after this event, a party of Burroolongs, who had fled from this neighbourhood from the attacks of the Bergenaars to the same quarter, made an assault upon the Damaras on the west coast, and plundered them of many cattle. The second day following, the latter having closely pursued them, fell upon them, and a dreadful slaughter ensued. The Burroolongs, however, escaped with a part of the plunder. Following this event a quarrel arose between the Wanket refugees and these Burroolongs; the occasion of which was that the former refused to deliver up some cattle to the latter with which they had entrusted them; a war, as usual, was the result, in which Sebegwe conquered, and made himself master of all their cattle. A report has just reached us that a party of Griquas, who had gone to the interior to hunt elephants, made an attack upon a cattle-post of the Bazoolahs, and after much slaughter plundered them of their cattle. The Bazoolahs, enraged at this conduct, immediately pursued them; and having found them the same night in the field all fast asleep, they thrust their deadly weapons in their breasts, and but few escaped, it is said, to tell the melancholy tidings. We have heard several reports respecting this affair; but, as they are not yet sufficiently authenticated, I refrain from saying more on the subject till we learn the truth from the parties themselves, should they come in our way. We have learned, however, for a certainty from Aaron Josephs, who has returned from a hunt in the interior, that he and the traders who were with him made a narrow escape with their lives from the Bazoolahs, they suspecting them to have come with the same intent as the Griquas; but that upon Masalakatse learning who they were, sent strict orders that they should immediately return. They state, that in consequence of I have the happiness to say that, through the goodness of our Heavenly Father, we are all at present in a good measure of health. Joined by Mrs. Baillie in kind regards to all the Directors, and again entreating, beloved fathers and brethren, a continued interest in your prayers. * regard to the Sabbath day, that there is nothing now in the way to hinder us from becoming members of the church of Jesus Christ, unless it be our wicked hearts. We know that we were born in sin, and that we have always sinned from our birth until now. But we hope that we repent of our sins, if our hearts do not deceive us; and blessed be God that Jesus Christ came not into the world to call the righteous but sinners. We therefore desire to approach him as sinners, and to give up ourselves to serve him all the days of our life. It is our wish to be received members of the church which assembles at Ambatonakanga, and we beg of you therefore to make known our wish to the church. We hope that God will guard us against the temptations of Satan, and help us to glorify Him, and walk worthy of the gospel of Christ until we die, saith (six names subscribed). Antananarivo 20, Adizaozai. e. May 30th, 1831. To Rev. David Johns. This is what I May you, Sir, live long, and be never ill, saith your son Rhave to say to you, viz. :-that I rejoiced much when I heard the word of the queen, [the permission mentioned underneath] so that the way is now free to receive baptism, and to commemorate the death of Christ. Í 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 according to his will; and I pray to God, after this giving up of myself to Jesus, to assist me by his Holy Spirit, that I may love Jesus with all my heart, with all my spirit, and 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 body, I now ask permission of you to join the church, and unite in commemorating the death of Jesus; and that I may also join you to sing and to 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 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, all Saith R * This is in allusion to the queen's permission to any of her subjects to apply for baptism, and be received into church fellowship, and to attend divine worship, yet forbidding any compulsion. With devout gratitude to God, I inform you of my arrival at Quilon, after the lapse of nearly a year since my departure from England. My detention at Bombay was for nearly four months. I had there valuable opportunities of acquiring information, of holding Christian intercourse, of obserying Missionary operations, &c. ; but still I was unable to free myself from a growing anxiety to reach my station. We left Bom bay for Allepie on the 18th ult. and arrived at the latter place on the 26th. The last night of this voyage we had squally weather, which, had it continued, would have rendered landing impossible. Mercifully, however, it abated a little towards morning; it was nevertheless amidst a storm of wind and rain that we effected a landing, which, in the small canoes, the only conveyance used for that purpose, was by no means free from danger. We remained three days at Aleppie with Mr. Norton, of the Church Society, and two days ago we arrived here, after a delightful day's sail on the Back-water, a fine inland stream, not unlike some of our Scottish lakes. Upon our arrival, we were most kindly received by Mr. Thompson, in whose house I now write. As soon as I can get an instructor, I intend to begin the study of the Malayalim. During my residence in Bombay, I experienced much kindness. The house of the Rev. Mr. Wilson, of the Scottish Mission, was our home till we left Bombay. My intercourse with Mr. Wilson I shall always remember with pleasure, and the kindness experienced under his roof with gratitude. To Dr. Maxwell, too, of the Medical Board, and Dr. Bell, I must express my obligations for professional aid during a time of severe domestic affliction. The Lord reward those individuals for their kindness towards, (Signed) My dear Sir, SOUTH AMERICA, DEMERARA. Extract of a Letter from the Rev. James Scott, dated George Town, Demerara, January 3, 1832, addressed to the Home Secretary. MY DEAR SIR, Through the tender mercy of God, I arrived here in safety on the 31st December, 1831, after a passage of 53 days from London, and 32 from Portsmouth. Since clearing the channel, I have enjoyed perfect health, with the exception of a few days' sickness during a gale in the Bay of Biscay. I experienced a most hearty welcome from Mr. and Mrs. Ketley, under whose roof I continue to reside. Last Sabbath, I heard Mr. Ketley all day, and, after eight silent Sabbaths, it was a season of refreshing to my soul; and, as it was the first Sabbath of the new year, I had the unspeakable pleasure of sitting down with the church under his care at the table of our Lord Jesus Christ. To see Negro slaves, free people of colour, and white people, all surround the same table, was a sight the most interesting I ever beheld. Since the Lord's-day, I have seen and conversed with several of the members of the church, and found every reason to be satisfied with their knowledge and Christian experience. I have been specially pleased to find, that among the candidates for membership and the persons lately received, are several young men of colour chiefly, who, I trust, will soon be useful teachers in schools and Bible classes. Mr. Ketley's labours appear to be very abundant, and to be eminently countenanced by God. It appears he had been long in delicate health; but all who pray for the coming of Christ's kingdom have cause to bless God in his behalf, for his health appears now to be confirmed. I trust, my dear sir, I shall continue to have an interest in your prayers, in the prayers of the Directors generally, and in the prayers of all who love the Lord Jesus in sincerity and truth, that I may be enabled to take heed to myself and to the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, and be rendered instrumental in promoting that kingdom which is not of this world. 1 am, my dear Sir, Cuddapah (or Cudapah) is situated in the Peninsula of India, in north latitude 14° 28', and east longitude 79°; being about 152 miles (travelling distance) from Madras. For many years it was the seat of an independent Patan state, which had survived the destruction of the kingdoms of the Deccan. At present, it forms the chief town, or city, of one of the two great districts (or collectorates), into which the Balaghaut ceded territories were divided; Cuddapah being the capital of the eastern, and Bellary (another of the Society's stations,) being the capital of the western, division. Cuddapah is supposed to contain a population of 60,000, of which about two-thirds are Gentoos (or Hindoos), and the rest Mohammedans, Indo-Britons, &c. The name of the place is sometimes written Kirpa, but both Cuddapah and Kirpa are corruptions from the Sanscrit word Cripa, which signifies MERCY. The language chiefly spoken throughout this collectorate is Teloogoo. pre The mission at Cuddapah was commenced in 1822, by Mr. William Howell, who had viously laboured for several years, chiefly in the capacity of superintendent of native schools, in connexion with the Society's mission at Bellary. Mr. Howell was ordained to the Christian ministry in 1824. Being already acquainted with the Teloogoo language, he was enabled, immediately on his arrival at the station, to take charge of two native boys' schools, on the invitation of F. Lascelles, esq., registrar of the Zillah court, by whom they had been previously established to which he himself shortly afterwards added two other boys' schools (of which one was an Hindoostanee school), and one for native females; all of them being supported by the liberality of respectable Europeans resident on the spot. These schools have been since much increased. According to the returns of 1830, the number of schools was seven, and that of the children instructed therein 193; of whom 164 were boys, and the rest girls. The Scriptures have been uniformly taught in the schools, and the progress of the children has been very satisfactory. Some of the native youths, who had received their education in these seminaries, have been, from the reading of the Scriptures, so deeply impressed with the wickedness and folly of idolatry, as spontaneously to express their desire that it might be entirely banished from the earth, and the Christian religion be universally established. One of the useful results (remarked by the missionary) from these schools is, that the children in general, who have been educated therein, grow up with less prejudice against Christianity than those Hindoo youths who have not participated in the same advantages. From the commencement of operations at this station, the missionary has preached the Gospel to the natives with much encouragement and success; and, in 1824, had established four stated weekly services for that purpose. A considerable number of the natives have made an open profession of Christianity, and have been baptized. In the last-mentioned year, a native Christian church was formed, consisting of 10 members, which number has been since increased to nearly 30, but with intermediate fluctuations, chiefly occasioned by removals to other places. The good attendance of the native congregation, and the earnest attention paid to the reading of the Scriptures by many of its members, have been a source of great encouragement to the missionary; and the benefits thence derived by the people have been further increased by the opportunities they have enjoyed of assembling, from time to time, for religious conversation at his house, on which occasions he endeavours, as far as possible, to ascertain their advance in spiritual attainments, and to explain to them the word of God more perfectly. The itinerant labours of the missionary belonging to this station have been very extensive, and not unfrequent; sometimes embracing circuits of 100, 150, 200, and even 250 miles, performed chiefly within the limits of the collectorate. In the course of these missionary tours, he has preached the gospel in numerous places, and, in the more populous towns and villages, to crowded congregations; beside conversing with small groups of the natives, and with individuals, as opportunities have offered. He also, at the same time, distributes numerous copies of the New Testament, and smaller portions of the Scriptures, in Teloogoo, together with tracts in that language. The books distributed are usually received with eagerness, and apparently read with pleasure. To the Scriptures and other books heretofore put into circulation, has been lately added Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, a translation of which into Teloogoo has been made by the missionary, and printed at the sole expense of a respectable European lately resident at Cuddapah. On one of the more recent excursions of the missionary, he was accompanied by one of the native teachers (several of whom have been raised up from among the Hindoos at this station,) who, in every village through which they passed on their tour, earnestly exhorted the people to put away their idols, and to receive the gospel; and, in his capacity of Reader, read aloud to them out of a work lately composed by the missionary, entitled Criticisms on the Shasters, which excited great attention and inquiry. Christian knowledge is likewise disseminated, in various and distant parts of the collectorate, by means of the distribution of the Scriptures, and other religious books, at the Hindoo festivals; and also among the natives who are summoned every half year to attend the court of sessions, at Cuddapah, together with others who, on those occasions, go there to renew their leases. The people who are thus, periodically, brought up from the country to the capital of the district, remain there, in a greater or less number, for a term of nearly two months, during which many of them have the privilege of daily hearing the word of life dispensed by the missionary. Each of them also receives from him a copy of the gospels, or some other portion of the Scriptures. For the means afforded him of making this distri bution, the missionary is indebted to the liberality of the Madras Auxiliary Bible Society. |