that be might be in possession of the re-into incitements to sedition and treason quisite means to expose their true character. This was, however, denied him. Subsequently, a spirited comment on these absurd charges was published in the Watchman of Dec. 27, signed by all our missionaries in the island, together with an able letter on the same subject by the Rev. John Barry, one of the Wesleyan brethren. But we rather select, for the close of this article, some remarks which appear in the Montego Bay Gazette, of Dec. 31, because we are anxious our readers should understand that the conduct it has been oar painful daty to record, must not be ascribed to the colonists generally. They will see that, in Jamaica itself, the same feelings have been excited by these measures as will pervade a large circle at home. The extract is as follows: and the endeavour to restrain, if not abrogate, a system of concubinage, alleged to be an attempt to encourage prostitution! Malicious indeed must have been the motives which could have induced, we believe we should here say extorted, even a shadow of evidence to sanction the colouring given to it; disgraceful and infamous must be those individuals, who by the incitements of interest could be prevailed on, even by extortion, to lend their aid to such nefarious intents. The acceptance of Building Contracts may attend the Whitewashed or Privileged Mason, or the providing of Tavern Entertainments reward the Publican for his services on this occasion, but the execration of all unbiassed, all liberal minds must be excited towards them, and their names henceforth become as bye-words to denote un-infamy and falsehood. By a fatality which providentially attends the most of double dealings, we find, that the examinations of these uninfluenced, disinterested witnesses, and the clear, liberal, and unprejudiced conceptions of the Committee, are to be transmitted to the mother country, printed and distributed in aid or as argument of the necessity of persevering in the 83rd, 84th, and 85th Clauses of the Slave Law of 1826, reprints of which are to accompany the Report and evidence in which it has its emanation. We rejoice at this, as we are convinced that in no other shape conld the cause of religious liberty, and the true intent and meaning of the restrictions on it, attempted to be imposed, be so clearly manifested. An enquiring public, like the population of Great Britain, will not content themselves with the mere allegatiors of witnesses, of whose veracity they can have no opportunity of judging; but rather consider, in what manner or under what motives the doctrines of Christianity could have been so far departed from as it is alleged th have been by Missionaries, whose positive instructions prohibit politi "The most determined, the most principled hostility which record ever established, we conceive, has been evinced in the report of the Sectarian Committee to the House of Assembly, and we hesitate not to say, that subornation the most gross must have been resorted to, in procuring the evidence, unsubstantial as it is, of the witnesses examined, and a portion of whose testimony has been made public. The head and front of the offence committed by the Missionaries, appears now in its true light-the evil of instruction, and it will hereafter be a fruitless endeavour, a profitless assertion, to urge sincerity of purpose in any deceptive provision, professing amelioration for its object, emanating from the Island Authorities. From their own Journals must they be convicted of an intent, under the mask of solicitude for the corporeal welfare of the slave population, of retarding their mental advancement, for to this alone can be attributed the obstinate adherence of the Assembly, verbatim et literatim, to the Slave Code of 1826. We cannot suppose that a proper and independent sense of privilege has really occasioned it, because a reference to the Colonial re-cal interfereuce between the master and his cords proves, that vapourings as loud as those emitted on this subject, have heretofore yielded to a sense of expediency, or the force of circumstances; but here a determined stand is to be made, and upon what grounds? Why certainly upon no other, than that mental improvement encourages a knowledge of physical force. For disguise it as they may, such is the uncoloured amount of all the argument urged against sectarians and their purposes. Malice and fear, inseparable adjuncts, have thus tortured the voluntary contributions of the Flock into extortions by the Pastor the mild and beneficent tenets of Christianity, when inculcated or taught by Dissenting Ministers, have thus been perverted slave, as to create abject poverty, loss of comfort and discontent among the slaves frequenting their chapels, and deterioration of property to their masters.' Reflection would infallibly teach them the absurdity of the supposition, and convince the most incredulous, that the only doctrines of equality and the rights of man, impressed upon the negro mind, must be those relative not to temporal, but to spiritual equality and right. That they preach aud teach sedition even from the pulpit, is too ridiculous an assertion to need contradiction; its fallacy is notorious; nor of its being 'so can stronger proof be afforded than the very withdrawal of the usual Christmas guards, a protection which antecedently to the progress know my usual round of duties here, I need of Sectarian instruction, was deemed as expedient to the safety of the island, as the not describe how I have been employed. highly prized privilege of Colonial Legisla-Two of these mouths have been so dreadtion itself. We repeat again what we have fully hot (such a season has not been known before said to the opponents of Sectarian in India for 60 years) that it has been quite a trial to do any thing at all. Just imagine Missions,' Declare openly your opposition to these Missionaries to have its origin in the two months without a drop of rain, the consideration of religious instruction, having thermometer by day in the shade from 102 to 100; by night, from 90 to 96; a a tendency too rapidly, for your views, to enlighten the negro mind, and to militate strong wind, bearing up clouds of dust, against the continuance of Slavery. blowing all the day, which needs but the Say at once, and manfully, We consider your in- colour to be called a flame. Imagine this, and you will not wonder that India proves fluence as detrimental to our interests the grave of so many Europeans; that any we desire and covet the brute labour of our seems much exist through such a season more astonishing. A few delightful showers on the 7th inst. and three following days have cooled the air a little, but at this moment the thermometer in the shade stands at Blessed be God, my health has been 103. tolerably good. For some days last month I was laid up with a severe cold and bilious fever, which threatened to injure my lungs, but through the kindness of my friends, Mr. and Mrs. Stevens of Patna, who took me to their home and nursed me, and that of Dr. King, who constantly attended me, I soon got over it, and was only prevented preaching two Sabbaths. Last week I had another bilious attack, but taking it in time, with a smart dose of calomel, no fever ensued. These repeated illnesses must of and course weaken the constitution apace, humanly speaking, shorten life; but I generally recover from them so rapidly, that I give them not much heed, and perhaps ought to apologize for saying so much on the subject. Good Dr. King told Mr. Stevens yesterday that he must go to the Cape, and that I ought to accompany him; but I have set my mind much upon making a journey up the country this next cold season as far as Delhi, in company with brother Smith, to but spend it as last year, and hope that nothing will occur to frustrate the plan. slaves alone. They labour for us contentedly if in ignorance, but open their eyes to the comforts of human life, of divine salvation, and we cannot extort from them one third of that emolument which they anteriorly accomplished for us. This we say would be compressing the lengthened arguments used against their Ministry into a few words-candour would then prevail over deception; and, instead of resorting to subterfuges and restrictions to cause their expulsion from the island, you might more ingenuously, if not so politically, exclaim "Go hence, we need you not." For these means for their egress might as constitutionally be resorted to, as those now adopted. Vituperation, calumny, and perjury might be avoided, and force in their ejection be used with, at least, more manliness, than the assassin-like endeavours of the Sectarian Committee' to attain that object." We must be permitted to add, as a postscript, that the Committee are most earnestly desirous to send three additional missionaries to Jamaica, for whose help the most pressing applications are made, that money is wanted to send them. We would use no indecent expe- Since I last addressed you, eight Eurodients' to extort,' but surely the peans and country born persons have been statements given will furnish pow-additions we have had cause for joy, a few added to us by baptism; but whilst in these erful arguments to persuade Chris- that seemed to run well for a season, have tians to new exertions in this good gone back to the world, and rank no longer amongst the followers of the Lamb. have mourned too the departure of some of our friends to distant stations: yet the Lord is able there "to keep them from falling," and I trust may make them, by this means, more extensively useful. Three of our friends have been in the same period removed by death, I trust to a better world; one of whom was the senior member of the household I spoke of, as being baptized together last year, a very good old woman, who having in a remarkable manner "seen the salvation of the Lord," departed in peace. In the other three members of this cause. DIGAH. From Mr. Burton to Mr. Dyer, dated Digah, June 23, 1828. My last communication, in which I gave you a short account of a journey to some of the Western stations and to the Mèlah at Allahabad, was dated March. During the three months which have succeeded I have remained stationary; and as you I In my last, I informed you that at Chunar I had met with a few members of Baptist churches, whom I had advised brother conductor Green to bring together at his house occasionally, and to assist them in their Christian course as he might be enabled. I will conclude my present letter with extracts from two I have lately received, one from brother Green, the other from brother Smith, of Benares, respecting Chunar. Brother Green's is dated 7th April: he says, "I have much pleasure in informing you of the Lord's goodness, to myself, family, and brethren, and hope that you and all our friends at Dinapore are enjoying the like blessing. We have, as you advised, formed ourselves into a little church, and our meetings are pretty well attended. They have requested me to speak to them twice a family I have increasing pleasure. Its head, a young man named Daniel Penhearaw, who has a salary of 50 rupees per mensem, as a writer and accountant, and lives near me, is highly spoken of by his master; and, improving rapidly in Christian knowledge and experience, begins to be a great help to me. We have lately commenced having Oordoo worship, at the house of one of our brethren in the Sepoy lines, on Friday evenings, where a number of the drummers and their wives attend regularly, and Daniel is usually the preacher. He speaks the Ourdoo (the Mussulman Hindustani) well. It greatly differs from the Hindoowi, which has till lately occupied my chief attention; I have, now, however, commenced the study of the former, and read it daily. With these two one might travel and preach, and be well understood by nearly all the millions inha-week, which I do in my poor way. Brother biting the numerous districts between Raj. mall and Loodianah; since the many dialects, (which I think have been wrongly termed languages,) prevailing in this immense plain, differ no more widely from these and each other, than the dialects of Somerset and Yorkshire do from each other, and from what is called English. Every where the Hindoo modern books and translations are written in Hindoowi-the Mussulman in Oordoo. At Patna, brother Pybah continues to labour with great diligence, but alas! like nearly all others, with little apparent success. Multitudes hear, but few, very few, obey. There seems nothing like serious inquiry amongst the people of any class or rank. Hindustan is indeed "a valley of dry bones," which only He can clothe with flesh, and revive. There are a few considerate people (compared with others) to be met with; but such persons almost invariably treat religion as a speculation, having little connection in any way with their welfare, and of which they are at liberty to entertain what opinions they please. They are deceitful beyond imagining. I told you of a Bramin who was with me for religious instruction, of whom I had very great hopes. The whole of his conduct for months was every thing that could be wished; he laboured hard with his hands, he gave up his caste, he earnestly requested baptism. About six weeks ago he expressed a wish to return to his home for a few days (twenty miles from hence), to settle with his harvest people. Borrowing a few rupees from a native Chris. tian, he went off, and has never returned! I have sent twice after him, and each time he has succeeded in making the messenger believe that he should return to Digah io three days. This is a just specimen of the kind of people we have to deal with. Alas! how very far they are from the " simplicity of Christ." Smith has been over to the fair (Melah), and baptized two men in the river near my house, and administered the Lord's Supper. One of the men's wives would have been baptized, only she had a fever." Brother Smith's letter is dated Benares, 27th May, and whilst it confirms the above, gives other interesting particulars respecting his own station. He says, "A few weeks after you left us, two Europeans at Chunar gave in their names as candidates for baptism. I baptized them on the 5th ult. in the presence of many people, and eight of us commemorated the dying love of Christ, in brother Green's house. It was a most affecting season. I have hope of a few persons more coming forward, but I must leave them for you to baptize, as they are the fruits of your labour. It is the cause of God, and must prevail. "On the 28th ult. a Mèlah took place opposite my house here, by the river side, where the Hindoos collected a number of planks and old boards, and built a high place and put their gods on the top of it; and when they were going to worship them, down came the boards and planks with the gods, which caused a great confusion, and about sixty persons were wounded, seven severely; of whom two died after three days, and on the 4th inst. a Bramin cut his throat before his god, as a sacrifice! Another person cut off his tongue, hoping to get it again! Oh, what a horrid darkness they must be in! May the Lord hasten that happy period when all these delusions will vanish away! The Braminee who came from Digah continues attending the means of grace every Lord's day. I have a Hindoo of the writer caste under instruction, who wishes to be baptized." Very affectionately yours, Contributions received on account of the Baptist Missionary Society, from January 20, to February 20, 1829, not including individual Subscriptions. Oxfordshire Auxiliary, by Mr. Samuel Huckvale, Treasurer Coate and Bampton, for Jamaica Mission West Middlesex Missionary Union :-Datchett, Collected by Mrs. Bailey.. Yorkshire Journey, by Rev. W. Groser : Accrington Bradford. Gildersome Howarth Keighley. Rawden Shipley Slack Lane Newcastle on Tyne, Missionary Association, by Mr. Cowell Bath, Female School, by Mrs. John Smith. Dublin, York-street Chapel, Missionary Fund, by Messrs. Allen.. North of England Auxiliary, by Rev. R. Pengilly. Stoke Newington, Collected by Miss Drayton Mr. Biddle, by Rev. James Upton Friend, by the Secretary Female Friend, by ditto, (for Female Education) Miss F. by Rev. George Barclay Friend to Jamaica, by ditto A Lady, by Rev. Thomas Fry Miss Barnes and Miss C. Barnes, by Rev. T. C. Edmonds.. FOR SCHOOLS. Mrs. Mary Brown, late of Ockbrook, near Derby, by John Lampson, Esq. 177 10 ..... WIDOW AND ORPHANS' FUND. Friend, by the Secretary Donation 0 10 0 TO CORRESPONDENTS. Mr. Knibb (of Kingston, Jamaica,) has received, and wishes us gratefully to acknowledge, "twenty presents to little children, from a little Boy and his Mamma." Parcels of Magazines and other Books have been received from Mr. Dafforne, Camberwell, and Mrs. Fernie, Tottenham. Littlewood & Co., Printers, Old Bailey. |