the very dust of whose feet was eagerly collected by crowds of devotees, who would also drink the water in which a Priest happened to put his foot, as a remedy for all disorders: these men were guilty of the grossest vices. Many of them were the greatest polygamists in the country; and a Priest of one sect of the Brahmins would marry into forty or fifty families for the purpose of living a life of idleness and vicious indulgence, never owning his children, and thus living until he passed into eternity. How then could these people be anything but vile? With regard to the domestic affections, let it be remembered that their female children were frequently destroyed in infancy; or, if they grow up to womanhood, it was only to be ill-used and oppressed. With the exception of those brought up in the Missionary schools, not a woman could read, or use her needle; their life was one of hard servitude and drudgery; they must not eat with their husbands, they must not speak to the other members of the family; their own children insulted them; and from the cradle to the grave they were unhappy. The sick were treated in the most barbarous manner. The children of a sick man would take him down to the side of a river, and stop up his nostrils, mouth, and ears with mud, and thus strangle him. Sometimes the sick were left to be destroyed by the scorching rays of the sun; and sometimes they were half-devoured by insects before death. As to the social ties, the Brahminical religion shows some indulgence to persons of the same caste, but for others none. A boat's crew may be sinking in the Ganges, and others who witness it, instead of attempting to render the slightest aid, only laugh at their shrieks. If a house be on fire, they will not stir a step to save the inmates of another caste. When a poor man has made a pilgrimage of a hundred miles, and lies by the wayside exhausted, and dying of fatigue and want, hundreds and thousands of Hindoos will pass him, and never ask about his necessities, or offer him help. Mr. Grant, the father of the present noble Secretary of State for the Colonies, had recorded that lying, theft, dishonesty, treachery, and servility, were the universal rule to which there were but few exceptions; and that it was no longer in India thought to be a disgrace to be dishonest and detected. The Abbé Dubois says, a Brahmin told him that a Brahmin was an ant's nest of lies and impostures. What, then, he would ask, were the prospects of such a people in eternity? If the word of God declared VOL. XVII. Third Series. that without holiness no man shall see the Lord, how could these poor beings reach that eternal world in safety, when everything combined to make them radically, profoundly, and universally unholy? If the Almighty had declared, that all idolaters shall have their part in the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone, what was to become of them who, not liking to retain God in their knowledge, bowed down to three hundred and thirty millions of idols? If our blessed Lord had said that "this is life eternal, to know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent; "then where was the prospect of life eternal to those who had not the least glimmering of the knowledge of the Saviour of mankind? If the word of God declared, that as many as sinned without the law must perish without the law; then what hope was there for the millions of India, not one of whom appeared to have the least regard to natural conscience, or even minded the little light that still remained respecting their duty; but were day by day, hour by hour, and moment by mo ment, sinning without the law? İf the word of God declared those Heathens to be by nature "the children of wrath, even as others," where was the rational hope that they should be the children of his love, and pass into his presence in peace ? If that word declared that Heathens are without God and without hope, in the world, where could be found any ground on which to place that hope, or how could that be anything but a delusive imagination with which we might cheer our own desponding heart, but do them not the least good, if we believed that there was any hope, in the face of the positive statement of the word of God, and all experience and knowledge of the state of that people? Again: what hope was there that they should pass into eternity in peace, unless the gift of the Gospel of Jesus Christ was carried to them by Christian humanity? If it were a hopeless enterprise, we might, perhaps, be excused, if we should hide the odious truth from our minds, by drawing a glittering veil over features too hideous for us to gaze on; but if, thanks be to God, everything proved that the enterprise was anything but hopeless, and there was everything that should stir us up to animation and activity, could we despair, when the Saviour had said, "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel?" Could they despond, when Christ himself commanded them to pray the "Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers into the harvest ?" JUNE, 1838. 2 F Could there be a question about a successful issue, when they considered not only what God had promised to do, but what he had already wrought? III. THE BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY. THE Thirty-fourth Anniversary of this Society was held at Exeter-Hall on Wednesday, May 2d: the President, Lord Bexley, in the chair. The speak ers were, Viscount Lorton; the Bishop of Chester; the Bishop of Norwich; the Rev. Dr. Henderson; the Rev. M. Merle D'Aubigné; Andrew Stevenson, Esq., the American Minister; the Rev. J. Birt; Lord Teignmouth; Yagouba Asaad El Kehaya; the Rev. Robert Daly; the Rev. Robert Newstead; the Rev. John W. Cunningham; Mr. Dudley; Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, M. P.; Edward Baines, Esq., M. P.; and Lord Mountsandford. The Report, which was read by the Rev. A. Brandram, the Clerical Secretary, stated, that though the issues of the Scriptures at home had fallen somewhat short of those of the previous year, the demand from abroad had been greatly beyond that of any previous year of the Society's operations. The income of the Society had fallen somewhat below that of the preceding year, yet the sums received by donations and contributions of Auxiliaries had increased. The Committee gratefully acknowledged the unanimity and harmony which prevailed in the Society in its domestic and foreign operations. In the last year, 120,654 copies of the Scriptures had been issued from the depôt at Paris, being 32,500 more than that of the previous year. One important feature of the Society at Paris was, the employment of colporteurs, in direct communication with the Society. The effects had been the immense increase just noticed. To Germany, Switzerland, and Poland, 47,634 copies of the Scriptures had been issued. 50,800 copies had issued from the press at Frankfort. In Belgium there had been an extraordinary increase in the circulation, owing to the activity of the colporteurs employed by the Society. They had distributed upwards of 20,000; but in doing so they had encountered much opposition and violent abuse from the Roman Catholics. In Petersburg, 7,444 copies of the Scriptures had been put into circulation. In Stockholm there had been distributed 8,047 copies of the Old, and 11,411 of the New Testament, besides 1,450 Finnish Testaments. In Berlin there had been a great increase in the distribution: 8,000 copies had been issued for the use of the Prussian troops, in the German, Polish, and Flemish languages. Into Spain, that long-benighted country, amidst all the disorder and confusion incidental to a civil war, the holy Scriptures were making a silent entrance. They were now openly issued in considerable numbers from the Spanish press, and were openly bought and sold in many of the chief towns; and in some of them they were in extensive demand. In Malta, in Greece, in Wallachia, Smyrna, and Constantinople, there had been a great increase in the number of copies of the Scriptures put into circulation. In British India, on which the Society had expended the sum of £112,000, the Scriptures had been translated into the languages and dialects of many districts; but still, though much had been effected, the supply was inadequate to meet the wants of a population of 134 millions of people. From the Report of the Calcutta Bible Society, it appeared that in all parts of British India there had been a great increase in the circulation of the Scriptures. In China, the progress of the Society had not proved so great as had been expected, owing to the vigilance with which every attempt to introduce the Scriptures was resisted by the Chinese authorities. In New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land there had been an increased demand for the Scriptures. In Madagascar, the Queen of that island still continued to persecute the Christians, some of whom had suffered martyrdom, which they had borne with a patience and fortitude worthy of the early martyrs. In Western and Southern Africa, considerable progress had been made in the translation of the Scriptures into the languages of several of the native tribes. The attempt to introduce the Scriptures into South America had not been attended with any great results, but still an opening was made for their introduction into some of the States. The Report then referred to the Twentyfirst Report of the United States Bible Society; from which it appeared that the same untiring zeal which had hitherto distinguished that excellent Society was still continued, and had had the effect of opening many new channels for the circulation of the holy Scriptures. The amount of the income of that Society in the last year had been 90,578 dollars. The copies of the Scriptures circulated had been 206,240, making a total circulation from the commencement of the Society, of 2,195,670 copies. After adverting to the loss of several influential members of the Society in the past year, and the addition of two Vice-Presidents, in the persons of the Bishops of Norwich and Salisbury, the Report stated that the income of the Society from all sources in the last year had amounted to £97,237. Is. 11d.; of which, £31,892. 168. had been derived from the free contributions of Auxiliary Associations, being an excess from that source of £1,258. 16s. 4d. beyond the amount of any preceding year. The donations had amounted to £4,845; the legacies to £11,911. 15s. The total expenditure of the year had amounted to £91,179. 14s. Ild. The issues for home circulation had been 369,764 copies, and for foreign circulation there had been issued 224,634 copies; being the greatest number of copies issued for foreign circulation in any year since the formation of the Society; making a total distribution of 4,216,580 Bibles, and of 6,671,460 Testaments: in all 10,888,043 copies. In the course of the past year there had been formed seventy new Asso. ciations, making in the whole 2,374 Associations at home, and 265 in the colonies. The Report also noticed, that considerable progress had been made in the publication of books by which, being printed in raised letters, the blind might be taught to read. Copies of the Psalms, and portions of the New Testament, had been completed in that manner. The Report, in conclusion, made a brief recapitulation of the progress of the Society in the past year, and pointed out the necessity of going forward and being active in giving the Bible, and never ceasing until the Bible was given to every man, in every tongue, and until they could say, "O earth! O earth! hear the word of the Lord." Christians come from China, or Persia, or any other part of the world, they are all brethren in the Lord. I am come from that country where the Lord appeared, and where the first apostolic church was formed, and that honourable name of Christian was first made in my beloved country, the city of Antioch. Many are fond of studying history, and you have more books than we have; you know very well what was the state of our country both before our Lord's era and afterwards. But now it is sunk in a dreadful state, and has been since the second Caliph Mahmoud. We were, however, the first country in the world before we were conquered; and Damascus was once, if not the first, not the second city of the world. Those who have come from the East and other parts of the world have found us in a very low condition, and far from God. But the providence of God kept some countries from being subdued by our foes; and from them have come the Scriptures to us. I am exceedingly indebted, first, to the Missionaries who came from the United States of America to our country; and, secondly, to the noble British and Foreign Bible Society, who enabled those Missionaries to bring us the Bible in our own language. My father thought, from the state of the country, that I must make up my mind not to stay in it; and by the providence of God he was able to give me some education, with a view to my becoming a Monk. I went to some Missionaries who came from Rome, and I learned Arabic, Greek, and so on. I then thought it was a pity I should go to the convent; so I went to some of the other Missionaries, who received me kindly, and assisted me with a little more education, which has enabled me to address you this day. I now see that the providence of God sent those Missionaries into my country. I began to study with great interest, feeling proud that I was a descendant of the Phoenicians, a Greek, and, as I believed, a Christian; a native of that country where the Gospel My costume already proves I am not was first preached, and the twelve Aposmaster of the English tongue. I do tles first met, and where a good many not only introduce myself to this ho- fathers of my beloved Church spent their nourable and most noble assembly lives in writing their homilies and serthrough the kindness I have received, mons. But the state of the country for both in my first and second visit to this many centuries sunk down; and, I dare country, but also in dependence on the say, your theologians find some things inprinciple expressed by the Apostle, that troduced into the Church which were not in the community of the Gospel there in it hundreds of years ago, by reason of should be distinctions of neither Greek nor the ignorance of the times. I do not Jew, bond nor free, barbarian nor Scy- like the changes which have been made, thian. Perhaps my dress may make me look but I never condemn the solid principles as if I come from China; but whether of the Church. My little education The following interesting statement was made by Yagouba Asaad El Kehaya, a native of Syria: gave me some influence in my own country. I began to read Arabic and Persian, and, of course, the Koran. I made acquaintance with some Mahomedans, who taught me the Koran secretly, and I had the opportunity of reading many of their books; but in the mean time I had about me that beloved fountain of truth, the Bible. I wanted to compare them, to see what it was that made one hundred and sixty millions of people embrace the doctrines of that man who came from the deserts, Mahomed. My Mahomedan teachers began to flatter me, and to say that of course I was not a Christian, but a Mahomedan in heart, though a Christian in profession, and that by God's predestination I should become a Mahomedan. I was not then a real Christian, but only professed to be so for the sake of worldly honour. Still I said, "I am a Christian, and I do not find any thing solid in your principles to make me embrace them, although you give me every sort of compliment, and flatter me with your worldly manners." The Sheik of the Mullahs was surprised that I was not convinced. While discharging my office at Damascus, I corresponded with the Missionaries, and asked them how I could be useful. In the mean time some people introduced me to the Pasha, to whom I acted as interpreter, when he was visited by many noblemen and gentlemen from your country. He said, "England is very fine, very good, and so forth; but the British Government owes debts of eight hundred millions." The English nobleman to whom he said so, answered, "What of that? Twentynine persons in my own country, and my father the thirtieth, will at any time form such a sum together." The Pasha was astonished, and so was I; and I wished to come to this country to see its riches. I came over as interpreter to some Princes, who were Mahomedans; and all the way we did not talk about any thing but religion. They said, "All would be happy if all were of one religion." I said, "Of course." Then we began to talk, and I was obliged to think seriously, and to read much of the Bible, in order to meet the difficulties of the Koran. When we came to this country we visited different places; and those noble Princes could not have omitted seeing the light of your country. Afterwards we returned to Constantinople, and proceeded on our journey, talking of religion all the way. At last one of them said, "If you come to Bagdad, I shall make one of the great Mullahs there convince you, and give you all 'proofs." I went home, and as a mem "ber of the Greek Church, I began to think it my duty to do something for my country; and first, to get education on Christian principles, particularly for females. Many said I was wrong; some called me mad; but a great many liked it. But I did not mind what they said, whether it was this or that. I said, I must do it. The people said, I came from the moon. I gave up my office to the Consul, and told him he must get some other person for interpreter, because I felt that I could do something for my country, especially to introduce female education on Christian principles, in order to bring in Christianity among the Mahomedans. I began to travel, and every man was glad to see me, because I gave them accounts of England and other countries, and also of the history of their own country, of which they were igno rant. They asked me the reason why England and Europe flourished so much. I told them it was a difficult question to answer; but my own mind was satisfied that England did not begin to flourish only since religion and Christianity flourished there, by the blessing of God, through the Bible and these benevolent institutions. I said their religion led them to have their Universities and their great philosophers; so that though their language is not so rich as ours, their philosophers make it richer and larger every year, and print thousands of books every year. They were very much astonished, and could hardly believe it; but I said I am satisfied that as long as these institutions proceed, the country will flourish. Allow me to say how the Bible can be introduced among the Mahomedans,-by education of the females. I told the English Christian ladies that they were very handsome, and very clean, and very good; but they don't do any thing for my poor country women. know that by nature women have great influence every where. When a party of seven of us were travelling in the desert, and were robbed by the Bedouins, I said to a woman who belonged to them, "We are strangers; why do you injure us, and do all this to us who have done no harm to you?" And then she began to speak in our favour, and even she had influence. The women of our country are the most civilized and polite in the East, but they are short of instruction. We think if we instruct them we shall spoil them. But when we see that ladies had some honour in prophesying and car. rying on the word of God, and in serving and attending the Apostles, we should teach women religion. I told I them, moreover, I may be wrong; but it is my opinion, that nothing can restrain any person from vice more than Christianity and education. Every person would be ashamed for his honour and name's sake to act any violation of good, or to have any bad, manners; but you see a low person, who is not educated, act vice. "O," they said, "but we don't want it." I went to Bagdad to the Mullahs, to hear their great proofs. I was introduced by the Princes. They said I was an unclean person. They said, "they would be happy to form my acquaintance, but they were sorry that our friendship would last only a few years, for in a little time we should be separated, for they would go to paradise, and I should go to hell." I said, I should be sorry indeed to go to that place which they had mentioned, but that I looked to God for mercy. I do not see by my not following my own religion, any thing but wickedness and danger; but we have one person who takes into paradise, the Lord Jesus Christ. When the noble Mullahs heard that, they said, "Is it possible? We began to converse every day, and continued for a year discussing religion, bringing the Gospel on the one hand, and the Koran on the other. I said, I can prove from your own book, which I have studied as much as you, that this book is a real book. They admitted that Christians went to heaven through Christ up to the time of Mahomed. I then said, "If you admit that, then perhaps my ancestors are there." They said, "Yes." I said, I would not become a Mahomedan without some proof, and I do not see any. They replied, "It is written, He is come, and he shall come after him whose name is Mahomed." Then I looked serious, and asked where that was written. They said, "In the Gospel." Then we searched the Gospel through, but it was not there. Then they said, "It is not written in the Gospel, but in the Koran for the Gospel." I told them, "I don't wish you to prove for the Gospel from the Koran, but to prove for the Koran from the Gospel." In all my speech with them, and in every thing, I looked to Providence; I had no protector but the Lord Jesus. They were civil enough, and we continued every day our conversation. At last they said, "You are right, and you cannot become a Mahomedan because you have no doubt." I told them that even the Koran itself spoke of Jesus Christ as God; and that in the resurrection, and the day of judg ment, he would not be silent, like Moses and the Prophets, but that he would prove himself the true Messiah, and bring all his followers to enter the kingdom of heaven. They then wished me to look at the miracles which proved the truth of Mahomedanism. I asked where the miracles were. They wanted me to go to Mahomed's tomb to Mecca. I said, "I have no objection to go, but what am I to do with all the Christians in England and Europe? How am I to bring them all to see the miracles that you say are to be seen at Mecca? They then said, they would pray for me; and I told them they were welcome to do so, and for themselves. I then studied the two books of Hafiz and Saadi; and my Mullah who taught me called me unclean; but he did not think my money unclean. After a time I thought it my duty to show him that I was not unclean, and to make him sit down to eat with me. I did not tell him he was bigoted. I could not tell him that he was following a false prophet. I said, "I am sorry you call me unclean; let me prove to you that I am not." Through the mercy of God he was convinced of the truth, but through fear of the people he did not say so. He began to eat and to drink with me, and to sleep in the same apartment. When I was coming away, he said, " For God's sake, take me with you.' But I had not the means, and I could not carry a man eight hundred miles, from Bagdad to Syria. I told him to wait, and he would meet some better opportunity to come away, and to see the light of the Lord. When he came to me in the morning, he would be astonished to see the Bible by my side. He would say, "Drop that, and let us begin our lesson." I told him that the Bible was most important; this must be first attended to. Your Missionarics must act on the policy of St. Paul, and they will find their way through the Mahomedans, and be able to introduce Christianity. They are not idolaters; they are not short of education; their literature is extensive; they have great understanding, and to a certain extent they acknowledge the true God. What is, therefore, the duty of Christians? To go and meet and converse with the Mahomedans. I have always felt for the Mahomedans, and therefore I began to speak for them at home. But I considered that I could no longer do any thing by myself, and therefore that I ought to come to England again, to solicit the benevolent Societies to do something not only for Syria, but for all parts of the East. I know the means of this country, both |