gods he is the only God, and is infinitely superior to them all. So with regard to the law of God, the reward of the righteous, &c. &c. All are viewed in a new light. How far superior is the divine law requiring holiness of heart, to one which leaves this great fountain of evil untouched, and merely attempts to dry up some of the inconsiderable streams. How rich a blessing is the Christian's heaven in contrast with the Burman's nigban! But you see what I mean from the above remarks, and are prepared in a degree to enter into our present feelings. The religion of Christ loses nothing by the closest inspection, and a comparison of this evening, and have tried to supplicate the divine blessing upon those dear churches where our names are recorded, and I doubt not that when they bow before our Father's throne this evening, we shall be remembered. Every thing is vastly different here from our highly favored native land, and so changed is the whole current of thought and feeling during the first months of one's residence among the heathen, that he seems almost to have commenced a new existence. Religion is the same every where, but the associations connected with it here, are so different from those which pertain to it in America, that it seems almost new. At home we regard the divine charac-it with the best system of heathenism, ter more in the abstract, here we compare it with that of the heathen's god; there we look upon God as possessing every perfection in an infinite degree, and therefore every way worthy of our supreme love, &c., here we add to this the idea that among all that are called (and certainly the religion of Gaudama has many claims to such an appellation,) renders it still more precious. I find myself at a loss now in explaining definitely what I mean; but I can say, that if I ever gloried in the cross of Christ, I have done so in Arracan. Donations from March 15 to April 15, 1836. Ohio-Aurora, Portage Co.,-a friend, $11; Twinsburgh Bap. Ch. 3,50; Hiram and Troy Bap. Ch., 1; Streetsborough Fem. So. of Bap. Ch., 5.00; Dea. Franklin, 50 cts. for Bur. Miss.; Jer. Mason, for Bur. Tracts, 5,00-per J. E. Jackson, treas., &c., Cleveland Bap. Ch., 17,00; Mrs. Townsend's children, 13,50, for Bur. Miss., per B. Rouse, Esq., Georgia-Sunbury Fem. Mission. Soc., for Burman Tracts, 26,00 30,50 56,50 7,00 for Foreign Missions, 52,50 per Prof. Ripley, 59,50 New York-Albany Fem. Soc. of Pearl St. Bap. Ch. for sup. of Moung Oo- 100,00 1000,00 Pennsylvania-Philadelphia Youth's Missionary Society of First Baptist Ch. Philadelphia Youth's Burman Edu. So., connected with Spruce St. Bap. Ch., Rhode Island-Soc. of Miss. Inq. of Brown Univ., per A. S. Lyon, treas., Virginia-Richmond Bap. African Missionary Society, for the African Mission, Virginia-Richmond Youth's Missionary So. of 2d Bap. Ch., Fem. Missionary per Rev. J. B. Taylor, 60,00 86,46 10,00 1,00 60,00 80,00 115,00 33,40 148,40 23,00 Richmond Fem. Miss. So. of Second Bap. Ch., for medicines for African Miss., per Rev. J. B. Taylor, 15th Dec. '35, Massachusetts-Medfield Bap. Ch. for Bur. Bible, per Rev. H. N. Loring, South Carolina-General Committee of the Charleston Association, as follows: Goose Creek ch., 12,12; Wassamsaw, 4,13; Mount Olivet, 7,75; Mr. C. Entzminger, 5,00; Congaree, 28,25; Two sisters, 1,50; Columbia, 47,50; Rev. John F. Marshall, 100,00; Columbia, mon. con., 6,13; Mr. B. F. Smith, 50,00; A friend through the post office, by Rev. B. Manly, 30,00; Miss J. Cameron, 2,00; Miss J. Thompson, 2,00; Charleston Bap. ch. mon. con., 14,38; A mite for Burmah, 5,00, 315,76 Edgefield Association, as follows: Lexington, 3,63; Cloud's Creek, 4,25; Sardis, 9,50; Red Bank, 3,75; Z. Rudolph, 10,00; Z. Rudolph, Jr. 5,00; Mrs. E. Y. Peay, 5,00; Rev. M. Abney, 1,00; Pine Pleasant, 25,50; Sister Springs, 13,87; Siloam, 13,00; Providence, 8,38; Beulah, 13,56; Bethany, 21,00; Mrs. G. Nicholson, 2,00; Mrs. I. Blocker, ,50; Mount Moriah, 29,06; Fellowship, 13,56; Good Hope, 12,87; Edgefield, 15,00, per Rev. Jesse Hartwell, 29,00 210,43- -526,19 H. LINCOLN, Treasurer. Hartford, Con., April 27, 1836. The Board met, at 10 o'clock, A. M., at the meeting-house of the First Baptist Church.-Present, Rev. DANIEL SHARP, D. D., First Vice Sec D., Rev. NATHANIEL KENDRICK, D. D., Rev. BASIL MANLY, Seventh Vice Presi dent. Rev. LUCIUS BOLLES, D. D., Corresponding Secretary. JAMES D. KNOWLES, Recording Secre- HEMAN LINCOLN, Esq., Treasurer. Rev. ARCHIBALD MACLAY, Rev. JONATHAN GOING, D. D., Rev. ELON GALUSHA, Rev. NATHANIEL W. WILLIAMS, Rev. ROBERT E. PATTISON, Rev. HENRY JACKSON, Rev. IRAH CHASE, Rev. ELI BALL, Rev. JAMES H. LINSLEY, Rev. JOSEPH A. WARNE, Rev. CHARLES G. SOMMERS, Resolved, That ministers of the Gospel present, who are not members of the Board, be invited to take a seat, and participate in the deliberations. The following brethren reported their names: Henry Archibald, Jacob H. Brouner, John Cookson, D. D. Pratt, F. A. Willard, J. H. Baker, Horace Seaver, Sidney S. Carter, B. Cooke, A. Gates, B. Manning, C. O. Kimball, I. T. Hinton, D. Ives, M. Bolles, John Paine, G. Phippen, Gibbon Williams, J. M. Graves, Erastus Denison, S. S. Cutting, F. Bestor, H. Wooster, S. S. Nelson, Frederick Wightman, William Bentley, B. Stow, R. H. Neale. The Annual Report was then read by the Secretary. Resolved, That the Report be accepted; and that it be referred to the Committees, which shall be appointed on the several missions, and other subjects mentioned in the Report. The Treasurer read his Annual Report. Resolved, That the Report be accepted, and published. A letter was read from the Rev. Mr. Brigham, on behalf of the Board of Rev. BARTHOLOMEW T. WELCH, D. D., Managers of the American Bible So Rev. WILLIAM R. WILLIAMS, Rev. JOHN WAYLAND, Rev. OREN TRACY, Rev. ELI B. SMITH, Rev. DUNCAN DUNBAR, Rev. GUSTAVUS F. DAVIS, D. D., Mr. CHARLES L. ROBERTS. The President of the Board being absent, Rev. Dr. Sharp, the First Vice President, took the chair. Rev. Dr. Kendrick prayed. ciety, communicating certain resolutions recently adopted by that Board, in regard to translations of the Scriptures, and informing the Board of an appropriation of $5000. Resolved, That these communications be referred to a Committee of seven members. Adjourned till half past two o'clock. Dr. Brantly prayed. Wednesday afternoon. The Board met.-Rev. Mr. Smith prayed. Resolved, That a Committee of three be appointed to make arrangements for the devotional services of to-morrow evening; and that Messrs. Davis, Bolles and Lincoln be the Committee. The following Committees were appointed: Committee on the Burman missionMessrs. Kendrick, John Wayland and Tracy. Committee on the Indian stationsMessrs. Dagg, N. W. Williams and Smith. Committee on the African mission Messrs. Maclay, Ball and Linsley. Committee on Publications-Messrs. Welch and Pattison. Committee on the Siam missionMessrs. Galusha, Ball and W. R. Williams. Committee on the Assam mission, and on new stations—Messrs. Going, Warne and Sommers. Committee on the communications from the Board of Managers of the American Bible Society-Messrs. Cone, Manly, Colgate, Farwell, Brantly, Knowles and F. Wayland, Jr. Adjourned till nine o'clock, to-morrow morning.--Rev. Mr. Maclay prayed. In the evening, the annual sermon was delivered at the First Baptist meeting house, by Rev. Elon Galusha, from Luke x. 2: "Therefore said he unto them, The harvest truly is great, but the laborers are few; pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that he would send forth laborers into his harvest." ed. Thursday morning, April 28. The Board met.—Rev. Mr. Ball prayThe Committee on the Indian stations reported, that they had examined those parts of the Annual Report, which relate to the Indian stations, and had no suggestions to offer. ted by the Board, and crowned with the blessing of God." The Committee on the communications from the Board of Managers of the American Bible Society, made the following REPORT: The Committee, to whom were referred the communications from the Board of Managers of the American Bible Society, unanimously report: That these communications present two subjects, for the decision of the Board: 1. Mr. Brigham, in his letter, dated March 25, 1836, states, that "on the 17th inst, at a meeting of the Managers, the sum of five thousand dollars was appropriated to the Baptist Board of Foreign Missions, to promote the circulation of the Scriptures, in foreign tongues." This appropriation, however, was made in accordance with certain resolutions of the Board of Managers, adopted Feb. 17, 1836, one of which resolutions declares, "that, in appropriating money for the translating, printing, or distributing, of the sacred Scriptures, in foreign languages, the Managers feel at liberty to encourage only such versions as conform in the principles of their translation to the common English version, at least so far as that all the religious denominations represented in the society can consistently use and circulate said versions in their several schools and communities.”—Another resolution declares," that the several Missionary Boards be informed, that their applications for aid must be accompanied with a declaration, that the versions which they propose to circulate are executed in accordance with the above resolutions." The Committee recommend to the Board the adoption of the following preamble and resolution : Whereas this Board, at their Annual Meeting, held in Salem, in April, 1833, adopted the following resolutions : "Resolved, that the Board feel it to be their duty to adopt all prudent measures to give to the heathen the pure Word of God in their own languages; and to furnish their missionaries with all the means in their power to make the translations as exact a representation of the mind of the Holy Spirit, as may be possible. "Resolved, that all the missionaries of Resolved, That the report be ac- the Board, who are, or who shall be, encepted. gaged in translating the Scriptures, be inThe Committee on the African mis-structed to endeavor, by earnest prayer, and sion reported, "that they highly approved of the plans adopted by the Board for spreading the Gospel in Hayti and Western Africa. They find nothing left for them to suggest, and they wish only to express their earnest desire, that the same course may be prosecu diligent study, to ascertain the exact meaning of the original text; to express that meaning, as exactly as the nature of the languages into which they shall translate the Bible will permit; and to transfer no words which are capable of being literally translated." And whereas the Board still adhere | firmly to these resolutions, as expressing, in their judgment, the only true principle on which translations can be made; and as uttering what they believe to be the decided opinion of the great mass of the denomination whom they represent: Therefore, Resolved, that the Board of Managers of the American Bible Society be respectfully informed, that this Board cannot,consistently and conscientiously, comply with the conditions on which appropriations are now made, and cannot therefore accept the sum appropriated by the Board of Managers on the 17th of March, 1836. 2. Mr. Brigham further informs the Secretary of the Board, that "it is in contemplation to send Bible agents to several of the large missionary stations abroad, to take charge of the interests of the Bible cause so far as the American Bible Society is concerned. It is designed, that the agent, in each case, be of the denomination to which the missionaries on the ground belong. Would it, Sir, be agreeable to your Board, to have such an agent sent to any of your stations? The Committee recommend the adoption of the following resolution : Resolved, That in the present state of things, the Board cannot perceive, that the appointment of an agent of the American Bible Society, at any of their stations, would subserve any valuable purpose. The Committee further recommend the adoption of the following preamble and resolution : Whereas the Board have been impelled, by a conscientious conviction of duty, to decline accepting the appropriation of funds made, on certain conditions, by the Board of Managers of the American Bible Society; as the translation, printing and distribution of the sacred Scriptures in the languages of the heathen are vitally connected with the glory of God and with the salvation of men; and as the American Baptists enjoy great facilities for prosecuting this important work: Therefore, Resolved, that our brethren throughout the Union be most earnestly requested, to adopt measures, in their churches, associations, missionary societies, or by any other suitable means, so to augment the funds of the Board, that the work of translating, printing and distributing the Word of God, in heathen tongues, may be prosecuted with diligence and energy, commensurate with the grandeur and surpassing importance of the enterprise. S. H. CONE, Chairman. Resolved, unanimously, That the report be accepted, and the resolutions adopted. The Committee on the Siam mission made the following REPORT: The Committee to whom was referred so much of the Annual Report as relates to the Siam and Arracan missions, and those to the Chinese and the Telingas, believing it to have been the intention of their appointment, that they should not bring again in review before this meeting the various subjects of that document, unless some change should be deemed by them advisable, as to the plans suggested in the Report, or in its form, have accordingly examined all that portion of the Annual Report thus entrusted to their consideration,and would report, that they find no changes which it seems desirable to suggest, as to the shape which the Annual Report has already received, regarding these fields of missionary effort. All which is respectfully submitted. ELON GALUSHA, Chairman. Resolved, That the report be accepted. The Committee on the missions to France and Germany, made the following REPORT: The Committee to whom was referred that part of the Corresponding Secretary's Report, which relates to France and Germany, recommend its adoption without amendment. Were it not, however, for the great length of the Report as a whole, we should be disposed to enlarge somewhat on the missions to those countries. We are deeply impressed with the importance of prosecuting these missions vigorously. With new efforts in the department of the North, and in some other parts of France, we hope there will be new and enlarged efforts at Paris, which is so emphatically the heart of that populous kingdom. There, besides other means for attaining the objects of the mission, the PRESS can be most happily employed. But regular preaching, meetings for prayer, religious visiting, innumerable occasional conversations, suitable and timely attention with persons at a distance, must not be to religious strangers, and correspondence there, so that we may reasonably expect the neglected. To do all that must be done blessing of God, the laborious co-operation of several men at that station, is imperiously demanded. convinced of the wisdom of the course At the same time, we are more and more adopted by the Board in relation to this mission, namely, that our main dependence, under God, for evangelizing France, must be on our native French brethren; and that our principal efforts should be directed to the most efficient instruction of those who may preach the gospel in its purity and power to their countrymen, in their own language. In regard to Germany, it is a signally favorable circumstance, that there is already in general circulation so faithful and excellent a version of the Holy Scriptares, as that of Luther; and the present state of the Mennonites, to say nothing of other considerations, calls loudly upon us for help. The facts stated in the Report, we trust, will be sufficient to give our churches to feel, that, in relation both to France and to Germany, we are bound to thank God and take courage. Respectfully submitted. IRAH CHASE, HENRY JACKSON, Committee. Resolved, That the report be accepted. The Committee on Publications made the following REPORT: do little beside recommending the details occupation of the Chinese Empire;-not, perhaps, immediately by the missionaries of the Board, though ultimately by them, but by the Shans themselves, who have considerable intercourse with the Chinese, in the western part of the Empire. The only publication under the control This field appears important to your Comand expressly designed to promote the in-mittee, also, as opening another door to the terests of the Board, is the Baptist Missionary Magazine, a monthly periodical. The character of this work has been recently modified. While it will contain, occasionally, articles of general missionary interest, its pages will be principally occupied with accounts of the doings of the Society, and with the correspondence of the missionaries themselves. It is, therefore, to be in future strictly a Missionary Magazine. The reasons why it has assumed this exclusive character must be obvious to all. For while the Christian Review, which has recently risen under so favorable auspices, affords a better medium, through which to reach the public mind on all literary and religious subjects in general, the operations of the Board have become so extensive, as to require for future advancement, one periodical of suitable size and ably conducted. Such is the present character of the Magazine. We can recommend no alteration in its management at present, nor desire any other, than that which must arise from the increasing efficiency of the society itself-to contribute to which, we believe this periodical is an important auxiliary. So important, indeed, does this field appear to your Committee, that if, in order to its cultivation, it were necessary to relinquish the ground we at present occupy in India, they are inclined to think such relinquishment would be duty. No such necessity, however, exists;-no:-we would hold all the ground which has been gained by labor, and suffering, and prayer; and would labor and suffer and pray that we may speedily be put in possession of that which now invites our entrance. Your Committee trust the acting Board will be prompt and vigorous, in their efforts, in this direction; and they feel assured that the prayers and contributions of the Churches will not be wanting, by which they shall be directed and sustained. Having adverted to the subject of contributions, your Committee feel constrained to remark, that as Providence has opened before us, and rendered accessible to the gospel by our means, a sphere of operations, four or five times as extensive as that already possessed, and a population, even ten Providence, to refuse to occupy it; and intimes as great, it would be distrust of that gratitude to the Giver of all our possessions, should we withhold from this enterprise such a portion of the property of which He has made us stewards, as is requisite to enable us to occupy it. Let the minds of our denomination be suitably enlightened, and let suitable appeals be made to them, and your Committee have the fullest confidence |