purpose, they visit schools, and seek for convenient opportunities to catechise and instruct children and youth, In short, it is their duty, and we believe the Missionaries of this Society usually sct under such an impression, to consider it their privilege to make known to their fellow-men the truths and blessings of the Great Salvation. All the Missionaries speak of their kind reception wherever they go; and of the strong sentiments of gratitude expressed by the inhabitants to them, to the Society, and to the people of this State, for these labours of love. Some individuals are found, and, occasionally, some settlement, who do not give the Missionaries a welcome reception, but they are few. And it is generally found that passing them by, according to the Saviour's direction, produces a powerful, and often a very salutary effect. All the Missionaries have pressing applications from most of the places that they visit, for a greater portion of their labours than they can consistently afford. In their communications with the Society, they speak of the great want of additional Missionary Labour in all the places of their employment. pas The greater part of the Christian Churches, in all our new Settlements, owe their origin to Missionary Labour. Many have been formed during the past year. Missionaries often take the toral charge of these Infant Churches, ministering to the congregation for a part of the time, while the residue is employed in the Missionary Service. In this way, the New Settlements have many more able and faithful Ministers resident among them than could otherwise have been expected. Thus the standard of salvation is erected, amid abounding error and darkness; and, through the divine blessing, will be long and steadily defended. The benighted pilgrim has a light on which he can fix his anxious eye, which will direct his soul in the way to God. BOARD OF MISSIONS. Twelfth Anniversary. THIS Anniversary was held at Springfield, Massachusetts, on the 19th and 20th of September last. In the afternoon of the 19th, the Rev. Dr. Morse preached from Ps. ii. 8. On the Report of a Committee on the 20th, which had been appointed the preceding day, to consider what measures ought to be taken to testify the respect of the Board for the memory of the Rev. Dr. Worcester, the late Corresponding Secretary, an affectionate testimony to his memory was entered on the records; and it was resolved to erect a suitable monument in the Burying-ground of the Mission at Brainerd, where he died. On the report of another Committee, it was resolved that the vacancy occasioned by the death of Dr. Worcester should be supplied, for the ensuing year, by the Trea surer. The Thirteenth Anniversary was appointed to be held at New Haven, Connecticut, on Thursday after the Second Wednesday of September next. The Rev. Dr. Proudfit being, by previous appointment, the Preacher at the ensuing Anniversary, the Rev. Dr. Moore was chosen to preach in case of his failure. TWELFTH REPOrt of the board.' We shall here give an abstract of the Home Proceedings detailed in this Report. Such of the Foreign Transactions as have not already appeared will be reserved, unless we should be able to find room for some of them in the remaining Numbers of this Year, for the next Survey. Receipts of the Twelfth Year. The Receipts of the Year may be stated, in round numbers, at 64,000 dollars-being 48,000 in money, and 16,000 in various articles of clothing and furniture, chiefly for the Indian Missions on the American Continent. Of these articles there were 245 boxes and packages, sent from different quarters Expenditure of the Twelfth Year. Sandwich Islands' Mission Cherokee Mission: At Brainerd On the Arkansaw Choctaw Mission 8162 6807 Foreign Mission School 824 7809 11479 669 14969 4587 nerally, most abundant resources would be furnished for sending Heralds of Salvation into every Heathen Country; while the flourishing state of religion would indicate, that the only sure way of obtaining happiness, is by labouring to communicate it to others. Benefit of Supplies of Clothing, &c. The Committee have had repeated occasion, in preceding Reports, to acknowledge the fruits of Female Benevolence. These fruits have recently been exhibited, to a very pleasing extent, in the provision which has been made, and is making, to furnish articles of clothing, furTotal... Dollars 46,771 niture, stationary, &c. for the different Missions and Schools. From the collections of this kind now preparing, very considerable shipments will be made, it is hoped, during the ensuing Autumn. The articles forwarded in consequence of these collections can be sold to the Natives, when not required for the com Remarks on the State of the Funds. The amount of the Payments of the Year is more than 10,000 Dollars less than the estimate, as laid before the public in the Report of last year. This reduction of contemplated expenditures was made from necessity; as the receipts during the former part of the year were very small, compared with the drafts upon the Treasury; and the operations of the Board suffered great embarrassment, and were threatened with still severer calamities. The Missions among the Indians, and especially that in the Choctaw Nation, suffered most. It is with lively satisfaction, that the Committee have it in their power to acknowledge the relief which the Treasury experienced during the latter part of the year. In doing this, they would humbly ascribe all the favour to the Lord of Missions. The means, which he condescended to bless, were frank and repeated disclosures of the necessities of the several Missions; aided by appeals from the Missionaries themselves, in behalf of the perishing Heathens around them. The spirit, which was excited in many different places, seems to warrant the firm persuasion, that the Christian Public of this country will not suffer the Missionary Cause to languish. Many individuals, who have regularly patronized this Cause, are beginning greatly to enlarge their benefactions: the importance of the object is continually increasing in their eyes: they are willing to labour hard and to practice rigorous economy, that they may be able to give considerable sums for the diffusion of the Gospel. If the same disposition should be extended to the Members of our Churches ge fort of the Mission Families and Schools; and this sale, or rather exchange, of valuable property, for labour or articles of food, is highly beneficial to both parties. Foreign Mission School. The progress of this Institution affords abundant encouragement to pursue the system of educating Heathen Youths, who may be cast upon our shores. It seems probable that the number of suitable candidates for this species of charity will be increasing, as the commercial intercourse, which our countrymen hold with many parts of the Heathen World, is frequent, and of such a character as to bring our sea-captains and factors into a personal acquaintance with the chiefs and people of many tribes. Mr. Fisk suggests, also, that some promising Youths, of Greek extraction, may probably hereafter visit Cornwall to enjoy the benefits of the School. The state of the School has been generally prosperous, during the year. While the pupils have rewarded the assiduous care of their instructors by their docility and attention, it is peculiarly gratifying to add, that the greatest of all blessings, those of a spiritual nature, have been continued to the Institution. The whole number of pupils is thirtyare from the four-of whom, seven Sandwich Islands. one is from Otaheite, one from New Zealand, one is a Malay, eight are Cherokees, two Choctaws, three of the Stockbridge Tribe, one of the Oneida Tribe, one Tuscarora, one Narragansett, two Coughmewagas, one Indian Youth from Pennsylvania, and five Youths of our own country. Of these, nineteen are professors of religion, and five others are thought to have become religious in a time of uncommon seriousness among the pupils. As this Report may fall into the hands of persons in distant countries, unacquainted with the general practice of Churches in the United States, it is proper to observe, that when we speak of "Professors of Religion," we intend those, who appear, after a diligent and thorough examination, to be truly converted to God; and who, in consequence of their sustaining the character of sincere penitents and true believers, are admitted to make a public profession of their faith, and to become Members of a Church. Those Members of the School, who are not Professors of Religion, regard Christianity as true, and as pointing out the only way of salvation. Most of them appear desirous of possessing that good part, which shall never be taken from them. It is now five years since the Foreign Mission School was established. The public have seen its design, its manage. ment, and its happy results. The prayers of thousands ascend for its welfare; and the thanks of other thousands, in remote Heathen Countries, will be returned for its beneficent influence. The Number of Labourers restricted by Wunt of Funds. The Board was formed, in consequence of the ardent desire of Theological Students, just about entering the Ministry, to be sent forth to the unevangelized world: and the number of Students, possessing a similar unquenchable desire, has been continually in advance of the means provided for their support. It should be mentioned, with devout ascriptions of praise, that the great Head of the Church has made provision for a succession of Ministers and Missionaries, in the extensive revivals of religion, with which the Churches of our land have been favoured, for several years past. In the progress of these revivals, many young persons of both sexes have, in the judgment of enlightened charity, become the subjects of renewing grace; and have had their minds enlarged to contemplate the wants of mankind, and their hearts filled with compassion for the millions remaining in all the darkness and misery of Paganism. It is not extravagant to hope, that, from among the numerous Youths, whose souls appear to be imbued with a disposition to labour for the salvation of men, a host will hereafter be marshalled to carry on the war against Satan, in many parts of the world, where he has heretofore held an undisputed empire. Never before were half so many Young Men in a course of education for the Ministry among ourselves, as at the present time; and it may be safely asserted, that hundreds of these Young Men were first led to think of be coming Preachers of the Gospel, by the interest which they felt in Missions to the Heathen, and by the effect of these Missions in exposing the wants and miseries of the greater part of the world, dead in sin, without God and without hope. Facts of a similar character have recently existed in Great Britain, and on the Continent of Europe. The attempt to send salvation to remote Pagans has proved as life from the dead to many slumbering Churches ; and, from the very nature of Christianity, the same results must be expected, till there shall be no ignorance abroad to be enlightened, and no lukewarmness at home from which professed Christians are to be aroused. Let it ever remain, then, fixed and settled in the mind, that there are in our country Young Men enough to carry forward the Work of Missions to an indefinite extent-Young Men of undoubted piety; qualified to rank high in their several callings, as Evangelists, Pastors, Founders of rising Churches, Translators of the Bible, Directors of the Press, Physicians, Magistrates of Colonies in their incipient state, Teachers of Children and Youth, Husbandmen, Mechanics of every useful occupation, and Seamen of every class, from the experienced navigator who can guide his gallant ship in unknown seas, to the hardy sailor who is willing to buffet the waves of every ocean and run the hazard of every climate. Persons of all these descriptions stand ready; and wait only for the word from our Churches, to go forth into all lands, and proclaim the unsearchable riches of Christ to the ends of the world. The People of the United States com petent to supply Adequate Funds. If the inquiry be made, whether the people of the United States are able to send forth such a number of Missionaries as the Heathen Nations seem to demand from us, the answer must be in the affirmative. We profess, as a people, to receive Christianity; and it is not common to hear Infidelity openly avowed. A great multitude scattered throughout our extensive empire, profess to have evidence of a personal interest in the promises of the Gospel: and this multitude embraces many individuals of great wealth-a more numerous class, who possess competent fortunes-and a class still more numerous, composed of persons, who, in consequence of their activity and industry, are capable of imparting a continual and powerful impulse to any beneficent exertions in which they should be generally and heartily engaged. Could not such a Christian Community achieve wonders in the work of benevolence, compared with which all that the world has yet witnessed would appear small and unworthy of the cause? There are many ways of estimating our ability as a people, in all of which no man can avoid coming to the same result; viz. that the process of enlightening mankind by the Gospel, could be carried on by us to an extent, which should leave all present exertions out of comparison and out of remembrance. When it is considered how much a Nation will cheerfully pay, through a long series of years, to support a war, and to discharge a debt imposed by war; when the millions annually wasted in the consumption of spirituous liquors are computed; and when the numerous other millions, expended in the thousand modifications of extravagance, are taken into the estimate to what an astonishing sum would the whole amount ! and how would it change the moral face of the world, if brought by the willing hands, and accompanied by the fervent prayers, and applied by the collected wisdom, of such a community! If we take as a rule what is known to be paid to this great object, by a few individuals of enlarged benevolence, and suppose the same disposition were graciously imparted to the mass of Pro fessed Christians, we arrive at a similar conclusion. What an awful picture does it give of mankind, to reflect, that, even in Christian Countries, it should be thought impossible to spend as much for the salvation of our fellow-creatures, as is freely spent to effectuate their destruction! How strange that it should be deemed chimerical even to desire, that one tenth part as much should be appropriated, to send the Bible and Preachers of Righteousness among the ignorant and destitute, as is actually spent to bring intemperance, misery, ourselves! and pauperism among One of the first effects of the prevalence of Christianity among a people, who had hitherto been Pagans, is, that they make great sacrifices to send the Gospel to other Pagans. Having lately escaped from the bondage of Satan, they feel the greatness of their deliverance, and gladly aid in breaking off the manacles by which any of their fellow-men are held. If the highly-favoured Christians of this country were to make such sacrifices, in proportion to their numbers and property, as the newly-converted South-Sea Islanders have done-or the Esquimaux on the Labrador Coastor the Hottentots of South Africa-or the Negroes of Sierra Leone-a revenue would be furnished, corresponding with the magnitude of the cause, and the claims which it has on the best affec tions of the heart. But is the enlightened Christian of Europe or America under less obligation to spread the Gospel, than the converted Esquimaux or Otaheitan? And why should he wish to be excused from a service, which is their glory and their joy ?—a service, more dignified in its nature, more beneficent in its aspect on mankind, and more acceptable to God, than any other service performed by men since the creation of the world. It is to be always remembered, that the standard of Christian Exertion is not to be taken from what the Church has ever done, except in the Apostolic Age; nor from what is now doing in in any part of Christendom :-but from what the Church is able to do what the plainest dictates of benevolence require-and what the express command of Christ enjoins. In reference to this subject, as well as many others, we are not to count ourselves to have attained, but are bound rather to press forward. Glorious will be the days, and greatly are they to be desired, when all who profess to be Disciples of the Saviour shall put forth their full and united powers, to extend that spiritual kingdom, which shall at length become universal. Recent Miscellaneous Entelligence. Church Missionary Society. DEATH has again made inroads on the faithful Labourers in the vineyard of the Lord. Mrs. Norton, Wife of the Rev. Thomas Norton, Missionary at Allepie, in Travancore, died in peace on the 20th of February some particulars will appear in our next Number. The Rev. Charles Church, also, Chaplain on the Madras Establishment, who acted as Secretary of the Society's Corresponding Committee at that Presidency, has been early taken away: he had been only a few years in India; but, his health having suffered severely, it was judged necessary that he should revisit his native country: he embarked accordingly in the Abberton, Captain Gilpin ; but died, in the prime of life, aged 36 years, on the 15th of April, when the ship was off Madagascar: his Widow reached London on the 23d of this month, August. We regret also to state, that ill health has occasioned the return from Calcutta of Mr. John Venn, Son of the late Rev. John Venn, one of the Founders of the Society. Mr. Venn was about to enter on his career in the Civil Service of the Company, under the most promising prospects; but he had scarcely set foot in Bengal, when his return was declared necessary. We are happy, however, to add, that there is every prospect of the speedy resumption of his pursuits in India. At a Special Meeting of the Committee held on the 6th instant, the Rev. Henry Williams, who has been admitted, under the Colonial-Service Act, to Deacon's and Priest's Orders, by the Lord Bishop of London, received the Instructions of the Committee on his appointment to the NewZealand Mission. After a Reply from Mr. Williams, he was addressed by the Rev. Edward Garrard Marsh, of Hampstead, who was in the Chair. Mr. Marsh married the sister of Mr. Williams. His Address was considered so highly seasonable in reference to some of the present difficulties of the Mission, that the Committee have directed that it shall be imme diately printed for the use of the persons connected with that Mission. Mr. and Mrs. Williams, and their two children, will sail very shortly for Port Jackson, in the Lord Sidmouth Female Convict Ship, Captain Ferrier; Government having granted them a passage on board that vessel. Despatches have been received from New Zealand, up to nearly the beginning of April. They contain afflicting details of the late sanguinary proceedings of Shunghee and his Allies. The personal safety, however, of the Settlers, does not appear to be in danger. We shall shortly lay before our Readers a digest of all the communications, with the most interesting parts of Mr. Marsden's Journal on his Third Visit to New Zealand. On the 15th of this month, Mr. Peter Wright, Artisan, was appointed at the Annual Meeting of the Stepney Auxiliary Society, to proceed to Kurreechane, in South Africa. On the 18th Mr. and Mrs. Wright embarked, at Gravesend, in the Monmouth, Capt. Simpson, for the Cape. Wesleyan Missionary Society. The Rev. Samuel Leigh, with Mrs. Leigh, sailed in the Active, from Port Jackson for New Zealand, on the 1st of January; and, in three weeks, landed in the Bay of Islands. He had been abundantly supplied with seeds, by the kind ness of His Excellency Sir Thomas Brisbane, who expressed himself as warmly interested in the Missions to New Zealand. |