but its columns are open to replies, and the editorial arguments have been met and answered most ably. It appears to me that the benefits which are reasonably looked for from Temperance Societies will not be produced in this generation so extensively as in the next: their friends therefore must not be disheartened if the measure of present success be less than their fond hopes would desire ; let them labor in faith, assured that their labor shall not be in vain in the Lord. What a blot upon the character of our countrymen in India is the crime of drunkenness, and how much is every one professing a love of his fellow-men called upon to lend his aid towards the accomplishment of the ends in view by the Temperance Society. They may not approve the means, but let them ponder ere they condemn that which has proved so efficacious in other countries. Membership calls for a degree of self-sacrifice, and it is not to be expected that the many will be at once prepared to yield to its requirements. Men's minds must be convinced, the ground must be cleared, and the errors of many generations must be eradicated, before the new principle can take root. Men have been taught to believe that spirits taken in moderation make them more robust, enable them to endure fatigue, and preserve them from the effects of noxi ous climate, &c. &c. Many of these notions have recently been pronounced fallacies, by those upon whose opinion we set a high value when we need their services, I mean the Medical Gentlemen, amongst whom many of eminence have recorded their views on the subject. In No. 118, of the Edinburgh Medical and Surgical Journal, Henry Marshall, Esq. Deputy Inspector General of Army Hospitals, has recorded his sentiments on the use of Ardent Spirits by the Troops in India, and pronounces them injurious whether drank unmixed or diluted, their noxious quality proportionally decreasing with the measure of dilution. How many of our companions from time to time are removed from us, whose lives we have much reason to believe have been shortened by the use of Ardent Spirits; they, one and all, were once moderate drinkers, temperate men, fearing no ill consequence from their moderate habits. It is amongst the temperate that the friends of the Society should labor, that the temperate may be saved before they also join the ranks of the drunkards.

At a meeting held July 22nd, 1934, at the Soldier's Station Library, Mirut, for the purpose of forming a Temperance Society, on the principles of the British and Foreign Temperance Society,

Major-General the Honorable J. Ramsay in the Chair,

It was proposed by the Major-General, and seconded by the Rev. J. C. Proby, 1st. That we, who are now assembled, according to the purport of the handbill calling the meeting, under a conviction of the evils of intemperance, do form a Society, to be termed the Mírut Temperance Society.

Proposed by the Revd. J. C. Proby, and seconded by the Rev. J. Whiting,

2nd. That the declaration adopted by the British and Foreign Temperance Society in London, and since generally adopted by branch Societies, be adopted by us, namely, this: "We agree to abstain from distilled spirits, except for medicinal purposes, and to discountenance the causes and practice of intemperance.

Proposed by Dr. Bell, and seconded by Captain Blundell,

3rd. That all who subscribe to this rule shall be considered Members of the Society.

Proposed by Captain Blundell, and seconded by Major James,

4th. That it shall be lawful for any person, at any future period, deliberately to withdraw his name from the list of members.

Proposed by Colonel Oglander, and carried unanimously,

5th. That Major-General the Hon'ble J. Ramsay be requested to become Patron, and Brigadier Sir David Ximenes, Vice-Patron, of the Society.

The Major-General then rose, and expressed his willingness to comply with the wishes of the Society, and stated that he was authorized by the Brigadier (who was prevented by a family affliction attending the Meeting) to say, that he readily accept. ed the office of Vice-Patron of the Society.

Proposed by Captain Pratt, and seconded by the Rev. J. Whiting,

6th. That a Committee be formed, which shall meet at least once a month, and shall

consist of the Chaplains, one Officer from each European Corps in cantonments, and one Member of the Civil community of Mirut, whose names will be hereafter ascertained, from the bodies which have to furnish them.

And lastly, it was proposed and carried,

7th. That this Committee shall exercise the usual superintendence, and report the state of the Society once a quarter, through their President, to their Vice-Patron and Patron.

After the meeting Forty-five persons came forward, and signed the declaration, and since the day of the meeting fourteen names have been added,

August 12th.-A Meeting of the friends of the Mirut Temperance Society having taken place, with reference to Rule IV. the Committee was filled up, and is composed as under.

President.

Members.

COLONEL OGLANDER,
REV. J. C. PROBY,
REV. J. WHITING,
CAPTAIN PRATT, AND
CAPTAIN BLUNDELL.

3.-AMERICAN BAPTIST MISSION, BURMAH.

In a letter from Mr. Sutton, dated Boston, April 26th, we have received the gratifying intelligence that the health of Mr. and Mrs. Wade is quite re-established, and that with the two Native converts they took with them to America, nearly eighteen months ago, they expected to sail for Burmah in June. They will be accompanied by 11 associates, making in all a Missionary party of fifteen persons, all the agents of one society-the American Baptist Mission Board for Foreign Missions! In order to avoid the extra expense and delay of a second voyage from Calcutta to Burmah, the Board propose to get the captain of the vessel to call with the Missionaries at Maulmein, and there is every probability that this arrangement will take effect.

We are happy to add, that a considerable number of the Baptists in the Southern and Western states, who through the influence of hyper-calvinistic sentiments were before opposed to missions, have gradually become enlightened as to their duty on this subject, and determined to perform it. Hence the Board have now every prospect of a large accession of friends and influence from their brethren residing in those parts of the United States, and will doubtless enlarge their sphere of labour and number of agents accordingly.

4.-BANKOK, SIAM.

We have been favoured with the following interesting extract from a letter recently received from Bankok, dated April 4th, 1834. Though it is as yet the "day of small things" in that part of the world, it is delightful to see that a commencement has been made to make known among its inhabitants "the unsearchable riches of Christ," and that a few afford reason to hope that they have experienced the saving power of the truth upon their minds. "I wish I could tell you of the triumphs of the cross here over the gross superstition, heathenism, vice and misery, which have for many centuries held their sway over the wretched inhabitants of this land; but alas! they still reign triumphant; and we know of none who are yet rescued from their grasp, except a few poor Chinamen, who have professed faith in the Saviour of mankind, and meet for his worship weekly in our compound. One of these, (Bun-Ty,) made a profession of Christianity while brother Gutzlaff was here, and was farther instructed by brother Abeel, with whom he used to worship on the Sabbath, accompanied by three or four of his countrymen. After Mr. A.'s return to Singapore they continued their meetings at his deserted house, and on our arrival came to us. Two others, to whom Bun-Ty set the example, have been baptized by Mr. J. and

* Eph. i. 3.

with two or three more, who, though they have forsaken idolatry, have not yet openly professed Christianity, continue to give good evidence, as far as we are able to judge, of having been born again. Their little congregation has increased to 14 or 15. We distribute many Chinese, and some Malay, Burmese, and Portuguese books. All our Siamese books are spent, and Mr. J. has succeeded so well in the acquisition of the language, that he is preparing more. We are daily visited by Siamese, Peguan, and Burmese priests, who, although they come out of curiosity or to beg medicine, are not allowed to leave us without learning something of the way of salvation by Jesus Christ.

"You have no doubt heard that the Siamese have been for some months at war with their Cochin Chinese neighbours. They are now returning for this season, but the reports they bring are so contradictory that it is difficult to learn from them the actual state of affairs. Those who are least interested in flattering the king say, that little has been gained except a few towns in Camboja, that a great number of men have been lost, and that if the C. C. were not engaged in a civil contest, the Siamese would have come much worse off. They are bringing away great numbers of Catholic refugees, who are to be colonized in various parts of the King of Siam's dominions, all Catholics having been banished from C. C. Some of these refugees, hearing that we have Chinese books, which they can read, have come to beg them, and appeared much pleased to find the New Testament. How long they will be allowed to keep their treasure is doubtful; perhaps, however, until they have read enough to shew them the true way of salvation. Our situation here is in many respects better than we had reason to expect. The heat, during the first three months of our residence here, was greater than I ever felt it in B-; but the rains were much less severe, and the rainy and cold seasons were pleasant, for a tropical climate.

"We trust God is with us, and all we need is found in this.' If being shut out from the busy scenes of this world should lead us to contemplate with more intensity the realities of another, and leave us more leisure of the affections to commune with God, we need not regret the change. If we may be honored to promote the cause of our blessed Jesus in the smallest degree or save a soul from death, our severest sacrifices are comparatively nothing.

5.-EVANGELICAL EFFORTS IN CHINA.

The Rev. C. Gutzlaff, who, in the capacity of surgeon and interpreter, attended the expedition in the Lord Amherst, to the northern parts of China, in 1832, has recently published an appeal in behalf of China, in which he has given an interesting account of his evangelical labours on that occasion. From this publication we make the following extracts.

"Unfavourable winds detained us a long time in different ports of Canton province. Mr. L., the supercargo, gave me full liberty to distribute the word of eternal life, which was everywhere joyfully received. Arriving in Amoy harbour, the greatest emporium of Fuhkeen, we were treated as enemies, and found but few opportunities of making known the riches of the gospel to a people, who claimed me as a native of their district. We then visited the Pescadore islands; and from thence stretched over to Formosa. No interference of the mandarines hindered the people from intercourse with us; we had many visitors, and the demand for Christian books was great. Christianity once flourished on this island, but we now found no vestiges of it remaining.

At Fuh-chow also, the capital of Fuhkeen, we were unshackled in our proceedings; the crowd of natives who thronged us for medical assistance and books, was immense. We here met with Roman catholics; they informed us that they were printing the New Testament. Nothing astonished them more than that we had been able to publish it in their own language; the only thing they regretted was, that we should distribute these precious books to the "ignorant and blind heathens !"

5

"Hastening towards Chekeang, we entered the port of Ning-po. The natives here are a very amiable race, and of all whom we have hitherto met, the most promising as regards the introduction of the gospel among them. This opinion was still more corroborated by our visit to the Kin-tang island. After having staid a considerable time at Shang-hae in Keangsoo province, (which with Ganhwuy province formerly bore the name of Keangnan,) we departed for Shantung; and thence passed over to Corea. In all our excursions on shore we scattered the word of eternal life. Neither in Chekeang nor Keangnan did we find the people prejudiced against it; they read it eagerly, and I can now say, not in vain.

"As far as my knowledge extends, the mandarins interfered only twice with the distribution of books; and then they made but a feeble effort to discountenance what they could not disapprove. Wei, the lieut.-Governor of Fuhkeen, asked me for a set of Christian books, and sent them up for examination to the Emperor. Taou-kwang, the reigning monarch, who has never shown hostility to the catholics, passed no censure upon the glorious gospel; and the magnates at Peking, who examined into its doctrines, did not denounce it,-but they withheld likewise their approbation.

"On our first arrival at Corea we met with no opposition in making known the truth of the eternal God; but afterwards, when we came in contact with the royal commissioners, we found that the door was shut. However the king received a whole copy of the Scriptures, in twenty-one volumes, and a double set of all the tracts, among the presents which we sent to him. Notwithstanding the severest prohibitions, and the anti-national character both of the government and the nation, the good seed is sown in this remote country, and will ere long gloriously spring up and yield fruit.

"From some unaccountable cause we found the Loochooans, whom we next visited, prejudiced against the word of life. This remark however applies only to the government the people were anxious to obtain copies of the New Testament and of our numerous tracts. As often as they were freed from the presence of their rulers, they eagerly pressed forward to obtain from us these books.

After having returned to Macao, in September 1832, I received several offers to go upon a new expedition, of which the utmost limits were to be Mantchou Tartary. Though this new attempt was on some accounts highly objectionable, nevertheless I. embarked, and entered the service of a great commercial house, as surgeon and interpreter.

"We departed in October, met tremendous gales and arrived in November in Mantchou Tartary. Whilst I scattered the seed of eternal life in those distant regions, and anticipated the joy of doing so from the southern shores up to the Chinese Great Wall, our ship struck the ground, and we suffered the most intense cold. But when God had saved us from this imminent peril, we directed our course to Shang-hae. Most joyfully were we received by the natives. Six months before they had read our books; now they understood their contents, and wanted a fuller instruction in the way of life.

"When we arrived at Fuhkeen, on our return, my large store of books was exhausted, and I had to send away numerous applicants empty-handed. After a dangerous voyage, we reached Lintin, near Macao, April 29th, 1833.

Whilst writing this, I anticipated the pleasure of being again very soon in the northern ports of China, and of remaining there for an indefinite time. We have experienced many severe trials, and have had to struggle with almost insurmountable difficulties; but God has never forsaken us. Our communication with the greatest part of this extensive coast, where we may have intercourse with more than fifty millions of Chinese, may now be considered as established. Let us not, however, expect too great results from these very feeble attempts; but let us believe, that the Almighty God, who has granted his blessing on the beginning of the work, will not suffer China to carry on any longer her system of exclusion. Appalling difficulties may frequently arise; but what are they before an omnipotent God? The decree of evangelizing China is passed in heaven; what therefore can all the contrary decrees of the pretended" son of heaven" avail? I am happy to say, the supreme government at Peking has hitherto not denounced evangelical doctrines as dangerous, but merely censured them as unclassical. Yet should they dare to denounce them, it would only rouse the spirit of the nation to inquire further into the truth of the gospel.

"But let me not draw too favorable a picture of the Chinese nation; though they harbour no peculiar prejudices against foreign creeds, they are entirely engrossed with the things of this world; their hearts are steeled against religious impressions, whilst they satisfy their minds with the punctilious observance of mere rites. We are however by no means dejected on this acconnt; it is the work of God, in which we are engaged; the Saviour has promised to send the Holy Spirit, and we trust that by his powerful agency a glorious change will be wrought. The wild migratory barbarians, whose hordes once started from the frontiers of China and went on inundating and conquering all Europe, were brought to the obedience of the gospel when amalgamated with the German tribes; why should not the Chinese be benefited by its celestial rays?"

6.-MODERN BENEVOLENCE.

Perhaps there has never appeared (says the Chinese Repository) a more remarkable phenomenon, or been a more cheering event in the history of man, than is the increase of benevolent exertions within the last forty years. For an illustration of this remark, look at the efforts made for a single object, the spread of the gospel of salvation. The first Missionary Society in England was formed in 1792; and from that year we may date the commencement of those truly Christian efforts which promise ere long to change the moral aspect of the world, and extend the blessings of civilization, intelligence and true religion to every nation and family on earth. Associations for benevolent purposes have since been constantly increasing in number and efficiency. A mighty machinery is now in operation; too well planned and directed to fail of effecting its object, and too powerful to be resisted. Its influence is already extensively felt, and will soon pervade the world. The following brief statements, taken from the latest reports which we have at hand, respecting some of the most important societies in England and America, will serve to confirm the truth of our remark. We begin with those of England.

1. The British and Foreign Bible Society, formed in 1804, has issued 6,119,376 Bibles and Testaments, in 143 languages and dialects. In the year 1829-30, the number was 434,424. Income, £84,982.

2. The London Missionary Society was instituted in 1795. It employs, chiefly in India, Africa, and the South Sea Islands, 13 printing presses, 92 ordained missionaries, 20 European and 150 native assistants; and has under its care 391 schools containing 22,193 scholars. Income £48,526.

3. The Church Missionary Society, founded in 1800, employs in Hindustan, Africa, and other countries, 59 missionaries, 102 European, and 483 native assistants, and has in its schools 15,791 scholars. Income £47,328.

4. The Wesleyan Missionary Society employs 229 missionaries, and has more than 30,000 scholars in its schools. Income £55,265.

5. The Society for Propagating the Gospel, formed in 1701, but revived within the period named above, employs 160 missionaries, and supports wholly or in part 4 colleges in foreign countries. Income, £29,168.

6. Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Estimated income, £60,000. 7. The Religious Tract Society, formed in 1799, has published 1300 different tracts and books, and issued probably between 170 and 180 millions of copies. In 1829-30, 10,900,000. Income, £24,973.

8. The Baptist Missionary Society formed in 1792, employs 28 missionaries, and 260 native assistants. Income, £11,300.

The income of other societies on the list before us, nearly all of which have the same general object, is £49,875; making a total of £431,717; which is expended chiefly for the benefit of foreign countries. We will now notice a few of the most prominent benevolent associations in the United States of America.

1. The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, organized in 1810, employs 75 missionaries, and 178 American and 34 native assistants. Its printing presses have issued 61,000,000 of pages in 12 different languages; 14,200,000 in 1831-32. Its schools contain 59,824 learners. Income, dols. 130,574.

2. The Bible Society, organized in 1816, has published about 1,084,513 Bibles and Testaments ;-238,583 in 1829-30. Income, dols. 170,067.

3. The Tract Society, instituted in 1825, has issued 648 different publica tions, of which about 28,954,173 copies have been put in circulation. Income, dols. 62,443.

4. The Home Missionary Society employs 509 missionaries and agents, chiefly in the western states. Income, dols. 43,240.

5. The Education Society assists 673 young men in procuring such an education as will qualify them to become preachers of the gospel. Income dols. 41,927.