On Monday morning early a prayermeeting is again held; and on all the other mornings of the week classes are met at daylight. On Wednesday evening there is a public prayer-meeting, and, on Friday evening, service. The other evenings of the week have been occupied by the Bible-class and eveningschool. These, however, are at present discontinued, owing partly to the absence from the station of many of our young men, who are working among the farmers. Rev. A. Brigg, Wittebergen, August 13th, 1868.

NATAL.

Coolie Mission.-We are still hard at work: getting knowledge, and using what we have, which is the best way to keep it.

Our work is no sinecure. You may judge of things by comparison. Suppose you were to place along the English coast seven thousand men, brought from different parts of Europe, speaking French, German, Spanish, Italian, Russ, &c., and set two HomeMissionaries to preach to them and read to them in their own languages, with a Circuit a hundred miles long, it would be something like our Circuit and our work. I like it! I feel that I am study ing for all India, and preaching to all India. And God will give the blessing. I hear the words ringing in my ears,

"Have faith in God."

pleted the new building in Camp-street, and opened it with great success, Crowds could not get in. There are about eighty people meeting in class, and the number is increasing; and I am confident this new station, in the midst of a vast population, could support an unmarried preacher.

The organ for Trinity chapel has come to hand. It has cost three hundred pounds. I am glad to say

it is paid for. The chapel is under going thorough repairs. The vestry is being re-built on a much larger scale, and the whole painted at the cost of that is being done to the chapel, ninety pounds. The entire outlay of all including the price of the organ, will be about eight hundred pounds, which sum will be raised by the free contributions of our people. We are urging the congregation to give one thousand dollars of September. at the opening collection on the 24th

Kingston Mission-house has been repaired, and the front gallery rebuilt; and efforts are being made on the spot for painting the house and chapel.

Rome chapel is being thoroughly repaired. This building was in a bad state, but the friends have come forward, and given liberally. The country chapels may not be able to clear all that we are expending on them; but the ladies in town have a bazaar in view, to help us in this good work.

Yesterday was a most delightful Sabbath. Sinners were seeking mercy last night. We are struggling hard to in almost every chapel in the Circuit give due attention to every place, and to keep up the spirituality of our people. When the heart is right, everything else goes right.-Rev. J. Greathead, George-Town, August 24th, 1868.

THE amount of Contributions and Remittances announced on the Cover of the Notices this month is £4,402. 88. Od.

[T following reports are highly encouraging, and the extracts from letters received by our ministers at the military stations, show that God is pleased to bless our labours in the way which can alone satisfy right hearted Methodists. Men are being converted to God; and, as of old, are endeavouring to bring their comrades to the enjoyment of the same salvation. The references made to the attempt to introduce Ritualism into military services cannot fail, just now, to interest lovers of the truth. Such attempts were forbidden some time since by the chaplaingeneral, acting under the direction of higher authority, and we rejoice to see that the Government of India is likeminded.]

1. PARKHURST STATION.-From the Rev. W. Moister.-September 28th, 1868. -Although the number of declared Wesleyans at Parkhurst garrison has not been so large during the past quarter as formerly, in consequence of numerous removals to India, Africa, and Ireland, all the services, both on Sabbaths and week. nights, have been regularly held as usual, and we have been often cheered by the presence and blessing of God in our midst. The soldiers' Bible-class continues to be very interesting and profitable. Having repeatedly gone through the Gospel narrative, the Acts of the Apostles, and the Epistle to the Romans, we are now devoting our attention to several special subjects, selected by the men themselves, in rotation, subject to the approval of the meeting, such as Prayer; Praise; Providence; Angels; Heaven; The Cities of Refuge, &c. The interest excited by the discussion of these and other subjects, together with the blessing of God upon the word preached, and the instruction given, in the hospital, &c., have resulted in the conversion of two or three sinners of late, who have united with us in church-fellowship, and bid fair for the kingdom of heaven. But the most affecting incident of the quarter was the sickness and death of one of our men in the hospital. I visited him regularly during his illness, and pointed him, not in vain, I hope, to “the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world." On hearing of his illness his mother hastened, from a distance, to visit him, and arrived at Parkhurst just in time to see him die. I met her at the hospital, and when all was over, she accompanied me to my house, where my dear wife tried to console her VOL. XIV.-FIFTH SERIES.

as best she could. On the following day she returned to her distant home, truly thankful, I believe, for the attention paid to herself and to her departed son.

Extract of a letter from a soldier to the Rev. W. Moister, dated Nova-Scotia, September 12th, 1868.-I received your kind letter on the 17th of June, and was glad to hear that the Lord was still blessing your labours among the soldiers at Parkhurst. I am happy to tell you that I am still pressing on towards the mark for the prize of my high calling in Christ Jesus. It gives me great pleasure to tell you that I am still a child of God. I shall always feel thankful for the instructions you gave me at Parkhurst, and also for the counsel contained in your letter. May the Lord abundantly bless and reward you! Since I have been in the army, aud given my heart to God, I have seen glorious times. Many precious souls have been saved in our regiment, and I believe before long we shall have a still greater revival among us. We left Quebec for Halifax on the 18th of June, and arrived here on the 23d. We have lost dear M, who has been transferred to another regiment; but Brother Bis still here, and as zealous for Christ as ever. The other brethren whom you taught at Parkhurst are all well, and unite with me in love to you, and the members of the class. May we have a happy meeting in heaven!

Extract of a letter from a soldier to the Rev. W. Moister, dated Bengal, May 30th, 1868.-Soon after our arrival we were ordered to encamp a short distance from the barracks, on account of cholera, which kept us busy pitching our tents, and carrying stores, &c. Many of our comrades have been swept away in the bloom of youth, proving the truth of Scripture, "In such an hour as ye think not the Son of Man cometh." I have had an attack of illness myself, and am now a patient in the hospital. I am only just recovering from fever; but, thank the Lord, I am happy to tell you that my Saviour has been very precious to my soul. There is no friend like Christ wherever we are, at home or abroad, on sea or on land; and while we believe in Him we are safe and happy. P, the man whom you visited in prison at Parkhurst, has again returned to the footstool of mercy, and joins with me in prayer and praise to God. As there is no Wesleyan 3 x

minister here, we go to church; and not having meetings during the week seemed very dreary at first. So P-- and I thought we would try to get up a prayermeeting and a Bible-class, such as we had at Parkhurst; but we had no place. At length we got the use of a spare tent, and many men came to the prayer-meeting. We sung the hymns from my Hymn Book as best we could, and soon the tent was too small. We then had two or three meetings in the open air; but this was found inconvenient. We then asked the chaplain for a room in the barracks, and to our surprise and joy we got a At the close of the meeting the first night, the chaplain came in and spoke a few words to us. He said a gentleman who was visiting him was so pleased to hear the singing, and to know that it was a soldiers' prayer-meeting, that he gave him six rupees to present to us to buy candles. Thus has the Lord opened our way before us. Give my kind love to all the class-members at Parkhurst, and especially to my dear friend, Mrs. Moister, whose kindness to me, as well as that of yourself, I can never forget. May the Lord reward you!

room.*

2. CURRAGII CAMP.-From the Rev. R. Hazleton. -September 30th, 1868.The Camp during the quarter now ending has been larger than for some years past. The numbers attending Divine worship have been consequently much increased, and the church at parade-service has presented a delightful appearance, almost every seat being occupied by the military, their wives and children, with about thirty civilians, and all (at least apparently) devout worshippers of Almighty God. The preaching of the word has been attended with power, and men have testified of this, with joyfulness in the lovefeast, and in the class-mecting. The Christian life has been manifested on the part of several non-commissioned officers and men, who have not only met together every Sabbath and week-day evening for prayer, (hours before the time of our regular services,) but have also used their influence by holding open air meetings, and using other means to bring their unconverted comrades under the ministry of the word, and to a knowledge of the truth as it in Christ Jesus our Lord.

A weekly service has been held in one of the military school-rooms in the centre of the Camp, at which men of all

religious professions have congregated. This service we conducted alternately with the Presbyterian chaplain; and, so far as we can judge, the results have been very favourable. A greater number of men now attend our voluntary services, and ten (most of them originally Wesleyans) have had the official register of their religious profession changed, and they now worship with us.

His

We have had one death during the quarter, a soldier of the 65th Regiment. He was a native of Totness, in Devonshire, and of Methodist parentage. We visited him frequently during his illaess in hospital. In his last moments we commended his spirit to God. bodily pain was great, but his soul had rest and peace with God, and he died in hope of eternal life. He was buried with military honours in the graveyard of Kildare cathedral. I attended the funeral at the request of the military authorities; read the burial service, and gave an address at the grave. A solemn feeling pervaded the whole company of officers and men.

The hospital work has been arducus but fruitful. One man, who has met in class this week for the first time, said, "You, Sir, visited me in hospital when in fever. I felt and remembered the words which you spoke to me. Before that I was always going in the way of sin. Since then I have been serving the Lord; and I am now happy in His love. Another man who has been a great sufferer for months, and who entered hospital as ignorant and careless as, living in a Christian land, a man could well be, is now a believer in Christ, enjoying His love, and learning to read the Bible, in which he delights as the Gospel of his salvation.

The following are extracts of letters which I have received :

From Private William H-, dated Meean-Meer, Bengal, June 15th, 1868. -Thank God, we have all arrived here safe, except seveu men, one woman, and several children, who were taken from us by death. I am sorrry to say we have no Wesleyan chapel here; all go to the ser vices of the Church of England. We have, however, a mecting for prayer every even ing; and in it we are very happy; and I find Christ precious to my soul. Yet I often wish myself back again with you in the

Curragh. I hope you will pray for us, and for me as one who found Christ under your preaching.

Trom Joseph B—, late of the Army Hospital Corps, and formerly of the 37th Regiment.-I received your kind

and welcome letter. I cannot be too thankful for your kindness to me. From the time I became a total abstainer, I left my old companions, and gave my heart to God. I had many happy times at the Curragh, especially when I met with God's people to worship Him, and to get our spiritual strength renewed. I am glad to hear that God is still with you. I desire your prayers for me; aud hope you will soon write me again.

From Private L. F, Depot, 85th Regiment. I am very much delighted to hear of your meetings being so crowded; and of good being done. We have here fresh cause for praise. The Lord is doing wonders for us; sinners have been awakened and justified; and many more seem just ready to step into the liberty of the children of God. My heart is knit to these precious souls. I and five of my comrade-soldiers are fully engaged, all our spare time, in the Lord's work, and He is pleased to bless our labours. I had a letter from H- who is in India. He says they have not met with many Christian friends there; but the grand point is to have the Lord with us, and His love in our hearts, and whether in India or England we shall be happy.

CAMP, HYDRABAD, SCINDE, June, 1868. It rejoices me greatly to be enabled to communicate with you. I am glad that the voyage is terminated, for it was a very tedious one, especially from Suez to Kurrachee. I had not been two days on board H.M.S. "Crocodile" before I found out two God-fearing men belonging to the ship's company, and one belonging to the 1st Royals, named Stevenson. Brother Newman and I used to meet together with them in the seamen's sick-bay, where we held prayermeetings and Bible-classes. One of the two that I first mentioned was a petty officer named Brown, and the other was the smith of the ship. Both were well acquainted with Mr. Kelly.

The first Sunday on board did not seem like the Lord's day at all; but in the evening we consulted with Mr. Brown, and determined to hold a service on the forecastle. We accordingly went upon the upper deck, and took up our

3. CALCUTTA.-Letter from the Rev. Joseph Broadbent to the Rev. Charles Prest, dated Calcutta, June 18th, 1868.

Full twelve months have elapsed since I wrote, informing you of the commencement of our army work in this city; a few further particulars may perhaps be of interest. The regiment concerning which I wrote last year consisted for the most part of men whose term of service was well-nigh expired; my connexion with these men only lasted about four months, and then the regiment was broken up, many volunteering into other Indian detachments, the rest returning home; not, however, before some had given decided evidence of a change of heart, and had borne grateful testimony to the spiritual good they had derived through their re-connexion with the services of the Wesleyan Church. During the past twelve months a change has been made in the order of locating troops, so that Calcutta, instead of being one of the last stations occupied, has become one of the first. I rather rejoice in the alteration, and am glad to have the opportunity of welcoming Wesleyan soldiers on their first arrival in the country. The present occupants of Fort William are fresh from England; many of them are very young, and seem to have left home for the first time. Amongst these youths, I have noticed several instances of deep and increasing seriousness; in one case it was the thought of being for ever separated from a sainted mother in heaven, that first led to anxious concern for personal salvation; others, regretting the loss of the religious advantages they once possessed,

but failed to esteem and use, have been led to value those they are now favoured with; and I regard the apparent relish with which they seem to enjoy the means of grace as a promise of good.

I must now turn to another and more unpleasant subject; for I cannot give anything like a general or an accurate review of the past few mouths without a reference to Ritualism, as connected with the Bengal army.

When any minister attempts to foist any mummeries upon an ordinary congre gation, they have a remedy in their own hands, and have perfect liberty to please themselves whether they will attend the performances or no. But the case is altogether different with soldiers. It is true they have some degree of religions liberty in English towns, where there are ministers of other denominations, whose services they may attend; but in India they are more frequently shut up to the ministrations of the one chaplain on the station; seldom have they any other choice than the rather fine one of deciding between the Ritualistic and the Romish priest.

I wish now simply to refer to the workings of Ritualism in connexion with the regiment at present stationed in Fort William. The first Sunday after their arrival in India they were marched to the garrison church, but so thoroughly astonished were they at what they beheld, that some seem to have doubted whether they had not been conducted to a Roman Catholic place of worship by mistake. So great was the dissatisfaction of the men, that between two and three hundred sent in their names, requesting to have their "religion" changed. The request was not granted. Soon after this a detachment of the same regiment was sent a few miles out of Calcutta for rifle practice; but they found a ranker specimen of Ritualism there, and the officer in command of the party gave a number of the men permission to attend a small Baptist chapel, in which a morning service was then being conducted. The chaplain interfered, demanded that all the men should be marched to church, and was warmly seconded by the bishop. The matter had to be referred to the general commanding the division, and he issued one of the strangest orders possible--an order compelling the men to attend a detested service for three months, but with this proviso, that if any really wished to become Baptists, he would test their sincerity, and would allow only those to change their persuasion who showed they

sincerely desired it by attending with regularity for three months the Sunday-evening service at the Baptist chapel. At length the Government of India and the commanderin-chief had to interfere. They did so gently, but firmly; the previous order was cancelled, and it is now well understood, though it has not been publicly announced, that no undue interference with the right of public worship will be allowed.

There still remains, however, some amount of personal pressure exercised by the officers commanding on behalf of the Church; so that when men request permission to attend elsewhere, they are either talked over, or in cases where the men continue firm in the expression of their desires, the respouse is of the most ungracious kind; not, "I will permit you," but, "I cannot prevent you." A great deal of after-trouble would be saved, if the officials at the various recruiting depôts in England were a little more precise when noting down the religious persuasions of the recruits. The old formula is still used, "Protestant or Catholic?" If the man owns to the former, he is at once entered as belonging to the Church of England, as though that were the only Protestant Church in the world. I believe the soldiers in India are greatly indebted to the late attempts to restrict their religious liberty for the admirable minute of Sir John Lawrence, respecting the provision of some suitable room where devout soldiers may assemble and engage in religious exercises. I am at present trying to carry that minute into effect. My first application has been unsuccessful; the difficulties in the way are-first, that there is not a single unoccupied room in the fort; and, secondly, that the space within the fort is so limited, that the Government has strictly forbidden another inch of ground being taken up for building purposes. The statement of these difliculties was supported by a number of proofs. I have been visiting the fort this morning, and I find that the school-room is not engaged after 5.30 p.m.; so I intend applying for the use of that in the evening. Should this request be refused,—I do not think it will,-my only other course is to appeal to the Government of India, and ask how their own words are to be carried into effect. At present there is no room to which soldiers can retire for prayer, none where a Bible-class could be conducted, or religions addresses delivered.

I must not conclude this letter without some slight reference to the future. In about four months, the sixty Wesleyan soldiers who now attend our services will