views with the people of Culna will interest our Readers: he thus writes to the Archdeacon

As it was doubtful whether the Station could be maintained, I thought it best to speak freely in order that I might come to a clear understanding of the disposition of the people. I there. fore informed them, that the Gentlemen under whose direction I acted were in doubt whether they would continue the Station; and added, "There are other Stations, where I am required, and where things are going on prosperously: why should we continue at a Station where it is not certain whether the people will acknowledge the favour done to them with gratitude? Now, to tell you the truth, I am come to promote your welfare: in furtherance of which, I instruct your children and preach to the adults, to make them acquainted with the truth, which it is my duty to do wherever I go, and the neglect of which would render me guilty; but if I discharge my duty to you and you refuse the offer, then no harm can be laid to me, and I am quit of blame. Now if the people here should be hard and wickedly obstinate, and out of enmity oppose, then for all our trouble and expense I should have grief only." Then the Talookdar (the most esteemed man in the place) said "I do not think that any body will have a dislike to hear the truth, far less oppose it." In reply, I remarked that many a truth might be hard to hear; as, for instance, you see here, in the Ganges, the people take a lump of mud and make the Siva-linga of it-call that abomination the image of God-and worship it! Now I cannot but inform them that such a thing is blasphemy against the majesty of God." He answered-"It may be that all will not assent to what you say; but this I know, that you will meet with no obstruction in discharging your duty." The Talookdar is a Brahmin, and Gooroo (Spiritual Guide) of a great number of persons: he has many living with him; some of whom he sent privately to tell the people, that, when they met me, they should behave so that I might not leave the place.

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The next day I intended to visit one of the Schools in Ombica, where the most respectable people generally assemble in great numbers to meet me when I come; but, on finding that I could not go, I sent them word that some of the most respectable people might come to

"The

our Debtas, we intend to obtain the knowledge of Brahma (the eternal Great Spirit)-the Sahibs' religion teaches the knowledge of Brahma at once." From the Talookdar, they then went to another esteemed Pundit, or expounder of their law; who answered them, "That the message which the Sahib will deliver is good, you need not fear: I shall teach it school in his compound, the charge of I formed a myself in the school." which one of his people will take. In the evening the people came to me, about twelve in number; and promised every thing to my satisfaction. I am told that these, and some others with whom I came in contact, are the first people of the place. I confess that I never was favoured, while in Burdwan, with an opportunity of such close access to the people. I promised them that I would do all that I could for them, by intercession with the Gentlemen under whose direction I acted, that the Station might be continued; and they are now anxious to hear your determination, and to know what the message may be which I have to deliver to them.

I left the place with much satisfaction. My Pundits also said, that they were greatly encouraged by this occasion; and have now no fear that any body can say any thing hereafter against them, as

they have now been fully acquainted with the end of my coming. Although, as I suppose, their whole conduct resulted from self-interested motives, the people in general wishing that their children may be instructed free of expense, and others may have other designs; yet, considering the circumstances of this country, it appears to me one of the most promising openings. We cannot expect that people, who are dead in trespasses and sins, and who are involved in such darkness and manifold deceptions as these are, should desire a teacher for themselves from a thirst after spiritual knowledge: if they were sensible of their misery and danger, it would not be so great as it is: however, they are now informed, that it will be considered my duty to make known to them the Divine Oracles; and, as they said among themselves, as I am told, "If it is his duty to make known his message he can have no ill intention," and have expressed a willingness to hear, should we not be without excuse if they were neglected?

Before the Committee of the Auxiliary had determined on the immediate occupation of Culna as a permanent Station, Mr. Deerr

thus further stated his views relative to the prospects opening among the people:

How willing the people of Culna are to hear the Gospel, the Committee already know; and the remarks concerning that place, which have lately appeared in the Report of the Bengal Auxiliary of the London Missionary Society, afford great encouragement to a Missionary to settle there. The Schools there are

promising indeed : the Eight Boys' Schools are full of big boys, more so than at any other Station occupied by our Society in this Presidency: neither are the Female Schools, comparatively speaking, ill attended. One thing is particularly pleasing; viz. that in Culna and Ombica, there is no Native Bengalee School; but all the children are under our instruction. With the principal inhabitants of the place I have already formed acquaintance. I look for success, however, only to the blessing of our Lord, whose grace is not confined to any particular place. Neither can I assign any particular reason, beside what has already been said, why I should expect more there than in other places: never

theless, as the beginning has been successful, so far as we can judge from present circumstances, it would grieve me to the heart if I were obliged to advise the Committee to give up the Station. I would not, however, omit to mention, that the lower classes in Culna are as much depraved as in any other place: they are equally addicted to imposition and deceit.

Culna has advantages which Calcutta has not; and, on the other hand, Calcutta has advantages which Culna has not. Thus, for instance, in Out-stations, a Missionary is observed and watched in all his proceedings, so that his conduct (when it is what it ought to be) may serve as a lesson to the Heathen; whereas, in a City, like Calcutta, his character cannot become so well known. During my stay in Calcutta, I have plainly seen how well the Missionary Work is going on there, and how much need there is of more Labourers: for the last five or six months, I never returned from the Chapel without inward satisfaction: at any hour, when time and strength will allow it, a Missionary can get a considerable Congregation in a few minutes: the hearers usually stay a considerable time, and I know the faces of several persons from their frequent attendance. How much good may be expected, when a Course of Instruction is continued in a place like Calcutta, where the people are independent of one another! I cannot conceive, that a man could any where spend his time and strength more usefully than there. In Calcutta, a Missionary can conveniently go to any place; the work being in the heart of the city: this is not the case in Burdwan: there, access to the bulk of the people has not yet been so fully gained: the work there proceeds from the extremities toward the centre; whereas, in Calcutta, the work is going on, like the operations of Nature, from the centre to the extremities. In Burdwan, the Schools are at so great a distance, that a European will scarcely be able to endure the labour of superintendence: my constitution, at least, has been greatly injured there, by exposing myself frequently whole days to the sun; and if the Missionary does not himself visit the Schools, the work will scarcely be worth the expense. With my reduced strength, it would be impossible for me to endure the labour which the Bengalee Schools there require.

It has been long ago my heart's desire, and it is still so, to settle in Culna; but

as my health is in such a weak state, particularly after the attack of cholera which I had last year, and as there is no medical advice to be had in Culna, some of our friends have doubted whether it would be advisable for me to go there: the place, however, being near the River, we could easily obtain medical advice in Calcutta; except in the hot season, when the coming down requires more time. I wish only to add, that, if the Committee would be pleased to settle us there, we should cheerfully go to that promising field of labour. In this case, it would be absolutely necessary that the Society should provide us with a house: unless this be done, I could not venture to proceed thither. I last year sent to the Committee a Plan, with two Estimates, both for a Pucka House and a Pucka Bungalow, drawn up by Capt. Peckett, Barrack-Master in Burdwan : the estimate for the House amounts to 4632 rupees, and that for a Bungalow to 4214, contingencies not included. If the Committee will allow me 4200 rupees, I hope to erect a comfortable residence for that sum, and this sum I will manage in no case to exceed.

Mr. Deerr refers in this extract to a passage relative to Culna in the Report of another Society: the passage, which here follows, contains the testimony of several Missionaries of the London Missionary Society, who visited Culna in the course of a Missionary Tour.

At Culna, two of our number visited a School which is under the patronage of the Church Missionary Society, but which was originally established by the Rev. Robert May, and for some years was supported by the Hon. Company. The boys read exceedingly well; though their knowledge of the religious publications which had been lately introduced among them was, of course, very limited.

We were much pleased also with a Female School which had lately been established, and which consisted of about twenty girls: they read in a Book of Fables very well, and repeated some parts of a Catechism very correctly: the two monitors appeared about fourteen years of age, and several of the children were very little younger. We understood that several other Female Schools have lately been established in this neighbourhood, which consists entirely of a dense native population: this fact Sept. 1827.

fully evidences the great decrease of prejudice against Female Education; and proves, that, if the means for their instruction are provided and are brought in a suitable manner before their notice, they will be willing to afford their daughters the advantage which the Schools most certainly hold out to them.

Messrs. Trawin and Ray were surrounded by a crowd soon after they left the boat: the people heard with marked attention: after the Addresses, questions were put to the people; and, from their replies, we indulge the hope that they had, in general, a correct idea of the Gospel which was preached to them. They appeared exceedingly willing to attend to the Gospel-received religious publications with thanks-and listened, with much attention, to the remarks by which the bestowal of them was accompanied. On leaving the place, we expressed to them our earnest desire that the Society, which had lately established several Schools in their neigh bourhood, may soon be enabled to fix an active and devoted Missionary in their town, to make known the Gospel to the immense number of its inhabitants. Benefit of Schools in preparing the Heathen

rightly to understand the Scriptures. It will be found, in the following extract, that Mr. Deerr fully coincides, on this subject, in the sentiments quoted from Dr. Morrison at p. 374 of our last Number. In speaking of the immediate occupation of Culna he says—

I should be sorry to press the point any further, as I know that your vessel is almost sinking on account of the heavy load of expenses occasioned by the Schools; but we may hope that the zeal of our Christian Friends, who are in possession of the inestimable benefits of the Gospel, will not decrease: and when things are duly considered, no one will see a reason why this should be the case..

When I was in Burdwan, I observed, that, after the Gospel was taught and the people were made acquainted with the excellency of its doctrines, it was,. in general, highly esteemed and approved by them: and now I hear from those who come from thence, that, wherever a School is established, not a word is heard against the doctrines of our Religion. This must be accounted NO SMALL THING, among a people who formerly said, as I have frequently heard, that

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duced. To bring the people to a proper understanding of the Scriptures, a course of continued instruction is necessary.

the Sahibs have no religion at all; and have applied to us the false prediction of their Shasters, that a people from the West would come and make an end of all religion for all hope of success in obtaining conviction depends on this point-whether the doctrine preached by the Missionary is accepted and believed by the hearers to be the Word of God. It seems to me, therefore, a great advantage gained, when our Holy Scriptures are esteemed and accepted in that character which they bear.

Some persons think, however, that if the Bible be given to the people, the Word of God will make its own way; and no doubt can be entertained of the truth of this when that Word is understood, for it shall not return to Him void: but it cannot be said that these people have the Word of God, although they should have the Bible in their hands, unless it be explained to them: for, in this country, the Bible is not so easily understood as in Christian Countries; for it cannot be expected that the translation of the Bible should be as perfect as the English; and if it were, it would, in a great measure, not be understood, on account of the religious ideas and trains of thinking prevailing here. In Christian Countries, the language has, in some measure, become congenial with that of the Bible; but here, every thing almost is the contrary. I have formerly had occasion to mention what perverse notions the people here sometimes form one instance, which I observed on my last journey to Culna, will suffice: a Teacher lately employed in our Schools explained that passage in the Third Chapter of St. Matthew, where John the Baptist says I baptize you with water unto repentance, thus-"Just as when we bathe in the Ganges, all our sins are taken away, so had the River Jordan, with the water of which John baptized, the power to take away sins and to incline the mind to good conduct": now if we expect that a Hindoo could, according to their mode of thinking, have understood the passage otherwise, or in the true sense, we might as well expect that the Lord would work without the means which he has appointed, or the Revelation which he has vouchsafed to give; and if the sense or the spirit of the Word is not understood or is misunderstood, much cannot be expected, for the reader has not obtained that light or knowledge by which the blessed effects are pro

Our Society will never have reason to repent the expenses occasioned by teaching the Word of God in the Schools; but will become more and more satisfied of the utility of its mode of proceeding in this respect, particularly where the Missionary has not more Schools than he can conveniently superintend.

BURDWAN.

CHURCH MISSIONARY SOCIETY. State of the Bengalee Schools. THE Committee report

On Mr. Deerr's removal from Burdwan, the number of Village Schools was of necessity lessened: some of the most remote and worst attended were given up: still, however, 15 Village Schools remain under the Rev. Mr. Perowne and his Assistant, containing about 1100 children. As the Missionaries became more conversant in the language, it was discovered that the Teachers of these Schools did not understand the easy books which they were engaged to teach : Mr. Perowne observes

This, at first, appeared almost a libel on the Sircars and Pundits; but such appeared to be the case with regard to most of them. It therefore became necessary to form them into classes; and explain to them the meaning of the books, previous to their being read in the Schools: with this view the Pundits are as

sembled every Wednesday; and are instructed by me in the Scriptures, Ellerton's Dialogues, and other books, in a close and particular manner. The Sircars attend, with those of the Female Schools, at eight o'clock on Sunday Morning: they first receive a more general explanation of the Scriptures from Ram Doolal Pundit, and are afterward catechized by me at first, it was very difficult to get them to attend; they said that it was not the duty of the Sircars to teach the children to read, and they would not undertake it: at length, however, I succeeded; and they now not only come pretty regularly, but several of them also attend the Chapel. I can scarcely conceive of any sphere of labour more interfive School-Sircars, having under their daily esting or more important than this- Twenty

instruction not less than eleven or twelve hundred children from perhaps not less than 150 different villages!

On the beneficial influence of the Schools Mr. Perowne remarks—

I expected that the Village Preaching would injure the School; and this was the case for a short time, as some of the lower-class children left us: but since that, many more have come, and several have applied to be admitted FOR THE