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general, and the cause of Missions in particular. The LORD hath undertaken for his people here in such a manner, that it causes the "inhabitants of these rocks to sing" for joy. The restrictions, under which our mission has laboured for more than four years, are now, thank GOD, fully removed, by an act of the Legislature, in the present session; so that we can again worship God in the hours most suited to the circumstances of our people. “O praise the LORD for his goodness, and declare his wonders among the children of men.' "Thank GoD, we have lived to see prejudice give way in a very great degree; the people, in general, no longer look upon our mission with a jealous eye; they now believe it to be the cause of GoD; and not a few who, in times past, were its opponents, are now its warm advocates. The past year in particular will be remembered with gratitude by many persons for years to come.

We believed it to be our duty to petition the General Assembly, to remove the restrictions under which we laboured; and with this intention, brother Rutledge and myself waited on W. CARR, Esq. a member of the Assembly, for his advice: he received us kindly, and informed us that it was his intention to introduce a bill in our favour, which he hoped would save us the trouble of petitioning; if, said he, the bill should fail, you can then petition the House. He brought his bill in, and it passed without a dissenting voice. On the 6th of March we reopened the westward chapel in this town by candle-light, and a very crowded congregation was present. On the following Thursday I preached in the eastward chapel, to a full house. Our congregations on the week days have increased from two to three hundred more than they were, previous to the removal of the restrictions.

Brief View of the Proccedings of the various Missionary Societies, extracted from the latest Publications.

The following very extraordinary account of the destruction of idolatry in the Sandwich Islands, has been published by the American Board of Missions. This event took place in November, 1819, before any Missionaries had arrived. Those sent by that Board reached their destination in March, 1821.

Early in the month of November, the Young King-who had himself been inducted into the office of High Priest before his father's death, with a view to preserve his political influence, came to the resolution of destroying the whole system of idolatry. This was done with full deliberation, with the consent of all who had any voice in the government, and without any opposition from the people.

When the resolution was taken, orders were issued to set the buildings and inclosures consecrated to idolatry, on fire; and while the flames were raging, the idols were thrown down, stripped of the cloth hung over them, and cast into the fire; and, what is still more marvellous, the whole Taboo system was destroyed the same day. The sacred buildings were, some of them, thirty feet square: the sides were formed by posts twelve or fourteen feet high, stuck into the ground, and the

intervals filled with dry grass: the roofs were steep, and thatched with grass, in such a manner as to defend from rain. The Morais, or sacred inclosures, were formed by a sort of fence, and were places where human sacrifices were formerly offered. Before these inclosures stood the idols, from three to fourteen feet high, the upper part being carved into a hideous resemblance of the human face.

The Taboo system was that which was perpetually used to interdict certain kinds of food, the doing of certain things on certain days, &c; in short, to forbid whatever the king wished not to be done. On some subjects, the Taboo was in constant operation; and had been, very probably, for thousands of years. It forbad women and inen to eat together, or eat food cooked by the same fire. Certain kinds of food were utterly forbidden to the women. particularly pork and plantains, two

MISSIONARY NOTICES.

very important articles in those islands. At the new moon, full, and quarters, when the king was in the Morai performing the various mummeries of idolatry, it was forbidden to women to go on the water. Every breach of the Taboo exposed the delinquent to the punishment of death. But so well was the system understood by the people, and so great was the dread of transgression, that the Taboo laws were very rigidly observed.

We have said, that the Taboo system has probably been in operation thousands of years. Our reasons for The same thinking so are these. system prevailed in the Society Islands, at the distance of three thousand miles nearly; and in New Zealand, at the distance of five thousand miles: while the New Zealanders have been so long separated from the Sandwich Islanders, that the languages of the two classses of people have become exceedingly different. The inhabitants of these remote islands probably never had any communication with one another till very recently, and now in European and American vessels only. But they must have descended from the same race of men, after the Taboo System had been formed and was in full operation. This must have been long ago; but how long it would be useless to conjecture.

Captains Blair and Clark, both of Boston, being then at the Islands, left Owhyhee about the 25th of November, and carried down to Woahoo and Atooi the King's orders to burn the monuments of idolatry there also. The order was promptly obeyed in both islands. In Atooi, the Morais, and all the consecrated buildings, with the idols, were on fire the first evening after the order arrived.

The people of all these islands had heard what had been done at the Society Islands; and there is no doubt that Providence made use of this intelligence to prepare them for so wonderful a change. A Native Chief, named Tiamoko, has been for some time inclined to speak very contempuously of the whole system of idolatry: he was the chief man in the island of Mowee.

The Chiefs and people in all the

islands expressed a desire that Mis-
sionaries might arrive, and teach
them to read and write, as the people
of the Society Islands had been
taught. Tamoree, king of Atooi,
and father of George, who sailed
with the Missionaries, was particu-
larly desirous that teachers should
arrive: he was very anxious to see
his son; and has sent one of his sub-
jects, by a vessel now on her way
from Canton to Boston, with an ex-
press order for George to return. He
has also manifested a great wish to
visit Pomare, at Otaheite, and to see
for himself the change that has taken
place there.

Both Captain Blair and Captain Clark, who have been acquainted with these islands for more than twenty years, are confident that the Missionaries will be joyfully received by the natives-that now is the very time for their arrival-and that their services are peculiarly necessary to introduce the truth after the destruction of idolatry.

A joint Letter of the Missionaries, dated from Hanaroorah, in the island of Woahoo, July 23, 1820, gives the following account of their arrival and stations, and of the want of more labourers,

Far removed from the loved dwellings of Zion in our native land, surrounded with pagans and strangers, we would lift the voice of grateful praise, and call on our friends to rejoice, for the LORD hath comforted his people, and ministered unto us an open and abundant entrance among the heathen. But here we see no altars of abomination, nor bloody rites of superstition. JEHOVAH has begun to overturn the institutions of idolatry, and to prepare the way for the nobler institutions of His own worship.

While we were tossing on the waters of the Atlantic, and while the Church was on her knees before the HEARER of Prayer, HE was casting down the vanities of the heathen, demolishing the temples of paganism, and holding in derision the former pride and disgrace of this people.

We passed Cape Horn on the 30th of January; and, on the 30th of March, arrived off the shores of these long-lost and long-neglected Isles of

the Gentiles. But how were our ears astonished, to hear a voice proclaim, In the wilderness, prepare ye the way of JEHOVAH make straight in the desert, a highway for our God! How were our hearts agitated with new and various and unexpected emotions, to hear the interesting intelligence— “TAMAAHMAAH IS DEAD!-THE TABOOS

ARE BROKEN! THE IDOLS ARE BURNT! THE MORAIS ARE DESTROYED!-AND THE PRIESTHOOD ABOLISHED!"

This victory was achieved by that ARM alone, which sustains the universe. HE, who in wisdom has ordained, that no flesh should glory in bis presence, has saved us from the danger of glorying in the triumph; and has taught us, with adoring views of his Majesty, to stand still and see the salvation of God. Long, indeed, did we expect to toil, with slow and painful progress, to undermine the deep-laid foundations of the grossest idolatry: but HE, whose name alone is JEHOVAH, looked upon the bloodstained superstition, erected in insult to Divine purity, and, without even the winding rain's horn of a consecrated priest, it sinks from His presence, and tumbles into ruins; and

he commands us, as the feeble followers of the CAPTAIN OF SALVATION, to go up every man straight before him, and, in the Name of our GOD, to set up our banner.

We have been allowed to plant the standard of the Cross at Kirooah and at Hanaroorah, in this island; where the chiefs, the natives, and foreigners may, from week to week, hear the sound of the Gospel. Most gladly would we erect the standard on every isle in this cluster, but we have no preacher to send. The people are without any form of religion, waiting, as it were, for the law of CHRIST; though they know not His Name, nor the way of Salvation.

At Kirooah, our brethren, though subject to great privations, are allowed to engage in their appropriate work with flattering hopes of success. The king leads the way, as their humble pupil; and now begins to read intelligibly in the New Testament, desirous to outstrip all his subjects in the acquisition of useful knowledge. Two of his wives, and two siewards under their instruction, exercise themselves in easy reading lessons.

MISSIONARY MEETINGS.

A Meeting was held, Feb. 5th, in Ebenezer Chapel, St. John's, Antigus, for the purpose of forming an Auxiliary Society for that Island, John Gilbert, Esq. in the Chair. The Meeting was numerously attended, and the deep interest felt for the promotion of its object, promises much future success.-The Anniversary of the Bahama Auxiliary Society was held in March; and the Report states a considerable increase in its Funds above the preceding year.-A Society was formed at Ashby-de-la-Zouch, June 20, and at Dudley on the 27th June; and Anniversary Meetings have been held recently, at Leicester, Midsummer-Norton, Salisbury, and Newbury.

Contributions to the Wesleyan Missionary Society, received by the General Treasurers, since the Account published last Month.

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