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WEST-COAST MISSION, DEMERARA.

THIS interesting station is situated on the western coast of the Demerara River, in the Colony of British Guiana, about eight miles from George Town. It was commenced in 1819, by the late Rev. Richard Elliot, in accordance with the cordial and united invitations of the planters and negroes; and so abundant was the divine blessing upon his ministry, that, in 1822, when he returned to England, the number under stated religious instruction amounted to 1,000, and the church contained 200 members.

Among the lamentable consequences of the insurrection, in 1823, was the suspension of this promising Mission; and, for a period of nearly six years, the people, who had been so long and so faithfully fed with the bread of life, were deprived of the advantages of a stated ministry. In 1829, the Rev. Joseph Ketley assumed the pastoral charge, and, under his assiduous ministrations, the work of God was revived and strengthened. Other devoted brethren succeeded him, and the labours of the Mission were continued without intermission, though not with unvaried prosperity, until the arrival of the Rev. James Scott, in January, 1832.

At that period the church and congregation were in a state which indicated an urgent necessity for the vigilant care and strenuous exertions of an efficient pastor; but, by earnest unrelaxing application to the object, our brother, Mr. Scott, in dependence on divine aid, soon succeeded in restoring the Mission to its former gratifying condition. With honourable zeal and perseverance, he has continued to devote himself to the interests of the negro population to the present time; and, through the riches of divine mercy, his ministry has become to many the savour of life unto life. By the preaching of the Gospel, and the influence of education, the people were prepared to appreciate and improve the blessing of freedom; and, since that invaluable boon has been conferred upon them, they have steadily advanced in intelligence, order, civilisation, and piety. The Report of the Rev. J. J. Freeman, who visited the Colony, as a Deputation from the Board, at the close of last year, fully corroborates these statements, and encourages the hope of yet more abundant blessing and prosperity. The latest accounts from Mr. Scott state, that there is a regular attendance of 800 persons on public worship, and that the church has upwards of 300 meinbers.

For years past the spirit of christian liberality evinced by the people has been of the most exemplary character, and we rejoice to add that there is every reason to expect that the time is not distant when their pecuniary offerings will be adequate to the support of the Gospel among themselves.

Under the altered circumstances of the people, and from the continued accessions to their number, Mr. Scott had long felt the desirableness and necessity of erecting another and larger chapel, possessing better accommodation than that of the former one: the object was presented to the people, and obtained their hearty concurrence; and the following letter, dated September 14th, recently received from our esteemed brother, stating the completion and opening of the new place of worship, will show with what noble generosity they have contributed to defray the heavy expenses attendant on the measure.

"I am happy to state that our new chapel has been completed. It was opened for divine worship on Friday last, the 8th instant. We were favoured with the presence of all the brethren in this division of the Mission, together with Mr. Davies, and Mr. Dalgliesh, from Berbice. We had a prayer-meeting at six o'clock in the morning, and public worship at twelve o'clock at noon, when

Mr. Rattray preached from 1st Kings viii. 29.

Public worship was held again at half-past six in the evening, when Mr. Davies preached from Ps. cxx xvii. 5, 6. Both discourses were deeply interesting, and it is hoped will be long remembered by those who were privileged to hear them.

Though it was a week-day, and a busy season, the chapel was filled with an attentive audience. The opening collection amounts to 2907. We have pewsittings for 840 persons: every sitting, I believe, being already let, and a demand for more. There are, besides, free sittings for 160 persons. The building is universally admired; for, though plain and unornamental, it is neat and substantial. The cost, by contract, without painting, is 10,300 dollars. The painting and lighting cost 400 dollars more: bringing the entire amount, on the day of opening, to the sum of 10,700 dollars, equal to 2,3067.

"Towards meeting this enormous outlay, the congregation, with no foreign aid from any quarter, have already raised between 7,000 and 8,000 dollars; and it is hoped, at a day not very distant, they will clear off the entire amount and leave the building free of debt. The season of opening, with all the delightful, soul-stirring exercises connected with it, will be long remembered by ourselves and the congregation at large. May the presence of the gracious Saviour continue to be with us!"

ZEAL OF NEGRO CHRISTIANS IN BERBICE.
(From Rev. J. Roome, Hanover, June 13, 1843.)

FOR Some time my heart had been deeply
impressed with the importance of offering
special prayer for the out-pouring of the
Holy Spirit, and the conversion of souls to
God. Accordingly we devoted every even-
ing of the first week in April to this pur-
pose; and concluded, on the Saturday, by
commemorating the dying love of the Lord
Jesus. I am happy to say, we found these
occasions to be "times of refreshing from
the presence of the Lord." The chapel
was so thronged, that many were unable to
obtain admission. The most lively interest
was kept up, and, I believe, it increased till
the last.

As already stated, the people attended these meetings in great numbers, and we were grieved to find that so many were excluded. The question was then asked, "What can be done?" as UNION CHAPEL was distant about two miles and a half. At once the people agreed to take down that place of worship and bring the materials to Ithaca, without any charge for their labour. To this undertaking they devoted nearly a whole week. The men carried the heavy hard-wood, the women the bricks for the pillars, and the children "gathered the sticks,"-shingles; and in this way every portion of it was brought free of expense.

I may also state, that, in re-erecting the chapel, the people not only gave the ground, but the carpenters worked one to four shil

:

lings per day less than they are in the habit of receiving the headman would only take two shillings per day, whereas his labour was well worth two dollars.

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In seven weeks the chapel was opened; so that we were without accommodation only six Sabbaths. The chapel now stands two or three miles nearer Hanover-it is very much better attended, and until we can get our new one, will be of the greatest service for the day-school, and week-day services. At the six o'clock prayer-meeting, on the Sabbath morning, it is full; at the public service it is filled to excess; and at the adult school in the afternoon, as well as the meetings held during the week, the attendance leaves no room to spare.

Many and great will be the advantages secured by the removal of the chapel. But, I feel certain, that the "strength," employed in removing it, was, to say the least, greatly "renewed" by "waiting on the Lord" during the week referred to. Had it not been for these meetings, I feel satisfied that nothing would have been done, and many who could not, or who would not, walk two or three miles, and were "perishing for lack of knowledge," have now "the Cross planted in their midst." On this account "I thank God and take courage."

DEATH AND FUNERAL OF LEOTA,

NATIVE CHIEF, FROM THE SAMOAS OR NAVIGATORS ISLANDS, SOUTHERN PACIFIC. Ir is with unfeigned regret that the Directors of the Society announce to their friends the death of LEOTA, one of the two natives from the Samoan group, who so lately arrived in England with their Missionary, the Rev. Thomas Heath, on the return of the Camden. All the information which the Society is in possession of respecting the history of this good man, now departed to his rest, will be found in the brief address of Mr. Heath, as given below; and the circumstances attending his illness and removal are detailed in the medical certificate conveyed to the Directors, on the post-mortem examination, which they were desirous should be made, and from whence it is but too painfully evident that LEOTA was labouring under a consumptive disease, though in an incipent stage, at the time of his leaving his own shores.

It appeared desirable to the Directors, that, as LEOTA had resided a short time in Hackney, and died there, a funeral service should be held at the chapel of the Rev. Dr. Burder, on the day of the interment; and the chapel having been kindly lent for the occasion, an impressive service, which was numerously attended, was held there on Thursday, the 2nd of November, previous to the interment of the body in Abney-park Cemetery.

A deputation from the Missionary Society was appointed to attend the funeral, consisting of the Rev. J. Arundel, and the Rev. J. J. Freeman, Secretaries; with the Rev. George Collison, and the Rev. Dr. Burder, Directors. There were invited also the Rev. T. Ransom, of Hackney; Captain Morgan (of the Camden;) Mr. S. Williams (son of the late Rev. John Williams, Missionary to the South Seas ;) Ebenezer Smith, Esq., medical attendant; and, as chief mourners, the Rev. Thos. Heath, and Aperaamo, the native teacher. Mr. Gill, Missionary student; Mr. Gibson, chief officer of the Camden; and a native youth from Tahiti; also attended.

The body having been conveyed by hearse to St. Thomas's-square Chapel, was placed in front of the pulpit. Service commenced by Rev. J. Arundel giving out the well-known and beautiful hymn of Charles Wesley (300 Congregational Hymn Book,)

"Come, let us join our friends above."

The Rev. THOS. HEATH then addressed the deeply-attentive audience to the following effect:It devolves upon me, my Christian friends, in the arrangements of the present solemnities, to give some account of our deceased brother. It is desirable that the statement should be brief, and, indeed, as the materials are few, it must necessarily be so. He lived at Tutuila, 100 miles distant from my usual residence, and I did not become acquainted with him until December last. The island of Tutuila is governed by seven Chiefs of equal authority, and Leota was one of them. Aperaamo tells me that, prior to his conversion, he acted mildly and kindly among his people, and not with that tyranny which is characteristic of some of the Chiefs in their beathen state. This is just what I should have inferred from the development of his character since I have known him-that he was naturally a kind-hearted man. He lived in the district formerly under the superintend

ence of my lamented brother Barnden, who was drowned while bathing, about the end of the year 1838. After that melancholy event, and until the location, in 1840, of Mr. Slatyer in the same district, our brother Murray had the care of, and occasionally visited Leota's district; and it was during that time that Leota first began to feel se rious concern relative to his salvation. It was some time before his convictions and desires came to a crisis; and, in the interval, he several times appeared to abandon, but again resumed, his old pleasures and follies. In 1840, however, after the settlement at Leone of brother Slatyer, he be came decided, and applied for baptism, and subsequently, for admission into the church; to both which privileges, on due probation, he was admitted.

During our voyage to England, the beha viour and conduct of Leota, and our other native friend, was very exemplary. They kept up private prayer daily, as well as

prayer together, and were in the habit of reading the Gospels and other books in their own tongue. We had also a short service in Samoan for their benefit every Sabbath, in which our departed brother took a part. He also kept a brief journal of the events of the voyage, and his visits in this country; and though I have not been able at the moment to find it, I have met with several memoranda-books filled with texts and skeletons of sermons, both of those which he heard in Samoa, and of the short addresses delivered by me on board ship, which show that he was an attentive hearer of the word, and that he wished to retain what he heard. At several of the meetings we have attended in different parts of the country (at which his presence and addresses excited much interest,) and among the rest at Norwich, which was the last he attended, he would say, in bidding farewell, "Perhaps we shall not meet again in this world, therefore let us prepare for the great meeting in heaven." On our way home from Norwich, a fortnight since last Tuesday, he complained of internal pain, but I did not think, from his description, that its seat was the chest. The next day, however, finding his breathing a good deal affected, I obtained medical advice. He was ordered to go to bed immediately, which he never afterwards left, and the next day his disease was declared to be inflammation of the lungs.

From that time, however, until the following Monday morning, when we two (myself and Aperaamo) left him, on going into the country, I did not think that the disease had assumed an alarming form; nor, indeed, did it, until the day before his death. On our parting with him we had prayer together, and I and Aperaamo said a few encouraging words to him; and, having observed to him that some died of his complaint, we inquired what was the state of his mind? He replied, with great composure, "Just as God pleases. I do not fear. I believe in Jesus." His kind attendant could not converse with him, but she states that he was evidently much engaged in prayer to the very last. Although, therefore, I sorrow, I do not sorrow as those who have no hope. On the contrary, I believe our friend was fully prepared to die; for, applying the best criteria we can, and are accustomed to do with regard to Chris. tians in our own country, I believe that Leota was a truly godly man, and that he is now among the happy in heaven. I have seen other Samoans, too, on the point of death, and have heard them say in the immediate prospect of it, "I cleave to Jesus; I cleave to Jesus; he is my Saviour."

Immediately after Mr. Heath had concluded this address, which was intended

only to give an outline of the history of Leota, the Rev. Mr. FREEMAN proceeded to remark:

The circumstances which have convened us, my Christian friends, on this occasion, possess an unusual degree of interest and solemnity. Death is always solemn, and to commit to the silent tomb those with whom we have associated in the walks of life and in the service of Christ-no more to see them, till the morning of the resurrection is always affecting. But in this case various considerations combine to give more than ordinary interest and impressiveness to the service. We have before us not simply the removal of a man cut off in the very prime of life, whose sun has gone down while it was yet high day,—but of one who lately came among us from a far distant land, who came to be our visitor, our guest, our friend, our Christian brother-a stranger from an island more than ten thousand miles from our shores, and whither he hoped again ere long to return in peace. But his expectations have been cut off; in that very day his thoughts have perished, and his ashes will mingle with ours, remote from his fatherland. He came among us voluntarily, cheerfully, that he might see those who had had compassion on him and his countrymen, by conveying to them the tidings of eternal life, and bringing them from darkness to light. He found a cordial welcome on reaching our shores as a brother beloved for the Saviour's sake, and that welcome has been repeated by some thousands of British Christians, among whom he and his companion have been introduced. For, though different in colour and in language, we have felt that we were one in the participation of the same humanity; and of far higher interest, one, in the participation of the same grace, the same hope, the same redemption. Yet though we looked on him from the hour of his arrival with affection and pleasure, it was not without some misgivings, with regard to his health and his capacity for enduring our climate. And hence from the first we took care that everything conducive to his safety and comfort should be promptly and liberally supplied.

He possessed a fine, noble form; a lofty and commanding stature; a countenance expressive of mildness and benignity, with intelligence and energy. Such, the God of nature had made him. In his physical endowments he was such as to illustrate and justify the representations given by Ellis and others of the superior form and gait and appearance of the Chiefs of the Southern Pacific. He was born to command, and would be no dishonour to the aristocracy of any country. But more than all thisGod had renewed his heart, and enlightened

his mind; and we saw, not the savage, the heathen, the gross idolater; there was nothing of untamed ferocity, of sullen apathy, -nothing to revolt or offend whatever. There was mildness that at once secured affection and confidence. He won many friends, though unable to converse with them. It was simply his appearance and demeanour that at once inspired esteem. But he was loved the more because he was a Christian. His remarks, conveyed through an interpreter, in many of our public Missionary meetings, indicated a sobriety and correctness of judgment,—gratitude for the blessings of the Gospel, and zeal for its extension, that did him much honour. Could we have conversed freely with him, without the tedious and circuitous method of interpretation, there is no reason to doubt our gratification would have been greatly enhanced.

It has, however, pleased the Sovereign Disposer of all events to remove him from us. I cannot say I view it as a mysterious event; but it is a painful bereavement. We mourn over it, and can scarcely help wishing it had been otherwise. But we desire to bow with submission and humility. It is the hand of God. He doeth as he pleases among the armies of heaven and the inhabitants of the earth. He has wise reasons for all that he does. Not a sparrow falls to the ground without his knowledge; and we are sure our friend Leota has been removed from us only because it has seemed right to our Heavenly Father that thus it should be. There are a few points on which I would venture to offer a few brief observations. So far as the Directors of the Missionary Society are concerned, I may say, that our lamented friend did not visit England in consequence of any suggestion of theirs. They entertained no wish, they expressed no desire of the kind. He came cheerfully, of his own accord, on a suggestion being made to him by the Missionary brethren on the spot; and there certainly appeared adequate reasons to justify the measure as already alluded to and explained by Mr. Heath. Our own ship, the Missionary ship, was coming to England. This afforded a suitable opportunity to bring him and his companion, without incurring any considerable expense. It was natural that the Missionaries should think it would gratify, encourage, and stimulate the friends of Missions in England to see some native converts-in whom there is such a demonstration of the efficacy of the Gospel, and the success of Christian Missions. Such an arrangement is also delightful and encouraging to the natives themselves, especially if spared to return to their own country, and recount what they had seen in the midst of the land, from

whence the light of Divine truth had been communicated to them. In all this, there is important service rendered to the cause of humanity, of truth, and of Missions.

On reaching England, all possible care was taken of them; and no difficulty occurred in ascertaining their wants, as Mr. Heath was with them, and is perfectly fami liar with their language. They have visited several of the country constituencies of the Missionary Society, and they have done so at the urgent request of those friends themselves. Many of these will, no doubt, regret the fatigue and hazard to which they were occasionally, of necessity exposed. And it may have been the case, that the disease under which Leota was labouring, though not fully suspected or known at the time, was aggravated and accelerated thereby. It was impossible, however, for the Directors to refuse the earnest entreaties of their country friends to see these Christian strangers. All were anxious to receive a visit from them, and it was hoped that at any rate they might safely travel as late as the month of October, while all possible precautions were used for their safety. It was not mere curiosity that awakened the desire of seeing them. There was a large portion of genuine Christian interest and sympathy. Multitudes rejoice, and thank God that they have seen, with their own eyes, what the grace of God has effected, and heard from the converts' own lips, a simple and unsophisticated testimony to the truth as it is in Jesus. However, it is some relief to our anxieties in this case that, though the illness of Leota may have been somewhat increased by our climate, and by travelling about in this country, the original complaint, to which he has fallen a victim, had long since taken hold of his constitution. Before leaving his own island, disease must have fixed on him with a firm grasp, and under which he would have sunk at no distant period. This will be obvious from the medical testimony which I shall presently read, as the result of the post-mortem examination. We who saw him on his arrival are the less surprised at the result, because there appeared to us, even then, unfavourable symptoms of cough and uneasy breathing; and these, we learn, had occasionally been observed even on his voyage to England. The following is the medical certificate I have referred to:

"MEDICAL CERTIFICATE.-On Wednesday, Oct. 19, 1843, I first saw the Samoan Chief, Leota, at the Mission House, on his return from a journey. He was evidently very ill with a severe cold, he was therefore immediately sent home to bed, with some fever medicine. On the morn ing of the 20th I visited him, and found extensive inflammation of the air-tubes and

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