But probably you would wish to know what is doing in Belize, relative to religion. As to its means, we have, on the Sabbath, one service at six o'clock, A. M.; one at half-past ten; and between one and two P. M. we commence the Sunday-school, which continues till about half-past four o'clock ; and at half-past six in the evening, we have preaching. The

whole of this has often of late fallen to myself, Mr. P. being from home, and Mr. S. being employed up the river. We have besides these, two services on different evenings in the week; also I have devoted a certain portion of time every week to visit the free coloured people, and converse and pray with them from house to house. This, I trust, will in time be attended with beneficial effects. The people to whom I here chiefly refer are disbanded soldiers, who with themselves and families are now near a thousand in number; and are divided into two villages, lying north and south of Belize; but the wet season, which has now set in, has rather obstructed me, the places being at this season in part under water. Some of these people are in the habit of coming regularly to the place of worship, and appear very attentive. Our evening congregations are generally very good; those on the Sunday morning improve gradually, and the school is also on the increase.

From the inconveniences and bad situation of our place of worship, some who have come and expressed a wish to come again are kept away; and on these and other accounts, the two chief of which are the smallness and high rent of the place, 1 have been induced to come to the conclusion of endeavouring to get a new place built. One of the oldest merchants has undertaken to procure a lot for me, and several of the magistrates are favourably disposed. I have drawn plans of our intended building, and sent them to America, where it will be constructed. By this step it will not amount to one-half of the expense it otherwise would do. In the plan I have strictly studied economy; if you know of any person or persons who can render us any assistance in paying the debt, which will be necessarily incurred, it will be thank fully received.

** I have been to two of the Spanish settlements, lying about from 200 to 300 miles south of Belize. Their state, in a moral and religious point of view, is truly wretched. At one of these places there was no priest, nor regular existing civil authorities. The inhabitants are chiefly Indians. I took the opportunity of distributing a number of Spanish tracts among them. They were readily and thankfully received; and what was still more gratifying, many of those to whom they were given could read. I left also a bundle of tracts at this place to go into the interior; and who can say, by following them with our prayers, what through the Divine blessing may be done?—Bap. Mag. Dec. 1823.

COCHIN JEWS.

The following information has been recently obtained res pecting the Cochin Jews. They consist of the White and those usually termed Black Jews, and their freed and household servants respectively. It seems that the merchandize in Hebrews among them is done away. The rules therefore laid down by Moses, which restricted them in this respect, do not now apply; (see Exod. xxi. 2-4; Levit. xxv. 39–41, &c.) Indeed, neither the sabbatical year nor the year of jubilee has been kept since the dispersion, having reference only to the holy land. The household servants now in their possession were originally purchased, as were those they have freed, from amongst the five lowest casts of the natives; namely, carpenters, workers in brass, gold and silver smiths, iron smiths, and palayen or pullee-casts; and to make proselytes from these was one of the privileges granted by Chesam Permaul, the Malabaric king, and recorded on the brass plate they now possess. Part of the ordinances of Moses, respecting the purchase of bond-servants, will be found in Levit. xxv. 44-46. This passage has likewise reference to the strangers that sojourned in the Holy Land, and the heathen, which then surrounded it. Since these Jews have been under the British

government, they have not purchased bond-men or bond-women; they have, however, established various customs amongst themselves, in regard to the emancipation of their household servants. The rite of circumcision (common to all Jews) was performed on the bond-servant by the master of the family, or one of the elders properly qualified, and thus they imitated the patriarchal institution as enjoined by the Almighty upon Abraham. (Gen. xvii. 12.) It does not appear that they employ circumcised people in their service. After circumcision, the servant was taken to a place where there was much water, wherein he was dipped or baptized, they using the following prayer : "Blessed be thou, O Lord our God, and king of the universe, (or everlasting king,) who hast sanctified us by thy commandments, and hast enjoined us concerning the dipping of servants." After this, the Jews say, the servant becomes, in every respect, as Eliezer. (Genesis xv. 2.) "The steward of Abraham's house." Verse 3, 66 one born in his house;" and ver. 34, "his servant." A female servant was dipped or baptized, they using the same prayer as above. With proselytes being natives, like ceremonies are observed as with the servant purchased for money; the only difference as concerns the baptism is a change in the prayer, to "the dipping of proselytes," instead of "the dipping of servants." There are three men of this description now at Cochin, who were originally heathens. They are termed Geerim, "strangers." Deut. x. 18: "God loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment." Ver. 19:

Love ye, therefore, the stranger, for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." They are, however, looked upon by the Co'chin Jews in no better light than household servants, though some Jews allow they should be considered as superior to freed

servants.

To make a bond-servant free, the master pays to the synagogue forty-one rupees for every man-servant, and sixty-one for each maid-servant. A certificate of freedom, termed " a bill of liberty," is made out; and after the servant has fasted the whole day, when the evening service is concluded, he re

ceives the bill signed by his master, and to which the seal of the synagogue is affixed. He then goes about from house to house, kissing hands and feet, beginning with his former master. Thus emancipated, the synagogue grants these people certain privileges. 1st. They are permitted to make themselves fringes, upon the four quarters of their (inner) vesture: vide Deut. xxii. 12; compare Numb. xv. 38: and to use the Tephilleen, (Exod. xiii. 9. 16.) namely, "a sign upon their hand,” (and tied on the arm, and extended and fastened to the fingers) whilst at prayers, to which the word refers. 2d. They are admitted to complete the Asarah, or number of ten persons, who are required to be assembled before divine service can be performed in the synagogue. 3d. When they die, a sum is granted from the funds of the synagogue to purchase a coffin for their decent burial. On the man-servant being freed, the offspring also is considered free. They are at liberty when freed to remain with their former masters, if they please; but in that event there is no addition made of hire. They receive no more than they did before; namely, food and raiment. These customs relate principally to the White Jews. As for the Black Jews, on account of their poverty, and from their having adopted the customs of the natives, their wives and children supply the place of servants. The White Jews, however, cannot do without them. They formerly had six or seven to a family. At present, the servile population are, to their superiors, as 217 to 276, among the Whites, and only as 1 to 29 among the Blacks. These servants, bond or free, can intermarry only amongst themselves; the White Jew's servant, with the White Jew's servant, and the Black with the Black. Should the master be so poor, that he cannot free his servant according to the institutions of the synagogue, he then only grants him the "bill of liberty," and thus frees him from his servitude or bondage; but in such case the freedman does not enjoy the privileges above specified.-Christ. Obs. Dec. 1823.

WEST INDIAN SLAVERY.

We have had great satisfaction in reading the speech of Mr. Canning, on this subject, on the 16th of March last. It seems to shew a firm determination to prosecute some effective plan; and it destroys the fear, that his speech and resolu tions last year were merely a decent expedient, to silence the clamours of those who aim at the emancipation of the slaves, whilst nothing should actually be done to alter the existing state of things. We doubt not that we owe some of the decision and zeal of the Minister, to the contemptible insolence and folly of the West Indian Planters and Assemblies. Nothing can be more galling than his sportive contempt of them. He recommends to Parliament to" mark its displeasure by a silent course of admonition." Trinidad, St. Lucie and Demerara differ from the other West Indian Colonies, in being under the government of the Crown of England, without the interven tion of any local legislative assembly and in these succes sively, the Ministry have determined to make an experiment in the improvement of the slaves, which may afterwards influence the other Colonies. The nature of the experiment is stated in the following paragraph from the speech:

"He would now recapitulate the objects which Government proposed to effect with respect to the island of Trinidad:-The abolition of the use of the whip with regard to females entirely; the discontinuance of the use of the whip as applied as a stimulus to males in the field; restrictions on the infliction of the punishment by the last; a religious establishment and religious instruction; and in order to give time for the acquirement of that instruction, the abolition of the markets and of slave labour on the Sunday; the enjoyment of marriage among the slaves; the keeping together of fami lies of slaves; the securing to slaves the enjoyment of property, and the right to distribute it at their death; the admissibility of the evidence of slaves under certain regulations; and lastly, right of the slave to purchase his own freedom or that of his chil dren."

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