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addressed the newly baptized persons from John viii. 31: "If ye continue in my word, then are ye disciples indeed." It was a solemn season; many were in tears, and I hope a lasting impression was made. At the urgent request of the people, I have resolved to establish a day-school at this station.

ber.

BAHAMAS.

We have the pleasure to announce that Mr. and Mrs. Applegate arrived at Nassau, in safety, on the 9th of NovemTwo vessels which sailed previously from New York had been lost in the disastrous hurricane which visited those seas in the preceding month; and the vessel in which our friends sailed, narrowly escaped shipwreck, so that we have peculiar reason to praise that portecting hand which guided them in safety to their desired haven.

Dear Sir,

This is the first time I have written to you. I thank God that I am permitted to do so I thank God and the Society for sending missionaries to the Bahamas, for they were the means of bringing me to Christ. Before Mr. Burton came here, I was in a poor state, for I cared nothing about my soul; I never felt any concern about it at all. Through God's mercy, I have been convinced of my sins by his preaching. My first conviction was on a Sabbath morning, when the ordinance of baptism was attended to by poor Mr. Pearson, who is now with "the spirits of just men made perfect." Mr. Burton was not here islands. I, a spectator, went to look at the at the time; he was at one of the outcandidates who were standing around, ready to follow the example of their Saviour, not knowing that soon after I should have to cast my lot among them. When I heard Mr. Pearson say, "See, here is water, what doth hinder me from being baptized ?" the A subsequent letter announces that words sunk down into my heart. The Mr. and Mrs. Leaver also had arrived at question was with myself, What was hinNassau on Lord's-day, the 14th Janu- dering me? I felt myself a poor sinner, ary. In a letter written by Mr. L., who had never before offered an acceptable previously to his leaving New York, he prayer to God. Soon after, my sins were speaks, in terms of lively and affec- troublesome to me; my soul appeared to Yet I did not despair; I tionate gratitude, of the great kindness be lost for ever. they had experienced during their sostill could exclaim, "Though I have sinned, journ in New York, from many Chris- yet will I look towards his holy temple.” tian friends in and near that city. In Christ, I was desirous of making known these acknowledgments the Committee Christ to my fellow-creatures. The Lord would heartily join. It is very delight-heard my prayers, and has called me to it; ful to witness such proofs that, substantially, the friends of the Redeemer in every region of the globe are one.

In a recent letter from Mr. Burton, he made mention of several agents, raised up in the scene of his labours, whom he was instructing and employing in various ways for the spiritual benefit of their neighbours. From one of these, Mr. Archibald Taylor, we have lately received a brief and artless account of the manner in which he was first impressed by divine truth, and of his present engagements. Our readers will not be unwilling to peruse this, which we presume to be the first epistolary effort of a negro brother, rescued from ignorance and sin by a divine blessing on the labours of our Society. The letter is addressed to the Secretary, and dated Nassau, Aug. 12, 1837.

After I was called to the service of

and I am receiving instruction from Mr.
Burton, to prepare for the work which
Christ has called me to. When called at
first to this work, I felt doubtful, because
of not being worthy; but after thinking
about the souls of my fellow-creatures, I
made up my mind to do what I could for
the cause of Christ. I am engaged mostly
at Grant's Town, twice on the Sabbath, and
once through the week, and am endeavour-
ing to point my fellow-sinners to Christ.
The sabbath-school at Grant's Town is in a
There are in it upwards
prosperous state.
of one hundred children, and a few grown
with Mr. Burton in reading, writing, gram-
persons. I am engaged through the day
mar, arithmetic, and copying theological
lectures. I am also writing out sermons
for him to correct.

I am, dear Sir,

Your obedient servant,

ARCHIBALD TAYLOR.

LIST OF LETTERS LATELY RECEIVED.

EAST INDIES.-Rev. J. Thomas, Calcutta, May 22nd; W. Carey, Cutwa, July 19; A. Leslie, Monghyr, July 30; H. Beddy, Patna, June 14; G. Pearce, Seebpore, July 19; E. Daniel, Ceylon, Oct. 31.

WEST INDIES.-Rev. T. F. Abbott, St. Ann's Bay, Oct. 2, at Port Maria, Oct. 7, Nov. 7, Dec. 12, 30, Jan. 16; W. Knibb, Falmouth, Oct. 4, Nov. 1, 14, 16, 27 (two); J. M. Phillippo, Spanish Town, Oct. 8, Members at Gurney's Mount, Oct. 7; T. Burchell, Oct. 3, 31, Dec. 5, Jan. 17; W. Dendy, Salter's Hill, Oct. 24, Jan. 16; John Clark, Brown's Town, Oct. 24, Jan. 2, 17; John Kingdon, Belle Castle, Oct. 24, Nov. 22, Jan. 9; F. Gardner, Kingston, Nov. 14; Joshua Tinson, Kingston, Oct. 31, Dec. 27: John Clarke, Jericho, Nov. 25, Dec. 25; J. Hutchins, Savanna la Mar, Nov. 4, Jan. 17; B. B. Dexter, Stewart Town, Dec. -; S. Oughton, Lucea, Dec. 12; H. C. Taylor, Old Harbour, Dec. 26, Jan. 17; J. Barlow, Annatto Bay, Dec. 23; T. Leaver, New York, Nov. 28.

BAHAMAS.-J. Burton, Nassau, Oct. 14; T. Applegate, Nov. 28, Jan. 6.
HONDURAS.-A. Henderson, Belize, Oct. 11.

SOUTH AFRICA.-W. Davies, Graham's Town, Dec. 13.

P. S. A Letter just arrived from Montego Bay states that Mr. and Mrs. Day and family had landed on the 30th January.

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Champion Hill, March 13, 1838. My dear Friend,

As those friends who have contributed towards the extra fund for sending out Ten Missionaries to India, will naturally expect some further account of its progress, I beg to send you a few particulars in continuation of my former letter on the subject, inserted in the Herald for January last.

wife, and our frienas Mr. and Mrs. Sykes, connected with the church in the Circu- From Rev. W. H. Pearce to the Secretary. lar Road, under the care of Mr. Yates. Mr. Bayne was solemnly designated to lis important work, in services held before he left Scotland, both at Falkland, and Cupar, in the county of Fife, in the former of which he had been exercising his ministry, while the latter is the residence of his much esteemed friend and former pastor, Mr. Jonathan Watson. A valedictory service was also held at Lime Street, Liverpool, on the 17th of January, when he was affectionately and suitably addressed by Mr. Lister, the pastor of the church meeting there.

CANTERBURY.

On Monday evening, March 5th, a united special meeting for prayer was held in the Baptist Chapel in this city, on the occasion of Mr. Henry Philpot leaving the church to proceed to Honduras, where he is about to assist our valued friend, Mr. Henderson, in his important labours.

The Rev. J. M. Cramp, of St. Peter's, delivered an appropriate and impressive address, and the Rev. J. Blomfield (Lady Huntingdon's connexion), the Rev. H. Cres

The delicate state of my health, in connexion with the severity of the weather, has hitherto prevented my going far from London personally to solicit the contributions of individuals in the country; and my associate, Dr. Hoby, has been too fully engaged in his pastoral duties to labour from home, with the exception of a short visit to Nottingham, during which two contributions of £50. each were kindly promised him, as the commencement of an effort in that town.

In the meanwhile, however, something has been attempted in the metropolis and its neighbourhood. Accompanied by my dear friend, Mr. E. Carey, I have waited upon many gentlemen in London and Camberwell, and have also visited Tottenham, Brixton, Hackney, and Stepney, and have with gratitude to record the interest which

has been expressed in our object, and the generous support which has in most cases been extended to it. Including the result of these efforts, and some contributions kindly forwarded without a personal application, the sum of £800. has been secured within the last three months. This raises the amount of all which has been received, or promised for the Ten Missionaries proposed, to £4,200, leaving still a deficiency of about

£800.

We sympathize fully with the Committee in the wish they entertain, that this sum should be raised, if possible, before the Annual Meeting. We propose, therefore, to visit those parts of the country from which we have received invitations; and trust that generous friends in other parts will kindly send to you at Fen Court, without delay, the sums they intend to contribute.

As in all similar endeavours, so also in this, we have found the raising the last thousand pounds, the most difficult part of our task. The friends of Missions may rest as

sured, therefore, that any aid they can offer

will be most acceptable.

It will, doubtless, be gratifying to contributors to know, that the messengers of mercy, whom they are anxious to send forth to the heathen, are proceeding to their work. Our excellent brother, Mr. Bayne, who was in January last set apart as a missionary, has been long detained at Liverpool; but has at last, with Mr. B. sailed in the Elvira, for Bengal-they are accompanied by Mr. and Mrs. Sykes, who are acquainted with the Bengali Language, and will gladly render our friends any assistance in their power in acquiring it. Mr. Harris, D.V., will be set apart as a missionary to Ceylon, on the 28th of this month, and with Mrs. H. and family, will sail for Colombo immediately afterwards. Contributors to this enterprise will regard with interest these first fruits of their liberality, and will remember in their prayers these esteemed brethren, and others who are about to follow them, to the almost neglected but promising field of missionary exertion.

Commending also to the prayers of your readers, our dear brethren already engaged in the arduous work of making known to the heathen the unsearchable riches of Christ,

I remain, my dear friend,
Yours, most sincerely,
W. H. PEARCE.

Notice respecting Bequests to the Society. The attention of those friends who may be making bequests to the Society (and its present position and prospects are such as render this, among other modes of helping it, peculiarly needed),

is respectfully directed to the new Act with respect to Wills, which came into force on the first day of the present year. By this law, it is required, that all Wills shall be in writing, shall be signed at the foot or end thereof, by the testator, or by some other person in his presence, and by his direction-and that such signature shall be made or acknowledged by the testator in the presence of at least two witnesses present at the same time, who shall attest and subscribe the Will in the testator's presence.

These requirements apply also to any alterations in, or codicil to Wills, which may have been executed previous to the first of January last.

While on this subject, we would impress on our friends the necessity of great care in providing that the legacies be paid out of personal, and not real property. Experience has shown that many legal practitioners even are igno

rant or unmindful of the extent to which the Mortmain Act vitiates bequests in any manner connected with land. In the hope of avoiding the repetition of losses, such as the Mission has already experienced in this way, we entreat the particular attention of our readers to the following paragraph, extracted from a work just published, entitled, "Plain Directions for making Wills, &c., by J. C. Hudson, Esq., of the Legacy Duty Office."

The Statute of 9 GEO. II., c. 36, called the Mortmain Act, is not repealed or altered by the 1 VICTORIÆ, c. 26; and therefore legacies to charities out of real estate will still be void. If a Testator desire to leave make them payable, either expressly, or by legacies to charities, he must take care to ordinary course of law, out of such personal estate as may be applied for that purpose. A bequest to a charity of a term for years, or leasehold property; or of money to arise from, or be produced by, the sale of land; arising from land; or a bequest of money, or by the rents, profits, or other interest to be laid out in land; or a bequest of money secured by mortgage; or a bequest of annuities charged on land, or rather rentcharges; or a bequest of money, with a direction to apply it in paying off mortgages on schools and chapels; or a bequest of money secured on parochial-rates, or countyrates, or turnpike-tolls-is, in each case, pointed out in the Will, for the payment of void; and even where no particular fund is charitable legacies, and they are quently a charge on the residue, and the residue consists, in part, of property of all or either of the kinds above specified; so much

conse

of the legacies will become void as shall bear the same proportton to the entire lega

cies as the exempted property bears to the entire residue.

Contributions received on Account of the Baptist Missionary Society, from February 16, to March 16, 1838, not including individual subscriptions:

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James Dicker, Esq., late of 425, Strand, Messrs. Hatchard and Thompson, Executors....
William Burls, Esq., late of Edmonton, Mrs. M. Burls, Executrix, Messrs. Cozens and
Blight, Executors...

Jason....

Additional Contributions towards sending out Ten Missionaries to India.

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W. P. Parken, Esq..

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A Friend, by Mrs. Eason, Do..

Thomas Walker, Esq., Herne Hill.

Joseph Fletcher, Esq., Tottenham......100
Luke Howard, Esq., and Mrs. Howard,
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J. D.,

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20 0 0

J. P. Parken,

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W. Freeman, Esq., Milbank.

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R. Pope, Esq., Camberwell..

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Miscellaneous Contributions for Special Objects.

Of Mrs. Lum, Bolton, for Schools at Montego Bay, by Rev. T. Burchell..

St. Ann's Bay, by Rev. T. F. Abbott..
Falmouth, by Rev. W. Knibb..
Brown's Town, by Rev. J. Clark.
Kingston, by Mr. S. Whitehorne.

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The thanks of the Committee are respectfully presented to Miss Robinson for a second parcel of the Life of Swartz; to Joseph Trueman, jun., Esq., and George Tabor, Esq., Bocking, for Magazines; to Ladies at Leighton Buzzard, per Mrs. Adey, for box of articles for Rev. John Clarke, Jericho; and to Ladies at Worcester, for box for Rev. W. Knibb, Falmouth.

J. Haddon, Castle Street, Finsbury.

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SUBSCRIPTIONS and DONATIONS in aid of the Funds of this Society will be thankfully received by the Treasurer or Secretaries, at the Mission House, Blomfield-street, Finsbury, and by Messrs. Hankeys, the Society's Bankers, 7, Fenchurch-street, London; in Edinburgh, by Mr. George Yule, Broughton Hall; in Glasgow, by Mr. Risk, 9, Cochranestreet; and in Dublin, by Messrs. J. D. La Touche and Co., or at 7, Lower Abbey-street.

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BRIEF MEMOIR OF ANDRIES STOFFLES.

THE Hottentot churches which have been gathered in South Africa, through the instrumentality of the Society's Missionaries in that country, contain many eminent examples of Christian character and worth. With one or more of these fellow-members of the same spiritual body, it would be delightful to the friends of Missions at home occasionally to hold personal intercourse; but such meetings have been hitherto exceedingly rare, nor is it probable that circumstances will arise to make them of more frequent occurrence for the future. The late VOL. II.

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