additional schoolmasters from this school to Upolu; and on the 28th of Dec. opened a large new chapel at Falelatai, built by the native teacher Moea. I had the pleasure to take part in the service, and Mr. S. Wilson preached. There were 2500 people present, who behaved as orderly as an English congregation. They came from all parts of Upolu, and some from Manono and Savaii. The latest communication from Mr. Heath is dated April 1, 1837, at which time he was enabled to report that the people of Upolu had abandoned their heathen dances. Mr. H. had then three congregations under his stated ministry, and so decided had been the bestowment of the Divine blessing on his labours, that it was his happiness, at the period just referred to, to contemplate the formation of a church of twenty members. UPOLU. It has been already stated, that the Island of Upolu is the field occupied by Mr. Mills, with the exception of that portion of it, the south-western, which Mr. Heath includes within the range of his regular labours. In April of last year, Mr. Mills thus referred to the state of this branch of the Mission: The adult day-school assembles at sunrise, and although not very numerously attended, those who are regular make considerable progress in reading and writing. Once a week I meet a class of young men, 25 in number, who are designed to act as teachers, and several of whom are already stationed in neighbouring villages. I trust many of these will become efficient teachers, though I feel reluctant to send them out until they are duly qualified for the office. A class of 25 young men meet on the Monday, to be instructed in the doctrines of the Bible: I have reason to believe they are sincere in their profession. I baptised at Solo Solo, a populous village about twenty miles distant, 21 persons who have been under the instruction of a native teacher, and at Varlele, a neighbouring settlement, 26 adults, and 6 children; nearly all the former have been under my own instruction. The females attend much better to learning than the males. Though Mrs. Mills has been at times seriously indisposed, she has continued to attempt the improvement of her own sex. The daily female class is well attended, and many of them have made rapid progress in reading and writing. Mrs. M. has several classes of women, who come from the surrounding villages to be questioned on their knowledge of the Word of God. They profess to have cast off their former evil practices, and to live, as far as their knowledge extends, according to the precepts of the Bible. I have begun preaching much sooner than I should have done, only for the circumstances of the people. Their urgent desire for instruction led me to address them at the risk of not being perfectly understood. I generally hold four services on the Sabbath, and visit the neighbouring villages during the week, either to preach or to hold prayer-meetings. A portion of my time is occupied in the administration of medicine. There is much disease among the people, particularly disease of the eye, and scrofulous affections. My only fear is, that long before I can obtain a new supply of medicine, my little stock will be exhausted. The people seldom ascribe their diseases to natural causes, but, like many in the days of our Saviour, they inquire, "Has this man sinned, or his parents?" Though more of my time is thus occupied than I should otherwise wish, I trust it is not without its advantages; as the alleviation of their bodily afflictions tends to gain their affections, whilst it enables me to tell them of their spiritual diseases, and point them to the Great Physician of the soul. (To be continued.) MISSION STATION, PORT ELIZABETH, SOUTH AFRICA. REFERRING to the satisfactory progress of the day-school at Port Elizabeth, in March, 1836, Mr. Robson observed, that the above school was conducted by a native whom he regarded as "a spiritual son," and whose truly Christian conduct had secured the esteem and good feeling of people of all classes at the Station.* From the interest which was felt in the individual thus alluded to, Mr. Robson had been requested to furnish additional information respecting him, and the *Missionary Magazine, Nov. 1836. following is the affecting reply which has been received in a letter to the Foreign Secretary, bearing date, Dec. 9, 1837 : THE native schoolmaster, concerning whom you were desirous of receiving further particulars, is now no more. He died on May 5, at Bethelsdorp, to which place he had been removed for a change of air, and was interred there on the 7th. He bore a long illness with Christian fortitude and resignation, and peacefully fell asleep in Jesus. The impression made on my mind, by my last visit to him, will not easily be obliterated. He was then very weak, and death was evidently approaching: of this he was himself fully aware. I inquired how he felt in the immediate prospect of death, and told him to look to Jesus. He replied, "I am very comfortable; the gracious Redeemer has not forsaken me, I wish to depart from this world, that I may be free from all sin, and be with Christ my Saviour." These were among his latest words, and he expired soon after. Two wagons were sent from Bethelsdorp to Port Elizabeth on the morning appointed for his funeral, to convey such children thither as had been under his instruction and were desirous of paying the last token of respect to his memory. J. Chalmers, Esq., surgeon, his lady, their children, and the little ones who had been under his care, accompanied Mrs. Robson and myself on the mournful occasion. Several Europeans followed us, to show their regard for our departed friend. My esteemed brother, the Rev. J. Kitchingman, gave a truly impressive address at the grave, and the children sung am appropriate hymn. I viewed the grave with peculiar feelings. In the days of his unregeneracy, I had oft admonished him, whom we were now consigning to the earth, to desist from sin, and to seek through Christ for salvation; and to that God who blessed my endeavours I attribute all the glory. I feel an attachment to his memory, and to the spot where his mortal remains are deposited. He was the first of those who affixed their signatures to the Temperance Rules, when I established the Society at Bethelsdorp; the first adult whom I baptised here; and he is the first member of this church who has been called hence. The last time he sat down at the table of the Lord, both he, and Mrs. Robson, and myself, had the impression that we should not again drink of the same cup of blessing upon the earth. His spirit, I trust, is now with Jesus. "Let me die the death of the righteous, and may my last end be like his." Missionary Meeting. To the foregoing, Mr. Robson adds an account of the last Anniversary of the Port Elizabeth Auxiliary Missionary Society. Our meeting, held on the 11th ult., was numerously attended. On the previous Sabbath three sermons were preached on behalf of the Society, two by the Rev. G. Barker, of Theopolis, and the other by myself. Both the sermons delivered by my respected friend and brother were appropriate and excellent, and listened to with profound attention. The Rev. A. Smith, M.A., the truly devoted minister of the Dutch Reformed Church, at Uitenhage, presided at the General Meeting, and delivered an address, replete with his usual good sense, piety, and liberality. Speeches were also made by the Rev. J. Kitchingman and Mr. Merington, of Bethelsdorp, the Rev. G. Barker, Mr. Chick, and myself. A good spirit seemed to pervade the meeting; and I pray that the impression then made may be lasting. After discharging the remainder of the debt, the incidental expenses of the Station, such as repairing the chapel, lighting and cleaning it, and purchasing books for the school, the balance in hand was about 707., and the collections amounted to 127. General Progress of the Station. I cannot be sufficiently thankful to God for the encouraging prospects which this Station at present affords. The day-school continues to prosper, the Sabbath-school is peculiarly promising, and the congregations are improving. A great number of Fingoes have come here, and are thirsting for the word of life. I have established weekly meetings among them, and address them through a female interpreter whom God has, I hope, given me as a seal to my ministry. When I think of the number of immortal souls by whom I am surrounded, and that so few of them comparatively are in a state of salvation, my heart yearns over them: I am overwhelmed with a sense of the awful responsibility of my office, and the important position which I occupy. O for grace to make me faithful! I have established a special prayer-meeting, for the purpose of unitedly supplicating the saving influences of the Holy Spirit to accompany all the means employed for the conversion of sinners, and the establishment of the Redeemer's kingdom. 'Pray for us, that the word of the Lord may have free course and be glorified." I am, Rev. and dear Sir, A. ROBSON. Anniversary of the London Missionary Society. ARRANGEMENT OF THE SERVICES AT THE FORTY-FOURTH GENERAL MEETING. TUESDAY, MAY 8th. A Meeting of the Directors of the Society, both Town and Country, will be held at the Mission House, Blomfield-street, Finsbury, at Three o'clock in the afternoon. WEDNESDAY, MAY 9th. Morning, Surrey Chapel.-Rev. John Harris, of Epsom, to preach. Evening, Tabernacle.-Rev. William Campbell, Missionary from India, to preach. The Morning service to begin at Half-past Ten, and the Evening at Six o'clock. THURSDAY, MAY 10th. Morning.-The PUBLIC MEETING will be held at EXETER HALL, in the STRAND.* The Chair to be taken, precisely at Ten o'clock, by William T. Blair, Esq., Treasurer of the Bath Auxiliary Missionary Society. Evening.-The Rev. W. F. Vance, A.M., will preach on behalf of the Society. FRIDAY, MAY 11th. Evening. The Sacrament of the Lord's-supper will be administered at the following places of worship to those Members and Friends of the Society who are Stated Communicants, and who produce Tickets from their respective Ministers, viz. :— * Admission to the Hall will be by TICKETS, for the Platform, the Central Seats, and the Raised Seats, respectively. The Platform will be appropriated to the Directors of the Society, both town and country, and other individuals who may take part in the proceedings of the Meeting, together with all Ministers who are Members of the Society. For the Central Seats, Tickets will be furnished : To Annual Subscribers of Five Pounds, or to a Family contributing Five Pounds or upwards, either to the Parent Institution or to an Auxiliary Society-One Ticket. To Presidents, Treasurers, and Secretaries of Auxiliary Societies-One Ticket each. To Collectors of Five Pounds per annum, and upwards-One Ticket each. For the Raised Seats, Tickets of admission will be supplied to all other persons, Subscribers or Contributors to the Parent Society, or to its Auxiliaries and Associations, so far as the Hall will admit. N. B. No individual can be entitled to a Ticket in more than one capacity. A Committee for the delivery of Tickets will attend at the Mission House, Blomfieldstreet, Finsbury, from Twelve o'clock till Three, on Friday, Saturday, Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, the 4th, 5th, 7th, 8th, and 9th days of May. Ministers, who are Members of the Society, will be supplied with Tickets, for themselves and friends, by their sending, on any of the above-mentioned days, a list of such as are entitled to them, and who wish personally to attend. CHINESE BOYS AT PINANG. THE Rev. E. Davies, who is engaged in the Chinese department of labour at this Station, has forwarded under date 15th Feb. 1837, the following details in connexion with his exertions for the spread of the Gospel among the Chinese : I have recently, Mr. Davies writes, had some conversation with two of the Chinese lads who are under my own immediate care. The youths had taken holidays, but did not wish to spend all their time, as the Chinese generally do, at this period. I asked them whether they had been in the temple paying their devotions to the god at the beginning of the new year? One of them replied, No. How is that? I asked; for you went last year;-I saw you, for I was in the temple distributing tracts at the same time. With the utmost simplicity, and in a manner that exceedingly delighted me, he said, I thought of it, I did not like to go, I did not go. How is it, said I, that your father did not insist upon your going with him? O, I knew what time he was going, and I went out to a village in the neighbourhood. But how is this, I said; what led you to do so; who told you not to go this year? you went last year. In a manner which was truly interesting, he replied, I did not understand this, (holding his Bible in one hand and, as he pressed it to his bosom, striking it gently but rapidly with the other,) I did not understand this last year. Well, Sooquay, said I, (addressing the other lad,) and did you go? No, he replied. How is that? Where did you go? I did not like to worship idols, was his reply, I went to Balek Dulo, the village in which my father resides. These and other questions were answered by the lads in the same simple manner, and apparently with the utmost sincerity. My firm opinion is that they begin to see the folly of idolatry, and that their sympathy with its objects and its rites is nearly gone. I pray that God may change their hearts, and make them hereafter useful in the Mission. On one occasion, when describing an idol to them, and referring to the materials of which idols are made, I asked one of them, Do you think there can be any good in worshipping these things? He replied, No. Well, I said again, do you ever tell your parents that it is impossible it can be of any good? Yes, he said. And what do they say to you? They say that little boys do not know any thing at all about it, he answered. This reply convinced me that he had been speaking to his parents on the subject. It could not have occurred to himself, and it was a natural answer of a parent to a child. The conversations above stated have greatly cheered my mind. Circumstances like these excite our hopes, and we are delighted, for it is with us the day of small things yet. GOVERNMENT SUPPORT OF IDOLATRY IN INDIA. THE progress of this important question has, for a considerable time past, been watched with anxious and growing solicitude by the friends of Christianity in every part of the world. On the minds of increasing numbers, the painful conviction has been forced, that this unhallowed and disastrous connexion must terminate before a free course is made for the progress of the Gospel in India; and many have determined, with the aid and blessing of Him who is insulted by the homage paid to the idols of the heathen, who is a jealous God, and who has interdicted, under heaviest penalties, the worshipping or bowing down to any false god, not to rest until the evil thing has been put away. Without offering any opinion as to whether the continued support of idolatry by the Government is most to be attributed to the Directors of the East India Company at home, or the authorities abroad, it is certain that if the orders contained in the Despatch of 1833, so often before referred to, had been properly enforced, the connexion of the Indian Government with the idolatry of the land, over which in Divine Providence it is permitted to bear sway, would have long since ceased to exist; but it is equally obvious, that the absence of a disposition on the part of the Government in India to carry those orders into effect, could alone have prevented their safe and salutary fulfilment. Under these circumstances, it is clearly the solemn duty of all who have at heart the best interests of their Indian fellow-subjects, to have recourse to those means of remedy which are still available, or, in other words, to bring the subject under the consideration of the country and the legislature. There is reason to believe that no other means will be effectual. A brief retrospective statement will help to place this conclusion in a clearer light. It is generally known that in Feb. 1833, the Hon. the Court of Directors of the East India Company sent out a Despatch to the Supreme Government in India, to the effect that the taxes on idolatrous worship should no longer be levied and received by the Government, and that "in all matters relating to their temples, their worship, their festivals, their religious practices, and ceremonial observances, the native subjects of the Government in India should be entirely left to themselves." By the transmission of an order, couched in terms so explicit and positive as these, lively hopes were awakened that the evil would speedily terminate, but to the extreme regret of multitudes of the disciples of Christ, the causes of complaint, after a lapse of four years, were found not to have undergone the slightest abatement. Renewed efforts were therefore felt to be necessary. At a meeting of the General Court of Proprietors in the East India House, on the 21st of Dec., 1836, one of the proprietors, Mr. Poynder, brought forward a resolution, the object of which was to recommend to the Court of Directors to take more decided measures for carrying into execution its own order of 1833. This resolution was unanimously adopted, and a grateful expectation was excited that such an order would be issued as could leave to the authorities in India no possible plea or pretext for not immediately and totally abandoning its voluntary connexion with the idolatry of the country. To this reasonable expectation, painful disappointment has again succeeded. The Despatch of Feb. 22, 1837, sent out to India in consequence of the resolution of Dec., 1836, appears to have gone no further than to censure the authorities abroad for not sending home accounts of the revenue arising from the taxation and patronage of idolatry, instead of insisting on the extinction of these enormities altogether, and which alone was the object, virtually promised on the one hand, and fully expected on the other. But the disappointment connected with this fearful subject has not terminated here. The proceedings, at a meeting of the General Court of Proprietors in March last, have been for some time before the public. On that occasion, Mr. Poynder, with unwearied zeal, again brought the subject under the consideration of the Court. We regret that it is not in our power to transfer the whole of his observations to our pages. Mr. Poynder adduced conclusive evidence to show that the Despatch of 1833 had not been acted upon by the Indian Government, and from the conduct of the Governor-General of India and the Governor of Madras, in reference to the memorials which had been presented to them, praying that the servants of the Company might be relieved from attending the Hindu temples and ceremonies, he inferred that little hope could be entertained of the voluntary abandonment by the local legislature of India of the connexion so long and so justly deprecated. He expressed his opinion, that nothing effectual would be done without an appeal to the British Government, and that a great public effort would be necessary in order to accomplish this object. Mr. Poynder concluded by proposing the following resolution for the adoption of the Court: "That this Court, adverting to the fact that above five years had now elapsed since the date of the Hon. Directors' Despatch of the 20th of February 1833, expressly ordering the withdrawal of the encouragement afforded by the Company, its officers, and servants, to the idolatrous worship of India, and also directing the relinquishment of the revenue derived from that source; and, further, considering that the principal religious and Missionary societies of this country have of late strongly petitioned the Company, the Crown, and the Parliament, against the continuance of the system of patronage and taxation, which it was the professed object of that Despatch to abrogate, it be resolved, that the time is now fully arrived when it has become the duty of the General Court of Proprietors to submit to the Hon. Court of Directors the necessity of requiring that such a distinct and unequivocal renewal of the orders contained in the before-mentioned Despatch may be forthwith transmitted to the Supreme Government of India as shall have the effect of carrying such Despatch into full and complete operation." In seconding the motion, Mr. Hankey observed, that the subject was growing in importance every day, and it was evident that the public would no longer be satisfied with half measures. The propagation of Christianity in India was exciting the deepest interest throughout the country, involving, as it did, the future happiness and prosperity of our Eastern empire. Did the sup porters of the motion wish the Company to resort to violent means for the suppression of idolatry? By no means. Did they wish |