THE

MISSIONARY MAGAZINE

AND

CHRONICLE,

RELATING CHIEFLY TO THE MISSIONS OF

The London Missionary Society.

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. Hankey, 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.

THE present situation of the negroes in the British Colonies of the West Indies unfolds a spectacle of surpassing interest to every friend of religion and humanity. Another great change in the external condition of these our brethren has been accomplished, and they are now placed in circumstances which admit of their unlimited social and moral advancement. The negro now stands erect, in the full possession of personal freedom; the yoke of slavery no longer holds him under its debasing and benumbing influence; and if, in addition to the benefits to be VOL. II.

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derived from the new relations on which he has entered as a man and a British subject, he also becomes a partaker of the imperishable blessings of religion then, but not until then, will he possess all that his best friends ever desired or sought on his behalf.

No person who has paid attention to the great subject of negro emancipation, or watched the progress of a cause so important in its bearings on the interests of the Redeemer's kingdom in the world, can be unacquainted with its history since the 1st of August, 1834, when absolute slavery was declared by an Act of the Imperial Legislature to have ceased for ever in the British Dominions, and the modified system of negro apprenticeship was introduced into the colonies as a preliminary to the unqualified freedom of the coloured labourers. The act referred to provided for the liberation of the non-prædial apprentices on the 1st of August, 1838, but their number was small compared with that of the prædial labourers, whose release from compulsory servitude was nevertheless to be protracted until 1840. This arrangement lay open to most serious objections from the beginning, and subsequent events having served at once to confirm and multiply them, the friends of the negroes were gradually led to the conclusion, that the retention of one class of apprentices in a state of deeply oppressive bondage for a period of two years after every other class was made free, would be utterly at variance with the claims both of justice and humanity, and equally incompatible with the true interests of the colonies in which this unjust, unequal, and unnecessary mode of treatment was to be adopted. To the motives arising from these considerations are to be ascribed the great public movements made since the commencement of the present year, to obtain the simultaneous enfranchisement of the prædial and non-prædial apprentices. The British Legislature refused to exert its power in favour of the measure; but the influence of public opinion emanating from this country, was felt and acknowledged in that part of the world where the captive waited to be unbound, and there the work of mercy was commenced, and has, it is believed, been completed. The termination of the apprenticeship on the 1st of August was resolved upon by the Jamaica House of Assembly, early in June; this act was preceded and followed by similar measures in nearly all the lesser colonies; and there is a strong presumption, that it has likewise been imitated in the extensive colony of British Guiana.

The negroes have been pronounced worthy of freedom from quarters whence such a declaration could have been least expected; and among those who have long espoused their cause, a cheering persuasion is felt that their future conduct will be such as to justify that opinion. All of them have been prepared by their past sufferings to value the boon which has been bestowed; and many, owing to the moral and religious instruction they have received, are also in a state duly to improve it. The London Missionary Society has united its efforts with those of kindred institutions, to render the possession of freedom a substantial and lasting blessing to the negro; and, in harmony with the results which might be expected to flow from such labours, several of the Society's devoted Missionaries in Jamaica, and in British Guiana, have communicated the pleasing information, that the native churches and congregations under their care intended to set apart the 1st of August, as a day of solemn thanksgiving and devout acknowledgment unto God, for the great mercy they were about to receive. At home the religious celebration of the day among the various bodies of Christians has been almost universal. We trust it has been accompanied by an adequate sense of the increased responsibility in which the new and critical situation of the negroes has involved us. If slavery, on the one hand, so paralyses the soul, as to render it almost incapable of religion; freedom, on the other, requires to be placed

under the salutary influences which religion only can provide, in order that it may prove a blessing to its possessor.

Vigorous exertions must therefore be made to repair the deep injuries which have been inflicted by the nation on this long-degraded race of men, to secure what has already been accomplished in their favour, and to promote by all suitable means, their elevation in the scale of society, and the advancement of their spiritual and eternal interests.

Among the means of usefulness now in operation, we present the following notice of the Mission School on the west coast in Demerara.

The station designated Ebenezer Chapel, situated on the west coast of the Demerara River, was commenced in 1814. Our brother, Mr. Scott, arrived at the station in January, 1832, and at that time the negroes and their children who attended for instruction on the Sabbath numbered about 250. The efforts commenced by his predecessors in Sabbath-school instruction, were vigorously pursued by Mr. Scott, assisted by Mrs. Scott, who was eminently qualified for the delightful office she sustained. Shortly after their entrance upon the work, Mr. Scott was enabled to make this pleasing statement :-" The elementary truths of Christianity, and the outlines of Scripture history, are as well understood amongst our scholars, as in most schools in Great Britain. Our success in this department of our work calls forth our gratitude to the Father of mercies, as we trust it will in the minds of the Directors, and our Christian friends generally."

In March, 1835, an infant-school, containing at first 25 children, was established by Mrs. Scott, who, until within a few months of her lamented decease, pursued those labours on behalf of the young, the value of which, as well as the devotedness with which they were discharged, are held by many in lasting remembrance.

Mr. and Mrs. Murkland, to whom the charge of the schools is now committed, arrived at the station in June, 1837, and have continued to fulfil this important duty with exemplary zeal and assiduity. In addition to the infant and Sabbathschools before noticed, two other schools have been established, namely, a dayschool, and an evening-school; and the number at present receiving instruction in these schools is, collectively, about 500. The day-school contains about 125 boys, whose general progress in knowledge, and especially their moral and religious improvement, are highly satisfactory.

In connexion with this school, the gratifying circumstance depicted on the preceding page has been communicated by Mr. Murkland. His Excellency the late Governor of the Colony, Sir James Carmichael Smyth, whose death will long be a subject of deep regret to every friend of the negro race, is represented in the performance of one of those acts of benevolence for which he was so eminently distinguished. The Mission schools received a large measure of his favourable regard. He often visited them personally, and encouraged the parents and children by thus publicly showing the importance he attached to education. Towards the close of last year, the day-school at Ebenezer School was favoured by a visit from his Excellency, when the pleasing scene occurred, which is thus described by Mr. Murkland :

"The Governor, Sir J. C. Smyth, visited the school on the morning of the 28th of December, 1837. He examined the children in reading, writing, geography, and catechised them on the Lord's prayer; after which he heard them repeat and sing several hymns. At the close of the examination, which lasted about an hour, he presented ten of the monitors with handsome medals; one side of the medal represented a boy in the attitude of prayer, encircled with the well-known words, Remember thy Creator in the days of thy youth;' his own address was inscribed upon the other. The Governor himself attached the medals to their

homely garments, at which the sable countenances of the children thus distinguished beamed with delight. It was also gratifying to us, and I fondly entertain the hope that on the great day of examination many of these youths committed to our care will be found amongst that number upon whom the Great Judge and Saviour shall bestow a crown of glory."

At this station an excellent schoolhouse has been erected, which, from the extended accommodation it affords, will greatly facilitate the work of instruction among the negroes, and qualify them as they are now free, to become intelligent, industrious, and honourable members of society.

NAVIGATORS ISLANDS.

In late numbers of the Missionary Magazine, the circumstances and progress of the highly favoured Mission which the Lord has enabled our brethren to establish in these islands were presented at considerable length. The communications of the Missionaries, from which these pleasing statements were derived, have been followed by others of an equally encouraging character. The intelligence from Mr. Heath, under whose care have been placed a part of the island of Upolu and the whole of Manono, comprehends a view of his labours and proceedings during a period of six months ending in December last, the period at which he forwarded his letters to England. From this gratifying record of Missionary exertion, we feel the highest satisfaction in offering for perusal the subjoined portions of information respecting the field of labour in which Mr. Heath is engaged, and on which, through his diligent and zealous instrumentality, the gracious influences of the Divine Spirit appear to be copiously descending. After a brief allusion to some minor topics, our brother proceeds to describe The first Missionary Meeting in Samoa. On our arrival at Falelatai, a district of 7 villages, containing 1000 people, we happened to mention to the chief, To'oa, an intelligent man, that in about a fortnight the great Missionary Meeting, "le Me," (May) would be held in England, and that, perhaps, such meetings would, some time, be held in Samoa. He asked whether we could not have one this year? for "great was his desire." I doubted and hesitated for a while, because no arrangement had been made with the brethren; but seeing the company had caught the enthusiasm, I agreed that, for our district at least, we would begin. The news spread like lightning, and, though the weather was bad, we had a congregation of nearly 3000 people to attend the first Missionary Meeting in Samoa, about 12 hours before the great annual meeting of the Society in Exeter Hall.

After prayer, I preached from Ps. lxvii. 2, 3. Addresses were then delivered by several chiefs and native teachers. For upwards of two hours the speeches were continued, and the attention of the people showed no relaxation.

Pea, our great chief here, (who has now assumed the name of "A servant of Christ,") was the first speaker. When we came he was a heathen; he now appeared "clothed and in his right mind." His grey long

locks and loose white dress gave him a very patriarchal appearance. He made several judicious remarks, alluding, as all the speakers did, in affecting terms, to their present advantages compared with their former darkness. He said also, that

at first they threw away the word of Jehovah, but that now they had "made oath to him;" that formerly the land was as if buried with large stones, but that now it was made smooth.

He was followed by Olavasii, the aged orator of the district, dressed in a cotton garment of several colours and a necklace of shark's teeth. He gave an account of their former opinions as to the formation of the world, origin of man, &c.; and compared the Missionary to the bird "Tuli," the daughter of the great god Tangaloa, sent down to form the land, where before there was nothing but sea.

To'oa, chief of Falelatai, quoted Hosea, "O Israel, thou hast destroyed thyself, but in me is thy salvation," and said that was just the case in Samoa.

Matetau, the chief of our village here, dwelt on the peace of Samoa now, as contrasted with their former frequent and bloody wars.

Taegogo, a young chief who has become a preacher, recommended the prayer, "Send forth more labourers," &c.; and said that

After describing the Samoan Fono, or parliament, at one of whose meetings he attended, and having briefly noticed the details of his first visit to Savaii, whence Mr. Heath returned to Manono, our brother relates the following incident, which occurred soon after he reached the latter island :Pleasure of contributing to the preservation