partment we have not been idle. In addition to a Ladies' Boarding School at Milan, established with the hope-a hope now at length beginning to be realized of reaching the middle and upper strata of society, your funds are sustaining day and evening schools for the poor at Milan, at Monza, at Caravaggio, at Intra, at Florence, at Caserta, and, till lately, at Cremona and Parma. In the large and important schools at Florence, (directed by Signor Ferretti,) during the last year, 112 children of Protestants, and 127 of Romanists, have received their education. To sustain this educational work, (yet how could we dispense with it?) comprising teachers,-in most of the schools more than one; in that of Florence, several, has demanded a large slice from the means at our disposal. Another important mode of operation in all civilized countries thrown broadly open, as is Italy, is the diffusion of light by the means of the press. Here, too, we have taken our part. We have three book-shops; one in Milan, a second in Parma, the third in Modena ; and have maintained throughout the year six colporteurs or itinerant salesmen, who, with Bibles, Testaments, and books of controversy and devotion, have been continually beating about the northern and central provinces. In the way of direct publication we have not ventured on much. The Second Catechism, one of Wesley's Sermons, a Reply to Renan's "Life of Jesus," three or four controver sial treatises, written by one or other of the evangelists to meet some exigency of his work, among these a spirited little book by Signor Ferretti, entitled, "Religion, Reason, and Dante," have been printed at the expense of the Society; we have also sustained all the literary outlay of a sort of Italian "Leisure Hour," a fortnightly illustrated periodical bearing the name of "Letture di Famiglia," and have lately begun to issue a monthly Missionary Notice, "Il Raccoglitore Evangelico." Others of Wesley's Sermons, and "The Tongue of Fire," are lying in manuscript, waiting • better times." Add to the above the ordinary and extraordinary expenses of your two married Missionaries from England, who have to be in journeyings oft," and "given to hospitality," together with the inevitable contingent expenses connected with so numerous and widely-scattered an agency; add also the invaluable work of Professor Oddo, who has not been included in the above synopsis, and who not only sustains three regular weekly services, one at Milan, a second at Pavia, and the third at Monza, but acts as our Director of Schools, and itinerant lay orator for all openings and anniversaries; and I think you will see that your liberal grant to the Italian Mission has called out and sustains an extent of agency that will not disappoint any just expectation. In fact, as you know too well, that grant has been surpassed, and seriously surpassed. And looking carefully over all the above-mentioned items of expenditure, even making allowance for such reductions as may be made without any grave embarrassment, I am convinced that to keep up efficiently existing agencies, and to allow at the same time a margin for, I would not say extension, in the sense of calling out new agents or the opening of new centres, but rather the improvement and completion of operations already set on foot, it would be necessary to add another thousand to the four assigned for the past year. То explain the importance of the "margin" I have mentioned, let me specify, that we have at least one student to whom, should he answer our expectations, a sphere of labour should be assigned; that some of our halls for worship, and rooms for schools, have been such as we could get, and we ought to be able to take any better place that may present itself, and that in the way of publication we need to complete a series of the more directly doctrinal of Wesley's Sermons; we need a little Compendiumot Theology; while a soul-stirring book, like Mr. Arthur's "Tongue of Fire," would be eminently opportune. These things I mention by way of example. If I may, then, be bold to say what I feel, my prayer would be for a grant of Five Thousand Pounds for the two coming years. Permit me to support this prayer by one or two arguments. I am afraid that retreat will be a disastrous thing. From whatever post we retire; we leave schools or churches scattered to the winds; for, as I shall show presently, there are no others to take our place; we abandon those who have seriously compromised themselves in faith that our work would be an enduring one; we raise the confidence and provoke the derision of our foes, and we weaken the whole evangelical movement, invading the hearts of all with the faintness of defeat, and the timidity of doubt. And here I say nothing of the agents themselves, evangelists or teachers, left without support, and most of them in the impossibility of obtaining it, because of this I have written Lefore. Take an with us. The press generally takes our part, when circumstances bring us under its notice. The Garibaldians are for the most part our declared friends. We are free to open a preaching-hall in any city, town, er village in Victor Emanuel's dominions, and, proceeding with the tact and prudence which experience has taught us, should rarely, very rarely, fail of an audience. Entering for the first time a new place, we are often received with open enthusiasm. Not unfrequently we are ourselves the invited. If ever any country exhibited the signs of a providential call to the church to enter in and possess it, it is Italy at the present day. example. It is proposed to give up the schools of Signor Ferretti at Florence. Yet such abandonment is like smiting down the central column of a vast fabric. Give up the schools, and Ferretti's very useful Orphan Asylum must go with them; an Industrial school just established for the older children must be closed; a staff of teachers, and amongst them the able head-master, Bolognini, with his seven children, must be left without employment; and a reputation and position, won by the patience and struggles of years, must be thrown away. Yet the giving up of these schools has seemed more practicable, and a less evil, than many other reductions,-certainly much more practicable, and a vastly less evil, than would be the abandonment of Naples. I have already said that if we retreat there are none to supply our place. This is a great, sad fact. All Evangelical Societies and Committees working in Italy are at the end of their resources. The Waldensians are in debt; from the Nice and Geneva Committees we have ourselves taken men who must otherwise have been abandoned; the American Societies are crippled by the war; the Free Scotch Church only subsidizes the Waldensians. Thus, if we retire from any scene of labour, there is no hope that others will take up what we abandon. And yet the wide open field is only cultivated in spots here and there. In the old Sardinian kingdon, out of Turin, Genoa, and the Waldensian Valleys, there exists scarcely any evangelistic agency. In Lombardy more is being done; but there are large cities, such as Lodi and Piacenza, still unvisited; to say nothing of the villages and small towns which we can, as yet, scarcely think of. Tuscany may be compared with Lombardy; but in the Romagna, along the eastern coast, in the Province of Naples, and the Islands of Sicily and Sardinia, the evangelical labourers are so few, as to be lost in the dark, drear waste of vice and superstition, over which they are scattered. At the same time the whole country is broadly, freely open. The government stands by us, and, with a fairness worthy of all praise, puts down all attempts to restrict us in that liberty of worship conceded by the constitution. Political circumstances, and in particular the obstinate opposition of the Papal party to the enthusiastic aspirations of the nation, are much in our favour. A very large portion of the cultivated middle class, of the operatives, and even of the peasantry, is secretly I have begged for £5,000 for two years, and that not only because I think that some might be willing to give an extra donation to the funds of the Society for that limited space of time, while not willing to continue it as a stated contribution; but having in view also the cir cumstances and prospects of the work itself. At present the expenses of this Mission are, from the nature of things, extraordinarily heavy. All our preaching-halls and schoolrooms are rented, some of them at a high rate; the opening of every new centre entails special outlay for repairs, fittings, &c.; some departments of the work, such as the Milan Ladies' School, and the Depôts of Books, which we may hope to be one day selfsupporting, are for the present carried on at a loss; and the members of our churches are too few in number, too poor, and not sufficiently trained to be able, as yet, to diminish sensibly the expenditure by their own contributions. But within two years, should the blessing of God follow, as we hope and believe it will, we may fairly expect to see the leaven rise from the lower to the middle and upper classes of society, and a progressive knowledge and piety will have inspired all our members with a larger spirit of Christion sacrifice and liberality. Within two years, those of our institutions which have their bond fide commercial aspect will, surely, to a great extent pay their own way. Within two years, moreover, the French are to abandon Rome; and who can tell what advantages, especially in the way of church accommodation, may fall inte our hands, when that fatal blow shall have released the government from that dread of the Papal reactionary party, which is, without doubt, its present greatest obstacle in the path of religious liberty and reform? What we want, in fact, is special help for a period of special need and special pportunity. It is a day of visitation. Before long, Italy must have decided how it will treat these special overtures of the Divine mercy. Should it "know the things that belong to its peace," then the need of extraordinary subvention from without will be set aside by spontaneous offerings from within. Should it compromise with the Man of Sin, or rush into French license and infidelity, our work will become less costly, because more circumscribed. But now, while the day of visitation lasts, before the tremendous issue is decided, what is the duty of evangelical Christendom toward this land? Surely, to send the messengers of light to every city and town and hamlet, in order that, be the result what it may, the call may be given, the testimony borne, and every dweller in the land may be sure of this, that the kingdom of God has come nigh unto" him. How great are the issues at stake, not for Italy only, but for Europe, and the world! Dislodged from Rome, or left there on tolerance as a mere ecclesiastical system in the midst of a protesting Italy, could Popery exist? Could it bear the letting in of so much light upon the very seat of its abominations? Could it draw breath in such uncongenial air? Could it survive such a dislocation of its whole system, save, indeed, in some such feeble death-in-life as its own racks once left to the victims of its cruelties? Yet, surely, the question at issue is this; a question of life or death for the mightiest manifestation of Antichrist the world has yet seen. If I mist ke not, and the opinion is not mine alone,-Italy, long the battle-field on which the destinies of Europe have been decided in blood, is to become, during the next few years, a very Valley of Armageddon, in which a spiritual conflict is to be fought out, of issues vastly more important to humanity than any "battle of the warrior" that its plains have witnessed. In this mighty strife, in this crisis of the kingdom of Christ, will not our Methodist churches come up "to the help of the Lord, to the help of the Lord against the mighty?"-Rev. Henry J. Piggott, B.A., Milan, November, 1864. SINCE the above was in type, a letter has been received from Signor Ferretti, from which we translate the following extracts, sufficient to place before our friends the character of the work which has to be either sustained or abandoned. I CANNOT find words to express the deep afflictin in which I am now placed. You know already to what I refer. On the 2d instant, the day on which the superstitious Roman Catholics were weeping over their dead, I also wept, not the death, but the sentence of death, pronounced upon the Evangelical Italian Institution of Florence, founded by me, and directed by me for the space of four years. The sad news was communicated to me by Mr. Piggott [an intimation that, in consequence of the pecuniary difficulties of the Society, its grant to the schools must be withdrawn]. [After quoting a letter from Dr. DeSanctis, expressing his great regret at the prospect of our support being withdrawn from the schools, Signor Ferretti proceeds:] I think, if the Committee had read the articles and letter of Dr. DeSanctis, still more, had they been bere, and seen with their eyes the happy results of this work,-they would not have taken such a resolution; but, notwithstanding the deficiency of their income, would have voluntarily incurred some other sacrifice, rather than abandon so powerful a means of evangelization. Pius IX. himself, some time ago, in one of his Encyclicals, confessed that Protestant schools gave him more alarm than Protestant preaching; and yet, in three months, of the Evangelical Institution of Florence, so useful, so praised, so blessed of the Lord, nothing will remain but a whole page for history. And yet it is not a question of twenty, thirty, or fifty scholars. Last year we had 112 children of Evangelicals, and 127 of Catholic parents, who preferred an education grounded on the word of God to that of the priests. I do believe that if the Committee had known the consequences that would follow the closing of these schools, they could not have taken such a resolution. First would be the closing of the Evangelical Home and Training School for girls; for I could not pay for their instruction in the Home by private masters. Second, the closing of the Industrial School for boys; for they would then have no evening school where they could get their learning: for we must educate not only the head, but the mind and the heart. With the closing of the Evangelical Italian Institution of Florence, the evening School for Adults would close, the Home for girls would close, the boys' Industrial School would close, the Saturday evening meeting for the Bible instruction of youth would close, the Sunday School would close; and useful persons, some of whom are heads of nu merous familles, would be thrown out of employment; a fine victory would be given to the priests, and murmuring and discontent would be cast among our Evangelical Churches. Such a measure would not be for the interest of your own Society. It would lose that influence and sympathy which it has deservedly gained over the minds of many and many in Italy. I say, deservedly, not only by its generosity and zeal, but, what is more, by its evangelical tolerance. For we must confess, as, in fact, all candid people do confess, that the Wesleyans have not tried to force us into their views, their ecclesiastical forms of special opinions; they have said to us, "Preach the Gospel in all its purity and simplicity, announce Christ as the only and perfect Saviour; let your churches walk in charity and order according to the word of God. Let your leaders have grace, gifts, and fruit; and we will give you the right hand of fellowship.' But now, if your Committee withdraw its support from these Schools because they were not established by themselves, there will be those found who will say that their prophecies have become true. sides, there is another consideration. Florence is on the point of becoming the capital of Italy; its population will be probably doubled; many evangelical families will come and settle here, and many others favourably disposed to the Gospel. And is this the moment to close this Institution, with all its dependent means of evangelization? And how much does the maintenance of all these Schools cost? About £300 a year. I therefore hope that, for the good of my beloved Italy, and to avert the conse quences I have pointed out, your Committee will reconsider the matter, and make a generous effort to follow up the work that has been begun.-Signor Ferretti, Florence, November 7th, 1864. Be HUDSON'S-BAY TERRITORIES. By Providential care, the Rev. Thomas Woolsey has returned in health on a visit to Canada, after more than nine years of Mission-life on the great Saskatchewan Plains, and brings favourable tidings of the work in the Hudson's Bay Territory. Not the least of the benefits of Wesleyan-Missionary effort in the Hudson'sBay Territory are those resulting from the translations of Scripture, Hymns, and Formularies, by our agents; and while we rejoice in the services of others for the attainment of the same object, and depre cate a reserve on their part which deprives our pioneer translators of hard-earned honour, we shall not omit stating that several Wesleyan Missionaries aided in Indian translation, and that the late Rev. James Evans was the sole inventor of the syllabic characters, as well as a translator; of the result of whose genius other churches have availed themselves. In this character we have a copy of the entire Scriptures printed by the Bible Society in London; and a beautiful production it is, which must be a source of untold blessings to those distant tribes. From comparisons we have made with several books printed with Roman type in the same language, and information gathered from parties quite competent to judge, we are of opinion that the Syllabic of the lamented and gifted James Evans will be the prevailing channel of readable thought, while the Cree needs to be taught "the wonderful works of God.” The Journal we now publish from the Rev. Charles Stringfellow, will remind some readers of incidents of travel in Carne's attractive "Lives of Missionaries," and show the affection, and desire for knowledge, of a native Christian people, and a pastor's love. The Moravian simplicity of the Rev. Allen Salt's statements will be acceptable. He is one of our most experienced Native Missionaries, having charge of a very important Mission.-Canada Christian Guardian. JUNE 6th, 1864.-A short time before sunset this (Monday) evening, I went on board one of the boats of the NorwayHouse brigade, which are on their way to Hudson's Bay, with cargoes of valuable furs, the product of this section of the country. Almost all kinds of furs found here were bo board. James Cochran, one of our leaders, was my steersman. Slept on a small island. 7th.-Up before sunrise. Had a fair wind, and sailed a good distance before breakfast. After breakfast and morning prayer we ran a very large rapid, called "Sea Fall," in safety. 8th. The morning threatened rain, so that we were late in starting. The rest of the day being fine, we made portages, and rowed or pulled along a small sluggish stream. During the day one of the party shot a fine young beaver. We had also rabbits, as they abound in this neighbourhood. 9th.-Met a boat of "Free Traders" returning to Red River; they had spent the winter at Jackson's-Bay Mission, and have done great injury, temporal and spiritual, to our Indians by their abominable whisky. Soon after this we came to John Evans's tent. He is one of our NorwayHouse Indians, and an old member of our church. He determined to spend the evening with us, to be present at our devotions. Before we left, he presented us with fresh bears' flesh, (he has recently killed six bears,) bears' grease, rabbits, and white-fish. 10th.-Got off from the Portage early this morning, since which the men have had hard work rowing along. Now and then we sailed across a small lake. 11th. Arrived at Oxford-House, and met with a welcome from one and all. Poor Mrs. Wilson received me in tears; I had not seen her since Mr. Wilson's sudden death. I was much affected at the change wrought by time and death. I visited many of the tents, and talked and prayed with the people, as of old. Found it inconvenient and unadvisable to go over to the Mission, about twenty miles distant: so I resolved to hold our services at the fort, since nearly the whole of the Indians (two hundred at least) were on the spot. Spent a serious and profitable evening in converse with Mrs. Wilson and her family. Mr. Wilson did not receive more than half an hour's warning to depart hence. He was heard thrice to repeat, "Jesus, have mercy on me;" "O, my poor children!" He was aged sixty-eight, and has left a young family. 12th. I soon had the pleasure of welcoming Mr. Sinclair, who arrived early at the fort, having left his home soon after day-break. The services of the day commenced with a sermon to a large mixed congregation. I stood in the Fort-yard, under a canopy prepared for the occasion by Mr. Griffin, the gentleman in charge. The text was from Joshua xxiv. 15. All present gave attention, some deriving good. In the interval of the afternoon service, we renewed tickets to those considered worthy to receive them. This was preparatory to the administration of the Lord's Supper. The sacrament, given in the large dining-room of the fort, was suitably received by some sixty or seventy persons. In the evening, I again preached in the open air, Mr. Sinclair interpreting, on Romans i. 16. The Lord was at work on many hearts by His good Spirit. O that they may be willing in the day of His power! Before leaving, I administered the Lord's Supper to some newly arrived Indians, with a sick sister, not able to be present yesterday. I hired a couple of Indians, and canoe, to take me back again 'to Rossville. Both are true Christians, and old men. We took the Mission in our route home. The wind blew strong, and the waves were high. 14th. Rose at the break of day, and got to the Mission before sunrise. The family were still asleep. I walked round the village gardens and burial-ground. Looked at the church, and everything, at a place to me so full of interest. Was pleased to find things in good order, but especially the garden, which looked remarkably well. We had service in the church. Three families were present. To these I administered the emblems of a Saviour's broken body and shed blood. I was pleased with my visit to the Mission. I have nothing to censure, but much to approve. During the past winter there has been a great deal of drunkenness, with some other evils, at this Mission; and some have fallen thereby. Yet many, or most, retain their steadfastness, and ate growing in grace. 16th. Met the Oxford brigade of boats returning from Norway-House. They immediately put ashore, where, after preliminary exercises and suitable exhortation, I distributed to them their tokens of membership with us; and shortly after, to those joined with us in covenant to serve the Lord, I administered, on a rock, by the river's side, the tokens of a Saviour's love, whilst Jesus Himself came near to out souls, and was "known of us in the breaking of bread." Praised be the Lord for His saving work in the hearts of these sons of the forest! "O that all might catch the flame, All partake the glorious bliss!" * I find my Indian companions, though I can only converse with them in their own tongue, are exceedingly kind, and very anxious to understand everything in connexion with the Gospel. They are asking questions and seeking knowledge all the day long, and I feel it to be a delight to gratify them, so far as I have ability to answer their sometimes difficult questions. I believe the journey will lead them to become more decided Christians. God bless them!-Rev. Charles Stringfellow, Rossville, Norway-House, June 29th, 1864. OUR Camp-meeting at Parry-Sound commenced on Friday, September 2d, and closed on the following Tuesday. Indians |