earnestly crave the prayers of the Christian community. Young converts in this land of Heathenism are beset by many temptations, and exposed to much persecution, from which our tender years were happily exempt; and they have great need of all the strength and support which our supplications, united with their own, will assuredly draw down from Him who alone is able to save to the uttermost ; and who has promised, Ask, and ye shall have; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. It is added, concerning the Disappearing of Caste, The barriers of Caste are rapidly breaking down; and the Missionary who goes forth into the bazaars or villages to preach the Gospel, while he finds little difficulty in assembling an auditory, and in engaging their attention, now comparatively seldom experiences that vehement and malignant opposition which in former times was unhappily prevalent. The Corresponding Committee next advert to the important advances made at this Presidency in the Promotion of Religious and Secular Education. The increasing spirit of inquiry about Religion, and the advancing desire for moral instruction, which is so strongly manifested by the educated classes of the people, may be mentioned as one of those encouraging symptoms. It is one that is eminently calculated to cheer the Missionary in his spiritual labours, and, humanly speaking, to give him increased facilities in the great work of evangelizing the Heathen. A deep-rooted prejudice against Religious Education is now no longer general; nor does that strong antipathy, on the part of the people, to sending their youth to be educated at the Mission Schools, where the Sacred Scriptures form the basis of instruction, any longer manifest itself, to its former extent. The promotion of Secular Education is, also, one of the leading characteristics of the past year. The state of Education, generally, has been submitted to a scrutinizing examination; and your Committee indulge a prayerful hope, that, at no distant period, the call for a higher grade of moral instruction, to ameliorate the miserable condition of the lower classes, whom the intelligent writer of the Education Report describes as sunk in the grossest ignorance, will be succeeded by a still more earnest craving for that only instruction which can elevate the national character, and which alone teaches every duty toward God and man, and, through the blessed Jesus, brings life and immortality to light. The subject of Education in India naturally leads to the important consideration, how an adequate propor tion of the educated classes of the community may be advantageously brought forward, with a view to the preparation of Native Catechists and Missionaries. This subject has occupied much attention, both with the Home Committee, and the Corresponding Committee at Calcutta. In the present Report, the result is so fully stated, that it will suffice to present our Readers with the following Extracts, exhibiting the Design and Commencement of a Mission Seminary. The Corresponding Committee are happy to report, that, within the last few months, they have been able to carry into partial effect the directions of the Parent Society with respect to the establishment, in this city, of a Seminary, having for its object the training of Native Christian Youths, as Catechists in the first instance, and eventually, they trust, as Ministers of the Gospel. The plan, which they believe to be fraught with extensive benefit to the Missionary Cause, has been, as they have stated, but partially developed, for their means are small; but it is something, to have been permitted, by God's good providence, to make a beginning, and to place themselves in a situation to take advantage of the critical state of Native Society among the educated classes of the rising generation ;— and they are grateful for the day of small things. The following passage from a Letter which the Committee addressed to the Parent Society on the 12th of November 1834, and of which their late beloved Secretary, the Bishop of Madras, kindly undertook to be the bearer to England, will explain, generally, the principles upon which the Seminary has been founded, and the hopes which they entertain, in reliance on the blessing of the Great Head of the Church, that it may be rendered a principal instrument in the promotion of His Cause: Being fully persuaded of the truth of these positions,* while, at the same time, not a doubt arises to affect our conviction, that the empire of this vast and populous country has been bestowed upon Christian England in order to its evangelization, and probably to its becoming the Mother Church from which the light of the Gospel will irradiate the farthest extremities of Eastern Asia, we are most anxious to impress upon your Committee our earnest desire that the work of educating Native Youths in this city for the Christian Ministry should be entered on, under your auspices, without delay. We will gladly undertake the establishment and supervision of a Seminary of the nature contemplated; the object being, to bestow upon the Youths, selected for their piety, steadiness, and ability, the highest possible religious, moral, and intellectual education, while they are trained up, in all other respects, in the same temperate and frugal habits as their humblest brethren. By the systematic pursuance of this plan, we hope and believe that it will be found practicable to raise up a body of Catechists and Ministers upon a level with the people in regard to all their physical wants, while they will possess all the advantages over their countrymen, which knowledge, tempered by a long course of scholastic discipline, can confer. Such men will be able to travel from village to village, impassive to most of those causes which prostrate European energies in this uncongenial climate; to lodge, without a sense of privation, beneath the shed of the poorest ryot; and to communicate the glad tidings of Salvation in a language and idiom intelligible to the most illiterate of their rustic audiences; while they will be competent, at the same time, to cope successfully with the most learned of their idolatrous or Mahomedan countrymen, in every conflict of argument. It is our ambition, indeed, if our views be honoured with your support, that the Young Men educated at your Seminary should prove superior, even as respects secular learning, to those brought up at * Referring to the opinion which the Corresponding Committee had urged upon the Parent Society, of the hopelessness of evangelizing the millions of this country by unaided European Agency. the Hindoo College, which excludes, by a fundamental rule, Christian Ministers from its Professorships; and that the Lectures delivered by your Tutors on Natural and Moral Philosophy, and kindred subjects-themes unknown within the walls of the public institution above named-should prove attractive, from their excellence, to every inquiring spirit among the unconverted Youth of Calcutta." In a subsequent part of the same address, the Committee state:-" All that is requisite to the commencement of an attempt to realize the splendid objects within our view, are, Tutors of piety and learning; and such funds as may enable us to maintain them, and to erect suitable buildings for the accommodation of their pupils, upon the humblest possible scale. Strict economy, with respect to the diet and clothing of the Youths, is of the very essence of our plan, and would be so regarded even if our supply of money were unlimited; so that we are under no temptation to undue expense. But we do earnestly crave Tutors of high ability, with hearts devoted to the Cause of Christ, and purposing to seek His glory by labouring to confer on others the necessary qualifications for the ministry of the Word. Talent and learning would avail us nothing, if the spirit which induces their devotion to the dissemination of the Gospel be wanting. The establishment will be under our immediate eye; and no care or vigilance shall be wanting on our part to ensure its complete efficiency." The Parent Society having cordially acquiesced in and sanctioned these views, directing, that," in order to the preparation of Native Youths for Religious Teachers, and especially with a view to the raising up Ordained Missionaries for the work of the Mission, a Head Seminary for the Mission be formed in Calcutta for the reception of pious Native Youths; and that they be there placed under a course of instruction calculated to qualify them for different departments of Missionary labour, and that in a mode not tending to disqualify them for intercourse with their countrymen, by an undue change in their habits, as to diet, habitation, &c. ;"—having promised to send out, as soon as practicable, a Missionary duly qualified to conduct the education of the Youths received into the Institution ;-and having earnestly recommended the Corresponding Committee to take the necessary preliminary steps for the formation of such a Seminary; they have at length been enabled to concert measures for carrying the plan into effect. Shortly after the instructions of the Parent Society reached India, a series of questions, bearing on the general subject of the contemplated attempt to train up Native Youths for the work of the Mission, was circulated to all the Church Missionaries; and their replies afford a valuable body of information, on several points of interest. By two of the ques tions proposed, each Missionary was requested to state whether he considered the education of Native Youths, as Catechists and Probationers for the Ministry, compatible with his special obligations as an Evangelist to the Heathen; and, if so, whether he were willing, being so required, to take charge of such an Institution. To these questions several affirmative answers were received; and the Committee determined to accept the proffered services of the Rev. J. Hæberlin; whose previous employment in Calcutta rendered them more readily available than those of others of his Brethren. The Seminary was opened with prayer, and an address to the five Youths forming the first and only class of the infant institution, on the 15th ultimo. The Committee believe that it has been established upon sound principles, and that, humanly speaking, it contains the germ of much good; but, knowing that except the Lord build the house, they labour in vain that build it, they earnestly solicit for the Seminary the special prayers of all who wish well to this Mission of the Church of England. If it obtain a blessing from Him to whose service it is devoted, it may become the fountain-head of the best benefits to the Natives, not only of this great city, but of Bengal in general; for it is by Native Agency alone, such as it is the endeavour of the Committee to bring to bear upon the swarming population of this heathen land, that the millions who cannot hear without a preacher can possibly, so far as human foresight can extend, receive the Gospel Message. To this end-to supply the palpable deficiency of numbers-it is the desire of the Committee to work. They believe that their humble plan is such as God will graciously accept and sanction, and that it will conduce to His glory; and in this confidence they trust to be enabled to exert themselves earnestly and successfully in its gradual developement upon an enlarged scale. The arrival at Calcutta of several Missionaries from America leads to the following remark in the Report; which we insert, with the view of carrying it further, and of reminding our Readers how little can be hoped for, even from Britain and America united, and, consequently, how needful it is that the principle of Native Agency should be pressed to its utmost practicable extent, The Corresponding Committee remark— They cannot too deeply lament their being unable to announce any accession to their strength from their beloved country; for the harvest indeed is plenteous, while the Labourers are very few. Next to occupying the field themselves, they rejoice to see it cultivated by their Brethren from other quarters; and they trust that the zealous example shown by their Christian Brethren in America, whence they have welcomed to these shores a succession of arrivals in the past year, will stimulate their dear English friends to a similar devotion in the holy Cause, and remind them how little has as yet been done for the salvation of the countless multitude of immortal souls, who are daily hastening to a dread eternity; many, very many, of whom have never heard of Him, who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life. The introductory part of the Report closes with the following remarks, on the Inadequate State of the Funds. The Parent Society have not withdrawn any part of their accustomed pecuniary support; but with increasing calls upon them from many new fields of Missionary Operation, they are unable to keep pace with the spiritual wants of India and your Committee, even with the exercise of the most vigilant attention to economy, are painfully made to feel the restraints imposed on them by their inadequate resources. In every quarter, and in every department, their poverty compels them to refrain from entering on those fields of usefulness and enlarged action which they see around them. They mourn over the moral wretchedness, and the utter destitution of spiritual life, which pervades the country: they have a fearful picture constantly before them; and they would enlist the religious sympathies of their Christian friends and fellow countrymen on behalf of the thousands on thousands of immortal beings who are shut out from the privileges which they themselves so richly enjoy. At a period like the present, when the resources of this vast empire are more than ever thrown open to the industry and enterprise of Europeans, and new sources of wealth are continually developed, your Committee deem it a matter for deep humiliation that the Local Subscriptions should have considerably fallen off. They are persuaded, that if the Members of the Committee had exerted themselves more earnestly to bring the importance of the Cause, and the deficiency of means for its advancement, before their Christian Brethren in India, the call for funds would have been more largely responded to; while in answer to their daily prayers it is that the light of the glorious Gospel shall be vouchsafed, to dispel the thick clouds of ignorance and idolatry through the length and breadth of the land. ing the Gospel, with the view to the Conversion of the Heathen. 3. Schools for the instruction of the rising generation of Native Christians; and, 4. Schools for the instruction of the rising generation of the Native Hindoo and Mahomedan Population. Ministering to Congregations of Native Christians-Divine Service in the Mission Chapel, Mirzapore, is conducted on the morning and afternoon of the Lord's Day, and on Wednesday evening. The Christians who reside on the Premises assemble also daily, for the purpose of offering up morning prayer. It is with feelings of gratitude to Almighty God that I state, that the Mission Chapel is now too small for the proper accommodation of all the Native Christians. During the last three years, 258 individuals have been received into the Church of Christ by Baptism; of whom 118 were adults, and the remainder children. Thirty-three couples have been united in wedlock. Preaching to the Heathen-The Chapel at Potuldungah has lately been rebuilt by the Church Missionary Association; and the Gospel is preached therein to very fluctuating congregations, both of Hindoos and Mussulmans; many of whom have not only heard the Word of Life, but have also been supplied with the Sacred Scriptures and Religious Tracts in their own language, whereby they may be able to read in their own habitations concerning the way of salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. No instances of conversion under the preaching of the Gospel, at this place, have recently come to my knowledge; but it is satisfactory to know, that that Word, which shall not return void, has been listened to with increasing attention by many individuals; and we may hope, that, in many instances, it will prove the power of God to the salvation of those who have heard it. An instance may be mentioned, to show that the Gospel is gradually making its way among the people. A person named Ram Das, with whom first became acquainted about three years ago, subsequently gave the greatest attention to the study of the Holy Scriptures, a copy of which I presented to him. also gave him Mundy's Hindooism and Christianity Contrasted, Bunyan's Pilgrims' Progress, and Baxter's Call, all in Bengalee, which he read with the most I serious attention. Having become convinced of the truth of Christianity, he expressed himself anxious to bring his relatives, who reside in a village about thirty miles north-west of Calcutta, to relinquish their trust in idols, and to embrace the Truth as it is in Jesus. He accordingly went, about a fortnight ago, to his relatives for this purpose, taking with him suitable books; and to-day he returned to Calcutta, bringing his two nephews, both young men, with him. It was very gratifying to me to find that their prejudices against Christianity had been relinquished, and that they were desirous of receiving instruction in the way of salvation. Ram Das observed, that in his village, where formerly the most decided prejudice against the Truth prevailed, there is now a very general disregard of idols, and an increasing belief that the Christian Religion is calculated to make man both holy and happy. He also stated, that his brother, the father of the two young men mentioned above, was formerly much opposed to Christianity; but that, since he had had an interview with me some months ago, his prejudices have considerably decreased, and hopes are now entertained that he also will be brought to a knowledge of the Truth. Schools for Native Christians-In the Christian Institution at Mirzapore are about sixty Native Christian and Orphan Children, all of whom are engaged in the study of their own language-the Bengalee. Forty of these devote part of their time to the study of English; and it is intended that the remainder should commence learning it, when they have made more progress in the study of their own native language. The studies in Bengalee are confined principally to the Old and New Testaments, Ellerton's Dialogues, and Keith's Grammar of the Bengalee Language; and in English, to Grammar, Geography, the Holy Scriptures, Ancient History, and Arithmetic ; in all which they are making satisfactory progress. There are now about twenty Native Female Christian Children residing on the Mission Premises: these learn Bengalee every morning, with the Heathen Girls, who attend the school on the compound supported by the Ladies' Society; but, with the view of giving them a better education than could be attained in that school alone, Mrs. Sandys has lately caused them to assemble at the Mission House every afternoon, where they are taught to read and to repeat Christian Catechisms and Hymns in English. Schools for Hindoos and MahomedansIn the English School on the Mission Premises, which is carried on by Baboo Mohesh Chunder Ghose, a native convert, with the assistance of two Native Christian, and four Heathen Teachers, are nearly two hundred scholars. In addition to the usual branches of education, such as Grammar, Geography, Ancient and Modern History, Arithmetic, &c. common in English schools, the boys of the first five classes read the New Testament, and other books which are calculated, by the Divine blessing, to lead them to a saving acquaintance with the way of salvation. Mundy's Hindooism and Christianity Contrasted, and Baxter's Call to the Unconverted, have recently been introduced into the upper classes; which have repeatedly gone through Bishop Porteus's Evidences of Christianity, and have had Leslie's Four Criteria explained to them. In the English School at Alipore, which has hitherto been supported by funds kindly collected by Miss Halcott previously to her departure for England, are about one hundred Scholars. This school is conducted by a native convert, Reuben Kalla Chund, and one assistant Teacher. The New Testament, History of England, Ancient History, Grammar, Geography, and Arithmetic, form the principal branches of education imparted to the scholars. I have usually visited this school once a-week, for the purpose of ascertaining the progress which the scholars make in their respective studies. In the four Bengalee Schools supported by the Church Missionary Association, and situated in Baug Bazaar, Shampooker, Simlah, and Mirzapore Lane, are about 200 scholars, who learn to read the Scriptures, Ellerton's Dialogues on the Book of Genesis, and other books, in the native language; but as there is now prevalent so great a desire to learn English, the boys do not remain in the Bengalee Schools sufficiently long to obtain a good education. These schools have been of much greater benefit in former times than they are at present, or are likely to be in future. When these schools were first established, they were thronged by Native Boys, who otherwise would have been educated |
