the number of its subjects, and in none is there a better arranged censorate. The Chinese may wish to delude foreigners, but they can have no motive to impose upon themselves. Were it physically impossible that the country should subsist so many millions, there would be reason in rejecting the estimate, but the researches of all who have seen and known the country and the people, prove that a much greater number of Chinamen than of Europeans can exist upon the same space of ground. A third part of the human race is here congregated. In the thought of this there is something which distresses and appals the mind. Could we, as is observed by Mr. Medhurst, give instruction to a thousand individuals every day, and only one day's teaching to each, it would take nearly a thousand years to embrace the whole population. A mighty work is here to do. While we are calculating, myriads are passing into eternity, and no voice is raised to tell them of a Saviour, and to call them to glory and virtue.

Connected with this immense population, another thing which strikes an observer is the unity and stability of the government. The will of one man wields the mass. The wisest of their sages has observed, that it is as easy for a virtuous prince to sway an empire as to turn the finger in the palm of the hand. And so it is in China. The vast machinery of its government moves on without interruption or disarrangement, subject it may be to perturbation, but not to change. No country, indeed, has been ruled by so many different dynasties; but the condition of the people has remained the same.

One individual has only taken the place of another at the central wheel. What if Heaven's Son"-for so the emperor designates himself-were brought to the knowledge of the truth! Such is the Utopian hope with which some indulge themselves in contemplation of this fact; and we would, with them, that prayers and intercessions were constantly presented on his behalf; but more likely advantages which it offers to Missions are in the unity which it produces in the Chinese character, and the great shaking which must happen when the Spirit of the Lord shall breathe upon the dry bones.

Another thing which cannot fail to strike in connexion with the former, is the unity of the written language. Being symbolic, it is understood over the length and breadth of the land. The characters may have different names in different provinces; but, speaking as they do, not to the ear but to the eye, they are equally understood in all. To the foreigner it is, indeed, difficult, but not impossible of acquisition; and when he has mastered it, he is furnished with a passport from the mouth of the Ganges to the Amoor. Surely this circumstance, when

considered along with the taciturn and reading habits of the Chinese, cannot be contemplated by the Christian without devout gratitude. It supersedes, in fact, the gift of tongues.

In considering China as a sphere for Missionary labour, a fourth fact which claims our notice is the extent of its dependencies and influence. It has a tributary dominion far beyond its own in magnitude-standing, indeed, to its colonies only as one to thirteen-and it has a dominion of mind and example over all the east of Asia. Its pretensions, which Europeans scout, are acknowledged by the nations beyond the Ganges. Could we move China to throw away its idols, Burmah, and Siam, and Tonquin, and the islands of the Indian Archipelago would soon follow its example, and an impulse would be given to the Christian cause in India, which would issue in the acknowledgment of the truth by nearly one half the human family.

Other circumstances deserving our notice, and which distinguish the Chinese from all other Asiatics, are their industrious habits, their common sense, and vigour of mind. The obstacles are few which can withstand their perseverance. The most unpromising soil under their labours rejoices and blossoms, and bears an abundant harvest. Had Central Asia been a beath instead of a desert, and had not the Himmaleh hemmed them in, long ere now great part of the West, and of Hindoostan, would have been colonized by Chinese. Thousands of them make their living off the supine indolence of the Malays, and other eastern nations. Wherever you find a dozen houses together, you may be sure one of them is a shop tenanted by a Chinaman. And in all their actions they pretend to reason. It is seldom that one of them does what he is not prepared to justify. His arguments may be sophistical, but grant his premises, and you will generally find the logic of a son of Han as severe as that of Aristotle.

The last thing to which we here allude is their very considerable civilization. They are not to be compared with Christian nations; but we are of opinion that they have advanced as far as human effort, unassisted by Revelation, can go. We are persuaded they will not lose on a comparison with any nation of antiquity. They have a literature of no mean pretensions-thousands of volumes issue annually from the press-a large proportion of the inhabitants can read and do read; these are not signs of a barparous people. The stability and efficiency of the government put this beyond a doubt. Wherever right rules might, where laws are defined, and enforced, and obeyed, you have certain evidences of civilization. And in many of the discoveries to which we owe

our greatness they preceded us.

It seems

even to be established that to them we are indebted for the invention of the compass. It was communicated by them to the Arabs, from whom it passed into Europe during the time of the crusades. The art of printing, and the use of gunpowder, were known in China long before they were found out in Europe. That these various discoveries have not been attended with the same advantages to them as to us, is not to be attribated to the superiority of our mental faculties. The European who affirms so is on a level with the Chinaman, who pronounces him a barbarian. The sole cause of our advancement lies in the possession of the Gospel; the freedom of mind, and the tone of feeling, which it produces and fosters, even in those who will not bind it to their hearts: and that China does not now occupy a position in the mental and moral scale as elevated as that of Britain, is owing to its infelicity in wanting this precious boon.

This last consideration is pregnant with motives to Christian effort; but our limits will only permit us to refer to one of its bearings. In obedience to the commands of the Saviour, animated by love to Him, and touched with compassion for the wretchedness and ignorance of those whom God hath made of the same blood; the Christian Church sends forth its Missionaries to proclaim unto the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. It has received its commission from Him whose name is the only name whereby men can be saved, and before whose tribunal all must at last appear. Now, let us bear in mind the rule according to which the awards of judgment will be given, that "He that knew his Lord's will, and did it not, shall be beaten with many stripes; while he that knew it not, and did wrong, shall be beaten with few;" in other words, that privileges and performances will be weighed against each other: let us bear this in mind, and China becomes invested with a frightful interest. Its advantages are greater than those of any other heathen nation. With faculties more vigorous, and knowledge more extended, its people might know more of the nature, and character, and law of God; and not doing this, are exposed to heavier condemnation. Time would fail us did we attempt to describe the gloominess of their moral state, notwithstanding their superior civilization-their haughtiness, and worldliness, and sensuality, and infanticide. Loud as is the cry for help which now comes from its myriad population, hushing by its solitary greatness every other voice, louder far and more piercing will be its scream of cursing and despair, which on that day will sound through the abyss.

We cannot dwell longer upon the empimasis which is given to its claims upon

the Christian Church by peculiarities in its condition. Put together those which we have mentioned, and see whether they do not justify the assertion of the Society. Who can doubt that Paul, if he could have heard the cry of three hundred and sixty millions of civilized men, who had influence and control over a territory fifteen times as large as their own, and who all used one language; and who were no dreaming enthusiasts, nor fierce fanatics, but who were disposed to judge of the pretensions of men from the solidity of their reasonings, and of the worth of doctrines from the tendency of their practice,-who can doubt that he would willingly have turned from the Hill of Mars, and cast no lingering look upon the Capitol, though covered with listening thousands, and have bent his way to China, and not rested till he had testified, through its length and breadth, the Gospel of the grace of God?

We might here leave the subject, requesting your individual prayers for the labourers, few and far between, that are occupied in this vineyard, and that you would, as you can, press the claims which we have advocated, on the notice of the Church at large; but there is a very strong impression throughout the country, and there may be with some of you, that all which is said about China, as a field now to be occupied, is vox et præterea nihil—schem ing enthusiasm, and baseless speculation. A few additional remarks, therefore, will not be out of place.

It may be objected to the manner in which we have argued its claims, that we have not adverted to certain peculiarities of the Chinese character, which are ex. ceedingly adverse to the introduction of the Gospel. Of these may be specified their blind veneration of antiquity, and their contempt of foreigners. With regard to the former, it is true that the people are bound by old saws. The past is the mirror in which they dress themselves. Their ancient kings imbodied all the perfections of rulers; Confucius concentrated in himself all the wisdom of sages. "The good old way" is not to be departed from. Now, we purposely abstained from alluding to this. Our object was to point out some circumstances in the condition of China, which prompt to and encourage Missionary effort. This only necessitates it. The Chinese mind, as formed at present, and the Chinese heart, (though we confess our inadequacy minutely to analyze and exhibit them,) are strong-holds of Satan, which have to be pulled down. The more strongly the Church is impressed with the difficulty of such an enterprise the better; if her mind be not dark, and her heart be not diseased, it will only act as a motive to vigorous and corresponding exertion.

With regard to the second feature of character, a contempt of foreigners, we think that the contempt with which this people are regarded, in consequence of it, is equally unreasonable. A little acquaintance with their history would modify, to a great extent, the general opinion on this subject. When they first were introduced to the knowledge of Europeans by Marco Polo, they were decidedly superior to any western nation; and the terms in which he described them, and likewise some of the early Jesuit Missionaries, have never been surpassed by themselves. They saw, likewise, the European character reflected in the doings of the Dutch and Portuguese in India and Ceylon, and the Archipelago-doings which told only of fierce ambition, and insatiable avarice and fell cruelty. The only characters with whom they came into immediate contact were a few merchants and the Jesuit Missionaries; and during the 16th and 17th centuries, the mercantile character as displayed in Eastern Asia, was a hateful compound of the mean and sordid, the gross and rapacious passions; while we have every reason to believe, that, with many brilliant exceptions, the Roman Catholic Missionaries were remarkable only for ambition, ignorance, and selfish jealousy. These circumstances may, in some measure, account for the epithets "crafty, gainseeking, turbulent, dangerous, devils," which were then stereotyped for the use of the empire, without our referring them entirely to Chinese superciliousness and pride. It is true, that during the eighteenth century the foreign character much improved; and we could show that the Chinese estimate improved along with it. Latterly, however, a fouler stain has been inflicted upon it by the trade in opium. "The vile dirt of other countries," says the Chinese government, "is exchanged for the commodities and money of the celestial empire." European character is thus once more estimated by a false standard, and the Chinese see "in the opium smuggler, the lineal descendant of the rapacious merchant and unholy priest of by-gone centuries." Still they are not insensible to the advantages which may be derived from foreign intercourse. The contempt which they cherish does not blind their perception of the benefits they may reap. "In modern times," say they, "there have come in from foreign countries three good things-vaccination, fire-engines, and a constant flow of rice." To these the practice of the healing art will soon be added; and it depends upon the churches of Great Britain and America, whether the "glad tidings" shall be numbered in the same catalogue now, or not till centuries hence.

All this may be admitted, and our point be as far from being carried as

ever. There are four words which seem to operate like a magic spell upon the sympathies and energy of the Christian church. China is not open. The reasonableness of this may be tested by expressing the same sentiment in four different words: the Chinese are heathens. In fact, the argument is just this: We have a commission from Christ to preach the Gospel to every creature, but the Chinese refuse to hear our agents. Our Lord has, indeed, left us the promise of his own presence and the help of his Spirit; and God'who hath the hearts of all men in his hands, and can turn them like water, has sworn that Jesus shall receive the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession: but all this is not enough. We must wait till the Chinese meet us half way of their own accord, or God rend the heavens and come down, or the Spirit furnish us with some Sesame, the mere utterance of which will open all doors, and throw down all barriers. We are reminded of Christian and Hopeful in the dungeon of doubting castle and it is time that the Church should rouse itself like the former. "A little before day, good Christian, as one half amazed, brake out in this passionate speech:-What a fool (quoth he) am I thus to lie in a noisome dungeon, when I may as well walk at liberty! I have a key in my bosom, called Promise, that will open any lock in doubting castle. Then said Hopeful, That's good news, good brother, pluck it out of thy bosom and try." And so he did, and the dungeon door flew open with ease, and the outward door leading into the castle-yard was speedily opened also, and though the lock of the iron gate went very hard, yet the key did open it too. It is needless to expound the analogy.

But it will be objected that we do not state the case fairly. These four words should be condensed into three-China is barred. We grant it, and the bolts are two-the enmity of the human heart to God, and the outgoings of that enmity in edicts against foreign intercourse. As to the one, it is beyond our power; but we have the assurance of Him who cannot lie, that if we remove the second, his Spirit shall remove the first. And concerning those edicts we may learn a lesson from Luther. When he began to write against indulgences, Dr. Jerome Schurf said to him one day, "What are you about? They will never allow it." "What," replied the reformer, "what if they must allow it." The bolts must and will be removed ere long, and in China there will be a highway for the nations. Now, there are three agencies which may remove them-war, commerce, and the Gospel. It will not be war, for though Russia and England both border on China, and it lies helpless between them, it is safe through their mutual jealousy. Were

either of these nations to spring upon it from the north or from the south, we should have a grand verification of the anecdote of the individual who was saved from the tiger by the alligator, into whose jaws the other leaped. It must be opened, then, either by commerce or by the Gospel. Both of these have power to do it: and the former is But let the Christian

active in doing it. church be told, that if it wait till commerce shall have opened a path for its agents into China, they will then find the natives tenfold more the children of hell than now. Opium is the means which commerce will employ-debasing the minds, quenching the energies, deadening the hearts of the people. The Chinese rulers say, that if not early aroused to a sense of their danger from this drug, they will find themselves ere long on the brink of ruin. Such an opening will not prepare the hearts of the Chinese to receive the Gospel, and among all the voices in which its claims are urged upon us, this is not the least,-Save us from your countrymen.

The subject has grown upon us, and there are many other considerations, showing the necessity of immediate exertion, that press upon us, to which we cannot even allude. We cannot, however, draw to a conclusion without again adverting to the widely-extended influence of China, and the intimate connexion which subsists between all the Ultra-Gangetic nations. Millions of Chinese are to be found in Burmah, and Siam, and Malaya. These countries are open, and so are most of the islands of the Archipelago, which are in a great measure colonized from China. Many central stations may be established throughout these regions, from which the Chinese and China itself may be operated upon. China cannot be said to be barred till a line is drawn from the Ganges to Australia, and over it there is inscribed "Thus far, but no farther." Then let us imitate the host of Israel at Jericho; let the whole family of God in every place bow their knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, that He would fulfil his promise, and let the priests and soldiers who are there bear the ark of the covenant, and proclaim its contents along the borders of China-let them do this perseveringly, notwithstanding seeming unsuccessfulness and jeering taunts, and as He who hath sworn it reigneth above the clouds, its walls will speedily fall down flat.

POSITION OF A MISSIONARY IN CHINA.

Extract of a Letter sent to a Medical Friend in London, from Dr. Parker, of Canton, Medical Missionary from America; dated July 10, 1838.

DEAR SIR,-Yours of January last, just received, has been with no ordinary plea

VOL. XVII.

sure.

It seems but yesterday that I was in similar circumstances to yourself, searching for the great highway of duty upon which to travel through this brief but important life. Having the last week looked directly into the eternal world, and solemnly apprehended, that in a few moments more my connexions with China and all below might be dissolved, (from being exposed in a gale, in which some hundreds of souls were lost,) it will be my endeavour to answer your inquiries with candour, and as becoming one grateful for protracted opportunities of doing any thing that may be of service, either temporally or eternally, to this people. Upon the subject of your first inquiry, respecting the claims of the mission, allow me to refer you to my letter in the Evangelical Magazine for last year :—

"II. What system of means appears, to your mind, most eligible and needed, at the present juncture of China's civil and religious history, to accomplish the ends for which the Christian mission has been insti. tuted; whether, in fact, medical or nonmedical missionaries have the greatest access and are most required?"

:

The end of Christian missions is the honour of the Redeemer, in the highest happiness of heathen men for time and eternity. It does not contemplate either exclusively, except in a comparative sense. He who said, "Lo, I come to do thy will," went about doing good, even temporal good he healed diseases, gave sight to the blind, and hearing to the deaf, and manifested a peculiar regard to the poor, and when he finished his mission, he commanded his apostles and disciples to imitate his example. The paramount object of the Christian missionary is to preach the Gospel, Isa. lxi. 1, 2, to teach the heathen the vanity of their idols, and to serve the living God. But, unhappily, in China there is something in the way of coming directly to this work as did the apostles. It is apprehended there was more knowledge of the true God, and much greater power of conscience, among the nations to whom they preached, than among the Chinese, and hence, by direct appeals to their consciences, and fearless declaration of the truth, (Acts iv. 8-12,) they had a great advantage over those who would bring the Chinese to a belief of the fact that there is "but one name given," &c. The influence of a martyr's death among a people like those of Ephesus, and the region round about Jerusalem to Illyricum, would be tenfold greater than among those who estimate life by a different standard, who believe in the transmigration of souls, and are accustomed to see human heads fall off by the knife of the executioner weekly, and, in some cases, by scores in a day-recently, about half a hun,

M

dred heads were severed by the executioner at Canton, in one day; and when, a little before, a man was strangled at Macao, an official attendant seemed delighted at those struggles, groans, and agonies, that turned the Christian pale. To say that the Chinese have no conscience would be false; but their ideas of a Creator and Disposer of all things are extremely obscure, and that their foolish minds have become exceedingly darkened none can doubt. Besides the obstacles directly resulting from deep depravity of heart, and long abandonment to idols, there are barriers of a conventional or national character, as haughtiness, selfconceit, complacency, jealousy, contempt of foreigners and suspiciousness of their designs. We must take China as it is, and not as we would have it; and adopt those means which we consider are best calculated to make it what it ought to be. The acquisition of the language; the preaching of the Gospel by precept and by life; the translation and distribution of the Scriptures and tracts; the diffusion of knowledge, human and divine, scientific, historical, and geographical; the gratuitous practice of medicine and surgery; and the founding of charitable institutions for the sick; are some of the principal details of that system of means which the church ought and will employ, if she wishes well to this people. Were there no impediments, it would be superfluous to insist upon more than the first two items, all the rest would follow harmoniously in the train of vital Christianity. Were & Chinese to call a meeting at Exeter Hall, and exhort the people of London to cease their adorations of an invisible and, as he might suppose an imaginary Deity, and urge them to set up colossal images, like his country's gods, in all the churches, he would scarcely be looked upon with more pity than is the foreigner who advises the renunciation of the religion of their ancestors, and attempts to convince them it is unnecessary to make remittances of money, clothes, &c., to their spirits long departed. They know not the excellence of the Gospel. It comes by suspicious hands, from nations distinguished by their warlike deeds, and thirst for power and conquest. If, perchance, they have known something of it by those who call themselves "the worshippers of the Lord of heaven," it is under circumstances which excite their suspicion or contempt; only recently a Chinese remarked with emphasis, "That the Romish priests were not almost the same, but precisely the same as the Budhist." Whilst the Chinese might be startled, and their alarm excited, were a set of men from a distant country to announce that they had come to overthrow their false religions, they may come and exhibit the fruits of the Gospel,and demonstrate that they are the

worshippers of the one true God, and friends of all mankind, and no fears will be raised.

You inquire, whether, in fact, medical or non-medical missionaries have the greatest access, and are most required? Absolutely, there is no capacity in which the herald of the cross has so free welcome, and influential access to all ranks and conditions of the Chinese, as the pious, judicious, and skilful physician. Every prejudice seems forgotten in the prospect of rescue from disease and death of the beloved relative or friend. As to which are most required, we reply, each and both are urgently demanded, and are reciprocally serviceable to each other. The Medical Missionary Society in China has written to the London Missionary Society, the Church Missionary Society, and the American Board of Foreign Missions, requesting a Medical Missionary from each without delay, to meet the immediate and imperative claims of the Society. On the importance of the London Missionary Society establishing a Medical Mission at Canton and Macao, I wrote in January to my friend Dr. Reed, and need not repeat. You allude to existing doubts of the expediency and utility of sending out pious medical men: these doubts may exist on the other side of the world, they do not, and cannot here. Your friend Mr. S. writes, "It seems, that some friends in North America, who have experience in Medical Missions, do not highly value their adaptedness to the wants of China, so far as a Christian Missionary Society is mainly concerned." This is quite new to me. The Rev. Dr. Anderson writes me, that the Committee of the American Board had doubts whether the expense of supporting hospitals could with propriety be paid from missionary funds. But the plan has the unqualified approbation of some of the first men in America for piety and sound judgment, and men first in the confidence of the Christian public, whose letters are before me. There is an ocean to be passed before reaching the confidence and affections of the Chinese, after the missionary has planted his feet upon the "inner land;" and to all who understand the fact, there is but one sentiment concerning the peculiar adaptedness of medical and surgical practice to give a passage across this ocean of prejudice, exclusion, self-conceit, and jealousy. Call this practice a temporary thing, a mere raft to be shattered and lost presently, if it will serve us to pass over to the citadel, where and when we may employ those weapons of the Gospel, not of steel, but which are spiritual and mighty, why not employ it? We are willing to abandon it to other hands when that point is gained, and no longer serve tables, but bless God that we may give ourselves continually to prayer and to the ministry of the word. We misinterpret