church was formed under the pastoral care of our beloved friend and brother, the Rev. W. C. Loveless, who continued to minister there for 14 years, assisted at one time by the Rev. Richard Knill, and afterwards by various Missionaries who were successively resident at the station. The church has lately been under the pastoral care of the Rev. J. Smith; but the repeated failure of his health has obliged him several times to devolve the charge upon other brethren, who feel that, although it is an important sphere of labour, it is one which they cannot properly occupy, without being unduly drawn aside from their constant engagements, as Missionaries to the heathen. This has been felt also by the members of the English church; and while thankful for the valued services of the Missionaries of the Society, they have repeatedly expressed their desire to have a minister devoted to the work of God among themselves, and are willing to pledge themselves for his support. The attention of the ministers of Christ in England is earnestly invited to this important station. The acquisition of a foreign language not being required, as the services are entirely in English, a devoted minister of the Gospel may, on the day of his landing, enter upon his labours. He will find a congregation averaging about 200, and from among them a church of 70 members. He will have, as auxiliary to his ministerial labours, two flourishing schools under his superintendence on the same premises with the chapel; and in these schools, as well as among the younger members of the congregation who need very much to be gathered into Bible classes, he will find an inviting field for his more private labours, while he may "preach from house to house," among a considerable population of East Indians, and will meet with a kindly welcome in all his labours for their good. He will find also, in the public societies and institutions of the Presidency, an appropriate sphere for the exercise of his more enlarged sympathies and his energetic efforts, and will meet with many glad to welcome him as a fellow-labourer in every such good work. The Missionaries engaged among the heathen will hail his arrival with gladness, and welcome him with sincere affection. His undertaking the specific charge of the English church and congregation will be a very important service rendered to the Missionary cause; he will be able, in various ways, to advance the cause of Missions in India, and promote the general interests of the London Missionary Society. I ask, then, can no one be found among our ministerial brethren qualified for such a post, and willing to occupy it? He should be a man full of zeal, and prepared for much self-denying labour. His general style of preaching, though adapted to intelligent hearers, should be simple; and though he may regard the pulpit as the chief point from which he is to attack the kingdom of Satan, he will find the work of private and familiar instruction highly advantageous; and will count it his joy to "gather the lambs," as well as "feed the sheep" of the Chief Shepherd. It is not a post for one who shrinks from any part of his ministerial duty in this land. He will have to do what is closely allied to the work of a Missionary, though not called by that name; and it is essential that he be a man of fervent simple piety, of holy devotedness, and intelligent activity, in the service of our Great Lord. He who knows the woes of the world, and the wants of the church, says, "Whom shall we send, and who will go for us?" I trust that some ardent and heaven-born spirit will respond, "Lord, here am I, send me!" EDMUND CRISP. The Directors invite the attention of their friends to this appeal, and will be happy to receive communications from any of their brethren in the ministry, who may be desirous of entering upon this important field of labour. BENARES MISSION, NORTH OF INDIA. IN March, 1888, about two months previously to the removal of Mr. Mather to Mirzapore, Mr. Lyon arrived with Mrs. Lyon, at Benares, from Calcutta, and im mediately entered upon his labours, in connexion with this important Mission. A detailed account of Mirzapore and its inhabitants, as furnished by Mr. Mather, including an impressive view of the peculiar obstacles and encouragements which it offers to Missionary exertion, was published in our number for January; and we now invite attention to some interesting statements lately received in communications from Messrs. Buyers and Shurman, of the Benares Mission, whose labours continue to be favoured with evident tokens of the Divine blessing. Under date, August 10, Mr. Buyers thus writes : On account of the extreme heat of the season, our labours in preaching have been much curtailed for the last three months. Six or seven services have, however, been generally kept up, and now we shall be able to enlarge our efforts considerably. We have not recently baptised any converts excepting one man, a native of China, and, as far as I know, the only Chinese in Benares. He is but imperfectly acquainted with Hindustani, and none of us could teach him in his own language, which formed a great obstacle to his being so well instructed as we could wish; but as he seemed sincere, and very anxious to be baptised, we thought it our duty to do so, as he at least understood, and appeared to believe in, the fundamental truths of the Gospel. This year we have had a good many applicants for baptism, but not of a satisfactory kind. At present there are some, but I am not quite satisfied as yet with their state of mind. Our Orphan Boarding-school is getting on very well. We lately had a considerable addition to it, and there are now twenty-one orphan boys entirely supported. These are brought up, you are aware, as Christians, and are all baptised, or will be so, with the exception of a few, whom we thought too old to come under the denomination of infants, and have left their baptism to take place when they may themselves make a profession. Being now well satisfied that this mode of carrying on schools is the most satisfactory, as none, or next to none, of the children can ever become heathen or Mohammedan, and that in this way alone we can bring up a class of young men and women altogether free of the contamination of idolatry, we are going to enlarge the institution by receiving about 100 more boys. These have been collected in the districts where famine has been raging, in the neighbourhood of Agra, by a Society formed for the relief of the sufferers: we shall soon, therefore, have about 150 children, connected with, and adopted, as it were, by our Mission, who will form a nursery for our Hindustani church. Our object is to give them a pure scriptural education, and to keep them entirely separate from the heathen. They learn Hindustani, Hindui, and English. Those that are most talented we shall educate in the higher branches of knowledge, both in their own and in the English language; hoping that among them some may be found who will be able ministers of Christ; while those who are not so promising will receive a good plain Christian education in their own language, and be put to such trades as may offer the best prospects of their being able to obtain a comfortable livelihood. The Native Girls' Boarding-school under charge of Mrs. Mather having been removed to Mirzapore, a new female branch has been begun by Mrs. Lyon. In so much enlarging our Orphan Schools we are, to a great extent, acting on faith, as our funds are doubtful. We shall do all we can on the spot to obtain support for them, and hope that our friends will also assist. Mr. Shurman writes under date August 29. It will be observed that further interesting allusion is made by him to the Chinese convert mentioned by Mr. Buyers. The extract from his letter is as follows: Since the month of April, when I last wrote in conjunction with Mr. Buyers, I have been engaged, as usual, in preaching the Gospel to both Christians and Hindoos, in places set apart for that purpose, and in the markets and streets of Benares. Though the message of the Gospel is generally listened to with seriousness, and often with deep interest, still I cannot report any conversion having recently taken place by my preaching in the city. In Salem Chapel, where Mr. Buyers and myself preach alter nately, there have been two conversions. One of the individuals is a Roman Catholic, formerly an abandoned character; but since regularly attending Divine worship he has become a religious man. We hope that his conversion is genuine and deep. The other is a respectable young Chinese. When he first came to Benares he was neither a Hindoo nor a Mussulman; and as he found no temple of his own religion, he attended our chapel, at first simply because he felt not comfortable in living without any religion whatever. After attending regularly for some time, he began to feel a deep interest in the subject of religion, and, at his earnest request, Mr. Buyers baptised him. There was nothing remarkable in his conversion; still we hope that his views and feelings have undergone an entire change, which, no doubt, is sufficiently remarkable. Our church members are at present eighteen in number; so that although our progress, as it respects conversions, is small, we have, in other respects, made some progress, for which we would offer up heartfelt thanks to the great Head of the Church. Brabhudin, the Brahmin, whom I formerly baptised, gives us great delight by his consistent Christian conduct. On the 22nd of this month Mr. Lyon preached his first sermon in Hindustani to a meeting of Christians. I was present, to assist him in the service. We are truly thankful to the Directors for having sent Mr. and Mrs. Lyon to Benares. BELLARY MISSION.-SOUTH OF INDIA. THE progress of the extensive and diversified operations of this highly favoured Mission calls for the most grateful acknowledgments to Him under whose providential guidance it was commenced, and by whose aid and blessing it has been upheld to the present day. Every branch of labour, connected with it, is marked with evidence of the Divine favour. The native church, though not wholly exempt from trial, greatly prospers. The schools, fourteen in number, contain according to the latest report, from four to five hundred children, whose general advancement is eminently encouraging. The Mission-press, to whose operations the work of translation, in the hands of Mr. Reid, forms an essential preparative, is also proving a powerful instrument in the diffusion of Divine truth among the Hindoos. Besides the regular preaching in the Mission chapel, the direct communication of the Gospel by the living voice is sustained almost without intermission throughout a large extent of country surrounding the station. In this important division of the work, the brethren receive valuable assistance from some of the native teachers; and it is stated that the multitudes among whom they pursue their itinerant labours give increasing attention to the word of life. We also learn that Brahmins still occasionally come forward in public to defend the perishing fabric of Hindooism, and to combat the truths of Christianity; but the uniform defeat and exposure of their contemptible sophistries is rapidly enfeebling their once powerful and unresisted influence. These adversaries of the truth of God are humbled in the sight of the people, and the proofs of the weakness of their cause are in various ways becoming increasingly visible to all interested in the issue of the mighty conflict. It is therefore hoped that the invitations of the Gospel, speaking to the conscience and the heart, begin to be more distinctly and impressively heard by the people at large; and that a way more wide and free is gradually opening among them for the triumphs of the Prince of Peace. In illustration of these statements, we give the subjoined particulars, furnished by Mr. Reid, in an account of a Missionary tour which he undertook at the commencement of last year :Friendly intercourse with the people.-Op portunities for preaching the Gospel. Jan. 17. Spent three hours in the town of Ghooty this morning, during which time I addressed the people in Canarese and Teloogoo. It is a high and sacred privilege to be able to make known, in the two languages, the wondrous deeds of a Saviour's love. In the evening we were employed in the Fort. We sat down under a tree, and collected a few people. Mr. Reid was accompanied by the Rev. W. Thompson, and one of the native teachers. Leaving them, we assembled a few people in the Pettah. Several Brahmins came in but said nothing. Jan. 19.-Left Ghooty very early in the morning, and proceeded on the road to Anaatapoor. Reached Pamidee at eight o'clock, where we spent the day in pleasant and encouraging labour. We were surIt contains prised to find so large a town. 2000 people, or nearly so, the greater part of whom are manufacturers of chintz. They seem to have immense trade. The village was exceedingly neat and clean, with the exception of the market-place; and the people were very civil. We went among them at nine, and continued till past twelve. Our congregation was large and attentive. At half-past two we recommenced our labours; and Onesimus having gone with the servants and goods, I was employed in preaching to great numbers of people till past five. I had one disputant, but he was very civil and reasonable. His objection was against the trinity of persons in the Godhead. I ultimately succeeded, I trust, in convincing him of the absurdity or unreasonableness of his position, which was, that it was necessary that we should comprehend it in order to our acceptably serving God. Labours on the Sabbath, &c. Jan. 21.-Enjoyed excellent opportunities on Sabbath morning and evening, in the town of Anantapoor, of preaching the word. In the morning had one shrewd and crafty opponent (a Shastree of the place.) We disposed of his objections without any great difficulty; but as we were to remain some days at the place, we did not enter at large upon our aggressive labours, being desirous of spending as much of the Sabbath as possible in the plain, faithful, and affectionate setting forth of the doctrines of the cross, and its great practical bearings on the condition of the heathen. In the evening we had no interruption. Enjoyed a refreshing season of social worship with our dear Christian friends C.P--, Esq., head assistant to the collector resident here, and Capt. L-, civil engineer, on a visit to the former. It is peculiarly cheering to meet with Christian friends in a Missionary tour, and to retire with them a little from the active labours to which we are called among the heathen, to engage their sympathy, and to gain the benefit of their prayers. Discussions with the Shastrees. Every day for the four succeeding days we had excellent congregations. Our method was this: a tract being read, I addressed the assembly; having first required the people to give me a hearing, till I had delivered a discourse of about an hour's length. The moment I brought my address to a close, discussions commenced, which were often taken up by several persons, and always carried on with great spirit, till we became fatigued, and retired for half an hour, to take a biscuit and a little water, and rest. We commenced the afternoon in a similar way, and were never without opponents till the last day, when they seemed to have become tired. Tuesday was the chief day for discussion. In the morning the Shastree, whom I had encountered on the Sabbath, came in first, and, as soon as he had seated himself, began to interrupt me. I prevailed upon him to allow me to finish my discourse, and then promised to give him a candid hearing. He was impatient; but, after two or three times requesting him to reserve his remarks till I had done, he was silent. He afterwards brought forward his objections; but they were of the most trivial kind, and had reference more to words than things. These having been disposed of, I began to set forth my objections to the alleged divine authority of their books. He soon began to express impatience, and wished to rise and leave. I begged him to remain, and let us come to some conclusion on the subject in hand before he left. He sat down for a minute or two, but again rising, determined to leave us, and would not be persuaded to seat himself again. We did not see him afterwards during our stay. After a little, another Shastree was ushered in with great ceremony, all the people rising, and crying out, "This is a great Shastree, worthy of respect, and learned in the sacred books." We had with him a long discussion. A third was introduced in the afternoon, in a similar way, but was more easily put to silence than the other two; for this reason, that he gave us leave to say something, whereas the others knew that their strength consisted in talking, and were unwilling to hear what was said in reply to them. One of these men would not speak with Onesimus, but on his offering a remark, told him, "You Soodra man, why do you speak to me? I have nothing to say to you: it would be a shame and a sin to listen to any thing you say." Advantages of public Controversy. These controversies were all on matters of very little importance, as far as they proceeded from the people; and when we tried to turn the subject to those of more serious interest, they invariably took up some of the minor relations of such subjects, and could not be kept to the main points. However, it gave us some opportunity of exposing the artifice of these false teachers, and the very low standard of their views of morality, as well as of religious feeling towards God. They might also have a tendency to bring to light the motives of the disputants on either side: one would be seen to be actuated by a love of truth, and a desire to benefit his fellow-men; and the other by a vain desire to display his learned lore, in spite of the claims of truth; and a wish to keep the minds of men in bondage and darkness. If there were no other good resulting from our labours here, this would not be a small object effected. I hope, however, the views of the character of God and the claims of the Gospel were impressively set forth, and told upon the consciences of many. MANDEVILLE, JAMAICA. In July last, on the fourth Sabbath of the month, a new chapel and school-house were opened at Mandeville, Jamaica. Our brother, Mr. Slatyer, the Missionary at this station, has transmitted the following pleasing account of the services held on that day : Early in the morning we met to offer unto God thanksgiving and praise, that he had honoured us to prepare a house for his name; and also to implore him to fill it with his glory, and graciously bless the provisions thereof. In the next service, when I had read the Scriptures, the Rev. James Paterson, one of our Presbyterian brethren, preached an excellent sermon from Col. i. 18, to an overflowing congregation. In the afternoon we celebrated the Lord's Supper, having the pleasure of being joined in it by several members of other churches, whose Christian love and religious freedom led them thus to exemplify that essential oneness which exists in the midst of denominational differences. On this occasion we had the further joy of welcoming into our little church, six of those who, remembering their ways, can, I trust, with grateful hearts exclaim, "But we are washed, but we are sanctified, but we are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." Thus the Lord is adding to our number, and forming a people for his praise. On this occasion I presented to the church the communion service kindly sent us from England, for which I would, in the name of the church, thank the giver. Two of our Moravian brethren, Messrs. Zorn and Scholefield, were present and participated in the services of the day, which were most interesting to all who desire the spread of the Redeemer's kingdom. The collections, including a second donation of 201. from our attached Mr. W. Davy, amounted to 541. 108. which, considering that it was almost entirely an apprentice congregation, I think a good sum, and a satisfactory proof of the people's willingness to honour the Lord with their little substance. In the chapel we have 12 pews furnishing 96 sittings, which are all taken at 38. 4d. a quarter, and are paid for in advance; also 17 long back benches, on which several sittings are taken at 2s. 6d. each. I hope all who come will contribute in this way to the support of the cause at Mandeville, and relieve the Society of a part of the burden. I shall not feel content until the people fully understand their duty of providing adequately for continuing the means of grace amongst themselves, and share in the sacred pleasure of extending them to others. Our chapel is well filled every Sabbath, and my only regret is, that it is so small; we shall soon have to erect galleries, of which the place is lofty enough to admit. Progress of the School. Our school is much increased; we have an average attendance of 150 children, and as the payments are made with remarkable regularity, we shall have no need, should the number continue, to apply to the Society for much, if any assistance, towards the support of our schoolmaster. Our schoolroom is quite too small, and as there is a prospect of our school continuing to increase, we have thought it best to enlarge it at once; and are now preparing to make it double the size, viz., 60 feet by 25 in the clear. PORUS. Mr. and Mrs. Hillyer, schoolmaster and schoolmistress, arrived at Jamaica, in June last. They have received the charge of the schools at Porus, of which station, Mr. Slatyer appends a brief notice, as follows :— It is gratifying to me, as it will be to the Directors, that the station at Porus is also in a flourishing condition, and that we have there a Christian brother, as fellow-labourer, with whom there is every reason to believe we shall live in uninterrupted harmony. The school averages about 90 in attendance. The congregation is too large for the place, not only now and then, but almost every Sabbath, so that it is desirable to provide further accommodation. |