Mr.

remarks of his brethren. The work was then printed, and the Priests and chief natives were allowed to examine it, and to make such remarks upon it as they thought proper. They were the only persons indeed who could duly correct such a work; and many advantages were derived from such examinations. To show with what care and attention the natives read, Mr. Williams mentioned rather an amusing incident. One day a native, an intelligent man, came to him in great haste, with the Gospel in his hand, and said, "Jesus Christ has made a mistake!" On being questioned, he pointed to the passage, "When ye see the south wind blow, ye say, There will be heat; and it cometh to pass." (Luke xii. 55.) "The south wind," said he, "is the coldest wind that blows; Jesus Christ should have said, When the wind is in the north, there will be heat." Williams explained to him, that they were in the antipodes to the country in which Jesus Christ spake these words. When he comprehended that explanation, he seemed quite pleased, and said, "Then we are both right." The Missionaries not only gave the natives the word of God, but were anxious to make them understand what they read. They were visited a few years ago by a vessel commanded by an officer of a noble English family. The vessel arrived in the island at the time they were holding their Annual Missionary Meetings. The proceedings were regularly conducted: Resolutions were proposed, and the speakers addressed the Meeting with considerable effect. Some of the party, who did not look on the proceedings with a favourable eye, insinuated that the natives were mere parrots, and that they had only repeated what the Missionaries had previously taught them. The point was warmly discussed, and he (Mr. Williams) was at length appealed to. He declined giving any opinion on the subject, but told the gentlemen, that if they would come and take tea with him, he would select ten or twelve of the natives, who should answer any questions they might put to them, and he would act as interpreter. They accordingly came. One of them was asked, "Do you believe the Bible to be the word of God?" somewhat startled at the question, as he had never entertained any doubt on that point; but, after a moment's pause, he answered, "Certainly I do." "Why? Can you assign any reason for believing the Bible to be the word of God? "Yes. I look at the power which has attended that word in the overthrow of a

He was

system of idolatry which had so long prevailed among us. No human power

could ever have induced us to abandon that system." The same question being put to another, he replied, "I believe it to be the word of God, because of the We had a syspure system it contains.

tem of religion, but it was a dark, black system; the Bible is full of light, and it leads to purity. What but the wisdom of God could have provided such a system as that presented in the sacred Scriptures?" A third replied, that he looked upon himself, and saw that he had got hinges all over his body. He looked at his hands, his feet, his jaws, and saw hinges attached to each. If he wanted to walk, he had hinges to his legs; if he wanted to take hold of any thing, he had hinges to his hands; and if his heart thought, and he wished to talk, he had hinges to his jaws. Thus there was wisdom in adapting the various functions of the body; and the wisdom in the Bible just fitting with the wisdom which made him, he concluded that the Bible must be the word of God. Another said, that he believed the Bible to be the word of God, from the prophecies it contained. The Captain inquired what he knew about the Prophets? to which he replied, there were many, Daniel, Isaiah, Jonah, and so on. He asked him to quote one of Isaiah's prophecies; and he immedi ately said, "He was numbered with the transgressors." The Captain inquired to whom that referred; to which he answered, "Christ, when he was crucified between two thieves." Various other questions were proposed in reference to that portion of the New Testament which was translated, until at last they came to the doctrine of the resurrection, and their replies on that subject were equally satisfactory. He would now advert to what was called the out stations. The Gospel had been conveyed to them by native teachers, of whom from fifty to sixty were now employed in connexion with the London Missionary Society. The native Teachers could of course only impart the knowledge they possessed, and therefore the Missionaries were under the necessity of cccasionally visiting the islands. Whenever the people met with passages which they could not understand, and which the native Preachers were unable to explain, they were marked down, and reserved for the Missionary to solve. Occasionally each person had two, four, six, or ten verses thus marked down; and as the Missionary had only two or three days to spend with them, the whole of the time was occupied

in answering their interesting queries, so that they could scarcely obtain a wink of sleep. Frequently when he had fallen asleep, in less than half an hour some person had shaken his elbow, and inquired if he had not had sleep enough. Such was the nature of the Missionaries' employment in those interesting islands. Very many instances could be brought forward cheering to the friends both of Bible and Missionary Societies, in reference to the success with which God had blessed their labours. One island had been visited with several severe judgments, and various effects had been produced on the minds of the natives regarding them. One poor man, at a meeting convened for the purpose of considering he circumstances, addressed the assembly in a most powerful and impressive speech. He particularly commented on that passage of Scripture, "Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor." He remarked that God's judgments had been poured out upon them, because they were a stiff-necked people; that if they had been humbled under the first, they would have escaped under the second, and so on. It was a sore affliction with which God had visited them, but in judgment he had remembered mercy. It was true, he said, that their food was gone, but their lives were spared; not a single individual had been lost in the hurricane. It was true their houses were blown down; but their wives and children had been spared. It was true that their beautiful chapel, which they had laboured in erecting, and in which they were rejoicing, was destroyed; yet they had a God whom they could worship. It was true their school-house was blown down and washed away; but yet they had the holy Scriptures, in which they could learn. That would give the Meeting an idea of the value which these people placed on the Scriptures in their hands. There were many interesting effects produced on them by the Bible,

Some

in reference to their dying circumstances. He would select one instance. years ago he was called to visit a dying woman who had learned to read after sixty years of age. The Bible was her constant companion; she had become a member of the church, and had for many years adorned the doctrine of the Gospel. On entering her room, he found her lying on a beautiful mat, with the New Testament by her side. She ad

dressed him in striking terms, and desired him to tell her what she must do, for she was about to die. He inquired what troubled her; to which she replied, her sins. He asked what sins; she answered, "The sin of murdering my children." It appeared that she had destroyed sixteen; for infanticide had formerly prevailed there to an astounding degree. He reasoned with her from that passage of holy writ, "The ignorance of these times God winked at," but without effect; for the paroxysm of her agony continued. He then pointed to the blood of Christ, which he told her spoke better things than the blood of her murdered children. Her mind became more tranquil, and she ultimately died in peace. Let the Meeting reflect to what this Society was pledged. It was termed the British and Foreign Bible Society; which implied that it would not cease its work of faith and labour of love, till every individual in the British dominions had been blessed with the inestimable treasure, and it had been translated into the language of every people, and nation, and tongue under the canopy of heaven,- till the Hindoo had given up his Shaster,-till the crescent of Mohammed had been supplanted by the cross of Christ,-till the Koran had been exchanged for the Bible, and all the various forms of ignorance, superstition, and idolatry had retired into darkness before the brightness of eternal truth, and all the ends of the earth had been filled with the knowledge of God.

AND HOMILY SOCIETY.

shop of Ohio; the Rev. Hugh Stowell, M.A.; the Rev. Thomas Snow, M. A.; and the Rev. Daniel Wilson, M. A. Among other Resolutions were the following:

"That this Meeting has heard with much pleasure, of the continued success which has attended the Society's agency among seamen and others employed in navigation; and that, after ascribing

of their gratitude for the boon, they had presented a tea-service of silver to their Superintendent, Mr. Lingard, "as a memorial of their esteem and gratitude for his sincere and earnest endeavours to promote their spiritual and eternal welfare." The Report next noticed the case of the Bridgewater canal men, who having seen the success of the application made by the flatmen of the Mersey and Irwell, resolved to petition their employers for a similar indulgence. In their petition they used the following language:-"That they trust they are not offending against their obligations to their masters on earth, when they humbly represent they have a Master in heaven, and that He has a claim upon them for a portion of their time, and their public homage in return for the mercies of creation, preservation, and redemption. Submissive to that sentence which ordains, in the sweat of their faces they should eat their bread,' they cannot but bethink themselves at times of that mercy which had provided a day when man shall rest from all manner of work, the beast from his burden, and the servant from his toil; and there arises in their breasts (0 that it may not be too late!) a serious reflection which painfully tells them, that there has been no rest for them." They added, "Conscious of their fallen nature, and their frail condition, peculiarly tempted by their occupation to forget God, subject to many painful domestic trials, and ever near to that eternity which is to consign them to endless happiness or woe, your poor petitioners do deeply feel the need of all the light, the power, and the consolations of religion dispensed on the Sabbath, and would earnestly plead with their employers for the extension of their compassion to their immortal but neglected souls, in granting to them and their families the rest, the instruction, and all the mercy of that blessed and divine institution." The Report, after noticing with satisfaction symptoms which had appeared of the awakening of some of the nations of the Continent to the importance of this great subject, proceeded to describe the state of the funds. At the last audit, it was found that there was a balance of £500 against the Society. The Committee, before making any appeal to the public, tried what could be done by subscriptions amongst themselves and their friends, by which means they raised a sum sufficient to reduce the balance to £184. The donations and subscriptions within the year amounted to £396. 13s. 3d. ; the expenditure to £384. 11s. 3d., leaving a balance in hand of £12. 2s.

Mr. HESKETH FLEETWOOD said, he

would confine himself to stating a few of his reasons, as a layman, why he himself had introduced a measure into Parliament on this subject. He had brought in a Bill so moderate in its terms that none who admitted that the Sabbath ought to be observed at all could object to its enactments. In introducing that Bill, he had no hope of being able to carry it through at the time, but he felt, as had already been observed, that every step gained would be an advantage. He had this further reason, that there were many who objected to go the length of some other measures which had been introduced, but who still admitted the principle of some regulation, and he was willing to put every one's opinions to a fair test. The poor men employed in the Mersey and Irwell navigation, with a zeal and an earnestness for their own spiritual welfare, which would shame many in higher stations, most earnestly sought to be brought, as it were, within the pale of the church, and to be allowed a cessation of labour for one day in the week, that they might worship their Creator and Redeemer. He would mention another fact to the Meeting, which showed the total disregard of personal interests in promoting the objects of the Society which actuated some generous individuals. It appeared that the proprietor of the Star and Garter tavern at Richmond, a place of entertainment, of very general resort, and more particularly so on Sundays, had signed the petition in favour of a Bill for the better observance of the Sabbath. Nay, he went further, and approved of the whole principle of Sir Andrew Agnew's Bill. had generally observed that the worldly affairs of those who worked on the Sabbath did not thrive so well, as those of persons who were conscientious in the observance of that day. In his own neighbourhood were a number of fishermen who depended entirely on the profits of their nets. course the tide flowed and fishes swam on Sundays as well as other days, and there were some who pursued their avocations on the Sabbath as well as on any other day; but he never found that in their general circumstances, or the appearance of themselves and families, they were one atom better than those who abstained from work on the Sabbath. He would ask, Was slavery abolished now? Did it not still exist even in a country calling itself free? Were there not many still who, in being obliged to work on the Sabbath against their inclination, were as much slaves in effect, as those who were nominally, as well as really, so in other countries. The law by which it was sought to regulate

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the observance of the Sabbath, was not a restrictive law, as some contended; on the contrary, it gave to every man the opportunity of spending the Sabbath as he pleased: but, to do justice in this respect, a provision of the Bill ought to be, that the man who did observe the Sabbath should not be put in a worse situation than he who did not. Another point which the friends of this Society ought to bear in mind was, the advantage of paying workmen on Fridays. He lived in Lancashire, where he had several hundred men in his employment, and they were paid on Friday evenings; and he could not see why the same practice might not be generally adopted: it would be found the most effectual way of putting down Sunday marketing. It had been said by many of the opponents of Sabbath legislation, that the mass of the working population did not desire any legislative interference to prevent Sabbath-day labour. He had good reason to believe that the reverse was the fact. He would mention, as an illustration of this opinion, that, when posting upon a late occasion from Lancaster, the post-boy who drove him expressed an earnest hope that on his return to London he would continue to press the question of legislating for the better observance of the Lord's day; "for," said the boy, "though I now live with a mistress who allows me to rest on the Sabbath, yet if I left her service, and went to that of another, I should be obliged to work on that as well as on any other day in the week." When he (Mr. Fleetword) added to this the fact, that some individuals, the owners of cabriolets in London, did not allow their cabs to be out on the Sabbath, and that situations in their employment were more sought for and more difficult to be obtained, than in those of others who did, he thought he had adduced sufficient to show a strong disposition among the working classes to avoid Sabbath labour when the matter rested with themselves.

The Rev. H. STOWELL said he rejoiced in what he would call the holy pertinacity of Sir Andrew Agnew, in urging his measure on this subject in Parliament. The Hon. Baronet in that bad shown a moral courage above all praise. He hoped that he would persevere, and that, like the great Wilberforce, in urging the emancipation of the slave, he might live to see the accomplishment of that measure of which he was the unflinching advocate. He looked upon the Hon. Baronet as incomparably greater than the hero of Waterloo. The latter had great physical powers: he heard the roar of

cannon, and bore the brunt of the battle, with an unthrobbing heart; yet he had not sufficient moral energy to resist the silly sarcasm with which he might be assailed for refusing to accept a challenge to fight a duel, that cowardly display of what was falsely called courage. How much higher was the moral courage of the Hon. Baronet, who, regardless of sarcasm, and opprobrium, and obloquy of every kind, by which he was met, persevered in his measure, of which, up to the present hour, he had not yielded a single principle?

The Rev. Gentleman proceeded to state that the Sabbath, in the strict sense of the word, is the poor man's rest; and complained of the great inconsistency of those who, calling themselves the poor man's friends, and the friends of liberty, deserted his cause at the time when they could truly show themselves to be his friends by making the Sabbath a day of rest to him. Allusion had been made to the men on the Mersey and Irwell canal who had been emancipated from Sabbath slavery. However much he might value the result of that act on the part of their employers, he could not look upon it so much in the light of a boon, as of an act of justice which had been too long delayed. But there was a circumstance connected with that measure, which deserved to be mentioned to the immortal honour of the poor men themselves. For three years they had petitioned their employers for the grant of this boon, as they were disposed to consider it, and their petitions had no effect. At length some of them said, "We have tried men without effect: let us appeal to God." They did, and for six weeks before the next annual meeting of their masters, they humbly besought God to put it into their hearts to comply with their request; they did that which, whether it went from the cottage or the palace, from the prince or the peasant, was sure to produce a favourable result, - they offered prayer in faith. The result was, that after some demurs on the part of one or two individuals, the masters at length unanimously resolved to comply with their request. The sailing of thirty-nine boats on the canal was stopped on Sundays. Two packet-boats only were allowed to be continued, and these with the promise that their Sabbath sailing should be discontinued as soon as another Company could be prevailed upon to adopt a similar course. What was the conduct of the poor men on that occasion? They did that which many who ought to know better forgot in moments of