Religious Intelligence. writ are placed in an interesting and striking light. The volume is designed especially for the use of young persons; numerous. but it will convey much useful informa- RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE. THE SHETLAND MISSION. To the Editor of the Wesleyan-Methodist Magazine. set aside the invention, intended to "Psalms of David; " our class-meetings have been placed on a level with the auricular confession practised by the Papists; and it has been industriously circulated through the islands, that the The adverse poor who join our society forfeit thereby their right to parish relief. influence of such conduct, in a community abounding with widows and orphans, may be easily conceived. a IT will appear obvious, from my former communication, that the direct benefit which the inhabitants of Shetland have derived from Methodism is very great; and when we consider the energy and benignant bearing of the system, on all classes of society, we shall not wonder that its indirect advantages have been The number of Ministers in the established Church at the time when our Mission was commenced, was twelve; The unhealthiness of the climate in now they are sixteen. The number of Shetland has been, I believe, greatly overDissenting Ministers, at that period, was three; now they are seven: and the rated by the inhabitants of this country. Themen are generally athletic, though not increase of Schoolmasters has been in an equal proportion. Clergymen who then corpulent; and if their means of obtainpreached only once on the Lord's day, ing medicine be few and slender, their need of it is only very occasional. One now regularly preach twice; and instead man told me that his father, who had of suffering a threatening sky, or shower of rain, to keep them at home, died at the advanced age of ninety-six, had never swallowed a drug in his life; they have learned to brave the storm, in and as for himself, though he had seen cmulation of their Wesleyan brethren. more than sixty winters, the only mediThe rich and the poor agree in affirming, that the Parish Ministers preach oftener, cine he had ever taken was two ounces of It is a fact, that nearly all our and deliver better discourses, than they salts. did previously to the coming of the Preachers return from the islands stouter and healthier than they were when they Methodists. One gentleman gave it as went thither. Though there was not a his opinion, that more real good had been stone of beef sold in the country during done in the islands within the last fourthe term of my visit, yet no wateringteen years, than had been effected in a century previous. In this awakened zeal place in the three kingdoms could have produced a more sanative effect on my our brethren are disposed on the whole to constitution than my three weeks' wanrejoice; though it has led, in some derings there did. The Shetland women instances, to the diminution of their conare rather taller than the generality of gregations, and has been manifested in modes less legitimate and laudable than Scottish females; their countenances are unusually comely, though marked by a preaching and pastoral journeyings. It is with extreme regret, I have to add, languid air, the consequence of their great toil; and when drawn out in conthat some of the Shetland Ministers They neither do the work of Evangelists them- versation, they display great vivacity, and considerable strength of mind. selves, nor will they permit others to supply their lack of service without molesta- love Methodism, for the hymns which tion. In some recent instances clerical it has taught them to sing; for the influence has been exerted to exclude religious joys which it has implanted in our Preachers from houses in which they their hearts; and for the meliorating As most of had been entertained for years; gifts changes which it has already wrought in their outward condition. have been offered, and threatenings have the men are fishers, the stress of the culbeen used, to deter the people from sittivation of the ground falls on the females. ting under our ministry, and to draw off from our communion those who had They carry manure to the field in straw Unfounded baskets, called "kosshies," which are been saved by our means. charges of heterodoxy have been pertina fitted to the back; they dig the soil with a heavy spade; they drag the harrow ciously reiterated against us; our Hymna human along the rough ridges after the seed har book has been condemned as been deposited; they occasionally handle the oar; and on them the toil of carrying the peats from the moss generally devolves. For one man whom I found engaged in these laborious exercises, I saw three women. In digging the ground they work in gangs, in number from three to five; they fix their spades in the soil, at the distance of about fifteen inches from each other; and by a joint effort the whole line of ground which they take in is turned over. Though this plan may be good on the whole, it is peculiarly exhausting to the females, especially when they have to work in company with a robust man; for while he can drive the spade to the head with one thrust of his foot, they have to give it several thrusts; and yet in the course of a whole day he does not turn over a single clod more than they. When these things are considered, can we wonder that the female form in Shetland is attenuated and delicate? and that abortion among such as are married is lamentably common? Nothing in the customs of the people was half so abhorrent to our brethren as this degradation of the weaker sex; and, as became the messengers of mercy, they seized every proper opportunity of proving that it was no less a reproach to the man, than it was a hardship on the woman. In some instances they gave offence; but an increasing number of men, I am happy to say, begin to think and feel aright on the subject; and from the exertions made by many of our people, before the fishing season commences, it is evident, that, even under existing circumstances, the evil might be greatly mitigated, if not entirely remedied. The women are fully alive to the unsuitableness of such labour to their sex; and though they patiently submit to it as necessery, for the present, they sigh for deliverance from what they deem a degradation. Till this reproach is wiped away, cottage comfort in its various branches, and infant training, with its ten thousand advantages, cannot be enjoyed to any great extent in Shetland; and conceiving, as we do, that the socializing influence of Methodism is silently, but effectually, removing it, we ardently wish "God speed" to the working of the system. As liberality to the cause of God forms a constituent part of Methodism; as the Scriptures enjoin that they who are "taught in the word shall communicate to him that teacheth in all good things; and as the sum subscribed by our people in Shetland for the support of the ministry is very small, - -not amounting, on an average of several years, to more than £47; I am not devoid of fear lest the insignificance of their contributions should excite suspicions respecting the genuineness of the work. I have, however, no hesitation in saying, that their excuse in this matter is their deep poverty; for, without a figure of speech, they may be termed "the poor saints in Shetland. Except in Lerwick, there is scarcely a vestige of a middle class in the islands. The Lairds and their families constitute the gentry of the country; they are for the most part the descendants of ancient families; the soil is wholly theirs; they are well educated, fond of intelligent discourse, and truly kind to strangers; but, being invested with the hereditary rights of a feudal lordship, a great and impassable gulf is fixed between them and their tenantry. The farmers call the Laird their "master; and they say well, for so he is." Having no lease of their land or houses, they are liable to be turned out at will, or to have their rent raised in successive years, as the caprice of the factor may dictate, or the envy of a neighbour may outbid. They readily admit that their system of farming is wretchedly bad; but plead as their excuse, that were they to improve their ground by draining, &c., their rent would immediately be increased, or they would be obliged to quit; and, having no market for their produce, they content themselves by raising just as much grain as serves to supply their family wants. The farmers are, without exception, fishers. Their boats, lines, &c., are in the first instance furnished by the Laird; they launch out into the deep at his command, and they return as he directs. He fixes the price at which their fish is to be sold; and not a fraction of the value is reckoned theirs, till the rent of the farm, the price of their seed-corn, (which the Laird generally supplies,) the funds of the parish Minister, their pew-rent in the kirk, &c., be fully paid. The items charged are so many, and the price of fish is so low and fluctuating, that nearly all the people are in debt, and few of them can tell how deeply. The prices of fish and oil in 1834 were as follows:-oil, 9d. per gallon; sethe, a species of the coal-fish, 1s. 6d. per cwt. ; cod and ling, 3s. 6d.; ditto, dried, 5s. per cwt. The farms rank from three to seven acres ; and if their occupiers, through a kind Providence, have more corn or cattle than their family wants require, they are not permitted to sell the surplus till they have satisfied the Laird or his factor, that there is a sufficiency behind. Except in a few lairdships, nothing beyond eggs, poultry, stockings, and such minor articles, can be sold without leave asked and given. After making many inquiries, I could hear of only two landlords who give their tenants any thing like a lease of land, or who permit them to sell their fish to whom they please. When Providence sends a shoal of whales into their land-locked bays, which is no uncommon occurrence, the Laird, in virtue of his proprietorship, claims such an amount of the gain, as leaves little more than day-wages to the men who kill them. Mr. Catton and I passed, on one occasion, a bay in which two hundred and eighty of these monsters of the deep had been secured in the autumn of 1834; and while we were examining the skeleton of one which lay on the beach, a neighbouring farmer came up, who told us, that though he and others spent three whole days in the work of slaughter, their allowance was only seven shillings per man, and half-a-crown to the widows in the neighbourhood. The trade of the islands is throughout a system of barter; and hence the country shops are called "exchange houses.' There is so little money in the islands, that hundreds of housekeepers do not possess half-a-crown in the course of six months. One of our Class-Leaders informed me, that he had not received more than eight shillings in money, from his Laird, for fishing during the last five years; and his father, who is also a member of our society, stated that he had not received more than five shillings, in thirty-five years; though he had been out at the "deep seas for the usual term, each season in succession. Both of these men are still in debt, and they have no hope of ever getting clear. Very few of the people possess a watch; and clocks are unknown in the country parts. They guess at the progress of time by the position which the sun bears to a certain hill; or the point where his rays strike on the walls of their cottages. Their houses are mere huts, built with unsquared stones, and only partially cemented with clay. The roof is covered with sods, and a thin layer of straw, which is bound down with ropes of the same material, fastened to stones, which lie in a row along the top of the wall. The fire is placed on a large stone in the middle of the floor; which is always composed of mud; and in many houses, one opening in the roof serves for both window and chimney. The doors and passages are so low, that strangers generally pay a heavy tax in the destruction of hats, and in contusions on the head, before they become thoroughly initiated into the practice of stooping. The front door opens into the " byre," or cowhouse, in which cows, pigs, poultry, and occasionally a poney, are all found living apparently on terms of the strictest friendship: passing through this place, which is necessarily not very clean, we come to the residence of the family, which ordinarily consists of two apartments. The people sleep on straw, laid on boards, and covered with a blanket; though I was told this last accompaniment is frequently wanting. They wear no linen except on Sunday; and their woollen garments are nearly all of their own manufacture. Most of their furniture has been rudely formed out of pieces of "wreck," which fierce winds have drifted to their treeless, shrubless shores. In the course of our peregrinations through the country, Mr. Catton and I entered two inns, so called. They were dirty and disordered to a proverb. In one of them several pigs were walking at large; and in the other we were regaled with the music of a calf, aided by "the cock's shrill clarion." The mistress of the latter house, however, redeemed her negligence by the apology which she made on entering the room of which we had taken possession. "My house," said she, "is but too much like Mrs. Maclartie's, as described in the Cottagers of Glenburnie;' a book which you will think I have read to little profit." From these statements, it must not be inferred that the Lairds are purposely oppressive, or that the people are generally dissatisfied, or are in a state of starvation. As gentlemen possessed of feudal rights, the Shetland Lairds are among the best of their class; and I attribute whatever is arbitrary in their rule, to the system which has been handed down from their fathers, rather than to any marked deficiency in their own morals. The people, except in seasons of scarcity, seldom want food, such as it is; and though they desire a greater degree of independence, and, at least, a possibility of acquiring property, they are at the farthest remove from factious mur muring. My design in furnishing a picture of their poverty, which is far short of the reality, is, to convince the Methodist public, that the people on the spot are incapable of contributing much to the support of their Preachers; and that in continuing to maintain an efficient ministry among them, we shall perform a work highly acceptable to God, which, in the order of a gracious retribution, will doubtless bring down on our whole Connexion the blessing of them that are ready to perish. It was the well-authenticated statement of this people's poverty, which induced the late Dr. Adam Clarke to exert his influence with our English friends to forward articles of general clothing, books, &c., to be distributed by the Preachers. And it is but justice to the memory of departed worth to state, that while many benevolent individuals did virtuously in seconding the Doctor's views, the late Robert Scott, Esq., of Pensford, excelled them all. During his life his purse was a bank, at which the bills of Shetland's necessities were always honoured; and at his death he caused to be deposited three thousand pounds in the three per cents, the interest of which he willed should be devoted, under the direction of the Conference, to the support of Wesleyan Methodism in the islands to all generations. To abstain from giving, in a community like that of Shetland, a man must have both a heart of stone and an empty purse,-qualifications which it is not desirable our Missionaries should ever possess; and yet, as a spirit of pauperism is inimical to the genius and progress of Christianity, and is to a greater or less degree inseparable from circumstances of deep poverty, the grants of Christian benevolence require to be distributed with great discretion. That individuals did formerly unite with our society from mercenary motives, may be inferred from the fact, that they have left our communion since our gifts have been withheld. But, while this is admitted, I have authority for stating, that the benevolence of our friends was, on the whole, prudently dispensed; and that it greatly subserved the best interests of the Mission. Many of the present members of our societies, and regular hearers, are among the deserving poor; and instances might be adduced in which they have dared to withstand clerical and relative influence, when exerted for the purpose of breaking up their fellowship with our society. Mr. Catton assured me, that many of the poorest would rather live on a single meal a day, than consent to have their union with us sacrificed. Yet he thought, that, as we have no "Poor's Fund" in the islands, the entire suspension of charitable supplies from this country was to be deprecated. The parochial Clergy, by means of their parish funds, and the Independent Ministers, through grants from the Congregational Unions, are more or less invested with the character of donors; and it will do good service, both to God and man, if some of those among us, who "have all, and abound," place a portion of their Lord's goods at the disposal of the Chairman of the District, to be distributed by himself and his brethren, as circumstances require. A report of the cases relieved by this means might be transmitted to the Book-Steward, in London, for the satisfaction of contributors. As the Mission has been, and is still likely to be, an occasion of considerable expense to the Connexion, it is pleasing to know that the expenditure is made in behalf of a grateful and worthy people; and though we have to report a swall decrease in the number of members this year, subsequent prosperity may be fairly anticipated. The Lairds are all friendly; several of them support our foreign Missions; and though none of them have united with our societies, they welcome the Preachers to their houses, and are careful to secure time, both in the morning and evening, for the due performance of family wer ship. They freely confess that the introduction of Methodism has formed a new era in the history of the islands; and in no instance which came to my know. ledge, have they sanctioned the petty persecution to which some, both of the Preachers and people, have been subjected. Mr. H., having found it necessary to let his farm and family residence, inserted a clause in the agreement, securing to the Wesleyan Ministers the use of the barn for preaching, and a ledging in the house, whenever they paid their accustomed visit to the neighbourhood. Mr. Catton and I, during one of our journeys, called at the house of the Laird of Q Mr. G. was not at home, but his excellent and accomplished lady received us in the spirit of kindness and Christian affection. She made many references to the former visits of the Preachers as seasons of spiritual refreshment; and expressed her deep regret that in all probability she should see Mr. Catton no more. "We met at first," said she, "in the nane and spirit of our divine Master; our interviews have been, I hope, mutually profitable, and such as He has smiled upon. It is my wish that we should part as we met; and you will therefore be pleased to let us know the utmost limits to which you can prolong your stay, that we may secure the presence of the whole family when you unite with us in prayer." The people who have placed themselves under cur pastoral care, or who regularly attend our ministry, testify their gratitude for our their own. The best bed, the best chair, and the best food which the house affords, are at his service; and though they are not averse to receive a present in return for their kindness, their readiness in this respect arises from a desire to possess a token of his esteem and satisfaction, rather than from a mercenary grasping for remuneration. These tokens of gratitude, and memorials of friendship, are common in the islands; their possessors treasure them up with the greatest care; they show them frequently to those they love; and when about to die, they be queathe them to surviving relatives, as their most precious effects. While this veneration for the gifts of friendship is, in its unsophisticated form, a virtue, I am aware that it may easily degenerate into an odious vice; especially in those who either never had religion, or who have fallen from its life and power. That it has so degenerated in some instances, I have reason to believe; but from personal observation, confirmed by the opinions of my brethren, I am constrained to characterize the Shetlanders, and especially those of them who are connected with us, as an hospitable and grateful people. The case of the junior Preachers in these islands excited my affectionate solicitude. Previously to the last Conference, those of them who were sent from the "List of Reserve" were required to pay their own travelling expenses; which were often very heavy, owing partly to the length of the journey, and partly to the uncertainty of the sailing of the packets. This hardship, however, no longer exists; as the last Conference kindly consented to grant a sum which will in future go far to indemnify them against loss. The propriety of keeping them in Shetland during the entire term of their probation, is, in my opinion, very questionable. Owing to the extent of the Circuits, and the scattered residence of the population, much of their time is necessarily spent in travelling; and, as there are scarcely any roads, it is next to impossible for them to read while they walk nor are they much better circumstanced when they sail; for, in that case, they have often to ply the oar, or they are sick, or the spray sweeps over them: so that, except in very few exempt cases, they are unable to peruse a book for five minutes together. In the houses where they lodge they can seldom procure a room to themselves; and the end of ministerial reading can be but partially attained by reading aloud in the domestic circle; for, independently of numerous : |