Hot hitherte opposed grants of public money for the erection of new churches connected with the Established Church; yet, as they are convinced that the vast wealth of that church supplies resources sufficient for all such purposes, as such buildings are frequently erected without necessity, and converted into means of individual gain; as themselves, at their own charges, erect and uphold all their thousands of religious edifices, and support their ministers, and yet contribute equally with their countrymen to tithes, church rates, and all the charges of the Established Church; and as Episcopalians would freely erect such edifices if the privilege of presenting their own ministers was not withheld. This society now specially instruct their committee to oppose any further grants for those purposes, and pledge themselves strenuously to co-operate for the prevention of the increase of burdens which ought not to be imposed-Lond. Bapt. Mag. for July.

BRITISH AND FOREIGN BIBLE SOCIETY.

From an abstract of the Report, published in the Theological Repertory, it appears that in the last year there had been issued from the depository, 123,197 Bibles, 167,298 Testaments, making with the issnes of former years, an aggregate of three millions, four hundred and forty-two thousand, three hundred and thirty two copies of the Scriptures dispersed by the Society in the British dominions since its formation. It also stated, that about 800,000 copies had been circulated by the Society on the continent of Europe; and that

My Lord, I am satisfied that I need use no argument to induce you to accede to this motion, because, after the gratification which this meeting has received from hearing only an abstract of that Report, I am perfectly satisfied that you will wish the Report itself, containing fuller and more detailed information, should be circulated as widely as the knowledge of this Society extends. Permit me to make a few remarks upon those parts which most struck me. The first question that would arise from such a Report, considering the immense proportion of the world to which the labours of this Society have been directed, and the great effects which it has produced, would be: "Is this the Report of a Society which has existed for centuries? Is this the result of the accumulated labours of a vast succession of generations?"-And when the answer is, that we are now meeting on the Twentieth Anniversary of this Institution, that during perhaps the first half of its existence it extended slowly, with great obstacles to its progress, and that during only the latter half of that period it may be considered to have been in full vigour of operation, we shall see abundant cause for exultation in considering the great success which it has pleased the Almighty to bestow upon the labours of those who have been associated together to extend the blessings of his kingdom. It is gratifying to perceive, that though these extensive views have occupied, as well they might, a large share of your consid eration, yet your more immediate and domestic concerns have not less engaged your attention; for though the distant heathen have a strong claim upon your exertions, yet your nearest and dearest claims are those which arise from home; and if you wish even to extend your ultimate objects, and to succeed in the prosecution of them, this will best be done by spreading more widely at home that spirit which will lead those who are at home to exert themselves with greater vigour and energy in this cause. It is peculiarly gratifying to me to hear from the Report of this year, that your attention has been directed to the neighbouring island also, because that is a sphere in which your benevolence may be most usefully exerted. But, my Lord, looking to this report, there are two or three other points with which it is impossible not to be particularly struck; if we look to the islands in the Pacific Ocean, the very existence of which was unknown till discovered by the naval enterprise of one of our illustrious countrymen; if we look at the state in which they were represented to be, stained by human sacrifices, and involved in the most disgusting licentiousness, and now behold them delivered from those practices by the exertions of Missionaries carrying the

common to men; he has experienced some, my lord, calculated to make flesh and blood to wince, but in that blessed book which it is the object of this Society to circulate, he has found a hiding place from the storm, he has found a covert from the wind, and he has found one who has borne his iniquities and carried his sorrows. That individual to whom I have alluded is now permitted to have the great privilege of testifying to this assembly the obligation he is under to Anniversary Meetings of the Bible Society. O, my lord, it is in proportion as we see the necessity of God's word for our own souls, that we shall be anxious to send it to others; it is in proportion as we see the necessity of something substantial to stand upon when the rotten, the flimsy foundation of our own strength is falling under us, that we shall be anxious and eager to send to those around us, and to those belonging to us, that inestimable treasure which it is the object of this Society to circulate, and which God's Spirit has declared is able to make men wise unto salvation. I beg pardon of your lordship and the meeting for occupying your time, but I must be permitted to say, that I cannot conceive any advantage af. forded to us of greater magnitude than that of being permitted to join in a work like this in which we are engaged to day, engaged without reference to sect or name or party, with all who love our Lord Jesus Christ, both theirs and ours, in promoting the great and glorious work of extending to the north, and to the south, to the east, and to the west, the knowledge of that name which is above every name, of that name at which every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess to be Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

As

a member of the Hibernian Bible Society, I cannot sit down without returning my sincere thanks to your lordship and this Society, for the very great, liberal and necessary assistance which you have given to my country; and perfectly agree with the noble earl, that there is no part of the world more likely to be benefitted by such aid than the country to which I belong.

PAGAN APATHY.

Mr. Statham, Missionary at Howrah, near Calcutta writes; " You who have never witnessed scenes such as I am daily called to see, cannot form an adequate idea of the extreme apathy of the Hindoos to the misfortunes of their fellow-creatures. Some writers have called them mild, inoffensive, and peaceable: but, alas! if ever there was a nation which needed the influences of the gospel to establish peace and mildness among thom, it is the Hindoo nation, Love either to their gods or

to man they know nothing of I will relate a scene I was called to witness the other evening, which I am sure will fully corroborate these remarks. A small native hut had taken fire about half a mile from where I live, and as it was to windward of the village, consisting of about twenty thatched huts, they were in great danger of being all burnt. The fire was very brilliant from the nature of the materials, bamboos, straw, and mats. I perceived it from the virandah where I was sitting, mounted my horse, and rode down immediately. Before I got there, about five dwellings were totally consumed, and two others were on fire. It was antonishing to see the apparent and total want of sympathy in the minds of the natives present. Though above a thousand of them were assembled from the neighbouring large village of Sulkea, not one would assist in extinguishing the flames, but seemed to enjoy the bonfire. No means were adopted to stay the flames except by those poor wretched oreatures whose huts were on fire. On my remonstrating with them, and entreating them to lend a helping hand to their neighbours, these were the answers: My house is not on fire-Who will give me pay?-What power have I over fire?-To be burnt will be worse than to see fire. Thus they suffered the flames to spread, until they had now consumed nearly half the place, and from one of the huts which had just taken fire a dreadful screaming and lamentation issued. On inquiry, I found it was from a poor old decrepit woman: I urged them to fly to her rescue. Oh the horrid feelings they evinced: She is not my mother-She is too old to gain salt-Her time is come-We shall see a suttee. I offered them bukshees (gifts) if they would go into the house with me and bring her out. The name of rupees has something of an electric charm upon them, for no sooner was this heard than so many ran to her relief, that they could not all touch even the cot on which she lay. However, the poor creature was saved (for that time;) but none but those of the lowest caste dared, even for lucre's sake, to carry a sick person. The lofty Brahmins stood unconcerned spectators, and reprobated the conduct of some Lascars from the ships whom I had prevailed on to endeavour to extinguish the flames, which was soon effected by pulling down a small hut that was in the line of communication to the others. With regard to the poor woman thus saved, she had been so terrified that her illness was increased, and the merciless sons she had borne con. veyed her to the river side to die. There I found her, three days after, just able to speak once, but no more: she died in about balf an hour-it was evident that mud had been put into her mouth. Oh, when, when shall we behold the glorious

THE POPE'S CIRCULAR.

In a late Circular of the Pope, in which he attempts to suppress the circulation of the scriptures among Catholics, he thus addresses his brethren :

"What shall I say more? The iniquity of our enemies has so increased, that beside the deluge of pernicious books, contrary to the faith, it even goes so far as to convert to the detriment of religion the Holy Scriptures, which have been given us from above for the general edification."

"You are not ignorant my venerable brethren,,' says his holiness, "that a society commonly called a Bible Society, is audaciously spreading through the earth, and that in contempt of the traditions of the holy fathers, and against the celebrated decree of the Council of Trent, it endeavours with all its power, and by every means, to translate, or rather to corrupt the Holy Scriptures into the vulgar tongues of all nations; which gives just reason to fear that in all the translations the same thing may happen which has happened with regard to those already known-namely, that we may there find a bad interpretation, and instead of the gospel of Christ, the gospel of men, or what is worse, the gospel of the devil!

"Many of our predecessors have made laws to turn the scourge, and in these latter times, Pius the VII, of sacred memory, sent two briefs, the one to Ignatius, the other to Stanislaus, archbishop of Mohi. low. In these briefs are found passages

taken as well from the Holy Scriptures as from tradition, and collated with care and judgment, to show how injurious this subtle invention is to faith and morality

"And we also, venerable brethren, in the discharge of our apostolic duty, exhort you to remove your flocks with care and earnestness from the fatal pasture. Reprove, entreat, insist on all occasions, with all doctrine and patience, in order that the faithful, attaching themselves exactly to the rulers of our congregation of the Index, may be persuaded, that if they let the Holy Scriptures be indiscrimi nately translated into the vulgar tongues, there will result, in consequence of the rashness of men, more evil than good.

This is a truth demonstrated by experience, and which St. Augustine more than all the other fathers, has made known by these words :-there have been formed heresies and perverse dogmas, which involve the souls of men in their snares, and drag them down the abyss only because the Holy Scriptures have not been well understood; and, because having ill understood them, men have supported their false interpretations with rashness and audacity!

"Such, venerable brethren, is the tendency of this society, which, besides, omits nothing for the accomplishment of its impious wishes; for it boasts not only of printing the translations, but of disseminating them by going through the towns; fidious liberality, choose to distribute them and even, to seduce the simple by a pergratuitously.

"We exhort you not to let your courage be cast down. You will have for you, and for this we rely with confidence on the Lord, the power of secular princes, who, as reason and experience show, defend their own cause in defending that of the authority of the church; for never will it be possible for man to render unto Cæsar the things which are Cæsar's, without rendering unto God the things which are God's. You will also have for you, to speak as St. Leon did, the good offices of our ministry towards you all. In your crosses, in your doubts, and all your necessities, have recourse to this Apostolic guidance. For God, as St. Augustine said, has placed the doctrine of truth in the chair of unity.'

IRISH SUPERSTITION.

As a comment upon the foregoing extract from the Pope's Circular, may be given the following notice of the Catbolic peasantry of Ireland. Upon these children of the Catholic communion his holiness does no doubt look with complacency, while he exerts his paternal authority to

save them from the "deluge of pernicious books," and above all, from the knowledge of the scriptures which, with strange inconsistency he says, were "given us from above for the general edification."

At a public meeting in London a short time since, it was remarked by one of the speakers, that in company with the High Sheriff of one of the counties, he began an itinerant survey of the families in the two largest provinces, which occupied three days. The investigation was awfully interesting. In all the cabins visited, there was not found one copy of the scriptures, nor a book on the principles of the Christian religion. No one could give even a vague account of its holy doctrines. It may be well imagined, that in such a state of society, the darkest superstitions would be tolerated and become popular. And such proved to be the case here. The following is but one instance: An annual assemblage of the peasantry takes place, for the purpose of frequenting particular wells, whose waters are in high repute as containing a mystical virtue. Not less than 15,000 persons are reported

to have convened at one of these wells, The ceremony is as follows:-The devotees commence by drinking the water; and as soon as they receive a mouthful, they proceed round the well on their knees, by which they are severely cut by the large sharp stones placed about it. They then crawl about fifty yards off, to a high tree, and cut off a large slip of the bark, which is considered an infallible specific against every evil. After this, they creep round the tree nine times upon their knees, muttering their unintelligible superstitions.-From the tree, they proceed to a holy stone, 50 yards distant. Here a broad flag is elevated upon two supporters. This is by the people supposed to contain a virtue, which cures all diseases of the back; and creeping under this stone is believed to be a certain remedy for all rheumatic pains, especially when seated in the back. After these fooleries are ended, they retire to an encampment of tents, and feast and drink, and practice the most abandoned profligacies until midnight. Eighty thousand persons went round the well on their knees in three days. They have a remarkable reverence for the Irish language; and many of them if spoken to upon religion in any other language, will not hearken; but on being addressed in their native dialect, they will listen with much pleasure. They are greatly attached to forms of prayer, and awfully under the tyrannical sway of ungodly and ignorant Catholic priests. How much does this people need the guidance and instruction of enlightened Christians!

DOMESTIC.

The American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions held their fifteenth Annual Meeting at Hartford on the 15th of September. The anniversary sermon was preached by Rev. Samuel Austin, D. D. from Gal. i. 15, 16; after which a handsome collection ($113) was taken up for the treasury of the Board.

From the statement of the Treasurer it appeared, that the expenditures, in the course of the year preceding August 31, 1824, were $54,157 05-and that the receipts during the same period were $47,

483 58.

The following officers of the Board were elected for the ensuing year:

Rev. Joseph Lyman, D. D. President. Hon. John Cotton Smith, LL.D. Vice President.

Hon. William Reed, Rev. Leonard Woods, D. D. Jeremiah Evarts, Esq. Hon. Samuel Hubbard, Rev. Warren Fay, Prudential Committee.

Rev. Calvin Chapin, D. D. Recording Secretary; Jeremiah Evarts, Esq. Corresponding Secretary; Henry Hill, Esq. Treasurer; Rufus Anderson, Assistant Secretary; Chester Adams, Auditor.

The Rev. Dr. Porter, of Catskill, (N. Y.) and the Rev. Dr. Milledoler, Col. Henry Rutgers, the Rev. Dr. Spring and Eleazer Lord, Esq. were unanimously elected members of the Board.

On Wednesday evening at a public meeting, extracts from the Annual Report were read to a respectable audience by the Secretary; this communication was followed by animated addresses from Rev. Dr. Beecher, and Rev. Dr. Proudfit.

The next annual meeting is to be holden at Northampton. The Rev. Dr. Bates is appointed to preach the anniversary sermon, and Rev. Dr. Griffin his second.

Renunciation of the Roman Catholic Church.

The United States Gazette contains an address from the Rev. WM. HOGAN, to the Congregation of St. Mary's Philadelphia, in which he formally renounces his connexion with the Roman Catholic Church. The following extracts embrace all that is material to know.

"A tedious and protracted controversy with the emissaries of the Court of Rome, who seem to have lost sight of the pure doctrines of the Gospel, who have substituted the traditions and fabulous tales of monks, for the revealed word of God, who hold that salvation is not to be obtained through the atonement of Christ, without the instrumentality of means, which have