extracts from them, without note or comment, (the only books of religious instruction which it disseminates among them,) and sometimes by grants of money; but without interfering in their internal arrangements otherwise than by kind admonition and advice.

It appears from the Report made at the Annual Meeting on the 21st of April last, that since the establishment of this Society in November, 1809, 806 Schools, containing 84,174 scholars, have received gratuitous assistance from it: out of which number, 44 Schools, containing 3,060 scholars have failed. It also appears, from the staternents sent into this Society, that during sixteen years preceding its formation, only 57 Sunday Schools, of those in connexion with it, were established; while within the ten succeeding years 749 have been established. During the last year the business of this Society has increased in a proportion nearly double to that of the preceding year, as it respects the addition of new Schools, the increase of scholars, and the issue of books.

The Committee would humbly presume that the progress of this Society has been marked by the blessing of the Almighty, and as his cause they would commit it to his people, in the confident hope that they will afford assistance to a Society which exerts itself in dispelling mental | and moral ignorance, by the diffusion of religious instruction throughout a most interesting portion of the United King

dom.

Subscriptions in aid of the Funds of this Society, will be received by Messrs. Puget, Bainbridge, and Co. WarwickJane, London; by Messrs. Robert Raikes and Co. Hull; by Samuel Hope, Esq. Liverpool; by Messrs. George La Touche and Co. Dublin, and at the Depository, No. 16, Upper Sackville-street, Dublin. 2d June, 1819.

Dublin," from the consideration of the extreme scarcity of cheap religious books in that country, and the abundance of ludicrous pamphlets which are circulated among the poor. One of them is now before the writer, entitled, "The Pilgrimage to Lough Dergh. Approved and written by B. D." It has a rude woodcut, consists of 24 pages, and is said to have been "Printed in the present year.” The concluding paragraph is a specimen of the kind of religious instruction it af. fords. "Therefore, my brother, after leaving this lough [lake] give thanks to God, singing gloriously a new song of praise. Suffer temptations, thirst and hunger, and obey God: Fear not the sons of Anak, though great and strong, viz. your great and irregular passions, for by the grace of God, you will overcome them, with Og and Silon, i. e. the devil and the world. And weaken the Amalekites, viz. your corporal senses, or lustful desires.

"And Jesus being your captain, by Jordan, or good life, you will enter the land of promise, which is eternal life, (though highly walled with lofty virtues,) which God grant me and pilgrims by the intercession of the blessed Virgin Mary, and all the saints, especially St. Patrick, our holy patron. Amen."

From this specimen it will appear how necessary it is that this vile trash should be counteracted, and, if possible, superseded, by the circulation of cheap publications, containing a scriptural answer to the most important question that can be proposed by a guilty sinner, What shall I do to be saved?-We wish success most cordially to a Dublin Tract Society, and are happy to find that the Committee of the Religious Tract Society in London has agreed to send tracts to Dublin upon credit, to the amount of £1,000.

The Fifth Annual Report of the Society, with the Appendix, List of Subscriptions, &c. is now printed, and will be soon forwarded, so far as practicable, to the subscribers.

FROM a Ladies' Association at Hammersmith, EIGHT POUNDS have been received towards a Hammersmith Female School in Ireland, by the hands of Miss Salter. This is principally the produce of some Pasteboard CASTLES, placed by the Ladies on their side-boards, and is to be continued annually.

Band, and ten thousand salams. We are extremely happy to inform you, that all the brethren who live at Harboung are enabled without molestation to make known the glad tidings of our Saviour Jesus Christ to many. On the other hand, we are sorry to tell you, that the distresses of the brethren living at Cox's Bazar continue much in the same state they were when you were here. The preaching of the word also meets with much opposition from the persons who are well known to you. Notwithstanding, we preach and talk about the truths of the Gospel in private houses, and many come to hear. The letter you left with us for our instruction, Gnu-lha and Soo-ba-oung have also copied, and have distributed many of them among their Christian brethren. The boy who wished to come with you, but was prevented by his mother, now wishes to come, and she is willing to part with him; we intend sending him by the first opportunity. After the receipt of this letter, we pray you will favour us with a reply as soon as convenient. Thus much we have to say to our much steemed teacher in Christ.

DACCA.

THE following communication from the friend presiding at this station, to the brethren at Serampore, bears date July 10, 1818.

It is with much pleasureI am enabled to inform you, that all our schools go on prosperously, especially the Christian school. My exact number is thirty, twenty-five of whom were present this morning, and the remainder have been absent in consequence of the heavy rains. My monthly account, which left this yesterday, will shew the present state of the Persian and Bengalee schools: and I shall merely add, that the scriptures are freely read in the whole of them. We united two of the disciples of the Sut gooroo in marriage a few days ago, and hope to see four or five of them come forward for baptism in a short time. We have taken no more than one piece of land for them as yet, the ground rent of which is two rupees a year, but we will take spots here and there, according as we find it suit our design. We endeavour to keep up a constant communication with them, (although some of them live at a considermble distance from Dacca,) by sending

month, when he generally brings some of them with him, who remain in our place three or four days at a time for instruction. Indeed we are seldom without a party of them, male and female, who all appear anxious to hear the word of life, evincing a warm affection for us, and expressing themselves only happy when amongst us. Numbers of them who visit us have never seen a European face before mine, through which pear as great a wonder to them, as an elephant would to some of the wild Irish that I can call to remembrance. In short, it appears as if the Lord had brought us to a knowledge of this people, to keep our hopes alive in these dreary parts.

JESSORE.

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FROM the subjoined petition, addressed to the Judge and Magistrate of the district of Jessore, by several native Christians, residing there, some idea may be formed of the various inconveniences to which these converts

are exposed, in consequence of their embracing the Gospel. The application, we are happy to add, received prompt and effectual attention.

Your Petitioners beg leave to lay the following circumstances before you, and to solicit your kind attention to their case. Ever since they were converted to Christianity, the barbers, though offered the usual payment, have refused to attend upon them, and the midwives upon their wives: this has been more especially the case in the following villages: Bakuspola, Vishoo-huree, Chougacha, Badpookhur, Vusi-poora, Ounit-poora, and Hingulpara. The pretext for this refusal is, that the persons thus serving the Christians will be deprived of their cast, which is by no means the case, for these persons attend upon native Portuguese and European Christians without hesitation, and fear no loss of cast. Hindoo barbers also shave Musulmans without losing cast, and Hindoo midwives do not refuse to attend a Musulman mother when she is in childbirth. But this refusal is attended in the case of our lying-in women with great danger, both to the mother and the ins

fant. In some late instances some of your petitioners, after the birth of the child, were obliged to go and fetch a midwife from a distant village to do the offices necessary at those times; so that on these alarming occasions your poor petitioners have been brought into the greatest distress. Your petitioners also, unless they go to some distant town, are compelled to remain unshaved for weeks, and even months together, to their great annoyance.

In large towns the barbers are ready to shave all casts without inquiry. Your petitioners have no doubt but that the barbers, &c. would do their duty, if not kept in terror by the rich, who thus exercise a petty tyranny over villages without any lawful authority, or the countenance of any law whatsoever.

Your petitioners therefore humbly implore, that their case may be graciously noticed, and that they may be delivered from an oppression which the voice of the Magistrate can remove in a moment, affording, without the shadow of injury to any, substantial relief to those whose only crime is, their having embraced the religion of their governors; and who having the strongest attachment to the English Government, hope to share in the blessings it diffuses through the whole of their country.

And your petitioners, as in duty bound, shall ever pray.

Journal of Mr. Thomas,

JULY 5. This afternoon we held a church meeting, when Haro gave an account of his conversion, and was received for baptism. After this, we went to the pond opposite my house, where a great number of Hindoos and Musulmans were collected to see the baptism; 'I was enabled to preach to them, and afterward we went into the water, and I baptized Haro. In the evening we held our usual prayer meeting, for the spread of the gospel, when we agreed that brethren Huridas, Ramsoondura, Didhera, and Tristee Dhura, should go and preach the gospel to the heathen and Mahometans at Deb-nugura, about three days journey from Chougacha.

16th. Shakur muhumud, a hopeful Musulman, sent a Bengalee letter to me this evening by a brahmun, who expressed a wish to join us; he has lost cast by eating with us, and Shakur muhumud has promised to join us with his family, and to bring 500 or more friends of his way of thinking, to join us. My dear Pastors, pray to the Lord of the harvest, that these

people may soon join this little church by baptism into the death of Christ.

August 10.-Akbur Sha, the son of Akmani Sha, came to me, and said that he had been to Serampore, and had much talk with the Reverend Mr. Marshman; he wants to know from the Pastors, if he, and one or two hundred if his disciples, come to be instructed in the religion of Christ, how they are to be maintained while under instruction. He also asked for a complete set of the Old and New Testament, but I was not able to comply with his request: I therefore hope that you will send me two sets of the Old and New Testament; one set for my use, and

another for Akbur Sha.

BEERBHOOM.

From Mr. Hart to Mr. Ward, dated
Shiooree, June 20, 1818.

You will no doubt be glad to hear of a brahmun who has thrown away cast, and has embraced the true religion. He has an ardent desire to receive baptism; he has brought with him his Radha and Krishna, the latter a black image covered with jewels, as well as his shastras. (These are the Bhaguvut-Geeta,-Vishnoo-shastra-nam, Juyu-deva, and the PanduvaGeeta; all in Sungskrita.) On Lord'sdays I preach twice to the congregation in Bengalee, and once in English to the families here. Tuesdays and Fridays are market days here, exclusive of the great bazar, to which I go twice. This is indeed a very poor journal for a Missionary; but I must say with the good Kiernander, My heart is full and overflows, but my tongue is weak,"

This brahman has since been baptized at Serampore.

BENARES.

From Mr. Smith, dated July 2, 1818. On the 28th ult. I baptized RamaDasa, a brahmun, at Pruhlad-ghat, in the presence of many persons, and in the At the request of Juya-Narayuna-Ghosal, evening administered the Lord's supper. I have established two Hindee schools, one in my yard, and another at Kutvapoora, about 400 paces from my house. In the former are twelve children, and in the latter thirty. The expense of both schools is seven rupees per month, which