Relating principally to the FOREIGN MISSIONS carried on under CEYLON MISSION. COLOMBO.-Extract of a Letter from THE weather has been very unfavourable for two months past. The day has been very hot, and the night very cold. The land-wind has blown in the night from nearly N.N.E., and the thermometer has been as low as 73 and 74 deg.; and in the day it has been from 83 to 86 deg. There is at present much sickness in the interior, both among the Europeans and natives. The complaint is that which is commonly called the jungle-fever and dysentery: some of our members in the interior have been in the hospital, but have all recovered. In several distant villages on the coast a sort of contagious sickness has broken out, though not to any great extent; but it is generally decisive where it attacks. A few nights ago we were requested by the inhabitants of a neighbouring village, where a dangerous sickness had made its appearance, to go to the village and pray with them, hoping that GOD might be pleased to remove from them a scourge which threatened to lay waste the whole village. The request was rather an unusual one in the Singhalese country, the people having recourse almost invariably under such circumstances to devil-ceremonies, and other rites of a similar description. We felt no hesitation in complying with the request, humbly trusting that GOD would in some way make it a means of good. About eight o'clock in the evening, hearing that all the village was assembled in a large school room, we set out, accompanied by MR. RASK, Professor of the Royal College of Copenhagen. Lamps were hung on the trees as we passed along, and the silence of death was in the village. At length we reached the place where the whole village, old and young, except the sick and their necessary attendants, were assembled, and perhaps a more striking sight can scarcely be conceived. Brother CLOUGH, though very weak, delivered an appropriate exhortation to them; and after two prayers had been offered up on their behalf, one in VOL. I. Third Series. NOVEMBER, MR. Fox, dated January 14, 1822. Singhalese and one in Portuguese, with a second short exhortation, the company separated with almost the silence of a departing cloud. Our own minds were not a little affected with the solemnity of the scene, and our hearts were rejoiced that the people were at length brought to exclaim, "Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the LORD GOD only is salvation." On the second day of January the schools were assembled together in the Mission-House. The day was fine, and most of the children, even from schools seven and twelve miles distant, were present, and the place was well filled. SIR RICHARD OTTLEY honoured us with his presence, and took the most lively interest in the pleasing scene. MR. RASK, the Professor, was also present, and spoke of the day as one of the most gratifying he had seen. After the usual services, SIR RICHARD examined several of the schools, and rewarded those children in each school who had made the greatest improvement.-The rewards which he had prepared were received with the greatest feeling. I noticed one circumstance which to me was very affecting. In one of the schools there were three girls, who read English with so much readiness and propriety that it was impossible to say which bore away the palm. I saw the father of one of the girls present, whose affection seemed to centre in this child. When the rewards were about to be distributed, his anxiety was so great, and so clearly marked in his face, that my feelings obliged me to take my eyes from him. When the reward was given to another girl, he was a picture of distress:-a second reward fell to the lot of his child: his countenance lighted up, and, from the involuntary motion of his lips, he seemed desirous to express his pleasure, could he have taken the liberty. After the examination had closed, SIR RICHARD briefly addressed them in a very 1822. 4 C judicious manner; and when they had repeated after him the LORD's Prayer, the interesting scene closed. The day will not soon be forgotten by those who were present. Our congregations in Colombo are subject to fluctuations as formerly; but during the last quarter they have been a little more uniform. The country congregations are pretty regular, there is a small increase of adults, and our little societies improve. KORNEGALLE. We have the peasure to find, from the following Letter from MR. NEWSTEAD, dated January 5, 1822, that the Mission-House at this important Station has been opened. THE 30th of December was the day appropriated to the purpose of dedicating to GOD the first house erected to the honour of his glorious name, in the Kandian kingdom, and we trust that it will be remembered through eternity with joy. Our dear Brother CLOUGH, I am truly sorry to state, was prevented by serious illness from lending me his valuable help, in the Singhalese department; our young friend and Brother MR. SUTHERLAND therefore came up with Brother M'KENNY, and both rendered me the most essential assistance. At eleven o'clock the English service was commenced by reading the Liturgy, and singing one of the selected hymns, after which Brother M'KENNY delivered a very impressive sermon from Matt. vi. 10, " Thy kingdom come;" which was heard with much attention, by a respectable congregation, consisting of all the English inhabitants, both civil and military, residing at and near Kornegalle. Indeed, we were gratified by seeing some from a considerable distance, among whom was our kind friend MR. WRIGHT, now the Commissioner of Revenue for the Kandian Provinces, whose valuable assistance at the commencement of this work will always be remembered gratefully. He expressed his great satisfaction at the neatness of the place, and his pleasure at its completion, and placed his name on our list of subscribers, for fifty rixdollars, before he left us. The novel sound of our chapel-bell collected together a large body of native people, as well as Europeans, at the time of the first service, who retired to the school-room opposite, till the English service was concluded:-among these, were many of the Kandian Chiefs, with their dependents around them, whose patience exceeded my calculations. Soon after the first, we had the second service, anticipating the time, because we knew that the Chiefs were actually deferring a journey to meet the Adigar, in order to be present at our service. We were exceedingly delighted to see the Chapel soon filled with a far larger congregation of Kandian people than it had before been with English; and the front ranks of seats entirely occupied by the Chiefs, who were easily distinguished by the difference and superiority of their dress. I wish I could describe their particularly interesting appearance, as they stood up with us to sing the first Singhalese hymn! Their appearance at all on such an occasion was very gratifying, but their attentive demeanour much more so. I feel sincere pleasure in stating that our young friend conducted the Singhalese services with an ability and propriety that reflected much credit upon himself, and seemed to excite a deep interest in the minds of the people, if we might infer any thing from as deep and continued an attention as I ever witnessed. Between the lessons, our school-children (among whom were some belonging to the Chiefs, beforementioned) chanted, "Te Deum," in Singhalese, which had a most pleasing effect, and seemed to astonish the congregation around: but one of the most delightful circumstances of the day, was the presentation of copies of the Singhalese New Testament to three of the principal Chiefs, who, being addressed from the pulpit, on the excellence and value of the Sacred Scriptures, and our wish to inform them of the nature of our religion, which we conceived we could do best, by presenting them with our Sacred Book, the word of the great GOD, arose, and severally received copies from the pulpit, with much respect, and sitting down again reverently, placed them on their knees. I really cannot do justice by any description to the solemnity and interest of this scene. We concluded with singing and prayer; and I am thankful to say that, with great peace and regularity in the services, we humbly trust, a truly gracious influence was felt in the hearts of many, on these delightful occasions. In the morning, before the service, the child of a Military Officer was baptized; and in the evening, after a prayer-meet ing, we solemnized the sacred service of the Supper of the LORD: thus our Christian Church has been consecrated to the service of the great JEHOVAH, by the celebration of all the instituted ordinances of our holy faith; and 0 that it may stand as the witness of our GOD, in this benighted land, to future generations! "Arise, O LORD, into thy resting place, thou and the ark of thy strength!" I am very happy to state, that the whole premises have been raised at a far less expense than could ever have been calculated upon, in so remote a situation; a large Mission-House and Chapel, with a terraced viranda, eighty feet long, with two ranges of detached offices, a large school-room, and a fine garden, well fenced, have been completed for a sum not exceeding 3300 rix-dollars, out of which, I trust, we shall only have to bring the cost of the out-buildings on our fund. I will not disguise that this is a circumstance which affords me very great satisfaction, and excites thankfulness to God, who has in so many various ways raised up helps for us in the work. Our school on this station has increased, in the course of the past quarter, and I feel no doubt that it will continue to increase, since it is countenanced by the Chiefs;-but at present it is much interrupted by the prevalence of an epidemical fever, which has carried off many into eternity in the last few weeks. Many are at present in the hospitals, with whom I have had much profit in visiting and praying. A late journey, through a considerable part of the Seven Korles, has tended anore than ever to convince me, that Divine Providence has conducted the steps of our Mission to one of the most eligible spots in the whole interior. The Seven Korles, indeed, has ever been considered to exceed, in populousness and fertility, the whole of the other interior provinces. Some have styled it the granary, and others the garden of Ceylon. I took down the names of twelve villages on the high road from Kornegalle to Colombo, within a distance of fourteen and a half miles: some of them are the most pleasant villages my eye ever beheld. I ought to mention, that since writing my letter from hence, we have been allowed to enclose a considerable space of ground on the side of our house, for its additional convenience; and, on the opposite side, a piece is also offered, the enclosure of which is delayed only for want of workmen. I propose to plant these grounds with cocoa-nut trees, which will afterwards be productive, to a sufficient extent to keep the house and premises in repair. Our little class continues as it was; I hope to see some increase soon, at least among those who already have the name of Christians. An evening service for the use of the soldiers will, I hope, conduce to this end, as now only a few of the more serious among them come; and many, I trust, may thus be allured from the paths of sin. I endeavour to excite in them a love for reading, by keeping some plain and useful books, &c., in the hands of an excellent friend among them, to be lent as a sort of circulating library. Any little means that may be blest to their good is worthy the attention of those who care for their souls; for their state of demoralization is truly awful. On the whole, there is every thing here to encourage patient labour in all the objects of our Mission, and nothing that I am aware of to occasion anxiety, but what may be found in an equal, if not a greater degree, on all our other stations in the island. May the LORD give unto us the spirit of ardent labour and of patient faith; for, "neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth, but GOD that giveth the increase." our NEGOMBO.-Extract of a Letter from MR. NEWSTEAD, dated January 15, 1822. ' IN going through all our schools, I have endeavoured, as carefully as I could, to see that they were efficient to the purposes for which they were intended, and determined to retain no scholar who habitually neglected to attend; hence I have somewhat reduced the numbers, but believe this is far better than to retain bad examples in our schools. In the general, I believe I may say, our little Christian Seminaries have afforded me real pleasure in the review. I have gone over them most minutely, and am satisfied that they are making progress. Where we have most reason to be grieved, the cause is to be traced not so much to the children as to their teachers, or to their parents, but generally to the former, and our trials in this department have not been few. Few native teachers have enjoyed greater advantages than those on the Negombo Station; and while several have well repaid our pains, I am obliged to say we have, in many, been much disappointed, and our labours have been apparently in vain; but of this we cannot judge accurately. I was lately a little cheered when going over our schoollists, to observe the large number both of schools and children, which have been under our care, in all, through the four years I have been here. It is consolatory to know, that however we have been opposed, and harassed, and persecuted, in the progress of our work, especially in the schools, we have had, in all, seventeen schools established, including 900 children, (about 700 boys and 200 girls;) these have all received some christian instruction, and are scattered throughout the neighbourhood, we would hope, in some measure benefited by those instructions. At present, only eleven schools (inclusive of the two in the Kandian territories) are in existence; but all these are tolerably efficient, and, I trust, will continue to be so. They contain, I believe, about 486 children, of whom 400 are boys, and eighty-six girls. Oar classes have continued to give us great, though by no means an unmixed satisfaction. It seems one of the most difficult things imaginable to bring the people, either elder or younger, to enter into the nature of true, spiritual religion. They all have, more or less, certain ideas of moral righteousness, which prevent their fully apprehending the Gospelplan of salvation. The plainest figures, and modes of speech, seem often to fail of desired success; and we feel how necessary it is, patiently to give “line upon line, precept upon precept." However, we have to be very thankful that the LORD has made several of our members, we trust, partakers of that "grace of GOD which bringeth salvation," and enables them to maintain the consistency of their profession by good works. We have, at this time, fifty-one persons, young and old, in Society, (chiefly our elder scholars, and their parents,) and twenty-four others, who have been long on trial, of whose general deportment we may speak well. Our congregations often grieve us by their smallness, and not unfrequently by the little profit they appear to gain by our preaching, even though in their own language. There is an incorrigible apathy prevalent among them; and it is difficult to prevail upon them to attend the house of GOD. Our faithful few at Negombo are ever present, and often express their joy at hearing the word: we have seldom seen a single new comer amongst them, doubtTess owing to the unlimited influence of the Roman Catholics, whose enmity seems to prevail the more, the less we oppose them. There are now four neat little chapels on the circuit, with every accommodation to invite the people; but all is in vain without a blessed out-pouring of the Spirit of God, for which, O may we more devoutly and incessantly pray! I am truly thankful to be able to state the produce of our first year in the little Missionary Society: 500 rixdollars have been raised with much persevering effort on the part, especi ally, of my colleague and assistant, whose labours in it have been truly praiseworthy, because I am sure they have been difficult. Our little new chapel at Tempale being now finished, we have been favoured with a very pleasing time in dedicating it to God. The services were conducted jointly by MR. SUTHERLAND and myself, in Singhalese; and never have I witnessed a greater assemblage of native people than on that interesting occasion. MR. SUTHERLAND has devoted much of his time in raising this little edifice, and, I doubt not, felt an ample reward on the day of opening. A neat octagon bungaloe on one side serves as a vestry and resting room, and a well built oblong school is on the other. The building, standing on a rising ground, looks better than our chapel at Seedus; it is strongly built, roofed with tiles, has a neat pulpit and railing, on a raised floor, and the whole has been completed for 221 rix-dollars. I humbly hope it will be a blessing to the people of several villages around. A very large piece of ground is fenced in round the chapel, (granted to us by the Government,) which is also used as a burying ground. Our school here has suffered considerably, owing to the death of two masters successively, and to the frequent negligence of the survivor. A man is, however, now in a course of preparation, who has petitioned to be a joint schoolmaster; he is a convert from heathenism, and promises to secure the attendance of a large number of children from a near village: we hope to see its greater prosperity. On the 13th inst. our very neat new chapel, at Chilaw, was opened. MR. LALMON, who has principally assisted in the building of it, and myself, conducted the services in English, Singhalese, Tamul, and Portuguese, according to the varied hearers who attended, that each might be benefited. The people here have taken a great interest in the erection of this place, and MR. WALBEOFF has been most kind, not only in setting on foot a subscription to defray the expenses, but in favouring us with materials so advantageously, that the building has cost scarcely more than half what it must have done, had it been built without such assistance. The place is, from end to end of the veranda, about sixty-four feet by thirtysix, and very respectable in its appearance. It stands beside the new road at the entrance of Chilaw, on the Protestant burying-ground, which is all neatly railed round, and presented to us, and is just in the midst of the people. The building has only cost 411 rix-dollars, and the subscriptions amount to about 437, thus leaving a surplus to assist in what remains to be finished. The people have promised further aid, if necessary. There is certainly a prospect of much good here, if perseveringly attended to the people are, in general, very friendly, and have no means of grace but such as we can now establish among them; and as there is no resident Priest among the Roman Catholics, though they have a church, we need not calculate upon that excessive opposition which we have ever had to encounter at Negombo, where two or three reside, who constantly threaten all who approach either our chapel or our school. I sincerely hope our strength of number will allow of our paying much attention to this new and interesting field of labour. Happy I am, indeed, to have seen our way so far opened, and our cause so far established at Chilaw. MR. LALMON is endeavouring to acquire an improved knowledge of Tamul, with a view to usefulness among a large class of people who understand nothing else; indeed, Singhalese is but little known here, and scarcely any thing is spoken but Tamul and Portuguese. We have also here an excellent young man as school-master, who interprets well, and has a promising school under his care, which, we are expecting, will now be much increased. Several respectable people are desirous of christian instruction, and of being joined together in a class, which we trust to see effected ere long, as this is most desirable in every place, and the very end of our labours: more especially is it desirable in a place where a Missionary cannot reside except occasionally, that a little christian society may stand as a testimony for GoD, together with our new-built house of prayer, in the temporary absence of a Minister. They are most desirous of a Missionary constantly to reside among them: but this I am well aware cannot be accomplished at present, though it may in future. Thus the foundation is laid, we trust, with the approval and presence of the Lord. I feel it my duty to bear testimony to the faithful and diligent attention of MR. LALMON, in Chilaw : I doubt not, in addition to his labour in the erection of the building, he has been very useful among the people, and I am glad to say, his health has been better than usual in the course of the last quarter. Our prospects, on the whole, though still requiring the exercise of faith, and the persevering efforts of labour, are yet encouraging; especially in the distant places, where the people are less prejudiced, and the opposition is also less: we have just begun to get all in order, and humbly hope, the way being thus far cleared, and the foundation laid, that the LORD will graciously second our efforts, which can now be more directly and uninterruptedly aimed at the very highest objects of our mission, the present conversion and final salvation of immortal souls. O may we rejoice in the world of spirits that "we have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain," but that the redeemed souls of many in these parts may be "our joy and crown of rejoicing "in the day of the LORD Jesus. MISSIONS IN WESTERN AFRICA. ST. MARY'S. MR. MORGAN is at this station during the rains, and Mandanaree is at present unoccupied ; the death of MR. BELL, and the sickness of MR. MORGAN, having been great interruptions to the commencement of the Mission there. A house is built, but as the Brethren cannot at present occupy it, and several depredations have been committed by the natives, the furniture has been removed for the present to St. Mary's. Should the health of the Brethren be preserved, an attempt will be made, as soon as the season is favourable, to enter upon the business of the Mission. At St. Mary's, notwithstanding the interruptions which have occurred in the labours of the Brethren, some good has been done; enough, as MR. MORGAN expresses it, |
