pect that you will make an impression on the idolatry of the great Chinese empire!' 'No, sir,' replied Morrison, with more than his usual sternness, I expect God will.'" This American gentleman only expressed what many thought, and still think; not in regard to the conversion of China merely, but to all missionary labours. Morrison's reply was an answer of faith; but even if his faith had not been so strong respecting this particular mission, he might have said generally that duty is ours, events are God's; and that as the obligation of endeavouring to make Christ known to the heathen is laid upon us, we are not to be deterred or discouraged, even if our success should not appear to be great. The soldier is to fight in the battle, though he may not know what is the particular plan of the commander in arranging his forces. But we will not drop the matter thus. Let the question be again asked, "What have your missions effected?" and to it we reply, Little, compared with the mass of sin which is to be found in the world; yet, not little, if viewed in the aggregate of actual results, much less if estimated by the value of the conquests achieved, and the still brighter hopes, through the Spirit poured out from on high, for the future. Has the questionist really ascertained what has been done? It is grievous to find persons of very good information, and amiable character, utterly ignorant of what is passing around them in religious matters. Much may be in progress, though they have passed it unheeded. A man may not know what is doing in botany, or geology, or mathematics, or chemistry, or astronomy, who does not give his mind to inquire upon the subject; and yet much may be doing nevertheless. We need not be alarmed because a gentleman from abroad tells us he never heard of much that was passing relative to the eternal concerns of mankind, in some place which he visited, when we find that he is equally ill-informed at home. We could amass convincing proofs that much, through the divine blessing, has been gained in almost every place where missions, Scriptural schools, and other means of grace have been for any considerable time established; and that in distributing the word of God its divine Author has fulfilled his promise, that it shall not return to him void. But the proofs necessarily consist of minute details, which cannot be condensed into a few pages. They must be sought in the innumerable reports, and other documents, of religious institutions from year to year. There is an excellent annual epitome of them, compiled with great labour, by that venerable father of modern missions, the Rev. Josiah Pratt, in the "Missionary Register." Have such objectors never heard of that modern miracle, the rapid conversion of the natives of numerous islands in the Great South Seas to Christianity; a portion of the missionary field which we the more especially turn aside to notice, not only because of its importance, but that we may record our deep sorrow at the early-let us not say premature-loss of that excellent man and honoured servant of Christ, the Rev. John Williams of the London Missionary Society. He fell in his divine Master's work; and he rests from his labours; but his works remain and will follow him. And have the missions of our own branch of Christ's holy catholic church been unblessed? The answer is as short as it is decisive; but the proofs are too long to be embodied in these passing remarks. But has the objector ever looked for them? Has he really exerted himself to search out truth; or is he content to feed his prejudices on the east wind of his ignorance? We will not delay him long; but let him take as a sample the extensive and wonderful work of divine grace which at this moment is proceeding in Kishnagur, a station of the Church Missionary Society, only about sixty miles from Calcutta, and where a humble devoted servant of Christ, the Rev. W. Deerr, has been diligently labouring for several years. We say "a sample," not as meaning that it is not-so far as man can judge-a most special effusion of the awakening influences of the Holy Spirit; but because such awakenings, some diffusive, others limited, have occurred in other places and at other times. We will quote two passages from the zealous and heart-cheering, yet cautious and prudent, statement of the Bishop of Calcutta, who has visited the spot, and inquired carefully into the facts. His Lordship says : Bas), is worth-as my honoured predecessor, Bishop Heber, said at Trichinopoly in 1826-years of ordinary life." I find it difficult, indeed, to sober down my mind to that cool and discriminating point of judgment, which I know I ought to do, in estimating the real good likely to be effected." The Bishop enters at some length into the details and proofs; but we must content ourselves with one illustrative scene. "On our return to Kishnagur on Thursday, we found that the delay of the steamer would allow us a few more days; and we instantly formed a plan for visiting Anunda Bas and Ranobunda, where many candidates for Baptism, as well as Confirmation, were anxiously awaiting us. On Monday the 28th, accordingly, we reached Ruttenpore, where I began this letter, and on Tuesday celebrated Divine Service at Anunda Bas-so termed from the beauty of its site-about two miles from the little river Bhoyrup, which flows gently, like the waters of Siloah, and blesses, instead of desolating, like the Jelingha, the lands which it inundates. Here a crowd of 500 filled the Missionary chapel; with verandah and tent-cloths extended beyond, to defend them from the sun. There were 150 or 160 candidates for baptism, approved by Mr. Deerr-who had now risen from with us; and upwards of 100 candibis sickness, and was, for the first time, dates for confirmation, of those baptized in February by Archdeacon Dealtry the rest, to the number of 250 or more, were catechumens and heathen. The service lasted about three hours, in an atmosphere inex. pressibly hot, and we were pressed on all sides with human faces. I began, therefore, with the examination for Baptism. The candidates were ranged in rows. Are you sinners?" Yes, we are all sinners,' was resounded from one end of the chapel to the other. How are you to obtain forgiveness? By the sacrifice of Christ,' re-echoed the crowd.-'Who is Christ?' ar "The progress of things generally, since the Archdeacon's Report in February, has been most encouraging, Seventeen new villages have welcomed the Christian Instructors. The number of those who are asking the way to the Heavenly City is now above 4000. The number baptised is, including those of which I shall presently give some account, between 1000 and 1100. The demand for teachers stretches over an extent of 80 miles-from Hooghly to the Jelingha; and a family of seven Goo-The only Son of God.'_' What do you roos who have had many thousandsperhaps 8000 or 9000-under their direction, as spiritual guides, have embraced the Gospel, and placed themselves among the cotechumens of the Missionaries. Nor does there seem at present any given limit to the flowing tide: the current is widening and deepening daily on al hands; and, I confess, stand astonished and overwhelmed with the goodness and grace of God in Christ Jesus! One day spent as yesterday was,' in the village of Joy (Anunda mean by His sacrifice?' 'We were sinners, and deserved God's wrath; and Christ bore that wrath in the stead of us,' shouted some.-' He suffered in our place,' cried other voices. - I pause, to call the Society's attention to this point: the Kurta-Bhojas uniformly seize on the doctrine of atonement: they say, This is what we have been seeking for.' It seems that their notion of obtaining a sight of God is met by the doctrine of a God incarnate suffering or man. Thus our Missionaries, like I St. Paul, know nothing among their converts but Jesus Christ and Him crucified; which, though still a stumbling block to some, and folly to others, is Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God, to them that are called of all nations and kindreds and tongues and people. But I proceed.-' How is your heart to be changed and made holy?' By the Holy Ghost.'-'Why do you desire Baptism?' To obtain the pardon of our sins.'-' Will you renounce all conformity to idolatry; poojahs, feasts, processions, &c. ?' We renounce tham all.'-'Will you give up caste?' 'Yes; we have already.' 'Will you forgive injuries for Christ's sake?' Yes.'-In short, I went over the chief points in the Creed, the Lord's Prayer, and the Ten Commandments, and the other topics in the Catechism. I then asked Mr. Deerr how long they had been under instruction. He replied, A year, or more. inquired if they had been living consistently. He answered, Yes.' Upon this, I begged Mr. Deerr to proceed with the Baptismal Service in Bengalee. When he came to the questions, I paused, and said, 'The Church requires two witnesses for each candidate for adult baptism will, then, the baptised Christians present he witnesses for them?' They shouted that they would. Will you advise, assist, warn, and strengthen them?' They answered, 'Yes.' The sight now was most touching. The flock already baptised, with keen look, were waiting to know whether the new candidates would be admitted. I said, 'Then I accept your sponsion.' The Rev. Mr. Pratt, and Mr. Alexander, with the catechists, presenting the moveable font, then proceeded along the lines of catechumens, and administered holy baptism. I then stood in the midst; and received them in a body into Christ's church, pronouncing, as well as I could, in Bengalee, the prescribed formula. The Rev. Brethren then again went round, and signed them with the sign of the cross, repeating to each the appointed words of signature. It is impossible to conceive the solemnity and joy on every countenance. "The baptisms being ended, I explained the nature of Confirmation or Ratifying and having the candidates before me-above 100-I asked them if, after eight or nine months, they were ready to stand to their baptismal engagements; or if, on the contrary, they repented of their vows. They shouted, with thrilling energy, 'No, we do not repent: we stand to our baptismal dedication.' I inquired whether they were prepared to go on under the ban ner of Christ, to their lives' end, whatever they might be called to do, or to suffer. They replied, 'Yes.' I asked, in what way they hoped to do so.' In the strength of Christ,' was the shout of answer, almost in the words of the Apostle for all our doctrine in these Missions is simple, apostolic, oldfashioned truth: without superstition on the one hand, and without fanaticism or neglect of means on the other. When the Confirmation was over, I addressed a brief exhortation." After such a citation we are not disposed to go back to resume our colloquy with an ignorant or captious objector to missions as regards their efficacy. There is, however, a serious inquiry which the friends of missions ought to make, even if it were not suggested from without, namely, what are the hindrances, and what the degree of success, of modern missions? The inquiry is the more needful, because many friends of these holy and benevolent enterprises have expressed some disappointment, as though they had laboured in vain in the Lord. This is a false estimate; grounded upon inadequate views of the difficulties to be surmounted; the scantiness of the means employed for removing them; and the degree in which they have actually been overcome. Many Christians in their zeal have entertained expectations of instant and extensive success, not grounded upon any warranty of Holy Writ, and not in consonance with the daily experience of the ministration of the kingdom of grace at the present era of the Christian dispensation; and it is no wonder that they have felt disappointment; but had their survey been more ample, sober, and scriptural, they would have found abundant cause for thankfulness and joy. In alluding to the obstacles, missions, but common to all the we pass over, as not peculiar to labours of the Christian ministry, and every effort to promote the salvation of mankind, that primary hindrance to all spiritual blessing, the blind and hardened condition of our fallen nature; nor will we ask the presumptuous question, Why He who is a Sovereign in his dispensations, has not meted out success according to man's opinions or wishes? But there are impediments of a secondary kind, which, humanly speaking, have greatly checked the work; and some of which it is possible may be removed, or have in part been removed already; or to the removal of which we ought to direct our efforts. The question is, whether, under the actual circumstances of the case, as much good has not resulted as we could, in the usual course of God's providence, have expected? We put the case thus ; because entire dependence upon God, on the one hand, is to be combined with the best adaptation which we can devise of instrumentality on the other; for we do not frustrate grace by using the means of grace. The conceptions of most persons are very indistinct as to the mere mass, so to speak, which is to be operated upon. We speak familiarly of many hundreds of millions of human beings, with little of consideration of what is really implied in such vast arithmetical figures. It may aid a sluggish conception to remark, that the time which has elapsed, since our modern missions came into operation, would not even have sufficed to count the numbers of Pagans and Mahommedans who have existed since they commenced, had one been reckoned for every second of time by night and by day during the whole period. And with what has this enormous and ever shifting mass been assailed? With a mere handful of missionary labourers, scattered here and there through the vast tracts of superstition and idolatry. Mr. Malcom makes the following calculation. "The English Baptist Missionary Society was formed in 1792; the LonScotch Missionary Society in 1796; don Missionary Society in 1795; the the Church Missionary Society in 1800; the American Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions in 1810; the Baptist Board in 1814; the Episcopal and the Methodist Missionary Societies in 1820. "Of course, the first years in each of these societies produced very few missionaries. By a careful analysis of all the missionary statistics within reach, it appears that in 1810, the whole number of stations was twenty-nine; in 1820, fifty seven; and at the present time, about four hundred. If we allow two missionaries to a station, it gives us, in 1810, fifty-eight; in 1820, a hundred and fourteen; and at the present time eight hundred." These numberings should be larger; but take them at the utmost, what are a thousand ordained missionaries, and a few hundred Christian schoolmasters and native teachers, among hundreds of millions of Pagans? But this is not all. Missionaries do not go out to the heathen as a clergyman comes to an English parish. They are ignorant of the language, the opinions, and the habits of the people; and for several years their labours are but the first rude process of clearing one scarcely discerned nook of a mighty forest, and breaking up and fencing in one little spot of ground for a future vineyard. They are foreigners speaking a strange tongue, and unable for the most part to preach to the people with the forcible speech of a native. They have to master the language, and often to prepare elementary books in it. They have been called to translate the Scriptures into rude dialects, which have no terms for the expression of any but the most grovelling ideas; and for the use of a people who have not the preliminary knowledge to understand at once the most simple European statement upon any matter of science, literature, or theology. The lamented missionary above-mentioned, Mr. Williams, describes some of the South Sea Islands dialects as less defective than might have been expected; but in all, the translator of the Bible was obliged to invent new words, and often even for objects which to us are of the most familiar occurrence. A horse would be horeti, but as this would lose all identity with the language from which it was borrowed, hipo was substituted from the Greek ; and a lamb was called arenio; and bread areto. Mr. Williams shewed his good sense in transfusing baptize into all the dialects; though a little sect is wishing to deprive the catholic church of Christ of one of the few words in which happily it still enjoys a universal language. Mr. Malcom sets forth the preliminary difficulty of missions in regard to the languages of the heathen as follows: "For terms which are of primary importance in religious discourse, words must often be used which are either unmeaning, or foreign to the purpose, or inaccurate. It is not easy to exhibit this difficulty in its true magnitude to such as have not mixed with heathen. A few examples may, however, make the argument intelligible. Words equivalent to God, Lord, &c., must, in various languages, be those which the heathen apply to their idols; for there are no others. In Tamul, the word pavum (sin) signifies only exposure to evil,' or simply evil,' whether natural or moral, and may be applied to a beast as well as a man. The word padesuttam (holiness) means clear ness.' Regeneration is understood by a Hindu or Boodhist to mean another 6 birth in this world, or transmigration.' The purposes of God they understand to be fate.' The word used in Bengalee for holy (d'harma) sometimes means 'merit' acquired by acts of religious worship, and sometimes that which is agreeable to rule or custom.' When the compound word Holy Ghost is translated, it becomes Spirit of rule,' or some phrase not more intelligible. In the Episcopal Liturgy in Bengalee, it is rendered Spirit of existence' (sadatme); and Mr. Yates, in his new version of the Scriptures, uses the word pabitru, 'clean.' This last, while it avoids the hazard of conveying a wrong idea, and seems to be the best rendering, is yet evidently imperfect. In Siamese, the word most used for sin (tōt) means either guilt,' or the 'punishment of guilt,' or simply exposure to punishment.' The best word the missionaries can get for holy, is boresut, purified,' when people are spoken of; and saksit, or Spirit having power because of sanctity,' when the Holy Ghost is meant. There is no Siamese word equivalent to repent; and a phrase is used signifying to establish the mind anew,' or 'make new resolves.' In Burman, there is no term equivalent to our heaven, and a word meaning 'sky,' or more properly space,' is rendering of that term has to be skyused; nor any word for angel, and the messenger; nor any word for condemn, except the circumlocution decide according to demerit, or sin;' nor any word for conscience, thank, &c. &c. I might add scores of such cases, given me by missionaries. There is scarcely a theological term not subject to this difficulty." We might proceed from language to manners and habits. The missionaries do not think or feel like the natives even in matters not directly moral or theological; their life and customs are different; years elapse before they know how to argue with them; or to understand their mythology; they are despised and often persecuted strangers; the poorest man in some countries disdains to eat with them; in short there are barriers all but insuperable to mutual intercourse. And when the first difficulties are surmounted, what vice, what absurd prejudices, what national pride, and, not least, what dense darkness and gross ignorance, are to be encountered! India is not a barbarous land; it is at least semi-civilized; it is said that millions of the natives can read |