General. relief of these voluntary exiles, and the Jutland will form the subject of serious quarrel is doubtful. The general feeling throughout this country is decidedly in favour of Denmark. A hearty round of cheers greeted the announcement in the House of Commons that the Danes had worsted the Austro-Prussian fleet in a Principalities is sitting at Constantinople, The last piece of and has decided upon the nomination of a severe engagement. news is, that England has agreed to the special commission to examine the titles settlement of the Schleswig-Holstein diffi- to property of the secularized institutions. culty by an appeal to the plebiscite, or The King of Dahomey, of infamous universal suffrage. France appears to be repute, has just been defeated, and 2,000 delighted with this concession to her of his warriors killed and wounded. We favourite mode of solving social and hope this may lead to the shortening of dynastic problems, and one or two French his murderous arm, and stop those wholepapers hint that some such means will be sale massacres which have so long horriadopted to end the Roman question.-The fied Europe.-Telegrams from India tell Japanese ambassadors are starring about us that the Persian Gulf telegraph has in France. Their travelling expenses for been completed. A larger breadth of land two months alone have cost the French is also said to be devoted to the cultivation £12,000. They have adopted the Euro- of cotton. Now that Surat can be worked pean costume, and are entering eagerly in the Lancashire mills, this news will be into all the gaieties of the French capital. most welcome.-The Ceylon pearl fishery -The Shakspeare tercentenary at Frank- is likely to be suspended for six years, fort ended in a political squabble. One owing, through various causes, to the speaker, Professor Mommsen, went off destruction of the pearl oyster.-From into the intricacies of the Schleswig-Hol- China we learn that Major Gordon has stein embroglio, and sneered at England. captured three of the rebel towns, and is The English minister retorted; then the on the road to Nankin. Another EnglishAmericans got offended; and presently man has been nearly assassinated at Nagaboth the English and the American guests saki, but under what circumstances the left in a huff. The Stratford Committee,, telegram does not state. -Passing over to now their pageant is ended, find them- the Spanish West Indies, the news is still selves minus some £2,000.-Garibaldi has gloomy. The insurrection in St. Domingo He declines is absorbing more Spanish troops. Another reached his island-home. General insurrection has broken out in the western portion of the island, that occupied by the Republic of Hayti, but has been suppressed by president Geffard.-The recent conflicts in Virginia have been more sanguinary than any during the whole war. Grant fought with the forces under General Lee for four successive days. From an intercepted letter of Lee it appears that most of the men on the Confederate side who fell were killed outright. It was a fearful hand-to-hand combat in a densely The Federals alone wooded district, and the losses on both The people sides are enormous. the testimonial which was started at crowded on board the miserable craft had 40,000 men put hors de combat. dreds died of want and disease. Marriages. March 25, at Fleet General Baptist Mr. Richard Butterfield Anderson, of WisChapel, Mr. R. Cragg, to Harriet Beecroft, bech, to Sarah Jane, daughter of Mr. Wm. both of Sutton St. James. Wherry, of Bourne. March 31, at Colwall Church, near Malvern, by the Rev. F. W. Custance, Mr. James Hewes, of Nottingham, to Sarah, eldest daughter of Mr. Edmund Fraser, of Birmingham. April 12, by license, at Counterslip chapel, Bristol, by the Rev. R. P. Macmaster, Isaac Hicks, Esq., to Mrs. Eleanor Weeks, both of Cheltenham. April 19, at the Baptist chapel, Yeovil, by the father of the bride, Mr. John Wiltshire, to Sophia, eldest daughter of the Rev. R. James, minister of the above place of worship. April 21, at Brown street chapel, by the Rev. P. Bailhache, Mr. John Waters, to Miss Elizabeth Percy, both of Salisbury. April 20, at the Baptist chapel, Caerwent, the Rev. W. C. Taylor, of Uley, to Phebe Hill, only daughter of the late Mr. Richard Jones, of Caerwent. April 26, at West End Chapel, Hammersmith, by the father of bride, assisted by the Rev. I. M. Soule, of Battersea, the Rev. George Henry Trapp, of Mundesley, Norfolk, to Jane, second daughter of the Rev. J. E. Richards, of Albion Road Chapel, Hammersmith. April, 26, at Hampstead, by the Rev. W. Brock, James Whittingstall Bean, Esq., second son of William Bean, Esq., The Mount, Hampstead, to Mary Jane, only daughter of the late Richard Mallard, Esq. April 27, at West Street Chapel, Bourne, by the Rev. J. C. Pike, uncle of the bride, assisted by the Rev. T. Watts, of Wisbech, April 28, at the Baptist chapel, Ross, by the Rev. John Hall, William Pritchard, son of W. Pritchard, Esq., Compton, Plymouth, to Sarah Emily, youngest daughter of the late Mr. William Burrows, Holland House, Ross, Herefordshire. April 30, at Bloomsbury chapel, London, by the Rev. W. Brock, Charles Pratt, Esq., of Clarance Parade, Southsea, to Amy Jessy, eldest daughter of Dr. George N. Epps, of 20, Devonshire Street, Portland Place, W. May 3, by license, at the Baptist chapel, Blaby, by the Rev. J. Barnett, assisted by the Rev. J. P. Barnett, of Birmingham, brother-in-law of the bride, Mr. Thomas Glover, Blaby, to Mary, daughter of the late Mr. Benjamin Law, of the above place. May 4, at South Parade Chapel, Leeds, by the Rev. W. Best, B.A., Mr. Edwin Fearnside, of that town, to Ann, eldest daughter of the late Mr. George Flint, of Market Weighton. May 14, at Osmaston Road Chapel, Derby, by the Rev. W. R. Stevenson, M.A., brother of the bride, assisted by the Rev. W. Jones, minister of the place, Mr. T. H. Harrison, to Louisa, youngest daughter of Wm. Stevenson, Esq., of Green Hill House, Derby. May 18, at Craven Hill Congregational Chapel, by the Rev. T. Goadby, B.A., Mr. H. W. Harrison, Union Terrace, Camden Road Villas, to Emma, third daughter of Mr. A. Klosz, Cambridge Street, Hyde Park, London. Deaths. April 13, at his residence, Mile End, Mr. Benjamin Finch, (father of the Rev. Robert Finch), peacefully fell asleep in Jesus, aged 70 years. April 15, at his residence, Colchester, in his 60th year, the Rev. Samuel Brocklehurst, for thirty years pastor of the Baptist church in that town, deeply regretted by a large circle of friends. April 27, Mr. A. Flavell, Market Harborough, aged 42. May 5, in the 70th year of his age, Joseph Cripps, Esq., J.P., De Montfort Square, Leicester. May 8, at Vandoeuvres, near Geneva, the Rev. Cæsar Malan, D.D., aged 77. May 11, at Peterborough, Mr. John Stevenson, late of Burton Wolds, Leicestershire. His end was peace. May 12, after a short illness, aged 68, Sarah, the beloved wife of Mr. William Crofts, Wolvey, Warwickshire. May 16, at Norwich, aged 26, Sarah, the beloved wife of Mr. James Orissa Peggs, and daughter of the Rev. Thomas Scott, of that city. She bore a long affliction with Christian patience and resignation. May 20, at Broughton Sulney, Mr. W. Newbold, aged 37. Missionary Observer. THE ANNUAL COMMITTEE MEETING of the Foreign Mission will be held at Boston, on Tuesday evening, June 21, at half-past Five o'clock. The PUBLIC MISSIONARY MEETING will be held on Wednesday evening, June 22; to commence at half-past Six o'clock. SPECIAL NOTICE AS TO FUNDS.-The Treasurers and Secretaries of Auxiliaries are respectfully informed that all Contributions which are to appear in the Report must be forwarded to Robert Pegg, Esq., Derby, or to the Rev. J. C. Pike, Leicester, not later than Tuesday, June 7, after which date the books will be closed for the Audit of the Society's accounts. MISSIONARY WORK IN INDIA. | sionary course was to me, of all others, the Nor is it by any means an easy task fully and freely to converse, to preach, 1 regarded as so many bribes to secure their favour. In the same light they regard every favour conferred on themselves, even by their own relatives and friends. If they do not see the motive, they feel sure that there is one: and of anything beyond a selfish motive they seem unable to form a conception. Hence the great difficulty of touching the heart of a people, and gaining their affection, who are so entirely engrossed by selfishness. languages, and feel as much at home in agent who makes a trade of preaching, addressing an assembly of Hindoos or and who makes men converts to ChrisMahomedans as he would in preaching tianity as a mere matter of pounds, to Christian people in his native tongue. shillings, and pence. Often have I been FIGURATIVE STYLE OF SPEECH.-And asked by congregations in the bazaar, this is not all. He has to learn not only" Sir, how much do you get for every how to speak to the people; but how to Christian you make ?" The people's think as the people think. He thus is idea is that the missionary is a good sernow addressing a people who have a vant; and that in addition to his regular peculiar manner of expressing them- salary, he receives a handsome bonus for selves, quite foreign to Europeans, and every convert that he makes. That his the missionary must lay hold of the na-efforts are prompted by love, and that tive mind as well as the native tongue, he is labouring for others' good and not and cast all his thoughts in an Eastern for his own profit, are thoughts too holy mould if he would have them suit the and pure to find admission into minds figurative and fanciful minds of hea- closed to a single act of pure love or then people. Their books are filled disinterested charity. Even the gods of with figures, and even their common the Hindoos are supposed to be actuated conversation abounds with metaphors. by selfish motives; and the gifts and Nothing pleases them so much as apt offerings presented at their shrines are illustrations, and no manner of preaching will interest them like the pictorial and parabolic. They call the ignorant man blind, and the learned man they say has a hundred eyes. If they wish to describe a man of good outward appearance with a bad heart they will say that is a golden cup full of poison, whilst the man with a poor outward appearance and good heart they will say is an earthen pitcher full of nectar. The liberal man is a well within reach of every thirsty traveller. The truly benevolent man is a tree which drops its fruit even to those who cast stones at it. The wicked man is a serpent that will bite even those who feed it and fatten it. The indolent man is a pair of bellows that breathes without life. Sin is a sea into which the wicked sink, and religion is a boat to ferry the good across. And thus they paint and picture almost every object and event they speak of. The missionary also must acquire this parabolic mode of speaking if he would have his preaching understood and appreciated by the people. SUSPICIONS OF SELFISHNESS. And when by dint of patience and perseverance he has partly conquered these preliminary difficulties, and is about to enter heartily on his great work of preaching the Gospel to the heathen, what does he find? Does he find the people ready to listen to his message, and anxious to receive his instructions? No, alas! but quite the contrary. Those to whom he preaches are generally prejudiced against his motives and his message too, and thus he finds his way hemmed upon all sides. He is regarded as a mere mercenary PREJUDICES AGAINST THE GOSPEL.Moreover, they are prejudiced not only against the missionary, but also against the Gospel. By the learned Brahmins and Buddhists who have an interest in upholding idolatry, the Gospel is regarded with that hatred which is known only to those who feel that their trade is in danger. To the common people Christianity is misrepresented by the religious teachers. The levelling of castes in eating and drinking is represented as a monstrous system of libertinism and sensual indulgence; and the adoption of Christianity involves the loss of all that the Hindoo holds sacred and valuable, and subjects him to the deadly hatred of his friends, to the curse of the holy Brahmins, to the wrath of the mighty gods. Moreover, the doctrines which the missionary has to preach to the heathen, are such as to arouse the enmity of the benighted heart of the heathen. The Gospel aims a deadly blow at all his long-cherished hopes. It robs him at once and for ever of the right which he has been thinking he possesses from his deeds of self-denial. A man Missionary Work in India. 235 does not like this. He likes a religion by education become a man of letters which is suitable to his own desires and and attain to a high position in life, is inclinations. The Gospel reflects on his simply to tell him that his son may becharacter a light in which he never saw come what his caste will not allow him Each caste cannot breach on the himself before, and because in this light to be. he can only see himself disgraced and privilege of the Brahmin, who alone is depraved, he loves that darkness which regarded as the owner of all knowledge, flatters him as a paragon of virtue and and who regards his knowledge as secret power to be used for his own profit and holiness. EXTREME IGNORANCE of the PEOPLE. not for others' good. It is to him the -Another difficulty which the missionary magic wand with which now and then in India has to contend with is the ex- to startle and astonish the public, only treme ignorance and mental torpor of in order to inspire them with reverence the natives. Education is restricted to and awe for the mighty Brahmin. Oftenone class of the people, that is, to the times have I said to their holy and learned Brahmins, who alone, according to the men, "If the Vedas and Shastres conrights of caste, are privileged with the tain the Word of God as you say they dignity of teachers on any and every do, why not translate them into the subject. Therefore, education, as such, common dialect of the people, and give is of no practical value to the other them a wide circulation amongst those classes, and even in the case of the who so much need Divine direction And the reply Brahmin, his mind has been more dis- and heavenly light ?" torted than cultivated by the study of has frequently been, "Ab, sir, that is theories and systems that have arisen bad philosophy; while the sick man is from evil imaginations and blind fancies. ignorant of the remedy which cures him Setting aside the theology of the Vedas he will consult the doctor and pay him; and Shastres with which the Hindoo but once let him know the remedy himmind is filled, and turning our attention self, and good bye to the doctor's fee." to some of their historical, philosophical, On this principle, my lord, the Brahmins and scientific works, we find nothing but watch and labour to keep the people in endless fancies and most extravagant ignorance, and every inlet to light and fables. So that even those minds which knowledge is guarded as carefully as the have undergone a degree of mental train- caverns of the dead. The consequence ing, have been rendered more difficult is that the great mass of the people are for the reception of the truth. And with dupes to priestcraft and the easy victims regard to the great masses of the people, of oppression to all those who pretend to the cultivation of the mind is a thing of knowledge in any branch of education. which they have no conception. It is As an illustration of this, I might mentrue that some of the castes do attend to tion a fact of frequent occurrence. The the simple elements of education and Brahmins, who study astronomy, being acquire sufficient knowledge of reading able to specify the time when an eclipse and writing to carry on their trades; but of the sun or moon will occur, use this. anything beyond this, generally, they do knowledge to serve a double purpose. not attempt, as they can see no good in In the first place, they tell the ignorant any further progress in education to masses that nothing but direct commuthem. The cultivation of the mind is a nication with the gods can enable them work to which no man will apply him- to acquire this knowledge of the heavenly self with vigour except under the force objects; and, therefore, the great power of some powerful inducement, and to the that the Brahmin must have with the majority of Hindoos there is no induce- gods. But, pot satisfied with this, and ment whatever to undertake this mental wishing to turn this knowledge to some labour. Hence the difficulties that the more practical account, the Brahmin missionaries meet with in getting together goes on to say, "Did I not tell you this the children of India for education. The would occur? Did I not tell you when low-caste in India will generally scout it would take place? And now I must I must tell you why it the idea of allowing his child to spend tell you more. his hours in a school, while out of it, he has taken place. There is in the sky a might be earning a halfpenny or a penny huge dragon, that has power to hurt and For the destroy the planets-that dragon has a-day towards his support. missionary to tell him that his son may now a portion of the sun in his mouth |