  BAPTIST MISSION. The Friends to this Mission are respectfully informed, that the following arrangements have been made for the Annual Meetings of the Society:— TUESDAY, JUNE 16. Morning, xi.—The Committee of the Society will assemble at the Mission House, Fen Court, when the company of all ministers of the Denomination, who may be in town, is requested. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 17. Morning, xi.—Sermon at the Poultry Chapel (Rev. J. Clayton's), by the Rev. Samuel Summers, of Bristol. Evening, vi.—Sermon at Surrey Chapel, Blackfriars Road, by the Rev. Benjamin Godwin, of Bradford, Yorkshire. THURSDAY, JUNE 18. Morning, ix.—Meeting for prayer, at Eagle Street Meeting House. Some Minister from the country is expected to deliver an Address. xi.—Annual Meeting of the Society, at Finsbury Chapel, T. F. Buxton, Esq., M.P., in the Chair. FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. COLOMBO. We have much pleasure in communicating the following intelligence from this important station. The baptism of twenty-four native converts in less than a year, and the formation of another church composed of those who were lately heathens, are circumstances of great interest, and must be very encouraging to our worthy brother, who has been labouring so diligently among them. In the commencement of the year, things wore a distressing appearance, and we went forward with our work under many discouragements. But in the progress of the year I do not know of any part of the time since I have been here, in which a greater degree of the Divine blessing appears to have rested on my labours, as far as the native population is concerned. Twenty-three Singalese, and one Tamil man, after subjecting them to a considerable trial, and private as well as public instruction, have been baptized and added to the church, and they appear to continue to walk according to the vows they have made. Sixteen of these live contiguous to the village called Byamvillee, which I either supply myself or some of our friends, every Sabbath-day; so that we have now a little church in that village of twenty-eight members, to whom the word of God is regularly preached, and the ordinances of His house duly administered. By the aid, too, of some of the members of our Singalese church, we have been enabled, on a Sabbath-day, to carry on a village itinerancy to a greater extent than before. So that, in addition to the Singalese, Portuguese, and English services, which are conducted in our regular places of worship in the Grand Pass, Pettah, in the Fort, and Hanwella, we have seven places around Colombo, or in the environs of it, where there is Singalese preaching, either every Sabbath or every other Sabbath-day. These are independent of many places to which, on week days, we go to make known the name of the Saviour. In consequence of the recent removals of the 61st and 97th regiments from Colombo to other parts of the island, our English church has been almost entirely scattered; but a small number are now again collected, who have been regularly organized into a Christian society. Our schools, which at the commencement of the year were much diminished by the alarming prevalence of the small-pox, have again recovered to in general their former size; especially the female school in our own yard, conducted by my own family, which now numbers more than fifty scholars, who have made very rapid progress in reading and in needlework. I fear unless we can obtain further assistance in this school, it must for a time be renounced, as my eldest daughter appears, by a continued pain in her side, to labour under a liver complaint, which renders a relaxation of her labours indispensably necessary, even if a removal to a colder clime be not requisite to save her life. Our schools, with the exception of one, which, on account of local circumstances, has for a time been lately discontinued, are the same in number as at the conclusion of the last year—and the number of attendants nearly the same. The inhabitants of this part of the island have been much afflicted lately by a dreadful flood, which no one living ever recollects to have been equalled. It came on suddenly and unexpectedly, at mid-night, like the judgment day. By it multitudes were roused from their slumbers, and obliged to fly for their lives. Many were killed by it; the houses of others destroyed—and being near the approach of harvest, the injury done to the rice and other crops is incalculable. Many of our members have suffered severely from it, in the loss of their little property, in the destruction of their houses, and in the bodily privations they have endured. I went on Wednesday last to preach at a village where one of our members lives, and the account he gave me of the perilous condition in which he and his family were, was most heart-rending. The water rose as high as the shoulders of a tall man in his house. His dwelling was washed away. He and his son were obliged to ascend to the outside of the roof of a bungalow, where they remained two days without I have now my hands completely full in preparing an answer to a Catholic priest's reply to a tract I published on saint and image worship. I believe I mentioned the original tract, entitled, "St. Antonio," in my last, which has excited no small stir among the papists in this place. An abusive and crafty reply has been circulated by them, to which the Tract Society here has deemed a rejoinder requisite. As I was the person who began the assault, the burden of preparing it has fallen on me. The drift of the answer will be to disprove the authority of tradition—to destroy the claims of the Roman Catholic church—and show the vanity of the arguments by which they endeavour to support their soul-destroying idolatry. It will occupy, as far as I can judge, about 250 pages, and is now nearly ready for press. Indeed the first sheet is gone to it; but as the Wesleyan press works very slowly, and they have two or three other works in hand, it may be some time before it makes its appearance. O that it may be the means of leading some of the multitudes of the deluded people by whom we are surrounded, to consult the Bible for themselves! SEEBPORE. We are thankful to report that our friends Mr. and Mrs. Penney, and their companions, arrived in safety at Calcutta, about the end of September. Two months afterwards, as our readers will perceive by the following letter, Mr. and Mrs. George Pearce rejoined their missionary associates, with health mercifully recruited by their voyage. By the good providence of God my dear partner and I arrived once more in Calcutta, in safety, about the end of November last, after a speedy and pleasant passage to the shores of India, of three months and twenty days. The voyage proved very beneficial to the health of us both, but particularly so to Mrs. Pearce, who landed here much stronger than she was when she left Bristol. We had the happiness of finding all our immediate associates well; and that Mr. Penney, with his companions (with the exception of Mrs. Anderson, of whose lamented decease you have long ere this been apprised), had arrived in safety. I mentioned in my letter to you from Madeira, that the Captain of the St. George had requested me to conduct divine service on the Lord's-day. This I continued to do till the close of the voyage, and I had the happiness to witness the regular attendance of most of the passengers, as well as the ship's company. We have to speak in the best terms of the treatment we received from the Captain and officers of the ship, and also from the passengers. I should have written to you before this, but I was anxious to inform you at the same time of the station we are to occupy in future. That point is now settled, and Seebpore, the place I mentioned to the Committee when in England, is to be the place of my future labours. Here I have already obtained a house, situated on the bank of the river, about a mile and a half below brother Thomas's, at Howrah, and am now residing in it. The spot will prove, I hope, a very eligible one for native work, as we are in the midst of a very dense and respectable Hindoo population, with ready access to numerous villages a few miles in the interior. With the exception of one or two schools for teaching Bengalee, under the patronage of the Bishop's College, there is nothing being done here, for the instruction of the heathen in the knowledge of Christ; and I believe of late years, nothing has been done. As far as I know of Calcutta and its suburbs, there is no spot that I am aware of, that needs missionary efforts more than Seebpore, and none more eligible. May the blessing of God attend the efforts now about to be made for their spiritual benefit! Under date of the 9th of December, Mr. Anderson remarks:— Since I have no interesting intelligence to communicate respecting my own labours in this country, perhaps I may be privileged to speak of the good that has apparently resulted from the labour of others. And here I would refer to the native church, over which W. H. Pearce presides as the pastor; it is impossible to contemplate but with feelings of interest and gratitude, upwards of sixty of your fellow-creatures, who were once in the darkness of heathenism, now uniting in rendering worship to the true God. There is an appearance too in many of them, that would indicate that they live very near to God—that they are none other than the meek and penitent followers of the Lamb. I would not forget to mention the schools at Chitpore, under the care and superintendence of my esteemed friend the Rev. J. Ellis; they speak highly of the diligence and devotedness of the labours both of himself and of his dear partner in life. Having been requested to examine them in history, geography, and the Scriptures, I complied, and the result was most satisfactory, and beyond all expectation. I would that I could say any thing to stir up the minds of the friends at home on behalf of these valuable institutions. In addition to the five youths, who have publicly professed their faith in Christ by baptism, and who afford unequivocal proof of a change of heart, there are two others, who will speedily follow their example. We bless God for these fruits, which we hope are but the earnest of a future glorious harvest. DIGAH. We learn, by a letter from Mr. Lawrence, dated the 22nd of November, that he was about to remove from this station to Allahabad. At that large and populous city, which, it is expected, will be the seat of the new presidency, he will be joined by Mr. Anderson, and both will labour in conjunction for the benefit of the native population of Allahabad and its neighbourhood. The reasons for taking this step have been explained at length to the Committee, who concur in the arrangement, and trust it will promote, in an increased degree, the great object in view. JAMAICA. The tenor of recent letters from this island is, on the whole, highly satisfactory. Our brethren on the north side are actively engaged in rebuilding their chapels. Mr. Knibb writes from Falmouth, under date of the 20th of February:— My church is, I hope, in a prosperous state; most of the backsliders have returned with weeping and supplication, while the inquirers are pressing forward to the kingdom of God. Since my return rather more than 200 have been baptized; their experiences have delighted me; I do believe that the Lord has been with them of a truth: full 1000 are now waiting for examination. I shall proceed slowly and prayerfully with them, and I hope shall receive assistance from above. Most of those who have been baptized were praying for five years, during which time, their conduct, as far as we are able to discover, has been consistent. My plan is On February the 14th, the corner-stone of the new chapel was laid, and a glorious day it was. Being Saturday, the country friends could be with us, and they came from various distances of ten to fifteen and twenty miles round. About half-past three the service commenced. We had erected half our useful tent, and had provided a temporary platform under it. Brother Hutchins commenced by giving out the 102nd Psalm: Let Zion and her sons rejoice, Behold the promised hour; Her God hath heard her mourning voice, And comes t' exalt his power. Brother Burchell read several short and very appropriate portions of the word of God, and engaged in prayer. Brother Tinson gave a short address; when he and brother Dendy, with myself, proceeded to lay the stone, which had previously been prepared, and a cavity made, in which was placed a bottle containing a short account of the formation and the history of the church and the laying of the stone, with the coins of his present Majesty in it. After reading aloud the inscription, I placed the medal struck in commemoration of the abolition of Slavery, presented to me on the 7th of August at the City of London Tavern. When this part of the ceremony was completed, which excited intense interest, brother Dendy gave a most appropriate address for about fifteen minutes, and we sang, Now let the slumbering church awake, And shine in bright array; Thy chains, O captive daughter, break, And cast thy bonds away. The collection was then made, which amounted, with the one on Lord's day for the same object, to £104. 10s., of our money. I then addressed the multitude assembled, urged upon those who were emancipated an attention to their duties, and having, as I thought, a fit opportunity, as two or three magistrates were present, assured them that I was still the foe of slavery, and the friend of the oppressed; and that, while they acted right, I would defend them, let the consequences to myself be what they might. Another hymn being sung, brother Dexter concluded in prayer. Though nearly 3000 persons were crowded together, the utmost order prevailed, while to me it was truly a happy day. On the Sabbath-morning (the fifth anniversary of my recognition as their pastor), the ordinance of baptism was administered to seventy-two persons. The place selected was the sea, at the point of a beautiful cove; full 2500 persons were assembled, no unseemly noise was made, or gazing curiosity manifested. We commenced by singing and prayer. Brother Burchell administered the ordinance; it was one of the most solemn seasons I ever had the pleasure to witness. On returning home numerous were the greetings we received from our happy friends; the narrow road was lined for nearly half a mile with them—truly it was a scene I longed that you should behold. Brother Burchell preached in the morning; I received the new members by the right hand of fellowship in the afternoon, and administered the ordinance of the Lord's Supper, which was a solemn season, and rendered additionally so by its being the anniversary of my pastorate among them; which brought to their and to our minds our dear departed brother Mann. At the conclusion I tried to sing the hymn we sung at his death, but they wept and sobbed aloud. Oh, they did love him, they still love him, and he was every way worthy of their love. Brother Tinson preached in the evening; and, rather fatigued in but not of the exercises of the day, we closed our fifth anniversary. The first stroke of the foundation was struck on the 10th of February, the anniversary of dear Mann's death; it was not done by design, but was purely accidental. The corner-stone was laid on the anniversary of my release from prison, being three years from that period. HOME PROCEEDINGS. DEPARTURE OF MISSIONARIES. Mr. and Mrs. Quant embarked for Nassau, in the Little Catharine, Captain Kopp, on Monday, May 11th; and Mr. and Mrs. Shotton, for Jamaica, in the Witton Castle, April 28th.
Contributions received on account of the Baptist Missionary Society, from April 20, 1835, to May 20, 1835, not including individual subscriptions. Collected in Scotland by Messrs. Groser and Flood.
To the above list we subjoin the following note from Mr. Groser to the Editor: My dear Brother, When you publish the recent contributions from Scotland, I will thank you to acknowledge the kindness which Mr. Flood and myself experienced throughout our tour. At Edinburgh, at Glasgow, at Dunfermline, at Kirkaldy, at St. Andrews, at Dundee, at Perth, at Aberdeen, and at many other places; in short, every where that we went, we were received with the greatest cordiality. More pulpits were open to us than we had time or strength to occupy, and we were compelled to pass unvisited some towns and villages where we had reason to believe we should have found a hearty welcome. The thanks of the Committee are especially due to the ministers of the Seceding, Independent, and Relief denominations, for the readiness with which they admitted us to preach and collect in their congregations. Among those churches also which are known technically as Scotch Baptists, we found much to admire and esteem; and nothing but more frequent intercourse with each other appears necessary to create between us and many of their ministers, entire communion an fraternal confidence. I am yours truly,
DONATIONS.
Widow and Orphans' Fund.
TO CORRESPONDENTS. The thanks of the Committee are returned to Mr. B. L. Ward, for twenty-four of his pamphlets "On the Importance of Missionary Effort." To Mr. J. E. Mogridge, Birmingham, for a parcel of books and pamphlets. To Miss Dafforne, Camberwell, for magazines, and a parcel of small books and lesson boards. To Mrs. Risdon, and Friends, Pershore, for work bags, pincushions, needle-books, &c. To Mrs. Jacobs, of Wingham, for a similar parcel. To Friends, by Rev. J. Pilkington, for ditto. To a Young Friend, by Rev. J. M. Cramp, for pincushions, &c., prepared during long confinement in a sick chamber; and to Ladies belonging to the Baptist Chapel at Canterbury, for a box of useful and fancy articles for the schools in Jamaica. J. HADDON, PRINTER, CASTLE STREET, FINSBURY. |
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