suspension of hostilities, which would be resumed whenever opportunity offered. Nor can there be any safe compromise of this important question, as we regret to find that some of our cotemporaries suggest, and as is said to be in the contemplation of the diplomatists at Vienna. It is proposed that Sebastopol should become a commercial port, and that, as a compensation, Britain and France should have naval stations at Sinope and some other place, and that the number of the ships of war of Russia should be limited. This plan may appear very conciliatory in theory; but the practical result would be that the two Western Powers would have incurred a large expense without accomplishing their object. This implies still the maintenance of a large naval force. If the Governments of Britain and France consent to this, it will have been accomplished by the mediating influence of Austria; but it will be astonishing if Russia agree to this. We are just as likely to attain the whole measure as this absurd half mode of arrangement; and if so, how humiliating to us! On this point hangs the decision of war or peace. Unless our negotiators be cajoled by the superior diplomatic talent of Austria and Russia,-and that there is some understanding between them we doubt not, there seems little chance that the issue of the Congress will be peace. If, however, peace should be the result, it may safely be affirmed that it will be a hollow truce which will not give satisfaction to the people of France and Britain, and will keep us in constant expectation of a renewal of hostilities; but above all, when war breaks out, we shall not be in so favorable circumstances as we are at present. Russia will never lose sight of the darling desire of her heart, handed down for several generations, and will use the interval in creating dissension among the several States, and will take care to make a better start than she did this time. The late Czar Nicholas was not altogether prepared for this war, but her sovereign will now provide against the occurrence of any surprise in the future. The advantages now presented of crippling the power of Russia and arresting her aggression may never again return. In the incertitude which hangs over the question of peace or war, it would be premature to hazard any further conjectures as to our future policy in the event of the failure of the present attempt at peace. This, however, seems plain, that, if peace is not now concluded, the war will be much more vigorously prosecuted, and may be lasting and more extended in its operations. Again, should peace come now, Britain may retire from the field; but there seems looming in the future another contest, in which France may have something to settle with Prussia. Poland's opportunity may then arrive, as France will likely prove her friend. ECCLESIASTICAL INTELLIGENCE. Presentation.-The Queen has been pleased to present the Rev. William Montgomery Walker to the church and parish of Dailly, in the Presbytery and County of Ayr, vacant by the death of the Rev. David Strong. Presentation.-The Queen has presented the Rev. Neil M'Intyre to the parish of Rothiemurchus, in the Presbytery of Abernethy. Presentation.-The Queen has presented the Rev. George Stewart Burns to the parish of Urr, in the Presbytery of Dumfries. Presentation. -The Duke of Buccleuch has presented the Rev. Alexander Young, B.A., Assistant to the Rev. R. H. Stevenson, of St George's Church, Edinburgh, to the church and parish of Westerkirk, in the Presbytery of Langholm, vacant by the translation of the Rev. W. B. Dunbar to the parish of Glencairn. Presentation. - The Duke of Buccleuch and Queensberry has presented the Rev. Henry Wallis Smith to the parish of Durrisdeer, in the Presbytery of Penpont and County of Dumfries. Presentations.-The Right Hon. the Earl of Seafield has issued a presentation in favour of the Rev. John Clarke, of Grantown, to the church and parish of Knockando, vacant by the death of the Rev. F. W. Grant. The noble Earl has at the same time intimated his intention of appointing the Rev. Alex. Milne, Drainie, to the church of Grantown. Presentation.-The Earl of Selkirk, through his Commissioner Mr D. Welsh, of Collin, has presented the Rev. John Milligan, A.M., Missionary at Corsock, to the church and parish of Twynholm, in the Presbytery of Kirkcudbright, vacant by the death of the Rev. John Gordon. Presentation.-The Town-Council of Stirling have presented the Rev. William Findlay, Minister of the third charge of that town, to be Minister of the West Church there, vacant by the death of the Rev. Robert Watson. Ordination.-The Presbytery of Lochmaben met, according to appointment, at Johnstone, on Tuesday last, for the ordination of the Rev. William Williamson, presentee to that church and parish. The services of the day were ably conducted by the Rev. George Wright, minister of Wamphray; and Mr Williamson received a cordial welcome from the parishioners, in retiring from the church. Thereafter the Presbytery were kindly entertained at Raehills by Mr Hope Johnstone, the patron of the parish. This settlement is, in all respects, a very harmonious and happy one. Mr Williamson was introduced to his charge on Sabbath by the Rev. Mr Watson, minister of Leuchars, under whom he has officiated for some time with great acceptance. Call.-An ordinary meeting of the Presbytery of Penpont, was held at Durrisdeer, on the 16th instant, for the purpose, inter alia, of moderating in a call in favour of the Rev. James Boe, minister of the church and parish of Dunblane, and presented to the church and parish of Durrisdeer. The Rev. James Graham of Penpont, by a former appointment, conducted with his usual ability the religious services of the day; and at the close, the call to Mr Boe was produced by the Clerk and read, and subscribed by and for heritors, elders, and members of the congregation of Durrisdeer having a right to do so. The call was ordered to lie in the hands of Mr Davidson, Session-Clerk, for additional signatures, and to be returned to the Moderator with as little delay as possible. The Presbytery then appointed Messrs Murray, Wilson, and Dr Bennet, their commissioners for prosecuting Mr Boe's translation before the Presbytery of Dunblane or any other competent judicatories of the Church. Induction. The Presbytery of Inverness met at Kiltarlity Church on 22d ult., for the purpose of inducting the Rev. David Ross of Tobermory to the pastoral charge of the parish of Kiltarlity-the Rev. Alexander Macgregor, of the West Church of Inverness, moderator. The service in Gaelic was conducted by the moderator; and in English by the Rev. Hugh Mackenzie of Inverness. After which, the Rev. Dr Macdonald of Inverness put the usual questions to Mr Ross, and having received satisfactory replies, Mr Ross was appointed minister of that parish by receiving the right hand of fellowship from all the brethren present. Very eloquent adresses were then delivered by Dr Macdonald to both minister and people, after which, and at the conclusion of the services, Mr Ross was cordially welcomed at the church door by the members of his new flock then present. After a protracted vacancy, Mr Ross was made choice of by the people, and presented jure devoluto by the Presbytery, so that his settlement promises to be one of much usefulness. Died, at Edinburgh, in the 71st year of his age, the Rev. Thomas Wright, late of Borthwick. Died, at Meigle, on the 5th ult., the Rev. James Mitchell, D.D., minister of the parish of Meigle, in his 87th year. Died, at Livingston, the Rev. James Maitland Robertson, minister of the parish. Died, at the Manse of Urr, on the 29th of January, the Rev. George M. Burnside, minister of that parish. ONE of the most striking evidences of the fruit of Missions in India, presented to me in Calcutta, was in the person of a young Hindoo gentleman, who had recently professed Christianity. It was on a Sabbath evening, in Mr B.'s verandah, that I was first introduced to him. I had been preaching the same day in Union Chapel, without knowing that this youth and some other Hindoo friends and acquaintances of his were present. The aspect of this gracious young gentleman drew my heart towards him. A certain air of nobleness contended for the mastery over an evident modesty of demeanour. Imagining that he could not speak to me in my own language, I addressed to him at first a few broken words in English. But what was my surprise when I found he could speak English well and fluently. When I saw him afterwards in his study at Bhowanipore Institution, he was reading the Greek New Testament. Better than all this, however, I found that he could speak the language of Canaan. I was charmed to hear him respond to me, as he did most feelingly, on the great love and mercy of our God and Saviour, and on the power of the Gospel in constraining all that loved the Lord Jesus to make sacrifices in his service, and to spread abroad his name on earth. Altogether, it was one of the most delightful evenings that I spent in Calcutta. No wonder than Kali Prosunno Mookerjee-for that is his namespoke feelingly and from the heart on such a topic. I afterwards learned that he had made very great sacrifices in becoming a Christian, probably as great as have been made by any convert in any age of the Church. VOL XIX. N He was by birth a Kulein Brahmin, of the very highest caste, by his mother's side a Holdar Brahmin, and an hereditary priest and part proprietor of one of the richest temples in Calcutta. He was not only heir to all his mother's property as her only son, but also heir to an uncle who was a Zemindar and proprietor of the temple of Kalee. Besides all this, he was sole heir also to his father-in-law's property. He was thus the only male representative of three respectable families. His fortune consisted of two lacs of Rupees, or £20,000. He knew that if he became a Christian, he should, as the law of the country then stood, lose all this splendid property to which he was by inheritance entitled, and should, moreover, become an outcast. Long did he contend with his convictions. And yet it was none of these things that moved him, or caused him to stagger in his resolution. The severest trial that awaited him was the anguish and distress which his decision, he knew, would cause to his mother, by whom he was tenderly beloved. He long thought of waiting till after her death. At last, after having been inveigled by his friends into the commission of an overt act of idolatry, which caused him great compunction, he resolved by one act to break off every idolatrous connexion, and to leave all for Christ's sake and the Gospel. At his baptism in 1844, his mother and aunt, who were present, wept, tore their hair, and beat their breasts. They saw him pluck off the sacred thread from his bosom, and then they resigned themselves to their fate, and mourned for him as for one dead. He has since endured persecution and many trials, but has remained firm. On parting from him, to proceed on my way to China, we bade each other the tenderest adieus, commending each other to God in prayer. He assured me that there were now very many individuals of the order of Brahmins, who were equally convinced with himself, that the Christian religion was the only true religion, but that "although their heads were convinced, their hearts were not persuaded." The decision which this young man made, deeply affected the other youths in the London Society's Seminary, in Calcutta. They met for serious inquiry and prayer on the subject, and considered what they ought to do. These conferences issued in the conversion and baptism of several other young Brahmins of very high caste, with whom also I had the pleasure of becoming acquainted. It was a great treat to me to visit one day the Free Church School in this city. It is an immense building, more like a College than an ordinary seminary. The building was formerly the palace of an Indian Begum. After entering the gates, you are ushered into a spacious quadrangle, round the four sides of which are the class-rooms. One thousand and fifty youths were here assembled before me. Here I saw all the missionaries of the Free Church diligently employed. The pupils were instructed not only through the medium of their own language, but also and chiefly in English. The services of a goodly number of native pundits were required in bringing forward the junior classes. Dr Duff kindly put the highest class through their exercises before me. It was a most pleasing sight to behold nearly a hundred Hindoo young men answering fluently, in English, questions on all sorts of subjects. The education communicated to them appeared to be of the most thorough and substantial kind. These lads seemed quite at home on the subject of the Evidences of Christianity, for example. They astonished me. by answering with ease and with success all the sophisms and objections of Hume, Gibbon, and other infidels. The passion for abstract speculation, which has already been noticed as a characteristic of the Hindoos, was remarkably brought out on this occasion in the intense eagerness, with which one, and another, and a third, rose in different parts of the class-room, each claiming to be heard, and in the subtlety and volubility with which they pursued the point to a successful conclusion, and a triumphant refutation. It may be doubted, however, whether it is wise, in the education of Hindoo youths, to encourage too much their predilection for metaphysical studies, seeing that they are already so passionately devoted to them, to the neglect of scientific pursuit, and useful practical knowledge. A visitor who was one day addressing a number of youths in a church missionary school, on a practical subject, was interrupted by the query: "What becomes of the soul between death and the resurrection ?" It has long been understood that the only successful way of enlightening the minds of the rising Hindoo youth in the principles of true knowledge, is to instruct them through the medium of the English language and literature. The experiment has been extensively tried, and is at the present moment succeeding marvellously. The avidity with which Hindoo young men pursue their studies in the schools and colleges of Calcutta, is really astonishing. It forms a very marked contrast to the indifference and even hatred with which the large Mohammedan part of the population regard the study of the English literature. The Mohammedans being the last conquerors of India before the British obtained the dominion, imposed their own language upon the Hindoos. Times are now, however, changed with them, but they refuse to change with the times. Besides having an overweening conceit for the learning contained in their own books, and a sovereign contempt for even the most magnificent discoveries of infidels, as they account us, the Mussulmans in India cannot but regard the study of the language of that dynasty which has displaced themselves as carrying with it the appearance of degradation. With the Hindoos, however, it is altogether different. They have been for ages accustomed to be conquered. They have therefore no false pride to maintain. Under Mohammedan rule they applied themselves to the study of Persian, as the road to wealth and distinction. So now, under British rule, they have transferred their ardour to the study of English, as the passport to office and promotion. At the present hour it is not ardour simply, but literally devotion, that characterizes the Hindoos in the acquisition of European knowledge. The truth of this may be perceived at a glance, by simply looking at the numbers who crowd in their attendance at the English seminaries. Within four days of the opening of the Hooghly College at Chinsurah, fifteen hundred students were enrolled. The Free Church Institution has upwards of a thousand pupils. The London Missionary Society's Institution has nearly a thousand. Then there is the General Assembly's Institution, largely attended. At the Hindoo |