chapel, (Independent) kindly lent for the purpose. On the morning of the 24th, the Rev. Dr. Steadman, of Bradford, preached; and in the evening, the Public Meeting was held. Owing to the lateness of the season, and the unusual humidity of the atmosphere, the previous services were but thinly attended. The last, how. ever, was numerously frequented, and from the lateness to which it was protracted, without any appearance of impatience, weariness, or inattention, in the auditory, was confessedly interesting. The different resolutions were moved and seconded by the Rev. B. Godwin, of Bradford, and B. Goodman, Esq. of Leeds; Rev. Dr. Steadman, of Bradford, and Rev. J. Foster, of Farsley; Rev. R. W. Hamilton, (Independent) of Leeds, and Rev. W. Scarlett, of Gildersome; Rev. T. Scales (Independent), of Leeds, and Rev. W. Bottomley, of Bingley; Rev. S. Sutton, and Rev. M. Saunders, of Haworth; Rev. W. Trickett, of Bramley, Mr. G. Wilson, of Leeds, and Rev. James Acworth, M. A. Ditto. As it is intended to hold the next Anniversary earlier than this, which a variety of circumstances, particularly the decease of the Rev. Tho mas Langdon, late co-pastor of the Baptist Church, Leeds, unavoidably postponed beyond the regular period, it is expected that the attendance will be 'much better. Income of the Society, during the past year, including a legacy by Mr. D. Sutcliff, late of Hebden Bridge, £790 11's. 8d. J. A. DEATH OF MR. GODDEN. MR. Godden, who returned from his station at Spanish Town, in Jamaica, on account of ill health, about a twelvemonth ago, and who has been gradually declining ever since, expired at Lawrence Hill, near Bristol, on Tuesday, November 23. We have received no particulars as to his last hours, but understand that throughout his affliction, his mind appears to have been calm and happy, neither expecting life, nor dreading death. Mrs. Godden, it will be recollected, died in Jamaica; one orphan is left behind, a little boy about five years of age. Departure of Mr. Wm. Knibb. EARLY in November, sailed, by the Ocean, Captain Whittle, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Knibb, for Kingston, in Jamaica. Mr. K. is gone to occupy the post in the free-school belonging to Mr. Coultart's congregation, which had become vacant by the lamented decease of his brother, Mr. Thomas Knibb. They had not cleared the Channel, when the late destructive gales came on, and narrowly escaped going ashore on the rocks near Beachy Head; but when every effort to escape seemed unavailing, the wind suddenly veered round, and wafted them from the scene of danger. This seasonable deliverance seems to have made a suitable impression on their minds, and calls on the friends of the Society to offer thanksgivings to God on their behalf. The last time I wrote you, we were in Table Bay, in front of Cape Town, from which we sailed for Madras on the 16th of February, 1824, and arrived there on the 17th of April. We had often been informed, before we arrived at the Cape, that the sea off that place was the most stormy in the world, and so we found it. About a week after we set sail, the gales commenced, and we had two of three days and three nights' continuance each. Although all the horrors we endured on our first leaving England were renewed, yet 'being at open sea, we were not in so much danger; and, by the goodness of God, we were safely carried through. AtMadras we were received into the house of Mr. Crisp, a relative of your dear Mr. Crisp, and one of the London Missionaries, by whom, and his excellent wife, we were entertained with the greatest hospitality. We had now arrived in India, and to us it had a woful appearance. All that we had ever read of its degradation, fell far short of what we actually saw on our first landing. Tens of thousands of human beings, in every direction, almost naked,-idol temples on every hand,-and women in the most enslaved state. Much good, however, is doing at Madras, although it is far from being apparent, amidst the thousands that are there. At one of the stations of the Church Missionaries, there has been a great out-pouring of the Spirit, so that, even in one school, there are no less than twenty-three out of thirty youths, who give evidence of sincere conversion. We attended a monthly meeting of all the Missionaries in the place, and heard them give their several accounts of the state of religion at their various stations; and no meeting, to me, was ever more interesting. Eleven were present; three from the Church Missionary, two from the Society for promoting Christian Knowledge, two from the Wesleyan, two from the London Society, one from the American Board, and myself. All stated that idolatry is beginning to sit very loosely upon the people. Many of the converts have suffered great persecution for Christ's sake; and, in some places, even Christian villages exist. The people themselves are beginning to dispute with the Brahmins on the absurdities of Hindooism, and, on one occasion, a Brahmin was so confounded with some questions of the people concerning God, that he had to confess his ignorance; at which they, (in number about four or five hundred,) called to a Missionary, who was standing by, to come and teach them concerning the Deity. This we heard from the Missionary himself. From Madras we sailed on the 30th of April, and reached Calcutta on the 12th of May: thus completing a voyage of six months and thirteen days. Nothing occurred of any consequence during this part of our voyage; the winds were in general favourable, and the weather good. At Madras, we took on board with us Christian David, a native preacher, and who had been brought to the knowledge of the truth by the venerable Swartz. He is a most interesting man-full of piety and soul-about fifty-two years of agehas preached the gospel twenty-three and has been thirty-three years a Christian. It is delightful to hear him talk of Swartz. We e were prepared, before we reached Calcutta, (by a letter that met us at the mouth of the river, from Miss Pearce to Mrs. Leslie,) to be the witnesses of some heart-rending scenes among the Missionaries at that place. Eustace Carey, who had very lately been deprived of a son and daughter, exhibited to our eyes a spectacle of the most distressing nature; deprived of health himself, he appeared like a walking ghost-so ill that his medical attendant told him, that he must leave the country; which he intends doing by way of America, this month. Mr. Yates and Mr. Pearce, particularly the former, with constitutions much broken. Mr. Sutton, in ruined health, had gone from his station to England. Mr. Rowe, of Digah, had died; and what added to the gloominess of the scene, we had to be the witnesses, about a week after our arrival, of the interment of one of the sons of Mr. Yates. Dreary prospect! Truly we have come into the land of disease and death. The Chief Justice, Sir Christopher Puller, who arrived from England about three weeks before us, is since dead. And the lady of a Lieut. Elderton, who came out to Madras in the same ship with us, has also been carried to her long home. As it regards the state of the Mission in Calcutta, I feel incompetent to write. Things appear to go on steadily, though slowly. The heat at this time is so intense (for this is the hot season,) and the health of the Missionaries is so bad, that they can do little out of doors. The native preachers, however, are very laborious. I have been several times with them, and have perceived that they are heard with considerable attention. At Serampore, where we all were last week, much good appears to be done. Dr. Carey, who has been very ill, is quite recovered, and bids fair to live many years; -and as for Dr. Marshman, he has never known what ill health is, during the whole period of his residence in India. They are both active to a degree which you would think impossible in such a country. Dr. Carey is a very equable and cheerful old man, in countenance very like the engraving of him with his pundit, though not so robust as he appears to be there. Next to his translations, Botany is his grand study. He has collected every plant and tree in this garden, that will possibly grow in India,—and is so scientific withal, that he calls every thing by its classical name. If, therefore, I should at any time blunder out the word Geranium, he would say Pelargonium, and perhaps accuse me of ignorance, or blame me for vulgarity. We had the pleasure of hearing him preach from Rom. vii. 13, when he gave us an excellent sermon. In manner he is very animated, and in style very methodical. Indeed, he carries method into every thing he does; classification is his grand hobby, and wherever any thing can be classified, there you find Dr. Carey; not only does he classify and arrange the roots of plants and words; but visit his dwelling, and you find he has fitted up and classified shelves full of minerals, stones, shells, &c. and cages full of birds. He is of very easy access, and great familiarity. His attachments are strong, and extend not merely to persons, but places. About a year ago, so much of the house in which he had lived, ever since he had been at Serampore, fell down, that he had to leave it,-at which he wept bitterly. One morning, at breakfast, he was relating to us an anecdote of the generosity of the late excellent John Thornton, at the remembrance of whom the big tear filled his eye. Though it is an affecting sight to see the venerable man weep; yet it is a sight which greatly interests you, as there is a manliness in his tears-something far removed from the crying of a child. Serampore is a most beautiful place; built quite on the banks of a river, the air is pleasant and healthy, and the scene is enlivened by the plying up and down of numerous boats. Much harmony and 'Christian spirit prevails among the Mission family: and their kindness to all who visit them, is the most abundant. The breach made there by the death of Mr. Ward, is still most deeply felt, and is not likely to be filled up. Our good friend Mack is as good as ever, and is well and active. The schools at Serampore, (Miss Ward told me,) owe much of their prosperity to him. At present he is tenfold more of the Missionary, than the professor. Indeed, he attends very little at the College, but is chiefly employed in superintending the concerns of the Mis sion. when you taken from a letter from Mrs. Leslie to her parents. "WE have been at Serampore rather more than a week, and have received much kindness from every member of the Mission family here. We have been staying at Dr. Marshman's, but Dr. and Mrs. Carey, and Mr. and Mrs. Mack, and Mrs. Ward and her daughters, live near, that we can be with any of them in two or three minutes. Dr. Marshman has never yet had a day's serious illness, and, as well as Mrs. Marshman, is active to a degree seldom equalled even in England. They are both up generally an hour before the sun, and with the exception of about half an hour in the middle of the day, are laboriously occupied till ten at night. They have both of them large schools under their care, the proceeds of which are devoted to the support of the stations connected with Serampore. Dr. Carey is a vigorous old man, very much like the portraits in England, only that he looks rather older. He had a fall several months ago, which occasioned him a very serious illness, and has left him lame; but still every step he takes, and every sentence he utters, denote such vigour and activity, as are truly a man that has been surprising in so many years in India. Europeans resident here are generally listless to a degree of which you can form no idea. The first Sabbath we spent in Serampore, Mr. Leslie preached in the morning, and Dr. Carey in the evening. The good Dr. was exceedingly animated and methodical; it was the best sermon I have heard since I left England. Yesterday morning Mr. Leslie went with Mr. Mack to Calcutta, to preach. In the morning Dr. Marshman preached here, and in the evening Dr. Carey administered the Lord's supper, to Bengalees and English together. He began with an address in English, and then in Bengalee. twenty-five natives sat down with us, but they have, I understand, nearly sixty members here-an equal number of men and women. Last night the women sat on the ground, and the men on benches with the English. There are also several native girls' schools here, which appear to be flourishing under the superintendence of Miss Marshman and Miss Ward. I went to see one of them this morning, and was much delighted with hearing the children read and spell. Some of them are, really clever, and learn very fast. They, and their parents too, seem to imagine that they are bestowing a favour by coming to learn to read. Miss Marshman Calcuttais a very grand place; enter it, you have quite the idea of a city of palaces. However, it is far from being pleasant; from the number of houses, and people, and roads, the dust and heat are almost insupportable. We have been much alarmed for some time past, lest the Burmese should come and take the city. But our fears have now almost subsided, as the news of last week were, that our army had taken Rangoon, which, there is little doubt, will stop the Burmnese, who had come so nearly to Calcutta as Ramoo, which is a little way from Chittagong. Nothing has been heard in this place from Mr. and Mrs. Judson, and Dr. Price, who are at Ava; but when our army took Rangoon, they found Messrs. Wade and Hough, Ameri'can Missionaries, fast bound in chains. The following particulars are About asked them, if they should like to learn to work, and they nearly all said, that if she taught them to work, they would not come to read. One of the girls I saw this morning, about eleven years old, had been married some time. Most of the schools are taught by men, as it is very seldom a woman can be found who can tell a letter, and besides, they are so degraded, that the children will not pay any attention to them. We have repeatedly seen them hard at work in building houses, while their husbands are sitting in their miserable straw huts, eating rice, or smoking. The houses, or rather huts, in which the natives live, are built of straw, and just high enough to stand upright in. They consist merely of one room; the floor of earth, and generally not a single article of furniture in them. Indeed they have no use for furniture, as they always sit by day, and sleep by night on the ground, and the very richest of them eat their rice and curry with their hands. Apathy, as you have constantly heard, is their prevailing characteristic, and it is indeed exhibited in every thing around us. As soon as they have finished any thing they have in hand, they lie down to sleep, and if not called up, would lie all day, except at the time of eating rice. Alas! how hopeless does it seem to attempt to alarm such people with the terrors of the law, or allure them with the invitations of the gospel. However, our sufficiency is not of ourselves; our trust is in him, who has the hearts of all men in his hands, who has been pleased already to bless the preaching of the gospel among them, and will go on to bless not only the preaching of the gospel, but other attempts, however feeble they may be, to turn them from dumb idols to serve the living and true God." SUMATRA. pleasant and highly satisfactory trip to Padang and the Batta country. My original intention was to penetrate into the interior of Padang, to ascertain the extent of the population, the state of society, and the nature of the language, recent information, and the favourable change in Mr. Evans's situation in regard to the government, having led us to consider it of importance, as the object of a separate Mission at some future period. I found Mrs. Burton at Padang for the benefit of her health, perfectly restored, and ready to return to Tappanuly, and Mr. Evans's engagements being too pressing to admit of his absence, and a favourable opportunity occurring for that place, I left Padang in company with Mrs. Burton, after a visit of ten days. We reached Tappanuly in less than a week, and four days afterwards, Mr. Burton and myself com-, menced an excursion into the Batta coun try, which proved pleasing and satisfactory beyond our expectations. The population is far greater than was supposed, and the character of the people altogether different. We were entertained, all the time of our visit, with every mark of hospitality and respect; and on explaining the object of Mr. Burton's Mission, an assembly of the chiefs expressed themselves unanimously willing to promote his views, and invited him cordially to go and settle amongst them. We were the first white men who had appeared in the country, and the novelty produced amongst them marks of the utmost astonishment. Three or four thousand people graced our first reception, with conduct which strongly reminded us of what is related of the first appearance of Europeans in America; and on a subsequent occasion, not less than 6,000 assembled to see us. We explained at leisure to them the chief doctrines of Christianity, and they discovered a considerable degree of interest, particularly in the resurrection and final judgment, which drew forth many exBut as we are pressions of surprise. preparing a Report on the subject for government, a copy of which will be forwarded, I need say the less for the present. but Ánother object at Tappanuly was, to bring the language into the press, the necessary measures for which have been taken. Schools also were not forgotten, and Mr. Burton will immediately apply himself to forming one for the Battas, and another for the Malays. It was my design to call and establish a school at Natal, but Mr. Prince informed me at Padang, that hostilities with the Padrees would render it impracticable for, the present. Two men had been prepared for this service in the school at Marl bas NEARLY a twelvemonth elapsed since any direct intelligence arrived from Mr. Burton. This naturally excited some uneasiness; the following letter from Mr. N. M. Ward to the Secretary, dated in June last, conveys satisfactory information nearly up to that date. Padang, June 3, 1824. . MY DEAR SIR, borough, one of whom will be retained at Natal, and the other placed at Mr. Bur ton's disposal at Tappanuly. Mr. Evans is erecting a school room for the reception of two hundred Malay children, and has under his direction, the education of the lower classes of the halfcasts, which are rather numerous. I expect to embark for Bencoolen in the course of a week, and will endeavour to prepare information for you as early afterwards as possible. American Baptist Mission. BURMAN EMPIRE. THE war between our Indian Government and the Emperor of Burmah has exposed our American Missionary brethren in that country to great hazard. From Mr. and Mrs. Judson no intelligence, that we are aware of, has reached this country since the commencement of hostilities. The public despatches have referred to the danger in which Messrs. Wade and Hough, the Missionaries at Rangoon, were placed when the British fleet took possession of that town. The following letter from Mrs. Hough to her daughter at school in Calcutta, written at the very time, will be perused with much interest and sympathy. Rangoon, May 14, 1824. My beloved Child, The English have taken Rangoon, and we, through much mercy, are spared to tell you the joyful news. I thought, three days ago, that by this time you would be an orphan. Monday, 10, news of the arrival of the English fleet at the mouth of the river, was brought to Rangoon; but we could not believe it: not that we thought it impossible, but we had been often deceived with idle reports, and placed no dependence on any thing we heard. Nearly all the English gentlemen were dining in Lansago's (a Spanish gentleman) garden, and before they had finished their dinner, they were conveyed to the king's Godown, and confined in chains. We thought that Mr. Hough and Mr. Wade would escape, being Americans; but while we were at tea, a king's linguist, with about twelve men, escort ed them to the Godown, and put them with the other foreigners. Our servants nearly all took the alarm, and Mrs. Wade and myself spent a sleepless and wretched night in this lonely place, with only four servants in the house with us. Moung-shwa-ba (one of the converts) kept by us and prayed with us, which was no small consolation. The other Christians went off. Tuesday morning we sent Mr. Wade and Mr. Hough some breakfast, and hoped for a line or two; but they were not permitted to write. I wrote to Mr. Sarkies, (an American gentleman,) begging him to use his influence with the government, to have Mr. Hough and Mr. Wade released, as they were Americans. He replied, that he feared for himself; that he had done all he could, but in vain. We thought we would go into town, and if we could not but the town was crowded, and Moungcomfort our husbands, suffer with them; shwa-ba thought we should either be seized, or not permitted to enter the Godown. About ten o'clock, P. M. the shot from the Burmans. They returned fleet came up to town, and received a two for one, and in a few moments every soul of the Burmans took what they could and ran. The English prisoners had ordered to strike off their heads when the each an executioner over him, who was first English gun was fired; but they were so frightened that they curled down in one corner of the room, expecting the third fire made them force the door and whole roof to fall upon them; and the run. They, however, fastened it upon the outside. Not long after, the prisoners were taken out to be executed. Your papa proposed going to the fleet for terms of peace, which the Burmans were about assenting to, when the firing commenced again, and the Yaywoon with his officers ran, dragging the poor chained prisoners after them. Your papa and Mr. Wade were chained together, stripped of all their clothes, except shirt and pantaloons. (Mr. Wade's shirt was taken from him.) Not even their hats were left. Their arms were tight corded behind, and an executioner kept hold of the rope. In this dreadful situation Mrs. Wade and myself saw them, from the window of a little hut to which we had fled, expecting every moment to be found and treated in the same way. George ran out and called after your papa, who sent him back. The prisoners were taken about half way to the great pagoda, when they released your papa, and sent him to the English fleet, though not without his first promising to procure terms of peace. He went to the commodore, on board H.M.S. XX |