have received the Gospel; and in 1799, the Bible was translated into their language :-Our author states, that in 1792 the converts amounted to one thousand souls. The same indefatigable Missionaries in 1764, visited the dark coasts of Labrador, and founded in 1771, their first settlement, Nain; and afterwards in 1776, Okkak to the north, and in 1782, Hopedale to the south of Nain, These missions seem to be blessed by God; schools are established and frequented; the Gospels have been been printed and distributed by the British and Foreign Bible Society; and many hundred families dwell in peace and amity around the missionary stations. The recent voyages of our navigators, have encreased our knowledge of the tribes who inhabit this wild and desolate region; there is little doubt that they are a Tartar tribe who have yielded to the pressure of war in their own country, and have gradually extended themselves; and the ruins of settlements in Labrador, and their traditions, prove that the present inhabitants of Greenland are one of those tribes, who cast out by their brethren wandered to the latter country, and taking advantage of the weakness of the Europeans, exterminated them and took possession of their settlements. Before we leave America we must notice those islands, which though not connected with that continent, have been subsequent in the acquaintance formed with them by Europeans. Of these the most remarkable is New Holland, justly called a fifth continent; and here man, whether we regard him as the wild nomade, or the victim and partaker of the vices of society, is perhaps the most degraded creature to be found on earth. The savage is in the lowest state of uncivilized existence, and the convicts with which, since 1788, we have peopled the eastern coast, not only prevent, by the full employment they give the government, the possibility of much attention to the natives, but when they can escape, they become apostles of evil to these untutored creatures. Recent accounts say, that the European part of the colony is promising, and even flourishing, and the labours of three missionary societies, the London, the Wesleyan, and the Church, may, by the Divine blessing, accomplish much for the aborigines: though we regret to hear that the first of these societies apprehend the necessity of giving up the mission. The untameable ferocity of New Zealand has partially yielded to the benevolent exertions of the excellent Mr. Marsden, and the Church and Wesleyan missionaries, particularly to the former. That valuable society has been settled here since 1814, and at present occupies four establishments, with schools at two of them; and agriculture and the various arts of life prosecuted, and inculcated at all. Notwithstanding the natural violence of these people, the conduct of the Missionaries has met with respect and attention; the schools are attended, and settled habits are gaining ground. Some time since the Wesleyan Missionaries from Wesley Dale, threatened by the natives, found protection from their brethren of the Church mission, whose influence has been found sufficient to stop the sanguinary accompaniments of the deaths and funerals of their chiefs, and even to interpose and prevent a threatened war. Conversion certainly seems to go on slowly. Passing by New Guinea and the neighbouring islands, of whose interior we are ignoront, and even with their coasts but slightly acquainted, but whose form of religion, if they have any, betray an Asiatic origin, we hasten to survey the scene of the brightest triumph of Christianity in modern times, we mean the Society Islands. These interesting islands, when first discovered the boast of the sceptic and the astonishment of the philosopher, were soon found to be but another awful proof of the tendency of human nature to pervert all the blessings of providence, and convert its favours into poison ;* and are now the remarkable instance of an entire people, who had energy enough to shake off ancient superstitions, and their degrading influence, and are enjoying the light of Christianity and its consequent blessings. In 1797, the missionary ship Duff carried out some Missionaries who settled in Taheite, but this expedition proved unproductive. In 1808, popular insurrections compelled both the King and Missionaries to retire from the island, to which however, they returned in 1811, when Pomarre owned his change of sentiments. In 1814, the rapid spread of the new doctrine so incensed the priests and votaries of Paganism, that after exciting considerable disturbance, they attempted to exterminate the Missionaries and their converts, but were defeated with great slaughter; and while the clemency of the king, then first witnessed in the island, spared their persons, the morais were overthrown and the idols every where committed to the flames. The triumph of Christianity was complete; the authority of Pomarre established; and in 1817, the whole of the inhabitants of Taheite and the neighbouring islands, had renounced idolatry; infanticide and human sacrifices had ceased, and chapels had risen instead of the destroyed morais; the Sabbath-day was observed; above 4,000 persons had learned to read and write, and the Gospels were printing in the language of the islands. Subsequently the establishment of Christianity has been confirmed; in 1819 the large church at Papaoa in Otaheite, seven hundred and twelve feet in length and fifty broad, was consecrated; and soon after a code of laws, since reduced to writing, was promulgated by Pomarre and received by the people. For an abstract of this interesting body of laws, we re * When first discovered, they were hailed by their brother heathen in Europe, as specimens of Pagan virtue that confuted all the reasonings of Christianity, but this dream speedily vanished; in 1804, the picture given by Turnbull was most lamentable. "The population, estimated by Captain Cook in 1777 at upward of 200,000 souls, had then dwindled, according to Turnbull, to 5,000, owing to various diseases and to the unnatural crime of infanticide. The erees, or nobles, formed a society of the most licentious and profligate nature. The very principle of their union was a community of their women, and the murder at the moment of birth of all their issue of both sexes. The inferior classes were influenced by the example of these wretches, and it was computed that two-thirds of the births were thus stifled." fer our readers to our author, remarking that by them provision is made in Taheite for a regular administration of justice, and in Huaheine for a trial by jury. The blessings of the Gospel, and the accompaniment of industry, liberty, and peace, have not been confined to these islands: the Palliser and Harvey islands have received the Gospel by the instrumentality of native teachers; and preachers are preparing for the Tonga or Friendly islands, whose inhabitants, if we may credit the interesting but highly-coloured statements of Mariner, are decidedly superior to those of any other of the Pacific islands. In these instances civilization followed the footsteps of Christianity; in the Sandwich islands, rendered remarkable for the death of our great circumnavigator Cook, it has preceded them; in 1794, Tammehameha, a chief whose talents and ambition had raised him to the sovereignty of Hawaii, surrendered the island to the king of Great Britain, on promise of protection; and soon by means of fire-arms and ships, made himself master of the other islands of the group. In 1819 he died, having accomplished as great a revolution as any individual ever effected, and bequeathed his plans to his successor Riho-Riho. In this year idolatry was renounced, and Missionaries from America settled there; and in 1822, some Missionaries of the London Missionary Society, who had called at the Sandwich islands on their way to the Marquesas, were induced to settle there, and the king, queens, and chiefs, under their influence embraced Christianity. Since that time the mission has prospered, chapels have been erected, native teachers instructed, morals, and civilization, and commerce are progressive, and under the protection of the young king, now about sixteen years of age, the exertions of missionary benevolence are blessed. We refer our readers to Mr. Ellis's interesting work for particulars, and for a full refutation of the unjust, but we trust not malicious assertion of a certain popular Review. The survey we have just completed, is calculated to produce mingled emotions of pleasure and regret: while the Christian mourns to see that eighteen centuries have rolled by since his Saviour lived and died for him, and that still so large a proportion of the human race are ignorant of his name, or blaspheme his glorious work, he may yet rejoice when he knows that the promise of God is sure, that the heathen are to be the inheritance of his Son, and in the events that the last few years have developed, he perceives the harbinger of the accomplishment of that promise: when he sees that in less than thirty years a spirit of enterprize has been excited in Europe, such as had not existed since the days of the Apostles, that this spirit has spread itself from Europe to America, joining all who acknowledge the sufficiency of the Scriptures in one band of Christian brothers; prompting them to desire great things, and to attempt great things: when he sees what great things have been attempted and accomplished, that schools and scholars, and missionaries are found in almost every region of the globe, that conversion is going forward steadily, that Christianity has been estab lished in some places, and a respect for it inculcated in more,—that even the great apostacy the Church of Rome, has been compelled to retire from her pretensions, and fling a veil, however thin over her deformities-when he sees Protestantism tolerated, education enforced, and an ex-inquisitor secretary of a Bible Society in South America; above all when he sees a spirit of exertion and prayer excited at home-and abroad, of the millions who inhabit the heathen world, so many brought under the dominion, and so many more under the influence of Protestant states, he cannot but rejoice in the display of the arm of the Lord, he cannot but anticipate the time in which every dark hill and valley of heathenism shall smile in the light of the Sun of Righteousness, the Sabbaths of Jehovah be "holy to the Lord, and honorable” all over the world, and his " knowledge cover the earth," deep and extended “ as the waters cover the sea." We share not in the gloomy forebodings of many of our religious friends; though we feel from personal, and every-day experience, that "the days are evil," we see bright anticipations of a holy and a sanctified change: and deeply though we regret the worldly spirit that has and ever will mingle itself with the proceedings of our religious societies, we regard them as the instruments of good; we see, or think we see through their means a standard displayed, and a work going forward which will usher in the perfect day of the Lord. Praying that the great Lord of the harvest may "purge the branches that are in him to bear more fruit," we would exhort our Christian readers to more zeal and more earnestness, more separation from the world, and more devotedness to the extension of the Lord's kingdom. We would beseech them to divert from their religious associations, the charge brought against them of covetousness and worldly-mindedness, by refusing all means of obtaining money for the Lord's work, that are not in appearance as well as reality, conformable to the Lord's will; and if the missionary be stayed in his progress, and the heart of the heathen be hardened against the truth, let us look to ourselves with fear and trembling, and ask, are we as thou ought to be, whose vocation it is to send out the preachers of the everlasting Gospel? FOREIGN RELIGIOUS INTELLIGENCE. INDIA. We have been favoured with the following extract, from the letter of a Chaplain in the Residence of Bombay: dated 4th August, 1829. "I was greatly gratified by the account you gave me of the aged convert to the Protestant faith, and the translation of her poem. I grieve to say I cannot afford any similar case from this side of India; we hear of degrading and cruel superstitions-of hideous murders under the sanction of a false reli gion-of widow-burning-and infanticide, but no Christian conversions. "About ten days ago, we had a Suttee here, the first for five years; I was in hopes that the silent influence of the British government would have secured us from such scenes; but the reign of Satan is not yet over, he absolutely triumphs in this gloomy and wretched country the woman was thirty years of age, the mother of two married sons and a daughter, and the wife of a Brahmin. The man died in the morning, and the horrid rite was accomplished before mid-day. The Brahmims who presided at the hellish ceremony, were so cunning, that an Englishman in the Residency, or belonging to the camp, was not acquainted with the circumstance till all was over. They seem to think this practice the glory of their religion, and every where preach it to these deluded creatures, as the certain means of obtaining the joys of their paradise, and of carrying along with them all their kindred. Under such a delusion, these unhappy women suffer with a composure and fortitude worthy of a better cause. By this self immolation they are supposed to confer great glory upon their families, and are spoken of with that affectionate admiration, which we attach to the name of a martyr. In the vicinity of B, there are two Suttee burial places as large as a country church-yard in Ireland; the tombs like our gravestones, bearing an arm and hand pointing to heaven, painted on them - one of these record the immolation of fifteen females, on the funeral pile of the king of C "The Brahmins, who hold the inhabitants of this country in so wretched a thraldom, are a compound of low cunning, selfishness, hypocrisy,spiritual pride, and priestly tyranny. There was lately an extraordinary species of delusion prac tised by them, with the most perfect success. An eclipse of the sun was expected-and for several months before, they prophesied all manner of calamities of which, the darkening of the sun should be the signal, and that they alone had the power to avert them; in particular they predicted, that fire should burst out in many places, and be followed by earthquakes; and fires there actually were, and many of them in almost every town and village in C. They pretend they were kindled by fire from heaven, or ascended out of the earth, while they were, in fact, themselves the incendiaries. But such was the alarm created, that they extracted large sums of money, not only from private indi viduals to avert the wrath of the gods, but from government itself. Had it been as easy to shake the earth, as to fire an Indian hut, we should have had earthquakes also, but they unblushingly affirmed, that it was their intercessory prayers that prevented these; so that they obtained credit, alike, for what did as for what did not happen. They pretended to appease the wrath of the god, by beating a kind of country drum, called a tomtom, through the night; and apply the name of wild enthusiast, to any who would attempt to introduce a more rational system. Nor is this opinion confined to natives; it finds advocates even among those who are called Christians. And here I would just mention, how dreadfully detrimental to the cause of religion, is this nominal Christianity.— When we speak to the natives on the subject of religion, they answer, 'your religion commands you to keep the sabbath, but your people spend it in hunting and field sports-it commands you to be sober, but your soldiers are intoxicated five times in the week-it commands you to do justly, but you contract debts with the poor Hindoos that you never payyour religion enjoins prayer, but few of you are ever known to pray-all Hindoos do whatever their religion commands, therefore, the Hindoo religion is the best.' How can we answer this mode of argument? As for me, 1 blush to think that my own country produces some of the greatest obstacles to the propagation of Christian knowledge, and the reception of the truth in the love of it." "J. G." AMERICA. Degraded State of the Romish Clergy in South America.-The priests in Lima are disgusting:- Many have I seen absolutely drunk in the streets; and I only wish this was the worst thing I had to say of them. In their processions I have witnessed scenes shocking to human nature. In carrying the Virgin Mary through the streets twelve females, supposed to be virgins, are selected to carry frankincense before her. These women are now generally female slaves of the very worst and most abandoned description; these women, as they proceed before the Virgin, are screaming and hallooing with all their might, at the same time throwing up the incense. The priests are singing psalms; and I have seen them in many of those processions, absolutely drunk while singing their psalms; and between every verse, * Formerly it was considered an honor for the daughters of the first families in the place, to carry the frankincense before the Virgin. |